In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith emphasizes the importance of not losing sight of the true meaning of Christmas amidst the busyness and distractions of the season. He recommends a booklet and audio CD by Pastor Chuck Smith that explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the significance of Christmas. The sermon also discusses a prophecy from the book of Isaiah, describing a time of restoration and blessing from God. Pastor Chuck highlights the need for desperation and turning to God in times of trouble, as He waits patiently for us to cry out to Him.

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 if you're following along in your Bible, we'll be continuing today in Isaiah chapter 30, beginning with verse 6, as we continue with an in-depth message And now, with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck. Now go and write it before them in a table. Now, this is what the Lord's telling Isaiah, now write this down on a tablet. Make note of it in a book, that it may be for the time to come, forever and ever. Write these words down, Isaiah, and he did, because we're reading them here. So write it before them in a tablet. Note it in a book, that it might be there in time to come, forever and ever. Write that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord, which say to the seers of the prophets, don't see. And they say to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Now, you're here to study the Word of God, but there are a handle just the teaching of the Word of God. They want to be entertained, they have itching ears, and they want to hear things that are, you know, everything's going to be all right. So they're saying to the prophets, don't prophesy to us the truth, tell us deceitful things, lie to us, make us feel good. And so he said, get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, and cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. We don't need God, we can do it ourselves. Wherefore, because of this, thus saith the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this Word, and you trust in oppression and perverseness, and you put your confidence in that, therefore, this iniquity shall be to you as a breach, ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. In other words, because you're trusting in this, man, it's like a high wall that begins to bow out. It has a crack in it, and it begins to bow out. And the thing, once it starts to tumble, just boom, you know, it's like a dam that has a crack in it. And all of this pressure is built up behind the dam, and as the water begins to come over, or begins to come through, the more that it comes through, the more the thing erodes, until finally the whole thing just collapses, and you have this flood that comes over you, and there's no defense. You're totally overwhelmed. And so God said, such shall it be, because they don't want Me. They don't want the truth. They don't want My Word. And they want to trust in these vain things. And so He shall break it as the breaking of a potter's vessel that is broken in pieces. Now, have you ever taken a clay pot and thrown it down on the cement, and watched how the thing just pops, and just shatter so many pieces? In fact, the Lord said, they're just going to shatter into so many pieces, and God will not spare, so that there will not be found in the bursting of it a sherd that is big enough, really, to take the fire from the hearth, or to take water out of the pit. It'll just be broken so bad there won't even be a piece big enough that you can pick up some of the coals out of the fire on it. Or you could dip water out of the well with it, or out of the spring. For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, here is the secret now. In returning, that is, returning to God, and rest, you will be saved. The idea of returning is repenting. Your salvation won't lie in Egypt. Your salvation will lie in returning to God, and resting in God. That's where your salvation will come. And in quietness and in confidence, that will be your strength. That quietness of spirit as you trust in God, that confidence in God that He will take care of it. The quietness comes from confidence. As you've committed it to God, and you have confidence in God, it gives you a quietness within your spirit. And that's your strength. And oh how I have seen Christians with fantastic strength who are going through experiences that would crush some of the strongest people, and yet I see them going through with such strength. And you marvel at their strength. Why? Because they have confidence in God and in the purposes of God. And oh how strong they are. But you said, no, not us. We won't return to God. What we will do is fly, and the first word translated flee here is we will fly upon horses. That is, we'll get on our horses, we'll get the cavalry unit, and we'll charge out against the enemies. Therefore, shall you flee. You're gonna try to fly against your enemies, but you're gonna end up fleeing from your enemies. We will ride upon the swift, but those that pursue you will be swift. And a reversal of what God said would be. In Deuteronomy, God said that because they were His people and trusted in Him, that ten of them would, one of them would chase a thousand, and ten would chase ten thousand. He told of the strength that He would give to them because their trust was in Him. Now because they did not trust in God, the reverse is going to take place. One thousand of you shall flee at the rebuke of one. And at the rebuke of five you will flee till you'll be left as a beacon on the top of a mountain and as a signal on a hill. Until you're just alone, solitary, you're gonna be forsaken and flee. And therefore, will the Lord wait. Okay, you said no to God. All right. God will just wait then for you. You won't wait upon God to help? Then God will just wait until you get into such desperate condition that you'll be forced to call upon God. Now it's a bad place to be when God is waiting on you. I always like it when the ball is in His court. I always like it when I have done what God said I should do, and it's, and I always like to say, well, Lord, it's your move now. I'm in a bad shape when God's saying, okay, it's your move. Waiting, you know, that's not a good place to be, where God is waiting on you. And especially in the case here, for He's waiting for them to get so desperate that there's no place to go. There's no hope. There's only one thing left, and that's God. Every earthly crutch has broken. Every scheme has failed. The Egyptians don't show up. The city is now surrounded. The food supplies are getting low. People are beginning to fight over food within the city. The strong are beginning to rip off food from the weak. Tyranny and anarchy is taking place. This is desperate. We've got to do something. What can we do? Nothing. There's nothing we can do. We've done it all. We better pray. And when you get desperate enough, you will pray. And God said, okay, I'll just wait till you cry out to me. I'll just wait for you to call. And so therefore will the Lord wait that He might be gracious unto you. He isn't waiting to smite you or to destroy you or to chide you and say, well, it's about time, you know. But He's waiting so that when you do call, He can be gracious unto you. And therefore will He be exalted in order that He might have mercy upon you. Now, judgment, mercy, grace. These three are brought into play here. For the Lord is a God of judgment. Judgment is getting what you deserve. And having rebelled against God, having turned against God, they deserved to be defeated by their enemy. They deserved to be wiped out. That would be justice. But mercy is not getting what you deserve. Now, justice is calling for judgment. Justice is calling for a punishment that is commensurate with a crime. And mercy is forgiving without punishing. But that isn't just. And so you say to God, that isn't fair. But God, though He is a just God, is also a merciful God. But that is difficult. How can you be merciful and be just? And in reality, you can't. Justice and mercy are two different things. And mercy isn't just. It's not getting what you deserve. And for God to be merciful, He has to retreat into the fact, I'm God. I can do what I please. And so that's what He does. I'm God. I make the rules. You say, well, that's still not fair even though God does it. Well, He has a just base for doing it. He sent His Son to take the sin and to take the guilt and to die in your stead. So that when someone says, justice, God, that's not fair, you know, that you forgive them and you give them a glorious place with you and your heavenly, He just points to the cross and says, it's taken care of. It's covered. And so there is that just basis so that a just God can justly forgive your sins on the basis of Jesus Christ. Grace, that's another subject. That's getting what you don't deserve. You don't deserve the blessings of God. You don't deserve eternity in heaven with Him. You don't deserve eternal life. That's God's grace, giving you what you don't deserve because of His tremendous love for you. And here are the people. They don't deserve it. They've been rebelling against God. They're seeking the help of man. That help has failed. The Egyptians are destroyed. They don't come through. And now they're in trouble. Now the whole thing is falling to pieces. And they say, oh, God, help. And God is so gracious. He comes down and He shows His grace. He wipes out the Assyrians and He gives them great victories over their enemies and establishes them in power and strength under the reign of Hezekiah. Grace. And so the Lord is waiting for them to realize that all of their schemes are of no avail. They need God. And when they finally turn to God, then He shows His grace upon them. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem, and thou shalt weep no more. This is because of the, well, I didn't hit the end of that, did I? Blessed are all they that wait for Him. Don't let God wait on you. You be waiting on God. It is better to wait upon God than to have God waiting upon you. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. Thou shalt weep no more, and He will be very gracious unto you at the voice of your cry. The moment you cry out to God, He'll be very gracious to you. If you'll just turn to God, in returning and in resting you'll be saved. And just cry out to God. And when He hears it, He will answer you. He will be gracious to you. He will forgive you all of your sin. Just cry out to Him. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and this is what He allows, as you're rebelling against Him and trying to go against Him, you come into real adversities, the waters of affliction. Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see thy teachers, and your ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it. When you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, you just turn your life over to God. And God will begin to guide you and direct you. And God will say, Hey, this is the way, walk in it. The voice of God leading and guiding your life. When you turn to the right, you turn to the left. God will say, No, no, no. This is the way, walk in it. And you shall defile also the covering of your graven images. Now at this time there will be a true spiritual revival. When Hezekiah took over, he destroyed all of the public worship items, but people still had them in their homes. But when God shows Himself strong to deliver them from the Assyrians, then they also will take those graven images of silver and those molten images of gold, and they shall cast them away as a menstruous cloth. And thou shalt say unto it, Get out of here. And then shall He give the rain of thy seed, that you will sow the ground withal, and the bread will increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous. In the day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. In other words, God, this is the grace of God. Now they've cried out to God, and God has delivered them, but now He is showing His grace. And they respond to that. They get rid of their idols and their images, and God begins to bless them. They begin to get the rains again, and their seed is blessed. Their cattle are now pasturing in large pastures. The oxen likewise, and the young donkeys that ear the ground shall eat clean pavander. Those that are used to just trying to, you know, eat the stubble and the grass of a drought condition will now have grain in the cribs to eat, which hath been winnowed with a shovel and with a fan, good grain even for the donkeys. Plenty for all. And there shall be upon every high mountain and upon every high hill rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter when the towers fall. When God gives you victory, it's going to be a restoration of the land of rain and rivers and streams. And moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun. The light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the light of seven days in the day that the Lord binds up the breach of His people and heals the stroke of their wounds. God is just going to bless and remove the smog and the impurities of the air so there will be the brightness of the moon once again and of the sun. And behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with His anger, and the burden thereof is heavy. His lips are full of indignation. Now we go into the tribulation period. Indignation, again remember, is the Old Testament word for tribulation. And the prophecy now goes out to the future. And behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with His anger, and the burden thereof is heavy. His lips are full of indignation and His tongue as a devouring fire. We'll get to that more in a couple of weeks, chapter 33. And His breath as an overflowing stream shall reach to the midst of the neck to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity, and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. But you shall have a song as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept, and gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute to come to the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel. There will be great tribulation against the enemies of God upon the earth, but you will be rejoicing with a gladness of heart as one who is going in to worship God, coming to meet with God as we will be gathered together with our Lord in the heavenly scene, rejoicing in the worship that is there. And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and He shall show the lightning down of His arm with the indignation of His anger and with the flame of a devouring fire and with the scattering and the storm and the hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. The Assyrian smote with a rod, but he'll be beaten down with the voice of the Lord. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tablets and harps, and in the battles of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet is ordained of old. Now Tophet is the Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament Gehenna. Now here it is interesting, for Tophet is ordained of old. In other words, it has been existing from old. Yea, for the King it is prepared, that is, Satan, who is the God of this world. It was prepared for him, and Jesus confirms that. He said, Depart ye into the lake that is burning with fire, which is the translation of the Greek word Gehenna, which was prepared for Satan and his angels. Face to face, Lord, let me know. Face to face, Lord, let me see you. Face to face, Lord, let me see you. I would like to present a booklet by Pastor Chuck Smith entitled, How Can a Man Be Born Again? And also an audio CD entitled, Why? By Pastor Chuck, that would be the perfect compliment for Christmas cards and gifts this year. Both resources share the gospel of Jesus Christ and explain the true meaning of Christmas and why a man born 2,000 years ago can still affect the world today. And best of all, they contain a message leading people to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. And remember, the Word for Today would like to assist you this Christmas in spreading the gospel of Jesus to your family, friends, and coworkers. Please call our customer service department to help you in finding that perfect gift that will reflect the true meaning of Christmas. And if you call right now and mention this radio ad, the Word for Today will give you a 20% discount on any resource carried by the Word for Today. So call the Word for Today at 1-800-272-WORD or write to us at P.O. 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 would 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 a few closing comments, here's Pastor Chuck. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you for that finished work of Jesus Christ who once and for all offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins, that he might reconcile us, Lord, unto you through the blood of the cross and make us children of God. Lord, we thank you that you were willing to bear our sins, that you were wounded and pierced for our transgressions, you were crushed for our inequities. Lord, may we walk in the glorious light of the gospel, drawn by your love to this fellowship with God. In his name we pray. This program is sponsored by the Word for Today, the radio ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.