that I have to face for the truth that I've heard. And I've not just heard it here, oh, but it's went beyond there, you know. I'm in tonight a section of scripture that I had no plan on going to, and I really, which is probably something you're not supposed to do, but I'm not really familiar with the scripture that I'm at, but I really felt pressed hard to stay here and to be. I told my wife I felt like Jonah. I felt like running away from it. But I do believe it's where we're supposed to be. So tonight, if we can, let's open up the Word of God in Isaiah chapter number 9. And we're all familiar with chapter number nine. We're familiar with the promise of the incoming king, the one that will have the government on his shoulders. We're going to start in verse number eight. It said the Lord sent. And all the people shall know even Ephraim. and the inhabitant of Samaria that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, the bricks are fallen down, but we will build the hewn stones. The sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Therefore, the Lord shall set up the adversaries of resin against him and join his enemies together. The Syrians before and the Philistines anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush in one day. The ancient and the honorable, he is the head and the prophet that teaches lies. He is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led on their fatherless and widows for everyone is a hypocrite and for all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still for wickedness burneth as the fire it shall devour the briars and thorns and shall like the lifting of smoke through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened and the people shall be as the fuel to the fire no man shall spare his brother and he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry and he shall eat on the left hand and they shall not be satisfied they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm Manasseh Ephraim Ephraim Manasseh and they together shall be against Judah for all this his anger is not turned away. Still, let's go to chapter number 10, if you will. Woe unto them that decree unrighteousness decrees and that right grievousness which they have prescribed to turn aside the needy from judgment and to take away the right from the poor of my people that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless And what will you do in the day of visitation and in desolation which shall come from far? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? Without me, they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. Hand is stretched out still. Brother Richie, if you would, would you go to the Lord for us? God, we just bless you tonight. God, we thank you, Lord, for the rain. Lord, we pray that you touch God's eye world. Lord, we pray that God can open up our hearts and our minds and our ears. And God, help us, Lord, to hear. For thy glory, we pray, God, may it sink into our hearts. God, help us. Dear God, we pray that God give you honor, give you glory, and God, give you praise. And God, we pray that God will see Jesus. Dear God, we'll thank you. God, we'll praise you, Father, for what you do. In Jesus' name, we're going to pray. Amen. Thank you so much. So we opened up tonight with some verses of scripture of the incoming judgment on Israel. And we see here that the northern kingdom of Israel is the one that's going to take the direct hit. And we see the response of the children of Israel with the northern kingdom. We see a response of pride and stoutness of heart. The bricks are fallen, says verse number 10. bricks are falling down, but we will build with hewn stones. The sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Their hearts were crying out, who cares? Who cares if God judges us? You destroy our bricks, we will build back with hewn stones. You destroy our sycamores, we will put cedars back in their place. We will build back better than we had it before. We will build back bigger than we had it before. They believed in their prideful hearts they could handle anything that came their way. They would simply weather the storm, they would ride it out and go back to business as usual. And in fact, than before. And therefore God responded to the hardness of hearts, and he joined Israel's enemies together, allowing wicked men to infiltrate their land. And their proud promises and vows to rebuild, well they would go unfulfilled. For all of his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out. The hand of God's judgment is still upon the land. The hand of his wrath is not withdrawn from amongst the people. Verse 13 says, for the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. And we see the same response echoed here in chapter number nine, that with each wave of judgment, Israel refused to turn back to their God. I read a commentator and he said this, they were like dumb animals that resist even more when they're beaten. September 12, 2001, one day after the most devastating attacks on American soil, a day that would forever change the course of our country, a day where this country has never been the same since. Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle addressed the American people, encouraged them that the House and the Senate were both in complete agreement with our president and they were behind him. Our current president at that time was George H.W. Bush, that America would do whatever it took to find who was responsible for bringing this attack to our soil and there would be justice. And during this address, Senator Tom says, I have some words of encouragement from the book of Isaiah. And he quoted this verse we find in chapter number nine, verse number 10. The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones. The sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Unknowingly of the context of the scripture, and it was of a rebellion unto a holy God. What the word spoken by an American representative on behalf of the people were the words of defiance unto God. We found ourselves in the same position that Israel was in, and we responded the same way. And it seems like this response has echoed through our country ever since 9-11. I wasn't converted during the time, but I've talked to brethren that were, and I'm sure a lot of you were, and I've heard that these churches were filled up after 9-11. And I heard that it looked like we were on the cusp of revival. And then I heard after a few weeks, they started dwindling away, and it came back just to the same people that's always been coming. There was no repentance. And the question may be asked, why would there be? And the answer is, God is sovereign. no attack by an enemy could have infiltrated our land without God allowing it. And I think these few verses of Scripture shows us just that, that God is in control and he can shift things in any manner that he wants. With every catastrophic event the people will all try to build back bigger, build back better. With every judgment we have great But I look at Israel through this passage, and that's just not the truth. I see the world in this day, and it's in total chaos. It's in great confusion. We have seen disaster after disaster to the point where it just becomes numb. We don't even really think about it. We don't even take it in. We just block it out. Another disaster has happened upon us. We've been hardened that it's something to expect. Romans 8.22 says, for we know that the whole creation groaneth and treveleth in pain together until now. We see through the first creation itself. And when a woman is about to give birth, the contractions will get closer and they'll get closer together. Matthew 24, Jesus referring to his second coming, says that we will hear of wars, and will hear of rumors of wars, that nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places, that when we see these things, it will be the beginning of sorrows. And for a long time, I associated this text with the rapture, but I was mistaken. This is the second coming of Christ, not the calling up. Some 23 years later, from 9-11, we see a great calamity come to our back door. September 26, 2024 marks a day that would change the landscape of these mountains forever, an area of the United States that's always seemed to have a hedge of protection over it. And that's what I've always seen. Every storm that comes, it seems like it always gets diverted away from us, that we're always safe in this little corner of the world. I couldn't think of one place I would rather be than right here. The very same mountains where God used men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield to proclaim the gospel and power, a place that was used to shift the very pulse of this country, a place that is known all over the U.S. as the Bible Belt, and the very mountains that receive the brunt of the trauma people would consider the buckle of that belt. I remember seeing the storm coming. I remember working in the mountains, and I work up there four days a week, and I remember the rain that came before the storm ever even came. Their banks were overflowing before the hurricane ever hit here. You know, they were already in flood stages. Their ground was already saturated. It was already in a bad state before Helene came. And what an awful thing. It broke my heart to see the destruction of the places me and my family love to spend time together in. And we go up there any time we, you know, go out to eat or whatever, instead of going to Morkton, we'll drive an hour and just go to the mountains. You know, we just love it up there. I can sit up there and be in places and I can look over and I can see somebody over here at a restaurant praying, or I can see somebody else over here praying, see multiple people praying. You know, it's like going back in time 20 years. You know, just still people's old fashioned, they got morals, they got respect, you know. And I just love the mountains. And it broke my heart to see people up there lose everything. They lost everything they had. But what really broke me was the countless numbers of soul that found themselves out to be wrong. Is that ultimately not what happens when somebody's lost? They find out one day that all this time that they were wrong. Oh my goodness, how it breaks my heart. the countless number that have had so much light all around them with churches on every corner. It has so blessed me to see the church coming together and caring and showing the love of Christ to the people most effective. I mean, what a display of the love of Christ through his people. If it wasn't for the people of God, those poor people up there wouldn't have anybody. Our government let them down. They had no help, but the people of God stepped up in love and they helped them. But I'll tell you what, this storm, it was no 100-year storm. This storm, it was the hand of an almighty God stretched out. It was a wake-up call to the church that God sent warning just as He did to Israel. And I looked on over social media and in person, and I seen the response of the people. And it was the same as Israel. Appalachians strong. Mitchell strong, McDowell strong, Yancy strong, Avery strong. As a whole, there was seen no repentance. And don't get me wrong, I'm not up here pointing fingers at people, because you know why? Because I found no real repentance in my own heart. And I knew it was a sign from God. I told my wife from the beginning, I said, oh my goodness, it's judgment. Judgment starts where? The house of God. The message the Lord has laid heavily on my heart goes along with Brother Michael's from last week. Definitely wasn't what I wanted to speak of. Church, it's time to wake up. It's time as pastor has been preaching to get in our place and to be used in the gifts that God has granted us. What are we going to do with this period of grace? And that's exactly what we've been given. We've been given another period of grace, but what will we make of it? What idols have we built in our life that separate us from the Savior? that has kept us from being used to our fullest. If I know anything about this old rotten flesh I dwell in, I know it would like nothing more than to build an idol. Many things in our lives can become idols. Our kids can become idols. We can put them in a place, a position in our heart where they come before everything, and we should love our kids. But everything, even good things, can become bad. Our jobs or business getting so wrapped up with making money and supporting that we neglect the very one that's blessed us with it. Even the very ministry that God has given can become an idol. Or the church that we belong to that we could get so wrapped up in the inner workings of the church that we neglect him. What sin has hindered us? Unforgiveness, jealousy, covenants, lust. What has closed the womb of this church? Is there someone here tonight that's holding on to a grudge against the brethren? Is there somebody here tonight that's closed the womb of the church? What is needed in this day? Repentance. We need, as Miss Carolyn prays for, we need a spiritual awakening. God's people need revival. What is real revival? Real revival is God's people returning to our first love. How can you return to your first love? You return the same way you got there in the first place, by being brought to a place where you're willing to forsake everything for Him. Revival is when heaven dwells on earth, that God makes Hisself so aware that conviction falls on all His saints, and by this conviction will in turn fall on the lost. How can we see revival in this day? Repentance. 2 Chronicles 7 14 if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will hear heal their land we must not come to church empty waiting to be filled but we must come full and ready to overflow that there would be so much light coming out of the saints of God that when a sinner walks through those doors, the darkness would be brought to light. That light would enter into darkness and darkness would comprehend it not. What is worship? Is it merely singing? Is it standing up and testifying in a church service? It can be a form of it, but real worship starts when nobody is around. Real worship is when you tell your flesh, no. It's when you tell it, you no longer control me. Real worship is obedience when nobody but you and God will ever know. Oh, my dear brethren, our time is running out. We have family and we have friends that if they died right now, they would be in eternal darkness and torment. What's their soul worth to you? Have you received a promise? And I understand that salvation is on God's time. I understand that. But I understand that we can pray. And I understand that Peter tells us that God's not slack concerning his promises, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. Is that the will of God? Is it the will of God to pray for salvation? Sure. Matthew 7, 7. Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. John 15, 7. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Do we have the faith to obtain these promises? Christ has just gave us an open slate. He's gave us a blank check to fill out. How about that? I mean, does our heart believe it in his very word? Adrian Rogers said that, what is faith? He said, faith is the heart's response to the character of God. Ain't that wonderful? He had a way with words, my goodness. Everything you could just write down as a quote. There may be someone here tonight that maybe don't need revival, but maybe, even tonight, in this church, on this night, that may even need to be resurrected. And I've promised myself that I'll never have an opportunity to say anything that I don't say something directly about the gospel. I've heard this story my whole life. I've heard this message my whole life. I heard that Jesus was on the cross and he died for me and he raised in three days my whole life. But I believe no more in this message than I believe in the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. I would go to it when I was in trouble because that's what I've always been taught. But I remember one day that my heart actually received the word. So my question tonight Has everyone in here got a Damascus road? I believe that strongly. I believe that the Damascus road has to take place in your life. They have to be a time and a place where something on the inside changed in you. How can somebody as big as God enter into man and man not know it? I tell you the night that I was saved, I woke up that morning and I was a different person. I was a different person before I made it home, but I really realized it when I seen the sunshine that I wasn't the same. It was real. It changed me. It wasn't me. Vance Havner said, is this really me or did I learn how to do it? I've asked myself that before. Is this really me or did I learn how to do it? I can come to church. I can see all you act. I can start emulating everybody's attitudes and what their responses is, but is that me? Do I have to put on a face when I come to church? Do I have to act like something that I'm not? Am I more comfortable with the things of the world when I go to baseball games and football games and wrestling? Am I more comfortable there than I am here? Or do I just fit in here? This is where I fit in. And it's because I have the nature of God's people. It was an internal change. It was Him. All I did was submit to it. He called, and I answered, as Pastor Daniel said, and praise His name for the call. So some people today, they think of God, that they could be a good old boy, and they're going to go before God one day, and they're going to be judged on their good versus their bad. But has anybody in here ever went to court, and the judge ever asked you what you did good? A judge doesn't ask what you've did good. A judge asks what you've did wrong. Your good doesn't hold up in court. It's what you've done wrong. And one day every man will stand before a holy God and he will look at you and if you don't have that scarlet thread that brother Richie was talking about, do you have that scarlet thread to swing into eternity or are you without it? because he will know right away it's either gonna be your works or it's gonna be Jesus and there's only two ways there's two doors there's one that's broad and there's one that's skinny praise God I heard Adrian Rogers talk about the gospel and I wondered my whole life I guess I could rephrase that but after salvation, I always wondered why Christ had to come I mean I heard it I believed it when I believed I believed I didn't question the word after I believed I believed everything if something was wrong It was the way I understood it. It wasn't the word and I wondered why Christ Why did he have to come? And I've dwelt on that for years. And Adrian Rogers put it the most simple I've ever heard it. He said, man broke the fellowship between God and man, and it took a man to bring them back together. He had to be a man. Every man that was born of woman from Adam was born a sinner except for one. And that one got the nature from the Father, and he was the only one that owed nothing. And when he owed nothing, when he died, it gave us everything. It gave us everything. I'll close out with this. I'm not sure where I heard this at. I had it written down on my notes, and it popped up, and I was like, that ain't that right. I'm thinking it came from Martin Lloyd-Jones. Sooner than any of us can think, we're all going to stand before God. and we're going to leave behind everything we have and simply take everything we are. How about that? Brother Richie, Brother Michael, come on. Thank you. they thought, because they were in his favor, they couldn't get out of it.