Latest revision as of 02:08, 23 October 2022

Theological Proposition/Focus: God, the Creator of all things, upholds, directs, and governs all crea-tures, actions, and things, from the greatest to the least, by his wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchangeable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. In his ordinary provi-dence, God makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them at his pleasure.^[1]

Homiletical Proposition/Application: We must place our confidence in God and his sovereign plan.

Introduction:

BFM Statement: God is all-powerful and all-knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.

Paul Tripp in Defining Sovereign states God, the Creator of all things, upholds, directs, and governs all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest to the least, by his wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchangeable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. In his ordinary providence, God makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them at his pleasure.

Image: Taking apart a pen

I enjoy taking apart pens. I fascinated by all the little pieces and love seeing how the designer decided to put all the pieces together to make a functional writing instrument. What I particularly enjoy is being surprised. I will find some small part that seems utterly useless and discover that it actually plays a critical role in the function of the pen.You see, the key is that the pen is carefully designed and each part matters and serves an important purpose.

Need: We have a tendency to second guess events that happen in life. We need to confidently proclaim God's got this!

Preview: In Isaiah 45 we are going to see that God is sovereign, even when you don't know any better, even if you disagree, and even if everything else seems hopeless.

Text: Isaiah 45.

Setting the Stage:

Isaiah is one of the greatest prophets in all of the Old Testament, if not the greatest. The book of Isaiah is a literary treasure trove filled with profound christology and some powerful descriptions of God and his creation.

Isaiah prophesied over a period of about 40 years during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

Chapters 40-48 include a promise of restoration for Israel. Faced with the impending Babylonian empire, God assures his people that he is in control.

Secular scholar's have challenged Isaiah because his prophecies are too good

However, the evidence in-favor of Isaiah is overwhelming.

Body

Even when you don't know it, God is still sovereign (45:1-7).

Image: living in denial. The Broncos really are not that good in 2022.

Have you ever met someone who is in denial about something? Someone who refuses to accept the facts about a situation. Some of you know that I am a big Broncos fan and I really believed that all the problems would be fixed if we brought in a great quarterback. I even lasted five weeks into the regular season. But now, I will admit, I was in denial about how bad the Broncos were. Now understand, just because I didn't believe the Broncos were that bad does not mean they were not that bad, they were still really bad.

You can deny something all you want but that does not change the facts of the situation. I want to tell you that even when you don't know better, even when you don't believe it, even when you deny it, God is still in control.

God's sovereignty means that God owns and directs as God desires (1-3).

God, more than 150 years in advance named a future King, Cyrus the great, of Persia.

This King according to God would accomplish the will of God.

The term anointed here is used and was more commonly used of a Jewish King or Priest. However, this gentile man was chosen by God for this task.

God had anointed him.

Josephus, in "The Antiquities of the Jews" book 11 chapter 1 actually states that Cyrus upon reading the book of Isaiah was filled with a desire to fulfill the prophecy and therefore called for the Jews to go back and rebuild their temple.

Take a second and think about that. God directs our world and does so to such a degree that Cyrus the Great recognized there was something going on and wanted to be part of that something.

I venture that the parents of Cyrus (Cambyses I King go Anshan and Mandane Princess of Astyages) had no idea that there decision to name their son Cyrus was in perfect alignment with God's plan. I venture that when Cyrus invaded Babylon he had no idea that he would be God's instrument to return his people to their land. You see,

God's sovereignty does not require that you recognize God (4-5).

Look at verses 4 and 5. We see that God called Cyrus by name. God was not just specific, he was incredibly specific.

Actually, Scholars have used this passage to argue that Isaiah 45 must not have been written by the prophet Isaiah because there is no way anyone could have predicted Cyrus with such accuracy. I want to tell you right here and now that God could have. Why, because God is unlike any other. God is sovereign and we cannot understand just how involved he is in our life. Mover, he doesn't need us to recognize his work in order to be at work.

God's sovereignty sets Him apart from everything else (6-7).

At the time of Cyrus, God was not universally recognized as God but he should have been. Today, people do not recognize the uniqueness of God. However, one day they will. You see, we are all racing toward a time when we will see just how much God has sovereignly supervised his world. People will know there is none besides God. People will know the God of the universe.

Here is something interesting to consider.

As I stated, Josephus claims that Cyrus impressed with the prophecy chose to fulfill the prophecy. In fact, according to Ezra 1:1-4, Cyrus claimed that the God of the heavens ordered him to rebuild the temple. However, Isaiah 45:5 states that Cyrus had not acknowledged God. This means that despite being used by God and even reading Isaiah Cyrus still failed to truly acknowledge God.

As creator, God has the right of sovereignty and desire to bless (8).

God is the creator and he desires for the world to experience his blessing.

This metaphoric picture of God's blessing raining down is actually a prophetic picture of how God will bless in his millennial kingdom.

As people follow God's standards he will pour down his blessing on the earth and salvation will spring up as people everywhere know the Lord.

God desires to bless and has the right to bless

MTR: Humbly acknowledge that God is sovereign and part of your life.

Even if you disagree, God is still sovereign (45:9-14).

After the last point, you might be thinking what do you mean God can use me even if I don't know. That's not fair. Or maybe you are thinking how could God use a wicked person that doesn't seem right. To this God responds pretty bluntly stating that Even if you disagree, God is still sovereign.

Like a potter, God alone has the privilege of decision (9).

In verse 9 the audience (Israel) apparently complains. They are probably complaining about all the negative experiences that Isaiah has prophesied. Why do we have to go through this? Why must we be carried away to Babylon and wait until Cyrus to be returned to the land. This just isn't fair God. Why must we go through this?

Isaiah reminds people that clay has one purpose to be formed and used by the potter.

Isaiah further reminds the people that a pot does not get to question the ability of the potter.

Simply put, clay does not know if it is part of a beautiful pot or a broken pot. So why should the clay suggest that the potter is doing something wrong?

Like a parent, God knows best (10-11).

The picture here is of a sibling questioning his parent's decision to have another child.

The sibling has no right, authority, or reasonable grounds to question the family planning of the parents.

God's children should not question God's plan for his family.

Like an engineer, God has a bigger purpose in mind (12-13).

Image: Insignificant pieces have a purpose.

Have you ever taken something apart, put it back together, and had pieces left over? What about forensic de-engineering? I love to take apart a pen, look at all the pieces and think about how each piece fits together to make the pen work. God as creator is the ultimate engineer and he has carefully engineered each and every aspect of his creation.

Ultimately, verse 14 reminds us that God is working to redeem the world and one day the entire world will acknowledge God's rule.

The final product is a redeemed world, right now we are sitting on the assembly lines looking at parts go by and asking, I wonder what that does?

An anticipated two-fold confession is significant in verse 14.

God is with the Israelites - The God of Israel is the true God.

There are no other gods

MTR: Evaluate your own attitude, when have you foolishly disagreed with God's direction for your life?

Intermission 1: The Sovereign is Savior (45:15-17).

The path of idolatry leads to shame and disgrace (15-16).

Verse 15 summarizes the passage. Even though it seems like God is sometimes hiding he is actually the Savior.

The idea in verse 16 is that while God's ways do not always make sense and seem to be hidden. He is at work and those who have doubted God's works and responded by making their own gods to replace the real God will one day be put to shame.

The path of the LORD leads to salvation (17).

This passage is here about Israel but we need to understand that God is Salvation.

Something we need to understand theologically is that God is in the business of redemption.

I am convinced that everything we see is slowly being woven into a grand story of redemption.

MTR: Turn to God for salvation.

Even if it seems hopeless, God is still sovereign (45:18-21).

God did not aimlessly create without a plan in mind (18).

Look at the descriptors of God's creative act

He created the Heavens - He is God (Elohim) the ruler of heaven.

He fashioned the Earth - He is the the master builder.

He created it to be used - he had a purpose in mind.

He is unlike any other.

God has faithfully revealed aspects of his plan (19).

Here is another important aspect of God's creation. God is still involved in his creation.

God reveals his plan to his creation and works within his creation.

False gods lead to an aimless, purposeless life path (20).

Here we have an appeal from God himself - give up the purposeless pursuit of idolatry.

The righteous God our Savior has a plan (21).

Ultimately, God's sovereignty means that from the very beginning God had a plan. God knew that sin would enter the world, but he had a plan for redemption. Just as God had a plan for his people to be returned so God has a plan for each of us.

MTR: Commit to taking time to learn everything you can about God's plan.

Intermission 2: The Sovereign is Savior (45:22-25).

Salvation comes from God alone (22).

Turn to God to be saved!

The best part of God's sovereignty is that God is the Savior. Understand why this matters. If God was not Savior we would be in a world of hurt but because God is the Savior, we can turn to him in genuine worship.

Worship belongs to God alone (23).

The bowing of every knee and statements of every tongue demonstrate that in the end, God will defeat sin. We don't just worship the creator, we worship the Savior, the victor.

Complete victory is assured in God alone (24).

This is true to such a degree that one day the entire world will recognize that it was and always has been God alone who gives salvation and deliverance.

Proper confidence is placed in God alone (25).

This acclamation of joyous confidence in God was meant to encourage the Israelites to make wise choices in their daily lives because one choice will lead them to disappointment and shame while the other choice will result in times of great praise in the presence of God. This dramatic choice faces each person who lives on this earth today; so every person who hears of the righteous deeds of God must realize that their future depends on whether they are willing to turn to God and be saved (45:22). (Smith)

^[2]

MTR: Determine to better understand: salvation, worship, victory or confidence in God this week.

1. ↑ Tripp, Paul David. Do You Believe?: 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life. Crossway, 2021. 129
2. ↑ Gary Smith, Isaiah 40-66, vol. 15B, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2009), 280–281.