WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.640 Morning. I'm going to be reading from Isaiah 9 verse 8 to a long way down into chapter 10 and then Steve will take over because it was a little reading. 00:00:13.780 --> 00:00:25.859 ! The Lord has sent a message against Jacob. It will fall on Israel. All the people will know it. Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria who say with pride and arrogance of heart. 00:00:25.859 --> 00:00:33.960 The bricks have fallen down but we will rebuild with dressed stone. The fig trees have been felled but we will replace them with cedars. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:45.079 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin's foes against them and has spurred their enemies on. Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. 00:00:45.760 --> 00:00:50.659 Yet for all this his anger has not turned away. His hand is still appraised. 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:56.259 But the people have not returned to him who struck them nor have they sought the Lord Almighty. 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:03.519 So the Lord will cut them off from Israel both head and tail. Both palm branch and reed in a single day. 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:08.699 The elders and dignitaries are the head. The prophets who teach lies are the tail. 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:14.259 Those who guide this people mislead them and those who are guided are led astray. 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:20.400 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men nor will he pity the fatherless and widows. 00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:24.640 For everyone is ungodly and wicked. Every mouth speaks folly. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:30.860 Yet for all this his anger is not turned away. His hand is still appraised. 00:01:32.160 --> 00:01:36.640 Surely wickedness burns like a fire. It consumes briars and thorns. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:42.319 It sets the forest thickets ablaze so that it rolls upwards in a column of smoke. 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:48.460 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire. 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:53.620 They will not spare one another. On the right they will devour but still be hungry. 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:56.620 On the left they will eat but not be satisfied. 00:01:57.560 --> 00:01:59.859 Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring. 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:04.719 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim and Ephraim on Manasseh. 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:06.980 Together they will turn against Judah. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.520 Yet for all of this his anger is not turned away. 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:12.759 His hand is still appraised. 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:15.699 Woe to those who make unjust laws. 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:17.900 To those who issue oppressive decrees. 00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:22.579 To deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people. 00:02:23.219 --> 00:02:26.000 Making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.599 What will you do on the day of reckoning when disaster comes from afar? 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:32.580 To whom will you run for help? 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:34.300 Where will you leave your riches? 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:40.039 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:43.319 Yet for all this his anger is not turned away. 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:44.920 His hand is still appraised. 00:02:45.780 --> 00:02:48.120 Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger. 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:50.699 In whose hand is the club of my wrath. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:52.879 I send him against a godless nation. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:55.099 I dispatch him against a people who anger me. 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:57.759 To seize and loot and snatch and plunder. 00:02:57.939 --> 00:03:00.019 And to trample them down like mud in the streets. 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:02.139 But this is not what he intends. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:03.519 This is not what he has in mind. 00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:05.379 His purpose is to destroy. 00:03:05.799 --> 00:03:07.259 To put an end to many nations. 00:03:08.139 --> 00:03:11.519 Are not my commanders all kings, he says? 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:14.560 Has not Calno fared like Karmesh? 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:18.479 Has not Hameth like Arped and Samaria like Damascus? 00:03:19.099 --> 00:03:21.659 Has my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols? 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:25.579 Kingdoms whose images excel those of Jerusalem and Samaria. 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:30.000 Shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols? 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:35.120 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, 00:03:35.359 --> 00:03:40.240 I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eye. 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:41.580 For he says, 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:44.040 By the strength of my hand I have done this. 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:49.080 And by my wisdom, because I have understanding, I removed the boundaries of nations. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:51.160 I plundered their treasures like a mighty one. 00:03:51.220 --> 00:03:52.240 I subdued their kings. 00:03:52.620 --> 00:03:56.400 As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations. 00:03:56.980 --> 00:03:58.960 As people gather abandoned eggs. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.300 So I gathered all the countries. 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:09.160 Does the axe raise itself above the person who swings it? 00:04:09.640 --> 00:04:11.980 Or the saw boast against the one who uses it? 00:04:12.260 --> 00:04:15.360 As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up. 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:17.780 Or a club brandish the one who is not wood. 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:23.719 Therefore the Lord, the Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors. 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:27.539 Under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing fire. 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:31.059 The light of Israel will become a fire, their holy one a flame. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:34.979 In a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and bryants. 00:04:35.719 --> 00:04:40.139 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy. 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:42.819 As when one who is ill wastes away. 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:48.480 And the remaining trees of his forest will be so few that a child could write them down. 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:56.040 In that day, the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down. 00:04:56.300 --> 00:05:00.819 But will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 00:05:01.719 --> 00:05:02.939 A remnant will return. 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:06.560 A remnant of Jacob will return to the mighty God. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:11.120 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:14.840 Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:20.600 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land. 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:24.360 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty says. 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:29.680 My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians who beat you with a rod. 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.060 And lift a club against you as Egypt did. 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:36.959 Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.039 The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip. 00:05:40.339 --> 00:05:46.479 As when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb, he will raise his staff over the waters as he did in Egypt. 00:05:47.099 --> 00:05:50.819 In that day, their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck. 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:53.899 The yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat. 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:56.319 They entered Aeth. 00:05:56.579 --> 00:05:57.759 They pass through Migron. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:00.399 They store supplies at Mishmash. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:04.679 They go over the pass and say, we will camp overnight at Geber. 00:06:05.239 --> 00:06:06.239 Rama trembles. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:07.759 Gibeah of Saul flees. 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:09.579 Cry out, daughter of Gelim. 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:10.939 Listen, Leish. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:12.279 Poor Anoth. 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:14.299 Menadmon is in flight. 00:06:14.739 --> 00:06:16.479 The people of Gebin take cover. 00:06:17.039 --> 00:06:18.679 This is the day they will halt at Nob. 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:22.099 They will shout their fist at the mount of daughter of Zion. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:23.739 At the hill of Jerusalem. 00:06:24.739 --> 00:06:26.459 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:29.039 will lop off the boughs with great power. 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:31.120 The lofty trees will be felled. 00:06:31.140 --> 00:06:32.600 The tall ones will be brought low. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.740 He will cut down the forest thickets with an axe. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.000 Lebanon will fall before the mighty one. 00:06:39.700 --> 00:06:40.160 Amen. 00:06:41.520 --> 00:06:43.280 Let's pray as we come to God's word. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:43.920 Let's pray together. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:43.980 Amen. 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:58.720 Let's pray. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:06:59.060 Let's pray. 00:06:59.060 --> 00:06:59.120 Let's pray. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:06:59.460 Let's pray. 00:06:59.460 --> 00:06:59.560 Let's pray. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.879 Asking, Lord, for your help and your mercy. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:09.420 We recognize, Lord, that we are weak and sinful. 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:11.379 Our minds wander. 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:14.639 And we have before us a very long passage. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:16.040 Please, we pray. 00:07:16.159 --> 00:07:17.800 Be at work and help us, we ask. 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:20.819 But more than just help us to understand the information, 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:23.060 speak to us by your spirit to our hearts. 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:26.339 We long to love you and know you and follow you. 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:29.060 So please be at work for your glory now, we pray. 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:29.839 In Jesus' name. 00:07:30.699 --> 00:07:31.040 Amen. 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:31.740 Amen. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:37.540 Now, with such a large passage in front of us this morning, 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:43.780 it is useful for us to notice that Isaiah summarizes his main point for us 00:07:43.780 --> 00:07:45.740 in just one verse. 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:49.040 And essentially, that verse is going to be our text this morning. 00:07:49.579 --> 00:07:52.040 And so we're going to spend more time in there than we are going to spend 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:53.100 in the rest of the chapters. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.240 And that is going to help us explain what's going on. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:00.220 So, chapter 10, verse 20 is our text for this morning. 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:01.240 Let me read it to you. 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.699 In that day, the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:08.579 will no longer rely on him who struck them down, 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:12.439 but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:15.319 Now, let's just see some of the details. 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:16.540 Have a look down at your Bibles. 00:08:16.660 --> 00:08:18.579 Notice the repeated word in the verse. 00:08:19.220 --> 00:08:21.680 In that day, the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:25.879 will no longer rely on him who struck them down, 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:29.219 but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:35.179 Literally, the word there is to support or hold up or to depend on. 00:08:35.700 --> 00:08:39.820 And the idea is that something or someone is carrying you, 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:42.500 defending you, keeping you upright. 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:47.639 It means, doesn't it, that the unspoken assumption behind our text this morning 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:51.460 and behind our passage is that life is very uncertain. 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:54.539 It's wobbly and difficult. 00:08:54.539 --> 00:09:00.299 The verse doesn't distinguish, does it, between those who don't seek support 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:04.819 and those who do, as if you could live life without some kind of support. 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:07.620 Rather, it is about the shift of support, isn't it? 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:10.839 Our text is about them swapping from relying on one thing 00:09:10.839 --> 00:09:13.120 to relying on something else. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:23.220 Now, you may remember that Isaiah is writing at a time of national and international political upheaval. 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:29.879 At the time he's writing, the world is in transition as superpowers trade blows with one another, 00:09:30.419 --> 00:09:35.679 and the smaller nations are kind of scrambling together to form alliances to try and defend themselves. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:45.479 And the text really is about, listen, Israel, who will you trust in this time of national and international crisis? 00:09:46.379 --> 00:09:51.419 Where are you going to turn when the enemy is on your doorstep and kind of ratting on your door? 00:09:51.419 --> 00:09:59.860 Now, I hope you understand that means, doesn't it, that we're going to have to work hard to understand Isaiah, right? 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:02.059 Because there's a lot here for us to get our minds around. 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:03.939 But we're not going to have to work hard to make it relevant. 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:07.199 These are our times, aren't they? 00:10:08.099 --> 00:10:13.259 Did you read this week that the government has told us to stockpile fresh water and tinned food? 00:10:13.259 --> 00:10:17.500 We live in our own times of upheaval, don't we? 00:10:17.580 --> 00:10:23.100 Life has been and always will be for every generation wobbly, uncertain. 00:10:23.939 --> 00:10:26.299 No one has ever been sheltered from this. 00:10:26.659 --> 00:10:31.279 All you have to do really is live long enough and you will experience the wobbliness of this life. 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:34.939 And it might not be politics that particularly scares you. 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:36.460 It might be something more personal. 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:42.360 Maybe the death of a close friend or sudden shock diagnosis or redundancy 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:46.820 or a depression and anxiety that seem to come from nowhere and you can't shake. 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:51.519 And the question for us, really Isaiah's question for us this morning from this text 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:53.700 and for all of us this morning to engage with is, 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:55.800 who are you going to trust? 00:10:57.500 --> 00:11:01.899 Where are you going to place your reliance in a wobbly world? 00:11:03.860 --> 00:11:07.139 If you're honest though, our text is doing more than just ask the question, isn't it? 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:09.840 It tells us, doesn't it, that not all supports are equal. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.280 Some supports will let you down. 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:15.040 Let me read it to you again. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:16.200 Have a look down at the verse. 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:20.680 In that day, the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, 00:11:20.860 --> 00:11:24.040 will no longer rely on him who struck them down, 00:11:24.580 --> 00:11:28.360 but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:34.639 Notice here that the remnant, that is, those who are saved from God's people, 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.439 the survivors, as they're called in a verse, 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:42.819 are those who have shifted their reliance from him who struck them down. 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:46.580 In other words, they've discovered, haven't they, at great personal cost, 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:51.360 that the place their reliance was, their trust was, is no good. 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:53.519 It didn't just give way, did it? 00:11:53.539 --> 00:11:54.899 It came back and bit them. 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:56.639 It turned on them. 00:11:56.699 --> 00:11:58.460 They're beaten with the stick they were leaning on. 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:03.400 And they have shifted their reliance to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.560 In the context, it's a reference to the strong nation of Assyria. 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:12.180 That nation they had tried to make an alliance with, 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:14.360 and that nation had turned on them 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.460 and nearly totally destroyed Jerusalem and Judah. 00:12:19.340 --> 00:12:21.700 Again, I don't think this is that hard to apply. 00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:23.860 Perhaps you know what this is like. 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:27.840 Maybe you rested in something or someone for your hope, 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:30.320 and they let you down in a difficult time. 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:32.060 Maybe it was a friend. 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:33.659 You trusted them. 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:35.560 You looked to them for support, but they turned on you. 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:39.399 Or maybe you made big sacrifices to get that qualification, 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:40.899 to get that university degree. 00:12:41.180 --> 00:12:43.039 You thought it would help you get ahead, 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:45.399 but it just saddled you with debt. 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:46.580 You can't find a job. 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:49.399 Or maybe you moved to London thinking, 00:12:49.779 --> 00:12:51.139 moving to London will make me happy. 00:12:51.139 --> 00:12:52.199 Maybe I'll get a job. 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:53.980 It will fulfill my dreams and my aspirations. 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:56.379 And it turned out to be lonely. 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.559 False supports have a habit of doing that to you, says Isaiah. 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:03.960 You lean on the wrong thing, and it will come back and bite you. 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.740 And that, then, I think brings us to the big argument of this little text, 00:13:08.819 --> 00:13:11.659 which is what we must do in our wobbly world, 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.159 is shift our reliance from whatever else it is relying on 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:16.620 to the Holy One of Israel. 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:18.360 The Holy One of Israel. 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:21.240 In fact, in this text, right, 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:23.440 the definition of salvation, 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.519 the survivors are those who rely on the Lord. 00:13:28.539 --> 00:13:31.120 The crushed and defeated, in our text, 00:13:31.220 --> 00:13:33.100 are those who did not rely on the Lord. 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:35.240 And the survivors are those who did. 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.379 And again, you can say more than just that, can't you? 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:40.580 Because if you notice the adverb in the sentence, 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:42.960 the descriptor that goes along with the verb to rely, 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:44.060 what is it? 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:47.479 The survivors of Jacob will no longer rely on him who struck them down, 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:50.699 but will truly rely on the Lord. 00:13:51.239 --> 00:13:53.639 Notice that Isaiah, in our passage this morning, 00:13:53.739 --> 00:13:57.339 wants us to distinguish between a kind of false relying 00:13:57.339 --> 00:13:59.139 and a true relying. 00:14:00.459 --> 00:14:04.059 There is a kind of fake reliance on God, says Isaiah. 00:14:04.719 --> 00:14:06.159 There's a kind of reliance that says, 00:14:06.239 --> 00:14:07.359 oh yes, I do trust God. 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:11.139 In Isaiah's day, all of Israel and all of Judah would say, 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:12.340 oh yeah, yeah, we trust the Lord. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:14.700 It goes with the territory. 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:17.480 We live in God's place. 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:19.399 Look at the clothes that we're wearing. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:20.639 Look at the food that we're eating. 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:22.039 We've been circumcised. 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:23.180 We worship at the temple. 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:25.820 But that's not enough, says Isaiah. 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:29.419 True reliance is something more than just saying so. 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:32.200 Something more than just praying when you're in a panic 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:33.120 and things are difficult. 00:14:33.560 --> 00:14:34.360 And what is true reliance? 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:36.919 True reliance, our text tells us, doesn't it? 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:43.759 True reliance on God is abandoning all other supports. 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:44.740 That's what it is. 00:14:45.419 --> 00:14:51.039 To truly rely on God is to rely on God alone, says Isaiah. 00:14:52.180 --> 00:14:54.019 And so that's us this morning. 00:14:54.779 --> 00:14:55.740 As we come to our passage, 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:57.720 Isaiah is not going to let us get away 00:14:57.720 --> 00:14:59.159 with saying the right thing. 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:03.080 He's not so much interested in what we call ourselves 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.360 or what posts that we like and share 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:06.560 or even what we do on a Sunday. 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:08.940 No, he's not just interested in what you say 00:15:08.940 --> 00:15:10.000 or how you describe yourself. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:11.639 He's interested in your hearts. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.340 He's interested in the exclusivity of your trust 00:15:16.340 --> 00:15:19.240 in the Lord in your hearts. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:22.400 Because he says salvation in a wobbly world 00:15:22.400 --> 00:15:26.660 is found by relying on the Lord alone. 00:15:27.300 --> 00:15:27.680 Alone. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:32.199 If it is not exclusive trust, says Isaiah, 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:34.299 it is no trust at all. 00:15:35.659 --> 00:15:38.419 Now, in a way, that is the whole message of these verses. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.019 If you get that, you have understood 00:15:40.019 --> 00:15:43.219 this section of Isaiah chapter 9 and Isaiah 10. 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:45.659 Isaiah, the great preacher, 00:15:46.239 --> 00:15:49.139 tells us to trust exclusively in the Lord 00:15:49.139 --> 00:15:51.179 in order to be saved. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:53.459 But because he's such a great preacher, 00:15:53.599 --> 00:15:55.000 he doesn't just make his point 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:56.639 and then just kind of leave it there. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:58.740 He actually wants to teach us it. 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:00.559 And he's going to teach it to us 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.319 in stories about what's going on at the time. 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:06.899 And he's going to expose for us in those stories 00:16:06.899 --> 00:16:10.819 particular ways that we might misplace our trust. 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:12.539 And he's going to draw our attention 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:16.039 to self-reliance and human power. 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:18.139 And he's going to expose those to us and say, 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:21.279 listen, you might be tempted to trust in this 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:23.279 and not exclusively in the Lord. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:24.700 So let me expose it to you. 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:27.320 So let's have a look at those two things together. 00:16:27.900 --> 00:16:30.080 Firstly, notice the sin of self-reliance. 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:31.440 The sin of self-reliance. 00:16:31.640 --> 00:16:33.259 Come back to chapter 9, verse 8, 00:16:33.560 --> 00:16:35.100 through to chapter 10, verse 4. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:39.040 Now, this section really is one long poem, 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:40.800 which Martina read for us. 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:42.800 It has a sort of repeated line 00:16:42.800 --> 00:16:43.780 at the end of each verse. 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:48.540 It comes in verse 12, 17, 21, and 24. 00:16:48.539 --> 00:16:51.599 It's the line, yet for all this, 00:16:51.719 --> 00:16:54.120 his anger is not turned away. 00:16:54.219 --> 00:16:55.860 His hand is still raised. 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:01.319 And the poem is written to the northern kingdom of Israel. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:02.799 So if you look at the beginning of it, 00:17:02.839 --> 00:17:04.519 in verse 8 of chapter 9, 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:05.339 we read, 00:17:05.339 --> 00:17:15.480 There he's given you four different ways 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:17.379 of addressing the same group of people. 00:17:17.500 --> 00:17:19.019 Jacob, Israel, Ephraim, 00:17:19.379 --> 00:17:20.559 the inhabitants of Samaria, 00:17:20.899 --> 00:17:22.899 are all the northern kingdoms of Israel. 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:24.600 And at the time, 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:25.720 the northern kingdom of Israel 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:26.800 was being threatened by 00:17:26.800 --> 00:17:28.120 and would eventually be destroyed 00:17:28.120 --> 00:17:29.259 by the Assyrian army. 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:30.860 And God told them, 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:32.680 Listen, the Assyrian army is coming 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:34.740 because I am angry with you 00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:36.200 and your sin, 00:17:36.320 --> 00:17:38.120 and I am judging you for it. 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:41.060 So the foreign superpower swoops in, 00:17:41.340 --> 00:17:43.019 and it totally defeats the nation. 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:44.940 And the point here is that 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:47.660 the judgment itself exposes for them 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:49.740 a deep self-reliance in God's people. 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:51.600 So notice what happens 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:52.899 as their buildings and farms 00:17:52.899 --> 00:17:54.500 are destroyed by the invading armies. 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:55.559 What do they say? 00:17:55.639 --> 00:17:56.639 Look down at verse 10. 00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.299 They say with pride and arrogance of heart, 00:17:59.399 --> 00:18:00.459 The bricks have fallen down, 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:02.919 but we will rebuild with dressed stone. 00:18:03.719 --> 00:18:05.259 The fig trees have been felled, 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:07.740 but we will replace them with cedars, they say. 00:18:10.439 --> 00:18:11.359 Do you see this? 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:13.619 Even as the invaders 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:16.219 are pulling down their barns 00:18:16.219 --> 00:18:19.399 and burning their fig trees, 00:18:20.159 --> 00:18:21.419 the people of Israel 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:24.320 are blasting Chumba Wumba on the radio, right? 00:18:24.820 --> 00:18:26.000 I get knocked down, 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:27.460 but I get up again. 00:18:28.500 --> 00:18:29.920 You ain't never gonna keep me down. 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:31.620 I get knocked down, 00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:32.980 but I get up again. 00:18:33.860 --> 00:18:35.580 The younger kids are playing Kelly Clarkson, 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:35.940 aren't they? 00:18:36.320 --> 00:18:37.640 Think you left me broken down? 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:40.380 Think I'll come running back? 00:18:40.560 --> 00:18:41.519 Baby, you don't know me, 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:42.920 because you're dead wrong. 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:44.420 What doesn't kill you 00:18:44.420 --> 00:18:46.820 makes you stronger. 00:18:46.820 --> 00:18:48.080 Thanks, Florence. 00:18:50.080 --> 00:18:51.259 Makes you stronger. 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:52.900 Stand a little taller. 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:54.880 That's what they're singing, isn't it? 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:57.200 But it is a self-reliant delusion, 00:18:57.340 --> 00:18:57.820 says Isaiah. 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:00.300 And it runs all the way through the people. 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.120 Verses 14 to 17 tell you 00:19:02.120 --> 00:19:03.400 it's from the elders of the nation 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:04.980 right down to the fatherless and the widows. 00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:06.519 Everybody thinks like this, he says. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:09.759 It's burning like a fire in God's people 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:10.599 in verse 18. 00:19:11.639 --> 00:19:13.759 But this is what we particularly need to notice 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:16.259 is there is a dark side to this self-reliance. 00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:18.579 In verse 19, this self-reliance 00:19:18.579 --> 00:19:20.180 as it encounters the judgment of God 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:21.420 in the shape of the Assyrian army, 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:23.660 it doesn't recognize its weakness 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:24.519 and turn to God. 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:25.500 Instead, it doubles down. 00:19:25.879 --> 00:19:27.339 Verse 19, look down at it. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:28.879 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty, 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:30.160 the land will be scorched, 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:32.099 the people will be fueled for the fire, 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:34.799 they will not spare one another. 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:35.940 Literally, the word there is 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:37.460 they will not spare their brothers. 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:40.160 On the right they will devour, 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:41.779 but still be hungry. 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:43.680 On the left they will eat, 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:45.240 but not be satisfied. 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:47.519 Each will feed on the flesh 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:49.279 of their own offspring. 00:19:50.600 --> 00:19:53.200 This is the darkness of self-reliance. 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:55.700 The darkness of self-reliance 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:59.920 is that it will even eat its own children, 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:03.500 its brothers, just to stay alive. 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:05.880 Of course this is how self-reliance 00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:06.940 has to work, doesn't it? 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:09.059 If I'm depending on my own strength 00:20:09.059 --> 00:20:09.640 to keep me, 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:10.799 if I'm leaning on me, 00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:12.759 of course I don't care about you, 00:20:12.819 --> 00:20:13.960 I cannot care about you 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:15.240 because I'm trying really hard 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:16.160 to keep myself going. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:19.819 I'm focused on the impossible task 00:20:19.819 --> 00:20:21.180 of keeping myself afloat. 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:23.240 And chapter 10 verse 2 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:24.200 carries on with the theme 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:25.980 of what self-reliant Israel are up to. 00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:27.700 Chapter 10 verse 2, 00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:29.279 they deprive the poor of their rights, 00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:30.200 they withhold justice 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:31.400 from the oppressed of my people, 00:20:31.620 --> 00:20:33.120 they make the widows their prey 00:20:33.120 --> 00:20:34.500 and lob the fatherless. 00:20:35.100 --> 00:20:35.960 This is what it's like 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:36.920 in self-reliant Israel. 00:20:37.560 --> 00:20:38.660 The poor and the widows 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:39.779 are made to pay. 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:42.759 The poorest in their society 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:44.259 are pushed down 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:45.360 as everybody is trying 00:20:45.360 --> 00:20:46.960 to push themselves up, 00:20:47.560 --> 00:20:48.960 looking out for only themselves. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:55.160 There's a 2006 Kevin Costner movie 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:58.740 where he is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. 00:20:59.140 --> 00:21:00.059 I'm not really very good 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:00.960 at remembering films 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:02.160 and maybe you've never seen this film. 00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:03.200 There's no reason 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:03.759 why you should have done. 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:05.220 But this one really stuck with me 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:05.880 for some reason. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:07.960 And the opening scene of the movie, 00:21:08.420 --> 00:21:09.640 Costner is in the sea, 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.660 he's rescuing a couple 00:21:11.660 --> 00:21:12.920 who have fallen overboard 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:14.079 from their yacht, I imagine, 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:15.940 and they're there caught in a storm. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.380 And the basket is lowered 00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:19.360 from the helicopter 00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:21.140 in front of the three of them, 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.160 as Costner has kind of helped them out. 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:25.800 And the husband proceeds 00:21:25.800 --> 00:21:27.760 to push his wife out of the way 00:21:27.760 --> 00:21:30.000 and trying to get into the basket himself 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.960 and is drowning his wife 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:33.080 and he doesn't seem to care. 00:21:34.100 --> 00:21:34.860 And I think this is perhaps 00:21:34.860 --> 00:21:35.520 the way it stuck with me. 00:21:35.600 --> 00:21:36.900 Kevin Costner just punches him 00:21:36.900 --> 00:21:38.000 in the face and breaks his nose. 00:21:38.660 --> 00:21:40.680 What a brilliant opening scene 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:41.520 to a movie, right? 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:45.160 This is Isaiah's picture 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:47.180 of the horror of self-reliance. 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:50.519 It turns you into a person 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:52.259 who is unable to care 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:53.200 for those around you. 00:21:53.379 --> 00:21:54.339 That's the horror of it. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:57.700 It will push its own wife 00:21:57.700 --> 00:21:58.339 under the sea 00:21:58.339 --> 00:21:59.720 just to make sure it survives. 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:01.259 And so the Israelites 00:22:01.259 --> 00:22:02.379 eat their own children, 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:03.460 burn their own brothers, 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:04.440 deprive the poor, 00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:05.319 oppress the needy 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:06.400 just to stay afloat. 00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:08.700 You see, we laugh about it, 00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:08.920 don't we? 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:10.340 But Chumbawamba and Kelly Clarkson 00:22:10.340 --> 00:22:11.720 don't tell you the dark side. 00:22:12.259 --> 00:22:13.000 But let me tell you, 00:22:13.080 --> 00:22:14.779 if their songs or songs like them 00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:15.920 are the anthem of your life, 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:17.720 it will turn you into a monster 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:19.759 to those around you. 00:22:22.560 --> 00:22:23.960 Self-reliance is a myth. 00:22:26.300 --> 00:22:27.600 And in the words of our passage, 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:29.820 it will eventually strike you down. 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:32.940 I wonder if we could just 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:33.900 for a moment of honesty 00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:34.700 just pause and wonder 00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:35.580 whether we're experiencing 00:22:35.580 --> 00:22:36.460 some of that this morning. 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.860 Is it possible that our desire, 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:40.720 my desire, 00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:42.799 your desire to be self-sufficient 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:44.940 is actually harming us 00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:46.279 and those around us? 00:22:47.360 --> 00:22:49.180 Perhaps what we thought was strength 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:51.019 is actually destroying us. 00:22:52.360 --> 00:22:54.240 This is the story, isn't it, 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:56.100 of the self-made man or woman 00:22:56.100 --> 00:22:57.860 who die alone in their flat 00:22:57.860 --> 00:22:58.519 with no friends 00:22:58.519 --> 00:22:59.259 and no one to care. 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:01.279 They've relied on themselves 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:02.140 for their whole life 00:23:02.140 --> 00:23:02.660 and at the end 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:03.460 there's nobody there. 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:05.819 It's the child 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:07.059 who in their insecurity 00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:08.340 turns on their siblings 00:23:08.340 --> 00:23:09.120 only to find that 00:23:09.120 --> 00:23:09.799 when they need them 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:10.579 they're not interested. 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:12.680 Self-reliance 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:14.100 striking us down. 00:23:15.620 --> 00:23:16.940 That's the sin of self-reliance. 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:18.799 The second thing here then 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.220 is the delusion of power 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:21.340 or strength. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:22.500 The delusion of power or strength. 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:23.579 Come to chapter 10, 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.380 verse 5 00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:25.840 through to verse 19. 00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:28.480 In chapter 10, 00:23:28.620 --> 00:23:29.279 verse 5, 00:23:29.360 --> 00:23:30.240 our attention is turned 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.539 from the northern kingdoms 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:32.279 of Israel 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:34.420 to the nation of Assyria. 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:35.500 Now, remember, 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:36.180 the Assyrians 00:23:36.180 --> 00:23:37.180 are the superpower 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:38.259 who are on the rise. 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:38.980 They have swept 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:39.839 through the region 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:42.500 and they have mopped up Israel 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:43.480 and they've got their sights 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:44.019 on Judah. 00:23:44.639 --> 00:23:45.980 And we find that God 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:47.139 is behind the conquest. 00:23:48.139 --> 00:23:50.000 He has been using Assyria 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:51.399 as his tool 00:23:51.399 --> 00:23:52.599 to punish his people 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:53.299 for their sin. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:55.659 So look at verse 5 and 6. 00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:57.200 Woe to the Assyrian, 00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:58.740 the rod of my anger, 00:23:58.879 --> 00:23:59.779 in whose hand 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:01.200 is the club of my wrath. 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:02.799 I send him 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:04.399 against a godless nation, 00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:06.059 that is, Israel. 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:07.139 I dispatch him 00:24:07.139 --> 00:24:07.720 against the people 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:08.420 who anger me 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:09.799 to seize loot 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:11.119 and snatch plunder 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:12.559 and to trample them down 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:13.779 like mud in the streets. 00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:16.359 Here God pictures Assyria 00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:17.200 as a stick 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:18.200 or a club in his hand. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:20.279 They are doing his will. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:21.779 They are accomplishing 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:22.619 God's purposes 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:23.220 in judgment. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:24.899 God has dispatched them. 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:26.220 He's given them instructions 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:27.240 to seize the loot 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:28.220 to snatch the plunder. 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:30.519 But while that's God's plan, 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:32.079 Assyria has a very different 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:33.279 attitude to the same thing. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:34.240 Look at verse 7. 00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:35.579 But this is not 00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:36.400 what he intends. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:37.559 This is not what 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:38.279 he has in mind. 00:24:38.339 --> 00:24:39.720 His purpose is to destroy, 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:41.059 to put an end 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:41.819 to many nations. 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:43.740 This is incredible. 00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:45.059 This is God's sovereignty 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:46.200 and human responsibility 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:47.420 right alongside each other 00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:48.019 here in the passage, 00:24:48.120 --> 00:24:48.360 isn't it? 00:24:48.740 --> 00:24:50.299 God is using Assyria 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:51.140 as his means 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:52.000 to punish 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:53.400 and judge the nations 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:55.079 whilst at the same time 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:56.259 Assyria has its eyes 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:57.180 on its own greed 00:24:57.180 --> 00:24:58.599 and is pursuing 00:24:58.599 --> 00:24:59.440 his own greed. 00:25:00.119 --> 00:25:01.079 And they imagine, 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:01.660 therefore, 00:25:02.099 --> 00:25:02.859 that they're doing it 00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:03.940 in their own strength. 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:05.079 Verse 13, 00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:05.700 as we're looking at 00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:06.160 with the kids, 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:07.279 By the strength of my hand 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:08.000 I've done this. 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:09.859 By my wisdom, 00:25:10.379 --> 00:25:11.480 because I have understanding. 00:25:11.940 --> 00:25:12.519 I've removed 00:25:12.519 --> 00:25:13.579 the boundaries of nations. 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:14.539 I've plundered their treasures. 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:15.799 Like a mighty one, 00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:16.799 I subdued their kings. 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:19.400 It's not hard to imagine, 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:19.660 is it? 00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:20.160 This is the, 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:21.400 you know, 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:22.359 the superpower 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:24.119 parading their army 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:25.239 and their weaponry 00:25:25.239 --> 00:25:26.099 through the square 00:25:26.099 --> 00:25:27.039 of the main city. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.919 Here come the tanks 00:25:29.919 --> 00:25:30.779 and the missiles 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:32.159 followed by the lines 00:25:32.159 --> 00:25:32.699 and lines 00:25:32.699 --> 00:25:33.759 and lines of soldiers. 00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:35.379 Overhead are flying 00:25:35.379 --> 00:25:36.959 the new fighter jets. 00:25:37.919 --> 00:25:39.559 The Apache attack helicopters 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:40.459 are just parked 00:25:40.459 --> 00:25:41.419 in the park 00:25:41.419 --> 00:25:43.000 for everybody to see. 00:25:43.639 --> 00:25:44.439 Look at this. 00:25:44.919 --> 00:25:46.279 Look at how powerful we are. 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:47.479 We can do anything 00:25:47.479 --> 00:25:48.139 that we want. 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:49.179 We can go anywhere 00:25:49.179 --> 00:25:50.039 that we please. 00:25:50.399 --> 00:25:50.979 Look at it. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:52.019 Look at our might. 00:25:53.139 --> 00:25:53.959 Not a thought. 00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:55.019 For a moment 00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:56.179 for the God who rules. 00:25:56.899 --> 00:25:57.699 Not an idea 00:25:57.699 --> 00:25:58.819 that God might be at work 00:25:58.819 --> 00:25:59.219 in the world 00:25:59.219 --> 00:25:59.919 for his own glory. 00:26:00.019 --> 00:26:01.259 Not a passing inclination 00:26:01.259 --> 00:26:01.919 that what appeared 00:26:01.919 --> 00:26:02.959 to be good fortune 00:26:02.959 --> 00:26:04.739 was actually the purposes 00:26:04.739 --> 00:26:05.579 of a sovereign God 00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:06.319 who reigns. 00:26:06.839 --> 00:26:08.139 And so it's a dreadful mistake. 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:09.719 Verse 15 spells out 00:26:09.719 --> 00:26:10.219 their folly. 00:26:11.179 --> 00:26:11.879 Does the axe 00:26:11.879 --> 00:26:12.799 raise itself 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:13.419 above the person 00:26:13.419 --> 00:26:14.099 who swings it? 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:15.539 Is this really logical, 00:26:15.679 --> 00:26:15.919 Assyria? 00:26:16.199 --> 00:26:17.439 Is this how it's going to work? 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.859 Does the saw boast 00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:19.399 against the one 00:26:19.399 --> 00:26:20.079 who uses it 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:21.039 as if a rod 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:21.639 were to wield 00:26:21.639 --> 00:26:22.119 the person 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:22.939 who lifts it up? 00:26:22.940 --> 00:26:23.759 Or a club 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.580 brandish the one 00:26:24.580 --> 00:26:25.420 who is not wood? 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:26.600 Therefore, 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:27.299 the Lord, 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:28.180 the God Almighty, 00:26:28.320 --> 00:26:29.039 the Lord Almighty, 00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:29.299 sorry, 00:26:29.620 --> 00:26:30.980 will send a wasting disease 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:32.640 among his sturdy warriors. 00:26:33.080 --> 00:26:33.860 Under his pomp, 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:34.920 a fire will be kindled 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:36.039 like a blazing fire. 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:38.880 The axe has got ideas 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:39.460 above itself, 00:26:39.539 --> 00:26:39.840 hasn't it? 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:40.779 The club has forgotten 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:42.039 in whose hand it is. 00:26:43.080 --> 00:26:44.100 And as we saw before, 00:26:44.259 --> 00:26:45.140 the problem 00:26:45.140 --> 00:26:46.120 with self-reliance, 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:47.000 the dark side 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:47.740 of self-reliance 00:26:47.740 --> 00:26:48.519 is that it makes you 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:49.340 eat your children. 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:50.700 Here, notice 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:51.259 that the problem 00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:52.100 is slightly different. 00:26:53.620 --> 00:26:53.920 You know, 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:54.700 if you think 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:55.759 you are strong, 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:56.980 if you think 00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:57.700 your power 00:26:57.700 --> 00:26:58.319 is the answer, 00:26:58.440 --> 00:27:00.140 or maybe not your power, 00:27:00.220 --> 00:27:01.559 but human power, 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:02.299 power that you 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:03.220 try and get 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:04.279 alongside yourself, 00:27:04.700 --> 00:27:05.299 power that you are 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:06.080 trying to get 00:27:06.080 --> 00:27:06.799 onto your side, 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:07.740 if you think 00:27:07.740 --> 00:27:08.740 human power 00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:09.640 is the answer, 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:11.480 you've forgotten 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:12.559 God's strength, 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:13.720 says Isaiah. 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:15.140 You see, 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:15.720 you cannot 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:16.860 at the same time 00:27:16.860 --> 00:27:17.759 believe that it is 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:18.660 human power 00:27:18.660 --> 00:27:19.240 that will keep 00:27:19.240 --> 00:27:19.920 you afloat, 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:21.840 and also trust 00:27:21.840 --> 00:27:22.880 in the sovereign 00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:23.640 power of God. 00:27:24.040 --> 00:27:24.880 You cannot, 00:27:25.040 --> 00:27:25.460 says Isaiah, 00:27:25.800 --> 00:27:27.240 truly rely on the Lord, 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:28.779 and also imagine 00:27:28.779 --> 00:27:29.779 that what you really 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:30.860 need is human strength 00:27:30.860 --> 00:27:31.620 and human power. 00:27:32.820 --> 00:27:33.680 You cannot 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:34.720 at the same time 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.060 say, 00:27:35.500 --> 00:27:36.340 this is my life, 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:37.040 I will do 00:27:37.040 --> 00:27:37.759 what I want, 00:27:38.080 --> 00:27:39.100 and also this is 00:27:39.100 --> 00:27:39.660 God's life, 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:41.060 he has given it to me, 00:27:41.100 --> 00:27:41.740 I'm going to use it 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.340 to please him. 00:27:44.540 --> 00:27:45.400 Let me just ask you 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:46.060 to think about this 00:27:46.060 --> 00:27:46.759 for a moment, right? 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:48.099 This is why our world 00:27:48.099 --> 00:27:49.079 is full of idols. 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:51.180 Our world is full 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:51.879 of idols, isn't it? 00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:52.400 Have you thought 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:52.879 about this? 00:27:53.539 --> 00:27:54.440 Why is it, 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:56.599 if there is really 00:27:56.599 --> 00:27:57.960 only one God, 00:27:58.039 --> 00:27:58.980 as the Bible claims, 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:01.099 if the God of the Bible 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:02.599 is the creator God, 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:04.039 the God to whom 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:04.799 we all belong, 00:28:04.920 --> 00:28:05.960 the one who made us, 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:07.420 if that is true, 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:09.200 why then are there 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:10.000 so many other religions 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:10.599 in the world? 00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:11.779 Why? 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:13.519 Why are there 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:14.519 so many other gods? 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:16.160 Why does almost 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:17.599 everyone that you meet 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:19.160 have a different idea 00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:19.980 about God? 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:21.819 Even your friends 00:28:21.819 --> 00:28:22.799 who might not even claim 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:23.740 to be particularly religious, 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:24.599 you'd say to them, 00:28:24.879 --> 00:28:25.039 you know, 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:25.500 what do you think 00:28:25.500 --> 00:28:25.900 about God? 00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:26.200 And they say, 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:27.160 when I think about God, 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:28.039 I think about him 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:29.440 or her or it like this, 00:28:29.500 --> 00:28:30.180 and they'll describe 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:31.059 something that they believe. 00:28:31.539 --> 00:28:32.500 Why is that? 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:34.200 Well, let me tell you 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:34.720 two reasons. 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:35.960 One, for a start, 00:28:36.059 --> 00:28:37.119 it proves to you, 00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:37.759 doesn't it, 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:39.299 that God is real. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:40.980 Everybody instinctively 00:28:40.980 --> 00:28:41.740 knows that. 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:43.799 But the second thing is 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:44.920 that we all want 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:46.319 a God we can control. 00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:47.539 That's what we want. 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:49.039 That's what idols are. 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:50.799 We cannot deny 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:51.799 that there is a God, 00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:53.660 but we want to be able 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:54.779 to control that God, 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:55.759 so we make an idol. 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:58.460 We make gods 00:28:58.460 --> 00:28:59.759 that don't compete with us. 00:29:00.140 --> 00:29:00.779 We make gods 00:29:00.779 --> 00:29:02.380 who bend to our own will. 00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:03.799 This is what the Assyrians 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:04.019 thought. 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:05.099 Look down at verse 10 00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:05.859 of chapter 10. 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:07.900 As my hand sees 00:29:07.900 --> 00:29:09.440 the kingdoms of the idols, 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:11.120 kingdoms whose images 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:13.159 excelled those of Jerusalem 00:29:13.159 --> 00:29:13.859 and Samaria, 00:29:14.459 --> 00:29:15.279 shall I not deal 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:15.859 with Jerusalem 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:16.619 and her images 00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:17.779 as I dealt with Samaria 00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:18.479 and her idols? 00:29:19.639 --> 00:29:20.379 Here, Sir says, 00:29:20.459 --> 00:29:20.599 listen, 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:22.279 I have plundered the nations. 00:29:22.819 --> 00:29:23.839 I've gone everywhere. 00:29:24.339 --> 00:29:25.539 Every idol I've just 00:29:25.539 --> 00:29:26.299 scooped up 00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:27.979 and kind of put on my side. 00:29:28.179 --> 00:29:29.059 I'm going to do the same 00:29:29.059 --> 00:29:29.899 with the God of Jerusalem 00:29:29.899 --> 00:29:30.479 and Samaria. 00:29:31.439 --> 00:29:32.339 Gods are trophies 00:29:32.339 --> 00:29:32.979 to be collected. 00:29:33.399 --> 00:29:34.159 They swoop in 00:29:34.159 --> 00:29:34.939 and scoop up. 00:29:35.419 --> 00:29:36.000 And so they thought 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:36.319 it would be 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:37.199 with the God of Jerusalem. 00:29:38.239 --> 00:29:39.279 But it didn't work. 00:29:39.419 --> 00:29:40.099 Verse 17, 00:29:40.099 --> 00:29:40.879 look down at it. 00:29:41.019 --> 00:29:42.019 The light of Israel 00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:43.179 will become a fire. 00:29:44.199 --> 00:29:45.559 The Holy One a flame. 00:29:46.159 --> 00:29:47.039 In a single day 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:47.619 it will burn 00:29:47.619 --> 00:29:48.179 and consume 00:29:48.179 --> 00:29:48.939 his thorns 00:29:48.939 --> 00:29:50.259 and his briars. 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:51.939 The light, 00:29:52.199 --> 00:29:52.379 right, 00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:53.579 the revelation 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:54.639 of who God 00:29:54.639 --> 00:29:55.659 really is 00:29:55.659 --> 00:29:58.259 will be a consuming fire 00:29:58.259 --> 00:29:59.599 to the delusion 00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:00.819 of human strength. 00:30:01.679 --> 00:30:02.039 Assyria, 00:30:02.159 --> 00:30:03.500 you might think 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:04.659 that you have just 00:30:04.659 --> 00:30:05.839 scooped all these idols 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:07.219 up onto your side, 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:08.299 that these gods 00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:09.299 are under your control, 00:30:09.399 --> 00:30:09.899 that they do 00:30:09.899 --> 00:30:10.740 what you want. 00:30:11.039 --> 00:30:11.500 But listen, 00:30:11.639 --> 00:30:12.500 you are about to 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:13.559 bump into reality. 00:30:14.639 --> 00:30:15.079 This 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:16.579 is Yahweh, 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:17.960 the Lord, 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:19.000 the Lord Almighty. 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:20.599 And the light 00:30:20.599 --> 00:30:21.399 of the revelation 00:30:21.399 --> 00:30:21.879 of him 00:30:21.879 --> 00:30:22.779 will be a fire 00:30:22.779 --> 00:30:23.659 that will burn 00:30:23.659 --> 00:30:24.559 your strength 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.339 to the ground. 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:27.460 You will waste away, 00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:28.119 he says. 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:30.259 Do you see 00:30:30.259 --> 00:30:31.019 the subtlety 00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:31.559 of this, 00:30:31.639 --> 00:30:31.839 right? 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:33.899 it is possible 00:30:33.899 --> 00:30:34.819 for us 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:36.159 to both 00:30:36.159 --> 00:30:36.939 at the same time 00:30:36.939 --> 00:30:38.079 be very religious 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:40.559 and not rely 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:41.799 on God at all. 00:30:43.959 --> 00:30:45.039 Because true 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:45.720 reliance 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:47.259 is exclusive 00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:48.019 reliance. 00:30:48.699 --> 00:30:49.759 And fake reliance 00:30:49.759 --> 00:30:50.619 makes gods 00:30:50.619 --> 00:30:51.299 who will follow 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:52.240 our own will 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:53.240 and do what we want. 00:30:54.639 --> 00:30:55.799 If essentially 00:30:55.799 --> 00:30:56.839 your prayers 00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:58.220 are something like, 00:30:58.839 --> 00:30:59.959 my will be done, 00:31:00.399 --> 00:31:01.659 my kingdom come, 00:31:01.660 --> 00:31:03.080 you know, 00:31:03.180 --> 00:31:03.660 don't you, 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:04.640 it is not the God 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:05.140 of the Bible 00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:05.840 you're worshipping. 00:31:06.620 --> 00:31:08.220 It's human strength. 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:10.580 Now all of that 00:31:10.580 --> 00:31:11.220 brings us back 00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:12.360 to our text this morning, 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:13.160 to chapter 10, 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:13.860 verse 20. 00:31:14.660 --> 00:31:15.580 In that day, 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:17.220 the remnant 00:31:17.220 --> 00:31:17.720 of Israel, 00:31:17.820 --> 00:31:18.420 the survivors 00:31:18.420 --> 00:31:18.920 of Jacob, 00:31:19.060 --> 00:31:19.840 will no longer 00:31:19.840 --> 00:31:20.860 rely on him 00:31:20.860 --> 00:31:22.100 who struck them down, 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:24.700 but will truly 00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:26.160 rely on the Lord, 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:26.980 the Holy One 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:27.400 of Israel. 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:29.360 So just think 00:31:29.360 --> 00:31:29.920 as we finish 00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:30.900 about this safety 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:32.019 of trusting God. 00:31:34.280 --> 00:31:35.160 Now these verses 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:35.759 that follow 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:36.800 from chapter 10, 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:37.380 verse 20, 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:37.980 down to the end 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:38.440 of the chapter, 00:31:38.560 --> 00:31:39.200 are full of 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:40.440 fours and therefores. 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:42.100 The NIV translators 00:31:42.100 --> 00:31:43.060 don't always include them 00:31:43.060 --> 00:31:43.600 because it makes it 00:31:43.600 --> 00:31:44.680 read funny in the English, 00:31:45.060 --> 00:31:45.759 but they do put 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:46.300 the big one in 00:31:46.300 --> 00:31:47.080 in verse 24, 00:31:47.300 --> 00:31:48.240 so look down at that. 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:49.700 Therefore, 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:50.740 this is what the Lord, 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:52.220 the Lord Almighty says, 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:53.539 my people 00:31:53.539 --> 00:31:54.980 who live in Zion, 00:31:55.700 --> 00:31:56.940 do not be afraid 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:57.859 of the Assyrians 00:31:57.859 --> 00:31:59.359 who beat you 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:00.000 with a rod 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.420 and lift up a club 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:02.079 against you 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:03.039 as Egypt did. 00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:04.599 Very soon 00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:05.180 my anger 00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:05.859 against you 00:32:05.859 --> 00:32:06.480 will end 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:07.839 and my wrath 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:08.559 will be directed 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.420 to their destruction. 00:32:09.420 --> 00:32:12.200 Now just zoom in 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:12.600 on here, 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:13.360 right? 00:32:13.640 --> 00:32:14.360 This is why 00:32:14.360 --> 00:32:15.220 relying on God, 00:32:15.300 --> 00:32:15.720 this is why 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:17.620 truly relying on God 00:32:17.620 --> 00:32:19.720 is the safe place 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:20.019 in our world, 00:32:20.060 --> 00:32:21.240 it's the only safe place 00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:21.740 in our world. 00:32:22.380 --> 00:32:23.360 Notice why it is. 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:24.080 Two reasons 00:32:24.080 --> 00:32:26.080 from the passage here. 00:32:26.800 --> 00:32:28.180 One is you don't need 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:28.759 to be afraid 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:30.000 of the forces 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:30.580 out there, 00:32:30.800 --> 00:32:30.960 right? 00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:31.620 You don't need 00:32:31.620 --> 00:32:32.000 to be afraid 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:32.580 of the Assyrians. 00:32:33.759 --> 00:32:34.340 Don't be afraid 00:32:34.340 --> 00:32:34.519 of them, 00:32:34.580 --> 00:32:35.060 God says. 00:32:36.059 --> 00:32:36.759 He goes on 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:37.119 to promise 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:37.639 a rescue 00:32:37.639 --> 00:32:38.059 that will be 00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:39.079 like Gideon's rescue 00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:39.539 or it will be 00:32:39.539 --> 00:32:40.179 like the rescue 00:32:40.179 --> 00:32:42.159 of Moses 00:32:42.159 --> 00:32:43.119 from the Exodus. 00:32:43.379 --> 00:32:43.779 This is going 00:32:43.779 --> 00:32:46.299 to be like that. 00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:48.339 Another great rescue 00:32:48.339 --> 00:32:48.980 of the rescues 00:32:48.980 --> 00:32:49.519 in the Bible. 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:50.799 God will come again 00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:51.679 and save his people. 00:32:52.119 --> 00:32:52.799 Don't be afraid, 00:32:52.919 --> 00:32:53.440 he says to his people, 00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:54.079 I've got this, 00:32:54.119 --> 00:32:54.899 you can trust me, 00:32:55.159 --> 00:32:56.279 you will not be destroyed, 00:32:56.399 --> 00:32:57.220 my kingdom will not 00:32:57.220 --> 00:32:57.759 be defeated. 00:32:58.940 --> 00:32:59.639 But secondly, 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:00.500 notice that you don't 00:33:00.500 --> 00:33:00.940 need to fear 00:33:00.940 --> 00:33:01.960 God's judgment either. 00:33:02.899 --> 00:33:03.460 If you can remember 00:33:03.460 --> 00:33:04.119 back to the beginning 00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:04.639 of the sermon, 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:06.360 that repeated line 00:33:06.360 --> 00:33:07.000 in the poem 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:07.520 at the beginning 00:33:07.520 --> 00:33:08.200 of the sermon, 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:09.660 yet for all this 00:33:09.660 --> 00:33:10.460 his anger is not 00:33:10.460 --> 00:33:10.980 turned away, 00:33:11.080 --> 00:33:11.900 his hand is still 00:33:11.900 --> 00:33:12.540 upraised. 00:33:12.860 --> 00:33:12.940 Yeah? 00:33:13.380 --> 00:33:14.100 Compare that to 00:33:14.100 --> 00:33:15.360 verse 25 here 00:33:15.360 --> 00:33:16.140 and notice, 00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:17.259 here, 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:18.820 turning to God, 00:33:19.220 --> 00:33:20.680 truly relying on him 00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:22.100 means that his anger 00:33:22.100 --> 00:33:23.420 has come to an end 00:33:23.420 --> 00:33:25.480 and will defeat 00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:26.060 their enemies 00:33:26.060 --> 00:33:26.860 instead of them. 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:28.940 Listen, 00:33:29.020 --> 00:33:30.120 this is the twin hope 00:33:30.120 --> 00:33:30.860 of God's people 00:33:30.860 --> 00:33:31.720 who truly rely 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:32.300 on God. 00:33:33.020 --> 00:33:33.740 Number one, 00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:35.560 God is with us. 00:33:36.340 --> 00:33:36.860 We don't need 00:33:36.860 --> 00:33:37.340 to be afraid. 00:33:38.500 --> 00:33:39.700 And the second is, 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:41.520 God is for us. 00:33:42.060 --> 00:33:43.080 We will not be condemned. 00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:44.720 That's the hope. 00:33:45.580 --> 00:33:45.740 Now, 00:33:45.780 --> 00:33:46.400 Isaiah's going to have 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:47.240 more to say to us 00:33:47.240 --> 00:33:48.220 about those things, 00:33:48.640 --> 00:33:49.340 but you and I know, 00:33:49.400 --> 00:33:49.720 don't we, 00:33:50.420 --> 00:33:51.120 that that's Jesus. 00:33:51.720 --> 00:33:51.860 Yeah? 00:33:52.860 --> 00:33:53.920 We know that the 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:55.040 Gideon-like character 00:33:55.040 --> 00:33:56.080 who Isaiah promises, 00:33:56.520 --> 00:33:58.140 the second Moses 00:33:58.140 --> 00:33:59.640 who will lead 00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:00.380 a new exodus, 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:01.700 not from slavery 00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:02.080 in Egypt, 00:34:02.320 --> 00:34:03.460 but from slavery 00:34:03.460 --> 00:34:04.260 to sin and death. 00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:05.400 You know that's Jesus, 00:34:05.600 --> 00:34:05.920 don't you? 00:34:07.700 --> 00:34:08.840 Jesus bursts free 00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:09.559 from the grave, 00:34:09.680 --> 00:34:10.500 bringing a resurrection 00:34:10.500 --> 00:34:11.460 kingdom that can never 00:34:11.460 --> 00:34:12.000 be defeated. 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:13.960 And you know that 00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:15.039 as he does that, 00:34:15.099 --> 00:34:16.880 as he dies on the cross, 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:17.740 he is bearing 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:18.599 the condemnation 00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:19.500 that our sin 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:20.440 and guilt deserved 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:22.380 so that God's wrath 00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:23.260 might come to an end 00:34:23.260 --> 00:34:23.900 for us, 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:25.180 that we would not 00:34:25.180 --> 00:34:25.640 be condemned. 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:28.299 And so for you 00:34:28.299 --> 00:34:28.960 and me this morning, 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:30.199 the question is this, 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:32.400 do we truly rely 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:32.960 on God? 00:34:33.759 --> 00:34:35.099 Do you truly 00:34:35.099 --> 00:34:37.119 rely on God? 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:38.759 Do you 00:34:38.759 --> 00:34:41.159 truly rely on God? 00:34:41.279 --> 00:34:41.500 I mean, 00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:42.359 the question really 00:34:42.359 --> 00:34:42.759 is this, 00:34:42.839 --> 00:34:43.099 isn't it, 00:34:43.179 --> 00:34:43.980 is do you 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:44.879 exclusively 00:34:44.879 --> 00:34:46.599 trust Jesus 00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:49.059 in life and death? 00:34:52.319 --> 00:34:53.239 And really, 00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:53.779 for us, 00:34:53.839 --> 00:34:54.339 even if you would 00:34:54.339 --> 00:34:55.079 call yourself a Christian 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:55.519 this morning, 00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:56.460 the process of 00:34:56.460 --> 00:34:57.219 growing as a Christian 00:34:57.219 --> 00:34:57.940 is very similar 00:34:57.940 --> 00:34:58.480 to the process 00:34:58.480 --> 00:34:59.339 of becoming a Christian, 00:34:59.420 --> 00:34:59.579 isn't it? 00:34:59.779 --> 00:35:00.559 To become a Christian 00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:01.799 is for the very first time 00:35:01.799 --> 00:35:03.019 is to step and say, 00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:05.000 I rely exclusively 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:05.980 on Jesus Christ. 00:35:06.839 --> 00:35:08.259 To live the Christian life 00:35:08.259 --> 00:35:09.779 is to keep doing that. 00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:10.519 Lord Jesus, 00:35:10.659 --> 00:35:11.460 I rely on you. 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:13.199 I trust in you. 00:35:13.819 --> 00:35:14.699 Because this is what 00:35:14.699 --> 00:35:15.819 the survivors do, 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:16.119 yeah? 00:35:16.319 --> 00:35:17.759 This is what the saved do. 00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:19.299 This is the only place 00:35:19.299 --> 00:35:20.440 of safety and security 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:21.319 in our world. 00:35:22.339 --> 00:35:23.460 And so for you this week, 00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:24.400 if you're not a Christian, 00:35:24.679 --> 00:35:25.579 maybe for the very 00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:26.179 first time, 00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:26.579 you will say, 00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:27.599 I'm going to rely 00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:29.519 exclusively on Jesus Christ 00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:31.719 to forgive my sin 00:35:31.719 --> 00:35:33.099 and to keep me safe 00:35:33.099 --> 00:35:34.099 in life and death. 00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:36.799 And maybe as a Christian 00:35:36.799 --> 00:35:37.299 this morning, 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:39.460 you're going to pray 00:35:39.460 --> 00:35:40.340 at your desk 00:35:40.340 --> 00:35:41.519 before you head 00:35:41.519 --> 00:35:42.559 into that difficult meeting 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:44.360 and trusting yourself 00:35:44.360 --> 00:35:44.779 to God, 00:35:44.840 --> 00:35:45.679 not your own skill 00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:46.179 or wit. 00:35:47.380 --> 00:35:48.199 Perhaps this morning, 00:35:48.279 --> 00:35:48.819 if you sit there 00:35:48.819 --> 00:35:49.679 knowing that things 00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:50.739 that you would have relied 00:35:50.739 --> 00:35:51.579 on have been taken 00:35:51.579 --> 00:35:52.339 from you, 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:53.899 maybe health 00:35:53.899 --> 00:35:54.479 or money 00:35:54.479 --> 00:35:56.139 or relationships, 00:35:57.279 --> 00:35:58.279 perhaps instead of saying 00:35:58.279 --> 00:35:58.839 in your heart, 00:35:58.959 --> 00:35:59.699 I get knocked down 00:35:59.699 --> 00:36:00.459 but I get up again, 00:36:01.459 --> 00:36:02.779 you will say something like, 00:36:03.779 --> 00:36:05.059 my health might be gone 00:36:05.059 --> 00:36:07.659 but my support remains true. 00:36:08.319 --> 00:36:09.899 My money may be gone 00:36:09.899 --> 00:36:11.839 but my God has not. 00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:13.359 And perhaps this morning 00:36:13.359 --> 00:36:14.359 you're tempted to worry, 00:36:14.799 --> 00:36:16.439 to kind of spin in a frenzy, 00:36:16.899 --> 00:36:18.000 to kind of plan your way 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:18.619 out of trouble. 00:36:19.139 --> 00:36:20.460 Perhaps you will say, 00:36:21.019 --> 00:36:22.500 not my will be done 00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:24.519 but your will be done. 00:36:24.739 --> 00:36:26.980 Your kingdom come. 00:36:27.820 --> 00:36:28.559 Let me pray 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:30.159 and then we'll sing together. 00:36:40.380 --> 00:36:41.139 Heavenly Father, 00:36:41.219 --> 00:36:42.280 we want to pray 00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:45.059 and say that we are truly sorry 00:36:45.059 --> 00:36:47.739 for every shred 00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:48.779 of self-reliance 00:36:48.779 --> 00:36:49.619 in our hearts. 00:36:50.739 --> 00:36:51.500 Forgive us 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:52.599 that we have thought 00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:56.099 that our own wisdom 00:36:56.099 --> 00:36:56.820 and wit 00:36:56.820 --> 00:36:57.820 would be enough 00:36:57.820 --> 00:36:58.639 to keep us 00:36:58.639 --> 00:36:59.440 in this life. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:01.960 And forgive us 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:03.039 for where we have made 00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:04.940 an idol out of human strength, 00:37:05.179 --> 00:37:05.699 our own 00:37:05.699 --> 00:37:06.659 or someone else's, 00:37:07.699 --> 00:37:08.559 thinking that they 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:09.440 would keep us safe 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:10.039 and not you. 00:37:11.739 --> 00:37:13.299 And so we say together, 00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:15.460 your will be done 00:37:15.460 --> 00:37:17.360 and your kingdom come. 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:18.900 In Jesus' name. 00:37:19.460 --> 00:37:19.760 Amen.