All right, brethren, good morning.
Let's turn in our Bible to Isaiah 41. One second. Gotta get a fresh battery. Alright,
Isaiah 41. Now you recall this chapter began
with the Lord calling order in the court. He's calling all to
His bar of judgment. And He calls for silence. And
He told the Gentiles, muster up all the strength you can and
make your case before Me. And then he brought forth his
witness. He holds up Abraham, and he holds
up the apostle Paul, and he said in verse 2, Who raised up the
righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave
the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? Verse 4,
he says, Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations
from the beginning, I the Lord, the first and with the last,
I am He. He declared the response that
the Gentiles would have to the Apostle Paul and the preaching
of the gospel when it went forth among the Gentiles. He declared
that in Isaiah's day. And then we saw in Acts 19, it
came to pass exactly like the Lord said it would. They were
incensed against Christ, against his gospel, against Paul, and
wanted to kill him because he was taking away their works.
Then the Lord brought forth you and me who he's called. He held
up his believers and he said in verse 8, but thou Israel are
my servant, Jacob whom I've chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend,
thou whom I've taken from the ends of the earth and called
thee from the chief men thereof and said to thee, thou art my
servant. I've chosen thee and not cast
thee away. And he tells us, fear thou not
for I'm with thee. Be not dismayed. I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yea,
I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of my righteousness. And he said, those that are incensed
against you, that are enraged, shall be as nothing. This is
the Lord. Now, you picture the setting
here. It's like a courtroom. And he's
bringing forth these witnesses of his works and what he's done
and what he is doing. There's but one reason that we
have not to fear, and he declared it here. He said he's the head
of his church. He's thy redeemer. He's the holy
one of Israel. He's the one who made us righteous.
He's the one who calls us and separates us to himself. He's
the one that keeps us. He said that in verse 13. I, the Lord thy God, will hold
thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, I will help thee. Fear
not, thou worm, Jacob, and ye men of Israel. I will help thee,
saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. He declared
He would make us a threshing instrument, and we would go forth
preaching the gospel, and He brought it to pass. He declared
that from the beginning, and He brought it to pass. And He
declared two things would happen through the preaching of this
Word. One, He would scatter those that are not His like the chaff. He said in verse 16, Thou shalt
fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind
shall scatter them. This is the Lord doing this through
the preaching of the gospel. He said in verse 16, this is
the second result of this gospel, And thou shalt rejoice in the
Lord, and shall glory in the Holy One of Israel. Those two
things are always taking place when the gospel goes forth. He's
scattering the chaff and he's making his people rejoice in
the Lord. It never goes forth void. The
word never goes forth and returns to him void. It always accomplishes
his purpose because he accomplishes it. And then he declared that
through his gospel he'll nourish you and me who are his poor and
needy children. He said in verse 17, when the
poor and needy seek water and there is none and their tongue
filleth with thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of
Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places
and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the
wilderness a pool of water and dry land springs of water. And
then He declares how He'll plant us. Like trees of righteousness
in His house, He'll plant us. He'll plant us together. And
then He declares why He alone accomplishes all this for His
people. He said in verse 20, that they may see, and know,
and consider, and understand together that the hand of the
Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created
it. Now the Lord made His case. He's
called the court to order and He's brought forth His witnesses.
He showed what He has done, what He is doing, and what He shall
do. And He's declared He's the Lord.
He declared salvations of Him. He declared from Him choosing
His people. to Him redeeming His people,
to calling His people, keeping His people, separating all enemies
from His people, keeping us until the day He brings us to glory
is all of the Lord. That's what He just declared
in Isaiah 41. That's the Word of the Lord.
Now He turns the court over, or turns now to any who worship
any other god. to any man who worships any other
god or would say that that's not enough, man's got to add
his hand to it. He turns it over now and he says,
verse 21, produce your cause, saith the Lord. He produced his. Now he says, produce your cause,
saith the Lord. Bring forth your strong reasons,
saith the king of Jacob. He says of all false gods, all
idol gods, He says, let them bring forth and show us what
shall happen. That's what He just did. He just
showed us what shall happen. He said, let the false gods do
what I've done. Let them show the former things
what they be that we may consider them and know the latter end
of them. The Lord chose His people from the foundation of the world.
He determined the end from the beginning and then He told us
everything that He had determined before and what He would work,
and then He brings it all to pass. Verse 22, He says, "...or
declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come
hereafter, that we may know that you're gods. Yea, do good or
do evil, that we may be dismayed and behold it together." Right
here in Isaiah's day, before Christ has ever come forth, He
declared He's coming. And he came forth just like the
Lord declared he would. All through the scriptures he
declared how Christ would be despised and rejected. I mean
in detail, he described how he would be betrayed by his friend.
And Judas did it. He declared how that when he
was going to the cross, they would cast lots for his garments.
They did it. He declared everything that would
come to pass. He's thy redeemer. He's the Holy
One of Israel. He purposed it, the redemption
of his elect, that he came forth and accomplished the redemption
of his people. And then he calls his people
affectionately. Do any of the gods preached from
pulpits today, in the majority of pulpits, is there any preaching
this god? You don't hear it in pulpits.
You just don't hear God determining the end from the beginning and
bringing all to pass himself and getting all the glory. You
don't hear this. God predestinated His elect unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself. From eternity
He did that. That's the former thing. He told
us what the latter end would be, that He would call all His
elect to Himself. That's what He's been doing.
That's what He's going to keep doing until He calls the last
one. The God preached from most pulpits don't do this. He does
not do this. He didn't predestinate His people. He doesn't effectually call His
people. Their God is at the mercy of
the sinner's will. They have to accept their God. This is not who this God is. Our God says here, I'll call
my people. I'll call my people. He said,
let the God that men preach do good or do evil, that we may
be dismayed, that we might be confounded and ashamed for trusting
this God we trust. Let them do good or let them
do evil so we can behold it together. He showed us there exactly how
unregenerate sinners would respond to the gospel when it went forth
among the Gentiles and that's exactly how it came to pass. And it's still coming to pass
the same way today. Men oppose the gospel. They oppose
Christ. They're incensed and enraged
when God gets all the glory. Does the God being preached from
most pulpits sovereignly rule so that he does the good and
that he overrules the evil so that everything comes to pass
and fulfills his purpose exactly? That's not the God being preached.
There's an idol God being preached. Lucinda, this is our God. His
Son comes forth. And this is what the Lord declared
would happen. And this is what happened. The
kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together
against the Lord and against his Christ for of a truth against
thy holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed. Both Herod and
Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were
gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined
before to be done. You let some evil take place
today and men say, well God didn't do this. God did that? Did God have his son nailed to
a cursed tree by wicked hands and yet some evil in our day
happened? And men will say, God didn't
do that? He said, shall there be evil
in a city and the Lord hath not done it? This is the sovereign
God. He's sovereign over all. Ungodly,
self-righteous men who oppose God's people were before ordained
to this condemnation. They're just doing what God determined
before to be done. But our sovereign Savior only
permits the wrath of man that He works to bring glory to His
name and teach His people so that we praise Him and give Him
all the glory. All other wrath, He restrains
it. He said, Surely the wrath of
man shall praise Thee, the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain.
That's the true God. Is that the God being preached
from most pulpits? I'm telling you, brethren, the
Gospel is so very rare It's so very rare. Most messages being
preached today are exalting sinners, and they're not preaching the
true God of the Bible. They just are not. They just
are not. This is what God's verdict is. Now, He's in His courtroom, He's
called to court, He's made His case, and He's declared the truth
about the idol gods, and now here's His verdict concerning
all idol gods and men who follow them. He said in verse 24, Behold,
ye are of nothing, and your work of naught, and an abomination
is He that chooseth you. Your work is of nothing, and
you of nothing, and your works of naught, and an abomination,
a thing to be despised, a disgusting thing to be hated, is he that
chooseth you." That's what the Lord said. Verse 25, He's going
to declare again that Christ His Son is the one in whom the
triune God is manifest, He is the salvation of his people.
Listen to him now, verse 25 to the end of the chapter. He said,
I've raised up one from the north, and he shall come. From the rising
of the sun shall he call upon my name, and he shall come upon
princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth the clay.
Who hath declared from the beginning that we may know, and before
time that we may say, he is righteous. Yea, there is none that showeth.
Yea, there is none that declareth. Yea, there is none that heareth
your words. The first Now catch that, the
first, that's our subject, the first. The first shall say to
Zion, behold, behold them. He just said, who's going to
declare the former things? Who's going to show us the things
to come? Who's going to give us an understanding and teach
us? He said, the first shall say to his elect Zion, behold,
behold them. I will give to Jesus from one
that bringeth good tidings. That's Christ. Listen, for I
beheld, and there was no man even among them, and there was
no counselor, that when I asked of them could answer a word.
Behold, they are all vanity, their works are nothing, their
molten images are wind and confusion. Behold my servant whom I uphold,
mine elect and whom my soul delighteth. I put my spirit upon him. He
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry,
nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flack shall he
not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,
till he have set judgment in the earth, and the owl shall
wait for his law. This is our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the foundation of this world, God the Father chose His Son
to be the Christ, the Savior of a chosen people, that He might
give His Son all the preeminence. Christ is the first. He's the
first. This one that God raised up from
the north and sent, He's the first, and it's Christ. He said,
verse 26, Who hath declared from the beginning that we may know,
and before time that we may say, He is righteous. Verse 27, He
says, The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them. That's who will, the first. Christ
is the first. He's the beginning. He's the
beginning. Let's go to Colossians 1. I want
you to see this again. Colossians 1. That's what first
means. It means the beginning. The beginning. Colossians 1 and verse 18. Well, at verse 17 it says, Christ
is before all things. And by Him all things consist.
The verse before it says He created all things. And He's before all
things. And by Him all things consist.
And He's the head of the body of the church who is the beginning. That's the first. He's the beginning. The firstborn from the dead.
And here's why. Here's why. This is what the
Lord's declaring. This is what the Gospel's all
about right here. That in all things, Christ might
have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell. And having made peace to the
bed of His cross by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him
I say whether there are things in the earth or things in heaven.
When our Lord Jesus is speaking as wisdom personified, in Proverbs
8.22, He said, The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way,
before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, wherever the earth was. because God chose
His people in Christ, because He trusted the whole work from
creating the world, to redeeming His people, to calling His people,
and establishing His church, and working in His people, and
saving us all our days into the end, because the Father trusted
the whole work into Christ's hand from eternity. Scripture
says, Known unto God are all His works from the beginning
of the world. He determined the end from the
beginning, trusting it all to Christ. Christ is before all
things. God is manifest, the triune God. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. He's manifest Himself to Zion,
to His people, in the God-man mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. when you behold the Lord Jesus,
you behold God, you behold the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He said, I and my Father are
one. It pleased God to manifest Himself in the person of His
Son, that He might save His people by His Son. And so, who was it
that created all things? Well, Scripture says, in the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Yes, the triune
God in Christ created all things. Scripture says He created all
things. Listen, look at Isaiah 48 and look at verse 12. What
I'm trying to show you is how fully this whole work is trusted
to Christ. Christ created the stage on which
He would work out the salvation of His people. He created all
creation. and then came into this creation
to do the work. Look here at Isaiah 48 verse
12. talking unto me, O Jacob and
Israel, my called, I am he, I am the first, I also am the last. My hand also hath laid the foundation
of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. When
I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble
yourselves in here, which among them hath declared these things?
What other Savior?" You know, most people, when they preach
about the Lord Jesus, They preach Him as if He's different from
God. God created all things and then
this one came forth named Jesus and they preach Him as if He's
different from God. He is God. He created all things. That was Christ that walked in
the garden in the cool of the day that spoke to Adam in the
garden. He's the one mediator between
God and me and the man Christ Jesus. That was Him, the pre-incarnate
Lord Jesus Christ is who spoke with Adam in the garden. Christ,
the first, is wisdom. He's the one who must give us
understanding. He's the one that must make us
know Him and know that He's righteous and know that salvation's all
of Him. God's pleased that He have all
the preeminence. He gives the preeminence in creation. He gives the preeminence in revelation,
in the new creation. He said, He will speak affectionately
into the hearts of His people saying, Behold, behold. If we're
going to behold, it's going to be because Christ spoke it and
Christ revealed Himself to us. He's the one who brings good
tidings. He's the one that gives us an
understanding, teaching us that Christ is all. Look back at verse
4 again. Who hath wrought and done it,
calling the generations from the beginning? I of the Lord,
the first and with the last, I am He. We came into this world
and we were dead in sins and we were little princes. That's
what we were. We thought ourselves little princes.
You know, we're owed everything. We're entitled to everything.
You know, offended at every little thing and people need to come
bow to us and count out us because we're the prince. We're worthy
of people's people's honor and people's respect. The Lord has
to come and teach us what we are. He has to come and make
us see that we fail and that we are totally, thoroughly the
ruined sinner so that we fall down as dead men at Christ's
feet and worship Him. Whenever John beheld Him, he
said, when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid
His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first
and the last. That's what's got to happen.
That's how He gives you repentance and faith. He comes to us and
He reveals Himself in all His righteousness and how perfectly
holy and righteous and what it took to fulfill the law. And
when He does that, He kills our dead man. We fall dead. We see ourselves the sinner.
And then he speaks, and he creates life in the inward man, and he
says, behold, I'm the first, and we're the last. Fear not.
It's a two-edged sword. He kills, and he makes alive. That's what he does. Christ said,
behold, behold, and he teaches us the former things. He said
in Isaiah 42, In verse 9, He said, Behold,
the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare
before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Look at Isaiah 48,
look at verse 5. Isaiah 48, verse 5. have even from the beginning
declared it to thee. Before it came to pass I showed
it to thee, lest thou should say mine idol hath done them,
and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them. Look
back at Isaiah 46 in verse 9. He says, remember the former
things of old, for I'm God and there's none else. I'm God and
there's none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And
from ancient times the things are not yet done, saying my counsel
shall stand. I will do all my pleasure. He
has to come and teach us He's God. And everything He accomplishes
is eternal. And He did it for a people given
Him from eternity. And He's creating us anew in
spirit. This all has to be of God. It all has to be of God. If we
can contribute one part to this, then it's not of God. And salvation's
of the Lord. And He's going to get all the
glory. He makes us behold that He is salvation set up from eternity. And He's set all in order by
His righteousness. He's fulfilled the everlasting
covenant of grace. He accomplished the redemption
of His people by His death on the cross. And He's going to
make us behold Him. And He's going to give us discernment
to know Him and to believe on Him. In Isaiah 43.10, He uses us then as His witnesses. He says, you are My witnesses,
Isaiah 43, 10. You are My witnesses, saith the
Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and
believe Me and understand that I am He. That's what He says
of His people. What were we before He did this?
Look back at verse 8. Bring forth the blind people.
that have eyes and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations
be gathered together. Let the people be assembled.
Who among them can declare this and show us former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses
that they may be justified or let them hear and say it's truth.
You're my witnesses, he said. You're the blind that have eyes.
You're the deaf that have ears. Because Christ came and gave
you sight. He came and gave you a hearing ear and made you know
the former things. what He has accomplished. Look
here at verse 11. He said, I did this that you
may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there
was no God for Me, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I,
am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. I have declared
and have saved, and I have showed when there was no strange God
among you. Therefore you are my witnesses, saith the Lord,
that I am God. Yea, before the day was, I am
he, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will
work, and who shall let it? I know that word let right there,
it means who's going to stop me from working, who's going
to stop it. But isn't it instructive brethren that one of the common
things that religion says, false religion, worshiping their idol
God says is why don't you let God, why don't you let God do
something. Our Savior says, there's nothing
that can deliver out of my hand. I will work and who shall let
it? Who's going to stop it? Who's going to question me? Who's
going to stop the sovereign Savior of heaven and earth from working
His will and saving His people? Isaiah 44, look at verse 6. Isaiah 44, verse 6. Thus saith
the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of
hosts. I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there
is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and
shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed
the ancient people? And the things that are coming
and shall come, let them show unto them. Let them show unto
them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid.
Have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye
are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea,
there is no God. I know not any." Do you know,
brethren, I know you know this, but what a blessing that the
true and living God has come and given us an understanding
that we might know Him that is true and we're in Him that is
true. The Son of God, eternal life. Concerning all those that are
not His, this is what He did for us. We thought we were princes.
He come and He made us fall down as worms, made us as nothing
in ourselves, made us to see. Behold, behold Him who is all
our salvation, who worked it all, who set it all in order,
who made us righteous and holy. But for them that are not His,
1st Isaiah 41.22, He shall come upon princes as upon mortar and
as the potter treadeth the clay. You look to the cross. Paul said,
Colossians 2.15, He said on the cross, He spoiled principalities
and powers and made a show of them openly. He defeated the
devil on the cross. He defeated every enemy of his
people on the cross, brethren. There is no puny, little fickle,
little fumbling, foolish man that's going to stand in his
way. You go back there to Isaiah 40, he says, I'm the one that
declares, behold, behold, behold. You go back in Isaiah 40 and
see how many times he says, behold, behold, behold. I raise up princes
and put down princes. They're like grasshoppers before
me, he said. And here he said he'll tread
upon them as mortar and tread upon them as the clay. When was the last time? I don't
listen to false religion, but You know, if you're driving on
the highway, sometimes if you're traveling and you're scanning
the radio, you can come across some religious programming. And
the further south you go, the more you'll hear of it. But when
you hear it, this is not the God you hear. It's not the God
you hear. What you do hear is you hear
man preached as God. You know, He said here, the idol
is nothing and their work is nothing. And that's what false
religionists say about their God, really. They say He came
and laid down His life for all men without exception, but He
didn't really accomplish anybody's redemption. He made it a crapshoot. He made it a game of chance.
He came to give everybody a chance to be saved. Salvation is not
a chance. He came and accomplished the redemption of His particular
people. But what they're saying is, is
He didn't really accomplish anything, unless you make it effectual. That's putting man in the judgment
seat. That's putting man above God,
and God, and He said, man saying to God, I'll either accept you
or reject you, and who will let me? No, it's the other way around. God says, I'll either make you
accepted by me and my son by what I've done or I'll pass you
by. And we're at God's mercy. We're
at God's mercy. Salvation must be by Christ alone
because there is no other who can save. Look here in verse
28. Isaiah 41, 28. For I beheld and there was no
man even among them, and there was no counselor, that when I
asked of them could answer a word, behold, they are all vanity."
You know what vanity is? It's a puff of wind. Vanity. That's what God says of me and
you and everybody ever born into this world. They are all vanity. Their works are nothing. Their
molten images are wind and confusion. If anybody asks me to state my
case as to how I know that the God I believe is the true and
living God, the Christ I'm trusting is the true Redeemer and Holy
One. If anybody asks me to make my
case, how do you know He's the true God? Because my God does
something that no other God does. My God does something that no
other God that's being preached does. He saves His people from
the beginning to the end. He does it all. No other God
being preached does that. Man has to help their God out
somewhere along the way. Not the true God of this Bible.
He's Alpha and Omega. He's the first and the last.
He's the beginning. He's the end. He is the author
and finisher of our faith. That's declaring, brethren, He
came. He purposed our salvation. He's the author of it. He came
and worked it out and finished it. And then He comes and tells
you, it is finished. And He keeps telling you, and
He keeps telling you, and He hedges you about, and He protects
you on all sides, and He keeps working in you and teaching you,
and making you just more and more learn to just trust Him,
and just resign it to Him. That's what He's doing. There's
no other God like Him. Listen to this in Revelation.
Let's go there, Revelation 21.5. We'll end with this. Revelation 21.5, He that sat
upon the throne said, Behold, that's what our text said He
would say, Do you behold? Is He making you behold this
morning? He says, I'll make them behold. He says to you, Behold,
I make all things new. He does it all. And he said to
me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said
unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give unto him that is
a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. And he
even gives you the thirst. He even gives you the thirst.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his
God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers,
and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death. Brethren, that's what we are
by nature. That's what we are by nature. But Christ Jesus went
to the cross and our old man died in Him. Died in Him. And we arose with Christ. He
made all things new. You believe on Him today. You
trust Him today. And if He's given you faith and
you already believe on Him, you believe on Him today. You believe
on Him today. You know, that's our problem.
And every trouble we have, every problem we have, it doesn't matter
what it is, We're not trusting Him. We're not trusting Him. When you trust Him, you don't
have to worry. You don't have to fret. You know
He has saved you. He's saving your brethren. He's
calling out His people. He shall do it. He's done it.
And you see it, and you know it, and you believe Him, and
you trust Him. You know He'll provide all lesser things for
you. Turn from your works. Turn from your wisdom. Turn from
yourself. Denying self is denying everything
about us. Everything. And trust Christ
the Lord. A glorious high throne from the
beginning. is the place of our sanctuary.
That doesn't just mean from the beginning of time or from the
beginning being a place of time. It means a glorious high throne
from Christ Himself. He's the beginning. From Him. He's the place of our sanctuary. The place where we're safe. the
refuge and the fortress of His people. That's Christ. That's
Christ. May He give you grace to behold
Him. All right. Our great God and Father, we
thank You for this Word. We pray that You'd make us behold
this morning. We pray Christ would speak and
make us behold. What good tidings it is to know
that He is our salvation. Forgive us, Lord, our sins. Keep
us and make us to hear You again the second hour, Lord. We're
at Your mercy. We ask You to do this for us.
For Christ's sake, for Your honor and glory, according to Your
very Word right here that we've just seen, we ask it for His
name's sake. Amen.