Signs of a Fallen Nation - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Morning. Let's just pray together one more time before we jump into God's word. Father, we thank you. We ask that in this moment, your word, your living word would speak into our hearts and that you would fulfill your purpose in our lives. May this message, Lord, the insights provided here cause us to surrender to you and to acknowledge your lordship not just through our lips, but through our lives.

Lord, we ask for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as we open the scriptures that you would give us, Lord, the specific words that you need to tell us in this time. We trust that you hear us even now and that you will fulfill your purposes. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In Romans chapter 13, we are plainly told that God is the sovereign authority behind establishing government.

We are told plainly that he is the one who plants different levels of officials, magistrates, judges, forces of discipline across this world, let it be known that it is the lord of heaven and earth who appoints such people in such systems to bring law and order. God himself is responsible. God himself is the one who is responsible for kings raising up and kings being brought down, presidents, prime ministers, governors, mayors, and everything in between cannot escape his sovereign decisions, the longevity of their service, and their promotion or demotion. Now when we hear that, that causes us to raise a lot of questions, doesn't it? Because we know, even in our lifetime, that we have experienced and witnessed governments that were short of being noble and dignified in character.

But we have to understand, though, God is the one who raises certain men and women up. He had a purpose in mind for them to fulfill, and they have the freedom to adhere to it or not. They have the freedom to either say, I realize that God has brought me to this place, so I will exercise my authority and righteousness, or I will pervert my power for sinful gain. What is the purpose of government? What is the purpose of what you and I experience on a daily level, the the people that guide us and lead us into a certain direction?

One main purpose, to suppress and resist evil and to praise those who do good. Government has been given by God in this world, listen very carefully, to make life livable. The establishment of government is an extension of God's mercy and grace in society. Why? Because if you do not put restraint on man's heart, if you do not threaten, if you do not offer discipline, you will eventually unleash hellish realities in our day to day lives.

It's a gift. It's mercy. It's one of the strategies that God has allowed to be expressed in this world so that you and I can actually live without fear or worry for our own lives. And the moment you relax on government is the moment that you intensify and you again unleash the potential degrees of depravity that would shock us. They are called to bring righteous laws and orders, and that is their goal.

And we should be aware that the ambition of some even in our generation, many in our generation, that want to attempt to overthrow government the way the Bible describes government and and want to abolish systems that punish criminals, call it what you want, you know what the Bible says, it's a tack not on government but on God himself. Scripture is clear that those who resist the appointed government that God has established resist God himself. The things that we're experiencing today is spiritual in nature. And as much as we would want to separate politics from church, to some degree, we have to understand that there's a spiritual influence behind politics. And so the the chance and the hashtags to try to overthrow and try to diminish the government wielding a sword is a dangerous task because it is an assault not on just the way our politics work, but on God's standard of how society should function.

Government, God's dealing with us is more sophisticated than we think. I don't wanna spend our time this morning talking about the purpose of government or why or how God, establishes it. I wanna look at a more complex understanding of it. Because we just heard now in the past few minutes that government, again, is an extension of God's gift to society. It's his aid.

It's his help. It's one of the strengths amongst other restraints in the world. And I want you to think about something. Realize that in our generation, all of the things that people are attempting to fight for or fight against are literally all the restraints that God has brought into this world. Do you know that?

And one of the last restraints that this society has to repress and push back the forces of evil is the church, and there are many things before that. But again, God's dealings through government are much more sophisticated. Why? Because although God gives us leaders as a gift, as a blessing to a culture, to a nation, God can also appoint certain leaders as judgment. As judgment.

In God's mind and his overall purpose, government is called to be a blessing. But a society can so walk in a certain pattern of rebellion that God, in his wisdom, not in all cases, but in some cases says, because of your sin as a people, I will give you your heart's desire. Here is a corrupt, broken, fractured, incompetent government. Turn your bibles, as in our main text this morning, to Isaiah chapter three. Isaiah chapter three, and we're gonna begin in verse one today.

In this chapter, God is describing through his prophet the consequences that would come to the nation of Israel if they would not repent from their wanderings away from God's word. This is a prophetic declaration of what is to come in their society if they choose not to halt, turn, and walk in the ways of the Lord. And as we read this, we realize from the first verse that the consequences of God in this specific context is to take away certain things from this society. And the first thing God says is in verse one, for behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply all support of bread and all support of water. Now what you and I are gonna realize in these verses is that everything that God is going to remove from Judah and Jerusalem has to do with stability in society, things that make our day to day lives easier.

And the first thing that God says is he's going to take away the basic necessities of life. There's gonna be an economic shutdown. There's gonna be a meltdown. Prices of certain products will skyrocket. There's gonna be a scarcity of certain things that in moments before, there was an abundance of.

You know why this would have been very shocking to Israel, specifically Jerusalem and Judah, is because look at Isaiah two:seven. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures. Their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. They were an abundant people. Like America today, and as you even just hear me what I'm saying, you can't even imagine God or our economy being so stripped to the point where we're left with crumbs.

You can't think of that. America, this awesome nation, this wealthy are are you telling me that God is God is able to take away? And that's why this is such a strong word because they're hearing this and saying, really? Just go down the market. Look at the stock market.

Look at my fridge. Look at our grocery stores. You're telling me that God's gonna take away bread and water? And Isaiah was no lying man. He was no false prophet.

He assured them that God is able to do it. He assured that in a blink of an eye, you can see everything turn and crash. But that's not the only thing that God threatened them to remove. It doesn't stop there in verse two and three. He says, I'm also gonna take away the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of 50 and the men of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician, and the expert in charms.

Here is a list of different positions within society that include military personnel, magistrates, gifted orators, and essentially capable leaders that oversee the order of a land. And what the Lord is telling the people is people that were gifted in these places will be no more. I am going to be the one that's going to flick them off the stage. But God here is not just saying that he's gonna remove certain people. God is going to remove, yes, as an act of judgment, but only to make room for something that he's going to give and replace them with.

And who is he going to replace with these men that were offering some kind of structure and direction and hope for people? Look at verse four. And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. Who's going to do it? God is going to do it.

Now is this speaking about literal children? It could. You and I have even seen in the book of Kings that young men, minors, were actually raised up to kingly positions, but I believe it's more significant than that. This is speaking about more than literal age, the description of the incompetence, the ignorance, and the absence of practical wisdom that will occupy the minds of those who are elevated to places of authority. We are seeing here that the punishment described by God would allow individuals who lack courage, faithfulness, and a sense of great responsibility for the well-being of others who are under their care.

What's a child? An unrestrained child, an undisciplined child is a selfish human being. Everything revolves around them, generally speaking. It's about me. It's about what I want.

And what God is saying here is that the severity of this is that you're going to have leaders in your land that will actually have the mentality and the reason of a child. If you have a child in here, you won't even let your kid run your home, never mind a nation. This is how serious this is. The description of God's unique judgment in this context, you know what it is? That he is gonna deprive the people of capable and proficient leaders.

Ecclesiastes ten sixteen says, woe to you. This is a woe. Woe to you, oh land. Not just Israel, any land. Woe to you, oh land, when your king is a child.

When your king is a child and your princes feast in the morning. Again, it's not just speaking about literal age. It's speaking about the mindset of those in authority that are failing to understand how to lead others because they can't even really lead themselves. There is a lack of of moral compass. There is a lack of understanding and judgment, and we're gonna see what kind of what kind of decisions are made when a person is in such power.

And this is how we know that it's not just speaking about a child in the literal sense because he goes on to say, and your princes feast in the morning. Woe to you if your princes feast in the morning. You know what that means? You're in trouble as a people if your leaders in the land are consumed by their lack of self discipline that indulge in selfish pleasure. Because if you have a person in such a place of authority, you better believe that they're gonna execute their decisions with the end goal of satisfying self even at the expense of your well-being.

Woe to you if your king is a child. Woe to you if your leaders think and reason and act with clear lack of righteousness and the ability to be courageous even in the face of pressure or protest. Woe to you. You're in trouble. You're in trouble if your leaders do not govern with the goal of you thriving and being safe, but they make their decisions as long as they're okay, as long as they're wealthy, as long as they're safe, never mind those in your city, never mind the people dying, never mind the lack of provision, as long as we're okay, Solomon who was a king himself says, woah.

That's very interesting, isn't it? Because you and I can imagine what would happen to a people who are under such type of leadership. You know what that births? You know what it births when a people desire such a person in power and when God allows it? Total anarchy.

Go back to Isaiah three, and after he says in verse four that God will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them, look at verse five. This is the result of that. And the people will oppress one another, Everyone his fellow and everyone his neighbor. The youth will be insolent to the elder and the despise to the honorable. When you have confusion on a political level, it makes way for chaos in the general population.

What you will see is mutual oppression of people will begin to turn against one another. Division will increase. Hatred will intensify. Crime will be more common. But interestingly enough, Isaiah, out of all the things that he could have highlighted, highlights one specific type of brokenness in society out of all of them.

The youth will be insolent to the elder. What will happen to a society when a leadership fails to live an exemplary way and fails to be disciplined whether in the home or in society itself? What will happen? You will see a rise of disrespect from the young people. What does it mean to be insolent?

It means to be rude or arrogant, showing lack of respect. Sound familiar? Oh, this is old testament stuff. No. We're seeing it today.

According to the Bible, one of the signs of a failed leadership, again, whether in a home or in society, is that the youth don't know how to demonstrate honor anymore, especially to those who have lived longer lives than them. Don't doubt that there's a correlation between a failed leadership and the behavior of a generation that is rising up. Teenagers dishonoring their parents, students threatening their teachers, young people disregarding the authority of leadership of any kind including the police. This is the fruit of a failed leadership to an extent, both from the home and both from the government. Because the home is another restraint in society, by the way, and no wonder that we have political movements today that are trying to fracture the home.

And whether you wanna believe it or not, a lot of these movements that you and I are hearing of, they are interconnected. Just keep your eyes a little bit open, and you'll see that a lot of these activist movements are interconnected, and they all have one goal, to remove God's restraints in society so that Satan can have an easier way of destroying what God had created in his image. You and I are living in very interesting times. And what are we seeing today? You wanna know what we're seeing?

Political movements and politicians praising the youth of this generation for destroying and disrespecting anyone who doesn't agree with them. What Isaiah is describing here can be somewhat seen in the election of a certain king in Israel's history. There was a point early on in the development of Israel as a nation where the people wanted a king. God was their king, but they didn't want God as their king, nor did they want God to be the determiner of how they should be led. They looked around and they saw how the world, the neighboring nations had an earthly king, and they say, we want it.

And so they came to Samuel, the prophet who was a judge, and they said, we want a king. And Samuel experienced rejection, but God informed him, hey, Samuel. Listen. They didn't just reject you. They rejected me ultimately.

And so what does God do? What God eventually would do with any people who really want to do leadership their own way, he'll give it to them. And when you read first Samuel, you get the impression that God kinda is, like, neutral about giving King Saul, but he wasn't neutral. All you have to do is go to Hosea thirteen eleven, and you see by the Holy Spirit giving us commentary how God really felt about the people desiring a certain type of king and a certain type of leadership apart from God's wisdom. Listen to Hosea 13 verse ten and eleven.

Where now is your king to save you in all your cities? Where are your rulers? Those of whom you said, give me a king and princess. Look what he says in verse 11, I gave you a king in my anger. I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.

Is government an extension of God's blessing and mercy and grace in society? Yes. But can sometimes a leadership being appointed be a sign of God's displeasure? Absolutely. Absolutely.

Here you go. You want it so badly? Take it. And what happens? They realize that when they try to do government their way, there was no deliverer when they needed one.

And they got themselves in such a mess that God steps on the scene and goes, where was what you really thought was gonna save you now? America's gonna see that unless God comes and revives this nation. We are so fighting for our way of thinking of how leadership in society should work, it will come to the point where we will need deliverance, and God in his wisdom will not provide it to teach us a lesson. In fact, go to Isaiah three and look at verse six. This is how bad it will get in in Jerusalem and Judah's day when they are brought through this.

For a man will take hold of his brother in the house of his father saying, you have a cloak. You shall be our leader, and this heap of ruins shall be under your rule. Do you see what's happening here? Leadership has so failed them that there will be literally no qualification for becoming a leader. There will be in such a need of somebody stepping up and taking charge that even when somebody had a nice coat, that would be enough to be like, you can be our leader.

You dress nice. You look presidential. Come and be our leader. That's how bad it was going to get in their day. And don't think for a moment that it can't get so bad in America.

There will be such a lack of answer, and there will be such a lack of direction and wisdom and reason that we will be able now to just scatter and find anybody. It can happen. Now listen to what happens. Even when they do find somebody, the state of the nation would be so bad. Look at how the person who was elected would respond.

Verse seven, in that day, he will speak out saying, I will not be a healer. In my house, there is neither bread nor cloak. You shall not make me leader of the people. There's no way. I want nothing to do with this mess.

This is just too severe. It's gone too far. Count me out. And, again, you might be sitting there thinking, can it really get that bad? Can it actually come to that point?

Listen to this. How many do you think people today wanna be a cop? If this continues, how many do you think are gonna wanna be police officers? That's exactly what this is saying. I want nothing to do with that position of authority.

I want nothing to do with it. Don't hire me. Don't ask me. Don't it doesn't matter how much you pay me. I'm staying away.

I care about my own well-being. I care about my family's well-being. Thank you very much. That's how bad it can get in a society. Now we're reading this and we're thinking to ourselves, this is serious.

And God can do this in our day, because King Solomon says, woe to a land who is a king as a child as their king. Now, here's the question. Does God just do this randomly? Does God just have moods in history where he he chooses to do this? Or is there something that leads him to grant the people such terrible realities?

Isaiah three gives us the reasons why God would allow such a thing to happen. And the first reason is found in verse eight. For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. Again, why in in some cases, why is there a failed leadership? Not in all cases, but why?

Because of the the lack of righteousness in that place itself. And the first reason God gives for the collapse of the society is that their speech and their deeds blasphemed God. Now in simple terms, this is what it means, that in every way possible, they defied God with their lives. Many people attempt to justify their sin in terms of behavior by covering it with lip service. Right?

They live in a certain way, but then they'll say, I believe in the God of the Bible. They live in a certain way, and if you ask them, they go, Yeah, but I'm a Christian. I got baptized. They live in a certain way, and then they can come to church, and they can sing songs to God. Why?

Because what they're doing verbally is a way of trying to silence their conscience to conscience to some degree and try to convince others that they are essentially followers of Christ. But that's not what this society came to. They've aborted even on that. He's saying their speech and their deeds defied God. There was no justification even with their own words for their lack of consistency.

They have come to such a place where they have no shame in even declaring defiance, mocking, scorning, blaspheming the name of Jesus Christ. All you have to do is look at America's entertainment to see that we've crossed that line long ago. Our shows and our movies and our music alone prove that people have no problem and no hesitation to look at heaven with their own brazen eyes and to say, fill in the blank toward God. People don't even have the audacity to blush anymore when it comes to taking the name of God and dragging it in the dirt. It's on our late night television shows.

Our politicians talk that way. Our celebrities talk that way. A society has come to a dangerous place when not just their deeds defy God, but when their speech matches their behavior, there's no fear of saying it anymore. People don't tremble anymore. People have no sense of reverence anymore.

What you have is a nation's speech showing a distaste to God. They have reached a very, very crucial point that can be a tipping point, but that's not the only thing. Look at verse nine. For the look on their faces bears witness against them. They proclaim their sin like Sodom.

They proclaim their sin like Sodom. They do not hide it. Woe to them, for they have brought evil on themselves. Even though God was the one who was taking away and replacing, in the end, it was just a response to what they really desired. Their sin brought this evil upon themselves.

And look how specific the Bible is. It wasn't saying that they were living in sin. They were living in sin with no sense of shame. They proclaimed their sin. They declared their sin.

In some translation it says, They paraded in their sin. And the Bible again is very specific. It says that they, what, proclaimed their sin like Sodom. What defines Sodom? What was the thing that characterized it?

I'm sure you can give different answers because there is many sins. But Jude leaves us with a clear answer of what consumed this people in their time of existence. In Jude, no chapter, just verses, Jude seven, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged, consumed, ate up, were covered in sexual morality and pursued unnatural desire. Sodom was engulfed and consumed with sexual morality, but namely homosexuality. These unnatural acts were not shameful to them as a culture.

They were in fact praised, practiced, and promoted in public for all to see and for all to accept, or else. There was a time in American history where this sin of sex homosexuality was something that people were ashamed of. It was a hidden thing. Because culturally, there was an agreement that this was something unnatural. These acts were not natural, and therefore, there was a sense of embarrassment that came with anybody who was involved in it.

That is long gone. Hiding in the closet has now been replaced with celebrating it in public. And you only have to be in America in the month of June to to see this verse come to life. And the devil isn't even subtle anymore. Out of all the words to be associated with the proclaiming of the sin, you have the word pride on flags, on billboards, on commercials.

Now you have brands that are taking it on. And what is it? It's telling not just the world, it is telling God we have this sin, we love this sin, and it is here to stay whether you want it to or not. They proclaim their sin like Sodom. When you read about Sodom, you see a group of men that collectively in public knocked on a door of a man's house who hosted two angels, and they said, we want them for sexual gratification.

There is nothing secret about it. There is no tiptoeing around it. And what can be more profane, what can be more public than a parade? Don't get desensitized. Realize that we are seeing Isaiah three come to life.

How many threads does America have left? But let us not also limit this proclaiming of sin to the LGBT community. Because we in this generation have been given access to make our private lives public through social media, and you and I both know that there are people who have no problems displaying their sin publicly. Again, there's no shame. They will upload their debauchery.

They will upload them in drunken states. They will upload unrighteous anger where people are beating on each other in the streets. They will upload these things. And what is it? It's just entertainment.

It's just source of laughter. But it's a display of sin. There's no more blush. When a culture comes to that point where they're not even embarrassed about their sin anymore, you've come to a tipping point in society. They proclaim their sin like Sodom.

They glory in it, they boast in it, they parade about it, and it is very well the contribution to society collapsing. Another reason, verse 16. The Lord said, because the daughters of Zion are haughty, proud, and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet. Therefore, the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts. Interestingly enough, God is zooming into a specific behavior in this culture that actually deals with the woman of this culture.

And what happens with the women of this culture? That they have reached a certain behavior that is no doubt a sign of a society reaching a very low point in their morality. Why targeting the woman? Why is that significant? Because as much as the leadership of men is absolutely crucial for guiding a society in the right direction, The influence of women, namely mothers and wives, in the development of the future generation is absolutely foundational.

And when you especially have the absence of men rising up and taking up their roles as leaders, what hope do you have left? You have women, mothers, wives, and it's one thing for men to forfeit their callings as men, but we are in great danger when women forfeit their callings as well. When they abort their God ordained standard of character and focus in life, we're in trouble. Even today, many families are surviving, listen, are surviving on the hopes that their mothers are giving them. Choosing to remain obedient to the call of God, walking in the fear of God for the sake of God's name and for the sake of the well-being of the unit of the family or whatever is left of it.

So if you have an absence of men, which is clear in this context, God removes capable men, what happens now when you have women who are walking opposite to what God called them to do? Unfortunately, in Isaiah's day, the description of the general female population took a different turn and God was not happy about it at all. What described them? From what we read in verse 16, now let's look at verse 18. In that day, the Lord will take away the finery of their anklets, the headbands, the crescents, the pendants, the bracelets, the scarves, the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, the amulets, the signet rings and nose rings, the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags, the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

That's an exhaustive list. He's literally covered from head to toe. When you couple verse 16 with with verse 18, what describe the general population of the woman Isaiah's day was pride, seductiveness, and luxury. They were generally known for placing their identity being in what their extravagance offered them and how through their extravagance can lure men lustfully. That's all they live for.

It's not that God is against ladies having earrings and nice clothes. That's not what he's saying. It's that that was their goal in life for one main purpose, to seduce. To seduce. That's why he says they walk out with outstretched necks.

They're trying to get attention, glancing wantonly with their eyes. What? With their own eyes, they're trying to seduce men. And listen, mincing along as they go tinkling with their feet. What does that mean?

That they were wearing certain type of jewelry at their ankles so that when they walked, it would make a noise so that when they were in public, they would get the attention of men. Everything was about drawing the opposite sex to them in a sexual way. Is God judging a woman or a man dressing in such a way to be beautiful or to be put together? I hope we're mature enough not to think that way. What is he speaking about here?

A culture that has become so sexualized, which we know in our minds usually affects men more than women, but it can get so bad, and it is really bad when it begins to affect women. And so now they're living for their lust. They're living for the praise and the intention of the opposite sex. And you know when you do that as a woman, it's evidence that you've walked away from your call as a real woman of God. As they pursued this, surely they walked away from their heavenly obligations, bringing harm not just to them, but to their role of influence as wives and mothers.

Can we make any similar connections with the attitude of our day? Listen, in a selfie culture, absolutely. And let me put it this way, if young women were honest, they could admit that a lot of their mental and emotional energy is given over to how their next picture will be better than their last. I remember hearing from somebody that there was a young lady who who did this. She just lived for that to such a point that when she would post a picture of herself, she had other fake accounts to comment on her picture telling her how beautiful she is.

You think that's that's just an isolated thing? No, it's very common. Their mental energy, their emotional energy has been so engulfed by this purpose. I just want to be praised for how I look, and not just that, I want people to want me. This shouldn't describe a woman of God.

What did the woman end up doing? They lived to only invest in themselves, to the point where it puffs up. And no matter what a person is proud about, God will never look at pride and be relaxed about it. He will not sit still. How much more when he sees it contaminating an entire culture?

Why is God so harsh against this specific type of behavior? Is God pointing out one specific sex? Oh, I can point you to many many more concerning the men, but let's honor the context here. Because God intended women to invest their energy and their focus on something much more glorious than getting peaks from guys. Titus two, three to five.

I want you we just read Isaiah three sixteen and eighteen. Now let me put that beside Isaiah two, three and five, and tell me if you can feel the difference. Tell me if you can sense the difference. Tell me if just by reading the verses you can you can actually sense the holiness and the purity and the contribution that they can this can bring to a culture. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.

They are to teach what is good. And so train the young woman. What are young women supposed to be occupied by? Young women. What are young women supposed to be consumed by?

Older women should disciple younger women to do what? To love their husbands and children. To be self controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled. Put Titus two:three-five beside Isaiah three sixteen, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go tinkling with their feet. Do you feel it?

The difference. What's more attractive? I can tell you what's more attractive to a godly man, Titus two:three-five. And we've talked enough extensively about how outward appearance works with believers. But this is not just about outward appearance, it's about an attitude.

It's about a mission. It's about a culture that has now, what, rewired a woman not to be concerned about her role as a future mother, not to raise up and disciple a new generation, but to just live about her beauty. When a society comes to that point, specifically with this population, we're in trouble. Would you agree with me this morning that this is not just a description of Judah and Jerusalem thousands of years ago, but we are seeing it in America today? So so now things are connecting.

Right? Now things are making sense. Right? My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge, the Bible says. But when we read God's word, it all makes sense.

We are trying to get people to what? Politically analyze what's going on in society? Just go to Isaiah chapter three amongst other chapters, and we get heaven's perspective. And we realize, okay. So God says these are the reasons.

And what he's trying to say is that if you really wanna live this way as a society, I'll give you a leadership that will allow you to do it. This is another version of Romans one of giving people over to what they want and desire. And in this context, it's giving a political platform and placing people on that platform that will praise and only fuel that kind of a mindset. For what end goal? That if God does not come as a response to a people's repentance, they would literally implode morally.

There would be such an erosion that an empire just like America can collapse from the inside. This is what god is doing in this text, and it's not limited to this time of history. And you and I are hearing this, and you might be thinking, that makes sense. I get it. I agree with it.

I nod my head and say amen to it. But here's my concern. Not everybody, not every single person thinks this way or lives this way. Are there not believers in the land? Are we not believers in this land?

Do we not walk by different convictions? Yes. So then we might be thinking, why do we have to suffer under this kind of a leadership? Why do we have to suffer under a leadership that might potentially rise up to the point where we would be shocked to see who's actually giving us our laws? Why why do we potentially in our generation, have to undergo that?

Why? And here's the wonderful thing, that when you read Isaiah three, it is gloomy, it is dark, it is heavy, but in the middle of this chapter, you see this little flicker of light, this little reminder, this little, little thing that just gives us enough hope if you are in the category of the righteous. Because as Isaiah's prophesying and saying, This is what's coming. This is what's coming. This is why it's coming, this is why it's coming, in the middle of all that, it's as though the Holy Spirit inspires Isaiah to say, hey, I need you to speak to a different audience just for one moment.

And it's in verse 10. Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. That's you. It says though as he's prophesying, God inspires him to say, Isaiah, I need you now to just speak to a different audience and because this can be overwhelming even to the people of God, so I need you to speak to the people of God, and this is what I need you to tell them. I need you to comfort them and reassure them that even though I'm gonna be taking away and I'm gonna be replacing and things are gonna get really bad in politics and things are gonna get really bad in society, let them know.

It shall be well with them. They don't have to fear. They don't have to worry. They don't need to be anxious like the rest of the world will be. If they are walking in my ways, even under such an influence of guidance and failed and corrupt leadership, know this, they're gonna be fine.

So we do not know what will happen in the days to come. But let me say this, no matter what buildings are burning and what statues are being torn down, it will be well with the righteous. And no matter who is elected in November, the righteous will be taken care of. No matter what kind of falsehood is being taught in our schools and no matter how much the media can't get truth straight, it will be well with the righteous. No matter what happens to the freedom of the practice of our faith, it will be well with the righteous.

By who? Who's gonna offer that wellness to the soul? I'll tell you this. It won't be the government, but it will be the governor of all governments who will give it to the righteous. In the same way Goshen was hedged in and was a different part of Egypt being canopied by the glory of God, so will it be with the church of Jesus Christ.

They will know something of God's providential care in amazing ways. And although we might be persecuted, and although we might see some things that might not make life as easily livable in our social lives and in our different whatever you wanna call it, here's one thing that we'll know. The gospel will go forth. The kingdom will be built. The church will grow stronger.

It will be well with the righteous. Can you imagine the righteous, the remnant righteous in Isaiah's audience as you had this people that he was preaching to, probably mocking him, squirming him, like, oh, listen to this crazy guy on a Sunday morning in America saying that this can happen to our nation. Are you kidding me? And there is the righteous remnant who believes, who understands what the word of God says, and they can feel the terror because they are still flesh, and God says, it's gonna be okay with you. It's gonna be just fine.

Even if your princes are boys and even if they become your oppressors, the righteous, they're hedged in. So then what's our responsibility? Even if we come to this kind of a point, which you might agree with me this morning, we are very close. Right? Very close.

Here's our responsibility, to continue to remain a salt and light, providing the remaining restraint that America has left. At this point, if this continues, we are seeing the family unit attacked, we're seeing the educational system attacked, we are seeing our government attacked, we are seeing all these different things attacked. What's left? The church. And so the church always has been and the church will be, especially in these times, the hope of keeping this nation sane.

And so I go back to the message that we experience together from God's word, what the world needs right now, and here's one of them, this word being proclaimed unapologetically, lived out by believers, and hopefully there will be some people left that can peek into the church and say, how is it that you guys are not shaken? How is it that you guys are different races but you are still unified? How is it that you guys are not worried and then they can hopefully be softened enough to say, I wanna be a part of this kingdom because all other kingdoms are failing? So God Almighty in his wisdom, not in all cases, but definitely is able in this day to look at a nation's lifestyle and way of thinking to the point where, like Israel that wanted a specific king, God in his anger will say, you want it? Take it.

And all heaven and hell and the world itself will witness what can happen to millions and millions of people in one generation unless God comes in such power that it affects the people in power. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that your word is so real. It's so precise, god. It is so specific.

It is prophetic. Lord, we thank you that a book like Isaiah with with a chapter like that can speak to America itself. So we are humbled by your word. We are overwhelmed by the wisdom and by the principles that are timeless. And we're in awe of you.

Lord, we know that what we are experiencing in our day is not new. Judah and Jerusalem mirrored it. But Lord, in this moment, our main concern is to to know within our own hearts that we are among the righteous, that we are that remnant. Lord, we thank you that even though you are planning things in America and perhaps even for her discipline, that you still look at your church, the true church, and say it's gonna be okay with you. It's gonna be well with you.

It's gonna be well with your family. It's gonna be well with your ministries. Lord, in the midst of all of this. We are in your hand, Lord. We are seeing this nation fall apart, but, Lord, as Psalm 46 tells us, though the mountains quake, though they'd be thrown into the heart of the sea, though the waves toss, we will not be afraid.

We will be still, and we will know that you are God. Lord, we don't know what's on the horizon. We don't know how much time America has left. But, Lord, we know, we believe it, oh god, that you've allowed us to live at this time of history for something historical for the church. And so Lord, we're asking that you would allow us to walk so in tune with the Holy Spirit that we would not miss the mission of the church in this time.

Show us, Lord. We don't know what it is, but show us. Show us. Lord we bless you, and you've commanded us to pray for our nation still. You've commanded us to pray for those in governing authorities As much as they might frustrate us, as much as we might not agree with all of their policies, as much as they might even leading people into insanity, Lord, we trust that you know the power of prayer, so we will pray.

We pray, God, we pray that you would keep our government righteous. That Lord, as the pressure of a new generation is coming up to redefine the basic understanding of biology, the family unit, that as there are movements that are trying to create more division and hate than any other time, arguably. Give those in positions of leadership wisdom, and the thick skin to stand for truth. Raise up Daniels and Josephs and Esthers that will infiltrate these places of influence in the name of Jesus Christ. But we know that your kingdom is coming, but we are still part of this world, and we're asking that you would extend greater grace, Lord.

For the sake of your gospel, for the sake of your name, because Lord we understand that if America goes, much of the freedom for their faith will go as well. So we're praying for the preservation and for the sake of lost souls in this nation and around this nation. Lord, we're praying for extension of freedom and liberty to proclaim your truth. We look to you and Lord we worship you that though kingdoms rise and fall, you are faithful through it all. We bless you in Jesus' name.