Let's take our Bibles, turning to the book of Isaiah chapter 30. For the next 20 minutes, we're going to look at God's Word, God's counsel to an erring people. When confronted with trials and testings, and they will come, a sinful response on our part is never justified. When confronted with trials and testings that may come our way, a sinful response is never justified. In our passage that we are looking at this morning, 21 verses from the book of Isaiah, chapter 30, in our continuing series on classic passages from Isaiah, We see King Hezekiah's advisors urging him to turn to help to the Egyptians. In the Bible, Egypt is a picture of that which enslaves. It is a picture of the world system that men would seek to turn to. How do you respond? to life's problems as they come your way. Not if, but when they come. Are you prone towards a man-centered solution? Perhaps the twisting of the truth? The end justifies the means? Reaction? Rationalization? Perhaps when confronted with trials and testings, Do you turn to the plastic credit card rather than to biblical principles? Do you turn, when trials and testings come your way, to a wrong response? Even something like overeating can be a wrong response to trials and testings that may come our way. Substance abuse. which so characterizes our society today, whether drugs or alcohol or any other type of substance abuse, medications and such are often the avenue that many turn to rather than a biblical response to life's trials. How many times are we tempted to turn to wrong counsel to those who may agree with us. But we know that it is not a biblical response that the Lord would have for us. We're going to be looking at God's counsel to an erring people. And we're going to look at four observations on this passage in the book of Isaiah chapter 30. First of all, we're going to look at faithless counsel. It's not hard to find faithless counsel when we're confronted with trials and testings. People will jump at you with their advice and worldly philosophy. We're seeing here in verses 1 through 7 the faithless counsel, oftentimes coming from non-believers. The Word of God warns us about being unequally yoked together with non-believers. Oftentimes in the workplace, or neighbors, or friends, they will give us the wrong type of counsel. Notice these advisors that came to Hezekiah under the tyranny of the pressure that was facing him from the Assyrian army. It says here, Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, who take counsel..." See, the problem wasn't that they were not taking counsel, but they were seeking it from the wrong people. It says, "...they take counsel, but not of Me." You know, when we are not in the Word of God as we should be on a daily basis, we will be ever more so prone to accept the worldly advice of those around us and even seek to justify our actions. It goes on to say here, they covered with covering, but not of my spirit. Man needed a covering. You know the word atonement means to cover. God's people needed forgiveness of sin by obeying God's established means of a covering. And yet there were many that were seeking God's protection and God's favor, not by forgiveness and not by seeking God's face and returning in repentance for God's help in the midst of the trial. But they sought their own covering, a man-made covering as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. as they sowed fig leaves to cover themselves, to attempt to make themselves acceptable unto God. But the Lord said, that's not My covering. Could it be that there's someone listening to My voice? You're part of a religious group or a denomination that believes that you can save yourself by your own good works. And sometimes it will be a flowery covering, such as, well, Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we can work our way to heaven. Talk about a juxtaposing of law and grace and works. But there are many that are looking to sacraments and all types of self-effort and rituals, family heritage, good works, and yet the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Oh, we have many coverings to try to make ourselves acceptable before God. But it's not of His Spirit. We need to be born again. And as Nicodemus heard, a new heart and a new spirit he wants to give. And they add sin to sin in so doing. And notice in verse 2, they wanted to go down to Egypt. I think of Genesis chapter 12. If you'll not lose your place in Isaiah chapter 30, you remember what happened to Abram. Abram obeyed the Lord finally and followed the Lord in that promise of a land and a seed and a blessing, the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis chapter 12. And he went out. But then verse 10 tells us there was famine in the land. Genesis 12, 10. What do you do when the Assyrian army is knocking on the door, besieging you? Or when famine comes into your land? The prophet Isaiah said, don't go down to Egypt. Abram went down to Egypt. And one sin led to another as he sought to seek the world system. And you know the story as well as I do. the lie involving his wife as being his sister. And then also, when you look at verse 16, he brought from Egypt men-servants and maid-servants. Those maid-servants among which would have been Hagar. And you know the rest of the story as Paul Harvey says. Through that trip to Egypt, He obtained the avenue through which great calamity would come upon our world even today as we see the conflict in the Middle East between Islam and biblical Christianity. But then I wonder as I look at David and I see his willingness to wait on the Lord. He's a good example to follow there. He was willing to wait on God and His provision when he was told that he would be king, but yet Saul was still reigning. He could have sought to slay Saul on the mountainside and in the caves. Saul would have been easy prey, but he waited upon the Lord. What a good example of trusting in the Lord. Don't listen to faithless counsel. Don't trust in your own reasonings, your resources, your relationships. Often times when we find ourselves in a pickle, we seek friends that are involved in the world system and we run to them because we don't want to hear from God. We know what God is going to say. God is going to expect us to leave our sin and leave our sinful alliances. and we're in rebellion against god i think of people that oftentimes claim to be born-again christians and and they they seek marriage counseling from godless counselors and today there's such an omelet of of marriage counseling under the guise of of the name of christ so many people that have combined secular teachings and and presuppositions and blended into a Balaam-like omelet with worldly philosophy, and they're seeking that rather than biblical counsel. People going down to Egypt for help in how to raise their kids. They'll turn to TV, but you'll never see them darken the door of a church or open up the Word of God for guidance. Remember, the family is God's idea. He established the home. He gave us biblical principles on how to be the right kind of husband, how to be the right kind of wife, how to be the right kind of child, how to work together. God's Word provides that for us. Today, people are going down to Egypt when it comes to business ethics. People are seeking the philosophy of the world when it comes to morality. Today, unprecedented, individuals are living together, and yet they profess to know Christ as Savior, and they're living in immorality and sin, cohabiting together. Sad to say, even our present administration, with his proposed tax laws, is actually giving incentive towards cohabitation and penalizing biblical marriage. That's the philosophy of Egypt, and many are seeking to go down. Faithless counsel abounds. But look at verse 3. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame. The word shame has the idea of disappointment, disillusionment. Because you see, all of the faithless counsel of the world offers pretty things, but it always ends in disillusionment, shame, and frustration. They trusted in the shadow of Egypt. You know, there's an interesting juxtaposing of words there. Trusting in the shadow of Egypt. Now you know a scripture very well because you quote it quite often. Psalm 91 and verse 1 talks about abiding under the shadow of who? The Almighty. But here you have individuals that are abiding and seeking and trusting in the shadow of Egypt. The choice is yours. Are you going to look and abide under the shadow of Egypt, which is going to bring shame and disappointment and disillusionment and emptiness? Or are you going to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty by walking obediently to Him, knowing Him as your personal Savior, and giving Him your trials and testings? Don't listen to faithless counsel. As a matter of fact, These individuals not only have faithless counsel coming towards them, tempting them to go away from the will of God, but you know, there was a lot of furious contempt as well. Not only faithless counsel, but in verses 8 through 11, there was a furious contempt for God's Word. And you know, we see that furious contempt for God's Word in our society today, don't we? We see there's hatred. And it's not so subliminal anymore. It's not just an apathetic overlooking, but it is a flagrant, militant contempt for the Word of God that characterizes our society today. Verses 8-11, it says, Now go and write it before them in a table. Note it in a book that it may be for the time to come forever and ever. This is a rebellious people, lying children that will not hear, not cannot hear or haven't heard, but they will not hear. That's where America is today. It isn't that America has not heard. Or it isn't that America might hear down the road. They will not hear. A sad state of affairs. They will not hear the Word of the Lord. Many churches today are saying to their pastors, see not. They're saying to the seers and the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things. We want to hear the health and the wealth philosophy. We want to hear smooth things, it says. in verse 10. And there are always individuals that will seek to accommodate that. Why? Because there's a contempt for God's Word. Today, doctrine is seen in a negative way. It's seen as something that divides. And we're to love one another. And we're to overlook biblical doctrine. And there's a furious contempt. But you know, whenever there's a contempt for God's Word, and whenever there's a faithless counsel, you know what's going to happen? Fierce calamity is going to come. Fierce calamity is going to come. Whether it's a home, whether it's a family, whether it's a church, whether it's a society, fierce calamity comes whenever individuals throw God's Word away, seek faithless counsel. They have a furious contempt for God's Word, calamity, and it will be a fierce calamity will come. Look at verse 12. Wherefore, thus saith the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and stay thereon, 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. Just like a dam breaking and bringing its catastrophic flood of destruction So shall the Lord's destruction quickly come. But you know, it's in the midst of all of this judgment that God demonstrates His grace. No matter how dark it gets in a society or in a culture, thank the Lord that there are people that will light a candle and that light will shine ever more brightly the darker it is The Lord always has His candle holders that provide light. And that's where the Lord provides faithful consolation. We need not experience that type of calamity. God can and does have a better will for your life. God does not want you to go through the struggle of life's trials and testings under faithless counsel and those that have a contempt for God's Word. He wants to lead you if you'll let Him. Are you willing to cast aside your rebellion and come to Jesus Christ in obedience to His Word? Are you willing to seek God's faithful consolation through His Son? Notice in verse 7, it says their strength is to sit still. You know, our world today doesn't know how to sit still. We're always running here and running there, seeking to solve our problems in our own way. And then individuals wonder why there's so much illness today and so much stress and upheaval physically. Sit still. Let God speak to you. through his still, small voice. Individuals don't want to hear the voice of God. They'd rather fill their lives with a cacophony of noise, earplugs, rock music, rock concerts, even in the churches today. Drown out anything with the spirit of conviction where God can speak to you. Sit still. Look at yourself. Look in the mirror. See where you're going. Verse 15 says, Thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, in returning and rest shall ye be saved. America needs to go back to her founding precepts. There are some listening to my voice today. You were saved. You received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior when you were a young child, and yet you've strained straight away from the things of the Lord. And you've encountered and followed. Perhaps you've entered into a university and you've received faithless counsel and people that had furious contempt for God's Word. And you followed that voice. And look where it's gotten you. And here you have the carnage of your life. Broken marriages. perhaps illegitimacy, all types of broken relationships? Are you willing to rest and return to the Lord? The Bible says, in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. But don't turn away. Don't do like these who would not come. We need to sit still. We need to wait upon the Lord. It says, therefore will the Lord wait that He may be gracious unto you. He's giving you enough rope where you'll hang yourself and bring you to the end of your rope. You know, in counseling, I've learned a long time ago, you can't help anyone who is not willing to admit that they need help and that they're at the end of their rope. And too many times, we become enablers in individuals' problems. The prodigal son had to come to the end of his rope, and then he came back to his father. your relationship with the Lord? Do you want to continue to go in the direction in which you are going in, in circles, the rest of your life? The Word of God says we are to walk with Him. Verse 21 says, Thine ears shall hear a word behind Thee. And it's not faithless counsel. It's the words of the Counselor. You can actually be in a relationship with Jesus Christ. And you can be led by the Holy Spirit of God and His Word. And God wants to direct your paths. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding or the understanding of faithless counselors. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. The Lord wants to lead you. He wants to be able to say, this is the way. Walk in it. Don't be intimidated by the Assyrians. Don't be intimidated by the Egyptians. Don't be intimidated by the enemies surrounding you. Follow me. Trust in me. I will be your provider. I will be your defense. I will be the one to lead you. You know, when God makes a promise, faith believes it, hope anticipates it, and patience quietly waits for it. May God challenge us. Perhaps there may be some listening to my voice today that are tempted to go down to Egypt. I'll not wait upon God. I'll take matters into my own hands. Trust God. Trust His leading in your life. And oh, if you do not know Jesus Christ as Savior, Egypt will not save you in the day of calamity. Flee to the cross. Christ has borne that wrath and judgment for you. Come to Him as personal Savior. Let's bow our heads. Heavenly Father, we come before Your throne of grace so thankful that You have provided a place that we can come a place that is a haven, the haven of rest through the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that you would speak to each and every heart, each and every person that has heard this message today. If there's one that does not know Christ as Savior, may they not continue in the ways of Egypt and the world, but may they come to the foot of the cross to the provision that Christ has made for us. And Heavenly Father, I also pray for some that may know You as Savior, but Lord, their lifestyle, their precepts, their disobedience has been that which, Lord, has grieved Your heart. I pray, Father, that You would speak to hearts and lives today. And Father, as we would sing our hymn of invitation this morning, May, Lord, you impress upon our hearts and lives your desire to guide us every step of the way. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.