In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith discusses the importance of standing up for righteousness in a fallen world. He uses the example of Daniel, a young man who took a stand for God even when faced with the threat of death. Pastor Chuck encourages young adults to resist compromise and prepare for the Lord's coming. He also introduces his new book, "Standing Up in a Fallen World," which aims to equip young people to witness and revive their generation. The sermon emphasizes the accuracy and fulfillment of biblical prophecies as evidence of the Bible's divine inspiration.

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 19, beginning with verse 11, as we continue with today's study. Here's Pastor Chuck. Surely the princes of Zone are fools. The counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh has become brutish. How say you unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise and the son of ancient kings. Where are they? Where are the wise men? Let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts has purposed upon Egypt. Now, this is one of the many places in Isaiah where God more or less chides and challenges those who say they are wise, those who say that they have the wisdom of the ancients, or those who supposedly speak for their gods. And God challenges them through the book of Isaiah to declare in advance what God is going to do. In other words, let them give some prophecy. Let them reveal something that is not yet happened that is going to happen. And it's an interesting challenge that God throws out throughout the book of Isaiah. And here is again one of those places. Let them tell you what the Lord of hosts has purposed upon Egypt. Let them go ahead and tell us what God is going to do. And then when that happens, we'll know that they really know what they're talking about. It is interesting that the Bible is almost half or more prophecy, where God speaks of yet future things. And as Jesus said, now I have told you these things before they come to pass, so that when they come to pass, you might believe. Thus, the prophecies in the Bible become one of the strong apologetics as the proof that the Bible is the word of God. And this prophetic element to the Bible is something that really has the Bible critics climbing the tree over, because they do not ascribe divine inspiration to the scriptures. They try to have you believe that the scriptures were written by the men of those days with the understanding that they had in their times, and thus cannot be reliable even as a historic document. And the Bible has been challenged many, many times on many of the historic aspects that the Bible referred to. For years, they did not have any reference to Pontius Pilate. And so it was declared by the Bible critics that Pontius Pilate was just a fictitional kind of character made up in the scriptures. He didn't actually exist. Had he existed, surely there would have been records in the Roman files on Pontius Pilate and so forth. And they had so many people convinced that the Bible was an unreliable book as far as history is concerned, referring to fictional characters and all. And then there at Caesarea, they found this stone with Pontius Pilate's name on it, and it blew them all out of the water. And they had to find something else to criticize. In the next chapter, and we'll just for a moment jump ahead, as long as we're on this subject. In the year that Tartin came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him. Now for a long time, they did not find any historical references to Sargon. And so they were accusing Isaiah of, you know, just making up names. Sargon did not really exist. There's no, you know, secular records of Sargon and so forth. And then in later archaeological diggings in Mesopotamia, here they found a whole slew of records on Sargon. Found out that he was one of the most powerful of the Assyrian kings. He was the father of Sennacherib, and he had a very powerful reign. And so again, there was that whole discrediting of those critics who had tried to discredit the Bible. And so the fact that God has spoken and given in advance prophecies of things that were going to take place. And the prophecies of the scripture up until this point have had a thousand percent batting average. Everyone has come to pass. Now if you had a fellow step up to the plate a thousand times and get a thousand hits, and he's coming up for the thousandth and first time to bat, you could probably say with pretty good assurance, well, I'll bet he gets a hit. He's had a thousand in a row. And so it's pretty sure that he'll make a hit this time. So that because of all of the prophecies that have already been fulfilled, you're not really going very far out on a limb to believe that the remaining prophecies will yet be fulfilled. You see, that doesn't take any great step of faith. It is very practical and it's very reasonable to expect the prophecies yet to be fulfilled that God has told us the things that are going to happen. You can be sure that they will happen because he has been completely accurate up to this point. Now, one inaccuracy and the whole scripture could be challenged and brought into question. Yes, but God said this and it did it, you see. And the whole scriptures could be brought into question if there was one failure. But not one good thing hath he not performed, which he said he would do. And thus you can rely upon the word of God. And you can rely upon its historical accuracy, but you can also rely upon its future accuracy. Those things which God has said will come to pass will surely come to pass. We are right now in the midst of the fulfillment of many prophecies. It's shaping up. And thus we see so many other things. The Bible predicted a time when we would no longer use money for our purchasing of goods, but that we would use marks that would be upon our hands or upon our foreheads. And all of the buying and selling would be done with these marks rather than with money. And we can see how we are moving in that direction. We can see how that more and more we're being encouraged to use cards for our purchases. More incentives are being given for the use of cards. Every few weeks I get some application from some bank or whatever, want to offer me a gold visa or a master card and the benefits of using it and all of this. And they are trying to move us into the mode of buying and selling with cards and not with cash. And you've noticed in the store how most of the time people are paying for their groceries with checks or they're paying with cards. And we're moving in that direction. We haven't come there completely yet. We still have problems with the cards. And now they're talking about a new smart card that they've developed. And then the next step is to get rid of the card. What if you're at the beach and you want a Coke and you go up to the stand and you didn't take your wallet on the beach. You're not a fool. And so you don't have any money, but no problem. Just hold out your hand and get your Coke and your hamburger and hold out your hand and you get it charged off to you. And we're moving in that direction. We haven't arrived yet, but we can see it's feasible. We know that the system is in place in the banks as far as the cards and as far as the automatic check writing and all of this. It's already the systems are there. We're just one step away from a mark put on your body that would be picked up by the little scanner as they scan the bars. Just run your hand over the top and beep and it's done. The Bible says that that's what's going to be. And it's interesting to see our technology now up to speed on that kind of stuff so that it isn't far-fetched. It isn't some kind of a thing where you think, oh, well, that could never be, you know, because we realize that it is in the realms of practical reality at the present time. So over and over and over and not one, but in hundreds of things, we see that they have been fulfilled or they are in the process of being fulfilled, or we can see on the future where things are shaping up. And it looks like this is the way things are shaping up right now and can possibly happen in the future. And that's what makes the Bible such a fascinating book, such an interesting book. And as I say, that's one of the strongest apologetics that you can give that the Bible is indeed inspired by God. For only God can tell you with such accuracy that which is going to happen in the future, can tell you 2,000 years in advance, can tell you 2,700 years in advance that they're going to dam up the Nile River and going to have ecological problems when they do. And so they did and we do. The princes of Zon, verse 13, have become fools. The princes of Naph are deceived and they have also seduced Egypt and they that are the stay of the tribes are up. It is thought that the princes of Naph and Zon encouraged the Egyptians to rebel against the Assyrians and Egypt suffered as a result. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof. They have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof as a drunken man who staggers or slips in his own vomit. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or the tail or the branch of the rush may do. Now, when we get to the scriptures in that day, in that day, in that day, we usually are moving into a yet future time. In that day shall Egypt be likened to a woman and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shakes over it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt. Everyone that makes mention thereof shall be afraid in himself because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it. In that day, five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear to the Lord of hosts. And one shall be called the city of destruction. In that day, there shall be an altar to the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord, a monument to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt, for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors and he shall send them a savior and a great one and he shall deliver them. So in the future, Egypt will turn to the Lord, perhaps in the great tribulation period, as they see the judgments of God upon the earth, as they see the movement of the Antichrist who will actually move against Egypt, passing through Egypt. When he gets into Ethiopia is when the word will come to him that China and Russia have gathered together their troops to invade the western countries. And he will turn and bring his troops back and meet them in the valley of the battle of Armageddon. And so the Egyptians will cry unto the Lord, and the Lord will be known to Egypt, and they will know the Lord in that day. And they will offer sacrifices and prayers. They will make their vows unto the Lord and perform them. And so the great one, the savior, of course, is Jesus Christ, whom God will send to deliver them and to deliver the world, really, from the Antichrist. And the Lord shall smite Egypt, but he will smite it and heal it. And they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and he shall heal them. Here again we deal with the ways of God and the faithfulness of God. As a child of God, God will not allow you to get by with evil. As a child of God, he is going to correct you. And oftentimes we find ourselves smitten of God. But the purpose is not to destroy. The purpose of God is to heal. Many times sin, like a cancer, is threatening to destroy you. And it has to be dealt with and dealt with severely. And God oftentimes, when you start getting off the path, you start messing around. You start getting into an area where you can be destroyed. God will deal very heavy with you. He will smite you. He will just pull the carpet out from under you, and you'll be in great distress. But the purpose isn't to destroy you. The purpose is to keep you from destroying yourself. And this is where people so often misunderstand God. They think that God is being mean. They think that God is being cruel, because all of this calamity has come upon them. And the Lord has smitten me, you know. And the Lord's just done this and that. Well, it's because He loves you, and you're about to destroy yourself, and He doesn't want to see you destroy yourself. And so He smites to heal. And if you're going through a real heavy time in your experience with God right now, and it seems like things are just going to pieces, the bottom is falling out from under you, it could be that God is trying to get your attention, that you're walking on dangerous ground, that you're flirting around with a situation that can be destructive to you, and God is trying to prevent you from destroying yourself. And thus, He smites in order that He might heal. And the purpose of God was fulfilled. They returned even to the Lord, and He will be entreated of them, and He will heal them. And as you turn to the Lord, the Lord will hear your prayer, and He will heal you and touch you. There's an interesting scripture in James that says, Is there any afflicted among you? Let him pray. Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church to anoint him with oil and to pray over him, and the prayer of faith will save the sick. Now, James seems to make a distinction between the afflictions and sicknesses. And if you are afflicted, then it seems like God has brought the affliction for a purpose, to turn you to God. So pray. Seek God. Lord, what are you wanting to show me? What are you wanting to tell me? What are you wanting to teach me? And in afflictions, we pray about afflictions ourselves. God is working through affliction in my life. If I'm sick, then I call for the elders of the church that they might pray for me and anoint me with oil in the name of the Lord. But in the afflictions, and there is that interesting distinction. And so here, God smites in order that He might heal. And thus, my son despised not the chastening of the Lord, for whom the Lord loveth He chastens. So, whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth. Now, in that day, in that day, in that day. So, it's good when you're going through, mark all the in that days, because it brings you into that future day of the Lord, that glorious day of which Isaiah speaks so much. In that day, there should be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria. And the Assyrians shall come into Egypt and Egypt into Assyria. And the Egyptians shall serve the Lord with the Assyrians. The idea of serving there is serving the Lord with the Assyrians. And in that day shall Israel be a third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land. So, in that area that is in such turmoil, that area that is filled with so much strife, all of the wars that we've seen in our lifetime in that area, because of the Jews and the animosity that the Arabs have for the Jews and all, it's all going to change. Let me see. 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 C-3250. Again, that's tape or CD number C-3250. As we come to a close in today's program, we'd like to introduce a new book by Pastor Chuck Smith written especially for today's young generation. Do you have what it takes to abstain from the immorality of our culture? Would you stand up for Jesus Christ in a group of complete strangers? What about in a group of your closest friends? It definitely takes a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. The word for today presents Pastor Chuck Smith's new book, Standing Up in a Fallen World, a Bible study based on the book of Daniel, a young man who took a stand for righteousness in a time when he could have lost his life. Filled with encouragement and application, Pastor Chuck teaches a powerful message for today's young adults between the ages of 12 and 20, urging them to stand up against the compromise in the world today and get ready for the Lord's coming. And now for the first time, the word for today is made available clothing, t-shirts, beanies, and hats for a limited time only, equipping young adults to witness and revive their generation. Also available is a study guide, especially designed for students and family devotions. To order your copy of Pastor Chuck's new book, Standing Up in a Fallen World, the clothing apparel and study guide, you can 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'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 a few closing comments, here's Pastor Chuck. At your workplace, may the Lord's hand be upon you, give you wisdom and guidance and favor in the eyes of your employers. In the classroom, may the Lord put a shield and a filter over your brain so that the junk won't pass through and only that which is good will filter in. That you might grow in knowledge and understanding and with all of your knowledge, get understanding. And may the Lord give you opportunity of sharing His word, His love, His truth with those that you work with and those that you study with. May it be a good week, one in which the word of God comes to your heart and rejoices your heart in Christ. This program is sponsored by the word for today, the radio ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.