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All right, we're up to Isaiah 56 and the title comes from verse number 4. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me. The title for the sermon tonight is choose the things that please God. Choose the things that please God. And so God is speaking here of the eunuchs that keep his Sabbaths and he says, look, this pleases him. So let's start there in verse number 1. Thus saith the Lord, keep ye judgments and do justice. For my salvation is near to come and my righteousness to be revealed. Now to understand verse number 1, we need to also understand that, you know, when the scriptures were written, they weren't written with chapters and verses in mind. You understand that, right? We know that the writers wrote these epistles or these books and then several years later, you know, I believe with the hand of God, with the blessings of God, we were added these chapters and verses. So sometimes when we start with like verse number 1, many times we think it's a new thought, right, something new, something brand new, but many times it just carries on with the previous things that came before. And so what we had seen in chapter 55 was again, the return of Christ, his millennial reign, you know, that's been a major focus in the book of Isaiah. Now the reason I say that is because when you read verse number 1 and you read about his salvation is near, you can kind of maybe start thinking, well, maybe this has to do with the salvation of the soul. But really, when we understand that we've just finished speaking about, or we're just we're talking about the coming of Christ, and that he's going to rejuvenate the world and all these things, then you understand the salvation that is near isn't salvation of the soul, but of course, the salvation of the body. And we know that even today, we are looking forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, our very church is named Blessed Hope Baptist Church for a reason, right? We're looking forward to the Blessed Hope, we're looking forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what I want to do just very quickly, if you come with me to Titus, come with me to the book of Titus, keep your finger there in Isaiah 56. And come with me to Titus chapter 2, Titus chapter 2. So what we've also been doing as we go through the book of Isaiah, is we've been looking at similar teachings or similar themes found in the corresponding number of books of the Bible. So we're in Isaiah 56, now we're going to be looking at the 56th book of the Bible and I'm not going to ask anyone to guess what it is, but it's Titus, okay? That's why we're turning to Titus chapter 2, Titus chapter 2. Now as you're turning there to Titus 2, I'm going to read to you Isaiah 56 verse 1 again, all right? Let's pretend for a moment that this salvation is about the saving of your soul, all right? Going to heaven, like, you know, eternal life, that kind of salvation, right? Well, if you think about it like that, thus saith the Lord, keep ye judgment and do justice, for my salvation is near to come and my righteousness to be revealed. So if that was about how to go to heaven, like, salvation, like, of your soul, eternal life, then you would conclude, all right, to be saved, you need to keep God's judgment and you need to do justice. And here's the problem, you've already failed. You've already failed to judge adequately and to do justice because if you've sinned against the Lord, you have not done justice. You've broken his commandments. So if this is how you get saved in heaven, you've got the wrong idea, okay? Now because we're saved, God wants us to keep judgment. He wants us to do justice. He wants to allow us to live a life that is righteous and pleasing to God. Like I said, the title of the sermon today is Choose the Things that Please God. And what pleases God is judgment and justice, okay? Judgment is making the right decisions. Justice is, of course, choosing to do the right thing, right, choosing to do the right thing according to God, right? And so when we understand that, we come to Titus chapter 2, look at Titus chapter 2 verse number 12. Titus chapter 2 verse number 12 says, teaching us that, this is what we're being taught, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. And continue in verse 13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Like I told you, the title of the sermon is Choose the Things that Please God. And what we learn here in Titus chapter 2 verse 12 is that the things that please God is to deny ungodliness, it's to deny worldly lusts. What pleases God is to live soberly, to live righteously, to live godly in this present world. And we know that's hard. Because we know the world to come is going to be wonderful, the world to come, the new heaven, the new earth, there'll be no sin, there'll be no unrighteousness, not even a lie will enter into the new heaven and the new earth, the new Jerusalem that God creates. But in this present world, it's tough. In this present world, it requires a lot of effort to live a life that pleases God. But what helps us in living that righteous life is looking for that blessed hope. There's a reason why our church here is called Blessed Hope Baptist Church, right, we're looking forward to the coming of Christ. But as we think about Christ, I want you to think about how is it that I can live a life that pleases God in this present world. It's good to look forward to Him coming. It's good to be hopeful for the future. But in the meantime, I'm living in this present world, and I need to live a life and I need to choose the things that please God. So come back with me to Isaiah 56, Isaiah 56 and verse number four. Sorry, verse number one, look at verse number one, at the end of it says, For my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. And again, this idea, this concept of salvation is near, is that of course, that's what's leading up to the rapture is the great tribulation, okay? And many believers are going to lose their life in the midst of that great tribulation, but his salvation is near, okay? As we see in the New Testament, it says, Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. Your redemption or your salvation draws near. And my righteousness to be revealed, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one that is righteous. He is the one that's going to be revealed for us in heaven when we're caught up together with Him in the clouds. Now look at verse number two. Blessed is the man that doeth this. That doeth what? Well, it's already, keep judgment and do justice. God says you do these things, you live according to the way He wants you to live, He's going to bless you for it. Then it says this, And the Son of man that layeth hold on it, that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth His hand from doing any evil. So let's just finish that last phrase, keepeth His hand from doing any evil. So God does not want us to do evil, God does not want us to do wickedness, God does not want us to sin, right? We understand that repenting from sin is not required to be saved. In fact, if you're trusting and repenting from, turning from your sins, you're trusting in a worse gospel. But now that you are saved, now that you are saved by grace through faith, God wants us to repent from sins. God wants us to live a life that is pleasing and holy, and that we keep our hand from doing evil as it says in that passage. This is what God wants us to do. God wants us to choose the things that please Him. And one thing that pleases Him in this verse is the one that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it. So the Sabbath was a day of rest, right? I think we all understand that, we all acknowledge that. And so how do you pollute the Sabbath? We've works. So anyone that was doing works is polluting the Sabbath. Now you might say, well Pastor Kevin, why don't we keep the Sabbath today? You know, why are we meeting on a Thursday, why are we not meeting on Saturday? The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, which is Saturday. And you've got certain people that, you've got the Seventh-day Adventists, they have church services on Saturday pretty much. There are even Seventh-day Baptists, I don't know if you've ever heard of that before. Now look, if we decided for a reason, one reason or another, to meet on Saturday for church, it's not that it's wrong, okay? Every day is a day that we can meet for church. Any day that works for the best of the brethren, we can meet for church, okay? It's not that some days are evil and some days are better, all days are created by God, we can meet at any day possible. But obviously we meet on Sundays primarily out of tradition, and primarily because the first day of the week is when Christ resurrected from the dead. And so that tradition of, you know, coming to church, remember what Christ has done, the gospel message, that's another reason why we meet on Sundays. But let's talk about the Sabbath here, and if you can, come with me, keep your finger there, come with me to Exodus 31. Exodus 31. Exodus 31. So we need to understand that when Isaiah wrote these words, he's operating under the old covenant. Alright? Under the Old Testament. And in that covenant, they had to keep the Sabbath. As you look here, in Exodus 31, verse number 16, Exodus 31, Exodus 31, verse number 16, it says here, wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, look at this, for a perpetual covenant, a covenant that never ends. You say, oh, are the Jews, are they supposed to keep the Sabbath? Well, they kind of do. They think they do. They've got all these rules around how they keep it or whatever, alright? But let's keep talking about it. Like, so it's a perpetual covenant that is, and the sign of that is the Sabbath. Look at verse number 17, it is a sign, okay, it's a sign between me and the children of Israel, look at this, forever, why? For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. So the Sabbath is resting, the Sabbath is being refreshed, okay? Not working. In six days, God made the heaven and the earth. In six days, God worked, he created the universe, created all of creation, but on the seventh day, he rested. And he wanted this to be a sign between him and his covenants of people in Israel forever. You say, Pastor, why don't we do it today then, if it's forever? Well, you need to come with me now to the New Testament, come with me to Colossians chapter 2, Colossians chapter 2, Colossians chapter 2, please. Because today we don't live in Old Testament times, all right, today we don't have to operate out of a physical nation of Israel. Today we live in the new covenants, okay, the new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ. And Colossians 2, verse number 13, this is important, because when people say we don't keep the Sabbath, I always, I don't like that phrase, like, we're supposed to keep it forever. It's a covenant, it's a perpetual covenant between God and his people. It's something forever. And I always say to people now, I had to learn how to speak to people that kind of push back, oh, you have church on Sundays, you don't keep the Sabbath. But the truth is, I keep the Sabbath every single day that I ever, since I've been saved, I've kept the Sabbath. Every single day, and so do you. You probably don't even realize it, but you do. Okay, and look at Colossians 2, verse number 13, Colossians 2, 13, and you've been dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, have he quickened together with him, having forgiven all your trespasses. The word quicken is to be made alive, okay. So God has given us a new life, new life at this church, bless it up, it's good, it's all coming together. Now I need some people to crown, but anyway, let's keep going, right? But you know, God's given us a new life, he's given us a born-again spirit of God, right? And having forgiven all your trespasses, this is when we got saved. Look at verse number 14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. Now what is the handwriting of ordinances that were against us? You might not know, and I'm going to show you soon, but it's all of the Old Testament laws, okay. These laws are against us. You say, what does that mean to be against us? It's because if I go and steal Brother Ash's phone over there, all right, I've got the law of Moses that says, thou shalt not steal. Ah, it's against me, I've sinned against the Lord, right? When you've told a lie, and you've got one of the Ten Commandments, thou shalt not bear false witness, it's witnessing, the law of Moses is witnessing against you that you have failed the laws of God, you have failed the ordinances of God, all right? So salvation was never through the law, but the law is a schoolmaster to teach us that we're sinners against God, all right? Some people think, well, if I could just keep the law perfectly, I would be saved. That's not even true, because when Christ walked this earth, we know one of the commandments in the Old Testament was, thou shalt not commit adultery. But then when Jesus walks the earth, and says, well, if you've lusted after a woman, you've committed adultery with her in your heart. I've never committed adultery, yeah, but according to Jesus, you've committed adultery in your heart, all right? So even if you could, and it's impossible, but even if you could keep the laws, it's still not the righteousness of God. It's still not enough, okay? The law was always to show us that we're sinners in need of a Savior. So when Christ was crucified on the cross, and he lived the law of God perfectly, he had no sin, all right, his righteousness is what gets us to heaven, all of those laws were crucified with him to the cross, okay? So God can no longer, now that you believe in Christ, God can no longer use the law against us as sinners not deserving of salvation, because we have Jesus Christ, we're in him, we're saved through his righteousness, and so what is for us is Jesus Christ. The law was against us, but Christ is for us, and through Christ Jesus, I can go to heaven, all right? So when you understand that, then you understand that the laws of Sabbath keeping have also been crucified on the cross. They've also been nailed to the cross, and I'll keep showing you, if we keep going, I'm not just making this up, it says here in verse number 14, blotting out the handwriting of audiences that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailed it to the cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it. So because all those ordinances that were against us have been nailed to the cross, and because he has triumphed over principalities and powers, verse number 16 says this, because of that, let no man therefore judge you in meat, that's what you eat, because in the Old Testament, they had to eat clean, and not the unclean, but now you can eat unclean. Don't let anyone judge you because of your meat, or in your drink, or in respect of a holy day, so all the feasts of the Old Testament, right? You don't need to keep them today, right? It says here, all of the new moon, because many of the holidays were based on the moon cycle, new moon would represent the new month for them, and it says this, all of the Sabbath days. So all of these things have been nailed to the cross. They were against us, all right? And then you say, why is that? But wasn't the Sabbath day forever? Yes, yes, it is, because look at verse number 17. So the things that we just mentioned, your meats, the drinks, all those dietary restrictions, the holy days, all the festivals, the new moon, the Sabbath days, verse number 17 says about all these things, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. So all those requirements, the Sabbath keeping, all that, was a shadow of the body of Christ. All those things pictured what Christ would ultimately fulfill, okay? So when you have all the laws of Moses, Christ fulfilled them perfectly. When you have all these rules about sacrifice, Jesus Christ is our sacrifice. We have all these rules about the ritual cleansing before the Levites could serve in the temple of God that pictured the clean and righteous life, a lamb without blemish, the body of Jesus Christ. All of these things represent Jesus Christ in one way or another, all right? So if you say, well, we've got to keep the Sabbath, don't work on Saturday, we need to have church on Saturday, something like this, right? I mean, I don't know what that means. I do a lot of work at church. So like, oh, you're going to have church on Saturday, yeah, but don't I have to, isn't this work? Yeah. If you desire the office of a bishop, you desire for good work, am I not working according to God? But anyway, you know, it's that stupid idea, okay. Keeping the Saturday as a day of rest, look, it's okay, as a principle, have a day off, you need to recover, you need to rest, okay? You can't go crazy and just work seven days a week. Your body's going to get destroyed, your mental health's going to get destroyed, all right, and you die earlier than you should, right? You need to give your body a break every now and then, once in a while, okay? But keeping the Saturday as a day of rest was just a shadow, a shadow of the real Sabbath, which is Jesus Christ, okay? Now come with me to Hebrews 4, come with me to Hebrews 4, we need to add another layer to this please, in Hebrews 4, Hebrews 4, verse number 2. So God wants the Sabbath kept forever, all right, but the Sabbath of keeping the Saturday without work is just a shadow of the main thing that is the Sabbath, which is Christ, all right? So we turn to Hebrews and the book, the reason the book is called Hebrews is because the Hebrews were having a hard time transitioning from the old covenant to the new covenant. And so we have the book of Hebrews to help these people, you know, learn what do we need to continue, what needs to stop, et cetera, et cetera. And in Hebrews chapter 4, verse number 2, it says, for unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them. Now let me stop there, I just want you to notice that the context is the gospel being preached. How do we get saved? By believing the gospel, right? It says the gospel was preached as well unto them, the Old Testament believers, they also heard the gospel, as well as, sorry, as for unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them, okay? It's always been the same gospel, I've preached that many times, okay? It doesn't matter what time period you live in, salvation has always been by grace through faith. And then it says this, but the word preached did not profit them, why did it not profit them? Not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. So I can preach the gospel to you, but it profits you nothing unless you mix in your faith. Yes, I am going to put my faith in Christ, I am going to believe the gospel. That's what profits you, that's what saves you, right? You can hear the gospel, you can understand the gospel, but if you don't choose to put your trust on Christ, it profits you nothing, all right? Then it says this in verse number 3, for we which have believed, which we have believed what? The gospel, for we which have believed, look at this, do enter into rest. As he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. So what is the Sabbath? The day of rest. And the moment you believe the gospel, you've entered into that rest, you've entered into that Sabbath rest. I keep the Sabbath every single day and every single hour and every single minute and every single half, whatever the shortest time period there is, nanosecond, and probably there's probably less than that, right? That is my rest, I am constantly in the Sabbath rest, and this is why salvation is not by works, it's not what you do, salvation is the Sabbath rest. You go, oh, I've got to stop thinking I've got to be a good person to go to heaven, I've got to stop trying to, you know, put my efforts to go to heaven. Oh, now I realize that all of those laws were just a shadow to show me that I'm a sinner and the real Sabbath rest is Jesus Christ, and now that I know that he died for me and he rose again, he paid all my way to heaven, it's all free, I'm just going to rest in what Jesus did for me. And the moment you call upon the name of the Lord, you're saved, and you never have to work, you never have to work your way to heaven, you never had to work your way to heaven, Jesus Christ was always that Sabbath rest the moment you believed on him. And again, verse number 4, just in case you're not sure if we're talking about the Sabbath, just look at verse number 4, Hebrews 4-4, Okay, and we enjoy his creation, okay, that's what salvation has always been from the very beginning of the Bible. All right, now I had to cover that because as we keep going through Isaiah 56, it speaks of the Sabbath, but now that you understand that the Sabbath of the old covenant was just a shadow, I want you to start thinking about the Sabbath being Christ Jesus and the rest that he offers us with the rest of this chapter, I hope that makes sense. So come back with me to Isaiah 56, Isaiah 56 and verse number 3. Isaiah 56 and verse number 3 is what we're up to. Oh, by the way, let's go back to verse number 2, let's read it again. So there's a blessing if we keep the Sabbath from polluting it. So we know the Sabbath represents the gospel being preached, so we understand that the gospel is rest, it's faith alone on what Christ has done, not of works. So how does someone pollute the Sabbath? How does someone pollute the gospel? By adding the works. Oh, believing is not enough, you also have to turn from your sins. You also have to get baptised. You also have to confess your sins to some priests. You also have to fill in the gaps, whatever else that people say. When people start saying that, they are polluting the Sabbath. You know what, what we learn here is that as a church, if we continue to maintain the gospel with clarity, that it's not of works, that it's simply rest in Christ Jesus, God promises us a blessing for just doing that, for making sure we don't pollute the Sabbath, which represents salvation in Christ Jesus. Alright, verse number 3. Two things here. When we talk about from his people, under the old covenant, we understand that was the physical nation of Israel. And people say, well maybe in the New Testament, God's opened the gospel somehow to the stranger. No, it's always been available to the strangers. Even being part of that physical nation of Israel has always been available to the stranger. Let's read verse number 3 again. Gentiles. Did God ever have this divide that people keep talking about today? They're the pure breed, God's chosen people, but not you Gentiles. Alright, God's saying don't let the stranger, the son of the stranger ever say that God has separated me from his people. See, anybody could be saved at any point in time. You know, the Jews, the Gentiles, anyone that is saved in Christ Jesus, anyone that joins himself to the Lord are the people of God. From the Old Testament to the New Testament. So yeah, there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek. And then it says, neither let the eunuch say, behold I am a dry tree. Now the eunuch is someone, a man who is unable to have children. So don't let him say he's a dry tree because he can't produce children. So what we learn here in verse number 3, there are two, if we want to call them outcasts, people that maybe are looked upon, maybe the Gentiles and the eunuchs. Don't let the eunuch say that he's a dry tree. Now, this is very similar to the teaching in Isaiah 54. Come back with me to Isaiah 54. Isaiah 54 in verse number 1. Now the eunuch of course is a man. And what we're going to look at in Isaiah 54 verse number 1 are women. In Isaiah 54 verse number 1 it says, Sing, O barren, that thou didst not bear. Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child, for more are the children of the desolate, or more are the children of the barren, if you want to put it that way, than the children of the married wife saith the Lord. I'm not going to rehash the sermon that I did a while ago, but we understood that the barren woman represented Jerusalem which is above, which can have more children than the married wife. And I explained to you that was a spiritual teaching. That all of us are children of our mother, heavenly Jerusalem in heaven, and if you want more information about that you've got to go back to my sermon, otherwise it'll take too long. So the barren woman should rejoice because she can have more children, and the eunuch, the man who can't bring forth children, shouldn't say he's a dry tree, because he too can bring forth many kids. Now keep your finger there and come with me to Mark 4. Come with me to Mark 4, just to help you understand what this all means. Now I had to look this up according to Chat GBT. I hope it's right. According to Chat GBT, a woman called Valentina Vasilyev is the world record holder as how many kids a woman has ever had. And she lived in the 1700s and she had 69 children. 69. So there were twins, there were triplets, there were quadruplets, there was all kinds of craziness going on there. Now they say it's debatable as well, because they're not sure how well the records were kept back then. They're not sure if some of those were cousins or some of those were grandchildren potentially. But anyway, let's say it's 69 kids. That's the maximum that a married woman can have, right? If she starts really early and she has all kinds of strange stuff going on. So can the married woman have more than that? Yes. Can the eunuch have more than that? Yes. And in Mark 4, verse number 20, this is the parable of the sower. And this is just about the seed that brought forth much fruit. In Mark 4, 20, it says this. And these are they which have sown on good ground, such as hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. You see, the spiritual children are the ones that we bring to Jesus Christ. The ones that we see saved. The ones that we knock the doors, we give them the gospel, and they call upon the name of the Lord in faith, and they're born again. They've been born into God's family. They've been born into mother above heavenly Jerusalem. They've entered into that city, spiritually speaking. You can have thirty, sixty, and a hundred children, spiritual children, saved by your labours. And I guarantee you there are some of you here that have seen thirty salvations. Maybe some of you have seen already sixty salvations. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you guys, I'm thinking about brother Tim because he spent a long time in the Philippines, but I'm pretty confident he's seen a hundred salvations. So brother Tim, even if you didn't get married, you've brought more children than Valentina Vasigev. This is why, you know, it doesn't matter if, I mean, obviously we want to bring forth physical children, but God is emphasising how much more we can bring spiritual children to the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the things that please the Lord. So come back with me to Isaiah 56. And let's continue there, verse number four. Isaiah 56, verse number four. Doesn't that make a lot more sense? That if God blesses those that keep the Sabbath unpolluted, well, it's the gospel. It's a shadow of the gospel. And then that's why the eunuch can not say he's dry. He's not, oh, I can't have kids. No, you can have plenty of kids, Mr. Eunuch. Go out there and preach the gospel and bring forth many spiritual children in Jesus Christ. And then it says in verse number four. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths. So again, apply, think about that preach the gospel. Let's put it that way, okay? For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep preaching the gospel, if you want, and choose the things that please me and take hold of my covenant. See, preaching the gospel, sharing the Sabbath, the entering to rest in Christ Jesus. These things please God. You know, when you knock doors and you don't get anyone safe, you know how it is, guys. It gets tough, it gets, especially in the hot weather sometimes, you don't want to get out there, it's a lot of labor. But you know what? Even going preaching the gospel for an hour or two and it's hot, it's like, my wife had more labor pains per child. Like, even preaching the gospel is not as labor intensive as a woman bringing forth a physical child. But you know what? Preaching the gospel pleases God. Don't just go and knock on doors, even if you get rejected, it still pleases God. You're putting a smile on God's face. And that's all I want, is for God to look down on my life and to look at the church and say, I'm happy, I'm pleased at what they're doing. I know we're not perfect and we make mistakes, we mess up, but everybody does. But I want to be able to say, hey, Lord, you know, I'm trying to do the things that please you, you know? I'm trying to do what is right according to the gospel. I'm trying to do what is right according to your ways. Verse number five. So for the eunuchs that keep his Sabbaths, or for those that don't have physical children, but you're out there preaching the gospel, it says in verse number five, Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. God says if you're out there preaching the gospel, he's going to invite you into his house, all right? And he will have a place, a name, and you'll have a name. It's like you'll have a bedroom there with your name on it, right? It's like, that's my place in the house of God. And of course, what God is speaking about here is eternity. He's referencing eternity. If you can hold your finger there and come into Revelation chapter two, please. Revelation chapter two. God is clearly speaking about eternity here, okay? Where he gives a name better than of sons and daughters. That's better than physical sons and daughters, okay? We're spiritual sons and daughters. When you're saved in Christ Jesus, you're a joint heir and a child of God through him. But the Bible says in Revelation 2 17, Here they have an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saying he that receiveth it. We're going to get a new name. God's going to give us a name. And the only one that knows the name is me and God. It's kind of like with my kids, we've got names, but then we have like nicknames, all right? And like something that's unique, special. Right now, I don't know if I should say this, but she's still young. She'll probably never hear this sermon. But you know, Elena, she's about one and a half years old. We call her Pig. All right, that's a name that we just love because she's chubby. And, you know, when she wears pink, she looks like a little piglet or something. All right, so that's our loving name, believe it or not, that we give just to her. And you know, God has a special name just for you when you enter into eternity. Hopefully it's something better than that, though. But coming now to another passage, Revelation chapter 3. Revelation chapter 3 in verse number 12. Revelation chapter 3 verse number 12. The Bible says, Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name. So not only does God give us a new name, but he gives us a house, a home to live in. Those mansions that Christ went to repair. Remember he said he goes to prepare a mansion for us? And this is just the wonderful blessings. You know, when we often think about, I mean, I remember as a kid and being saved, I was just rejoicing on the fact that I'm not going to be judged by God, that I'm not going to have to be embarrassed with my sins before him, because they've all been, you know, Christ suffered the shame for me, and I don't have to suffer in hell. And that's a great motivator to get saved, don't get me wrong. But it wasn't till much later that I realized, hold on, it's more than just going to heaven. Like, it's more than just being saved from hell. I get to live with God forever. He makes me part of his royal family. He gives me this new name. We made kings and priests for him. We get to walk on streets of gold. And, you know, we have this housing crisis, a cost of living crisis, but there won't be any crisis in heaven. And we're going to have the best mansions. You know, it's going to be made, the city that we're going to live in is just, it's going to be amazing. It's going to be precious. And I can't wait to be with my Lord. I can't wait to see him face to face. So God promises us, for those that please him, those that are saved, those that have entered into the Sabbath rest, that we get to spend eternity with our God. Back to Isaiah 56 please, and verse number six. Isaiah 56 and verse number six. Also the sons of the stranger, to join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants. Everyone that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenants. We're going to apply that to the New Testament. If we keep the Sabbath without polluting it, we trust Christ and his work by faith alone, not by our works. We don't pollute the gospel. We take hold of that covenant, the everlasting covenant, the new covenant that God has given us. All right, we get to be his servants the moment you do that. Verse number seven. Even them, so even them, the sons of the stranger, the gentiles, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar, for mine house shall be called in house of prayer for all people. Obviously the fact that they're bringing sacrifices and offerings, that's talking about the old covenant, right? The Old Testament. God is saying even the strangers, even the foreigners, even the gentiles are allowed, if they've joined themselves to God, if they've been saved, they're even allowed to come and bring those offerings for the Lord in the temple or in the tabernacle. Oh, that's just for the Jews. No, he says it's the house of prayer for all people, for all people. Again, Christ has always opened the doors to the gentiles, okay? As long as they made the God of Israel, their God, okay? They were more than welcome to participate and be the people of God. So with that in mind, come with me to Matthew 21. Come with me to Matthew 21, please. Matthew 21. So the house of God is a house of prayer for all people, all right? So the house of God in the New Testament is your local church. It's blessed up church for you that are members here. So it doesn't matter what you are, whatever your background is, whatever your ethnicity. Man, there are some words I just can't get in my mouth sometimes. But anyway, whatever you are, you're welcome to the house of God, all right? If you're Lebanese, all right? If you're Persian, if you're just blue, true, true blue Aussies, whether you're South American, Chileans, or what else are you guys? Korean, Vikings, Vikings, Vikings. Oh yeah, Indian, all right? Whatever you are, you're welcome to the house of God, right? It's a house of prayer for all people. And that's how it's always been. I don't want to ever have a church where it's like, it's just white Aussie or something. Or just Filipinas, you know? Just South American and just Spanish. Otherwise, you're not welcome here. No, no, it's a house of God for all people. It's always been that way, okay? And the reason this is important, like what we're going to read here really ties in quite well with the continuation of this chapter. But in Matthew 21, verse number 12, we have this story. You guys know this story. And Jesus went into the temple of God, that's the house of God, and cast out all them that sowed and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the seats of them that sowed doves. Jesus just walks into the temple, okay? And he's not, he's from the tribe of Judah. So he's not a Levitical priest. The Levitical priests are the one, or the Levites were the ones that could serve in the house of God, right? He just turns up, you know, uninvited, I guess. I mean, he's the Lord God Almighty. It's his house. It doesn't matter, all right? He doesn't have to be invited to his own house, actually, right? But he just turns up, and he just turns over the table, sees all these people profiting from the house of God, and he throws it all on the ground in this anger. And then he says in verse number 13, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves. He goes, look, the house of God is not where we come and make business. It's not where we come and rip people off. It's not where we steal from other people. You know, and I think about pastors, like, I know, man, I'm telling you, there are some really horrible pastors, independent Baptist pastors, even here in Sydney. I won't name anyone, but, man, I know stories of like a widow lady, for example. I won't go into too much detail, but, you know, she knows she's surely going to pass away, and she's preparing her will. Normally you leave your will, your estate to your kids or your grandkids, whatever it is. And there comes the independent Baptist pastor in Sydney. Oh, don't forget to include me in your will. It's like, what are you, a thief? It's not yours. You don't go and ask. I mean, she leaves something for you. Praise God, it's a blessing, but it's not for you. It's for her kids. The righteous man leaves an inheritance for his children. Children, the Bible says in the book of Psalms. Or is it Proverbs? I think it's Psalms. But there are thieves. There are thieves that have churches here in Sydney, independent Baptist churches, and they're pastors, and, you know, I just don't understand. And I'll tell you what, like, I lived in a time before the internet, and, look, the internet was around, but, like, it was not great. You couldn't really listen to audio, let alone watch videos. And, you know, to hear a sermon, you'd have to go and buy sermon tapes or you'd have to go and buy CDs to listen to a sermon. It's like, why can't this be free? Why can't this be paid by the offering that comes through the church? Isn't it supposed to be free? And, boy, if I ever say to you guys, boy, you have to pay. You have to put your money here, brethren, and, man, I'm being a thief. Now, we need to give to the house of the Lord, don't get me wrong, but it's voluntary. It's yours to do. It's between you and God. All right? I believe in tithing. I believe in all that. I believe in what the Bible says, but I don't, for one minute, track whether people are tithing or not. I don't care. I don't go, oh, wow, that's how much money came in from brother so-and-so. I guess that's 10% times nine. That's God. I don't care. It's between you and God. All right? But there are thieves. There are pastors that are thieves. Okay? There was still all kinds of matter in the churches, and, man, if Christ walked into the church today, he would owe it for other tables. All right? Here comes Jesus. Let's allow him to preach with the word of God. He comes, and he goes to the bookshelf, to the book sales, and just tears it apart and says, you've made my house a house of merchandise. And I wouldn't want Christ to come like that. You know? I don't want to ever sell anything to you guys here. It's not for profit-making. It's not for business transactions. Okay? This house is a house of prayer. Okay? It's a house of the Lord. Now, this is important. Like, you might say it like, this is unrelated, but it's not unrelated. Okay? So come back with me to Isaiah 56. So we know that Christ used the words in Isaiah 56 when he was overthrowing those tables, when he made that whip and chased away the merchants. And in verse number eight, it says, the Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, yet will I gather others to him beside those that are gathered unto him. All right. So let's break down verse eight. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel. So who are the outcasts? Well, the son of the strangers and the eunuchs that we've seen so far in context of this, right? It says here that the Lord will gather the outcasts of Israel. And then he says this, yet will I gather others to him. So who are the others? Well, we'll soon have a look at this. Beside those that are gathered unto him. You know, God is seeking to gather more to him, more of the outcasts to him, all right? Now, come with me to Matthew chapter eight, please. Matthew chapter eight. Matthew chapter eight. Matthew chapter eight and verse number 10. More outcasts gathered unto him, okay? So not just interested in the people of God, in the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but God is also looking for the outcasts, he's looking for the eunuchs, he's looking for the downtrodden, he's looking for the gentiles, okay? And then we have this great story in Matthew eight, verse number 10. I know I've read it many times in the book of Isaiah, but it's so powerful to me. And this is when the Lord Jesus Christ healed the servant of a Roman centurion. And the Roman centurion tells Jesus, you can read in your own time, but he says, look, you don't even have to come into my house, just speak the words and I know you with authority, my servant will be healed. He's got this great faith in Jesus Christ. And in Matthew eight, 10, it says when Jesus heard it, he marvelled and said to them that followed, verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. He's obviously referenced in the Roman centurion, he's referencing the gentiles. He goes, the gentiles from east and west, they're all going to come together with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all the people of God together in the kingdom of heaven. Then he says in verse number 12, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Because the children of the kingdom, the Jews, many of them, obviously a lot of them rejected Jesus Christ. Christ rejecting Jews. They would rather follow Judaism, they would rather follow the religion of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the ones that hated Christ Jesus, rather than accept the Messiah that came to them 2000 years ago. And so just like the Old Testament, where God wants the foreigners, he wants the strangers, he wants the downtrodden, he wants the eunuchs to come in and be gathered unto him, the same is said of the New Testament. Because again, it's the same, salvation has always been available to all. So it doesn't matter what your physical ethnicity is, if you reject Christ, you will suffer weeping and gnashing of teeth. But if you accept Christ, you're going to sit down with all these godly men and we're going to feast together in the kingdom of heaven. Now come back with me to Isaiah 56 and verse number 9. Isaiah 56 and verse number 9. Because now you're going to understand what verses 9 to 12 are all about. I had to give you those New Testament references. So we've seen that there were people profiting from the house of God, making merchandise. We also saw that those that reject Christ Jesus are going to be destroyed. They're going to be cast out. So once you understand that, you put these together, then you understand verses 9 to 12. Because then God says, all ye beasts of the field come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. God is now saying, besides those that are saved, those that are His, now He's inviting the beasts, the animals, the wild animals, the predators to come and devour. What are they going to devour? They're going to devour people. Verse number 10. His watchmen are blind. They are all ignorant. They are all dumb dogs. They cannot bark. Sleeping, laying down, loving to slumber. The watchman here is a reference, if you want to put it to the New Testament, it's the New Testament pastors. Why? Because one of the names, one of the titles for a pastor is a bishop. And a bishop is an overseer, a watchman. He watches for your souls. That's what a bishop or a pastor is supposed to do. But God is saying these watchmen are blind. Because they're meant to see, but they're blind. They're dumb dogs. They're ignorant. So these wild beasts are coming to devour these people that are ignorant. These people that are blind. Verse number 11. Yea, they are greedy dogs. That's a watchman. Which can never have enough. And they are shepherds. Remember shepherd means pastor. They are shepherds that cannot understand. They all look to their own way. Everyone for his gain from his quarter. Come ye say they. I will fetch wine and we will fill ourselves with strong drink and tomorrow shall be as this day and much more abundant. So God is saying look, the outcasts, Gentiles, eunuchs, they're my people. You join yourself to the Lord, you're mine. But there's others. The watchmen. These pastors that God was relying on to get these Jews in line with God. He says they're blind. They're leading people to destruction. And so God is now inviting the wild beasts to come and devour these wicked people. It kind of lines up with what Christ was teaching. But those coming from the east and the west, coming to be part, you know, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the children of the kingdom being cast out. The wailing and the gnashing of teeth. Now come with me to Titus again because Titus is the 56th book of the Bible. Come with me to Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 1. And you can turn away from Isaiah 56 if you want. But Titus chapter 1. So, Brevin, when I read this, and, you know, I'm your pastor, I hope you can't say, man, my pastor is blind. I hope you don't say that. I hope I'm not blind. Right? But, man, these leaders, these watchmen are so horrible. Like they're so destructive to the people of God. You know, I hope you can say, look, my pastor is not blind. I hope you can say my pastor is vigilant. He's watchful. It says they are all ignorant. That means they're lacking knowledge. My pastor has knowledge. He says they are all dumb dogs. As in they can't speak. They cannot bark. I hope you can say, no, no, my pastor is willing to speak and to preach without compromise. This is about these watchmen. They sleep, laying down, loving to slumber. I hope you can say, look, my pastor is not lazy. My pastor travels, tries to come here every single week to come and preach for us. I hope you can say my pastor is not one of these blind watchmen. Other things that we learn about these pastors or these watchmen, they're greedy dogs. They can never have enough. They're shepherds that cannot understand. They all look to their own way. Everyone for his gain. And one of the things in the book of Titus that we learn here, in Titus chapter one, verse number five, we see some of the qualifications for a pastor. In Titus chapter one, verse number five, it says, for this cause, left I thee in Crete, that thou should have set in order the things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city as I had appointed thee. If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly, for a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre. Filthy lucre is filthy riches. And second Timothy has not greedy for filthy lucre, not given to filthy lucre. So what we see here is that pastors should not enter this field to profit from the people. But these blind watchmen in Isaiah 56, all they care about is their own gain. All they care about is their own way. They don't care about the people they're meant to be looking over. So what we have in Titus is the flip of what these blind watchmen were like in the Old Testament. Not only are they greedy for filthy lucre, but also in Isaiah 56 verse number 12 it says, Come ye, say they. So this is what the watchmen are saying, the blind watchmen. Come ye, say they. I will fetch wine and we will fill ourselves with strong drink. Because let's drink some alcohol together, guys. Let's fill ourselves up. Why? And tomorrow shall be as this day and much more abundant. Because look, let's just drink it up. Who cares about doing the things that please God? Let's just drink up. Tomorrow's going to roll around and it's going to be even better tomorrow. Not understanding that God's judgment is about to fall, that God is asking the beast of the field to come in and wipe out those people. And of course, the ultimate destruction of the Jews at this point was the hand of Babylon that would soon come afterwards. And like I said, one of the qualifications for a bishop, for a bishop must be blameless. The steward of God, not sell food, not soon angry, not given to wine. Pastors are not to drink alcohol. They're not to get drunk. They're not to be addicted to that substance. But these other watchmen, hey, I fetch wine and we fill ourselves. Let's drink it up together. So for everyone, like, I don't know, man, you may, I may not ever be like, always be your pastor and you know, things develop, things change. But whatever church you go to, brethren, whatever pastor you get yourself under, please compare like Titus, we have Isaiah 56. And if your pastor is like, hey, just let's just drink it up. It's fine. Let's just go buy some, some, let's go hang out at the pub. Let's go drink some beers. Brethren, that pastor is leading to destruction. He's going to destroy you. Okay. Well, God's judgment is going to destroy you. You know, pastors are not to be given to alcohol. They're not to be given to greed and finances and riches. Okay. We're here to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. So why? We are never going to sell anything here at Blessed Up Abba's Church. You don't have to pay anything to be here. Okay. You're welcome. We've got the live stream, the live online listeners. You don't have to pay anything to tune in. It's all free. Okay. Now, should you support your church? Of course you should support your church. Okay. But that's on you. That's between you and the Lord. But anything we get from here, brethren, is free because salvation has been free. I mean, how can I charge you guys for something I rest in? I don't have to work to get saved. I've got to rest in Christ Jesus. And I'm going to start charging you. Like, that's crazy. Crazy. Anyway, the title of the sermon tonight was Choose the Things that Please God. Choose the things that please God. What pleases God? Preaching the gospel. What pleases God? Not polluting the Sabbath. What pleases God is to do judgments and to do justice. What pleases God is to have the right watchman over you. That will preach you God's word. That will not be dumb dogs. Pastors that will bark sometimes. You know, I don't think I'm even that loud of a preacher. But I've had it said, Pastor, you need to stop lifting your voice so much. I'm supposed to bark like a dog. Woof woof! Right? That's what a pastor's got to be like sometimes. You've got to lift up your voice. And if anyone wants to be a pastor, you've got to lift up your voice sometimes and learn how to bark like a dog. All right, brethren. Choose the things that please God. Let's pray.