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study in the book of Isaiah chapter 26 and of course in chapter 25 we went over some of the aspects of end times specifically the millennial reign and the fact that death and hell are cast into the lake of fire we saw that pictured in the book of Isaiah and the thoughts of the millennial reign and these concepts of the new heaven new earth continue on to chapter 26 and I do want to remind you that when you study this obviously you can't overlook the fact that these are things that are taking place in real time for Isaiah or at least in his immediate future but they obviously foreshadow things that are going to take place in the end times and then also I want to remind everyone that when you read these Old Testament prophets as I mentioned last week that you got to keep in mind that when the millennial reign is mentioned when the new heaven and the new earth are mentioned they have a tendency to overlap okay so sometimes you'll have the new heaven the earth mentioned before the millennial reign and then the millennial reign again and then the new heaven and new earth and they kind of overlap each other so it can't necessarily be read chronologically speaking okay so when you read the Old Testament it's not necessarily in chronological order when dealing with end times prophecy the main thing you have to read it for are some essentially the details that would be left out of the New Testament regarding these events that are going to take place and so obviously if you want a plenary understanding of what takes place in the millennial reign new heaven and new earth you got to go to the book of Revelation but obviously if you want to fill in some of the gaps that maybe chapter 19, 20, 21 in Revelation kind of leave out you could always you know go to these particular books and they'll explain some of those things and kind of give you somewhat of a picture of what that era is going to look like but just keep in mind don't read it chronologically because you'll get really confused because sometimes they're just kind of lumped together and you got to keep in mind that the prophets of the Old Testament they're inspired by the Holy Ghost they're holy men of God speaking by the Holy Ghost but they're not necessarily understanding everything that their prophets aren't about either okay they're talking about things that are to come in the future and so a lot of it they don't understand but obviously the parts that they do understand deals with their immediate future God judging whatever city or nation is in their immediate future and so tonight we're going to look at the elements of the kingdom of God now in the New Testament when you hear that phrase kingdom of God it is synonymously used with kingdom of heaven okay they both mean the same exact thing they're not separate places they're not at the exclusion one of another if you talk about the kingdom of heaven then obviously it's also the kingdom of God it belongs to him and one of the reasons that's important to know is because dispensationalist will often say that these are two separate concepts when they're actually when you look at it mean the same exact thing but also when you think about the millennial reign that's also the kingdom of God and that could also be referred to as the kingdom of heaven as well when you think about new heaven a new earth specifically the new earth you can call it the kingdom of God you can call it the kingdom of heaven because of the fact that that's basically what it is and you say well why would you call though if it's on earth the kingdom of heaven if geographically we associate heaven with that which is in you know up right in the third heaven well think about the Lord's prayer for example when the Lord says thy kingdom come thy will be done right and so he's obviously referring to that which is in heaven coming down to this earth and we get that in the end of times when the millennial reign takes place everything comes here and then ultimately culminating to the new heaven and the new earth and so it's very much biblical and accurate to call the current heaven as the kingdom of God kingdom of heaven but it's also biblical to say that the millennial reign new earth is also referred to as you know the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven okay and so just keep that in mind now look at verse number one if you wouldn't we're gonna look at the superiority of God's city and specifically the element of safety it says in verse one in that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah we have a strong city salvation will God appoint for walls and for bulwarks now immediately what he's referring to is the fact that one day in their near future God will no longer judge those nations or judge Judah he will be essentially a strong tower to them he will deliver them and he's gonna set up walls and bulwarks bulwarks basically meaning defensed walls basically say that he's going to protect them from their enemies and this is something that did happen but will also happen on a greater scale in the millennial reign okay where when we go into the millennial reign according to the Bible the world would know no war right it's not gonna be acquainted with warfare and violence and things of that nature so it would be very much accurate to say that you know the song that we're gonna sing in that millennial reign is salvation will God appoint for walls and for bulwarks we no longer have to worry about oncoming foreigners trying to destroy our nation and you know seeking to pillage and rape and steal and destroy our nation because during that particular time there's peace on earth okay the Lord Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning and we saw that in Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4 it says and he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people of course he's referring to Jesus Christ and they shall beat their swords with plowshares and their Spears into pruning hooks nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore so it's kind of given us this picture that in the millennial reign yeah there's gonna be walls and bulwarks but essentially God the salvation of the Lord is that wall the salvation of the Lord is the bulwark and the reason for that is because there's no longer need for swords and Spears you know those are converted into instruments of agriculture okay because what we're gonna be doing in the millennial reign is we're gonna be farming all right we're gonna go back to farming and raising chickens apparently and you know living out that good old Christian American dream of just moving out into the hills and milking cows and all that but now is not the time you man nation it says shall not lift up sword against nation and so you know this is obviously indicating that the millennial reign is a time of peace we no longer need a physical wall or a physical bulwark to protect us from foreigners God is that wall he is that bulwark that essentially operates on our behalf he is that presence that will indicate that we don't longer have to worry about these things and this is why the Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal so there's gonna come a time where you can have possessions and not worry if someone's gonna take it you don't have to lock your car I don't think there's gonna be cars in the millennial right but you have to lock your vehicles you don't have to have CCTV and you know security systems you don't have to own weapons why because of the fact that there's gonna come a time there's gonna be an era where thieves do not break through nor steal because the salvation of the Lord is that wall it's that bulwark it's that particular atmosphere or era where those things no longer take place and so we see the element of safety in that millennial reign obviously we're not in that safety right now we are very much in danger you know as a nation as people God wants us to be vigilant he wants us to be aware not just from spiritual attacks but even even sometimes from physical attacks right that's the world we live in look at verse number two of Isaiah 26 it says here open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in so the second thing we're gonna look at is the fact that there's a privilege for truthers okay and the privilege is they get to enter in through the gates now this is the instance where we don't really know whether this is referring to the millennial reign or it's referring to the new heaven a new earth and I can make cases for both really and quite possibly it could be referring to just both now why is that well go with me if you would to revelation chapter 22 if you would hold your place there in Isaiah chapter 26 and go to revelation 22 let me start off by saying that in the millennial reign and I've addressed this multiple times I've talked about this multiple times that obviously you have Jesus Christ physically ruling and reigning on this earth from Jerusalem okay he's gonna be in the Middle East physically there and I I personally believe that that's possibly where the judgment seat of Christ will also take place so once the Battle of Armageddon is over and done with and he comes and he sets up his throne he usurps the authority of the Antichrist and the false prophet he cast him into the lake of fire he comes and takes over Jerusalem which was the original intent right that was actually rightfully his to begin with and when that happens that's when you have the judgment seat of Christ taking place which is a fulfillment of what we see in 1st Corinthians chapter 3 where we receive the rewards for the work that we've done here on this earth okay it's obviously a physical thing that's gonna take place but it has obviously supernatural elements our work shall be tried and we shall be rewarded according to those things well when that happens of course then I believe that at that point he begins to commission his servants with particular areas of the world that they're gonna rule over and the reason I believe that part of that is part of the reward is authorities because the Bible tells us that you know it talks about the fact that some will occupy and rule over ten cities others five cities oh there's two cities indicating you know authority reigning and ruling over particular portions of the world and the Bible talks about how the fact that we're gonna be kings and priests we shall rule them with a rod of iron and these are privileges that are given to people who according to the Bible served the Lord kept his commandments and were faithful unto death and I'm not even talking about martyrdom okay although that would include that would be included but faithful unto death is just that you just live the rest of your life serving the Lord Jesus Christ until your last breath right that was basically what it means to be faithful unto death and the rewards according to the Bible that you receive our crowns right they're described as crowns and what is crown what a crown signify the signify authority the fact that you're ruling and reigning so I believe that at the judgment seat of Christ you know when we receive gold silver precious stones these are all elements that go into a crown you're given that crown and to some Christians as you're gonna get that Burger King looking you know crown it's just like you didn't really do anything you know hey but you're still saved yet so as by fire because they didn't do anything I didn't get anybody saved they just didn't serve anybody they just kind of lived however they wanted to live they didn't necessarily use their body per se to serve the Lord and so their work shall be burned up yet they shall be saved it's always by fire and it's gonna be like sorry for your loss next you know and it's just like man I wish I would have done more okay you say well why do you guys play such emphasis on soul winning and serving and you know living righteously because we want to rule and reign here in the millennial reign obviously it's because we love the Lord Jesus Christ the love of Christ constrain at us but one of the reasons is because I want to rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ you know I'm doing this for my vacation okay for my eternal vacation where I get to rule and reign with the Lord now along with this obviously because this lasts for a thousand years we're ruling and reigning with Christ the Bible seems to indicate that there's also times when people make pilgrimages to that Jerusalem where Jesus Christ is to go and hear him preach or teach the Word of God the Bible tells us in Isaiah chapter 2 you're in Revelation 22 I'm gonna read to you from Isaiah 2 verse 3 it says that many people shall go and say come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem and so we see there the people go to Jesus Christ to hear of his word now this could obviously be referring to the fact of what we see in Isaiah that the righteous nation which keep it the truth may enter in so as long as like you know you're keeping the commandments of God you're keeping the truth you're keeping the Word of God you're given permission to enter into the gates essentially referring to Jerusalem to go hear of the Lord right that could be a possible interpretation you can definitely see that and there's other sermons that I preach where I talked about the fact that people who don't want to adhere to the commandments of God in the millennial reign you know it's not gonna rain in their particular geographical location God's not gonna bless them and their agriculture because of that but another thing on top of that is the fact that the righteous nation which keep it the truth may enter in and so people who are keeping God's Word they are abiding by the words of God and the laws of God may be people who actually have the privilege to enter into the gates and actually hear the Lord Jesus Christ preach etc okay look at Revelation 22 and verse 13 now at this point in the book of Revelation we're already into obviously the the new heaven and the new earth and at this point death and hell are cast into the lake of fire at this point Satan is no longer present there's no more death no more sorrow this is perfection the apex of perfection like this is it right here okay and look what it says in verse 13 it says I am Alpha and Omega the beginning in the end the first and the last blessed are they to do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city for without our dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh alive so another interpretation of what we see in Isaiah could be according to Revelation 22 is that the righteous nation is referring to just save people and when we think of righteous nation obviously there's no righteous nation that exists right now but from a spiritual perspective that chosen generation would be considered a righteous nation because they're saved right they're just they're righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ well they're given rights to enter into the gates and in Revelation 22 you know this wouldn't necessarily make sense if people are being excluded because at this point no one in the new heaven a new earth is unregenerated there's no one in the new heaven a new earth who is not able to keep God's commandments there's no one in the new heaven a new earth who are incapable of doing those things everyone is completely perfect the unregenerated man has been completely removed the white throne judgment has already taken place people are already burning in the lake of fire before the presence of God so at this particular point only saved people exist in the new heaven in the new earth okay and people ask sometimes why does it say that they have right to the tree of life you know because if the tree of life is that which gives salvation you know what what's the point of necessary of saying that per se well I believe that what when it says that they have right to the tree of life it's actually referring to Jesus Christ because he is the tree of life okay and so we shall be and so shall we ever be with the Lord okay so we have right to his presence we're gonna go wherever he goes etc now the the practical application that we can get from Isaiah regarding going through the gates and that the righteous nation which keep it the truth may enter therein is that you know we want to be characterized as a people who love the truth now okay and you know you have this group out there commonly referred to as truthers and these are people that pride themselves and knowing what other people don't write regarding conspiracies and regarding what the government is involved with regarding vaccines regarding 911 regarding kovat and here's the thing though is that that's all good but if seeking out the truth does not bring you to the foot of the cross for salvation it's worthless you're gonna be ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth because the conclusion of your search will always take you to Jesus Christ and I've met truthers who are very sincere and they they claim to love the truth but when I give them the gospel they reject it then you know what that tells me they don't really love the truth because Jesus is truth he's not only the source of all truth he is true like that's him that's truth okay and in fact his name is faithful and true so you can say Lord true because it's true he is not just the source he is truth and so you know there's people out there who claim to you know despise the evil works of darkness they know what Satan is up to they're they're privy on the whole Jewish agenda of this world and everything that's going on but they're not saved then you know what you don't really love the truth and you know it tells us go back to Isaiah if you wouldn't it says opening open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keep it the truth may enter in God favors those who actually love and keep the truth and you know this this picture here kind of reminds me of what it says in the book of Proverbs dealing with wisdom and wisdom obviously is something else that stems from the Lord Jesus Christ he is the source of wisdom but it says in Proverbs chapter 8 verse 3 she cries at the gates at the entry of the city at the coming in at the doors referring to wisdom cries out for people to come and eat of her dainties and fellowship with her just another way of saying like get wisdom get the truth it goes on the same verse 34 Proverbs 8 blessed is the man that heareth me watching daily at my gates waiting at the post of my door the Bible says but that means you know God looks for the man and the woman who's at the gates of truth wanting the truth right and obviously for us as safe people we're essentially already made it through the gates per se because we've we've believed on the Lord Jesus Christ we're saved but you know it should be said of us that as Christians we are consistently seeking out truth of the Bible right that we have a bias towards the truth that we love the truth and then we're constantly seeking more truth from God's Word and then we're waiting at the post and the gates wanting to learn more of the Lord Jesus Christ and more of the Bible and you know what for unsafe people those gates are gonna close one day you say where are these gates located well the gates are located right here the mouth of preachers right you know as a gospel preacher as a soul winner the pastors preachers evangelists church members that preach the gospel these are the gates they were crying out to the lost to come and be saved and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and have your sins forgiven and repent from dead works and place your faith toward God specifically Jesus not of works as any man should boast these gates are always open but one day you know what those gates are gonna close and you know there's plenty of gates to go around in this world proclaiming the truth of the wisdom of God and you know there's people out there that may be putting off salvation putting off the truth not willing to research it not willing to look for the truth and one day when they die you know what they're gonna close and you know at that point it's too late and you can read Proverbs chapter 1 where the Lord through wisdom essentially says you know I'm gonna laugh at their calamity because I cried out to you I try to reach it out to you and you would none of my reproof right it's not like he's crying out from some cloud in heaven he's using believers the assembly the congregation of Christians to go and reach people by opening our mouths boldly aka the gates of wisdom to try to reach people and only those who love the truth and have a bias for truth will be able listen to this to enter it okay and no Peters not at the pearly gates like you know you know what the registry or whatever that's a Catholic thing look at verse number three of Isaiah 26 so we see there first and foremost the element of safety secondly we see the privilege of truthers and then the third thing I want you to notice is the element of peace it says in verse three that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee trust thee in the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength now obviously if we were to apply this to end times prophecy this is obviously true because Jesus Christ will be there and he will keep us in perfect peace but I think we need this more now right this is a promise that we would more readily apply to ourselves now that we need now and you know what is the opposite of peaceful anxiety fear doubts wondering faithlessness right you know sometimes the mind can be in chaos because of circumstances and situations financial difficulties relational difficulties health situations stresses you out stresses me out how many would say this week I was a little stressed out wow the rest of you are just perfect peace people huh you read the chapter before I preached on it huh you know I think all of us to a certain extent have experienced some form of chaos throughout this year this month this week right mental chaos or stress we're experiencing difficulty and you know unfortunately Christians let's speak to Christians here they'll often look to things that actually accentuate that stress they're all stressed out and you know you know go obviously you have people out there who like they're stressed out so then they drink smoke do drugs and do all kinds of stuff that just induces that anxiety further and I'm not saying Christians don't do that but sometimes Christians will just look at things that will stress them out even more go to things that are just stressed about even more it's just like you know oh man I'm really stressed let me just drink five cups of coffee maybe that'll help and then you're just like you're just even more anxious more stressed you're just inducing that that stress factor and the the anxiety and the adrenaline is pumping you know at the end of the day here's the solution to bring peace to your life you know is keep your mind on Jesus Christ because quite frankly the only stable person in this world is Jesus he just doesn't move doesn't go anywhere he's just always the same yesterday today and forevermore we're going through good times Jesus is still the same we're going to bad times Jesus is still the same the world is wicked as hell Jesus is still the same and so if you just kind of use that marker you know in this tumultuous world you can remain in peace because your mind is on him understand this is one of the ways that you can just kind of you know just make it through the tribulations of this world is keeping your mind on the Lord Jesus Christ now this is not a TED talk so it's not like you know just think about Jesus you know just just just he's right there with you he's right there or something you know let me give you a practical way to make sure that you're keeping your mind on Jesus right here means you have to consistently read the Bible you know search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and they are which testify of me that's what Jesus said so if you want to get close to Jesus read the Bible if you want to mind on the Lord Jesus Christ read the Bible place things in your mind that are Christ centered right in order to have that perfect complete peace and sometimes we don't realize how much we need this until we're going through like a difficult time right we're like man I need some peace in my life and then it's just that reminder like I need to keep my eyes on Jesus no matter what because he doesn't change and you know another way of describing you know keeping your mind on him is trusting in him because it says in verse four trustee in the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength now why is that coupled with the previous verse well because of the fact that stress anxiety worry taxes you of emotional and mental energy sometimes and it's just drained you're just like man I just can't handle this anymore well put your mind on the Lord read the Word of God renew your strength think about the Lord Jesus Christ think about eternity take some time throughout your day throughout your week to place your mind on the Lord to think upon it right and that's the promise he says thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the podcast about Jesus the book about economics the podcast about the cultures of this war the conspiracy theories Oh whose mind is stayed on the free trust within thee and quite frankly you know now is like some of it's just the easiest time to do that because there's so much wild stuff going on out there you're just like I need some stability in my life and you just look to Jesus like he's the most stable and sometimes it's just like turn off the phone turn off the social media I don't want to see me I just want to see the Lord Jesus Christ the Bible tells us you know in the New Testament regarding this concept here of peace peace is very important obviously and God will see later on the he ordains peace for us but you know the Bible commands is not to have anxiety and stress and worry the Bible defines it as being careful in other words being full of care right and it says be careful for nothing it's like well that's easier said than done but I mean this is what the Bible commands us to do and the way we access the ability to be careful for nothing it tells us but by prayer and supplication listen to this though with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God that passeth understanding you know that perfect peace shall keep your hearts and minds through our Lord Jesus Christ so the Bible tells us look I don't want you to be careful I don't want you to be worried about stuff and just you know full of stress and anxiety this is how you get that perfect peace you gotta pray you gotta have supplication meaning Lord I can't pay the bill I need you to help me to pay the bill and so you got this right all right cool I'm gonna trust that you're gonna provide for this I'll do my part I just need you to do your part and then don't miss the third one though Thanksgiving meaning thank you for providing for me and thank you for the situation that I'm in and thank you for what I have right now and let me just say this perfect peace does not come to those who have just an ungrateful attitude plain and simple you're not thankful for what you have now you're not gonna be thankful for the peace that passes understanding you're not gonna be able to rejoice in that which God gives you in the future and so it's important for us to have Thanksgiving he says let your requests be made known unto God here's another way of saying that according to the New Testament cast your care upon him for he cares for you so whatever load you have you just kind of go and you just drop it on the Lord and say you know I'm kind of stressed out give me peace and you know I can't tell you how many times I prayed this over the last 17 years Lord give me the peace the passeth understanding and I think the reason it's called the peace the passeth understanding is because it's it's a supernatural peace that God gives you without changing any of your circumstances whatsoever because we base like peace off of like something changing like our circumstance changes we get an answer to prayer we get that possession that check or whatever you know just something that we need that's stressing us out over the fact that we don't have it but the pay the piece that passes understanding is to be able to have tranquility serenity not worrying even though you don't have those things you're like I don't know why I feel so calm right like I just I'm not worried I don't understand it well it's because the piece of passeth understanding it keeps your heart what does it it's guarding your heart it's guarding your mind through Jesus Christ we're not talking about the power of positive thinking either this is not like your manifestations garbage who your your your your leader guru told you about or something you know speak it into existence or something like that no this is this is God's Word this is the supernatural peace that God provides through the Holy Spirit and by the way in conjunction with the Bible right reading Psalms reading the Word of God praying unto the Lord the Bible talks about lamentations pouring out thine heart like water right this is prayer and so it's important for us to have that understanding that you know God promises us that perfect peace but it's always through Jesus Christ it's through prayers through the Bible the Bible tells us trust in the Lord with all thine heart lean not into thine own understanding and all thy ways listen to this acknowledge him and he shall direct thy past what's another way of saying acknowledge him you know thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee you're acknowledging the Lord in your situation no matter what it is okay now obviously the way this could look as in Isaiah 26 regarding the perfect peace that he provides you know I think of Psalm 37 verse 11 it says but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace meaning in the millennial reign especially of course in the new earth we're gonna experience an abundance of peace overflowing you know peace and no stress not worrying about anything but the point that I want to make there is the fact the importance of just keeping your keeping your mind on the Lord and here's your weekly reminder if you're stressed out if you're worried about something at your job if you're worried about your marriage if you're worried about your children if you're worried about your job if you're worried about anything your health conditions you know just keep your eyes on the prize capital P referring to Jesus Christ you know the Bible tells us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith right who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame as set down at the right hand of the throne of God and it says for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest he be wearied and faint in your minds so you know the Bible seems to place a heavy emphasis on the importance of us thinking upon the Lord you know without reservation you know just kind of just thinking upon him in order to just kind of give us stability okay and so that's important look at verse number five of Isaiah 26 let's move on here we're also gonna see the debasing of the proud it says in verse five for he bringeth down them that dwell on high the lofty city he layeth it low he layeth it low even to the ground he bringeth it even to dust the foot shall tread it down even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy the Bible says now what's one of the reasons God also provides peace is because the promises of God says that he's gonna debase the proud that brings a lot of comfort people who exalt themselves enemies of the Lord people who are arrogant and wicked who are dwelling on high the lofty city the Bible says he's gonna lay it low lay it low he says it twice lay low he will lay it low even to the ground he bring it to even to the dust and that's just a matter of comfort that he gives us that you know God will recompense the evil for their wickedness and iniquity one day right but it's also essentially telling us here that he favors the poor says it verse six the foot shall tread it down even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy let me read to you from Luke chapter 6 verse 20 it says and he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said blessed be poor for yours is the kingdom of God the Bible tells us James chapter 2 verse 4 says this are you not then partial in yourselves and become judges of evil thoughts harken my beloved brethren hath not got chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him so what we see in Isaiah 26 is symbolically representing the fact that not only is he gonna abase the proud and the wicked but in like manner he's gonna exalt the poor and he's gonna cause them to trod over those cities that were brought down to the ground they're the ones who are inheriting the earth they're the ones who are rich in faith they're the ones who will be heirs of the kingdom which he has promised them that love him and so very important there look at Isaiah 26 and verse 7 it says the way of the just now these are just kind of kind of random thoughts that he's throwing out there we're gonna look at the way of men but specifically the way of the justice is the way of the just is uprightness thou most upright does weigh the path of the just and what this is simply referring to is the fact that you know the way of righteous people the way of God's people the way of saved people is upright is what does it mean to upright where you think of something that's upright standing you know upright it's rectitude it has a rectitude and it's basically saying that the way of righteous people should be in like manner should be always right okay it should have honesty and truth and rectitude moral rectitude at that associated with it he says thou most upright does weigh the path of the just meaning that you know the Lord determines the path of the just he's the one who kind of lays it out he esteems the way of the the path of the righteous and this is a good promise for us because of the fact that it's it's somewhat motivating for us to live uprightly in order for our paths to be made clear right I don't know about you but I want to live life knowing what I'm doing like I want my paths to be clear I want my objective clear I want my goals clear I want the the instructions clear but the way things can just be made clear for us you know you ever wonder like man I just I'm just kind of foggy as far as what am I going to do these next six months or what's you what's in store over these next couple weeks or months or whatever well here's the thing walk up rightly if you are an upright righteous honest person God removes all obstruction from that from your path the Bible tells us in Proverbs 15 verse 19 the way of the sloth woman is as a hedge of thorns but the way of the righteous is made plain doesn't mean it's not difficult doesn't mean it's not hard doesn't mean it's not an uphill battle sometimes but it is playing and let me just say this regarding the commandments of the Lord they are playing very clear and it begins with this just be upright first and foremost be a righteous upright individual a person who loves the truth a person of honor and nobility and you know what the path will be made clear unto you the Bible tells us in Psalm 23 verse 3 he restored my soul he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake Proverbs 4 verse 18 says but the path of the just is as a shining light that shine is more and more into the perfect day I love that verse you know that means it means the more the longer you walk up rightly the clearer it gets because when it says that the path of the righteous or excuse me that the it's like a shining light that shine of more and more it's basically saying like the more you're in that path the brighter it gets the more clear it is you know awesome you'll realize the longer you're a Christian the more you'll be able to discern the future far greater than when you first got saved and I'm talking about taking into consideration that you are walking uprightly you're abiding according to the Word of God you're doing that which is right on the side of the Lord it the path will always be made plain to you and in fact it'll just get clearer and clearer as the years go by that's God's will for your life and this is what it means when he says that he does weigh the path of the just he determines it he lets you see it what's before you that's why it's important for us as Christians to have a vision for what God can do with us in the future for our kids for our family for our church why cuz it's not like we're looking in obscurity we're not wicked people we're not evil people we're not unrighteous individuals we're a group of people who are upright and therefore we want our path to be made clear the Bible says that we can know and I'm not talking about fortune-telling or anything like that like you know what's the lottery number or something like that we're talking about you know looking upon that which is godly you know spiritual goals things of that nature okay look at verse 8 he says yay in the way of thy judgments o Lord have waited for thee the desire of our souls to thy name and to the remember remembrance of thee he's saying here that the ways of thy judgments he's waited for the ways of his judgments it sounds like Isaiah is a man who just kind of thinks upon the word of the Lord and in fact he says he has a desire in his soul to his name so there's a sincere desire in his heart for the Word of God the judgments of God and let me say this you know the longer you're Christian the more you read the Bible the more you learn his righteous judgments the more they actually cause you to rejoice even the craziest stuff in the Bible because the Bible tells us in Psalm 119 verse 7 I will praise thee with the rightness of heart when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments just mark it down when someone's criticizing a Christian is criticizing what the Bible says right if they if they're making excuses for what the Bible says just mark it down they don't have uprightness of heart that's what the Bible says so they're always making excuses why the Old Testament says this why God you know made a genocide of all these nations and why is you so harsh here and why does the Bible say this and they claim to be Christians just know this they're not upright in heart because a person who is upright in his heart gets that way by learning his righteous judgments the Bible says it says in verse 9 with my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early for when thy judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness that's a very good verse it's basically telling us here that first of all he's saying that he has this desire for the Lord even in the night to the point where he wants to seek the Lord early now there's two ways to interpret that really meaning it could mean like early as in early in the morning like he can't wait to wake up in the morning to just read his Bible and seek the face of God that's definitely a major you know that could a possible interpretation you know I'm not saying everyone wakes up like jumps out of bed and just like can't wait but you know there there have been instances where I felt that way not all the time if I said all the time I'd be lying to you because I have the flesh but there are instant there's been doubt there's been times in my life as a Christian I woke up and I'm just like I can't wait to read my Bible I'm excited to seek the Lord's face early now this could also be referring to the fact that if we seek him early in life or even early on as a Christian and so this is a message to young people my children the children in this church seek the Lord's face early seek the Lord now read the Bible now you know you're like wow I'm a kid I can barely read no you can if you can read just a few words if you could just get in what you can and if you can then get it on audio have your mom or dad read it to you you can seek the Lord's face early there's so many young kids in the Bible that God used and in a great way they had a heart for God when they were young I mean that's where it starts God can use you in such a great and mighty way even as a five six year old seven year old especially if you're a teenager God can use you in a great way seek him early don't seek out you know that the foolish things of this world the things that are just waste your time seek the Lord's face early desire him early but I want you to notice also that it says for when thy judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness so it sounds to me like the answer to the world's problems is not politics is not who's gonna be present getting the right president in getting the right politician in it seems to me the answer is when thy judgments are in the earth then the inhabitants of the Lord will learn righteousness so if you want to create righteous people you need the righteous word to be taught unto them and obviously this is not gonna happen hate to break it to you you know spoiler alert it's not gonna happen till the millennial reign okay let's move on here look at verse number 10 so that's the way of man the way of the just now look at the way of the wicked it says let favor be showed to the wicked and he will listen to you he will love the Lord he's just gonna abide by the rules you know no it says yet he will not learn righteousness in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the Lord now this verse actually means a lot to me because I remember reading this years ago when I was in Bible College and I was living in the dorms at that time and we had some really unjust people in the dorms and I would even say they were wicked you know because I'm pretty critical now but I was like even more critical back then I was very judgmental and so like if someone if someone was in Bible College and obviously I'm not advocating for Bible College but you know if someone was in Bible College but they weren't serious about serving God I'm like what are you doing here like why are you even here like I think Bible College is to prepare people for the work of the ministry you don't even read your Bible like why are you here why are you so worldly why do you just not why aren't you zealous for the things of God and it just used to drive me nuts and especially if they moved into the dorms because like if you're moving into the dorms like going into the barracks you're basically it's like a Baptist monk you know status you know you're just like you're you're subjugating yourself to that life you know and so it's just like those who go into the dorms are like the cream of the crop those are the guys who are really serious you know they they live breathe eat the ministry like they're waking that's all they do that was my view but there's people there just just you know I mean it got to a point where you just had atheists in there and you know it ended up becoming like a almost like a a place of reform to reform like you know like former drug addicts and stuff and just people who just needed to be restored but it's just like I get this person needs to be restored but do we have to live with them though and it grieved me so much in my heart it just stressed me out so much and I feel like even as it like a younger Christian it caused me to stumble a little bit because it became kind of bitter towards people because of it it's just like why are these wicked people just allowed to be here and they're stealing food they don't they're questioning the Bible other instances maybe they're not questioning the Bible but just worldly they don't want to go sowing they don't want to just like give it their all and in my opinion when I was in Bible college like obviously again I don't advocate for Bible cause now but when I was in Bible college I like dove in headfirst and I did everything whatever my leaders told me to do I did you want me to move the shuttles at you know Saturday night we'll do it I mean I remember we were I was in charge of moving all the buses and the shuttles and you know but then I learned that the the and I didn't have the license to do it and so I delegated it to Marcos and he also did not have the license I did a kid you know I basically delegated to and they're moving you know but they're dead he was dedicated but in those I mean he's still dedicated now but like you know and though he was like in the same boat as I was you know we're just all and then you know bums would go into the buses they're going to the shuttle and defecate all over it was our responsibility to clean it out I mean we're serious about this stuff and so when you have someone who's just lukewarm just needs to be helped and reform I'm just like I don't want to touch the unclean thing you know I mean like you know either you come into my chariot I'm not going into yours okay is that hard right as my heart is with thine heart and so I got to what I remember reading in my dorm room on my desk this verse and it was just like a light bulb went on and it was just like let favor be showed to the wicked yet will he not learn righteousness and then I took this to my leaders I said hey we should get we should kick this guy out because the Bible says here that if we show favor to them they're not gonna learn righteousness and I know you want this guy to like learn to be a good Christian but he's not gonna learn it cuz we're showing him favor and he's already a wicked person I said he's in the land of uprightness called the dorms and he's dealing unjustly and he's not beholding the majesty of the Lord and you know what I was not joking I was dead serious I was like he's dealing so unjustly in the land of uprightness and you know what the dormitory at that time was my land of uprightness but it showed me that you know what you can't reform people who don't want to be reformed it taught me you can't force you know you have these videos on Instagram sometimes where they take some bum off the street who looks like trash smells like piss and it's just a drug addict and he's just overgrown hair and then they kind of give him a makeover how many guys ever seen something like that they take him to a barber and they they give him the fade and everything and and he's just like oh man he's really gonna make it now no he's not he's still that dirty stinky pissy bum on the inside and just go visit him again in the next four weeks he'll look exactly the same because the problem is not necessarily the outside it's probably what's going on on the inside he doesn't want to change you know I I'm a firm believer that we should invest in people who want it right like we should and I'm not saying not be kind to other people not be a blessing to other people and and not to try to like reach other people and try to help others but you know what at the end of the day God wants us to invest in faithful men who shall be able to teach others also why why not why don't you go out there and get the heroin addict because if I show him favor he's not gonna learn righteousness and he's gonna dwell in the land of uprightness and deal justly with God's people so here's a good principle for us to learn from the book of Isaiah don't waste your time with people who don't want it make an effort but after a while you know it's time to just someone else who needs my help there's someone else who actually appreciates my help you like oh man that's mean so you didn't invest in the drug addict when he was in the Bible College no you said who did you invest him brother Marcos over there I can't even tell you how many hours I spent with brother Marcos just talking about the Bible discipling him eating with him doing ministry with him eating with him moving buses with him eating with it just do me I mean we spent like years together just you said why cuz it was he was worthy of my time you know same thing with brother Hernandez he didn't live in the dorms he's just too good for us but you know but you still counted as one of the boys I guess the point that I'm making here is that the Bible tells us you know we're not here to reform people if they don't want it okay change people and just trying to force them into this ideal Christian shape or something like that we should only according to the Bible invest in people who actually want it okay look at verse 11 it says for Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the people yea the fire of thine enemies shall devour them so it's funny it says they will not see but they shall see and it's essentially telling us that you know these wicked people will eventually be ashamed you know over the enemy they have at the people of God and obviously God's judgment will fall upon them and obviously the the main application of these two verses as far as the millennial reign is concerned is that it's showing us listen to this that wicked people will dwell on this earth and you know what they're gonna be in the land of uprightness and they're still gonna deal unjustly even though Satan is not present you don't have false religions and all these elements that cause people to just be wicked they still will do deal unjustly in the land of uprightness favor shall be showed to them and they will not learn righteousness because at the end of the day some people just want to be wicked and wickedness isn't completely removed until the new heaven and new earth and so that's important by the way that's why you know aside from the New Testament's clear teaching on this you know we believe in Church discipline and you know if you have a scorner in the church you know according to the Bible cast them out amen and contention shall go out strive and reproach shall cease smite the scorn of the Bible says in the simple we will be where you don't keep a scorner around you don't keep people who hate the church around you know if there's someone in our church who is openly hating our church and criticizing our church if I know who they are they get cast out unless they're willing to recant everything they say about our church and say and just give it to me in writing like I love First Works Baptist Church and this is the best church in the world and you know I'm gonna make the stipulations so difficult that they just want to leave because I don't want scorners in the church now you say what if there's a scorner that you just don't know who they are I mean eventually gotta you know just show me who they are it happens every time every time consistently if there's scorners hiding in the church and you're just doing your best to hide yourself as a scorner of our church don't worry I gotcha the Lord knows who you are and consistently 100% of the time he always lets me know who it is and it's not even like I end up stumbling upon the information sometimes that happens all the time let's move on here look at verse 12 it says Lord that will ordain peace for us for thou also has wrought all our works in us and of course it's reiterating the the peace that God it gives us he's ordained it for us and it's in conjunction with the works that we do as well you know one of the best ways to have peace in this world as a Christian is to labor as a Christian when you labor as a Christian when you serve God there's just this in a piece that you get knowing full well that you're right with God but how can Christians who are out there know if they're right with God if they're not serving God how can they really have peace knowing full well that they're not in church not serving God they're backslidden there's no there's no peace to people like that but at least you if you're serving God you're in church you're doing that which is right on the side of the Lord you could always rest upon the fact that you know what no matter how hard it is I know that I have the peace of God because I'm serving God I must hasten here look at verse 13 I'm gonna breeze through some of these verses here we're gonna look at the plight of earthly rulers it says Oh Lord our God other Lords beside thee have had dominion over us but by thee only will we make mention of thy name and I think what that's specifically referring to he's saying you know I've we've had a lot of rulers Lords bosses over us but you're the only one that we will claim by name basically it's like we like you're the only one that we will proudly say you are our Lord okay in other words you know these people are not for the Republican Party you know they're not like they're not gonna call themselves Trump stirs or the right-wing they're like no only by the Lord we're Christians we're of the Lord we're God's people verse 14 they are dead they shall not live referring to these leaders they are deceased they shall not rise therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish thou hast increased the nation of Lord thou hast increased the nation thou art glorified thou hast removed it far unto all the ends of the earth what he's saying here is that the rulers of this world doesn't matter how successful they are in this world how great they are eventually they'll die and you know what memories of them will die as well legends never die yes they do they die there's some legendary people in this world that you have no idea who they are and they will forever be forgotten because they're they're not saved and God wiped all memory of that person you know when he says like you know I'll blot out the the name from under heaven he's basically saying like no one in the future will ever know who you are that's powerful now you add on top of that they're like they're blotted out from the book of life as well I mean it's like you know John Doe who like we know never heard of him but in contrast to that he says in verse 15 thou has increased the nation and obviously he's referring to the nation of Judah Oh Lord thou has increased the nation thou are glorified thou hast removed it far into all the ends of the earth and I think what this is talking about is the fact that God has increased the nation of Israel the nation of Judah from a spiritual perspective how did he increase the nation by adding Gentiles to that covenant by moving it to the far ends of the world because now the citizens of Israel from a biblical perspective citizens of Jerusalem from a biblical perspective is not subject to that geographical location in the Middle East it's just all over the world right because it's made up of all believers so even though these rulers of these nations they talk the big talk well now they're dead they're gonna be forgotten whereas the nation of God will expand it'll live forever it's that you know city from above etc ok look at verse 16 he says Lord in trouble have they visited thee they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them like a woman with child that draweth near the time of her delivery is in pain and cries out in her pangs so have we been in thy side Oh Lord we have been with child we have been in pain we have as it were brought forth when we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen now this again has an immediate fulfillment to them but what I believe this is actually referring to is in times prophecy regarding the tribulation because it describes it as pangs and sorrow as though there are with child God's people and it says that we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth so you think about those last 75 days of Great Tribulation it's just like we're going through so much pangs and sorrow and difficulty and no salvation has appeared yet and it goes on to say neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen because keep in mind during those last 75 days the Antichrist is making war with the Saints he's overcoming them all the while establishing his new world order he has not fallen like he seems as though he's succeeding so this is the picture that we're getting here look at verse 19 we're gonna get a quick picture of tribulation rapture and wrath in verse 19 it says thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise awaken sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy do is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead come my people enter down to the chambers and shut the doors about thee hide thyself as a word for a little moment until the indignation be overpassed for behold verse 21 the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their calamity the earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain essentially taken us through the fact that they shall suffer tribulation believers will suffer tribulation but thy dead men shall live meaning that the resurrection will take place referring to the rapture and what happens after the rapture God's wrath is poured out upon the world verse 21 the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity the earth also shall disclose her blood as we see in Revelation chapter 8 right and shall no more cover her slain and so what is chapter 26 really getting to here well obviously it's giving us elements of the new heaven and new earth it's giving us elements of the kingdom of God of the millennial reign and even a little bit of the tribulation rapture and the wrath of God's gonna be poured upon us or excuse me upon this world but specifically I feel like one of the main things that it's trying to get across here is the fact that we can have peace through it all because I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee God has ordained peace for his people and so this is important if you get anything from the sermon because I know we covered a lot tonight just remember this okay be a peaceful people you know I'm not talking about peaceful protests I'm talking about have peace right at peace be a person who's able to function in this chaotic world with peace function in your marriage with peace function with your children with peace function in the fires with peace it's possible how well keeping your mind on the Lord and he'll keep you in perfect peace let's pray father we thank you so much for your word we're thankful for Isaiah chapter 26 Lord and the wonderful principles that we learned from here and Lord it gives us a greater desire of course for the end and obviously we don't want the end to come now we desire to see people saved we desire to raise families and there's so much to do this side of eternity Lord but it does help us to look forward to that day where we shall rejoice in the abundance of peace that you provide on this earth through the millennial rain and I pray Lord that you help us to remember this throughout the next couple days Lord as we go through life and hear things and do things and maybe at our jobs or our stress in a sound maybe we have health issues financial issues help us as you help us as your people to maintain that perfect peace by keeping our focus on you we love you we thank you we pray these things in Jesus name amen