(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Alright, we're there in Isaiah 9, and I was going to preach a bit of a Christmas thing sermon for you today, but then I had a look at Isaiah 9, it's really Christmas things. It says in Isaiah 9, 6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Of course, that's the great prophecy of Jesus Christ who would come into this world. And when it comes to thinking of Christmas, even though I don't believe Christ was born on December 25th, doesn't really matter, it's great that we have a day of the year that people stop and just think about, Hey, you know, what is this day about? What is the importance? Why do people stop and celebrate? Again, just a reminder that God would send his son to be the savior of this world. So let's start there in verse number 1, it begins by saying, Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation. The fact that verse number 1 begins with nevertheless, you know, let's just, obviously it's not a new thought, it's continuing the same thought that we ended in chapter 8. So just a quick reminder, come back with me to the previous chapter, Isaiah chapter 8, let's look at verse number 19. Just a quick reminder of the people of the land. It says here in Isaiah 819, So you can see here the people of the land, instead of seeking the God of the Bible, they started to seek the occult, they started to seek familiar spirits for their direction in life. And it continues in verse number 20, it says, So God is saying, look, there is a spiritual darkness upon the people of the land, and there is no light in them. That's why when you get to Isaiah 9, it says that there is a dimness, there is a darkness. Let's continue, it says in verse 21, And so because they're not going to the Lord God, because they're going to false religion, there is a spiritual darkness, hey, they look to the heavens, they don't get the answers they're looking for, they look to the earth, everything seems dark, and that's the spiritual condition that we see of the people of the land when we concluded chapter 8. So when we begin chapter 9, So God is saying, look, there is going to be a solution, there is going to be a hope for the people that are in darkness. It says, Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, meaning that it's not going to be as dark, there's going to be a light that's coming that's going to help them see with clarity. And what is that light? Well, let's continue, it says, When at first he lightly affected the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations. Now let me just stop there for a moment. When we're talking about the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, that's talking about once again the northern kingdom of Israel. Those are part of the ten tribes there. And when he mentions these two tribes in particular, I want you to just keep that in mind, keep that in remembrance, those two names. Zebulun, Naphtali, and then it also mentions that it afflict her by the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations. I want you to remember that, Galilee of the nations. Because at the time of Isaiah preaching this, the northern kingdom, when you would go to Galilee, that would just be northern Israel. It wasn't the Galilee of the nations, it was Galilee of northern Israel. So the fact that Isaiah is now speaking of Galilee in a different tone, in a different sense, a different political power, now Galilee is the Galilee of the nations, what is he referring to? He's obviously not referring to present time because again it's under Israel. He's speaking of future events, he's prophesying of the future. In what sense in verse number two it says, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. So they were in spiritual darkness, but they see this great light instead. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. So again the people of the northern kingdom, spiritually dark, the shadow of death, they're dying without the Lord God, they're dying in their sins, they're going to hell. The prophecy of Isaiah is there's going to be a great light on this land, there's going to be a great light here in the Galilee of the nations. Now when was that fulfilled? It was fulfilled at the coming of Christ, when Christ began his ministry. So keep your finger there and come with me to Matthew chapter four, come with me to Matthew chapter four verse number twelve, Matthew chapter four and verse number twelve. Matthew chapter four verse number twelve. So we're here near the beginning of Christ's ministry. It says, now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the east coast in the, look at this, look at this, in the borders of Zebulon and Nephthalem. Oh that's interesting, that was mentioned in Isaiah chapter nine, okay. Verse number fourteen, why did he do that? That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying, okay so I don't have to tell you, hey this is the fulfillment, the Bible itself is telling you this is the fulfillment of Isaiah, okay. Saying, verse number fifteen, the land of Zebulon and the land of Nephthalem, by the way of the sea beyond Jordan, look at this, Galilee of the Gentiles. We saw that Galilee of the nations was mentioned in Isaiah, well the word Gentiles just means nations. You know specifically the other nations besides Israel. Now again when Isaiah preached it, Galilee belonged to Israel. It wasn't the Galilee of the nations, okay. So now, okay when Christ walked this earth, you know of course the northern kingdom has been taken over by the Assyrians, it no longer exists, northern kingdom when Christ walked the earth no longer exists, those tribes were dispersed and intermingled, they no longer exist. And so Galilee has become the Galilee of the Gentiles, or the Galilee of the nations. And what I love about that is that this is where Christ spent most of his time on the earth, those three years of his ministry, he spent most of his time in Galilee, okay. And again the reason I love that so much is because people keep saying stupid things, like Christ came for the Jews, and of course he did, he came for all, but most of his ministry was in the Galilee of the nations, the Galilee of the Gentiles. Christ came preaching to the Jews and the Gentiles. Christ came offering salvation to the Jews and the Gentiles, okay. Yes, there's a specific time when Christ told his disciples when they were in Judea, you know to go to the lost tribe of Israel, okay, yes because that was their target market. You know that's like us going into, if we went to the Philippines, there's a missions conference coming up, and I'm like hey, we're going to the Filipinos. He's like well that's obvious, of course we're going to the Filipinos, but once we're done with the missions trip in the Philippines, are we not going to come and preach the gospel to Australians also? Okay and so Christ obviously had an agenda at certain times to preach to certain groups, but most of his ministry was spent in the nations, the Galilee of the Gentiles or the Galilee of the nations. And if we continue there in verse number 16, look at verse number 16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. So what is that light? It's Jesus, you know. And so as Isaiah is preaching this to the northern kingdom of Israel, hey you guys are in spiritual darkness, and that is a reality of their time frame, you know, but this would not be fulfilled until Christ would come to this earth, and he would walk on that land, right, showing people the light. And what is that light in particular? Let's keep going there. It says in verse number 17, So as Christ comes preaching the kingdom, he then gets helpers. Hey, come and I will make you fishers of men. Brethren, what is the great light that was seen on the land? The gospel message. Christ's salvation. Winning souls, being a fisher for Jesus Christ. That's what it means to be a light for Christ. Being a light isn't living a righteous godly life, and while that's a good thing to attain for, that is not you shining the light. You shining the light of Jesus Christ is preaching the gospel. Preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Tell them how people can be saved. That's what it means to shine the light of Christ into a lost and dying world. So let's go back to Isaiah 9, verse number 3. Now this is really interesting how it's worded. I want you to understand, like, Isaiah is challenging, I mean many of the prophets, the prophets are challenging because there is a truth, there is a reality of the people of that day, of that age, right? But there's also a reality of the prophecy of Jesus Christ. And you kind of have to sometimes see, hey, are you speaking about the here and now? Are you speaking about future events? Or are you kind of speaking of both at the same time? And that's sometimes the harder part as you read through, you know, the prophets, the Old Testament prophets. But in verse number 3 it says something interesting. Thou hast multiplied the nation. So Israel, or Judea, or you want some southern kingdom at the time when Christ walked the earth, or, you know, it's sort of difficult to grasp. I'll read it to you in a minute, but it seems like the nation is growing as far as the, you might say the northern kingdom at this point. But then it says, and not increased the joy. So a nation can grow, but not grow in joy, okay? Now, let's keep going there. It says, but even though it says that, it says, they joy before thee, according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. So it's quite interesting, like verse number 3, I had to read it many times. So God's not increasing the joy of a growing nation, but people are rejoicing, people do have joy. It says, according to the joy in harvest. I want you to keep remembering those words, okay? What is this joy in harvest about? Verse number 4. For there has broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. Okay? So people are rejoicing because the yoke's been broken off, the oppressors have been dealt with, as in the day of Midian. Now, keep your finger there, come with me to Judges chapter 7. Come with me to Judges chapter 7. Let's deal with the day of Midian to begin with. So, the day of Midian refers to one of the victories of Gideon, okay? In Judges chapter 7, verse number 15, Judges chapter 7, verse number 15, we'll deal with the joy in the harvest and all that in a minute, okay? But I just want to give you some of the context here and then I'll help you try to understand what God is speaking here. But in Judges chapter 7, verse number 15, it says that it was so when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and the interpretation thereof that he worshipped and returned into the host of Israel and said, Arise, for the Lord has delivered into your hand the host of Midian. Okay, so this is going to be the defeat of the Midianites. Verse number 16. How did they defeat the Midianites? And divided the 300 men into three companies and he put a trumpet in every man's hand with empty pitchers and lamps within the pitchers. So, he's got a 300 man strong army, okay? But every man receives a trumpet. Okay, verse number 17. And he said unto them, Look on me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and say, The sword of the Lord and of Midian. So, Gideon and the 300 that were with him came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch. And they had but newly set the watch and they blew the trumpets and break the pitchers that were in their hands and the three companies blew the trumpets and break the pitchers and held the lamps in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal and they cried, The sword of the Lord and of Gideon. So, a 300 strong army. Not the greatest army on the earth, but they all had trumpets, they all had these pictures and lamps. That's what I was thinking about, right? And so this is during the nights, okay? All of a sudden, like you think of the Midianites, okay? They're in this camp and all of a sudden, they wake up to this sound of 300 trumpets blowing, all these lamps, this fire, they're surrounded, it looks like this great army, okay? Everyone shouts together, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon just sounds like, man, we've been ambushed, we've been overrun by the enemies. What happens in verse number 21? And they stood, every man in his place ran about the camp and all the hosts ran and cried and fled and the 300 blew the trumpets and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the hosts, and the hosts fled to Bevshittah in Zerirath and to the border of Abel-melohath unto Tabath, okay? So what happens? They all start to panic. The Midianites start to panic, right? We're overrun, we're defeated. And as they panic in their haste, they even take their swords and start to fight against each other, okay? What I love about that is you see the victory of the Lord. And Gideon and his army didn't even have to fight. They didn't have to fight. They didn't have to go to battle. They didn't have to pull out the sword. They didn't have to go and slay the wicked. All they had to do was blow the trumpets, okay? And the Bible tells us there was a rejoicing at that time, okay? Because God gave them victory. Now, brethren, if we know that the light and the darkness is Jesus Christ, look, the truth is when we go and preach the gospel, we are, as it were, blowing a spiritual trumpet. You know, we're trying to wake people up. Hey, you're in darkness. Wake up. It's not our work. Yes, we go and we labor, as it were, preaching the gospel, but what we're telling them to do is to put their faith and trust on the finished work of Jesus Christ, okay? And when we talk about the joy of the harvest, I hope you understand where we're coming from now, because how many times did Jesus Christ, as he was walking this earth in his ministry, did he say about the lost souls being a harvest, the need for laborers, laborers into the field, you know, the harvest being plenteous. And, brethren, when we see a soul saved, is there not joy? I mean, I don't know of a greater joy that there can be for a soul winner when they see a soul saved. I don't know about you guys, but I rejoice. You know, I want to be careful what I want to say here, but, you know, I've had the blessing of 12 kids, and every time a baby's been born, I've had such great rejoicing, okay? Like great rejoicing in my heart and just the joy, you know, the baby's out born and mom's can rest now, okay, all that hard work and all that labor, it's very overwhelming for me. When I see something so similar, when someone understands salvation, when the light has been shone before them and they can come out of the darkness and they receive the light of Christ in faith alone, boy, there's a rejoicing in my heart when I see someone call upon the name of the Lord, and I just wonder, Lord, why do you use me? You know, I'm a sinner, I'm nothing really, but, Lord, you allowed me to be able to use your word, to preach your word, to tell someone about Jesus, when they call upon the name of the Lord, how beautiful. Isn't that great joy? And so, think of Australia, think of Australia as a nation. We are growing in population, okay, but there isn't a joy in this world, but there is a joy when it comes to harvesting, you know, lost souls, bringing people into the light of Jesus Christ, and he reminds us of great victories of war where soldiers don't even have to go to battle, Christ did all the work, and people simply have to put their trust on what Christ has done. So as we continue in Isaiah chapter 9, verse number 5, it just confirms that the story of the Midianites is what happened with Gideon, because it says in verse number 5, For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. And you need to understand there's like this double meaning here, because as the northern kingdom is going to be destroyed by the Assyrians, of course there's going to be a confused sound in Israel, of course there's going to be garments in blood because they're being killed, right, so they're clothing is blood, and that clothing is going to be just burnt in the fire, and of course when Gideon and his army blew the trumpets, there was a confused sound, right, and brethren, when we go and we blow the trumpet of God's word, what we're trying to do is not confuse in that sense, but we're warning people of their damnation, we're warning them that they are sinners before God, and they need to come out of their darkness. They need to come out of that and come to the light of Jesus Christ. And so we have these sort of multiple thoughts laid on one upon another as we go through Isaiah chapter 9. Now, if you can go to Galatians chapter 4, please, go to Galatians chapter 4, because in verse number 3, not only did it mention the joy and the harvest, but it mentioned, oh, verse number 4 mentioned, For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the stuff of his shoulder, and the rod of the oppressor, as in the day of Midian. And so, again, like, this idea, well, does that apply to the northern kingdom of Israel? Well, not really, because they never really came back. They were taken into captivity, like I said, they were, other groups were brought into the land, there was an intermingling, certain people from the northern kingdom never returned, like the ten tribes never recovered. So, again, if you were to take this simply at face value for that time, it doesn't make sense. But, again, we're talking about the fact that people are being delivered by the oppressor, and the rejoicing as in the day of Midian, and what I wanted to show you here in Galatians chapter 4, Galatians chapter 4, verse number 3, just a reminder, again, we're talking about salvation, we're talking about the light of Jesus Christ, and this is in Galatians 4, 3, So, even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. And so before you were saved, the Bible says you were in bondage. You were like captured by the world, you're captured in that darkness. And then verse number 4, But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because of your sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying, Abba, Father, whereof there are no more servants but a son, and if a son than an heir of God through Christ. And so the great teaching there is, brethren, that the moment you got saved, you were delivered by Christ from the oppressor, you were delivered from bondage, you were delivered from being under the law, trying to be righteous, being right with God before the law, which all of us have failed, none of us are sinless. And so when Christ came, he gave us liberty, he's given us freedom, and he's delivered us from the curse and the bondage of the law. And so when we read Isaiah 9, and I say, hold on, that can't be the Northern Kingdom, because they never recovered. But again, in the context, putting it all together, understanding the prophecy of Christ, that makes sense that those that were in darkness is brought into the light, and they've been taken from bondage into liberty. Okay? Back to Isaiah 9, verse number 6. Isaiah 9, verse number 6. And of course we have the famous passages, so this is the, of course the detail, this is the reality of how the light will come into this world. Verse number 6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. So the government was not on the shoulder of Christ when he came into this world the first time, okay? But the prophecy is the government shall be upon his shoulder. This is a reality, this is going to happen. And so when we talk about the coming of Christ, you know, we talk about our resurrected bodies and all that, don't forget Christ is going to be ruling for a thousand years on this earth. All the government, the entire world power will be upon his shoulder, okay? And I love these words, And his name shall be called Wonderful. Is Jesus wonderful to you? Oh man, if you're saved, he ought to be wonderful. Full of wonder. It's like, why would you give your life for me? How could you love me so much to take my sin and take my punishment, take the wrath of God in my place? Isn't that wonderful? I mean, I'm not going to die for your sins, guys. I didn't expect you to die for my sins. But someone so wonderful, my God, the creator of all things, holy, beautiful, perfect, was willing to sacrifice himself. How wonderful is that? I'm not just a wonderful counsellor, you know, being able to go to Christ at any moment in time when you need help. Any time you're going through difficulty, trouble, you can go to God and say, God, give me counsel. Hey, before you come and ask me for counsel, I'm just a man. I will do my best to just point you to the words of God, okay? But look, any time you have any difficulties in life, whatever it is, please go to God first. Go to Christ. He's the counsellor. Like, if you have a, okay, my pastor can give me counsel, but so can Jesus. Who do I go to? That's no question. Go to Jesus, okay? And if the Lord leads you, hey, go talk to your pastor as well. I'll help you. But, of course, our goal is to hear for what Christ has to say in your situation. It says the mighty God, the mighty God. So we're, of course, confirming the deity of Jesus Christ, the mighty God and the everlasting Father. And, of course, you know, I don't want to go into oneness and all that kind of thing right now, but if you want to understand what it means by the everlasting Father in this reference, go to another chapter in Isaiah, in your own time, Isaiah 22, and just do a study for yourself. And then we're going to look at how the word Father is mentioned, why it's given to Christ. And, again, it's speaking about the government of David being upon his shoulder. And when Christ rules in the millennium, he's going to be referred to as a father, okay? But, of course, Jesus Christ is not God the Father. He is the Son. But he's going to have the title of Father when he rules in the millennium. It's a title of authority is what it is. And even in Isaiah 22, it says that the Father, referring to Jesus, has a Father because he's on the throne of his Father. And so it's very clear that Jesus Christ is not God the Father, okay? But, anyway, that's a side thing. I've preached on that before. I don't want to go into all that right now. And then it says, and the Prince of Peace, the Prince of Peace. Now, when Christ did come into this world, he did say that he's not coming to bring peace to this world, okay? Yeah, he came to bring a sword, okay, and not peace. And you need to understand, okay, how do we make sense of all this? Of course, Christ did not come to create peace on the earth as far as nations being at peace with other nations. You know, people being at peace with other people. Like, Jesus did not come to this earth to find, okay, which nations are in conflict with which nations? I'll come and let's make a peace treaty. Let's sign a contract here, you know, and try to make peace in this world. No, no, no. When he came to make peace, he came to make peace between God and man, okay? Through him. We can have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. And so, yes, he is the Prince of Peace. And of course, when Christ comes in his second coming, there's going to be peace on the earth for that thousand-year period as well. Verse number seven. Now, so verse number six is primarily about his first coming. Verse number seven is about his second coming. And, you know, they're so closely linked. And this is where many times when you read through the New Testament, there are certain believers that just kept getting confused about Jesus Christ. Like, even when Christ is about to leave the earth, right? He's about to ascend into heaven. They're like, are you going to set up the kingdom now? Like, when's the kingdom going to begin? Well, not for at least 2,000 years because it's not happened yet, okay? But because when they read the Old Testament scriptures, they're just so closely connected. And what I want to remind you of, brethren, is that when you want to understand the Old Testament, you need to understand it in light of the New Testament. When you want to understand end times prophecies, you must understand it in light of the book of Revelation, the chronology of Revelation. There are a lot of things in the Old Testament that are kind of connected. They're not clearly separated. And you're going to have a hard time sometimes separating it. Believers in the time of Christ had a hard time separating it. But again, because we have the wonderful completion of the kingdom of scripture, it helps us to understand in light of what the New Testament truths are, we can better understand the Old Testament. So when we read verse number 7, we know this is speaking of his second coming, when he establishes his millennial kingdom. It says in verse number 7, So we see when Christ is ruling on his kingdom, this isn't a brand new kingdom from the earth. It's the same kingdom that was given to David. It's the throne of David. He's continuing that line. And you can see here that that throne is one that is forever. So even though Christ rules for a thousand years, when that thousand years is over, he gives the kingdom to the Father, and the Father creates a new heaven and a new earth, and his kingdom continues for all eternity. Christ will rule forever, but he's sitting on the throne of David as he's on the earth. Now, we're going through Isaiah chapter 9. What's the ninth book of the Bible? Samuel 1. 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel. Now, 1 Samuel is very famous for one particular reason. And the reason for that is because it is the book where David is given the kingdom. Where David is anointed by Samuel the prophet, and he's given the kingdom, and so that would make perfect sense for Isaiah 9 to speak of the throne of David, for Christ to rule upon this throne forever. If you can keep your finger there, come with me to 1 Samuel chapter 13. Come with me to 1 Samuel 13, please. 1 Samuel 13 and verse number 13. 1 Samuel 13, 13. 1 Samuel 13 is when Saul made a mistake. He offered a sacrifice, and as a king, he was not meant to do that. That was meant to be done by the priests. And so at this point, God is through with Saul. God says to Samuel, look, we're taking his kingdom away. He's been so wicked. He's turned his back on us, on me, you know, and we're going to remove the kingdom from Saul. And so Samuel tells Saul that this is what God has said in 1 Samuel 13, 13. And it says there, and Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly, thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. He says, God would have established your kingdom forever, Saul. You know, this is a promise that could have come upon you, but that's been taken away. Verse number 14. But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. And so of course, this is where God then promises that David, a man after his own heart, will have the kingdom, and that kingdom will be established forever. It was meant to be established forever with Saul, but because of his foolishness, it's been given to David. And that's why when we get to Isaiah 9, it's a reminder that the throne that Jesus will sit upon is the throne of David. It's a kingdom that will be forever. And I love how David was known as a man after God's own heart. Well, Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ has the heart of God. Like again, it's almost this fulfillment of who David would picture would come in the form of Jesus Christ. Back to Isaiah 9, verse number 8. Isaiah 9, verse 8. Now we're going back to present time, as far as Isaiah is present time. The Lord sent a word into Jacob. That's Israel, the northern kingdom. And it hath lighted upon Israel. So even there's a light to come, which is Jesus. There is a word being sent to Israel. There is a light being shone in Israel. And that word, of course, is the word of Isaiah right now. Like, Isaiah is primarily a prophet for the southern kingdom, but there are times when he is preaching to the northern kingdom as well. And this is one such time. And again, what I like about this, and you'll see this as we keep going, as wicked as Israel has been, and as much as the light of Jesus Christ is coming in the future, God still gives them a chance. Like, God is still stretching out His hand to this dark place, this spiritually dark place. He still uses a man like Isaiah to shine the light. And that gives me a lot of encouragement because this word is getting wicked. Like, there is such a spiritual darkness in Australia. Like, in the latest census, the number one religion in Australia is what? What's the number one religion? Atheism. Think of the darkness. And when it comes to Christianity, what's the number one Christian Catholicism, what light is there in Catholicism? Absolutely nothing. I mean, we live in a dark world. And sometimes we think, God, just destroy this place. Like, just wipe it out. And, you know, just come and we'll just wait for Christ to come and fix all things. But even when we think God's over, like, that's it, I'm done with you. He still allows a preacher to preach the light, to send the word. And brethren, as long as God is not destroying Australia, your job is to be the light of the world. Like, your job is still to go out there, preach to God. People are still getting saved, aren't they? Because of blessing the Baptist Church, people are still getting saved. So should we just give up on Australia? Should we just give up on Sydney? No, don't give up, okay? I know there's going to be a great light to come when Christ returns, but even now, God wants a light to be in this nation. You know, a light to be in this city. And you're part of that. It ought to be you, right? And let's keep going to verse number nine. So what is being said here? Isaiah, I still want you to be a light, I still want you to preach, but when you preach to the people, there's going to be the pride, right? That say in the pride and the sadness of heart. So brethren, as you go and you preach the gospel, of course not every single person you speak to is getting saved. And the reason people aren't getting saved is because of pride. I don't need to know. I'm a good person. I'll be accepted by God. It's pride is what it is. Now, as I was preaching the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, this is how they respond in pride. Verse number 10, the bricks have fallen down. So they're like, okay, well, our houses are going to fall down. You know, our brick houses are going to fall down. Yes, but we will build with huge stones. We'll build with better quality material. If God wants to judge us, we're going to build even better. Like, we're going to overcome his judgment. The sycamores are cut down so all the trees get destroyed. Well, it says there, but we will change them into cedars. We'll plant cedar trees instead. We'll plant trees that are of a stronger quality, that will stand up against the wrath of God. Like, oh, man. Like, if God destroys your house and destroys all the trees, shouldn't you be on your knees going, God, forgive us. Be merciful to us. But in their pride, oh, we'll just build stronger. If God just wants to wipe us out, we'll just build better houses. We'll just plant stronger trees. And, of course, you all know this proverb. Proverbs 16, 18, pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It's strange, like, God's given them the light, given them the word, and they're like, ah, I don't care. Ah, man, so horrible. Verse number 11. Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together. Rezin, remember, was the king of Syria. The Syrians before were the Philistines behind, and they shall devour Israel with open mouth, for all that his anger is not turned away. I'll finish that last sentence in a minute. So God is telling them, again, they're going to be destroyed by the Assyrians. Not just Israel, but also Syria. Not just Syria, but also the Philistines. All of these nations are going to be overrun by the coming kingdom of Syria. It says for all that his anger is not turned away, meaning that his anger is driving the Assyrian empire to take over and conquer these lands. And you go, man, there's going to be great bloodshed, there's going to be destruction. But look at that last phrase. But his hand is stretched out still. Like even in the midst of the Assyrians destroying the northern kingdom, taking them captive, God says, I'm still stretching my hand out if anyone wants to be saved. Like if anyone wants to come to the light, God is still stretching out his hand. So even in that sense, boy, why should we withhold our hand from a lost and dying world? Like there's never a time. Until you're in heaven with Jesus Christ, that's when you're done. That's when your labor is over. But there's never a time to stop laboring for God, because even as he's destroying a kingdom, a nation, God just says, I'm stretching out my hand. Still. I'm still giving you an opportunity. The Bible says in Psalm 103 verse 8, The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Plenteous in mercy. Even when you think, well, surely God, your mercy has run out. He says, my hand is stretched out still. So even as that northern kingdom has been wiped out, there might be individuals on that land that do say, you know what, I don't want to be destroyed. I don't want to be in darkness. Maybe we should have listened to Isaiah. Maybe we should go back to the gods of our fathers. And for those people that were seeking God, of course God will make sure that they will be saved. They will be taken care of in the time of captivity. Verse number 13. I actually wanted to call this sermon originally, but his hand is stretched out still. Because it comes up three times. But then we have that beautiful prophecy of Christ. To us, the Son is given, so I named it that. But I'll keep showing you, the fact that it's mentioned three times shows you the mercy of God. Verse number 13. For the people turneth not unto him that smiteeth them. So who's smiting the people? God. For the people turneth not unto him that smiteeth them. So God is smiting, but at the same time, he wants them to turn. At the same time, he wants them to call upon him and be saved. Neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel, head and tail, branch and rush in one day. God then describes what the head and the tail of the nation of Israel is. He says, the ancient and honorable, he is the head. So the ancient and honorable is a reference here to the politicians, to the governing bodies, the leaders of the land. That is the head. They're the ones that, you know, have, I guess, turned against the Lord. Obviously the kings of the nations have turned, of Israel has turned against God. And then it says this, and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. I mean, the tail is at the bottom, right? That's how, that's what God thinks of lying prophets. That's what you smell like, okay? You're like, you're like the tail. You know, you're foul stench, as you were, to me. Man, when I read those things, again, I mentioned this last week, and I don't know if you're sick of me saying this, but man, I've got a fear of God when I preach God's word. I don't want to be the tail. Pastor Kevin, the tail. I don't want to lie to you. I just want to tell you, this is what God says, right? Let's just stand on his word. Someone said to me the other day, oh man, I like how you preach, you know, you've got a lot of wisdom inside. I said, I've got nothing to say. I've got nothing to say except what God's word says. Praise God for his word, because I've got no wisdom. I've got nothing. I don't want to be tail. I don't want to be tail, Pastor Kevin, or anything like that, okay? I don't want to be the head. I don't want to be the head of this church either, okay? But it says in verse 16, for the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed. So not just the leaders, not just the political leaders, not just the religious leaders, but the people following those leaders will be destroyed, because they're listening to the wrong person. You know, I guess when you're on that land, you're like, well, our king, the government, surely we'll just follow them. And we've also got preachers, we've got prophets, and they're saying the same thing as these governing powers. Let's follow them. Or do we just listen to Isaiah? Do we listen to the few? Nah, we'll listen to the head, we'll listen to the tail. Look, there is that power. There is that much, there is that much lies in the world. You know, our governments lie to us, no surprise, okay? The media lies to us as an instrument of the governments, that doesn't surprise us. But preachers lie to us all the time. Pastors lie to us all the time. You know, I'm going through the book of Revelation with New Life Baptist Church, and I get lots of comments. Everyone loves the end times. You know, everyone wants to comment, everyone wants to put their two cents. And everyone wants to tell me that I'm wrong. Look, the majority are going to lie to you, of course. You want to listen to the majority opinion, go with the majority opinion. The majority opinion wants you to think you're not going to be here for the tribulation if you're the last generation. Bible is very clear, no, there's coming great tribulation upon God's people. We need to prepare for that. And I'm not talking about preparing with bunkers and food that's going to last for three months, I'm talking preparing spiritually. For what purpose? For you to be a great light. Okay, the gospel of the kingdom is going to go throughout all the nations in the last days. And that's going to be you and I if we're that last generation. Okay, that's what we ought to be preparing for. Okay? Preaching the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ even if it means a loss of life. Okay? But, I love how the fact that Israel here has a reference of the head and the tail. And look, it tells me that if we have the wrong head and the wrong tails, the nation's going to be destroyed. If Blessed Old Babylon's Church has the wrong head and the wrong tail, Blessed Old Babylon's Church is going to get destroyed. Okay? I don't want to be the tail. I don't want to be a lying preacher. I want to tell you the truth. Okay? And again, I'm putting the challenge out for the men that preach. And I love you for preaching. I'm not preaching this because, oh man, who preached on Sunday? It was Matthew. All right, so I'm covering this topic because Brother Matthew said something horrible or something wrong. I'm not doing that. You know, again, I just want to make sure that we understand, man, if we lie to God's people, He's going to think of us as a tail, as a lying preacher. We better make sure that what we have to say is 100% truth. And again, if you have doubts, just don't preach it. There is plenty that you know. There is plenty that is thus saith the Lord, that is clear as day. Preach that which is clear as day. Okay? And who is the head? Definitely not Pastor Kevin. The Bible says in Ephesians 5, 23, For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ. Even as Christ is the head of the church and He is the Savior of the body. So we better make sure we don't have any tails in this church if we want it to continue. And we better make sure that the head of this church is Jesus Christ. Not just the ancient and the honorable. Not just some religious looking guy that wants to command the church. No, no. We better take instructions from Jesus Christ all the time. Otherwise, this church will collapse. It will be destroyed. Now let's keep going there. Back in Isaiah 9, verse 117. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men. About the northern kingdom. Because you know, they've been following the wrong leaders. Neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows. God normally has great mercy on the fatherless and widows. But even these people are following the wrong advice. Listening to the wrong counsel. For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer. And every mouth speak of folly. For all this his anger is not turned away. But his hand is stretched out still. Man, aren't you glad that God did not wipe out Australia? He gave you guys, some of you guys have been saved much later in life. He gave you a chance to get saved before he destroyed a wicked nation. So why are we asking for God to destroy the nation? He will, in his time. Say, Lord, until you destroy it, your hand is stretched out still. Please use us to be your hand. Please use us to shine the light. You know, if there's just, if there's one soul left in Sydney to be saved, Lord, help us to lead us to that person that we can be a soul winner for Jesus Christ. Verse 118. For wickedness burneth as the fire. It shall devour the briars and thorns. It shall kindle in the thickets of the forests, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. So God's anger is being referred to here as a fire. Their wickedness burneth as the fire. So what is it that the fire is targeting? It begins there by targeting the briars and the thorns. So God is initially angry at the wickedness of, obviously, the false prophets and the political landscape, okay? But even then, because he's angry at them and they're going to be judged, it sets a fire across the entire forest. All right? I mean, have you ever, I once, I'll tell you what story that I did. I was a bit foolish. In my backyard in Bonnarig, I had like a funnel web spider. I had something. I had a hole and some weird creature in there and because the kids play in the backyard, I was kind of worried that maybe the spider would, I'm pretty sure it was a funnel web. Something like that, okay? So I got fuel and I poured fuel too much down the hole, all right? On the funnel web. Then I got a match and when I matched that, like I'm just targeting one thing and when I lit that fire, like the fire spread in the backyard and I'm like trying to put it out, put it out. I'm pretty sure the spider was destroyed, but a lot of the backyard, a lot of the grass was destroyed. Okay? And that kind of reminds me of this picture. It's like you're targeting like the wicked false prophets but at the end of the day because they've all followed. They've all devoured the gasoline of the false prophets. They're all going to be burnt up. Verse number 19. Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire. No man shall spare his brother and he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry. So when Assyria comes and starts to persecute the land and, you know, people are taken into captivity, like people are going to be betraying one another. Like if I can get away by betraying my brother, then I will do that. Like there's no loyalty at this point in time. Okay? There's no love. There's no loyalty. Every man is out for himself. And it says he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry. So there's going to be theft. There's going to be a lot of wickedness. There's going to be attempts to steal from one another but there's not going to be enough food on the land to feed people. Okay? So there's going to be a time of famine again. And he shall eat on the left hand and they shall not be satisfied and they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm. So there's going to be even cannibalism. It's not uncommon. It's happened in the Bible. Time such of great famine where even the so-called people of God begin to just cannibalize and, you know, eat the flesh of man. So this is the judgment of God. This is, you know, fallen upon. And you go, man, it's just crazy. Like how angry is God at these people? And verse number 21, Manasseh and Ephraim. And Ephraim, Manasseh, again referencing the northern kingdom, two tribes of the northern kingdom. And they together shall be against Judah. For all this, his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still. Man, can you imagine, like at the point of cannibalism, like how far gone is this nation before or during the midst of the Assyrian takeover and God says, I'm still ready. If anyone wants to come to me, if anyone wants to be brought out of darkness, I'm still here with my outstretched hand. So Brethren, at what point do we give up on Australia? Like at what point do we give up on Sydney? I mean, even if there's cannibalism, we better be soul winning. You guys don't want to be eaten. There's someone to be saved. Okay? God does not stretch out his hand, you know, in vain. You know, there are still souls to be saved. There are still people that need to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. So why do we continue soul winning? To be witnesses of the light. Right? Jesus Christ, the light of the world and then he tells us that we are the light of the world. Okay? He's given us his light. He's given us the gospel. God's not given up on Australia. We shouldn't. Okay? We should continue shining the light of God's hand because his hand is stretched out still. You know, how about blessing up the church? Be the hand of God. You know, shine the light of Jesus Christ. That's what we've been called to do. Okay, let's pray.