Turn with me tonight in your
Bibles to Isaiah chapter 46. Most of you know that on Sunday
evenings for the last several weeks we've been looking at The
chapter's beginning with chapter 40 here in the book of Isaiah. And this chapter, chapter 46,
continues with the same theme as the previous ones that we've
looked at. This prophecy, as well as the
others, was given before the nation of Israel was taken into
the 70 years captivity in Babylon. It was given, no doubt, to comfort,
give hope to the nation while in Babylon, that the Lord had
not forgotten them. Their sin, their sin, had brought
this upon them, their captivity. It was a result of their sin,
and especially, as we have seen, the sin of idolatry. Yet the Lord, Jehovah, would
redeem them and deliver them again to their land. And again,
in this chapter, idols are shown to be lifeless, useless inventions
of fallen and depraved men. The chapter begins naming two
of the primary gods of Babylon, that is, Bel and Nebo. Bell boweth down, Nebo stoopeth. Their idols were upon the beast
and upon the cattle. Your carriages were heavy-loaden. They're a burden to the weary
beast." These two idol gods that the Babylonians worshiped and
revered, they were taken captive. They were being carried away
by their conquerors. They could not deliver Babylon.
They could not deliver Babylon from Cyrus. And remember, the
Lord named him some 200 years before he came into this world
and made him his servant. That is, Cyrus was named. Isaiah's
prophesying some 200 years before this comes to pass. Cyrus, who
God raised up, And we read this, I believe, last time, to perform
all his pleasure. That is, God raised up this Persian
ruler, Cyrus, to perform all of God's pleasure, all of his
pleasure. And the Lord calls upon them
in their captivity now. They would no doubt read this
prophecy while they are in Babylon, in captivity, And it would serve
to encourage them and to assure them that God had not forsaken
them, that God had not forgotten them. If you look in verse number
nine, God calls upon them to remember. Remember the former
things of old, for I am God and there's none else. I am God and
there is none. like me, to remember that this
prophecy, as they, now picture this, here they are in Babylon,
in captivity, and God calls upon them to remember that He had
given this prophecy some 200 years before, to remember. There's no God like He is, who
is omniscient, who knows everything. He alone is omniscient. He alone
is the God of all power. And thus, he is able to declare
the end from the beginning. Notice that in verse 10. There's
no God like me. There is no other God. Remember
this. Think about this. The idols of
Babylon were not even able to save them, the Babylonians. was not able to deliver them,
but the gods themselves, Baal and Nebo, they're taken captive. And they become a burden upon
the beast that are carrying them away to Persia. No doubt they were loaded or
made with gold and silver, and so they were valuable as far
as the metal is concerned, but they had no value. Spiritually,
they were useless, lifeless, dead inventions of man. Remember this. God calls upon
his people to remember this. He called Cyrus, if you notice
in verse 11, a ravenous bird, a ravenous bird rather. He was
called this, a ravenous bird. The writers say, Not so much
to reveal his greediness as to reveal how swift he was as a
bird that is swift upon its prey as an eagle is flying in the
air and views its prey on the ground and how quickly it comes
down and snatches up its prey. So Cyrus moved quickly and actually
conquered Babylon in one night. Now it took longer, of course,
to divert the course of the river so that his armies could come
into the city, yes, but basically the city fell in one night. And we have that recorded in
Daniel, Daniel chapter five. And notice what God says in verse
five. To whom will you liken me? Now
just think about this. If you wanted to make yourself
a God, you want to make yourself an idol, to be like God, what
would you choose? Would you choose the sun? Would
you choose the sun and the moon, the stars? Would you choose the
wind? Would you choose whatever? What would you choose to make
to fashion with your hands that could be like God? Because there is no other being
like him. He alone is God. To whom will
you liken me and make me equal and compare me that we may be
like? There is no other being. God
questions them. All to show, no doubt, the uselessness
of idolatry, of idol worship. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
brightness of His glory, the express image of His person. If we want to see God, we see
Him in His Son. who has revealed Him, who has
spoken Him out to us, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the brightness
of His glory, the express image of His person, who upholds all
things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself, don't
you love this, when He had by Himself, without the help of
any other person, any other being, any church, or any group of men,
when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right
hand of the majesty on high. Tonight, I want us to look and
think especially of the Lord's words in verses three and four. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born by
me from the belly, which are carried from the womb, and even
to your old age, I am he, and even to whore hairs will I carry
you, I have made, and I will bear, even I will carry and will
deliver you. These words, the Lord assured
the nation that the Lord who carried them from the belly,
that is from the conception, from the very beginning of this
nation, one man, Abraham, and the promised son that he gave
him, Isaac, and then Jacob, and then the 12 sons of Jacob, how
the Lord had carried them from the belly, from their mother's
belly. He had carried them. And you study through the Old
Testament and you see how the Lord had carried them through
all kinds of difficulties. 400 years plus at captivity in
Egypt, God carried them. Remember Pharaoh, he tried to
exterminate the Israelites because they were captives in his land.
But he said, listen, if we go to battle, they're likely to
take the side of our enemies. And so he tried to have all the
men, children, thrown into the Nile River, destroyed. The more he persecuted them,
the more they exploded. The population exploded. God
carried them. How many times do you read about
Abraham? He went down into Egypt. Isaac
went down into Egypt. Do you remember the problems
they both had when the ruler took their wife? Sarah, Rebecca,
both of them, both Abraham and who was carrying them, who was
protecting them, who was watching over them through all the history
of the nation of Israel to that point that they were now in captives
in Babylon, who had taken care of them, who had carried them. He's not going to forget them.
He's not going to leave them. He said, I would carry and deliver
them. He would not fail. What an encouragement
these words were to the captives in Babylon. But I want us tonight
to leave the words as they pertain to the nation of Israel, that
is to physical Israel, and consider them as they pertain to spiritual
Israel, that is to every child of God. to you tonight, if you
are one of his children, how these words pertain to you and
to me. Some call this the security of
the believer. You know that acronym TULIP. And of course, men who did not
believe the truth about God, no doubt, are the ones who came
up with this word tulip. But we're not ashamed of what
those letters stand for, because they're truths from the word
of God. And the name tulip is just an
easy way for us to remember them. T, total depravity. Total depravity. That means that
man has fallen so far that he is not able to recover himself. Total depravity. Total inability. People can talk about man's free
will all they want to, but man is born a slave to sin. Total depravity. Unconditional. The U. Unconditional election. Yes, God chose a people. Chose
a people from before the foundation of the world, and His choice
was not conditioned upon anything in those whom He chose. Grace. Grace, right. L. Limited atonement. And some people
they misapply or misunderstand that word limited, the atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ accomplishes every single thing that God purposed
for it to accomplish. Ah, irresistible grace. Thank God for irresistible grace. The psalmist said, surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. I tell you,
when the dogs of heaven, mercy, goodness and mercy, when they
get on one of God's chosen people's trail, they're going to follow
until they bring that person willingly, willingly to Christ. No one ever comes to Christ against
his will. God so works in us, giving us
a will, His people shall be willing in the day of His power. But
then we come to that last letter, P, which means preservation or
perseverance. Both of those words are true
of every believer. We are preserved, and yes, we
persevere in believing in Christ. Now just as God told the nation
of Israel here in this text, I have borne thee from the belly,
from the belly, from our new birth. Who begins this work in
a sinner? God does. And who carries this
work on? God does. And this work is not
going to miscarry. It's going to accomplish what
God has purposed to accomplish in saving His people. Now I want to mention five truths
which should give every child of God assurance tonight. Assurance
that our Lord, who begins a good work, is going to accomplish
that work. The perseverance of the saints. And notice, he will never cast
us off even to whore hairs, even to white hairs. Old age. He's not going to cast off one
of his children. There are five truths that gives
us this assurance. First of all, the love of God
gives us this assurance. In John chapter 17, in our Lord's
Prayer, one part of the Lord's Prayer, the Lord declares something
here that is just so amazing. If it wasn't in the word of God,
we could not possibly believe this. And yet it is part of the
word of God. It is true. The Lord Jesus Christ
speaking to his father, he said, as thou hast loved me, even so
have you loved those whom you have given unto me. In these
words, even so, You have loved those that you have given unto
me. Now think about that. Is that
amazing or not? Is it? It has to be that God
loves you as he loves his son. You know, in one of the daily
devotionals, if you read Charles Spurgeon's morning and evening
recently, I think maybe this past week, one of the devotions,
Charles Spurgeon pointed out just how it is that God loves
his son, how he loves his son. And he said he loves him without
beginning. That's one way He loves His Son.
He loves His Son with no beginning to the Father's love to the Son.
His love for His Son is everlasting. His love for the Son is without
any change. His love for the Lord Jesus Christ,
for His eternal Son, has never varied. The love the Father has
for the Son, it's without beginning, it's without change, it's without
end. Never going to end. And it's
without measure. Now that's the way the Lord Jesus
Christ said that He loves you and He loves me, He loves all
of His people. God the Father loves you as He
loved His Son, without beginning, without change, without end,
and without measure. For any one of His children,
for any one of His children whom He loves, for that child to be
lost, then that would mean that the Father would have to change
His love for His Son. That's not going to happen. That's
not going to happen. So first of all, the love of
God, the love of God gives us assurance that as he has begun
this work, he's going to finish the work. Paul said that to the
Philippians, being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you shall perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. Second, the power of God gives
us this assurance. Look with me in 1 Peter, 1 Peter
1, verses 3 through 5. The power of God gives us this
assurance, as well as the love of God gives us this assurance. In 1 Peter 1, beginning with
verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who, you who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last day. Those begotten of God, born
of God, are kept by the power of God. And notice it is through
faith. Through faith. When you first
come to Christ, you believe in Him. You will continue to believe
in Him. You say, what if a person stops
believing in Him? That's not going to happen. not
for one of God's children, not one that he's given faith. He's
never going to stop having faith. One of the promises in the new
covenant is I will not turn away from them to do them good, but
I will put my fear in their hearts. Now listen, God's not going to
turn away from his chosen. He will put his fear in their
hearts that In order that they shall not depart from me. The
power of God gives us assurance. My father, the Lord Jesus Christ
said, my father which gave them me is greater than all. And no
man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. Third, the promises of God give
us this assurance. Peter refers to the promises
of God as exceeding great and precious promises. Great promises,
exceeding great and precious promises. I want us to look at
two of these great promises, one in the Old Testament and
one in the New Testament. But this gives a believer's assurance
that he that hath carried us from our from the womb of salvation,
from the beginning of salvation, he's going to carry us all the
way through. He's not going to lose one of
his sheep, not one of those who were given unto him. But look
with me in 1 Samuel, this promise from the Old Testament, and then
we'll look at one in the New Testament. But in 1 Samuel chapter
12, In verse 22, 1 Samuel 12 and
verse 22. For the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great namesake, because, now notice this, because
it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. It pleased the
Lord to make us his people. In other words, He chose us,
He redeemed us, and He called us. And do you see why, in this
verse, why we are told He will not forsake His people? Do you
see why? For the same reason that He forgives
His people their sins. Why? For His name's sake. For His name's sake. Let's read
that again. For the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great namesake. God hath forgiven you, the scripture
says in Ephesians, for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. That's the only reason anyone
is ever forgiven. Every sin that God forgives,
he forgives for Christ's sake. For his namesake. All right, now let's look at
one in the New Testament. Hebrews chapter 13, and I know
you're more familiar with this one, but let's read it again. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse
five. Let your conversation be without
covetousness. That is your lifestyle. your
lifestyle. Be without covetousness. Did
you know covetousness is idolatry? You know it's a sin that can
be easily covered. And it can be covered by various
names. Various names to cover the sin
of covetousness, which is idolatry, the apostle says. And it's named right along there
with with adultery and fornication and all of the sins of the flesh
and sins of the spirit, covetousness, not being content. Paul said,
I've learned in whatever state I am therewith to be content. I've just finished reading through
the book of Deuteronomy, and I've noticed, I wish I had marked
this, but I noticed several times that God through Moses warned
the nation of Israel, now be careful, be careful when you
come into the land and you prosper, when you prosper. Most people can deal with need,
most Christians can deal with need better than they can with
prosperity. When Christians are in need,
it drives them to the Lord, to seek the Lord, to confess the
need of His help. But in prosperity, many times,
we forget the Lord. We've got other things to do,
other things that occupy us. Let your conversation be without
covetousness and be content. Paul said, I've learned to be
content. It's a learning process, isn't
it? And we're still learning. And as long as we are in this
world, no doubt we will still be learning to be content with
such things as you have. Who gave you what you have? God
did. God gave you what you have. I
know you worked, but God gave you the strength to work. I know
you've got a mind that allows you to work and earn the money
that you earn, but God gave you the intelligence. It all goes
back to God. Be content with such things as
you have. That doesn't take away industriousness
or having goals. I'm not saying that. But be content
and recognize that it is the Lord that giveth thee power to
get wealth. Both wealth and poverty come
from Him. Be content. God knows exactly
what I need and what you need. I think of this. I read this
past week also. And one of Spurgeon's devotionals,
I believe he was commenting, remember the poor, remember the
poor. And he pointed out that if God
had wanted to, he could have laid bags of gold at the door
of all of his children. But he hasn't done that. And
many are poor in the things of this world, rich in the things
of God. I spoke to a man yesterday. I've known a few men in my life,
a few Christian men, but I tell you, I spoke to a man yesterday
that, in my opinion, probably has as little of this world's
goods as anyone I know, and one of the most happy men, and this
is not just for a day or a week, but I've known him for almost
50 years, probably. And he's content, and he's happy,
or he gives that appearance he always has. to me. And you know,
I've seen him go through hard times, according to the world,
bad times, and I've seen him go through good times, but I've
always seen him continue to thank God and praise God day by day
for whatever the Lord sends. Be content with such things as
you have. For, now here's the reason, for
he has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. That's
all we really need. That's God's promise. I'm not
going to leave you. I'm not going to leave you. I'm
not going to forsake you. No matter what the circumstances,
no matter how bad things may look, I will not forsake thee. I will not leave thee. All right,
here's a fourth reason, fourth truth. The covenant of God gives
us assurance. You know, this is what gave King
David assurance at the end of his life. He had had his ups,
he'd had his downs. He had tragedy and things of
that nature, disappointments like all men. And yet when he
came to the end of all, he said, this is all my salvation. What
is it, David? He, that is God, hath made with
me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. That
everlasting covenant gives us assurance. He's going to carry
us, not part of the way. And like, again, I'll quote Charles
Spurgeon, as saying, and you've heard this, I know, but he said,
if God were to carry us right up to the very portals of heaven
and put us down and say, now you make it the rest of the way,
a foot out, you make it the rest of the way on your own, we'd
all fail. No, he carries us. He's not going
to forsake us. And number five, the blood of
the son of God gives us assurance. And let me read you this quote.
Why was he willing to be at such an amazing expense in their purchase,
if after all, he permit their avowed enemy to make them his
easy prey? That be far from him. The thought
be far from us. No, while there is compassion
in his heart, or power in his hand, while his name is Jesus
and his work salvation, he must, he must see of the travail of
his soul and be completely satisfied. It cannot be that one soul for
whom he gave his life and spilled his blood, whose sins he bore
and whose curse he sustained, should ever finally perish. The blood of the Son of God gives
us assurance. The hymn writer, Fanny Crosby,
wrote so many great hymns, but one of the hymns she wrote we
used to sing. It's not in this book, so we
don't sing it anymore. But it starts off like this.
Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on his gentle breast, there by
his love, or shaded sweetly, my soul shall rest. May God help
us to rest tonight. in our Savior and in his finished
work for his people on the cross. He's not going to forsake. He's
not going to leave his people. Let us sing number 329, sitting
at the feet of Jesus as our closing hymn, number 329.