What Are You Looking To?

Good afternoon. Who else who likes Papa John's?

Anybody. Baptist indeed.

All right, so turn about to Isaiah chapter 31.

Isaiah 31 · chapter mention

That's Isaiah chapter 31. This message is actually

Isaiah 31 · chapter mention

something I picked up on one of my devotions and but I've

entitled it. What are you looking to?

What are you looking to find myself first one second.

All right. So we'll start reading that in

verse number one. Well, to them that go not to

Egypt for help, and stand horses and trust and Chariots, because

there are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong,

but to look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the

Lord. Yet he also is wise, and will

bring evil, and will not call back his words, but will arise

against the House of the evil doers, and against the help of

them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men and

not God, and the horse's flesh and not spirit.

When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpless

shall fall, and he that is hoping shall fall down, and they

shall fail together. For thus say that the Lord

spoken. Oh wait, I'm supposed to stop

there. All right, let's pray against

the best. Dear God, thank you for us

today. Thank you for us.

We was all here say fluor and thank you for that good

afternoon we had of lunch and everything I prayed now as the

as I go over this message that I always speak clearly and slowly

word and I would just do well and Paris not to go well they do

well juice and I pray Amen. So here we see in these verses

rebellious Israel looking to Egypt.

It says there verse one will to them that go down to Egypt for

help and stay on horses and trust in Chariots because there

are many and of course men because they are very strong,

but they look not until the holy war of Israel.

I didn't go, I didn't read that passage.

But back in Isaiah 30, it talks about Israel going down to

Egypt, God's judgment on Israel and how he was basically telling

that they're going to be punished by the Syrians.

And they go down to the Israelites.

They go down to Egypt for basically as a refuge.

But we see Egypt #1 we see Egypt and many people, many people

today the same thing. They get in a rough spot and do

what the chosen Israel did here. They head to Egypt, they totally

turn their back on God and go to Egypt.

And going down to Egypt, Israel ends up trusting in three

things, the horses, the Chariots, and the horsemen.

People today do the same thing. And I've likened the horses to

money, Chariots to time, and horsemen to worldly council.

And the sad thing is that even some Christians today do the

same thing. They turn their back and backs

to God and rebellion and trust in money, time and wealth and

worldly council. So first let's look at the

horses. So back in Bible times, horses

symbolize power, strength and wealth.

In that same way, today we all, we all view money as power,

strength and wealth. People get a rough spot and go

just pay it everything pay, pay, pay.

But one day that money will fail.

The Bible says there in verse 3, the horses are flesh and not

spirit. In other words, money cannot

solve your spiritual problems. Money will not and cannot buy

you a place in heaven. It will not save your soul.

Something of the flesh cannot fix spiritual brokenness.

Also, when one begins to rely on his money, so much for relying

his to her sorry for solving his physical problems.

This generates a love for money. And we know the love.

Money is the root of all evil. Secondly, Israel looked to

Egypt's Chariots. Today many people trust in time.

They think time's on their side, but in reality it's not.

Time is in sinking fast and everyone's individual tiny

hourglasses and thinking of a time is just giving the devil

more and more of your life, even if it's just seconds.

Because seconds add to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days,

weeks, months and on and on. And as Pastor preached a couple

months ago, maybe he was saying the devil doesn't mind you

making decisions for Christ as long as you put off till later

or some other time. And also just remember that

whenever you're having fun or enjoying yourself, whatever,

time is going fast. So we should do stuff for that.

We should make decisions for eternity and not for the

present. So don't trust in time because

you don't own it. So, so far I've looked at

Israel's horses, I mean Egypt's horses, then Chariots.

Now let's look at the third thing.

Israel looked to the horsemen of Egypt.

People today go for the world's counter rather than God's, but

we see here in verse 3 again that these horsemen are men and

not God. Christians today ignore God's

counsel and go to the world and ask for their counsel instead.

But the counsel of this world is vain and not to be heeded or

trusted. Turn about to 1st Kings chapter

12. That's first Kings, the 12.

We're going to see that rare bone.

He rejected the counsel of his father's counselors and with his

friends, and they gave him worldly counsel, and as a result

these were split and divided. But First Corinthians 12 verse

#8 it says, But he set the council of the old man which

they had given him, and consulted with the young men

that were grown up with him, and which stood before him.

And he said unto them, What council give ye, that we may

enter this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the

yoke which thy father did put upon his lighter.

And the young man, young men that were grown up with him,

spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this

people which spake unto these, saying, Thy father made us, made

our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us.

Thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger shall be

thicker than my father's loins. And now, whereas my father did

laid you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke.

My father has trusted you with scorpions, but I or whip, sorry,

whips, but I will trust you with scorpions.

So Jeroboam and all the people came to Jeroboam the third day,

as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the

third day. And the king answered the people

roughly, and forsook the old man's counsel that they gave

them, and spake to them after the counsel of the young men,

saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your

yoke. My father also chastised you

with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

Wherefore the king hearken not unto the unto the people, For

the cause was from the Lord, that he might perform his

saying, Which the Lord spake unto Heja, the Shilo knight,

unto Jeroboam the son of Nabad. So when all Israel saw that the

king hearkened not to them, the people answered the king,

saying, What portion have we and David?

Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse to your tents,

O Israel. Now see to their own house,

David. So Israel departed unto their

tents. But As for the children of

Israel, which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam

reigned over them. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram,

who was over the tribute, and all Israel stoned him with

stones that he died. Therefore King Rahbone made

speed to get up to his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

So Israel bought against the House of David unto this day.

And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was

dead, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and

made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the

House of David not but the tribe of Judah only.

So you see here God's chosen people, they were, they were

divided, they split. It is all over one man's choice

to heed foolish and worldly counseling and turn your Bible

to Proverbs 24, Proverbs 24, verse 6.

Proverbs 24:6

Because we're going to see here that the Bible does say that in

the multitude of counselors there's safety, but that doesn't

mean that we should go running off to the world for it.

Proverbs 24, verse #6 it says, For by wise counsel thou shalt

make that war. And in a multitude of counselors

there is safety right there. The third word, What's that say

for by wise counsel? Not for by any counsel, no.

For by wise counsel thou shalt make that war.

Christians have no business looking to the foolish counsel

of the world. So we looked at Israel looking

to #1 Egypt, its horses, money, Chariots, time.

The horsemen were the counselors so we know now know not to look

to them. So what should we look to or who

should we look to should look to God.

She's look to the Lord. He's our help in time of

trouble. I deliver in strength.

So first we got to look to his word.

God has given us everything we need to know to live the

Christian life to the fullest in his word.

Too many Christians today look like God hasn't told them or

even shown them what you did by the way through Christ them how

to live victoriously. It's all in his word.

There's no need for the horsemen of Egypt.

Many Christians walk out with no joy.

They say they're going through trials and don't know where to

turn or who to turn to. Turn to God, turn to His word.

Please turn the Bible to Hebrews 4.

It's Hebrews chapter 4 of verse 12.

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

And why? Because we're going to see here

that it says God's word is quick and powerful and why He turned

out. I'm going to read Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40:8

verse 8. It says the grass wizard, the

flower feedeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever.

This means that God's word is eternal.

It's it's everlasting, you know, it's never going away.

And then he was for four verse 12 says, for the word of God is

quick and powerful, strapper than any 2 edged sword, piercing

even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the

joints and marrow and as a discerner of the thoughts and

intents of the heart. We must read his word, we must

heed his word. We must look to his word.

Secondly, God has not just given us his word, but his people also

that we can look to. We have to go to one another

when in need of help. Our counsel, pastors should be

consulted, parents, teachers, we should go to each other.

They're all it's called our church family and that's what it

ought to be. We should be willing to help

each other. There ought to be a high level

of trust between each and every member in the church.

So we should go to each other and knock to the world and it's

vain counsel. He has looked to his people.

So he looked at looking to God's word, looking to his people.

That's look lastly at looking to his return as Christians we

should be looking to Christ imminent return.

Many Christians live like Christ is coming back.

They believe you know they got saved and don't share the gospel

or live like Christ rose and all saved us, but he isn't coming

back. But others, they believe he is

coming back but not now in the future or later on.

But the truth is he could come back right now and how sad would

it be for Christ to come back and find us all living backs

living Christian lives. We must live like Christ could

come back today because he can. We must share the gospel and

live lives pleasing to God. Turn to Titus chapter 2.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

There's Titus 2 because we should see that

Christ's return. It should be some old myth, but

it should be a blessed hope, as Paul calls it here.

And Titus chapter 2, we're starting during verse #12 it

Titus 2 · chapter mention

says teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we

should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world,

looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of

our great God and Savior. And yeah, our Savior Jesus of

our, of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, sorry, who

gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all

iniquity and purify unto himself peculiar people, zealous of good

works. Paul calls Christ his turn

glorious. We must live worthily in the

holy lives as this Christ was coming back today.

But how it says there in verse #12 teaching us that denying

ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly,

righteously, and godly in this present world.

We should deny ungodly and will the lust, as pastors also

preached. If we expect we must mortify the

flesh, we have to put off the old man.

And Paul goes on to say that we should live soberly, righteously

and godly lives here in this passage, the Greek word for

soberly, I didn't put in their time not to pronounce it for

soberly. It means with sound mind.

Soberly, temporarily or discreetly, or sane or moderate.

A Christian must live with a sound mind.

We must live, we should live righteously and godly as well.

So living soberly, righteously and godly, that is how we can

live lives worthily of Christ's return.

That's how we can look to his determine.

So we've looked at three things we should look should look to,

and three things we should. We should, we now know not to

look to Egypt and its horses, money, Chariots, time and

horsemen, worldly counselors. Instead we should look to the

Lord and His Word, his people and His return.

It may be here this afternoon and don't know Christ is your

savour. The message you made is the same

look to him for salvation. So with all that being said,

what are you looking to Let's let's pray I do God thank you

for this afternoon and thank you for that.

Will they believe that that's another thing and I prayed for

us the day to go out then we'll have a safe trip down up to

Pennsylvania and juice. They pray, men.

Amen. Amen.

Let's send our receipts with our heads bowed and our eyes closed.

I want to give you an opportunity to respond to the

message. Simple message, but good.

Exactly what we need to be reminded of.

What are you putting your trust in ever I if I asked you to

raise your hand, I think every single one of you would raise

your hand and say I'm trusting in God.

But are we really? We do trust in our money.

We do trust in time. We do trust in others instead of

the Lord. What's your trust in?

What are you? What are you putting your trust

in? Great reminder, Father.

Again we thank you for the message.

I pray that you'd speak to our hearts in Jesus name, Amen.

As the piano plays, the invitations open.