Four Vital Truths

All right, let's go back to that
passage now in Isaiah 45 that I was reading to you a few moments
ago. You see, this chapter, Isaiah
45, is so full of powerful, powerful truth that it merits many matcheses. This fellow ought to take Isaiah
55 and preach several weeks. But I'm going to give you this
morning four things from this chapter that greatly impress
me and greatly encourage me. And the first of which is this. The Lord God of heaven and earth
has a people. He has a people upon whom he
has from all eternity set his unchanging affection. Of them, he said, I've drawn
you with an everlasting love. Of them, he said, having loved
his own, he loved them to the end. Of them, he said, I'll never
leave you, I'll never forsake you. They're objects of his affection. He chose them. He said, you didn't
choose me, I chose you. He chose them in Christ. Christ
be my first elect, he said. And then chose them in their
head. He chose them in Christ and he
has literally, now watch this, and I mean exactly what I'm saying.
Brother Ray Harbolt was the first one here this morning. He came through the door and
we started reminiscing about some old times. We've known each
other a long, long time. What I know about you, Ray, I
like. I hope you can say the same. But he reminded me of a
meeting I was holding, or I was holding it, all right, I'm still
holding it. Nobody turned it loose. I was preaching in Ironton,
Ohio, downtown in a store building. And it was a little Methodist
group invited me over to preach. I was half my present age, but
I was then also preaching the gospel of God's grace in an uncompromising
fashion. And one fellow said to Ray, he
said, that fellow is a devil. Ray said, you don't mind me telling
you about that, do you? I said, no. No, I've been called
worse. But I take great comfort in the
fact that they call my Lord a devil, too. They said he cast out devils
by the prince of devils, Beelzebub. But without compromise and boldly,
I tell you, he has a people. My God has a people. If that
makes men angry, it'll just have to make them angry. He loved
them with an everlasting love. He chose them in Christ. And
He has literally guaranteed their salvation. Literally guaranteed
it. He said, All that my Father giveth
me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I'll
in no wise cast out. You see, He said, I came down
from heaven. not to do my own will as the
messenger of the covenant, as the Messiah, I came to do the
will of Him that sent me. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I'll lose nothing
but raise them up at the last day." Now, that's just so. Now,
let's look back at verse 5. and find out who speaks. Now,
what your God is able to do depends upon the character of your God.
Depends on who he is. What Christ accomplished on the
cross depends upon who accomplished it. It's not how much blood was
shed, it's whose blood. It's not how long he hung on
the cross, it's who died on the cross. The power is in the person. The power is in the person. And
he says here in verse 5, I'm the Lord. There's none else. There's no God beside me. I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me. You may not know him, but
he's still in charge. That you may know from the rising
of the sun from the west, there's none beside me. I'm the Lord.
There's none else. I form the light, and I create
darkness. I make peace, and I create evil.
How the Lord do all these things. You don't do it, I do it. Now
you drop down, ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour
down righteousness, and let the earth open, and let them bring
forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. How the Lord
created it. Word to him that striveth with
his maker, let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of
the earth. But shall the clay say to him who fashioned 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? Thus saith 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. Ask me about it. Command me about it. I'll tell
you. If you want to know, if you really want to know, I'll
tell you. How about my sons and the work of my hands? I've made
this earth, and I created man upon it. I, even my hands, have
stretched out the heavens, and all their hosts have I commanded.
And I have raised him up in righteousness, and I'll direct all his ways. And he'll build my city, and
he'll let go of my captains. He'll turn them all loose. like
Pharaoh of old. I'll squeeze him, but he'll turn
them loose. And not for price or reward,
saith the Lord of hosts. What's God saying here? What
does he promise? Look down at verse 17. And he
said in verse 15, Thou art a God that hideth thyself. They shall
be ashamed and confounded, all of them that shall go to confusion
that are makers of idols, but Israel, hold the phone, Israel
shall be saved. Israel shall be saved with an
everlasting salvation. They will never be ashamed and
never be confounded. Now, the word Israel is used
in the Bible over 2,500 times. Over 2,500 times. And it had
its beginning over there in Genesis when God said to Jacob, Thy name
shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel. of Prince of God. And most of these 2,500 times,
the word Israel refers to that nation, that typical nation,
Israel, most of the time. But here, it refers to spiritual
Israel. But Israel shall be saved. All
Israel shall be saved. And let me give you some scriptures.
Now, you hold Isaiah 45 and turn to Romans 2. I'm going to give
you some scriptures that identify true Israel. True Israel. You see, that Old Testament nation,
Israel, was typical of God's true Israel, made up of every
believer of every generation. Romans 2 verse 28 says, He is
not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh. He is a Jew, he is an Israelite,
which is one inwardly. Circumcision is that of the heart,
in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but
of God. Now turn to Romans 9, Romans
chapter 9. He says this in Romans 9, verse
1. He said, I say the truth in Christ,
I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy
Ghost. That I do have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart,
I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites. He said,
I'd like to see these Jews saved. I'm one of them. I'm a Hebrew
of Hebrews. to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory,
and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of
God, and the promises, whose are the fathers, Isaiah, David,
Solomon, and of whom is concerning the flesh Christ came, who is
over all." Christ was born of Jewish mother. Mary was in line
for the throne of David, so was Joseph. God blessed forever. Verse 6, "...not as though the
word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which
are of Israel." Just because a man is a descendant of Abraham
doesn't mean he's of Israel. "...neither because they are
the seed of Abraham, or their children. But in Isaac shalt
thy seed be called, that is, they which are the children of
the flesh." These are not the children of God. All the descendants
of Ishmael and all the descendants of fleshly descendants of Isaac
are not children of God. They're not Israel. Not at all. But the children of the promise
are counted for the seed. That's who Israel is. Now turn
to Galatians. Galatians chapter 3. Now what
Paul is saying here and what I'm frankly saying to you is
this. That Almighty God has a people. He chose them in Christ before
the world began. He set his affections on them.
They're his people. They are of every tribe, kindred,
nation, tongue unto heaven. They were given to Christ. They're
loved in Christ. They're chosen in Christ. They're
redeemed by Christ. And God has literally guaranteed
the salvation of every one of them. And he calls them Israel.
And that Old Testament nation, just like that Old Testament
priesthood and Old Testament tabernacle and Old Testament
mercy seat and all of these things, all of these were types and pictures. There was no salvation in the
sacrifice. There's salvation in one to whom
the sacrifice pointed. And all these people that made
up Israel and the twelve tribes, you see, out of the whole two
or three million that came out of Egypt, only two who were over 20 years of age
when they left, went into the promised land, Caleb and Joshua.
So those people weren't saved, they weren't people of God, they
weren't the children of God, they were just typical people
whom God gave the ceremonies and so forth. Israel is in Isaac
who is a Christ, who is a picture of Christ, who is a type of Christ.
Now watch this in Galatians 3, Galatians 3, 7. Know ye therefore
that they which are of faith," these are the children of Abraham,
these are the Israelites, those who are of faith. If a man does
not believe, he's not an Israelite. Verse 16 now, and this I say
that the covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ The law
which was 430, that's verse 17, verse 16, now to Abraham and
his seed were the promises made, to Abraham and his seed. He said
not unto seeds and to everybody who's a son of Abraham or a child
of Abraham or a descendant of Abraham, as of many, but as of
one, to thy seed, which is Christ. Christ is the seed. Christ is the Prince. You see,
now look at verse 29. And if you be Christ, if you
be a child of God in Christ, if you belong to Him, then you're
Abraham's seed. And you're heirs according to
promise. And so God said in Romans 11, verse 26, all Israel shall
be saved, every one of them. Now go back to our text, Isaiah
45. Verse 17, but Israel shall be
saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed, nor
confounded, were or without end. Now look at verse 18, this is
no idle promise to be debated, for thus saith the Lord that
created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth and made
it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed
it to be inhabited, the new heaven and new earth shall be inhabited.
There will be no vacancies in heaven, but there will be plenty
of room. I am the Lord, there is none else. In verse 19, he
said this is no secret plan. I have not spoken this in secret. This has been declared publicly
and openly. I didn't speak it in a dark place. I didn't say to Jacob, Seed,
seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak truth. I speak
righteousness, not in the corner. I declare things that are right.
Now then, look at verse 20. Assemble yourselves and draw
near. Draw near together. Come, let
us reason together. You that have survived the nations,
You have no knowledge. Who set up the wood of your grave
and images and pray to a God that cannot save? Why would a
man want a God who does not have the power to save? Tell me. Why
would a man want a God who cannot accomplish his will? Why would
a man call on a God who has no power to answer? God says there's
no wisdom in this. There's no understanding here,
what kind of wisdom is this? Of what use is such a God? Now verse 21, here's the second
thing that I see in this passage. The Lord God, beginning at verse
21, the Lord God will save his people
with an everlasting salvation that is consistent with his character. Are you with me? That's consistent
with his character. Let's read verse 21. Tell ye,
and bring them near, let them take counsel together. Who hath
declared this from ancient times? In other words, God says this,
gather all the people together with their ideas of God. And
ask them this question, can any of their gods declare what shall
be? Can any of their gods declare
from ancient times what shall come to pass? That's what he's
saying here. Who hath declared it from ancient
times? God said, I have a people. They
shall be saved. Israel shall be saved. I will
do my pleasure. Now tell me, can your gods do
this? Have not I the Lord? Look at
Isaiah. Turn one page to Isaiah 46. I have declared it, it shall
be as I have spoken." Now watch this, Isaiah 46 verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, I'm God, there's none else. I'm God, there's none like me.
I declare the end from the beginning. That's the question we're asking
over here. He said, tell them what I've said and bring them
together. and let them take counsel, let
them reason among themselves, let them discuss this thing,
let them talk it over. Who has declared the end from
the beginning? Who has declared things that
are not yet done as though they were already done? Who's done
that? Can their God do that? Well, he said, I have. Look over
Isaiah 46, 10 again. I declare the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying,
My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. I tell you,
let men declare what they will and do what they will. But our
God has declared positively in Scripture, positively, that He
does have a people. He says, all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Whom
he predestinated, he called. Whom he called, he justified.
Whom he justified, he glorified. Is that not true? That's what
he says. Look at verse Isaiah 46 again. My counsel shall stand, I will
do my pleasure, verse 11, calling a ravenous bird from the east. He had the bird's feed, Elijah,
didn't he? The man that executed my counsel
from a far country, he said to Pharaoh, for this same purpose
have I raised you up to get glory to myself. I've spoken. I also bring it to pass. I purposed
it, I'll do it. And what I'm saying is, I do
not understand why a man would have difficulty with the sovereignty,
the absolute sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners,
considering the character of God, considering the omnipresence
and omnipotence and omniscience of Almighty God, plus the inability
of the flesh. I don't understand. I don't understand
what the conflict is. Can your God save? Can your God
declare the end from the beginning? Can your God do his will? Can
your God say, even the wicked are raised up by me for the day
of evil? Can your God say to those who
crucified Christ, you did what my hand and counsel determined
before to be done? Can he? He's not God, that's
what he says here, he's not God. Now get them together, get everybody
together, tell them, bring them near, let them take counsel,
let them discuss it, let them debate it. Who hath declared
all things from ancient times? Who hath told it from that time?
Who hath said, my counsel will stand and I will do my pleasure?
Who hath declared the end from the beginning? Who? Have not
I the Lord? Have not I the Lord? And there's
nobody else. In other words, if we're going
to have a God, we're going to worship God, we're going to call
him God, he's going to have to be the God because there's none
else. It's just plain to me. And watch this. I'm a just God
and a Savior. I'm a just God and a Savior. Now, I wish I could handle this one
praise like it ought to be handled. I can go back and say, I am the
Lord. None can stay my hand or say
unto me, what doest thou? I can go back and pick up text
and phrases that say, all Israel shall be saved. I have no doubt
about that. But I wish I could effectively deal with this statement,
because this one statement, I am a just God and a Savior, this
sums up the whole Bible in one sentence. Do you know that? It
actually literally sums up the theme of the whole Bible. You
see, they claim that the oldest book in the Bible is Job. The
oldest book in the Bible is not Genesis. Genesis tells about
the oldest things that happened, but Job is the oldest book in
the Bible. And throughout the book of Job,
this question is raised continuously. Job 9.2, how can man be just
with God? How can man be just with God?
Chapter 15, verse 14, it says, what is man that he should be
clean? God puts no trust in his saints.
The heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable
and filthy is man that drinks iniquity like the water? How
can man be just with God? And then chapter 25, these ancient
men dealt and wrestled with this question. How then can man be
just with God? How can he be clean, this barn
of a woman? How can it be? Well, God declares
here how it can be. I am a just God and I am a Savior. I'm a just God, I'm a holy God,
and I'm a Savior. You see, when Adam is cast out
of the garden by the justice and holiness of God, he leaves
with mercy making a promise. See the woman. In other words,
justice, righteousness and holiness of God took Adam and cast him
out. But as he went out, the mercy
of God spoke and says there will be a reconciler. And then when
God in his wrath and judgment destroyed the world by water,
the whole earth was covered with water and every living thing
died. That's a flood of justice and
righteousness and holiness. But sitting on top of that flood
of judgment is an ark of mercy. I'm a just God, but I'm a Savior. You see what I'm saying? And from Mount Sinai came that
awful law, the flashing of lightning and the rolling of thunder and
the clouds and the smoke. And the people just backed off.
Came that awful lot under the arms of Moses, brought to a people
who were transgressing it when he brought it down. But in the
other hand, dimensions John for a mercy seat. A mercy seat in
a tabernacle on which an atonement would be placed. That's mercy.
I'm a just scholar. But I'm a Savior. Now how can
this be? And that's the theme of this
whole book. God cannot, you see, He says, I have a people and
they're going to be saved. I literally, unconditionally
guarantee their salvation. I've declared it from the beginning.
But I've got to do it in a way that the character of God is
not compromised. The holiness of God is vindicated,
the righteousness of God is honored, the law of God is satisfied,
the righteousness of God is manifested, and yet God's mercy. And you
know where this happened? It happened at Calvary. It happened
at Calvary's cross. That's right, when Jesus Christ
the Lord, the Son of God, came down here in human flesh, And
by his holy life and by his obedience, he honored God's law, representing
those people, Israel. And went to the cross of Calvary,
and there the justice of God slew him. The justice of God
pierced his heart. The justice of God made his soul
an orphan for sin. The justice of God exacted from
him everything every soul in Israel owed. And he died. But yet at that same time, the
mercy of God was revealed in the death of Christ because God's
mercy sent him and God's justice executed him. And mercy and truth,
mercy and truth met together. Righteousness and peace kissed
each other at Calvary's cross. That's how God can be just and
a Savior. There's no God like me. Now listen,
my friends, I'm just being as candid and open. This is what
they're saying. You start out Isaiah 45, and
he, I'm the Lord, he said. I'm the Lord. I created this
world to be inhabited. I didn't whisper this in the
corner. This is open for all to hear. I'm the Lord. I do my
will. I have a people. I call them
Israel. I call them Abraham's seed. I call them Isaac's seed.
And that seed is Christ, and they're in Christ, they're chosen
in Christ, loved in Christ, redeemed in Christ, accepted in Christ,
and called in Christ, and they die in Christ. And He's the resurrection
and the life, and they'll be saved. And I'm going to do it
in a way that magnifies my holiness. God is God. He will not cease
to be God. He has accomplished that salvation
in accordance with His holiness. Now look at verse 22. So what
shall I do? This is the third thing that
I'm dealing with. God is God. God has a people.
Heaven and earth shall be inhabited. God has declared the total success
of his covenant. Israel shall be saved. God has
accomplished that salvation in Christ consistent with his character.
Now what shall I do? What shall you do? What shall
you do? Some of you are highly educated.
Some of you come from polished backgrounds. Not highly educated,
you come from poverty. Some of you are Irish, some are English, some
are German, some are Dutch. Some of this, that and the other.
Some of you are brought up in the Baptist religion, some of
you are brought up in the Methodist religion, some of you are brought
up in the Catholic religion, some of you are brought up in
something else. We come from all places and all parts of this
globe. Jew and Gentile, male and female,
old and young, smart and dumb, whatever, weak and strong, we're
all from everywhere. Now, what are we going to do?
These things are so. God's God. You're not going to
change it. God has a will, a purpose, a covenant. You're not going
to change it. He has a people. They're going
to be saved. There won't be a one missing.
That's just so. I'm God. Well, we'll invent us
a God. Well, He can't save. He can't
heal. He can't do his will, he can't
help you. Well, the thing to do, look at
here, he said in verse 22, so look to me. Look to me, look. Not all the things you've imagined,
it's not do, it's not run around in circles, it's not come to
the front, it's not shake the preacher's hand, it's not go
to the pool, it's not indulge in the ceremonies and all the
other things, it's look. There's the fountain of life,
look! There's the almighty God, look! There's the sovereign king,
look! There's the brazen serpent, look!
There's the righteousness of God, look! There's the uplifted
redeemer, there's the mercy seat, look! Believe his word, and look! You
see, when Moses, when those people were bitten by the fire of serpents,
and they were dying, and they knew it. And Moses said, I'll
go to God for you. And he went to God. And God said,
make a brazen serpent and lift it up. And Moses did. And he
came to him and said, now look. I'll tell you this. The weak
and the unable and the wounded and dying, they looked. There
ain't nothing else they could do, Mike. And it didn't matter who they
were. I don't know how many were bitten, but whomever had been bitten, look. That's
what he said. He says, look to me, all the
ends of the earth, Jew and Gentile, look, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic,
look, if I'm God, I am God. There's none else. There's none
other name unto heaven given among men. There's no other way
to God. There's none else. There's just
no other way. Why do we go about all this religious
inventions? We're devising and concocting
all kind of ways to God, and there's not but one way to God.
There's all these different ways of salvation. There's no... Christ
said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to
the Father but by me. You say, Pritchard, you're just
making it too simple. I hear these preachers trying
to describe the way to be saved, and they just go around the world
trying to describe how to be saved. God uses one word with
four letters and two on my lot. L-O-O-K. Look. Under me. Under whom? Under me now. But I don't believe what you
say about God's sovereignty and God's righteousness and God's
omnipotence and God's power and God's covenant. Then you won't
look to Him because this is the way He is. Look unto me now. Look unto me. I've just described
myself to you. I've just destroyed your idols. I've just ridiculed you and said
that's pretty dumb to look to a God that can't save and pray
to a God that can't help you. An impotent God. Now, I've declared
I'm a just God and a Savior. Now, you look to me. Look to
me. Alright, here's the fourth thing.
The fourth thing, verse 23. Now, I have sworn by myself. You see, when you swear, the
lesser has got to swear by the greater. In other words, people
say, I swear by my mother's name, meaning her name is greater than
my name. Somebody else says, well, I swear on the Bible. That's
what we do in court. The lesser always swears by the
greater. And God can't swear by any greater. He said, I'll
just swear by myself. You see, I'll just swear by myself. The word's gone out of my mouth
now. And what we're going to have
to do, if we're not going to believe this, we're just going to have
to junk it. Now, what have I got now? What have I got now? Who is God? Tell me who God is.
You've got to go to that kind of who God is. Tell me what happened
in the fall. What happened to... How are you
going to tell me? Don't tell me how that corrupted soul of
yours... You've got to go to that. I've
got to go back my... Tell me how a man's saved. Well,
this is the way the... I've got to go back over here
now. I've got to go back to this.
I've got to, because this is God revealing himself. You see
what I'm saying? And this is the thing that troubles
my soul. People are not reading this.
Preachers are not preaching it. We're whoop-de-doing. We're waving
our hands. We're carrying on a bunch of
foolishness. excitement, emotionalism, sentimentality, and all this
junk, and we're not getting down here, getting down to business
and finding out who He is. And he says in verse 23, I've
sworn by myself now, and the word's gone out of my mouth,
in righteousness and truth, and I'm not going to take it back,
that unto me every knee's going to bow, in heaven, earth, and
hell. God's given Him a name above
every name. At the name of Jesus, every knee
will bow. And it ain't sweet little Jesus, boy, here. It's
King of kings and Lord of lords. It's bowing, isn't it? It's submitting. Salvation is to submit. It's
to bow. It's to fall like that woman,
that harlot, at His feet and kiss His feet and bathe them
with the tears of repentance. Come on down now. And 1, verse
24, some are going to say, in the Lord I have righteousness,
I have holiness, but it's in Him. There's no holiness in me,
I'm a sinner saved by grace. But in Him I have holiness, in
Him I have sanctification, in Him I have righteousness and
strength. And even to Him shall all men come, and those that
are incensed against Him are going to be ashamed now." God said, I've said it now, and
I'm not going to take it back. And in the Lord shall all the
seed of Israel be justified. And they go in glory in Him.
Now let me ask you, Brother Cecil prayed that our pastor would
be true to the Word and bring us a message from God's Word.
Have I violated this Word? I've done nothing in the Word
but read it and comment on it. in comparing it with other scriptures.
You see, no scriptures have any private interpretation. You can't
just take Isaiah 45, 22 and tack it up on the wall and say, that
means this. The rest of the Word of God has
got to go along with it. He said in Romans 3, he set forth
Christ to be a propitiation that he might be just and justifier. And here he says, I'm a just
God and a justifier, a saint. And it's true. It's true. What I've told you is true. And
don't try to reconcile it with other religions and reconcile
it with human thought. My thoughts are not God's thoughts.
Just bow to the Word of God. Bow to the revelation that He's
given us, received it. And He said, look, seek or swim,
I go to Him. I am the Lord, I change not. Mercy is sovereign. from the
hand of God. Can you look? Alright, I hope
you can. Tonight, we're going to look
at Isaiah 55.

Four Vital Truths

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Four Vital Truths

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