You Cannot Serve Nobody, So Choose Well

You Cannot Serve Nobody, So Choose Well

Send us a note! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2558759/fan_mail/new] Walls don’t fail first, watchmen do. We start with that uncomfortable image and follow it straight into Isaiah’s prophecy, where Babylon looks untouchable until one unguarded opening brings the whole system down. Pastor Carl connects the fall of empires with a more personal warning: the enemy may not be able to destroy our souls, but he can wreck our effectiveness, cloud our judgment, and quietly reshape our loves if we keep giving him a foothold. From there, we walk through big, vivid Bible moments with real-world weight: Satan’s strategy of deception, the sobering question of who we’re actually serving, and Daniel 5’s “writing on the wall” that exposes pride before judgment arrives. Isaiah’s prophecies are not random history lessons, they’re a map of God’s sovereignty over nations, over spiritual powers, and over the timing of justice. When God purposes something, it stands, and that truth becomes an anchor when the world feels chaotic. The conversation then turns toward Philistia, Hezekiah, and the ongoing significance of Jerusalem. We touch on historical context that overlaps with the Gaza Strip today while urging careful study and prayer, not hot takes. The closing application is direct: if the world system suddenly unplugged, what would be left of our faith, and would we realize too late that we were serving ourselves instead of Jesus? If you care about Bible teaching, the book of Isaiah, spiritual warfare, and living with clear-eyed hope, press play. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review telling us what “open gate” you’re guarding this week. Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com [https://themountaincross.com].

The Fall Of Babylon’s False Power

Send us a note! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2558759/fan_mail/new] Empires love to sound eternal until God decides it’s time to end the oppression. We walk through Isaiah 14 and watch the message sharpen from comfort for exiles to a taunt over Babylon’s collapse, where sorrow lifts, fear breaks, and even the earth feels “at rest” when tyranny is finally cut down. Along the way, Pastor Carl follows the text into one of the Bible’s most arresting turns: the fall of Lucifer. The language aimed at the king of Babylon suddenly exposes the spiritual arrogance beneath the politics, reminding us how quickly confidence becomes rebellion when we try to build our own tower and live as if we don’t need God. We talk spiritual warfare in plain terms, including how temptation and addiction hook the heart by offering what feels good while quietly moving everything toward destruction. To ground prophecy in history, we connect Isaiah’s warnings to Daniel 5 and the writing on the wall, where a proud ruler mocks God and loses a “secure” kingdom overnight. The takeaway is steady and practical: you can’t trust Babylon, you can’t trust the devil, but you can trust the Lord because His purposes stand and His mercy brings exiles home through Jesus. Subscribe for more Bible teaching, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more listeners can find Come On Up. What part of the message hit you hardest: pride, deception, or the promise of restoration? Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com [https://themountaincross.com].

When The World Goes Dark

Send us a note! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2558759/fan_mail/new] When life feels stable, it’s easy to confuse comfort with security. But what happens when the lights go out, the plans collapse, or the “kingdom” we built for ourselves starts to shake? We lean into Isaiah 13 and the fall of Babylon to ask a modern question with ancient weight: what are we really depending on? Pastor Carl walks through God’s judgment on pride and evil and connects it to the bigger biblical storyline of the day of the Lord, human rebellion, and God’s unshakable sovereignty. Along the way, we sit with difficult passages about brutality and justice, and we talk candidly about why the reality of sin and the fall of man cannot be ignored. This is not doom for doom’s sake; it is a call to honesty, repentance, and humility before God. We also turn to Psalm 137, “by the rivers of Babylon,” where exile exposes the tug of prosperity, distraction, and forgetting what matters most. The thread running through it all is the gospel: God’s wrath against sin is real, and for those who trust Jesus Christ, that wrath has already been poured out at the cross. Because of Jesus, we can trade our sin for the righteousness of God and live as salt and light in a world that still needs hope. If this helped you think clearly about Isaiah, Babylon, end times prophecy, grace, and daily Christian living, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com [https://themountaincross.com].

Babylon, Judgment, And Hope - Isaiah 13 & 14

Send us a note! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2558759/fan_mail/new] What if the most “essential” thing in your life vanished tomorrow? We talk a lot about what we can’t live without, but a dead phone, a long blackout, or one hard season can expose something deeper: what happens when it feels like God has stepped away. From the start, we set that tension on the table and then open Scripture with Pastor Carl for a focused Bible study through Isaiah 13 and Isaiah 14. Isaiah’s message is blunt and strangely comforting at the same time. Israel is warned about Assyria because the nation drifts into idolatry, exploitation, and self-rule, yet Isaiah also looks far ahead to Babylon’s rise and fall. That prediction would have sounded impossible in its moment, which is exactly why it matters. Biblical prophecy reminds us that God is outside of time, faithful to his word, and perfectly holy. We explore why the “burden against Babylon” isn’t just a history lesson, but an encouragement that God sees evil clearly, limits it, and will judge it in his timing. We also dig into the Day of the Lord, not only as a future end times reality when Jesus returns, but as a pattern of God’s correction that can show up in a nation or in a personal life. Babylon becomes more than a city, symbolizing the recurring human impulse to build a kingdom without God, chasing power, prestige, and control. The passage forces hard questions about the sovereignty of God, human free will, and why God may use fallen people to bring justice while still holding them accountable for real sin. If you want to keep going, we’ve got resources to help you take a next step toward Jesus and deeper Christian discipleship. Subscribe, share this teaching with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast. Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com [https://themountaincross.com].

Isaiah 12 - Jesus Makes A Way

Send us a note! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2558759/fan_mail/new] Peace is the word everyone uses and the thing so few people actually feel. We dig into Isaiah and land on a blunt spiritual diagnosis: when we push Jesus out of the equation, we chase counterfeit peace and wonder why our hearts still stay restless. Then we bring it down to the most personal level possible, naming the chasm sin creates and praying with honesty: Lord, dry it up, flatten it, make a way back to you. Pastor Carl walks through Isaiah’s “in that day” promises and shows how prophecy points to Jesus as the Root of Jesse, the banner lifted high for healing, forgiveness, and hope. We talk about why looking to Christ changes more than our beliefs, it changes our desires, our worship, and the way we handle weakness, conviction, and surrender. If you’ve been trying to be your own salvation, Isaiah 12 becomes a reset: God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid. We also explore Isaiah’s vision of God gathering his people from the nations, restoring what was divided, and preparing a highway home, then connect that larger story to everyday Christian living: the water of the Word, the living water Jesus offers, and the joy that rises when faith becomes real. If the world feels like chaos is winning, this is an invitation to fix your eyes on God’s promises and find steady ground again.  Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs peace, and leave a review, then tell us: where do you go first when you’re desperate for peace? Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com [https://themountaincross.com].