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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Good evening, tonight we're in Isaiah chapter 48. Isaiah chapter 48, the Bible reads, He this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel, the Lord of hosts is his name. I have declared the form of things from the beginning, and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did them suddenly, and they came to pass, because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass. I have even from the beginning declared it to thee, before it came to pass I showed it thee, lest thou shouldst say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this, and will not ye declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou hurtest them not, lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew them. Yea, thou hurtest not, yea, thou knewest not, yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened, for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and was called a transgressor from the womb. For my namesake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it, and for how should my name be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called. I am he, I am the first, I also am the last. My hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spind the heavens, and I called unto them, and they stand together, stand up together. All ye assemble yourselves in here which among them hath declared these things, the Lord hath loved them. He will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken, yea, I have called him, I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this, I have not spoken in secret from the beginning, from the time that it was. There am I, and now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent me. Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way, that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels, like the gravel thereof. His name should not have been cut off, nor destroyed from before me. Go ye forth to Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with the voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth, say ye, the Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not, when he led them through the deserts, he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them, he claved the rock also, and the waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. Let's pray, dear Lord God, just thank you for this time that we have this evening, to hear the preaching of your word, Lord, just please bless this service, and be in the midst of us, Lord, tonight, and please bless Pastor and film with your Holy Spirit as he preaches us through your word, Lord, and we pray this all in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Okay, we're in Isaiah chapter 48 this evening for our Bible study, and here in chapter 48, we see that God is addressing Israel and Judah once again, and essentially highlighting the fact that they are a stubborn people, and we see Him mention that in this particular chapter, and tonight we're going to just focus on two specific aspects, which is the stubbornness of Jacob and the declaration of the Lord towards the latter end. So let's talk about the stubbornness of Jacob, and the first thing we're going to look at is the fact that Jacob is a hypocrite. Of course, Jacob, we're referring to the nation of Israel. Look at verse number 1, it says, Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. Now, what he's telling them here is the fact that he's calling them the house of Jacob, at the same time saying that they're called by the name of Israel, and the reason God is saying this is because of the fact that both names essentially describe some of their attributes or characteristics, right? You have Jacob, who we know from the book of Genesis, and Jacob means what? Deceiver, supplanter. So he's saying, O house of Jacob, why? Because they are deceivers, they're supplanters, they're worshipping false gods, they're essentially a people who are not right with God. But then he says that they're called by the name of Israel. Israel, of course, meaning having power with God and prevailing. So he's addressing the people as being deceivers, supplanters, those who are not right with God, and he said, though you are called by the name of Israel, which is essentially people who have power with God and are prevailing, and he's saying there that they are a people who swear by the name of the Lord, they make mention of the God of Israel, but then he says, but not in truth nor in righteousness. What is he referring to? Well, he's referring to the fact that though they are God's people, and though they're putting themselves forth as being God's people, they're not doing it in a sincere manner. In other words, they don't sincerely act in a righteous conduct. Their religion is essentially superficial, okay? This is what it means when I say that they're being hypocritical because of the fact that they're saying, oh, you know, we are, we swear by the name of the Lord, we're mentioning of the God of Israel, but here's the thing is that they don't really believe it. They're not doing it in truth. They're not behaving righteously. They don't have righteous conduct. And so their behavior, their actions, doesn't match up with what they say, right? What is that called? It's called being a hypocrite. And in fact, it's very much what we see earlier in the book of Isaiah, chapter 29. You don't have to turn there. Famous verse here, it says, Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips they do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me. He's saying that Israel is a people who they glorify God with their mouth, they honor him with their lips, but when he searches the inner recesses of the heart, they don't really believe that stuff. They don't really believe in serving the Lord. This essentially teaches us that they have this outward religious conduct, but at the end of the day, they don't really believe what they are saying. It's essentially a superficial religious behavior. Now, what does this teach us? Well, it teaches us that God is not only interested in outward religious behavior, but also in inward sincerity, right? And by the way, God wants both. He wants us to act like Christians, but he also wants us to believe like Christians. He wants us to have the right belief system, the right beliefs in our heart, but he also wants it to influence our behavior, our conduct, our conversation, and he wants both. And in fact, Jesus said in John, chapter 4, when he is addressing the Samaritan, he tells her, But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. And of course, this is the answer he gives to the Samaritan woman when she says, Oh, this is where you're supposed to worship, pointing to a specific geographical location, and he says, you know, there's going to come a time when no one worships God in this mountain or in that particular place, but rather in spirit and in truth. He's obviously telling her, at the end of the day, God is interested in the worship of the heart. He wants us to conduct ourselves in a right manner, but he also wants our hearts to be right with God as well. Now, let me just say this, is that, you know, we never want to emphasize one over the other, right? And think, well, you know, only the conduct is important. It doesn't really matter what you believe. We don't want to split hairs over doctrines. Well, wrong, because God is very much interested in us believing the right doctrines. And a good portion of the Bible is dedicated to telling us that we have to believe in the right doctrine, right? Not be heretical, not teach false doctrine, not be carried away with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men. He wants us to believe the right things. But the Bible is also dedicated to talking about the right conduct. So obviously he wants both. And this particular concept reminds me of when Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees in Matthew 23. And he tells them in verse 25, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. What's a hypocrite? Someone who claims to be something or believes something, but they actually don't, right? Which is the Pharisees. He says, For you may clean the outside of the cup and platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchres. What is a sepulchre? It's like a coffin, we would say today, right? A coffin, a sepulchre. He says, Ye are like whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so, ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Now, the Pharisees are an extreme example of this, right? Because what he's telling the Pharisees is like, Oh, you're clothed in robes, you lengthen the borders of your garments, your phylacteries, you have this outward appearance as though you're a godly person. You're feigning yourself to be a just man, but when God looks at their heart, he sees that they're twice dead and plucked up by the roots, right? They're still dead in their trespasses and sin. They're likened unto that sepulchre, that coffin, that looks all nice on the outside, but once you open the coffin, it's just rottenness, right? Ravening wolves, it's deadness, it is not alive. And, of course, he's telling them this because they're false prophets, but here's the thing, though, is that this also applies to Christians as well. Because at the end of the day, Christians can have the right conduct, but then be involved in all types of sin, and God doesn't want that, right? He wants us to be clean on the inside as well as on the out. Now, here's the thing, though, is that if you're a Christian, and most of the time this is newer Christians, if you're a new Christian who is doing the right things, but you're still struggling with cleaning up your life, you should still serve God, right? You know, because now there's this ideology out there that you can't serve God until you're just completely clean. You shouldn't be out there sowing and preaching the gospel until you're just 100% clean, 100% right with God. But let me just tell you something, that doesn't exist! You know, there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. And, in fact, one of the best ways, listen to me, to clean up your life is by doing the right things. Living righteously, doing the right things, ends up cleaning up your heart as well. And this is why the Bible says, you know, draw nigh to God, He'll draw nigh to you, cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. So one of the best ways to clean up your heart is by actually making yourself do the right things. Like, for example, making your feet take you to church. Cleans up your life, right? Why? Because then you bring your rear end to church, you hear preaching that cleans up your life, you hear preaching against alcohol, against drugs, against fornication, against pride, against arrogance, against all of these things that God is against, and what happens is you begin to clean up your life, okay? And so we never want to have this idea of like, well, I'm not going to start serving God until I've just completely arrived and I'm not struggling with this particular sin, or I'm not struggling with this idea or this attitude. No, just bring yourself to church, bring yourself to do the right things, go sowing, and guess what? God will begin to work on you because He's interested in the outward appearance as well, but He's also interested in the inward appearance. It's like when people say, you know, people will often tell me, this isn't very often, but I've heard this before, or it's just like, well, I don't want to get baptized until like I just clean up my life or something, you know? I don't want to get baptized until, you know, I just get over this one particular sin, but the Bible doesn't teach such prerequisites to baptism. It never says that you have to clean up your life in order to be baptized. It just tells you to be baptized after salvation. But sometimes people put these conditions and stipulations where God does not, and when it comes to serving God, we need to just make sure that we just do the right things, and just little by little, God will begin to work on you, right? Now, obviously, we're not referring to the service of the Lord in regards to being a pastor, OK? You know, obviously, if there's a man out there who wants to be a pastor, but he's involved in all types of sin, you know, obviously, he's probably not qualified to pastor a church. You know, if he's involved in gambling and drunkenness and all types of sin, you know, he's not necessarily a person who's above reproach. Obviously, he's not necessarily qualified as of yet to be involved in the work of the ministry in that regard, right? But there's other ways that they can serve God where it doesn't require some, you know, level of sanctification. And in fact, the work of the Lord often sanctifies you. You know, being around God's people, serving the Lord, puts you in the right state of mind, and it gives you somewhat of a desire to want to clean up your life. You know, when I first got saved, you know, I had sin in my life that I didn't even know was sin, just because I've never read the Bible, right? And so, as I'm going to church, you know, I'm doing sinful things, not knowing that they're necessarily sinful, because I've never read the word of God, but as I'm going to church, I'm going sowing, I'm learning that those things are sinful. And through the preaching of God's word, the Holy Spirit working on me, little by little, I just begin to clean up my life, sanctify my life, and, you know, be meat for the master's use. But the point that I'm making here is that, you know, don't take this philosophy too far, where it's just like, well, you have to be super clean on the inside before you go out and preach the gospel or something. You know, there's people out there that are teaching that nonsense, but I'm just going to be real honest with you, I guarantee you the vast majority of people who are saying that don't even do any sowing. They're probably not even out there preaching the gospel. They are busy being busybodies, they're busy being Pharisees and scribes, telling people to, you know, lift this heavy burden where they themselves are not lifting it with one of their fingers. You know, they're standing in judgment of newer Christians who are out there preaching the gospel. And again, we're not justifying or saying that it's OK to be involved in fornication, all the while sowing, but here's the thing, folks, is that some people are involved in those particular sins. Now, if they're in the local New Testament church, they shouldn't be, because that obviously merits excommunication from a church. And if you've been coming to our church for five years or whatever, or even a year, you should know better, right? We're not talking about mature Christians who have already heard preaching on this stuff. You're involved in this gross sin. You know better. You've heard the preaching of God's word, and you just blatantly decide to get involved in these particular sins found in 1 Corinthians 5. Well, obviously you married excommunication, repent or get thrown out type of thing. We're talking about newer Christians who, you know, they're just not in church, or maybe they just got involved in church, but they still have sin in their lives, OK? You know, oh, that sounds like greasy grace or something like that. Well, you know, here's the thing is that, you know, at the end of the day, God expects us to be patient with people. He wants us to be gracious with people, and it's not greasy grace to be kind and lovingly patient with people who are still new to the faith, right? We can't expect someone to come through the doors of First Works Baptist Church with batteries included, and all of a sudden, you know, we just sprinkle some holy water on them, and then they're just ready-made. They're ready to go. No, they need a couple months to kind of assimilate to the things of God, especially when they join a church like ours. It's a very strict church. Strict doctrinally, strict in conduct, and so we uphold a biblical standard at our church, and sometimes people hear that, they're like, whoa, and it's just like, yeah, cut that hair off. You know, stop looking like a queer, you know, and yeah, if you guys are living together, you're involved in fornication, here are your options. And so, you know, obviously we're not here tolerating sin, but we are going to be patient with people, and allow people just some time to hear the truths of God's Word, so that the Holy Spirit can work on them, and then eventually, of course, they're confronted, and they're taught, and they learn, and they move on with their lives, okay? The point that I'm making here is we don't want to be like the children of Israel, where they're like, oh, we're believers, but their conduct doesn't really match that, and we're never going to match it perfectly, but we should strive to live a life that's pleasing unto the Lord, right? The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 1, verse 14, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the form of lust in your ignorance. You see, people who come to our church doors, who are involved in sins that the Bible talks about, merit excommunication, they're doing it in the lust of their ignorance. Why? Because they don't know what the Bible says about it. But once they start reading the Bible, hearing, preaching, they know better, it says, but as he which hath called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, be holy, for I am holy. So obviously, we need to bring people up to the standard and say, this is what God expects of you, right? This is what he wants from you. He wants you to live a clean life, a life that is free from gross sin, from these particular iniquities that the Bible would highlight to say that merits excommunication, and no one's going to do it perfectly, but we can strive for perfection, though. We can strive for sanctification. We can strive to live a life that's pleasing unto the Lord, even if we don't meet it all the way through, OK? And so we see here that they're being hypocrites, even though they are claiming the name of Christ, they're swearing in the name of the Lord. They're talking about God, but it's not in truth, not in righteousness. He says in verse number two, for they call themselves of the holy city and stay themselves upon the God of Israel, the Lord of hosts is his name. So they're like, we're of God, you know, we swear by the name of the Lord, and they call themselves of the holy city like, we go to this church, you know? That's bad. And we don't expect perfection when you come to our church, but be a good testimony, though, right? Be a proper representative of the local New Testament church. Be a person who, if you are a public figure, and pretty much everyone here is a public figure because everyone got social media, you know, people can see you, you know, post things that are becoming to a Christian and not becoming to that which is sinful and whorish and that which is wicked and wrong. Why? Because you're a Christian. You're a believer. You call yourself by the holy city, and you may, you know, you have First Works Baptist Church on your profile, or, you know, you have Believer or whatever. You know, don't be a bad testimony to others by just flaunting your filth and your perversion or your worldliness out there. Recognize that, you know what, you're a representative of Jesus Christ. I think the Bible tells us to be ambassadors for Christ, meaning that we're representatives. And again, we're not saying that you have to be this perfect person, but, you know, can you can you strive to just not be sinful, though? And, you know, it seems like in the age of the Internet, I have to always talk about this because people just get a little too comfortable on the Internet. I have a tendency to just post nonsense, you know, where they're just modest women, just being sensual. We're talking about Christians here. It's getting quiet, you know, just posting it and modest, showing all types of body parts or whatever. Folks, we're Christians here. Let's be Christian about this. Let's make sure that we're striving for holiness. Be holy as the Lord is holy. Don't be a hypocrite on the Internet. And by the way, while I'm on the topic, you know, you know, Instagram tells us what you like, right? Did you know that? Like now it tells you like this person like this post or whatever, you know? And some of you have seen the posts that I like. So I make sure I'm just like racist meme. I won't like this. No, I'm just kidding. Sometimes I'm just like, you know what? It's funny enough, you know? I'll go ahead and like that, you know? Meme on deportation, why not, you know? But there's some stuff out there that just pops up. Why is this popping up on my grid? I'll tell you why. Because my followers and those who I follow like that post or they comment on there. And by the way, some of the posts, they'll tell you that they like them, but they'll also tell you what they commented on there, like, oh, this person commented on there. And this person follows this person or whatever. It's just like good night in the morning. Some of you need to go through your Instagram and start unfollowing some of the worldly stuff that you guys follow, maybe things that are sexually explicit or something, you know? And we're getting to a point out there where we just need to be reminded that we don't want to be hypocrites. And I get it, you know? If you have social media, there's a lot of filth out there. There's a lot of nonsense out there. There's a lot of sinful things out there. And you can get caught up in that stuff as well as I can. We need to make sure that we don't make provision for the flesh to fulfill the lustre of, but we also have to understand we need to be a good testimony to others, and we should be Christians online as well, OK? I don't know why I have to say that, but it's the truth, OK? We should be religious in name and in deed, you know? The Bible tells us, my little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. In other words, don't just say mama believer. You know, don't just say disciple of Jesus Christ, but actually show yourself to be a disciple, show yourself to be a believer. This is important to God, OK? And this is a glaring weakness in the nation of Israel where they're naming the name of God, but to the nations around them, they're not very godly, OK? Look at verse number three. It says, I have declared the former things from the beginning, and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. And of course, this is talking about what he has mentioned multiple times throughout the last couple chapters, the fact that, you know, God is showing his omniscience to the nation of Israel and showing his power by essentially describing to them future events, but also chronicling with accuracy past events, right? So he's very accurate when he talks about the past, and he's very accurate regarding prophetic events that are going to take place in the future. And he says in verse four, Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is as, excuse me, thy neck is an iron sinew and thy brow brass. Now, I'm going to explain what he means by them being obstinate in regards to him, you know, foretelling the future or chronicling the past, but let's talk a little bit about the fact that he calls them an obstinate people, OK? What does it mean to be obstinate? Well, obstinate simply means to be stubborn, OK? Being stubborn in the Bible is a sin. And in fact, it's a sin that evolves from another sin called pride, because what motivates someone to be stubborn and obstinate and obtuse? I'll tell you what, pride does. Their unwillingness to say that they're wrong, their unwillingness to turn from a particular ideology, from a particular behavior, from whatever, you know, this is what it means to be obstinate, is they're stubborn, they're not willing to change. So that's what it means, unwilling to change, in spite of the fact that you are proven to be wrong. That's what it means to be stubborn, that's what it means to be obstinate. 1 Samuel 15, verse 23 says this, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Now, let me explain some to you regarding that passage in 1 Samuel 15. This isn't saying that rebellion is witchcraft. And it's not saying that stubbornness is idolatry. What this is communicating is the fact that they are sins that are just as severe as those. So the sin of rebellion is on the same level of severity as witchcraft. Because, you know, we get on witchcraft, we're like, witches, they need to be burned at the stake, according to the Bible, suffer not a witch to live. But hold on a second, rebellion is just as wicked, though. Or it's just like, idolatry is wicked, the Roman Catholic Church is a wicked institution because it's a den of iniquity, a den of idolatry, and amen to that. But hold on a second, stubbornness is just as wicked, though. That's what the Bible is saying, okay? And you know what, as God's people, we need to avoid developing a stubborn attitude. Being obstinate, being stubborn, not being willing to admit that we're wrong, not having a disposition that essentially says, correct me if I'm wrong. Or, you know what, I'm wrong, you're right, you know, I need to change in this way, I need to change what I believe about this, or whatever it may be. And, you know, the opposite of stubbornness is what? To be compliant and humble. So you can see why stubbornness is such a sin in the Bible, because of the fact that it really completely disregards the virtue of humility, which is what God wants from his people, right? You know, the Bible tells us by humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life, the Bible says. Turn with me, if you would, to Proverbs chapter 12. Hold your place there in Isaiah. We need to make sure that we're constantly developing a humble attitude, and, you know, and not be a stubborn people and obstinate people and obtuse people, that we're not willing to take correction. And, you know, as Christians, or just human beings that live in this world, we're always going to be corrected on something, right? Your boss is going to correct you, your parents are going to correct you, your pastor is definitely going to correct you, your brother or sister in Christ, who are in the church, are obviously going to correct you, if they're close to you. You know, that's just a common thing that's going to be throughout our lives, and correction should not be resisted, correction should be welcomed. Now, obviously, you and I both know that there's people out there that just love to correct people, and they don't know what the hell they're talking about, right? It's just like, this person is trying to take the moat out of my eye, all the while they have a massive beam in theirs, you know? How many of you have had an experience like that, where it's just like, it's like, okay, buddy, you know, you're trying to correct me on my Christianity, all the while you're as sinful as the day is long, or you're just worse than me, or you're struggling with something worse, right? That's obviously nonsensical, but let me just say this, that every criticism has a little bit of truth to it, though. So even when the fool corrects you, when the fool gets on you, when the fool's trying to reprove you, even if they're doing it from a place of envy and strife, you could always take it and say, you know, maybe the Lord bade him, right? The Lord bade him, maybe there's a little bit of truth to it, even though the vast majority of what he's saying is completely discredited by his behavior or her behavior, right? And I'm not saying that you even have to placate that person by saying, hey, you're right, but the Bible does say agree with that adversary quickly, though, right? And you can say, Lord, maybe there's some truth to that, help me to work on that, and then just move on with your life. Why? Because that's what a humble person does. Now, I'm talking about extreme examples of people doing that, but how about when a person is trying to help you, they are trying to improve your life, they're trying to benefit you, they're trying to warn you, and you're just like, nah, I don't need to hear that, you know. I don't think that's true. That's called being obstinate. Hey, when your husband is trying to correct you, and you're unwilling to be corrected in a certain area as a wife, you're being stubborn, and hopefully you don't add being loud to that, amen? But that's what the Bible talks about. A loud and a stubborn woman, a clamorous woman, is reproaching to her husband because of the fact that she's not willing to follow her husband's lead. And, you know, at the end of the day, stubbornness is often exerted from the follower to the leader, right? Whether in a marriage, at your job, in church, but folks, we as God's people should welcome certain criticisms, we should welcome being corrected, we should welcome rebuke and reproof. Why? Because our goal as Christians should be, I want to get better. And our goal should be, if I'm wrong in this particular area, then I'm wrong and I want to make sure that I'm doing that which is right. Now, obviously, we're not going to be able to do this 100% of the time because there's instances where we do believe we're 100% right on something, right? You know, I've gotten even discussions with my pastor friends where they tell me something and I'm just like, I don't even tell them, I'm just like, in my mind, I'm like, I don't think that's true, I don't agree with that interpretation, I don't agree with that philosophy, and, you know, they tell me that I'm wrong. And they're like, you know, they say I'm absurd or I don't agree with that interpretation or whatever, and this is what I tell them, nothing. I don't tell them anything. Why? What's the point? If I believe I'm right about something, you know, and a person believes I'm wrong, does that change the price in tea in China? No, because I'm still going to walk away thinking I'm right, and I'm going to walk away thinking maybe there's some valid points that this person is making, but at the end of the day, I don't necessarily need to strive with this person or, you know, prove them wrong or checkmate them or come up with a better argument. It's one of those things where it's just like, why don't you just receive what they're telling you and just walk away and just go about your married way? You know, but here's the thing is that often stubbornness and strife, or should I say, stubbornness leads to striving, because not only are you unwilling to admit that you're wrong, you want to prove to everyone that you're right. But, folks, we need to make sure that we have a compliant, humble attitude, that we are clothed, as the Bible says in 1 Peter 5, clothed in humility. And look, you could be humble and be right when someone's correcting you about being wrong. You could actually not be stubborn and still believe that you're right, and this is how you do it, by just not saying anything at all. And here's the thing, take it a step further, you could be diplomatic about it, too. You say, what do you mean by that? You know, if someone tells you something, like, they're just like, you're wrong about this because X, Y, and Z, this is what the Bible actually teaches or whatever, you know, and you don't agree with them, but you just don't want to argue, you just say, hey, you might have a point. There's a possibility I'm wrong, yeah, for sure. You know, why? Because a soft answer turns the way you're at. And sometimes it's just good to just walk away from that, you know, just walk away from an argument. Now, this is obviously very much prevalent, especially online, and sometimes people need to get rebuked online, and you need to answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceits, right? But, you know, a heretic after the first and second admonition, reject, knowing that he that is such a subverted and sent against himself, right? So at the end of the day, we just need to pick and choose our battles. But let's just say someone in our church corrects you about something, and they are a person of reputation, and maybe you don't 100% agree with it, you know, you want to walk away, or should I say you want that person to walk away, having respect for you at least, right? And here's the best way to do it, like, you know what, you do have a valid point there, I need to think about that, and I'm going to read into that some more. Thank you for that, appreciate that. You know, that person will more readily walk away thinking, okay, hey, this person is pretty humble. But if it's just like a manner of just like, no way, you are so stupid, you're so dumb, I can't even, I can't believe that, you know, don't even talk to me, get out of my face. You know, obviously, that person is not going to respect you, they're going to see you and view you as a stubborn person, okay? And so, a stubborn person cannot be persuaded though valid evidence is provided sometimes. And we don't want to be that person. Look what it says in Proverbs 12 and verse 15. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkens unto counsel is wise. A fool's wrath is presently known, but a prudent man covereth shame. So the Bible says that a fool is only right in his own eyes. So even if he, if a wiser person gives them counsel, they give them reproof, and they're not willing to listen, it's because they're right in their own eyes. They're not willing to adhere to wisdom or counsel. And so sometimes you'll go to a person and say, hey, this is valid evidence to prove this particular point, and the person is just like, no, I think I'm right about this, you're wrong, you know. And, you know, sometimes they're a fool about that. We're not talking about obscure things, though. You know, sometimes there's passages in the Bible, for example, with Bible interpretation, that are very obscure. It's just hard to, you know, interpret. Five different interpretations can be made regarding a particular topic that isn't necessarily a primary doctrine. Maybe it's secondary tertiary type of doctrine, and it's just the interpretation is up for grabs, so to speak. You know, everyone can give their interpretation about it. That's perfectly fine, but, you know, sometimes it's not even regarding doctrine. What if it's just about Christian behavior? It's just like, hey, I don't think you should be saying this. Or how about this? Here's a good example. Your team leader corrects you on soul winning, on your delivery. But, you know, you've won like 20 people to Christ already. You're just a champion soul winner. You know what I mean? You're just like, you know, you've seen Pastor Jimenez's seminary. You are pretty much Pastor Jimenez, according to your accounts. You've watched all the soul winning demonstrations, so you just got it down pat. And then your team leader comes to you and says, hey, I don't know if that's the right way. That'll be the most efficient way to say that statement. Here's a better way to do it. And then you respond with, well, you know, I've done this for like a long time. I think I know what I'm doing. I'm only on your team because Pastor Mejia says we have to be on team, so I don't really welcome any type of correction of any sort. And so I appreciate that. But just to let you know, I should probably be the team leader here. But, you know, just things work out this way or whatever. You know, you shouldn't have that type of stubborn attitude. And look, maybe you've been sowing for 10 plus years, 20 plus years. I've learned that as a soul winner, there's just always more learning to do. And I don't mean like, oh, you know, I'm just not even going to go sowing until I learn the perfect way to do it. I've obviously won many souls to Christ over the last 18 years or whatever. But, you know, I've learned that when I go sowing with different people, they might say a statement a little different or use a certain illustration. I think to myself, hey, that's a good way to do it. And does that make me any less of a soul winner? No, it actually makes me a soul winner who is wise. Because a soul winner is constantly sharpening their sword. They're taking tools from other people's toolbox and saying, you know what? I'm going to start saying it that way instead because it's just more effective that way. But, you know, a stubborn soul winner is a person who thinks that they just got it down packed already and they can't be corrected by Brother Maury or by Brother Huyck. They're just like, you know, what do they have to offer me? I've been on the mission field. I've been through five cities. I've won hundreds of people to Christ. You know, you're a stubborn person. You're a person that cannot be corrected. And you know what? You will not be an effective Christian because at the end of the day, we need many tools under our belt as a soul winner. Because if you know as well as I do, you're always going to be confronted with various types of people with various answers who respond differently to various types of statements. And so we just need an entire toolbox of, you know, soul winning tips and tools that you can use and here's a slew of people you can learn from. And look, sometimes, you know, you go soul winning with a brand new Christian and they just word something a little better. That doesn't make you any less of a soul winner if you steal that little phrase or whatever. I'll steal it and just claim credit for it. Yeah, I came up with this new way of saying, you know, I'm just joking here. But I don't feel any shame in going with a soul winner who's only been soul winning for a year or whatever, or maybe two years, three years, but they say a little phrase a little differently and I think to myself, hey, that's a little more effective way of preaching the gospel. Now, don't be that person who's been soul winning for two or three years and say, yeah, let me just help everyone here. Here's a good way to do it. You know, just why don't you just do it and let people learn from your example, right? The point that I'm making here is don't be a stubborn person. If your team leader corrects you in a particular area, don't take it personal. And that's what stubborn people do. They take things personal sometimes. It's like it's an attack on your character. It's an attack on your walk with God. It's an attack on your Christianity or something like that. No, it's actually a benefit to you because we learn things when we are corrected. How does a stubborn person behave? Well, Isaiah 48, go back to Isaiah 48. He says, Because I knew that thou art obstinate, meaning stubborn, and I want you to notice this, and thy neck is an iron sinew. That is an interesting phrase there. Sinew, what is that? Sinew is referring to tendons or ligaments, right? And he's saying that their neck is made of iron tendons and ligaments. Now, here's the best way to describe that. How many of you have ever woken up one day with a stiff neck, right? And then the rest of the day, you're just walking around like Batman. You know what I mean? Batman from the 90s. I don't know what these new Batmans are doing or whatever. Remember, they're all mobile. But, you know, the Batman from the 90s is just kind of like that, right? Well, a person who's stubborn is like an individual who has iron tendons and ligaments for a neck. Now, that's a great way to describe a stubborn person, especially in the Bible, because of the fact that God is constantly telling people to turn from their wicked ways, turn from their sins. And someone with an iron neck is just like not willing to turn. You can't make them turn. They're just inflexible. They're not tender. They're not willing to just turn their ways. When God is calling to them, they're not willing to turn and heed the calling of God to repent from their sin, to get right with God. They just are stubborn, obstinate people. And you know what? Israel is not unique in that area. This is also amongst Christians as well in the New Testament. But sometimes Christians are so stubborn, their neck is like an iron sinew. They're like iron ligaments. And one thing that I've learned as a pastor, and I've made this mistake, you know, many times, is that in my endeavor to try to help people, I've often corrected people. Because I want to help them, I've often tried to correct stubborn people, and it just never works. And then I come back to that person and I try to correct them, I try to help them, and they just get worse. Now, why do they get worse? Well, go to Proverbs. Go to Proverbs chapter 9, if you would. Proverbs chapter 9. Proverbs chapter 9. You know, I've made this mistake, and I've learned, you know, as a pastor, I have to grow and I have to learn. I have to work on my people skills and just, you know, mature in these areas of leadership. But I've learned that the best people to correct are those who welcome correction, those who ask for correction, or those who I can say, you know, I have their heart. And what I have, what that means is like, I have, the person has given me the liberty to go to them and correct them, even if they've never asked for that correction. Because I've won their heart. And you know, that's a biblical concept, that if you want to correct people, you want to reprove people out of a sincere heart that wants to help them, the best way to do it is by, you know, essentially winning their hearts, essentially showing them that you love them. Okay? But, you know, if you don't invest time into them, you don't express love to them, if you don't disciple them, then, you know, they're not going to take your correction. Because sometimes they're stubborn. Now, people should take correction no matter what. But, practically speaking, people are more ready to take correction if they know that it comes from a heart of love. Right? A sincere heart. But I've learned that when I correct people who are stubborn, and I'm just like, if I just keep correcting this person, it's eventually going to get through to them, it actually doesn't. Why? Look at Proverbs 29, verse 1. He that being often reproved, what does he do? Hardeneth his neck. So it tells us there in Proverbs 29, verse 1, he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck. What is it saying? It's saying this person who is constantly being reproved and they're stubborn, you know what they're going to do? They're just going to constantly tighten their neck. Harden their neck. And the more you correct them, the more stubborn they become. And so here's a tip for you, okay? And that is that if you want to help someone, you feel like, man, this person, they're going in the wrong direction, they're just not, you know, they're not making good decisions, and I care for this person, I feel like they're going to destroy their life, or they're just going to ruin an aspect of their Christianity, I care too much for them, you know, you just got to understand, you better win them over before you correct them. Now, you can run the risk of just correcting them and just kind of roll the dice on it. And quite frankly, when I'm preaching from the pulpit, it doesn't matter if I have your heart or not, actually. Because this is actually a different arena, and I have to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. So I've already been sanctioned by the Lord, and, you know, that principle does not apply when you're behind the pulpit. I've been sanctioned by the Lord to correct people from the pulpit, because that's my job. And I can't, you know, disobey the Lord in that area, I can't dishonor God in that area, I have to reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine, but working one-on-one, though, you do have to sometimes roll the dice, but if you don't want to roll the dice, you just got to make sure you won that person's heart. Because if not, what happens? They become offended. The Bible says that a brother offended is harder to be won than a strong castle, and his bar, his contentions are like the bars of a castle. What does that mean? He becomes stubborn and hardened, right? Now, if that's you, then get over it, okay? Soften your neck, go get a spiritual chiropractor, you know, put some icy hot on that thing, okay? You know, get a masseuse, a spiritual masseuse, a massager or something, go fix your neck, because God doesn't want you to be a stubborn person. He doesn't want you to be an obstinate individual. And I'm sorry if the people who are correcting you are not doing it in a lovely manner, or maybe they're not doing it from a place of humility and love, but maybe what they're saying is true. And until you find someone who loves you and is doing it out of love, just take the correction. But quite frankly, we don't really have people like that in our church who are not doing it out of a place of love. I genuinely believe that the people in our church who correct others actually genuinely love the people in our church, okay? And what's the result of when they harden their neck? They're suddenly destroying that without remedy, the Bible says. So I've learned just as a pastor that like, you know, just throughout the years, I've made the mistake of correcting certain people that are not willing to change their ways sometimes, and I'm like, man, maybe if I just keep correcting them, maybe if I just keep correcting them, and it just doesn't work. You know why? Because they just harden their neck. Whereas the person who, you know, is wise takes the rebuke and loves it. They're just like, tell me. And I've had people come to me and tell me like, you know, hey pastor, I give you the liberty, just tell me if I'm wrong in a certain area, correct me if I'm wrong, you know, if you ever see anything, just tell me. And I'm just like, pull out the list. Well, since you mentioned it. No, I'm just kidding. You know, I've been keeping track of you. No, I'm just kidding. You know, but sometimes I'm like, okay, great, you know. And quite frankly, let me just be honest with you. If you come to me after the service and say that, I'm not going to start right away. It'll take a while before I can actually do it, because sometimes people out of out of passion or out of excitement, they're just like, just tell me, pastor. But then they only tell me once, I'm just like, I'm not going to do it. You know, I do it for the pulpit, but not in person. But if this person continues to come back and says, hey, just want to remind you, you know, let me know if I'm doing anything that you feel like is not correct or if I'm going in a wayward manner or something like that. Let me know, pastor. Then, you know, later on, I will do it because I can see that the person is actually trying to draw wisdom from that well. They actually want the correction. They want the reproof because they want to be better in their Christian life. And let me just remind everybody that if you want to get better as a Christian, it's going to require the element of rebuke and reproof. There's no way. You can't get better with only exhortation. You don't believe me? Go to the liberal churches and see how that works for them. You don't believe me? Go to Joel Osteen's church. You'll see how that works for them. Go to Rick Warren's church. Don't go there. But go, you know, go look and see what they produce out there. It's only exhortation, if that. It's mostly a TED talk. But, folks, if you don't add reproving, rebuking, then guess what? You're not going to get better. OK, and obviously, you know, if you're coming to church, you're coming with the understanding you're going to be rebuked from the pulpit. But sometimes we need even a little bit of rebuke face to face as well. OK, a little bit of correction. The Bible tells us in Proverbs nine, verse seven, He that reproofeth the scorner get it to himself shame, and he that rebuketh the wicked man get it to himself a blot. Verse eight says, Reprove not a scorner. Why? Lest he hate thee. Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee, the Bible says. So this is important because it says, scorners are what? They're stubborn people, and they take all rebuke personally. You know? And it's just like, oh, you must hate me then. Therefore, I hate you. They don't realize that the person rebuking is trying to help them. The wise person says, open rebuke is better than secret love. The wise person says, man, my pastor must love me if he just is willing to cuss me out like that. No, I'm just kidding. If he's willing to just call me out like that, if he's willing to just get on me, he must actually love me. That is the attitude we have to have sometimes. And obviously, in the moment, we may not have that attitude, that understanding, but hindsight is 20-20. We realize it later on, like, okay, yeah, that person did it out of a place of love. And you know, there's people in our church that I know for a fact I can just go up to them and just rebuke the fire out of them, and just say the most diabolical, disrespectful thing, and you know what? They will not walk away bitter. They will walk away and be like, thank you, pastor, you know? Now, I won't do it, but I'm just saying I know that I can, though. You know, some people don't even have a choice. Like, Brother Ulysses Hernandez doesn't really have a choice. But even then, you know, I know that if I correct Brother Ulysses Hernandez in our church, which I do a lot sometimes, you know? He's like a spiritual son to me, but he's also my employee. You know, I correct him. You know, he's not like Pastor Haids, maybe. Vanessa. You don't believe what Pastor Haids. I think we need to go to a different church. He's not crying himself to sleep at night, right? No, I'm just kidding. You know, he understands, like, okay, you know, pastor's trying to help me in this area or whatever. The point that I'm making here is that we, as God's people, need to avoid being prideful, stubborn people. Don't be obstinate. Don't be stubborn. Learn to take correction, not just from the pulpit, but in person. Hey, teenagers, take correction from your parents. And that's the hardest time to take correction, actually, when you're a teenager. When you're a kid and you're a teenager, kids have a hard time because, you know, kids know everything. Teenagers are super smart. They're extremely intelligent. They pretty much are, like, way ahead of us, you know, mentally. And they just know a lot, especially with YouTube and everything. They just got it all in the bag, you know? I'm being facetious here to you teenagers. You don't know squat, okay? You don't know nothing. You got gray matter in between your ears, you know? You need your parents to correct you. You need older people, godly people, to correct you. And so don't be like Israel, the nation of Israel that just simply are obstinate or stubborn. They're like a person who has a stiff neck and they're not willing to turn when someone calls to them. Be the person who's willing to turn to the right or to the left to take correction, to nod up and down and say, Yes, I agree with that. Or, you know what, I'll take that into consideration. Or, you know what, I will try to change in that area, okay? He goes on to say, let me finish reading that verse here. He says, Because I knew that thou were an obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass. What does that mean? You know, the brows, they're just... So this is a person, they're stubborn, they're not willing to take correction. And then when you're talking to them, they're just... You know, it's just like, why is that cancer that's falling? You know why people are laughing? Because you've dealt with people like that, right? And this is something my kids do sometimes. If we're correcting them, my kids are just like... You know, they're ashamed, but they're angry. It's just like, fix those eyebrows. You know, straighten out those eyebrows. And you can often, you know, people have these micro-expressions. They kind of give away that they're just not happy with what you're telling them. But sometimes they have, you know, mega-expressions. They're just like... That's a brass brow right there, okay? You know, don't furrow your brows when someone's correcting you. Like that, like what Mrs. Kelly's doing right now. No, I'm just kidding. She's just trying to figure out what I'm trying to say. Stiffening their brow, you know, they're just like... They're just angry, they're upset. You know, don't be a person who allows their countenance to fall when you're being corrected. And look, you know, correction hurts. Okay, I'll be the first to just say that. Because I've been corrected severely in times past. I've been corrected by my spiritual leaders to the point they brought me to tears. Where they just said some of the most disrespectful things and I'm just like... I'm sorry, I'm just like... You know, and I get it. Correction can hurt really bad. But never allow correction to make you bitter though. To make the person who's correcting you the enemy. You know, don't allow correction to just make you bitter against your husband. Your husband corrects you about a particular thing you didn't do right. You know, whether it's cleaning the house, laundry, or whatever it is. And your husband corrects you about it and you just get an attitude about it or something. You're just like, you're never happy with what I do or something. You just blow your top. Don't have brass brows. Yeah, that's what I was going to say, brass brows. I'm not going to say that five times fast. You just get mad, you're just like... He's always, he's never happy with what I'm doing. Hey kids, don't furrow your brows when dad and mom are correcting you. If you didn't throw out the trash correctly and mom and dad tell you, hey, you forgot the trashes. You're just getting mad at mom and dad for telling you that you didn't do a good job in a particular area. You know, just get mad at yourself for not doing a good job. Don't get mad at your boss for correcting you. Don't furrow your brows, he's just never happy with what I do. Yes, he's happy, that's why he pays you. The fact that you get a paycheck is proof that your boss is happy with you. And so, don't allow your brows to become brass and just get all angry, bitter and mad at your boss, at your husband, at your mom, at your dad, at me. You know, sometimes when I'm ripping hard behind the pulpit, I have to look above your heads because I don't want to see your brows become like brass towards me. And it's happened in the past. And you know what, sometimes I see that and I'm just like, now it's time to park it here even further. Because obviously, you know, we need to pluck those brows. Let me just remove that unibrow. That spiritual unibrow you got going on there. What am I saying, at the end of the day, God wants us to be humble, he wants us to take correction, he wants us not to be a hypocrite. And look, stubbornness is not always bad. It's bad when God is telling us to do something and we don't want to do it. It's bad when the preacher is preaching against sin and you don't want to repent. It's bad when your boss or your husband is correcting you and you just are unwilling to turn. That's bad. But God actually wants to be stubborn. He just wants to be stubborn against the world, against the flesh, against the devil. This is what the Bible says when he says, I want your face to be as an adamant stone. You know, in other words, you know, the world is constantly trying to push garbage down your throat and worldly agendas down your throat and wicked ideologies and worldliness and filth and fleshliness and godlessness. And you know what God wants you to be? He wants you to be like an adamant stone and not change. To the point where the world is looking at you like, you're just being stubborn. It's like, yeah, I am. Because I believe the Bible. I believe the word of God and I'm not going to change. When are you guys going to remove Baptists from your side? That's so outdated. Never! Make our face as an adamant stone and guess what? We're going to continue to be called an independent fundamental Baptist church. And I'm going to continue to refer myself as a new independent fundamental Baptist too. Why? Because I'm stubborn about the things that I believe. And about the God that I serve. I'm stubborn about that. And God wants us to be like an adamant stone in that regard. You know, sometimes my wife and I will talk about our kids and we'll be dealing with like a stubborn child. You know, there's some stubborn children where it's just like, one spank just won't do it. They're just tough. Tough as nails. And then, you know, one thing that helps us to have hope is realizing that that stubbornness will one day be transferred to be stubbornness against the world, against the devil, against the flesh. You know, it's like that quality that God has given that child to be just adamant to keep the commandments of the Lord, adamant against the things of Satan, against the world. And so we need to be stubborn about the right things and not stubborn about, you know, or should I say, we need to be stubborn regarding the wrong things and not be stubborn about the right things. So what's Israel's stubbornness here? Look at verse number five. I don't even think I'm going to finish this chapter. It says, I have even from the beginning declared it to thee. Before it came to pass, I showed it thee. Lest thou shouldst say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image and my molten image hath commanded them. So they're specifically being stubborn about the fact that, like, you know, God is saying, you know, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen before it happens. I'm going to chronicle the past with accuracy because I don't want you to say, oh, that your molten image showed you this. That your false God showed you this because they're so stubborn that they're willing to believe that. And so, you know, this is essentially God telling the children of Israel, here's the evidence that I'm the one who's bringing this to pass. Lest you should say that it's your molten image that did it because you're a stubborn person who's not willing to, you know, essentially give glory to God that he's the one who's bringing this to pass. It says in verse 6, Thou hast heard, see all this, and will not ye declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. And by the way, look what it says in verse 7, They are created now and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou hurtest them not. Lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew them. Here's another quality of people who are stubborn, they know everything. That's why they're not willing to listen to correction. How many have talked to someone who's just like, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. It's just like, dang, what am I going to tell the person who knows everything? Right? Right? And you know, we don't want to be a person who just knows everything because here's the thing, you don't know everything. And apparently you don't know that you don't know everything. If you're that person who claims to know everything. You know, be a clean slate. And I remember, you know, Brother Hiles used to say, every man is my teacher. We're talking about the man who had like the largest fundamental Baptist church in his time. You know, he had a large fundamental Baptist church, one of the greatest soul winning movements of the fundamental Baptist history. And yet he himself, you know, preaching multiple times, leader of many, just great exploits for God. But even he said, every man is my teacher. You know what he means by that? He doesn't know everything. And he approaches every person with the attitude that this person might potentially teach me something. You know, as a pastor, every man is my teacher. And there are instances where after I'm done preaching a sermon, you know, on whatever topic, sometimes Brother Hike will come up to me. And we'll say, hey, you know, there's a particular passage here, you ever thought about this? And I'm like, whoa, that's way out there. You know, I'm just kidding. I'm just like, you know, that's a great idea. That's a great thought. And I'm never like, huh, who does this guy think he is? This Armenian guy, you know. People think they think they're the first Christians, Mount Ararat. All they got is good food. All of a sudden he's going to teach me. I never think that. Sometimes I do. But, you know, when he's telling me I don't think that, I think to myself, like, you know, he'll give me a call sometimes. You know, he'll call me and just be like, hey, I got a Bible interpretation. Have you ever thought about this? And I crack open my Bible and I'm like, hey, that's a good thought. And I'll sometimes joke with him. I'll say, I'm going to take credit for this. I'm going to preach and I'm going to take credit for it, all right? You know, because I think to myself, you know, that's a good. Why would I be stubborn and say, well, that's no, you're you're not a pastor. You know, I should be teaching you. You know, I'm the one who should be. No, my attitude is, you know what? That is a great thought. And you know why he has that great thought? Because he has the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within him. He's obviously a person who has, you know, the Holy Spirit. He's submitting to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He has the word of God as well. And I benefit from that. Why? Because every man is my teacher. Now, obviously, this is not something that happens on a consistent basis where my church members are teaching me the Bible. But in general, sometimes my church members will come up to me and give me a nugget of truth, you know? Why? Because we never want to be a stubborn person who thinks that we just we are the source of all knowledge. We are the ones who just know everything. We should be open to other ideas and truths, right? That people can get from the Bible as well. Verse eight, Yea, thou heardest not, yea, thou knewest not. By the way, sometimes Brother Hyde comes up with some crazy stuff, and I'm not going to use those as an example. You know, sometimes it's just, no, I'm just kidding. Most of the time, no. No, I mean, we've had some really good conversations. And look, sometimes, you know, if I come up with an idea, there's been instances where I come up with an idea for a sermon because I'm studying some particular thing, and I call him. And then, you know, sometimes it's just like he does not agree with it, and I'm like, well, I'm going to preach it anyways because you're just wrong. But sometimes it's just like, you know, he's like, you know, that's a great idea. I never thought about that. Like, oh, man, you know, and we just bounce back ideas. And, you know, but stubborn people can't do that, though. Why? Because stubborn people think that they're always right. Stubborn people think that they only have the right interpretation. Stubborn people can't admit that they're wrong maybe regarding a particular interpretation. We don't want to be that person, okay? We want to be the individual who's willing to learn all the days of their life, okay? Let me finish up here. Actually, I'm already done. So the remainder of the chapter deals primarily with God just declaring, the Lord declaring his control over Babylon from verses 12 through 15. And the fact that, you know, verses 16 through 19 is a really good chunk there where he talks about the fact that he teaches his people to profit. And I think that's a wonderful concept there because he's telling his people there that he's the one, he says in verse 17, Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. And he says in verse 18, O that thou hast hearkened to my commandments. And let me just finish with this thought here, and that is that, you know, the Lord is always benefiting us because he's always teaching us to profit. What? Profit in our marriage, profit with our child rearing, profit with our business, profit with making money, profit with health, profit with just all manner of life issues, right? And what is it all tied to, though? His commandments. And so we need to realize that, you know, obviously the Lord was causing Israel to profit, not just for their own good, but to what? To be a light unto the nations. Because when Israel profited, according to God, what God wanted was he wanted other nations to see that and then adopt the God of Israel as their God, understand? And in like manner, you know, when God profits you, he doesn't not just benefit your life, he wants you to be a benefit to someone else as well. He wants you to profit others around you. You know, has God blessed you financially? Well, you better be a blessing to someone else with those finances. Don't be a hoarder, amen? Has God blessed you with knowledge? Be a blessing to someone else with that knowledge. Has God blessed you with the hard work ethic? You know, whatever it is in your life that God has blessed you with, think to yourself, how can I profit others with what God has given to me, right? God has blessed me with fill in the blank. How can I use this to be a profitable Christian to others? OK, and so that is what I'm going to close off with there. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Lord, help us not to be a stubborn people. I know that in my personal life I could be stubborn and that is my sin nature. And I'm thankful that, Lord, you've given me the ability to just be adamant about certain things, especially about the things of God. And I feel like all Christians, we need to learn the importance of being adamant. But, Lord, help us to be aware of being stubborn, prideful, arrogant, obstinate. Lord, we will never grow as a Christian, as a husband, as a wife, as a church member, lest we learn to be corrected. And sometimes an older, godlier person, maybe they've read the Bible more, maybe they just have more discernment, can come to one of these young Christians and correct them. And, Lord, I pray that they would not be obstinate about that. May they have a humble attitude and realize that there's a potential for them to be wrong. And I just pray that, Lord, you'd help us to do so, help us to be clothed with humility and not be as the children of Israel, obstinate with our neck as an iron sinew. Lord, may we turn at your reproof. We love you. We thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Song number 116.