See all Unknown transcripts on Generic

Stephen McHarg

00:01

How's about now? I'm hearing echo. We all hearing echo? Better than a flood.

Stephen McHarg

00:09

Better than the water. Did you get the beginning? There's a preacher. There's a flood.

Stephen McHarg

00:15

The water's rising. He's kneeling. He's praying. He's surrounded by water.

Stephen McHarg

00:20

And by and by 1 of the townsfolk comes up to him in a canoe. He says, better get in preacher, the waters are rising fast. And Noah says to the preacher, I have faith in the Lord, he will save me. And still the waters rise and now the preacher he's up on the balcony and And he's wringing his hands in supplication when another guy zips up in a motorboat Come on preacher.

Stephen McHarg

00:48

We need to get you out of there. The dam's gonna break any minute now." And once again the preacher, he's unmoved. I shall remain, the Lord will see me through. And after a while the dam breaks and the flood rushes in over the church until only the steeple remains above the water.

Stephen McHarg

01:08

And the preacher, he's up there and he's clinging onto the cross. And when a helicopter descends out of the clouds and there's a trooper and he's got 1 of those megaphones and he's going, grab the ladder preacher, this is your last chance. And once again the preacher insists the Lord will deliver him and predictably he drowns. He was a religious man and this preacher, he goes to heaven.

Stephen McHarg

01:36

And after a while he gets an interview with God. And he asks the Lord Almighty, he says, Lord, you know, I had unwavering faith in you. Why didn't you deliver me? Why didn't you save me from that flood?

Stephen McHarg

01:50

And God looks to him, shakes his head and says, What did you want from me? I sent you 2 boats and a helicopter. As I read this story, I asked myself, how many times in my own life have I cried out to God for help, only to ignore or perhaps not recognize his extended hand of grace. How many times have I missed the sign, missed the 2 boats and a helicopter.

Stephen McHarg

02:36

This morning we're gonna look at the Christmas story through the eyes of Isaiah chapter 7 and we'll enter a time in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 1, where we're gonna consider the birth of Jesus Christ. Now some of you may be asking why the Book of Isaiah? And as we heard this morning by our brother Cave, simply because it is the message of salvation that is later found in the Gospels in the New Testament. You see early in the book of Isaiah we read about on the next slide people have turned away from God.

Stephen McHarg

03:21

That's rebellion. Now what are the signs of rebellion? It could be bitterness, stubbornness, an unteachable spirit, undisciplined living, argumentation. These are 5 signs of a spirit of rebellion.

Stephen McHarg

03:40

But God offers to cleanse them of their sin through the life and ministry of his suffering servant Messiah. That is redemption. The act of God's grace by which he rescues and restores his people from their sins. And then thirdly, we see God offers blessings that come through faith and obedience, which I've called reward.

Stephen McHarg

04:09

3 R's, right Dave Dawson? 3 R words to help us remember the message of salvation. Now, when considering the major theme in the book of Isaiah, what we've been calling here the big idea over the last couple of weeks, if there is 1 key verse, 1 verse that I want us to remember, that I want us to memorize, that I want us to leave here this morning with, and Keith last week ended his message referencing it. It is Isaiah chapter 12 verse 2.

Stephen McHarg

04:39

Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. Repeat after me. Behold, God is my salvation.

Stephen McHarg

04:51

I Will trust and not be afraid Altogether now behold God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid Salvation is the overarching theme of the book of Isaiah. In 5 separate occasions, Isaiah will speak about 5 different acts of deliverance performed by God. If you have a phone, if you want to take a picture of this, if you want to read through the chapters during the week, it was a great encouragement to me as I was studying through the book of Isaiah.

Stephen McHarg

05:25

But here you have 5 examples of deliverance. The deliverance of Judah from the Assyrian invasion, the deliverance of the nation from Babylon captivity, the future deliverance of the Jews from worldwide dispersion among the Gentiles, the deliverance of lost sinners from judgment, and the final deliverance of creation from the bondage of sin when the kingdom is established. And this I got from Warren Wiersby. Plenty of signs of deliverance and salvation in the Book of Isaiah.

Stephen McHarg

06:00

It's no coincidence that Isaiah's name in Hebrew means Yahweh is salvation. And carries the same meaning as Joshua, Elisha, and Jesus. Now, if you have a Bible, you're going to need a Bible, because I didn't put the verses up there. A Bible, a Bible app, whatever you have, please turn with me to Isaiah chapter 7, which is a clear prophecy about Messiah.

Stephen McHarg

06:22

And our big idea with respect to our text this morning will be, don't miss the sign. And as we make our way through this passage in Isaiah, I'd like us to consider 3 questions. Who asks for a sign? Why did he ask for a sign?

Stephen McHarg

06:45

How is the sign fulfilled? Let's begin our reading in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 1. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, king of Syria, and Pecca the son of Romalia, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. Let's just stop there for a second.

Stephen McHarg

07:20

I don't want to lose anyone out of the gates. Unfamiliar places, unfamiliar kings, unfamiliar kingdoms. Let's not get confused. King Ahaz, next slide, King Ahaz assumes the throne in 735 BC.

Stephen McHarg

07:35

He's the king of Judah. That's the southern kingdom of Israel. And it's under attack from the northern kingdom, which is in blue. I think they're color coordinated, but we're going to see in a second, which is Israel.

Stephen McHarg

07:49

So Southern is being attacked by Northern Kingdom and Syria from the north. I love how verse 1 ends. They went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but they could not prevail against it. They could not win, they would not conquer, they would not triumph, they would not succeed.

Stephen McHarg

08:18

Verse 2, and it was told to the house of David, now that's a reference to Ahaz, king of Judah, saying, Syria's forces are deployed to Ephraim. Ephraim refers to the Northern Kingdom. So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. This is just a poetic way of saying that the king of Judah and his people were scared.

Stephen McHarg

08:47

They were frightened. They were nervous. As these armies, they approached on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Verse 3, then the Lord said to Isaiah, go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shir Jezeb, your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field.

Stephen McHarg

09:14

Notice how God is in full control. He's not surprised by this allegiance. He's not surprised that there were plans to make war and he will not be surprised by the outcome. Now, as you look at this verse, notice how God knows when to send Isaiah.

Stephen McHarg

09:41

He says, go out now, and whom Isaiah is to meet, King Ahaz, and whom Isaiah is to bring his son, and where they are to meet with such precision. You know, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool on the highway of the field. Now perhaps you like me are hearing echoes of the Easter story. When Jesus says to his disciples, go to the village ahead of you and at once you'll find a donkey tied there with her colt by her.

Stephen McHarg

10:13

Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them and he will send them right away. Question, how did Jesus know where to send the disciples? How did he know that there'd be a donkey next to a colt?

Stephen McHarg

10:27

How did the disciples know what to say when somebody would approach them. Again, God is in full control. Verse 4. And say to him, take heed, which means pay attention, and be quiet.

Stephen McHarg

10:46

Do not fear or be faint-hearted, which is another word for a lack of courage. For these 2 stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Resin in Syria and the son of Romalia, because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Romalia "'have plotted evil against you, saying, "'Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, "'and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, "'and set a king over them, the son of Tabell.'" See, these 2 kings with fierce anger, right? Intense, ferocious, aggressiveness, they're plotting evil things against King Judah and the southern kingdom of Israel. And God says, be careful.

Stephen McHarg

11:38

Keep calm. Don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these 2 smoldering stubs of firewood. Smoldering stubs of firewood, they're not that threatening when there's not anything left to burn.

Stephen McHarg

11:59

You see how this fits in with the overall theme of Isaiah. Behold, God is my salvation. Trust and don't be afraid. This is the complete opposite of what I would do.

Stephen McHarg

12:13

Keep calm, maybe. Keep quiet, Unlikely. Let me pause here and ask a question. Is there anything in your life where you need to be reminded that God is in control.

Stephen McHarg

12:35

Is there anything in your life that is keeping you up late at night, waking you up early in the morning, or preventing you from sleeping altogether? According to author, writer, Brett Helling, here are some of the common things people struggle with. Health problems. Feels like the letter C is coming up more and more in conversations.

Stephen McHarg

13:04

Mental health issues. This week, someone within our circle was talking about suicide. Somebody else was having some pretty bad episodes of depression. I was hearing this morning about how students in elementary school are running around threatening other children.

Stephen McHarg

13:32

This is like grade 5, grade 6, maybe younger, you know, with scissors, threatening to stab. I mean, there are mental health issues, and it's good that we speak about them, and we should not be ashamed, and if that's somebody, something that you're struggling with, I encourage you to reach out. Overcoming trauma, I mean in our prayer this morning, you know, many people are mourning the loss of a loved 1 this year. What about how do we process feelings?

Stephen McHarg

13:59

Doug 2, 3 weeks ago spoke about discouragement. Finding work-life balance. Anybody feel like a hamster on 1 of those tread, those circle things, and you're just running and running and running and running, and there's just not enough time in a day, or What about feeling empty? Always seeking something to fill that void.

Stephen McHarg

14:23

What about starting and maintaining friendships? Think about our small groups. Think about group dynamics at school, at work, in young adults, in Bible studies, as we get together, you know, accountability to 1 another and being vulnerable. What about failure of any kind?

Stephen McHarg

14:41

And anybody like failing, raise your hand. Career and financial pressures, trying to make ends meet, read an article this week, inflation alone next week, next year, 2025, average grocery bill is going to go up by $800. You know, if you're struggling with any of these or others, allow God's words through the prophet Isaiah to bring you peace, comfort, and strength. God is my salvation.

Stephen McHarg

15:11

I will trust and not be afraid. Verse 7. Thus says the Lord God, it shall not stand nor shall it come to pass for the head of Syria is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin.

Speaker 2

15:32

Within 65 years

Stephen McHarg

15:33

Ephraim will be broken so that it will not be a people. Ephraim, Israel, represented the 10 northern tribes of Israel, and sure enough, within 65 years, you could read about this in 2 Kings 17 6, the people would be captured and later, foreign settlers would be imported into their land. So everything that was written here came true.

Stephen McHarg

15:51

Verse 9, the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is Romalia's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. 2 choices are here presented to the king. He can believe the word of the Lord or he can pursue his own agenda and fall into enemy hands.

Stephen McHarg

16:12

The choice seems obvious. The consequence of unbelief as stated in this verse, you shall not be established, should have sent a child down he has his back. It's better to believe the word of the Lord. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid.

Stephen McHarg

16:31

Keith last week spoke about snow, he referenced snow, so I thought this picture of snow was appropriate for the following story. It's a story of a mountain climber who is desperate to conquer the Aconcagua, that's a mountain in Argentina, and I know I didn't pronounce it right, and he initiates his climb after years of preparation. Let me read this to you. But he wanted the glory to himself, therefore he went up alone.

Stephen McHarg

17:00

He started climbing and it was becoming later and later. He did not prepare for camping but decided to keep on going. Soon it got dark. Night fell with heaviness at a very high altitude.

Stephen McHarg

17:12

Visibility was 0. Everything was black. There was no moon. And the stars were covered by clouds.

Stephen McHarg

17:20

As he was climbing a ridge at about a hundred meters from the top, he slipped and fell. Falling rapidly, he could only see blotches of darkness that passed. He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity. He kept falling, and in those anguishing moments, good and bad memories passed through his mind.

Stephen McHarg

17:42

He thought certainly he would die, But then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Yes, like any good mountain climber, he had staked himself with a long rope tied to his waist. In those moments of stillness suspended in the air, He had no other choice but to shout out, help me God, help me. All of a sudden he heard a deep voice from heaven, what do you want me to do?

Stephen McHarg

18:12

Save me. Do you really think that I can save you? Of course, my God. Then cut the rope that is holding you up.

Stephen McHarg

18:24

There was another moment of silence and stillness. The man just held tighter to the rope. Next day, the rescue team found a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to a rope 2 feet off the ground. Now that's a tragedy.

Stephen McHarg

18:52

Imagine arriving to heaven and God shows you a picture of how you died Holding on to a rope 2 feet above the ground. Because you refuse to heed his advice and to cut the rope. Now, it is always so much easier to give advice when you're not the 1 holding on to the rope. But when that's you holding on for dear life, that's when we're really challenged to trust and not be afraid.

Stephen McHarg

19:33

As we were reminded last week in Isaiah 55-11, as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater. So is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. And God in our story in Isaiah 7 is gonna do this amazing thing to encourage King Ahaz to believe.

Stephen McHarg

20:06

Which brings us to the first question this morning. Next slide please. Who asks for a sign? And When I read this, honestly, I was blown away.

Stephen McHarg

20:18

I had never noticed this before. Verse 10, moreover, the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God, ask it either in the depth or in the height above. You see, God knows King Ahaz's heart, and to encourage his faith, and may I suggest his unbelieving heart, God wants Ahaz to ask him for a sign. It's not Ahaz that is asking God for a sign.

Stephen McHarg

21:00

It's not Ahaz asking Isaiah for a sign. It's not Isaiah asking God for a sign. Who asks for a sign? It's God speaking to Ahaz through Isaiah saying, ask me for a sign.

Stephen McHarg

21:22

Verse 11, ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God. Which brings us to our second question. Why did God want Ahaz to ask for a sign? I can't think of anywhere else in scripture where God wants us to ask him for a sign.

Stephen McHarg

21:47

Now I'm sure many of you are thinking right now Judges 6. Gideon. No. Gideon asked God for a sign and God provided it.

Stephen McHarg

21:59

But God did not ask Gideon to ask him for a sign. In Matthew 12, 38, 39, Jesus said, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the Prophet Jonah. In Jesus' ministry, he used signs to confirm his presence in power. And so why did God want Ahaz to ask for a sign?

Stephen McHarg

22:27

Why didn't God just provide the sign? Hey, King Ahaz, I want you to pay close attention now. I'm about to provide you with a sign to convince you what is true, that Jerusalem's not gonna be invaded by its enemies, and that I promise you're gonna be protected and you're gonna be safe and you can trust in me so you ready for it, here comes the sign. No, that's not what happened.

Stephen McHarg

22:47

Instead, God wants Ahaz to ask him for a sign. And I believe it's for 2 reasons. 1, he wants to expose Ahaz's darkened, rebellious, and sinful heart. But more importantly, 2, God is calling Ahaz into, here's the other R word, relationship with him He's calling him into a relationship the sign would confirm God's presence and power But he has his heart it needed to be in the right place in order for him to ask God, to approach God, to ask him for a sign.

Stephen McHarg

23:28

And Ahaz needed to know that God cared for him and loved him and can always be trusted no matter what the circumstances. It was time for Ahaz to examine his heart and to cut the rope. Verse 12, But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. Again, you see the condition of Ahaz's calloused heart.

Stephen McHarg

23:59

I will not ask, I will not test. He had a heart hurt. He was not a godly man. He wasn't a godly king.

Stephen McHarg

24:09

He trusted only in himself, only in his rope. You see, secretly, King Ahaz was playing politics and was in a treaty with Assyria. And you can read of that historical account throughout the week, 2 Kings, chapter 16. So instead of confessing and repenting of what he had done, he refused to ask for a sign.

Stephen McHarg

24:45

He refused to turn from his unbelief. He refused to trust God at his word. Verse 13. Then he said, here now, O house of David, it is a small thing for you to weary men, But will you weary my God also?

Stephen McHarg

25:06

God through Isaiah extends his focus past Ahaz and addresses the faithlessness of the kingdom of Judah. The whole house of David is guilty of testing God's patience. And what follows is the prophecy concerning Emmanuel. Verse 14.

Stephen McHarg

25:29

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Watch for it. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. Curds and honey he shall eat and he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.

Stephen McHarg

25:49

For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people in your father's house, days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. This Prophecy was spoken by Isaiah in 734 BC. We know from history that 2 years later, Assyria defeats Syria.

Stephen McHarg

26:25

And 10 years later, following the defeat of Syria in 722 BC, Assyria invades the northern kingdom. Both the kings of Syria and Israel will have met their doom as foretold by the prophet Isaiah. And this brings us to our third question. How is the sign fulfilled?

Stephen McHarg

26:49

Now at the time of this prophecy, many believe that the virgin Isaiah was referring to his second wife and that the son, Shiboram was both named Emmanuel and Mahir Shalaa Hazba. This short-term prophecy would soon be fulfilled with the birth of Isaiah's son, Emmanuel, whose Hebrew name means God with us. But more importantly, the ultimate fulfillment of this long-term prophecy would occur 734 years later at the birth of Jesus Christ. As we heard this morning, it's not Peter and Paul writing about accounts that happened before.

Stephen McHarg

27:36

This is what Isaiah is seeing in his vision and his relationship with God, and that he's writing down things that are gonna happen 734 years from now with incredible precision. And in his writings, he's referring to the coming Messiah, With such precision that only God himself could have revealed this to him now In order for us to better appreciate the fulfillment of this long-term prophecy and this is really cool. I get excited about this kind of stuff. Next slide please.

Stephen McHarg

28:09

In his book, Science Speaks. Oh, terrible last name. Peter Stoner replies the modern science of probability to just 8 prophecies regarding Christ. The probability of getting 8 prophecies of Christ true 700 years before they happened, as written in

Speaker 2

28:27

the Book of Isaiah.

Stephen McHarg

28:29

So for instance, If I took a loony out of my pocket and I flipped it and I said what's the probability or the chance of getting heads or tails, we'd say 1 in 2 or 50%. And if I said okay, the 649, right, how many tickets would I have to buy in order to be guaranteed to win, the answer would be 1 in 14 million. Like that, that's, the odds are pretty small.

Stephen McHarg

28:53

Peter in his writings, what he says is the chance that any man might have fulfilled all a prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th. That would be 100 quadrillion. That's the number 1 followed by 17 zeros. Okay, you're probably still not getting it, and that's okay.

Stephen McHarg

29:18

What's a quadrillion? What are 17 zeros? I know there's like 6 zeros in a million, 7 in a billion, I get that. 17 zeros, I'll follow the number 1.

Stephen McHarg

29:26

All right, so I did a study. I actually took time, and I did this, based on his findings in Texas, and looked at the geography between the US and Canada. And if you were to take 100 quadrillion loonies, and you're gonna take 1 of them, and you're gonna mark an X on it with a sharpie. And then you're going to spread them about 1 inch deep across the surface of Canada, which is 10 million squared kilometers from British Columbia, where I'm heading right after this, to all the way to Newfoundland, okay?

Stephen McHarg

30:04

And now I want you to mix them all up. And I want you to take Marco, and we're gonna blindfold Marco. And we're gonna say, Marco, you can travel anywhere you want in this country. You can pick any place you want to 1 place, 1 place where you can reach your hand in anywhere you want, top, bottom, 1 inch, to pick that 1, that 1 loony with the, with the X that's with the sharpie marking on it.

Stephen McHarg

30:28

What are the odds that you think Marco would get that? And the author concludes, just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those 8 prophecies and having them all come true in any 1 man providing they wrote them in their own wisdom. You appreciate that a little bit more? Everything the prophet Isaiah said was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, 700 years before the birth of Christ.

Stephen McHarg

31:01

That's it for Isaiah chapter 7. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 1. And Amy did a wonderful job reading through those verses this morning. And we're gonna read them again.

Stephen McHarg

31:13

And this time as we read them, I want us, as we read them, to see if, well we're going to seek, to use Keith's word last week, let us seek to see if there are any similarities between what we just read in Isaiah chapter 7 and in Matthew chapter 1, perhaps with fresh eyes, beginning at verse 18. This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Stephen McHarg

32:04

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is found from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife, but he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Jesus." Again, everything written by the prophet Isaiah, 700 plus years before the birth of Jesus.

Stephen McHarg

33:04

Again, that's a lot of loonies. Verse 18, Mary, a virgin, was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. The virgin birth of Jesus attests to both his humanity, for he is the son of David, and his deity, for he is the son of God. That is why he is able to conquer both death and sin.

Stephen McHarg

33:28

Verse 21, she will give birth to a son in order to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. God will save his people through Jesus. What is he saving his people from? From their sins.

Stephen McHarg

33:42

The penalty of sin, the power of sin, the presence of sin. The Bible says we've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We've all missed the mark. We've all missed the mark.

Stephen McHarg

33:56

We've all said bad things, thought bad things, done bad things. We've refused to, in a sense, cut the rope. We've ignored those 2 boats and a helicopter. Jesus came to save his people from their sins.

Stephen McHarg

34:13

Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid." Isn't it interesting how Joseph, son of David, was told by an angel of the Lord not to be afraid to take Mary home as his wife? I can picture the angel saying to Joseph, be careful, keep calm, don't be afraid, do not lose heart, fill in the blank because of this divine pregnancy. Echoes of what King Ahaz spoke about in Isaiah 7.

Stephen McHarg

34:53

Also in verse 23 of Matthew 1, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. Similar to how God was calling Ahaz into relationship with him, God who is with us is calling us into a relationship with him through his son, Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his 1 and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. As many of you know, our son David recently had major neck surgery.

Stephen McHarg

35:34

And the day following his surgery, as he was recovering in his hospital bed, Nancy and I, we wanted to make him feel a little bit more comfortable. And he was in this bed and there were all these wires and tubes and machines and they're making noise and everything and we just felt things were a little bit crowded so what we decided to do, as any good parents would do, is we pushed his bed a little bit forward, the hospital a little bit forward in order for him to have a little bit more room. And in doing so, we accidentally disconnected the panic button from the wall. And within seconds, and I'm happy to say within seconds, there was a voice coming from the speaker behind the wall.

Stephen McHarg

36:40

Is everything okay? Yes, I said, Everything's okay, sorry about that. But the nurses couldn't hear me. Is everything okay?

Stephen McHarg

36:55

The voice said a little bit more panicked. Yes, I said a little louder, yes, everything's okay. I'm screaming, right? I soon realized that they weren't able to hear me.

Stephen McHarg

37:09

And so our room was at the end of the hall, so I decided, and the nurse's stage was on the complete opposite side, So I decided I would go out of the hall and to the nurse's station to explain to them what happened. As I stepped out of the room, there was a mop of nurses and doctors running to our room. I'm not kidding. I think we emptied the hospital.

Stephen McHarg

37:39

And they're dressed in blue gowns and they've got these masks on and they've got these gloves and some are getting changed and some are already changed and they're about to grab the defibrillator. You know those paddles that shock people back to life during cardiac arrest? You see, by accidentally disconnecting the panic button, they thought David's heart had failed. We had triggered a code blue.

Stephen McHarg

38:11

They were running to save his life. Now, luckily I didn't get paddled in the process. And everything's okay, they're running, everything's okay, everything's okay, I said it was my wife who disconnected the plug. You see, the nurses, I'm in trouble for that 1, the nurses, the doctors, they were responding to a sign, they were responding to a code blue.

Stephen McHarg

38:42

Spiritually speaking, there is a code blue that lives in each of our lives, it's called sin and only God can make us alive with Christ. Don't be like King Ahaz who refused to confess his sin, who refused to repent, who refused to ask God for forgiveness. He refused to ask God for a sign even after God invited him to ask him for a sign. Don't miss the sign.

Stephen McHarg

39:23

I'm not talking about 2 boats and a helicopter. Don't miss the sign that laid in the manger. Don't miss the sign that was nailed to a cross. Don't miss the sign that was found in an empty grave.

Stephen McHarg

39:41

Don't miss the sign that ascended to heaven. Turn away from unbelief. Trust God at his word. Don't be afraid.

Stephen McHarg

39:53

It's time to cut the rope and trust in Jesus Christ. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. Don't miss the Christ in Christmas.

Stephen McHarg

40:11

Let's pray. If you're someone here this morning who has been convicted of your sin and you seek to repent, and you want to ask God for forgiveness, and you're ready to state your belief in the life and death and saving resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then say this prayer quietly in your heart. Lord, I admit that I have done things that are wrong.

Stephen McHarg

40:54

Thank you that you have died to take away all my sins. Please forgive me. I receive your forgiveness now and declare that I want to live for you for the rest of my life. Come and fill my life with your Holy Spirit.

Stephen McHarg

41:09

I now depend completely on you. And if there's anyone here this morning who is struggling with something in your life, perhaps from the list of the 9 most common things that people struggle with, whether it be health or mental health, a trauma, feelings, work-life balance, emptiness, friendships, failure, career or financial pressure, if that is you, if you desire to Cut the rope. Remember, God says, be careful. Keep calm.

Stephen McHarg

41:53

And don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of, and now it's your turn, Quietly fill in the blank. Tell God what's keeping you up late at night. Tell God what you're struggling with.

Stephen McHarg

42:12

And now release it to him in prayer. And now we pray, God, I want to be a person who stands firm and trusts you wholeheartedly. I want to be unshakable and resilient, But that can only happen by depending on you and trusting you. Develop that deeper trust in me.

Stephen McHarg

42:38

God, I desperately need it and want to trust you more. Amen.