March 23, 2025

Isaiah 41:21-29

Isaiah 41:21-29

We conclude our study of Isaiah 41

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We conclude our study of Isaiah 41

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All right, Isaiah chapter forty one. Today we finish Isaiah

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chapter forty one. Then we'll do kind of a study

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on the transition between forty one and forty two. Then

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next week we begin forty two. On the way here,

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I was listening to a sermon on Isaiah forty two,

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and well, I got to stop listening to sermons. That's

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all I can say, because it was bad and it's

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supposedly a sermon on Isaiah forty two. It's actually a

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sermon about John chapter nine. But man, alive. I thought

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about just driving the car off the road and just

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ending it because I'm like, I can't, man, the things

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people do with the text of scripture some just crazy statements.

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So I will probably review that maybe today because man,

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I know what the person was trying to say probably

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was a positive thing, but man, you can't say that

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to people, so so I'll probably be looking at that.

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But once again, whenever we're in Isaiah forty to fifty five,

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Acts twenty seven's become the big focus now on the podcast.

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We just constantly see pastor after pastor take these passages

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of scripture and doing crazy things with them. So we're

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doing our best to try to make it through Isaiah

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forty through fifty five as carefully as we can using

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approaching it exogetically so that we're trying to understand what

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it says by the words that it means. We're not

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trying to read into the text. We're not trying to

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do is Jesus. We're trying to pull from the text Exajesus.

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And that's what we're going to try to do. And

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this hour is finished, and the section that we are

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on as Isaiah forty one, does anybody know? Twenty one

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through twenty nine? That's what we have left, twenty one

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through twenty nine. Right, we're going to kind of refer

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to this. I think if we kind of go with

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her observational outline, we refer to this something about the

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powerlessness of idols and the sovereignty of God, something along

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those lines. This final section of Isaiah forty one, does

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anyone remember? It kind of provides us like a dramatic

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courtroom scene. Right. We could almost kind of turn this

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into a narrative if we wanted to, but I'm not

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going to approach it that way. But if I was

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doing on the podcast, I may this is a dramatic

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courtroom scene in which God challenges the idols and false

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gods of the nations primarily and again, I cannot stress

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this enough. Over and over we talk about this. Why

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is God so concerned with challenging those in Babylonian captivity

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about the idols? Why we talked about this. We spend

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an entire what hour maybe two hours talking about the

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idolatry of Babylon. That's the reason why, right, because they

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are there and what do they see around them? Idols?

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What in their mind would they connect those idols with

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the destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and

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their captivity, which from a practical standpoint, would make it

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look like who's the most powerful? The gods of Babylon,

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not the God of Israel? All right, And not only that,

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because they've been there for how many years? They're going

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to be there totally for seventy years. Many of these

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people are kind of born and raised within this religious structure.

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So when they come out, what does God not want

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them to bring with them the idolatry of Babylon Because

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we know Israel has a problem with idolatry. We go

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through the entire bubble because all humans have a problem

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with idolatry, right, So he's challenging the idols and the

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false gods of the nations. Throughout Isaiah forty one, God

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has demonstrated his sovereignty over history, the raising up of

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a deliverer, which we identify. Ask Cyrus, everybody remember that, Okay,

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strengthening his people Israel and providing for their needs. Now

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he's going to put the idols on trial to prove

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that they are powerless, contrasting his omniscience, his omnipotence, with

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their absolute and ability to control history. Right now, On

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one hand, this makes sense. On the other hand, it

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should lead anyone who's there and anyone sitting in the

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pew that this is someone at times difficult to process. Right, Well,

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if God is omniscient, if God is omnipotent, then how

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did Israel ever end up in this situation in the

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first place? Because God knew what was going to happen.

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He is omnipotent. He could stop it, he could prevent it,

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but he does not, all right, So that's always and

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the Christian answer. It's very difficult because on one hand

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we have to say this, on the other hand, it

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doesn't make any sense. Right, when we look at the

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world and we see this tragedy and this horrible thing,

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and this horrible thing, and this horrible thing and this

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horrible thing, we still confess and we still profess that

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God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, right, even when we

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see everything around us that would seem to indicate, well,

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if God is omniscient, God is omnipotent, and God is omnipresent,

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then why doesn't he do something about it? So Christianity

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is always in this weird position of trying to tell

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everyone that there's an all powerful, all knowing, all present God.

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Yet murder, rape, child molestation, child abuse, starvation, disease, plague, theft, backbindying, gossip, slander,

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false accusations, on and on and on and on and

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on and on and on and on and on. Yet

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when so everyone sees all of that, and we still

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tell everyone there was a God, he is loving, he's

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all powerful, and at times it seems contradictory, and we

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have to acknowledge that. If we don't acknowledge that, then

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there and even right here, people just say, well, okay, God,

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you're telling me. God is omniscient and omnipotent. But guess what,

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his temple got destroyed, his city got destroyed by these gods.

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So it'd be very difficult to try to convince the

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people of that, right, So that's why this is occurring,

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all right, So I'm going to read Isaiah forty one

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twenty one through twenty nine. I'm going to read. I'll

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read it from the ESV to start with. Obviously I'll

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be referencing to the King James through most of it,

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but I want you to hear it from a different translation.

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Most of you have the King James, so they be

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referencing that there, but I will be. I mean, I

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use the King James to teach, but just that I

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have the ESV text copied here. Right, So are you

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ready Isaiah forty one twenty one through twenty nine. Set

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forth your case, says the Lord. Bring your proof, says

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the King of Jacob. Right, so you see how that

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already sets up to come to the courtroom drama. Right,

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if I go to the King James, produce your cause,

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say it the Lord, bring forth your strong reasons, say

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it the King of Jacob, or set forth your case,

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or bring your proofs. So it's being called to lack

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a court case. That's where we get this idea, that

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is a courtroom setting. What happens in twenty two. Let

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them bring them and tell us what is to happen.

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Tell us the former things what they are, that we

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may consider them, that we may know their outcome, or

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declare to us the things to come. If I read

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from the King James, let them bring forth them forth

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and show us what shall happen. Let them show the

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former things what they be, that we may consider them

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and know the latter in of them, or declare us

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things for to come. Basically, come forth and do what

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tell us the past and tell us the future. Kind

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of idea, Yes, all right, Verse twenty three. Tell us

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what is to come hereafter that we may know things

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that you are gods do good or do harm, that

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we may be dismayed and terrified. Or the King James says,

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show the things that are to come hereafter that we

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may know that you are God, may do good or

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do evil, that we may be dismayed and behold it together.

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So basically, these idols are being called to do what

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show their omniscience or showing their knowledge and show their action.

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Do something that's kind of the concept here verse twenty four.

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Behold what okay, you are less nothing, or you are nothing,

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and your work is less than nothing, as the esp says,

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an abomination is he who chooses you? Hey, these idols

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are nothing, and it's an abomination if you choose nothing

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or less than nothing. I stirred up one from the north,

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and he has come from the rising of the sun.

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He shall call upon my name. He shall trample on

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rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay. Now

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right there, twenty five. This is God now saying he's done?

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What what has God done? In twenty five? Yeah, Cyrus, Yes,

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this is Cyrus. Once again Cyrus is being mentioned here.

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This is Cyrus. Okay, Cyrus is coming from the north.

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And what is he going to do? He shall trample

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on rulers as on mortar, and as the porter treads clay.

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He's gonna just take over. He's going to be the conqueror.

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He's the coming conqueror. Right verse twenty six. Who declared

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it from the beginning that we might know, and beforehand

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that we might say he is right? There was none

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who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your

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words it was I was the first to say to Zion,

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behold here they are, and I give to Jerusalem a

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herald of good news. But when I look, there is

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no one among these, There is no counselor who, when

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I ask, gives an answer. Behold, they are all a delusion,

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and their works are nothing. Their metal images are empty wind.

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So he calls them. I mean, it's pretty straightforward. This

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is It's not difficult. The only thing someone may have

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a little bit of difficulty with is the one he's

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raising up from the north. Someone may have a little

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bit of difficulty there. Everything else here is very simple

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and very straightforward. Even if you can't identify the one

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coming from the north, the one coming from the north,

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it is very clear in the text. What is the

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one from the north going to do? Conquer? Trample right right,

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tread over right. So clearly whoever this is is a conqueror.

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And in their context, all we need to do is

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a little bit of history. We know, Cyrus comes, and

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Cyrus is from whom, what nation? Persia? And they defeat

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or conquer or take over the Babylonians. All right, so

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we did. All you got to know is a little history,

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and then there's nothing complicated here. It's very simple. It's

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very straightforward. All right, So let's now focus on the

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context and the structure. We've been following the same format.

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We'll look at the immediate context, then we'll look at

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a structural breakdown. All right, we just read it. I

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just kind of explained it. You already understand this. We've

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already talked about this in the observational outline. By this point,

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you guys should be experts on these chapters because we

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cover each thing about five different ways. Okay, So here's

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the immediate context Isaiah. Will we'll just look at all

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in Isaiah forty one. Forty one one through seven was

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the first section. What was that about? We've now covered

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e like seventy five times, God sovereignty over nations and

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raising up Cyrus as a deliverer. Please note the first

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section talks about raising Cyrus up as a deliverer. Where

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is Cyrus mentioned in the first section of forty one

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one through seven, who raised up the righteous man from

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the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations

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before him, and made him rule over kings. All right, So,

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and it interesting he's in the first section and he's

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now mentioned in the last section. Just keep that in mind,

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all right. So we have Cyrus. Then the second section

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that's God's sovereignty over nations, and his sovereignty is demonstrating

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and raising up Cyrus. All right. Number two or the

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second part of this immediate context is the second section,

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which is forty one eight through thirteen. What was the

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focus here forty one eight through thirteen, God's assurance to Israel. Yeah,

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we gave this in the observational outline, God's assurance to Israel,

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promising his protection and presence. What is the main thing

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we need to remember verses eight through thirteen that this

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is promises to Israel. This promises to is You can't

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go in there instill any of these promises. You can't

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apply it to the church. In fact, it's very clear

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verse eight. But thou Israel, arn't my servant, Jacob, whom

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I have chosen the seed of Abraham, my friend. Please

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note my servant in forty one to eight is whom No.

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Forty one eight Israel. Please note that Israel is my servant.

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Keep that in mind, all right, because this servant thing

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becomes a major part of Isaiah forty through fifty five right,

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keep that in mind. Okay, so we've already identified one. Clearly,

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there's no question who the servant is in forty one eight.

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Who is it Israel? Everyone should know that, right, Just

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keep that in mind. It's gonna be a big deal

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as we go through this. Okay, we're gonna have to

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take a lot of time because we're gonna get into

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some controversial situations here as we move forward. But there

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it's clear. Now hermoneutically, what does that mean? Well, if

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my servant is identified in forty one eight, what does

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that tell you moving forward? If we save the phrase again,

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what should you do? Well, you identified as Israel? And

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unless what unless the text tells you something others because

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it was just identified in forty one eight. Correct, that's

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a basic hermoneutical role. That's not even hermeneutics, Say, I

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guess it's hermaeneutics. It's just basic reading comprehension. Right. If

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something is identified later but it was identified than the

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earlier identification carries on unless something is redefined later on.

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I mean, it's just a basic rule. I don't know

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why churches can't follow that, but it's not that complicated. Okay,

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So keep that in mind. So forty. The second section

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forty one eight through thirteen is God's assurance to Israel,

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promising his protection and presence. What it's the third section

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We covered it all last week now fourteen through twenty

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God's transformation of Israel, turning their weakness into strength. And

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once again we know it's about Israel. How do we

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know it's about Israel? Look at verse fourteen, worm Jacob

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and you men of Israel. I will help Thee Saith,

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the Lord and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold.

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I will make THEE who is the Thee Israel. I

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will make THEE a new sharp threshing instrument, having teeth.

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He's going to do that to Israel, not Church, not you.

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It has nothing to do with you. It has everything

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to do with Israel. We've identified that, correct. So that

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brings us now to today. Isaiah forty one, twenty one

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through twenty nine is going to be about the trial

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of the Idols, proving they are powerless. Everybody got that,

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all right? We should know that by heart. At this

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point we've covered it and literally I don't even know

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how many times we've covered this now a lot. Okay,

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So we when we did. Remember, we did an entire

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observational outline of forty all the way through fifty five.

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Then we did an observational outline of forty We did

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an observational outline of forty one. We'll do the same

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thing with forty two. The reason we do the observational

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outlines is even if you don't remember all the details,

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you should at least remember the sections. So that Yeah,

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that's why we're covering it that way. All right, Now

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that's the immediate context. How about the structural breakdown. Now

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we're going to do the structural breakdown of the last section,

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which is twenty one through twenty nine. And once I

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give you the structural breakdown, we could just go home

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because we're done. Because really I'm already going to explain it,

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and then I'm just going to explain it again. I'm

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just I'm using every system of repetition I can so

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that we get this down. All right, structural breakdown the

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first twenty one through twenty four. Look at twenty one

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through twenty four. What do we see basically twenty one

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through twenty four, this is the legal challenge. We saw

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that in twenty one. Do we not hey, produce your cause,

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bring forth your reasons, bring forth your proofs. Right, this

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is the legal challenge. And basically, can idols predict or

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control history? And what's the answer? No, they cannot predict

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or control history. God can. Now the minute I say

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God can, what should you do? You should raise your

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hand and go Well, if God controls history, he's obviously

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not very good at its job. Everyone then charge should

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say that. I know you're not allowed to say that

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in church, but in churches where you should say it

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because you don't want to say it in church, But

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you walk out the door and guess what the people

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out there will say that your God is in control

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of history. Well, let me tell you the story of

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human history, right, I mean we can just where do

292
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you want to go? Hitler nine to eleven Spanish flu

293
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I mean I can just go on where do you

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want to go? Right? I mean I can go through wars,

295
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I can go through plagues, I can go through disease,

296
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I can go through disaster, I can go through horrible tragedy.

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I can go through horrible horrible things being done, torture, war, murder, right,

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people's lands being taken from them, slavery. I mean where

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do you want? The human history is filled with what

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abject horror and evil. So the minute we say well,

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who's in control? If we say God, God, does I

302
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not raise about nine hundred philosophical questions. It does. And

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even if we take it, that's kind of abstract. If

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we just look to our own lives, Well, if God

305
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is in control of history, is he control of my history? Well?

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If he's in control of my history, I got a

307
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lot of questions. Again, depending on any church you have

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some people sitting in church going, Yes, God's been in

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control of my history, and it's been a wonderful life.

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Had a good mother, good father, life was wonderful, great,

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had all that I needed. And then someone else is

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going to be sitting two pews behind you going and

313
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I was molested for fifteen years. That makes it difficult.

314
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So it's one thing for to stand behind the pulp

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put and tell everyone God is in control. Everyone in

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church will say amen, But we don't think of the

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practical implications of that. The practical implications are staggering. And

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I don't have good answers for it. I don't have

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good answer. Nobody has good answers. I've heard all the

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answers Christians tried to give you, but they're all, what

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is the what is the the number one go to

322
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answer whenever I point out all of that evil when

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Christians constantly will say, if you if you bring this

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up at the dinner table and you're you're having dinner

325
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with other Christians, what are they going to immediately put

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the blame on? There's only two answers. There's only two

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ways that they're going to put the blame. Okay, They're

328
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gonna say, well, God gave man free will, right, that's

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the Does that fix the problem? No? Because because the

330
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one who gave free will is also what what's the

331
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attribute omniscient? Meaning he knew what free will would do

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and yet he did it? Okay, that's it? So who's

333
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still responsible? God? And not only that? What else is

334
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the second? Go to Satan? Well, who made Satan? Who can?

335
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Who could get rid of sating at any moment in time? God?

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Who did not? And at least he can very do

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his tie him up and put him away from everyone? Right?

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Did not? Yeah? And you know I say, was it

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before he created it? It is the most all you

340
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can't just wrap your mind around. And what bothers me is,

341
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and I'll make it very clear what ticks me off

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about Christians is the arrogance not to acknowledge the philosophical

343
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dilemma that Christianity persists. The arrogance that like we've got

344
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it all figured out and we've got the end stopping.

345
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You don't have any answers, you don't even have the

346
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right questions. Okay, stop it. Christianity does not provide any

347
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comfort to anyone. It provides you nothing but a never

348
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ending series of questions with no good answers. At least

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Job had the decency at the end of basically say

350
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what I'm gonna stop talking. And that's what many Christians

351
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need to do. Stop talking, because we don't have any

352
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good ants. We think we do, but man, it is.

353
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It is. When you say God is in control of everything,

354
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the implications of that are staggering. It's troubling. It may

355
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not be troubling when you're sitting in the pew and

356
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you're just a church like I don't care, I'm just

357
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gonna go home and have lunch, But man, just go

358
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I don't know. Take five minutes to read the news,

359
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take five minutes to go to the Roy's Report or

360
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the Christian Post. Just look at article after article about

361
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this child was molested in church, or this child was

362
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sexually abused and this child was sexually abused and this

363
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child was sexually abused, and that's inside the church. You

364
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think God could at least control what goes on inside

365
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the church, right, And it is weird. On one hand,

366
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we act as if as Christians constantly act like God

367
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is constantly intervening. Is that a common thing amongst Christians?

368
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God intervenes here? God, That's why we pray, right, because

369
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most people pray as if God will intervene. But if

370
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God is intervening, well, then that just raises a million

371
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other questions. So just that last part that you know,

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the idea or this part, first part of the structural breakdown,

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verses twenty one through twenty four. Can idols predict or

374
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control history? The obvious answer is they can't. But the

375
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answer is that God can, and that just only raises

376
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more questions. All right, what happens in verse twenty five,

377
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So we have the legal challenge in twenty one through

378
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twenty four twenty five we have evidence what's God? Yeah,

379
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God raises up or a ruler from the north Cyrus.

380
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Cyrus is proof or evidence of what God. God is

381
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in control. God is in control. God is in control. Now.

382
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If God can intervene and bring forth Cyrus, then that

383
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means God can intervene and do what fix and solve problems? Okay,

384
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that becomes issue. What happens in verses twenty six through

385
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twenty seven, well six through twenty seven? Who hath declared

386
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the beginning that we may know and before time that

387
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you may say he is righteous? Yay? There is none

388
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that showeth. Yeah, there is none that declareth. This is

389
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really the failure of idols to foretell events. The idols

390
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can't do it. They fell, all right, So we have

391
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the legal challenge. We have the evidence, we have the

392
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failure in the what do we have in twenty eight

393
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through twenty nine? We have basically the final verdict? And

394
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what is the final verdict? Idols are worthless delusions. They're

395
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worthless delusions. So idols are worth fluss delusions. But God

396
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is knowledgeable, God is powerful. But that I want to

397
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make it very clear that truth of God is true.

398
00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:14.279
You're regardless of everything around us that would say opposite

399
00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:17.599
to that. Okay, there's the structural breakdown. Right, we got that.

400
00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:20.079
You are you already understand the chap. You don't even

401
00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:22.440
really need my help to do anything else. All right, Well,

402
00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:25.680
let's now break it down. We'll now do in exegetical analysis.

403
00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:28.920
All we're gonna do is repeat really that structural breakdown,

404
00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:31.599
all right. What's the first section in the structural breakdown?

405
00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:36.720
Twenty one through twenty four? Right, and this is the

406
00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:40.319
legal challenge, correct? All right? And what is the legal

407
00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:45.440
challenge against the idols? Set forth your case, says the Lord.

408
00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:47.799
Bring your proof, says the King of Jacob. This is

409
00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:51.680
the courtroom scene. Right. Basically, it's gonna be can idols

410
00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:55.839
predict or control history? So I'm gonna break this part

411
00:25:55.920 --> 00:26:00.559
down into I'll just break it into three parts, no,

412
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:04.200
four parts, No, okay, we'll just we'll just go through

413
00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:06.359
twenty one through twenty four and we'll just see how

414
00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.720
we want to handle this. All right, So set forth

415
00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:11.839
your case, says the Lord. Bring your proofs says the

416
00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.440
King of Jacob. We have the courtroom scene. We can

417
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:17.759
all agree there. Set forth your case. God summons the

418
00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:21.599
idols and their worshippers to defend themselves. Bring your proof.

419
00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:25.680
It is a challenge to prove their divinity by demonstrating

420
00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:31.400
knowledge and power over history. So God sends out the summons,

421
00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:36.400
bring your proof, very simple, very straightforward. All right. Then

422
00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:39.039
he gives them a challenge, basically, to foretell the future.

423
00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:42.519
Let them bring them and tell us what is to happen.

424
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Tell us the former things, what they are, that we

425
00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.160
may consider them, that we may know the outcome, or

426
00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:53.079
declare to us the things to come. Idols cannot reveal

427
00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:58.519
history or prophecy. God controls time itself, whereas idols are

428
00:26:58.599 --> 00:27:04.839
powerless to declare past or future events. It's pretty simple,

429
00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:10.359
pretty simple, pretty straightforward. There's the courtroom scene, there's the

430
00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:14.519
challenge to foretell the future. Right. What is the basic

431
00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:17.599
idea here? Is that the ability to predict and control

432
00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:23.440
history is a divine attribute, something that God possesses, only

433
00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:27.279
God possesses. Look at Isaiah forty six and tell me

434
00:27:27.319 --> 00:27:31.960
what you find in verses nine to ten. Forty six

435
00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:34.160
Isaiah forty six nine through ten. Tell me what you

436
00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.960
find there? Is it relevant or is it not relevant?

437
00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:50.039
You tell me forty six nine through ten. What do

438
00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:57.319
we see? Forty six nine through ten? I will read

439
00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:05.799
it forty six verse nine. Remember the former things of old.

440
00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:13.799
For I am God, and there is no one else.

441
00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:21.200
I am God. There is none like me. And then

442
00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:23.839
what makes God so different than everyone else? Look at

443
00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:30.160
verse ten? What does God do? He declares the end

444
00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:32.799
from the beginning and from ancient times to the things

445
00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:35.799
that are not yet done, saying my coustle shall stand

446
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and I will do all my pleasure. That's basically forty

447
00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:41.799
six nine through ten is the whole thing idols. He's

448
00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:44.920
asking the idols to do these things. They cannot do

449
00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:49.200
them because only God can do them. God controls history.

450
00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:53.799
It is a divine attribute. He can predict and control.

451
00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:56.799
It is something that only God possesses, and we see

452
00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:59.839
that in Isaiah forty six nine through ten. All right,

453
00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:03.039
so basically we have the courtroom scene, we have the

454
00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:05.960
challenge to foretell the future, and then number three we

455
00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.880
have the call for idols to act. Tell us what

456
00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:11.079
is to come hereafter that we may know what you

457
00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:15.160
what you that you are God's do good or do harm,

458
00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:20.279
that we may be dismayed and terrified. God is sarcastically

459
00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:25.039
inviting idols to do anything, do something good or bad

460
00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:29.119
because it will prove your power. And then, in contrast,

461
00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:35.359
God is actively evolved in world affairs, while idols remain lifeless. Now,

462
00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:40.599
on one hand, we like that, right, idols do something,

463
00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:44.240
But I'm gonna be very honest with you, that can

464
00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:52.720
be flipped around. Can it not? God do something? So

465
00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:56.680
just note that this, this argument given against the idols

466
00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:02.799
can be turned against God. If we can't acknowledge that,

467
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:04.920
then there's no point coming to church, right if you

468
00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:07.599
just want to come to church to pretend something that

469
00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:11.319
the real world doesn't exist. But the real world exists.

470
00:30:12.839 --> 00:30:15.359
So there we go. So what do we have here.

471
00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:17.319
We have a courtroom seeing, we have the challenge to

472
00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:19.960
foretell the future. We have a call for idols to act,

473
00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:24.680
and then we'll go with the verdict. Idols are nothing. Behold,

474
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:27.240
you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing.

475
00:30:27.480 --> 00:30:31.119
And abomination is he who chooses you. You are nothing.

476
00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:35.079
It's a declaration of total worthlessness and abomination. It is

477
00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:40.240
a strong term used for detestable idolatry. Look at Deuteronomy seven.

478
00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:53.440
Look at Deuteronomy seven. I think verse twenty five. So

479
00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:55.960
I ended up did breaking it down into four parts.

480
00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.079
But that's okay. I'll put it all back together here

481
00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:01.839
in a second. It makes sense from an outline format.

482
00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:08.279
Deuteronomy seven twenty five. What do you find in Deuteronomy

483
00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:21.440
seven twenty five? Deuteronomy seven twenty five, everybody see it?

484
00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:27.359
The graven images of their gods show you burn with fire.

485
00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:30.000
They shall not desire the silver or the gold that

486
00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:32.480
is on them, nor take it unto thee lest they'll

487
00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:36.920
be snared therein, for it is an abomination to the Lord,

488
00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:40.319
thy God. God has been warning them against idolatry all

489
00:31:40.359 --> 00:31:44.240
the way back there. You're to destroy them. It's detestable,

490
00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:48.000
it's it's an abomination. All right? So how do we

491
00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:51.759
break down this first section and our structural breakdown? This

492
00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:54.359
is twenty one through twenty four. This is a legal challenge.

493
00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:56.799
What do we have? We have the courtroom set, the

494
00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:01.240
courtroom scene, courtroom scene set, if I could speak correctly,

495
00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:03.960
all right, we see that. Then we have the challenges

496
00:32:03.960 --> 00:32:06.319
to foretell the future. Then we saw the call for

497
00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:08.559
the idols to act, and then we have the verdict

498
00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:12.079
that idols are nothing right. That gets us through twenty

499
00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:14.640
one through twenty four. Now we come to verse twenty five.

500
00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:19.519
What do we have in verse twenty five Isaiah forty

501
00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:24.200
one twenty five what happens in verse twenty five. Yes,

502
00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:27.880
we have the evidence of God's sovereign control. And what

503
00:32:27.960 --> 00:32:34.720
is that evidence? In twenty five he stirs up from

504
00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:37.000
one from the north, and he has come from the

505
00:32:37.079 --> 00:32:39.440
rising of the sun. And he shall call upon my name.

506
00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:42.440
He shall trample on rulers, as on mortar, as the

507
00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:46.599
potter treads clay. Right, So let's break this down. We'll

508
00:32:46.599 --> 00:32:49.039
break this down into two major parts. Who is the

509
00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:53.720
one from the north. Most scholars agree this refers to

510
00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:58.319
Cyrus the Great, who would conquer Babylon and free Israel.

511
00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:08.319
Look at Isaiah four twenty eight, Isaiah forty four to

512
00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:14.200
twenty eight. What do you have in Isaiah forty four

513
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:20.240
twenty eight? Very important passage that saith of Cyrus, he

514
00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:27.759
is my what is he my shepherd? He shall perform

515
00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:31.359
all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, thou should be built,

516
00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:34.599
and the temple thy foundation shall be laid. Why does

517
00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:38.400
he refer to in forty five to one? Thus says

518
00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:44.279
the Lord to his anointed right to you, that's even

519
00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:50.240
a stronger word than servant to his anointed. To Cyrus,

520
00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:54.480
whose right hand I have holding subdue nations before him,

521
00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:56.960
I will loose the loins of kings to open before

522
00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:59.480
him the two leaved gates, and the gates shall not

523
00:33:59.599 --> 00:34:03.839
be shut. There's the opening of the gates that Sarah

524
00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:06.720
pointed out in history about how that he just walks in.

525
00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:11.119
They opened the gates for him. He's God's anointed, he

526
00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:17.360
is god shepherd. So he is the proof. He is

527
00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:21.280
the evidence of God's sovereign control over history. Who is

528
00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:24.280
the one from the north. He is Cyrus, from the north,

529
00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:27.280
from the rising of the Sun. Persia was east of Babylon,

530
00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:31.320
but It's military campaigns came from the north. Did everyone

531
00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:36.800
hear that Persia was what east of Babylon, but It's

532
00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:41.360
military campaigns came from the north. That's how we get

533
00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:45.719
the east and the north. That's how we get both there. Okay, right,

534
00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:49.639
we talked about that before. Okay, everybody got that. So

535
00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:52.360
what is the evidence of God's sovereign control and history?

536
00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:59.199
What is God's evidence? Cyrus? Cyrus is God's evidence. Cyrus

537
00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:03.320
is God's evidence. Okay. He asks basically for the idols

538
00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:07.039
to produce something they can't God's like, here's my he gives.

539
00:35:07.159 --> 00:35:11.159
So what kind of evidence does God give them? Something tangible?

540
00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:17.639
Something can be seen Cyrus, Sorry, but which means God's

541
00:35:17.719 --> 00:35:22.719
intervention through And then this is very important. The evidence

542
00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:31.280
God provides is it supernatural, it's basically ordinary means. God's

543
00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:34.840
evidence he gives them is God working through ordinary means.

544
00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:38.440
And we remember ordinary means are complicated. Why are ordinary

545
00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:45.159
means complicated because they look ordinary? Oh yeah, yeah, Now

546
00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:48.320
the fact it's all predicted, Yes, that's very very powerful,

547
00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:51.000
very powerful. Right, So it does demonstrate for there's a

548
00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:54.079
supernatural element of being predicted beforehand. So that's true. But

549
00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:57.320
it's gonna happen through an ordinary means. So unless you

550
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:01.000
know the prediction, it looks just very ordinary. So I

551
00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:04.639
think that's very important to see. Right, So we have

552
00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:06.920
forty one twenty five is the evidence of God's sovereignty.

553
00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:09.320
So we have first who is the one from the north. Second,

554
00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:13.800
he shall call upon my name. Sarrius was not a

555
00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:18.440
worshiper of the God of Israel, but he acknowledged Yahway's

556
00:36:18.840 --> 00:36:21.440
role or God's role in his victories. Look at Ezra

557
00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:32.639
chapter one, verse two, Ezra chapter one, verse two. What

558
00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:46.320
happens in Ezra chapter one, verse two, Ezra chapter one. Yes,

559
00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:49.159
everyone should be half everyone should be super familiar with

560
00:36:49.199 --> 00:37:04.039
Ezra chapter one. All right, look at verse one of

561
00:37:04.119 --> 00:37:09.239
Ezra chapter one, just so that there's no confusion. Now,

562
00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:15.480
in the first year of Ezra chapter one, verse one,

563
00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:19.480
and that first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that

564
00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:21.320
the word of the Lord Maya by the mouth of

565
00:37:21.400 --> 00:37:24.159
Jeremiah might be fulfilled. The Lord stirred up the spirit

566
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:30.920
of Cyrus, the king of Persia, that he made a

567
00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:35.119
proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it in writing, saying,

568
00:37:35.599 --> 00:37:42.400
thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia. The Lord God of

569
00:37:42.440 --> 00:37:46.639
Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth,

570
00:37:46.679 --> 00:37:50.039
and he hath charged me to build him a house

571
00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:54.400
at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Now, why is this important?

572
00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:57.639
You need to know Ezra because in Isaiah forty one

573
00:37:58.119 --> 00:38:00.280
it's the idea. And when we read it again, I

574
00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:02.840
stirred up the one. This is Isaiah forty one twenty five.

575
00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:05.039
I stirred up one from the north, and he has

576
00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:08.199
come from the rising of the sun, and he shall

577
00:38:08.239 --> 00:38:11.880
call upon my name. Well, it doesn't mean that he's

578
00:38:11.920 --> 00:38:17.679
a true worshiper of God. However, he acknowledges God absolutely

579
00:38:17.760 --> 00:38:20.360
is involved in the situation. Does he not? Where do

580
00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:24.719
you see that? Ezra Chapter one, verse two. God directs

581
00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:29.840
even a pagan ruler for his purpose, and that pagan

582
00:38:29.960 --> 00:38:33.719
ruler even knows it's the God of Israel that is

583
00:38:33.800 --> 00:38:38.239
directing and is calling him to do something right. Unlike

584
00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:45.639
the idols, God actively controls history, using human rulers to

585
00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:49.840
fulfill his will. But once again we are once again

586
00:38:49.880 --> 00:38:56.480
confronted with what reality. God controls history that is not

587
00:38:56.800 --> 00:39:00.440
a comforting reality. I cannot state that again. Cover you

588
00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:03.119
find in it. I can find you a million things

589
00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:06.320
uncomfortable about it, but it's still the thing that's being

590
00:39:06.400 --> 00:39:10.239
proclaimed here. Right, So we were just going through the

591
00:39:10.280 --> 00:39:14.760
structural breakdown. Right, We've looked at the legal challenge, right,

592
00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:17.679
the legal challenge against idols. We broke that down into

593
00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:21.199
four parts, a courtroom scene, the challenge to foretell the future,

594
00:39:21.360 --> 00:39:23.840
a call for idols to act, and the verdict that

595
00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:26.400
they are nothing. Then we came to the next section

596
00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:29.440
and our structural breakdown Isaiah forty one to twenty five,

597
00:39:29.480 --> 00:39:32.800
the evidence of God's sovereign control over history. We broke

598
00:39:32.840 --> 00:39:34.880
it down into two parts. Who is the one from

599
00:39:34.880 --> 00:39:37.320
the north? He shall call upon my name? Then we

600
00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:40.440
come to number three Isaiah forty one, twenty six through

601
00:39:40.519 --> 00:39:45.000
twenty seven. The failure of idols to foretel future events

602
00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:48.760
or to foretel events. Remember the verses twenty six through

603
00:39:48.840 --> 00:39:52.079
twenty seven. Who declared it from the beginning that we

604
00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:55.519
might know and beforehand that we might say he is right?

605
00:39:55.800 --> 00:39:58.599
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none

606
00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:04.119
who heard your words. We break this down into two parts,

607
00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:10.360
the idol silence and God's prophetic role. The idol silence

608
00:40:10.440 --> 00:40:13.360
is pretty simple. No false gods had foretold the rise

609
00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:17.199
of Cyrus or controlled world events. The failure to predict it,

610
00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:24.360
predict predict events proves that idols are powerless. The false

611
00:40:24.360 --> 00:40:28.000
gods did not foretell. First, false gods did not see it,

612
00:40:28.440 --> 00:40:33.599
did not understand it. Their failure prediction, our failure to

613
00:40:33.719 --> 00:40:38.280
predict proves that they are powerless. God's prophetic role. I

614
00:40:38.400 --> 00:40:41.239
was first to say to Zion, behold here they are,

615
00:40:42.119 --> 00:40:44.639
and I give your Jerusalem a herald of good news.

616
00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:50.519
God alone had declared Israel's deliverance beforehand. The idols are silent.

617
00:40:50.920 --> 00:40:56.119
God had spoken. I mean, it's pretty simple, it's pretty straightforward.

618
00:40:56.360 --> 00:41:01.960
The idols fail for to foretell these events the idols

619
00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:04.800
fail to do that. That's what we see. In twenty

620
00:41:04.800 --> 00:41:08.559
six through twenty seven. The idols were silent, but God spoke.

621
00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:14.079
God had revealed. So the divinity is proven by foreknowledge

622
00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:18.079
and fulfillment of prophecy. And only God has this ability.

623
00:41:18.920 --> 00:41:22.239
God proves himself by his ability to know what's going

624
00:41:22.280 --> 00:41:25.440
to happen, predict what's going to happen, control what's going

625
00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:30.599
to happen, and ensure prophecy is fulfilled. Right, everybody, God.

626
00:41:30.639 --> 00:41:35.079
That brings us to the last section, which is twenty

627
00:41:35.079 --> 00:41:37.519
eight through twenty nine. We already gave you the structural breakdown,

628
00:41:37.559 --> 00:41:41.880
now about fifty times the final verdict. Right, twenty eight

629
00:41:41.880 --> 00:41:44.280
through twenty nine, the final verdict. But when I look,

630
00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:49.719
there is no one among these. There is no counselor

631
00:41:50.039 --> 00:41:53.599
whom I ask give an answer. No idol can provide

632
00:41:53.639 --> 00:41:58.000
wisdom or direction. Behold, they are all a delusion. Their

633
00:41:58.039 --> 00:42:03.000
works are nothing, their mental image are an empty win. Right,

634
00:42:03.679 --> 00:42:10.280
So a delusion, meaningless chaotic nothingness, empty win. Idols have

635
00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:15.800
no power, no wisdom, no ability to act. Idolatry is

636
00:42:15.840 --> 00:42:20.920
not just misguided, it's entirely empty and futile. So don't

637
00:42:20.920 --> 00:42:26.840
look to the idols, look to God now for Judah,

638
00:42:27.199 --> 00:42:30.440
for those in Babylonian captivity, this is a little bit

639
00:42:30.519 --> 00:42:35.079
easier to grasp. Why why is this going to be

640
00:42:35.079 --> 00:42:46.840
easier for Juda to grasp than for us to grasp. Well,

641
00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:50.360
God's literally doing something, right, Okay, Right, They've been in

642
00:42:50.400 --> 00:42:53.840
Babylonian captivity for almost seventy years or ever how long

643
00:42:53.880 --> 00:42:56.159
you know, they're going to be there for seventy years,

644
00:42:56.199 --> 00:42:59.000
and God is now getting ready to do what He's

645
00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:04.119
going to intervene in a tangible way. Correct, The idols

646
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:07.679
aren't going to do anything. Cyrus is going to do something.

647
00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:12.239
When Cyrus comes walking through the gate, they should all

648
00:43:12.280 --> 00:43:18.199
know immediately God is doing something. It's tangible. It's not theoretical.

649
00:43:18.519 --> 00:43:23.920
It's not a lesson in church, it's not a seminary course.

650
00:43:24.360 --> 00:43:29.039
It's literal, actually going to happen in literal real time,

651
00:43:29.320 --> 00:43:32.079
that a literal man by the name of Cyrus is

652
00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:36.280
literally going to come take over Babylon and literally going

653
00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:38.880
to let the people go gather everything that they need

654
00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:41.360
so that they can go back and rebuild the Temple

655
00:43:41.440 --> 00:43:45.800
and rebuild Jerusalem. Everything is material, it's literal, it's physical,

656
00:43:45.960 --> 00:43:53.000
it's not theoretical, so it's much easier to grasp. Do

657
00:43:53.079 --> 00:43:57.400
we have that same assurance that God is literally physically

658
00:43:57.679 --> 00:44:02.119
materially going to intervene in your situation and fix it

659
00:44:02.199 --> 00:44:05.599
and make it better? No, we do not. And if

660
00:44:05.639 --> 00:44:08.239
you tell anyone that you are a liar and you

661
00:44:08.280 --> 00:44:12.079
should be knocked upside the head for giving people fraugilent information,

662
00:44:12.360 --> 00:44:15.519
there is no tangible proof for that in this life.

663
00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:20.400
Now we hold to that God will materially physically intervene

664
00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:26.039
and the future and glorification, right, but not hearing now,

665
00:44:26.039 --> 00:44:28.199
I don't have any guarantee that God's going to intervene

666
00:44:28.199 --> 00:44:33.679
to fix my situation, which makes it complicated right now.

667
00:44:33.719 --> 00:44:37.199
In some ways we can relate because they were in

668
00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:42.360
captivity for how long seventy years? That's a pretty normal

669
00:44:42.440 --> 00:44:45.880
lifespan for people at that time, right, Remember, the long

670
00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:48.760
ages are long over at this point, right, that's long

671
00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:52.079
done with gon So now people the Bible talks about

672
00:44:52.079 --> 00:44:54.800
living what seventy seventy five by strength is kind of

673
00:44:54.840 --> 00:44:57.159
like the Biblical God. Now we can say what that's

674
00:44:57.199 --> 00:45:00.920
referring to. We get into hold the Hermonuda discussion there,

675
00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:04.199
But that's seventy. I mean, even if you look at

676
00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:09.760
the life expectancy in the world today seventy you know,

677
00:45:09.920 --> 00:45:12.920
once you get to seventy the end is near. Can

678
00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:15.559
we agree? When you get into it now, some may

679
00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:17.320
live to be eighty, some may live to be ninety,

680
00:45:17.400 --> 00:45:18.800
some may live to be one hundred. But I'm saying,

681
00:45:18.840 --> 00:45:21.679
if you take the majority, once you get into the seventies,

682
00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:26.320
between seventy and seventy nine, for most the end is coming, right.

683
00:45:26.679 --> 00:45:29.400
So if they're there for seventy years, many of them

684
00:45:29.440 --> 00:45:31.840
are already olderver time they get there, so they're going

685
00:45:31.880 --> 00:45:34.000
to be gone by the end of that seventy And

686
00:45:34.039 --> 00:45:36.800
many are born in there, so that the time is

687
00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:39.599
coming to an end. So in many cases they live

688
00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:45.920
their life without seeing what God's intervention. I don't see

689
00:45:45.960 --> 00:45:48.559
Cyrus because many of them are dead before Cyrus comes

690
00:45:48.559 --> 00:45:52.280
on the scene. Right, So we can relate to that.

691
00:45:52.920 --> 00:45:58.000
We live our life professing and claiming what that are.

692
00:45:58.119 --> 00:46:01.480
God is in control. God, our God is all powerful,

693
00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:04.960
Our God is all knowing. Yet we live life that

694
00:46:05.079 --> 00:46:08.039
over and over and over circumstances seem to indicate what

695
00:46:09.920 --> 00:46:12.280
that God is not in control, that God is not

696
00:46:12.360 --> 00:46:15.719
all knowing we have to acknowledge that. Watch the news,

697
00:46:15.760 --> 00:46:20.320
it does not look like God is in control of anything, pain, suffering, death,

698
00:46:20.719 --> 00:46:26.559
It's just never ending tragedy after tragedy after tragedy, mass shootings,

699
00:46:26.639 --> 00:46:30.079
this happens, This happens. For some point you're like, forget it.

700
00:46:31.159 --> 00:46:33.320
So what we have to hold to is just like

701
00:46:33.400 --> 00:46:35.920
they had to hold on to because remember these words

702
00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:38.159
a comfort are given to them about one hundred years

703
00:46:38.199 --> 00:46:41.559
even before they go into captivity. So this would have

704
00:46:41.559 --> 00:46:46.000
made like, well, you know, how do you even process this? Well,

705
00:46:46.039 --> 00:46:48.960
we have these words about there's coming a new heaven

706
00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:50.760
and a new earth, no more pain, no more suffering,

707
00:46:50.800 --> 00:46:53.719
no more death, a glorified body. But for the meantime

708
00:46:53.760 --> 00:46:57.360
we live in a sense our seventy years kind of

709
00:46:57.360 --> 00:47:03.760
going Where's God? The truth of God is true, irregardless

710
00:47:03.760 --> 00:47:08.519
of circumstances. Now, from a philosophical standpoint, that we kind

711
00:47:08.519 --> 00:47:10.480
of rig the debate, I mean I don't like it

712
00:47:10.519 --> 00:47:13.159
from that standpoint, right, Like, if we're truly having an

713
00:47:13.159 --> 00:47:17.199
intellectual debate, Christians don't really function well in an intellectual

714
00:47:17.320 --> 00:47:20.559
capacity because we kind of just simply say, well, God

715
00:47:20.639 --> 00:47:23.519
is God and it doesn't matter what the proof says right.

716
00:47:23.960 --> 00:47:27.360
But that's that's the problem with that's the difficulty of theism.

717
00:47:28.119 --> 00:47:31.480
We claim a truth about a God that seems that

718
00:47:31.599 --> 00:47:35.320
everything around it defies that very concept, but we still

719
00:47:35.360 --> 00:47:38.119
believe it. So we have to wait to see the

720
00:47:38.159 --> 00:47:41.159
fulfillment just as well. Many of them never got to

721
00:47:41.199 --> 00:47:43.519
see the fulfillment, like many of us will never. Truly,

722
00:47:43.679 --> 00:47:46.480
we're not going to see Christ's return in our lifetime.

723
00:47:46.480 --> 00:47:50.480
We're going to be dead. And that's that's happened over

724
00:47:50.559 --> 00:47:52.960
and over and over again. Right, So what are the

725
00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:57.000
theological themes? What do you think the theological themes? And

726
00:47:57.039 --> 00:47:59.559
I usually don't give these, I skip these every single time.

727
00:47:59.639 --> 00:48:05.400
What stillological themes of Isaiah forty one? Okay, God's sovereignty

728
00:48:05.400 --> 00:48:08.880
over history is clearly there, right, God controls world events

729
00:48:08.960 --> 00:48:13.199
unlike powerless idols. Again, I love saying God controls. I

730
00:48:13.199 --> 00:48:16.239
mean I've been I mean obviously all my degrees in theology,

731
00:48:16.360 --> 00:48:19.079
so I've been told this a million times. God controls

732
00:48:19.079 --> 00:48:21.320
world events. God is in control of everything. God is

733
00:48:21.320 --> 00:48:23.840
in control of everything. God is in control of everything.

734
00:48:24.079 --> 00:48:27.440
It preaches. It sounds so good sitting in a Saturday,

735
00:48:27.480 --> 00:48:31.800
sitting in seminary. Yeah, an all day class and seminary.

736
00:48:31.960 --> 00:48:34.360
God is in control of everything, and everybody's like amen.

737
00:48:37.440 --> 00:48:42.320
But the minute I say God is in control of everything, okay,

738
00:48:43.159 --> 00:48:46.599
well just make it more personal than your own life.

739
00:48:49.119 --> 00:48:52.679
I want God to be control of everything because I

740
00:48:52.719 --> 00:48:55.519
because God is in control of everything I do. Then

741
00:48:55.559 --> 00:49:02.280
the what would that then mean? Have God? I mean

742
00:49:02.320 --> 00:49:05.159
if we say God is in control of everything, that

743
00:49:05.199 --> 00:49:09.239
includes everything, right, I mean, okay, well then you would

744
00:49:09.239 --> 00:49:16.320
think we would never sin. But because we sin raises

745
00:49:16.360 --> 00:49:21.360
some serious theological issues, right, because that means if God

746
00:49:21.440 --> 00:49:24.840
is in control, but he doesn't stop me. Put it

747
00:49:24.840 --> 00:49:28.639
this way, God is in control. What is one fact

748
00:49:28.880 --> 00:49:31.719
that every Christian has to acknowledge that Nobody in any

749
00:49:31.800 --> 00:49:36.000
church wants to acknowledge God is in control. Yet he

750
00:49:36.039 --> 00:49:40.920
did not get rid of our sinful nature? That's a fact. Right. Well,

751
00:49:40.960 --> 00:49:47.320
if he didn't get rid of our sinful nature, what

752
00:49:47.400 --> 00:49:49.360
is the implication? I know nobody wants to say it.

753
00:49:49.400 --> 00:50:00.800
What is the implication he obviously then wants and to continue.

754
00:50:02.320 --> 00:50:04.239
I mean, if you if you keep the verything, what's

755
00:50:04.280 --> 00:50:08.519
the thing that causes us to sin? Said nature? God

756
00:50:08.639 --> 00:50:16.800
knows it's there, he doesn't get rid of it. That's

757
00:50:17.280 --> 00:50:20.800
that's a that's the ramifications of that are not pretty Right,

758
00:50:22.639 --> 00:50:30.760
Sarah commits a sin. Sarah's doing what you're doing, what

759
00:50:30.920 --> 00:50:34.880
is natural to you. Right, I'll borrow a phrase used

760
00:50:34.880 --> 00:50:40.440
in the LGBT community. You were born that way? Right?

761
00:50:40.760 --> 00:50:43.280
Christians don't like to hear that that homosexual could be

762
00:50:43.280 --> 00:50:44.760
born that way. I don't know why we have such

763
00:50:44.760 --> 00:50:49.920
a problem with that. We're born a sinner, right, okay? Right?

764
00:50:49.960 --> 00:50:52.480
You know what I say? If I'm born a center.

765
00:50:52.559 --> 00:50:54.519
Oh no, no, you can't be born gay. Oh you

766
00:50:54.559 --> 00:50:57.239
can't be born gay, but I can be born a center. Okay, right,

767
00:50:57.280 --> 00:51:01.239
Like come on now, right, like say the same. Why

768
00:51:01.280 --> 00:51:05.360
do I sin because I'm born this way? All right?

769
00:51:06.280 --> 00:51:09.320
It's so ridiculous, Christians, I said from the beginning in

770
00:51:09.360 --> 00:51:12.159
the nineties, stop arguing that they're not born that way.

771
00:51:12.199 --> 00:51:14.679
That's the dumbest argument in the world. Since we walk

772
00:51:14.719 --> 00:51:17.840
around and claim we're born sinners, we are born sinners,

773
00:51:17.960 --> 00:51:21.800
what do sinners who are born sinners do say? And

774
00:51:21.920 --> 00:51:24.440
in fact, what we say it all the time. We

775
00:51:24.519 --> 00:51:29.119
sin because we are sinners. We don't become sinners by sinning,

776
00:51:29.360 --> 00:51:34.239
but we sin because that's what we are from conception. Well,

777
00:51:34.239 --> 00:51:36.719
if God doesn't get rid of the very thing causing

778
00:51:36.800 --> 00:51:39.400
the problem, then you can't tell me he wants the

779
00:51:39.480 --> 00:51:42.599
problem to stop, because if He wanted the problem to stop,

780
00:51:42.760 --> 00:51:45.559
we wouldn't have a sinful nature. Therefore, I have to

781
00:51:45.639 --> 00:51:48.400
approach it in a radically different way. And that causes

782
00:51:48.440 --> 00:51:50.760
problems in the church because churches don't know how to

783
00:51:50.800 --> 00:51:55.960
approach this because the church typically approaches it this way.

784
00:51:56.079 --> 00:51:59.639
You can't you should not sin, You cannot sin, and

785
00:51:59.679 --> 00:52:06.360
you don't have to sin. Well, churches, that's what churches say,

786
00:52:06.559 --> 00:52:09.480
you don't have to sin. That is not true. I

787
00:52:09.599 --> 00:52:13.280
have no choice but to sin. I will sind today,

788
00:52:13.760 --> 00:52:17.519
I will send tonight, I will send tomorrow, I will

789
00:52:17.519 --> 00:52:21.039
send the next day. I will sin until I am

790
00:52:21.199 --> 00:52:26.840
dead or Christ comes back. It's inevitable. So then how

791
00:52:26.840 --> 00:52:29.159
do we So what has church done for two thousand

792
00:52:29.239 --> 00:52:33.639
years to trying to fix this problem? Well, you can

793
00:52:33.639 --> 00:52:40.880
commit these sins and what happens nothing, Nobody gets in trouble.

794
00:52:43.079 --> 00:52:49.320
But you cannot commit the sins now church discipline, now

795
00:52:49.440 --> 00:52:53.960
public shame, now disqualification. Well, why is it that these

796
00:52:54.000 --> 00:52:58.440
sins are okay? But these sins are not okay, because

797
00:52:58.440 --> 00:53:00.199
we don't know how to process the fact that we're

798
00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:04.079
all still going to sin. So when we say God

799
00:53:04.119 --> 00:53:08.880
is in control, that raises so many problems and nobody

800
00:53:08.920 --> 00:53:12.360
wants to process that, all right. Second, the futility of

801
00:53:12.480 --> 00:53:16.440
idle idolatry is the theological theme. Idols cannot predict, act,

802
00:53:16.519 --> 00:53:21.119
or save right no problem. Number three, God's fore knowledge

803
00:53:21.800 --> 00:53:25.960
prophecy proves that God is God alone is God. I

804
00:53:26.000 --> 00:53:28.920
have discussion questions, we won't get into that, and then

805
00:53:28.960 --> 00:53:32.639
we'll just do this. Isaiah forty one one through twenty

806
00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:35.599
nine declares the total futility of idols and contrast to

807
00:53:35.639 --> 00:53:38.800
God's sovereign power over history. The passage calls us to

808
00:53:38.840 --> 00:53:42.800
trust God alone, recognize that He alone can declare and

809
00:53:42.920 --> 00:53:52.360
fulfill his will. That's Isaiah forty one. Any questions we

810
00:53:52.440 --> 00:53:56.199
broke the section down. Remember our structural breakdown Verses twenty

811
00:53:56.199 --> 00:53:58.760
one through twenty four, the legal challenge, twenty five, the

812
00:53:58.760 --> 00:54:01.320
evidence twenty six to two, twenty seventh of failure, and

813
00:54:01.360 --> 00:54:06.039
twenty eight through twenty nine. The final verdict. Idols are worthless.

814
00:54:07.960 --> 00:54:10.159
For them, it's going to be a little easier to process.

815
00:54:10.400 --> 00:54:12.760
They're going to see it, But at the same time,

816
00:54:13.000 --> 00:54:15.000
many of them won't see it. They're going to die,

817
00:54:15.679 --> 00:54:19.719
and we live in that same kind of dilemma, and

818
00:54:19.760 --> 00:54:23.639
it's very difficult sometimes to comprehend how it all works

819
00:54:24.039 --> 00:54:26.519
right now. That means what do we need to then

820
00:54:26.559 --> 00:54:29.400
figure out in the next hour? What do you think?

821
00:54:29.440 --> 00:54:37.880
What do you think our challenges? No, we've we've been

822
00:54:37.880 --> 00:54:44.079
doing this all through all of it. No, how it transitions.

823
00:54:44.079 --> 00:54:45.840
We did that between forty and forty one, that we're

824
00:54:45.840 --> 00:54:47.800
going to do between forty one and forty two. Why

825
00:54:47.800 --> 00:54:56.079
am I focusing on the transitions? Because I want us

826
00:54:56.159 --> 00:55:01.360
to see the flowing narrative, right, That's where we stop

827
00:55:01.440 --> 00:55:04.199
this nonsense of pastors coming in and taking these chapters

828
00:55:04.239 --> 00:55:07.239
and making it about us. One flows into the next.

829
00:55:07.480 --> 00:55:11.320
What has all the chapters been about God speaking to

830
00:55:11.800 --> 00:55:14.760
Israel and their captivity? If we see the if we

831
00:55:14.800 --> 00:55:17.800
see how one chapter connects to the next, we cannot

832
00:55:17.800 --> 00:55:20.360
separate the chapter from the next and just do whatever

833
00:55:20.360 --> 00:55:23.840
we want because forty two, well, forty three really is

834
00:55:23.840 --> 00:55:26.000
where the problems are. So actually forty three is where

835
00:55:26.000 --> 00:55:28.400
things really, that's where we're gonna get That's where John

836
00:55:28.440 --> 00:55:31.679
Bunyan comes in and destroys how to understand the Bible.

837
00:55:31.760 --> 00:55:35.079
So yeah, again, as I talked about it. Three, wait,

838
00:55:35.119 --> 00:55:38.800
the unholy trinity of Biblical hermeneutics. If y'all didn't listen

839
00:55:38.800 --> 00:55:43.400
to the podcast, the Unholy Trinity, John Bunyan, Charles Hadden Spurgeon,

840
00:55:43.840 --> 00:55:49.280
Oswald Chambers. Those are the unholy trinity who destroyed hermaeutics

841
00:55:49.280 --> 00:55:54.360
and destroyed the church's ability to understand the Bible. John Bunyan,

842
00:55:54.480 --> 00:55:58.920
Charles Hadden Spurgeon, and Oswald Chambers. Okay, I say that

843
00:55:59.039 --> 00:56:02.360
I get myself kicked out almost any church, but I'm sorry.

844
00:56:02.519 --> 00:56:08.440
Oswald Chambers or Bunyan gives us allegory. Okay, Charles ann

845
00:56:08.519 --> 00:56:11.599
Spurgeon gives us the one verse part of a verse

846
00:56:11.760 --> 00:56:15.360
and then a devotional thought. His morning and evening devotional

847
00:56:15.480 --> 00:56:21.760
is pure evil. It's trash, and it created the whole genre.

848
00:56:22.199 --> 00:56:23.960
Just give me a part of a verse and then

849
00:56:23.960 --> 00:56:27.480
say whatever you want about it. That Spurgeon, that verse

850
00:56:27.519 --> 00:56:29.719
has nothing to do. What are you doing that has

851
00:56:29.800 --> 00:56:32.480
nothing to do with that in any way, shape or form.

852
00:56:32.840 --> 00:56:37.760
It's not about me. And then Oswald Chambers is the

853
00:56:37.800 --> 00:56:41.199
whole kind of hearing from God in her voice because

854
00:56:41.199 --> 00:56:44.199
he comes along what nineteen twenty seven, and he brings

855
00:56:44.239 --> 00:56:49.719
in the charismatic concept, starts infiltrating yeah most very highest,

856
00:56:49.920 --> 00:56:53.039
one of the most famous devotionals in history. So Bunyan

857
00:56:53.039 --> 00:56:56.800
wrote Pilgrim's Progress, the most famous allegory which now and

858
00:56:56.800 --> 00:57:03.320
then Isaiah forty three, Isaiah forty three, when thou passest

859
00:57:03.320 --> 00:57:05.679
through the waters, I will be with thee, and through

860
00:57:05.719 --> 00:57:09.480
the rivers thou shall not overflow thee. Spur Bunyan turns

861
00:57:09.519 --> 00:57:13.440
that into part of his Pilgrim's Progress allegory. There has

862
00:57:13.559 --> 00:57:15.920
nothing to do with his allegory, has nothing to do

863
00:57:16.000 --> 00:57:18.880
with your journey to heaven. It has nothing to do

864
00:57:19.000 --> 00:57:23.239
with you, all right, So Bunyan's picks that Spurgeon takes well,

865
00:57:23.320 --> 00:57:26.440
he can take one little phrase from Isaiah forty forty one,

866
00:57:26.519 --> 00:57:28.400
forty two, forty three and make it up and to

867
00:57:28.519 --> 00:57:31.559
his little Morning and Evening devotional that sold a bazillion

868
00:57:31.599 --> 00:57:35.079
copies and everyone loves. And then Oswald Chambers does the

869
00:57:35.119 --> 00:57:38.239
same kind of all of them, make it about us.

870
00:57:39.039 --> 00:57:44.679
Those three things change Christianity forever. In fact, ay I

871
00:57:44.800 --> 00:57:48.559
said those three books caused Christians to create the Christians

872
00:57:48.599 --> 00:57:53.000
the inability to read the Bible correctly. And it's still

873
00:57:54.000 --> 00:57:57.000
and again, whether you read those books, you've been influenced

874
00:57:57.000 --> 00:57:59.119
by those books. Your ignorance of those books does not

875
00:57:59.239 --> 00:58:03.400
negate their inlace. It's because pastor after pastor preach based

876
00:58:03.440 --> 00:58:07.519
off the concepts that they gave and they're the enemy.

877
00:58:08.320 --> 00:58:11.400
They are the enemy, straight up the enemy. And I'm

878
00:58:11.400 --> 00:58:13.079
I'm not supposed to say that, but I don't care

879
00:58:13.280 --> 00:58:15.760
whatever good you can find in those books. And I

880
00:58:15.760 --> 00:58:20.599
took it. I took a part of Spurgeon's mourning devotional

881
00:58:20.599 --> 00:58:23.880
for Yesterday Matthew twenty six thirty nine about Jesus praying

882
00:58:23.920 --> 00:58:26.559
in the garden. He turned it into a five point

883
00:58:26.599 --> 00:58:28.760
part and how we are to pray? That has nothing

884
00:58:28.760 --> 00:58:34.559
to do with us. When we see Jesus praying in

885
00:58:34.599 --> 00:58:36.800
the garden saying, not my will, but your will be done.

886
00:58:36.920 --> 00:58:39.639
It's not teaching me to say God, your will, not

887
00:58:39.800 --> 00:58:43.519
my will. That's not about me. It's a gospel passage

888
00:58:43.519 --> 00:58:46.440
saying what Jesus did for me. It's not a passage

889
00:58:46.480 --> 00:58:48.880
telling me what I am to do, which would turn

890
00:58:48.920 --> 00:58:54.320
it into law. But what guess what if I say that,

891
00:58:54.599 --> 00:58:57.119
I would be thrown out of any church. But that's

892
00:58:57.239 --> 00:59:01.599
just basic Protestant history. I'm supposed to that is a gospel,

893
00:59:01.800 --> 00:59:04.400
not as law, because it's what Jesus did. It's not

894
00:59:04.440 --> 00:59:06.760
about what I do. But if you take a passage

895
00:59:06.840 --> 00:59:08.920
telling me what Jesus did and turn it into what

896
00:59:08.960 --> 00:59:11.920
I'm supposed to do, I've taken a gospel passage and

897
00:59:11.920 --> 00:59:14.960
turn it into a law passage, which is absolutely the

898
00:59:14.960 --> 00:59:18.719
corruption of the gospel. So I talked about that yesterday.

899
00:59:18.840 --> 00:59:22.239
But this we're getting ready to get into forty three.

900
00:59:22.360 --> 00:59:24.320
When we get to forty three, we got to see

901
00:59:24.320 --> 00:59:26.920
how one chapter flows into the next. To stop this

902
00:59:27.039 --> 00:59:31.079
from happening, right, we got to see the continuing narrative

903
00:59:31.519 --> 00:59:35.079
started in forty Comfort, Comfort, Comfort, Who is being comforted?

904
00:59:35.199 --> 00:59:38.079
Israel and everything, and every chapter so far as mentioned

905
00:59:38.159 --> 00:59:41.599
Israel by name, making sure that we the reader knows

906
00:59:41.719 --> 00:59:45.800
it's about whom. We got to keep that going. So

907
00:59:46.039 --> 00:59:48.880
the next hour we'll focus on the transition, just so

908
00:59:48.920 --> 00:59:51.000
that we're ready to go, and that transition will only

909
00:59:51.000 --> 00:59:54.440
help us do what hopefully remember everything in forty two.

910
00:59:54.599 --> 00:59:56.280
So all right, that's what we'll do. All right, Lord God,

911
00:59:56.320 --> 00:59:58.639
we come before you, or we are grateful that we're

912
00:59:58.639 --> 01:00:03.159
in a church where we can show things, question things,

913
01:00:03.239 --> 01:00:06.159
and Lord, I'll just be I can't speak for anyone

914
01:00:06.159 --> 01:00:09.840
here or anyone listening online. Lord, I can acknowledge sometimes

915
01:00:09.840 --> 01:00:14.559
I do not understand. You're all powerful, you're all knowing,

916
01:00:15.159 --> 01:00:17.800
and I look around at my own life and the

917
01:00:17.800 --> 01:00:21.440
world around me, and sometimes it does not make sense.

918
01:00:22.800 --> 01:00:25.000
You don't have to make it make sense, But Lord,

919
01:00:25.039 --> 01:00:28.559
we have to acknowledge the difficulty of sometimes understanding that

920
01:00:28.679 --> 01:00:31.239
we asked this in Jesus name, and God's people said