Podcasts about Tarshish

We all have a “Tarshish” — a place we run to avoid God's will. Here's how to stop running and start trusting.Morning Offering, October 6, 2025Every morning, join Father Brad as he begins the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Brad guides you in prayer, shares a brief reflection grounding your day in the Church's rhythm of feast days and liturgy, and provides you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Disclaimer: The ads shown before, during, or after this video have no affiliation with Morning Offering and are controlled by YouTubeLet us do as the saints urge and begin our days in prayer together so as a community of believers we may join the Psalmist in saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3-4)________________

IN THE STORM Jonah 1.4-16 Last week, we discussed the WHY: Jonah bolted because God was sending him to Nineveh, known for their evil and cruelty. Jonah buys a ticket for Tarshish. The writer of Jonah loves the word “down.” • Jonah went down to Joppa (v1,3) • He went down to the ship (v3) • He went down into the inner part of the ship (v5) • There, he laid down (v5) • And he went down into the sea, into the belly of a fish. Isn't that how it works? Small steps until you realize you're completely underwater. Jonah 1.4–6 (ESV) The Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” C. S. Lewis: “Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Hebrews 12.6-7 (NLT) says, “The Lord disciplines those He loves.” When storms hit, we may grumble, “Why me?” For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? God hasn't given up on us. He loves us enough to shake us awake. Verse 5 says, “Each cried out to his god.” That's what people do in storms: they run to their gods. But false gods can't calm real storms. What do storms do? • Storms reveal our gods. Who do you turn to first when life falls apart? That's your god. • Storms remind us of God's sovereignty. Storms show us we're not in control. • Storms redirect us. • Storms bring unexpected conversions. Jonah wasn't aiming to evangelize sailors, but his storm became their salvation. Jonah: “Worst Missionary of All Time” • He didn't want to go. • He hated those to whom he was being sent. • He literally begged people to kill him so he wouldn't have to preach. Why worship God even in our storms: • God loves us enough to send storms. Storms are not punishment but rescue missions. • Knowledge without obedience is useless. Jonah knew the right God but lived the wrong way. • Our storms may lead others to salvation. Your struggle might become someone else's testimony. • The storm is not the end. Jonah went down, but grace was waiting even in the deep. Jonah's storm led sailors to worship and eventually led Jonah to repentance. What might God be up to in your storm?Subscribe to PRESTONCREST - with Gordon Dabbs on Soundwise

IN THE STORM Jonah 1.4-16 Last week, we discussed the WHY: Jonah bolted because God was sending him to Nineveh, known for their evil and cruelty. Jonah buys a ticket for Tarshish. The writer of Jonah loves the word “down.” • Jonah went down to Joppa (v1,3) • He went down to the ship (v3) • He went down into the inner part of the ship (v5) • There, he laid down (v5) • And he went down into the sea, into the belly of a fish. Isn't that how it works? Small steps until you realize you're completely underwater. Jonah 1.4–6 (ESV) The Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” C. S. Lewis: “Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Hebrews 12.6-7 (NLT) says, “The Lord disciplines those He loves.” When storms hit, we may grumble, “Why me?” For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? God hasn't given up on us. He loves us enough to shake us awake. Verse 5 says, “Each cried out to his god.” That's what people do in storms: they run to their gods. But false gods can't calm real storms. What do storms do? • Storms reveal our gods. Who do you turn to first when life falls apart? That's your god. • Storms remind us of God's sovereignty. Storms show us we're not in control. • Storms redirect us. • Storms bring unexpected conversions. Jonah wasn't aiming to evangelize sailors, but his storm became their salvation. Jonah: “Worst Missionary of All Time” • He didn't want to go. • He hated those to whom he was being sent. • He literally begged people to kill him so he wouldn't have to preach. Why worship God even in our storms: • God loves us enough to send storms. Storms are not punishment but rescue missions. • Knowledge without obedience is useless. Jonah knew the right God but lived the wrong way. • Our storms may lead others to salvation. Your struggle might become someone else's testimony. • The storm is not the end. Jonah went down, but grace was waiting even in the deep. Jonah's storm led sailors to worship and eventually led Jonah to repentance. What might God be up to in your storm?Subscribe to PRESTONCREST - with Gordon Dabbs on Soundwise

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of […]

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of […]

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of the protagonist, Jonah, and of the people of Nineveh. But our Sages let us in on a secret that the Book of Jonah contains a  hidden, kabbalistic story embedded beneath the story – which also teaches us powerful, topical messages for the Day of Atonement.– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletterrabbiwolbe.com/newsletter– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe's PodcastsThe Parsha PodcastThe Jewish History PodcastThe Mitzvah Podcast This Jewish LifeThe Ethics PodcastTORAH 101 ★ Support this podcast ★

This message is from Greenfield Presbyterian Church in Berkley, MI. The Scripture is Jonah 4:1-11 Jonah balks at God's mercy 4 But Jonah thought this was utterly wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Come on, Lord! Wasn't this precisely my point when I was back in my own land? This is why I fled to Tarshish earlier! I know that you are a merciful and compassionate God, very patient, full of faithful love, and willing not to destroy. 3 At this point, Lord, you may as well take my life from me, because it would be better for me to die than to live.” 4 The Lord responded, “Is your anger a good thing?” 5 But Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city. There he made himself a hut and sat under it, in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a shrub, and it grew up over Jonah, providing shade for his head and saving him from his misery. Jonah was very happy about the shrub. 7 But God provided a worm the next day at dawn, and it attacked the shrub so that it died. 8 Then as the sun rose God provided a dry east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became faint. He begged that he might die, saying, “It's better for me to die than to live.” 9 God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?” Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!” 10 But the Lord said, “You ‘pitied' the shrub, for which you didn't work and which you didn't raise; it grew in a night and perished in a night. 11 Yet for my part, can't I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who can't tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

"We cannot reasonably think otherwise, than that the beginning of this great work of God must be near. And there are many things that make it probable that this work will begin in America.—It is signified that it shall begin in some very remote part of the world, with which other parts have no communication but by navigation, in Isa. 60:9. "Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring my sons from far."

When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them the city would be destroyed in 40 days, Jonah fled to Tarshish. Something was eating him up, besides the whale that would eventually eat him. Why? Was he afraid the Ninevites would harm him? When we look closer at the words of Jonah, we …

As we continue to watch the unfolding debate on free speech, following the assignation of Charlie Kirk, this week we turn our attention to the second state visit made by the US President to King Charles the III and the special relationship shared between the US and the UK. But, before we look at this, we will reflect on the purpose of Bible prophecy and why these things interest us.

Faith for the Coming Wilderness (4) (audio) David Eells – 9/14/25 I want to back up a little from what I shared last time, when we knew we were to move to Florida and share how we got a little ahead of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord will wait before He answers because He wants to see if we are going to get out there in the flesh and that's what we did. We came over a little early and started looking around Pensacola, but we didn't see anything, and we went back home. We started crying out to the Lord, “Okay, Lord, we know this is the time; we know it's coming,” and so on. And the next time, we waited until the Lord sent us. We even had a Christian realtor in Pensacola looking around for us, and we described the house to him because we had already seen it in dreams and visions. He was looking all over Pensacola, trying to find the house, until, finally, one day, in a little frustration after having sought the Lord, I stopped the man. I said, “Look, let's get your map.” So he got his map and we stretched it out on the hood of his car, and I said, “Listen, this is where the house is, right here!” I wasn't even looking where I was pointing, but I stuck my finger down on the map and he said, “Okay, we'll go there and look.” As we were looking, I told the man just exactly how much we were going to pay for the house. I could tell he wasn't used to that, but he said, “Okay.” He drove us through the area where my finger came down and we passed by the house we had seen in our dreams and visions. The lady who owned it had just stuck a “For Sale By Owner” sign in the ground. And since this was a realtor and it was a For Sale By Owner sign, he was just driving right on by, but I had my pad and pencil out. I wrote down the phone number and called her later. So after we looked at the house, I felt led to offer her $1000 less than I knew I was going to pay because some people like to haggle. She said, “Well, I don't know.” And I said, “Well, I tell you what, leave the curtains,” which I knew she was planning on doing anyway, “and I'll give you this much,” which was the amount the Lord told me. And she said, “Okay.” Praise the Lord! I do want to tell you that the realtor was a good Christian man who had done a good job looking for the house, and we actually gave him his commission. He had worked for his due, and we figured we'd give it to him anyway. He told us, “Man, I could never have found you a deal like this!” Now this lady was a Baptist, but one of her relatives was the pastor of a large, full-Gospel church in Pensacola. He and other people had been witnessing to her. And at the time when we came to Pensacola, she was having a problem with her eyes, so we asked her, “Would you let us pray for you? Will you let us lay hands on you for those eyes, so God will heal them?” I pointed out some verses to her and so on. She said, “Well, I don't know so much of that laying on of hands stuff, but I would like you to pray for me.” I answered, “Okay, we will pray for you without the laying on of hands.” That's what we did; we prayed for her, and God healed her. She was so jubilant to come to find out that God would do this for her because her doctrine didn't permit that kind of miraculous healing. She didn't really believe in those kinds of miraculous healings, but she received a miraculous healing, and her eyes were suddenly opened to the true Gospel. Then, when the time came for us to move in, she still wasn't ready to move out for another week, so she lived with us for a week, and we were able to witness to her even more. We had our stuff all piled up on one end of the house, and we were kind of living together like that until, finally, we had the house to ourselves. You see, God did a miracle. And it was through our weakness that we got this miracle. God paid for it; we didn't pay for anything. The money He gave us was enough to buy the house and a new car because our small car was a Toyota, which was good for doing small jobs, but we had five kids. So we bought a large, brand new station wagon, and God also did many miracles on that station wagon for us over the years. But the miracle was that God paid for both of these. We didn't have any money or save any money, and we just continued to give to any need that came our way. Whenever we saw a need, we gave to it. We didn't believe in storing up our treasures on earth, so we put no money in the bank. We did what Jesus says. (Luk.12:33) Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. “Faileth not.” I want to remind you that no credit goes to us. Eph 2:8  for by grace (unmerited favor) have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9  not of works, that no man should glory.  When you store up your treasures in Heaven by meeting the needs of the brethren, you can always get it back because as the Lord said, it “faileth not.” For many years, I made a very good living, and I met the needs of the brethren around me. Whenever I saw a need, it wasn't a burden to me to take care of it by the grace of God, Who put it in my heart to do that. When you read the Word of God and you love the Word of God, and you love to act and live on the Word of God, the Word gets into your heart. The Word in you is Jesus in you. So we just gave where we saw to give; we didn't save up money and we didn't borrow money. Borrowing was out of the question for us because we were walking by faith, and even up to today, I haven't for 55 years. But because I give, the money is always there when I need it. As I've shared with you, the Lord taught me never to borrow, never to tell my needs, never to go into the business of buying and selling. Another was, never to take any government help. Recently the Lord had me sighn up for Social Security at 76 which didn't belong to the government but me, but I have given it away ever since. One of the things the young man said happened in his dream was that when he walked up to me, I told him, “I'm never going to work for man again,” and it was true. After I retired from Exxon, I never worked for man again. Now, everybody has to work, as the Bible says: (2Th.3:10) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat. So I've worked diligently for the Lord and still do, but I've never been a burden on people. I made sure of that, and I never made my needs known. I haven't received any income from UBM. God put it in people's hearts to meet our needs separately. I don't believe in being a freeloader or “mooching.” It's wrong and it's evil. If you're truly walking by faith, God's going to support you. (Luk.10:7) And in that same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. (Mat.10:10) Get you no gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; (10) no wallet for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food. God supports those who work for Him. Apostle Paul is our example. At the beginning of his ministry, he worked for a living. (1Co.9:11) If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things? (12) If others partake of [this] right over you, do not we yet more? Nevertheless we did not use this right; but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. But later on (2 Corinthians 9; Philippians 2), it seems very clear that Paul was receiving freewill offerings from brethren so that he could continue on with his ministering and not be distracted by any work. It was that way for the first part of my ministry, too. I worked for many years while I ministered. I learned to walk by faith and, in that weakness, God was miraculous. Most people don't get to see the miracles of God because they are not willing to be weak. They're always strong and do for themselves; it's salvation by works. Remember that the Greek word for “salvation,” which is the noun soteria or the verb sozo, is translated in many different ways to cover every kind of salvation. For instance, when Jesus healed someone, (Mat.9:22) But Jesus turning and seeing her said, Daughter, be of good cheer; thy faith hath made thee whole (sozo). And the woman was made whole (sozo) from that hour. When He delivered people from demons, (Luk.8:36) And they that saw it told them how he that was possessed with demons was made whole (sozo). When the disciples were in the sinking boat, (Mat.8:25) And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Save (sozo), Lord; we perish. Salvation is very, very big! Jesus saved us from sin and its curse. (2Co.5:21) Him who knew no sin he made [to be] sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Did you know, in the Scriptures, poverty is a curse? (Deu.28:47) Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; (48) therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies that Jehovah shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. Unless it is a sacrificial self-imposed poverty for the sake of others, it's a curse. How many of you know that Jesus wasn't poverty-stricken? He had His needs met everywhere He went. Now, He didn't have riches, according to the way the world likes riches. The world likes the material kind of riches in which they can trust. Jesus didn't have that, but His needs were met wherever He went, and so were His disciples. They weren't poor, but they were poor to the world. (Jas.2:5) Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? People who are poor to the world are in a position of weakness, where they have to trust in God. You have to come out from under the principles of the world and the teachings of the worldly, Babylonish Church. You learn to obey the principles that Jesus gave us in the New Testament. Make sure your brother's needs are met sacrificially out of what you have, and God will make sure you don't ever have a need that isn't met by God's faith in us. Paul said, (Php.4:19) And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. He said that because his needs were being met by the brethren and He made that promise to the Philippians. Well, we lost a car, had been injured, and didn't have any money, but in our weakness, God was made strong. We didn't have to sell or borrow or beg or do anything of the sort; all we did was give. I want you to walk in the same blessings, and God will do that for you if you start living according to His principles. By the way, because the second part of the money that came in from the wreck was delayed and delayed, God made an opportunity for me to give away my first station wagon that I had when I was in Baton Rouge. I gave it away to a mission in town where I had preached quite a few times because they needed transportation for the people in the mission. God blessed me with that car, and I never had any problems with it that Father didn't fix. When we prayed for a car, my youngest daughter had a vision of that car being in New Orleans. She even saw the color of the car. Sure enough, I couldn't find anything in Baton Rouge that I liked, so I went to New Orleans, and I saw the car and bought it. That was the car I gave to the mission. And I'd never put any spares in that car because I was trusting God to keep my tires, but the day I put the keys in the preacher's hand in my living room and we walked outside, it was sitting on a flat. I never had a flat as long as I had that car because I never carried a spare, but as soon as it got out of my hand and into his, it had a flat. And since I mentioned New Orleans, think about what happened there, folks. God brought a Category 5 hurricane (Hurricane Katrina: August 29, 2005) to that big sin city and, just as it was about to hit land, He sent in a wave of dry air from the northwest that suddenly knocked that hurricane down to a Category 3. That same gust of dry air pushed the hurricane to the east. A Category 5 hurricane that was about to hit that area would have driven the waters of Lake Pontchartrain over into the city and drowned 40,000 to 50,000 people because the water would have come in there so fast. Think about man's efforts to save himself with the levees and those great big monster pumps that they have in that city. They thought they could keep that city dry. Had a Category 5 hit that city head-on, or even a Category 3, it would have pushed the water in there faster than the pumps could handle. Most of New Orleans is 20 feet below sea level and some of it is more than 20 feet below sea level. What chance did man have to save himself from just one of God's judgments? As it was, He didn't let the city escape, even after moving the hurricane over a little bit. The levees gave out when they became saturated and the city started filling up with water, but it was slow enough to give people a little time to move out of the way. It was astounding how the mercy of God saved those people. The meteorologists pointed out on radar how this gust of dry air came in and moved the hurricane; they were totally amazed by it. They had never seen anything like it. That was purely an act of God that spared them when they couldn't have saved themselves, even with all of their efforts. They knew if a major hurricane hit them, the city would drown. God didn't completely spare the city, but He spared an untold number of people, including many brethren. I'm sure some people in New Orleans with faith were praying until God, at the last moment, suddenly dropped the strength of that hurricane and moved it over. Hurricane Dennis did exactly the same thing as it was coming toward Pensacola. I was praying the whole time and I was asking, “Lord, do you want me to command that hurricane to back off and go the other way?” The Lord said, “No. Just wait,” so I didn't do anything. All of a sudden, when it hit the land, I felt in my heart that the Lord wanted me to command it to be broken up, and that's exactly when it started breaking up. The strength dropped down, and it veered a little bit to the right of Pensacola. I know that there were some people over there in New Orleans doing the exact same thing and God answered the exact same way. You see, God has it all planned out. He just uses His faith in us to bring it to pass. We can put our trust in the living God. Nothing that man can do will save you from the judgments that are coming. The wilderness is where you learn to walk by faith in the Lord. You learn to put your faith in Him and you give up your efforts and your power; you give up your ability to do anything. The promises of God are past tense. He became a curse for you, He bore your curse, and He healed your body. He already did all of this, and since all of these promises are past tense, what can you do to bring it to pass? Jesus taught us, (Mar.11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them. If you believe you have received, there's nothing for you to do to bring them to pass. Believing the promises brings us into a position of weakness where we can't save ourselves. You've probably heard the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” Well, that's a lie. The Bible says just the opposite: (Jer.17:5) Thus saith the Lord: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. The power of God is made perfect in weakness; that's what He told Paul: (2Co.12:9) And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Paul couldn't save himself in those situations that he got into, but he said, (2Ti.4:18) The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. In his weakness, and faith, God's power was made perfect. Keep the Sabbath, and don't bring a burden into God's Holy City on this Sabbath. Cease from your own works or, in other words, cease from the works of man. As God told Moses and the children of Israel, (Exo.14:13) And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. (14) The Lord will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. He said, “Stand still.” They were trying to figure out what to do. Here was Pharaoh's army coming up behind them and they would have never thought about parting the Red Sea. (Exo.14:15) And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. (16) And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground. You see, God has ways far beyond our ways. (Isa.55:8) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. (9) For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. That's why He had to tell them, “stand still.” It's the same for us. Sometimes we're just so busy running around, trying to figure out a way out of this or a way out of that. We've been trained from our youth to solve our problems for ourselves, when God just wants us to be believers in His promises. Get your Bible and diligently read it. Underline those promises and start acting on them. (Jas.2:17) Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Faith without works is dead. Remember that Jesus told us, (Mar.11:24) … All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them. How would you act if you believed you had received what you prayed for? You would stop trying to bring it to pass for yourself. You would cease from your own labors and, if you cease from your own labors on His Sabbath, you will find God's power is made perfect. Glory be to God! Now, I want to remind you that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart over and over before the Israelites were set free from Egypt to go into their wilderness. (Exo.7:1) And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (2) Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. (3) And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. (4) But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. (5) And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. Why did He do that? Why did the Lord harden Pharaoh's heart? (Exo.10:1) And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs in the midst of them, (2) and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought upon Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know that I am the Lord. The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart because He wanted to judge Egypt and He wanted to prove His great power to deliver the Israelites. By the time the Israelites left Egypt, the land had been devastated, and the economy was in ruins. (Exo.10:7) And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? You know, He's going to do that again in our day! (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. History is going to repeat. Judgments are coming upon the United States, but God is merciful, and He sends warnings to us so His people will pray. I'm totally convinced that the prayers of the saints have delayed a time of judgment. We have been receiving many revelations of judgments, some of them with actual dates that have since come and gone, and the Lord showed me that these were true revelations, yet they didn't come to pass. You see, the Lord gives you a warning of things to come for the purpose of having you seek Him for grace. (Jas.4:2) … ye have not, because ye ask not. God's people don't pray and they don't seek Him for His grace and mercy! It takes a threat for His people to seek Him for grace and mercy. When God wants to give us grace and mercy, He almost has to tell us what's going to happen if we don't seek Him. I know what the Lord did with those revelations that never came to pass: He put those warnings out there so His people would seek Him for grace and He gave it. By the way, if you don't believe God dates prophecies, you haven't read very much of the Bible because there are many of them in there (Daniel 7; 9; Jonah 3; Revelation 12; etc.) The brethren who share these warnings sometimes wonder if God just forgot about them or if He left them, or if they were deceived. The same thing happened with Jonah. (Jon.4:1) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. Jonah had prophesied Nineveh would be overthrown in 40 days, and yet, God had mercy when the people cried out to Him. God had mercy, and Jonah was angry because now he was going to look like a false prophet. (2) And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil. (3) Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Jonah didn't want to face the world. He felt as if the Lord had let him down. He had prophesied their destruction, but he also knew that God was merciful and would repent of the prophesied evil. However, God reminded Jonah there was something a lot more important than his pride. (Jon.4:11) And should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? Can you imagine, He was even having mercy on the cattle! God was showing it wasn't important that Jonah might look like a false prophet, but it was important that God was going to have mercy on these people. That's the thing we have to keep in mind. Remember, we've been put here to be of no reputation anyway, according to the Scriptures. (Php.2:5) Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, (7) but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; (8) and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. We're supposed to have the same mind as Christ. We're here to lose our reputation in the eyes of the world. The wilderness is a place of hopelessness for the flesh because the flesh really can't help God. Just like the wilderness was a place of weakness for Israel, a place where the world couldn't supply the needs of God's people, so it is, and will be, for us in our day. What the Church has been teaching for so long is, “God helps those who help themselves.” That's their doctrine. Well, God doesn't like that and it's a stench in His nostrils. The Bible says (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. We are saved by His works, His efforts, and His wisdom. The Lord has already accomplished everything for us at the cross. (Php.4:19) And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. He supplied our needs at the cross, so God doesn't appreciate that the Church is preaching salvation by works. He said, (2Co.12:9) … My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness.... I'd like to share with you the difference between assurance and insurance because this is part of my wilderness. Many people have their trust in the “idol” of insurance. They think they've insulated themselves from anything bad that could come from this world, but it's going to fail. Every idol that you stand up to the Lord will fall over and be crushed like Dagon. (1Sa.5:3) And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. (4) And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. God is going to judge all the idols of Egypt; they will all fail. Even insurance companies are not going to be able to save America. As a matter of fact, insurance companies have been leaving several states, including Florida, where judgments such as hurricanes are becoming more and more frequent. They've been leaving those states to avoid going bankrupt. And they get permission to not pay up if doing so would harm them. But God's going to continue hitting big sin cities all around the United States with one form of judgment or another, and there aren't enough insurance companies in the world to save America. If you're interested in my wilderness experiences and teachings from the Bible, I ask that you get our free e-book, Sovereign God For Us And Through Us, on our website: ubm1.org. He is sovereign for us and He wants to be sovereign through us. He wants to administer His authority in this earth through His people. I want to share some excerpts with you here from Chapter 18. It's titled “Assurance Versus Insurance,” and I hope it will give you a desire to read the rest of the book. We receive testimonies every day of people who are being empowered by God and helped and delivered by this book. (The excerpts are italicized, and my commentary is in parentheses.) (Psa.91:9) For thou, O Lord, art my refuge!.... This confession of faith and the deliverance that comes of it are merely acting on what the Word says. I received a revelation years ago in Louisiana, before it was a law to have any form of auto insurance. Even now there are are laws to have the minimum PIP/PD but that covers the other guy, not you. So I have had this to obey the law and have been rewarded greatly because the other guy was a fault and paid me. The Lord began spiritually to reason with me. It occurred to me that God is sovereign over what we call “accidents.” (We're always insulating ourselves with insurance, but there is really no such thing as an accident, is there?) (Joh.3:27) A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. That doesn't sound like there are accidents (It sounds like there is a sovereign God!); therefore, an accident could not come without God sending it. Since He said that if we prayed believing we would receive, then I could ask Him to keep my vehicles, or let the other guy be at fault and pay me, which has profited me greatly. Why would I need insurance if I believed the assurance just given in His promises? (Psa.91:9) For thou, O Lord, art my refuge! (Notice the good confession and its resulting benefit. (Jas.2:26) For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. Faith without works is dead, but the good confession brings a benefit.) Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation; (10) There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. (I know a lot of people don't believe or teach this nowadays, but it's the Word of the Lord. Who are we to say otherwise!) (11) For he will give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. (12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Or, in other words, “lest you have an accident.”) Notice that when we abide in Christ by faith (and hold fast this good confession; that's the promise of God), angels keep us from what men call “accidents.” An exception to this can be an experience like Job's to show hidden faults (Job.32:1-2). As in his case, God strictly controls the chastening and later restores what is taken. God restored to Job twice as much as he had and without insurance. God desires to be our security. We don't need security in the world; we need our God to be our security. (Psa.119:122) Be surety (Hebrew: “to give or be security”) for thy servant for good.... (Heb.7:22) By so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better covenant. God and His promises are the believers' assurance of provision and protection. After seeing what the Lord was saying to me, I dropped my auto insurance back before it was required. Then I called my life insurance man and he came over. I told him that I would not need insurance anymore because God would be my assurance. He was a good Lutheran man who sincerely tried to reason with this fanatic, but to no avail. The week after I did this, I drove to a Stop-N-Go mart and went in to get some food. While I was walking down an aisle, I heard a crash that shook the store windows. I looked up over the isle to see that my car had been in a wreck without me! I went out and found a heavy old Buick's front end wrapped around the back corner of my Datsun station wagon. The driver backed the car up a foot or so, and we both stood there speechless. We just couldn't really understand how this could happen. The hood, grill and bumper of his all steel car were notched back about six inches, as if it had hit a big oak tree. Here is the good part. Datsun station wagons were tin boxes and could be dented with an elbow. This tank hit my car on the left rear wrap-around, plastic tail lens! I reached out and with my thumbnail, scraped a piece of paint from his hood off the plastic tail lens, and we stood there for a moment looking at this miracle. There was not a scratch, dent or crack on my car anywhere. Awesome God! He made my wimpy car, which should have been totaled, invincible to this old tank of a car. The assurance of God saved me from any need of insurance. The man said, “I think my brakes went out,” and then he mumbled, “They sure make ‘em better than they used to.” As I was thinking about how ludicrous that statement was (and I knew he didn't believe it anyway), he got in his car and left. Suddenly, it hit me that I missed the best chance in the entire world to witness to someone. I jumped into my car and caught him at the next red light (where his brakes, obviously, had stopped him). I grabbed some tracts out of the glove box and hurried to his door. I said, “Sir, that was a miracle.” He said, “It had to be.” I said, “I didn't have any insurance on my car and I was trusting God to keep it and He did.” The light turned green and we parted company. Since then, I have never had any insurance that covers our family, vehicles or home, other than what the law demands. We now have to have liability, which covers the other guy but not you. However, when the Lord tells you that you do not need insurance He means it. That first wreck, or lack thereof, was an awesome testimony, but we did not plunder Egypt, as we did with later wrecks. Since then, God has not always protected our vehicles or bodies, but in every case, it was to our advantage, for He healed our bodies once and greatly blessed us financially. (When you trust in the Lord, He's working all things for your good, as Romans 8:28 says.) During this time, though we sued no one, the other guy's insurance blessed us with money for the following: to repair a motorcycle with money leftover in my pocket for a new one; to repair a Toyota pickup that needed painting anyway, and I ended up after fixing the pickup, painting it with a beautiful paint job with $1,500 left in my pocket; to buy two cars, one new; to buy our home; to enable us to buy and give cars to others; to enable us to give our home away; and to buy a travel trailer for a homeless woman and her son. Besides all that and more, we have not spent God's money on many years' worth of insurance. (If you obey God, you can't lose! If you obey God and walk by faith in Him and let His assurance be your insurance and not the world, then you'll see the miracles of God.) Now, I can hear someone say, “But David, what if ... ?” What if what? What if God Almighty fell off His throne? (God made these promises; we're just depending upon Him.) (Rom.10:11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (The devil tells you that you will be put to shame, but that's a lie.) (Jer.17:7) Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose trust the Lord is. By the grace of God, it has been many years since we have had a wreck. Praise God! (So God can keep you from wrecks, but when you do get into them, He can make them bless you.) One day, in that same Datsun station wagon, I was driving along rather frustrated because I had had three flats on relatively new tires. Most people would be complaining to the manufacturer, but I believed that God was in control, so I was complaining to the Lord. A little frustrated, I said, “Lord, can't You keep my tires?” He said to me very clearly, “Don't you believe that I can keep your tires?” I replied in my ignorance, “Yes, I believe You can keep them.” He replied, “Then why do you keep putting that spare back there?” To be honest, I put the spare in the trunk because it was traditional and I had not questioned it, but also, the underlying reason was in case God didn't keep my tires. (I'm not trying to make a new doctrine on spares, just share a lesson God gave to me.) Fear and unbelief cause us to try to insulate ourselves from any possibility of lack, loss or threat. Since we are trusting in insurance besides the Lord, we usually end up needing it. (That's what people don't understand. If you trust in something besides the Lord, you end up having to use it. Of course, some people say, “Aha! You see, I needed it!” But they have it all backwards. When you trust in any idol and not in the Lord, you're going to need it.) Jesus sent out His disciples in a way that would make them dependent on living by faith. He sent them without their own provision so that in their weakness His power would be proven. (Mat.10:9) Get you no gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; (10) no wallet for [your] journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food. Later, Jesus wanted to see what they learned from this experience of depending upon God's supply. (Luk.22:35) And he said unto them, When I sent you forth without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. (For those of you who believe that only applied to the disciples, remember Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples and teach them to observe everything that He commanded the first disciples to observe (Matthew 28:20). In other words, what He spoke to them, He spoke to us, but man came in there with religion and thwarted the whole mission that God sent us on.) In the wilderness of man's supply, God's provision was evident. (When Jesus sent out the disciples without their own supply, He basically made a wilderness wherever these men went because they didn't bring enough with them out of “Egypt” to supply their needs.) God starts His works when we finish ours. His power is made perfect in our weakness. That was my experience with those tires. I threw out my spare and I never had another flat on that car, and the neighbors who used to borrow it quit! (I would tell them, “Look, if you're going to drive this car, you have to drive it by faith because I don't have a spare back there.” Well, they quit borrowing my car, which I guess was another benefit.) The moral of that story is, if you prepare for a rainy day, it will come. With the next car, I had the same experience: no flats. When I decided after many years to give it to a mission, I put the keys and title into the hand of the pastor in my living room. We walked outside and the car was on a flat. (I was the one walking by faith and now that it was his car, now that the key was in his hand, it was sitting on a flat! Well, inside I just chuckled. I understood exactly what He was saying to me.) God made His point. As long as I owned the car, putting my trust in Him, there was never a flat. In other words, trusting in God takes away the need for insurance. (And, again, I'm not making any laws about this; I'm not condemning anybody for having spares. God was teaching me, and He'll teach you. He may use other methods, but He wants to teach you to walk in this wilderness, to walk in a lack of man's provision, but in your weakness, God will be made strong.) Men serve insurance companies, H.M.O.s, banks and store up their treasures on earth for the security they think it gives them. (Mat.6:19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal. Y2K revealed the paranoia and lack of trust in those who stored up their treasures on earth, contrary to the Lord's command. (It's fear that causes people to do such things, but God's power is made perfect in our weakness.) Quite a few I showed these principles to went home to give their store away and found it full of bugs, just as Jesus said, “thieves break through and steal.” Jesus told of a man who found peace in the insurance of storing up his goods in greater barns (Luke 12:18). He said to himself, (Luk.12:19) ...Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. (That's the thinking of man: “I have all I need; this will keep me for a long time.”) His misplaced trust brought judgment. (20) But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required (Greek: “they require thy soul”) of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Now, to be “rich toward God” is to be “rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom.” (Jas.2:5) Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? Why did He choose the “poor as to the world”? He chose them because they have to trust in God, they have to put their faith in God. That's what God did with the Israelites when He brought them into the wilderness. He made them poor to the world, and He expected them to put their faith in Him.) Notice that it was his stored-up treasures that required his soul. Jesus promised the unfailing Kingdom provisions to those who would store up their treasures in Heaven by giving. (32) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (33) Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old (not storing up), a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. As long as we are on this earth, we can draw on our Heavenly bank account if we have deposited by giving to the needs of others. “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” If we have stored up on earth instead, the promise is that it will be stolen by thieves of one kind or another. Our heart will be on our treasures, falsely thinking them to be our security. (Luk.12:34) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (And God cannot lie!) (I'm told that Psalm 118:8 is the center verse in the Bible and I'm sure that it is at least central to God's heart.) (Psa.118:8) It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Our trust in man is what brings the curse to pass. (Jer.17:5) Thus saith the Lord: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. (People are trusting in their insurance of many different kinds; they're trusting in their insurance companies, but they are all going to fail. Everything but God is going to fail in the days ahead!) As we can see, the insurances themselves bring the curse that they are thought to relieve. (The man who stored up “much goods” found that they brought the curse upon him. God is not offended with the world doing it; He's offended with His people doing these things.) God is offended with those who call themselves believers, yet trust in man's strength and insurances. This is a heart that departs from the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 16:1-6, Asa, king of Judah, put his trust in the worldly king of Syria for insurance against his enemies. This offended God, Who sent judgment. (2Ch.16:7) And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and hast not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand. (8) Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host, with chariots and horsemen exceeding many? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thy hand. (9) For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars. God is eager to show signs and wonders to those who trust in Him with a perfect heart. (Obviously, a “perfect heart” is not one that trusts in the world.) You would think that Asa would have learned this lesson, but his trust in man cost him his life, as it does for so many. (12) And in the thirty and ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians (13) And Asa slept with his fathers.... Christians justify their misplaced trust in man's insurances, not realizing that this brings the judgment in the first place. Let me share this experience with you. M.J. and I were about to go to work on a large crude oil pump for Exxon. The process department had blocked it out of line and drained it, or so we thought. What we did not know was that the pressure gauge read “0” because it was broken and the drain valve, though open, was stopped up, so there was a little pressure still in the pump. We took the bolts out of the head plate to remove it, but it was stuck. I stood up and took about four steps away to get something to break it loose when I heard a “pop” sound and turned around to see M.J. drenched with black crude from head to foot. As he opened his eyes, he sarcastically looked at me and said, “David, you did this to me.” Well, I could not contain myself and busted out laughing. The thought of me stepping away in the nick of time so that M.J. could get plastered was too much for me. Attempting to sound serious, he said, “Dave, you're never going to do this to me again.” I said, “M.J., you had better watch those self-confident statements. You know God is listening.” Then, he repeated his statement and said, “Bring me up to the shower house. I have a spare set of clothes up there.” I said, “Oh, now I know why you got it instead of me.” He asked, “Why?” I said, “Because I don't have a spare set of clothes and God knew it.” He looked at me kind of inquisitively. I explained that planning for a catastrophe is the same as having faith for it. It also proves that you do not believe that God will protect or provide. Later that day, we were working on another pump. M.J. was next to me as we used an impact gun to take off some bolts. Suddenly, slurry squirted down one of the open bolt holes and hit M.J. in the middle of his chest, leaving me untouched. (Slurry is a crude that will stain anything; you cannot get it out. If it gets on your clothes, you can just forget it because that's the color they are now. In fact, it's that way on skin; it's just terribly staining. So this slurry squirted down the bolt hole, down the side of the thread and hit him right in the chest.) He looked at me in disbelief. I playfully said, “M.J., I told you God doesn't like those self-confident statements,” but we both knew that God was speaking in this. We could not remember when this had happened to us before, much less twice in one day. (Truly, in the wilderness that's coming, we can put our trust only in the living God; nothing else is going to save us.) Now, back to that old Datsun station wagon; I want you to know the Lord used that vehicle to teach me many other lessons. When I was about to buy a new car, I really kind of favored the Toyota because I felt it was the better car, but I always left things up to the Lord. I asked, “Lord, which one do you want me to buy, the Toyota or the Datsun?” And I was surprised when the Lord said, “I want you to get the Datsun station wagon.” Now, a person would think that when the Lord tells you to do something, everything would be just fine since, obviously, the Lord is looking out for your good. Well, He was looking out for my good, but not in the way you would think sometimes. I told you the tire story, but other things went wrong with that car. Sometimes God wants you to have victory in trials. It wasn't all that long after I bought the car that the carburetor started acting erratically. And since I was a pretty good machinist and a pretty good mechanic, I knew the carburetor was plugged. I also knew that I didn't feel like tearing down the carburetor because the most precious thing in my life is my time. I used every spare moment I had to read the Bible, to study the Word. I was literally drawn, hungering and thirsting for the Word. Anyway, I just commanded that thing to be healed and kept on driving the Datsun. It went on like that, acting kind of erratically for a couple of weeks, but I just kept on holding fast to my confession. (Heb.10:23) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised. The Lord will try you; just because you don't get the answer right away doesn't mean He hasn't heard you. After I held on like this for a couple of weeks, suddenly it started getting better and better until the problem was gone. In a few more weeks, I was faced with a different problem. The transmission started slipping and I thought it was just crazy for a relatively new car to be doing things like this, but I did all the normal things that a mechanic would do, like checking the fluid, for example, to make sure it was at the right level. And again, I knew that I didn't want to mess with that transmission by working on it myself, and I didn't want to take it to a shop. My time was valuable to me. In the wilderness, it will be a different story. You may not be able to find somebody to work on it, or you may not have the money to work on it, or the parts may not be available, etc. Even though in those days I had plenty of money, I just wouldn't spend it. I considered that what I made belonged to the Kingdom, and I wanted to use it to meet the Kingdom's needs, not spend it on vehicles and things like that. So instead, I just commanded that transmission to “Be healed in the name of Jesus,” but it still went on slipping for a while. Of course, your mind is telling you, “Hey, if you keep letting it slip like that, you're going to have to replace the clutch,” and all the other things that normally go bad when it starts slipping. I just ignored it and kept on going, and as I held fast my confession, my transmission gradually got better and better, until I never had any more problems with it. So, the Lord had me by that car so He could try me and show me He could fix anything. Some of the times when the Lord was teaching me these lessons, I got in the flesh to do things myself, and nothing worked out right. For instance, I told you how, when the insurance money came in, I bought a new Chevrolet station wagon. Well, I'd watched a lot of advertisements for a product called “Slick 50” that showed how you could put it in an engine, run it in there a while, and afterward actually dump out the oil and the engine would still run. I was impressed with that. I thought, “Wow! That will keep my engine. It will make it last a long, long time.” But, folks, I already had a God Who would keep my engine and make it last a long, long time. He's a jealous God. He really wanted me to put my trust in Him. Do you know what I did? I put that Slick 50 in there, even though they said not to use it unless you have 40,000 or 50,000 miles on the car. Well, I stuck it in there a little early and they warn you that you can break some rings doing that. At the time, I still lived in Florida, and I had to go on a teaching tour in Texas. So all of my family and I got in the car and we took off, and before I got very far down the road, the car started pouring smoke out of the tailpipe. I looked in the rear-view mirror, and it was just solid smoke back there. I said, “What in the world has happened to my new car?” I checked the PCV and things like that but couldn't find anything wrong. The only thing I determined was that I must have broken rings, as they said I might do if I put Slick 50 in an engine that didn't have extra clearance in it. I would go a few miles down the road and pour a quart of oil in it, go a few miles and pour another quart in it, so I decided I was going to pray over the engine. I said, “Lord, forgive me for getting in the flesh, and I'm going to trust You to keep this engine.” So I prayed over the engine and I commanded it to be healed in the name of Jesus. I don't know where I got into the terminology of calling it “healed.” I've prayed over vehicles, refrigerators, washing machines, and things like that, and I would always just call it “healing.” Anyway, I prayed over that engine and commanded it to “be healed in the name of Jesus,” because it's not the terminology that you use. Your theology might be a little bit wrong, but the Lord knows what you're meaning. Well, I got back into the car and we went on our way. We got a lot farther down the road, and I think I had to put one more quart in that car on the whole trip to Texas and back. God repaired those broken rings and we had no more problem with that. I didn't have much trouble with that car for many, many years, but I had the water pump stop working on it once when my wife and I were out driving. She cranked the car, and water started just pouring out on the ground. I asked her to get out of the car and come lay hands on the hood with me, which we did. We laid hands on the hood and commanded that water pump to “stop leaking in the name of Jesus.” And that water pump seal immediately sealed back up and we drove off. I've had many miracles like that, but most people never think about doing that. The first thing that comes to their mind is, “Well, I have a warranty on this car; or “I have enough money to hire a mechanic to fix it.” I wanted to stay in the wilderness because I wanted to learn those lessons that, one day, everybody is going to have to learn, so I took every opportunity to stay in the wilderness The Israelites wanted to run back to Egypt whenever they came into a place where God would try them, but God put it in my heart to want to stay out there. I wanted to learn; I wanted to see God do these miracles. Besides that, God told me, “I'm bringing you through a wilderness, so you can tell My people that I still supply there.” I treasured these experiences. Some people would call them terrible tribulation, but I treasured them and I enjoyed seeing God do these things. Let me tell you about my washing machine. One time, after we had moved to Florida, the washing machine started leaking. Mary came and told me, “The seal in the washer has gone out; the pump is leaking onto the ground.” I thought, “I'm going to go pray for it.” So I went and prayed for it and commanded it to be healed, then I sopped up the water and told her to go ahead and use it. Well, she did the rest of the laundry, and the machine didn't leak any more water. Then, just a few weeks later, she said, “That machine is leaking again,” so I went back in there and did the same thing. It went for a few more weeks, and for a third time she said to me, “David, that washer is leaking again.” I said, “No, it's not. It's not leaking; that thing is healed. It's okay, it's fine, just wash and don't worry about it.” You see, I didn't want to go back on what I had spoken. I wanted to keep my trust in the Lord and, sure enough, it sealed up. I told my wife, “If you see it leak, don't confess it, just thank God that it's not leaking and it's fixed.” And, you know, I kept that washing machine until somebody gave me another one that was a lot newer. I remember another time, back when we were in Louisiana, when my two young sons were playing in the living room and I was sitting there studying. My wife came in and she said, “That washing machine won't run. It won't even come on.” I said, “Well, Corban and Nathan, you two go back there and lay hands on that washing machine and just command it to run in the name of Jesus and it will run.” So they did that; they went back there and they laid hands on that thing and they commanded it to run and it took off. I taught all my children to lay hands on this and that, and they got to see the power of God in their simple, childlike faith. Children will always have awesome faith if you teach them about God and you show them the truths in the Bible. We had this lawnmower, and we pulled it out after the winter so we could cut the grass in the early spring. I pulled and pulled and pulled on this lawnmower, but it wouldn't start. My boys were really young at the time, and they were just standing around, looking at me. Well, I pulled the spark plug wire off, put it alongside the block, and pulled it. There was no spark. Now, by this time, I was sweating, tired and I wanted to get it over with. I called my boys to me and said to them, “Let's pray for this thing. Let's command it to run in the name of Jesus. I don't care if it has a spark or not; I just want it to run.” So my boys came over and we all laid hands on the lawnmower, and I commanded it to run in the name of Jesus. Then I cranked it up and mowed the lawn. I don't know if it ever had a spark or not. That didn't make any difference; it just had to run. (Mat.21:21) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done. (22) And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. The Lord told us, if you speak to a mountain and don't doubt, that what we say will come to pass, and I tell you, teach your children. They have more faith than you. When you tell a child something, the child just believes you, and that's the way we ought to be with God. (Mat.18:2) And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, (3) and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. We need to become like a child and, with childlike faith, just believe in our God, just believe that He will do it.

Jonah 1:1-3 ESV1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. • • •1. The Call of the Prophet • • •Jonah 1:1 ESV1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, • • •2 Kings 14:25 ESV25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.Add your private notes...• • •Matthew 12:39-41 ESV39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. • • •2. God's Plan • • •Jonah 1:2 ESV2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” • • •Matthew 28:19-20 ESV19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” • • •3. Jonah's Plan • • •Jonah 1:3 ESV3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. • • •Psalm 139:7-12 ESV7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. • • •Jonah 4:2 ESV2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. • • •4. Consequences of Running from God • • •Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. • • •Application:We are not to run from God but to Him and when we do, we will find ourselves living His will for our lives.

Jonah 4English Standard VersionBut it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Things are changing in the UK. In some ways, it feels like we are only one incident away from mass protests in the streets. 

Reading 1Isaiah 66:18-21Thus says the LORD:I know their works and their thoughts,and I come to gather nations of every language;they shall come and see my glory.I will set a sign among them;from them I will send fugitives to the nations:to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan,to the distant coastlandsthat have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory;and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nationsas an offering to the LORD,on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries,to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD,just as the Israelites bring their offeringto the house of the LORD in clean vessels.Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.Reading 2Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13Brothers and sisters,You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:"My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lordor lose heart when reproved by him;for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;he scourges every son he acknowledges."Endure your trials as "discipline";God treats you as sons.For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline?At the time,all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousnessto those who are trained by it.So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.Make straight paths for your feet,that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.GospelLuke 13:22-30Jesus passed through towns and villages,teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.Someone asked him,"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"He answered them,"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,for many, I tell you, will attempt to enterbut will not be strong enough.After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,then will you stand outside knocking and saying,'Lord, open the door for us.'He will say to you in reply,'I do not know where you are from.And you will say,'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'Then he will say to you,'I do not know where you are from.Depart from me, all you evildoers!'And there will be wailing and grinding of teethwhen you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacoband all the prophets in the kingdom of Godand you yourselves cast out.And people will come from the east and the westand from the north and the southand will recline at table in the kingdom of God.For behold, some are last who will be first,and some are first who will be last."

We begin with a pronouncement against Tyre, an island city that served as profitable port which traded in luxurious goods. Tyre established a trading colony called Tarshish (thought to be in modern-day Spain) which boasted impressive ships. Assyria attempted to take Tyre a number of times, but it was Nebuchadnezzar who first infiltrated the island city, followed by Alexander the Great who destroyed it. The following chapters in this episode concern God's judgment of the whole earth, a judgment brought about by the sin of mankind. Though celebration will come to an end for a time, God will eventually prepare a feast for the peoples of earth and death will be destroyed forever. Keep your ears open for messages of resurrection as we read.Isaiah 23 - 1:03 . Isaiah 24 - 4:30 . Isaiah 25 - 9:16 . Isaiah 26 - 11:58 . Isaiah 27 - 16:00 . Psalm 140 - 19:08 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you'd like us to reply)In which John and David trace Jonah's desperate flight to Tarshish and the irony that everything in creation obeys God—except the prophet. We explore themes of Eden and Babylon, the reach of God's presence in Psalm 139, and how Jonah's story is as much about his salvation as Nineveh's.Episode 208 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 5If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we'd love it if you left a review or comment where you're listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021________Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others. However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love. Thank you so much.Support the show

Jonah 3:10 NIV 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.Jonah 4:1-11 NIV 1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I'm so angry I wish I were dead.” 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”1. GOD'S INTERRUPTIONS ARE DIVINE INVITATIONS.Jonah 4:1a NIV 1a But to Jonah this seemed very wrong…2 Kings 14:25 NIV 25 He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.1. GOD'S INTERRUPTIONS ARE DIVINE INVITATIONS.2. GOD'S GRACE IS FOR EVERYONE.3. GOD'S PROVIDENCE IS NOT BASED ON MY PREFERENCE.Jonah 4:9-11 NIV 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I'm so angry I wish I were dead.” 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”1. GOD'S INTERRUPTIONS ARE DIVINE INVITATIONS.2. GOD'S GRACE IS FOR EVERYONE.3. GOD'S PROVIDENCE IS NOT BASED ON MY PREFERENCE.

Jonah and the whale.Jonah and the big fish.Jonah 1:1-3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the greatcity of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up beforeme.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went downto Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he wentaboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.Jonah 1:1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah…Hebrews 4:12-13 MSG His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cuttingthrough everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.Nothing and no one can resist God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matterwhat.1. God's WORD doesn't always align with my COMFORT.Jonah 1:2 GO to the great city of Nineveh and preach…GO—move in a DIFFERENT DIRECTION from where you are.Our COMFORT is often the enemy of our PROGRESS.Gath-Hepher: “winepress on the watering hole”2. There is always a boat ready to take you in the WRONG DIRECTION.Jonah 1:3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He wentdown to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare,he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.Jonah 1:5 But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deepsleep.Jonah 1:4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent stormarose that the ship threatened to break up.3. When you are RUNNING, God will often allow a STORM to WAKE youup.Where are you running from God?

Was the legendary “Land of Gold” truly the Ryukyu Islands—or has history been rewritten? In this deep-dive investigation, we compare Antonio de Morga Pinto's descriptions of “Lequios” with the real geography, resources, and trade records of the Philippines and Ryukyu. From gold and craftsmanship to ancient trade routes, wheat, wine, and ebonywood, the Philippines—particularly Northern Luzon—matches 100% of the historical profile, while Ryukyu barely reaches 15%. Discover how mistranslations, academic bias, and propaganda have distorted centuries of history—and why the Philippines may truly be the ancient Isles of Gold known as Ophir, Tarshish, and Chryse.

We were zipping down the Interstate, and we saw this long cloud of thick blue smoke ahead of us. When we got close, we saw that it was belching out of the smokestack of this big old semi, and the smoke was so heavy you could hardly see as you passed it. In fact, it was a very good time to hold your breath. Now, as we passed him, I looked through the smoke into the cab, and I saw two men inside and they were just kind of laughing and they seemed oblivious to the smoke and the smell that they were spreading down the Interstate. Now, I noticed after we passed that semi and that mountain of smoke, that there were little black spots all over our windshield. Now, I instinctively reached for my windshield wipers to get rid of the spots, and it was then that I saw the driver ahead of us who had turned his wipers on. His entire windshield was smeared with this thick, black substance. Whew! Glad I didn't turn my wipers on. We stopped for lunch a few minutes later and when I got out I found spots of oil all over our vehicle. After we finished eating we got some great exercise cleaning off the oil. Now, that driver probably thought the smoke was just his problem, but it was actually a problem for everyone who got close to it. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leaving an Ugly Trail." Our word for today from the Word of God, we're in the Old Testament book of Jonah, and you know the Lord gave him directions to go to Nineveh. Jonah 1:3 says, "But Jonah ran away from the Lord." Which is kind of a humorous thought in itself (running away from the Lord, right?) but it says "He went down to Joppa where he found a ship and paid the fare, went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up." Well, of course, now the captain goes below, wakes up Jonah, and then it says, "The sailors said to each other, 'Come with us. Cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, 'Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble? What did you do? Where do you come from? What is your country?' He said, 'I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.'" Now, Jonah has disobeyed God, and if he thinks like most of us 21st-century types, he's saying, "Hey, I might be sinning, but it's not hurting anybody. Right?" Oh, I suppose the driver of the smoky semi could have said, "I've got a problem, but it's not hurting anyone else." Well, he was wrong, and so was Jonah. Everyone around him was suffering; not because of their sin, but because of his. Modern morality says, "You know, it's okay if it doesn't hurt anybody." You know what? There's no such thing. I've hugged the parents who are sobbing over their son's life or their daughter's life. And while they're doing their thing, it could be breaking the heart of the people who love that person the most. I've been with the son or daughter who is waiting and watching while their parent walks away from the very truth they were taught by that parent, and they're crushed. No man is an island. When you have premarital sex you're hurting your future lifetime partner and their future lifetime partner. Your choices affect the family name, and they sure affect your Lord. They affect the reputation of your family. And while you're on your detour, unbelievers are deciding about Jesus based on how you are living and probably saying, "I don't need Him." See, sin twists everything around. You can't sin in a vacuum. You have an ugly trail of wounded people left behind when you're living outside of Christ's boundaries. There's pollution splattering everywhere close to you when you depart from the Word of God. The two you're hurting the most? You and a Savior who loves you very much, Who died so you don't have to do that sin. Isn't it time to end the hurt? Do it God's way. That pollution has already left a long enough trail.

Jonah 1English Standard Version1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.17  And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 1:1 NASB 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai…1. Jonah's NameEphesians 5:8 NIV 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.Matthew 5:13-16 NIV 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”Colossians 3:12 NIV 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.Jonah 1:1-2 NASB 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”1. Jonah's Name2. Jonah's NinevehJonah 1:3-16 NIV 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 4 The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, laid down and fallen sound asleep. 6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.” 7 Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.”10 Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13 However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them. 14 Then they called on the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man's life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.” 15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.1. Jonah's Name2. Jonah's Ninevah3. Jonah's NeglectJonah 1:14-16 NASB 14 Then they called on the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man's life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.” 15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.1. Jonah's Name2. Jonah's Ninevah3. Jonah's Neglect

The Lord churns up a storm for Jonah, but did the Lord create it? Or did Jonah? For, after all, if Jonah had not gone on to Tarshish, would the storm have happened?

In this Bible Story, Jonah is appointed to preach to the great and wicked city of Nineveh. However, Jonah's hatred is deep so Jonah runs from the will of God and boards a ship towards Tarshish. God sends a storm to catch up to Jonah, and Jonah is taken by the sea. In the deep, he's then swallowed up by a large fish, and remains in its belly for three days. This story is inspired by Jonah 1-2. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Jonah 1:2 from the King James Version.Episode 143: Jonah, now on dry land, is once again confronted by the voice of God telling him to go to Nineveh. Though it was not his desire, he obeyed. When he finally arrived he gave a sermon and left to watch the city burn. However, to his amazement, the entire city of Nineveh, even their king repented. Furious at this change of events, Jonah, sulked outside the city cursing God for his goodness and mercy. In reply, God gives both him and us a lesson of what it means to have mercy and love what God loves.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Bible Story, we say goodbye to the Prophet Elisha and the end of the era of kings. The nations of Judah and Israel continue to wrestle with God. Soon, a great threat would arise to take Israel captive. This was a threat they were not prepared for.This story is inspired by 2 Kings 13. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Kings 13:19 from the King James Version.Episode 142: Jonah, a questionable prophet of God, heard the word of God telling him to go to Nineveh and confront the people about their sins. Jonah, giving in to his pride and disgust for the people of Nineveh, said no and immediately boarded a ship headed for Tarshish. While the ship was sailing a deadly storm came upon them and Jonah found out that he could not run from God, and was swallowed by a fish.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A @Christadelphians Video: Written by Matt Davies.Previously published in the May 2025 Bible Magazine.(You can purchase the magazine from this link, https://biblemagazine.com/)**

God's Plans Are Wrecking MineText: Jonah 1:1–17Big Idea: When you run from God, you don't just delay your purpose—you invite a storm. But even then, His grace finds you.I. The Setup: A Clear Command, a Defiant RunGod calls Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah heads to Tarshish—the opposite direction.This is not confusion. It's defiance.“If you want to run from God, the devil will always offer you a ride.”Jonah rationalizes sin, something we all do: our minds make excuses for what our spirits know is wrong.II. Downward Spiral of DisobedienceJonah's journey is literally and spiritually descending:He goes down to Joppa (1:3)Down into the ship (1:5)Down into the sea (2:3)Sin always takes us downward.Delayed obedience is still disobedience. True maturity shortens the gap between hearing God's Word and obeying it.III. Storms Have a PurposeGod sends a storm—not to destroy Jonah, but to redirect him.While the sailors panic, Jonah sleeps—numbed by rebellion.Jonah confesses who he is (1:9), but he still refuses to repent.Eventually, he tells the crew to throw him overboard. Only then does the sea grow calm.IV. The Wake-Up Call: Sin Affects OthersJonah's disobedience nearly kills an entire boat of people.Our rebellion never just affects us—it impacts everyone around us.But even in this moment, God is working. The sailors end up worshiping the true God.V. God's Mercy in a Fish-Shaped PackageJonah doesn't drown. God provides a fish.This wasn't punishment—it was preservation.Sometimes, what feels like rock bottom is actually the start of mercy.

God's purpose cannot be thwarted even by our deliberate disobedience, as we see in Jonah's desperate attempt to escape his divine calling to Nineveh.• The word of God exists to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable"• Jonah's story shows a consistent downward trajectory when running from God• God uses a storm as a wake-up call to Jonah's disobedience and complacency• The irony of pagan sailors praying while the prophet sleeps• Momentary disobedience doesn't have to undo future usefulness for God• The contrast between Peter and Judas - two betrayals with different responses• God receives glory even when His people are disobedient• Like Joseph, what others mean for evil, God can use for good• Following God's will is always more fulfilling than running from it"God, if you called me, I will go. Wherever you lead, I'll go. Wherever you take me. God, I am your servant. God, your will be done and it will be done. Lord, can I join you in this mission? Can I not find myself running away to Tarshish, but can I find myself in the will of God?"

The familiar Sunday school story of Jonah takes on profound new dimensions as we begin our summer Bible study series. While many know the tale of a prophet swallowed by a fish, few recognize that God—not Jonah—stands as the true protagonist of this ancient text. The opening words, "The word of the Lord came to Jonah," reveal a truth that resonates through generations: God still speaks today.When God speaks, He often challenges us to move beyond our comfort zones. For Jonah, that meant preaching to the Ninevites—brutal enemies of Israel whom he despised. Rather than obey, Jonah fled in the opposite direction, boarding a ship to distant Tarshish. His motivation wasn't merely fear but something darker: he knew if he preached God's message, the Ninevites might repent and receive divine mercy—a grace he believed they didn't deserve.This journey into Jonah's downward spiral reveals powerful truths about our own relationship with God's will. "If you want to run from God," Pastor explains, "the devil will always offer you a ride." We see how Jonah's disobedience affected innocent sailors, how God sent a storm not as punishment but as a loving wake-up call, and how true spiritual maturity manifests as "a short time between God's command and our obedience."The most heartbreaking moment comes when Jonah, assuming he's beyond redemption, asks to be thrown overboard. Yet even as he sinks into the depths, God's grace prepares to meet him in the most unexpected way. This transformative story challenges us to examine where we've grown comfortable in compromise, where we've rationalized sin, and where we've convinced ourselves that certain people don't deserve God's grace.Join us throughout this series as we discover how a seemingly simple children's story reveals profound truths about God's relentless love, our stubborn resistance, and the unexpected ways grace finds us—even when we're running in the opposite direction.Support the showMade a decision to follow Jesus? We want to know about it! Fill out our connect card here: https://local.churchcenter.com/people/forms/115766Thank you for your generosity. For information on how to give, visit https://localvineyard.church/give.

Jonah 1:1-3Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil[a] has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com    Tomorrow I will be posting my Birthday numbers… Squat over 600, deadlift over 600 and Bench over 600…. Just kidding… Maybe 350…? Maybe But look for me on my social media accounts…      Episode 1528… yes that is correct.. with over 130K listeners just that I can track and on over 10 different radio stations and heard in USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, United Arabe Emirtes, Czech Republic, Denmark, Indonesia, Iraq, Netherlands, Russia, XK, Australia…    A lot of people have reached out and wanted me to give my take on the War in Israel with Iran… as far as hard and fast details that are not tainted by the US media go to Tipping Point USA with Jimmy Evans and also Amir Tsarfati on Telegram…and make sure it is the official one and not a fake account… BUT here is my take - We understand that from here on out Israel will not lose another war until the battle of Armageddon when the whole world comes against Israel… Israel will cry out to God and Jesus will return on a white horse and crush the enemy…   But what I do know more than ever is we should be praying for the salvation of all those involved… yes praying for the salvation of the jewish nation and all Jews around the world but also praying for people and countries. Including Iran, Iraq and all of the middle east. Praying for Muslims that they might come to the full knowledge  and understanding  of who Christ is. That is what is most important. Thats my take.   But with that… it reminds me of Jonah. You know the story… (tell story)   When Jonah does return he does not preach the full extent of scripture…. He only tells them they are doomed for their sin. The city of Nineveh figures it out themselves… they repent. But here is the kicker… Jonah's actions did not match his heart. In chapter 4 Jonah laments that his worst fear actually happened…  Chapter 4:1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”   Jonah understood Gods Holiness, he understood the price of sin, he understood Gods mercy and grace… What he didn't understand was the cost and ramification of his own sin.    Forgive our enemies is not natural… it has to be supernatural.  LOVE our Enemies is Transformational! 

The Holy Spirit Lives In YouActs 2:38 “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.  And you will receive the Holy Spirit.”I think when most of us read this, we focus on the repent and be baptized part of this verse.  Repentance is so important, and it is something that we can read about all throughout the Bible.  God is always calling His people to repentance, and sometimes they repented and other times they did not.  In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, they were a wicked people and they refused to repent.  God sent fire down to destroy the towns.  However, when God sent Jonah to Ninevah to tell them they needed to repent, they did, and God saved them.  Did you know that Jonah was angry at God for saving Nineveh?  We read in Jonah 4:1-2, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.  And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is it not this what I have said when I was yet in my country?  That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”  Jonah ran from the Lord when the Lord asked him to go to Ninevah.  I had always thought he ran from the Lord because he was afraid of the people in Ninevah.  However, this verse says that he ran because he knew God would have mercy on them, and he didn't want them to be saved.This is a somewhat common thing for us to do.  Maybe not running from the Lord, but definitely wishing people get what they deserve.  Have you ever wished that someone got what they deserved?  Have you ever seen a car speed by you, or weave in and out of traffic, and think to yourself, “I hope there is a cop ahead.” Or do you see someone cut in line and hope that someone notices and that they get kicked out of the line?  Why do we do this?  Why do we wish ill on other people?  Maybe you are thinking that you are justified in thinking that you want the driver to get pulled over because you want them to learn their lesson and drive better.  But, what if they did get pulled over and they just got a warning, would you be ok with that?Sometimes we can do this with our kids as well.  Jonah felt that these people needed to be punished, and he knew that God would have mercy on them.  Sometimes we can default to the thinking that when our children do something wrong, they need to be punished, and maybe that is true sometimes.  But do we take the time to think about the situation first?  Do we even consider giving them mercy?  Sometimes our children need our mercy.  Sometimes they messed up, did something they weren't supposed to do, and they know it was wrong.  They are truly sorry, and they learned a lesson from it.  Times like these are times when we should consider mercy.  Sometimes we think our kids will only learn if we punish them; however, I think they can learn a lot from mercy as well.As I said earlier, we tend to focus on the first part of this verse, Repent and be baptized.  However, I wonder how many of you also think of the ending of the verse?  How many of you truly know what it means?  The verse ends with “and you will receive the Holy Spirit.”  I am not sure that everyone, or even most people, knows how powerful a statement that is.  Did you know that the power of the Holy Spirit is what raised Jesus from the dead?  Did you know that the same power resides in you?  Romans 8:11 "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”When you are baptized, you are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that when you are baptized, you receive the Holy Spirit.  If you are Catholic, then you receive the Holy Spirit again when you are confirmed.  This is all amazing to me.  The power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me.  I just can't get over that.  I think if we all knew the power that we had through the Holy Spirit, and then used that power for good, the world wouldn't know what was going on.  Jesus said in John 14:12-14, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”Did you catch that?  Jesus said we will do greater works than He if we believe.  This is only possible because of the Holy Spirit.  We have the Holy Spirit inside of us; we just need to call on Him.   We need to believe in Jesus and believe when He tells us that He sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us.  The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.  That same spirit lives in you.  What are you going to do with it?  Are you going to just sit around and let all that power pass you by, or are you going to use your newfound power for good?  Who do you know that could use some extra blessings?  I am sure that I have talked before about how important repentance is, and yet this will likely not be the last time you hear me talk about it.  Repentance is so important for so many reasons.  This verse just mentions one of the many: if you repent and are baptized, you will receive the Holy Spirit.  Now, after talking for a bit about how awesome the Holy Spirit is, wouldn't you do anything to be close to Him?Most, if not all, of you listening already have the Holy Spirit inside of you.  Call upon Him and you will see how powerful He is.  Don't be afraid to talk with Him and ask Him for things.  That is why God sent Him to us, to help us.  Anything that happens as a result of the Holy Spirit glorifies God.  Jesus is with the Father, so when we ask God for things in Jesus' name, the Holy Spirit comes through for us, and the results glorify the Lord.  It is a win-win for everyone.  One of the easiest prayers to remember, and yet one of the most powerful, is, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.”  When you ask, God answers.  Anytime you are in need of a little assistance, or even a lot of assistance, pray, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.”  I truly feel you will be surprised at all the ways He comes through for you.  Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, I ask that you send the Holy Spirit to everyone listening to this podcast. Lord, we ask that you open our eyes to how the Holy Spirit is working in our lives. Lord, we ask that you remind us to call on the Holy Spirit when we forget. Lord, we are so very thankful that you sent down the Holy Spirit to guide us in your ways.  Lord, help us to see the places in our lives where we need to repent, and then give us the courage to do so. We want to receive the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus, we are open to it. Lord God, you are amazing. We are so very thankful for all you do for us.  We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will, and in Jesus' holy name, amen.Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to let you know that there may be more replays in the upcoming weeks. A few things are going on in our family that are requiring more of my time. However, I don't want to not post something for you, and many of you were not listening at the very beginning. So, hopefully it will still be new to you! I will still post a new one when I can, and a replay when I don't have the time. I appreciate your patience and your support during these next few weeks. I also appreciate your support in listening to this podcast. I am honored you listened. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday! Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!Today's Word from the Lord was received in November / December 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “Today is a new day, my people. Today is the day I renew all my mercies and my graces, and I pour them out freely on each one of you, on your families and your friends and your co-workers and your churches and all the world. Today is a day in which you need to praise and worship me from your heart for the many gifts that I have given you so that I can continue to pour out on you grace upon grace upon gift upon gift, that you may be my ambassadors, that you may be the signs to the world that I am alive, that resurrection is real, that it is a grace that I give to each one of you. All you need to do is call upon my name. Call upon the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God who gave his very life, that you might have life forever and ever. My greatest desire is to love you forever. Listen to me, my people. Listen to me and share that good news with those you meet. I love you. My heart is always yours, and you are always mine.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

SCRIPTURE: Jonah 2SHOW NOTES: For encouragement on your spiritual journey, we invite you to visit our ministry website, Discover God's Truth, where you can access additional resources to enrich your Walk with God. In the book of Jonah, we learn about God's assignment for His prophet, Jonah. He was to go to the wicked people of Nineveh and proclaim God's impending judgment upon them. Jonah decided to flee from God, so he boarded a boat in Joppa and set sail toward Tarshish. God sent a violent storm upon the sea, and the pagan sailors hurled Jonah into the turbulent waters."And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Jonah 1:17 The Lord rescued Jonah from drowning. A great fish swallowed him, and Jonah sat in its belly for three days and three nights. During that time, he must have engaged in a lot of soul-searching and reflection about his decision to disobey God. He began to pray and call out to the Lord. "I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice." Jonah 2:2We can always pray to God – at any time and in any place. He wants to listen to us. We can cry out from the deep pit of disobedience and rebellion. "When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you." Jonah 2:7SONG: "When God Ran" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgT5d1k_vVk

Did Jonah really get swallowed by a big fish? In this study, Dr. McGee answers that important question and shows how God used the storm in the life of Jonah and the pagan sailors onboard the ship traveling to Tarshish.

Are you running from God? Jonah did—and he learned the hard way that you can't escape God's will. Join us in Jonah 2 as we uncover powerful lessons about obedience, God's mercy, and the dangers of spiritual complacency.

Audio Recording Audio Block Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more Sermon OutlineSpeaker: Rev. Scott StrickmanSermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the LordIsaiah 60:1-14, 19-22 (ESV)1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult,because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house.8 Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?9 For the coastlands shall hope for me, the ships of Tarshish first,to bring your children from afar, their silver and gold with them,for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.10 Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you;for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.11 Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut,that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine,to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious.14 The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you,and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet;they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.19 The sun shall be no more your light by day,nor for brightness shall the moon give you light;but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself;for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.21 Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever,the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.22 The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation;I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.Sermon OutlineWe are given a picture of where God is leading history that can transform how we live.1. Draws Usv1 “your light has come” v5 “you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill”v7 “I will beautify my beautiful house”, v9 “because he has made you beautiful”2. Directs Usv1 “arise”v2 “darkness shall cover the earth”v11 “the people may bring to you the wealth of the nations” v20 “your days of mourning shall be ended”v19 “sun shall be no more… the Lord will be your everlasting light… your glory” 3. Utilizes Usv1 “shine” v14 “they shall call you the city of the Lord… Zion”“come”Prayer of ConfessionAlmighty and most merciful Father; we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have left undone those things that we ought to have done; and we have done those things that we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. And grant, O most merciful Father, for your Son Jesus Christ's sake, that we may hereafter live a godly and righteous life, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.Questions for ReflectionDo you believe the future is hopeful? If you imagine a great moment in the future, what do you picture?What does the theme of light rising and shining help us understand?What distinguishes true beauty from superficial beauty? Can you think of examples of how true beauty brings life to a person's soul?How can the vision of a hopeful future help you endure present difficulties? How can it inspire faithfulness when what you see is discouraging?How can this picture of people bringing gifts to God inform how you do your work or live your daily life? What does it look like to glorify God with all that you do?Why are Christians called to be a “city on a hill”? How do good works cause the light of God to shine from us into the world? Do you find joy in doing good?How can the church improve in being a community that shines light into the world? What can we do differently?Read AheadIsaiah Sermon Series

April 26, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 3 - 9:00AM Session   Current thoughts are that the book of Isaiah was not written at one time by the prophet Isaiah. But instead that the book was written over 3 different times, because of the accuracy of foretold events. Wayne leads a discussion how these thoughts are incorrect and reflect a doubt of the inspired word and the ability of God to provide knowledge to a prophet.   Isaiah 60-66 - The Good News of Salvation 61 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” 4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. 5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. 8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.” 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Assurance of Zion's Salvation 62 For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name. 3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. 4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you. 6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, 7 And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand And by the arm of His strength: “Surely I will no longer give your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored. 9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the Lord; Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.” 10 Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples! 11 Indeed the Lord has proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.' ” 12 And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken. The Lord in Judgment and Salvation 63 Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?— “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” 2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. 4 For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. 6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made them drunk in My fury, And brought down their strength to the earth.” God's Mercy Remembered 7 I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord And the praises of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His loving kindnesses. 8 For He said, “Surely they are My people, Children who will not lie.” So He became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: “Where is He who brought them up out of the sea With the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, 12 Who led them by the right hand of Moses, With His glorious arm, Dividing the water before them To make for Himself an everlasting name, 13 Who led them through the deep, As a horse in the wilderness, That they might not stumble?” 14 As a beast goes down into the valley, And the Spirit of the Lord causes him to rest, So You lead Your people, To make Yourself a glorious name. A Prayer of Penitence 15 Look down from heaven, And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? 16 Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. 17 O Lord, why have You made us stray from Your ways, And hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants' sake, The tribes of Your inheritance. 18 Your holy people have possessed it but a little while; Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. 19 We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled, Those who were never called by Your name. A Prayer for Help 64 Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence— 2 As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence! 3 When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence. 4 For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. 5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved. 6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. 7 And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. 9 Do not be furious, O Lord, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people! 10 Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and beautiful temple, Where our fathers praised You, Is burned up with fire; And all our pleasant things are laid waste. 12 Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord? Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely? The Righteousness of God's Judgment 65 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,' To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; 3 A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick; 4 Who sit among the graves, And spend the night in the tombs; Who eat swine's flesh, And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels; 5 Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!' These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. 6 “Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silence, but will repay— Even repay into their bosom— 7 Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,” Says the Lord, “Who have burned incense on the mountains And blasphemed Me on the hills; Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.” 8 Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,' So will I do for My servants' sake, That I may not destroy them all. 9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there. 10 Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My people who have sought Me. 11 “But you are those who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for Meni. 12 Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; 14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit. 15 You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord God will slay you, And call His servants by another name; 16 So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes. The Glorious New Creation 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. 20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them. 24 “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord. True Worship and False 66 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word. 3 “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain 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, 4 So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” The Lord Vindicates Zion 5 Hear the word of the Lord, You who tremble at His word: “Your brethren who hated you, Who cast you out for My name's sake, said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, That we may see your joy.' But they shall be ashamed.” 6 The sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, Who fully repays His enemies! 7 “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. 9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God. 10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; 11 That you may feed and be satisfied With the consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory.” 12 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” The Reign and Indignation of God 14 When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, And your bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, And His indignation to His enemies. 15 For behold, the Lord will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; And the slain of the Lord shall be many. 17 “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 and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,” says the Lord. 18 “For I 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. 19 I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says the Lord. 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord, “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord. 24 “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 fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GJ3xf7r1WQ   Duration 39:01

April 26, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 3 - 1:30PM Session   John leads a discussion on Heaven and how it is described in Isaiah and in other passages.   Isaiah 65-66 - The Righteousness of God's Judgment 65 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,' To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; 3 A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick; 4 Who sit among the graves, And spend the night in the tombs; Who eat swine's flesh, And the broth of [a]abominable things is in their vessels; 5 Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!' These [b]are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. 6 “Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silence, but will repay— Even repay into their bosom— 7 Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,” Says the Lord, “Who have burned incense on the mountains And blasphemed Me on the hills; Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.” 8 Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,' So will I do for My servants' sake, That I may not destroy them all. 9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there. 10 Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My people who have sought Me. 11 “But you are those who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for [c]Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for [d]Meni. 12 Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; 14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for [e]grief of spirit. 15 You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord God will slay you, And call His servants by another name; 16 So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes. The Glorious New Creation 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or [f]come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. 20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them. 24 “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord. True Worship and False 66 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word. 3 “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain 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, 4 So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” The Lord Vindicates Zion 5 Hear the word of the Lord, You who tremble at His word: “Your brethren who hated you, Who cast you out for My name's sake, said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, That we may see your joy.' But they shall be ashamed.” 6 The sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, Who fully repays His enemies! 7 “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. 9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God. 10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; 11 That you may feed and be satisfied With the consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory.” 12 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” The Reign and Indignation of God 14 When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, And your bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, And His indignation to His enemies. 15 For behold, the Lord will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; And the slain of the Lord shall be many. 17 “Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens [g]After an idol in the midst, Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall [h]be consumed together,” says the Lord. 18 “For I 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. 19 I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and [i]Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says the Lord. 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord, “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord. 24 “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 fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”   Video: 2025 Equipped Workshop 4-26-25 - "A STUDY OF NEW HEAVENS, NEW EARTH IN ISAIAH"- John Moore   Duration 40:39

April 26, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 3 - 9:00AM Session   Whitney leads a bible study reflecting on how to know God. Using the book of Isaiah and other passages she shows how God reveals himself.   Isaiah 49 - The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles 49 “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” 3 “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.' 4 Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.' ” 5 “And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength), 6 Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' ” 7 Thus says the Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the Lord who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.” 8 Thus says the Lord: “In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,' To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.' “They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. 10 They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them. 11 I will make each of My mountains a road, And My highways shall be elevated. 12 Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.” 13 Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted. God Will Remember Zion 14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17 Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you. 18 Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the Lord, “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on you as a bride does. 19 “For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, Will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20 The children you will have, After you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.' 21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?' ” 22 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders; 23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered? 25 But thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children. 26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the Lord, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”   Isaiah 66 -True Worship and False 66 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word. 3 “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain 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, 4 So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” The Lord Vindicates Zion 5 Hear the word of the Lord, You who tremble at His word: “Your brethren who hated you, Who cast you out for My name's sake, said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, That we may see your joy.' But they shall be ashamed.” 6 The sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, Who fully repays His enemies! 7 “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. 9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God. 10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; 11 That you may feed and be satisfied With the consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory.” 12 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” The Reign and Indignation of God 14 When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, And your bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, And His indignation to His enemies. 15 For behold, the Lord will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; And the slain of the Lord shall be many. 17 “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 and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,” says the Lord. 18 “For I 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. 19 I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says the Lord. 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord, “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord. 24 “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 fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHsbriSQBks   Duration 43:03

April 25, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 2 - 11:00M Session   Caleb leads a study of Isaiah examining how much was apparent to him about Jesus's coming and ministry which wouldn't start for about 700 years.   Isaiah 2 - The Future House of God 2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. The Day of the Lord 5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord. 6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners. 7 Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made. 9 People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them. 10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low— 13 Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; 14 Upon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; 15 Upon every high tower, And upon every fortified wall; 16 Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops. 17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish. 19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. 20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. 22 Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl1SJ_57IfI   Duration 39:07

April 26, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 3 - 8:00AM Session   Looking at the later third of the book of Isaiah, Caleb leads a bible study reflecting on passages with strong educational themes.   Isaiah 54-60 - A Perpetual Covenant of Peace 54 “Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord. 2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. 3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited. 4 “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. 5 For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. 6 For the Lord has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God. 7 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you. 8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the Lord, who has mercy on you. 11 “O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones. 13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. 16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. 17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. An Invitation to Abundant Life 55 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David. 4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. 5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the Lord your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.” 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12 “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Salvation for the Gentiles 56 Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3 Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.” 4 For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off. 6 “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant— 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” 8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.” Israel's Irresponsible Leaders 9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour, All you beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory. 12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine, And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink; Tomorrow will be as today, And much more abundant.” Israel's Futile Idolatry 57 The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil. 2 He shall enter into peace; They shall rest in their beds, Each one walking in his uprightness. 3 “But come here, You sons of the sorceress, You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot! 4 Whom do you ridicule? Against whom do you make a wide mouth And stick out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, Offspring of falsehood, 5 Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, Slaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks? 6 Among the smooth stones of the stream Is your portion; They, they, are your lot! Even to them you have poured a drink offering, You have offered a grain offering. Should I receive comfort in these? 7 “On a lofty and high mountain You have set your bed; Even there you went up To offer sacrifice. 8 Also behind the doors and their posts You have set up your remembrance; For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, And have gone up to them; You have enlarged your bed And made a covenant with them; You have loved their bed, Where you saw their nudity. 9 You went to the king with ointment, And increased your perfumes; You sent your messengers far off, And even descended to Sheol. 10 You are wearied in the length of your way; Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.' You have found the life of your hand; Therefore you were not grieved. 11 “And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, That you have lied And not remembered Me, Nor taken it to your heart? Is it not because I have held My peace from of old That you do not fear Me? 12 I will declare your righteousness And your works, For they will not profit you. 13 When you cry out, Let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry them all away, A breath will take them. But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, And shall inherit My holy mountain.” Healing for the Backslider 14 And one shall say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.” 15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 16 For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made. 17 For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners. 19 “I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “And I will heal him.” 20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21 “There is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.” Fasting that Pleases God 58 “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted,' they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?' “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.' “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. 13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Separated from God 59 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. 4 No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. 6 Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Sin Confessed 9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places. 11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: 13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. 15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Redeemer of Zion Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. 18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay. 19 So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. 20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord. 21 “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.” The Gentiles Bless Zion 60 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 5 Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar, And I will glorify the house of My glory. 8 “Who are these who fly like a cloud, And like doves to their roosts? 9 Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, To the name of the Lord your God, And to the Holy One of Israel, Because He has glorified you. 10 “The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, And their kings shall minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, But in My favor I have had mercy on you. 11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually; They shall not be shut day or night, That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, And their kings in procession. 12 For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, And those nations shall be utterly ruined. 13 “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I will make the place of My feet glorious. 14 Also the sons of those who afflicted you Shall come bowing to you, And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet; And they shall call you The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, So that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, A joy of many generations. 16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, And milk the breast of kings; You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold, Instead of iron I will bring silver, Instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. I will also make your officers peace, And your magistrates righteousness. 18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation, And your gates Praise. God the Glory of His People 19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. 20 Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the Lord will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21 Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0SN3ReRgpA   Duration 43:04

April 25, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 2 - 2:30PM Session   Looking at the life as a prophet, Ken reflects on how Isaiah wrote his inspired work.   Isaiah 20-23 -The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia 20 In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?' ” The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed 21 The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. 3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it. 4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. 5 Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! 6 For thus has the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.” 7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. 8 Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. 9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” 10 Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. Proclamation Against Edom 11 The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” 12 The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” Proclamation Against Arabia 13 The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites. 14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. 15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. 16 For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.” Proclamation Against Jerusalem 22 The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2 You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle. 3 All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar. 4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.” 5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord God of hosts In the Valley of Vision— Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain. 6 Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. 8 He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; 9 You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. 11 You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 14 Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts. The Judgment on Shebna 15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Go, proceed to this steward, To Shebna, who is over the house, and say: 16 ‘What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock? 17 Indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently, O mighty man, And will surely seize you. 18 He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball Into a large country; There you shall die, and there your glorious chariots Shall be the shame of your master's house. 19 So I will drive you out of your office, And from your position he will pull you down. 20 ‘Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; 21 I will clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah. 22 The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open. 23 I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father's house. 24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. 25 In that day,' says the Lord of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the Lord has spoken.' ” Proclamation Against Tyre 23 The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, So that there is no house, no harbor; From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. 2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon, Whom those who cross the sea have filled. 3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the River, is her revenue; And she is a marketplace for the nations. 4 Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea has spoken, The strength of the sea, saying, “I do not labor, nor bring forth children; Neither do I rear young men, Nor bring up virgins.” 5 When the report reaches Egypt, They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre. 6 Cross over to Tarshish; Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland! 7 Is this your joyous city, Whose antiquity is from ancient days, Whose feet carried her far off to dwell? 8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, Whose merchants are princes, Whose traders are the honorable of the earth? 9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it, To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. 10 Overflow through your land like the River, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more strength. 11 He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; The Lord has given a commandment against Canaan To destroy its strongholds. 12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more, O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; There also you will have no rest.” 13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, This people which was not; Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert. They set up its towers, They raised up its palaces, And brought it to ruin. 14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For your strength is laid waste. 15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: 16 “Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.” 17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.   Isaiah 35-39 - The Future Glory of Zion 35 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord 36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller's Field. 3 And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. 4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar'?” ' 8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.' ” 11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ' 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?' ” 21 But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah Assures Deliverance 37 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ' ” Sennacherib's Threat and Hezekiah's Prayer 8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?' ” 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.” The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back! 23 “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest. 25 I have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.' 26 “Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 28 “But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.” ' 30 “This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the Lord. 35 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' ” Sennacherib's Defeat and Death 36 Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah's Life Extended 38 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ' 7 And this is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. 9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: 10 I said, “In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.” 11 I said, “I shall not see Yah, The Lord in the land of the living; I shall observe man no more among the inhabitants of the world. 12 My life span is gone, Taken from me like a shepherd's tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me. 13 I have considered until morning— Like a lion, So He breaks all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; I mourned like a dove; My eyes fail from looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; Undertake for me! 15 “What shall I say? He has both spoken to me, And He Himself has done it. I shall walk carefully all my years In the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these things is the life of my spirit; So You will restore me and make me live. 17 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18 For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. 19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children. 20 “The Lord was ready to save me; Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.” 21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” 22 And Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?” The Babylonian Envoys 39 At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ” 8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_459QS0jW0   Duration 34:07

Audio Recording Sermon OutlineSpeaker: Rev. Scott StrickmanSermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the LordIsaiah 60:1-14, 19-22 (ESV)1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult,because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house.8 Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?9 For the coastlands shall hope for me, the ships of Tarshish first,to bring your children from afar, their silver and gold with them,for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.10 Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you;for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.11 Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut,that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine,to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious.14 The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you,and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet;they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.19 The sun shall be no more your light by day,nor for brightness shall the moon give you light;but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself;for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.21 Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever,the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.22 The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation;I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.Sermon OutlineWe are given a picture of where God is leading history that can transform how we live.1. Draws Usv1 “your light has come” v5 “you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill”v7 “I will beautify my beautiful house”, v9 “because he has made you beautiful”2. Directs Usv1 “arise”v2 “darkness shall cover the earth”v11 “the people may bring to you the wealth of the nations” v20 “your days of mourning shall be ended”v19 “sun shall be no more… the Lord will be your everlasting light… your glory” 3. Utilizes Usv1 “shine” v14 “they shall call you the city of the Lord… Zion”“come”Prayer of ConfessionAlmighty and most merciful Father; we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have left undone those things that we ought to have done; and we have done those things that we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. And grant, O most merciful Father, for your Son Jesus Christ's sake, that we may hereafter live a godly and righteous life, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.Questions for ReflectionDo you believe the future is hopeful? If you imagine a great moment in the future, what do you picture?What does the theme of light rising and shining help us understand?What distinguishes true beauty from superficial beauty? Can you think of examples of how true beauty brings life to a person's soul?How can the vision of a hopeful future help you endure present difficulties? How can it inspire faithfulness when what you see is discouraging?How can this picture of people bringing gifts to God inform how you do your work or live your daily life? What does it look like to glorify God with all that you do?Why are Christians called to be a “city on a hill”? How do good works cause the light of God to shine from us into the world? Do you find joy in doing good?How can the church improve in being a community that shines light into the world? What can we do differently?Read AheadIsaiah Sermon Series

Isaiah 23 is a prophecy about Tyre and Sidon. Tyre was the chief city of the Phoenician kingdom and closely allied with her sister city Sidon. These were settled by the Hittites who came from a powerful civilisation of the Hath-hi in Turkey. In the zenith of their power this kingdom rivalled the Egyptians and the Assyrians. The Phoenician's were the greatest maritime nation of that time sending their navies as far as the Tarshish of the west – Great Britain. Verse 3 says that Tyre was the merchant navy of the world. Verse 6 explains how the mantle of maritime supremacy was relocated from Tyre to Great Britain who in the history of the last few hundred years has ruled the seas. Verses 11-14 speaks of the loss of naval greatness would be taken from her by the LORD in modern times. Tarshish. Verses 15-18 says that there would be a revitalisation of Tarshish's powers after a 70 year epoch – the time of one monarch. We today are witnessing Great Britain reestablishing her old trading patterns with those nations of her commonwealth. This is at the close of the reign of Elizabeth 2 after a rule of seventy years.

Jonah 1:1-3  //  The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. God speaks clearly.. But we may not always like it God's command won't always align with our preference John 14:15  //  If you love me, keep my commands. Running costs more than obedience Jonah 1:3  //  But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.  If you are fleeing from God, don't be surprised when the enemy picks you up Jonah 1:4-6  //  Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” Obedience would have cost Jonah comfort. Disobedience cost him peace, safety, and even others. Jonah 1:7-12  //  Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.  So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This terrified them, and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Knowing about God isn't the same as obeying Him Sin always charges more than you expect to pay That's the truth with Sin: it never shows you the full price tag upfront It promises escape but delivers chaos It looks like freedom, but leaves you trapped It starts with a choice but leaves you with consequences you never saw coming Even in disobedience, Grace is waiting Jonah 1:13-17  //  Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this, the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Grace doesn't wait for you to get it right. It meets you where you got it wrong. 2 Corinthians 12:9  //  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. What areas of my life am I trying to justify my disobedience in? What are the areas of my life where I just need to do the things God is speaking to me to do?

Jonah 4 ESV Jonah's Anger and the Lord's Compassion4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” For more information about Redeemer Church Lubbock visit our website at redeemerlubbock.org.

Wail, O Tyre and...where now? Just where WAS Jonah going when he got re-routed via fish? The possibilities aren't limitless, exactly, but there sure are a lot of them including...just, like, the ocean itself? Nah, probalby not, but it's a fun thought and there are lots of others. It's one of those little Biblical mysteries that holds out all sorts of tantalizing possibilities. I can't tell you which one is definitely right, but I sure have a favorite. You asked, I answer: where is Tarshish? Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com