Welcome to The Word for Today.
The Word for Today is a continuous study
of the Bible taught by Pastor Chuck Smith
of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.
Pastor Chuck is currently teaching from the Old
Testament.
And for those of you following along in
your Bibles, we'll be continuing today in Isaiah
chapter 9, beginning with verse 2, as we
continue with a topical And
now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck.
Isaiah has been predicting dark days for the
nation of Judah.
They have turned their back upon God, and
as a result, God has turned His back
upon them.
And they are going to experience the calamity
that befalls a people who have been forsaken
by God.
There are dark days ahead.
It's going to be hard times, it's going
to be difficult times, it's going to be
painful.
They're going to experience the judgment of God
against their sin and unrighteousness.
And as he paints this dark future for
them, he tells us in verse 2, that
those people that walked in darkness have seen
a great light.
Those that are dwelling in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them has the
light shined.
And then he tells us concerning this light,
verse 6, for unto us a child is
born.
Unto us a son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulder.
This child that is to be born will
be a very unique and special child, for
he will be born of a virgin.
God is going to come and visit this
nation, for His name by interpretation is God
with us.
And God is going to come and visit
the nation.
And the sign to them will be that
this child that will be born will be
born of a virgin.
But this child that is born is a
son that is given.
The question is, who is it that is
giving his son?
For God so loved the world, He gave
His only begotten Son.
That whosoever would believe in Him would not
perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not His Son into the
world to condemn the world.
So the declaration is that God was the
one who was going to give His Son.
In the Gospel of John, well over fifteen
times, Jesus speaks about the Father sending His
Son into the world.
The Gospel of John leaves no doubt but
that this prophecy of Isaiah, unto us a
Son is given, that that prophecy was fulfilled
in the person of Jesus Christ.
He is the one that was prophesied and
predicted.
He was born of the Virgin Mary.
He was born as a child in Bethlehem,
but He was much more than just a
child being born.
He is the Son of God who is
being given to man.
He is Emmanuel, God with us.
John opens his Gospel declaring, in the beginning
was the Word.
The Word was with God and the Word
was God.
And the same was in the beginning with
God and all things were made by Him
and without Him there was not anything made
that is made.
And then He tells us, and the Word
became flesh and He dwelt among us.
The Word is God and the Word became
flesh, Emmanuel, God with us.
Paul writing to the Philippians said concerning Jesus,
who being in the form of God and
thinking it not something to be grasped to
be equal with God, He emptied Himself and
took up the form of a servant and
was made in the likeness of men.
Emmanuel, God with us.
What will be accomplished and what will happen
to this child that is born, this Son
that is given?
In the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, going ahead
for a moment, Isaiah tells us that this
child that is born, this Son that is
given to man by God will be despised
and rejected by men.
He will be a man of sorrow and
acquainted with grief.
He will come to His own, but His
own will receive Him not.
He will be put to death along with
transgressors, but in His death He will bear
the sin of mankind.
For Isaiah 53 said, all of us like
sheep have gone astray.
We turned every one of us to our
own ways, but God laid on Him the
iniquities of us all.
And He is wounded for our transgressions.
He is bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace is upon Him.
And so we are told that this child
that is born, this Son that is given
in turn will give His life for our
sins.
And yet we are also told about this
child that is to be born, this Son
that will be given.
Here in our text we are told that
the government will be upon His shoulders.
The word government has almost become a dirty
word.
It's associated with corruption, with evil.
It is associated with ineptness.
We think of how man has suffered under
government.
I wonder what Isaiah would say to our
nation today if he were a prophet called
of God to give a message to the
United States.
I wonder what Jeremiah would be saying today.
No doubt they'd be saying the same thing
that they said to Judah who had turned
over to idolatry, who had turned away from
God and were worshiping pleasure and material possessions
and sex and had forsaken the true and
the living God.
They would be crying out surely against allowing
of 25 million babies to be aborted.
They would be crying out against the evils
that we are seeing around.
They'd be crying out against X-rated videos,
R-rated videos.
They would be crying out against this whole
humanistic philosophy that has prevailed in our society.
And you see four-letter words are now
accepted.
They're art and they are art forms.
They're freedom of expressions.
The dirty words are words like censorship.
Oh, what a filthy, pardon me, mixed company.
As Isaiah said a couple of chapters earlier,
woe unto those who call evil good and
who call good evil.
It is only another proof that man is
incapable of governing over man without corruption, without
it eroding and devolving and going and lapsing
into the pit of corruption.
And so government has become corrupted.
And we are one more proof that man
cannot really govern over men.
What's the hope?
Is there a hope?
The only hope is that one day this
child that was born, this son that was
given will return to the earth again in
order that the government might be placed upon
his shoulder.
Now, an interesting thing.
The eggheads of the world have come to
the conclusion that the only hope for man
is a one world government.
And they've also determined that there has to
be a one world religion.
That so many of the divisions of man
and the wars have been fought over the
different religions and the answer for that is
to have a one world religion.
Bring all the religions together.
And they see this as the only answer
to survival for the human race.
It is interesting to me that they've come
to this conclusion.
It is a right conclusion.
The only problem, they're planning to put in
the wrong leader.
And prior to the return of Jesus Christ
and the government being upon his shoulder, Satan
is going to put in a substitute plan
and put the government on the shoulder of
his man, the Antichrist.
And for a couple of years they will
feed the press and the media a rosy
story.
Everything is now on the border of a
glorious new age.
We have a world governor who is going
to lead us to peace and prosperity.
But he will bring the world to the
verge of total annihilation as his seven year
reign will end in the battle of Armageddon.
One world government will be man's last final
futile attempt to govern himself.
And before man can totally destroy himself, this
child to be born of a virgin, this
son that God is giving, shall come again
to this earth.
He will set his foot upon the Mount
of Olives.
He will bring an end to Satan's substitute
government, and he will establish a true one
world government.
The government will be upon his shoulder.
Now we're told a little bit about that
government.
We're told of the increase of his government
and peace.
There shall be no end.
We are told that he will sit upon
the throne of David and upon his kingdom.
You see, God made to David a very
special promise.
He said to David, from your seed there
will be one who will come who will
rule, and there will never cease to be
one ruling from your seed forever.
And so God had promised to David that
that Messiah, that child that would be born,
that son that God would give, would reign
forever, king over the earth, king of kings
and lord of lords, upon the throne of
David.
And he will order it and establish it
in righteousness, in judgment and in justice, from
henceforth even forever.
Glorious eternal reign.
And then we are told by Isaiah here
that his name will be called Wonderful.
His name will be called Counselor, the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father.
He'll be called the Prince of Peace.
Listen to what John tells us in the
closing pages of the book of Revelation.
And I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God
is with men, and he will dwell with
them, and they shall be his people, and
God himself shall be with them and be
their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes, and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things
are passed away.
And he that sat on the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new.
And he said to me, Write, for these
words are true and faithful.
God will dwell among the people, and the
government will be upon his shoulder.
And in his reign there will be no
more tears, no more death, no more sorrow,
no more crying, no more pain.
And God, as though he is just swearing
to the truth, said, Write, because these are
true and faithful sayings.
And as I look at the governments of
man collapsing around the world, I see the
failure of man's governments being manifested.
My prayer is even so come quickly, Lord
Jesus, establish your kingdom on earth.
Pastor Chuck Smith will return with a few
closing comments.
But first, I'd like to remind you that
today's message is available in its unedited form
on cassette or CD.
Simply write or call and ask for ordering
details on tape or CD number T-3256.
Again, that's tape or CD number T-3256.
Well, it's that time of year again.
It may seem innocent, but the symbols of
Halloween, like black cats, jack-o'-lanterns, and
trick-or-treat all have roots in sorcery
and Satanism.
We would never knowingly get involved with anything
related to Satan, but many Christians don't understand
what's really behind the pagan holiday.
The word for today would like to offer
you a presentation hosted by Pastor Chuck Smith
called Halloween Trick or Treat that traces the
pagan origins and history of Halloween.
This powerful movie uncovers the mystic rites and
ceremonies of Satan and will forever change your
opinion of Halloween.
Every year as the end of October approaches,
we are faced with the dilemma of family
and friends pressuring us to participate in the
celebration of this pagan holiday.
This documentary will definitely challenge you to decide
whether or not you'll continue to participate in
this tradition.
If you'd like more information on Halloween Trick
or Treat, then simply write or call and
ask one of our operators for the ordering
details.
Again, it's called Halloween Trick or Treat.
And right now, if you place an order,
the word for today would like to bless
you with Pastor Chuck Smith's pamphlet, How Can
a Man Be Born Again?
Absolutely free.
Instead of just giving candy this year, the
pamphlet is the perfect tool for Christians to
share the gospel with loved ones and friends.
Available in both English and Spanish.
Again, it's free when you call right now.
To order Halloween Trick or Treat for yourself
or for a friend, you can call the
word for today at 1-800-272-WORD
or write to us at PO Box 8000,
Costa Mesa, California, 92628.
Once again, that number to call is 1
-800-272-9673.
And for those of you that would like
to visit our website, you can do so
at www.twft.com.
Or if you'd like to email us, you
can do so at info at twft.com.
Well, coming up next time on the Word
for Today, Pastor Chuck will be continuing his
fascinating study through the book of Isaiah.
That's coming up next time on the Word
for Today.
And now with our closing prayer, here's Pastor
Chuck.
We pray, Father, as we look at the
pictures that are given to us here in
Jeremiah, and we see your prophet so disturbed
over the nation, the things that were happening,
as he knew that a society that had
decayed to the extent of Judah would surely
collapse and fall.
So, Lord, our hearts are concerned as we
see what's happening in our society, as we
see the minds of our children being polluted
by the perverted music of this day.
And by the false images being portrayed in
the movies, in the videos, and how their
whole value system is being destroyed, undermined, and
how evil is looked upon as good, and
good is looked upon as evil.
Lord, our hearts weep for our children and
for our grandchildren, for the world that they
are growing up in, so corrupted by sin.
And, Lord, we pray that you will put
a hedge around your people, around your church,
around our hearts.
And, Lord, that we might determine in our
hearts to live for Jesus Christ, even in
this dark and perverted age.
And may our lives shine like a light
in this darkness.
May we stand against the forces of evil
that are so entrenched today within our society.
Gird us, Lord, with the helmet of salvation,
with the sword of the Spirit, the breastplate
of righteousness.
Our feet, Lord, may they be shod with
the preparation of the gospel of peace, that
we might carry your message of peace and
love to a world that's about ready to
destroy itself.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
This program
is sponsored by The Word For Today, the
radio ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.