Now there are only 25 verses,
but I assure you it will be very difficult to read this without commenting. Our text this morning is found
in verse 22 of Isaiah 45. Look unto me and be you saved,
all the ends of the earth. for I am God and there is none
else." Now, I do believe you ought to
know this. We have no tolerance for any
other God. People are welcome to worship
anything they want to. We wish they wouldn't, but we
give them that freedom and we demand the same for ourselves.
But there ain't but one God who's God. The rest of them are idols.
Even if he's named Jesus, still an idol. You need to understand
this. Today's Christianity is not this
God. It's another God and another
Jesus and another gospel. Look unto me. and be you saved
all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else."
Now let's before we read the chapter let's bow for prayer
together. I find myself forgetting to do it if I wait till later
and I want you to know that if God
doesn't help us we ain't going to help each other I can tell
you that. Lord, God of this universe, maker of all things, we bow before you this morning confessing, believing, and loving
that there is no God else beside you. You are God and God alone, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Lord, we live in a world that loves religion but hates
Christ and the gospel. We live in a world where the
newspapers, the magazines, the radio, the TV love to promote
a religion in which God loves everybody and God's trying to
save everybody and just about everybody is saved. We live in
that kind of world and those things are not so. Teach us. Help us. Make us. Give to our fellow men a witness to the gospel of your
grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. Teach us how to tell men the
truth about who you are, who we are, and who Christ is. Lord, surely in this world in
which the population of this earth grows by leaps and bounds
every day that rolls by, surely there must be some way to communicate
the glorious gospel of Christ that is all of grace to a perishing
world. Do you not have any elect people
in all these vast numbers? Lord, help us, we pray. Cause us to understand this chapter
in our Bibles, its significance and its importance. What these
things mean to us and how they apply to our day. We beg of you
to enlighten us that we might indeed boldly, plainly, clearly
confess that the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ is God alone and there is not another. Help us. We ask for our Savior's
sake. Amen. Alright, let's begin now at verse
1 in Isaiah 45. There's a carryover from the
last verse in chapter 44 about Cyrus, who later became a king
and ruler in Babylon. But when these words are given
to Isaiah, Cyrus has not even yet been born. how can God speak so specifically
and clearly about a man who according to this chapter never knew God but he did exactly what God wanted
him to do. Now if you can figure that out
you can have some peace in this crazy world in which we live. I'm telling you God rules all
things and all people in this world, all the time, everywhere! And we will not apologize for
such a statement. It's the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth. And if that ain't welcome here,
then let's just get up and leave. I thought we settled that a long,
long time ago. He says two things here about
Cyrus that are surprising. It's the only time in our Bibles,
in fact, in which God speaks of a Gentile as being a type
of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 28 of chapter 44, that
says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd. Well, the Lord Jesus is our Shepherd. That makes this man a type of
Christ. And he's the only one you'll
find in the whole Bible like that. He shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, which
has been led captive in Babylon, saying to Jerusalem, you shall
be built, and to the temple your foundation shall be laid. Thus
saith the Lord to his anointed." Who is this? Well, we know it
means Christ, but here it's talking about a type of Christ. This
is the second time in two verses that Cyrus is declared to be
a double type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord said to His
Anointed, to His Christ, to His Messiah,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held. God has held this man by
the right hand. Why didn't He reveal Himself
to him? You have to ask God that, I do not know. But that is His
prerogative. You mean God doesn't have to
save everybody? No, He's never been trying to
save everybody. He's saving all of His people
and He's never lost one yet. Not one, not yet. "...whose right hand I have held
to subdue nations before Him. I'll loose the loins of kings,
I'll make other kings so scared of this man that they just tremble
and bow at His feet and surrender to Him without a fight. To open before Him the two-leaved
gates, and the gates shall not be shut. If God opens them, no man can
shut them. But if God shuts them, no man
can open them. Those words are spoken of our
Savior, the Lord Jesus, in the book of Revelation. All right,
we've got to make some tracks here, we're not getting very
fast. I will go before you and make the crooked places straight. God's going to go ahead of this
king and make the way smooth for him. The man doesn't even
know God. I'll break in pieces the gates
of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And I'll give you
the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,
that you may know that I the LORD, which call you by name,
am the God of Israel." And that means not literal Israel
but spiritual Israel. In the Old Testament not all
the Jews were saved, not all of them were converted, but there
were some in every generation and there still is to this day
and that's the same among Gentiles. that you may know that I, the
Lord, which call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For
Jacob, my servant's sake, and Israel, mine elect, I have even
called you by your name. I have surnamed you, I gave you
your name, though you have not known me." Now, can your God
do that? Well, He did, didn't He? right
here in this chapter we're told that. Verse 5, now you have this
repetition some six times in this chapter, this little phrase,
I am the Lord and there is none else. It's a little bit varied
in places but it's all basically the same statement. Verse 5,
I am the Lord and there is none else, that is no God else. There's plenty of idols and pretenders. There is no God beside me. I girded you, Cyrus, though you
have not known me, that they may know from the rising of the
sun and from the west that there's none beside me. I am the Lord
and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I believe it's the prophet Amos
that says, has evil happened in a city and God didn't do it?
No. No. I the Lord do all these things. Now some people are tempted to
try to exempt God from such things, but if He does not order them
directly, He allows them for His ultimate purpose to reveal
Himself to all of His elect and bring them to faith in Christ
before we exit this world. And we have no clue who those
elect people are. Therefore we must preach the
gospel indiscriminately to all men. There are no identifying marks
that the human eye can see. Salvation is a spiritual work. It takes place in the heart and
in the soul. It's not what these eyes see
and these ears hear. That's not where it is. I the
Lord do all these things. Verse 8. Drop down you heavens
from above and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let
the earth open and let them bring forth salvation and let righteousness
spring up together. I the Lord have created it. Woe
unto him that strives with his maker! Let the potsherd, the
broken piece of pottery, strive with the other broken pieces
of pottery of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that
formed it, What are you making? What make you? Or your word? Or your work? He has no hands. Woe unto him that says to his
father, What beget you? Or to the woman, What have you
brought forth? Thus says the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel and His Maker, ask me of things to come concerning
my sons and concerning the work of my hands, command you me."
Got one little statement to give you on commanding God. You better
make sure what you're commanding. And you ought to think about
it long and hard. And you ought to read this book
carefully to find out if what you're going to tell God to do
is something that he's willing to do because if you think we're
going to change you don't even know him and I don't either if
that's what I think we need to be changed it ain't God that
needs to change now you made me lose my place all right yeah
there it is in the verse 11 all right verse 12 I have made the
earth and created man upon it Well, what about evolution? Well,
what about it? It's just dead men talking about
how the world was made by some other way than this God. We hate
this God so much we wouldn't give Him credit for anything
under the world, under the sun. I've made the earth and created
man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched
out the heavens, and their host have I commanded. I have raised
him, Cyrus, up in righteousness, and I'll 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." But doesn't that
violate His will? Doesn't Cyrus have a free will? Yeah, he's got a free will to
sin just like you and me. But God can make people do things
if he pleases. Will or no will. We've made a God out of the human
will in our generation when it comes to religion. We're born believing in free
will. Yeah, we're free to do just one
thing, sin. Verse 14, "...Thus saith the
Lord, the labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
and of the Sabaeans, men of stature, shall come over unto you. They'll
come to this king Cyrus, and they shall be yours, They shall
come after you in chains, they shall come over, and they shall
fall down unto you, they shall make supplication unto you, saying,
Surely God is in you, and there is none else." There is no God
beside the God of the Bible, no God else beside me. Verse
15, Truly, verily, amen, you are a God that hides yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior. They shall be ashamed and also
confounded, all of them. They shall go to confusion together."
Who is this? That are makers, and for that
matter, users of idols. But Israel shall be saved. Spiritual
Israel shall be saved. in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation. You shall not be ashamed nor
confounded, world without end. For thus saith the Lord that
created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth and made
it, he has established it, he created it not in vain. He formed
it to be inhabited, I the Lord. I am the Lord and there is none
else. That's the fourth time in this
chapter already. I have not spoken in secret in a dark place of
the earth. I said not unto the seed of Jacob. I never said this to Jacob's
seed. Seek you me in vain. I the Lord
speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.
Assemble yourselves and come. draw near together, you that
are escaped of the nations, they have no knowledge that set up
the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a God that can
not save." Now can our God save whom He pleases? When He pleases? Where He pleases? Of course He
can! But if our God is not like that,
He's not God. Pray unto a God that can not
save. Well, I don't know about you,
but I've been there and done that. Verse 21, "...tell you and bring them near."
Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside
me Here are some words I don't want
you to miss. I'm going to have to work on
them at a later time. There is no God else beside me,
a certain kind of God, a just God, a righteous God, a holy
God, and a Savior. a Savior. God, in His infinite
wisdom, created this whole world to put one thing on display,
how the God of heaven and earth could remain holy and have mercy
for poor, hell-deserving sinners. That's what this whole thing
is about. that's the purpose of our being, that's the purpose
of creation, it's the purpose of the Bible to tell us that
the God of this book is a just God and a Savior, that His justice
can be satisfied in the death of His Son, the Lord Jesus, and
every person for whom He died be made righteous in Christ because
of the obedience of His life And this whole world, this universe
was created to display this before all the worlds. That's what everything's
about. This is who God is. This just
God and a Savior, by nature men will not have Him. you couldn't
reach this chapter in any baptist church in this county that i
know of acceptance and you can read it if you don't
stop and comment and if you read it fast when you get in the places
they don't want to see but that's neither here nor there
Verse 22, here's our text, "...Look unto Me, and be you saved, all
the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none
else." That's the sixth time. The fifth
one was in verse 21 All right, verse 23, I have sworn
by myself the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness
and shall not return. That unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say, in the
Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall men
come and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall
glory." This 22nd verse is a very clear, plain, complete statement
of how God saves sinners through Jesus Christ. First thing is look. Mind you it doesn't say see,
it says look. You remember when the children
of Israel in the wilderness and they angered God and he sent
the fiery serpents and Moses interceded and God gave him a
cure to put a brass serpent on a pole and anybody that looked
was healed. Now there were millions of people
in that camp, and not everybody could see that brass serpent. It's the looking, not the seeing. It's not physical sight that
sees Christ. It is the heart. And it's so simple. unto me, and be saved, you ends
of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." All right,
let's work on that statement just a little bit. Now that phrase is repeated six
times all together in that chapter. Sometimes there's a little bit
of variation, but it's essentially the same, very same thing. Now in this whole wide world, been standing for however many
thousands of years, a lot of people have come and gone on
the face of this earth in that period of time. Now how has God
chosen to teach us this lesson, that He is God and there ain't
another. Never has been, and is not now,
and never will be. Well, He's taught this truth
to false gods, idols, and those who worship them, idolaters.
I'll give you just a Bible illustration. You remember in the book of 1
Samuel chapter 5, 6, and 7, Eli's wicked sons who were priests
at the tabernacle and they were losing the fight so they took
the Ark of the Covenant out of the tabernacle. Why? They thought that literal
little... it wasn't as big as this communion
table hardly. They thought having that with
them going into battle meant they had God on their side. Do you know that we are just
that stupid today? We wear crosses, we do all kinds
of things, we go through rituals and ceremonies, and God's not
within a country mile of it. When our Lord Jesus Christ died, types and symbols ended. When that huge thick veil in
that temple split from top to bottom, that little curtain there
is thick, but it ain't nothing compared to it. It split from
top to bottom without a human hand. And from that moment to
this, religion with symbols and crosses and physical attractions,
things to appeal to this eye and to this ear are no more. but we're returning to them as
fast as we can. Baptists are one of the worst
groups in the world headed straight for Rome, just as hard as they
can go. Preachers now wear robes. It's sickening. They observe all the whatever
you call those things, that calendar before Easter, you know, that
you I don't even know the words for
it. I don't want to learn them, but I know they're there and
I see them in print. Well, Dagon was the god of the
Philistines when they captured the Ark of the Covenant. Where
do they put it? In the house of their god, Dagon. and the next morning Dagon has
fallen off his spot and laying on the floor. So they dust him
off and put him back up and the next morning is worse than it
was the first time. He's missing a hand and his feet! He breaks! And they are smarter than a lot
of people in our generation. They said I'm just supposing
they said this because of what they did. They said our God and
Israel's God are not compatible. We've got to get rid of Israel's
God. Don't get rid of the one that
falls off the shelf and gets broken. get rid of the Ark of
the Covenant so they move it to another town and the same
thing happens and God sends a plague in all three places in the country
of the Philistines where this Ark of the Covenant was put and
sent cases, multiplied cases of hemorrhoids among all the
adults in those villages as well as other curses and they finally
said listen we gotta get rid of this thing once and for all
And so they take two young cows that have just had a calf and
hook them, they've never been hooked to a cart before, and
they send them away with that Ark of the Covenant. And they
go straight to the nation of Israel. Even those dumb Philistines knew
if those two cows left their calves, this is what we have
to do. And that's what they did. You understand that we still
have false gods and people that worship them to this day, on
this very day, in this very community. But God has also been pleased
to teach these lessons to nations and empires, not the least of which is Babylon. It was Babylon that Cyrus came
to us in those words in Isaiah 43. But if you'll turn with me
for a second, I want you to see this for yourself. Revelation chapter 17, and I want to kill three birds with
one stone. So don't leave Revelation 17,
okay? You've got to find it. 17, Revelation
17. The easiest way is to start at
the back of your Bible and come forward. Verse 5, here's that
Babylon. But this is not literal Babylon. This is spiritual Babylon. And upon her forehead was a name
written The mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots
and abominations of the earth. Now those harlots, a good number
of them are Baptist preachers who are lying on God and prostituting
His gospel to people who can't wait to hear it. You think I'm just being mean.
and I probably have a Main Street somewhere, but that's not where
this came from. All right, Chapter 18, verse 7. Chapter 18, Revelation, verse
7, "...how much she has glorified herself and lived deliciously,"
the margin says, "...luxuriously so much torment and sorrow give
her for she says in her heart I sit a queen and am no widow and shall see no sorrow God she
said can't conquer me oh my goodness that's that's not good Don't
tell God what He can't do. Chapter 19, verse 2, "...for true and righteous are
His judgments," God's judgments, "...for He has judged the great
whore," that's spiritual Babylon, He has judged the great whore
which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged
the blood of His servants at her hand." She is said in these
chapters to be responsible for the martyrdom of a great many
people who knew Christ and loved Christ and left this world rather
than deny Him. And she's charged with their
deaths. God has also taught this lesson.
What's the lesson? I'm God and there's none else
beside me. He's taught this lesson to kings
and monarchs. Surely you haven't forgotten
about old Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4. He said, man, I'm
somebody. And they put him out to pasture
like an animal. for something like seven years
and when he came back he could not speak highly enough about
the God who orchestrated his demise. He found out who God
is and was not unwilling to declare it. It's written right there
for you in the last part of Daniel chapter 4. Then think about another
one. When Isaiah was prophet in Israel A king by the name of Uzziah
was on the throne of Israel at that time. This was a good king. He did
a lot of good things for his people. But he decided that being
a king was not enough. He was going to make himself
a priest as well as a king. And he went in that temple and the priest did their best
to keep him from it. He took one of their censers
and began to offer incense in the house of God. And God smote
him on the spot with leprosy. And he died a leper. And Isaiah was very enamored
of this man. He thought the world of him.
Therefore in chapter 6 and verse 1 you'll find these words, "...in
the year that King Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah said, I saw
the Lord high and lifted up and His train filled the temple. Not till that king was dead could
Isaiah properly see and understand who God is, but when he saw it
in living color. God taught him that in his heart. Well, I've got a little bit of
time but not enough. Hebrews chapter 12. I want to
remind you of another king that God taught this lesson Well, I thought I had it marked.
Let me see. Just give me a minute. I'm way
behind. Acts chapter 12. The king's name is Herod. Herod. In chapter 12 of the book of
Acts. Did I give you that scripture?
Or did I give you something else? Oh my. I was looking in Hebrews,
but it wasn't there. in the book of Acts chapter 12
verse 20. Now that's for sure. And Herod was highly displeased
with them of Tyre and Sidon. These are Gentile cities. But
they came with one accord to him, having made Blastus the
king's chamberlain their friend, and desired peace, because their
country was nourished by the king's country." You see that
every day in politics and countries and trade and so forth. And upon a set day, Herod arrayed
in royal purple apparel, sat upon his throne and made a speech
unto them and the people gave a shout and here's what they
said now they just they're just trying to you know just trying
to get this guy to be kind to him the people gave a shout and said
it is the voice of a God and Herod didn't refute it. He
accepted the compliment and God killed him on the spot. The angel of the Lord smote him
because he gave not God the glory. I'm telling you if everybody
in this state of North Carolina that is not giving God the glory
were punished like this man, you wouldn't find enough cemeteries
in this whole state to put them. Now that's the truth. The average
Baptist church is despising the true and living God while catering
to this free will nonsense that's everywhere to be found. They
are kissing up to people and spitting in God's face at the
same time. Well, I was going to tell you
about some folks in our Bibles that God taught this lesson to. You remember the parable about
the Pharisee in the public and in the temple? The Pharisee said,
I'm not like other people. I've not done this, and I've
not done that, and I've not done the other, and I tithe, you know,
of everything that I possess, even the stuff that most people
leave out." He said, you know, I'm a tither, a total tither. That publican stood up before
God, refusing even to look toward heaven. God be merciful to me,
the sinner of all sinners. And our Lord said, this man,
the publican, went down to his house justified. And the same
rules apply right now. If we don't love this God who's
revealed in this book, then it doesn't matter who you love. We're going to stand before this
God in everlasting condemnation and judgment. There's no in-between between
today's religion and the religion of the Bible. There just ain't
no meetin' place. If you've got to sell the truth in order to
have peace, that's too expensive. You can't do that. You cannot
do that. Alright, in salvation this lesson
that God has been teaching ever since this world began In salvation,
God's greatest work, God ever teaches this same lesson. I'm God, and there's none else. Now look how He does it. Right in front of your eyes now,
if you've still got your place, and I may not have mine either.
Isaiah 45. I'd like for you to turn back
to that if you don't mind. I don't know which one of y'all
slipped up here and moved my marker, but it's not here. Chapter 45. All right. Chapter 45, verse 22. By the way, this is the sermon
that Charles Spurgeon heard when he was a teenager, 16 or 17 years
old, in London. He couldn't get to the church
where his grandfather was pastor, so he just ducked into a small
church in, at that time, the central part of London. It was
a primitive Methodist church, and you ain't never heard of
one of them, have you? Been a while back. This would have been in
the early, mid-1800s. And this poor, uneducated man
stood behind that pulpit and read that verse of Scripture,
verse 22, and did his best to tell what it meant. And God converted C. H. Spurgeon
in an unlikely place. So how does God teach this same
lesson in regard to salvation? First of all, to whom does God
tell us to look? Our text says, look unto me. That me is none other than the
Lord Jesus Christ. We look to Christ and God uses
that look to communicate to us His grace. It is the means by
which we lay hold of Christ. The Israelites couldn't get to
the actual serpent of brass and touch it or anything and so it
is with our Lord Jesus Christ. Of all things we don't need a
picture of Him to look at. No, this is a spiritual look
from the heart It's got nothing to do with literal things, outward
things, physical things. Oh, if we don't learn to distinguish
between the outward and the inward, we're in real trouble, real trouble. We're not to look to the preacher,
nor to a priest, nor whatever else they're called. We do not
need ANYBODY between our soul and God when this transaction
of salvation is taking place. You don't need to take a preacher's
hand, that is pure bunk! And yet you'd think it was on
every page of the Bible because people think, you can't possibly
leave that out! But most of all, This look to Christ means not
looking to ourselves. But I can't see that I have any
faith. I can't see that I've repented
enough. I haven't believed enough. So, you're just like every other
sinner, saved by grace. The enough is not in us. It's
in Christ. Sin is the only qualification
for coming to Christ. The only question is, are you
a sinner? Well, I've done some bad—oh,
get out of here! I'm talking about what we are, not what you've done. It's what
we are. We contaminate everything we
touch, spiritually speaking, with sin. So what is the method
or the means of salvation? It is simply this. One little
word. Two of the letters are the same.
Just look. Look. That's all. Just look. Look unto me. and be you saved. This humbles proud sinners who
think they have some things to offer as part of the price of
their salvation. You ever been there? My soul,
we're tempted to go there every day of our lives, even now. We
get to thinking ourselves, you know, I'm doing pretty good,
I'm making progress. Oh my! Remember the Pharisee in the
public and in the temple. God cuts down the pride of man
and exalts himself, and here's how he does it, by the persons
whom he calls to look. You won't ever look unless God
gives your poor soul an affection call and then I guarantee you'll
look but look who it is that he calls
it's right there in that statement now in verse 22 if I can find it all the ends
of the earth Now preacher, you don't mean
to say that everybody has to be saved the same way. I do exactly
mean to say that. There's only one kind of sinner.
What kind is that? The one that hates God, despises
His Son and His grace, all the ends of the earth. Well, preachers surely are people
that are well-to-do. They're not saved the same way
as the poor people. Yes, they are. If you've got a servant at your
house, you'll be saved the same way the servant is or you won't
be saved. That's just how it is. We're all in the same boat. Salvation is by pure, free, sovereign
grace in Christ. It cannot be deserved. And if
you ever have it, you'll bless God that it's so. Because if
it's not free and if it's not sovereign, we ain't going to
make it. We're just not going to make
it.