The sermon titled 'The Purpose Driven God' by Scott Brown explores the themes of God's sovereignty and purpose as depicted in Isaiah chapter 14. The speaker emphasizes two fundamental promises: God will destroy the works of the devil, and He will have mercy on His people, providing them refuge. These promises offer a lens through which to understand history and personal life. The sermon reflects on God's control over nations, specifically discussing the destruction of Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia as symbolic of broader spiritual truths. God's purposes, which are unchangeable and comprehensive, are highlighted through His actions against these nations. The sermon underscores the concept of a 'Purpose Driven God,' showcasing that God's plans cover both the vastness of history and the minutest details of individual lives. Additionally, Zion is portrayed as a place of refuge for God's people, affirming God's care and distinct treatment of those who trust Him. The sermon calls for a recognition of God's unstoppable hand and encourages believers to find solace in His sovereignty.

Good morning. Let's open our Bibles to Isaiah 14. We're going to be reading from verse 22 all the way to the end. For I will rise up against them says the Lord of hosts and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant and offspring and posterity, says the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the porcupine and marshes of muddy water.

I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts. The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, surely as I have thought so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed so it shall stand, that I may break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountain tread him under foot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, and this burden removed from their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who shall annul it?

His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died do not rejoice all you of Philistia because the rod that struck you is broken for out of the serpents roots will come forth a viper and its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. The firstborn of the poor will feed, and the needy will lie down in safety. I will kill your roots with famine, and it will slay your remnant. Wail, O gate, cry, O city.

All you of Philistia are dissolved, for smoke will come from the north and no one will be alone in his appointed times. What will they answer, the messengers of the nation, that the Lord has founded Zion and the poor of his people shall take refuge in it. Let's pray Heavenly Father we come before you as your people this morning and the Lord we thank you for this opportunity To hear your word to learn of you Lord we pray that we would be refreshed in our minds, that you would renew our minds with your word. And Lord, that your truths would sink down deep into our hearts. Lord, when we consider the nations, Lord, before you, there's nothing more than a drop left in a bucket or the small dust on the scales.

You're so great, Lord, and so vast, and we pray that you would help us to see you in all of your glory, help us to understand your word, help us to apply your word and to be hungry for your word this morning. Lord, would you help us to focus our hearts and our minds? And Mr. Brown, as he comes to speak to us today, we pray, Lord, that your spirit would be upon him to bless him, Lord, to anoint him, that the words that he speaks would go forth with power to hit their mark, Father. Make a way for all of your people, for those of us who don't yet know you, Father, we pray today that your word would be powerful and that it would penetrate the darkness.

Lord, would you soften our hearts today and allow us to hear your word and truth. In Jesus' wonderful name, amen. I often marvel at the timing of the Lord in bringing passages of scripture to me, particularly as I have had time to consider these passages of Scripture. But before we start, I want to just ask us to pause for a minute and to consider if there's any way that you might marvel yourself at why you're here in this passage of Scripture, that somehow this passage of Scripture has met you at a moment of time, God's time. He meets His people through His Word.

And I just want to remind us as we begin here this morning to marvel at God's wisdom in bringing to us what he has brought to us. To treasure it, to savor it, to cherish it, to sink in it, and really understand what he is trying to say to us. So I just want to pray for that right now. Oh Lord, that You would come and open up our eyes, that You would show us our place in this text, that You would take the parts in it designed for our hearts, that You would take the things that are said in it for our minds, for our will, for our lives, O Lord, that you would now come upon us as a people and you would help us to marvel at your wisdom in bringing these things to us today. Amen.

Well, there are two promises in this text that you can hang your whole life on, your whole world view on, your whole future on, And it also, these promises that are here helps you to understand history. The history of the world, the history of the United States of America, and really the history of your own life. And here are the two promises. Are you ready? These two things will help you understand everything that you need to know probably today.

First of all, God will destroy the works of the devil. Secondly, God will have mercy on his people and he will provide refuge for them. Those two things are so prominent in this passage of Scripture. And you can see it in the outline before you. First of all, he will cut off Babylon.

You'll notice that that's a direct quote from the text itself in verses 22 and 23. Secondly, He will break Assyria, verses 24-27. Thirdly, He will dissolve Philistia, that's verses 28-31. And then He will give refuge to His people, in verse 32. And what God is saying here through Isaiah is that the one who broke you, the devil, he will be broken.

The one who weakened the nations, he'll shrivel away in weakness. The devil came and he made the world a wilderness, as we learned in the previous text. He did weaken the nations and he did so much damage, but his end is coming. And this is why in chapter 13 verse 11, we find what I think might be the central matter of this whole section in chapter 13 and 14, because they are one, they do hang together. I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity.

I will halt the arrogance of the proud and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." As Isaiah 13, 11. And also the other theme, the second theme, writing through this whole section, chapters 13 and 14. You find it in chapter 14 verse 1, for I will have mercy on Jacob and will choose Israel. In chapter 14 verse 30, the firstborn of the poor will feed and the needy will lie down in safety. In chapter 14 verse 32, and the poor of his people shall take refuge in it.

Now again, these two promises that God will destroy the works of the devil, and that he will take care of his people, are the two great promises that you can hang every single concern of your life upon today. Every question about history, every question about your own life, every question about what's happening to you right now. You can hang on those two great promises. These are promises that have been declared by God by an oath. He takes an oath here in this passage that these things would be true.

Now you've heard of the purpose-driven life, right? Well in Isaiah chapter 14 you've got the purpose-driven God. The word purpose appears in this chapter four times, and he is the God of purpose. And his purpose is for the whole earth and for every micro detail of what happens on earth. And what we learn here is that nothing can hold him back.

He has a hand that is unstoppable. And this word purpose appears. You see it in verse 24. Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. And as I have purposed, so shall it stand.

You see it in verse 26. And this is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth. And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations for the Lord of Host has purposed and who will annul it. This is for every person who has ever felt that things were out of control and dangerous for them. Think again.

God is in control. You know, I've thought a number of times this week, how can this church endure another sermon on the sovereignty of God? Have they been dulled to it? Have they lost a sensibility to it? Does it stir their hearts any more?

Well, the truth is, God, over and over in Isaiah, comes with a message of His sovereignty. And I trust that it won't be a bore to you to have it repeated again, that God is sovereign, that He's working His will out in every detail of every life that is sitting here in this room. But not only that, in the grand scheme of things, in the great movements of all the world. And So Isaiah chapter 13 and chapter 14 and on and forward they expose God's whole view of the world and God is giving help to his people to explain to them so that they can understand the history of the world. And this next section begins in chapter 13 and runs for several chapters.

It really speaks of the fact that the people of God are surrounded by the peoples of the world. They live in certain nations and they're caught up in various movements in nations. And so God here in Isaiah 13 and forward, he begins to speak about his judgments toward the nations, how he views the nations and what he will do about the nations. What he did in chapters 1 through 12 is he was explaining what he was doing with Judah, with his own people, and how he was judging his people and also preserving his people. Because judgment begins in the household of God.

Now, in chapters 13 and forward, he begins to deal with the nations, and he's really assuming that his people would live in the midst of these national entities that would cause trouble for them. And he's giving his prophecies toward them so that his people would understand the movements and the trends. So that they would understand what was underlying all these things. We saw last week how there's one great force that underlies all the nations. It's the pride of Lucifer that says, I will, I will, I will, that desires to make a name for itself.

And so we have here before us this morning again a declaration of God's control. And you know, I've been thinking we should never fear his control. You know, there's an idea that penetrates our thinking from time to time, that if we follow him, it won't go well with us. That if we obey Him and He is therefore controlling our activity, that somehow we'll miss out on something. If we follow Him, some pleasure or some positive thing will be missed.

But somehow we think of God's sovereignty that way in His Word. He tells us how to think and live, and we think, well, if I do that, I'm going to miss something. But we should never think that way about the sovereignty of God, ever. And we can be encouraged by this, that his purposes for us always flow from his attributes. Did you hear that?

His purposes for us always flow from his attributes. And his attributes are spoken to us in Scripture. He is good and therefore every every act of his sovereignty is good. Every word, every command of his is good for you. He is also omnipotent and he's able to carry out everything.

He is also omniscient. And so he knows everything about you and everything about all of history. And so we should never fear His sovereignty. And so here this passage is coming up to us again to say, you know, there are never any emergency situations. God has ordered everything.

He has purposed everything with the purposes with which he has purposed his purposes. There are no emergencies. Nothing is out of control. And so there are no accidents at all. And this immediate context that we find ourselves in, in chapter 14, God is announcing the destruction of three nations.

Babylon in verses 22 and 23, Assyria in verses 24 through 27, and Philistia in verses 28 through 31. Now he's going to destroy Babylon. Babylon will corrupt you. Babylon is the corrupting, prideful influence in the world. Assyria.

Assyria uses you. Assyria promises but does not fulfill. Assyria just wants to exert power over you. Philistia. Philistia will hate you and slander you.

This is what the Philistines always did to the people of God. Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia all had meaning. Yes, they were nations, they were a people, but they're more than just that. They actually stand for something greater than their own national entity that God destroyed at one time. They really have spiritual meaning for us.

And so in this immediate context, we've learned already that in chapter 13, that God was focusing His judgment on Babylon. And He focuses His judgment on Babylon in these two chapters. We've had three sermons where Babylon has loomed large in the message. But in Chapter 13, there was a focus on the downfall of the city of Babylon. And we learned there that God was going to throw down Babylon just like he did Sodom and Gomorrah.

You see that in verse 19 in chapter 13. And so in these two chapters, God is declaring that he's going to dismantle the works of pride and self-sufficiency, which really are the root of all problems. And really, you can't get better news than this, that God is destroying the works of the devil. You know, the things that you struggle with and will continue to struggle with in your life, there will be a day when they'll be completely destroyed. And it is true also that in life, He will be destroying them incrementally.

He will be sanctifying progressively. And we can have hope in that. We know that we've not arrived on any area of life and godliness, but here's one thing we do know. God is faithful. He who began a good work in you will perfect it in that day.

And so we have that great promise for us that God will destroy the works of the devil. And this is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth. His hand is stretched out and nothing can hold it back. This is one of the great glories of the gospel that God is constantly working for the destruction of the works of the flesh and the world and of the devil in us. I really, I can't think of anything more encouraging than to just know that.

I pray that you can hang all of your life upon those promises. That not only do you believe them, but you know you have them. And you know that God is working in you. And then chapter 14 is a song, or it's a proverb, about the fall of a king. You remember, it was, it was, chapter 13 is about a city, and chapter 14 is about a king, a king who is going to be destroyed, the king of Babylon.

And chapter 14 begins with a declaration of God's great mercy. It's a song of redemption. 14 opens with these words, for the Lord will have mercy on Jacob. So it begins with the word of salvation and then it begins to disclose the process of the destruction of the king of Babylon. And what we understand here is that his purposes will stand.

And again, this is right at the beginning of a long section in Isaiah that we'll be in for quite some time. As we finish today, we will finish chapters 13 and 14, which speaks of Babylon and Assyria and Philistia, and then in chapter 15 and 16, Moab, and chapter 17, Damascus, in chapter 18, Cush, in chapter 19, Egypt, and then Edom and Arabia, and then the Valley of Vision in Jerusalem, and then Tyre, the great prostitute symbolically of the world. So the main point is this throughout this whole section is that God is going to destroy his enemies and his purpose will prevail. Here is the main point here. His purposes are both fulfilled in the immensity of his grand scheme, covering the whole sweep of history, and in his big picture, in the timelines, in the personalities, in the wars, in the famines, in the political schemes, including all the events and the weather.

And yet, his purposes also cover the most minute details of his people and the feelings and the actions of the most insignificant person, All the way down to the naming of the Son of a prophet. In this grand scheme, there are always three personalities at work in this story. There's God, Himself, there's the devil, and there are human beings. But there are three forces that rule, three forces that always rule, and they cannot be held back. His thoughts, His purposes, and his hand.

Well, by that introduction to this section, let's enter into the text now in verse 22. He will cut off Babylon. He will cut off Babylon, verses 22 and 23. And of course we've recognized already that Babylon is mentioned many, many times in the Bible. And it's symbolic of the impulses of the autonomy of man.

To operate in the spirit of Babylon is to say, my will be done. God is going to destroy this. He is in the process of destroying this in all of his people too. Christians have the experience in where God is trying to destroy their self-will and to help them to finally say, �Thy will be done, Thy will be done.� It's the most important thing that can happen to you. But you have a city that's built up in your heart.

It's the city of Babylon. You have a king in your heart. He's the king of Babylon. And he's always working. The city is always trying to grow, but you must dismantle that city.

And it's a city that is, it's a philosophy, it's an approach, it's an economy, it's a psychology. Babylon appears, you know, in this world and we drink in Babylon. And Babylon, of course, you know, has an origin. It goes back to the Tower of Babel that we see recorded in Genesis, Chapter 11, where the people said, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves.

There's a book that I read many, many years ago when I was a boy called The Meaning of the City by a French theologian by the name of Jacques Ellul. And in that book, he deals extensively with Babylon. And when he says Babylon, he says, they're tired of being named. They want to name themselves. They want to be independent.

They want their own look. And they don't want God's categories anymore. They just want to name themselves and name everything else the way that they want. This is the picture of the apostate man. And one of the things that he says in there is when you cut yourself off from God, you're proclaiming that God is dead.

And he says the only problem with that is that once you say that God is dead, then man is dead. And that really is true. The spirit of Babylon is to kill. The spirit of the independence and autonomy of man that Babylon represents, it's really a touch of death for us. But thankfully, God moves against Babylon.

God has always moved against Babylon. In fact, when they built the Tower of Babel, God came down in Genesis 11 verse five, it says, But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And then he said in verse 7, Come, let us go down, and there confuse the language. God comes down. God comes into Babylon.

Your only hope is that if God would come down into Babylon and dismantle it. If you ever commune with God, if you ever desired God's will, it's only because God came down and He confused the language of Babylon and he was destroyed. But the spirit of Babylon is being destroyed here. I just want us to notice four things that he will cut off. There in verse 22, His name, his remnant, his offspring, and his posterity.

Do you see that in verse 22? His name, his fame, his reputation, his renown will be cut off. His remnant, this has to do with a group of people, A group of people who survive a catastrophe, where he is going to cut off that, there will be no survivors, is what he's saying. And then offspring, meaning his children. And then finally his posterity.

That has to do with a generation. So there's this comprehensive cutting off from the name to the remnant to the offspring to the posterity. And this is good news. Babylon has fallen. God has declared war against Babylon.

God will destroy the works of the devil. And he's done it by the sending of the Lord Jesus Christ. He begins that work when you say, Oh Lord, I'm a sinner. Babylon begins to fall. He continues that work when you say, Oh Lord, cleanse me from my sins.

And you say, oh Lord, I'm hating this sin, and now I'm hating that one. And the work of Babylon is deconstructed. The city is being torn down, the king is being neutralized. And this is the life of a Christian. But God here in Isaiah chapter 14 is saying that He will cut off Babylon.

And to all of us here today, I just want to say two things about that. Praise God. Praise God that He's done that. Look at what has happened in your life. Think of the poisons that he's already extracted.

Think of the troubles he's already saved you from. I marvel to think about what God has saved me from when he saved me when I was in my teens. I shudder to think of what would have happened to me. Praise God. Praise God that He is taking down the city of Babylon in your heart.

Give thanks to God. Make this a day of giving such praise to Him for what He's rescued you from. He's taken you out of the jaws of the devil. He's put you out of the way of a serpent to bite you and poison you to death. And then also to say, let's turn away from our sins.

Let's find any vestige of that city and let's tear it down. Let's tear down the idols of Babylon that exist within us. Let's find the voice of the king of Babylon as he speaks to us, and he does speak to us every day. Let's find his voice and let's stop listening to him. He will cut off Babylon.

He will break Assyria. He will break Assyria. This is verses 24 through 27. This is a prophecy of the end of Assyrian power. This is happening during the reign of Ahaz, during a time when the people of Philistia were under the oppression of Assyria.

And it says here that the Lord of Hosts has sworn. This is a critical thing. There's a pledge that's being made. This is a promise of future destruction. This is an oath that he has taken.

And God is taking an oath against Assyria. Now, we've already heard a lot about Assyria. Open up your, Open back, turn back to chapter 10, and we'll see this was already spoken of Assyria in a distinctive way. We learned in chapter 10 and verse 5 that God appointed Assyria to do his own work of destruction. In other words, God is sending Assyria to do a work.

And now we learn that God is going to destroy Assyria. As if Assyria is like a puppet in God's hands. And that's exactly what Assyria is. Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger, and the staff in whose hand is my indignation. And then we learn that God will punish Assyria for her arrogance in verses 12 through 14.

And then God mocks Assyria in verse 15. Remember when we were there? Shall the axe boast itself against him who chops with it, or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it, as if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as a staff could lift it up, as if it were not wood." In other words, God is in control. And here, God is swearing. He takes an oath.

He is swearing an oath. Now, there are only a few times in the Bible where God delivers an oath. And it would be a very interesting study to take them one by one. But he takes oaths on two matters, maybe three. Primarily the destruction of the wicked and on the salvation of his people.

Those are the two general categories that God takes his oath. Again, Again, this takes us back to the two great promises that we have in this passage. The promise of God that He will destroy the works of the devil and that He will save His people and He will protect them. But this oath is for the destruction of the wicked. There's another oath just like that in Ezekiel chapter 34, where in chapter 34, verse 7, God says, therefore you shepherds hear the word of the Lord.

As I live, says the Lord. And he takes an oath and he says, as I live, behold, I am against shepherds, false shepherds, and I will cause them to cease feeding my sheep. That's one oath. He's declaring that he is going to destroy the works of the false shepherds. In Genesis 15, he makes another oath, and that's an oath of salvation.

In Genesis chapter 22, he takes another oath for the blessing of his people. Genesis 22, 16, he says, By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, Because you have done this thing and not withheld your son your only son Blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the of the sand which is on the seashore But there there are three times when God makes an oath in Isaiah. There's this time here, and then in chapter 45, it's an oath that He would save His people. In chapter 45, He takes this oath. It's a beautiful oath.

45, 23, he speaks of himself as a Savior, and he takes an oath, I have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, that to me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall take an oath and say, surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength." And then he says, they will be justified. It's interesting, he says, I will take an oath that people will take an oath. That's what he says there in Isaiah 45. In other words, I've taken an oath that I will save them and they will take an oath that they've been saved. That's what he says.

So this whole matter, God is taking oath. You find another one in chapter 62, verse 8. For the Lord has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength, Surely as I live, I will no longer give your grain as food to your enemies." He's saying that he will save his people. He will feed his people. In Hebrews chapter 6, we learn the heart of God's oaths.

His oaths are given to bring us consolation, to give us strong consolation, strong consolation about the refuge that we have in Him. Because God desires to give His people hope. And so He takes an oath for the purpose of our hope. Hebrews chapter 6 verse 18 says this, he says, I have made a promise to Abraham. I have sworn by myself for this reason, that we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us, this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil." So God is swearing, taking an oath for the encouragement of His people to give them hope.

That's the purpose of the oath. And there are two kinds of oaths in Scripture. There are oaths for the destruction of the wicked and that should give you hope. And there are oaths for the salvation of sinners and that should give you hope. So when God takes an oath, it should both terrify and comfort.

It should terrify those who have not repented, because He will perform His oaths. They will stand. But if you have repented, then you can jump for joy, like a, like Deuteronomy, like Moses said, like a stall-fed calf running through the pasture. You can be the happiest of the happy of all. Well who is swearing the oath?

The Lord of sabbath, the Lord of hosts. This is that term again that has come up over and over again. The Lord of the armies of heaven, that's who has sworn this oath. So he's verifying the power of the oath by naming the name in which the oath is given. The Lord of hosts.

And then he says in verse 24, surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. As I have purposed. And so here we find this word, purposed. The English word comes from prosthesis, before the thesis. He has done it beforehand and it shall stand.

His thoughts will stand. His purposes come out of his thoughts. He thinks it and it is done. Now that's different, isn't it, compared to our thinking. When we think of something, it isn't done.

You know, the prosperity gospel crowd will say, all you have to think it, think, Do is think and it will be done. And that's not true. That's a lie. When man thinks something, it is not done. But when God thinks something, it is done.

It shall stand, he says. And then he says that I will break the Assyrian in my land. Notice he says, my land, my mountains. In other words, he's declaring himself as the owner of it all. And then he says that his yoke will be removed from the Philistines, I believe is what he's talking about, and his burden will be removed from their shoulders.

Verse 26 and 27, this is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth. This is the hand that is stretched out against the nations. And so his purposes are fulfilled, both in the immensity of the grand scheme, covering the whole scheme of history, but it also goes right down to the individual that is effective in the midst of it. And these three things rule. His thoughts, His purposes, His hand.

His thoughts, His purposes, His hand. None of these things can ever be held back. His hand is stretched out against the nations. This theme of The hand is interesting in Scripture, especially in Isaiah. Have you noticed that?

Have you noticed this is not the first time you've heard about the hand? How many times did he say previously, his hand is stretched out still? But there's this whole narrative of the hand. It's interesting when Nebuchadnezzar finally came to his senses. Of course, Nebuchadnezzar is in this story.

As the king of Babylon, God humbled him, and he became a beast. His fingernails grew, and his hair grew. He was a ghastly personality. And when he finally repented, he said this, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom is from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, no one can restrain His hand or say to him, what have you done? It's interesting that Nebuchadnezzar understood this matter of the hand of God. He understood the hand. And there was a hand that stood up and pointed and said, meyne, meyne, tickle, hew, parson, against Babylon.

But God's hand cannot be held back. Here's the heart of this entire section of scripture. You can trust God's hand. His hand is moving. Don't think for a minute that His hand is not at work.

I'm pretty confident there are a lot of people here sitting who are wondering if God's hand is working in their life. Or if somehow now they're just cast off on their own and they're afraid. But here's what you can know. God's hand has never stopped working in your life. God's hand has never stopped moving the characters around in your life.

God has never stopped moving, because nothing can stop him. And you can take that for the great scheme of all of history, all the way down to the very thoughts of your mind and the steps of your feet. Nothing can stay as his hand, And His hand is moving you here and there. And you don't know exactly why. But He does know why.

It began in His own thoughts. It begins in His thoughts. And it's expressed in his purposes, which he has purposed. In Job 23 we read these words, whatever his soul desires he does. In Proverbs 19, 21 we read, there are many plans in man's heart.

Nevertheless, the Lord's counsel will stand. Do you see the thoughts of God? Do you see the mind of God? It's the mind of God that rules everything. His mind is operating everything.

In Psalm 33 verse 1, David declared, The council of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. And later on in Isaiah chapter 23 verse 9, we'll find this word purpose again, where He says, the Lord of hosts has purposed to bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. For he will break Assyria. He will break Assyria. How will he do it?

In his mind and his hand, carrying out all of his purposes for which he has purposed. And then he will dissolve, he will dissolve Philistia. Not only does he cut off Babylon, not only does he break Assyria, he will dissolve Philistia. Verses 28 through 31. This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died.

Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, because the rod that struck you is broken, for out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper and its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent." So Ahaz is now dead. We saw Ahaz earlier. Last time we met Ahaz in Isaiah, he was at the end of the aqueduct on the highway to the Fuller's Field and Isaiah met him there with his son, Shere Jeshu, to proclaim salvation, to call him to repentance. And Isaiah stood before Ahaz and he said, don't fear Ahaz, trust God. And Ahaz turned away.

He was caught in one of those freeze-frame moments of life that all of us have found ourselves in, where God spoke to us and everything that went after that was different because of our response. But that was the last time we saw Ahaz. Now Ahaz is dead. The year is approximately 727 BC. Now, to understand the language here, you have to understand that Sargon of Assyria has been subjugating Philistia Remember Assyria has just been cut off, but Assyria has been afflicting Philistia and so now the Assyrians role to afflict Philistia has ended.

But what God is saying to Philistias, don't think you're free now. Yes, Assyria is gone, but I'm not gone. And so that's why he says it here, do not rejoice, verse 29, do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, because the rod that struck you is broken. Because Philistia had been under the domination of Assyria, and now that the Assyrians have been destroyed, the Philistines can now rejoice, right? The troops have left.

Assyria has been destroyed, let's have a celebration. God says, not so fast. Assyria's punishment was only a foretaste of greater punishments to come. Now I think this reminds me of what often happens to people who have turned away from God. Yeah, they do receive punishment from God, they know it's from God, and then they enter into a season of prosperity, the pressure's off, they feel a lot better.

And they think everything is just fine. Maybe some business deal really cracks for them, and now they feel so good, and they have some reason to have some sense of security in this world. This happens all the time. And they, in their confidence, continue to rebel against God. They think everything is fine, because the Assyrian has taken off the pressure.

But really, everything is not fine. And they might party, and they might have a good time, but God says to them, do not rejoice. Do not rejoice, Philistia. Because really, Assyria was just the beginning of the problem. Verse 29, for out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper, and its offspring will be a fiery serpent.

In other words, there's going to be an enemy far more dangerous than Assyria. God is escalating His wrath toward Philistia. And what was, and a terrible affliction is going to turn in to a fiery flying serpent. It gets worse is what he's saying. So you might have some sense of relief if you're a wicked person because things are going well for you right this minute.

Think again. Maybe everything is going well. But don't misunderstand. The thoughts of God and His purposes and His hand cannot be held back. In Jeremiah chapter 47, we see how the Philistines were destroyed.

In Amos chapter 1, we find the same language, Amos 1.8, I will cut off the inhabitant of Ashdod. Ashdod was a Philistine city. And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon, that was another of the five Philistine cities. And I will turn my hand against Ekron and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish." So God is going to completely cut off the Philistines. He's going to destroy these people just like with the Babylonians.

Their name, their children, and their generations will all be cut off in the same way. What do the Philistines represent in scripture? The Philistines are always the enemies of God. They're always the ones who slander God and his people. And they had five highly organized cities, Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Akron.

Their gods were Dagon, Ashtoreth, and Beelzebub. And they were skillful at metal processing and military strength. And all they could do was slander the name of God. And They're mentioned in the Table of the Nations in Genesis 10. Isaac encountered them in Genesis 26.

And in Exodus 3, verse 17, we learn that God led his people around the Philistines because God felt that it would make their hearts melt. They were heart-melting kind of people. And today, when we say that somebody is a Philistine, we think of them as an unrefined person. The Philistines are called uncircumcised in several places in Judges 15 and 1 Samuel 14 and 2 Samuel 1 and in Zephaniah 2. And during the time of the Judges, there were heroes that were raised up to destroy the Philistines.

There was Shagmar, the son of Anath in Judges 3. There was Sampson in Judges 13-16. There's this remarkable story of the golden tumors that the Philistines sent as a guilt offering when they stole the ark. Remember they stole the ark and they put it in their temple of Dagon, and they woke up the next morning and the god Dagon had fallen on its face, almost in a position of worshipping at the Ark. And then the next day, his head was chopped off, and his hands were chopped off.

And finally, they said, we're not taking this anymore. We're sending this thing back. And they sent the Ark back with five golden hemorrhoids and five golden rats. It's a remarkable story. But of course, the most famous encounter with the Philistines was David and Goliath, where David stands there before this slanderous giant of a man, and he defeats him.

You know, the story of David and Goliath, I think, is often cast in a wrong light. You know, we hear the story of David and Goliath and we say, you need to have more, you hadn't even have courage against the Goliaths in your life. Take out your five stones and kill the Goliath with the stone of the Word of God, the stone of the Holy Spirit, whatever, something like that. But the story of David slaying Goliath is not really to tell you how to slay your own giants. It's not to tell you how to face up to your problems head on.

I mean, Israel is being attacked and slandered by the Philistines. And it's a story about God rising up and destroying the slanderous of the world. God is not mocked. And David crushes the head of this enemy and he cuts off the head in victory, he silences the enemy. And the story of David and Goliath is not how you should be more courageous tomorrow.

It's about how God destroys his enemies. It's really the story of the gospel. It's the story of God destroying the works of the devil. And that's great slander, that serpent, that giant who is against you. God will slay him.

But here, As God is in the midst of declaring his intentions against Philistia, he turns his attention to his people who've been caught up in the trouble. In verses 32, Well actually in verse 30 he begins this speech about his kindness toward his people and then he goes back to speaking of Philistia. Verse 30 kind of sticks out if you look at it. It's almost out of context. But it's really consistent with the pattern of Isaiah to go back and forth from the judgment of God to the mercy of God.

Verse 30, the firstborn of the poor will feed and the needy will lie down in safety. So in the midst of the downfall of Philistia, God will protect and feed his people. We'll deal with that more when we get to the very last verse. And there's this final destruction of Philistia. I will kill your roots with famine, and it will slay your remnant.

Wail, oh gate, cry, oh city, all you of Philistia who are dissolved, for smoke will come from the north. So here the roots are killed. This is a metaphor for a tree without nourishment. That God, in His mind, through His purposes, by His hand, He will kill the roots of Philistia. And then their remnant will be slain, their people will be dissolved, and there will be smoke in the north.

And then finally, God, Kansai, declares his love toward his people, that he'll give them refuge in the midst of their troubles. That while everything in history flows from his thoughts by his purposes as a result of the moving of his hand and there will be troubles in this world without question. There is something that will always be true And this is something that you can rest all of your hopes upon. There will be refuge in Zion. Verse 32.

What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall take refuge in it." In other words, there will be messengers from the nation saying all kinds of things about what's going on, but what will they say? There's a question that will be asked when they see all this happen to Babylon and Assyria and Philistia when they're destroyed. And they will answer two things. First, that God has established Zion.

In other words, that the Lord has founded Zion. When God establishes something, it cannot be moved. When he founds something, he founds it for a purpose. He creates it for a reason, and that reason will find its fulfillment. So the first thing that they will say is that God has established Zion.

And the second thing that they will say is they will declare his favor towards Zion. And the poor of his people shall take refuge in it. In what? In Zion. What's Zion?

What are they taking their refuge in? Now, Zion is a picture of a number of things. Zion is the Old Testament picture of the church. Zion is referred to as the temple built by Solomon. Zion is sometimes referred to as the whole nation.

In Isaiah chapter 60, it's the heavenly Jerusalem. And I think you should ask, you know, what is Zion? Because You're taking refuge in Zion. And is it that you're taking refuge in His church? Is it that you're taking refuge in His temple, which by the way in the New Testament, the church is His temple?

Is it that you're taking refuge in Him? And I just want to suggest that in the context here, that taking refuge in Zion is taking refuge in Him. It's taking refuge in His church. It's taking refuge in anything that He has provided. You're taking refuge in Zion.

Hebrews chapter 12 declares that Zion is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So in one way you could say that if you would live in this world and in the midst of the troubles of this world, you can always know that God has given you refuge in His church, that there will always be a place, there will always be a people that you can gather with. And you should always try to find His church and take refuge in Zion. And of course, to take refuge in His temple, in His place of worship. And that happens to be you, God, in the New Covenant has made your body the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And you can take refuge in the temple of the Holy Spirit. By not quenching the Spirit. By walking in the Spirit. You can take refuge in His Word, because you know of all of His mind. But taking refuge in Zion, I just want to suggest it's a broad thing that he's speaking about.

It may be something different than that, but it's at least resting in God in some fashion. But because Zion is spoken of in different metaphors, different types, we have to think carefully about it. But Zion, to rest in Zion, let's at least know this. It's a refuge. It's a wonderful place.

It's a wonderful place. You know, you have this contrast here in Isaiah, where you have the destruction of the pride of man, and you have the refuge and the rescue of God's people. It means that God treats his people differently. The whole logic of this section is that God's people are going to live in the midst of the nations, that We live in this world and there are troubles in this world, but at the same time, God deals with us differently than He does with the world. He does treat us differently.

He speaks to us differently. He calls us to different things. And our final outcome is different. And all of this has come from the thoughts of his mind that work out through his purposes and are extended through the works of his hands. And he does treat us differently.

He takes care of his people. I've seen this. I've seen this all my life long. How different God takes care of his people than he does the wicked. He soothes them.

He helps them. They're different. They're more comforted. They really are happier. They are blessed people.

Blessed is that people whose God is the Lord. And you see this in Isaiah chapter 65, really vividly. Chapter 65 verse 13. Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty.

Behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed. Behold, my servant shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and wail for grief of spirit." This is what God does for his people. He gives them refuge. That's the very last principle that comes out in Isaiah chapter 14, that he will be a refuge for his people. He's always favored his people in every place.

Think of in the land of Goshen, do you remember where it was dark and threatening everywhere else? But in the land of Goshen, God made a difference between the people. Literally, in Exodus 8.23, I will make a difference between my people and your people that you will know that I am God in your land. And so there won't be any swarms of flies in Goshen because God is blessing his people. These two things you can rest your whole hope on, that God, God will, he will destroy the works of the devil and he will give you a refuge.

What a wonderful thing it is. It was dark everywhere, but in the land of Goshen. Even in the darkest days, God takes care of His people and is a refuge. I know everyone in this church was most likely praying for the Einwechter family in the midst of this terrifying scene that came upon them as their SUV flipped over in a lake and went down with the wheels up and with all the children in it and the children dying there. And the terrible moments of trying to rescue these children and all the thoughts washing over the family members as they contemplated this thing that had happened.

I was speaking with Bill Einwechter, who was the grandfather of these two children who died earlier in the week. And I said, Bill, What is in your mind? What scripture are you hanging onto? He said, Psalm 34, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. God will provide refuge for His people.

It doesn't matter what happens to you, He will provide refuge for you. And literally, it doesn't matter what threat is hanging over your life or what fear you might have in any category of your life. This one thing, if you're a Christian, you can always know, there's refuge in Zion. And Zion is right there with you if you trusted the Lord. What a blessing it is to know that.

You know, I wondered before this message, how could I stand up and give another message on the sovereignty of God again? I love to give messages on the sovereignty of God. I could never tire of it, but I wondered, could we tire of it in our church? Would we ever tire of hearing that nothing can stay his hand? That would we ever tire of hearing that his purposes, that he has purposed, he will fulfill.

Will we ever tire of that message? I have never been able to get tired of that message. And God has given us that here again today, that He will give refuge to His people in the midst of all of their trials and all of their tribulations. What a wonderful thing it is to know that God's purposes with which He has purposed will be carried out by His hand. And all the wonderful and perfect thoughts of His mind will be accomplished.

And they will be fulfilled not only in the grand scheme of all of history but also in everything. Would you pray with me? Lord, We thank you for your showing us your sovereignty over all the nations. We thank you for unfolding to us your plans and showing us the power of your thoughts that cannot be resisted and that we would say like Nebuchadnezzar said, Oh Lord, nothing can stay your hand. And we give thanks to you for that this morning.

Amen.