R1638 An Encouraging Word

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton as we head to the book of Isaiah.

That's right, Isaiah chapter 26 is where we'll head in just a moment, but Dr. Don wants you to know we would love to encourage you on a daily basis with spending time in God's Word to help you with your quiet time. We have a wonderful resource called the Daily Encouraging Word Devotional. It's available in a couple of ways. You can sign up to receive it email-a-phonically from our website at tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org. Sign up today and you'll have it with the next 24 to 48 hours in your email box every morning. Or if you'd like a hard copy, we'll make that available to you for free as well. You can call us at 866-899-WORD and ask for your copy. That's 866-899-9673.

Call for your copy today. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 26. Okay, now it might take you a little while to get there. Isaiah, and we're going to be in chapter 26, so if you're using a Bible app, you're going to need to just put that in there, Isaiah 26.

So this is what I'm going to do for just a minute. I can take my Bible back again. I want to tell you about what I'm about to read to you. So this story that we're about to read, this event here in Isaiah 26, and I'm just going to focus on the first four verses, talks about what you and I know about Israel. It was the land of Judah, Judah, way back in the history times, or a long time ago. Judah, under King Hezekiah, they had a king, and there were a lot of people that came against them. Actually, it's not hard to understand that because in recent events, we've noticed there's been problems going on in the Middle East.

We've all seen that on television, and I'm so grateful that they've now got a ceasefire going there because a lot of people were getting hurt. So the land of Judah, you had this massive group of people. They were God followers, and the people and the lands all around them didn't like them very much. And so they began to come against Jerusalem and the people of Judah.

There were a lot of people that attacked them. So it was a pretty tough place to be. And in the middle of all of this, God gave them a special word. So that's what I want to tell you right there, right now. First thing I'm going to tell you is when I was studying that, I realized again how much you and I need an encouraging word. So if you want to know what I've called this message to you today, an encouraging word. I want to encourage you today. And it's not my word. It's God's word.

I want you to be encouraged. You know what I've come to understand? I've come to understand that there's a broken heart on every seat in church on Sunday. Somewhere on every seat is a broken heart. Somebody is hurting.

And guys, hurt is real. I got people that I know that have lost their jobs. You say, well, there are lots of jobs. Not for that person.

They can't find the right place. I got people who are hurting physically. I've got some people right now, folks that are desperately sick.

I mean seriously sick. Like they're getting ready to go to heaven. I got people who have watched their sons and daughters die. I've been around people whose marriages have dissolved and there's a lot of hurt and regret. So, all right.

All I want to share with you today for a few moments is an encouraging word. So let's go and just ask, first of all, what did God say to the people of Judah? Yeah, they were and they were under attack. Their land was under attack. Their people were under attack and their faith was under attack.

Let me read it to you. The first four verses of Isaiah 26. In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah.

We have a strong city. God makes salvation. He sets up salvation.

He sets up its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter. The nation that keeps faith. You will keep in perfect peace. Him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.

And watch this. This is the greatest part of this promise. Trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord, the Lord is the rock eternal. And by the way, that little word there, most of us don't speak Hebrew, right? I'm sure there's somebody who speaks Hebrew.

So I've studied a lot of Hebrew. And when you study that word, rock, R-O-C-K, it actually means cliff, solid cliff. So back in those days, like if you were to go to Israel right now or the Middle East, go to Italy. Go to the some of these ancient places like Italy. You'll see so many towns are built up on a rock. They sit on a fortress.

They they build their forts and their homes and their towns up on these cliffs. And what God was saying is, listen, you guys understand this. That's where you live. That's where you bring up your children. That's where you have your city, where you're a nation, where you're a people. And I want you to know you build this city up on a rock because you want protection. You want meaning. You want to be safe. You want to be encouraged. You want to be able to sleep at night.

You want to be able to stand firm. I, the Lord, your God, I am your high place. I am your solid rock. I am the one that sets you high up on a cliff.

Therefore, I want you to be encouraged because I'm with you and I'll never leave you. You can take me to the back because I am God. I'm the Alpha and the Omega. I'm the beginning and the end. And I want you to know that I'm exactly who I say I am.

That's what he tells us here. God in many ways is saying, I know what you're going through. I see all these things coming against you. I hear all your questions.

I know many times you don't have any answers and sometimes you look at life and you say, man, where are we going? Where's the school going to end? What's happening? You know, I'm so very excited what's happening to our students. You know, we've been looking at our boys and girls playing FCA baseball today. But some of you may not know last Sunday. This room packed war to war at nine o'clock for the student graduation. They led everything.

These are graduating seniors. Guys, you want to be blessed? Download that.

Go to the web and just download. Just listen to the students singing, leading, praying and then speaking. We had four of them, two guys, two girls. It was incredible, man. Do you know what happened right here on Wednesday night? Wednesday night, this Wednesday night at Crossfire. All our students came to be a huge crowd of young people, students.

Under Seth Phipps leadership with Jacob and Deandra and the teams of people that work with him. Tanya, God showed up, man. There were students responding.

I get my facts and figures wrong here, but I think there were like 14 public decisions for Christ. Do you know that nine of our students, teenagers, gave their hearts to Jesus on Wednesday night right here? Thank you. Guys, this is students, man.

The cream of the crop. I'm so proud of our young people. God doing something. I'm passionate about that. We are passionate about that. That's why we play ball.

That's why we have our FCA leagues. This is serious fun, but this is serious business, man. So here's what I'm going to do.

You ready? Everybody's got to get ready for this. I'm going to give you four points of encouragement. Jesus says, trust in me, I'm the rock.

What are four points that we can share today? Number one, regardless of where you are and what you're going through, number one, here it is. God is still on his throne.

Indeed, he is still on the throne. I pray you'll stay with us. We have the rest of today's message on an encouraging word from Dr. Wilton in just a moment. But I also want to remind you that this phone number, you heard me mention it earlier, 866-899-WORD is not just available to call for your free copy of the Bible Guide, our daily devotional, but it's also a place where you can connect with someone ready to listen, ready to pray, or ready to connect with great resources.

That's 866-899-WORD, 866-899-9673, or meet us online at tewonline.org, where you'll discover great resources like this. Our nation needs prayer more than ever. Our founding fathers understood that everything that we have and everything that we are is rooted in all that God is.

And without him, we're on our own. God has a very serious message for America. This month, for your gift of any amount to the Encouraging Word Broadcast Ministry, you will receive Dr. Wilton's powerful message, Free Indeed, along with the bonus book, 31 Days of Prayer for My Nation. This resource set will provide encouragement now and for the days ahead. You will have a renewed focus on the promise and power of prayer and for your freedom as an American. Call us at 866-899-WORD, that's 866-899-9673, to request Free Indeed and 31 Days of Prayer book. Thank you for supporting the Encouraging Word as we continue to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ to a nation in desperate need of biblical truth. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Regardless of where you are and what you're going through, number one, here it is. God is still on his throne.

So if I was going through the Bible, I've got so many passages, you don't have to look at all these. But in Psalm 47, this is what David says. So here's David, he's running around from one rock to the next.

He's being chased by everybody, hounded one minute. He doesn't know if he's up or down. He's questioning all of these things. And this is what he says in verse two, he says, How awesome is the Lord God most high, the great king over all the earth. In Psalm 47 verse seven, For God is king of all the earth. Sing to him a psalm of praise. Verse eight, God reigns over the nations. God is seated on his holy throne. What is he telling us? Three things. Number one, that God is king over all the earth.

You can shake a stick at anything. Let me tell you, God is still on his throne. What does it mean? It means that God is king over all the earth. It also literally means that God rules over all the nations. God is everywhere.

And if he rules over all the nations, it means he's in every home. He's in every circumstance. He's in every predicament. He's in every question.

And I know people who are struggling with addictions and alcoholism and all kinds of things, man. God is still on his throne. He's the high rock.

He's the solid foundation. And above all, God is still seated on his throne. When you get to the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, you get into chapter four, you see this picture of Jesus, of God on the throne. And there's God seated on his throne, holding in his right hand, his hand of authority and power and absoluteness, the title deed of the earth. And Jesus Christ, who is the son of God, comes and takes the title deed because he's authorized by God, because he is God.

And he begins to pop open the seven seals of God's ownership over all the nations. Number one, you know, I've got friends all over the world, obviously, and I've had all of us dealing with this COVID pandemic over all these months. Man, I've had friends who have been devastated by it. I've had churches that have been closed by it. You know, I got a call on Thursday from a pastor like me from the state of Georgia. I don't mind saying he lives in Georgia. He's pastor of a church like us. You know what his first words, he said to me, Doc, he said, I just want to give up.

He said, I'm just giving up. I spoke to him for a long time, but you know, one of the things I said to him, I said to him, Hey, brother, God is still on his throne. Second, he has a second word of encouragement. Jesus is still saviour of the world. You can shake this any way you want to.

Two things here that you can be encouraged about. God is still on his throne and Jesus, the Lord Jesus, still the saviour of the world. You know, you can go throughout the Bible, man.

Book of Acts, one of the passages I love to read in Acts chapter 26 when Paul goes before King Agrippa and he says to him, he's right at the end of his life. He's about to be sent off to Rome to be executed for following Jesus. I mean, he's at the bottom of the barrel and he says to the king, he says, King, hey, listen, I just want you to know, I know everybody's against me, but I stand firm because Jesus Christ is the saviour of the world.

Number one, he came to this earth. Do you know what it means that Jesus came to this earth? It means that Jesus identifies with me. So maybe today you're there and you're saying, man, I feel so alone.

I'm going through this. Jesus identifies with you. Do you know Jesus was even tempted like you and me yet without sin because he's God? He came to this earth. He died on a cross for our sins. Do you know that he still forgives us? He forgives us in two ways because he went to the cross.

Number one, he forgives us for our sin unto our salvation. Sin is not forgiven. Christ cannot come into your heart because our sin separates us from God. So the first time I was truly forgiven was when I went to Jesus and said, Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner. I know you died on the cross for me and I am sorry for my sin.

I want to invite you to come into my heart. God forgave me for my sin and came into my heart. I became a Christian man. I was saved just like you.

But then as a Christian, I need to be forgiven because, guys, when you become a Christian, you don't stop sinning. You know, if I was to take a survey here to ask how many of you consider yourself perfect right now, with the exception of one of two of you, maybe hardly anyone here would raise your hand. And by the way, if you did raise your hand, you would be proving to everybody that you are a sinner. Right?

Yeah. So I hope you weren't thinking of raising your hand on the perfect side of it, no matter what your wife has to say about you. All right?

Because we're all sinners. You know what I did this morning? I'm not trying to impress you. When I left my office early this morning and I was about to go and preach at nine o'clock and I just I said, Lord, I've got no right to talk about this.

What right do I have? I mean, look at me. I'm no different to anybody else. I'm a sinner by nature and by choice. I have this little kneeling.

I don't do this every time, but I got down on my knees on this little kneeling bench that a friend made for me. And I closed my eyes and I said, Lord Jesus, I know that you went to a cross. Would you forgive me for all of my sin?

You know what? Bible says he forgave me. So I'm standing here today. As a forgiven person. Not a perfect person, a forgiven person. Would you like that?

You can. Jesus is still the saviour of the world. Came to this earth. He died on the cross and he was raised so that we can have life. One day I'm going to heaven.

You going? I know that because he's removed the fear of death. Because Christ was raised from the dead.

So he has two things quickly. Number one, encouraging. Be encouraged by this. God is still on his throne. Number two, Jesus is still the saviour of the world.

Number three, the Holy Spirit is still our greatest resource. So I have, as you do, because you're a mom, dad, you're a coach, you're a teacher, you're a discipleship leader, you're a Bible study leader. All parents are coaches, by the way. Grandparents, right?

All of us. So we all have, I have people every week, lots of people who come and say to me, Doc, I, man, I need help. Well, can I tell you what I tell people to do? I'm telling you, I know some of the most incredible doctors, medical people you'll ever meet. I'm telling you, love the Lord, man. They are so unbelievable physicians and doctors and we could go on down the road. But I'm telling you, it's like they are missionaries. It's like they have a ministry. They love the Lord, but they use medicine.

We need that. I know so many wonderful Christian counsellors. You know, I know people who've got addictions. I'm so glad we have Celebrate Recovery in our church, because we've seen so many men and women be so totally delivered from all kinds of addiction. I tell people all kinds of things. But the number one resource we have is the Holy Spirit.

So we don't have time today. I'm praying about doing a series on the Holy Spirit. We're going to unpack all of these things together. But you know what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit in John chapter 14? In John chapter 14, Jesus said that God the Father is going to send His Holy Spirit, who's going to come, who's going to guide, who's going to help us, who's going to get alongside of us and who's going to minister to us.

You know what the Holy Spirit does for us? Number one, He enters us. Number two, He fills us. Number three, He convicts us.

And here's my favourite one. He guides us. He guides us. It's like you come up to a road sign and there's the stop sign in the road and your whole life has come to a stop.

And you don't know. Should you keep going over the road? Do you turn left?

Do you turn right? The Holy Spirit guides us, God working in us to do that which is well pleasing in His sight. And I'm telling you, the Holy Spirit is our greatest resource. And number four, here's the fourth word of encouragement.

You ready? All right, let me summarise. I've got to put these down.

I want you to forget this. So you can, you find yourself in your circumstance. I want you to say these four things to yourself every time you have a hurting heart. Every time you're wondering what to say to your kids. Every time you wanting to know how to understand what's going on in our world.

You hear things on the news when you hear people talk to each other the way they do. Say these four things. Number one, God, you're still on your throne. Jesus, you're still the saviour of the world. Number three, Holy Spirit, you're still my greatest resource. Number four, thought I'd never get there. Heaven is still preparing to come down.

What does that mean? Heaven's coming down. Well, Revelation 21 says that's at the end of the Bible. It's at the end of the world. OK, the Bible says Jerusalem comes down from God out of heaven, down to this earth. And God says from his throne, he says, from now on, I will make my dwelling place among men and women and boys and girls on earth. The headquarters of heaven will be in Jerusalem. That's where eternal life is going to be. If anybody ever asks you, by the way, where is heaven right now? With God, it's God's home. It's where God is. That's why he says when we die, we're going to be with him.

Right? So the Bible tells us in John, chapter 14 and verse one, and I'm going to put this on you. You ready to take this with us to the picnic? Here's what Jesus said. You believe in God. Jesus said, believe also in me. In my father's house, there are many mansions.

And if it were not so, I would have told you. I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.

I will receive you to myself so that where I am, there you may be also. So what's the fourth word of encouragement? Heaven is still preparing to come down.

So here I am and I find myself in the absolute doldrums or I'm caught betwixt and between. God is still on his throne. Jesus is still the saviour of the world. The Holy Spirit is still the greatest resource that I have. And heaven is still preparing to come down. Isn't that great?

It is great. And that's our prayer that you've heard more than the great Bible teaching from Dr. Wilton. But today you've heard from the Lord being reminded that he loves you and has a plan for your life.

But you need to say yes to him. Have you given your life to Christ? Or is it time for you to rededicate your life to Jesus? I'd love to lead you in a simple prayer. Lord God, I realize and we realize. Together, Lord, we pray that we know that we have sinned and our sin separates us from you. But today, Lord, we commit to give our lives back to you, to give our lives to you for the first time, and to commit to make you the one in charge, the CEO of our life. Lord, help us to surrender to you. Thank you that as we proclaim with our mouths that we believe you are the Son of God and died for our sins, that that changes everything. And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen. We have wonderful resources we want to put in your hands. Matter of fact, we have great team members ready to talk to you at 866-899-WORD right now. That's 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. These free resources will help launch you into a new rededication or a brand new walk with Jesus Christ. Again, call for your copies at 866-899-9673 or meet us online at www.tewonline.org. Until next time, take care and God bless.