LOOKING FOR A FEW MOMENTS AT
ISAIAH 46. I'M ENTITLING THE MESSAGE FROM
THE WORDS FOUND IN VERSE 9, AND I JUST LOVE WHAT IT SAYS HERE.
REMEMBER THE FORMER THINGS OF OLD, OR HE'S SAYING REMEMBER
THE DAYS OF OLD? FOR I AM GOD. I AM THAT I AM. AND THERE IS NONE ELSE. THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD. WHAT'S HE LIKE? WHAT'S HE LIKE? THE LORD KEEPS REPEATING THIS
STATEMENT, I AM THE LORD, AND THERE IS NONE ELSE. JUST ACROSS THE PAGE OVER IN
ISAIAH 45, VERSE 5, I AM THE LORD, THERE IS NONE ELSE. THERE IS NO GOD BESIDE ME. I
GERTED THEE, THOUGH THOU HAST NOT EVEN KNOWN ME." AGAIN, ISAIAH 45, VERSE 14, THE
LAST PART OF THAT, SURELY GOD IS IN THEE, AND THERE IS NONE
ELSE. THERE IS no God else beside me. Verily, verily, thou art a God
that hideth thyself, O God, my Savior. Isaiah 45, the last part
of verse 21, there is no God else beside me, a just God and
Savior. There is none beside me. Now
look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For
I am God, and there is none else." Now, he keeps repeating, repeating,
repeating the same statement over and over. Not that he needs
to repeat anything. God says it one time and that's
it. That settles it, whether we believe
it or not, but that settles it. But he says this over and over,
I am God, beside me there is none else, there is none like
me, I am God. Why does he keep repeating that?
Because we need to hear it. Hearken, he said, listen, listen
unto me. God doesn't need to declare anything
more than one time, but we sure need to get the message that
we might hear it. THAT WE MIGHT DECLARE IT UNTO
OTHERS. THERE IS NO OTHER SALVATION BUT
IN THE GOD AND SAVIOR THAT'S REVEALED IN SCRIPTURE. NOW, IN
THIS CHAPTER, THE LORD DECLARES UNTO US THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL
FROM BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY. REMEMBER, THEY WERE CARRIED AWAY
FOR 70 YEARS, BUT THEY WERE DELIVERED BY THIS KING OF PERSIA. HIS NAME WAS CYRUS. IF YOU LOOK
OVER HERE IN ISAIAH 44, just across the page, Isaiah
44, 28, that saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, shall perform
all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built,
and to the temple, the foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the
Lord to his anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue
nations before him, I will loose the loins of kings to open for
him the two lead gates, and the gates shall not be shut." Now,
he declares that Israel will be delivered even before they're
taken into captivity. This is 200 years before. God
declares the name of the deliverer 200 years before Cyrus is even
born. God named him and said, he's
mine anointed, I'm gonna use him. God declares also that Cyrus
shall be, King Cyrus shall be victorious even before the battle
starts. You see, he declares the end
from the beginning. From ancient times, there's things
that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand. Now,
the gospel application is obvious. For Cyrus, King Cyrus, is a picture
of the king of kings, the victorious Lord Jesus Christ, who won the
victory over all opposition. Sin, Satan, death, hell, the
grave, whatever opposition that they threw against us, the Lord
Jesus Christ has given us the victory. God had declared the
deliverance of his elect from the bondage of their sin before
Adam ever fell in sin. This is the God of the Bible.
The Lord Jesus stood as a charity before there was a sinner. He's
a lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. God named the Redeemer
before he was born. Call his name Jesus, Savior.
For he shall save his people from their sin. The child is born, the son's
given, his name shall be called Wonderful. Government's on his
shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. He is the Prince of Peace. God declares that the Lord Jesus
Christ has finished the work he sent him to do before it was
finished. You see, he declares the end
from the beginning. What a great God we serve. David
said in Psalm 74, my God is the king of old, working salvation
in the midst of the earth. He from old eternity, HE'S ALWAYS
BEEN KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING,
THOU ART GOD. ALL THIS SHOWS US THAT OUR GOD
SHALL ACCOMPLISH ALL HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE WHICH HE PURPOSED IN
CHRIST JESUS BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. I'LL DO IT. I'LL PERFORM ALL
MY PLEASURE. HE WORKETH ALL THINGS AFTER THE
COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL. GOD'S FOREKNOWLEDGE IS ALWAYS
BASED UPON HIS ETERNAL DECREES. HE KNOWS ALL THINGS BECAUSE GOD
HAS DECREED ALL THINGS FROM THE BEGINNING. PREACHER, DO YOU UNDERSTAND
ALL THAT? NO. Why? Because his word declares
it. God's omniscience, of all things,
is one of his essential attributes. Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning. God's foreordination and predestination
is his deliberate act and purpose. His purpose is eternal purpose.
HIS PURPOSE IS MARRIED TO HIS GRACE. GOD SAVED US ACCORDING
TO HIS PURPOSE AND GRACE. OF HIM, THROUGH HIM, AND TO HIM
ARE ALL THINGS TO WHOM BE GLORY BOTH NOW AND FOREVER. THIS IS THE GOD THAT'S DESCRIBED
IN HOLY SCRIPTURE. THE ONLY PLACE A SINNER WILL
WORSHIP as at the throne of the absolute sovereign God. Now, they may pretend to bow
before idols and worship, but that's not worship at all. That
idolatry, that's what it is. Now, there's a contrast drawn
in this chapter, as the Lord does in all of scripture, between
that which is true and that which is false. That which is ALIVE
AND THAT WHICH IS DEAD. AND HE MAKES A CONTRAST THERE
BETWEEN THE TWO. AND THAT'S WHAT HE DOES IN THIS
CHAPTER. ALL FALSE GODS ARE IDOLS AND
THEY'RE NOTHING BUT MISERABLE FAILURES. BALE AND NEBO, VERSE
1, THEY HAD TO BE CARRIED ABOUT. THEY COULD NOT DELIVER THEMSELVES.
They're gone into captivity themselves. Any God that is dependent upon
the creature, needing the aid and help of a man to be carried
about from this place to that place is no God at all. That's just a mere, mere idol. Baal, Baal, Nebo were unable
to prevent the evasion of Cyrus, Babylonian captivity, and the
victory they had, Cyrus had, over the enemy. Now how, you say, well how is
all that relevant to us today? The God that is preached from
most popes today is as helpless and impotent as Baal and Nebo. That's true. You just listen
to some of them. God want to and can't. God's
done all he can, but you won't let him. You won't let him have
his way. He's knocking on your door, but
you won't let him in. The latch is on the inside, they
say. That's not the God of Scripture. THE GOD THAT'S PREACHED TODAY
IS UNABLE TO DELIVER, UNABLE TO SAVE, UNABLE TO REDEEM, UNABLE
TO KEEP US FROM FALLING, UNABLE TO, UNLESS WE LET HIM, BY OUR
CHOICE, OUR WILL, THEY SAY, IS FREE. THEY'VE MADE GOD, THEIR
GOD, SMALL G, NOTHING BUT A MERE IDOL. THEY PRAY, YOU REMEMBER
OVER HERE IN ISAIAH, RIGHT ACROSS THE PAGE, Isaiah 45 20 assemble
yourselves come drawn near together ye that are escaped of the nation
they have no knowledge that set up wood of their graven image
and they pray unto a god that cannot save the god of free willism
is a mere pagan idol you might as well fashion you out an idol
of stone and bow down and kiss its feet as to worship a God
who wants to and cannot. Those who promote such an idea
of their God have never met the God of the Bible. God of the
Bible is absolute sovereign. He does as he will, with whom
he will, when he will, for his own glory. He's able to say to
the uttermost all that come to God by Him. He's able to do all
that He has promised, not one word. OF HIS PROMISE WILL EVER
FAIL TO COME TO PASS. HE'S ABLE TO SAVE, HE'S ABLE
TO KEEP US, HE'S ABLE TO PRESENT US FAULTLESS BEFORE THE PRESENCE
OF GOD'S GLORY. THAT'S THE GOD OF SCRIPTURE.
THAT'S THE GOD WE BELIEVE AND PREACH AND THAT'S THE GOD THAT
WE WORSHIP. Those who have seen Him as Isaiah
did, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, those who've seen Him,
they speak of His glory, His salvation, not the creature's
will or the creature's decision or the creature's work. Secondly,
The God of the Bible is no failure at all. Failure is not even a
remote possibility. HE SAYS IN VERSE 3, HARKEN UNTO
ME, O HOUSE OF JACOB, AND ALL THE REMNANT OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL,
THERE IS A REMNANT ACCORDING TO THE ELECTION OF GRACE. SONS
OF JACOB ARE THOSE CHOSEN AND LOVED OF GOD, THE ELECT OF GOD,
WHICH ARE BORN BY ME. NOW, WHO CARRIES WHO? THE IDOLS
WERE CARRIED BY MEN. SINNERS SAVED BY THE GRACE OF
GOD ARE CARRIED BY GOD. BY ME FROM THE BELLY. WHAT DID THE LORD SAY OF JEREMIAH? BEFORE I FORMED THEE IN THE BELLY,
I KNEW YOU AND ORDAINED YOU TO BE A PROPHET, WHICH ARE BORN
BY ME FROM THE BELLY AND CARRIED FROM THE WOMB TO THE TOMB. even to your old age, even before
you knew the true and living God, He had His eye on you. I can see that all through my
life now, before I knew Him, how He was, had His eye on me, had His love
on me, even to your hoary hairs, whore hairs. Boy, I'm there now,
white-headed. What little hair I got left.
When I go get a haircut, it takes a barber about five minutes.
I said, man, you finished up quick. He said, you ain't got
much left, pal. And that's so. Horry Harris, from the womb to
the tomb. God said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. He's always had his eye on his
covenant people. HE CARRIES US IN HIS BOSOM. REMEMBER
THIS SCRIPTURE, TURN BACK OVER TO ISAIAH 40. ISAIAH 40, VERSE
11, HE SHALL FEED HIS FLOCK LIKE A SHEPHERD. ISAIAH 40, 11. HE
SHALL FEED HIS FLOCK LIKE A SHEPHERD. HE SHALL GATHER THE LAMBS IN
HIS ARMS AND CARRY THEM IN HIS BOSOM, VERSE 11, AND SHALL GENTLY
LEAD THOSE THAT ARE WITH YOUNG. OH, THAT'S SO SWEET, ISN'T IT?
HE CARRIES US IN HIS HEART. THAT PREACHER OF OLD, WHEN HE
MINISTERED IN THE TABERNACLE, HE HAD THAT BREASTPLATE. REMEMBER
WHAT WAS WRITTEN ON THAT BREASTPLATE? THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE TRIBES
OF ISRAEL, THOSE TO WHOM HE REPRESENTED. AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST CARRIES
US IN HIS BOSOM. I've made thee, verse four, Isaiah
46, I will carry you, I've made you. Remember what the Apostle
Paul said, I am what I am by the grace of God. We are his
workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. I have made thee, I will bear
thee, even I will carry you. He carries us all the way to
glory. The forerunner of the Lord Jesus
Christ has entered in for us and seated in the heavenly and
we're seated in him. He says, I will carry you and
I will deliver you. He is the redeemer who redeems.
Deliverance is redemption. That's what the word means. Redemption
means deliverance and deliverance by a price. It's deliverance
by his blood. WILL CARRY YOU, I WILL DELIVER
YOU. NOW, TO WHOM WILL YOU LIKEN ME? WE DON'T NEED TO LOOK ANYWHERE
ELSE. THERE'S SALVATION IN NO OTHER. HE'S THE ONLY JUST GOD
AND SAVIOR, HE SAID. NOW LOOK UNTO ME. TO WHOM WILL
YOU LIKEN ME? WHERE IS MY EQUAL? WHO CAN BE
COMPARED UNTO ME? FOR HOLINESS? for eternality,
for power, for sovereignty, that we may be like. There's none
like him. There's none like him. The pagan
idols had to be carried around by the people. Verse six, they
lavish gold out of the bag, they weigh silver in the balance,
they hire a goldsmith and he make it the god, and they fall
down, yea, they worship. Not true worship, idolatry. They bear him on their shoulders. Aren't you glad the government
of the universe is upon his shoulders? They carry him. They set him
in a place, these pagan stone idols. He standeth from his place
and shall not remove. Yea, one shall cry unto him,
yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble." Now,
what good is a pagan idol? He cannot hear, he cannot see,
he cannot deliver, he cannot say, he cannot do anything. He's
helpless himself. He has to be carried about and
set in place to place. They that make them are likened
to them. Idols, so is everyone that trusted
them, dead. Cold graveyard, dead in sin. Now, the true and living God
carries his people from the womb to the tomb, from the cradle
to the grave, from the bondage of sin to the heights of glory.
WILL CARRY AND BEAR YOU, I MADE YOU, I WILL DELIVER YOU, AND
HE HAS. HE'S CALLED THE REDEEMER. YOU
REMEMBER OUR STUDY IN THE BOOK OF ROMANS, ROMANS 11, 26, HE'S
CALLED THE DELIVERER, THE DELIVERER. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS NO IMPOTENT
SAVIOR. There's nothing impotent about
our God. He's almighty, almighty to save. I that speak to thee
in righteousness, remember our study a few weeks ago, I that
speak to thee in righteousness, mighty to save. He is the Savior. He's got our Savior, and He is
what He's called, Savior. He is what He's called, got our
Savior. He is the Redeemer who actually redeemed. He is the
justifier of the ungodly. He is the just God and Savior.
There's none like Him. There is none like Him. Remember
this, verse eight. Remember this and show yourselves,
men, believers, bring it again to mind Think about this, I am
God, beside me there is none else. Oh, you transgressors.
Boy, that sums us up, doesn't it? That's God's estimation of
what we are in the flesh. Transgressors, through and through.
Vile, wretched, ungodly, guilty, miserable. Bring it to mind. To whom will you liken me? There's
none like him. WHO'S EQUAL TO GOD? IN HOLINESS,
IN POWER, IN ETERNALITY? THERE'S NOBODY LIKE HIM. WHO
CAN BE COMPARED TO HIM? THERE'S NONE LIKE ME. GOD IS
EITHER ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY SOVEREIGN OVER ALL THINGS IN CREATION,
PROVIDENCE, AND SALVATION, OR HE'S NOT GOD. They said to David, David, oh,
David, where is your God? We know where Baal and Nebo are.
Where's your God? Our God's in the heavens, and
he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Whatsoever the Lord
pleased, that's what he did, heaven, earth, seas, and all
deep places. Remember this, believer. WITH COURAGE AND FORTITUDE,
REMEMBER, AND WITH FAITH, REMEMBER WHO GOD IS, REMEMBER WHO WE ARE,
CENTERED BY BIRTH, NATURE, PRACTICE, AND CHOICE. Now preacher, you
don't choose to sin. I wish I could stop sinning,
but I can't. It's just in, it's inbred in
my nature. What I am, none righteous, no,
not one. Remember the Lord has delivered
us only by his grace. Remember verse nine, that I am
God, there is none else, there is none like me, God says. But
what is the true and living God like? What's he like? He's not like we think he is. Psalm 50 says, the Lord says,
you thought I was altogether such a one as yourself. God is
not who we think he is. All your thoughts about God,
the God of Scripture, are totally contrary to what we think left
to ourselves. God is not like we think that
He is. God is glorious in holiness,
doing great wonders, doing great works, strong and faithful. But I found these scriptures. transcribed TV message by Brother
Mahan yesterday. Bridget typed it out and I prophread
it and made some corrections, a few edits. But I found these
scriptures about the God of the Bible. He's called 1 Peter 5.10
the God of all grace. WHO HAVE CALLED US TO GLORY AND
VIRTUE AFTER WE'VE SUFFERED A LITTLE WHILE. HE'LL MAKE YOU PERFECT.
HE'LL STRENGTHEN YOU. HE'S A GOD OF ALL GRACE. AND
THEN IN ROMANS 15, 33, HE'S CALLED THE GOD OF ALL PEACE. WE HAVE
PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. HE MADE PEACE FOR
US WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE
HAVE PEACE WITH GOD. THERE WAS NONE ELSE. THE GOD
OF ALL GRACE. HE'S A GOD OF ALL PEACE. IN SECOND
CORINTHIANS 1-20 HE'S CALLED THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT. THE GOD
OF ALL COMFORT. REMEMBER ISAIAH 40? COMFORT YOU,
COMFORT YOU MY PEOPLE, SAYETH YOUR GOD. AND THEN THE NEXT THING
HE TALKS ABOUT, Your warfare is accomplished. Your iniquity
is put away. I've given you double pardon
for all your sin. Boy, if that don't comfort your
heart, nothing will. And then in Romans 15, 13, he's
called the God of hope. We have a good hope through grace. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing. Christ
in you is a hope of glory. AND THEN I FOUND THIS IN SECOND
CORINTHIANS 13, 11, HE'S A GOD OF LOVE. GOD IS LOVE. NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM
THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THIS IS THE
GOD OF SCRIPTURE. THIS IS THE GOD THAT WE WORSHIP.
THIS IS THE GOD THAT WE PREACH. VERSE 10, HE DECLARED THE END
FROM THE BEGINNING. HOW DO YOU DO THAT? How do you declare the end or
decree the end from the beginning? He is the eternal God who inhabits
eternity. With Him, there is no time. It's
just eternal right now. That's how we can declare the
end before He makes it in the beginning God created heaven
and the earth. And before He made it, He declared
the end of it. Wow. THE END FROM THE BEGINNING,
FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THINGS THAT ARE NOT YET DONE, SAYING,
MY COUNSEL WILL BE DONE AND I'LL DO ALL MY PLEASURE. EVERYTHING
THAT GOD HAS PROMISED, EVERYTHING THAT GOD HAS DECREED WILL COME
TO PASS. HE DECLARED THE END OF OUR SIN
FROM THE BEGINNING. HE DECLARED THE END OF THE LAW
FROM THE BEGINNING. CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE DECLARED THE END OF OUR LIFE
FROM THE BEGINNING. MAN'S DAYS ARE DETERMINED OF
THE LORD. GOD HAS DECLARED THE END OF THIS
WORLD FROM THE BEGINNING. SAYING, MY COUNSEL, MY PURPOSE
WILL STAND. SAYING, I WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE
HIS COUNSEL AND HIS PLEASURE IS HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE. ALL THE
DEMONS OF HELL, ALL THE CREATURES OF THE EARTH CANNOT FRUSTRATE,
CHANGE, HINDER THE PURPOSE OF ALMIGHTY GOD. HE SAID, I'VE SPOKEN
IT. I'LL BRING IT TO PASS. I PURPOSED
IT. I WILL DO IT, VERSE 11. The only place a sinner will
worship, truly worship, is at the throne of the Almighty God. This is the God with whom we
have to do. Whatsoever the Lord pleases,
that's what he does. CALLING, VERSE 11, I'LL DO ALL
MY PLEASURE, THE PLEASURE OF THE LORD SHALL PROSPER IN HIS
HAND, ISAIAH 53, 10, EVEN CALLING A RAVENOUS BIRD FROM THE EAST,
THE MAN THAT WOULD EXECUTE MY COUNCIL, AND HE'S REFERRING TO
KING CYRUS OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, AND HE DECLARES THIS FROM THE
BEGINNING, BUT HE'S ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE COMING OF THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST, THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, MAN THAT WOULD
EXECUTE HIS COUNSEL IN THE SAVING OF GOD'S PEOPLE. AND HE CAME
FROM A FAR COUNTRY, DIDN'T HE? I CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, THE
LORD SAID. God uses men and means to execute
his counsel, that executes my counsel. I love that word, executes
his purpose. I've spoken it. I'll also bring it to pass. I've
purposed it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do
it. Now, again, he says, verse 12,
hearken, listen to this, even you who are stout-hearted,
full of pride, religious pride, hard-heartedness, stout-heartedness,
he's so hard-headed, the Lord couldn't, that Lord couldn't
save that man, he's so hard-headed, he's so stubborn, there's no
man that God cannot conquer. Example, Saul of Tarsus, boy,
he was stout-hearted, wasn't he? And when he met the Lord,
the Lord whipped him, put him in the dust, unhorsed him. Lord,
he said, Saul of Tarsus, Lord, what will you have me to do?
He met the true and living God. He met this God of the Bible
right here. I've spoken it, I've purposed it, I'll do it. Hearken
unto me, you stout-hearted that are far from righteousness. Those
who are stout-hearted are going about to establish a righteousness
of their own because they're ignorant of the righteousness
provided in the gospel. Remember in our study through
the book of Romans, the righteousness that's of God, where does it
come from? It's his providing, blessed is
the man to whom the Lord imputes righteousness without works.
I bring near my righteousness, thank God he does. Christ our
righteousness. CAME TO DELIVER US FROM OUR SIN
AND TO ESTABLISH A RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR US. HE DID THAT WITH HIS
OBEDIENCE, HIS OBEDIENCE EVEN UNTO DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF
THE CROSS. I BRING NEAR MY RIGHTEOUSNESS, IT SHALL NOT BE FAR OFF, THE
WORD IS NIGH THEE IN THY MOUTH. MY SALVATION SHALL NOT TARRY. I LOVE WHAT SIMEON SAID IN THE
TEMPLE WHEN HE PICKED UP THE BABE. THE LORD JESUS SAID, LORD,
I'M READY TO DIE. Remember, God told him he wouldn't
die until he'd seen God's Savior, the Messiah, the Christ of God. And when he picked him up, baby,
looked in his face and said, I'm ready to die. I've seen thy
salvation. Salvation's in a person. This
is God, our Savior, who has all power in heaven and earth. He
shall not tarry. I will place, I will, not will
I will if you let me. I will place salvation in Zion,
that's his church, for Israel YOU REMEMBER GOD CHANGED JACOB'S
NAME TO ISRAEL, A PRINCE OF GOD. HE'S MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS
UNDER OUR GOD. I WILL PLACE SALVATION IN ZION
FOR ISRAEL AND I GET ALL THE GLORY FOR THE SALVATION THAT'S
OF THE LORD. THE LORD WILL AND MUST HAVE ALL
THE HONOR AND GLORY FOR THE SALVATION THAT'S OF THE LORD. SALVATION
IS OF THE LORD.