Amen okay so we're in Isaiah chapter 4 and in case you're thinking this is
going to be an early finish don't you? I think that's so quickly alright because there's plenty of places to go even with six
verses as you know but we were in Isaiah 3 last week and of course we
saw Isaiah seem to go from preaching the last days in chapter 2 to to a
more imminent prophecy in chapter 3 that was to come in in King Ahaz rain
we looked at 2nd Kings 16 and 2nd Chronicles 28 showing them being
besieged followed by the killing and taking away of the valiant men some of
the key men too is prophesied by Isaiah in that chapter the captured
women and children will return to them become the rulers the leaders we
looked at that we saw what is what a disaster basically that was how it's
the same in the house of God and really all areas of life okay it's
horses for courses and women and children aren't designed for
leadership to be calling the shots that's just the way it is then on the
back of this we saw a pretty detailed rebuke of these women in Jerusalem with
their haughtiness their pride being punished by shame really okay verse 24
said and it shall come to pass and instead of sweet smell there should be
stink and instead of a girdle a rent and instead of well-set hair baldness
and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth and burning
instead of beauty thy men shall fall by the sword and I'm mighty in the war
and her gate shall lament and mourn and she being desolate shall sit upon the
ground then Isaiah 4 and in verse 1 then says this and in that day seven
women shall take hold of one man saying we will eat our own bread and
wear our own apparel only let us be called by thy name to take away our
approach I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna get going with the message
father thank you for your word thank you for this short chapter of the
Bible here Lord and what we can learn from it and help me to just preach it
clearly and accurately and in a way that everyone will just take in what
you've got to say Lord in a bold way and for your spirit and just help the
room to really pay attention to your word here Lord and just move
among us and help us to just all really tune in to your word in Jesus
name pray Amen okay so flick over to 2nd Chronicles 28 again we're
gonna go back there again as you do I'm just gonna read verse 1 again of
Isaiah 4 which said and in that day seven women shall take hold of one man
saying we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel only let us be
called by thy name to take away our approach and like we saw last week
okay 2nd Chronicles 28 said this in verse 5 2nd Chronicles 28 5 said
wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of
Syria and they smote him and carried away a great multitude of them captives
so we saw a great multitude carried away and brought them to Damascus and he
was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel who smote him with a
great slaughter this talk about in King Ahazraim for Pekah the son of
Remaliah slew in Judah and 120,000 in one day okay that's a lot of
people being killed in one day 120,000 okay were killed by the king of Israel
which were all valiant men because they had forsaken the Lord God of
their fathers okay so obviously a warning about forsaking God and what
can happen and Zikri a mighty man of Ephraim slew Maasai the king's son and
Ezrikam the governor of the house and Elkanah that was next to king and
the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000
women sons and daughters and took also away much spoil from them and brought
the spoil to Samaria okay so we then saw we then saw the women and
children all brought back soon after okay which along with all you know all
of the slaughter of the men would have resulted in this situation where
basically they outnumber the men okay that's what we got to in the end
Isaiah 3 ended with this where it said thy men shall fall by the sword
and thy mighty in the war and our gates shall lament and mourn and she
being desolate shall sit upon the ground okay so we saw that that you
know obviously that there's this you know these guys fallen by the sword it
said the mighty in the war we saw how many had died and then it said and the
gate shall lament and mourn and she being desolate shall sit upon the
ground then verse one then said where we were and in that day seven
women shall take hold of one man saying we will eat our own bread and
wear our own apparel only let us be called by thy name to take away our
approach and although never ordained by God okay some of the some of the
multiple wives before and after this point I want you to think about this
okay would have perhaps also correlated with lower percentages of men
I was thinking about this as I was writing these notes think of the
battles and wars being described as early as Abraham's Day and you can
assume here happening earlier too okay Genesis 6 11 for example that
fraternity said the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was
filled with violence okay so I don't think the first wars were as
described as we see in Abraham's Day obviously you know with the you know
what happened with Sodom and everything else even early on in the book of
Genesis I'm sure that was going on before there's a lot of violence
there's a lot of a lot of fighting and stuff and historically who went to
battle who went to battle historically it was men wasn't it okay that's
always been the case pretty much before Hollywood was able to carry out the
sheer extent of brainwash that it has okay before that time I don't think
there were many cultures in history they try and pretend there were where
the you know these sort of women warriors and stuff that's not really the
case okay the reality of it is is that men have pretty much always throughout
history being the ones that have gone to battle well who was often taken
captive rather rather than killed during war women so even when whole
places were invaded often it would be the men that were killed maybe even
the the kind of even the boys to some degree and a lot of the time women
weren't killed that's just the way it is well I say that because after World
War one I was thinking about this on this trail of thought they claim there
were two million surplus women in the UK I don't know if anyone's ever
heard of this they've got like little books on this surplus women this was
after over 700,000 men were killed okay during World War one but many more
seriously disabled as well so you think why were there two men two
million subs a lot like it was horrific okay World War one was
absolutely horrific and there were people with like severe maimings and
disabled and everything else well in 1921 the sense of census of England
and Wales had revealed that there were 1.72 million more women than men
in 1921 but it was out of only a total of 38 million that did the
census so that's quite a lot you know that's a lot of that's a big
difference okay can you imagine how much more drastic that would be in small
nations and kingdoms thousands of years ago yeah if you think about it like that
like these women were women that you know they're saying there are two
million so there's a lot of women that think actually their chance of
getting married and stuff and massively diminished because of the war because
of all those people all those people dying well imagine small small kingdoms
when we look here these descriptions of wars in the Bible you I mean that
would be a massive difference when you have suddenly hundreds of thousands of
men of a city of an area of what what was a small nation just killed you know
in one day we just saw 120,000 one day there and for me it kind of
explains to some degree and that now I'm not justifying the polygamy but it
does explain why some of these men seem willing to give their their
daughters away to a guy that was already married yeah have you ever
wondered that when you're reading through the Bible and it's like he's
like welcoming in ah this is a guy who my daughter's a concubine for and
stuff oh well you stay a bit longer and stuff it's like what's going on well
I think in a way sometimes maybe there were times where there was a lack of
men per women and maybe that's why you see this sort of being at least
seemed to be a bit more socially acceptable maybe it wasn't just as
simple as as these men just taking liberties like you kind of think when
you're reading through you thinking well start with all these men taking
all these wives and why all these women being given away while these
women just happy to marry be one of like a harem or whatever it is
throughout the Bible and maybe a lot of the time it's because there was a lack
of men after certain battles wars fighting etc which is maybe why in my
mind that maybe it seemed to be a little bit more acceptable than you
would imagine right back in 2021 it was a problem sorry back in back in
1921 it was a problem because these women want to be married and maybe some
of the strongest reasons is what is an urge amongst most women was a desire to
have children so that would have been a big part of it which would also
explain some of the many women of old content to be like I said one of a
harem because of that urge to have children and maybe with a lack of men or
at least a lack of suitable men or men that could look after them that could
pay for them that could pay you know because it wasn't like now where you
know people having children able to provide for themselves or at least the
state provides them that was never the case right so again that would explain
that a little bit more as well and such as is here in Isaiah 4 where
being one of seven is apparently taking away their reproach or shame if
you notice that in verse 1 it said and in that day several women shall
take hold of one man saying we will eat our own bread and wear our own
apparel only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach so it
seemed to take away the reproach even being one of a sort of you know a
version of a harem of a you know a guy with multiple wives and I believe
that the reproach is probably children out of wedlock that I think
really is what we're seeing here rather than of being singular in their
father's house okay if if he's if he's alive still the father here and
obviously we're talking about a point after many men have been killed etc
because historically okay a child by Hordham is a reproach okay that's just
now don't get me wrong you know again if that's happened in your life
previously so that's the way it is we live in in a crazy world don't we
you know and many of us have been products of that but it historically
it's always been a reproach and even if you can afford to eat your own bread
and when you wear your own apparel so whether or not they've been maybe
left money because you know a lot of these men had died and there was
probably you know whatever was left they if you remember they were allowed to
return with the spoil as well they were given back a lot of the spoil and
stuff like that so they've come back with this stuff they're able they're
able to provide for themselves but it's still a reproach if they want to
have children they're looking for a man because they want to have children
for it not to be a reproach and that's a bit different to now isn't it
right remember that like I said they returned them with the spoil Israel sent
them back with with a lot of the spoil they probably inherited stuff as well
but they're basically saying you don't have to provide for us just please
marry us that's what they're saying here they're saying look you don't even
have to like pay for us we don't even want your money we just want you to
marry us to take away our reproach so basically we appear to be you know how
women should be married when they're having children that's all that's pretty
much been the case historically isn't it Hebrews 13 4 says marriage is
honorable in all in the bed undefiled but hall mongers and adulterers God
will judge and that's something we sometimes need remind you of don't we
because we live in a world where it's completely inside out and upside down
and back to front and we look at that and we just think yeah it's not
that bad is it that's the way it is you know people I was talking to
someone today just talk about their partner and talk about this like it's
just completely normal but it's not in God's eyes it's not he said
hall mongers and adulterers God will judge okay and I think though as
opposed to continuing the rebuke here though Isaiah is prophesying of the
improvement to come after God's judgment okay after those puffed up
women described in the previous chapter ashamed their men have fallen by the
sword the mighty in the war these remaining women don't want to be
shamed anymore they want their approach taken away and that seems to
be the result of God's chastisement and don't forget that okay
God's chastisement is ultimately to get us to improve it's for our own
good a lot of people they can't they can't get their head around the
fact that that it's not just about hell throughout the Bible God's
chastising his people in various different ways that that's how like and
we can think of a hundred different ways we see the children of Israel
they're meant to be in samples for us okay examples showing us how God
chastises can chastise his people and the goal is for us to get right
and you know what when you know and I think because people just don't get
that because they're just thinking well it's just got to be hell got to
be hell well you know what people don't get well don't get right with hell
being dangled over them do they let's be honest they're people all over
churches all over the station who don't who aren't even doing the first works
for God even though they believe that they're going to hell without works
it's crazy isn't it all over this station you've got people that are like
oh no you know it's all about works you gotta work your way to heaven you
gotta hell if you're not it's like well what why don't you even do the
first works why don't you even go out and preach in the gospel if you
think you're working your way to heaven why are you knocking on every door in
town why aren't you going and telling everyone let me preach because one thing
you would imagine the work salvationist churches should have field just floods
of so-called their version of soul winners going around and preaching
their version of the gospel because they're trying so desperately to work
their way to heaven but they don't because it's all their version of
works whatever their pastor preacher whoever has decided is is is whatever
his line is is the baseline for them to work their way to heaven and you
know those guys aren't doing preaching any any gospel because they don't even
believe the gospel they just believe you've got to work your way there
anyway the result should be of God's chastisement in life the result should
be of people responding and it does happen like that does it if you when
you get chastised by God and you start to feel his chastisement you're
like yeah I messed up then I got chastised it makes you even more think
yeah I need to get I need to like make sure I'm right with God you know
I was thinking about it I just think about it with with Malawi I was thinking
you know and again you know not to worry anyone because it is the dry
season there it's not you know it shouldn't be high in malaria cases and
obviously you just take precautions with nets and things like that but I
think as well gonna make sure you're right with God going there now don't
get me wrong if someone did get ill there and got sick it doesn't mean
that they would we don't know okay it might be not have not be
chastised it might just be a trial it might just be that you know
they're suffering the same afflictions that were accomplished in the world
but for yourself you like to think yeah I need to make sure I'm in God's will
I need to make sure I'm right with God I need to make sure I'm doing all this
the right way I'm in the right things because that it's on your mind
things like that isn't it and that's what that's what should happen when
you think about the potential chastisement of God it should make
you behave right shouldn't it should make you want to get right with God
and these women here having had the chastisement of God and if you've
experienced it and you know it and you appreciate and you accept it you said
oh no no it can never be chastisement I'm completely right with God you know
well if you do that and you accept it it should get you to improve and in
Isaiah 3 17 he did say therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown
of the head of the daughters of Zion and the Lord will discover their
secret past so he said that he would take away the bravery from all their
outward adorning didn't he he said I'm gonna remove all of that and then and
he did that by shame the verse 24 said it shall come to pass it instead of
sweet smell there shall be stink and instead of a girdle of rent and instead
of well-set hair baldness instead of a stomach or a girding of sackcloth and
burning instead of beauty and perhaps all of that happened when they were
taken away captor into Israel and then learning from it and of course
it's best not to get to such an extreme point but God wants us to
learn from his chastisement he wants us to see that he wants us when we
have been chastised he wants us to worry about chastising he wants us to
maybe sometimes just just accept that some of his children are getting
chastised and to learn from that okay and that's because he wants us to
respond to behave right and do the right thing that's got nothing to do
with heaven and hell when it comes to his people that's why Hebrews 12 6
12 6 says for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son
whom he receiveth he chastises every one of his children because he wants
response is because he loves us to whom the Lord loves because he wants us to
behave right he wants us to learn he wants us to grow he wants us to live
right he wants us to put away all the bad stuff in our life he wants to get
rid of all that all that you know those sins all that weight all that
stuff that just ties us down all that baggage he wants us to live right
and also to be able to earn those rewards in heaven to be able to live a
fulfilled life to be able to fill the blessings of God in life it's far
and good in here in this chapter we see the results in inverse to it in that
day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit
of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of
Israel so sometimes there needs to be a clean up for things to improve okay
now although this happened on the back of a has rained okay so and what
happened in that rain okay with hezekiah coming in and making things right
okay but but this is also a dual prophecy with the millennial reign of
Christ ultimately fulfilling this okay with the dual part the prophecy but
Turner's Second Chronicles 29 because hezekiah's reign in many ways pictures
the millennial reign okay so hezekiah's reign does picture the
millennial reign of Christ itself so although like I said it's a dual
fulfillment we see it being fulfilled in hezekiah's reign you can see it
eventually it's going to be fulfilled in the millennial reign of Christ from
what we see written about the millennial reign across hezekiah's reign itself
pictures of millennial reign of Christ I mean I don't you just can't even get
your head around how this works through human authors like God doing all
that it's just amazing that word of God is absolutely amazing
second second Kings 18 5 your turn the second Chronicles 29 but second
Kings 85 says of hezekiah he trusted in the Lord God of Israel so that
after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah nor any that were
before him that is a glowing appraisal for a king isn't it after him was none
like him nor any that were before him were like hezekiah and bearing in mind
there's some pretty like I mean it that's being up there compared some
pretty impressive guys you know you're looking back to King David and others
and obviously you know Solomon in his heyday at least but that there was
none like him and his reign was and I just want to give you a few
highlights and I'll be honest you'd probably be best if you wonder about
this you doubt you're just interested in this if you just read through second
Chronicles 29 and I'm not going to do that and just read it but but don't do
it now but if you just went home you just read through from second
Chronicles 29 through to like 31 or 32 you're I believe you if you read
that within your mind thinking is this a picture of the millennial reign
you'll come away going yeah that's a picture of the millennial reign I'm just
going to give you some highlights okay for example his reign was post-wrath
second Chronicles 29 10 says now it is in mine heart to make a
covenant with the Lord God of Israel that his fierce wrath may turn away from
us okay so he went so it was post the wrath of God he's coming in and
reigning here it's a picture of the millennial reign he went on to set
things right ruling and reigning with the priests being heavily featured in
this chapter in these chapters you just can't see seeing them talk about the
priests the priests the priests the priests during this are the names of
the priests constantly about the priests okay with with for me a picture of
God's people becoming priests even in second Chronicles 29 34 29 34 where it
says but the priests were too few so they could not flail the burnt
offerings wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them till the
work was ended until the other priests had sanctified themselves for
the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves in the
priest and of course you don't have to turn about revelation 20 in verse 6
says of the millennial reign blessed and holy is he that had part in the
first resurrection on such the second death has no power but they shall be
priests of God and of Christ shall reign with him a thousand years so if
you if if you know if you're saved when the when that that that second
that that that second coming of Christ comes and you end up you know
getting raptured and you receive that glorified body you go on to rule and
reign with him you'll be a priest of God in that rule you'll be ruling
reigning with Christ well we're called both priests and kings okay and and here
we we just see him constantly talk about the priests and even talk about
people that basically become priests in this reign of Hezekiah then Jerusalem
goes on to be that sanctuary with the house of God there with Hezekiah
encouraging the people to get saved and get right second Chronicles 30
chapter 13 verse 8 says now be ye not stiff-necked as your father's were
but yield yourselves unto the Lord and enter into his sanctuary which he
had sanctified forever okay again I think a picture of that of that
millennial reign and obviously onwards you know with with eventually will be
the new new Jerusalem the new heaven and new earth then serve the Lord your
God that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you and then in
second Chronicles 13 verse 26 okay this point in Hezekiah's reign is
compared to the heyday of Solomon's where it says so there was great joy in
Jerusalem for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel
there was not the like in Jerusalem Solomon's reign being a clear picture of
the millennial reign of Christ okay and I again you I don't think you can read
through Solomon's reign and not see that I've preached a sermon on that
before so okay what then happens we'll look at chapter 32 of second
Chronicles and verse 1 where it says after these things in the
establishment thereof Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered into Judah
and encamped against the fenced cities and thought to win them for himself now
just to point out here this is a great king a king where there was none
like him before after yeah he still had to go through some stuff didn't he
still had to go through some tribulation well let's see what
happened okay so this guy's encamped against fenced cities and thought to
win it for himself look at verse 2 and when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib
was come that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem he took counsel with
his prince and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which
were without the city and they did help him now keep a finger here okay and
turn over to Revelation chapter 20 to see what happens at the end of the
millennial reign of Christ so the end of the thousand year ruling and
reigning of Christ we're going to look at Revelation chapter 20 and verse
7 Revelation 27 says when the thousand years are expired this is
verse 7 8 7 of Revelation 20 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 numbers of
whom is as the sound of the sea and they went up on the breadth of the
earth and compass a camp of the Saints about and the beloved city and
pause there for a second this is pictured by Sennacherib and the
Assyrians in second Chronicles 32 with the stopping of the fountains of
water I think being a picture of people rejecting salvation choosing the devil
he's gone out to deceive them the stopping of the fountains of water is it is for me a
picture of that what was the result in Revelation 20 it said of fire came
down from God out of heaven and devoured them I love all that whenever
you whatever I read this through my Bible reading it it's just so just
matter of fact just so sudden it's like they've all come to batter and
you think yeah here we go it's gonna be this like batter it's like no fire
just comes out of heaven and devours it there is no battle there is no they
have no chance well what was the result of Sennacherib's encompassing of Jerusalem
like I said a picture this is a picture of the millennial reign across of me
the end of that millennial reign I like how second Kings Kings 1935
describes it you get Turner if you want but I'm just going to read the
one verse second Kings 1935 says and it came to pass that night that the
angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians and a
hundred four score and five thousand when they arose early in the
morning behold they all they were all dead corpses so it's just a sudden ending
like we've just seen in the book of Revelation at the end of the millennial
reign and then and then last thing to point out on that in second chronicle
32 23 the the picture ends where it says that many brought gifts unto the
Lord to Jerusalem and presents to Hezekiah king of Judas that he was magnified
in the sight of all nations from thenceforth which pictures eternity with
the new heaven and new earth and no more death etc ok so for me clearly
Hezekiah you know is his reign is a picture at least up until that point
okay up until that point of his reign and then when we go into him being sick
and stuff that's obviously no longer a picture of the millennial reign of
Christ ok so with all of that in mind back in Isaiah 4 and verse 2 it said
this in that day Isaiah 4 2 in that day shall the branch of the Lord be
beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and
comely for them that are escaped of Israel so he's prophesying both of
Hezekiah's reign and the millennial reign to come with the branch of the
Lord being another name for Christ ok Isaiah 11 1 prophesies of the Lord Jesus
Christ there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch
with a capital B indicating that it's a name of the Lord here shall grow out
of his roots and Jeremiah 23 5 you have to turn this is behold the days
come saith the Lord that I'll raise unto David a righteous branch again with
a capital B and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth clearly talk about the Lord Jesus Christ so that branch
could also refer to the kingly line in Hezekiah being a branch of the Lord too
okay but regardless it's clearly also prophesying with the Lord Jesus
Christ hence we another reason we know that it's prophesying of the
millennial reign here he said in verse 3 and it shall come to pass that he
that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called
holy even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem when the
Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion shall have
purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of
judgment and by the spirit of burning so again fulfilled in both
Hezekiah and Christ's reign to come but it needed a cleansing okay it needed
a purging first for those remaining to be called holy that's often the case
it said in verse 3 and it shall come to pass that he that is left in
Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy even
everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem when the Lord shall
have washed away the filth the daughters of Zion and shall have purged
the blood of Jerusalem for the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by
the spirit of burning and that's what will ultimately come before the
millennial reign won't it a time of tribulation before God's people will
then be ultimately holy won't they once they receive their new body their
glorified bodies with the rapture there and 1st Corinthians 15 42 says so
there also is a resurrection of the dead it is sown in corruption it is
raised in incorruption okay so what happens is is ultimately whether it's a
dead in Christ rising or those that still alive are caught up together with
them in the air okay they receive that new glorified body and there is
there there's no sin in that glorified body okay so it's then at
this point after that point followed by a cleansing of all those wicked people
and I think really it's the people that receive the mark that really are
gonna get it mainly on the main and on the whole in the in the wrath of God
with God's wrath clearing up and then preparing for that thousand year reign
and these are people really if they're you know and I don't know you kind of
think if someone's choosing to get the mark they're choosing it and really
like reprobation that ultimately is a choice to some degree isn't it and
these people are kind of like the worst of them aren't they you can
imagine you know you can think of some people that you probably know that
such God haters such rejectors such whatever else they'd be lining up they've
been the first the front of the queue for that sort of thing right and
obviously these people are going to get it worse and it's washing away the
filth of purging the blood through judgment and burning and literal
burning and the Lord will create verse 5 there says upon every dwelling place
of Mount Zion upon her assemblies a cloud and smoke by day and the
shining of a flaming fire by night for upon all the glory shall be a defense
so just to explain this in case anyone ever wondered as they've read
through the Old Testament and obviously especially through the book of
Exodus and obviously Numbers as well the cloudy pillar okay and flaming fire
that children of Israel were led led by after the exodus okay from Egypt
was a picture of God's protection in case anyone's ever wondered well what's
that cloud all about what's that fire you know what's all that about
remember this is somewhere with hot Sun okay and somewhere that doesn't have
street lamps at night okay just bear that in mind okay so turn over to
Nehemiah chapter 9 the cloud was a well received protection from the Sun
when you're in a sort of place to get up to 40 degrees some clouds
actually quite nice here it's a bit different we think we see like the
cloudy pillar and we're thinking I sounds a bit dull and gloomy well in a
lot of nations you're just thankful for a cloudy so yeah I could do some cloud
right now you know that's that's gonna be pretty rough sometimes out in the
wilderness isn't it and then the fire being a well-received lamp in a dark
place and you go what they need that lamp you know at nighttime stuff just
think like you know we even see examples of nighttime ambushes and
things in the Bible it's good to have a fire to be lit up to be able to not
stumble and fall and stuff while you and they weren't necessarily traveling at
night but even just you know using the proverbial toilet and things like that
just all of that it's good to have some sort of light right so you have hit
that that flaming fire in the night now Nehemiah 9 shows us the
explanation of the fire where it says this moreover in verse 12 Nehemiah
9 and verse 12 says moreover thou ledest them in the day by a cloudy
pillar and like I said as a protection from the Sun there as well in the
night by a pillar of fire to give them light in the way wherein they should
go okay so that light being a picture ultimately you can say God's Word
right being a lamp unto thy feet and a light unto thy pathway the clouds
explained back in Isaiah 4 and verse 6 is this and and there shall be a
tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat and for a place
of refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain so with verse 5 calling
them both the defense first five said and the Lord will create upon every
dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon her assemblies a cloud and smoke by
day and the shining of a flaming fire by night for upon all the glory shall
be a defense they're a defense what's the defense and there shall be a
tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat for a place of
refuge and for a covert from storming from rain what's the tabernacle now
although it can refer to a tent you kind of look at it and just sink a
tent it's basically a dwelling place it's a dwelling place so it doesn't have
to be a tent it's just a dwelling place whose dwelling place is it it's
God's house isn't it fulfilled in Hezekiah's rain when they
cleansed the house the Lord and put it back into action God's house was
basically not in use not in action at this point it was full of all sorts
idols everything else there was all this filth they had to cleanse out of
it and in 1st Timothy 3 and maybe what turn there for and I know these
are some famous verses but go to 1st Timothy 3 and verse 15 yeah you turn
to 1st Timothy 3 I want to read that in the millennial rain okay we see it
fulfilled where Isaiah 2 2 said it shall come to pass in the last days that
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the
mountains it shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow
into it so we're gonna have God's house the Lord's house in this in
the last days okay in the top of the mountains it seemed you could even
describe the whole the whole of Jerusalem as it released God's house
will be there but you don't you don't have to have been alive in Hezekiah's
rain or in the last days to come to have the defense of God's house
because 1st Timothy 3 where you've turned and verse 15 Paul wrote this to
Timothy he said but if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou
altars to behave thyself in the house of God which is the church of the
living God the pillar and ground of the truth so this is Paul writes to
Timothy in the New Testament calling the church of the living God the
house of God so we've got it being prophesied of being a tabernacle
foreshadowing a daytime from the heat of a place of refuge for a covert
from storm from rain in both Hezekiah's rain with the house of God
being put back into action and we looked at that last week and now
they got everything back in order etc there we we see it's obviously going
to come in the in the last days as well in the millennial rain there'll
be people coming up to Jerusalem coming to seek the knowledge of the Lord to
seek the Lord to come before him yet a legitimate New Testament Church is a
house of God now of course it has to be a legitimate church doesn't it okay
so it has to be a legitimate church it you know the church around the
corner in fact all the church let's be honest the church around the corner
aren't the house of God they're not the house of God because the house of
God which is the church of the living God is a pillar and ground of the
truth it's a pillar ground of the truth so if they don't have the truth
it's not the house of God if they don't and again you go oh so what do
we constitute as a truth well how about the preserve word of God for
starters they've got some weird Bible of the month they've got some weird
Bible perversion which has just clear just provable errors in it how on earth
is that the pillar and ground of the truth it's not but it's not just a
word of God how about if they don't believe the gospel then they don't
believe the gospel if they don't if they don't believe that it's grace
through faith alone if they believe any version of work such as you gotta
repent of your sins to get saved you got to keep doing that to stay
saved you can lose your salvation if you do this to any any edition of
works of the gospel it's not the pillar and ground of the truth it's not a
church and of course if it's a pillar and ground of the truth surely they've
got to go and actually preach the truth surely they want to show people
the truth they want to preach the truth the gospel of peace surely just
in some way or other go and actually proclaim that truth to others now
often we talk about the command to be in church okay so we see that the
legitimate Church the Church of the Living God and there are many
legitimate churches around the world okay is the house of God in the New
Testament and again it's not the place it's not the building but it's
but when we come together this becomes a house of God okay when God's people
assembled together when when that assembling when that that that
congregation of God's people come together God's people okay so ain't the
house of God if it's just you know some unsaved party it's a house of God
with those things that we said God's people gathering together okay and we
talk about the command to be in church obviously okay Hebrews 10 25
says not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as a manner of some
is but exhorting one another and so much as more as you see the day
approaching well often you're here preaching you will have heard me
preach those verses before and it's not for my own good okay look yeah it's
great to preach to a full house that's great but that's not why it's
because God wants me to keep exhorting encouraging trying to get people in the
house of God because that's where they're going to then clean up their act
that's where they're then going to go out for and preach the gospel and
get other people saved okay that's where they're going to hear the
preaching that they need it here to get the sin out of their life and
everything else to get them serving God working for God but we hear that
okay we talk about the command to serve God and of course serving God is
centered around God's house isn't it okay let's be honest those people that
think they're serving God while they're singing Kumbaya together
somewhere what they're doing usually patting each other on the back really a
few Bible verses telling each other their their interpretation of it and
that's about as far as it goes that's not serving God okay serving God
is ultimately not just going out and preaching the gospel but that's the
end result but doing all the things that facilitate a church be able to go
out and preach the gospel okay in Romans 12 one says I beseech you
therefore brethren by the most of God that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service
okay so of course we talk about that a lot we preach those verses because
sometimes we need to remind you that because a lot of people think the
church is a social club now don't get me wrong okay it is a great
social club it's great to be around the brethren it's great to be around
like-minded believers etc but they're not the they're not the sole
reasons we should be coming to church and a lot of people think that is
well I just you know I need to be in church should just you know
yeah cool but there's other reasons like if your commander be in church like
you're told that that your reasonable service is to present your bodies a
living sacrifice however we don't often talk about the protection of
defense that we get from being in church okay and there is a protection
defense that we all get from being in church verse 6 says and there shall be a
tabernacle back in Isaiah sorry in chapter 4 and there shall be a
tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat and for a place of
refuge and for a covert from the storm and from rain so it's a place of
refuge really from the craziness of the world it is isn't it it could be a
place of refuge from that especially you know when you're out there and
you're working in the world and if you guys you know when you're going
out and you're working you know day by day or you're just around the world
and stuff sometimes look it feels like a real refuge doesn't it when you get
into God's house to not have people here trying to convince you of
multiple genders for example because sometimes you're getting that by your
work colleagues and you're hearing the conversations and you're hearing the
stuff that it's like man I need to get in the house of God I need a
refuge from this and if you're right with God that's how you feel the
problem is is when you're now a church it's kind of like a vicious
circle you stop really almost feeling like you want that refuge you start to get
used to it and the flesh starts to like being around these wicked people you
also and for some people they feel like you know well at least I don't
believe that stuff it makes them feel good etc as well but you want that
refuge a lot of the time it's a place of refuge for people for example
just constantly trying to push down your throat that sodomites are just
regular people they're just normal people that believe different you know
they just just feel differently to us they're just attracted to no but but
it's just nuts it's crazy you look at these people talking about what are
you talking about that women and men are just identical and again you got it
everywhere it's sometimes you just I just need I need some refuge from this
and it's a wreck I just getting bombarded with just absolute lunacy
just just stuff that throughout history people wouldn't have even they
wouldn't have even contemplated we got from that people are talking like this
discussing like they're trying to push this upon you and act like you're
evil you're wicked because you don't believe this lunacy that nothing
exploded into everything and then maintained life on this planet that
you're somehow nuts because you don't believe that I mean it's madness
isn't it it's so upside down and inside out and sometimes you're pinching
yourself thinking this is real this is a real conversation so can you believe
someone made the world mean with the creation there's a creator what are you
talking about people throughout history have known this and when you're in a
real house of God it sure is a refuge that stuff isn't it but when I
say the house of God I say a real house of God and I'll tell you why
because it should also be a refuge from the temptations as well so it should
be a refuge from that it should be okay we shouldn't have people coming in here
oh look we'll get like the unsaved in here that's the way yeah we want the
unsaved we want to try and get people say we want people to come in
we want it we want people to come in but what we shouldn't have is
obviously God's people the majority of people in here trying to also push
that stuff to us up and you'd be surprised you go to most churches in
town and and arms at a church when I was first saved where it seemed I mean
like they one of them crazy churches like you get baptized it's like
right you need to give you baptism testimony so you know me obviously you
know kind of liking the idea of preaching about something as I okay let's
preach on creation and evolution you know so but I wasn't thinking I preach
I was just like yeah well I remember you know like when I got saved and
I've been looking into this stuff for realizing what lunacy it was and
baloney and stuff and that was kind of part of my thought processes when I
was kind of you know looking at this and looking at that and then I was
looking all these faces it's kind of like the face you sometimes get when you
preach the truth in the house of God like hey man I'm getting some daggers
stared at me what on earth I thought I was preaching to God's people you
don't they all believe the same I came away and the pastor was like well
yeah I mean he agreed with me but is a lot of people wouldn't have liked
that what are you talking about a lot of them believe in evolution
Christians what are you talking about so well they believe in you know
and then he started telling me about the gap theory and this and that I was like what on
earth right and there's a lot of churches in inverted commas out there
that you'll be going in there and having to talk about that stuff
they'll be invited I mean they were telling me about trying to get
basically that they had to someone else is telling me at this church it's
like a kind of evangelical type Church claim to be a bible-even church
that they find ways one of them his ministry that gets involved with
his rehousing prisoners from prison into churches and trying to get them into a
church after they've got saved in prison oh this sounds all well and good then
he starts telling me yeah the problem is is when you're trying to get sex
offenders and basically reprobates who are pretending they've got saved or
pretending some sort of religion or whatever else and put them and plant
them into churches of hundreds and sometimes thousands and how to do that
in a sensitive way it's like okay this is crazy isn't it and because they
don't believe that you know they don't believe what the Bible says about that
stuff they you know these people probably half of them are believing in
multiple genders as well there's all the feminism and all of that stuff so
it's nice to come in a real church isn't it and have people that read
the actual Bible that actually believe the Bible and and to have some form
of refuge from that but like I was about to say it should also be a
refuge from the temptations okay because you know and I've given this
analogy before life can be it can be like a video game for many and I say
that in terms of you like you could spend the week just trying to dodge
temptations it's like a sort of one of those video games like the old
platform games and it's coming at you from different angles you like ducking
that temptation jumping over the next side you know where were the old days
where it was all just like flat in front of you you know it's a lot easier
like the Sonic the Hedgehog type days and Mario days and some of you
youngsters are looking at what's he talking about okay well it's kind of
like that right you're trying to dodge these temptations in it and then it's
like church is like the sort of end of level base isn't it so it's kind of
like you're trying to get just get to that kind of it and in in a game of
tag for some of you kids that have been banned for video games a good
reason okay it's like home homey or whatever they call it now yeah it's
like you're just trying to get home you're just trying to get to that
point where you can recharge get your breath back get your energy bar up in the
video game you know it just kind of refresh a bit right and it could be
dodging for example the temptation from the music for many in their place of
work or other places then that temptation when you're hearing it what
starts to make you think of those old like that old music used to listen to
those old things you see that a flesh used to love and you're hearing it and
then it starts to get in your head and then it's drilling into your head
then you keep thinking about it for others it's maybe the semi-clad women
but on every turn it's just like trying to avert your gaze for others
it's the dangling riches you know it's just kind of the temptations just
chase money chase money chase money get rich from this get rich from that
for others it's maybe the drink for others it's the drugs for others it's
the pride of life in one way or another and when you when you come to the
house of God it should be a refuge from all that shouldn't it it should be a
refuge from all that but so many claiming to be the house of God are
instead temptations with that stuff so so many people that should be going to
someone they think is a refuge from the world and they're going to a house
of God that's just playing worldly music and it's like you know these
people are trying or should be if you if it was how it should be it's like
you try what can you imagine you're trying all week you're like man I
just need to avoid that are the temptation with this music the
temptation with the like the bass riffs and the drums and the all that stuff
that I used to be into and everything else just and then you come to the
house of God and imagine you come in here and suddenly I'm like things have
changed guys the bands in town and then suddenly it's like what on earth
because it should be a refuge from all that worldliness shouldn't it but so
many churches aren't they're the opposite they're trying to appeal to the
world they're trying to appeal to the flesh to get people to stay in the
church to come to the church I want to be part the church by appealing to
the flesh of that stuff for others maybe for other churches you're
like man I just need to get away from all those semi-clad women and all that
all that smut and all that filth and all that ways it's trying to tempt all
these different men out there and you come in a church and half these
churches are full of women dressed as whores it's like you spent your whole
your the whole week trying to avoid that stuff in the various ways it's
thrown at you and then you come to church and so many of these churches
they're dressed just like the world
all it's the covetous discussions you spent all week trying to avoid the
temptations of you know trying to covet this and covet that and then you come
to church and all you see is people just talking about money talking about
cash talk about earning this and believe me a lot of church out there like
that one of the first things they ask you when you go into so many
churches is so what do you do for work and then straight away they're
trying to size you up so where do you live I've had people ask me do you own
and things like this and all they're trying to do is just work out where's he you know do I have
more money than him it's just like what on earth right people trying to
wind you up in churches as well so you've been trying to swerve the anger
you know in the week the different people trying to irritate you know and
you've come into you come into one of these churches and then it's just
people just trying to irritate you in one way or another trying a little snot
snidey little comment here little irritating dig there or something else
sometimes it's the boozers in the church you know you've been trying to
avoid booze because maybe you used to be an ex drinker or something you turn
up in the church and half of them are off down the pub at lunchtime
honestly or they're coming back in and going well I had a few glasses of
wine with my Sunday lunch or something it's nuts that's that's a reality of
sadly most churches out there and add more but here's the thing it should be a
place of refuge praise God we have a place of refuge but we need to keep it
like that as well because I could think back to times in the past where
there'd be people in our churches trying to push that stuff maybe maybe
it's a pride a lot maybe you're just trying to avoid all that pridefulness
all that kind of you know trying to trying to one-upmanship on everyone
else they're selling you in church you got a lot of clowns here just full
of boasting full of all you know my this and you know how great I am at that
and everything else and then it becomes a problem it's not that really place of
refuge from it right or the people that really you know whatever it is
some of that stuff on that list they're just pushing it promoting it
talking about it trying to get you to like meet up outside of church and
everything else you know and again look there's nothing wrong with being friends
people for jokes some people are weird with that stuff right they just so
want you you know and then you kind of next thing you know then all the
discussion all the weird stuff all the like all that all the kind of you know
just subtle pushes of all this stuff I've just talked about where it
should be a refuge and we should be it should be a refuge from it amongst
God's people shouldn't it the place where you look forward to coming to
escape the pollutions of the world that's what God's house should be and
we need to keep it like that now we don't need to keep now here's the
thing because there's another pollution of the world and there's holy of the
nails all over the world and we don't you could go too far with this we're
suddenly like right well I need to prove this so then everything's like
trying to be ultra holy and ultra spiritual and hyper spiritual and we
don't need that either just to be normal right normal and not you know
thinking that it you know all this smut and filth and booze and drugs and all
of this is somehow conversation topics and stuff you know that is being
pushed on people and we don't have that praise God we do have a house of
refuge here don't we a place where you can escape you can get a place a place
that is a covert by the way it is a covering or a shelter from storm often
just you know it it can just be from the seemingly constant rain
sometimes something you just need a cover from like what just seems to be
just an ongoing tribulation an ongoing trial he said and there should
be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat and for a
place of refuge and for a covert from storm and for rain and sometimes
you're going through a storm and that's when you need to be in God's
house most don't you sometimes life can you can be in a storm in life a lot
of the time and sometimes I don't think people probably often realize
how many storms different people in there in the house of God are going
through there different times their life and that's when you need to be
in God's house to be able to focus on him to call on him out of a pure
heart that's being cleansed in his house it's easier to call on God and to
get in God's will to understand what's going on when you're in God's house
when you're not rejecting God when you're not you know trying to run away
from God and hide from God and then it's harder to kind of see straight
isn't it but when you're in God's house you're in the things God you go
through a storm that's the place you need to be
maybe you're going to hear the solution because that happens a lot for
people now here's some preachers like that's exactly what I needed to hear
at this point that's what I needed to find out that's what I need to hear
from the word of God maybe maybe maybe look maybe it'd just be a
well-needed distraction at the least maybe you just get so into the word of
God in the house of God and the things of God and the soul winning and
the hymns and lifting up God that it just is a nice distraction a nice
breaking a nice cover a nice covert from that troll you're going through
from that storm you're going through at that point in life
we need the shelter from God's house okay and we also need look
we need the protection that comes from being a part of God's people
and there is a protection that comes from being a part of God's people in
God's house when a believer okay a believer is
kicked out of church they lose the protection that
comes from God's house so there's an an an amount of
protection afforded to God's people when they're
part of the body of Christ in God's house and I'll give you an idea of how
it works so for example if if we're all a body and we're all
kind of bound together and obviously Christ being the head of that body and
we come together as a body in the local New Testament church
if one of that body is just getting whooped beyond belief it affects the
whole body doesn't it so there is an element of if the
body and the body and the majority of the body is serving God and doing
the things of God you get an element of protection
with that because we're going out and serving God right so if we all just
ended up getting completely smashed by God then there wouldn't be
any soul winning going on in this town and probably most of the nation
sadly because not many people are going out soul winning right so
there is a protection that's afforded if you're part of that body
and that's why he says in 1st Corinthians 5
and if you want to turn that you can 1st Corinthians 5
we see we see a believer getting kicked out of church
they lose the protection that comes from God's house okay
it says in 1st Corinthians 5 13 but them that are without
God judgeth therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person
now this is a saved guy it's a saved guy and look sometimes a lot of the
time it's unsaved people that are kicked out of churches and
for one of the reasons on this list and other places but this guy was
eventually welcomed back and things went well
in the end okay but he's kicked out because he's being
then turned over to God's judgment he's lost the protector from being part
of that body basically he's now outside of church he's kicked out
and now he's going to get a whooping from God outside of church in one way
or another okay which he wouldn't have got
when he was part of that body of Christ
so for me it's crazy for believers around the world to separate themselves
from the body themselves i mean that's crazy isn't it
yeah that's people all over the place backsliders
or people that don't come in the first place or people that come a bit and
and then they just go i just go why is why is it like oh why is my life like
this why is my life so hard why does this happen why does that happen it's
actually it's like you need to get in a church you need to
get into the shelter of God's house the
refuge of God's house that's what we're told to do aren't we
turn to proverbs 18 his house is a place of refuge it's a covering
it's a shelter that's what we've just seen here in in
in Isaiah chapter four and like i said it's not just that it
was a shelter in in hezekiah's reign it's not just that
it's a shelter in Christ's reign to come
it always is a shelter it's the house of God it's a refuge it's a
shelter it's a covert so rather than wandering and we
should be running it shouldn't we we should be running here and again
got cars don't pick up the cars and run but
you know what when we open the door on a sunday morning we should just see
people running down the road
getting chased by a load of weird it should just be running in right
proverbs 18 10 says it like this the name of the lord
is a strong tower the righteous runneth into it
and is safe and obviously that's our that's our verse isn't it that's our
church verse this church is strong to our baptist
church but the reason is because safety comes from being in God's will
okay in God's protection in God's house we should be running into it we
should be seeking a way to be in it seek you
a way of being part of it of being part of that body being part of that
protection part of that covering a refuge from everything else if you're
right with God that's ultimately where you're going to want to be
in God's house aren't you
and one day though here's the thing when you think yeah I mean this all
sounds a bit rough and a bit tough one day it's just going to be a
permanent thing isn't it yeah one day in the future being in
God's house will just be a permanent thing
being being amongst the lord day in day out will just be a
permanent thing that's gonna be amazing right so you
might as well get as used to it as you can
you know being around is being around is preaching for now I'm sure
you know let me preach you a hell of a lot better than me but you know
we're going to be hearing the word of God a lot in the future
and uh you might as well get used to it but it is
but it's far run good so like I said yeah
we should yeah we're told not to save the assembly yeah we're told to serve
the lord yeah we're told it's our reasonable service
yeah we you know there's many things that we do in church
but it it's also a refuge it's a shelter it's a cover
it's far run good it's a protection
back in Isaiah he said it like this in Isaiah 4 and the lord
verse 5 Isaiah 4 5 and the lord will create upon every dwelling place of
mount Zion and upon her assemblies a cloud and
smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night for upon all the
glory shall be a defense and there shall be a
tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat
for a place of refuge and for a covert from storm
and from rain and on that we're going to finish in a word of prayer
well thank you for your word thank you for um well the house of god lord
thank you for that covering thank you for that protection
thank you that we can come here and and have a refuge from all that filth in
the world from um all that worldliness all that
junk all that temptation although you know even all those those trials and
tribulations we can come here and just escape it lord and
um we thank you for that we thank you that we have a house of god here
lord that we're able to get to that so many don't have in so many places
around the world there's not a legitimate house of god for them to
escape to we thank you for that help us not to
take it for granted help us to appreciate it and just want to make it
you know that that place of refuge on an ongoing basis lord and to not let it
not let the worldliness creep in not to let the the bad influence
creep in lord um help us to just keep this place as
the sort of place you want it to be not a holier than thou place but a holy
place lord a place where your people are not not over trying to be
old hyper spiritual just just trying to
live right lord trying to live right and live for you and
do the right things in life lord and to come here to serve you and to go
out and to preach the gospel uh we pray that um you just help everyone
to get home safe sound tonight and to return
um on sunday for another day in your house reduce them for all of this
amen