The Final Call Before The Final Fall | Pastor Shane Idleman

The title is called The Final Call Before the Final Fall. The Final Call Before the Final Fall. And I'm gonna break all rules of homiletics right now. You know what that is? Homiletics is sermon preparation. And hermeneutics is studying the Bible. So, I'm gonna give a brief sermon that has nothing to do with this. Probably only five, six minutes long. That I believe God really put on my heart yesterday. I wanna save it for Wednesday, but I don't know if that's gonna happen. And it's hard, sometimes I get things, it's like, okay, Wednesday, should I hold it for the men's breakfast? And, you know, it's hard to do. So, I'm hearing, you know, a lot of people are asking me, and it's, as much as I hate giving updates of what's going on in my life, it's important. I just got confirmation today to talk about this in the bathroom, believe it or not, of all places. A guy told me what he's struggling with, and me sharing has been so helpful. And so, all right, so Lord's really, you know, really, I don't like it, but it's reaching people. We're hearing from people all over the United States being encouraged and strengthened and things like that. And the booklet I'm working on is tons of revisions, and I'm excited to get that out there, but still waiting on that final moment.

So, my family has a life-altering event tomorrow. Completely life-changing. That's when I get the results of the first PET scan to see what exactly is going on. Right now, the images are already in my portal. I can click them if I want, but I don't wanna play Dr. Google. You know, I'm just gonna wait for the professionals. And so, this is like, wow, this is gonna be a life-changing event. You know, I'm either going out of the country for a few weeks to do some things, or I'm gonna just, and I'll be back to keep preaching, and I'm gonna, or I'm just gonna keep, I don't know, it's such a hard spot, and I was really struggling yesterday morning. Four in the morning, I look up, and there's this, we've had it, I don't know, we're gonna know how many years, this chalkboard, right, four-by-four chalkboard, and this is the first time it finally hit. And I cried, and the words are so big. It just says, be still. And know that I am God. Be still. And it's just, I can't tell you the comfort, the comfort, how God speaks through His Word. Maybe somebody needs to hear that this morning. It basically means stop fighting your own battles. Cease frantic activity, and release your need for control.

It's an invitation to acknowledge God's sovereignty and trust in His power, rather than your own. It was basically shame, be still, and know that I am Lord. And here's the five-minute sermon. I want to know, because then I can rest in my knowledge. I want to know, so I can, whew, ah, whew, thank you. I rest, but, well, I'll get to the next point in a minute. I don't wanna rush you ahead. And then when I know the results or what you're ever going through, if you know, we all have issues we're dealing with. Okay, Lord, I need to know. Then I can plan ahead, and I can steer my own course. Or my favorite, then I can control the situation. I want to know. I can click on images right now. And I kinda know what to look for. Be still and know that I am the Lord. And here's the big one, guys. You want to know because it will remove the worry and the stress, but that can be a great thing to purify your heart. Don't remove the heat before the refiner's fire is done doing its deepest work. On the flip side, though, it can actually increase worry. You think, okay, and then you get some, you know, and then it's like, oh, you know, so God knows that perfect timing. Be still and know that I am the Lord.

Be still and know that I am the Lord. And when I know, or when you know, you can, okay, now I can move forward. But God says, no, no, no, go back to that position of waiting. Because when we wait, we worship. Could it be that we want to pull ourselves away from worship too soon? So back to the main sermon. Or I'll elaborate on that Wednesday, God willing. At this point, every day is God willing, okay? So I don't know, I can't plan ahead too far. But we're making plans and we're hoping for the best. And we will keep the church posted, of course. So again, the title, The Final Call Before the Final Fall. And if that part helped you this morning. Let us know. Let the office know. Because I was really struggling all day to share that or not. Because you don't know. That's one of the hardest things I have for me is what do I share? What is just for me? What is my opinion? What's coming from emotion? And you have to sort through all that and really seek the heart of God. So the final call before the final fall, and I do realize this will go out,

radio, of course, many of you know media. This could be the final message somebody hears. Absolutely. Absolutely, this could be the final message that people hear. Something I'm so encouraged about, you guys need to know as a church body, we're getting tons of correspondences from prisoners. Listening, they can't wait until we upload sermons. Letters, two right now sitting at my desk. It's like people getting out of prison or reaching out, every different state, because these are picked up on an app that we buy for them on their iPad. And it's really reaching, they can't believe how much the message, and they're like, dude, I can relate to you. You want to know why? Because I can be in there. If it wasn't for the grace of God, I should be in there. Come on, guys, don't play church with me this morning. You know that 8-ball you bought back in the 90s? Those dime bags you sold, how many times did you drive drunk? I can relate because it's real life. Some of you better thank God you haven't been audited. You go to jail for that, you know. The seriousness of sin last week.

Last week, it's why we can't always be nice. We can't always be nice. The sorcerer was confronted. We can't always be nice. But last week, I wanted to let you know that's not an excuse to be mean. Because I can already see people, yeah. He told me I could go after him and get him and let them know. No, remember, I like to remind us of this. The truth will always offend, but when possible, your attitude shouldn't. I'll let you try to sort that out. Attitude meaning our demeanor, our facial expressions, our back at you, our anger, that shit, hey, here's the truth. There's the truth. And so the word nice means, if you look up the word nice, it's actually appeasement. That's where we get in trouble. Just be silent, appease everybody. That's not biblical. And something actually very interesting happened to me this week. And I wanna show a picture, if I can. And we took, I think, two. Let's put up the first one you have. Anybody recognize Ken Hart? And in the middle, David Parker from the Vineyard.

David in the middle, 10 years ago, was given 15 months to live. And although we obviously, we disagree on some non-essential stuff, it was incredible just to hear his story. And the reason I wanna mention this is it has a point. He said when he was going through that, and he had cancer, by the way. I think it was a rare, like, gets in your blood, and it's only 500 people a year get it. And so he said, of all the letters and emails and things he got, encouragement, and this made me think, okay, I better explain this today. He said, what most people said is, I remember how nice you were to me. I'm like, wow, that is so cool. Because you should be able to still tell the truth, and people still love you, because you're still compassionate, caring, and loving. I'm like, what a great balance there. And to be remembered by that. Now, it is different because the type of calling God gives a person, it's gonna affect who you are. You know, your DNA, your demeanor, your makeup. You're John the Baptist or John the Beloved. You know, there's a difference there. And I think I have one more, as well, I took. I mean, you guys know Chris in the middle. Good friend of mine, Grace Chapel. And he's John the Beloved, right?

A great pastor, and then I'm John the Baptist. And so, you know, we come together and we unite. It was just a great event, and to hear that story. But I wanna tie that in, because when he said that, it made me think, you know what, I wanna clarify. I guess, in some minds, of course we wanna be nice. I just think of the word as appeasement. Like, I'm not gonna say anything, I'm just gonna be nice. So my point is, speak the truth, but make sure people still love you or respect you. It is how you come across, isn't it? I'm actually ministering to a guy right now, I probably won't say much in case he listens, who's not a believer, agnostic, and I'm just a normal, just, hey, have you thought of these things? And just dialoguing and not trying to... because I could really challenge some thinking, right? But I don't want to be that mean, spirited person. I've slipped in that area many times before, and I know some of you have as well. The key is to repent and put on the brakes. But some of you need to put on the gas and start being a little bit more bold and start speaking the truth in love. A believer is never passive. They speak the truth in love. Sign up for the schools to go into the elementary school and speak the truth. But let me give you a little background

where we were last week. Paul and his party went to Antioch. So Paul and these guys were going to Antioch, and they went into a synagogue on the Sabbath day, and they sat down. Okay, so it's almost like they came in here. Let's picture that then, maybe. They came in here, some of the leaders probably knew them, or, hey, we came from Jerusalem, or we don't know, and they sat down in the synagogue. Okay, that's so far, so good. And after reading of the law and the prophets, so what they would do, they would read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the law and books of Moses, and then they would also read some from the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk. You know, they have major prophets and minor prophets. Major doesn't mean better, it just means more volume of their writings. And the minor prophets, very powerful. I would encourage you to also be in the law and the prophets and the New Testament. That's what I do, I have a paper clip. And I'm in the old, I gotta hang out in the Psalms, without a doubt, but then you're also in the prophets and Jesus' words in the New Testament. You just systematically work through. You can get through your Bible in a year.

Let me tell you, people I run into that really know the heart of God, read the whole Bible. I'm running into some people that are just judgmental. They love the Old Testament. I'm like, you gotta spend some time in John 3.16, or those who just, God's love, man, God's love. It's cool. No, you gotta go spend some time in the Old Testament. It's the same God. He didn't go, oh, well, New Testament, now I'm different. Actually, if you read the whole Bible, you understand. Old Testament, 1,500 years of history. New Testament's only, gosh, what's the book of Acts? 30 years, and then they wrote the Gospels later. You might, I mean, maybe the New Testament was written in a 50, 60, 70-year period, and Jesus references the law. Have you not read, have you not read, have you not read? If you really want to know God's heart, and you really wanna not be misled in these days, bury your face in the Word, get through it every year, and that's how you really get the heart of God. His words become your heart, and if you're not, I'm pretty sure the wrong thing is influencing you. So Acts 13, 15's where we left off. And after reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, hey, men, Paul, you guys, if you have anything to say, go ahead, whoo, here we go. Open door, we call that an open door.

School district, open door. Your friends ask something, open door. Your neighbor asks, hey, where are you going? Why do you always leave somewhere on Sunday? Well, glad you asked. And I love it, just happened to me yesterday, shopping groceries, he said, oh man, got good plans for this weekend? I do. And sometimes I say, you know what, I gotta find a good church, or I need to get back into church. If you don't dialogue, if you don't open your mouth and probe a little, it's hard to really do things for God. Look for those open doors. And here's the rub. They had a choice between boldness or appeasement. They asked them, hey, what do you want to tell us? How's it going in Jerusalem? What's on your heart? And so they had a choice. Should I be bold or should I appease? And then Paul stood up and motioned with his hand. Men of Israel, men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen, I need to stop there for a minute. You can fear God and not know Him. There's a lot of people in America who fear God, but they don't know Him. There's a reverence, there's a respect,

they're raised a certain way, they're American. We fear God. God in this place, but they don't know Him. I mean, if you want to get pretty technical and look into this, you can. But a lot of, not a lot, I'd say it depends, you know, 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were ministers of the gospel. But a lot of people who got involved with the Constitution, things like that, not all of them were strong believers. Not everyone was a believer. But the interesting thing is they all fear God. They all fear God, divine providence. Even Benjamin Franklin was questioned. You know, of course, I don't know where he ended up. If you watch the movie, The Awakening That's Out, I encourage you to watch that. I'm supposed to have the guys on my podcast, hopefully this week, the actors and things, so that's cool, but that's a side note. But Benjamin Franklin, they realized it was going nowhere, and he said, if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? Wait a minute, he wasn't a believer. Guys, this is alarming. You can fear God and not truly know Him. How many religions are out there where they fear God? And they scream to God before they kill somebody.

Fear God and listen. He said, listen to this, listen to this. The God of this people, Israel, so the God of this people, Israel, chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt. Very important point. I don't know how many of you listen to Mike Fabarez on our radio network. Glad we picked him up. He was on Saturday. A call came in, he took this question. Why did God choose Israel? Why did He choose the Jews? You know, we don't know. He said, it's not because of your goodness I chose you, but the wickedness of the nations before you. I chose you. We don't know. God chose Abram. Come out of the land here. Leave your fathers, go here. I'm going to make you a great nation. We call that sovereignty. God's sovereignty. And I think we should still love the land of Israel today. I really do. I don't know what happened to Tucker Carlson. I better get back.

It drives me nuts. It's like, whoa! Dude, do you even know what you're talking about? Another person by the first name Candace. I mean, why should I be quiet when they can be vocal? It's deception. It's complete deception. Well, maybe I should say this, you can have issues with Israel's government. Hello? Hello? I have issues with all government. But the land where your Savior was born and bled for you? My goodness. What is going on? So, Paul goes into it. He says God chose us. And for about 40 years, He put up with their ways in the wilderness. Can you imagine God just... 40 years. He got rid of the whole generation actually. He wiped out the whole generation. Just brought in Caleb and Joshua. And He destroyed. God destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Canaan was a promised land. And then He distributed their land to them by allotment.

So God drove out the nations before them slowly. All the Ivites that you read in the Bible. God drove them out. And if you just read that, you would think it was a really quick process. And I'm like, man, Lord, what a great reminder for us today. And this quote by A.W. Pink, I've probably read three or four different times, but it's so applicable. He said, it would indeed be strange if we apprehend that on the one hand, the promised land was a free gift to God, free gift to Israel, was it not? And they would just enter in by grace alone. However, on the other hand, they had to fight for every square inch of it. And God in His grace has put together your marriage. You're gonna have to fight for it. God's the church, the ministry, whatever it is. There's a spiritual battle that goes on. We have to fight for every inch of that battle. It's spiritual. I think that's the biggest wake-up call for new believers. You've got to shoot them straight. Say congratulations, now it's time to put on the armor. The value of your fight just shows you the value of your commitment. It shows you Jesus died enough for your soul and the enemy is after your soul.

That's the battle. That's the fight. And so we keep going in Acts. Let's see what happened. After that, so he brought Abram. This is actually great to read just so you know the history of Israel summed up. It's very... Great, very good. So, God called Abraham, brought him out, gave them the promised land, and God wanted to rule His people with prophets. Samuel was a prophet. Anybody heard of any? Well, he was actually a judge as well. Samuel was a judge. Samson, you know, the judges. So, here's what happens. Here's what happened, and this is what God's ideal plan was for what looks like 400-some years. I called my people out. You're going to be ruled by judges. And all they do is they seek the heart of God. They judge the things of the people. And the people live out their lives. And the judges is their distinction, their difference from all the other lands around them. But the people said, we want to be just like everyone else. We want to be just like everyone else.

They're kind of cowardly too. They said, because our king will fight our battles. And then the prophet Samuel warned them, no, he'll take your sons to fight the battles. People always think they know what's best. And so, God gave them Saul. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. And for 40 years, that thing with David was a long-running course. Saul was king for a while before David even came into the picture. And then God had removed him. Why did God remove Saul? Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. David's a man after his own heart. He has an affair and kills a husband. I'm not following this one. Well, there's other sections of the Bible we could have brought into this. But he had to remove Saul because Saul had a heart of rebellion. And the Bible actually says rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And he would not listen to the voice of the Lord. He did his own thing. He rebelled against God. He would offer a sacrifice before Samuel got there. He was a loose cannon. And God said, I've got to remove this person. I'm going to appoint a man after my own heart. Guys, this is a big lesson.

I put the son of Jesse in this position. A man after my own heart. He will do all my will. It's not that you fall. It's what direction you go when you get back up. Now, please understand, I am not giving permission. Hey, the more I sin, the more God's grace... No, actually, the more trouble you'll get into. The more consequences you'll have. You never want to have that position, ever. But Psalms 37 is true. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in His way. Though he fall, he shall not utterly be cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand. I wish I would have wrote down the Hebrew word for fall because it's actually pronounced fall. I believe it is. N-A-P-H-A-L, nafal. It's interesting. And it means a few different things, but it can mean a good man has fallen into the hands of an enemy. Let's see if we have the... I've pulled up some commentaries because this is... Here's why this is important, guys. I've wanted to say this a few times, just to help people,

but also I don't want to tick off people. It's like, I'm trying to like, Lord, what... You know, and people are like, I love when you give illustrations. And others are like, why do you give illustrations? And why do you say... It's like, I don't know. I don't know. I'll stand before God and I'll give an account for my words. You won't give an account for my words. I will. But I had a tough season on this verse. And it was kind of sad to watch. But I actually had somebody, you might not believe this, but they left the church because I was too easy on people. I'm like, wait, hold on a minute. What church are you going to? Because you tell people, hey man, when you fall, get back up. You're encouraging them to fall. It's almost like, hey, you're going to fall anyway, but aren't we called to never... I'm like, you can go days and weeks without sinning? Yeah, it's possible. Whew, boy, once you accomplish that, talk to me. I'd love to know how you do that. But see, I have a job to encourage people

when they do fall. Of course, I'm assuming most of you know I don't encourage you to fall, but I encourage you to get back up and strengthen your hand. So I never want, oh, it's no big deal. You're going to fall. I never say that. We are called not to fall. We are called not to sin. We are called to walk holy before God. How many of you need a little help when you do fall? How many of you need a little encouragement instead of being beat up by the Word of God? And that's what it says here. A good man may fall into the hands of Satan, but God will not leave him there. Barnes notes on the Bible, though he sometimes is disappointed, though he is not always successful, though he might be unfortunate, yet this will not be his final ruin. In the pulpit commentary, the good man may be afflicted, he may even fall into some fault or a grievous sin, but God will not leave him there. That's so important. Anybody to take away that I'm encouraging sin is just devastating.

How do you encourage people when they fall? It says, though they fall, they will not be early cast down. Here's a story, even to those I know, many listening in the prisons and some later. Though he fall, if you've fallen, you don't need to stay there. You don't need to stay there. Maybe even some of you. You have fallen. You barely got here. You fell into sexual sin. You drink too much. You smoke too much. You're just falling. You made a big mistake. God says, don't stay there. Don't stay there. God will uphold you with His right hand of strength. But here's the thing, He's got to be able to reach something. You've got to reach up. Say, God, re-strengthen my life. Put me back up on that spot again. I want that relationship. You've got to reach down to grab the hand of God. And He will see you through. Guys, I know that if I had time, I'd turn the sermon into a witness.

Can I get a witness? Have you heard those churches? Those Pentecostal churches. Can I get a witness? Boom. And you know, there's many of you, you can testify to that. If it wasn't for the grace of God. But like the prodigal son, you had to pull your face out of the mud and you had to say, I'm coming home. And when he came to himself, that's what I want to encourage a lot of people. Come, repent. Repent and come back home. Let Him fix you. Let Him restore you. Repentance is the arm reaching up to God. And then He holds him. He upholds him with His, it's almost like He's holding him and lifting him up. And so here we go. Paul's going to make a shift. So he probably puts the car maybe in first gear. Everybody's listening like, oh yeah, that sounds good. We agree. We agree. Until Jesus is mentioned. Does that ever happen to you?

Talking about God, everybody's fine until Jesus is mentioned. You can have great conversations with people about God. Oh yeah, oh yeah, God, oh God. But when you start to dig a little deeper, what God are you referring to? And so here's what he said. From Abraham, from that man's seed, according to the promise that God gave, God from Israel brought in the Messiah. Did you know in the lineage of Jesus, there's a prostitute? There's a lot of interesting characters in that lineage of Jesus. It's amazing. But remember, He was planted by the Holy Spirit. He was not born of man, of His Father's seed, but it was God's seed. And God raised up for Israel a Savior, Jesus. This is John the Baptist. He's preaching before His coming. He's preaching about Jesus before His coming. The baptism of repentance to all people in Israel. Many people, theologians, are not, they're kind of exactly what this means. The bottom line is, I believe that, because it talks about prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His path. Usually when a king would come, they would fix the roads and get rid of rocks and things,

and they would prepare the way. Repentance prepares the way. Think about this. It was a baptism of repentance He was doing in the Jordan River. And repentance opens the heart to receive. You wonder how many of those people came to know Jesus who repented in the Jordan. God, I repent of my sin. That's what John's doing. And now their heart's open for the Messiah. That's why, I don't know, does anybody know, you can tell me later, how many Pharisees got baptized by John? How many Pharisees and religious leaders? Because they had to repent of their pride. Was John nice to them? They'd go to the river to watch John and probably mock him. And good old John, you brood of vipers. Can you imagine that? He's in the Jordan River. Probably up to here. You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Don't say we are children of Abraham. Because even now, the ax is laid

at the root of the tree. And it will all come down. He called them to repentance. And as John was finishing his course, died at a young age, was beheaded, as he was reaching that moment, he said, who do you think I am? I'm not the Christ. But there is One coming after me. The sandals of whose feet I am not even worthy to loosen. What does that mean? Well, I'm glad you asked. It's powerful. To unloosen Jesus' sandals was actually the office of a servant. And John means, therefore, that he was unworthy to perform the lowest office for the Messiah. Kings would come in and wear them. They're sort of like, oh, take off my sandal. Wouldn't that be nice? That's kind of comfortable. You don't have to try to take your shoes off, untie. You just have somebody else do it. I'm going to try that tonight. What do you think? Nope, that won't work. No, she'd probably do it. But I'll take yours off.

I'll take yours off. Remind me. And rub the feet too, you know? Wash them. You guys got me. First service gets me distracted a lot, because I can't, with second service, I've already worked through a lot of this mentally. I know what to say, what not to say at the second. So he's saying, I'm not even worthy to take off Jesus' sandals. Guys, humility is so important. Can I tell you something I've learned over the years? Those who think they're humble, aren't. Because the truly humble realizes just how broken they are. And how much pride can come in. I'm doing good today, and the Lord will help me tomorrow. The pride, I'm humble. I've been humble for a couple years, and I... Never, I've never seen the humble say that. Not even once. They bow up. They flex back. And that's not healthy. When you repent, you're able to receive. Maybe some of you need to hear that this morning. Maybe some of you need to hear that this morning. Did you know it's very,

even physically, spiritually, emotionally, to hold on to bitterness and resentment and jealousy and anger? It's very, it's toxic to the body. And we have to let those things go. Let those things go. Here's the good news about what I do. I don't have to call it out. You're convicted right now. Well, how do you know that? Because I've been in that seat. You know that thing God's, mm, mm, mm. Why did He say that today? Deal with it. Repentance opens a beautiful door. Repentance opens a beautiful door. It's a level of brokenness that's beautiful. Okay, he's in first gear. Now he's going to fifth. Mm-mm, he's hitting the nitrous oxide. Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, in other words, all you listening, and those among us who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. In other words, the message of the Redeemer, the Messiah, went out. It's actually for the Jews first. Paul actually and Peter, they talk about the Jews rejected, so I went to the Gentiles.

For those who dwell in Jerusalem and the rulers because they did not know Him. They did not know Jesus. He's basically saying this Messiah we've been waiting for. is He came and you don't know Him. Talk about offensive. And there was so much more I want to get into, but next Sunday, God willing, right? Everything's God willing. Next Sunday, I'm gonna pick up on this because it's so important. And here's the thing, they didn't listen to the voices of the prophets, which is amazing because they memorized the prophets. They knew exactly. It's like, oh, I've never read that in the Bible. They didn't have the Bible, they had a scroll. And they would read it, they knew it. You actually had to learn, I believe memorize a good portion of it to become a Pharisee. And so He's saying, you're not listening to the very people you proclaim every Sabbath. You think there's a little, it's getting a little heated in there yet? But see guys, that's what truth does. That's what it does. It loves you enough to hit you straight with the truth. It calls things out. That's true love. It tells people the truth.

This might hurt, but I love you enough to tell you the truth. And that's what Paul, I love my people so much, I would give my life for them, but you're not listening to the voice of the prophets, nor are many today. The prophets, and I did, I had to take out so many scriptures, guys. I almost wanted to just do a separate handout. How many of the prophets wrote about Jesus, and they couldn't just, they were blinded by a veil of pride. The veil they were blinded by was pride because other Pharisees, religious leaders, Nicodemus comes to him, they're open, they're like, wait a minute, look at all these signs and wonders. Remember what they said in Micah? Remember what Zechariah said? Remember what Isaiah said about the suffering servant? Here's the thing, if they were open and teachable, God would have showed them. But they were closed off, and that happens today as well. Why? Because pride blinds. Pride blinds people to the message of the Gospel. They don't want to receive it, and the more you push something away, the quieter you'll quiet the voice of conviction. That's why with June coming up,

many people know what they celebrate in June. Right, the more we can elevate this, the more we can push it in your face, the more we can get schools to do, the more we can do it, the less the voice of conviction will be heard. That's why they try to silence things like that. Correct? They don't want to hear it. So let's talk about a few just to give some of you an idea in case you don't know. Isaiah 7 said, He would be born of a virgin. What are the chances of that? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. He will call Him Immanuel. God is with us. No doubt, they knew about Mary. They would actually call Jesus a son of fornication because they knew that Joseph didn't have a relationship with her. And so it was pretty clear that many people believe she had an affair before she was married. The Jews, it's the only way they could get out of it. But also, if they would talk, no, that didn't happen. They would tell and they would read the prophets.

It also says a king will come from Bethlehem. All you have to do is ask Jesus where He was born. I don't think He lied. Again, we don't know how many people asked Him that. They said, is anything good come from Nazareth? Jesus of Nazareth? How do you know He didn't say, oh, by the way, I was born in Bethlehem. Moved to Nazareth, hello. And then this, boom. Micah 5.2, but you, Bethlehem, out of you will come forth for me, one to be ruler over Israel whose origins are from old, from ancient time. Isaiah roars with excitement. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make a straight highway for our God in the desert. What is John the Baptist doing? Isaiah, a light in the future. He will honor Galilee of the nations. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Now this one is, why would they not think of this? Here comes Jesus on a donkey. We talked about that at Easter. Wouldn't you think if you know your word, you say, oh, Zechariah, here comes your king, the righteous and victorious, humble, riding on a donkey. Like before Jesus, when they were learning the religion, would they ever wonder like, oh boy, I wonder what that's about?

I thought he was coming back on a white horse with 10,000 zealots to take out Rome. What's his thing about a donkey? You would think, betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Keep in mind these prophets were written 700 years. 500 to 700 years before Jesus. Zechariah. So they weighed out my wages. 30 pieces of silver. When the Pharisees are paying Judas, do you think this might be... hey, wait a minute, I've read about this before. Well, hold on, it gets worse. And the Lord said to me, throw it to the potter. This magnificent price at which they valued Me. Judas gives the money back to the Pharisees. They say this is blood money. Let's go buy the potter's field. Pride. Pride. Maybe you're a believer, but you still have a lot of pride. I would encourage you to repent of that this morning. It never works out good. Psalm 22. Unimaginable anguish. Crying out. They divided My garments among them

and they cast lots for My clothing. Can you imagine the Pharisees seeing this and going, wait a minute, wait a minute. Psalm. They actually wouldn't know 22.18. The chapter and verses were added about 500 years ago. Thank God. But also, that's why it's important to read the Bible in context. Because it was written as a whole psalm. Or it was written as a whole book of Jude. And you want to read everything. But it said, they're going to divide My garments. And there's many, many, many more prophecies. I could stay up here until second service starts. It's amazing. And if you drive a semi-truck, he's coming out of fifth gear. He's clicking the switch. He's going into five more gears. Ten speed. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and they laid Him in a tomb. But God has raised Him from the dead. Can you imagine?

I can guarantee that didn't happen. What do you think happened? Those of you who have read ahead. Yeah, some believed. Some mocked. Some believed. Some mocked. But this is interesting. No cause for death. No cause for death. So they may be sitting there. So why did He die? Why did He die if there's no cause for death? And many of you of course know, but it's good for those who may not. He wasn't killed because of His own actions. He was killed because of our actions. He's on the tree because of you and me. And Paul will go on to really explain, especially Romans and other places, what happened, and he uses a big word in the New Testament, propitiation. Propitiation. He basically absorbed the wrath of God. So there was no cause of death in Him. He absorbed what should have been on me and you. He took that and the penalty was paid in full. And it's a very beautiful thing. And on that note, there's another prophecy about the suffering servant. This is probably one of the top ones.

These guys must have been so blinded by pride. But He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Wouldn't they go, this is being fulfilled in our hearing. Isaiah 53 is powerful. We have no slide for this, so I just want you to listen though. This is incredible. 700 years before Jesus, Isaiah, in this whole chapter, he said, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He shall grow up before Him a tender plant as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness. And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. Average guy. He was despised and rejected by men. our sorrows acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our face from Him. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Oh, He must be chastised by God because He deserved it, is what this is saying,

that we would think. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, and we have turned everyone to His own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. They had no excuse. It could have been the final call before their final fall. And so that's a good closing thought for some here maybe, for those listening later. The final call before the final fall. Luke 16.31 says, "...if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead." And you know the story of course, right? The rich man and Lazarus. They're divided on this gulf. And the rich man is in torment. Many believe it's called Abraham's bosom, and it's a place of holding place until the final judgment. And for the person who believed, the Lazarus, it was for when Jesus is crucified and rises again.

And he's like, please send somebody to my family. And he says, even if somebody rose from the dead, they would not be persuaded. And we see that here. That's exactly what happened. And they still did not believe. So, the final point is, like I said, some believed. We're going to read in Acts. Some believed, but some... It actually says mocked. Mocked. If you're hearing the sound of my voice and you're a mocker, be careful. You will not mock God and win. Whatever you sow, you will reap. There is a judgment coming. This maybe for some is the final call. You need to make that decision. I know you might not hear this in a lot of churches, but it's the truth. Our job is to point you to the Savior. My job is to not be a motivational speaker. My job is actually not to just encourage everybody. Don't step on any toes. It's to point people to the truth of the Scriptures. And you've heard me say this before. The same sun out there,

the same sun that we see, it melts the wax or it hardens the clay. The choice is yours. The choice is yours. And let me tell you, when you melt, it's powerful. That's called humility. That's called repentance. That's called brokenness. That's called blessed are the beggars, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God. And that's why prideful man doesn't want to bow their knee. Because they are God. And they are on a highway to hell. So I want to ask you this morning, if you don't know Him, to make that decision, the Bible says repent and believe. Repent and believe. That's what I love about this. People say, man, that's heavy. Whoa, you're extreme. But I'm giving you the hope. I'm giving you the hope. Just humble yourself. Hello? It's only heavy if you don't want to repent. And you leave here upset. I'm not going back there. Or on the radio, they turn it off. Oh, the devil plants those seeds.

Those fiery darts. But not you. You're a good person. Shane, but you should see my neighbor Bill. I'm a good guy. This guy. I did. We'll make every excuse we can to not repent and humble ourselves. No excuses off limits. I've been hurt by the church. Well, so have I. I've been food poisoned, but I still eat food. Well, how could God allow that? Well, if you read the Bible and ask His heart, you'll see how God allows and why He allows. Stop with the excuses. So, we are going to go into baptisms during closing worship. Maybe some of you are in a prodigal state and you want to get baptized. And you want to say, I want to rededicate my life. I would love to baptize you. I've done that before. Or maybe you're coming to know Jesus for the first time. It's so simple. The Bible says repent and believe. Repent and believe. And you will be saved. Here's the beautiful thing about repentance.

You're saying, ah, I acknowledge what God is saying is true. I'm choosing His way. And I'm accepting that I wasn't going in the right direction. I'm acknowledging that God's way is right. That's really what it is. It's repenting. Changing my mind about how I feel about sin. ♪♪♪