Okay, we're continuing in Isaiah 47.
I thought I'd take the title from the sermon there in verse number 5.
Sit thou silent and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans.
For thou shalt no more be called the Lady of Kingdoms.
Title for the sermon tonight is the Lady of Kingdoms.
The Lady of Kingdoms.
God is saying to the Babylonian Empire,
they will no longer be known as the Lady of Kingdoms.
Now I'm not sure if that's a title that God wouldn't necessarily refer to them as,
but that's how they saw themselves as a lady, as a prosperous lady.
And even when you begin there in verse number 1, it says,
Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon.
So this is a reference to the Empire, it's a reference to the city,
but I do believe we can take practical lessons, especially for ladies in this chapter,
to see what a lady or a virgin, a well-renowned woman should be like,
versus a woman of this respect, if you want to put it that way.
And so currently, Babylon, and if you've been following with me the last few chapters in Isaiah,
it's been largely about Babylon being taken over by the Persian Empire.
Remember, we've seen the mention of Darius essentially coming through
and then Cyrus essentially allowing the Jews to return back into the land.
And so we continue on this journey where God is condemning or judging the city of Babylon,
or the kingdom of Babylon, and Babylon in this chapter is largely referred to as a woman.
So I believe this is a chapter that is probably more applicable for ladies.
It's the kind of sermon that gets ladies upset with me as a preacher,
because it does cover those kinds of topics that I think are important,
and unfortunately, our society has been so influenced by the feminist movement
that these chapters almost seem completely, I don't know, anti-woman or, what's the word?
Misogynist.
Misogynist. I don't know how to say these words, right?
It seems like that, but really, I want you ladies to understand that, you know,
when society looks upon women and adds value to women,
it is often associated with the primary function that God has given women.
You know, when Adam and Eve sinned against the law,
they aided the truth and knowledge of good and evil.
God pronounced some judgment upon man, woman, and of course, the serpent.
The serpent lost its legs or whatever way he got around, and it would lick the dust of the earth.
Men, even though men were already appointed to be workers,
remember, Adam was given to work in the Garden of Eden,
though they were then to work by the sweat of the brow, okay?
Work became much more difficult for men, and for women, you know, they were to,
or the Bible said, God said from the very beginning to be fruitful and multiply,
you know, their ability.
They've got a special ability that men do not have to bring forth children,
to bear children, to bring them forth,
and of course, the judgment that fell upon women is associated with that,
so labor, labor pain is much more difficult.
Everything became much more difficult for both man and woman,
and the value of man and woman is often associated with those two functions.
So let's start with men, you know,
and we think about what is seen as a man who is valued or is esteemed, is respected.
We would say it's a man who labors hard, a man who gets his hands dirty,
a man who takes care of those that God has put over him, you know,
a man who labors hard to make sure his wife has what she needs,
the children have what they need,
a man who's able to put a roof over the head of his family and to feed the family.
Men are seen as valued in that sense,
what they're able to do with how they produce with their hands,
and of course, a man who is lazy, a man who refuses to work,
a man who spends all the time just playing games, gaming, right?
That's the current addiction that many men have,
just gaming for hours and hours and hours and, you know,
not focused on the family, not laboring, just lazy, giving up, slack hand,
that man is seen as one of lower value, right?
It's not really attractive to a woman, right?
For a woman, you had a choice, ladies, if you were single, you had a choice,
between a hard-working man who wants to take care of his family
or a man who's got top score in Australia in Call of Duty or something,
like, you know, and he doesn't work hard, he just lives off the government,
like, you know, welfare, which catch, you know, which man would it be?
You might say, well, maybe the game is a little bit more attractive,
maybe physically more attractive, but really, I mean, you know,
I want to be taken care of, and of course,
a father who wants to give his daughter over into marriage
is not going to want to give his daughter over to the gamer, right?
He wants to give his daughter over to the man who's laboring
and wants to take care of his daughter.
So that's how we value men.
But women, you're seen a little bit different,
and again, your ability to be productive is the womb
and how God has given you the ability to give and bring forth children.
And, you know, the same thing, and I'm sorry if this offends,
I'm not trying to offend anybody, I'm just the reality of the world,
reality of life, reality of God's word.
You know, if a man has to choose between a woman who is a virgin,
you know, a woman who takes care of herself,
a woman who doesn't just give herself over to any man,
or a woman who already has children,
or a woman who is playing the prostitute type of a woman,
that godly man, the man that's looking for the right woman
to make his wife, which one will he choose?
The virgin, right?
Obviously, you know, I know in society,
you know, there's the view that, you know, what's your body count?
You know, how high is your body count?
And they think this is something to rejoice in.
The higher your body counts, the more valued you are,
the greater catch you are.
Obviously, for a godly man seeking a wife,
the higher her body count, the less attractive,
regardless of what she looks like on the outside,
the less attractive she is to that man that wants to just have a wife
and take care of her needs.
Obviously, the virgin will be much more attractive.
We need to hear these sermons.
And look, I know that people make mistakes.
Probably church members have made mistakes,
but it's the reality of God's word.
And so, ladies, this is a sermon for you.
I want you to understand that, yeah, the gaming man,
the lazy man, the man who refuses to work,
the man who refuses to labor hard is a loser.
And, ladies, you don't want to be a loser.
You know, you want to be seen as a virtuous woman.
You want to be seen as a respected woman.
And this, of course, improves your testimony or your reputation in the world
and especially amongst, you know, the family of God,
that God has put over you.
And so there are lessons that we can take out of this chapter
how God sees Babylon.
And, again, let's start there in verse number one.
Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon.
Sit on the ground.
There is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans,
for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
So Babylon, this is a prophecy of Babylon to come,
and Babylon was a powerful nation or the powerful kingdom on the earth,
untouchable, the greatest kingdom,
the greatest wisdom was there in Babylon.
And so Babylon as a kingdom saw itself as this virgin daughter,
this great catch, you know, just attractive.
You know, this is the best place to be in the earth in Babylon.
You know, at the end of that verse it says tender and delicate.
That's how a woman should be, not, you know, a tomboy or boisterous
or, you know, a feminist or a Karen.
Is that what they call them? I don't know.
No, we're looking for a woman that is tender and delicate.
That's ideally what a man is looking for in a wife,
someone who would be submissive,
someone who would love and be tender and compassionate
toward her husband and her children.
But you see, Babylon was losing that respectability.
Now it would have no more throne.
It would have to sit in the dust
because God is saying that the Persian Empire is going to come
and take you over.
Take the millstones and grind mill.
So instead of it being like she had a throne,
instead of being like a princess in the kingdom, all right,
who would have servants that would obviously make the bread,
would grind the mill, that would make the food,
she would be taken from a high position of power
and now Babylon and the inhabitants of Babylon will be the servants.
They will be taken by the Persian Empire.
They will be working. They will be grinding mill.
It continues, uncover thy locks.
So the locks is a reference to your hair.
So instead of the ladies having their hair fixed up,
there's nothing wrong with that.
Having your hair fixed up and uncovering your locks
is that it would just be let loose.
And again, there's nothing wrong with one or the other.
It's just that obviously a woman that is able to tie up her hair
and fix her hair up, that's the princess.
The princess has time to take care of her appearance
and make her hair look whatever fancy design she wants.
But if you're a servant and you haven't got time for that,
you uncover your locks.
It says here, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
So I wanted to get this image that as Babylon is being taken down,
the inhabitants will be taken by the Persian Empire
and I believe the uncovering or the bearing of the leg,
the uncovering of the thigh here is a reference to passing over the rivers.
So it looks like people are passing,
kind of like when the Jews were taken into captivity.
Some Babylonian women will be taken into captivity.
They would have to cross borders.
Sometimes they would have to pass the rivers.
So they have to lift their skirts because they want to get their skirts all wet.
So they lift their skirts up and pass through the waters.
And as they're doing that, they're bearing the leg.
They're uncovering the thigh as they do that.
And look what God says in verse number three.
Thy nakedness shall be uncovered.
Yea, thy shame shall be seen.
I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man.
God is saying to Babylon, it's time for me to take vengeance on you.
God used Babylon to take vengeance on Judah,
but now God will take vengeance on Babylon for their wickedness.
And it says, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Kind of the idea there is God is saying you're not going to be treated humanely.
You know, things are going to go rough for you, all right?
And what God makes clear in this passage here
is when her nakedness is uncovered,
the reference there was that her thigh would be uncovered, okay?
As she passed through the waters, her thighs were uncovered,
her nakedness shall be uncovered, her shame shall be seen,
and we learn a principle of the Bible of what nakedness is.
Now this is important for ladies again, okay?
And I think it's important for men.
But the Bible tells us here that the thigh, showing the thigh is nakedness, okay?
This is why I don't watch AFL, okay?
Or gay AFL as it was known when I was growing up in high school
because those shorts are so short.
The men are, look, I'd rather watch basketball.
At least they've got the longer shorts.
I'd rather watch soccer.
Again, they've got the longer shorts and the socks all the way up to their knees
so you don't really see a lot of flesh.
But in the AFL, man, there's a lot of thigh on show, isn't there?
And it wouldn't surprise me.
Look, the world always is changing, so I don't know.
I remember the girls in school were always like, you know, lusting,
if you want to use that word, lusting over the men in the AFL, you know?
Like that would be the men.
That would be the ideal man for them.
And maybe it's because the thighs are on show.
I don't know, okay?
But ladies, this is something you need to understand
is God is telling us your thigh is nakedness.
It's something.
If you want to be a lady, if you want to be seen as a virgin,
if you want to be seen as someone who is valued,
cover up your thighs.
I know that's not what society teaches you.
I know when you go to the women's section at the shops,
I mean, they want you to dress like a whore is what they want you to do.
They want you to look like the world, all right?
But I want you to understand this diminishes your value,
your character, your testimony, your reputation.
Ladies, cover your thighs.
This is nakedness.
Now, keep your finger there and come with me to 1 Corinthians, please.
Come with me to 1 Corinthians 11.
1 Corinthians 11.
Now, it is natural, it is normal for a man to be attracted to a woman
and a woman to be attracted to a man.
It is not normal for a man to be attracted to a man.
It is not normal for a woman to be attracted to a woman.
That is not normal.
But it is normal for men to be attracted to women.
That's not a sin.
It's just how God has wired us.
And there are elements that men look at a woman and it brings attraction.
There are many things.
We might look at a woman and say she's got a pretty face or something like that.
I don't know.
Whatever people talk about.
But there are areas of your body that when they're on show,
it's not just, oh, she's pretty or whatever it is, right?
No.
There are areas of your body that attract sexual ideas, essentially, right?
Sensual feelings.
And I think if you ask the average man, and I'm not saying ask the average man
because I think husbands obviously want to, you know.
But man is man, right?
And if you ask the average man out there, you know, are you attracted to a woman's thigh?
He'd be like, obviously, yes.
He'd be like in the high 90% category.
Let people say, yes, I find that not just attractive, but I find that sensual.
It brings thoughts into my mind.
And this is why it's so important that you do this.
Now, some people say, well, that's up to the man.
I can wear however I want.
And if the man sees me and he gets attracted to me physically like that, that's his problem.
And it is his problem.
You know, Job in the Bible says that he made a covenant with his eyes,
that he should not think upon a maid.
And so obviously, Job, who's a great man of God,
recognizes that he's got a promise on his eyes.
He's promised his eyes, and his eyes are promised to him.
We're not going to look upon any other woman but my wife.
And again, is there anything wrong with a thigh in of itself?
No.
Is nakedness sin?
No.
If you had a shower today, I think you were probably naked, okay?
Obviously, having a shower is not a sin.
But uncovering your nakedness with someone who is not your spouse is the problem there, okay?
God, of course, has made this attraction normal, part of marriage, part of the marriage bed,
something to be shared between husband and wife,
and that's the only two that should be seen in that naked, you know, situation.
But uncovering your thighs to others is an issue, okay?
And one thing that I want to point out here,
because sometimes when I hear this kind of topic or this kind of preaching,
some ladies will be like, well, again, that's the man's problem.
You know, where does the Bible say we shouldn't, you know, wear this or, you know, cover up my breast or this or that?
There is a principle in the Bible that I want to show you in 1 Corinthians 11, verse number 14.
1 Corinthians 11, 14, where the Bible says,
We learn something in this passage.
You know, we say that, you know, everything we learn that we ought to learn from the Word of God and amen to that.
But God says there's something else that teaches you, nature.
Nature itself teaches you a few things.
This is why the majority of this earth, no matter where you go, men have short hair and women have long hair.
It's not that they're all independent, fundamental Baptists who picked up the King James Bible
and got to the book of Genesis somewhere, thou shall have short hair if you're a man,
and as a woman, thou shall have long hair.
I always feel like if God put it in like that, that man would do the opposite.
But society, just nature itself, there is something inbuilt within us that men know they should have short hair
and women should have long hair.
It doesn't require a sermon. It doesn't require, pastor, show me that in the Bible.
Nature itself teaches you these things.
And there's other things, ladies, with the way you dress, that nature itself should teach you.
And sometimes we'll say, well, can you show me that exact verse where women are not to wear pants, for example,
or whatever it is, right?
I can't show you an exact verse. I can show you principles.
I can show you that a man's garment on a woman is an abomination and vice versa,
but then we're kind of left to our thoughts there.
We're kind of left up to nature itself teaching us some things.
And what I want to express to you, ladies, is that nature itself should teach you that uncovering your thighs attracts a man's attention.
I mean, men know that, and I think secretly women know that, okay?
And that's why, you know, you have those terms, just give him a little leg or something.
Why would people say that? Give him a little bit of leg so he's, you know, like, you appease him or something like that.
It's because it is known nature itself teaches you, you know, these things.
One thing that we find in the Bible that basically from your groins, your buttocks, your thighs, these things, the Bible calls nakedness.
And I've been challenged, and it's like, well, pastor, where does it say breasts are nakedness?
And actually the Bible never says breasts are nakedness.
But there are things that nature itself should teach you.
Like, I shouldn't have to create a sermon, ladies, cover your top, you know, don't show your cleavage.
Ladies, don't put your breasts on show.
Ladies, make sure when you wear garments and when you bend down, it's not all on show.
I shouldn't have to do that, because nature itself teaches you that that is something men find attractive.
Not just attractive. Like, she's got a pretty face or whatever, right?
She's got a pretty dress. Not that. We're talking about sensual matters here.
And I want you to understand that, you know, God gives us this information.
Of course he's talking about Babylon. Of course he's liking Babylon as a woman, as a virgin, a lady, one that was tender and delicate.
But now she would be not treated humanely because of her weakness. She would essentially become a harlot on the earth.
And I want you to understand the difference how God sees ladies that are virtuous and valued in his eyes versus the harlot.
Can you come with me to 2 Corinthians, please? 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
2 Corinthians chapter 5.
Well, you're turning to 2 Corinthians 5.
We're going through Isaiah 47, aren't we?
So, what is the 47th book of the Bible?
Anyone know?
2 Corinthians. That's why we're turning to 2 Corinthians, right?
2 Corinthians chapter 5. Let's take another layer to this teaching here, okay?
And again, we can apply this, ladies, to yourselves, but we can apply this to everyone here, okay?
Man, woman, doesn't matter who you are.
Because God is saying to the nation of, or the kingdom of Babylon, that nakedness will be on show, okay?
God's going to judge them for that.
And in 2 Corinthians 5.1, I want you to take a spiritual lesson out of this.
It says,
Okay, that's a reference of your physical body.
One day that physical body is going to dissolve, right?
We know this body is going to die and rot in the grave.
And it says,
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven.
So within us we're groaning, right?
We have the new man, the spiritual man, that wants to please God, wants to do the right things.
But then we're constantly fighting this flesh that is sinful, you know, that is contrary to God,
that is rebellious against God.
And we groan within ourselves, man, why do we have to keep fighting this battle?
I can't wait for the new body to come, the spiritual body that will never sin.
We groan within ourselves.
And then it says in verse number 3,
So we have a spiritual teaching here.
Not only are we talking about physical nakedness, you know, which we can take lessons from,
but God is teaching us of a spiritual nakedness, right?
And when we live lives that are contrary to God's word,
when we live lives that are walking in darkness, committing sin, you know, seeking our own pleasures,
this is as though we are being found naked in the eyes of God.
Because we allow this body, this body that we dissolve, to have its way, to commit its sins, to chase its pleasures.
And spiritually speaking, God says that's like a nakedness to your soul.
And so God is telling us now that we are safe, praise God, that we're going to be clothed one day
with the right kind of body, the spiritual body, a body that cannot sin and will never ever be found naked again.
I wanted to just point that out because obviously when God is using the imagery of a woman to describe Babylon,
he's speaking of a spiritual condition.
God is using physical lessons to expound on that spiritual teaching.
So we can take both spiritual meaning and physical meaning and learn from these things here in the Bible.
You can keep a finger in 2 Corinthians, we are going to come back to that passage a few times,
or to that book a few times.
Come back with me to Isaiah 47.
Isaiah 47, verse number 4.
As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel.
So Isaiah, when he says our Redeemer, he's speaking about himself and the Jews.
Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, it says in verse number 5,
to Babylon, sit thou silent and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans,
for thou shalt no more be called the Lady of Kingdoms.
Okay, so she was a lady, right? She was tender and delicate.
She was a princess or a queen, sitting on her throne.
She did have servants to take care of her, right?
But now you saw, she'll be grinding in your house, she'll be the servant, her nakedness will be uncovered,
and her shame shall be seen.
And she's going to be sitting in darkness, and again, this is just the silent, you know, keep silence like,
you know, stop and consider the judgment that is coming from God.
Babylon is going to be destroyed, it's going to be wiped out.
Verse number 6, he tells Babylon why.
I was wroth with my people. So God says, I was angry with the Jews, all right?
I have polluted my inheritance. I have given them into thine hand.
So God says, look, part of the punishment for my people is I gave them over to you Babylon.
And then he says this, thou didst show them no mercy.
Upon the ancients has thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
He says you did not treat them properly.
I gave you the power to judge them, I gave you the power to defeat them, I gave you the power to take them into captivity,
I gave you all their riches, all the best men and the best intelligence and the resources of the land of Judah.
I've given that all to you, you know, and God says you did not treat them properly.
He says upon the ancient, upon the old people, thou has very heavily laid thy yoke.
You know, instead of old people I guess retiring or taking it a bit easier or whatever,
they made them work just as hard there in Babylon.
Look at verse number seven, and thou saidst, I shall be a lady forever.
That's what Babylon said. I will always be a lady.
It's the greatest kingdom that's ever been and will ever be and we're going to continue forever.
They said they shall be a lady forever.
So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
So God says like you could have extended your time as a lady, prosperous, well respected,
but you treated my people without mercy.
You were heavy handed, you know, toward my people, you showed them no mercy.
Something else, you know, for the ladies that I want you to think about,
something else that is valued in God's eyes is your mercy toward others.
Your mercy toward people, especially that God puts under you, your children.
You know, mercy toward other people that you interact with.
You know, one thing that, and I'm not going to say just ladies, because men do this as well,
but let's admit it, ladies are often known as gossipers, all right?
Tail bearers, going about house to house, talking about other people, criticizing other people.
Can you believe, even if a woman comes to church uncovering her thighs,
you don't need to go to your lady friends,
can you believe how Sister So-and-So dressed that church on Sunday?
Now men do that too, I know, men do that too, okay?
But treating people and criticizing people like harshly ladies is something that God will judge you for.
You know, something that God values is mercy.
Ladies, show mercy to others, show mercy to your friends, to your family, to your church members,
to your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
You know, we're all at different places in our spiritual growth, did you know that?
I've been saved for almost 40 years, can't believe it, 40 years.
I still feel like I haven't done enough for the Lord for 40 years of salvation.
Some people get saved overnight and they think they should be telling pastors what to teach and do.
It's crazy, babes in Christ.
Nothing wrong with being a babe in Christ, but many times babes in Christ, they learn a lot of knowledge,
now I'm ready to judge and criticize everybody because I know what's true.
The Bible tells us again that we need to be doers, not just hearers.
A lot of people are hearers of God's Word, they know what is true and what is right,
but they don't do it themselves.
They know how to tell others what they should do, but they themselves do not do it.
Ladies, have mercy. Men, we should have mercy too.
You know, I'm not here to just criticize and attack.
If someone messes up and comes up to the pastor, I've messed up in life and of course I've done an issue,
you know there's an issue in my life, even an issue that might get that person kicked out of church,
I'm still going to show that person mercy.
I'm still going to show them kindness, I'm still going to show them love.
I'm still going to try to give them some counsel and some advice.
And of course if that individual sticks their heels in and fights back and continues in those sins
that are worthy of being kicked out, of course we'll kick them out of church.
But I'm not here to just destroy people.
Ladies, and I don't know, I'm just thinking, I know men and women do it,
I don't want to just attack women tonight, I'm not trying to attack women.
But I've worked with a lot of women.
I didn't work in a call centre but I was managing a call centre,
and in a call centre it's like 90% ladies.
And look, if they weren't taking a phone call from a customer,
the conversations between the calls and the conversations at lunch and around the coffee table
and around the smoker's break and the conversations before work and after work was what?
Criticisms.
Attacking fellow employees, attacking their husbands, attacking their children.
You know, during school holidays, I can't wait for the schools to open again
so I can take my brats back to school and not have to deal with them.
Ladies, man, if you want to be a lady forever,
like you want to be someone held to high standards, high regard, show mercy.
Because you're a sinner as well.
And I'm a sinner as well.
And we're all different places in our spiritual growth.
And someone comes into church and they just got saved.
Maybe they're not even saved and they come in, they're a bit rough around the edges.
Maybe they don't dress properly, they don't speak properly, maybe they stink a little bit.
They don't take care of themselves properly.
Treat them with respect.
Treat them well.
If they're not saved, we should love them and give them a gospel.
The last thing we should do is turn our backs against them and make them feel inferior.
So mercy, ladies, mercy is something you must apply to your life.
I want you to be seen as these ladies renowned of God in your character, in your life.
Now, there's a reason why Babylon is referenced in the New, sorry, in the book of Revelation.
The last kingdom, the last great kingdom on the earth is Babylon, isn't it?
And how does God describe Babylon there?
As a lady forever? No, as the great whore.
As the great whore, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
Babylon's desire was to be seen as a lady, a princess forever.
But because of her wickedness, God forever, Babylon, is renowned for being a great whore.
And of course, a whore is essentially a fornicator.
A woman who gives herself over easily, racks up her body count, right?
Thinks there's value in chasing as many men as she can.
But those men aren't interested in making you your wife, their wife.
They're not interested in that.
They're interested in treating you as a whore, just like the antichrist.
What does the antichrist do to Babylon in the end times?
Uses the whore, abuses the whore, and destroys the whore.
Ladies, don't be a whore.
Keep yourselves pure.
You've made mistakes in the past, all right, many people have.
Clean yourself up now, fix yourselves up, not just physically, spiritually.
Be mindful of how you dress.
I'm not saying dress like Yamish.
I'm not saying dress like some country bumpkin out there or something.
You can still look presentable and classy and pretty and spend time fixing your hair and all these things, whatever,
as long as you understand the true value is the hidden man inside, in the heart.
Because it's what God sees that is true value, your character.
That's what matters.
And the only one that should be attracted to you physically like that,
that you should be willing to show of yourself in that regard, of course, is your husband.
That relationship is proper, normal between husbands and wives.
But a husband's not looking for a whore.
He's looking for a lady.
He's looking for someone he can take care of.
Someone that he doesn't have to wonder.
When I'm at work for the next eight hours, ten hours of the day,
where's my wife going to be?
A man is looking for a wife that says, you know what, I'm going to go and labour hard
and I know my wife is going to take care of the household, she's going to take care of the children,
she's going to make sure there's a meal prepared for me when I get home.
That's the kind of woman that a godly man is searching for.
Not a great whore.
Not a mother of harlots.
Verse number eight.
Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly,
that sayest in thine heart, I am.
Hey, who is the I am? Who is the great I am? God.
Babylon is saying, I am.
It's kind of like Nebuchadnezzar in his early days, right?
He's like, look at me, look what I've achieved.
Giving praise to himself rather than to God.
Not just the I am and none else beside me.
This is like the words of God.
We've seen that it's over and over in the book of Isaiah.
God says there's one God, he's the one God and there's no other God beside him.
Babylon is saying, I am, I am the most powerful thing on the earth
and there's no one else but, you know, like me.
What else does Babylon say?
I shall not sit as a widow.
Because see, there's nothing wrong with being a widow.
I mean, that's an unfortunate thing but
she's saying that I'm always going to have a man to take care of me.
Like, I'm going to be a lady forever.
I'm going to be taken care of forever.
There'll always be a man taking care of my needs.
So she's like, I will never be a widow.
Neither shall I know the loss of children.
Alright, so she says, look, I will always have what I need.
And again, look, these are good things that women should desire.
A man, a husband, and children.
I mean, like, this is what womanhood and what a lady should ultimately desire.
And not just should desire, but I believe by God's word, does desire deep down inside.
It's only because they've been brainwashed by the leftists, you know, again, the feminist movements,
okay, the anti-men movements that are out there.
You know, they've been told, well, men don't value unless you go to work
and you go and labor for another man.
No, look, that's what the world wants you to do, ladies.
To get out there and put yourself, like it says here, take the millstones and grind mill.
But really, the lady is someone that should be at home knowing that she's not going to be a widow.
She's got a man, she's got a husband who's taken care of her and taken care of her children.
That's like the ideal situation a woman can find herself in.
A man who loves me, a man who labors for me, a man who gives me children and takes care of our house.
If you've reached that, you're like a Babylon princess.
Like, you've hit the highlights of life, ladies.
And that's what God says is a lady. Babylon wants that.
But she will become a widow. She will have lots of children.
Because Persia is coming and her soldiers are going to go to war and they're going to die.
And ladies are going to lose their husbands and ladies are going to lose their sons
and they're going to be taken into the Persian Empire.
Look at verse number nine.
But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day.
The loss of children and widowhood.
They shall come upon thee in their perfection for the...
This is why this is coming to you, Babylon.
For the multitude of thy sorcerers and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
The reason this judgment's fallen upon you and you're not going to have the husbands,
you're not going to have the kids, is because of the occult.
Now, very quickly, I'm going to read to you from Daniel chapter two.
You don't need to turn there, but this is the great dream that Nebuchadnezzar has.
You know the dream, the statue, the head of gold, the breast plate, the breast of silver,
the thighs of bronze, the legs of silver, no, the legs of iron, sorry,
and the feet part iron, part clay, remember?
And so Nebuchadnezzar has this dream and he's like bothered by the dream.
I'll just quickly read to you this in Daniel 2.1.
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams,
wherewith his spirit was troubled and his sleep break from him.
Then the king commanded, all right, he wants to figure it out.
So the king wants to figure it out about this dream.
Why did I dream this?
And what's the interpretation of this dream?
Who does he turn to?
Then the king commanded to call the magicians and the astrologers
and the sorcerers and the Chaldeans for to show the king his dreams,
so they came and stood before the king.
So what was the wisdom and what was Babylon proud of?
What knowledge and wisdom did they crave?
The wisdom of the occult, of the magicians and look at the stars.
This is what's going to happen in the next month, the horoscopes, whatever it is.
And God says this is why you're going to be judged
because the right approach, you're bothered by something.
Who do you go to? God, right?
Or you go to a Daniel, like God used Daniel to interpret the dream.
You go to a godly man, you go to someone that's going to help you
and give you some type of direction under the help and influence of God.
You know, we go to God's word when we need wisdom.
We go to God in prayer when we need some information,
when we need God to answer and give us guidance and wisdom.
We go to God, we go to his word.
This lady who's making herself a whore goes to the occult.
And again, what did I observe working in the call centre?
Ladies would come to work. This is before the internet.
People use the internet but like you'd still buy magazines, right?
And you'd see and they'd, you know, boss, they'd call me boss.
What's your star sign? I'm like, I don't know. I don't care.
I want to know like what's going to happen like, you know, for you.
Like I'm going to tell you what's happening, right?
And they share and they're like, yeah, this is coming true for me.
Oh, it's all about to happen, great, you know.
You know, whatever it is.
Again, I'm not saying men don't get into these things, never can as I did.
But again, it's something I see with the ladies.
They seem to want direction. They should go to their husbands.
The Bible says if a woman has any questions, they should go to their husband.
Women should have husbands, yes.
Okay, what's this in America? Have you guys been hearing about it?
The woke leftist ladies, they're shaving their hair.
They're like, we're getting divorced for any man that voted Trump of Trump.
And, you know, we're not going to have any intimate relationship with our husbands if they voted the wrong way.
Just crazy things that I'm seeing on the internet these days.
The ladies are often attracted to these things, you know.
And I don't know if there's any women here.
I mean, I trust you.
You're obviously saved and you love the Lord and you know the best place to seek wisdom is God's word.
But these things can be attractive, especially when you're in a backslidden state.
And I think about King Saul.
When the spirit of God left him, departed from him, and God was angry and judging King Saul, what did he do?
He went to the witch, didn't he?
He went to the witch for wisdom and information.
So men, we can do the same thing, but I think these are things that women largely are more attracted to than men.
Verse number 10.
For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness.
So we trust in the Lord.
We trust in the word of God.
They trust it in their sorceries.
Like all these things, their enchantments.
Thou hast said, None seeth me.
Thy wisdom...
See, they call all this stuff wisdom.
Babylon does.
Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee.
For thou hast said, In thine heart I am, and none else beside me.
Therefore shall evil come upon thee.
Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth.
And mischief shall fall upon thee.
Thou shalt not be able to put it off.
And desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
So if you can, keep your finger there and come with me to 2 Corinthians.
Come with me to 2 Corinthians.
Again, you should probably have a finger there already.
The 47th book of the Bible, 2 Corinthians chapter 1.
God says about their search in the occult and wizardry and all that kind of stuff.
He says that is your wisdom.
And in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse number 12, I want to talk to you.
I'm assuming you guys aren't going to the horoscopes.
I'm pretty confident.
You can confess your sins to me later on if you're doing something like that.
I'll pray for you. We'll sort this out. Don't worry.
Or you're going to a fortune teller or something.
But we can make the same mistakes though as the Babylonians with the wrong kind of wisdom.
And in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse number 12, it says,
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience,
that in simplicity and godly sincerity, look at this, not in fleshly wisdom,
but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-ward.
Your conversation in the world is your behavior, your lifestyle in the world.
We know this world is wicked, but you know what?
We're still to function in this world.
Jesus prayed that we would not be taken from this world.
God wants us to function and operate in this world.
I see one extreme nature sometimes I find in Christianity
is that some Christians feel that they just have to be so separate from the world.
This usually comes entirely with conspiracy theories and things like that,
where they just feel they have to remove themselves from society,
get off the grid, the government is spying on us.
I've just got to find some out there farmland.
I'm just going to grow my own crops because of GMOs.
And I'm not going to have any internet access because I don't want big brother watching me.
And I'm going to make sure I only touch filtered water.
Otherwise 5G is going to get me.
This is fleshly wisdom.
This is not the wisdom by which God wants us to operate in this world.
Or, that's one extreme.
Then you've got the other extreme, which you'll find in the business world.
Just dog-eat-dog, take advantage of others.
Don't pay your contractors on time.
Haggle, you might agree on a price, but you haggle the price anyway after the job is already done.
That's another type of wisdom.
People think you're wise or you're smart for ripping people off.
This is fleshly kind of wisdom. These are extremes.
But how does God want us to operate in the world?
He says not with fleshly wisdom.
The fleshly wisdom of the Babylonians was the enchantments, the occult, the horoscopes.
He goes by the grace of God.
Where to function in this world by the grace of God?
So I ought to treat you with grace.
I ought to treat my neighbours with grace.
Of course my neighbours are worldly.
Of course the people I interact with are worldly, ungodly, maybe wicked.
Maybe you've got to work with people that you know are just filthy, fornicators, drunkards.
Now you can either go and rebuke them with your wisdom or you can treat them with grace.
And understand this is just the ungodly world that we work in, that we function in, that we have to operate in.
We operate through grace.
And I want to be able to treat you with grace.
I want you to be able to treat me with grace.
Sometimes when pastors mess up.
A pastor can be serving faithfully for years and years and years.
And a pastor messes up one time.
What happens?
If you've been in churches long enough, you know very quickly who doesn't operate with grace.
We've got to tear down the pastor.
We've got to criticise the pastor.
He's got to step down and step away.
He's messed up.
Grace. Where's the grace?
I didn't know the pastor was a super bean, like 98% Jesus Christ or something like this.
Grace. We operate with grace, not with fleshly wisdom.
And I want you to notice some other things there in verse number 12.
For our rejoicing is this.
This is what gives us joy.
This is what we ought to rejoice in as we function and operate in this world.
Number one, the testimony of our conscience.
How often do I talk about a clear conscience, a good conscience?
It's important to have a good conscience.
We spoke about the conscience last week, didn't we?
That in simplicity and godly sincerity.
To be sincere is often associated with being truthful, honest in our dealings.
Like I'm not looking to say something to your face and then backstab you behind the scenes or something like that.
Or to say in your face, I love you brother and then behind your back.
Did you see what brother Matthew Horsfield did?
Did you see what he posted on Facebook the other day?
Attack him and criticize him.
Simplicity. That in simplicity is kind of like, we shouldn't have these game plans.
Like, how do I put it?
Life should be simple.
Like, we go to work men, work hard, come home, we eat, we love our wives, we raise our kids,
we spend time with family and friends, read the Bible, go to church, right?
Not like, how can I maneuver myself and manipulate things to get my advantage kind of situation.
Our life ought to be with simplicity.
It says, these things will give you joy in your life as you conduct yourself in this world.
But if you follow after the advice and the wisdom, so-called fleshly wisdom of the Babylonians or of society,
you know, you are doing yourself a disservice and you will be judged by God.
Back to Isaiah 47, keep a finger there in 2 Corinthians.
Isaiah 47 verse number 12.
God now begins to mock the Babylonians.
He says, stand now with thine enchantments.
I mean, obviously, if you're in the occult, you should, I mean, obviously God is rebuking that
because he wants you to change that.
But it's kind of mocking them.
Alright, stand with your enchantment if you want.
If that's what you want, stand with that.
And with a multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth,
if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
Because let's see if this will profit you.
Let's see if the occult will prevail, you know, because against the coming Persian Empire.
Let's see if these practices are going to help you.
Verse number 13.
Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels.
Now, sorry, let now the astrologers, you know, astrology, looking at the stars, constellations,
the stargazers, this is the only place in the Bible that stargazer is kind of brought up, mentioned,
stargaze, watching the stars, right?
How do the stars affect our lives?
The monthly prognosticators, those are horoscopes.
So, look, back in Babylon they would have these monthly prognosticators,
monthly prophecies of what your life's going to be like.
But we live in a time when it's your daily horoscope, isn't it?
People look up their daily horoscope to figure out what they're to do daily rather than monthly.
Like we've progressed even worse as a society.
He says, stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
God says, all right, let the astrologers deliver you from the Persians.
You know, let the stargazers fight the battles for you then.
Babylon, if you're so confident in their wisdom, if you're so confident in their counsel,
okay, stand with them, let's see if they're going to help you.
What's going to happen actually in verse number 14?
Behold, they shall be as stubble.
The fire shall burn them.
They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame.
There shall not be a cold to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Now, I don't know, but this seems to indicate to me I could be wrong.
It could seem to me that when the Persians came in and they took the spoils of Babylon
and took over the city, they may very well have taken all these astrologers,
all these practices, all these sorcerers, and just burnt them to death.
And all their so-called books of wisdom and practices, all destroyed,
all been made stubble and fire.
All this could be a deeper spiritual teaching that, of course,
all these people that trust in these things will be cast into everlasting fire.
You kept the finger there in 2 Corinthians.
Come with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse number 9.
So the Babylonians have the decision to make.
Are they going to trust in their sorcerers?
Are they going to trust in the Lord?
Now, praise God for Nebuchadnezzar. He made the right choice.
When he saw God's hand upon Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar got saved. Praise God.
Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed to the whole world that the God of Daniel is the true God of the Bible.
But then his son got in power, and then his grandson, Belshazzar,
and he went downhill from there pretty quickly.
Generations come, generations go.
And in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse number 9, it says,
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves,
but in God which raiseth the dead.
Who are they going to trust? Who's Babylon going to trust?
God? No, they're like, I am. There is no one else beside us. Babylon.
Verse number 10 says,
God is saying that the astrologers aren't going to deliver them. They're going to help them.
But God will deliver.
I thank God once again that we have the true God.
I mean, brethren, just think about the privilege that you have.
Like, honestly, like, how many believers are there actually?
I don't know.
Like, in the world, 8 billion people in the world,
I would estimate 1, 2% are probably saved.
Now, obviously, a greater percentage would say they're Christian,
but we've all met Christians, and most Christians, guess what?
Christians are not saved.
Christian by word only.
But their faith and trust is not solely on Christ alone.
So praise God for you. Praise God that you are saved.
You know, not only are we saved, you are English speakers.
God has given a perfect, preserved, pure translation for us in the King James Bible.
That's an honor.
I don't have to read this book and wonder, did God really mean that?
Is that the right word to use?
I'm confident that what I read here is 100% correct.
It's a special privilege that God has given English speakers.
I don't think there's any other language besides the Greek and the Hebrew
that have a perfect translation in their hands.
And then we have Blessed Hope Baptist Church.
You know, I wish God gave you a better pastor, but you got this one.
And I hope it's all right, but at least we're in a church that preaches the truth.
Most of what I preach today, pastors would not touch with a 10-foot pole.
They'd be afraid to offend half the congregation, the ladies in the church.
Because ladies these days, they're in charge of their husbands, aren't they?
They've bought into the feminist movement, you know.
And they think they're going to find great joy in chasing their career,
but rather your joy, ladies, will be found in being a lady, having a husband,
having children, prioritizing that family that God has given you.
It's hard work. Raising kids is hard work.
You know, ladies sometimes say to me or to my wife,
I have nothing to complain. I've only got one kid or two kids.
How'd you guys do with 12? One kid is hard work.
Two kids are hard work. Of course 12 kids is hard work too,
but one kid is still hard work.
But I have found in my life, and I think it's true to a lot of people,
real joy and real satisfaction comes from doing something hard and succeeding.
Going to work, sometimes I've been given tasks to do.
I've been given positions to take, and I know I am not qualified.
I do not know what in the world I am doing.
I have no idea, but I'm going to do it anyway, and I'm going to do it the hard way,
and I'm going to do it by the sweat of my brow,
and I'm going to pretend to know what I'm doing,
even though deep down I know I don't know what I'm doing.
But you succeed, and you do well, and the company does well,
and there's satisfaction. There's joy in self.
That me who thought I was nothing is able to accomplish something great.
Motherhood is challenging. Raising kids is challenging.
But it's very rewarding.
It's very rewarding when you give your time and your attention to the children
and the family and the household that God has given you, ladies.
Don't chase the whorish ways.
Don't be a harlot. Don't dress like a harlot.
Don't think your satisfaction and joy will come toward how many men I can attract
by showing my breasts or by showing my thighs.
That is ungodly.
Seek the man and go to God and say, God, I need a husband.
Oh, Lord, help me to love my husband.
Help me to be the wife that you would want me to be.
Help me to be the mother that you would have me to be.
Please bless me in the role and responsibilities that you've given me.
Go to God and say, God, I've been brainwashed by the world.
I've been brainwashed by feminism.
I've been brainwashed by this woke society.
Bring me back to your word and what truly gives me joy.
We still got one verse to finish. I forgot to read it.
Isaiah 47, verse number 15.
Thus shall they be with thee with whom thou hast laboured,
even thy merchants from thy youth.
They shall wonder, wonder, every one to his quarter, none shall save thee.
So God is saying not only are these sorcerers and the occult practices
going to be destroyed, but also the merchants,
the people that are selling the horoscope magazines,
the people that are selling the idols,
the people that are making profit from this,
they too are going to be destroyed by the hand of God
when he allows the Persian Empire to come in and take over Babylon.
Anyway, brethren, the title of the sermon tonight was
The Lady of Kingdoms.
That's what Babylon thought of itself.
And for a period it was.
For a period it was a nation, a powerhouse,
operated, being used by God.
God even turned the heart of Nebuchadnezzar to become a believer,
but he had deteriorated.
He had become a whore.
He was becoming a widow.
He would lose its children, lose its sons
in the battles and the fights against the Persian Empire.
And so, ladies, I hope you can take something out of this.
You know, I don't want this to be an anti-woman sermon.
I want this to be a pro-woman sermon.
I want this to be a pro-lady sermon.
I want this to be a pro-wife sermon,
a pro-mother sermon.
But you've got to do it God's way,
not what society teaches you to do.
All right, brethren, the title of the sermon was
Let's pray.