Heavenly Comfort in Times of Earthly Chaos | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

I thought we were gonna go right back into worship, right? Which I don't mind. What a fitting song for our time together in God's word. You know, I'm convinced that the tumultuous times that we are living in provides no shortage of material for pulpits in churches to address and to try to explain. But if a pastor is not careful, he can easily get swept up by the events that are taking place in the world and allows the recent headlines to determine the subject matter of his weekly sermons.

You may be aware of some ministries who base their messages exclusively on cultural commentary or reactionary analysis, and they might have a tinge of biblical reference to what they have to say just so it can be free from any criticism and be deemed as a sermon. And I don't think that kind of level of concentration on the news is helpful, especially in the local church, since the primary duty of a minister is to preach the whole counsel of God in season and out of season. Now Paul said that on purpose. He said that for a reason. In season and out of season.

When it's popular and when it's not. When people are asking for it or when they're not. You preach the word of God, Timothy. That is what you are to be preoccupied with. But there's that temptation.

Right? Because everything that's happening around us is so real, and that's why I would argue that there are incidents that take place in our lifetime that captivate our culture in a very unique way, in a way that almost puts a halt, stops the world in its tracks, and creates almost a universal unrest or disorientation. And in those moments, I believe it is wise and even responsible for spiritual leaders to take local, regional, even global crises, and to shed light on the word of God and to confirm to the child of God that you and I have heavenly guidance from our God even in the midst of chaos. And that is what I wanna do with this Sunday service. Not only because of the harrowing assassination attempt on the former president of The United States, but because of the events that unfolded, the thoughts, the ideas, the discussions that followed that historical day.

You know, like, the heightened sense of vulnerability and concern for national and even individual security. The growing distrust in our government because of many reasons, including the incompetence of leadership. The rumors that are flooding our podcast and the predictions that secular prophets are making concerning where all of this is leading to and how we are racing towards a world that we have never seen before. And the cherry on top is just the plain uncertainty of the future. I wanna show you briefly how even the Lord Jesus Christ is an example of leveraging current events to drive spiritual truth into concerned hearers.

So we're not going in Mark today, if you haven't guessed already, but but I wanna invite you to Luke chapter 13 briefly, and we will be going to different texts in the bible this afternoon. But let's begin in Luke 13 because I want to, to the best of my ability, always confirm any point with what the bible has to say. Luke thirteen one to five. There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way?

No. I tell you, but unless you repent, you all likewise perish. Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No. I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

So here you have some Jews who were preoccupied with the obvious news of that time of the cruel slaughtering of some Galileans by the vicious hands of Pilate, and they approached the Lord Jesus, this up and coming popular preacher, teacher, prophet, miracle worker, self proclaimed Messiah, though true Messiah. And they ask the Lord's opinion and, you might be under the impression like many other people who've asked Jesus questions that they're trying to trap him or it can simply be curiosity. What do you have to say about the headlines? And Lord Jesus doesn't shoo it away. He doesn't dismiss it.

He he addresses it. And he uses what was on people's minds to remind them and to reinforce their mortality. And that they themselves have application with something that seemed to be distant. You too must repent before it is too late. Not only that, I love how the Lord brings up another headline.

Like, they didn't bring up the issue of the Tower Of Siloam. He brought it up. So he was a he was aware of current tragedies himself. So let me bring up to you about those who died, who were under that tower and that tower collapsed on them. Same application.

You have to repent and get ready because you don't know when your time will be. And so Christ shows us here by way of example, I'm sure, that when there are times of unrest and uncertainty and disaster, catastrophe, one of his primary message is what? Repent. Get ready to meet your God. You're not invincible, though we all suffer with this invincibility complex.

You don't know when your day is coming. Your days are numbered. So if you think that there are worse sinners, that's not necessarily the case. But make sure that you're ready with your sin and how Jesus Christ will deal with it. Either forgive it or he'll judge you for it.

But the message of repentance is not the only message that a faithful messenger of God will proclaim in times of instability. It is a primary one, but it's not the only one. And sometimes we have this idea that the duty of a prophet is exclusively about confronting and exposing the sin of others. And though I believe that is an important description of a messenger of God, it's not only that. Yes, confront.

Yes, challenge. Yes, through your word, seek people's conviction. And I believe we need more of that in this day than anything else. Yet, if you read the bible carefully, you'll notice that God has put another word in the mouth of the same prophets who called the masses to turn from their sin and to surrender to the lordship of God almighty. I want I want you to see it with your own eyes in Isaiah chapter 40.

And this is this is what we are gonna be focusing on today. This is what, prayfully, I want you to experience today, and I trust that the Lord will help us experience it. Isaiah, a man who has given his woes to the people concerning their iniquity and their rebellion, but notice how the Lord instructs his prophet at this point in verse one of Isaiah 40. Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her.

What? Repent? Turn from your sin? You rebels? No.

Cry to her that her warfare has ended. That her iniquity is pardoned. That she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Notice the double emphasis of comfort.

You know what that's indicating? The urgent longing of God for his people to experience relief. Comfort. Comfort. Comfort.

He doesn't wanna just say it once. He wants to say it again because he wants his people who might be slow to receive that comfort to actually be comforted once and for all. And notice here also that this comfort this comfort that's able to be tangible is supernatural. It's supernatural. It comes from God.

And though it comes from God, it's meant to be experienced by us. It's meant to be tangible. It's meant to be real. It's meant to be clutched on. It's meant to be something that actually changes us.

And so it comes from him, but it's it's not this thing that is, distant and theoretical. It it really touches the heart. And the primary means by which God's comfort is transferred and delivered and unfolded for his people is through his word. Notice he says, speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Speak tenderly and cry to her.

Tell her these things. It's these things that are going to bring her repose. It's these truths that are give gonna give her solace. So speak now, Isaiah, these words of comfort. Is there anything in this context that would indicate why the Lord is saying this?

Well, you can look at the verses we read and part of it is that comfort her because her iniquity is pardoned. If you wanna know the foundation of God's comfort in your life, it's gonna be found when your sins are forgiven. It's gonna be in the place where you realize that my record of death has been dealt with. It's been nailed on that cross never to be visited again. He'll never un nail it.

He'll never remove it and shove it back in my face. It's finished. Right there, you should know a flood of rest for your soul. But there's something beyond that. There's something in the immediate context that suggests that there was a real life event that called for this kind of comfort.

Look back at Isaiah 39 and verse six and seven, and we won't read it, but that's just a reference for you to realize that Hezekiah was told of the Babylonian invasion. That there was gonna come a foreign country to ransack the people of God and even remove the royal seed and bring them into the palace of a pagan people. And that's how Isaiah 39 ends and then you transition to Isaiah 40 and God says, now comfort. Comfort my people. What are we to make of that?

Here's what you're to make of that. Proving that the will of God for his people is to know a strange alien serenity and a deep seated security in the midst of calamity. In the midst of calamity. Comfort in chaos. Comfort when the world is shaking, when your world is shaking.

And though our world today leaves us no shortage of disturbing news, I wanna tell you today that this this book provides towering promises and abundant hope that casts everything else into a shadow. And so I want you to draw comfort today. I want you to leave here lighter. I want you to leave here with a peace that guards your mind and your hearts, your thoughts and your emotions. I want that to be experienced through the word of God.

So let's stay in Isaiah a little bit and drink out of this well of truth some comfort. Where shall we go? So many places to go. Let's go to a familiar passage, but revisit some truths that we might have missed in Isaiah chapter six verse one. And notice what the prophet experienced in a time of great distress for his nation.

Isaiah six verse one. In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Uzziah was one of the most prosperous, innovative, famed kings in Israel's history. And the full account of his reign is found in second Chronicles 26, And there's so many things that you read about his success and the economy that he established and the influence that he had on neighboring people groups. But what's interesting about that part in chronicles is that you discover Isaiah, the prophet, was a contemporary to Uzziah.

He was a prophet. He was in ministry. He was in ministry during the time of this man's reign. And prophets worked very closely with kings. They had some level of relationship and if the king was righteous, then it was on good terms.

If they were not, then all they had was a knock on the door of rebuke and warning. And Isaiah was one who witnessed. He with his own eyes lived under an administration that brought so much peace and prosperity and power. He himself benefited from it. But he also witnessed the tragedy of Uzziah's life.

Uzziah became proud like many people do when they are successful, even spiritually successful. And God struck Uzziah with leprosy and he was an outcast until the day that he died. And we read here in Isaiah six one that in that same year that Uzziah died, Isaiah's eyes were open to a vision to bring comfort to him and through him to the people as a whole. The vision is plain and obvious. He realizes something about God, the sovereignty of God, the throne of God, the authority of God, the stability of God.

And I just find it absolutely amazing how more than one account, the scriptures record how the Lord manifests himself in unusual moments in our lives. Unusual moments, especially in moments of suffering and pain. I think of Job, though a righteous man and who feared God, think about the emotional distress, the physical burden, the psychological, and even the spiritual struggle. And yet at the end of that account in Job, what do you read? Oh, my eyes have seen you.

I've heard of you with my ears, but now my eyes have seen you. I have I have a new revelation of you that can only have been known in this kind of thing. I think of Stephen, when he was ready to be stoned by his enemies. You can think about the fear of that moment. A man who had so much promised future, a man who was a blessing to the church.

The church just started and this guy is ready to go. And what does he see? He sees heaven open and he sees Christ not sitting at the right hand of God, but standing. He had a revelation of Christ, what? Right at the threshold of pain.

Death. What do you see here? You see I Isaiah. Surely, a man, as you're gonna discover, a man who was susceptible to being fearful himself, being overcome by a manifestation of the person of Jesus Christ according to John that would change him, that would instill a concrete confidence for his call, yes, personally, but something about who God is despite his call. And I wanna tell you that these revelations may not be immediate.

I wanna I wanna tell you if look, everything else in the world, it's in the world. And as much as it might be affecting us, as much as it's bombarding our phones and it's the subject matter of our dinner conversations and our text messages to people here and beyond. You have your own things. There's private wars that each of us are battling. But take this truth that when when God takes our suffering, he takes it as a platform for him to step on and to show himself.

But it may not be immediate. It may not be even during. It may be after the fact. Read again carefully. It doesn't say in the day Uzziah died.

It was in the year. So what do you do when the lights have been turned off and you don't understand what's going on, you don't know how to read the writing on the wall? You stay put, you wait, you worship while you wait and you trust that the Lord will show himself at the right time. And you take that as an opportunity to bless him when it doesn't make sense to bless him and to serve him when you have little strength to do anything else. And so Isaiah is here in the year that king Uzziah died, and God reveals himself to him in a very special way.

And then there's one thing, I mean, we we preach on Isaiah six before. I believe it was last year's Maranatha. We spent a whole session on it at the conference. But I wanna draw your attention to just the first three verses. Look at verse two and keep in mind that this is in the year that King Uzziah died.

Above him stood the seraphim, each had six wings. With two, he covered his face, and with two, he covered his feet, and with two, he flew. That's so significant. I don't have time to touch on that. But verse three, and one called to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory. So these heavenly creatures, these beings who are caught up in the atmosphere of holiness and brilliance of God, they're saying something to one another, by the way. This is generally misunderstood as them saying something to God. They're not saying it directly to God. They're saying it to one another.

And notice what they said. Thrice holy is God. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. And notice what they didn't say, the whole earth was full of his glory or the whole earth will be full of his glory. Does it say that?

No. It's present tense. The whole earth is full of his glory. Wait. Is?

Yes. In the same year that king Uzziah died. What did these seraphim see? Glory. That's what they saw permeating the earth.

What did Isaiah and the average Israelite see? I'm not sure. But in times of transition, unpredictability, uncertainty. It's difficult to perceive glory. But these seraphim saw it to the degree that it caused them, yes, to not just converse about it, but in adoration praise about it.

The whole earth is filled with his glory. What are you seeing, Seraphim? And how are you seeing it? Can I suggest one simple thing? Their vantage point.

Their perspective. They're seeing the globe from the throne room of the Lord of hosts. And God in this vision is inviting Isaiah up. See it from here Isaiah. Filter it from here, Isaiah.

You know, Ephesians tells us that you and I this is a very mysterious statement. It's very deep. But it's also simple. That we are seated in where? Heavenly places.

What is that speaking about? You positionally. Your salvation is as secure as that. You have a seat in heavenly places. That's the main part of that text.

That's what that is trying to convey. But there's also command that practically you and I are to set our minds on things above. Colossians three. So you're seated there positionally, but let's be practical. Let's view everything from the perspective of where we're supposed to be seated.

Heaven, eternity, God's might, his power. The whole earth is filled with his glory. What does Psalm 19 tells about the glory of God? That it's in the heavens. It's in the skies above.

Is it not? It's in creation. Do you wonder why? I think the thought is dying out now, but do you wonder why for a good period of time in in our lifetime there was such a push for evolution and the notion that all this came from nothing, that we're just an accident, that this is a miracle but without a God. Why do you think that's being pushed?

Do you think that's because science thought about it? No. It's because it's an attempt to rob God of his glory. You're supposed to look out and perceive everything and give God glory, and Satan wants to even take that from God. This isn't about science and philosophy and psychology and Darwin.

There's something spiritual behind this stuff. And so we see here that the seraphim are looking at the world and though kingdoms as we sang are rising and kingdoms are falling, they're just caught up in the glory. You cannot afford to interpret your personal life, your home life, your neighborhood life, your city, this nation, apart from the filter of God's sovereignty. You can't afford to do that. The seraphim could look down and worship while the majority worry.

And the only way that you can switch from panic to praise is if you constantly consider. Constantly include in every micro and macro event that there is a God who is lofty, high, strong, unshaken, sovereign. Climb there every morning. Before you check Fox, before you peep into CNN, climb there and stay there, and allow God's glory to interpret everything for you. I wonder how many today since last week and in the weeks to come have been caught up with God's glory.

In your conversations, it's okay to talk about this stuff that's happening. But in your conversations, does does the Lord and his power and might, does he show up in that conversation? Or is it simply just discussing the recent podcast and then sighing about how wicked this world is and then going back to your room with shrugged shoulders wondering if tomorrow is gonna be worse than it was today? This is not the only time Israel experienced national distress. Go to Isaiah chapter eight to examine another episode of fear that apprehended the same people group, and I want you to know that the timing of this passage was during the reign of king Ahaz Ahaz.

This is the grandson of Uzziah. And Ahaz king of Judah was enduring his own news. The news of a coalition between Syria and Israel. Remember, he represents the Kingdom Of Judah, the Southern kingdom. And now news is out that Syria and Israel are encroaching upon Jerusalem.

And on top of that, there is now talks of Assyria, A rising empire of that time coming in and just taking over everything. And so on more than one occasion the prophet Isaiah who just finished having this experience with almighty God in Isaiah six, Comes to Isaiah seven and we're told in Isaiah seven that the hearts of the people including the king, King Ahaz, were shaking as trees shake in the wind. He gives a prophecy after prophecy. And finally, the Lord speaks to Isaiah not to speak to the people yet, but to speak to him directly as his servant. And I want you to see this in Isaiah eight eleven.

This is what the Lord says to Isaiah individually. For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people. Pause. What do you think the way of this people is? So you see again the urgency of the Lord speaking to his servant, he's saying, I'm putting my hand on you and I am warning you not to walk in the way of this people.

What? Debauchery, sexual morality, orgies, drunkenness, worshiping Molech. No. Verse 12. Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy.

And do not fear what they fear nor be in dread. Wow. Isaiah, you're my servant. You're supposed to think different, feel different, function differently. And what he's trying to say in summation is I don't want you to be preoccupied with the anxious feeling and discussions that everybody else in your nation is wrapped up in.

What does that tell us that even a man of God like Isaiah can be sucked into the frenzy of a country or a people group or a family that doesn't have concrete confidence in their god. Don't get swept up in that. And that's true of him. How much is it possible for us? Therefore, you and I, like Isaiah, have to make a conscience effort to not allow what overtakes the culture to overtake you.

Is it wrong to discuss these things? No. Is it wrong to investigate these things? No. But if it paralyzes you and it pulls you away from your primary duty as a Christian in the church of Jesus Christ, you've gone too far.

You've gone too far. But how? How can you and I rise above the agitation and the alarm that's surrounding us? You know, I try to take care of this body so I go to the gym once in a while and I usually bring headphones and just list my time to listen to teachings. And this time, a few days ago, I thought I'm not gonna bring my headphones.

I'll just go in for a quick session. So usually my ears are busy. My my ears were not busy. They're exposed to the elements and here I am trying to do my thing and secret service, democrats, traumas, conservatives, I wish I brought my headphones. And I get it.

Naturally, we we endured a historical thing. I get it. But you can sense something in the voice. You can sense something in the panic. You can feel it.

It's tangible. Let it be for the world not for the church. So what's the secret? How how is it that in these inescapable things that pop up on your device when you choose to go to the gym without your headphones? How can your heart be bulletproof?

How can you be a move how how can you still have a song in your mouth and light on your face? How? He tells Isaiah, look at verse 13. But the Lord of hosts, him shall you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear and let him be your dread.

Can I can I summarize what the fear of God is? It's very simple. We don't have time to explore it together. The fear of God is synonymous with being in awe of God. You know what he's telling Isaiah?

Teaching you and I this profound truth that the increasing presence of fear in us is a symptom of my diminishing awe of God. When fear rises up and is more present and prominent in this heart of mine, that's an indication that what's becoming less and less true in that same heart is my understanding of how awesome God is. And so on the other side of the coin, he says, if I if you're gonna escape this pattern of debilitating thoughts, then you must listen. You must you must you must make less time for mainstream media, your favorite podcast, and the recent article with the newest findings or statistics, and stick your nose in the bible until your soul is stunned by God. If you're able to take in everything that's happening and your faith is stronger than ever, then keep going brother I guess.

Keep going my sister. But if you're losing strength, if your worship is diluting, if things concerning your understanding of your purpose as a Christian, part of the church of Jesus Christ getting lost and foggy, then revisit the throne room of God. Come to his word and stare stare at it long enough until you escape the web that most people are caught in. I wanna provide you just an example of how that works. We're we're we're still in Isaiah.

Go to Isaiah 45 for a moment, please. Lord tells Isaiah, replace your fear of invading armies, failing economy, inept leaders with a fear of me. And if you fear me, you're not going to fear anything else. What's the instruction here? You have to make an effort to not feed this unholy fear and instead spend the energy and feed the holy fear.

Look at Isaiah 45 verse one. Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed. So we come to this prophecy and it's a very interesting prophecy. Again, why are we going to Isaiah 45? Just to give you a little sample of how your heart can be apprehended by the right kind of fear.

He tells him for the sake of my servant Jacob later, as we're about to discover, but initially in verse one, thus says the Lord to his anointed, to his anointed. The language of somebody being anointed was exclusively reserved for priests and kings within the confines of Israel and the covenant that God had with him. But here you have this man named Cyrus. Cyrus, as we're about to discover, is a Gentile. He's a Gentile king and yet the Lord says, he's my anointed.

I've set him apart for something. I've called him to something. And this prophecy is directed to Cyrus and he's allowing Isaiah and the nation of Israel to overhear this proclamation. To overhear it for what reason? Well, not just so that, we would realize that God knows the future because Cyrus, though this is directed to him, hasn't come into existence yet.

This is one of the most profound passages in all of the bible. Cyrus would come into existence. He would be born in this world a hundred and eighty years to two hundred twenty years after this prophecy was declared. So you have God through the prophet calling out a politician who's gonna rule the known world by name decades upon decades before it's even realized. And the Lord calls Isaiah and even his people to check this out.

I'm gonna call somebody by name. You know, you have people wringing their hands. Who's gonna win the election? Why are you scared about that? God knows, should he tarry, who's gonna be the sixty fifth president of The United States?

I'm calling you Cyrus by name. And I'm going to equip you and I'm going to raise you to do what? To be above the nations. And that's proven to be true. History testifies of this prophecy coming to pass because Cyrus didn't invade the Babylonian empire and he did conquer it.

But is that all the Lord is trying to do? Is he just trying to flex his omniscience? No. He's showing what the ultimate purpose is when you scroll down to verse four. Look at verse four.

For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name. He's still speaking to Cyrus and about Cyrus. I call you by your name. I name you though you do not know me. I am the Lord and there is no other.

Besides me, there is no God. I equip you though you do not know me. Do you understand the implications of this? Not only do you have a Gentile. Not not only do you have a gentile who's gonna be a king, who's not even real yet, you have the Lord showcasing his sovereignty, the extent of it.

That God can even use a gentile king who doesn't have a true living relationship with him for what? For his purposes. And in this case, it was for the sake of his people Jacob. So I'm going to shift the nations. I'm going to fire and hire.

I'm going to see defeat and conquest for this sole central reason for my people. Because my people at that time are gonna be in exile in Babylon. And I'm gonna allow Cyrus to come in, Cyrus to conquer and at the right time Cyrus to release my people from Babylon back into Israel, the promised land. And we're being told this hundreds of years before it happened. And the bigger picture of this whole thing is this.

You ready? You know what this tells us? History centers on the glory of God and the people of God. History. History centers on the glory of God and the people of you think that just because these people don't believe in God, that God's playbook isn't at work?

You think that just because everybody's caught up with the things of this life and they put their hope in whoever's in the White House that that God is not orchestrating everything for his glory and for his people to be positioned exactly where they need to be so that they can thrive and bring forth fruit? Read your bible. Read your bible and realize that history centers, and I can't say it any better than another preacher who commented on this passage. The Lord raises up and he brings down behind all the drama of human events today, there is a God who is planning for his church through affliction and persecution and chastising and tribulation to be perfected and prepared to inherit the kingdom of God. This isn't disconnected to the church.

What we're seeing, what's happening, it's all orbiting about this one thing that the one who created all things has something to accomplish and everything is not falling apart. It's falling exactly into place. Exactly into place. Every detail. I may not know what the next few months will bring, but I am sure of one thing that whatever does happen, the church will be exactly where she needs to be, the true church.

Exactly. And if I'm part of the church, that includes me and that includes you. On a side note, notice how verse one, I told you earlier that he he's saying it to Cyrus. Why would you say it to Cyrus? Cyrus hasn't even been born yet.

Unless, of course, Cyrus would know about it one day. And I just wanna show you, again, just to show you how amazing this book is. Do you know that Cyrus actually got this message eventually? He actually received this word. He's saying where?

You have to make an effort to flip those pages to Ezra chapter one. I want you to see it with your own eyes. Ezra one one to three. This is when Cyrus, the king of Persia defeated the Babylonians. And notice what it says here in the opening of the book of Ezra chapter one verse one.

I'll wait for those pages to stop moving. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. So not only do you have Isaiah's testimony, you have Jeremiah who also prophesied the exact amount of time that Israel would be in exile before they returned to Jerusalem. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing. Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Now that might not move you because you think that you're just dealing with one book. You went from Isaiah which is one chapter in this big book and you went now to this chapter called I Ezra. It's not one big book.

This is a library of books. There's a great span of time between Isaiah and Ezra. Do you realize that what Isaiah says here in chapter 45 was fulfilled and Ezra recorded it? And here's my question, how did Syrah king of Persia get access to this word? How did it come to him?

And it's all speculation. It's all speculation. Can I give you my favorite speculation? There was somebody in the kingdom of Babylon who was also during their there during the administration of Cyrus. Do you know his name?

Daniel. Could it be that Daniel showed him this prophecy? Could it be? You're saying, I don't know. Okay.

Just could it be? I'm not saying it's dogmatic. You don't need to believe it to become a member here or anything. The same Daniel who very likely influenced the magicians and the Magi that brought the Magi from the East to come and see the son of David who would be born in Jerusalem. Where did they come from?

Why did why did these Magi from the East come to Jerusalem? Well, trace it in biblical history. I think one possible reason is because of the presence and the influence of the prophet Daniel. Could it be that even here with Cyrus, Daniel was there? You read Daniel chapter nine and Daniel start praying when he realized that the seventy years was coming up that Jeremiah this guy was in tune with the word of God and he was not ashamed to share it.

He was not ashamed to share it. I like to think that. I like to think that Daniel told Cyrus, do you know that your name was brought up by one of our prophets? Really? When?

Oh, I don't know. Like a hundred and year eighty years ago? No way. Yes. Let me show you.

Let me tell you about it. Something was inspired in Cyrus. The Lord stirred his spirit and he says, if you wanna go back home, you can go back home. What are you afraid of if this is our God? What do you nothing to be afraid of.

Anything, I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid of him. He knows what's gonna happen. He knows how long this empire called The United States will will last. He knows.

He He knows the exact day. If it will last or if it will not. He knows the exact moment. He knows every detail that will lead up to its fall or by his mercy to its revival. He knows.

He knows. And guess what? I hold his hand. And so do you. He has a big hand.

And he's leading me day by day and sometimes like a little child, I ask where are we going? And like a good dad does, he doesn't explain it all the time. It's my God. Okay. So what happens next week?

You're surprised. We're shocked. Sure. We're we're human. We're limited by time and space.

In Isaiah six, the lord is there. Thrones are falling apart and there's one throne that is stable, unmoved, unshaken, and we're invited to be there. Now I know some of you are analytical and you're critical thinkers, and I appreciate that. So you're thinking, brother, that thank you for that sermon. That was very encouraging.

But I noticed that you stayed within the bounds of the Old Testament where God primarily dealt with a people group that was a theocracy. And so, obviously, in order to be faithful to them, their borders, their land was a part of their covenant, he would have to get involved with governments and armies and kings and kingdoms. But we're in the new covenant. We're the church. We don't we don't have a country.

How does this relate to us? Besides, is God even that involved to the same degree that he was when he was electing one people group and working through them to showcase to the world his glory? Can we take these observations that you've made, brother, and and apply them to us as a people group of many tribes and thugs sprinkled across this world. How does this help me? And I'm here to tell you that the same God who supervises everything up to the time of Cyrus, the same one who was there when Uzziah came off the throne and the same one who called Cyrus to take up a throne is the same one who's involved with every throne, every church, every pulpit, every home.

Let me remind you the words of Jesus when he stood before another governor by the name of Pilate, and he was on trial. And Jesus fulfilling his role as a lamb remained silent. So Pilate in John 19 verse 10 said to him, you will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? What does Jesus say in verse 11?

Jesus answered them, you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. This is Jesus Christ, the mediator of a new covenant. And he even in this reminds Pilate and even us that every position of power, the proportion of authority that they carry with those positions has been determined by heaven. Pilate would not have an inch of that authority had it not been signed off by God almighty.

Do you think it's any different today? What about what about the church? I mean, this is the Lord right before his death, his resurrection, his ascension. What comfort can we take that that God's eye is on his people and that he is still allowing what is taking place in history to center to center on the glory of God and the people of God. There's so many examples.

So many. You know what came to mind? Just this little one. One that we don't tend to think about when we think about the book of acts. It's a peripheral idea, but it's so jam packed with awesome comfort when you think about God and his church and worldwide events.

K. This is our last text. It's in acts 11. Turn there in verse 28. Actually, verse 27.

Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of the named Agabus stood up and foretold by the spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world. This took place in the days of Claudius. Isn't that amazing? So you have these prophets from Jerusalem.

And I know that this text can be a matter of debate about how this works. The office of a prophet in new covenant, the gift of prophecy, can the spirit of God speak in his way through his people to his people? Let's put that aside for now and take the comforting truth out of it. Here you have these prophets out of Jerusalem coming to the church in Antioch, and one of these prophets named Agabus foretells by the spirit. This is a real prophet.

Not those kinda like YouTube prophets that predict things and just say anything and and it's wrong and people still support them afterwards. I don't understand. A real prophet. A real prophet. And he says, there is going to be a famine that's gonna hit not just this area, the whole world.

And it was right. So put the debate aside. Put the debate aside. Okay? Here's what I take out of it as a as a point, as a lesson.

If God wants to supernatural reveal something to his church, he's able. If God wants to prepare his church in this way, he can. But even if he doesn't do it in such a direct manifest way, he's always doing it. He's always providentially positioning and preparing his people. Primarily, his word is there but even his spirit is with us.

The Holy Spirit of God is with us. And he as in this I see that though the world is going to experience something, he's telling his church. His heart is still for his people. Okay. We're not in we're not a nation and one people group.

That's the beauty of the gospel. But, as one new race now, as the church, don't you see here by way of example? Don't you take comfort in knowing that God still supervises us? And he's not gonna allow the powers that be or persecution or the evil corruption erode the church. Even disasters, natural disasters, he still has his eye on his church.

He's watching. He's caring. So the spirit is here. And what where I wanna end is how the disciples reacted to this news. In verse 29, so the disciples determined everyone according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

Worldwide famine. And you know what the disciples don't do? They don't disperse and isolate themselves in fear about what was going to happen to their bank accounts, to their crops, to the future of their children. They responded almost like instinct with selfless action. What do you see here?

Why am I bringing this to your attention? In light of what's happening in our world, may not be a famine. It may be a famine down the road. But in light of the unrest civilly, universally, what do you have here in acts? You have a missionally minded church.

Missionally minded. That when they saw this, they realized what do we do to strengthen the people of God? What do we do to help our brethren? What do we do? And so, they weren't dragging their feet and murmuring about the miseries of this world to the point where they're not acting at all and not praying at all, and not rejoicing stronger, and not be asking God for greater opportunities to tell people about this gospel.

They're not doing that. Unshaken just like their God in heaven. Unmoved just like that throne we read about. That's what the church is supposed to be in this hour. More active than ever.

Our meetings across this land should be absolutely packed. We should show the world that we have greater reason to rejoice. We should show the world that we have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. And not just in our meetings, in your life and in mine, outside of these walls. So when those conversations come up, when questions are asked, when a new video has popped in your face, Ask the Lord for the grace for the gospel to shine through you.

Ask God for the wisdom to know how to put in these kernels of truth. Ask God for even the mercy that without words, just just your posture and your language to testify of something that is unexplainable. So I wanna tell you today that there is a horizontal response to everything, and I wasn't planning on ending this way, but I'm gonna end this way. There's also a vertical response. I told you the last text was our last text, but I promise you it's this one.

In Hebrews, And as I turn there, the praise team can join me on this platform. Aren't you excited to be a Christian in these days? I'm so excited. Hebrews twelve twenty eight. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus, let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Isn't that what Isaiah was told? What's the context of us rejoicing in the truth that our kingdom cannot be shaken? Look at verse 27. This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is things that have been made in order that things that cannot be shaken may remain. What's this prophecy telling us?

That there's a time coming where everything that has been made will be shaken. And what's the response? The response is, yes, we saw an example of the church when the world was caught by famine. They were active, but also there's a vertical response to give God worship with reverence and and what? Awe.

That fear. Why? Because you have inherited something that can never be taken from you. You're a Christian, blood bought, eternally secured, And you have a future. And no matter how wonderful this nation is, and we should praise God, there's no nation like it.

It doesn't compare to the kingdom that you've inherited by faith. So there's a greater hope, a greater joy, a greater delight, a greater greater government that awaits because we serve a great God. So let's stand and give him that worship and thank him. With reverence and awe, sacrifice of praise.