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