Four Words To Give Us Strength

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Woe to the rebel.

He calls his own people rebellious children. Why? They thought Egypt would be the answer.

You see, it's so easy to do that. Right now, what's the answer? Well, a vaccine. That'll do it. Maybe it'll help. How about Wall Street? You see, we've just got to stimulate the economy.

We've got to get this going. And so until these things happen, I'm full of turmoil. But God says, You're my child.

That's rebellion against me. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again, he shows us how God's word meets our world. I love lighthouses. We have a room in our house devoted to lighthouses, and I've got miniature lighthouses and pictures and paintings of lighthouses.

And this past week I was on the Internet and I saw a poster. It's probably the most famous picture of a lighthouse in the world today. It was taken in 1970 by a Frenchman named Jean Guichard. He was in the French Navy and he was in the North Atlantic. And at that time, seas in the North Atlantic were probably at least 50 feet.

The wave action was just unbelievable. It showed the lighthouse standing in the middle of all this with 50, 60 foot whitewater in the back of the White House and on two sides of it. And then when you went down to the door at water level, just about of the lighthouse, the door is open.

And there is a man standing outside of the door, sort of like this. Just looking around at the sea, 50 feet above him, behind him, whitewater on the side. And he's just like this, as calm as could be. He's doing nothing.

And he caught him at that particular time with a photo. It took me a while, but I got a moment of inspiration and I thought, wait a minute. That poster is the perfect picture of what our lives should look like in the midst of the pandemic and the economic struggles.

That should be us. No matter what's going on around us, he's just standing there as calm as could be. Your question is, though, but is it?

I suspect not. So today, I want to look at one of those more obscure chapters of the Bible, because it teaches us some tremendous lessons on how do we get through this storm that we find ourselves in. I invite you to open your Bibles to Isaiah Chapter 30. Isaiah has famous chapters and very famous verses.

This is not one of them. This is something we often overlook. And yet one of the most important truths you'll find is being taught in this chapter when it comes to dealing with the storms of your life. There's a context to this chapter.

The context is simply this. Judah finds itself in a very precarious spot. To their northeast is the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire is steamrolling everything in its path. The Assyrians are probably up to that time the cruelest people on earth.

They conquer everybody. To their southwest is Egypt. Egypt is an empire is now in decline. And Sennacherib, the great Assyrian king, has set his sights on Judah. And so what's happened is the king of Judah has decided there's something I need to do. And the only people that can help me, the only way I can receive any help is I have to go to the Egyptians. And I want to make a deal with the Egyptians. I'll load down our donkeys and our camels with gold and silver. We'll set up a large caravan and we'll take them down to Egypt and let's make a deal with them that they will protect us if we give them enough money. The event becomes enormous when they're going to leave Jerusalem.

A huge crowds there. And in this huge crowd, they get the caravan together and a prophet, Isaiah, decides this is the moment that I want to preach my sermon. And so Isaiah stands up in public and gives this sermon right in the beginning of the caravan heading off for Egypt. And so what happens is simply this. The first word is woe. Now, whenever you see something in the Bible and it starts out woe, it's not going to be good. You see, the idea is that God's very angry about this.

And the reason for it is simply this. Israel was his covenant people. Israel was not to make alliances with anybody.

They were never to make alliances. It's a theocracy. It belongs to God. In fact, God has said and proven it many times, I protect Israel. But the king of Judah said, no, I think I got to get the Egyptians involved in this if we can. And so what ends up happening is that God intervenes with the word woe. You see, Israel's battle cry in going into battle has always been the same. You and I say it. The battle is the Lord's. The battle is the Lord's.

But they're not saying that. You see, what's happening here in Judah is what happens in your life and mine. It's no different for us. Romans Chapter eight concerning you and me. If God is for us, who can be against us? Well, the pandemic can be against this.

The economy can be against us. I could all be against us. Now, if God is for you, who can be against you? Verse thirty seven. And all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

That's what the Bible says about us. First Corinthians 15. Thanks be to God. He gives victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

First, John, five, four. This is the victory to overcome the world, even our faith. We are to be people of supernatural optimism. You know what the Bible calls that hope? That's who we're supposed to be, people of hope. Boy, but if the storm the waves get big enough, start losing sight of this. No matter who the enemy is or what the crisis be, we are to be the people of hope. But the king of Judah just doesn't see this.

And so it starts out. Woe to the rebellious children, declares the Lord. Woe to the rebel.

He calls his own people rebellious children. Why? They thought Egypt would be the answer.

You see, it's so easy to do that right now. What's the answer? Well, a vaccine. That'll do it.

Maybe it'll help. How about Wall Street? You see, what are we? We just got to stimulate the economy.

We've got to get this going. And so until these things happen, I'm full of turmoil. But God says, you're my child. That's rebellion against me. He says, woe to the rebellious children, declares the Lord, who execute a plan, but not mine and make it an alliance, but not of my spirit.

In order to add sin to sin. He said they come up with a plan because that's not my plan. That's your plan. He goes on and he says this, who proceed down to Egypt without consulting me to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt. He said, that's where you think you'll get your safety. Now, please understand what does Egypt always represent? The world.

That's Egypt. That's what Paul talks about when you say they were saved out of Egypt and were saved out of the world. What you're saying is the world is my plan. I'm going to figure out what the world wants to do, and that's what I'm going to do.

And if we can do that, we'll be fine. But God says, that's not my plan. He said, therefore, the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation. This isn't going to work. Why I'm God, I'm not going to let this work.

I'm not going to let this work. Verse six, the oracle concerning the beast of the Negev, that's the desert on the way down through a land of distress and anguish from where comes a lioness and a lion, a viper and a flying serpent. They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures when camels humps to a people who cannot profit them. God says, I'm going to make sure you don't even get through the Negev. I think your donkeys and camels are going to get attacked by lions, lionesses and vipers.

You're not even going to get there. What an interesting thing for God to say. He says, look, it's not going to work the way you thought. Now, here's a verse I love. Verse eight. Now, go write it on a tablet before them and inscribe it on a scroll that they may serve in the time to come as a witness forever. God said, I'm going to write that down for the people in 2020 who know me all over the world. Now, the picture of our culture and many in our church, verse 10, he said, You say to the seers, you must not see visions and to the prophets. You must not prophesy to us what is right.

I love that. Speak to us unpleasant words, prophecy, illusions. Get out of the way.

Turn aside from the path. Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel. Thus says the Holy One of Israel, since you have rejected this word and have put your trust in the oppression and the guile and have a ride on them. Therefore, this iniquity will be to you like a breach about to fall, a bulge in a high wall whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant, whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter's jar. So ruthlessly shattered that assured will not be fine among its pieces to take fire from the hearth or to scoop water from the cistern.

Cataclysmic failure for you. The cataclysmic failure for them is not coming from the Assyrians. It's not even coming from the Egyptians. It's coming from God to his rebellious children. If you're going through this time and you're full of worry and anxiety and fear, something's wrong spiritually in your life. And I think it has a lot to do with what we're looking at here in Isaiah.

But the good news is that God decides in verse 15 to tell us the solution. Just four words. He says, For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, In repentance and rest, you shall be saved. In quietness and trust is your strength. Four words.

Do you see them? First word, repentance. Shubah in Hebrew, only time it's used as repentance in the Old Testament. What is repentance? Repentance is a complete change of the way you think and a complete change in the direction you're going. That's what repentance is.

That's why whenever we get saved, it says we repent and believe. What do you mean? I think differently than I did before. About what?

About my sin and about my savior. And now I'm ready to turn around and follow him. That's repentance. You see, that's the way this works. It's 180 degree turn. We must realize that our approach to this dilemma is wrong.

That's what he's telling them. I want you to realize that your approach, your king's approach to this is wrong. To rely on Egypt to give you safety in the storm is wrong.

You need to rely on me. You need to repent of that. We have to turn our donkeys and our camels around and head back to Jerusalem with them. So he says in repentance and rest.

Remember the picture in the beginning of the man in the lighthouse? What's he doing in the middle of this terrible storm? Nothing. How can he do nothing?

I hope you see it. He trusts the lighthouse. You see, he doesn't have to do anything. I know this lighthouse.

Those storms are that's I know this lighthouse. I can stand right here and do nothing and I'll be just fine. That's what ends up happening. Rest. What's that mean?

It means trusting God with the outcome. Could we get everything back together in the next month? Maybe. Could it last two months? Maybe. Six months?

Maybe. But for you and me, that shouldn't even matter. I'm resting in the Lord. You see, I'm resting in the Lord of this. See, why can I rest in the Lord? Because he is sovereign. Over what?

Everything. We talked last time that he's the king of kings, Lord of lords. He's the answer to every question.

You see, that's the way this works. He is sovereign. And because of that, we just rest. Isaiah 26. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.

Same idea. Romans eight, six, the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. Philippians four, eight, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. See, the question isn't what's on your mind. The question is, who controls your mind? We think about everything. We have a lot of stuff to think about.

I mean, there's no doubt about that. But who controls our mind? Jeremiah six, 16, ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Exodus 33, 14.

My presence will go with you and I'll give you rest. Psalm 62. Truly, my soul finds rest in God.

My hope comes from him. Psalm 91. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

That's the lighthouse, if I ever heard of one. Jesus speaking, come to me. All you are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Anybody weary and heavy laden right now? So what's Jesus saying?

Just come here. I'll give you my rest. First, John three, 19. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.

That's the point. Repentance and then produces rest. Notice what the verse says next, then in repentance and rest, you shall be saved, delivered out of this. Repent of your sin against me. Rest in me and I'll take care of it. He says in quietness and trust is your strength. Quietness. Shaggat is the Hebrew word.

It means calm. Is that hard to do? You want to have the rest? Here's what I want you to do. I want you to be quiet. Well, wait, that's hard to be quiet now.

Aren't the whole news networks doing it 24-7? Social media? Everyone you talk to?

How are you doing with it? How are we going to deal with it? What's going to happen to us? He said, why don't you just be quiet? Why don't you just be calm?

It's amazing. I found this quote, I find it interesting. To live a healthy human life in quietness and confidence is not easy in our day. The pace is too rapid, the strain on our nerves too incessant. The world of thought and opinion have become so large, complex and baffling, the work of life has become so vast and the day of life has become so short that in our struggle to keep the wolf of failure from the door, the demon of worry gets into our hearts. That's our day, right? Pastor wrote that from Edinburgh in the 19th century.

The good old days, the really old, good old days. Facing the same thing, that quietness will create strength. We looked at the 23rd Psalm a few weeks ago. He leads me beside still waters. Quiet.

You don't even hear the water running. I got this. Jesus in Mark 4 in the storm said what? Peace, be still. Just be quiet.

I got it. It goes on in quietness and trust is your strength. Trust implies confidence.

That's what this is. There's our faith. Do I trust you, Lord?

Am I willing to do this? So repentance turn around and go back to God and my thinking leads me to rest. Quietness, trust. And that final outcome of those four words of strength. And I don't know about you, but I think for myself, what do we need during this time? Strength.

That's what we need is strength. He said, well, I'll give it to you. Just repent from your way of thinking. You see, repent of that. Turn back to me. I'll give you rest and quietness.

And when I give you that and you trust me for it, you'll end up with strength. Look sadly, verse 16, and you said no, for we will flee on horses. Therefore, you shall flee and we will ride on swift horses. Therefore, those who pursue you shall be swift.

He said, I know what your answer is to this. No, I'm not doing that. Got a plan. Egyptians are the key to this.

They don't get it. He said 1000 shall flee at the threat of a man. He said you shall flee at the threat of five.

He said until you are left as a flag on a mountaintop, as a signal on a hill. Therefore, the Lord longs to be gracious to you. And therefore, he waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice. How happy, how blessed are all those who long for him. That's God's heart.

He said, that's what I want for you. Just imagine if that was the overriding characteristic of God's people just in our country right now. What if Christians were that distinctly different through this whole thing? Do you see those Christians are completely different?

They're completely different. They have total rest, peace, quietness. They trust the Lord for this.

They're not rattled at all. What an effect that could have. One last place I want to go is Psalm 46. And I have good reason to do that. It's the only other passage written about the same period of time, about the same circumstances. This is the only other thing in the Bible that deals with the Assyrians coming in, trying to make a deal with Egypt and Sennacherib, the greatest Syrian king. But this is a psalm. And it is written roughly at the same time that Isaiah writes. And what I love about the psalm, when you read it, it says this for the choir director.

I love that. We're going to sing this. Let's put this to a tune. I want this sung. That's how important it is, because we remember the words we sing.

And so he says, let's sing this. And you know the passage. But notice the psalmist's perspective over what Isaiah had just preached.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time and trouble, which you're in right now. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea, and though its waters roar and foam, and though the mountains quake in its swelling pride. I don't care how bad the storm gets. I don't care how bad the Assyrians are. I don't care how mean-spirited Sennacherib.

I don't care. God is our change the word refuge, our lighthouse. He's my lighthouse.

That's why I'm just standing so casually in the doorway. I find my peace there. Wow. He says that in verse eight, Come behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars deceased to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two, and he burns the chariots with fire.

What's that mean? I got the Assyrians. I can handle them.

They won't even have anything to fight with if I don't want them to. Now, my favorite verses in the Old Testament. First two words.

King James Version here. Be still. New American Standard says cease striving. Cease planning. Just be still. The same thing Isaiah said.

Rest, quietness, trust. Be still. He said, cease striving and know that I am God.

That statement is so huge. He doesn't say I have an answer. He doesn't say I know a better way. He said, what you need to know is I am God.

Do you realize how much that means? I am God. If God tells me cease striving, you be still. What can I say to God?

Well, yeah, I know what you mean, but. You have to know how hard this is. I'm God, I know.

There's nothing I don't know. You see, cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. I am sovereign.

All reigning. That's who I am. Repent. And lead yourself into a rest.

In your rest, be quiet. In your quiet, trust. And you get salvation, deliverance and strength to go through this.

Two active responsibilities on our part out of those four words. God won't repent for you. He won't. You have to repent for you. You have to say, God, I'm going the wrong direction here.

I'm doing it the wrong way. Then he gives us two passive things, rest and quiet. I can receive those.

I can receive the rest. I can receive the quiet back to one more active thing I have to do. But I have to keep trusting God. And that trust in God can't be a one time event. That's got to be repentance can be I can turn back one time, but not trust.

Trust, I have to apply every day. So like the man in the lighthouse, why is he so calm? He trusts the lighthouse. Now, when I see the picture and if you see it, you go on and look at it, you'd say, I don't think I could ever stand in that doorway. You know why? I've never been in that lighthouse and I see the waves around it.

It's just so overwhelming. But this guy, he has probably spent years in the lighthouse. He knows it.

He's just standing there. He's been through normal storms in the past and the lighthouse has never failed him. Without the lighthouse, all would be lost. But with the lighthouse, all is safe.

That's what we need to understand during this pandemic. With God in our lives, all is safe. We're safe in God's arms. You see, God can do what he wants to do in this situation. I just know that in the end, all things will work together for my good. Whether these things will be good to get me to the end, I don't know that, but God does and I trust him. I don't need to go to Egypt and ask the world, how do I get through this? I don't need to get the coping mechanisms that the world offers me to get through this. I have a sovereign God who loves me, and so do you.

Rest, quietness, and trust. I pray for you and I pray for me are our constant companions as we go through this. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called OnePlace.com. That's OnePlace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.