March 9, 2025

Isaiah 41:8-13

Isaiah 41:8-13

We continue our study of Isaiah 40-55 by looking at Isaiah 41:8-13

Spreaker podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Deezer podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
RadioPublic podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Fountain podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Podverse podcast player badge
Podyssey podcast player badge
Breaker podcast player badge
Podurama podcast player badge
Audacy podcast player badge
JioSaavn podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconTuneIn podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconRadioPublic podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconYouTube podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconPlayerFM podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player iconBreaker podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconAudacy podcast player iconJioSaavn podcast player icon

We continue our study of Isaiah 40-55 by looking at Isaiah 41:8-13

WEBVTT

1
00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:06.519
All right, second hour, same chapter, Isaiah chapter forty one,

2
00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:09.679
Isaiah chapter forty one. In the first hour, well, last

3
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.640
week we did an observational outline of all of Isaiah

4
00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:16.399
forty one, so we covered that that observational outline really

5
00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:19.079
taught the entire chapter. So we're kind of just walking

6
00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:22.239
kind of back through the observational outline to a certain level.

7
00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.480
This chapter is really not that complicated or difficult to understand.

8
00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:30.839
As I stated in the first hour, I'll stated again

9
00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:33.960
here because it's kind of a theme that I'm emphasizing today,

10
00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:37.439
is that, whether we like it or not, church history

11
00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.880
demonstrates this modern church, which demonstrates this. We do not

12
00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:45.520
study the Bible. We do not study church history because

13
00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:49.079
we are pursuing truth. We study it and pursue things

14
00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:52.520
for our own agenda. We have our own prejudices, we

15
00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:56.600
have our own so many issues because it should not

16
00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.600
be that complicated. Out of over now, I don't even

17
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:02.159
know how many over one hundred sermons that I've listened

18
00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:06.760
to I'm dealing with Isaiah afforded Isaiah fifty five. I

19
00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:10.079
yet to find one that's handled this section and even

20
00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:13.760
where close to the text at all. They make it

21
00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:16.840
about us. They do all these hermeneutical things. This week,

22
00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:20.480
I've been studying the doing podcast episodes about the Salem

23
00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:22.599
witch Trials. I mentioned it in the first art. I'm

24
00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:25.760
not going to go through details again, and how Reverend

25
00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:28.680
Burroughs was executed in Salem and it was all messed

26
00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:31.439
up the way that went down in Cotton Mathers involvement.

27
00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:35.439
And Christians today will defend Cotton Mather. Cotton Mathers the hero.

28
00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:38.640
Cotton Mathers here, there's no hero in Cotton Mather's the villain.

29
00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.959
But we study church history why because we got to

30
00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.920
defend the people who are on our team instead of

31
00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:49.319
studying history to find truth. Truth is no longer what

32
00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:53.400
anybody wants in any area of our any area of

33
00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:56.799
American society. We don't want truth in politics, we don't

34
00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:59.400
want truth in theology, we don't want truth in church.

35
00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:05.640
Nobody wants truth. Everybody wants what to be for what

36
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.439
they want to hear. And if they don't like what

37
00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:11.479
they don't hear, well, if it's in the culture, then

38
00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.280
it's fake news simply because it disagrees with them. That's

39
00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:18.080
not the way that works, or it's false doctrine or

40
00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.319
I don't like it because well I don't like it,

41
00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.439
and that's not the way it's supposed to work. If

42
00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:29.159
you study truth, inevitably truth will do what slap you

43
00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:33.000
in the face. If you pursue truth, truth is not

44
00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:37.159
always going to agree with us. Theologically, it makes sense

45
00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:46.360
since we our heart is desperately wicked and above all things. Okay, well,

46
00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.120
if we believe that to be accurate, well then we

47
00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:52.360
should be expecting then truth will be constantly who will

48
00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:57.479
be constantly in conflict with truth? Us? We think we

49
00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:02.560
find truth so that I can prove you wrong. Truth

50
00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:06.840
is designed to prove I'm wrong. Okay, So if we

51
00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:09.240
really are going to study Isaiah forty one and be fair,

52
00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.120
then we know Isaiah forty one just like Isaiah forty

53
00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:15.000
and the entire section is not about us. It's not

54
00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:18.680
about the church, it's not about America, it's not about Christianity.

55
00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:22.080
It's about Judah and Babylonian captivity. And we have to

56
00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:24.039
understand it that way. And if we try to make

57
00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:25.800
it about us, then we don't care about the truth

58
00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:28.560
of the text. We care about producing sermons so that

59
00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:31.120
we can have big churches to make money, and that's

60
00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:34.639
what it turns into. Well, if we pursue truth, well

61
00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.319
people don't necessarily want that. That's just the reality. So

62
00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:41.240
we covered verses one through seven in the first hour.

63
00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:44.000
Basically verses one through seven. For those who aren't here,

64
00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.319
it's pretty simple. It's a court case. God summons everyone

65
00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.319
to come to court and he's going to prove to

66
00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:54.319
them that he's in charge rather than human rulers or idols.

67
00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.800
That's the simple way of describing it. So then this hour,

68
00:03:58.039 --> 00:03:59.919
our goal is to make it from verses eight too.

69
00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:06.319
If you remember the observational outline thirteen, eight through thirteen,

70
00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:08.800
we know if you look at the text, we struggled

71
00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:11.560
on whether we should break it up. Remember we had

72
00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.439
that big discussion. Should we stop it with verse thirteen?

73
00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.720
Should we continue it? Remember? Remember, well hopefully you remember that.

74
00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:22.480
All right, So our study is we're going to do

75
00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:25.519
an in depth exegetical study of Isaiah forty one, eight

76
00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:30.160
through thirteen. All right, now, let's just read it. Let's

77
00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:36.240
read verses eight through thirteen. But thou Israel, now I

78
00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.600
cannot stress this enough. Every time in Isaiah forty through

79
00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:43.959
fifty five, every time through Isaiah forty through fifty five.

80
00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:48.639
Any reference to Israel needs to be just like you

81
00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:52.920
need to highlight it, market circle it, start it. I

82
00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:55.199
don't know everything you need to do. And why do

83
00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:57.360
we have to do that? Because all the sermons make

84
00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.839
it about everyone other than the people the text identifies,

85
00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:05.079
and so we have another identifying element of who's being

86
00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:12.800
spoken of. Right, But thou Israel art, my servant, Jacob,

87
00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:18.360
whom I have chosen the seed of Abraham, my friend.

88
00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:22.720
Everybody see that? Everybody got that? All right? All right,

89
00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:25.759
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the

90
00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:29.519
earth and called THEE from the chief men thereof, and said,

91
00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:32.199
unto thee, Thou art, my servant, I have chosen THEE

92
00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:39.879
and not cast THEE away. Fear thou not. Now, everyone

93
00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:45.759
focus on that phrase, fear thou not. Fear the thy

94
00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.720
not are filled. Fear thou not? All right, everybody see that?

95
00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:52.399
Focus on that. Why do I want you to focus

96
00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:55.439
on fear thou not. Well, if we are in any

97
00:05:55.560 --> 00:05:59.639
other church, you would be focusing fear thou not, because

98
00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:01.959
the time of my sermon on this section would be

99
00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.279
called fear thou not, and it would be a sermon

100
00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:09.199
about you, not fearing. There's nothing to do with you,

101
00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:17.040
all right, fear thou not? Who is being told not

102
00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:22.319
to fear Israel? Does it require seminary to figure that out?

103
00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:27.319
Do it require Bible College to figure that out? Sarah's

104
00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:30.959
a teacher? About what grade should someone be able to

105
00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.519
read that and determine who's being told not to fear?

106
00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:39.240
About what grade? Should that occur? In third grade? So

107
00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:46.399
we need basically third grade reading comprehension. You could get

108
00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:49.680
Lincoln to do it, now, it's any link if Lincoln

109
00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:52.519
can do it in third grade? Right, If Lincoln can

110
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.279
do it in third grade, why can't preachers do it?

111
00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:06.399
Why can't people sitting in the pew figure that out? Yeah?

112
00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:13.240
I guess, but in many cases, Oh yeah, I know.

113
00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.360
But I'm just saying all of that is just nonsense,

114
00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:18.920
Like anybody sitting there should be like then, I mean,

115
00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:22.839
I if basing on third grade reading comprehension and then

116
00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:25.199
you go to church, you should probably raise your hand,

117
00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:27.680
probably within about thirty minutes of being a Christian and

118
00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:31.720
go are Christians just incapable of reading? Because I don't

119
00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:34.560
know what's wrong here? Because something should immediately tell you you're

120
00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:37.160
in We're not in Kansas anymore. Right, It's like the

121
00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.439
house got picked up by the tornado and you got

122
00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:42.639
dropped in the Wizard of Oz and the Land of Oz,

123
00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:45.399
and you're like, where what happened here? Because reading no

124
00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:49.160
longer works the way reading does in the classroom, and

125
00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:52.600
it's that is so mess up. In fact, the sermon

126
00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.800
that I listened to church today on the way here

127
00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:58.800
was called fear Thou or not Now for some weird reason,

128
00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:00.399
it was on Isaiah forty one, and then they spent

129
00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.240
most of the time in Exodus. But then they made

130
00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:06.600
day Exodus about and so then I just wanted to

131
00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:09.360
drive my car off the road, you know, into a tree,

132
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:11.480
because this will that there's no trees around here. But okay,

133
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.000
drive my car off and hit a cow, okay something.

134
00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:18.879
But because there's it's so like, why is that so complicated?

135
00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:24.560
It's not that it's not complicated. It's like when we

136
00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:32.360
read in Romans, all Israel will be saved? Is that complicated?

137
00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:36.960
But no, no, no, no, no, I mean I've preached

138
00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:39.480
it in this church, all Israel will be saved. And

139
00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.240
then have someone come right to this pulpit five seconds

140
00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:45.600
after the sermon saying Israel is it Israel? And I'm like,

141
00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:48.960
what in the world when did Israel not become Israel?

142
00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:54.200
Can anybody show me when that occurred? And what's even

143
00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:57.240
made that more frustrating is I preached that sermon after

144
00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:02.320
we spent what three months, four months looking up every

145
00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.399
use of the word Israel, and the best we could

146
00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:10.440
come up is maybe one maybe that wasn't referring to

147
00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.279
the nation of Israel. And it's like, after all of that,

148
00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:15.759
then Israel doesn't mean. At that point, you just have

149
00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:21.080
to start questioning if we can't read the Bible, then

150
00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.480
then we could basically then call into question what why

151
00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:29.120
does church even exist? Right? Like? Where do I want

152
00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:32.559
to go to church? Or do I want an atheist

153
00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:35.799
who can read? I almost prefer the atheist who can read.

154
00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:41.480
I'd rather go to the Satanic Temple that that knows

155
00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:44.919
reading comprehension, then Christians who can't seem to figure out

156
00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.720
what the text may But almost every sermon you look

157
00:09:47.799 --> 00:09:50.639
up in this section is going to be about you

158
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:52.200
come to church and you're going to be taught about

159
00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.279
not fearing. That's not what it's fear thou not for

160
00:09:55.480 --> 00:10:02.240
I am with who's the THEE. They're literally identified right,

161
00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:08.879
be not dismayed, For I am thy God, who is

162
00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:16.279
the thy Israel. Okay, I will strengthen THEE who is

163
00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:21.360
the thee Israel. Jay, I will help THEE who is

164
00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:23.919
the It's gonna get redundant, is it not. You're gonna

165
00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:29.720
get irritated after along, go move on. I will uphold

166
00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:33.240
THEE with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, they

167
00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.720
that were incensed against THEE shall be ashamed and confounded.

168
00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:39.240
They shall be as nothing, And they that strive with

169
00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.440
THEE shall perish. Thou shalt seek them and not find

170
00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:45.919
find them, even them that contendeth with THEE, that thy

171
00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:48.559
war against THEE shall be as nothing, as a thing

172
00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.000
of not. Really, what churches need to do, and I'll

173
00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:54.639
just throw this in for what what churches need to

174
00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:58.799
do all of their children's departments, like from nursery all

175
00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:01.639
the way up to say maybe their sixth grade. All

176
00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:05.000
it should be is reading comprehension. Reading comprehens It's all

177
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.320
all you should do in Sunday school is reading comprehension.

178
00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:09.000
And then you need to tell the kids, now you're

179
00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.639
gonna go listen to that pastor preach and he doesn't

180
00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.200
know how to read. Now you say it, that's mean, Well,

181
00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:19.159
it's all those adults out there can't read. So maybe

182
00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.480
the next generation need to be taught how to read

183
00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:24.279
so that then when they take over the pew they

184
00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:26.759
can kick out all the old people and say, well,

185
00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:29.039
since none of you know how to read that, I'm

186
00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:31.840
gonna because back in the old days when school taught

187
00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:36.159
us how to read, well, obviously not because clearly there's

188
00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:39.399
a reading comprehension problem. I will say, we don't have

189
00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:43.240
a theology problem. I think we have a reading comprehension problem.

190
00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:47.039
Remember when we were studying Augustine on Hermeneutics, where did

191
00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:52.200
he say hermautics begin our basic learning to read and

192
00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:55.879
write in school. That's where it comes from. That's where

193
00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:59.720
it comes from. It's just it's magnet. It's so frustrating

194
00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:04.159
to have to spend this much time trying to assert this,

195
00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:07.200
but after listening to over one hundred sermons, I know

196
00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:10.279
I have to assert this. So we have to learn

197
00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.440
to read everyone, So there's no difficulty there, right, If

198
00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:18.159
you don't even understand verse eight through thirteen, what is

199
00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:20.639
the one thing a third grader should be able to

200
00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:25.240
understand about verses eight through thirteen. It's about its right.

201
00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:30.399
If you don't understand anything else, you could understand that, right.

202
00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:32.200
So do we have at least have that down. I

203
00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.080
think we should have that down, all right. So there

204
00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.399
is the text, okay, So let's look at the context

205
00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:41.519
and structure. Here we go. Context and structure will break

206
00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:43.320
this down just like we did and we've been doing

207
00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.600
in all these We're going to look at the immediate context,

208
00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:48.440
and then we'll do a structural breakdown of the verses themselves,

209
00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:52.679
all right. Immediate context verses one through seven, it's God's

210
00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:57.600
sovereignty over history and the nations. Isaiah forty one. I'm sorry,

211
00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.879
Isaiah forty one, one through seven, God's sovereignarante over history

212
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:04.519
in the nations. That's the immediate context. One through seven

213
00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:08.879
is God's sovereign and over history and all the nations

214
00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:13.480
Isaiah forty one. Eight through thirteen obviously focuses on God's

215
00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:19.360
relationship with whom Israel, because in forty one one you

216
00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:23.240
have what the coastlands or the islands, everybody see forty

217
00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.759
one one the coast and then all of a sudden,

218
00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:30.080
what immediately happens in verse eight Israel. All right, you

219
00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.600
see that, that's not difficult. Correct, Now, what happens in

220
00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:41.519
verses fourteen through twenty? What happens in verses fourteen through twenty? Okay? Yeah,

221
00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.120
Israel basically is now viewed as a powerful instrument. Is

222
00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:50.080
that a fair way of describing that? Now? How do

223
00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:52.639
we know fourteen through twenty is speaking of Israel being

224
00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:59.279
to do these things? Okay? Well I know that, but

225
00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:02.159
I have to add ify that because once again preachers

226
00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:05.240
turn that into something other than us. Okay, I have

227
00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:08.720
at the end of this, I have fifteen fifteen different

228
00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:13.360
ways this section is hermeneutically misunderstood and misapplied. Like why

229
00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.879
should there be fifteen different ways that can occur? Why

230
00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:27.639
there's nothing here to I know, and no one nobody does,

231
00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:36.399
And it's just crazy context. Yeah, and even those who

232
00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:40.159
say we do exegetical preaching will still make it about us,

233
00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:42.360
make it about us. That's not exegetical preaching. All right,

234
00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.159
So the immediate context forty one one through seven is

235
00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:48.320
the immediate context, agreed, that's God's sovereignty over history in

236
00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:51.960
the nations. Then eight through thirteen, our section obviously deals

237
00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:54.720
with God's special relation with Israel, and then what follows,

238
00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:58.320
which will be immediate context. It's God's transformation of Israel

239
00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:03.080
into a powerful instrument. The immediate context the before the

240
00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.879
section we're studying, and the section after that deals with

241
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:08.559
the immediate context. Everybody okay with that? Right now? The

242
00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:12.440
structural breakdown verses eight through nine. Everyone, look at Isaiah

243
00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:16.279
forty one, eight through nine. What would you take from

244
00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:18.240
Isaiah forty one, eight through nine. If we're doing a

245
00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:25.559
structural breakdown, what would you call that section forty one

246
00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:32.960
eight through nine? Forty one eight through nine. I think

247
00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:36.480
this is Israel's identity, is God's chosen servant. Whatever may

248
00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:40.200
be okay with that? Is it identifying Israel as God's servant?

249
00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:43.039
I think it literally says that, does it not? Now?

250
00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:48.879
Why is that important? Because another servant's being spoken of

251
00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:51.679
in this section or kind of get leading up to it.

252
00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:56.159
It's gonna Cyrus is also God's servant, right? And then

253
00:15:56.200 --> 00:16:01.960
we have the suffering servant in fifty three right, correct,

254
00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.840
which many believe is Christ. So whenever our servant is mentioned,

255
00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:08.200
then what do we have to learn to do in

256
00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:15.080
this entire section? Identify which servant? Right? That's an hermeneutical clue. Right,

257
00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:18.600
servant is mentioned multiple times in this section, so are

258
00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:20.919
in Isaiah forty through fifty five? We always have to

259
00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.600
identify it here? Is there any doubt which servant's being

260
00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:31.080
spoken of in Isaiah forty one eight through nine? Which

261
00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:33.679
verse which give me the verse in the statement, Hey,

262
00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:38.159
what does it say? Israel? Alrm I sir? Okay, right,

263
00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.360
there's no question. All right, there's no question. Everybody see that? Okay?

264
00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:45.000
All right, yeah, yeah, it's multiple times. All right, now

265
00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:47.679
that eight and nine Israel's identity is God's servant. How

266
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:54.600
about verse ten? We have the call to fear not.

267
00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:57.919
Some would say that there's a threefold promise with that

268
00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:08.279
fear not. Do you believe there's a threefold promise there? Okay?

269
00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:17.240
Do you see the threefold Diane just found three well,

270
00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:20.599
and just in verse ten itself, verse ten, there's a

271
00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.680
threefold promise. Does everybody see a threefold promise? In ten?

272
00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:28.839
I'm seeing cow nong fingers, use a calculator, whatever, use

273
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:34.799
a friend, it's math. I feel comfortable with threefold promise there?

274
00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:38.480
All right, So fear not, But again the fear not

275
00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:43.000
and the threefold promise is to whom Israel? And it's

276
00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:48.319
based off what what is the foundational principle throughout all

277
00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.200
your entire understanding of the Old Testament when it comes

278
00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:55.880
to promise and praying? Who they are and the covenant

279
00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:00.759
God made with them? Remember, everything is fun functioning off

280
00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:04.519
that covenant. Right? What are the three threefold promise in

281
00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:13.119
verse ten? Well, fear not, okay, I am with thee?

282
00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:15.680
Has God promised to be with Israel basically going all

283
00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:19.480
the way to the time of Abram? Okay? Right? Next?

284
00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:22.319
Does he not promise to strengthen Israel over and over

285
00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:26.200
and over and over and over in covenant language? Yes?

286
00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:30.079
Does he not promise to uphold Israel? I mean yes?

287
00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:33.680
So all of that is is very at least covenant

288
00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:37.799
like language. And if it's covenant like language, then we know, okay,

289
00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:40.279
all right, that we understand the basis of it. Right?

290
00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:48.880
Everybody got that? Oh? Yes? Right? Then? How about verses

291
00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:51.640
eleven through twelve. What do we get from verses eleven

292
00:18:51.680 --> 00:19:01.559
through twelve God's victory over Israel's enemies? Do you think

293
00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:03.599
that that's a fair way of looking at eleven through twelve?

294
00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:14.960
Everybody okay with that? Right? How about verse thirteen? Well,

295
00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:18.880
is kind. We'll just say, a personal assurance of divine help. Right,

296
00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.279
personal assurance of divine help. I think that's pretty simple.

297
00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:24.440
So what is the structural breakdown of Isaiah forty one

298
00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:28.559
eight through thirteen? Eight through nine. Israel's identity is God's

299
00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:32.839
chosen servant. Everybody, okay? With that number two? Verse ten,

300
00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:35.440
the call to fear not and the threefold of promise

301
00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:39.799
verse eleven through twelve, God's victory over Israel's enemies verse thirteen,

302
00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:43.400
A personal assurance of divine help. There's the structural breakdown.

303
00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.480
Right now, we go to the exegetical analysis. We're just

304
00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:50.279
going to work through this section. You've already have it

305
00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:53.559
broken down for you, right, Okay, So the first section

306
00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:57.960
is Israel's identity is God's chosen servant. I'm gonna read

307
00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:03.920
from the ESV. But you Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom

308
00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:08.480
I have chosen, the offspring of Abram, of Abraham, my friend, you,

309
00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:10.519
whom I took from the ends of the earth and

310
00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:14.680
called from its farthest corners, saying to you, you are

311
00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:18.839
my servant. I have chosen you and not cast you off.

312
00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:23.319
Will break this down into well a number of parts.

313
00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:28.200
A number of parts. First, the contrast with the nations. Right,

314
00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:30.680
the first thing we're gonna see is the contrast from

315
00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:36.640
the nations. But you Israel. Everybody see that, but you Israel?

316
00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:39.240
Is that not really how the section starts, depending on

317
00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:43.279
your translation the NIV. But you Israel? All right, I'm sorry,

318
00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:45.359
that's the ESV. How does the NIV start verse eight?

319
00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:52.279
But you Israel? The king James, okay, all right, ready

320
00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:55.319
to get that. So when you see that, that shifts

321
00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:00.319
focus from the fearful, idolatrous nations that five through seven

322
00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:04.039
ended with the nations are scared. Now they're building idols

323
00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:07.960
or may receive that. And now it changes, But which

324
00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:13.039
does what basically negates everything that comes forth? Where it's

325
00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:17.000
a major shift, it's a major transition. Right now we're transitioning.

326
00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:22.000
But you Israel, and contrast to them, they're scared to death,

327
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:25.559
but you Israel. What does he wants them to know?

328
00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:28.759
He's gonna but now it's gonna go from the fearful,

329
00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:32.599
idolar trist nations to God's chosen people. While the nations

330
00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:38.119
rely on false God, Israel belongs to Yahweh. That's how

331
00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:43.680
it starts, right, I can find it but thou Israel,

332
00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:46.680
art my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen the seat

333
00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:51.039
of Abraham, my friend. As a direct contrast the previous section,

334
00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:54.240
the nations are scared to death, they're trying to build idols.

335
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:57.519
But you Israel, Israel, Israel. You don't need to worry

336
00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:03.160
because you belong to me. Everybody see that. So we

337
00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.319
have the contrast with the nations. That's the first thing

338
00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:10.200
we see in this section. The significance of my servant Israel.

339
00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:15.400
My servant a title of covenantal relationship. It is a

340
00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:21.720
title of covenantal relationship. Everybody got that. It is a

341
00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:33.279
title of covenantal relationship. In Uh. A servant in Isaiah

342
00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:37.000
refers to different figures, as we've already kind of alluded to, right,

343
00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:41.279
A servant can refer to as Israel, as God's servant,

344
00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:50.240
a suffering servant, and I think it can also reference

345
00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:53.799
whom Cyrus. I think it can also reference Cyrus. Right.

346
00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:55.880
So there, whenever is so the main thing we need

347
00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:59.440
to learn from this Whenever we see servant in Isaiah,

348
00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.759
what do we have to do? We have to the

349
00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:07.440
significance of servant in this section is it tells us

350
00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:10.160
that Whenever we see the word servant, it usually well,

351
00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:13.279
in this particular case, it deals with their covenantal relationship,

352
00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:16.000
but it also identifies to us that we have to

353
00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.559
stop and identify who the servant is being spoken of.

354
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:25.720
That's a basic pharmonutical rule there, all right, everybody got that?

355
00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:29.480
So we see we're looking at the Isaiah forty one

356
00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:33.359
eight through nine, Israel's identity as God's chosen servant. We've

357
00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.799
broken this down into the contrast with the nations, the

358
00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:39.680
significance of my servant and the number three Jacob, whom

359
00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:45.240
I have chosen. This highlights Israel's frailty and dependence on God,

360
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:50.359
whom I have chosen, reinforces divine election. Israel's not chosen

361
00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:56.640
because of their greatness, but because of God's grace. Right Jacob,

362
00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:01.240
whom I have chosen. The idea is that by referring

363
00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:05.400
to Jacob, it's referring to their frailty. That's the concept

364
00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:08.839
that they say that they're taking from all right, because

365
00:24:08.920 --> 00:24:12.079
Jacob later on in this section and that this section,

366
00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:20.079
Jacob's referenced as what a worm? Right? What versus that? Fourteen? Okay,

367
00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:22.759
what's the next section? It's the next section. Yeah, next section,

368
00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:25.680
he's referred to as a worm. So me, now, if

369
00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:29.680
we take that Jacob's been seen as weak, frail, what

370
00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:39.680
do we typically think about Jacob? Do we? Okay, a

371
00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:45.400
liar deceiver? He wrestled with the angel and then he

372
00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:50.000
basically was hip thrown out a place, right, so he's

373
00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:53.200
he's not seeing it. Whenever we talk about Jacob and Esau,

374
00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.519
we typically we walk away saying Esau is the good

375
00:24:55.519 --> 00:25:00.960
guy and Jacob is trash, right right? Yeah, so the

376
00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:04.039
idea what a so and the AI is the one

377
00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:07.839
who identified it that way that Jacob highlights Israel's frailty

378
00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:12.720
independence on God right, whom I have chosen. Basically, they

379
00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:14.880
were not chosen because they were great. They were not

380
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.599
chosen because they were powerful. They were chosen because of

381
00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:20.400
God's grace. I don't know if this crush reference will

382
00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:23.720
help us. Look at Deuteronomy seven and you can tell

383
00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.559
me what you find. Deuteronomy seven seven through eight. Deuteronomy

384
00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:29.640
seven seven through eight. I don't want to make any

385
00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:39.720
assumptions here. Deuteronomy seven seven through eight. Deuteronomy seven seven

386
00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:43.759
through eight, what do we find there? Deuteronomy seven seven

387
00:25:43.839 --> 00:26:03.160
to eight. That's Israel. I mean, I don't know, if

388
00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:09.640
there's any it's got to be Israel, right, Okay, yeah, okay, clearly?

389
00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:12.799
All right? So that's in what verse eight? Oh? Yeah?

390
00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:15.480
So dude, Verse eight identifies who it's referenced. He did

391
00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:18.440
not choose them because they were the greatest number. He

392
00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:20.880
didn't choose them because of anything. He chose them out

393
00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:24.599
of grace, out of grace, And that means he didn't

394
00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:27.000
choose them because they were more holy or because they

395
00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:29.880
were more righteous. In fact, and inevitably they were wide

396
00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:35.160
not more godly or more righteous. He chose Jacob. Was

397
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:38.559
Jacob more righteous? No? Okay? Over and over and over.

398
00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:42.480
That's the key here, right, So Jacob whom I've chosen,

399
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:47.759
This is just demonstrating the Israel's frailty in God's divine grace.

400
00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:50.839
All right? Does that make sense? All right? So we're

401
00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:53.599
breaking this section down. We've got the contrast with the nations,

402
00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:56.839
the significant of my servant, Jacob, whom I've chosen. And

403
00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:03.839
then what's next in this the offspring of seed of Abraham,

404
00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:06.400
the offspring of Abraham. And then he refers to Abraham

405
00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:12.279
as my friend. This links Israel to Abraham. Emphasizing God's

406
00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:16.680
covenant to faithfulness and the promise of blessing and protection.

407
00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:21.319
My friend Abraham had a unique relationship with God. What

408
00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:25.839
I want to what is its demonstrating Israel, you were mine,

409
00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:29.240
not because you did anything, but because I did anything,

410
00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:32.480
and based off a covenant that I made with my friend,

411
00:27:33.720 --> 00:27:37.279
going all the way back to Abraham. Everything is based

412
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:40.079
off the covenant. The covenant, the covenant, the covenant, and

413
00:27:40.119 --> 00:27:42.839
that covenant was made with Israel. I know, we want

414
00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:46.559
to insert ourselves into it, okay, but it's about Israel.

415
00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:54.960
Everybody understand that, all right. So I think that the

416
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:58.519
main thing is this is reassuring them. At the previous section,

417
00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.720
the nations are scared to death. They're building idols. He's like, guys,

418
00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:07.440
calm down, I'm right here, right, everybody got That's that's

419
00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:10.319
verses eight through nine. We broke that down pretty good, right.

420
00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:13.599
Israel's identity is God's chosen. We broke it down in

421
00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:17.240
the contrast with the nations. The significance of servant Jacob,

422
00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:20.039
whom I've chosen, and Abraham or the offspring of Abraham.

423
00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:24.839
Now verse ten, this is the call to fear not

424
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.599
in the threefold promise, fear not, for I am with you.

425
00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:30.960
Be not dismayed, For I am your God. I will

426
00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:34.119
strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you

427
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:38.720
with my righteous right hand. The call to fear not

428
00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:45.079
a common divine command. Now you hear everyone say that

429
00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:47.240
there is a fear not for every day of the year.

430
00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:54.559
That is not true. Okay, that is a that is

431
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:58.519
not if you even counted out it doesn't Ai. The

432
00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:01.960
best Ai gives me is that a common divine command

433
00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:04.480
fear not appears over one hundred times in the Bible.

434
00:29:04.519 --> 00:29:07.160
Well over one hundred times. Is a way far from

435
00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:09.680
every day of the year, is it not? And not

436
00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:12.000
only that, even if you were able to fight a

437
00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:13.960
fear not for every day of the year, most of

438
00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:20.200
those fear nots have what nothing to do with you. Yeah,

439
00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:22.960
specific context and the fact this fear not here has

440
00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:26.160
nothing to do with us some In fact, I've already

441
00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:29.720
tried to drive that point home. All right, Okay, So

442
00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:33.920
what is the anidote for fear for Israel in this

443
00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:41.559
particular section fear not for I'm with you? What is

444
00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:46.319
the antidote to their fear God's presence? God's presence is

445
00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:49.000
supposed to be the anidote to their fear. All right,

446
00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:52.599
God's presence is the anidote to their fear. Now that

447
00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:56.680
sounds that preacher is good. Right, So I could have

448
00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:00.000
said that in a preacher voice, what is the anidote

449
00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:03.759
to your fear this morning, ladies and gentlemen, My dearly

450
00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:08.680
beloved God's presence is the antidote to your fear? And

451
00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:11.039
you would write that down and going ooh, that's a good,

452
00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:15.799
good message. Let's make it very clear God's presence is

453
00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:20.160
the antidote to their fear. But God's presence doesn't always

454
00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:25.160
help us. Right, Let's make it very clear. Was God

455
00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:33.200
present with job? Was God? Did god presence stop what happened? No?

456
00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:37.559
God has been with Israel. Has it stopped all the

457
00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:41.920
things that's happened to them? No? All right, so let's

458
00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:46.680
make it very clear. God's presence with us is not

459
00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:54.640
the anecdote to bad things happening to us. God's presence

460
00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:57.720
with us is supposed to be an antidote to fear,

461
00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:04.400
only in so much that at some point there will

462
00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:09.440
be a we'll say, a resolution to the problem. But

463
00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:12.920
for Israel or Judah, it was going to take them

464
00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:16.839
seventy years, right, and for us it takes when we

465
00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:21.599
enter into eternity. So God's presence as an antidote to

466
00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:24.519
fear only letting me know that God is the one

467
00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:26.720
and charge of it. But it does not mean that

468
00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:29.279
I shouldn't fear bad things are going to happen, because

469
00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:32.119
bad things can happen. Does everyone understand how we should

470
00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:36.240
process that? Because Christians, man, we do weird things with

471
00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:40.519
this concept. Right? Then it says, so the call to

472
00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:42.359
fear not everybody see the call to fear not in

473
00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:46.279
verse ten, pretty simple, be not dismayed, for I am

474
00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:50.759
your God. Dismayed means to look around anxiously. Israel is

475
00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:56.119
called to fix their eyes on God, not their circumstances. Hey,

476
00:31:56.119 --> 00:32:00.720
don't be dismayed, because the previous section has the nations

477
00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:06.880
doing what being dismayed? What do they look to? Idols? Israel,

478
00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:12.599
don't be dismayed. I'm right here. Look to me now,

479
00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:17.519
remember looking to God. Remember that faith is the we

480
00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:19.759
talked about it, we talked at about a million times.

481
00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:22.279
Faith is that thing where we look to a God

482
00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:26.119
in whom we cannot see while we are surrounded and

483
00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:30.279
being impacted by circumstances. Which we very much can see.

484
00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:33.799
Those circumstances which we can see, they scream at us,

485
00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:39.000
what God doesn't exist. So we have to believe by

486
00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:42.880
faith a God in whom we cannot see exists and

487
00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:47.359
will ultimately give us all those promises of eternity. But

488
00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:49.759
in the here and now, the God whom we believe

489
00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:53.759
in may not intervene to make one thing better. In fact,

490
00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:58.240
things may actually get worse. That is a hard concept

491
00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:01.079
to wrap your mind around, Fiel logic. Because you become

492
00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:03.279
a Christian, you're almost giving this idea, Well, now you

493
00:33:03.359 --> 00:33:06.960
have God, everything's gonna work out, or God's gonna intervene.

494
00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:09.559
God's gonna fix it. Christians will constantly tell you that

495
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.640
you go through a problem, God's gonna fix it, God's

496
00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:15.319
gonna make it better. I want to punch him in

497
00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:17.359
the face and go, well, did God make that better?

498
00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:23.240
That's what I want to do, Just break their nose

499
00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:27.759
and say, hey, did God fix that? No? Okay, because

500
00:33:27.799 --> 00:33:30.000
it doesn't work that way. We want it to work

501
00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:33.680
that way. Now. The only thing I can be assured

502
00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:35.519
of is that there will come a time the skies

503
00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.279
will part, Christ will come back, destroy all the enemies

504
00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:42.240
set up a kingdom after a thousand years, release Satan.

505
00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:44.599
Bam boom. Then you have a new earth. No more pain,

506
00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:47.200
no more suffering, no more death in eternity. Now, I

507
00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:49.079
know that's not what we want to hear, because I

508
00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:54.480
want that to somehow impact. Now, well, the only impacts

509
00:33:54.480 --> 00:33:56.880
by giving me a hope that this is not the end.

510
00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:59.799
But it does not mean that God's going to intervene

511
00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:02.279
in any way, shape or form, all right, But it

512
00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:05.119
means don't we don't look around anxiously. We look to

513
00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:08.199
where where things are going, all right. So there is

514
00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:12.480
the call to fear, not be, not dismayed the threefold promise.

515
00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:14.880
AI breaks down the threefold promise this way, I will

516
00:34:14.920 --> 00:34:20.400
strengthen you, I will help you, and I will uphold you.

517
00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:24.760
All right, provide inner strength to endure trials. Now, this

518
00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:27.199
is what God is going to do for them, right,

519
00:34:27.239 --> 00:34:29.480
not for us. I will help you. God is actively

520
00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:31.639
involved in their deliverance. God is going to help them

521
00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:37.199
in a what kind of way, physical, tangible, material way? Right,

522
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:40.119
I will uphold you with my righteous hand. Right hand

523
00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:44.360
symbolizes power and authority. Righteous implies God is just and faithful.

524
00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:50.599
So for Israel, God's presence guarantees protection, strength, and help,

525
00:34:51.159 --> 00:34:54.599
so therefore fear is unnecessary. But just remember I don't

526
00:34:54.639 --> 00:34:57.840
even like that God's presence does guarantee that God is

527
00:34:57.840 --> 00:34:59.960
going to do something for them, but it doesn't mean

528
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:02.119
and He's going to do something for them in every situation,

529
00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:04.880
because in some situations they still suffer, do they not?

530
00:35:05.159 --> 00:35:08.360
And the answer is yes. So it's kind of a

531
00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:12.199
complicated thing to understand there. All right, next section is

532
00:35:12.239 --> 00:35:17.360
Isaiah four. So that section was ten was verse ten.

533
00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:20.039
It's the call to fear not be not dismayed in

534
00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:22.199
the threefold divine promise. I know I went through the

535
00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:24.719
divine promise relatively quick, but we've already looked at that.

536
00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:28.599
Now what will most pastors do here? Try to take

537
00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:31.559
that divine those threefold promises and apply them to who

538
00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:37.440
to us. And that's where it almost inevitably becomes problematic.

539
00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:42.519
Right now, do we have similar promises? But they point

540
00:35:42.599 --> 00:35:47.079
us to eternity and to our salvation, not to material

541
00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:51.360
physical protection and deliverance and strength. I know every pastor

542
00:35:51.400 --> 00:35:53.079
wants to say that if you believe in God, you

543
00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:55.119
get strength. If you believe in God, you get strength.

544
00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:57.239
If you believe in God, you get strength. There was

545
00:35:57.400 --> 00:36:01.920
no tangible way to There is no evidence to prove that.

546
00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:07.760
Are Christians stronger than lost people. No, we're not stronger

547
00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:09.840
than lost people. We may want to believe we are,

548
00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:17.920
but where we sin, we fail. Christians need, Christians have need, counseling, therapy, medication.

549
00:36:18.360 --> 00:36:22.360
We have all the same problem. Christian marriages fall apart, This,

550
00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:26.719
churches fall apart, This happens, this happens. We're not better

551
00:36:26.760 --> 00:36:29.239
than anybody. We like to believe it all the time.

552
00:36:29.400 --> 00:36:33.239
There have been people of other religions who've endured horrible

553
00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:37.719
trials and come through it stronger, better, just like Christians.

554
00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:39.719
Christians will say the reason we do is because we

555
00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:42.239
have God, But an atheist goes through things and can

556
00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:45.199
do it. That. We love to try to imply we

557
00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:48.719
get some kind of supernatural power. If we had supernatural power,

558
00:36:48.920 --> 00:36:51.280
it would be able to be measured in some way,

559
00:36:51.360 --> 00:36:55.159
shape or form, and whatever we try to say that's

560
00:36:55.239 --> 00:36:58.079
measured in I can find other people who don't have

561
00:36:58.119 --> 00:37:04.559
my faith who've endured similar or worse things and probably

562
00:37:04.599 --> 00:37:08.519
handle them better than me. Look, I knew, I knew

563
00:37:08.639 --> 00:37:11.840
plenty of people who went through far worse things than

564
00:37:11.880 --> 00:37:14.599
I went through as a kid, but I ended up

565
00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:16.480
kneeling on the floor with a gun to my head

566
00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:18.559
and got ready to kill myself. Well guess what people

567
00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:21.280
will tell me, Well, no Christian will do that, because

568
00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:23.679
a Christian will never do that. I'm so sick and

569
00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:25.920
tired of telling me what Christians will or will not do,

570
00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:28.079
because I've got two thousand years of church history seeing

571
00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:30.119
Christians have been guilty of doing pretty much anything and

572
00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:33.960
everything because we are just like everyone else. What are we?

573
00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:43.519
Flesh bone sinners? All right? So, but in their particular case,

574
00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:48.880
specific strength, specific indoor, specific things for their specific situation.

575
00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:52.639
All of this is a reference to what their captivity

576
00:37:53.079 --> 00:37:58.679
and their deliverance. That's what this is referencing. But people

577
00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:02.559
will ride a devotional that on Monday. Oh, my devotional

578
00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:05.239
was in Isaiah forty one. God's gonna do these things

579
00:38:05.239 --> 00:38:07.880
for me. You just want to like that has nothing

580
00:38:07.920 --> 00:38:12.559
to do with you. Nothing. Everybody got that? All right? Now?

581
00:38:12.719 --> 00:38:16.880
The next section is eleven through twelve, God's victory over

582
00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:21.280
Israel's enemies. All right, we'll read the section I'm gonna

583
00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:24.159
read from the ESV again. Behold, all who are incensed

584
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:27.239
against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those

585
00:38:27.239 --> 00:38:30.079
who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

586
00:38:30.519 --> 00:38:32.960
You shall seek those who contend with you, but you

587
00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:36.079
shall not find them. Those who war against you you

588
00:38:36.159 --> 00:38:39.880
shall be, shall be as nothing at all. All right,

589
00:38:40.199 --> 00:38:43.480
So we're gonna break this into two sections. The fate

590
00:38:43.559 --> 00:38:48.440
of Israel's enemies and sensed against you. Those hostile to

591
00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:53.760
Israel will be shamed everybody. See that, those incensed against

592
00:38:53.760 --> 00:38:56.519
you shall be put to shame. Everybody. See that pretty simple,

593
00:38:56.519 --> 00:38:59.280
pretty straightforward. You don't really need much help on that,

594
00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:02.360
do you. All Right? What does he say after they're

595
00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:05.599
gonna be they're gonna be confounded, right, and then those

596
00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:08.960
who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

597
00:39:09.320 --> 00:39:13.559
See that God will remove them from history. Those who

598
00:39:13.559 --> 00:39:15.920
are coming against Israel going to be removed from history.

599
00:39:16.159 --> 00:39:20.239
And while that ultimately happened right where the Babylonians today,

600
00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:27.360
right God God? And then you could even say the Persians,

601
00:39:27.400 --> 00:39:29.039
I mean, I mean, I guess that's kind of modern

602
00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:31.960
day Iran, right, but but I mean for those kingdoms

603
00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:34.400
are pretty much gone right as we know, as we

604
00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:38.320
know them, and Israel, though it still exists now, Israel small,

605
00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:42.920
but they still exist. God preserved and kept Israel through everything. Right,

606
00:39:44.360 --> 00:39:46.920
you shall see, you shall see. So that's first the

607
00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:50.440
fate of Israel's will. Breaking this into basically two parts.

608
00:39:50.719 --> 00:39:53.639
So God's victory over Israel's enemies first, the fate the

609
00:39:53.639 --> 00:39:57.079
fate of their enemies. Well, we see them. They're gonna

610
00:39:57.079 --> 00:40:00.440
be shamed, They're gonna become basically nothing. You shall see them,

611
00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:05.360
but not find them. Total victory. Enemies will vanish as

612
00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:08.239
if they never existed. Israel does not need to fight

613
00:40:08.280 --> 00:40:13.079
for survival because God fights for them. All right, there

614
00:40:13.119 --> 00:40:16.760
we go, basically God's victory over Israel's enemies, the fate

615
00:40:16.840 --> 00:40:19.880
of their enemies, and they're gonna be You're gonna seek them,

616
00:40:19.880 --> 00:40:23.239
but you're not gonna find them. Right now. That brings

617
00:40:23.360 --> 00:40:26.960
us to verse thirteen. A personal assurance of divine help.

618
00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:29.679
This one is very simple for either Lord your God,

619
00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:35.119
hold your right hand. It is it is I who

620
00:40:35.400 --> 00:40:37.559
say to you, fear not. I am the one who

621
00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:40.760
helps you. All right. The personal nature of God's help

622
00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:44.679
I the Lord your God. See it's very personal, I

623
00:40:44.880 --> 00:40:49.639
the Lord your God. It's a direct covenantal affirmation. I'm

624
00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:56.599
gonna hold your hand I'm gonna hold In fact, it

625
00:40:56.599 --> 00:40:58.440
says hold your right hand. Does it say that in

626
00:40:58.440 --> 00:41:03.719
all translations? I will take hold of your right hand? Right?

627
00:41:04.519 --> 00:41:07.480
This is kind of like a fatherly image of grabbing

628
00:41:07.519 --> 00:41:12.760
your hand guiding right fear not is repeated. It reinforces

629
00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:23.280
the certainty of God's presence. Right now. I've got all

630
00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:25.199
kinds of other stuff here, but all right, we'll just

631
00:41:25.519 --> 00:41:29.360
summarize it this way. Isaiah forty one eight through thirteen

632
00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:33.760
shifts the focus from God's rule over the nations to

633
00:41:33.840 --> 00:41:36.840
his immediate care for Israel. He reassures them that they

634
00:41:36.880 --> 00:41:39.760
are chosen, not abandoned, that they do not need to

635
00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:43.000
fear because He will strengthen, uphold, and defend them. This

636
00:41:43.079 --> 00:41:45.599
passage is a powerful call to trust in God's sovereignty

637
00:41:45.760 --> 00:41:50.639
and faithfulness. So let's break this all down again. I'm

638
00:41:50.639 --> 00:41:53.599
just going to go through it really quick. Summarize everything,

639
00:41:53.639 --> 00:41:57.199
all right, Isaiah forty one eight through nine. Israel's identity

640
00:41:57.239 --> 00:42:00.480
as God's chosen servant. We broke this down as the

641
00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:04.079
contrast with the nations, the significant of My servant Jacob

642
00:42:04.480 --> 00:42:08.440
and Abraham, the offspring of Abraham. Then we looked at

643
00:42:08.440 --> 00:42:11.280
Isaiah forty one ten. We broke it down into two parts.

644
00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:13.719
The call are three parts, the call to fear not,

645
00:42:14.039 --> 00:42:16.880
be not dismayed, and the threefold promise. Then we looked

646
00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:19.400
at Isaiah forty one eleven through twelve, God's victory over

647
00:42:19.480 --> 00:42:22.159
Israel's enemies. We saw the fate of Israel's enemies. You

648
00:42:22.199 --> 00:42:24.320
shall seek them but not find them. And then we

649
00:42:24.360 --> 00:42:27.360
have a personal promise, and that is the personal nature

650
00:42:27.440 --> 00:42:35.719
of God's help. That is Isaiah forty one eight through thirteen. Right,

651
00:42:36.519 --> 00:42:40.239
any questions about that? Now, I could go through all

652
00:42:40.280 --> 00:42:43.760
the hermeneutical errors that people make here, but you know

653
00:42:43.800 --> 00:42:48.639
the hermeneutical errors here. Right, If you look through Isaiah

654
00:42:48.679 --> 00:42:51.480
forty one eight through thirteen, what I've already told you,

655
00:42:51.599 --> 00:42:54.159
what is the sermon probably going to be called in

656
00:42:54.280 --> 00:42:57.159
Isaiah forty one eight through thirteen. It's going to be

657
00:42:57.199 --> 00:43:00.320
saying fear not, and it's gonna make all all that

658
00:43:00.320 --> 00:43:06.159
about us? Right? Why why is that not? Why not?

659
00:43:06.199 --> 00:43:10.400
Only is it problematic because it's just hermoneutically incorrect and

660
00:43:10.440 --> 00:43:14.559
it's fraudulent way, it's not following basic rules of reading comprehension,

661
00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:18.599
But what makes it diabolical? What makes it almost evil?

662
00:43:19.239 --> 00:43:24.559
That pastors do this, well, they take the promises away

663
00:43:24.559 --> 00:43:27.880
from miserable. But what's more diabolical is they give you

664
00:43:28.039 --> 00:43:32.800
false hope. They give you some idea that God's going

665
00:43:32.880 --> 00:43:37.360
to intervene and fix your problems, make everything better. And

666
00:43:37.440 --> 00:43:44.000
you can't take that. You cannot do that. It's just wrong.

667
00:43:46.159 --> 00:43:51.000
It's just absolutely wrong for Christians to do that. And

668
00:43:50.760 --> 00:43:53.039
and I feel like in some I think in some

669
00:43:53.079 --> 00:43:55.599
ways and I cannot. I'm not gonna say that this

670
00:43:55.719 --> 00:43:58.559
is completely fair, but I'm saying in some ways I

671
00:43:58.599 --> 00:44:01.199
feel this way. When I I first became a Christian,

672
00:44:01.559 --> 00:44:03.800
I felt that I was given a million promises of

673
00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:05.199
what God was going to do, and he was going

674
00:44:05.199 --> 00:44:06.400
to do this, and he was going to do this,

675
00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:07.920
and he was going to do that. And now that

676
00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:10.920
God was on my side, right And the next thing

677
00:44:10.920 --> 00:44:13.280
you know, I'm being called from you know, the high

678
00:44:13.280 --> 00:44:16.360
school right down the road to Hendrick's Hospital, and then

679
00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:21.159
my mom dies. I'm a teenager. I'm like, what just happened?

680
00:44:22.360 --> 00:44:25.880
So I stopped doing drugs, I stopped selling drugs, I

681
00:44:25.880 --> 00:44:28.000
stopped trying to do this. I stopped trying to do this.

682
00:44:28.320 --> 00:44:30.840
I go to church, I'm doing this I'm praying. Oh,

683
00:44:30.880 --> 00:44:34.079
I'm still a sinner, but I'm like, compared to what

684
00:44:34.159 --> 00:44:36.519
I was, I'm doing as good as I can do. Right.

685
00:44:37.880 --> 00:44:39.719
And So when my mom was in the hospital, every

686
00:44:39.719 --> 00:44:41.440
ready knows the story. I spent twenty four hours in

687
00:44:41.480 --> 00:44:47.400
First Baptist Church, Tuscola, Texas, praying, praying, praying, praying, begging, begging, begging, begging, begging, begging.

688
00:44:47.480 --> 00:44:49.920
All I wanted really was just God to wake her

689
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:51.360
up so I could at least talk to her for

690
00:44:51.400 --> 00:44:53.079
five minutes. I just wanted to try to make some

691
00:44:53.159 --> 00:44:56.599
kind of resolution. Couldn't even do that, couldn't even allow

692
00:44:56.639 --> 00:44:58.480
her to come back to consciousness so I could talk

693
00:44:58.519 --> 00:45:06.519
to her. She dies, Well, I felt like, what is

694
00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:10.280
this trash? So part of the reason I put a

695
00:45:10.320 --> 00:45:13.480
gun to my head is like I didn't understand anything anymore. Now,

696
00:45:13.519 --> 00:45:16.199
I'm not saying that that's every pastor's fault, because I

697
00:45:16.199 --> 00:45:17.840
should learn how to have read and I should have

698
00:45:17.880 --> 00:45:20.440
done better with reading comprehension, right, I should have been

699
00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:23.840
able to challenge it better. But it's just your your soul.

700
00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:27.679
You enter into Christianity, you just basically how does it work?

701
00:45:27.960 --> 00:45:32.559
Every word of this book it's true, and every word

702
00:45:32.599 --> 00:45:39.920
of this book is for you, all the promises, it's

703
00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:43.840
a love letter from God to you. It's and then

704
00:45:43.880 --> 00:45:46.840
you're told to do your daily devotions right and you

705
00:45:46.880 --> 00:45:51.119
get devotional guides, and every devotional guide does what makes

706
00:45:51.159 --> 00:45:53.320
it about you, makes it about you, makes it about you,

707
00:45:53.519 --> 00:45:56.320
and so you have you basically, I mean, I don't know,

708
00:45:56.440 --> 00:45:58.599
am I the only one? Is There not a time

709
00:45:58.599 --> 00:46:01.320
in your Christian life you felt like, oh, now now

710
00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:03.119
that I'm a Christian, God is on my side and

711
00:46:03.159 --> 00:46:07.280
he's going to basically do what take care of all

712
00:46:07.320 --> 00:46:10.239
my problems? Did it take care of all your problems? Now?

713
00:46:10.280 --> 00:46:13.599
Maybe your life has been really good, congratulations, But that

714
00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:16.280
really has nothing to necessarily I mean that's good. There's

715
00:46:16.320 --> 00:46:18.519
lost people that everything goes great in their life. So

716
00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:22.880
you know, how it's gonna play out is dependent on

717
00:46:22.920 --> 00:46:25.119
a lot of factors. And we can say God's sovereignty,

718
00:46:25.280 --> 00:46:29.320
but I just know that for some people that there's

719
00:46:29.360 --> 00:46:32.440
that verse about it reigns on the just and the unjust. Well,

720
00:46:32.480 --> 00:46:35.800
for some people it's a torrential downpour with a tsunami,

721
00:46:36.079 --> 00:46:39.239
with a couple of volcanoes, a nuclear weapon drops on

722
00:46:39.320 --> 00:46:44.760
them and their life is a living hell other people.

723
00:46:46.480 --> 00:46:49.920
You know, Hey, son, you can do your homework on

724
00:46:49.960 --> 00:46:53.119
the boat. We're gonna go out on. We're gonna go,

725
00:46:53.239 --> 00:46:56.400
We're gonna go fishing. That's a quote from the Breakfast Club. Okay,

726
00:46:56.400 --> 00:46:58.400
for those who don't get it all right, that uh,

727
00:46:58.639 --> 00:47:02.760
that's everything is oneonderful. Everything is great. Look I made

728
00:47:02.760 --> 00:47:05.280
you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I cut

729
00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:07.840
the crust off and life is so wonderful. And it's

730
00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:11.679
a nice little, you know, little house on the prairie moment. Okay, well,

731
00:47:13.159 --> 00:47:17.119
not everyone has that, but say the people who have it, well,

732
00:47:17.119 --> 00:47:19.480
that will say because God does all of this. And

733
00:47:19.719 --> 00:47:21.880
the implication is if you were right with God, God

734
00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:26.719
would do it for you. And that's so messed stinking up.

735
00:47:26.880 --> 00:47:29.239
I get so sick of that, right, I get so

736
00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:31.960
sick of that. You almost want to go kick someone's

737
00:47:31.960 --> 00:47:34.159
out door down, burn their house to the ground, and go,

738
00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:38.320
WHOA what happened? Man? Okay, because it doesn't fit that

739
00:47:38.360 --> 00:47:41.639
way for everyone. If you give promises to people that

740
00:47:41.679 --> 00:47:46.519
are not for them, you mess them over and a

741
00:47:46.519 --> 00:47:48.559
lot and that's where a lot of people reach out

742
00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:53.719
and go, Where's God? I don't kick God, and then

743
00:47:53.719 --> 00:47:55.760
everyone assists in church just like I just don't know

744
00:47:55.760 --> 00:47:57.960
what's wrong with them. I just don't understand. You just

745
00:47:57.960 --> 00:48:00.199
need to pray a little more, read your boy a

746
00:48:00.199 --> 00:48:02.199
little more, go to church a little more so, and

747
00:48:02.199 --> 00:48:04.079
they always give you thirty seven things you need to do.

748
00:48:04.320 --> 00:48:06.599
It's always about what you can do, and it's like,

749
00:48:06.960 --> 00:48:11.880
or you're doing something wrong and we can't do that.

750
00:48:12.800 --> 00:48:17.039
We pursue that we approach things that way because on

751
00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:19.159
one hand we want to say God is in charge,

752
00:48:19.360 --> 00:48:21.320
but we really are trying to make ourselves in charge

753
00:48:21.440 --> 00:48:24.000
because we want a system in which we can understand it,

754
00:48:24.079 --> 00:48:26.480
we can control it. Well, if I do good, then

755
00:48:26.519 --> 00:48:28.719
God will do good for me. If I do bad,

756
00:48:28.800 --> 00:48:33.039
then well that's well, that's more covenantal language with for

757
00:48:33.199 --> 00:48:36.639
Israel than it is for us. Right, And it just

758
00:48:36.719 --> 00:48:40.400
becomes this major problem, and I'm just kind of tired

759
00:48:41.000 --> 00:48:45.559
of the way that constantly plays out. These promises are

760
00:48:45.639 --> 00:48:49.960
not for us, and if we try to apply them

761
00:48:49.960 --> 00:48:53.039
to us, they can only be applied in what way

762
00:48:54.599 --> 00:49:01.280
to our salvation. God saves us, he will keep us.

763
00:49:01.639 --> 00:49:06.039
We can't apply these promises like this to my salvation, right,

764
00:49:06.360 --> 00:49:10.639
God's chosen me. He will keep me, he has delivered me,

765
00:49:11.239 --> 00:49:14.599
he will bring me into the Promised Land. Right Like

766
00:49:14.679 --> 00:49:18.000
I can apply this to my in a sotereio logical way,

767
00:49:18.360 --> 00:49:20.679
I can't apply this in my life in a practical way,

768
00:49:20.719 --> 00:49:23.280
in any way, shape or form. Does anyone know how

769
00:49:23.320 --> 00:49:25.679
this week's gonna go for you or me or anybody?

770
00:49:25.719 --> 00:49:31.159
We don't know. There's pain, suffering, death, disease. That's what happens.

771
00:49:31.440 --> 00:49:35.119
But we have a hard time facing reality. Now I'll

772
00:49:35.239 --> 00:49:40.480
end how I began this. So all week I've been

773
00:49:40.840 --> 00:49:43.599
because March the first was the three hundred and thirty

774
00:49:43.599 --> 00:49:45.840
three year anniversary of the beginning of the Salem witch

775
00:49:45.880 --> 00:49:50.639
trials when the three women were interrogated. And I've been

776
00:49:50.719 --> 00:49:53.400
just kind of going back doing all these podcast episodes,

777
00:49:53.440 --> 00:49:55.400
doing it almost like in a story form, turning it

778
00:49:55.440 --> 00:49:59.199
into a story. Since I know the Salem story so well,

779
00:49:59.239 --> 00:50:03.559
I can taking down each individual part. Well, if you

780
00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:06.360
study Salem, as I said in the first hour, you

781
00:50:06.599 --> 00:50:09.400
are confronted with a man by the name of Cotton Mather,

782
00:50:09.719 --> 00:50:13.000
m A T. H e Er. You're confronted with this man. Well,

783
00:50:13.000 --> 00:50:15.440
if you listen to sermons on sermon audio, if you

784
00:50:15.480 --> 00:50:17.960
just look up sermons on Cotton Mather. They all defend

785
00:50:18.039 --> 00:50:24.000
him like he's the hero. And I even in one

786
00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:26.400
of the podcast episodes, I'm like hero of the faith

787
00:50:26.480 --> 00:50:28.719
or villain in a horrible story. I think Cotton Mather

788
00:50:28.840 --> 00:50:31.119
is a villain in a horrible story. And I think

789
00:50:31.159 --> 00:50:34.920
the facts demonstrated. And the one thing that occurred, as

790
00:50:34.960 --> 00:50:37.519
I stated in the first hour, is there was a

791
00:50:37.599 --> 00:50:41.079
pastor by the name of last name Burrows. He was

792
00:50:41.119 --> 00:50:44.199
a pastor in Salem. He had major problems with the congregation.

793
00:50:44.280 --> 00:50:46.280
I know, it's crazy. They get mad at him, some

794
00:50:46.360 --> 00:50:49.280
of them don't like him. He finally says, this place

795
00:50:49.360 --> 00:50:51.639
is trash. I mean, I'm not saying I'm paraphrasing, and

796
00:50:51.679 --> 00:50:54.880
he leaves. He goes to Maine. Now years later, he's

797
00:50:54.880 --> 00:51:02.280
in Maine hanging out come with us. He gets arrested,

798
00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:06.320
He gets taken back to Salem in chains. What did

799
00:51:06.360 --> 00:51:09.719
he do well? They accused him in Salem of being

800
00:51:09.719 --> 00:51:12.320
a witch, And how could they accuse him of being

801
00:51:12.320 --> 00:51:15.360
a witch because Cotton Mather supported this whacked out idea

802
00:51:15.400 --> 00:51:19.079
of spectral evidence, meaning that you, Bobby could be in

803
00:51:19.480 --> 00:51:23.000
you know, Kentucky, and then I could say, but Bobby's

804
00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:26.719
spirit came and tormented me and using it's called spectral evidence.

805
00:51:26.760 --> 00:51:29.960
And so now Bobby's accused of being a witch, and

806
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:33.679
even though he wasn't physically present, he's still guilty. So

807
00:51:33.719 --> 00:51:36.280
this pastor is brought back. They put him on the gallows,

808
00:51:36.280 --> 00:51:38.159
put a rope around his neck. They're gonna kill him,

809
00:51:38.679 --> 00:51:42.639
and he recites the Lord's prayer perfectly. Well, a witch

810
00:51:42.679 --> 00:51:44.199
is not supposed to be able to do that, according

811
00:51:44.239 --> 00:51:46.840
to the Puritans in Salem. Well, I mean, he's a pastor,

812
00:51:46.880 --> 00:51:51.480
he knows it. Everybody's like, maybe we should let the

813
00:51:51.519 --> 00:51:55.360
guy go. Cotton Mather there, the story goes. He's sitting

814
00:51:55.400 --> 00:51:58.320
on his horse and he's like, guys, guys, guys, this

815
00:51:58.400 --> 00:52:01.639
guy was found guilty. This is Satan appearing as an

816
00:52:01.679 --> 00:52:07.760
angel of light. Nick killing. That's not the hero in

817
00:52:07.800 --> 00:52:14.679
the story. That's messed up. And then in That's sixteen

818
00:52:14.760 --> 00:52:17.159
ninety two, sixteen ninety three is when the trials occur.

819
00:52:17.400 --> 00:52:22.639
Seventeen hundred, a book is written outlining Cotton Mather doing that.

820
00:52:23.079 --> 00:52:26.960
Cotton Mather never refutes it. He just wants the book burned,

821
00:52:28.159 --> 00:52:31.639
So they do book burnings in Boston, right, Cotton Mather

822
00:52:31.800 --> 00:52:37.840
never apologizes. And Putnam Junior, she's the woman who she

823
00:52:37.920 --> 00:52:43.079
accuses everybody. She accuses like over sixty three people. She goes,

824
00:52:43.239 --> 00:52:46.400
she well, not woman, she's like twelve thirteen. She accuses

825
00:52:46.440 --> 00:52:49.440
everyone in tel She's just she's accused, accused, accused, accused

826
00:52:49.440 --> 00:52:54.360
of you. She in seventeen, it was August, like nineteenth seventeen.

827
00:52:54.480 --> 00:52:57.800
I don't remember the year she apologizes. Now, her apology

828
00:52:57.840 --> 00:53:00.679
is weird because I think her apology is blaming her father.

829
00:53:00.719 --> 00:53:03.039
But that's a whole different story because that man. All right,

830
00:53:03.840 --> 00:53:06.639
the Putnam family went after everybody, okay, because and it

831
00:53:06.719 --> 00:53:08.360
was weird that they kind of go after people that

832
00:53:08.440 --> 00:53:11.199
her father had land disputes with and who wanted their land. Okay,

833
00:53:11.440 --> 00:53:13.880
kind of interesting, but all right, But all the good

834
00:53:13.920 --> 00:53:17.159
godly Puritans. But the point is when we look back

835
00:53:17.199 --> 00:53:20.519
at history, we can't even look back at history to

836
00:53:20.599 --> 00:53:26.639
pursue truth because oh, we like the Puritans. Puritans on

837
00:53:26.679 --> 00:53:30.960
our side. We got to defend the Puritans, right, Oh,

838
00:53:31.159 --> 00:53:33.239
we want the Bible to be about us, so we

839
00:53:33.280 --> 00:53:38.079
make passages about us. Are for some weird reason, the

840
00:53:38.239 --> 00:53:42.079
church locks the I'm gonna say again, we do not

841
00:53:42.199 --> 00:53:44.880
pursue the study of church history. We do not pursue

842
00:53:44.920 --> 00:53:47.239
the study of the text for the pursuit of truth.

843
00:53:47.639 --> 00:53:50.480
We study these things for the pursuit of our own

844
00:53:50.519 --> 00:53:54.159
agenda and our own motivations, and our own selfishness. We

845
00:53:54.199 --> 00:53:58.000
want everything to be about us, and that's not what

846
00:53:58.119 --> 00:54:02.559
we do. We study this. Isaiah forty one is the

847
00:54:02.599 --> 00:54:07.840
story of Judah and Babylonian captivity and God fulfilling the

848
00:54:08.000 --> 00:54:11.920
very covenant promise he made with Abraham, and he does

849
00:54:12.039 --> 00:54:20.079
that for Israel. That's what it's about. Any application to

850
00:54:20.239 --> 00:54:24.880
us falls into which way we have been saved by

851
00:54:24.920 --> 00:54:31.639
God by his sovereign grace, and we currently, metaphorically speaking,

852
00:54:31.880 --> 00:54:36.639
we live in our own Babylon, where there's pain, suffering.

853
00:54:36.800 --> 00:54:40.159
We are still in bondage, right because I can't be perfect,

854
00:54:40.199 --> 00:54:42.800
so therefore I'm still in bondage. But there will come

855
00:54:42.840 --> 00:54:46.320
a time that we will be delivered and we'll be

856
00:54:46.360 --> 00:54:48.199
in the new Heaven and a new Earth. We'll go

857
00:54:48.360 --> 00:54:52.199
into our promise land. There is the metaphor, if you

858
00:54:52.199 --> 00:54:55.159
want a metaphor, But the text is not about us,

859
00:54:55.239 --> 00:54:58.920
it's about them. I can see myself in it because

860
00:54:58.960 --> 00:55:02.360
I'm in captivity. I can say myself, because I live

861
00:55:02.400 --> 00:55:06.719
in a world surrounded by circumstances that can create fear, dismay,

862
00:55:06.960 --> 00:55:10.119
pain and suffering. But I cannot take from this that

863
00:55:10.199 --> 00:55:13.559
God's gonna intervene in my situation to make it better.

864
00:55:13.719 --> 00:55:17.199
And I can't promise other people that I can promise

865
00:55:17.239 --> 00:55:22.400
that it will ultimately be better in heaven and eternity.

866
00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:25.599
I cannot promise anything's gonna get better now. And the

867
00:55:25.639 --> 00:55:29.679
Salem's story is just It shows that our pursuit of

868
00:55:29.679 --> 00:55:32.960
that information is not one out of a desire for truth,

869
00:55:33.039 --> 00:55:36.199
because anyone pursuing the Salem story would be like, come on,

870
00:55:36.280 --> 00:55:39.519
the Puritans were out of their ever living mind here.

871
00:55:39.880 --> 00:55:43.679
Cotton Mather should have recanted and repented of what happened there,

872
00:55:43.880 --> 00:55:47.559
but he wrote books defending what happened there. He wrote

873
00:55:47.599 --> 00:55:51.719
the judges to keep going on. And the only reason

874
00:55:51.760 --> 00:55:54.920
that and guess what, the Salem witch Charles did not

875
00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:59.599
stop because of good Christians. They stopped because the governor

876
00:56:00.079 --> 00:56:02.880
in Boston his wife gets accused of being a witch.

877
00:56:02.920 --> 00:56:10.599
And he's like, and this ends today. Not because someone

878
00:56:10.719 --> 00:56:15.360
was like, oh, as Christians, we only care about God. No,

879
00:56:15.519 --> 00:56:19.840
it was a politician going wait, you're gonna accuse my wife.

880
00:56:20.320 --> 00:56:26.559
These trials are over nothing. The Christians, the Puritans did

881
00:56:26.559 --> 00:56:38.360
not fix the problem twenty crazy right now that I'm

882
00:56:38.360 --> 00:56:40.440
just using the Salem witch trials, did you? And a

883
00:56:40.519 --> 00:56:44.920
roundabout way? That's serious. Getting Isaiah forty one is not

884
00:56:45.039 --> 00:56:48.599
near as serious as twenty people dying, But it's just

885
00:56:48.679 --> 00:56:55.039
as serious because we give people fraudulent hope, fake hope.

886
00:56:55.360 --> 00:56:59.159
Whether the information is wrong and it kills people, or

887
00:56:59.159 --> 00:57:02.599
whether the information is wrong and gives people false hope,

888
00:57:02.679 --> 00:57:07.519
it's still damaging and destructive and dangerous. And the thing is,

889
00:57:07.599 --> 00:57:10.559
it doesn't matter what we pursue. We should pursue truth.

890
00:57:10.719 --> 00:57:16.679
And sometimes truth is what not comforting. Sometimes it's not

891
00:57:16.719 --> 00:57:22.199
even about us. Sometimes it's ugly. Sometimes we don't like it.

892
00:57:23.920 --> 00:57:27.760
The study of Salem is not pleasant. It's ugly. It

893
00:57:27.760 --> 00:57:33.320
should make all Christians ashamed that there's Christian nationalism at work.

894
00:57:33.599 --> 00:57:35.440
What do I always say when the church and state

895
00:57:35.480 --> 00:57:39.480
come together, it's always the case. It's always the case.

896
00:57:39.559 --> 00:57:42.639
So that I just want you to see when we

897
00:57:42.880 --> 00:57:44.800
in our study of Isaiah forty one, I just want

898
00:57:44.840 --> 00:57:47.360
us to ask ourselves this question. I'll end when you

899
00:57:47.480 --> 00:57:52.119
pursue anything when you pursue whatever the issue is, whether

900
00:57:52.199 --> 00:57:58.039
it's cultural, political, philological, historical, you should care about truth

901
00:57:58.280 --> 00:58:08.079
above what to political party, loyalty to nation, loyalty to

902
00:58:08.880 --> 00:58:15.000
philological team, loyalty to anything. You should care about true

903
00:58:15.039 --> 00:58:17.599
When we study Isaiah forty one, we should care about

904
00:58:17.639 --> 00:58:20.760
truth and what should guide us and our study of

905
00:58:20.800 --> 00:58:28.880
Isaiah forty one basic reading comprehension, because basic reading comprehension,

906
00:58:29.679 --> 00:58:33.440
and if anyone online disagrees, they can contact Sarah. A

907
00:58:33.480 --> 00:58:36.280
third grader should be able to figure out how to

908
00:58:36.320 --> 00:58:40.440
read Isaiah forty one and at least establish what who

909
00:58:40.519 --> 00:58:44.000
it's about. They may not understand all of the complexities

910
00:58:44.000 --> 00:58:46.639
of Isaiah forty one, but they should be able to

911
00:58:46.639 --> 00:58:51.920
figure that out right and not only Isaiah forty one.

912
00:58:54.440 --> 00:59:00.000
Did the same thing happen in forty comfort ye, comfort, ye,

913
00:59:00.119 --> 00:59:06.239
my people speak comfortably to Jerusalem in verse two. Everybody

914
00:59:06.280 --> 00:59:12.800
see that? Right? And then where else? Oh Zion? Verse nine,

915
00:59:13.719 --> 00:59:19.039
Oh Jerusalem, everybody see that? Say unto the cities of Judah?

916
00:59:19.159 --> 00:59:23.000
And verse nine how many different times does this need

917
00:59:23.079 --> 00:59:29.519
to occur? Right? Then we get to forty one. Oh

918
00:59:29.559 --> 00:59:34.880
wait forty verse twenty seven, say us now, oh Jacob

919
00:59:35.119 --> 00:59:41.159
speak us, Oh Israel. Then we start in forty one,

920
00:59:41.360 --> 00:59:45.000
and before long we're right there verse eight Israel. I

921
00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:47.840
mean over and over. It's almost as if God was

922
00:59:47.960 --> 00:59:52.199
concerned that people may not understand who it was about.

923
00:59:54.000 --> 00:59:57.280
So I'm just I've grown tired. Look, I get tired

924
00:59:57.320 --> 01:00:00.400
of dealing with sermons on Isaiah forty to fifty. I

925
01:00:00.440 --> 01:00:03.760
really I'm grown tired. I'm getting very tired this week

926
01:00:03.920 --> 01:00:05.920
of listening to people tell me Cotton Mather was the

927
01:00:05.920 --> 01:00:08.440
greatest guy in the history of mankind. Right, I'm like,

928
01:00:08.599 --> 01:00:12.000
what is happening? What is good? Look, I've been to Salem.

929
01:00:12.039 --> 01:00:14.480
I'll be going back to Salem. I'll hopefully keep going

930
01:00:14.519 --> 01:00:17.360
to Salem for the rest of my life. But I'm

931
01:00:17.360 --> 01:00:20.119
gonna know everything about that place that I can possibly know.

932
01:00:20.559 --> 01:00:23.559
I just like, how can I study Salem? I can

933
01:00:23.599 --> 01:00:26.000
go to Salem, come back and listen to sermons and

934
01:00:26.039 --> 01:00:29.880
go Wait. So the Puritans were the good guys in

935
01:00:29.920 --> 01:00:36.239
the story. The good guys were the ones who killed

936
01:00:36.239 --> 01:00:39.440
the innocent people. Even though one of the girls who

937
01:00:39.480 --> 01:00:42.440
accused was willing to say some of the judges were

938
01:00:42.480 --> 01:00:49.519
willing to say, we got this wrong. The Puritans no now,

939
01:00:49.679 --> 01:00:51.679
obviously there would have been some Puritans have but I'm

940
01:00:51.679 --> 01:00:55.039
just saying, like Cotton Mather, the leader of the Puritans,

941
01:00:55.079 --> 01:00:59.119
are one of the he didn't like. That's just that's insane. Well,

942
01:00:59.280 --> 01:01:03.119
just demonstrate that what we have to constantly look at

943
01:01:03.119 --> 01:01:06.920
ourselves because we are motivated by what everything other. And

944
01:01:07.400 --> 01:01:10.320
I think sometimes our motives may appear to be good.

945
01:01:10.760 --> 01:01:13.800
Look when a pastor stands before everyone on a Sunday

946
01:01:14.199 --> 01:01:17.679
opens up Isaiah forty one, trying to give people encouragement,

947
01:01:18.079 --> 01:01:21.280
trying to give people hope because of their difficulty. On

948
01:01:21.280 --> 01:01:23.360
one end, you can see that the motive comes from

949
01:01:23.400 --> 01:01:25.360
a good place. I'm not going to be mean, right,

950
01:01:26.199 --> 01:01:32.519
but it's still messed up. It's still wrong, right. I

951
01:01:32.559 --> 01:01:36.320
can understand wanting to encourage someone, but you know, Bobby

952
01:01:36.400 --> 01:01:39.079
or someone calls like, I'm going through a difficult time. Well, hey,

953
01:01:39.079 --> 01:01:41.360
open up your Bible. Let's look at Isaiah forty one.

954
01:01:41.559 --> 01:01:45.679
Fear not be not dismayed. I'm trying to encourage you.

955
01:01:45.800 --> 01:01:47.840
The only problem is I'm giving you a promise that

956
01:01:47.880 --> 01:01:51.000
has nothing to do with you. So in some ways

957
01:01:51.079 --> 01:01:54.559
I see the evil of it. But on the other hand,

958
01:01:54.599 --> 01:01:58.480
I can see the desire too, right, I can see

959
01:01:58.559 --> 01:02:01.559
and I know that in any situation, there's always that

960
01:02:01.679 --> 01:02:05.679
desire to want to you want to help sometimes, but

961
01:02:05.719 --> 01:02:09.039
it just shows even our good motives, we can do

962
01:02:09.119 --> 01:02:13.079
something from a good motive and it's still be wrong. Right.

963
01:02:13.159 --> 01:02:15.840
Sometimes we can do something wrong, but our motives we're right.

964
01:02:16.119 --> 01:02:20.679
And that's ain't that confusing. Sometimes can have good motives

965
01:02:20.679 --> 01:02:22.320
but do the wrong things. Sometimes we can do the

966
01:02:22.320 --> 01:02:25.360
wrong things but have good Sometimes we can do good

967
01:02:25.360 --> 01:02:27.840
things and our motives are bad. It's like, because we

968
01:02:27.880 --> 01:02:31.840
are what sinful people, we just have to perceive. Whenever

969
01:02:31.920 --> 01:02:35.000
we're looking at something, why are we doing it? And so?

970
01:02:35.039 --> 01:02:38.440
What do we want? When we open the Bibles? Truth?

971
01:02:39.159 --> 01:02:43.119
We want truth? Do we want a sermon? No, we

972
01:02:43.159 --> 01:02:49.119
want truth? Do we want a Bible study? We want truth? Right?

973
01:02:49.559 --> 01:02:56.039
Do we want comfort? But we want truth? Right? We

974
01:02:56.119 --> 01:02:58.599
never want comfort at the expense of truth. We never

975
01:02:58.639 --> 01:03:01.840
want certainty at the expence of truth. We want truth

976
01:03:01.880 --> 01:03:05.599
at the expense of everything else. All right, there we go.

977
01:03:06.199 --> 01:03:08.519
All right, let's pray, Lord God, we come before you

978
01:03:08.920 --> 01:03:13.440
this afternoon. Lord, forgive us for our wrong motives, forgive

979
01:03:13.519 --> 01:03:18.079
us for our wrong actions, Forgive us for our wrong thoughts. Lord,

980
01:03:18.159 --> 01:03:22.559
let us hopefully continue to try to understand this section

981
01:03:22.679 --> 01:03:25.840
of your word and what you are doing and saying

982
01:03:26.320 --> 01:03:29.320
to the people that it was meant for, and how

983
01:03:29.360 --> 01:03:31.960
we can apply it to ourselves. Let us do that correctly,

984
01:03:33.559 --> 01:03:37.039
with great humility and with great concern for being accurate.

985
01:03:37.039 --> 01:03:38.800
And we asked this in Jesus name, and God's people

986
01:03:38.800 --> 01:03:39.039
said