Key Verse: V1 “The burden of the valley of vision, What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?”
The “valley of vision” is a paradox as we should be standing on the mountain and not the valley to get our vision. The reason why it was a valley of vision was because the spirituality of the people of God or the nation of Israel in the city of Jerusalem was at the lowest point. Yet God encouraged them to look up from the valley and see the vision that God had for them.
1. Look to the Maker
V11 “Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the Maker thereof, neither had respect unto Him that fashioned it long ago.”
The nation of Israel prepared fortress, walls and ditches for their protection against enemies’ impending attacks but they failed to look to their Maker and Creator. We can prepare our studies, plan our career, serve God in many areas but if we fail to look to the Maker for His direction and instructions, we shall fail in everything we do.
2. Look to God of hosts
V12 “And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:”
The God of hosts desired His people not to just weep and mourn but to truly repent of their sins. It is one thing to be sorry and sorrowful of our sins but it is another thing to repent and turn away from our sins. The nation of Israel had continued in sins and the God of hosts had warned them many times of the consequences of their sins. There is a limit to God’s longsuffering and patience and let us not test God’s limit!
3. Look to the Lord
V24 “In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.”
When we look to the world and man, we are like hanging our life and everything we have on the nail that one day shall be removed and taken out. We shall be disappointed as we shall be condemned to hell for our sins. The only sure way in life is to hang our life and everything we have on the nail of our Maker, our God of hosts, our Lord, who shall never be removed and we shall never be disappointed!
Food For Thought
Who you look will determine where you go. Look to God and you shall know the way to heaven.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:06 am
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Key Verse: V6 “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.”
What is a watchman? A watchman is a guard who usually stands at a high tower to alert the people of impending dangers.
What about the watchman of God? The watchman of God has the utmost responsibilities of warning the people of the impending danger of the fiery pits of hell and telling them of the Gospel of Christ that whosoever believe in Christ shall not perish into hell but shall have abundant life with Christ forever and ever.
1. Compassion
V4 “My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.”
Prophet Isaiah was heavy hearted as he saw the terrible wickedness and evil of the people in the land. He feared that the judgment of God was coming soon as there was no sign of the people turning away from their sins and to the true and living God. The watchman of God must have compassion for souls. He loves people and will tell them of the Gospel of Christ.
2. Courage
V6 “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.”
The prophet must say what he saw. He must be true to God and the people and be courageous to warn the people of the impending dangers. The watchman of God must also be courageous even when he faces fierce opposition of the people after telling them the Gospel. He must trust God for everything.
3. Commitment
V8 “And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:”
The watchman must be 24 hours and 7 days watching for impending dangers. There may be shift duties for the several watchmen but still the watchman on duty must be committed to his duty and not fall asleep in the night. The watchman of God must also be committed. No matter how tired or weary, he must be committed and ready to tell others of the Gospel of Christ.
Food For Thought
The watchman of God is compassionate, courageous and committed to watching for souls.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:03 am
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Key Verse: V3 “And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;”
The prophet Isaiah was commanded by the Lord to walk without wearing his upper garments and barefooted as a sign to demonstrate to the people that judgment was near and the people must repent of their sins.
1. Servant
V3 “And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah ...”
Are you a servant of the Lord? Isaiah was called the servant of God because he was obedient to God, his master. There was no question asked when God commanded Isaiah to walk without his upper garments and barefooted. Isaiah practiced what he preached as God commanded him. He obeyed God in spite of the opposition he faced as he preached to the people to repent of their sins.
Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
2. Sufferings
V3 “… Isaiah hath walked naked and barefooted three years ...”
It was not easy for Isaiah to walk half naked and barefooted for 3 years. With the weather conditions and the tough terrain in mostly desert areas, it must be hard on his body and feet. Isaiah could have injured his feet and could have caught a chill but nevertheless, he obeyed God and walk semi naked and barefooted. Sufferings are necessary for Christians as they strengthen us for the ministry of God. Without sufferings, there is no glory.
Romans 8:17 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.”
3. Shame
V4 “So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.”
Isaiah pronounced judgment upon the Egyptians and the Ethiopians who had persecuted the people of God and had refused to believe in God of Israel. When Christians refuse to trust and obey God, we shall end in sufferings and shame, just like the Egyptians and the Ethiopians.
Food For Thought
Our walk must always be in step with our talk.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 10:56 am
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Key Verse: V1 “The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.”
Egypt has a longer history than any nation in the world. In fact, it was in Egypt that the nation of Israel, God’s chosen nation, was born. Yet Egypt had never treated the nation of Israel with respect and love. As a result, God judged Egypt.
1. God Pronounced Egypt against Egypt
V2 “And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.”
Do you know that the only three times that China was attacked and defeated by her enemies were when their own people opened the gates of the famous Great Wall of China that was built to protect them from their enemies? It was not the strength and power of their enemies that destroyed the Great Wall but it was the traitors who opened the gates of the Great Wall that destroyed China!
It was the same with the fall great nation of Egypt who forced the nation of Israel into slavery. It was not Israel that destroyed Egypt but it was their own civil war that destroyed them. My friends, are we loving one another in our home, church, school or workplace? When we fight against one another, we are actually fighting against God!
2. God Pronounced Devastation and Destruction
V5-6 “And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.”
When Egypt treated God’s people with disrespect, God dried up their rivers and destroyed everything that they had. God protects His people and He never forsakes them.
3. God Pronounced Fear and Fright
V16 “In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.”
In those days, the women were fearful of the enemies because unlike the men they were not trained to fight the enemies. Each time when they heard the enemies were attacking them, they feared. Egypt was like the women, fearful and frightened because she was helpless before the Almighty God. When we live in sins we are always in fear and fright because we know that God’s judgment shall be upon us.
Let us not fight against God but submit to Him in everything.
Food For Thought
God Always Win!
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:18 pm
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Key Verse: V4 “For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
Have you ever wonder where is God when tragedy happens? Let us remind ourselves that God knows everything including the bad things and let us give glory in everything.
1. God Pronounced Judgment
V1 “Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:”
V2 “That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!”
God pronounced judgment upon Ethiopia who persecuted Israel, the nation scattered and peeled, or the nation of God. God is watching the church. God is watching the church when she is suffering from persecution. God is watching the church when false doctrines enter into the church. God is watching the church when there is division and strife. Many times, God allows crises and tragedies to happen to His people and his church for His purpose of purification, sanctification or reasons best known to Him. Whatever happens, let us as a church continue to trust God for He knows best for one day He shall judge us!
2. God Pronounced Rest
V4 “For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
Let us remember to take our rest and consider and reflect on God’s blessings on our lives! Many times, in the hustle and bustle of our busy life, we fail to appreciate God’s goodness and grace for all that He has done in our lives. Let us take moments of rest in the mornings, afternoons and evenings and reflect upon the goodness of God. When we rest, we are not just resting our physical bodies, but we are also renewing our minds and spirits and recharging and strengthening our faith in God.
3. God Pronounced Glory
V7 “In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from the their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount of Zion.”
At the end of God’s judgment and rest, is that God’s name be glorified. Whatever that God has for His people and the church is that they will ultimately give glory to His name.
Food For Thought
Give Glory to God in Everything.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:10 pm
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Key Verse: V7 “At that day shall a man look to his maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.”
1. Don’t Look at Success
V8 “And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.”
The people of Damascus and Ephraim had looked at their own idols and successes in all their battles and thought that they were invincible until they were almost wiped out by the Assyrians. When Christians look at our success as a result of our own wisdom and hard work and have forgotten that God is behind our success, it is the time when God shall judge us.
2. Don’t Look at Wealth
V10 “Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:”
V11 “In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.”
The people of Damascus and Ephraim had looked at their great harvest because of their great effort and had forgotten that God was behind their harvest and wealth until God destroy their harvest! When Christians look at our wealth and possessions and thought that it was because of our business acumen and well-planned strategies and fail to realize that God was behind all our wealth and possessions, it is the time when God shall judge us.
3. Don’t Look at Power
V12 “Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!”
The people of Damascus and Ephraim had looked at their power and might and considered themselves as the mightiest until they met an even stronger opponent, the nation of Assyria which defeated them. When Christians look at our power and might and think nothing of God, it is the time when God shall judge us.
V7 “At that day shall a man look to his maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.”
Let us look to God, our maker and creator, and know that without God, we are nothing!
Food For Thought
Look to God for everything.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:09 pm
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Key Verse: V1 “Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.”
Moab refused to send a lamb for the atonement of their sins. The sacrifice of the lamb symbolized the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall take away the sin of the world by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
1. God’s Protection
V2 “For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.”
When Moab rejected the sacrifice of the lamb, he was like the bird that was cast out from the protection of his mother’s love and care. When we refuse to believe and accept the Lamb, the Lord Jesus, we are out of God’s love and care, and waiting for His judgment on our sins.
2. God’s Punishment
V6-7 “We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so. Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.”
God’s punishment was upon proud Moab who stubbornly refused to acknowledge the sacrifice of the lamb or the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of the world. As a result, they lost the joy and blessings of God and mourned under His judgment and punishment.
3. God’s Patience
V14 “But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.”
God did not immediately punish the nation of Moab but waited patiently for 3 years for them to repent of their sins and offer the sacrifice of the lamb at the altar of God. However, they stubbornly and proudly refused to repent and believe the Lamb of God.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Food For Thought
The Lamb may be meek but He is the Messiah!
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:08 pm
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Key verse: V24 “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:”
As we celebrate our church 38th Anniversary, let us thank God for all that He has done for us! Indeed, we have come thus far because of God’s everlasting love!
1. God loves His people
V1 “For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.”
God loves Jacob or Israel so much that even strangers or the Gentiles chose to join them so that they could also receive His blessings. When God established our church, we become a light in the dark world and soon many came to know God as we spread His love far and wide. Thank God that even when we fail Him, He continues to love us and bless us for His honor and glory.
2. God defeats the devil
V12 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
Lucifer was an archangel of God but because of his sin of pride, he wanted to be God! God cast him out of heaven and since then he has been destroying the work of God on earth. However, his time is limited, as he shall be soon cast into hell forever and ever. Let us continue to fight the devil in God’s wisdom and strength and remember that God has already won the battle when Christ rose from the dead and defeat death and the devil.
Revelation 20:10 “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
3. God controls everything
V24 “... I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:”
God is in control of everything, our failures as well as our successes. Let us submit to God and obey Him because He already has a perfect plan for our life. Even when we choose to disobey God and lead our own life, He patiently waits for us to return to Him. My late dad used to say, “Son, don’t forget where you come from, be thankful and grateful to your parents!” Indeed, his words are engraved in my heart and I am thankful and grateful to God for all that He has done in my life, especially for saving my parents’ souls.
Food For Thought
Don’t ever forget that God is behind all our success.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:04 pm
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Key Verse: V1 “The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Maob is laid waste, and brought to silence.”
Who is Maob? Moab was the descendant of Lot who had sinned against God by committing incest with his older daughter.
Genesis 19:36-37 “Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.”
1. You cannot hide your sins from God
Numbers 32:22-23 “And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.”
Lot sinned against God because he failed to stop his daughters from making him drunk and thus committing incest. As a result, Lot and his daughters were guilty before God. They tried to run away from God but deep in their hearts they knew they could not hide from their Almighty God.
2. You cannot run from the consequences of your sins
Isaiah 15:1 “… Moab is laid waste, … Moab is laid waste …”
Although God forgives our sins if we confess and forsake them, we must bear the consequences of sins. No doubt God is love and once we sin against Him, God forgives and forgets our sins. However, we fail to realize that not only we but our children may reap the consequences of our sins such as if we commit sexual immorality and diseases such as AIDS be passed onto our children. The generation of Moab was such an example of God’s chastisement of the people of God. The burdens of their sins weighed heavily upon them as they refuse to repent their sins and reconcile with God.
3. You cannot generalize that all sufferings are the consequences of your sins.
John 9:1-3 “And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
Not all sins that our children suffer are the results of our past sins. In this incidence, it is through the healing of the blind man that God’s glory spread abroad to all the people.
Food For Thought
You can run from God but you cannot hide from Him.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:04 pm
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Key verse: V12 “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.”
How long will the wicked prosper? Have you wonder why God has yet to punish the wicked and they seem to be getting away from their wickedness? My friends, be patient as God’s judgment is very soon.
1. I will punish
V11 “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
After the rapture where Christians are caught up with Christ in heaven, it shall be the start of the Great Tribulation. What is this Great Tribulation? It is the period when God shall judge and punish the wicked while the Christians are already in heaven with Christ. This is the reason why the church and the Christians today are commanded to preach the Gospel of Christ before the rapture begins!
2. I will make
V12 “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.”
When we believe in Christ and receive Him as our personal Savior, we are more precious than fine gold and the precious gold of Ophir because we are God’s children.
3. I will stir
V17 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.”
Medes are the mighty people who defeated the great Babylonians. Throughout history, no nation is declared the greatest as God shall raise another nation to defeat it! There was a time when Great Britain was thought to be the greatest, but today, it is no longer the greatest country in the world. No country or people can be the greatest except God’s people. Let us remember that we are the precious ones as we shall inherit heaven and be with God for all eternity!
Food For Thought
Since we are the precious ones, are we sharing the Gospel of Christ with others before it is too late?
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:03 pm
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