Turn with me in your Bibles to
Isaiah chapter 45. Isaiah chapter 45. This whole chapter is the Word of God Himself. speaking, preaching a sermon.
Isaiah is the one delivering the message, but this is God
speaking. The Lord God of heaven and earth
preaching His message. I've titled this message, A Teapot
or a Child of Grace. A teapot or a child of grace. I just have two divisions. First of all, we're going to
see God's word to little teapots. God's word of little teapots
in verse 9 and verse 10. Woe unto him that striveth with
his maker. Let the potsherds strive with
the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, what makest thou? Or thy work, he hath no hands. Woe unto him that saith unto
his father, what begettest thou? Or to the woman, what hast thou
brought forth? That's God's word to little teapots. Now here's God's word to His
children of grace. Verse 11 through verse 14. Thus saith the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel and His Maker. The Holy One of Israel. That's
who God's children of grace are. They're Israel. He says, ask
of me things to come concerning my sons and concerning the work
of my hands, command ye me. I have made the earth and created
man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched
out the heavens, and all their hosts have I commanded. I've
raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways.
He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not
for price nor reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. Thus saith the
Lord, the labor of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia and of
the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and
they shall be thine. They shall come after thee. In
chains shall they come over, and they shall fall down unto
thee. They shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God
is in thee, and there's none else, no other God. Well, let's see what God's word
is to little teapots. Now, this is the absurdity of
sinners, the absurdity of sinners. God says here it's foolish for
a sinner to strive against God. Verse 9. Woe unto him that striveth
with his maker. Let the potsherds strive with
the potsherds of the earth. You see that word potsherds?
Potsherds of the earth. That means little earthen vessels. Little clay pots. little clay
pots. I couldn't help when I read this
today to think of this song that we have all been taught when
we were children. I'm a little teapot, short and
stout. Here is my handle, here is my
spout. When I get all steamed up, hear
me shout. Tip me over and pour me out.
We are little teapots. That's what we are, little earthen
vessels. We're all made of the same lump
of clay, all made of Adam. All come from one man, Adam,
and all sinners. And whenever one sinner looks
at another sinner and compares himself and tries to see how
he measures up to God by comparing himself with another sinner,
we end up thinking that we're stout. We think we're really
strong and really able to strive, really able to do something.
And we get to hearing, when we get to hearing the truth of how
God saved and the truth of God's message, sinners get all steamed
up and they start shouting and think they're somebody. But will
we be so arrogant? Will we be so haughty? Will we
be so proud as to strive against God? Isaiah said to King Ahaz,
he said, Hear ye now, house of David, is it a small thing for
you to weary men? It's one thing for you to strive
against another little clay pot. But will you weary God also?
Will you strive against God also? To question God's way of saving
sinners is as foolish as a lump of clay arguing against a potter. Look at verse nine, shall the
clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? That's
what a little teapot's made out of, just a lump of clay. Put
on a pot, put on a wheel and spun and made into a little pot. Whenever sinners hear that God
saves by electing grace, by choosing whom he will, that the purpose
of God might stand, according to the purpose of God, according
to His electing grace. Men hear that, and men will start
saying little teapots, start shouting. And they'll say, that's
not fair. It's not fair that God would
have mercy on some and pass by others. God says, who are you,
little lump of clay? Who are you, little teapot? You're
going to say to Him that fashioneth you what maketh thou? Going to
question God? Is that going to be the case
of a lifeless, dead, hopeless, helpless sinner? Is he going
to turn around and question God, how God saves, how God does with
His own whatever He will? We didn't think Christ was going
to come forth into this earth without any form or without any
covenant. We thought He was going to come
in a great, magnificent way. That's how these children who
were given this word, that's how they thought he was coming
the first time. And he came a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief. He took the place of his people.
He came taking the place of his people from the tomb, from the
womb all the way to the cross. He took the place of his people.
And he didn't come forth mighty in the way... Men thought he
was going to come forth and establish a kingdom and give some earthly
ease and pleasure on this earth. He didn't do that. He said, my
kingdom's not of this earth. It's not of this earth. We don't
understand God by our carnal reasoning and our carnal understanding.
We can get it in our head, but we can't believe God. We can't
understand and believe God, truly believe Him. We don't understand
substitution. We don't understand the glory
and the beauty and God's holiness and God's justice and God's long
suffering. A bloody cross, a place where
a man is so marred beyond recognition more than any other man, we don't
understand that. by nature, a little teapot, a
little earthen vessel, a little center. He doesn't have any understanding
of God's holiness. Salvation's not about God's holiness
to a little teapot. It's not about God's righteousness. It's not about the wisdom of
God. It's not about the mercy of God. It's not about the beauty
in the blood of Christ's death. That's not what salvation is
about to a man who's boasting and arrogantly turning against
God and saying that's not fair. Look over at Job 9. I want every
little teapot here to listen. I want you to pay close attention. Listen to this. Job 9, look at
verse 2. I know it is so of a truth. How should man be just with God? How shall man be just with God? That's the question. How is a
man going to be just with God? If he will contend with Him,
if a man's going to contend, he can't answer Him one of a
thousand. And it's hard to find one in
a thousand who can answer that question. How can God, how can
a man be just with God? God's wise in heart and mighty
in strength. Who has hardened himself against
Him and prospered? Look down at verse 30. Look down
at verse 30. If I wash myself with snow water,
could you think of anything as clean an image of that as snow
water? If I wash myself with snow water
and make my hands never so clean, Yet shall thou plunge me in the
ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. For he's not a man
as I am." God's not a man. That I should answer Him, and
we should come together in judgment. That I should turn and reply
against Him, and question how He saved. Look at Job 25. Job
25, verse 4. How then can man be justified
with God? How then can man be justified
with God? Can you answer that question?
How can a man be justified with God? How can he be clean that
is born of a woman? Behold, even to the moon, and
it shineth not, yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How
much less man that is a worm and the son of man which is a
worm. That's what we are. Little teapots. Let all little vain earthly teapots
to get all steamed up on a strive against God. Answer this question. Think about this question now.
Can you answer this question? God says the soul that sinneth
must die. The soul that sinneth must die. And in Adam all died. That means
me and you all died. That means every sinner is conceived
in sin. How can he be clean that's born
of a woman? So, if God's gonna remain just,
God's gonna remain just, in order for God to be the God of truth,
the God of righteousness, the sinner he saves has got to die.
Did you hear that now? Listen. In order for the sinner
that God saves to be saved by God, and God remained the God
of truth and righteousness, and this is the issue. This is the
issue. This is more important than you
and me. The issue is, how's God gonna
save a sinner and remain just if that sinner has got to die? He's got to die. But God chose
to show mercy to whom he would show mercy. Now let me ask you
this question. How then can God be just and
show mercy? How can he save somebody if every
sinner that he saves has got to die? They've got to die. for God to be just, and yet God
purposed to show mercy and save them from that death. How can
you put those two things together? How can you make those two things
harmonize? How can God remain just and yet
be at peace with a sinner who's got to die? How can that be? Here's how it comes about. Ephesians
1-4. It comes about by God according
Ephesians 1-4, according as He hath chosen us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. That's how it begins. God put
some chosen sinners in Christ before the world began. Here's
how it happens. God providing Himself a lamb
to die in place of those sinners, of that sinner. You remember
when Abraham was going up the mountain with Isaac and God had
called him and told him to offer up Isaac and they're going up
that mountain and Isaac says here's the wood, here's the fire,
going up there to offer a slain ram. whose blood is poured out,
whose life is taken away. God said go up there and do that
with your son, Abraham. And Abraham is going up that
mountain and Isaac said here is the fire and here is the wood
for the burnt offering. Where's the lamb? We don't have
a lamb. Isaac had no idea what they were going up that mountain
for. And Abraham, this is what Abraham said, he believed God.
And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb. God will provide himself a lamb. Here's how it is, look at Romans
8, 33. Romans 8, 33. It's by God Himself doing the
justifying. You know what justification is?
It's to be cleared of all your sin. It's to answer to the demands
of the law. You've got to die. You've got
to die. You've got to be cleared. You've
got to be complete. It's God doing the justifying. Look at
Romans 8.33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. His
elect are those He chose, and it's God that justifies them.
He justifies them. Who is He that condemneth? It's
Christ that died, yea rather that's risen again who's even
at the right hand of God who makes intercession for us. Here's
how it happens, 2 Corinthians 5.19. 2 Corinthians 5.19. It's
by God being in Christ. and reconciling his elect unto
himself from the four corners of this earth. They were scattered
about. This is how he did it, 2 Corinthians
5.19. was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing, not charging their trespasses
unto them, not laying it to their account. These are his elect
that he put in Christ. Some were Jews, some were Gentiles,
not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed
unto us this word of reconciliation. I'm telling you tonight how God
reconciles sinners to himself, brings them in harmony with himself
justly, and yet remains just and yet shows mercy. Verse 21,
2 Corinthians 5, 21. It's by making his son, Christ
Jesus, sin in the place of his people and pouring out justice
upon him so that he died so that his children might be made the
righteousness of God in him. He hath made him sin for us who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him." Now that's how this thing's going to happen. It's
by God alone, by the work of God alone, by his Son alone. That's how mercy and truth meet
together. Mercy, God being merciful, saving
some sinners. And truth, God doing it in a
way that's right. Righteousness, God being righteous
to his holy demands and yet bringing about peace. That's how it's
going to happen. And yet there's gonna be some
who's gonna say, well, you're gonna hear that word, and a little
teapot's gonna start steaming, and you start shouting and say,
yeah, but I made the final decision. I made the final choice to make.
So really it comes down to me making, believing on Him. You
do have to believe on God. And God's not gonna believe for
you. But I can assure you this, when God makes you believe on
God, You're not going to boast and say, I did anything. When
we know Him, when we truly know Him, we're not going to boast
in that. Look back at our text. Look at the text. Look at verse
10. I'm sorry, verse 9. Shall the
clay say to him that fashion it, what makest thou? Look at this next part. Are thy
work he hath no hands? Is that how? Let me ask you,
fathers and mothers. Is that how your work came about? Did your work turn to you and
say, Why have you done that? How have you done? You don't
have any hands to do this. You know what work I'm talking
about? I'm talking about your sons and your daughters. You
sons and daughters. Is that how? Is that how your
parents begot you? Is that how you were? You were
and your mother, you were born by you telling your father what
to do? Are you questioning your mother? That's what he asked.
Fathers and mothers, look, verse 10. Woe unto him that saith unto
his father, what begettest thou? Or to the woman, what hast thou
brought forth? Who gets the glory in conceiving
his children and making them be born and willing to trust
him? Who does that? This is what he
said in James. James 1 18. Of his own will begat. That means to be conceived, to
be born of God. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which lives
and abides forever. That's how God does it. The Lord
told Nicodemus in John 3, he said, you have to be born again.
A man can't even see the kingdom of God unless he's born a second
time. Second time it has to be born
again, and he has to be born of the Spirit of God He has to
be born of him. This is what Paul said look at
let's see Galatians Galatians 1 This is what Paul said we just
read that Scott just read that about When he really fasted for
the first time. When Saul of Tarsus, that's the
Apostle Paul, when he was brought down to the dust and for the
first time he really didn't eat or drink anything. He couldn't. He was praying for the first
time. He was brought down in mercy.
This is what he said of that. Galatians 1.15. He said, Let's look at verse 14. He said,
I profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine
own nation. I was more exceedingly zealous
of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, when
it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, He
called me by His grace. He brought him down. so that
he was born of God. Woe unto him that saith to his
father, what begat us thou? You don't have any hands. You
don't have any hands. Woe unto a man that says that.
Would you be so foolish, any child here be that foolish to
say that to your father? You couldn't have begat me unless
I let you have permission, unless I had the final say in the matter.
Would you say that to your father? Would you say to your mother,
you couldn't have born me if I hadn't given you permission.
I got news for you. We didn't have any say in the
matter. We didn't have any say in the matter. Whenever God does
His work, let's look at Isaiah 29. When God does His work, it's
going to be so abundantly clear that you can't help but believe
Him. And to do otherwise is to turn this thing upside down.
Look at Isaiah 29, 16. Isaiah 29, 16. Surely your turning
of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay,
as a little teapot. For shall the little teapot say
of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed
say of him that framed it, he had no understanding? Is we going
to be that absurd? We're going to question this
kind of wisdom and this kind of power and this kind of grace
and this kind of justice and this mercy and kick against and
forsake our own mercy? I read Romans 9.20 to you. Now
let's go back and see if it makes a little more sense to you now. Look at Romans 9.20. You'll say, why does he, I'm
sorry, 919, you'll say, why then does he find fault? Who's resisted
his will? We're always gonna steam off,
don't we? We always wanna say, oh, I'm
stout. I ain't resisted his will. No, nay, but oh man, who art
thou that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why have you made me thus? Have not the
potter power over the clay? You see, that's right side up.
That's the, that's the, which goes first, the cart or the horse? You ever seen a, you ever seen
a cart pulling a horse? The horse pulls the cart. He
has the power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
and honor. Another and a dishonor God has
a fact he does it now. That's his word to little teapot
That's his word to anybody that wants to steam off and say well
now I'm I'm gonna tell you what I've done now you want to be
a teapot want to be a Want to reply against God and act like
you have more power over him and say what you don't have any
hands That's absurd. It's absolutely absurd Now let's
hear what God says to his children Look at verse 11. Now, here's the word from God
our Father to His child. Thus saith the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel. Isaiah 45, 11. Thus saith the
Lord, the Holy One of Israel and His Maker. See, that's what
He said. He's our Maker. He's the Lord. He's the Holy One of Israel.
He's the maker of His children. Now God says to you who are born
of Him, you who have been made willing to believe on Him, to
trust Him. This is what God says to you.
Let the little teapots shout, let them strive, let them debate
with one another against God. Let them strive against God.
Let the potsherds of the earth strive with the potsherds of
the earth. But He says, ask for you, verse 11, you ask me. You ask me. You let them ask
one another all their foolish questions and unlearned questions
and debate about these things. He said, you ask me of things
to come concerning my sons. You ask me. And he says, and
concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. You know what
the word command means? It means charge, charge. give over to, give the charge
to somebody. You know, like if you command
somebody, you charge them. That's one sense of the word.
But the word here really is committed or give the charge of that work
into my hands. This is what he's saying. If
you want to know how I'm saving my children, you ask me. And
when it concerns the work of my hands, you leave that to me. You leave that in my hands. God
doesn't allow, let me ask you this. Did your parents, did they permit you to strive
against them, to fight against them? God doesn't allow his children
to strive against him. He doesn't allow his children
to fight against him, no more than a Faithful father and mother
allows their child to fight against them. And mothers and fathers,
we have to be firm with our children. That's just the case. The child
doesn't know what it wants. You don't know what you want.
As the child of God, you don't know what you want if left to
yourself. God won't give us what we want.
He will give us what we need, and he's going to give us what's
best for us. That's what we have to do for
our children. That's exactly what we have to do for them.
Now, he says here, you asked me, but he tells his child this.
He says, what we tell our children. He says, you're not going to
be able to strive against me. But you can ask me, and you cast
all your care into my hand. That's what we tell our children.
I don't mind at all if my child asks me what I'm doing. But don't
tell me what I'm doing, and don't try to fight against what I'm
doing. You can ask me all you want to, and I'll tell you what
we're doing. And I'll tell you, now you cast
all your care into my hand. Give me the charge of the work
of my hand, and you just follow. That's what God tells his child.
God says, let them strive with one another. Let the little teapot
shout and debate, strive with one another. As for you, you
ask me. Inquire of me. And give this
whole work into my hand. Where do we seek Him? Where are
we going to find God speaking to His children? Finding it right
where we're looking tonight. Right here in His Word. That's
where we find Him speaking. Listen. Don't go home and forget
it. Don't go home and keep your face
in a iPod over you. Go home and read
the word. Search these scriptures to see.
I might be standing here telling you a bald-faced lie. Don't you
want to check me? Don't you want to look these
things up and see? Is this man telling me the truth?
Is what he's saying so? Is this God's word? Take this
book and look into this book and see if this is so or not. This is God's word. This is what
God said. This is a God we're going to
face. I can't press upon you how important it is to study
to see what God said. Seek his face. See what he said.
And ask him. He says, ask me. Ask me. Ask him. You who have a desire
for God, have a heart for Him, ask Him to reveal Himself. Ask
Him to show you His face. Ask Him. And you who have been
called and know Him and rejoice in Him and understand Him, what
He's done for you, and you're in some perplexing situation,
just ask Him. Ask Him for grace. Ask Him to show you, to make
you, to lead you. That's what He says to us first.
Now here's our word of assurance. How do I know that's what He's
going to do for me? We have His authority, His wisdom, and His
power for our assurance. That's the first thing. Look
at verse 12. I have made the earth You mean the God that made
the earth is telling me I can ask Him and trust Him with my
eternal well-being? We get so enamored when somebody
has made something. You know, some new technology
comes out and we just think it's just amazing. God made the earth. God made the earth and everything
in it. And he says, this work I'm going to do, you
can trust it into my hands. I'm going to do it. You leave
this whole work of salvation into my hand. If he made the
earth, I believe we could leave this work of salvation in his
hands, don't you? Look, he said, I created man
upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched
out the heavens, and all their hosts have I commanded." That's
the authority. That's the wisdom. That's the
power of God. Would you rather be a teapot
boasting and spouting off against Him, or a child who He says,
I'm going to instruct you, and I'm going to lead you, and I'm
going to save you. I'm going to do all the work.
Which one would you rather be? Look, here's the second assurance
we have. His Son. The assurance of Christ
Jesus. Now look and notice this in verse
11. Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and His Maker.
He says, ask me of things to come concerning my sons. Concerning
the children, I'm going to say. And then when He starts telling
us to give us some assurance, He just speaks of one Son. Just
one son, verse 13, I've raised him up in righteousness. This
is his son, Christ Jesus. God, the son come in human flesh.
I've raised him up in righteousness. I will direct all his ways. God
raises his children in righteousness because he raised up his son
in righteousness. His son's the one who is the
fulfillment of everything required of God. It's why he made everything. His son, he raises, we say, we
call raising our children, we raise our children. That's what
we're doing, we're trying to raise our children. He raised
up his son. raised him up in the earth, raised
him up on a cross, raised him up before this whole world to
glorify his holy name. And when he did everything God
directed him to do, accomplished the whole work God gave him to
do, God raised him up to his right hand and gave him everything.
And he accomplished the whole thing. He's building the city
and He's letting His captive sinners free by calling them
by His grace. Look, He shall build my city.
He shall let go my captives. Now this is God's Word. This is how God says He's saving
His people. It's in his son. He'll do this.
That shadow, the picture, the type is Cyrus, the man who came
in and did it. The anti-type, the very image
is Christ himself. He's the one who did this. He'll
build my city. He'll let go of my captives.
Now, you want to be a teapot spouting off against this gutter,
you want to have this assurance that I'm going to be saved by
him. He's done everything. Look, and
he doesn't demand any price or any rewards from you and me. Look at verse 13. He'll let go
my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. He's not demanding any payment
from his child. That's the good news of this
day. We sing, Jesus paid it all, all the debt I owe. Sin had left
a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. And
then having conquered all these nations, that we see. Look, you want to talk about
potsherds, little teapots, striving with little teapots? Throughout
the history of this world, you see nations striving against
nations, and one gets a little more power, and then over time,
that one diminishes away, and another one gets a little more
power, and then that one diminishes away, and another one gets a
little more power, and they just keep striving, but can't anyone
conquer the other one? It just hadn't been able to happen.
So that one nation is able to bring all the other nations into
obedience to them. Christ conquered them all. He
conquered every one of them. And having conquered them all,
all the spoils and all the riches and everything belonged to Him.
And He's going to provide all our needs in this life using
His enemies and also calling out his sheep. Look at verse
14. Thus saith the Lord, the labor
of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia, their work, their riches, their
things that they have as civilians, men of stature, they'll come
over unto you and they'll be yours and they'll come after
you. They'll follow after you. God's
going to use even his enemies to provide for his people in
this earth. And not only that, this speaks
to him calling some out and making them fortify his people and join
with his people. In chains they shall come over
and they shall fall down unto thee. They shall make supplication
unto thee saying, surely God is in thee and there's none else
and there's no God. This speaks first and foremost
to that's what they're going to do to Christ. They're going
to come and bow down to Christ. And say, surely God is in thee.
There's no God but thee. See, Christ is God. That's who
he is. Israel, when they went out of Egypt, did they go out
empty? When he delivered Israel out of Egypt, did they go out
empty? You know what happened? He said,
go and tell the people. And he commanded the people. They didn't have any idea why
they were doing it. The Egyptians had no idea. why they kept on
giving and just gave gold and all these things to the Lord's
people and said, here, take all these things. And they went out
with all that stuff. They went out with all of it.
He put it in their hearts to do that. God did. And they went
out with all of it. He said right here, when I bring
them out of Babylonian captivity, they didn't go out empty then
either. He provided, He's provided everything in His Son. You'd
think He's gonna let His people go through this world and His,
His seed will never be found begging bread. Never. Never. And He's gonna provide
everything. Now, let me ask you this question. Are you a little teapot? Are
you striving against God and boasting against God and trying
to boasts against Him, praying all the while, striving against
God, saying, God, I don't think it's fair that God saves that
way, and praying to a God that can't save you. Look at verse
20. Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, ye that are
escaped of the nations. They have no knowledge except
the wood of their graven image, and pray to a God that cannot
save. A God that can't save is no God at all. A God that doesn't
save how God just told us in this word that he saves is no
God at all. Tell ye and bring them near. Yea, let them take counsel together.
Who's declared this from ancient time? Who's told it from that
time? Have not I the Lord? There's no God else beside me.
A just God and a Savior. You know what a just God and
a Savior mean? It means He's just, He's done this thing right
according to His justice and He's also showed mercy. He saved. He's done both. He did the justifying
and He did the saving. He did the effective justice
and showed mercy. There's none beside Me. Now this
is what He says, look unto Me. Be ye saved, all the ends of
the earth, for I'm God and there's none else. Are you a little teapot striving
against Him? Or can you say, that's my God. That's my Savior. My God is the
just God and the Savior. He is this one who saves according
to His mercy and His grace, exactly as He says He will, by His sovereign,
saving, omnipotent hand. Can you say that? We'll let sinners
go on singing their little teapot song. This is what God's children
are going to sing. Behold what wondrous grace the
Father hath bestowed on sinners of a mortal race to call them
sons of God. I hope so much divine. I hope That is so much divine. I hope that so much God may trials
well endure. They'll get you through the trials.
I hope that's this divine. May trials well endure for we
as sons in Christ are made as pure as He is pure. Amen.