Skip to content How to Know if a Spirit is of God - Isaiah 66 Jan 17 · 17 min ...more
How to Know if a Spirit is of God - Isaiah 66
January 17, 2025 · 17 min
Discover the seamless connection between historical events and eternal truths in Isaiah 66, guiding us from past to future.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand January 17, 2025 · 17 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Discover the seamless connection between historical events and eternal truths in Isaiah 66, guiding us from past to future. ...more Show the full description Show less Discover the seamless connection between historical events and eternal truths in Isaiah 66, guiding us from past to future.
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The Final Chapter of Isaiah 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Well, the sun is not up yet, but I am because I wanted to I couldn't wait to get into the final chapter here of the book of Isaiah. We've been in this for a while.0:22 Chapter 66 this morning, final chapter of the book of Isaiah. I I wanna use, the latter part of verse 2 today. I'm gonna quote that. But this is the 1 to whom I will0:34 look, he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. So chapter 66 is, kinda like a time machine moving from the time of the captives of, in Babylon0:47 to the time of the church, to the end times, and then on into eternity all in 1 chapter. Chapter 66 covers the Jewish people returning from captivity to their rejection of the0:58 Messiah when he came, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the physical establishment of the kingdom of God, which is without end. All of that in this chapter. Now let me preface my1:10 comments today once again with a a disclaimer. Biblical prophecy often results in differing interpretations. Okay? For instance, in this chapter, verses 8 and 9 are seen by many to1:22 speak to the May fourteenth 19 48 birth of Israel, the modern state of Israel. After over 1800 years of not existing in a single day, Israel became a1:33 nation. That's never happened before. A nation that was was there, gone for nearly 2000 years, and then it comes back. Never happened before. Now there are some scholars like those1:45 in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which were more critic more critical of the scripture, they, they saw these passages of either speaking of the release of the captives from1:57 Babylon as something that already happened or saying it strictly from a spiritual perspective, the birth of the church, which also happened in a day. Well, I'm gonna share with you my thoughts based upon2:08 my study of the word of God. Now I'm not gonna be dogmatic in my interpretation of prophecy, and I will extend plenty of grace to others. But2:21 there is a test that John tells us that we are to apply when we look at prophetic words. Verse 1, I'm sorry. Yeah. First John chapter 4 verse 1.2:33 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits. We we should just believe everything we hear. And boy, is that true today with the Internet and all these wild ideas that are out there? And and and I'm2:45 not just talking about the political. I'm talking about the spiritual. We we we are to test these things, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this, you know the spirit of2:57 God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the spirit is not of God. And this is the spirit3:09 of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming and now is already in the world. So we need to test the things that are out there to make sure they are of God. And here it is.3:21 Everything should point to Jesus Christ as the son of God, the 1 who is coming to rule and to reign forever and ever. And and what moves in that vein, what lifts that up, what proclaims that, that's of God.3:32 What stands counter to that is not of God. Alright. Verse 1, chapter 66, thus says the lord, heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you will build me? And3:44 where is the place of my rest? For all those things my hand has made, and all those things exist, says the lord, but on this 1 will I look, on him who is poor and of a contrite3:56 spirit and who trembles at my word. You see, their identity was in the temple, not God. Right? The temple was their source of pride, and they thought that through the temple, they had accomplished4:08 something. They had built a house for God. They had put a they put God in a box. God says, not hardly. Not hardly. Heaven is my throne. The earth is my footstool. How are you going to build me a4:20 house to dwell in? You see, God made clear that this may come as a shock, but he doesn't need us. He doesn't need us to build him anything. He created it all.4:32 He's not impressed with our attempts at religion. You see, religion is man's attempt to reach God, and and and we can't do it. That's why he sent his son, Jesus. He reached4:44 out to us. But here's what he is drawn to. It makes it very clear here in this passage. He said, he's drawn to those who are poor. Now, he's not talking about those who are impoverished in material things. He4:56 those who are dependent upon him, those who have learned dependence upon him, those who are crushed in spirit, contrite, not proud or haughty, and those who have a reverence for the5:08 word of God, what his word has taken, they take yield to what he has spoken. Verse 3, he who kills a bull as if he slays a man, who sacrifices a lamb as if he breaks a dog's neck, he who offers a grain5:20 offering as if he offers swine's blood, he who burns incense as if he blesses an idol just as they have chosen their own ways and their soul delights in their abominations, so will I choose their5:31 delusions and bring their fears on them because when I called, no 1 answered. When I spoke, they did not hear, but they did evil before my eyes and chose that which I do not5:43 delight. Spiritual ritual does not resolve or relieve us of our unrighteousness. You see, they were thinking they could go5:55 through these religious rituals, and God says, you know, you might as well be doing something completely opposite because it doesn't matter. I've I've spoken and you have not heard.6:07 And the result would be that he will choose their delusions. They wanna be they they wanna be delusional? They wanna deny truth? Well, guess what? It's coming. And he's gonna choose their delusion, and he will make their6:19 own sin their punishment. We've seen that before where the punishment is found in the sin itself, and he's gonna bring their fears upon them. Now next comes words of comfort and encouragement to those who fear God,6:31 and there's a result of fearing him are ridiculed and rejected by others. Look at verse 5. Hear the word of the lord, you who tremble at his word. Those are those who respect his word, who who fear his word.6:43 Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for my name's sake said, let the lord be glorified that they may see your joy but they shall be ashamed. See, they were doing these6:55 things in the name of the lord actually showing hatred to those who were true to god. The sound of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord who fully repays his7:07 enemies. Verse 7, before she was in labor, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give7:18 birth in a day or a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause delivery, says the lord? Shall7:30 I, who calls delivery, shut up the womb, says the lord? Alright. As I mentioned, there are many there there are some differing interpretations of of this passage, different applications, but here's what I believe.7:42 I I believe it applies to the May fourteenth 19 48 establishment precursor of the final fulfillment that is coming, it is in7:54 alignment with what god's word says is going to happen. It is in it is moving in the current of history that God says we are going to arrive at8:06 at some point. Therefore, I'm going to be on board with the Lord. And and and how does that play out in the real world? Well, amazingly, right now, we're hearing this in the news8:18 about a, ceasefire, a hostage deal in in Israel, which is is good news to see these hostages, being able to come home,8:30 those who are still alive. In fact, just I was just with, some individuals who who had been held hostage and and those who still have family being held8:42 hostage. And the the description is just horrible of what they were living through. It's it's just it's demonic. It's unbelievable. But here's here here's my point, is that god8:54 and and we see this in his word that his hand is upon Israel. He is going to establish this nation. He's going he has. He will. And God is not subtracting9:07 from the nation of Israel in terms of he's bring he's bringing people in. He's calling them in. We'll see the final fulfillment fulfillment to come. He is giving them the land.9:19 And and and, by the way, what they have today is a fraction of what god originally gave to them. So we should be moving in in line with in the current9:31 of God's declared prophetic word of where we are going in the history of man. And and so we should not support anything that would cause them to give up their land or to put9:43 them in a position of vulnerability. And and that's my concern about this deal. And United States should not do anything that would tie the hands of Israel to protect themselves9:55 against terrorist attacks nor cause them to give up their land. I do believe that they should have control over Gaza, and they should not, be forced to give up, Judea10:07 and Samaria, which is the long term plan that many have been proposing with this 2 state solution. So I'm just saying as a policy standpoint, we need to be the word of God must inform10:19 our policy positions. And so I would encourage you right now to be praying over this situation. It's very, very fluid. I I I've spoken to leaders on both sides of the,10:31 of the ocean in Israel and here in the United States expressing concerns about, the direction. So pray. Pray. Alright? From here to the end of the chapter, we move to, to a focus on the10:43 millennial kingdom and beyond into eternity with a new heaven and a new earth. Verse 10, rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her,10:55 all you who mourn for her. See, the true church, the true church, those who follow the lord Jesus Christ, who are yielded to the word of god, they rejoice with the restoration of Jerusalem11:07 and the movement toward the final fulfillment of god's promises to Israel. We're not jealous. We rejoice because we're grafted in as Paul said. Judgment, though, we see11:19 next will come upon those who reject god and his word, worshiping the demonic powers of this world. And and the lines get it's very clear. There's not, you know, you're on 1 side or the11:31 other. And that and that's gonna as we move toward, the final days, and I don't know when that's gonna be. Could be a couple hundred years. Could be a couple weeks. Could be a couple months. I don't know. But11:43 I will tell you the pieces are falling into place. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. You know, there's a certain point when you're doing those puzzles that all of a sudden the picture becomes clear and it comes together very11:53 rapidly. I think we're at that point, that tipping point where the the missing pieces are going to come into place very rapidly, and we need to be prepared. Verse 15. For behold, the lord will come with12:05 fire and with his chariots like a whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword, the lord will judge all12:17 flesh, and the slain of the Lord will be many. Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go to the gardens after an idol in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination of the mouth shall be consumed12:28 together, says the Lord. What's he saying there? The Lord is long suffering. He does not want any to perish, but there is coming a day of judgment, and religious ritual will not save12:40 you. Only a relationship with the lord Jesus Christ covered in his righteousness, giving us a standing before God by his grace, not not12:52 on our merits, but on what Jesus Christ did. Then we see that the nations, Jew and Gentile, will flock to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. Verse 18, for I13:04 know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see my glory. Then there shall be, as we see here in these final13:15 few verses, a final separation of the saved and the unrepentant sinner. The 2 are the the the just 2 categories. Either you're you're saved, you're covered in the righteousness13:27 of Christ, or you are you have chosen to reject god's grace and you're an unrepentant sinner. The saved will spend eternity serving and worship the lord free from the burden13:40 and constraints of sin. It's gonna be great. And then the unrepentant, those who chose not to follow God, who chose not to hear, not to yield,13:53 they will face and endure the unquenchable fires of hell for eternity. Verse 2, for as the new heavens and new earth,14:05 which I will make, shall remain before me, says the lord. So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from 1 new moon to the other and from 1 Sabbath to another,14:16 all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me. For their worm does not die, and their flesh is not14:28 quenched. They shall be in abhorrence to all flesh. And there, we end the book of Isaiah. Father, we thank you14:40 for your word. We thank you, Lord, for this prophetic word of Isaiah. And, Lord, we we anticipate and look forward to continuing in the prophets. And, lord, we see your14:52 word. We see what's been fulfilled. We see what is being fulfilled. And, therefore, lord, we we have confidence that the remainder will be fulfilled. Maybe in our lifetime, maybe not, but15:04 it will be fulfilled. And so, lord, we wanna come into alignment with your word. We wanna be moving in, lord, the the the current of your truth and of your prophetic word. We don't wanna15:16 stand against it. We don't wanna operate counter to it. Lord, we wanna be yielded to your word. We wanna fear your word. We wanna reverence your word. Lord, I pray that you would look upon us as those15:28 who are poor, that are, lord, dependent upon you with a with a contrite spirit, lord, with a with a crushed spirit, lord, humble, yielded to you, and that father your15:40 hand would be upon us, that we have a reverence for your word. So father, look upon us with favor, and may we walk in the power of your presence, the power of the holy spirit.15:52 Thank you for your word, lord. Continue to guide us through your holy spirit. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks again for joining me this morning. It's been great to be on this journey through Isaiah, and,16:04 we've got more of the journey ahead. So until next time, keep standing on the word.16:11 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you16:23 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:10 The Final Chapter of Isaiah
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