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Okay, so Isaiah chapter 4 verse number 2, In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious. The title for the sermon tonight is The Branch of the Lord. The Branch of the Lord. Some of you should know what that branch is. I think if you've read your Bibles you know a few of the Old Testament references refer to this branch of the Lord. But let's start during verse number 1 and look it is not a very long chapter tonight. Hopefully I don't go too long. But it starts in chapter 1. And in that day. Okay, so just by the start of the chapter and in that day. Obviously it's speaking about something that we've been reading about previously. So just a quick reminder, what is that day that's been referred to here? Come with me to Isaiah chapter 3, just the previous chapter there. And look at verse number 18. Isaiah chapter 3 just as a reminder, verse number 18. It says, In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feasts and their calls and their round tires like the moon. And so what we saw here is that we were looking at women that were proud, that were lifted up. They were focused on their outward appearance. They had all the garments on, they had all the tinkling sounds, the bells and the whistles. They had everything going on. Making it appear that on the outside they looked righteous and clean and wonderful. But Jesus Christ makes it very clear that they are filthy on the inside. And these women represented the nation of Judah as a whole. That Judah itself made it appear to be right with God, serving God but inwardly, full of wickedness. And even we read about worship and idols, things like that, of that nature. But drop down to verse number 24 in that chapter. It says, And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink. So instead of smelling nice like perfume, there's going to be a stench from these women. And instead of a girdle, a rinse, they're going to have ripped clothes. And instead of a well-set hair, boldness. And instead of a stomach, a girding of sackcloth and burning instead of beauty. And of course this is where God starts to take the illustration of the women of that day and applies it to the city of Jerusalem or the nation of Judah as a whole. And then it says in verse number 25, Thy men shall fall by the sword and thy mighty in the war. And we had a look that this was a reference to the Babylonian Empire coming in, taking over the land, destroying Jerusalem, and the soldiers of Judah will be killed. They'll be massacred. You read about it in the book of Jeremiah and the bodies are littered all over the ground and there's not enough time to even bury the dead. So you have this great massacre of men that take place. And in verse number 26, And her gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground. And so again the gates refer to the city of Jerusalem, but again we saw the parallel, the illustration of the women, and as their husbands go out to war, they're dying and these women are remaining as widows. They're losing their husbands, they're losing their sons, and there's great sadness in that day when Babylon takes over Judah. Now with that as our reference, when we go to Isaiah chapter 4 verse number 1, in that day, now we understand what they were talking about, when God's wrath falls upon the nation and the Babylonians destroy the city of Jerusalem, and many men have lost their lives in warfare, in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name and take away our reproach. So what is it that these women want from the men? They say, Hey, only let us be called by thy name. This is talking about marriage. They want to be married to that man. And the right thing, by the way, just another point here, it is right for a woman to take the name of a man. Ladies, when you get married, don't follow this feminist trend that says, Well, I'm just going to retain my name. No, no, even in a nation that is wicked and far from God, even then the women know I should take the name of my husband. And so when they're talking about let us be called by thy name, Hey, please marry us. You've got seven women who can't find enough men, they're widows, their husbands have died in war, and now they're trying to make a living for themselves, right? They're trying to make something of themselves, and there's very few men that you've got seven women chasing one man, saying, Can you please marry us? And normally, when you get married, in a normal scenario, the men should be the ones working, right? The men should be the ones bringing the bread, making the income to buy the bread, to buy the clothing, but these women are so desperate to get married. Look, marry us, we'll provide our own bread. You don't need to work for us. We'll provide for ourselves. Please marry us because they've lost their husbands in warfare, okay? And so what we see here as God's wrath falls, there's going to be a great massacre of the soldiers, of the men of Judah in this state with not enough women, sorry, not enough men to marry the women that remain on the land. Now, when we look at that day, look at how verse number two begins. In that day, so, hold on, so that must be about the same day that we read in verse number one. Now, that's fine if you think that, okay? But just a quick reminder, when we looked at Isaiah chapter two, we saw that, yes, God was speaking about the destruction of Judah, but we saw many, many references of the millennium. I don't know if you remember that for chapter two, all right? And we saw how the day of the Lord for Judah in that day was the destruction that filled by the hands of the Babylonians, but we also know that the day of the Lord is still to come, a future to come when God pours out his wrath on this wicked world. And after God pours out his wrath, we are then, we are Jesus Christ then returns and establishes his kingdom for a thousand years. And I want you to see that what we see in verse number two is a transition, just like chapter two. We see a transition from the destruction of God's wrath on Judah of that day to what takes place after God's wrath falls upon the earth. And what we're reading about here in verse number two is the millennial reign of Christ, all right? Let me show you why that is. It says in verse number two, in that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious. Now, let me tell you straight away, the branch of the Lord is a reference to Jesus Christ, if you don't know that, okay? And he's going to be beautiful and glorious. Now, when Jesus Christ came the first time on this earth, did he come looking beautiful and glorious? He didn't turn on the glory. He humbled himself. He looked like a regular man. In fact, the Bible says there is no comeliness in him. He just looked like a regular, you wouldn't even tell, if you walked past Jesus Christ in that day, you wouldn't have even noticed that was Christ, okay? He looked like just a regular person. So it's talking about a time when Christ would be glorious on this earth. It says, and not only that, it says, and the fruits of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And so we see even the earth is going to be very fruitful, all right? And what we see here is that when Jesus Christ reigns for a thousand years, the earth is going to be more fruitful than it's ever been. As far as we are aware, because the conditions are going to remind us very similar to the days of when Adam and Eve were created in the Garden of Eden, and before the weeds, before God cursed the earth, when Christ comes back, even the earth is going to be cleaned up to a certain extent, okay? And it's going to be very fruitful, it's going to be very plenteous. So even the earth is rejoicing at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let me just show you that this is not talking about Christ's first coming, which I'm trying to show you already, but his second coming, if you can come with me to Isaiah 11, Isaiah 11, please, and verse number 1, Isaiah 11 and verse number 1, and apologies, Rams, and if you can bring me a cup of water, that'd be great. I forgot to bring one. But Isaiah 11 and verse number 1, Isaiah 11, verse number 1, it says, and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. So from the lineage of Jesse, okay, we know that Jesse was the father of who? Of David, okay? So it's following that kingly line of David, and we know that Christ was a descendant of King David, obviously. It says, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Look at verse number 2. What is this branch? It says, verse number 2, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. So what's the branch? A him, a he, it's Jesus, okay? And you may recall when Jesus Christ came to this earth and he opened into Isaiah, he read a passage about himself where he said that the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, okay? Referring to himself. It says in verse number 2, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and he shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. Let's stop there for a moment. What we see here in Isaiah 11 is the introduction to the branch, and what we see in verses 1 and 2 is his first coming. You can apply this to a second coming if you want, but we see that, again, when Jesus Christ came and he read out of Isaiah, he spoke of a reference when the Spirit of the Lord will be upon him, okay? But what we see in chapter 3 and 4 is his second coming. Many times in the Bible, when it refers to Jesus Christ, it's hard to differentiate between what the first coming is and the second coming, okay? It's almost like it's all the one, which is why many times in the Bible, the Jews expected when Christ, when the Messiah came the first time, they expect him to establish his kingdom immediately. They expect him to take down the Romans. Even when Christ, before he sends us up to heaven, he gets asked the question, are you going to establish your kingdom now? I'm just paraphrasing, right? They're expecting that because many times you see the reference of the Messiah or the branch here, and you saw in chapter, in verse number 3, it speaks of him judging, all right? And let's continue there in verse number 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Did that happen in his first coming? Did Jesus Christ come with a rod of iron, right? Did he slay the wicked by just the breath of his mouth? No, that did not happen. When is that going to happen? Remember when Christ comes back after God pours out his wrath, all right? And he descends on a white horse, and the armies of the Antichrist try to rise up and fight against Jesus. We know that there is a sword that proceeds out of his mouth, a double-edged sword, all right? And by that sword, he destroys the beast and the armies of the beast. And so what we're seeing here is Christ coming back, establishing his kingdom. He's going to rule with a rod of iron, okay? But it's this branch, this stem that came out of Jesse, and of course when you think of branches or trees, it's something that develops and grows, right? It starts small and gets larger, and again the idea there is when Christ came, yeah, he started, but the full extent of his rule and command and authority is going to be realized at the second coming of Christ. Let's go to another passage. Come with me to Jeremiah chapter 23. Jeremiah chapter 23. We're looking at references of the branch. There's quite a lot of references of the branch. We're not going to be looking at all of them, but Jeremiah 23 and verse number 5. Jeremiah 23 and verse number 5. Jeremiah 23 verse 5. The Bible reads, Behold, the days come, sayeth the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch. Well, that makes sense because we saw that it was from Jesse. Well, Jesse was the father of David, okay? And then out of David a righteous branch, look at this, and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Again, did that take place at Christ first coming? No, it took place at his second coming, okay? So we see that when Christ comes, he's executing judgment and righteousness. Now, for many of you, myself included, they get frustrated by the justice system in Australia and in fact across this entire world, where the wicked seemingly get away with everything and even the innocent, the things that God does not even call criminal offenses, you know, get judged harshly. And you may feel that your government are stripping away your rights and your freedoms and there's that frustration that comes with the governments of this earth. These passages are here in the scriptures to give you comfort that one day, government is going to be righteous, okay? Justice is going to be served. The wicked are going to be punished righteously, adequately, okay? Not based on the judgment of men, but based on the word of God, based on the judgment of Jesus Christ. He's going to rule on this earth, okay? I mean, think of a, you know, usually the word dictator has a negative connotation, but that's what Christ is going to be, a benevolent dictator, okay? He's going to have authority. All powers are going to be submissive under him and the most amazing thing for us that are saved right now, we're going to be enforcing those laws under Jesus Christ. We're going to have authority. We're going to be kings. We're going to pass judgment in that day, okay? So if you want to know, how am I going to pass judgment? Start to know God's word now. Start to read his word now. Start to know God's laws now so when you are put in authority, you already know what you have to do. You already know how to pass judgment righteously, okay, according to God's word. You're in Jeremiah 23, aren't you? Come with me to Jeremiah 33, verse 15. Jeremiah 33, verse number 15. Jeremiah 33, verse number 15. Jeremiah 33, verse number 15. The Bible reads, In those days and at that time will I cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David. There it is again, right? I mean, the Bible's so beautiful and consistent, isn't it? And he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. Look at verse number 16. In those days, which days? The millennium, okay? At this point, we're talking about the millennial reign of Christ. In those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name wherewith she shall be called the Lord our righteousness. So, when will Jerusalem dwell safely? In the millennium. So, if you've been tricked into sending money to the Middle East for peace, you're not going to bring peace now, okay? There's going to be bloodshed and war and hatred. There's going to be divisions. The Lord is not going to be exalted on that land until the millennium, okay? So, look, I'm all for peace on this earth, don't get me wrong. I'm not for warfare, okay? But what we see, true peace, true safety is going to be in that land when Christ returns because he's going to rule and reign from that very capital city, okay? From Jerusalem. And then it says in verse number 17. And this is why we know this is about the millennial reign of Christ. For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. Meaning, the want there, David shall never lack, let's put it that way, shall never lack a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. Now, right now, there is no man that sits on that throne. Like that kingly line of David in the Middle East, in Israel today, nobody's sitting on that throne, okay? So why promise us there's going to be a time when there will never be a time when a man is not sitting on that throne? And we know that's speaking of the eternal nature, right? When Christ comes, he rules for that thousand years, then when all powers are subject unto him at the end of that thousand years, he then gives the kingdom over to the Father, you can read about that in 1 Corinthians 15, and God creates a new heaven and a new earth and God will reign eternally, okay? But you can see here, this is definitely a reference, not of 1948 Israel, because there is no king on the throne today, this is a reference to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. That's when there's going to be peace, proper peace and safety, okay? That's when there's going to be no more warfare on that land and Christ is going to rule. Show this earth finally what it is to have the laws of God righteously over the entire earth. Come into another passage, Zechariah chapter 3, Zechariah chapter 3 and verse number 8. Say, Pastor, while we turn into all these passages, just showing you a few passages where the branch is very clearly laid out to be Jesus Christ, and very clearly speaking about the millennium, okay? So when you read Isaiah, you need to be able to come to understand, okay, there is a reality for Isaiah and the people of Judah of that day, but there's also prophecies, okay, or fulfillments that will take place when Christ rules in his kingdom, okay? In Zechariah chapter 3, verse number 8, Zechariah chapter 3 and verse number 8, it says, Here now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wonder that, for behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. Okay? You see the branch here. What do we learn in verse number 9? It says, For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, Now, very quickly, I believe this stone, I believe, is referring to the cornerstone of Jesus Christ, okay? But it says, Behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. The Bible speaks of Christ having the seven spirits of God in the book of Revelation, so we might be seeing this illustration here. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, save the Lord of hosts. Look at this, and this is so important, this is so important. And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. There are so many references about Judah, you know, and the wonderful promises given to the land of Israel that you read about in books like Zechariah and Jeremiah, and there is a lot of error because when modern day Israel was established in 1948, a lot of prophecy experts, I don't know why, but they concluded that 1948 is the fulfillment of many of these prophecies. But you can see from Zechariah 3.8, this can't be 1948 Israel. This can't be modern day Israel, because Christ promises when the branch is established in that day, He says, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. There's still iniquity on that land. I mean, how many years has it been now? It's 1948 when they were established, it's 2020, I don't even know, I didn't count, I did do the math. Can someone tell me? Can someone work it out? We've got the 50s, the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 70 years, over 70 years. And there's still iniquity in that land. The promise of Christ, all iniquity is going to be removed in that land in one day. When Christ comes, He wipes out, look, that is a one day war. Like when Christ comes, He wipes out the antichrist. And the beast and the first prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, and we know the armies of the antichrist, we read about in the Revelation, where the birds, the hunter birds, what do you call them? I'm thinking of a word, huh? Birds of prey, birds of prey are feasting on the bodies of these dead soldiers. We don't have to wait, okay, Lord, can you please teach us your laws and your righteousness? We've got a thousand years. Jesus says, one day we're going to be righteous. In that one day, we're going to establish His laws and weakness is going to be purged. And of course, that's not yet happened. And so many prophecy experts applied this in 1948. Completely wrong. And that's why there's still no peace. This is why they still don't acknowledge the branch of Jesse. That's going to happen in the millennium. Come back with me to Isaiah chapter 4. Actually, sorry, sorry, sorry, Zechariah chapter 3. One more passage, are you still there? Hopefully. Verse number 10, it says, In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree? Shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree? Meaning that it's going to be like, right now, you've got, you know, the Palestinians versus the Jews. Okay, but in that day, everyone's going to be a neighbour. Like there's going to be peace once again, right? There's going to be purity, there's going to be cleanliness, there's going to be justice. Right? God, Jesus Christ, the branch of Jesse is going to rule and it's going to be a wonderful time. Okay? Wonderful time of peace. And everybody, as it were, will be neighbours. Now, come back with me to Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 4. Isaiah chapter 4. And back to verse number 2, because there's something else there that was kind of interesting. Let's read verse number 2 again. In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious. Again, we know that's the millennial name of Christ. And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely. So we know that the earth is going to have a revival, as it were. It's going to be fruitful. For them. For who? For them that are escaped of Israel. What does that sound like to you? It should remind you of Matthew 24. Come with me to Matthew 24. For them that are escaped of Israel. Okay? Now, remember, verse number 1 of Isaiah 4 was about God's wrath. After God pulls out his wrath, he establishes his millennium, which is what we're reading about in verse number 2. Okay, so just follow the chronology here. Okay? Now, in Matthew 24, verse number 14. Matthew 24, verse number 14, Jesus teaches about the last days, the end times. In Matthew 24, 14. And look, I don't believe we should be fearful of the end times. I don't think we should be fearful. This is why, because verse number 14 is so powerful. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. And then shall the end come. Look, when we get to these last days, you as God's servant, you're going to be used in a powerful way by the Holy Spirit of God. Because who's going to be preaching the gospel? Us. Us? I mean, who else? Who else? And the gospel's going out throughout the entire earth, right? The entire world. And then what we see in verse number 15, Jesus Christ says these words. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand. Now, I don't have time to show you this, but in the book of Daniel, this takes place in the middle of that seven year period to come. In the middle of the seven year period is when the Antichrist exalts himself, creates some type of idol or some image, maybe run by AI, can speak, and people worship that image. Jesus Christ says when that happens, it's already a midway point, this point. Alright? Then he says this in verse number 16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. I'll read that again. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Why would, and look, who's going to flee into the mountains? Well, it says it there, right? Those that are in Judea. They're Jews, yes. I would say, yes, largely Jews, because probably who they live in Judea. There's also Palestinians that live in Judea, right? Like even today. But who's going to be following the words of Jesus Christ? Like if Jesus, like right now, right? So let's say Jesus has command in the scriptures, alright, in the New Testament. And you show a Jew the scripture today. Jesus said do this. Are they going to do it? Look, the ones that are going to be fleeing into the mountains are those that believe in Jesus, is what I'm trying to say. It's a command of Jesus, alright? So these are people, yes, Jews, Palestinians, any other people that are on that land during that day, they are saved. Some of those are going to be saved because the gospel of the kingdom has gone out for all nations, okay? And those that follow the words of Christ are obviously believers. They're going to flee, okay, during this time when the antichrist starts persecuting the people of God. And then we know the rapture takes place, God's wrath falls upon this earth, then the millennium. So those that listen to the words of Christ, those that are believers, are going to be those that will be blessed in the time of the millennium. Okay? And again, you say the rapture, yeah. We also, we raptured and we also will come back with Jesus Christ on that white horse. And so we're also going to experience that day, the millennial reign of Christ, you know, the glorious, where it's beautiful and glorious, we're going to be part of that as well. I just want to show you that what's seen in verse number 2, them that escaped out of Israel, you know, we can see that it's those that have listened to the words of Christ. They're Christ followers, they're not Christ rejectors. So the reason I wanted to point that out is because when we say the word Jew, you know, are we talking ethnically, are we talking religiously? You know, obviously if they're ethnically Jews but they're believers on Jesus, they're Christians is what they are. They're Christ followers that saved and those, of course, that leave that land are going to be blessed in the millennium to come. They follow the words of Jesus Christ. So let's go back to Isaiah chapter 2, sorry, Isaiah chapter 4 and verse number 3. Isaiah chapter 4, verse number 3. It says, now we're talking about millennial reign of Christ still. And it shall come to pass that, now, because this is so important because it sounds like verses 2 and 3 are contradictive. It sounds like that if you only apply it to the Babylonian takeover. Because you say that those that escaped out of Israel are the ones that are blessed, right, in verse number 2. But look how verse number 3 begins. And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, well we know that Mount Zion is where Jerusalem is, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem. See, hold on, those that escaped get to be blessed and they participate of the land and the millennial reign of Christ. Now it's, what's the word, I'm not congratulating, but it's lifting those that remained in Jerusalem. Those that are living in Jerusalem, right, the ones left in Zion. Like which one's right here? And this is why I wanted to show you that verse number 1 begins with God's wrath. Verse number 2 begins with the millennium, okay. And so when we have the antichrist who lifts himself up in the midst of the week at the great tribulation, yes, the right thing to do for those that are on the land is to escape, to escape into the mountains, to get out of there, because that's where persecution is going to be the worst. But then when we come into the millennium, the right place to be now is in Jerusalem. Okay, the right place to be is in Judea. You know, you escape when the antichrist is trying to establish his kingdom from Jerusalem, but when Christ has established his kingdom in Jerusalem, that's the place to be. Okay, so what we're seeing is the distinction from the escape during the great tribulation to those that will be with Jesus Christ in the millennium, okay. And then it says, It's very similar. Again, you know, we need to understand that Isaiah is speaking of real-time events coming down the future of the Babylonian empire, but we also see the parallels of Christ's millennial reign, okay. And so, look, those that left Jerusalem, those that left Israel, as it were, and surrendered to the Babylonians, hey, they did well, didn't they? They did well. They listened to God's command, and they were treated well in the land of Babylon. And so they escaped, as it were, out of Israel, but then 70 years later, Christ brings them back into the land, and they're called holy, and they're blessed, and they rebuild the city, and they rebuild the temple, and once again, they're the people of God on that land. And the parallel of that is in the tribulation. Those that are in Judea need to get out of there if they're obeying God's commands. Get yourself out of there because there's great tribulation, but then in the millennium, the right thing to do is to come back into that land, and they're going to be blessed. And so I want you to see that the two events are very similar in that regard, okay. And both of those things associate themselves with the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord in the time of Judea here is when the Babylonians took him over, but the day of the Lord is the future to come when God pours out his wrath, the seven vials, and the seven trumpets of the Lord that we read about in the book of Revelation. I hope that makes sense to you. I hope that makes sense. But what we see here, that when the Lord comes in his reign for a thousand years, that he's going to wash away the filth of Zion, okay. The daughters of Zion we saw earlier, they looked pretty on the outside, they had all the garments on, okay. Well, Jesus Christ is going to re-establish that nation, okay. And I'm not talking about a nation of ethnic Jews. I'm talking about the Israel of God that all believers, Gentiles, Jews, Greeks, and what have you, everybody that is in Christ Jesus, okay, makes up that Israel of God. Don't forget what the book of Romans says. He is not a Jew that is one outwardly, but he is a Jew that is one inwardly, the circumcision of the heart. If you believed on Jesus Christ with your hearts, you are a Jew inwardly. That is the Israel of God, okay. And so that's when Christ is going to rule for that thousand years with his people, and we're going to be called holy, those that have trusted in Christ. Now, at the end of verse number four, it spoke about the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, okay. Like washing out the filth. Now, we're in Isaiah chapter four, and I had mentioned that the chapters also correspond with the books of the Bible. So if we're in chapter four, what's the fourth book of the Bible? Numbers. Numbers, woohoo, okay, numbers. So hold your finger there and come with me to Numbers 11. Numbers 11, all right. So with the spirit of burning, Christ is going to, you know, remove the iniquity of that land, all right. Now, when we get to Numbers 11, verse number one. Numbers 11, verse number one. Now, before you read, I'll give you the context. So we're at a point here where Moses has led the people of Israel out of, sorry, the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, okay. And they're in the wilderness. They've been in the wilderness now for two years, all right. And during those two years, look, again, they're in the wilderness. And during two years, the nation's still there, meaning that God has provided all their needs, amen. God's taken care of all their needs. And brethren, before we read this, can you say to me that God has provided all my needs till this day? I know, I know you've been, I can see you clothe. I can see that, I'm sure you've eaten, otherwise you'd be skinny as. So I can see you've eaten and you're clothe. God provides our needs, all right. But here's where we can make a mistake as God's people. And in Numbers 11 verse 1 it says, and when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. Brethren, when we complain about our lives, it displeases the Lord. You know, there are certain things that I hate as a pastor or as a father, or even as an employer, okay, when I've employed people, is complaining. Like, look, if you've got something to complain about this church, I don't mind if you pick up on something that needs to be fixed. And I've said this before, but I expect you to come to me, pastor, there's an issue at church, and this is how I'm willing to address it. Then I know you mean well. Then I know, look, I'm coming, pastor, with a solution to our church. But if you just come to complain and criticize, not only does it displease me, it displeases the Lord. Let us not be a people that whine and complain. And look what it says here in verse 1, it says, and the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled. Look at this, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them. They were in the uttermost parts of the camp. God's been looking after them for two years, and they complain again, and God's had enough on these people, and they burst in fire. I mean, what a way to die, right? What a way to be wiped out, where God just sends a fire. You may not even remember this in the scriptures, because there's such a short reference to it here in Numbers 11, okay? It says there, and consumed them, they were in the uttermost parts of the camp. Look at verse number 2, and the people cried unto Moses, and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place, Tebarah, because the fire of the Lord burnt among them. Look, it's not right for us to just whine and complain. Look, God's taken care of you. God's given you your needs, right? I mean, you're taken care of. You live in one of the best countries in the world. Why do people migrate to Australia? If you don't appreciate Australia, look, I know Australia's a wicked nation. Don't get me wrong. But there are so, most other countries on this world are significantly worse than Australia. People want to get out of those countries and come here, and what we, we feel like our libies have been taken away from us. People are coming from other countries, and they're going, wow, so much freedom, so many opportunities, you know? And we complain, and we whine, or we complain about church, or we complain, oh God, you know, we compare ourselves to other people. They seem to be doing well. They've got a nice car. They've got a nice house. Why can't I have what the rest of this world has? But you know that God's provided all your needs. Brethren, it's not right for us to complain. Come with me to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. The reason it bothers me, especially church members complaining, is because I can't do any more. I feel like I'm given, I'm given of myself as much as I possibly can to serve the Lord and to serve my brothers in the Lord. I'm trying to do what I can, you know? Or as a father, when kids complain, I'm not saying to serve my kids complain, but as fathers, you go to work Monday to Friday, you labour hard, not for your own profit. You labour hard to make sure your family have what they need to take care of themselves. And then how do you feel when you work Monday to Friday, you know, 9 to 5, whatever your hours are, and then your wife's complaining, your kids are complaining. Doesn't that just burn you up on the inside? You give so much of yourself and no one appreciates it. They're in the wilderness because of their bad decision, not because God wanted them there. God wanted them there in the Promised Land. But they whine and complain. Look at Philippians 2.14. The Bible says, do all things without murmurings and disputings. Don't murmur. We've got like the best life. Just as an Australian, just as an Australian, just from a carnal perspective, you've got one of the best lives in this world. Anybody, pretty much anybody in this world would want to trade lives with you right now. And not only do we have the carnal blessings, but you're a child of God. You've got the spiritual blessings. You know where you're going in eternity. You know that if after service you had a car crash and you passed away, you know exactly where you're going to be, in the presence of the Lord. You don't even have that worry. What's going to happen to me in eternity? And you know that in eternity you've got all the blessings. You're a joint heir with Christ Jesus. What do we have to complain about? Oh, it's raining. Praise God for the rain. Do all things without murmurings and disputings. Look at this. Verse number 15. That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. We know that many times being the light of the world means preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes. But it's also our behaviour. It's our character. You know what? If we don't murmur, disputify, complain, people are going to say, you're different. You're like this light in a place of darkness. You know, your life can be a testimony for Jesus Christ as a son of God. Say, what do I have to complain about? I'm saved. My sins are forgiven. I'm going to heaven. I've got food and raiment. What do I have to complain about? Complaining displeases the Lord. And the judgement that fell upon the physical nation of Israel at this time was the fire that consumed them. I just want to show you just how much God despised. Because I despise it a lot. I really do. And if I despise it a lot, I can't despise it anywhere near as much as God does. Murmuring and complaining and whining. Come back with me to Isaiah chapter 4. And verse number 4. I probably should have said, keep your finger in numbers, but it won't take you too long to get to numbers. It said in verse number 4, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the orders of Zion, then shall he have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgement and by the spirit of burning. So I just want to show you the similarities there with the book of Numbers. And verse number 5. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies. Now again, we're talking about the reign of Christ. It's about the millennial reign of Christ. And we know he's going to rule from Zion, from Mount Zion. And upon her assemblies. So we're going to assemble. We saw this again in Isaiah chapter 2. People are going to go to Zion to hear the word of God preached. In the millennial reign of Christ. And upon her assemblies, a cloud and a smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night, and upon all the glory shall be a defense. Now when Israel, children of Israel came out of Egypt, remember how God provided them the cloud. That gave them shade in the day. And that fire, the pillar of fire, that also protected them from the armies of the Egyptians as they fled. Well, that's going to be seen again in the millennium. When Christ from Zion dwells and rules from that place. Come with me now again back to Numbers, just again comparing the book with the chapter. Come with me to Numbers chapter 9. Numbers chapter 9 and verse number 15. Numbers chapter 9 and verse number 15. Now of course when the children of Israel left Egypt, the tabernacle was not yet set up. Because God had to give them instructions of how to build it, how to serve in that tabernacle. What we see here in Numbers 9, 15, Numbers 9, 15, it says, And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up, and now the tabernacle is finally done, the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely the tent of the testimony, and at evening there was upon the tabernacle, as it were, the appearance of fire until the morning. So at the tabernacle you've got the cloud in the day, and then at evening at 6pm when the sun goes down at sunset, it's now a fire, a pond there. And then verse number 16. So it was alway, the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed, and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. So they set up the tabernacle, alright, and when they see the cloud or the pillar of fire move, they had to pack up, not just pack up the tabernacle, but they would pack up their own tents, their own dwelling places, and follow that cloud or follow that pillar of fire. They were to follow the Lord. And you keep reading in this chapter, they could follow, it could be at any point in time, they would have to pack up and leave. Like God might stop for one day and they'd set up, and then the next day the Lord might leave, they'd have to pack up and leave. The Lord might set up for months or for years, and they had to just stay there where God wanted them to be, He wanted them to be during that time. And so what God is instructing Israel during this time is obedience. Faith and obedience. When God moves, you move. When God tells you, you go. And you say, yes Lord, your will be done. Now, come back with me to Isaiah chapter 4 and verse number 6. Isaiah chapter 4 verse number 6. It says, And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covet from storm and from rain. Okay, so just showing the parallels there with numbers. But what lesson can we take out of this? I want to apply, you know, we've seen some of the things with the end times, we've seen some things with the book of Numbers here, and of course think of the Babylonian captivity to come at that time. But what application can we take out of this today? Alright. Again, verse number 6, And there shall be a tabernacle. The tabernacle in the Old Testament was also called what? I always say this, the house of the Lord. Alright, the house of God. And then the temple took that name, the house of the Lord. And again, I always say this, because whatever applications we can see here, we can apply it to the New Testament house of the Lord, which is what? Your church, your local church. The local church is called the house of God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. And so the parallel that we can take out of this, brethren, if we look at verse number 6, let's read it again. Reverend, this is a wicked world out there. I'm not talking about the natural elements here. Okay, it's raining right now and we've got a building, but the building is not the house of the Lord. The church are the people of God. Where we assemble, if we assembled a cross at the park there, it'd still be church. We just won't be protected by the rain, right? But the point is, brethren, is that church ought to be a place where we're protected from the heat of the wickedness of this world. Okay? It says, and for a place of refuge. I hope when you come to bless it up at this church, you feel like, man, I'm in a safe place. Isn't that what they want in universities these days? Safe spaces? Perversion of the world. You know, that's what the house of the Lord ought to be. And so many churches today just look like the clubbing scene. Right, you walk in, it's dark, you can't see anything, the music's so loud, it's drumming out, you can't even speak to one another. Look, I'll confess my sins. I don't know, I went to an under-18s dance party one day. I was under 18. And the music was just so loud and it was so dark and all these coloured lights. I just didn't want to be there. I can't even think. I can't even talk to my friends. I don't want to be there. But so many places called churches these days are essentially the same thing. They're not a refuge from the world. It is a place of wickedness. They are a place of lies. And brethren, we need to make sure that our church is a refuge. It's the house of the Lord. A place of protection. It says that for a covet from storm and from rain. We know that Christ uses the illustration of His word being the rock. Right, and if we establish our house upon the rock, when the storms come, our house will stay standing. Okay, from the storms and from the rain. You know, the illustration we can take out of this is storms and the rains being tribulation, trials, difficulties. Life is not easy. Even after you get saved. There's still problems. There's still wickedness. Yes, we have God's help. Praise God. Yes, we've got His word. Praise God. And you know what, church will be a place where God's word is preached. So you can establish your lives, your house upon the rock. You know, and that it will never fall. I never want to see you guys at a church. Saying, oh man, God's word doesn't work in life. No, you know what, God's house and God's word is a place of refuge from this world. And we need to make sure we maintain this here at Blessed Baptist Church. We need to make sure that when we select a pastor, a full-time pastor for this church, we make sure it's a man who wants to ensure this place remains a refuge from this wicked world. All right, brethren. Isaiah 4, the branch of the Lord. I'm looking forward to the millennial reign of Christ. Let's pray.