God’s Message Is For All Nations

May 28, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

Good News for All Nations

Isaiah 40

The Book of Isaiah is divided into 66 chapters and we know this was done by man. As we begin our study in chapter 40 we will see a great transition in the prophecies of Isaiah.

We could say that the Book of Isaiah is divided into two divisions. The first division we studied last quarter. If we remember Isaiah spent a lot of time on the coming of the Messiah and Israel’s past.

In this second division, we will see Isaiah prophesy of Israel’s deliverance.

The Bible has 66 books and is divided into the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament.

We will see that the Book of Isaiah is roughly divided the same, with 39 chapters teaching the coming of Christ, the Messiah and 27 chapters dealing with the deliverance of Christ and the promise of eternal freedom.

As we begin we will see it has been many years since the time of Hezekiah. Israel returned to idol worship and God allowed the Babylonians to capture Israel, even Jerusalem but as Jeremiah prophesied they would only be in captivity for 70 years.

This was not only the time of Isaiah but also of Jeremiah and Daniel and some others.

Even while Israel was in captivity, Isaiah was preaching of comfort and freedom that was coming to this nation!

Again, the truth is God’s redeeming power is clearly pictured in these words of Isaiah!

These things still called for repentance and a return to the Lord!

Let’s Begin:

*****Isa 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

God’s instructions to His prophet was to comfort the Jews in this terrible situation that they were in!

Isaiah was not speaking to the inhabitants of Jerusalem nor of Judah in this day, he was speaking to the Jewish exiles in Babylonia.
Jerusalem and the Temple lay in ruins which will be referred to as the “old waste places”.

Isa_58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.

Notice this also refers to the Second Coming of Christ and His work on Mount Zion.

At this time, it is Babylon that is the dominating power in the world but even that would not last very long. Babylon over thru Nineveh and the Assyrians in about 606 BC and Babylon was overthrown by Cyrus in 538 BC, only 68 years. It would be Cyrus who would allow the Jews to go home and even finance the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple.

Of course, Isaiah could not have known these things but he did know what God said would be the truth and he knew God would deliver his people from this captivity.

It is the voice of God that now directs His prophet to comfort His people.

God as a tender Father, will always reach out to His people and as His people suffer the Lord also feels that suffering Himself!

The people needed comfort and they needed a double amount.

Isaiah would have to change the way he delivered his message from the time of Hezekiah, which was a bold message of repentance and now be gentle in his message as these Jews had been humbled and were being humbled by captivity again.

It was time to reach into the hearts of these people with the love that God had for them, even when they had rejected His message.

They were in Babylon because of sin and they were beginning to realize this truth.

*****Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.

The first need of every soul, is forgiveness!

Our soul can endure suffering when that suffering comes from our own mistakes but being unforgiven is a life of misery!

Before God can repair our mistakes and allow us to learn from them, we must be assured of forgiveness!

The Promise to the Church:

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The Promise to the Jews:

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

We must also realize that even when we are forgiven and God has issued His pardon, we must still reap what we have sown.

It was now Isaiah’s job to convey this message to those Jews in captivity!

According to the prophet Jeremiah, these Jews would have to serve 70 years in captivity and the Lord would also honor this prophecy.

Jer_29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

When these Jews were made aware of the promises of God, they then had great hope that their suffering would end but it did still required repentance.

Repentance is always required before forgiveness can come!

And then another great prophecy.

*****Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah prophesied that before the Lord would come He would send some human to prepare the way.

The message to these Jews was that Jehovah had already put the necessary forces in motion to bring about the return of these captives.

There would be a revelation of Divine Glory for all the world to see!

1) First, we see that this relates to the deliverance of these Jews out of Babylon.

They would have to repent and straighten out their lives and remove all crooked, and unrighteous behavior.

We do know that after this time in Babylon the Jews never became idol worshipers again even in our day.

2) Second, we should know that this applies to John the Baptist.

Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Before the Lord Jesus would reveal His ministry, His way must first be prepared for Him!

The way of the Lord is by the way of “Holiness”.

Today this seems to be forgotten!

Again, the message of John was to repent.

What was John’s job?

Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
Luk 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luk 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And why was John to be in the power of Elias (Elijah)?

Because this prophecy has a third meaning.

3) Third the return of the Messiah.

Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
Isa 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Why was John the Baptist in the power of Elijah?

Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

Here the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking of His Own Second Coming.

Elijah will also return in person to make way for the return of the Messiah.

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

One of these two witnesses are Elijah and though there is great debate, the other would be Enoch because according to the Word of God every man must see death and Elijah and Enoch are the only two in the Bible who have not yet seen death.

Even the Lord Jesus Christ saw death!

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

It is when the Lord Jesus Christ returns that He will make everything straight, every valley will be exalted, every hill made low, the crooked will be made straight, and the rough places plain!

Therefore, these words came from the mouth of the Lord to His prophet!

When all the preparations are made, then there will be a complete revelation of the “Glory and the Might” of the Lord!

Why do we know this refers to the end times of the Tribulation Period? Because “all flesh will see it together”!

Rev_1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

This still has nothing to do with the calling out of the Church that was formed by His first coming!

1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

There would not be much comfort of the Saints, knowing we would have to go through the Tribulation and see the wrath of God which He said we would not see.

1Th 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

The thing that we should see clearly is that when we repent and return to the Lord, we can level out the paths of our lives and when we are faithful and consistent in our Christian life, we will ride smoothly when we are on the mountain top and when we pass through the valleys of life with confidence.

We can fill secure knowing that we will see the Lord in all His glory and He will welcome us with open arms!

Getting back to these Jews, we can be sure that by no longer having a home, being a stranger in a foreign country, ruled by a ruthless and unmerciful king, their future did not look very promising. They knew that no one on this earth now had the power to save them.

Isaiah’s message was that no matter what they thought, there is a God, the One true God who can do all things.

*****Isa 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Isa 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

When we focus on this world, nothing in this life seems very promising. The voice of reason teaches us that we have only a few years to live and in fact we do not know what tomorrow will bring!

God says if we would just awaken to His truth, we could rest in our spirit and life would be tolerable knowing that there is really a life after the death of this flesh!

Compared to the glory of God, the glory of the human(flesh), a creation of God, is no more than common grass!

Like the grass, we are subject to all the tragedies that happen to grass. The glory of the grass is short lived until it withers away and is gone. Even when a blade of grass is at its full strength it can be trampled upon, or parched by the Sun, plucked by some other flesh, or even mowed down to nothingness.

If the grass has any glory at all, it is when it is flowering which may be the only time that it is noticeable as no one really pays attention to common grass!

Unlike the grasses, the Word of God has a life that compares to the God who gave it, it is eternal!

The doctrines of the Word of God abide forever. They are not just theories as those of philosophers but are eternal truths!

The promises of God are sure! The punishments and the rewards are real!

To those who are “Born Again” into the family of God, all things have changed!

1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

The Word of God does not contain the “Gospel”, the Word of God is the “Gospel”!

Any false doctrine of man will fade, as will the grasses of all flesh, that have not been “Born” into the family of God!

All corruptible seed will perish!

When we trust the truth of the Word of God then hopelessness disappears. The knowledge of a great future is enduring because God will fulfill His promises, because every promise is God’s guarantee!

The Word of God is incorruptible because it was given by the Holy Spirit!

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We serve a Great Big God who is also Mightier than any power on this earth!

*****Isa 40:9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

This Scripture may be from Isaiah to all the prophets of his time to go to Zion and proclaim the “good tidings” of God but in truth this is a command for not just all Pastors, and all Missionaries, but to all the children (the Saints) of God to proclaim the “good news” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

God says go to the highest mountain and proclaim the salvation of God with all the strength we possess!

The message of salvation is so important that it must be declared to everyone.

Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Salvation is no longer a mystery to the Church but most of this world still live believing salvation is only a mystery that cannot be solved and it is our only job to see that these who are lost get the opportunity to know the Lord and His salvation plan!

We must not be cowardly by shrinking back from proclaiming the “Good News” of the Gospel!
We must not fear rejection and we must not fear persecution!
We must not tone down the message of God, it still requires true “faith” and real “repentance” to be rescued!

The “Good News” must not be twisted into a lie, making everyone acceptable by their own beliefs or their own works.

The “Good News” is not to be treated like it is some secret that the world does not need to know.

The Word of God will always do what it was intended to do!

Isa_55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

There is still only one truth and only one way to reach the glory world of Heaven and have eternal life!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The truth is, the Lord is coming in a marvelous way just as He came the first time in the virgin birth.

1) He is first coming, as a thief to remove His Church so that the Church will not see His wrath upon this earth full of unbelievers!

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

2) Then He is coming to show His wrath to all unbelievers and then to fulfill the promises made to King David.

1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Notice that God says, without a doubt, that He will return as the Messiah!

*****Isa 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Behold our God will come with all His Might and all His Majesty, His Beauty!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the arm of God.

Psa 80:17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

His reward is with Him and His work is before Him:

Joh 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Joh 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

God promised to rescue His people from Satan, Jesus did that on the cross on Mount Calvary. That work is finished:

Joh_19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

When the Lord returns, He will complete all the remaining work that needs to be done:

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

What is the Lord doing right now?

1) Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

2) Rom_8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

The Lord will not stop His work until He has redeemed every believer and brought justice to this world by striking down all His enemies!

Then all the redeemed will see a side of God that we have only read about and only dreamed about!

*****Isa 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

The Lord who will show no pity in His destruction of all unbelievers and His enemies, will become a tender Shepherd to those who love Him.

Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

All those from the time of Adam until the day the Lord calls out His Church and those that are saved during the Tribulation years and that remnant of Israel, who have answered the call of God, are all the flock of the Lord, and will have eternal life through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ.

As always, those who are weak will be carried in the bosom of the Lord, and the Lord will lead His flock at the pace of those who are young!

It is true that the remnant of the Jews had this picture of the Lord, which was a true picture but it will also be true for that remnant of the Jews during the time of Jacob’s trouble.

And the Lord our King will also be the Shepherd who calls His Church home.

The picture we should all see is that the Lord holds each of His flock close to His heart!

The Lord will never forsake His children!

Where ever our Shepherd leads, we are content to follow!

How great is our God? Here is just an example:

*****Isa 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Notice the reference to the hand which in fact only the human has and it is wonderfully constructed as is every part of our bodies.

It is the hand of God that refers to God power and authority!
It is the arm of God that gives leverage to God’s hand!

We read in another place where the heavens are the work of God’s fingers.

We know that Jehovah spoke our world into existence but we would be fools to not see that we are all shaped by the hand of our Mighty God!

This hand is so powerful that once we are in His hand there is no power on earth or in Heaven that can take us out of God’s hand!

Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

Who can do such things but our God, Jehovah?

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

The King in all His Beauty

May 7, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Messiah, The King In All His Beauty

Book of Isaiah 33 10-24; 2 Kings 19:20-37

What is the truth of every true prophet of God?

1) They did always look to Heaven for wisdom rather than to Earth.
2) What they received from Heaven they then communicated to the men that God had sent them to.

This is a guideline for every Christian!

What is the truth of the Word of God?

1) In these Scriptures we will also see the magnitude of deliverance that repentance can bring.
2) We will also see the terrible ruin of how deliverance can affect the enemies of God.

In short the King of Assyria, with his ambassador Rabshakeh had destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel and had taken it’s people(mostly the men) away to foreign lands.

He was moving through all of Judah at will and was now threatening Jerusalem.

We know that Hezekiah had trusted in his own methods and had removed many of the treasures of the Temple and had given to King Sennacherib as a bribe, but this had no effect on this ruthless king.

We also know that Hezekiah had trusted in some help from Egypt, sending even more of his nations money but that help would never materialize.

There was only one who could help Hezekiah and the people of Judah, the One Hezekiah should have sought to begin with!

God had promised deliverance if these people would call upon Him but in this instance there was also a ruthless king who had defied the Living God and he needed to see the results of his foolishness.

A lesson for all national leaders, “Do Not Challenge The Living God, Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel”.

In all these things we will see in “typology” the results of the returning Messiah.

We will see a graphic picture of life when the Messiah returns to set up His Kingdom!

*****Isa 33:10 Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.
Isa 33:11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
Isa 33:12 And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
Isa 33:13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

Not part of our lesson but lets read verse 1:

Isa 33:1 Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

There is coming a day when those who have caused harm to God’s people will end, for the Lord will execute “Judgment” upon them!

Sennacherib, the King of Assyria was seeking world domination at this time and Judah stood in his way.

Sennacherib, is in “typology” a type of the Antichrist.

Listen to how he was described. He was weak but sought glory. He was a coward, when things did not go his way. He was cruel and boastful in his successes.

As God said about Satan: Isa_14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

When the Lord rises from His throne, nothing and no one can stop the “Judgment” of God!

King Hezekiah had finally reached out to the Lord and the Lord had heard his prayer:

2Ki 19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

Notice that God did not answer Hezekiah directly but still answered through His prophet. It was time for Hezekiah to trust the Word of God through His prophets!

We face this same challenge with God’s prophets! Do we believe or not?

The prophecies in the Bible are real. These words are God’s guarantee to His children!

We are to trust in all the Word of God!

And what did God say?

*****2Ki 19:21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
2Ki 19:22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

In all his boasting this foolish king had challenged Jehovah God and as we see, God responds directly to him.

We may ask ourselves, does God speak to ruthless national leaders? This is the evidence that He does, though most will never admit it and still reject Him.

1) God said Sennacherib would flee from Jerusalem.
2) God said Sennacherib would not “rape, pillage, nor burn this city” as he intended.
3) God said Sennacherib would be mocked by those that he intended to harm.
4) God said Sennacherib had not only challenged Jerusalem but he had challenged Him, the Living God, Jehovah!

It is never a good thing for anyone to insult and defy the Living God!

Notice Isaiah uses that phrase “The Holy One Of Israel” 27 times in his Scriptures.

God, Himself is not only “Holy” and “Gracious” unto Israel, but He makes His people “Holy” also. He causes His people to be separate from the rest of the world and sanctified by Him.

Here we can not only see the praise of God but the privilege of those who love Him!

The truth is, any plans made against Jerusalem can only take place if God allows it to take place. The Assyrian plans of destruction were no more than chaff or stubble that was carried away with the wind.

The fury of those that come against Jerusalem, will be the same fire that will destroy them.

Another lesson this world needs to learn!

It is said, that this mighty army of Assyria was of 200,000 men but they would only be as thorns that will burn up quickly in a fire.

And God says to all others, see hear and see what he has done. In other words, this is an example of what would happen to others who try to destroy Jerusalem.

*****Isa 33:13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

King Hezekiah was facing impossible odds and a hopeless situation. He was helpless to deliver his people but the Word of God through His prophet, gave him assurance and the promise of deliverance.

This is what the Word of God can do for us all if we will only believe!

2Co_12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

We can certainly trust in the promises of God!

2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How does Sennacherib remind us of the Antichrist?

*****2Ki 19:23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.

These messengers included Tartan, the commander in chief of the armies of Assyria.
There was the Rubsaris, the chief eunuch of Assyria.
There was Rabshakeh, the chief cup bearer, representing the embassies of Assyria.
There was a great multitude of chariots as a show of force, a well trained and battle hardened military force that no one had been able to stop.

As we have seen in earlier lessons, most every assault on Judah came from the direction of the forest of Lebanon and we see another threat to destroy these wonderful forest.

We can see that Sennacherib had every intention of destroying all the wonderful Holy sites of Israel.

We see this same thing as ISIS occupies the Arab lands. They intentionally destroy all the ancient artifacts and monuments.

In fact Sennacherib had every intention of making Israel uninhabitable and desolate.

We should understand that God has made some strong promises to Israel and to His Church!

*****Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

In fact there is a glorious day of salvation coming to God’s people, a day when the Messiah will set up His kingdom upon this earth.

When God has had enough of the atrocities of this world and direct challenges to His truths, He will certainly return to settle all things.

In typology we can see this in this passage of 2 Kings.

*****2Ki 19:24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.
2Ki 19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
2Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.

1) We know that Sennacherib had ridiculed and blasphemed the Holy One of Israel.
2) We also know that he had heaped insults on the Lord, who has already said in the Scriptures, He will not tolerate insults or rejection.
3) This king had exalted himself above all men, above all gods, and had boasted of his military power.

He had said he could conquer any nation.
He had said he could cut down any national leader.
He had said that no part of this earth was out of his reach.
He had said he could take the resources of any land.
He had said he had powers that only a God could have.

In response to all these things, God has His way of putting things so they cannot be misunderstood!

*****2Ki 19:27 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.
2Ki 19:28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

Psalms 139 teaches us that God knows everything about each and everyone of us that love Him but we can see that God keeps His eyes on all those that are evil too and those that hate Him!

Every ruler in the world should take note of this Scripture!

All those that hate God’s people, then show that they also hate the Lord!

Everyone knows that certain animals that are hard to maintain control have a ring inserted into their nose, so they can be led about without much problem. The Lord said He would lead Sennacherib around like a wild animal.

One commentary says that these Assyrians would actually do this to kings and rulers that were captured alive and I believe this could be true, because the Lord loves to repay in the same way as evil men have done themselves.

One thing for sure, all national leaders are under the watchful eye of the Lord and they need to be aware of this.

The truth is, the Lord said Sennacherib would be defeated, he would be subdued like an animal, and he would returned to his own land.

The Lord then gave King Hezekiah a sign through the prophet Isaiah.

*****2Ki 19:29 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.
2Ki 19:30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

The land of Judah had been over run by the armies of Assyria and the people of Jerusalem had been shut up behind the walls of the city but when this thing was over, they would still find enough produce from what had been shed on the ground from the previous harvest to last them for a year, and the next year they would be supplied in the same way. In the third year they could begin again to cultivate the land and enjoy their crops in peace.

This would mean that none of enemies of Judah would be able attack Judah for this period of time.

In truth, after Sennacherib was turned away from Judah, he ruled for 17 more years but he never attacked Judah again.

Many Jews had been carried away to foreign lands by Sennacherib but God promises that those who remain will be firmly fixed in the land much like a tree that takes root and begins to bear fruit.

These things could only take place because of the Lord!

*****2Ki 19:31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.
2Ki 19:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

If King Hezekiah was a true believer then he should accept what God promised, that the army of the Assyrians would not enter into Jerusalem. Sennacherib would not be able to place Jerusalem under siege nor even get close enough to shoot one arrow into the city.

We should also notice when it comes to the Jews, it is always only a remnant that will be saved!

Rom 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

There are always some true believers even amongst the Jews and even in our day, that we may not know about!

As Christians we can see that this was a promise from God that was fulfilled.

And the Lord continues:

*****2Ki 19:33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
2Ki 19:34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

Again we see God will not allow any human being, no matter how powerful they think they are, to interfere with His promises!

As we see if this evil king was allowed to destroy Jerusalem at this time then it would have affected what God had promised to King David. It would have affected the “First Coming” of the Messiah and made the Word of God to be false.

God will not allow this to happen in any age!

King Sennacherib and his army:

1) would not enter into Jerusalem, nor shoot one arrow, nor lay siege to the city.
2) he would return to his own land by the quickest route possible.

We may ask ourselves why? It is because Jerusalem would be defended by the Lord Himself, for His own honor!

What did God do?

*****2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

It could be said that this was a miracle of God because it was a promise fulfilled.

No human plan could have accomplished this thing!

We should also realize that we can never know what will come about tomorrow as these Assyrians were planning to be victorious the very next day!

Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Note: King Hezekiah had humbled himself and prayed.
God had made promises to King David, that must be kept.
King Sennacherib had directly challenged the Lord, Jehovah.

God knows what is going on in this world at all times.
God will never allow any human to cause a change in the promises He has made.

And for the Church, how could we love a Father who could not keep His Word?

We know that the Angels of the Lord are assigned to protect God’s people.

Heb_1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

We should also clearly understand that the power of just one of God’s Angels is tremendous.

Angels are not ever moved by revenge or anger. Angels move only by the command and the Lord is the commander of His hosts of Angels.

On the night before the Assyrian army planned to attack Jerusalem, one Angel of the Lord was sent to smite their camp and 185,000 soldiers were killed in what could only be called a “Super Natural” way, unexplained by the knowledge of man.

This one Angel, without any noise, ended the plans of Sennacherib while these men were asleep never to awaken again and those that were allowed to live awoke to see dead corpses, not sick but dead.

This remnant of evil left in a hurry!

God left a remnant of this army, so they could return to their homeland with a story that was unbelievable but also unexplainable, except to say they were attacked by the Jehovah God of Israel.

We should understand that the “justice” of God never sleeps.
God’s judgment is swift and devastating, much like what will happen when the Lord returns the second time.

God fulfilled the prayer of Hezekiah and part of the promise to David and kept His own honor, in one swift blow to the enemy!

Deliverance, “without seeing the wrath of God”, has been promised to the Church and God will fulfill this promise also!

The truth is, wickedness will always end in ruin.

But this was not all, God had a special plan for Sennacherib.

*****2Ki 19:36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
2Ki 19:37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons.

Isa 37:38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

It is believed that this thing took place as much as 20 years later.

We can see God has His way of ending plans for world domination and this will not happen until the 7 years of tribulation when this world will abide under the control of the Antichrist.

Napoleon remarked that “God was always on the side of the biggest battalions”, but God clipped his wings.
Alexander wept because there were no more nations to conquer and died because of excessive alcohol consumption.
Hannibal died from his own poison.
Caesar was stabbed by his own best friends.
Hitler died committing suicide, while hiding in a basement and there are others and there will be others.

The truth is the Lord Jesus will return in all His glory and put an end to the wickedness of this world forever!

*****Isa 33:16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
Isa 33:17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

Those that love the Lord will dwell on high. To dwell is to be a permanent resident!
Those that love the Lord will dwell in safety and with safety comes perfect peace.
This new life will be completely satisfying, our bread will be given to us, and our water will never run dry.
This new life will be with the King of Kings in all His glory.
In fact as we look upon our new life, we will finally know what true life is all about!

The idea of perfect security for those who have patiently waited on the Lord, will lead to an easy transition to an eternal life in glory!

*****Isa 33:18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
Isa 33:19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

We will be free from the terror of oppressors for terror will have completely disappeared.
There will be no more plans for destruction, there will be no more tax collectors, there will be no more spies searching for ways to cause harm.
There will be no more fierce people seeking to cause harm.
There will be no more politicians with their promises and their lies.
There will be no speech that cannot be completely understood and no false agenda from anyone.

All the government will come from Zion!

*****Isa 33:20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
Isa 33:21 But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
Isa 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

The Bible says:
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Jerusalem will become the center of worship without the fear of terror attacks.
Jerusalem will never know trouble or unrest again!

The peace of God will blanket New Jerusalem like a tent that cannot fall. None of those stakes of the tent can even be pulled up and not one of those ropes can be cut.

Psa 46:2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Psa 46:3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

All but a few of the major cities in this world are built adjacent to a river but God will be that river in New Jerusalem and no ships will sail there.

The Lord will be our “Judge”.
The Lord will be our “Lawgiver”
The Lord will be our “King”
Because the Lord has been our “Savior” all along!

Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

*****Isa 33:23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.
Isa 33:24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

When God is our river, no warships of the enemy can sail His river.

And how many times does God have to say that there will be no sickness before we believe Him! Not in the New Jerusalem and not in the Jerusalem of the Millennial Kingdom!

Why, because the people have been justified!

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Once God has removed all the sin of this world, He will remove all the suffering and there will be neither of these things in New Jerusalem!

We see that Isaiah understood the visions of God and the Word of God, and wrote all these things down for us in words that could be understood and these Jews certainly understood.

We will see the Lord in all His glory and all His beauty and that day may not be far off, in fact we do not know what tomorrow will bring!

Are you prepared to meet the Lord? He’s coming soon!

Questions?

Let’s pray!

Messiah Full of Grace and Mercy

April 30, 2017May 1, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / 2 Comments

The Grace and Mercy of the Messiah

Book of Isaiah Chapter 30

The title of this lesson could be “Who Do You Trust”.

Isaiah has been speaking to these people, mainly of Judah, for many years now of the things God had promised if they refused to repent.

As Christians, we know that God is full of “Mercy” and “Grace”. Even those that reject the “Judgment” of God, speak of God as a God of love.

Well, if God is that loving Father then we should realize, nothing damages a relationship as much as rejection!

No father wants to be rejected by his children!

None of us accept rejection very well!

“Rejection” is the main cause of “rebellion”, and these two things are most dangerous forces upon this earth!

Rebellion within a family can have tragic consequences and the same can be said for any nation.

Every war was started over rebellion!

Once war begins, then there will be people who will be fleeing from the destruction that comes with war.

Rebellion against the Lord is a sure sign of “unbelief”, the greatest of all sin, and the only sin the Lord will never forgive!

What does God say about rebellion?

*****Isa 30:1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, “but not of me”; and that cover with a covering, “but not of my spirit”, that they may add sin to sin:
Isa 30:2 That walk to go down into Egypt, “and have not asked at my mouth”; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

The leaders of the government, which at this time was King Hezekiah and even the people of Judah had a great fear of being over run by the foreign nations to their north, especially Assyria. In this day Egypt still had some power as a nation but was not near as dominant as in the days of Moses. The government of Judah decided if they could get some help from Egypt then maybe that threat would be enough to stop an invasion by other nations especially of Sennacherib of Assyria.

Sennacherib had already invaded one time and had done much damage. Hezekiah had robbed the House of God to pay a ransom to this evil king whose name means “Sin is his god”

2Ki 18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
2Ki 18:14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
2Ki 18:15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house.
2Ki 18:16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

The main thing we see is no one was asking God for His counsel. God says His children are foolish not to come to Him first. To not do so shows a lack of faith!

As Isaiah is preaching the Word of God, the ambassadors from Israel are already on the road to Egypt.

To the Jews, it seemed they could see only a terrible future of foreign domination but they had forgotten the only one who had delivered them time after time, after time, the Lord.

So what does God have to say?

Why would Judah not seek God for the answers to this serious problem.

In fact why are we all so quick to get advice from someone else before we seek the Lord’s advice. Hezekiah is known to be a good king of Judah, in fact he was one of the better kings.

Hezekiah was not only seeking help from outside of Judah but he was also seeking help from a nation that God had forbidden them to have any association with, Egypt, a proven enemy with multitudes of false gods!

Our own leaders should take note of these things.

We will always cause harm to ourselves when we turn our back on God!

When we believe that our shelter can come from a source foreign to the ways of God, we become a foolish people!

We should remember God does not take these things lightly!

1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;
1Ch 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: “therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse”.

To seek the help of the Egyptian gods was as bad as Saul seeking advice from a from that one who had a familiar spirit.

The child of God has only one true refuge in time of trouble!

Psa 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psa 91:3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psa 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

King Hezekiah knew these things and the people of Judah knew these things!

We are all sinners to begin with, when we reject and rebel against the Lord, we are just adding sin to sin.

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

In fact, all sin is rebelling against the Word of God! It is the sin of disobedience!

We can apply these things to our own lives, if we consider that Egypt is in “type” the “world we live in”.

When we seek strength from “the world” rather than from the Lord, we have rebelled against the Lord.

Jesus said:

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Even if the government refuses to seek the Lord, then those who have been given the task as ambassadors, should at least seek the counsel of God. It is each individual that is responsible for their own actions. We are not to be robots controlled by this world we live in!

To have a relationship with the Lord is a personal decision that does not require approval by some other human! Amen!

*****Isa 30:2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

The Jews had once regarded themselves as “living in the shadow of Jehovah” so to trust in the strength of a Pharaoh of Egypt would be the same as to put Egypt in the place of God.

We already know that anything in the place of Jehovah God then becomes an idol and a false god!

If we cannot trust in the Lord, then we are foolish to place our trust in any human being who rules at the will of the Lord!

Isa 19:3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
Isa 19:4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

To trust in Pharaoh would only bring shame to Judah!

*****Isa 30:3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
Isa 30:4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
Isa 30:5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

We must surely understand that, as believers and as nonbelievers, we are all only instruments in the hands of the Lord to do with, as He wishes!

Even as believers, when we are willing to trust some human above the counsel of the Lord, this comes from a heart that is not sold out to God!

Only shame and confusion can come from such a relationship with the Lord!

We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the Church and still call ourselves Christians!

Palestine is an area of steep hills, difficult ways, and deserts. A horse is actually of little use. The donkey, the camels, and even mules are much better suited for use in Palestine.

The horse is only supreme in warfare. Egypt was known for it’s horses and horse drawn chariots.

It was these things that Hezekiah sought from Pharaoh, to prepare for war!

But even the captain of the host of the Assyrians knew how foolish this thing was:

2Ki 18:19 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, “What confidence is this wherein thou trustest”?

2Ki 18:21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
2Ki 18:22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
2Ki 18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
2Ki 18:24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
2Ki 18:25 Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

History teaches us that Hanes and Zoan were the extreme limits of lower Egypt. At this time this area was ruled by petty rulers who could not even get along with themselves. One of those the prince of Sais had just assumed the title of Pharaoh without being the true Pharaoh.

He was certainly willing to make great promises but he had no power to fulfill those promises!

The Lord, “who knows all things”, informed His prophet that only shame and reproach could come from such a man and this was true, as is all the Word of God!

*****Isa 30:7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, “Their strength is to sit still”.

Our leaders should understand and learn from this also. We cannot make treaties with puppet regimes or evil regimes and expect them to hold to the truth. Their intent is to always have things their own way and they will violate any agreement.

This Pharaoh of Egypt knew his only strength was to sit still.

The Hebrew word used here is “rahab” which has the meaning of “a braggart that will sit still” and do nothing that they bragged about doing!

The world is full of such men today!

A perfect example is the recent pact made with Iran, by the Obama administration!

Sin will always come with a price tag!

It would cost Judah financially.
It would cost Judah in further national danger.
Most important it would cause the hand of God to remain still and not defend this rebellious people!

When we bind the hands of God, we place ourselves in jeopardy!

Sin just cause more sin!

Judah had forgotten that the strength of God’s people is to sit still and trust in the Lord and then take the action that God says to take!

King Hezekiah had God’s prophet Isaiah and other prophets also.
We have the complete Word of God and direct contact with the Living God through prayer!

Psa 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

What do rebellious people do?

*****Isa 30:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Isa 30:11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, “cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us”.

This could be said of America today! No one wants to hear what God has to say!

Even the modern day church have harden their hearts and only want to hear pleasant and flattering messages that allow them to live as they wish to live.

This is known as the Laodicean Church Age:

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

God said to His prophets to write all these things down to be used as a witness against these people of Judah.
God said to the Church to study the Scriptures to see what He has done in the past because He does not ever change!

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Even today many ask, “Well why would God allow such a thing”. These same people had said they did not want to hear what God had to say.

The truth is when we ask the Lord to get out of our lives, He will then do just that!

We should also clearly understand, to attack the men God has chosen to preach the truth in any way, is the same as making an attack on the Lord!

*****Isa 30:12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
Isa 30:13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
Isa 30:14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.

When we challenge the truth of the Word of God, we are rejecting the Lord who gave it to us!

Judah was guilty of rejecting the Word of God.
Judah was guilty of oppression, by seeking money from the Jewish people to finance that help of Egypt, that would never come.
Judah was guilty of trusting in the deceiving, false idol worshipping, leaders of Egypt, who refused to acknowledge the Holy God of Israel!

It is this sin that will doom God’s people!

Suddenly the “Judgment” of God would fall upon them, and “He would not spare”.

Why would we expect the Lord to be any different today? I tell you He will not.

It takes a foolish people to ignore the Word of God!

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

The only way to avoid destruction, is to repent and return as quickly as you can to the Lord! Amen

*****Isa 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

It’s called “repentance” and “faith”!

We are to depend on the Lord to meet all our needs! Amen

Now there is nothing wrong with increasing the strength of our military. The wrong comes when we trust in the things of this world and not in the power of God. We must always be prepared.

Even the Lord Jesus said all His disciples must be prepared:

Luk 22:36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

But we must always first seek the counsel of the Lord in all things! Amen

1) Returning or “repentance” assures us of God’s forgiveness!

2) “Rest”. Waiting on the Lord shows our “Faith”

Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

3) “Quietness”. God did not give us the spirit of fear. If we are afraid of the enemy, that fear did not come from the Lord.

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

4) “Confidence”. Confidence must be part of our Christian character. Confidence is “exercising our faith”!
Confidence is the link between our heart and our Creator! We can actually become partners with Christ!

Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

But Judah said “NO” to all these things and trusted in the Egyptians and it would eventually bring their downfall.

We must remember that the Lord had made certain promises to Abraham and to David and these promises would certainly be fulfilled!

So what had the Lord decided to do?

*****Isa 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
Isa 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

Unlike we ourselves, the Lord is omniscient. He knows everything that will happen and all at the same time. He knows the end at the same time as He knows the beginning.

Note: This does not make Calvinism right, in fact it proves Calvinism to be wrong!

The Lord does not ever choose!

The Lord just always knows the outcome of each individual and He knew all these things before they were even born.

The example of Jeremiah:

Jer 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee”; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

The Lord just knows everything about each of us! He loves each and everyone of us, He warns each and everyone of us, and He then allows us to make our own choice, and that choice has its own consequences!

So the Lord just patiently waits for the outcome even if it is many, or even thousands of years. After all one day to the Lord is a thousand years.

2Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord has written all these things down for us so we can know what He is waiting for! Amen

The next thing on the Lord’s clock is the “Calling out of the Church” then the “time of Jacob’s trouble” and then this Scripture will take place where the Lord will be “gracious”, He will be exalted by the Jews and they will then see His mercy!

We can certainly be blessed, because we can see our time to go home getting closer with each passing day.

The Scriptures are just as much a calendar as it is “Good News”! Amen

It is for certain that the future of the Jews looks bright. These Jews have only one thing left to do to make things better!

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

We should consider that Heaven has no favorites! No one is served before others!
The Lord will never delay because He chooses to neglect some for awhile!
The Lord will never delay because He has denied some people!
The Lord will only delay so that we are able to see His “Grace”!

We cannot know the Lord, until have have humbled ourselves before Him and “repent”!

When this world has failed us and we know it, we can then realize that we have a Creator, who seeks to be our Savior, if we will only accept Him and His Word.

The Lord offers a wonderful “gift” but no gift is a true gift, until it has been received! Amen

The Lord is very patient but there is an end to that patience! Amen

Just as God knows all those who will repent, God also knows those who will never repent! As I said, God knows the ending before the beginning!

We should never trust anyone who teaches that God has already selected those who will be saved and those who will spend eternity in Hell!

We make this choice ourselves! Amen

2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

The Lord died for everyone! Amen

He does not choose, it is we who have to choose accept or reject His free gift!

When we reach a point that we understand the truth, it is when we call out to the Lord, that we can see His “Mercy” and His “Grace”!

*****Isa 30:23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
Isa 30:24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
Isa 30:25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, then and only then can we expect a bountiful supply from Heaven! Amen

If we begin with a prayer of repentance, we will learn from the Word of God the wonderful things that lay ahead of each of us!

Notice these things about the Millennial Kingdom after the slaughter of those who have rejected the Lord.

Food will be plentiful.
The food for the animals will be just as nourishing as the food for people.
Even the desert will spring forth with water, as all the lands become fertile as in the time of Adam. (Every high hill)

We already know that many terrible things will take place during the Tribulation Period such as the darkening of the Sun and the Moon.

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

In order for things to change, then our Sun and Moon will have to return to bring life to the plants.

*****Isa 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

This should not be taken as 7 times brighter than we have now, because that will also happen, but not after the Lord mends His breach with the Jews.

Psalms 121:6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

This is also “in typology” a picture of the Holy City of New Jerusalem!

Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Rev 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Before these things can take place, the Lord will rid this earth of every evil and sinful thing!

Many see this a a terrible thing and it will be terrible to those who reject the Lord, but to those who have accepted the Lord this is still a sign of God’s “Mercy” and God’s “Grace”!

*****Isa 30:33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

In Hebrew the word “tophet” means a place of cremation.

In this passage the word “Tophet” represents the cries of all those precious babies that were sacrificed to the false god Moloch.

Remember Moloch was a large oven of an idol with outstretched arms and foolish people would sacrifice babies and small children, by laying them in his arms that were glowing red hot because of the heat.

We should understand that God hears the cries of all abused children! Amen

Even that one before it is born into this world and robbed of its life! Amen

Those that were sacrificed to Moloch.
Those that were abused throughout history.
Those that are aborted today.
And those who have been Martyred because of their service to the Lord!

Even with all the destructive power that is available in this world, “fire” is still one of the most destructive forces known to man.

Tophet begins, where the vail of Hinnon bends to the east between the cliffs of Zion and the Hill of Evil Counsel and ends as it joins the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The southern side abounds in ancient tombs where dead carcasses were cast to rot and be consumed by worms (maggots) or consumed by the fire that was never quenched! This is also the place the Jews offered up human sacrifices!

Jer 7:30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
Jer 7:31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Jer 7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.

In “typology” this place represents Hell, or the Burning Lake of Fire! This will be the end place for all those that reject the Lord! Amen

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

This is a deep and large place that was created for the Lucifer (Satan) and those Angels that followed him but has had to increase as evil has increased.

The king mentioned here is probably the king of Assyria but represents all kings and leaders who have oppressed God’s people.

In fact this king in “typology” represents the Antichrist!

Eze 32:22 Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
Eze 32:23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.

Isa 14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

We should remember the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah!

Gen 19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Gen 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

It should be obvious, that we must place our trust in the Lord no matter what we are going through. In the end it is the Lord who will have victory. Amen

Those that trust the Lord are on the “Winning Side”! Amen

We simply cannot ignore the Word of God!

If we follow the Lord, we can never fail. If we do not follow the Lord we can never succeed! Amen

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

God’s Mercy Toward Israel

April 9, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

God’s Mercy Toward Israel

Book of Isaiah 14

If we study the Book of Isaiah chapters 13-19 we would see beyond any reasonable doubt that Jehovah God is in charge of all the nations of this world. This does not mean that God causes evil governments, it is the people themselves that cause these things to happen.
In the prophecies of Isaiah we see one nation after another receive the rebuke of the Lord for their rebellion against Jehovah God and for their sinful lifestyles.

We see nations that trust in their riches and reject God.

We see nations that trust in their military might and reject God.

The truth is, in the day of God’s “Judgment” none of these things can save them, all these things will be useless! In fact God will “Judge” individuals just as harsh as He will “Judge” these nations!

Remember nations do not end up in Hell, people do!

God is seeking a close personal relationship with each and every individual and then for those individuals to gather together to change this world according to the Word of God.

The hope for salvation lies in “repentance”!

When the Lord returns for the Second Time to set up His Kingdom up upon this Earth, only those who are willing to turn to Him to worship Him alone will escape His final wrath.

The Church will already be in Heaven at this time!

These prophecies of Isaiah were not just for those nations of that day, but are for all people in every age!

Throughout these prophecies God offers the opportunity for salvation but only according to His Word of truth. No one can enter the Kingdom of God by their own personal rules!

The truth is, the Word of God is never bound by time!

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

So let’s begin:

*****Isa 14:1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

There is nothing confusing about this Scripture! So why is it so rejected by this world we live in?

When the Lord returns to end the “7 years of Tribulation” and the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, He will then have mercy on Jacob.
The name Jacob refers to Jacob “the supplanter” but who would at that time make supplication to the Lord.

Hos 12:2 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
Hos 12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Hos 12:4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;
Hos 12:5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.

This will take place immediately and during the time, after God has put down the false religion and the false economies of this world:

Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Isa 21:9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

The false religions inspired by Satan have fallen. (Every religion that has rejected Christ and the Word of God)(is fallen)
The false economies and governments inspired by Satan have fallen. (the world Satan used to tempt the Lord Jesus)(is fallen)

Those that choose the Beast and his unholy trinity will be destroyed but those that refuse the Beast and repent will be accepted by the Lord and dwell in the Kingdom of the Lord!

The Jews will return to the Lord:

Zec 2:12 And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Zec 2:13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Many Gentile nations will repent and join these Jews:

Zec 2:11 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

The Church will return from Heaven with the Lord, as He causes these things to happen:

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

And we should notice it is not Israel that will just take over as the head nation of this world, “it is those remaining nations of this world that will put Israel in that place as lead nation of the world!

*****Isa 14:2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Over and over again God has delivered His people from captivity and when the Lord returns they can never be placed in captivity again!

The world that has kept them in captivity will see that they get back home, as did King Cyrus, and Israel will rule over it’s own oppressors, the Gentile world! It’s called “Mercy”!

Deu 7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
Deu 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
Deu 7:8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deu 7:10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

The Lord will always do what He says He will do!

Isa 49:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
Isa 49:23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Isa 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

And who is behind this complete change of the Gentile nations? It is the LORD! the unchanging “I AM” of the Bible.

*****Isa 14:3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
Isa 14:4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
Isa 14:5 The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

I do not believe there is anyone who can say that they have had no sorrow in their lives.
To the Christian when we know we have unrepented sin in our lives we will always become sorrowful.

The truth is where sin abounds, “grace” much more abounds but is this a license to sin? No, God forbids this!

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

**Even knowing these things, when we feel that sorrow for our sin, we can still feel gratitude knowing that God can and God will and God does forgive our sin!

Many people have sorrow because of physical ailments that seem to interfere with their daily life, myself included.
But as the Lord told the Apostle Paul, “My Grace is sufficient” for all your pain and suffering.

So what is the answer for sorrow? Trust in the Lord!

As we go through these Scriptures we will notice that it seems that this King of Babylon seems to be separated from the rest of mankind!
We will see that he is someone destined for a very distinct “judgment”.

In reality we can understand this person as our oppressor! It can be anyone who has oppressed us in our service to the Lord, but it can also mean that one who has oppressed all God’s people, Satan, the Devil.

The truth of God is this:

1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

There are no enemies of God that are ever superior to God’s children!

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What does God teach the children of Israel? Their masters will one day become their slaves! Those that oppress them shall be made to help them!

How can these things take place? Because God will one day break the staff of the wicked and there will be no more evil rulers in fact there will only be the government of God, who will rule in “righteousness”.

In the time of Babylon, God used Cyrus to break the backs of Babylon.

In the near future God will use His own “Ensign”, the Messiah, who will settle all these things.

Psa 125:3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

We know that Satan is that great oppressor but we do not ever have to fear what he may do to us.

Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

As we will see, this oppressor is filled with pride and arrogance against the Lord and His people.

We also see that this oppressor thrived on riches in his golden city!

*****Isa 14:6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

This evil person would strike out at people in anger, with a continual stroke.
This evil person would trod down nations in his wrath and his unrelenting evil.

Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

What does God say? This evil person would be persecuted himself and no one can stop this from happening!

Rev_20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Rev_20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

It is obvious that this King of Babylon and his golden city is in fact a clear type of Satan and his influence upon this world!

It is also a fact that this passage will apply to anyone who does such things and lives such a wicked and cruel life. In fact all such things will come to an end at the return of the Messiah!

Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

This is the only time when the whole world will be at rest!

*****Isa 14:7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
Isa 14:8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

There are many singers in our world today singing their own songs and the songs of others but when old Satan is cast into the “Burning Lake of Fire” the world that remains will break forth into singing in joy.

In fact, Isaiah loves this idea so much, that he includes it many more times.

Isa 44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

Isa 49:13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

Isa 54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

Isa 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

This world we live in now will go through a complete change!

All the foreign invaders and oppressors who entered Palestine desired to have the trees of Lebanon, until they are practically destroyed but even these trees will rejoice because there will never be another taken down when the Messiah set’s up His kingdom on this earth!

There will also be no nations anywhere that will ever have to succumb to foreign invasion.

*****Isa 14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isa 14:10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

It is impossible that there can be any happiness in Hell, but when old Satan is cast into Hell there will be many already there that will be stirred to know that he also did not escape the wrath of God.

It is a fact that those in Hell already are all believers but there is no escape from that turmoil! They cannot be prayed out of Hell nor can they be bought out of Hell!

They will still get the opportunity at the White Throne Judgment to defend themselves but the Lord will not find their names in the Lamb’s Book of Life and they will suffer their eternal fate knowing that even Lucifer was not able to escape.

Rev_19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Rev_20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Rev_20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rev_20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

We must keep in mind Satan is just a creation of God, who has fallen from God’s “Grace”. He holds no power over God!

God has just allowed or it should be said, God has used Satan to prove to all what is good and what is evil and what He expects from His creations.

It was pride that brought the downfall of this created creature of God!

*****Isa 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

We can see that in fact, King Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon was in fact a type of Satan but these Scriptures refer to Satan, the Beast of the Book of Revelation and not Belshazzar.

“In his own”, mind Satan is the most wonderful and most beautiful of all God’s creations. God did create Satan in perfect but he also had the freedom of choice. Adam was also created in perfection with the freedom of choice.

The truth is, each and everyone of God’s creations were made with a specific purpose in mind and Satan was just a failure and God tossed him out of Heaven to make use of him on earth.

Only those who remain perfect can abide in Heaven! Thank God for His “Grace”!

The Lord Jesus was also a witness to this event:

Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

In the end, Satan will be cast out of this world also and into the Burning Lake of Fire:

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Satan will also face God at the “Judgment”:

Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Why did God really pour Himself into the flesh of Jesus Christ?

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Pride was Satan’s downfall!

The noise of his viols is what Satan uses to entice our children. This is a reference to music. Secular music and music of praise to the Lord are two entirely different things!

Satan can only bring death, those worms are reference to the “maggot”.
No doubt the thought of the grave brings the thought of corruption and Satan is the most corrupt of all God’s creation. Those maggots will not only be spread under Satan but they will cover him. He who walked upon the luxuries of this earth will then be the uttermost of filth.

All Satan has accomplished is to bring weakness to the nations in sin and filth!

Why will these things happen? Because Satan feels in his heart that he should be more exalted than the Lord God!

It is a fact that the angels are aware that God will exalt the humans above the angels in the near future and this does not sit well with Lucifer who exalts his own self above our Holy Father.

What does God say to us?

Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

How has this affected the world of the rich and powerful?

Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

What is the truth of Satan and his works?

Satan will go to Hell. He will humbled to a miserable life for eternity!

The sides of the pit of Hell are the most dismal part of the darkness of Hell!

Ezekiel wrote:

Eze 28:8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
Eze 28:9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.

The only thing Satan has had going for himself these thousands of years since his creation is, the fact of his denial. Even today the existence of Satan is denied.

Satan will not show himself until he appears as the Antichrist during the seven years of Tribulation when he will have a taste of victory that is short lived!

The truth is he will be exposed for what he is, “nothing but trouble”!

*****Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms”;
Isa 14:17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Satan will be observed as being dead and many will look upon him. Some will look to make sure he is dead and others will look upon him in unbelief that he did not have the power he so boasted of, but all will fear the Lord who has done this thing!

Psa 64:9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
Psa 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

The truth will be out, the thing that Satan has tried to accomplish is to destroy God’s creation! The world is just too blind to see the truth!

Satan has blinded mankind with power and riches knowing these things only lead to destruction!
Satan has hindered the work of the Lord.
Satan has made many Christians useless in the work of the Lord.
Satan has caused his evil to reach into all the high places of governments and commercialism.

We need to remember our battle is not with each other or with any human, our battle has always been against the work of Satan!

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Satan is none other than a liar and a deceiver and those that worship him are just as bad!

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Even most evil people are buried today but Satan will not be honored in any such manner.

*****Isa 14:18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
Isa 14:19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Isa 14:20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

No doubt King Belshazzar was denied an honorable burial!
A mausoleum may have been prepared but it was not used, in fact his dead body just lay unburied.

In fact he was treated somewhat like Queen Jezebel when she was trodden down by the chariot of Jehu!

As we study the 7 years of Tribulation, we know of 3 and one half years when the Anti-Christ will be exalted and then the last 3 and one half years, (The Great Tribulation), when he will bring ruin to this world.

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

All of King Belshazzar descendants were destroyed so it is very unlikely that there have ever been any descendants of Nebuchadnezzar as some have claimed.

In truth all those who have worshipped Satan, the Beast, will be slaughtered!

*****Isa 14:21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
Isa 14:22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
Isa 14:23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

The offspring of Satan will never be mentioned again after this time.
The world that Satan has inspired will be totally destroyed.
The false religions that come about because of Satan’s influence will also be destroyed.

The truth is, the old city of Babylon did indeed become a desolate place.
The city of Babylon that exist now is in a different location and has never reached the fame of the old city and it never will.
The old city of Babylon is now a marsh with the remnants of some old buildings.

The truth is, the Lord Jesus Christ has already destroyed the power of Satan, the Devil.

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

The Lord did this at the Cross on Golgotha’s hill!

What does Satan use to bring people into bondage?

Greed, Pride, Smoking, Drinking, abusing Drugs, Profanity, Illicit sex of all kinds, Sensual pleasures, Fleshy Passions, Shoplifting, and Theft, Laziness, Indifference, and Overindulgence, just to mention a few.

Because the Lord Jesus came the First Time to die for our sins, “all” these things can be forgiven!

The one thing that cannot be forgiven, is to not believe on the work that Jesus Christ has already done to release us from Satan’s bondage!

Those that believe that the Lord Jesus can be a Savior but not be a Destroyer do not read the Scriptures!

If the works of Satan are not destroyed then “God’s Mercy” cannot be accomplished!
This is why we live in God’s time of “Grace” today to allow time for us all to decide.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Those that refuse to “come to repentance” will suffer the fate of Satan!

When the Lord returns the Second Time He will destroy the works of the Satan, the Devil.

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

*****Isa 14:27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

There is not one who can turn back the hand of God!

We can choose to believe God or to believe Satan.

It’s called making a choice, I have made my choice already.

I choose Christ!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

The Work of the Messiah

March 26, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

The Work of the Coming Messiah

Book of Isaiah Chapter 8-9

We should always understand, when God’s enemies threaten God’s people, then God’s people can only be delivered by following God’s directions! God teaches us all that His “judgment” will come on all those who reject His warnings.

God had warned all of Israel and now even more so Judah of a terrible time of distress that was close at hand. King Ahaz and all the people except a very small remnant had forsaken God.

When we forsake God we will be forsaken by God!

King Ahaz had rejected any “sign” of deliverance that was offered to him by God’s Prophet and had place his security and the security of Judah, into the hands of the King of Assyria.

The people of Judah which lived in such a fear and terror now had turned to wizards and necromancers for guidance, instead of seeking the Lord for answers.

Have you ever been out on a dark night when it seemed that you could just feel the darkness? Well a very dark cloud was approaching God’s people, in fact a darkness that could be felt as it approached.

As we know after the dark and cloudy days, God’s Sun always shines, so God’s prophet Isaiah, now spoke of the sunrise after such a dark and cloudy time for the Jewish people.

Let’s begin:

*****Isa 8:21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
Isa 8:22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

We should clearly understand when God’s people are suffering because of the enemies of Christ, God has an open ear. When God’s people are suffering because God’s chastisement, that suffering will do nothing to turn away God’s anger.

The only way for that suffering to end is genuine repentance!

When a people can only see a picture of terrible darkness and gloom in their future, a picture of even more suffering many times they will become infuriated. They will curse their own government and all those that do not know the Lord will curse Him also!

Maybe even some of those that do know the Lord!

When hopelessness grips a people they are soon taken captive by it and live a life of misery! They will seek anything that seems to bring pleasure in this life even if it brings health and/or financial ruin. Laws will have no meaning, all authority will be rejected and even the simplicity of Christ will seem to be a great burden.

We can be saved from being caught up in these things!

What is God’s answer?

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Act 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation”.

God says we must make a choice!

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

God says those that trust Him will always find a light at the end of the tunnel!

This what Isaiah was preaching to God’s people, the Jews!

What does God promise to those who trust Him? Deliverance!
Why did Christ Jesus come the first time? To preach this time of the “Grace of God”!

Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Deliverance, but by the Lord Jesus Christ.

“God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”

*****Isa 9:1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted 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.
Isa 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah wanted the people of Judah to completely understand, though they were facing a terrible time in the near future, a glorious future still lay ahead in another time!

Isaiah wanted these people to know, there was coming a day when Israel would be united and be able to stand against all her enemies.

What do we know? The land of Zebulon and Naphtali were the first to feel the attacks of foreign powers and became known as the Galilee of the Gentiles, in the days of Jesus. Some say the Galilee of the nations, meaning the same land that had been trampled upon by every foreign invader that had ever entered into Palestine.

It can be said that it was here in this Galilee of the Gentiles where the true light shined, because it was here where the Lord Jesus Christ lived during His ministry. It is from this same area where the Lord chose His 12 disciples.

Mat 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
Mat 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Mat 4:14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
Mat 4:15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
Mat 4:16 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.
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

When there is a prophesy in the Word of God there will be a fulfillment of that prophesy!

This the land where the Jew knew they were walking in the shadow of death but those who knew the Lord could have no fear!

When we are walking in such places God reminds us that He is walking with us.

Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

The truth is when we see God’s “warning” we will always see God’s “nevertheless”, a means of escape, where God’s “wrath” becomes God’s “mercy” when we repent!

In fact when we study the Scriptures, we will most always find the clearer promises of the Lord have been given to us in the darkest hours!

Every prophet of God that told of the darkness of Israel and the darkness of evil in this world also prophesied of the Messiah, the Savior! When lies and falsehoods rule the hour, we always see the promise of the Messiah to remove all unbelievers and shine in all His glory.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

In our sinful nature we stumble and grope through this world blind to the truth of the spiritual world. Every effort is spent on living as long as possible or just giving up and living in egregious sin for a short life of misery.

The truth is there is “no one who will not get the opportunity” to witness the light of Jesus before their death, in any instance!

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

When we accept our Savior, we no longer have to live in the darkness of this world!

*****Isa 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

The truth is when the Messiah returns to rule this earth for 1000 years, those who have made it through the 7 years of tribulation will begin to multiply.

There will also be a great increase in joy!
That joy will be according to having a great harvest when there had been only a meager planting.
Their joy will be as a great victory over the enemy as it is the victorious soldiers who divide the spoil of the enemy.

Just as the seed had to pass through a long process while depending on the Lord of the harvest, there will be a great victory!
Just as the army of God has gone through a long and painful campaign depending on the Lord of host, there will be a great victory!

Isa 61:9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.
Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

The Lord will have broken the burden of sin in this world!
The spiritual joy of the Lord will be with all His people!
These are promises made to the Jews.

*****Isa 9:4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
Isa 9:5 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.

It is true that Midian had been a great burden to Israel for a period of time.

Jdg 6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

It is also true that during the trial of Jesus, the Jewish people had made another even more serious mistake!

Mat 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Mat 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, “His blood be on us, and on our children”.

They had cursed themselves and that burden will remain with them until the Messiah returns to set them free, so even a much greater burden will have been lifted at the Second Coming of Christ.

The Lord will have broken the yoke of sin’s prison.
The Lord will have broken the yoke of Satan’s bondage.
The Lord will have broken the will to reject the Word of God.
The Lord will have washed them in the “Blood of Jesus” the only blood that cleanses.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

At the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, all wars will then cease!

All the battle garments of all soldiers will then be just fuel for God’s fire!

Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
Eze 39:9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.

And why are these things so true? Because the Son of God will be all the government that this world needs!

*****Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Look out world, God says the Messiah will first come as the “God-Man”. (For unto us a child is born)
The Messiah will take the form of a human!

In our last lesson we saw that Isaiah had prophesied the sign of the Messiah. The Messiah would be born of a “Virgin”. Not just some young maiden but a young “Virgin” of marital age and according to the Jewish tradition of marriage!

Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

God was even so bold to tell us where this birth of the Messiah would take place.

Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

And God through the prophet Daniel gave us all a time frame for the birth of the Messiah and even His return. Though no one will ever know the exact day or the exact hour.

**(Unto us a Son is given) Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

**(Then shall the government be upon His shoulder) The Messiah will have the undisputable right to govern this entire world! The Messiah will put his shoulder into this work!

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

**(The Messiah would be called “Wonderful-Counsellor”) The Messiah would be the Fountain of wisdom and understanding, with the mind that rules all things!

Isa 28:29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

The Messiah, is the One person, who can feel what we feel and the only person who can teach us how to have victory in life!

**(The Mighty God) As the Mighty God, the Messiah can do things that no one can even conceive.

He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time)

The Messiah can save anyone, the very moment they call out to Him in “faith”, under any conditions!.

He is the Savior, He is the Redeemer, He is the Deliverer, He is everything that we have ever needed and He is also the Perfection of beauty!

Psa 50:1 The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
Psa 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Psa 50:3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

**(The everlasting Father)

Even with all His power and all His wisdom and all His understanding, the Messiah is first the most perfect Father than any of us have ever seen!
He knows that those who trust Him are His children He will never forsake any of us, for any reason!
He is exceeding in tenderness and compassion!

Heb 2:13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Isa 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Isa 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

**(Prince of Peace)

The truth of the Messiah, (Jesus Christ) is that, not only does He bring peace to the human heart, when He returns, He will also bring world-wide peace to every nation.

“Prince” means he will be the principle ruler of this world and all His creation. For 1000 years this world will be filled with a people of peace!
And a peaceful people will want to worship the Lord of Peace!

A heart that knows true “forgiveness” can have “peace with God” and “the peace of God”!

Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The Messiah will return to this earth “to establish God’s Kingdom”!

It is during this time that it can be truly said that the “Gospel” has reached every ear and every heart. As Daniel said “the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands has filled the whole earth”

Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

By being the adopted son of Joseph, the Messiah is the living heir to the throne of David and the last One because He cannot die and the Church is the “bride of Christ” and His children, the remaining heirs, who also cannot die!

Remember it is not the Church that joins with the Jews, it is the Jews who will join with the Church. There will never be but one way to be in the family of God and this is “Faith” in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

God will fulfill the promise He made to King David:

Psa 132:11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.

God will fulfill the promise He made to Israel:

Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Jer 3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

Israel will be reunited, there are no lost tribes of Israel and there never have been. God has always known where His people are located!

God will keep all His promises!

**The Messiah will rule with a rod of iron, but His kingdom will be established in righteousness.

Isa 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

The zeal of the Lord, “to sanctify His great name as the only Savior”, will have caused all these things to happen!

Eze 36:21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Eze 36:22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
Eze 36:23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

No one will ever again profane the name of the Lord!

We are a foolish people if we do not want to be a part of the Kingdom of the Messiah, The Lord Jesus Christ!

It is obvious that we can see our world grow darker and darker in sin.
The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah get more evident in our world today.
The governments become more and more corrupt.
Evil is called good and good is called evil.
God’s people are even more hated than ever before!

These things are all facts!

It is obvious, that the truth of God is, that Jesus Christ was much much more than just some great teacher or some great prophet.

God says we need to get our minds wrapped around this truth!

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

The Lord, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is declared in every manner possible to possess all the attributes which make God, God!

Those that attack the Lord Jesus Christ have attacked the Word of God and God Himself!

Why would we not expect them to see the wrath of God?

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

This is the truth of the Scriptures!

This is the only Light that shine shine through the darkness of this world!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

The Time of the Messiah

March 19, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Sign of the Coming Messiah

Book of Isaiah 6; 7

Today we get a little glimpse of Heaven and then one of the greatest prophecies to ever be fulfilled, the recognition of the Messiah.

We will first see the testimony of a prophet’s call to serve the Lord.

We will next the prophecy of the Messiah and the sign of His truth.

Let’s begin:

*****Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, “high and lifted up”, and his train filled the temple.

King Uzziah had ruled for 52 years, longer than any other King of Israel. No doubt that as Isaiah witnessed the death of one of Israel’s better kings, Jehovah God decided it was time to give Isaiah a glimpse of the King of Kings upon His throne in Heaven.

The first thing we notice is, that God did not show Isaiah His majesty as the Lord Jesus had but showed him in a way that he could understand the true King of our universe.

Isaiah saw the true King and the true “Judge” of Israel who would rule for much more than 52 years but in fact forever!

Isaiah had seen the throne of Uzziah but now in the throne room of God, he sees a throne much higher and much more lifted up than any throne of this earth and upon it sat “Adonai”.

Adonai is the divine character of God and is applied to Jesus Christ through the title “Lord”.

Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is “Lord”, to the glory of God the Father.

The title “Lord” then, denotes the divine sovereignty of Christ.

2Co 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus “the Lord”; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto “the Lord”; and he that regardeth not the day, to “the Lord” he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to “the Lord”, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to “the Lord” he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

The title “Lord” says This Lord is also our true King!

1Ti 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of “our Lord” Jesus Christ:
1Ti 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and “Lord” of lords;
1Ti 6:16 “Who only hath immortality”, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

It should be obvious that Isaiah was not only a prophet but he was also a priest as he had witnessed the regal robes of the High Priest that could not compare to the regal robe of the Lord, Adonai.

We should consider that this throne and this majesty is part of what our Lord gave up to come to this earth to die in payment for our sin!

What did the Lord Jesus say?

Joh 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up “where he was before”?

This is what the Lord Jesus was referring to and this is what Isaiah saw in his vision on this day but he also saw much, much more.

*****Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isa 6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

The one thing certain about all angels is that they are “created beings” but just in a higher order than humans!

Angels are not subject to the limitations of mankind!

Angles are also spiritual beings, though they may reveal themselves to mankind in the form of human bodies.

They do not have corporeal bodies as humans do!

There are more angels in existence than can be counted and that number will not change because they simply cannot die!

Angels have greater wisdom than humans but that wisdom is still limited.
Angels have greater power than humans but that power is still limited.
Angels, however, still have limitations in their relationship with God!

Angels were never created in the image of God, so they certainly cannot share in man’s destiny of redemption and a “Glorified Body”, as that of Christ!

There is coming a time when each redeemed man will be exalted above every angel!

1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Some also believe there are orders of angels some higher than others, and that can be true, but the Scriptures do not actually say this.

It is certain, though angels have many things in common, they also have separate functions as we see here and as we see with Michael and Gabriel!

We also know that angels have the freedom of choice as we see with Lucifer.

Even with the angels, all choices have consequences!

The truth that we do know, is that all angels serve as the ministers to God!

The “seraphim”, in this Scripture have the ministry to God “in surrounding the throne of God as they attend God’s holiness”.

It is the “seraphim” who declare that mankind must be cleansed of sin’s defilement before we can stand before God and serve Him!

They are not to be confused with the cherubim “who have the ministry of defending God’s holiness”!

This is the reason that Cherubim are on the Ark of God rather that the Seraphim.

The cherubim had 4 wings while the seraphim have 6 wings but there are still other differences.

With two wings the seraphim covered their eyes, for they felt unworthy to look upon the holiness of God.
With two wings they covered their feet, because they felt unworthy to walk where God walked.
With two wings they flew continuously, while crying one to another “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory”.

If we think of these things as just being symbolic, then we better not miss what Isaiah saw!

Isaiah saw the Supreme “Authority” of God, His throne higher then all thrones of this earth!
Isaiah saw the Supreme “Glory” of God”, His majesty filled all the Heavenly Temple!
Isaiah saw the Supreme “Holiness” of God, Holy, Holy, Holy! (The number 3 a perfect number, describing the perfect “Holiness” of God)

We must clearly understand there is a vast spiritual universe that far exceeds the material things we can see with our own eyes!

In truth, all of God’s creation declare the Glory of God, just as these seraphim have declared!

Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

The movement of the door and the house filled with smoke, was the reaction of God’s Holy nature against sin!

This is also the reaction of our Father in Heaven, when one of His children has realized that they are in the clutches of Satan and repent and call on the Lord!

Psa 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Psa 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psa 18:8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
Psa 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
Psa 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
Psa 18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
Psa 18:12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
Psa 18:15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
Psa 18:16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
Psa 18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
Psa 18:18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

Amen.

So, Isaiah quickly realized that he also wanted to be and he also needed to be a servant of the Lord!

*****Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah immediately felt the “Grace” of God but more important he also felt his unworthiness to be a servant of God!

Isaiah was probably already a priest at this time but Isaiah now had a clearer vision of the Lord.

We must all realize the truth of the God we serve!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We must know the Lord and we must know who He is before we can serve Him as our Lord!

We must see the Lord exactly like Isaiah saw Him, “high and lifted up” above all His creation!

If we cannot recognize the Lord Jesus Christ in this manner, we are wasting our time in trying to serve Him!

We are all humans of unclean lips!
We all live in the midst of a people with unclean lips!

And God says:

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not “the unclean thing”; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

So how do we become a servant of the Lord?

*****Isa 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isa 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

**To be a servant of the Lord we must realize that all the “seen world” and all the “unseen world”, are subordinate to the fact that we have a Creator!

Our Lord rules supreme over His own creation!

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

The Lord Jesus is the glue that binds all His creation together!

**To be a servant of the Lord we must understand that The Lord Jesus is truly the sinless Son of God and the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit being the third!

Jesus Christ is the sinless Savior of the world that He created! Only when we realize the truth of these things, can our Lord become our “Redeemer”!

To be the Savior of this world, “is by God’s design” and Christ came “to freely offer pardon and purity” to all that truly believe upon Him!

We must also realize, our Savior, who will be King, demands our service after His pardon!
We should also realize, the Lord will not hesitate to discipline that servant until their loyalty is assured!

**To be a servant of the Lord, we must first realize we are a sinner and to get close to the Lord, then that sin must be purged!

I believe we can understand this “coal” as being the Word of God because Isaiah was then called to be a messenger of God, a true Prophet.

Jer 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

What do we know of the altar of the burnt offering. God commanded for that fire to be always burning!

Lev 6:12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
Lev 6:13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

To put that fire out would show disobedience to the Word of God!
To allow that fire to go out would show neglect of the things of God!

We must understand that in “typology” this represents a type of Christ Jesus and His sacrifice for our sin.

The altar of “the Cross”, is always burning because the Lord’s sacrifice, “satisfied a Holy God who had required our own death for our sin”.

God allowed the sinless blood of Jesus to cover all sin!

This angel, being a minister of the Lord, had in his mouth the Word that he had received from his Holy God, who sits on the throne of Glory above the altar of His dear Son!

This event will happen again during the 7 year tribulation period.

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Isaiah then realized that God had given him something that had to be shared with all his nation!

isaiah received his commission from the Lord!

*****Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? “Then said I, Here am I; send me”.

Isaiah got a little glimpse of Heaven.
The lips of Isaiah had been purified.
Now Isaiah can be in direct communication with the Lord.

You see, this is exactly what happens when we realize we are sinners and we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

We are then washed in the blood of Jesus and we can go right into the throne room of God without some intercessor of this earth! The Lord has become our personal “Intercessor”!

Isaiah knew the function of the priesthood because he was already a priest but not the High Priest.

It was only the High Priest who could go beyond the veil to be in the presence of God and he could only do this one time each year!

SO, What else happened at the cross beyond payment for all our sin?

Mar 15:37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
Mar 15:38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

Isaiah found himself in the throne room of God and he heard God’s voice saying “whom shall I send”.

Now we know that God was in the presence of His angels.
We also know that Isaiah had no idea why God was making this request.
We also notice that not one angel volunteered!

SO Isaiah, being ignorant of the nature of this calling, freely accepts this call of God and throughout his long life, Isaiah never felt this calling to be a burden.

The answer God is looking for will always be “Here am I; send me”!

Notice another very important thing, God did not take time to consult with anyone else or anything else in Heaven because our Lord rules supreme through out all His creation!

Those that trust in the Word of God “by faith”, have never questioned the Book of Isaiah!

Joh 12:41 These things said Esaias, “when he saw his glory, and spake of him”.

again:

Act 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers”,

Even the Lord Jesus:

Mar 7:6 He answered and said unto them, “Well hath Esaias prophesied” of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mar 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

The truth is, before we can serve the Lord, we must surrender all we have to the Lord and we must surrender to the Word of God!

It was these things brought the supreme response from the Lord!

*****Isa 6:9 And he said, “Go”, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

We should understand that the Lord will not do anything that He has not revealed to us in His Word! We have all the truth we need for “salvation” and we have all the truth we need for “Judgment”!

We do not have to guess because we can know, because we have the complete Word of God. There are no lost books of the Bible!

Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

There will never be a new prophecy that opposes the Word of God we now have! In fact there will never be anything new that opposes the Word of God we now have!

All the Word of God will go hand in hand with the “work” that God asks us to do! So just “Go” tell some one else about Jesus.

What was the command given to us all of the Lord?

Mat 28:19 “Go” ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This was the same command given to Isaiah!

God was saying to Isaiah that the unbelief of his nation had caused them to reach a point where they could not understand the Divine principles of God.

Isaiah had a message of warning but Isaiah still maintained a message of salvation, all his days.

What was the truth of these people?

Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

It is the “rapture” of the Church that will awaken Israel from this slumber!

This message God had for these Jews was a harsh message, so Isaiah wanted to know how long would this blindness, this foolishness, this rejection of the Lord, last.

How long would this “judgment of Israel last”?

*****Isa 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, “Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land”.

For those who say this took place in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, they are wrong. That was just a taste of what is yet to come!

The Lord Jesus repeats these things to the Jews of His day after the time of Nebuchadnezzar:

Luk 19:42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Luk 19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
Luk 19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

The nation that had it’s beginning at the day of Isaiah’s calling was Rome and in 70 AD Titus of Rome devastated Jerusalem.

BUT, Even this did not remove the blindness of these people!

The Apostle Paul gives us the true answer.

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in”. (this would be the Rapture of the Church)
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

This time has not taken place and will not until after the Church is “called out” of this world!

So, How many of these Jews will actually come to know the Lord?

*****Isa 6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

The truth is, the Holy Seed of the Jew will arise from that stump that will be left when the Lord returns!

There will be a tenth that will go through the 7 years of Tribulation and of those that will remain will receive the promises of God given to David!

Amo 5:3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
Amo 5:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

From Ezekiel:

Eze 5:1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
Eze 5:2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
Eze 5:3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
Eze 5:4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
Eze 5:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.

And Zechariah:

Zec 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

We can see that Isaiah had a harsh message for his own people but Isaiah never faulted and isaiah never quit on God!

Sometime had passed until the rule of Ahaz, the most evil of all the rulers of Judah and we will see the a most revealing prophecy from Isaiah by the Holy Spirit and the sign of the only One who could put an end to the misery of the Jew and bring salvation to this world.

*****Isa 7:11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
Isa 7:12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
Isa 7:13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

First we notice that a prophet of God did not have a problem coming face to face with the government.

We hear a lot about Elijah and Ahaz and sometimes we forget that Isaiah also stood his ground for the Lord without fear.

A sign from the Lord was “an outward act that served as a pledge or a proof of His Divine Word”.

This sign could sometimes be natural sign but a sign could also be supernatural by God’s design! For instance:

We have the “Rainbow” in the day of Noah.
We have circumcision in the day of Abraham.
We have the sign given to Gideon. (the dew and the sheep’s wool)
Even evil King Saul received a sign of the truth of Samuel.
In the time of Jesus, miracles became a sign of His Divine power.
Jesus Himself said that Jonah and the whale was a sign of His death and His resurrection.

The thing we must observe in this Scripture is, that in this hour or this time that Isaiah and King Ahaz were together this day, the fate of the Jewish people is decided for more than 2000 years, even past the day we live now!

We should understand that King Ahaz had already rejected the Lord and the Word of God through God’s prophets.

At this time Ahaz was trusting in the false gods of Assyria and he was not about to ask for a sign from God, because he knew God might give him one that he did not want. Ahaz had already rejected the power of God and some sign would not change anything for him!

Ahaz was afraid he would have to commit to a policy that he had already lost faith in!

The Bible says:

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

We see this beginning to be true in this day we live now because we are in these later times!

We should also realize, that when we ask God for proof of His existence, we are also showing a lack of “faith” but to refuse what God offers through His Prophet and His Word, is truly an insult to an all powerful God and Ahaz had insulted God with his lack of respect!

Ahaz and his sons represented the house of David at this time, but no other king of Judah had defied God as had Ahaz.

It could be said that Ahaz had renounced Judaism and had also renounced Jehovah!

God will not deliver a people who do not trust Him to deliver them!
God will only answer a prayer of “Faith”!
The greatest sin against the Lord is the sin of unbelief! (It cannot be forgiven)

“Therefore”

*****Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

King Ahaz refused to trust that the Lord would deliver Judah from the combined forces of the Northern Tribes and Syria and he had placed his faith in the forces of Assyria.

God decided on a “supernatural sign”. In the day of Isaiah an impossibility but today is certainly possible.

A young virgin maiden, “of marriageable age”, would have a son, not just any son but the Messiah. His name would be Immanuel (God with us).

We should not be fooled by modern translations, this was to be a “virgin” in all sense of the word virgin! This Son was to be the Messiah!

God says what He means and God means what He says!

This was to be a young Jewish virgin maiden of marriageable age with the strength, in every way, to carry this child of God!

This Son of this virgin would be the great “Deliverer” of Israel!

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer”, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

This virgin born Son, this Messiah, was to be born in Bethlehem. (First Coming)

This Son of this virgin, Mary, was to become the Redeemer and the Savior of mankind! (First Coming)

Luk_2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

2Ti_1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

To dispute these things is to dispute the Holy Spirit who also directed the Apostle Matthew.

This sign of the “virgin birth” of the Messiah was explained to Joseph who was also of the House of David, as was Ahaz to whom this prophesy was given.

Mat 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Mat 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Mat 1:24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
Mat 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Mary was a virgin at conception and remained a virgin until after the birth of the Messiah.

These things could never have been written about Hezekiah because he would have already been born before this time and was probably about 9 years old.

The efforts of King Ahaz would have destroyed Judah and Israel would never be resurrected and God could not allow that to happen!

This prophesy of Isaiah was to prove to Ahaz that Judah was invincible until the Messiah was born of this virgin, only after this could things change for Israel and Israel be devastated by Titus of Rome.

What would be the history of this child this Messiah?

*****Isa 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Adam lived in the Garden of Eden at the first and even knowing the law of God, he did not refuse to do evil.

The second Adam, the Messiah would witness the destruction caused by sin and He would refuse all evil and choose the good!

The Messiah would partake of the simple things of life because He would be raised by poor parents but Godly parents who would teach Him the truth of God.

God would be His true Father as he would be filled with the all power of Holy Spirit from His birth!

Remember also that Ahaz was taking a stand against Israel and Syria. His greatest problem was he trusted Assyria for protection rather than the hand of God.

Isaiah just informed King Ahaz that both those two nations would both lose their kings and this was not something that should be of concern to him.

**2Ki 15:37 In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.
2Ki 15:38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

All these things were a warning to King Ahaz but he still rejected the Word of God through God’s prophet!

Ahaz had already rejected the Word of God given to Jacob:

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, “until Shiloh come”; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

The truth is, that the Jews have been without a ruler, without a judge, and without a King for more than 2000 years because they have rejected the true King of kings and the true Lord of Lords!

The virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is a major doctrine of the Church and the importance of it cannot be over stressed!

1) The Lord Himself gave this sign! The sign was not so much prophecy at is was the given child, the Son of God.

This sign would be a child given to all people, a gift from our Holy God!

2) It was the “first coming of this Child” that was the sign more than even “the birth of this Child”.

God informed the Jews of that day, that they must pay attention to what He was saying, so they would know when this thing took place and most all of them missed it. Those that realized the truth then rejected it!

This is the truth of all prophecy in the Word of God, we must all pay attention so we will know when these things take place and when we can expect the next one to take place.

What did Jesus say to these Jews?

Luk 12:54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
Luk 12:55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
Luk 12:56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; “but how is it that ye do not discern this time”?

They had missed the time and the purpose of the “Sign” God had given to them!

As far as Bible prophecy for the Church is concerned, the next thing on God’s clock is the “Rapture” of the Church!

These prophesies concerning the Jews will take place after this!

Are you ready, to meet the Lord?

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Isaiah’s Vision of The Future

February 26, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

The Vision God Gave to Isaiah

Book of Isaiah Chapter 1

Everything we know about Isaiah, we will find in this book of prophecy that he says he wrote and of course under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2Ti 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Book of Isaiah is just as important as any book of the New Testament. Other than the Book of Psalms, the Book of Isaiah is the most quoted book in the New Testament.

Isaiah was called to be a prophet of God in the year that Uzziah died. This would have been about 754 BC. We may call it a coincidence but this would also have been the time that Rome was founded.

It seems that it was in “visions and dreams” that were greatest methods God used to make revelations to His Prophets.

Job 4:13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
Job 4:14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

In the days of the Bible, a person’s name had a real meaning and with a name like “Isaiah”, which means, (salvation is from the Lord) how could this man not be a Prophet, even his name was prophecy.

Isaiah’s prophecies and sermons centered on the holiness of God and God’s desire to save all mankind!

Like every other Prophet, Isaiah warned us all, of the coming wrath of God but Isaiah teaches us more about the comfort of God than the wrath of God.

God is certainly a loving God or none of us would exist today but God would not be God if He allowed non-believers to go unpunished! God must do just as He says or we could not believe any part of the Scriptures. God says He will punish all those who reject Him, in fact God says He will destroy them!

All in all, the message of Isaiah is “salvation can only come by the Lord”. Isaiah wrote:

Isa 35:8 “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness”; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; “but the redeemed shall walk there”:
Isa 35:10 “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return”, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

And in Matthew:
Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life “a ransom” for many.

And in John:
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, can rescue any of us from our eternal deadly situation!

And Isaiah again:
Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; “he also is become my salvation”.
Isa 12:3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
**Isa 12:4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Let’s Begin:

*****Isa 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Isaiah was a great prophet of God but we already know that every prophet of God had the same importance in their message.

That word “vision” means that, Isaiah saw something that he understood as the truth and the truth of some future event. Isaiah had no doubt that his prophecies would come to be true, each and every one of them because he knew they came from God!
We should understand that this “vision” was a sign of God revealing Himself to all mankind.

2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: “but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”.

Isaiah could clearly see the future!

Isaiah had a father named Amoz but this was not the prophet Amos or anyone else named Amos.

In many cases these “prophets” of God were also called “seers” because they would predict the future.

SO, What did Isaiah see?

*****Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

The truth is, it seems that the only part of God’s creation that refuses to hear when God speaks “are the humans”!
Our man-made privileges nor our man-made blessings can save us from being eternally separated from God, all man-made things will soon become a curse.

“God cannot give us what we refuse to receive”! A gift must be received to be of any value!

The Nation of Israel had been rebellious from the time of Moses.

Deu_9:24 Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.

In the days of Isaiah, these Jews worshipped the Sun and the Moon. They worshipped Baal upon the high places and the “groves”. Some had cast their children into the arms of Moloch and then after these things, they would still turn to worship God in the Temple making untold burnt offerings and animal sacrifices.

When God should have rejected them, God still loved them and sent His Word by His prophets, to warn them and then to guide them into reality.

We could say that what the Book of Romans is to the Christian, what the Book of Isaiah is to the Jews.

God will always extend a Father to son or a Father to daughter relationship to mankind and there will never be any grandchildren in the family of God, they are all God’s children!

Eph_4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

God had chosen the Israelites to be His special witnesses of the Word of God upon this earth, to proclaim the coming of the Lord and to make application of the Word of God to their lives. To be an example to the world.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

What is open rebellion? Rebellion is the open resistance to the Authority and the Government of God! We owe our allegiance to our Creator.

This is the very reason that the creation truth in the Book of Genesis remains under attack!

If we reject a Creator, then we are not rebelling against His truths.

The truth is, even an ox or a donkey realize they have a master and God says these Jews showed that they were not as wise as some dumb animals. We can still say this today about those of our own nation.

They had not only corrupted themselves but they had set out to corrupt their whole nation.

We can see that some things will never change! The wicked are never satisfied until they have caused everyone else to be as wicked as they are!

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

In truth, these people had forsaken the Almighty God, the Holy One of Israel!

Our God is “holy” and He expects us all to be holy! This is not some suggestion but a command!

1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

And God asks how can we walk together unless we think the same way?

Amo 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

We cannot walk with God and be walking in the ways of the world!

And God simply ask, “are you not tired of chastisement”? It seems some people just love misery to much to give it up!

*****Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

The truth is, many had been chastised so much that there was not a place on their flesh for any new marks.

Psa 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones “because of my sin”.

We may sometimes ask ourselves, why Lord, when we already know the answer!

Not everything that happens to us comes from our sin but we can be sure that un-repented sin will bring the chastisement of God. Until we realize these things, even chastisement will become a great burden to carry.

Psa 38:4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
Psa 38:5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

The whole head will be sick and the whole heart will faint!

Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Remember God is dealing with a nation and not the individual when He says from the soul of your feet to the head.

Sin will destroy any people and any nation!

To treat a wound in the day of Isaiah, the wound was first pressed to remove any foreign obstacles, then bandaged and softened with oil. Our example comes from the “good Samaritan”.

Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

The wounds of Israel had not been pressed or closed, had not been bound, and had not been mollified with ointment.

Israel was as an open sore to the world, because they were so foolish. Israel had begun to rot as an untreated sore and began to canker and whole limbs needed to be removed!

Sin is as the worst form of any Cancer!

Sin is noticeable in every nation. Let’s just look at America, as Isaiah describes the Israel of his day.

*****Isa 1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

All we have to do is watch the news to see these same things occurring in our own nation today!
It is hard to imagine that these things are even promoted by certain ones in our own government.

Sin will ruin any nation!

We should understand Israel will always be very important to the Lord.

Exo 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, “Israel is my son, even my firstborn”:

All those in Israel that cling to Judaism are still God’s children, only children who lack “Faith”.

Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, “children in whom is no faith”.

God still looks over Israel as a Father over His children.

Deu 32:6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? “is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee”?

So, what does God tell the rest of the world?

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

We could say that this blessing took place the day Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.

The fact remains that God hates sin!

It is true that God will judge sin but God still looks upon the sinner as one who can be saved from His judgment!

God hates the fact that Satan has caused such faults in His children, that requires His condemnation!

We should clearly understand when a nation starts falling apart because of sin, “and it is not in the power of that nation to stop what is happening”. The only thing that can stop such destruction is to return to the Lord!

God will eventually pull His hand of protection away from His rebellious children!

*****Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Isa 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

In the New Testament “Zion” can refer to the Church. “Zion” can also refer the Holy City in the Book of the Revelation.

In this day of Isaiah, “Zion” referred to the capitol city of Israel, which was Jerusalem and will always be Jerusalem!

A cottage in a vineyard was no more than a temporary shed where the keeper or the watcher of the vineyard stayed day and night to protect the fruit until it was gathered.

At the end of the season the watcher would leave and this cottage and it would be taken down or the winter weather would cause it to fall.

God is saying that He would abandon Jerusalem and Jerusalem would become a very lonely place and subject to fall.

Similar, to this cottage, a lodge was a small temporary housing for the gardener and once the cucumbers were gathered the gardener would leave this lodge completely and this lodge would soon fall.

Again, God said He would abandon Jerusalem and Jerusalem would fall.

We know that God is “our Watcher” and God is “our Gardener” and when He abandons us because of sin, we will certainly fall!

And Isaiah said the truth is, if it were not for the few that remained faithful, Jerusalem would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.

What do we know about Sodom and Gomorrah?

Gen 18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

Had there been at least 10 righteous people in Sodom, that city would still be standing today, unless God had removed them!

We can be sure that there was a small remnant in Jerusalem, at least 10 or more, who still remained faithful to the Lord and because of this Jerusalem was not destroyed.

All these things should remind is of the “Rapture of the Church” when all those “faithful” to the Lord will be physically removed from this Earth and there will not be even one righteous person left and it is then that this world will be like Sodom and Gomorrah and God will treat this world the same as He had those cities that no longer exist! In it will even worse for the world in that day.

Then Isaiah says to the rulers of Israel, who ruled like the King of Sodom and to the people of Israel, who lived like the people of Gomorrah, listen to what the Lord is saying to all those who live this way and still seek God’s favor.

We should also understand that when the prophet is speaking, then there is still time to repent!

When God speaks Himself, it will be His last warning and there will be no time to repent!

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

It will just be too late to make meaningless sacrifices to God!

*****Isa 1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
Isa 1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
Isa 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

God will only allow the rebellion of this world for so long! Those who call on the Lord and at the same time reject His Word, are in for a terrible surprise!

People who refuse to obey the Word of God, then live as they please and do their own thing, will be in for a shock when the Lord returns in the clouds and the church is removed and only they remain.

It was not matter what we think, it only matters what God says!!!!!

When we rebel against the Lord, we are contributing to the immorality, the lawlessness, and the violence in our societies and this is a fact!

These Israelites began to believe that their bond with Jehovah God was maintained by sacrifice and rituals and they could not have been more wrong.

We know that with the sacrifice of animals in that day, could stay the hand of God until the next year. In fact, the idea of sacrifice as a food source to the gods comes from pagan worship and these people had already rejected the truths of God.

So, what did God say? God said, all these things are beginning to make me sick.

This should remind us of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Laodicean Church Age.

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Jesus said this kind of worship made Him sick to His stomach!

We should understand that there is only one way to worship the Lord!

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, “when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth”: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him “must” worship him in spirit and in truth.

Some people have truth and no Spirit.
Some people have spirit but no truth.
God says we must have both!

God does not let us get by with a “maybe we will” type of worship!

God does not accept the rituals of man as even being worship!

God will only accept worship that is sincere!

We sometimes forget that when we go to worship the Lord, we are going before our Creator who is our God.

These people had combined immoral conduct with ritual worship, in their own man-made effort to please God and this will never work.

This is the way of the church today!

God will not accept the hypocrite!

How did God describe this worship?

Isa 66:3 He that killeth an ox is “as if he slew a man”; he that sacrificeth a lamb, “as if he cut off a dog’s neck”; he that offereth an oblation, “as if he offered swine’s blood”; he that burneth incense, “as if he blessed an idol”. Yea, “they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations”.

We cannot choose our own way to worship the Lord!

These people actually showed great zeal in doing these things, rather than zeal to obey God.

The sin of unbelief is the greatest sin of all and cannot be forgiven, but in reality the next greatest sin is when those who call on the Lord in ritualistic worship and then live immoral lives and think that this is pleasing to the Lord. This is worship that makes God sick!

If these things did not please God in the day of Isaiah, why would we think God is pleased with these things today?

God does not ever change His ways, His thoughts, His salvation plan, nor His judgment!

Num 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

The world had made God powerless but God’s patience is one thing that has a point of ending!

Mal 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

When we worship, God says to raise “holy hands” but the hands that continue in sin can never be holy!

When we have unrepented sin in our hearts God will not hear our prayers!

When we make vain repetitions in our prayers, we are acting like heathen in the sight of God!

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

We cannot just attend church regular.
We cannot just repeat some ritualistic prayer.
We cannot just offer up our personal sacrifices.
We must also worship in Spirit and in Truth!

We must repent of our evil and sinful life and to repent means “to turn away from such things and think in the ways of the Lord”.

*****Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

There is only one way to wash, in order to please God!

Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

No more blood needs to be shed, the Lord Jesus shed His own blood and there is plenty to go around.

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

There is a price that had to be paid for our redemption. All those animal sacrifices and all other sacrifices could only prove that we cannot wash and clean ourselves.

Once cleansed, then we must cease to do evil or that cleansing was meaningless.

What is it to repent?

1) There must be a true sense of guilt and sinfulness.
2) There must be a realization of God’s “mercy”.
3) There must be a hatred of sin.
4) There must be a complete change in direction, we must then walk in the ways of the Lord!

Psa 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psa 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

God says let’s talk about this, so we can be sure that God is willing to discuss salvation with anyone during this time of “Grace”.

*****Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

God simply says, “let’s bring this dispute to an end”. Your way simply will not work!

Pro 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

It is only by washing in the blood of Jesus that we can be washed as white as snow!

***We must first be willing! We must desire to be cleansed of our sin and this can take place only after we realize the truth of our sin!

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

***We must then be obedient to the Word of God! We must submit to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

***If we are not willing and we refuse and rebel against the Lord, then we will certainly be rejected by the Lord!

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Where do we find all the things the Lord has said to us? Today we call this the Bible and in my case the KJV Bible is the truth I need.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

When we rebel against the Lord, we will find that life is really not that pleasant without being under the protecting hands of God!

*****Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Isa 1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Isa 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

When 10 of tribes of Israel had revolted to form the Northern Kingdom, Judah whose capitol was Jerusalem had remained “faithful”. God had referred to Himself as the husband to this nation of Israel so in fact, even Jerusalem had become as a harlot who sold herself to many men and had become a treacherous wife.

Judah was no more righteous but was now unfaithful, becoming a place of murderers.

Dross is the scum, the impurities thrown out in the purification of precious metals and worthless. Judah had become the scum of the earth in the eyes of God.

Unrepentant sinners who claim to know God, are the scum of the earth!

Even Judah had become useless to God. We must remember it was the job of Israel to tell the world about Jehovah God and His plan of salvation.

They had taken the fresh new wine of the Word of God and blended it with the inventions of men and had lost the Spirit in which God had given it to them. Remember the Lord Jesus said this new wine, “this fresh squeezed grape juice”, was in type His blood of the New Testament. Not some rotten or fermented juice

We cannot water down the Word of God and still call it the truth of God!

The government had rebelled and had even welcomed and encouraged false worship.
Anyone of with power to judge, could be bought with gifts.
They both sought rewards for the power they thought they had.
They were full of corruption at all levels!
They did not care for the orphans of society!
They did not care much for aged of society!
They did not care much for the truth of God at all!

All the causes of God had been rejected!

So, we do not have to imagine what God would do, He had already shown many times how He would react to rebellion!

That word “Therefore”, means for these reasons.

*****Isa 1:24 “Therefore” saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
Isa 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
Isa 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

When we see the word “therefore” we need to look back at the previous Scripture.

Those that rebel against the Word of God then become the enemies of God.
Those that rebel against the truth of God then become the adversaries of God.

It is foolish to believe that God has changed His ways today! Those that reject the Word of God then become the enemies of God and this will never change!

That word “ease” in this Scripture means to “avenge”! Today we might say “appease”, which means to reduce to a state of peace.

Deu 28:63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and “ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it”.
Deu 28:64 And the LORD “shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other”; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

This is a Scripture that no one in this world can deny! Many of Israel are still scattered all around this world even though many of them are hearing that call to go home since May 14, 1948.

Verse 24 has taken place but the remaining Scriptures in this chapter are still in our future and still in the future of Israel.

This vision given to Isaiah that happened at least 700 years before the first coming of Christ, and is still in effect!
God will certainly punish sin!

Jerusalem will indeed be restored and one day this city of Jerusalem will be the capitol city of this entire world!

We should be certain that when God punishes sin, God’s aim is to restore that individual but there will still come a time when it is too late to repent and God also says He will not “clear the guilty”. (Verse 28) The guilty will never get a free ride!

God is never vindictive in His purpose!

God’s purpose here is to restore Jerusalem much like it was in the days of Solomon.

*****Isa 1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
Isa 1:28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

Just as God says here, Jerusalem will not be redeemed until the Second Coming of Christ to bring “judgment” on all those who are left after the “Rapture” of the Church.

And dont be fooled by those that say the the word “Rapture” is not in the Word of God. That particular word may not be there but the action of the “Rapture” appears more than once.

1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall “be caught” up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

That phrase “caught up” is the Greek word “harpazo” which means “to take by force”, to pluck, to seize. In Latin the word “rapture” describes this action that God will take to remove His people.

In verse 28 that word “consumed” means that the sinners and the transgressors and the destruction they have caused will cease to exist!

What will happen after the “Rapture” of the Church to those that are left behind who have rejected God’s offer of salvation?

*****Isa 1:29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
Isa 1:30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
Isa 1:31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

God gave these “visions” to His prophets to make a last appeal, a warning of the coming “Judgment” of God!

At this time, Israel had disowned their Father in Heaven.

They had refused to be the “Bride” to the righteous “Groom”.

They had failed to fulfill the purpose that God had assigned to them.

God had given them exceptional privileges but they had chosen sin over those privileges and benefits.

Gardens that were once chosen for their beauty became an emblem of “nature worship”. They had become a hedonistic society!

They worship sacred trees but those who remained close to the Lord were only seen as leaves that had fallen and faded in their eyes.

They had sacred wells but those that trusted in the Lord were seen only as dry wells.

After the Church is in Heaven they will fill ashamed of all these things but it will be to late!

Jer 8:3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

None of the gods that they have worshipped will be able to save them!

Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

And they will be consumed!

We can see that when Isaiah had this vision, he spent the rest of his days trying to convince Israel to return to the Lord.

This is now our job, to try to convince this lost and evil world, to return to the ways of the Lord, who is so full of “Grace” at this time but He will show His wrath one day not in the too distant future.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Restoring The Kingdom; Book of Micah Part 2

November 13, 2016 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Restoration Of The Kingdom – Micah Part 2

Book of Micah Chapters 3-5

First, before we start we need to remember, If we cannot accept the truth, then we will believe a lie.

What is the truth?

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Most all people look at prophets as men who foretell of doom only, but the truth of God’s Prophets is their message was more a message of hope!

There are many highly educated men that can give us a vision of the future that we can find agreeable.

They even promise that education and technology will make things much better in our future.

The Scriptures on the other hand promise that Jesus Christ is the future of every human being and He will be our “Savior” or He will be our “Judge” and that is a choice that we make ourselves.

This my friends is the truth!

Chapter 3 teaches us that national leaders are to know and practice “good judgment”! They are to use God’s standards and not man’s standards!

Chapter 3 also teaches us that the preachers are to preach the full council of God and not their own twisted versions!

Chapter 3 also teaches us that we are not a Christian nation just because we say so, we must live by the Word of God!

What is the truth of our nation today?

Mic 3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.

We can see that just as Israel and Judah were living in sin this day of Micah, this message fits this day we live also!

The truth is no matter what this world teaches, Jesus Christ is the future of our world! As Christians we know that our hope lies in the Lord!

Chapter 4 verse 1

*****Mic 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

The truth is, the wicked and sinful world will one day transition into a kingdom of glory, a kingdom of peace, and a kingdom of victory!

Corruption and greed rule our world today and many people live in hopelessness and die without Christ.

The hope of our world lies in the Second Coming of the Messiah!

The hope of the Christian lies in “Faith” in the things of God before we die a physical death!

Only the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, offers real hope to all those who are lost!

The only thing that will change despair is “HOPE”!

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. “Let no man despise thee”.

The truth is, that here Micah teaches us that Jerusalem will be exalted above all nations!

Jerusalem will become the capitol city of this world!

I know this breaks the heart of many people but the truth is still the truth!

Jerusalem will also be the religious capitol of this world and people from all nations will come to be taught the ways of God!

The truth is, it will be the same Word of God that we have today with most all prophesy fulfilled.

Jerusalem will also be the legislative capitol of this world and this Word of God will flow from Jerusalem.

Rev 19:15 And “out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword”, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

There will be no voting to see which laws will be obeyed!

Because the truth is Jerusalem will also be the “judicial” capitol of this world and the Word of God has already been approved in Heaven.

*****Mic 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

In this world today there are always wars and or rumors of wars. In fact the threat of war is even used to sway righteous judgment many times.

There is always the fear of economic collapse, the fear of violence, the fear of injustice, and most all people live a life of uncertainty, anxiety and fear.

That will all come to an end with the return of the Messiah and the world will then see true peace!

All nations will disarm and disband their military forces!

That equipment and that technology and that money, will then be used to feed and maintain a thriving society.

The people of earth will live in perfect peace and security for 1000 years.

People will live without fear for the very first time!

There will be no starving children, and no homeless people and no crooked politicians!

This describes the Millennial reign of the King Of Kings!

Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

People will finally know the truth!

Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

For the Jews who are so hated and despised today, will then be honored by all nations and all people!

Deu 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
Deu 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

Most all nations honor Abraham and God will then fulfill the promises He made to Abraham!

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

We know that the Millennial Kingdom does not take place until after the “Rapture” of the Church but let’s look at what happens at that time:

1) All believers will be glorified in Christ Jesus.
2) All believers will be privileged to be with God throughout eternity.
3) All believers will rule with Christ Jesus once His Kingdom has been established.
4) All believers will be joint-heirs with Christ Jesus of the glorious things of God!

Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Fear will be a word not found in books anymore!

*****Mic 4:4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Mic 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

These are not just somebody’s wishes or somebody’s thoughts, these are the promises of a Holy God!

Beginning with the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ, Israel will worship the Lord forever.

All “believers”, then and now “will”, (not maybe, not under certain circumstances, not because of works but because of faith) will walk in the name of the LORD, “our God” for all eternity!

This is a promise and it is a sure promise to everyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ!

What had Joshua told the nation of Israel as they entered the promise land?

Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

As we take a stand for the Lord in these final days we need to remember the words of Joshua and of Micah because they will lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ every time!

At the presentation of the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ, we “all” must make a choice!

Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

The Jews have been slowly returning to their homeland but at that time God will bring them all back home.

*****Mic 4:6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
Mic 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

**The “halted” are those who do not have the ability to move by their own power.

Spiritually speaking, the halted are those incapable of spiritual movement.

**The “banished” are those that are condemned by the laws of man and are friends to God’s enemies.

They will all repent and return to the Lord.

**Those afflicted may be lame, or blind, or deaf, or dumb, or lepers, or sinners and belong to Satan.
But their eyes will be opened, their bodies healed, their hearing restored, their sins forgiven and they will be released from the bondage of Satan.

No matter what the world thinks or says, the Lord Himself promises that Israel will be restored.’

This lost world simply does not understand the truth of God or they just reject Him!

*****Mic 4:12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
Under the rule of the Messiah, Jerusalem will be the authority and all the land promised to Abraham will be restored to them.

The truth is, mankind in ignorance, fight against God’s purpose and in fighting against God’s purpose mankind will bring ruin upon themselves!

God will use the plans they have made against Him be used to destroy themselves!

God will gather the enemies of Israel, like sheaves to the threshing floor and then allow Israel to trample and crush all her enemies!

Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

At this point Micah gives us one the greatest prophesies that has been fulfilled that the entire world knows about.

The first coming of the Messiah!

The “Birth” that changed our world!

*****Mic 5:1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

It is a fact that our world is full of immoral leaders who are also corrupt in their ways and in their thoughts.

In truth this world has always been full of immoral, corrupt leaders.

This has been more noticeable in our own nation than ever before!

It astounds me that no one seems to care, but it is also a fact that the lost will always defend the lost!

The truth is revolutions, revolts, and social upheavals have occurred almost everywhere on this planet.

America is more divided now than it ever has been and even our own government is preparing for a revolt that our own government has been instigating.

It is not so much the people who are rebelling, as it is the government who have been rebelling against the people and this is the difference this time in America!

There is coming a day when all these things will cease!

The truth is, our hope lies in the Lord!

The Lord Jesus could have come in any way He chose to come but there was only one way for God’s purpose to be fulfilled.

Bethlehem means the “house of bread”.

Ephratah means “fruitfulness”.

This place known for it’s “natural fruitfulness” would also be a place of “spiritual fruitfulness”!

This place, which was so remote that it would never become a place of importance, in one night became the most famous place in all the world.

This place, which was also the birthplace of King David was also the birth place of the Messiah who was to fulfill the prophesies God had given to David.

Out of this same place came Christ “the ruler of all Israel”!

Out of this place came the eternity of God “the Son”!

Out of this insignificant city, born in a manger, in the most humble of all places, came the Messiah, the foundation of Christianity!

The symbol of Rome was it’s military.

The Jews required a conquering General to obtain freedom.

Out of Bethlehem came the hope of Israel!

Out of Bethlehem came the hope of all mankind!

Out of Bethlehem came the God of Love saying: Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

As Christians our greatest example of true life, is our own Lord!

God makes the weak to be strong and the strong to be weak.

Christ came to teach us to serve, as a humble servant Himself!

2Co 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Why would God choose these things?

1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The purpose of the prophesies of Christ’s birth were intended to bring hope!

The purpose of the prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ is still intended to bring hope!

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

This is to be the same message of the Church today!

It is the job of the Church to teach these things as the truth, for they are, and they have proven to be so!

The Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem Ephratah 700 years after Micah had said these things.
What the world needed was a Savior, a Deliverer, a Redeemer and all these things are of the Christ and the other things would come later.

Shortly after the time of Micah until the birth of Jesus Christ, God was silent.

An in 70 AD Israel was decimated by the Romans.

Israel had paid no attention to the words of Micah.

It would be a great benefit to the Church, if we paid very close attention not only to Micah but all the prophesies of the Bible, in fact to every Scripture, rightly divided!

*****Mic 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

From the birth of Jesus Christ until May 14, 1948, Israel was then “Born Again”.

Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

**But we must clearly understand that Israel will remain in travail as a pregnant virgin until they have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as the true Messiah.

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

What did Micah preach?

*****Mic 5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

The ministry of Jesus Christ will be in the strength and the majesty of God Himself!

It is the strength of God that will rule and dominate the earth at this time, (a rod of iron).

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

At that time there will be no one on this earth that does not know the Lord Jesus Christ!

The only ones left now are those who are lost, Hell is full of believers along with the true Church!

Jesus will bring peace to the earth but the peace that Christ brings will be much more than the absence of war!

There will be absolute security for all God’s people.
There will be a prosperity of the like that this world has never been seen.
There will be generosity from all people and all nations.
But more important there will be “spiritual peace”, God and His people will be reconciled forever!

We will all be rejoicing in the “glory of God” on that day!

*****Mic 5:7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

The Church will have already been with the Lord at least 7 years at this time and will return with the Lord.

Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
The remnant of Israel will be saved and joined with the Church.
Rom 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
Rom 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

Those “many people” are those that survived the 7 year tribulation period!

Psa 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
Psa 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Psa 4:5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

And there will only be a remnant of Israel.

*****Mic 5:8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
Mic 5:9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

But notice none of this will take place until Israel has defeated all her enemies!

Israel has always been chosen to set the example of obedience to God’s Laws:

Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Israel has always been chosen to preach the Word of God to all Gentiles:

Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

Luk 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

All the enemies of the Word of God will have been cut off by this time.

Luk 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The Book of Micah will lead us to the truth of the end times if we will just listen to his words.

Next week we will see what God requires of us.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

The Judgment Of God

September 4, 2016 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Judgment Of God

Book of Amos Chapters 1-4

Amos was a fiery preacher and God’s prophet, but most all the things we know about Amos we find in the book that bears his name.

Amos is not mentioned in any other book of the Bible.

Amos was a native of Tekoa a place about 6 mile from Bethlehem in the Southern Kingdom but God sent him to the Northern Kingdom to do His work.

Amos may not have been just a poor shepherd because according to the Hebrew word used for shepherd, Amos could have been a breeder of sheep.

It is possible that Amos raised large herds of sheep.

And also possible that Amos managed a large grove of Sycamore trees.

BUT, Amos described himself simply as a simple farmer called of God.

Amo 7:14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
Amo 7:15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

Amos was a true prophet of God and he had the courage of a prophet called of God and remember the words of a prophet of God had to always be true.

Num 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

The only prophet that was different as far as we know was Moses who had a special task.

Num 12:7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
Num 12:8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

In time there became what we would call prophetic order of men called of God probably begun at the time of Samuel.

Amos said he had never belonged to such an order.

The 16 prophets in which we have books, were called of God, commissioned, and entrusted with the messages of God to His people.

They were not only prophets but also historians, and preachers of patriotism and had morals that were based on the Word of God.

It was also their intention to influence the politics of the government to follow the Word of God!

Amos’ most important job was to reveal God’s will to all mankind.

Most every prophet also foretold of the coming of Jesus Christ.

Amos’ main target was the Northern Tribes of Israel and Amos preached the coming judgment of God!

We must remember all the books of the prophets were written as much for us as they were for the people of that day.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: “and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come”.

And these things were written to teach how to live godly lives.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

The Book of Amos was written to call Israel to repentance and obedience to the Word of God to avoid the judgment of God.

We can also learn this valuable lesson.

So let’s begin:

*****Amo 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Amo 1:2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

To understand better the time of Amos we need to take the time to read in the Book of Kings from the time of Uzziah of the Southern Kingdom and Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom.

To relate the message of Amos to our life today, we need to remember those times when we have been told, “this is your last chance”.

In most cases it meant one last chance to change our behavior or else?

The “else” that Amos was referring to was the “judgment” of God!

Amos made it very plain, these were not his words but that this message was from God Himself as it was from all God’s prophets!

There are so many today that preach the God of Love and this is certainly true.

There are many today that preach a prosperity gospel and it is true that God will provide our needs but He did not promise to make us all rich.

There are very few that preach the “Judgment” of God and if these other things are true then we must accept that we can make God angry and God will one day reach a point where He will simply say “I’ve had enough”.

There are those that preach that Amos only pronounced “judgment” on the Northern Tribes but they simply did not read the book.

Before God allowed Amos to preach “judgment” on Israel, the Northern Tribes, God mentions the nations that surrounded Israel in that day but also today.

Amos preached the judgment on Damascus, which is Syria, a cruel people.
Amos preached the judgment of Gaza, the Philistines in that day the so called Palestinians of today a callous people.
Amos preach the judgment Tyre, Phoenicia in that day but does not exist as a state today. They were a disloyal people.
Amos preached the judgment of Edom. Edom does not exist today as a state but they were an unmerciful people.
Amos preached the judgment of Ammon, now Jordan, they were a covetous people.
Amos preached the judgment of Moab, they were a vengeful people.
And before Amos preached the judgment of Israel, he preached against Judah, modern day Israel, a disobedient, and unfaithful people.
And finally Amos preached the judgment of Israel, a hypocritical people.

You see like a Lion the Lord will roar from Zion!

The message of Amos was judgment on all the people of this world that do these things!

*****Amo 2:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
Amo 2:7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
Amo 2:8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

We should also be clear that God’s judgment will be on His own people first.

God’s people will be the first to given an account for their own works after salvation.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

God will judge the Church first then the rest of the world.

God has said that there was to be a treaty of brotherhood among all human beings, and we can see how we have all failed.

We are to love one another no matter our race, our color, or our nationality after all we all come from the Living God!

The people of Judah and Israel were not accustomed to such preaching especially by such a man as Amos who was not connected to the line of Aaron or Moses or any of the priesthood.

Israel lived understanding that they were the chosen of God and above God’s judgment which is not true.

There is no one above the “judgment of God!

The truth of God is that He is Love.

1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

God will continue to bless all people while He patiently waits on them to repent and turn from their wicked ways, right up until the time that He decides it is time for judgment.

Right up until the time when He says, “this is your last chance”!

What had Israel done? They had denied the power of God and turned to idol worship.

They had denied the salvation of the God who had set them free from the bondage of Egypt and claimed that power actually came from a false god.

They had rejected all the prophets of God. (It is during this time of Amos that we also find Jonah and Hosea)

They had rejected those who had pronounced their claim to be Nazarites who also witnessed for the Lord.

They had actually persecuted all those that remained true to God!

They had actually tried to force God’s people to to violate their commitments they made to the Lord.

All these things sound so familiar to what is going on in our world today even in America.

The terrorists and the governments doing the same thing, trying to rid the world of God’s people.

While pretending to be God’s people they had become deceitful.

They were hypocrites!

They drank the wine of the condemned in the house of their god!

And what was the best example in the history of this people?

*****Amo 2:9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Amo 2:10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
Amo 2:11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

Amos had preached that the sins of terrorism and barbarism were truly great and would be judged.

Amos had preached that civilizations that made slaves of the poor and abused the needy would be judged even more harsh.

Israel had great victories but those victories had come by the hand of God.

It was God that had destroyed the Amorites.

These were a people full of passion and pride and all sorts of immorality. So much was the destruction of this people that they are no longer remembered except on some ancient Egyptian monuments.

This thing had followed the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt and their 40 years in the wilderness.

In fact they had spent 40 years in the wilderness because they had a deadly fear of these same Amorites.

It had been by God’s mercy that Israel had been blessed.

But, It was God who had called the prophets who spoke only the words of God.

And, It was God who had called for the Nazarites who showed the way of God through the way they lived.

When we deny the power of God we will spend our days in wasted lives.

It is God who destroys our enemies.

It is God who provides a plan of salvation.

No matter what we think we have gotten for ourselves, it was God that provided it.

When we deny God’s power we are wasting our time praying because the object of prayer is seek the God of all power!

This world we live in better wake up because to persecute God’s messengers brings the downfall to every nation.

To persecute God’s people will bring the wrath of God!

We live in a world that simply refuses to hear about their sin, so they truly do not want to be around a righteous person.

A righteous person is only those that follow the teachings of the Word of God!

Persecuting the people of God was accepted by society in the day of Amos and we can see that persecuting God’s people is accepted by society in the world today and yes even in America!

God only has one choice and this world is making it for Him!

God will judge each nation and then the world!

None of these will escape the wrath of God!

God says no one is swift enough nor strong enough to escape (vs14)

God says no nation has enough military power to defend against His judgment (vs15)

God says there is simply no one that can stand up to Him in this world (vs16)

The absolute worst sinner in this world is not the mass murderer or the ones who are the most evil.

The worst sinners in this world are the hypocrites who profess to believe upon the Lord but are deceiving those who truly believe.

Those that profess they know the Lord on a personal level and then live their own life by their own rules are hypocrites.

Israel had become a nation of hypocrites!

Tit 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Tit 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

We are warned specifically about these things:

1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Chapter 3 is more about how to avoid the “Judgment” of God. God had chosen the nation of Israel to bring His message to the world and they had rejected this purpose and rejected His privileges and therefore they would see His “Judgment”.

We must remember that the Living God has offered every human being the opportunity to walk and talk with Him and most of the world still rejects His offer. Therefore most of this world will see the soon coming “Judgment” of God.

As we continue we will see that God’s “Judgment” will fall on an unrepentant people who have been given many opportunities to do so.

Selfishness, stubbornness, and hypocritical worship will bring the “Judgment” of God on every people!

The answer to all these things is repentance.

Chapter 4 is about repentance.

This is not the repentance of Judas who was very sorry for what he had done but his heart was still unchanged.

True repentance is a change of mind, a change of our purpose in this life, a complete change of direction of where we were headed.

This is the only repentance that will bring forgiveness of sins!

It takes a true realization of our sin.
It takes a true realization of God’s mercy.
It takes a true hatred for any and all sin.
It takes a true walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The truth is stubbornness will result in the “Judgment” of God.

In the past God has used famine as a means of discipline and I am sure He may still use this and other things today.

The truth is discipline means that “Judgment” has not yet come.

God will make use of famine.

Amo 4:6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

The truth is, we live in cursed world and many evils may come upon us which we may be innocent in relation to them, but God’s discipline is for the sin we know we have.

When we know what God expects and He gives a complete list, so we are without excuse, then to do those things is just being stubborn and in open rebellion to the Word of God.

If there is a famine then we should ask ourselves what are we doing wrong and repent.

We should consider that even if God did not cause a situation, He did allow it for some reason and God judges sin, but rewards good works even though good works cannot get you into a personal relationship with God.

We should also consider that God has a reason for everything He does and “Love” and “Concern” are His two greatest reasons.

Afflictions are designed to humble us to the point of asking why and then we can look in the mirror of our lives to get the answer.

God will do the same thing to a government that He will do to a person and God sometimes uses human wickedness and we can see this in America today. We should see this as discipline to give us time to repent before “Judgment” come, for it will certainly come without repentance!

Cleanness of teeth means that Israel had a lack of food in all their cities.
They had a cupboard or a pantry that just did not have enough food in it to sustain good health.

But they refused to repent!

So God added drought.

*****Amo 4:7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

Sometimes when we will get so relaxed in our lifestyle that God will do things to make us uncomfortable.
In America we have when many other nations to do have.

Notice here that God had sent the drought early enough that if Israel would repent then the crops could have been saved but they refused to repent and their hunger increased, their lack of food increased.

We can see that God even showed favor to one city more than another to show His power over nature. Some suffered for thirst while some had plenty. Some gardens suffered while other gardens produced plenty.

This was done to show them the error of their ways but they would still not repent but we can be sure they blamed God for their misery.

When we are foolish enough to blame God for our misery but still to foolish to repent this in itself should show us how foolish we truly are.

If it is truly an act of God then God teaches us how to avoid such things so these things are really an act of sin and sin is to be blamed!

Sin is anything that goes against the Word of God!

*****Amo 4:8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Many would leave their homes to find a place where things were better but so many would do this that that new home would soon be the same and they would be lacking again.

If they had stayed at home and changed their ways then things would have been much better but they refused to repent.

The truth is God has much more patience than most people have stubbornness but even the patience of God has it’s limits.

The more stubborn people are, the more discipline is required.

*****Amo 4:9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Blasting is what we would call “blight”.

Blight effects plants sometimes causing the whole plant to whither and sometimes only the leaves, or the blossoms, or the fruit will shrivel up as if they were scorched.

In America we sometimes call boils or eruptions in the skin as blight.

Blight has the meaning of to prevent or to frustrate growth and or fertility.

This was God’s intent!

Mildew can be said to be paleness of the skin in people who are afraid but in most cases it refers to the corrosion of plants or stains on objects caused by moisture.

The Palmer-worm is thought to be a type of locust that devours plants and are a nuisance to humans.

What this verse is saying is that God brought economic devastation to these people in ways that that they knew came from Him but they still would not repent.

We wonder sometimes why our economy just does not seem to get better, well instead kicking God out of every door and laughing at the Word of God, maybe we just need to repent and change our evil ways.

If we would return to the Lord, things could be so much better but we simply allow a very small portion of our population, who so engrossed in sin and in power to control, to dictate the sin in our nation. Until we take a stand on the Word of God, things simply will not get any better no matter who sits in the White House.

SO, When we refuse to repent it then hits closer to home.

*****Amo 4:10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

There are always those that have no fear of drought.

There are always those that have no fear of doing without food.

There is no one that does not have a fear of disease and plagues.

And, Not everyone can protect themselves from the murderers and the terrorist.

And no one likes to live in a place where it just stinks all the time.

The Lord sent sickness and disease to all of Israel.

The Lord sent military defeat and many of those young sons were killed in lost causes by governments that rejected the Lord.

Rejecting the Lord is harmful to all people in all cultures and all societies.

Life without God is a life of misery!

Misery is the force of human depravity!

But Israel still would not repent.

*****Amo 4:11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

There is no one with any sense that does not realize the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and God destroyed these places with fire and brimstone.

In all of Israel, there were catastrophes to cities and to homes where some only escaped with the clothes on their backs.

It’s amazing how stubborn these people were but yet we can see these same things happening today and yet those causing much of the problems we face, deny the wrath of God and say we have only a God of love.

God certainly has more love than He has wrath but one moment of the wrath of God is still the most destructive thing that can be witnessed on this earth.

When we have a tendency to disregard what God has done in the past saying He will not do those things again, then we are fools!

All these things are only examples what our God is capable of to those that reject Him!

When discipline just will not work then God only has one alternative.

The truth is that people only go to Hell because they have chosen too!

Therefore these are the reasons for God’s “judgment”!

*****Amo 4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

There is one truth that holds to every human being that has ever lived on this earth, “judgment is certain”!

The “judgment” of God is inescapable.

Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

When we reject the truth of God then along with the other things we may think we can do, we certainly had better be prepared to meet the One and the Only Living God!

Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These words are just as true as all the Word of God.

This is the same God of creation who is denied by most of the world.

This is the same God that has revealed Himself to Israel and then to all the world but is denied by most.

This the omnipotent God of all power who it was that has established all the laws of nature and who controls all the things of the day and of the night, here and throughout all that we can see.

This the same omnipresent God who dwells wherever He chooses and we simply cannot go anywhere where He is not present.

This is the Lord God of all the Angels and rules over all life in Heaven and on Earth.

We must not be fooled by this world, “judgment” is guaranteed!

Judgment is inescapable!

The only hope for all people is repentance and then forgiveness!

The sad part is that many will never come to the Lord and repent and the Book of Revelation was written for this purpose and in the end God simply says these words.

Rev 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

God will come as a thief in the night and while the world is still going about it’s routine of evil, this world will get to see the God that they have rejected and it will not be a pleasant day.

When the Lord comes it will be done very quickly!

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Who in their right mind wants to see the God of Wrath! I know I do not.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Elijah, God’s Prophet

July 12, 2015 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Elijah, God’s Prophet Of Courage

1 Kings 17–2 Kings 2

From our previous lessons we know that Israel had been divided into two separate nations, one being Judah and the other the 10 tribes now called Israel.

Israel had departed from the Living God, Jehovah and had turned to idolatry.

Because of God’s mercy and God’s grace, He is still God of the second chance and the God of opportunity.

The word “repent” would not be necessary in any language if it were not for the fact that God knows that we are all only sinners who can only be saved by God’s grace.

The Grace of God still means—“God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”.

God needed a man who was willing to boldly stand up a government that promoted idol worship and God sent the prophet Elijah.

The name Elijah means “my God is Jehovah”!

If you are a believer in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ then your name is also Elijah but only if you possess one more thing.

Elijah had courage!

Courage in the believer is much more than the bravery of the average man.

Courage is the quality of the mind that allows a believer to encounter dangers and difficulties because they already know the truth of God and know they have eternal life.

Biblical courage is showing that you are strong in the Lord!

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

It takes courage to overcome the lies of Satan but the rewards are worth the pain of abuse.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Courage to the believer is opposite from the cowardice of the unbeliever!

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

It can be said that Elijah was the most dramatic person in all of history, second only to Jesus Christ.

Elijah was a man of action. Elijah did not take the time to write things down for us because he was a man that things were written about!

Elijah appeared on the scene and in much less than a lifetime Elijah just as quickly disappears!

Long after Elijah disappeared, the Jews have been continually expecting him to return, to again stand up the the falseness of this world.

The Bible says this will actually take place but Elijah will not return in his personal capacity, Elijah will return in his spiritual capacity.

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Many believed that John the Baptist was actually the second coming of Elijah. but John himself said this was not true.

Luk 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luk 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
Luk 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luk 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

John informed the world that he was not that Elijah.

Joh 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
Joh 1:20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
Joh 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Joh 1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
Joh 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

John the Baptist was also a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

John the Baptist did preach in the same power of Elijah but there was another who also preached in the power of Elijah and his name was Jesus.

Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And it is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who says that Elijah will certainly return again to this Earth.

Israel was suffering from a drought of the Word of God, so God decided Israel should also suffer from a drought of life giving water.

We first meet Elijah as he delivers his first message to the government of Israel.

*****1Ki 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

Elijah was from Tishbi a city of very few people and he had relocated to Gilead. Gilead was a mountainous region north of Samaria but east of the River Jordan and was known as a good place to raise cattle.

Num 32:1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

It is not mentioned in the Books of Kings, but Elijah had prayed before he entered into this work of the Lord.

Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

What should we immediately notice about Elijah?

He was just a man subject to the same passions as we are!

What should we remember about God’s prophets?

Deu 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
Deu 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Elijah had not prayed for Israel not to receive rain!

Elijah was stating the pure facts!

If Israel would not return from their evil ways they would face the judgement of God. There had been no rain or even dew already for 6 months and Elijah said this would last for another 3 years unless God saw a change and Elijah would then become an “intercessor” for the people of Israel.

Rom 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Rom 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

All the kings of Israel since Jeroboam had attempted to kill or remove all of God’s prophets and had destroyed the places for true worship and Elijah was well aware of all these things.

What are the facts?

Israel had turned to Baal worship along the worship of many other false man-made idols.

Baal was supposedly the storm god and the god of good crops.

For the words of God’s prophet’s to be true, then Baal would have to be a complete failure as a god and he was!

Elijah had just proposed a direct challenge to the god of Ahab and the god of Jezebel.

Elijah would not have been a true prophet of God if he had stayed and asked God to bless these people, so God sent Elijah away until the proof of Elijah’s words were seen.

*****1Ki 17:2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
1Ki 17:3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

We must realize that God tells us up front that our future home is in Heaven once we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Up until that time, God will only lead us through this life one day at a time!

Our prayers should center on, “Lord what next step should I take” and once that step is revealed we must take that one step while trusting in the Lord to show us how to take that next step in our walk with the Lord.

After Elijah had revealed his message from God, it was time for Elijah to remove himself and allow God to do what He had said He would do.

We will never be able to confront this sinful generation, until we have spent some personal time with God!

Notice this drought was to last 3 and 1/2 years.

The ministry of Jesus and the teaching of the Apostles was 3 and 1/2 years.

The time the Apostle Paul spent in the wilderness alone with God was 3 and 1/2 years.

I believe we can see that each child of God should spend some time alone with God before we can begin our own ministries and we all have a ministry and by example, 3 and 1/2 years would seem to be a reasonable time.

What does God do during that time period?

God prepares each of us for the work He has called us to do!

Elijah was not sent to hide from the wrath of Ahab or even Jezebel.

Elijah was sent to God’s proving ground to teach Elijah a lesson in truth and patience!

We are never to fear what man can do to us, we are to have a Godly fear of the Lord!

The remembrance of Elijah as true man of God is well documented in the New Testament and we find his named mentioned at least 30 times.

God gave Ahab 3 and 1/2 years to see the truth of God and God caused Elijah to vanish out of the sight of Ahab.

God removed Elijah so Ahab would have no contact with him for this same period!

The brook of Cherith was only a rainy season stream that dumped into the River Jordan but it would always dry up during the dry season.

So what is the truth of Scripture?

David wrote in the Book of Psalms these words:

Psa 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

The truth is that God will always provide for those that serve Him!

*****1Ki 17:4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

It was God’s intention to keep Elijah safe to complete the work he had started.

It was God intentions to keep Elijah fed and watered during all this time.

It was also God’s intention for Elijah to grow in the Lord during all this time.

Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

Elijah had not been raised in luxury. Elijah was a man of the wilderness. In fact Elijah did not even dress as most men dressed. If you had ever seen Elijah you would always remember that you had seen him!

2Ki 1:7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?
2Ki 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

Many depict Elijah as some hairy man wearing leather for his clothes and this could have been true but the Scriptures only say that Elijah was a man of hair.

In the Hebrew this means that Elijah was the owner of hair or that Elijah wore the skins of animals, probably cattle that still had the hair attached to that skin.

This why John the Baptist was associated with Elijah and it was intentional on God’s part!

Mar 1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

John’s message was the same as Elijah’s!

Joh 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

Just as John was a voice in the work of the Lord, so was Elijah!

This is our only job after we accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts, we are to be a voice in the work of the Lord!

God will provide for all those that lend their voice to the work of the Lord and if you notice most Christians will dress differently from the world!

We should also realize that Elijah would have perished by the brook of Cherith if God had not shown him the next step to take.

Our faith must wait on God’s plans!

Elijah next went to Zarephath which was located in part of the land that was ruled by the father of Queen Jezebel, which made it the last place that Ahab and Jezebel would think to search for Elijah.

It amazes me how God will many times use our enemies to provide our needs.

There are many great stories and great miracles shown by the Lord during this 3 and 1/2 year period which we do not have space for in this lesson so let’s pick up with the end of this period of time.

It was also during this time that Elijah first began training his replacement Elisha.

So, Again Elijah meets Ahab.

*****1Ki 18:17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
1Ki 18:18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

When Elijah had first called on Ahab, Elijah had presented a direct challenge to the false gods of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.

We would be foolish not to look at Ahab’s response.

The very first thing all false religions will do, is to blame all the problems of this world on Christians!

Our own President said all Christians are Neanderthal!

The theory Evolution teaches that Neanderthal were just a step in the development of the true human.

In other words our own government considers a Christian to be hung up in the past refusing to accept modern humanism.

In other words Christian beliefs are so far in the past that they cannot comprehend the truth of real human life that exists in our world today.

This is an insult to the truth of the Word of God!

Our own Vice-President said that if not for the antiquated Word of God, Christians could accept the gay lifestyle and abortion as just being the truth of society!

The Muslim blame everything on the Christian and simply strive to remove all Christians from the face of the Earth!

Christians will continue to get the blame for everything even including climate change, which lies only in the hands of God.

Evolution teaches that there has been at least 7 Ice Ages so even evolution teaches of many climate changes over billions of years, years when there where no humans on this earth. So why are they showing such great concern now and blaming it all on humans? It’s called money, to make the rich get richer and the poor kept dependant on the rich to survive!

What was Elijah’s response?

Now it is not that false religion causes all the problems of this world!

It is the rejecting of the truth of God and God Himself that brings these problems!

What words were spoken to the Apostle Paul as he strived to begin the early church?

Act 17:6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also”;

What words were said of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Luk 23:5 And they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirreth up the people”, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

All that call on the Lord Jesus Christ can be sure of one thing, Christianity will always get the blame for the problems that are in this world!

What is our job?

Our job continues to be, to turn this world upside down!

In the end we will see who has the most truthful message.

So Elijah just said, let’s just see who is telling the truth!

*****1Ki 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.

We must realize that during the absence of Elijah, Queen Jezebel had searched the entire land trying to find him and she had caught, tortured and murdered as many of God’s prophets as she could find in trying to locate Elijah but to no avail.

1Ki 18:13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

A man named Obadiah, not the prophet Obadiah, who was a servant to King Ahab had actually helped to preserve as many of God’s prophets and preachers as he could.

1Ki 18:4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

If we look closely at those two words “cut-off” we will see that these words come from the Hebrew word “karath” which mean to cut up into pieces or to mutilate, much like someone would fillet a fish!

Jezebel was a very evil and cruel woman and we can see this same type of evilness is performed by that group called ISIS today along with some others who persecute God’s people!

Our world is still filled with evil men and women and God says many will get even more evil than these we see today!

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Jezreel was the home of the palace of Ahab and Jezebel and also a place where a temple for Jezebel to worship her own false gods was built.

Mount Carmel was a high place of beauty directly across the valley from Jezreel and in full view of all those in this evil city.

The Mediterranean Sea could also be seen from Mount Carmel.

This was the place God had chosen for Elijah to challenge the false prophets of Israel.

God does not hide the work that He causes to happen from the view of those who are evil!

As we know, Baal was considered to be storm god and the fire god of Jezebel. It was Baal who was worshiped so that there could be fruitful harvest.

There were 450 prophets of Baal.

There were also 400 prophets of the groves that were fed, clothed, and housed at the expense of the government of Israel, according to the command of Jezebel who had absolute control of King Ahab.

We see our own government housing many of the enemies of Christ Jesus today!

That word “groves” means the prophets of Asherah. Remember Asherah was worshiped as the wife of Baal and she supposedly was the goddess of fertility, love, and war!

Baal was worshiped as the Sun god and Asherah as the Moon god!

Elijah had directly challenged the false gods of the government Israel but Elijah also confronted the people of Israel with this challenge.

1Ki 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

You see it’s not only important to confront the government but the people must also be confronted. It is the people who can eventually do something to cause a new government to be in place!

What did the Apostle Paul say about the Jew that still holds true today?

1Co 1:22 “For the Jews require a sign”, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

It’s remarkable that a sign is never asked of false religion but a sign is always required of the truth of God!

These false prophets had tried everything they knew to get a response from these false gods but they had no success!

Why? Because man-made idols are powerless because they are man-made!

Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, “the work of men’s hands”.
Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but “they speak not”: eyes have they, but “they see not”:
Psa 115:6 They have ears, but “they hear not”: noses have they, but “they smell not”:
Psa 115:7 They have hands, but “they handle not”: feet have they, but “they walk not”: “neither speak they through their throat”.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

False gods have no power to do anything at all!

So Elijah set about to call on the true God, the Creator of our world.

*****1Ki 18:31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
1Ki 18:32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

Notice Elijah was well aware that all eyes were focused upon him and he was very deliberate in the things he did.

It was Moses who had written the Books of the Law that these Jews were to follow and Moses used 12 stones to build an altar one stone for each tribe of Israel showing that God had intended for them to remain united as one nation.

Joshua had used 12 stones to build a memorial as Israel had crossed Jordan into the Promised Land.

Jesus would later choose 12 disciples showing all of Israel that they were also to be united “in faith” in the Living God.

And the truth of the Church is that all believers are to be united in one faith!

Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

That trench was to hold all the water that would be poured over the entire altar.

But as water is a “type” of the Holy Spirit, that trench also represented a healing of new flesh or “new skin” to cover the wounded nation of Israel.

To the Church we are taught by the Word of God that we are not only to be washed in the blood of Jesus, we must be washed in the water of the Holy Spirit and all these things require our “Faith” and only then will come a “new life”!

1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1Jn 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

And the wood then had to be placed in order!

*****1Ki 18:33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

There can be no doubt that this wood placed in specific order then represents a “type” of Jesus Christ.

It was Jesus Christ who was cut to pieces by the “cat-o-nine tails”, His body ripped to shreds and then laid on that cross for all the world to see.

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who was then in the control of the Holy Spirit, represented by the water.

It was those two measures of seed that represent the truth of the Gospel, the Gospel Seed!

And it is on Mount Calvary where the Church is tried by fire!

How had Elijah approached the people that day?

1Ki 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

If the people of God would just be settled in their beliefs, we could all come together at the foot of the cross where all the people of God stand on level ground.

Even more so today in America we struggle between two opinions when we all have only “one” true Word of God!

And what is the truth of the Gospel?

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Elijah had very little concern for King Ahab and his government which was actually controlled by Queen Jezebel.

Elijah had no concern for those 850 false priests.

Elijah was concerned only with the people of God!

Notice there were also 12 barrels of water that were poured upon the altar built by Elijah.

According to the laws of Moses, one lamb would be offered in the morning by the high priest in atonement for their souls. Then later that same day another lamb would be offered in the evening sacrifice still in atonement for their souls.

Exo 29:41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Exo 29:42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

Elijah had waited until it was time for this evening sacrifice!

*****1Ki 18:36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

Elijah had done all these things according to the truth of the Scriptures!

Elijah had taken the Word of God as literal!

It was only then that Elijah called on the Lord, not for his own sake but for the peoples sake!

Elijah became an “intercessor” for the children of Israel.

What is the truth?

Elijah will return sometime in the near future to stand in the gap between Israel and our Holy God!

Then Elijah prayed for all those present, and loud enough for all to hear.

Elijah was not ashamed of the Word of God!

*****1Ki 18:37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
1Ki 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

I fully believe that in His own way, God makes contact with every national leader that have risen to that level.

I believe that God gives them specific instructions in His Word and has made His Word available to each nation and each government on this earth.

BUT, God deals with the ordinary people who are restrained and constrained by those governments because “it is the people of God who can make the necessary changes to those governments”, if those people would have enough “faith” to just follow the written Word of God!

And God responded to the prayer of Elijah.

Prayer changes things!

Elijah had confronted the government of Israel that day.

Elijah had challenged all false religions and their leaders to prove their false gods.

Elijah had mocked all false religion because that’s what they are, they are false and powerless!

This fire that came down from Heaven attested to the truth of God’s prophet!

This fire that came down from Heaven demonstrated the falsehood of Baal the fire god of Jezebel!

Ahab became confused.

Jezebel would fly into a rage when she heard of these things.

But many of the people began to see the truth of idol worship, but it would not last and Elijah soon realized this truth!

*****1Ki 18:39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

What is the truth of our world?

At some point in the life of every individual, God will make Himself known!

And God only requires a short prayer of “Faith” for Him to take His “salvation” action!

Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

It is the Lord, He is God!

God requires our “faith” in order to do His work!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

What was the truth of Elijah, God’s prophet?

Just as he had informed Ahab at the first, rain would not come to Israel until he prayed that the Lord would end the drought!

And God’s people then began to eliminate those who preached a false religion!

And Ahab ran home to Jezebel to tell her what Elijah had done.

*****1Ki 19:1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

It had been Jezebel who had made pagan worship the national religion of Israel.

And we must not be fooled it is taxpayer money and our own government that is allowing pagan worship in America!

Jezebel herself had seen that most all prophets of God located in Israel had been slaughtered!

It was the government of Israel that was killing God’s people!

1Ki 18:13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

Jezebel hated God’s prophets and Jezebel became Elijah’s darkest and most dangerous enemy!

To be quiet honest, it is our own government has become the greatest enemy to all those Pastors who take a stand on the truth of God!

Jezebel was so deep in her paganism, she could not be moved to believe the truth!

*****1Ki 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

Just when Elijah felt that there would be a great revival in all of Israel, he found out that the entire force of the government of Israel would be seeking his life.

So it is true that for the first time in his life Elijah had a fear for his own life.

But it is also true that Elijah knew revival could not come to Israel at this time and it broke his heart!

We sometimes have a greatest let downs after a sure victory and needless to say when you are up on the mountain, this world will always find a way to knock you down, if you are a true child of God!

Elijah began to trust in his own power to save himself, after all Elijah was only a man with a man’s weaknesses.

*****1Ki 19:3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
1Ki 19:4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

Elijah’s hope for revival had come to a quick end and Elijah was heartbroken for the people he loved.

Elijah was not a coward we have seen the proof of that.

Elijah was not afraid to die because we see he asked the Lord to take his life.

Elijah was discouraged!

Remember courage is the quality of the mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness.

To be discouraged is to be disheartened, a loss of confidence and dejected.

Elijah felt that if such a great miracle as God had shown to Israel on Mount Carmel could not win the hearts of the people then Israel could not be won back to the Lord.

God says this:

Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Many of God’s men have felt that they were alone in the the work of the Lord but we should remember a few things.

This is God’s plan of salvation and we just need to be a part of His plan!

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

And these things will not end until God says it’s time for them to end!

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God was not through with Elijah!

On the contrary God has great plans for Elijah even beyond the Church age!

Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

What will Elijah’s job be at that time?

It was not Elijah’s job to restore Israel because that has always been the Lord’s job!

Elijah was just one small part of the plan of God just like we all are!

Jesus preached in all the synagogues and included these things in His message:

Luk 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

Our job is to go where the Lord leads us and respond to the opportunities that He gives us and continue to do good, without getting weary in well doing.

And to take our stand on the Word of God!

It takes as much courage today to stand for the truth, as it took in the days of Elijah!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

The Prophets of God

God’s Message Is For All Nations

The King in all His Beauty

Messiah Full of Grace and Mercy

God’s Mercy Toward Israel

The Work of the Messiah

The Time of the Messiah

Isaiah’s Vision of The Future

Restoring The Kingdom; Book of Micah Part 2

The Judgment Of God

Elijah, God’s Prophet

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