Isaiah 54, and we're kind of, you know, last week Isaiah 53 was clearly about Jesus and His sacrifice.
Isaiah 54, we go back in many ways to what most of the book of Isaiah has been about.
And I recognize that as we go through these chapters, they are many times repetitive.
Like what I'm going to teach is primarily things that we've already seen in the book of Isaiah.
Now, I don't try to be a pastor that is ultra repetitive with the teachings that I teach,
different doctrines, I want to be able to teach all the topics, all the doctrines that are found in the Bible.
But when God is the one repeating the information, of course, this is stuff that we need to understand very well.
Why does God repeat it? It's because sometimes we don't understand it, we need to hear it.
God wants us to understand. These are all important teachings.
And so I don't want you to walk away going, man, Isaiah 55, 54, just like the other ones,
where it's going to be like this to Isaiah 66 and like, ah, man, it's going to be, you know, it's God's word.
It's God's word and we need to understand that this is something that God wants us to hear on repeat.
But verse number one is really interesting. Verse number one, it says,
Sing, O barren, thou didst not bear.
So it's saying about a woman that is barren, a woman that can't have kids or hasn't had kids, to sing.
Now, this is quite an interesting, it says break forth into singing.
It's quite an interesting thought because, you know, normally if a woman, especially a married woman,
is unable to fall pregnant, it's a heavy burden on her mind.
Because, you know, God's created us to be fruitful, God's created us to be productive.
For women, you know, as much as society tells you it's not what you want,
you know, as much as society tells you you want to work for another man and at some job
and pay off someone's mortgage that is not your husband, that's not true.
Actually, what is inbuilt in the desire of a woman, God given is a desire to be fruitful and to bear fruit of the womb.
And for men, it's for us to be productive and bear the fruit of our hands, to labor hard and be, you know,
take care of a family and to provide for them these desires that we have that God's inbuilt into us.
And so when God says to sing, O barren, it's kind of, you know, it's a little contradictive to what a woman would desire.
That, you know, a barren woman is often upset and sad and we know the story of Hannah in the Bible
when she could not have children and she wept and went to God in prayer and begged him essentially for a child.
And, you know, God blessed her with Samuel. So it's that, you know, that's the natural response of a woman.
And so God is telling this barren woman to sing, can tears break forth into singing,
and cry aloud the doubt that it's not travail with child.
So it's like, look, be happy that you didn't go through labor pains.
And then it says this, it's so interesting.
For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
So God is saying, this is why you need to rejoice.
Because the desolate woman, or the barren woman, has less children, sorry,
has more children than the woman that is married with her husband.
You're like, well, that doesn't make sense. You just said she's barren.
How can she have more children than the one that is married?
You go, this is like, what is this, you know, like what is this riddle here in the Bible?
Now, I take the title from the sermon here in verse number one which says the children of the desolate,
the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife.
So the title for the sermon tonight is the children of the desolate.
The children of the desolate.
Now, are you guys familiar with this verse?
Has anyone heard this verse before?
Pretty familiar with it?
Where have you heard about it?
Do you remember?
Oh, just from reading?
Oh, just from the Bible.
It does.
This verse actually gets repeated for us in the New Testament.
So I want to show you where it gets repeated in the New Testament.
Come with me to Galatians 4.
Keep your finger there in Isaiah 54.
So Galatians 4.
Now, this is so important because it's such a riddle
but then, you know, when you get to Galatians 4, Paul teaches us what this is all about.
So it makes it easy for me.
I don't have to work out the riddle.
It's already taught to us from Galatians 4.
Now, look at Galatians 4 in the New Testament.
Galatians 4, and just to show you the verse and look at verse number 27.
Galatians 4, verse number 27.
It says,
So there it is, right?
There's a repetition of this verse here in Galatians 4, 27.
Now, what is this about?
Let's start with the teaching in verse number 22.
Let's get the context of what is being taught here in Galatians 4 and verse number 22.
Galatians 4, 22.
It says,
Do you guys remember the story of Abraham?
He had Sarah his wife and Sarah was barren.
Remember, she had a promise that she would have a son which was Isaac
but she had gone barren for so many years
even she'd gone past menopause
and she physically should not be able to have children
and so she gives her handmaid
Hagar
was it Hagar?
Yeah, it was Hagar, yeah, right.
Bond woman Hagar to be
the woman by which she would produce a child
which became Ishmael
and so what we learn here in verse number 22
is the story of Abraham and his two sons
Ishmael from the bondmaid
and Isaac from the free woman
being Sarah his wife.
Verse number 23
was born after the flesh
but he of the free woman
was by promise.
So we know that Isaac was the promised son.
Okay, so the promise by which he was born
was his promise that came from God
that Abraham would have a seed
and verse number 24
it says this
Now what is an allegory?
An allegory is a story
we're looking at the story of Abraham and his two sons
An allegory is a story
with a hidden meaning
or a deeper meaning.
Okay, so Paul is saying
look, remember the story of Abraham
there's a deeper meaning to this
okay, than just that he had two sons
okay, from two different women.
There's a lesson to be learned
and so he begins to teach this teaching
okay, and then he continues in verse number 24
which is Aga, now Aga is Hagar
the bond woman.
So the two women, Hagar
represents
the one from Mount Sinai
so the Old Testament right
cause remember Moses went up to Mount Sinai
and he got his ten commandments
and the old covenant was then birthed
onto the nation of Israel
well Hagar, the woman, the bondmaid
represents the old covenant
okay, and then it says
in verse number 25
... in Arabia
... to Jerusalem
which now is
and is in bondage with her children
so Hagar
represents Jerusalem
which now is
now the now is in the time of Paul
was Middle East Jerusalem
what we know as Jerusalem today
is the now is as well in our time
as it was in Paul's time
and the children that live in that
nation, it says here
are in bondage
she's in bondage, Jerusalem is in bondage
with her children
so Hagar was a
bond woman, okay
she was a servant of Sarah
and so Jerusalem on the earth
today, Middle East Jerusalem today
represents bondage
and the Jews that live on that land
are the children in bondage
as well
okay, now
this should start teaching you a few things
understand that salvation gives us
liberty, salvation gives us
freedom, it frees us
from our sins, right, it frees us to live
a life that pleases God
you know, it frees us from the power of sin
the power of death
but those children in that land
are under bondage, now before I continue
before someone says, Pastor Kevin
you hate the Jews
I'm just telling you what the Bible says here
I didn't write that, it's there
okay, we're up to Isaiah 54
Paul takes the allegory
of the story, repeats it here for us
and I'm just telling you
that's what it says, you can read it in your own words
but you know, you teach the Bible
and what do they say, oh you hate the Jews
it's like, they're just in bondage
meaning, they should
desire to be made free
right, because their false religion
keeps them in bondage
that's what it is
faith in Christ liberates you
my desire
is that those people in the Middle East
find liberty in Christ Jesus
I don't hate those people
I hate the false religion
see, it represents the old covenant
bondage
now look at verse number 26
but Jerusalem
which is above
is free
so there's a Jerusalem on the earth
bondage, there's a Jerusalem
which is above
is free
which is the mother
of us all
Paul is writing to the Galatians
Paul is writing to
a Galatian Gentile
church, he's writing
in the New Testament
he says we have a mother too
not physical Jerusalem on the earth
but Jerusalem above
which is free
the moment you trusted Christ, you've been given freedom
and that is your mother, heavenly Jerusalem
one day we're going to go to be with mum
it's not a physical mum
it's an allegory, it's just a deeper teaching
it's a meaning
it's not like literally that city
gave birth to us
like the Mormons teach, like you're a spirit baby in heaven
and then when you're born the spirit baby joins
the physical body and here we are
it's an allegory, it's a story, it's meaning
it's an illustration
it's trying to teach us this truth
that we don't belong to the Jerusalem of this earth
but we do belong
to the Jerusalem which is above
which is the mother of us all
so
if the two represent
the covenants
then physical Jerusalem on the earth represents the old covenant
Jerusalem above represents
the new covenant
and I'm of the new covenant
I'm of the blood of Christ
remember his blood is the blood of the new covenant
and spiritually speaking we've been sprinkled
and cleansed by the blood of Christ
and so we belong to the new covenant
we belong to the mother which is free
which represents Sarah
Sarah is the mother which is free
the free wife
and Hagar represents the bond woman
and the children of Sarah
are the children of promise
the children of promise
the promises are made to the Jews
no, no, no, no
I am a child of the promise
you are the children of promise
because we're of Jerusalem which is free
we're of Jerusalem which is above
which allegorically speaks of Sarah in the Old Testament
then he says in verse number 27
for it is written
rejoice thou barren that bearest not
who was that? Sarah
remember she was barren
alright? break forth and cry
thou that travailest not
for the desolate have many more children
than she which hath an husband
Sarah had one child
Isaac
and so compared to other women
she had very few children
she only had one which is Isaac
but isn't it amazing that through Isaac
through the promises given to Isaac
and eventually Jesus Christ
and us in Christ Jesus
there are many more children
that she has brought forth
because we are the spiritual children of God
we are of heaven
we are of the free woman
God's given birth
the promise that was given to Sarah
even though she only physically had one child
spiritually
she's had many children
all that have believed on Christ of all time
make up those children
and look at verse number 28
just in case you think I'm out for lunch again
verse number 28
now we brethren
Paul and the Galatian church
and by extension all churches
all New Testament churches
but we brethren
as Isaac was
are the children of promise
now I didn't make it up
you see? it's right there
I didn't come and write that in your Bible
they're the promised people
we are
oh you hate the Jews? no I believe the Bible
is what it is
and then verse number 29
but as then
those that were born after the flesh
persecuted him
that was born after the spirit
even so it is now
so who persecutes?
those that were born after the spirit
those that were born after the flesh
meaning the Jews
the physical Jews are the people that persecutes
the people of God
and you just need to understand
that is the teaching of the Bible
I did not make that up
that's the teaching of the Bible
so I want you to understand
Paul is expressing
or expounding this allegory
using the verse that is found there in Isaiah 54
now that we understand that
understanding Isaiah 54 is going to be much easier
so let's go back to Isaiah 54
let's go back to Isaiah 54
the reason this is super important
is because
I am confident
I am so confident about this
just go to Kurong and pull out
a book of dispensationalism somewhere
if you've got no books don't buy one
just pull one out
look up what they speak about in Isaiah 54
I guarantee you
what they're going to say about these verses
is that God is speaking about Jerusalem
which now is
I guarantee you
and that God's going to make them renewed
all the Jews are going to get saved
the moment Jesus Christ comes back
and they're going to look upon him
whom they've pierced
there's going to be a national conversion
of the people of Jerusalem
which now is
I guarantee you
100%
if you go to Kurong and pull out a book of dispensationalism
about this verse
that's what it's going to say
and they're just going to completely ignore
what is taught in the New Testament
and the reason it's important
is because
as we continue we know this is not talking about
earthly Jerusalem it's talking about spiritual Jerusalem
and believers
of all time
that have been cleansed by the blood of Christ
so with that in mind
speaking of Jerusalem
which is above
this is in verse number 2
enlarge the place of thy tent
and let them stretch forth
the curtains of thy habitations
spare not, lengthen thy cords
and strengthen thy stakes
I guarantee you that book in Kurong
will say, well this is why
we need to support Israel today
we need to give them all the land
all the land that was promised to them today
because the Bible says enlarge your tent
stretch forth the curtains
that was all fulfilled in 1948
when they came back together as a physical
nation
and now you know, hold on, that's not what it's about
this is about heavenly Jerusalem
do you see what the difference it makes
when you understand
the clear teaching of the Bible rather than trying to force
your biases in there
but you teach the truth and people hate you
for the truth and I don't know why
it's just, it's the Bible
I mean Christ says the world hated him
and we're going to be hated, but I still don't understand
I know it's true, I know people hate you
just for believing the truth, but I just don't
understand
like you know, to be a pastor and say look
I'm going to be a pastor, I'm going to be a Bible preaching
pastor, and people think okay
that's fine, but when you start preaching the Bible they hate you
so why?
I'm being honest, I'm going to preach the Bible
I'm going to teach you what it says
I'm not going to make things up
right? But you teach it
and people hate you for it, they call you anti-Semitic
they think you hate the Jews and
they're like I can't be part of your church
because the way you look at the Jews, I'm like
well what way do we look at them differently?
Don't you believe they're damned and going to hell?
Yes, so do I
Don't you believe they need Jesus Christ? Yes
So do I
If we both knocked on a Jewish door and they opened and
we had to give them the gospel, wouldn't we both give them the gospel?
Yes? What's the difference?
Why get so heated and upset about what the Bible clearly teaches?
And it makes no difference how we're going to interact with these people
Anyway
Christ is saying that he's going to enlarge
and we know, number one, because there's going to be more children
There's going to be more children
One of the definite things that we need to be doing as soul winners
is bringing more children into the kingdom
Making them
make Jerusalem above their mother
as it was in the allegory story
We're enlarging in the tents, we're bringing
more family into the fold
we're bringing more children
these promised children that were given to Sarah
Verse number three
For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left
and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles
and make the desolate cities to be inhabited
Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed
neither be thou confounded
for thou shalt not be put to shame
for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth
and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more
Alright, so we see this seed that was promised
all these children that will be born of the barren woman
it says this seed shall inherit the Gentiles
When does this take place?
Once again we've gone back to the promises
and the prophecies of the millennium
The millennial reign of Jesus Christ
When Christ comes back, the Bible's clear
He's going to reign from Jerusalem
But those that rule and reign with Him
are not the children of the flesh
The ones that are going to rule and reign with Him
are the children of the promise
Okay? And so
That's why the Bible teaches us we're going to rule and reign with Christ
Remember the word Gentiles means nations
And so the Kingdom of Christ is going to rule over
all the nations of this earth
Okay? And who's going to be part of it?
Oh, the physical Jews
Only the physical Jews believe on Christ
But as we learnt in Galatians 4
the people that make up these children
are the believers
are those that have trusted Christ
Now, a few interesting things in verse number 4
So we're looking at Isaiah 54
What is the 54th book of the Bible?
Brother?
1 Timothy
Yeah, it is 1 Timothy
Probably enough for the 2 Timothy
1 Timothy, keep your finger there and come with me to 1 Timothy please
1 Timothy
Now there's a few interesting thoughts being brought up here
So about this woman
While you're turning there to 1 Timothy 4
I'll read it to you again in verse number 4, Isaiah 54
Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed
neither be thou confounded
for thou shalt not be put to shame
for thou shalt not forget the shame of
sorry, for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth
So, the Bible's saying here that
these children are going to forget the shame of their youth
They're going to forget the sins
You know the sins we've committed?
They've all been forgiven in Christ Jesus
And when Christ forgives their sins
not only does he forgive them, but he forgets them
We can also apply this to Old Testament Israel if you want
If you want to apply it to the covenant back then
in their youth as it were
You know they, of course, turned many times against the Lord God
and they sinned against him
Now what's interesting about this in 1 Timothy 4
verse number 12, 1 Timothy 4, verse number 12
Paul is writing to Pastor Timothy
He says, let no man despise thy youth
but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity
in spirit, in faith, in purity
Let no man despise thy youth
One thing that we learn by putting two passages together here
is that God speaks of your youth
as being a time where you make a lot of mistakes
You know, and as teenagers you often rebel against your parents
or you think your parents are wrong
and you try to path a different way of living
and I think most people acknowledge
like your teenage years or your early twenties
or your, you know, what we commonly refer to as youth
is when we do a lot of stupid things
You just, you know, you start not to, you know, feel so accountable toward your parents I suppose
and you're your own woman or your own man
and you sit out and just do stupid things
And so, you know, many times in our youth we are maybe ashamed of what we've done
Now thankfully in Christ Jesus, when you're saved, God forgives those things
You know, I don't like to hold people in judgment for the wrong they've done in the past
We've all made mistakes, we've all done stupid things in the past
And I don't want to think of you or myself
or I don't want to be judged for the things we've done in the past
You know, like if I've had a fight with my wife or something like this
not that we often do anything like that
but you know what, if we've made peace
if we've sorted out, we've moved forward
I don't ever want to remember the mistakes
Like if we have another argument in the future
I don't want to bring up the mistakes of the past
the errors of the past because it's been done away with
We shouldn't, you know, despise the mistakes of the youth
and understand that we have a future and a time to live together
And so in many ways, God is saying about when we're reigning with Him
we're not going to be concerned about all the mistakes
people aren't going to be bringing up
Oh, you're ruling with Christ, but what about that time
you got drunk and whatever, you did something stupid
We're not going to be ashamed of those sins because we've been forgiven by God
So that's quite an interesting thing
Timothy was a young pastor and some people hated him for his youth
Obviously he was a man who met the qualifications
Obviously he would have been a married man with a couple of kids at least
But he's still quite a young man in comparison to many of his church
and sometimes people will just despise you because you're not young
but hey man, if you're preaching God's Word
God's Word will always be true regardless of who is preaching it
Something else there in 1 Timothy, come with me to 1 Timothy 5
1 Timothy 5 and verse number 3
1 Timothy 5 verse number 3 says
Honour widows that are widows indeed
You know, in the Bible, the instruction given to a church is
if we have widows in the church, that we are to honour our widows
Now honour, you can read this in your own time
The context there isn't just like respect them, we should respect widows
It's about making sure their needs are taken care of
So if a widow has lost her husband and has nobody to take care of her
I'm not saying widows in the world, I'm saying widows
And we see there's a criteria by which widows are to be taken care of by the church
It's the widows that have served in the church
They have a good report in the church
If they don't have a man to take care of their needs
that's when the church ought to be coming together
and we send brother Hayden to go cut the trees or whatever it is
The overgrowth, and we send brother Ash to go fix up some of the flooring
or something like that
We send different people with different skills to go and help those people in need
That is the proper instruction that churches have toward widows
And the reason I bring that up is again, because in Isaiah 54 it says
Shall not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more
And so again, speaking about in the millennium that Christ will provide all the needs of the people
You know we're never going to be without
It's not like today where sometimes we might struggle to pay our bills
We might struggle with different problems and sicknesses and what have you
But not in the millennium, in the millennium we're not going to operate like a widow
We're going to be taken care of as it were a husband
Now that's why if you come back with me to Isaiah 54
Come back with me to Isaiah 54 and verse number 5
Isaiah 54 and verse number 5 and this is again, I need to debunk another teaching that's out there
Isaiah 54 verse number 5
This is why she will not suffer the reproach of widowhood any more
Because for thy maker is thine husband
The Lord of hosts is his name
And thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel
The God of the whole earth shall he be called
Now what teaching, what funny teaching comes out of this?
Well again, if you pull out that dispensational book out of Kurong
And you look up the word husband or something like this
You're going to learn a few things from the dispensational book
It's going to say that Christ is the husband of the church
That the church is the bride of her husband Jesus Christ
And then they'll say, but Israel also has a husband
The Israel which now is, the Israel of the flesh has a husband
And that husband is God the Father
Have you guys heard that one before?
Yeah, okay, well number 1
We've already gotten the context, this is not talking about earthly Jerusalem is it?
It's talking about new Jerusalem, heavily Jerusalem
So just by context, this is not correct
But it's funny that they say that, well the son needs a wife and the father needs a wife
And I'm like, well who marries the Holy Spirit?
Is it the Charismatics?
They have these strange teachings
And it's like, well you need to understand there's a difference between the Israel and the church
And I'm like, no, no, no, no
It's an allegory of the church or the New Testament believers
You know, I'm not making this up, this is the apostle Paul that is teaching these things
And so again it's using the example like widowhood
Where we have troubles in life today and we have needs today
But in the millennium it's like we have a husband and all our needs are taken care of
Because Christ will rule and reign over the whole earth
And we will not suffer any needs during that time of the millennium
But there's more to it
So keep your finger there and come with me to Revelation 21
I know there's repetition here, but Revelation 21 please, Revelation 21
Revelation 21 and verse number 9
And this is going to be consistent with what we've seen earlier
We know that we are children of promise
And our mother is Jerusalem which is above
So does our mother, Jerusalem which is above, have a husband?
Well, Revelation 21 verse 9
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials
And they were full of the seven last plagues
And talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain
And showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem
Descending out of heaven, Jerusalem which is above, descending out of heaven from God
Isn't that consistent?
That the husband, the maker which is thine husband is actually the lamb
The lamb is Christ
And the lamb's bride is holy Jerusalem
Jerusalem which is above, which will descend out of heaven
When God creates a new heaven and a new earth
That is the bride
And we are children of that city
Because we're going to live in that city
In the new heavens and the new earth
So is this teaching us that Jesus has a bride, the church?
And God the Father has a bride, Israel?
No
Because when you look at the description of this holy city
You've got 12 gates that represent the 12 tribes of Israel
Old Testament believers
And it's made up of the 12 foundations which are named after the apostles of the lamb
New Testament
New Testament, Old Testament saints that are in Christ Jesus
Of the children of promise, those that have believed in Christ
They will indwell that holy Jerusalem
And as an image, a picture, that city is the lamb's wife
And the lamb of course is Jesus Christ
So there's no
That's Israel
We're all one in Christ Jesus
And you know what's so funny about these books and these teachers?
I've seen presentations, I've been in church sitting in a pew
And they're like, you know, the pastor's like
How do people not understand that Israel is not the church?
And so they'll show on their slide
For Israel they have a map of Israel
Like modern day Israel, right, they have a map
And so you can see the land, geographic land of the map
And they say, so that's Israel
And over here they'll have the church
And in the church they'll have like a church building
Like with a cross
And they go, how can you not understand this building is not the land
And the land is not the building
It's like, no, hold on, you don't understand, pastor
Israel is not the land
The land is the land of promise
It's the land of Canaan
Israel are the people
Because throughout history
Israel's land size has, you know, depending on enemies and captivity
The land size has grown, has shrunk, has grown, has shrunk
But it was always Israel
And the Bible speaks about Israel coming out of Egypt
Before it had any land
Because Israel are the people
God is not married to a piece of land
That's not what his priority is
The whole point of the Bible
Is that Christ came to die for man
And woman, just in case it's feminist
Man, I mean everybody, mankind, all right
He died for all
And the people that live on that map, on that land
You know, they should just draw a head
Two arms and two legs
That's Israel
And then over here, the church
The church is not a building
The church is the people
Whether we meet in a building
Whether we meet at the park
Whether we meet like Israel in the wilderness
That is the church
And so for the church, what they should do
A head, arms and legs
And so when you have a head, arms and legs and a body
A head, arms and legs and a body
I say, can't you tell that Israel is not the church?
No, it's the same thing
It's a human being
They have trust in Christ
It's one and the same
The Israel of the millennium
Is made up of all believers
That have lived on the land of Israel
Those that attend the church
Those that are saved in Christ Jesus
We are all one
The wall of separation has been destroyed by Christ
Ephesians chapter 2
Is it Ephesians 2?
I think it is
You can read it in your own time
But I'm telling you
I don't know if Isaiah is interesting to you
But I think we all read it
And we understand it's quite deep
It's quite complex
And so these preachers take advantage of it being complex
And not expecting that you're going to compare
Scripture with scripture
And those are telling you
God the Father is married to Israel
Which now is
Bless those people if you want to be blessed in return
Now I'm going to bless the real people of God
The children of promise which are my brothers and sisters in the Lord
Which is you
The reason I come and fly here every week
Is because I want to bless you
And teach you God's word
And you guys bless me in return and I love it
And we know that whatever we do to one another
We've done it unto Christ
So look
I don't know how the Bible can't be any clearer on this topic
And people that are trying to teach you otherwise
They're just deceiving you
Best case scenario
They're just ignorant and they don't know any better
Or they feel pressured to preach what
Is acceptable in the dispensational world
But it's contrary to the scriptures
I'm not telling you
If you look at this yourself
And compare the scriptures and read the scriptures for yourself
You'll see how contradictory it is to the teaching
That comes out of many Baptist churches
It's a real shame that we live in a time
Where our pastors have been so heavily deceived
By the doctrines of dispensationalism
Alright let's continue
Verse number, back to Isaiah 54
Isaiah 54
And verse number 6
For the Lord have called thee as a woman
Forsaken and grieved in spirit
And a wife of youth
When thou wast refused
Sayeth thy God
So God says
So God says look I've called you even as a young wife
And we're going back to the Old Testament times
Okay
So I say well is the land
No not the land, the people, the people that are saved
Okay the people that lived in that land
That are saved
They lived in a nation which was like a youthful wife
Okay
But that youthful wife was very barren
Okay
We understand
We start to understand that in order for this wife
To bring forth these people
That live on that land or live in New Testament times
They need to get saved
Okay they need to trust Christ
Now again this plays into
This is really interesting because it plays into
Again 1 Timothy 5
You've probably turned away from there but I'll just read it to you
In 1 Timothy 5 which again is the 54th book of the Bible
1 Timothy 5 14 says
I will therefore
That the younger women marry
Bear children
Guide the house
Give no occasion to the adversary
To speak reproachfully
For some are already turned aside
After Satan
So the Bible says younger women they ought to marry
And bear children
Okay so
The problem with the youth
The wife of the youth
Representing the Old Testament and these allegories
Is that it wasn't fruitful
It wasn't bearing fruit
You know most people in the time of Isaiah
You may recall when God caught Isaiah
To preach in his ministry
God told Isaiah they're not going to hear you
They're not going to listen
And I don't know if I'd want to be a pastor
If nobody wanted to listen
Imagine I get ordained as a pastor
And we start Blessed Hope Baptist Church or whatever church
And nobody's here
And I'm just preaching
No one's here
What am I doing?
But that's exactly what Isaiah was called to do
You're going to preach and no one's going to hear you
Because he lived in a time
Where things were just so bad in the nation
And of course we know that God's judgment
Would fall by the hands of the Babylonians
Okay when they're taken to captivity
This is why I say there's a lot of repetition
Of the previous chapters
That have come before
Now
We're talking about that young wife
Okay so again
Old Testament times
Verse number 7
For a small moment
Have I forsaken thee
But with great mercies
Will I gather thee
This is really interesting God is saying I have forsaken thee
Okay that's for
Isaiah that's the nation of Judah
Verse number 8
In a little wrath
I hid my face from thee for a moment
But with everlasting kindness
Will I have mercy on thee
Sayeth the Lord thy redeemer
Now these are really interesting things
Because we understand in verse number 8
When it says a little wrath have I hid my face
God says I have wrath
A little wrath
But we know that as believers we are not appointed to wrath
We're not appointed to his wrath
The other interesting thing
In verse number 7
For a small moment have I forsaken thee
And yet Jesus Christ says in Hebrews 13 5
For he hath said I will never leave thee
Nor forsake thee
So this is when
We can understand these words that have been spoken here
Are not speaking about
New Testament believers
Do you understand that?
Because we've got these promises
That we're not appointed to wrath
And that Jesus Christ will never leave us nor forsake us
So we understand this young wife is talking about
Them in that current time
Okay because there are some believers
But most of the nation has rejected him
So he's got some wrath
He's going to forsake them
And of course that will come like I said
In the form of the Babylonian captivity
Okay
God has forsaken unsaved Judah
The prophet Jeremiah calls them
A reprobate nation
At that point in time
Okay rejected by God
Now let's continue verse number 9
So God promises no no
Even though I've got wrath
Even though I have forsaken you
That he's got this everlasting kindness
And he will have mercy
And of course that mercy came in the form of Jesus Christ
Okay that everlasting kindness
His everlasting love came in the form of Jesus Christ
Verse number 9
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me
For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah
Should no more go over the earth
So have I sworn
That I would not be wroth with thee
Nor rebuke thee
Okay just like God destroyed
The old earth with the flood
Okay and promised to never do it again
Well God destroyed the Old Testament nation of Israel
But promises us
That if we are of that spiritual nation
The children of promise
That he would not
You know be wroth with us
And not rebuke us
You need to understand and apply
These two teachings okay
The transitions from the Old Testament to the New Testament
And the promises to come with Christ
Ruling for a thousand years
Verse number 10
For the mountain shall depart
So here we have
Here's the setting of it
For the mountain shall depart
And the hills be removed
I want you to start thinking about when does that take place
The mountain shall depart
And the hills be removed
But my kindness shall not depart from thee
Neither shall the covenant
Of my peace be removed
Save the Lord that have mercy on thee
So when does this take place
When do the mountains depart
When are the hills removed
Anyone?
Sorry?
There is a little bit at the rapture
But primarily when Christ finishes
Pouring out his wrath on the earth
I'll just read it to you
I'll read it to you
Revelation 16 verse 20
This is after the seventh vial is poured out
It says here
Sorry the seventh
The seventh trumpet
What's first? The trumpets?
After the seventh vial is poured out
Revelation 16 verse 20
It says
And the mountains were not found
Okay
So God's wrath ends up
Destroying with a great earthquake
All the mountains of the earth
Okay
And so God is saying for the mountain shall depart
And the hills be removed
But my kindness shall not depart from thee
So we're going back to the millennium
Because at the end when God's wrath is finished on this earth
Christ comes back on the white horse
Comes to Jerusalem
Puts his feet on the mount of olives
It cleaves into two
And from there forward he rules and reign
In Jerusalem
And all the saints that have been raptured
That have gone to be with Christ
Will come back with him to rule on this earth with him
So I want you to understand
Now we've got this promise of the millennium
Okay
Verse number 11
And look this is clearly the millennium
This is not something in the past
This is not 1948 or anything like that
Verse number 11 says
Behold I will lay thy stones
With fair colours
And lay thy foundations
With sapphires
I will make thy windows
Of agates
And thy gates of carbuncles
And all thy borders
Of pleasant stones
So where Christ
I believe this is about talking about earthly Jerusalem at this point in time
Because Christ is going to rule from there
From the millennium
And you may recall in the end times that Jerusalem
Will be trodden under the foot of the Gentiles
For 42 months
That city is pretty much a wasteland
When Christ comes
But now it says it's going to be rebuilt
And it's going to be rebuilt by these
Colourful stones
And sapphires
He says and I will make thy windows of agates
Let's look this up and agate is a colourful stone
It says and thy gates are carbuncles
The carbuncles are red stones
Now this is not talking about heavenly Jerusalem
In the new heaven new earth
It's a different city
It's talking about him ruling from this city
In that thousand year period
Verse number 13
And all thy children
Shall be taught of the Lord
And great shall be the peace
Of thy children
So all the children
All those new generations
Born during the millennium
They're going to be taught of the Lord
We've seen in previous chapters
In the book of Isaiah
There are going to be pilgrimages
That the nations of the earth are going to make their way
To Jerusalem to a high mount
The house of the Lord
And church services are going to be
Coming out from that mountain
So these are the promises
Of the millennium
Verse number 14
In righteousness
Shall thou be established
Thou shall be far from oppression
For thou shalt not fear
And from terror
Behold they shall surely gather together
But not by me
Whosoever shall gather together
Against thee shall fall
For thy sake
So we can clearly see this is not about the new heaven and the new earth
Because when the new heaven and the new earth is created
At eternal state
Everybody that lives are going to be children of God
This is a time
Where some will still gather together
And go to war
Against Jerusalem
Not Jerusalem 1948
Not Jerusalem of the earth
A rebuilt Jerusalem
It is on the earth
But a rebuilt Jerusalem
Beautified by all these stones
Christ's ruling reign from there
And there are going to be some nations
That are going to try to make war
Or gather themselves against that city
Now come back with me to Revelation chapter 20
Come with me to Revelation chapter 20 please
Revelation chapter 20
Now again
I know it's kind of repetitive right
We hear about the millennium again
But every time
These chapters kind of just bring
Sort of a little bit more information
New information to help us understand
What that millennium is going to be like
I mean I can't really understand
I can't really imagine a city
Built with stones
Of all precious colours
Like I don't really
Like when I think of a city I just think of these grey buildings
So we add a little bit more data
To what this millennial reign of Christ
Will be
And I want to show you just how often this promise
Or this prophecy is taught
Not just from the book of Revelation
But it's found throughout all the prophets of old as well
But in Revelation chapter 20
And verse number 7
It says
And when the thousand years are expired
Satan shall be loosed
Out of his prison
And shall go out to deceive the nations
Which are in the four quarters of the earth
Gog and Magog
To gather them together to battle
The number of whom is
As the sand of the sea
And they went up on the breath of the earth
And came past the camp
Of the saints about
And the beloved city
And fire came down from God
Out of heaven and devoured them
So anyone that gathers
Themselves against the city
You know God's going to be there to protect them
And we learn that at the end of the millennium
Because Satan is going to be bound for a thousand years
During that time
Satan is loosed
He's able to turn the hearts of people that hate Jesus
I don't understand
Like Jesus is ruling on the earth
I mean it's a utopia
The earth is flourishing
Right, people have all they need
Everybody's learning of Christ
You know we're ruling on the earth
You know we're going to get rid of the sodomites
And all these wicked people off the earth
Are going to enforce the laws of God
In a righteous world
Yet somehow
Even with all of those blessings
There are going to be people that have not
Trusted in Christ
Where the devil can take their hearts
And bring them to battle against the saints of God
Into his holy city
I don't understand it
But I do understand it
Because we've already seen it play out in the scriptures
Because when Christ came the first time
He did no one wrong
He was a good man
He preached wonderful message
He laid down his life
He sacrificed himself
He performed miracles
He did amazing miracles
He brought the dead to life
And even some people that saw him bring the dead to life
They hated him
And they rejected him
So man does it
And we talk to people
We go door to door soul winning
And sometimes people hate Jesus
I worked on someone's door just this past Saturday
And trying to give him the gospel
And it's like you know what I'd just rather go to hell
I want to go to hell
I'll be there with my mates
And I'm like yeah you're definitely going there
I mean if that's where you want to go
That's where you're headed I guarantee it
I mean we want to go soul winning
I did a bit of soul losing that day
There are people you know
You come with a good message
And look it's not of works and Christ has done it all
And he loves you
Okay
And so it doesn't really matter
You know it's hard to understand
But we see it today
It's happened in the past
Doesn't matter what Christ does
He does good and he loves you and he gave his life
You know like how thankful are we
For what Christ has done
Like we're so thankful that we're saved
And we have the peace of God in our lives
We're not worried about what's going to happen in the future
When we pass away we're with Christ
Our sins are forgiven
And that's what he's done for us
And so it's hard for us to understand why the people hate him
But in the millennium
Satan's going to be less loosed out
And he's going to be able to find these people that hate the Lord
It's amazing because
The number as the sand
What did it say there?
Yeah the number of whom is as the sand of the sea
Okay
But again, thankfully the saints don't have to go to battle
Fire comes out of heaven
And just wipes out that army
And Satan is then cast into the lake of fire
Look at verse number 16
God says behold I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire
And that bringeth forth an instrument for his work
And I have created the waster to destroy
So this is why we don't have to be worried in the millennium about these other armies
The smith, the one that's actually making weapons
God says I created him
And the one who's coming to destroy
I created those people that are in the army
Okay I'm the creator of all people
Okay then he says this in verse number 17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper
And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment
Thou shalt condemn
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
And their righteousness is of me
Sayeth the Lord
I love that
And their righteousness is of me
Isn't it great that we're not saved by our own righteousness?
Now we're saved, we're servants of God because of his righteousness
And so no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper
Let's apply that, that's about the millennium we understand
We can apply that today
Because we're not physically at war today
We're not being physically dragged out and killed or anything like that
But we know that in the New Testament
That our weapons are spiritual weapons
We know that we're not wrestling against flesh and blood
But against principalities and powers
And the forces of Satan
The forces of darkness
And we're constantly at battle with this enemy
And I love the promise that God gives us
That no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper
You know the enemies of God
They're not going to prosper
They might hurt you a little bit
They might throw a few fiery darts at you
And you need to make sure you're armed
With your shield of faith to block those arrows
And you've got to make sure you're ready and prepared
With the gospel of Christ shot on your feet
And you've got the helmet of salvation
And the breastplate of righteousness
What else am I missing?
Sword of the Spirit
Breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation
Or girded about with truth
Make sure you've got the right belt on
If you want to throw on the cloak of zeal
Put it on, it's fine
But don't just put on the cloak of zeal
Because I've met a lot of Christians that put on the cloak of zeal
And they're completely naked underneath
They forgot the rest of the armor
We've got a spiritual war to fight
And the Lord God promises that we're going to have victory
And again that victory is in Christ Jesus
In His righteousness
So Brevin that's the end of Isaiah 54
I told her the children of the desolate
The desolate woman representing Sarah
Because she was barren
And she had a promise that one day she would have a son
And that son was Isaac
But that son Isaac
Well that story is an allegory about us
That we are of the barren woman
And that woman is the city of Jerusalem
Heavenly city Jerusalem I should say
And that's the mother of us all
And she gives birth to these spiritual children
We want to be able to enlarge the tents
We want to be able to enlarge this church
And invite more people to know Christ as their savior
We are the children of promise
And we ought to be able to afford this great promise
To other people that we come across
Alright Brevin let's pray