ATE049 08252024 “Only For His Glory-Here, I AM, Send Me - Isaiah Chapter 48”

It’s been awhile since I told a story. It’s time. This will be short. Pull

up a chair, a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and put your feet up.

It ‘s Story time: You have may heard the story of the sinking the vessel Titanic. Maybe you saw the movie and even heard the popular theme song from the Movie. But today I share the rest of the story. In every tragedy God shows up. Here is one true story.

One of the passengers aboard the Titanic was a godly Pastor from Scotland, by the name of John Harper. Harper had recently spent three months ministering at the Moody Church in Chicago. He had not been back in Britain long when he was asked to return. He quickly made arrangements for himself and his six-year old daughter, Nana, to return via the Titanic.

The Titanic struck the iceberg on April 14, 1912. Harper wrapped his daughter in a blanket, told her that she would see him again one day and watched her safely board one of the lifeboats. (She survived)

One survivor distinctly remembered hearing him shout, "Women, children and the unsaved into the lifeboats!" Harper knew that believers were ready to die but the unsaved were not ready. Harper then ran along the decks pleading with people to turn to Christ,he called upon the Titanic’s orchestra to play, "Nearer, my God, to Thee." Gathering people around him on deck, he then knelt down, and "with holy joy in his face" raised his arms in prayer. As the ship began to sink, he jumped into the icy waters and swam frantically to all he could reach, beseeching them to turn to the Lord Jesus and be saved. John Harper then sank into the depths and passed into the Lord’s presence; he was 39.

Four years later, a young Scotsman named Aguilla Webb stood up in a meeting in Hamilton, Canada, and gave the following testimony:

“I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. John Harper of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck, near me. ‘Man,’ he said, ‘Are you saved?’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I am not.’ He replied, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’ The waves bore him away; but, strange to say brought him back a little later, and he said, ‘Are you saved now?’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I cannot honestly say that I am.’ He said again, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,’ and shortly after he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper’s last convert.”

My question to you is has Jesus touched through relationship that there are those around you that have been touched by Him?

Subtitle: Yahweh of Armies is His name

Do you know Him? If NOT you have a life problem. We call that dead. Dead in your sins, but that does not have to be permanent. The choice is yours to make - believe and receive. Let us continue in getting to know our King. Is He truly your King?

Isaiah‬ ‭48‬:‭1‬-‭22‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬

““Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by Yahweh’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness— for they call themselves citizens of the holy city, and rely on the God of Israel; Yahweh of Armies is his name. I have declared the former things from of old. Yes, they went out of my mouth, and I revealed them. I did them suddenly, and they happened. Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow bronze; therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them. My engraved image and my molten image has commanded them.’ You have heard it. Now see all this. And you, won’t you declare it? “I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, which you have not known. They are created now, and not from of old. Before today, you didn’t hear them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’ Yes, you didn’t hear. Yes, you didn’t know. Yes, from of old your ear was not opened, for I knew that you dealt very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb. For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise, I hold it back for you so that I don’t cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how would my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another. “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he. I am the first. I am also the last. Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. when I call to them, they stand up together. “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon, and his arm will be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken. Yes, I have called him. I have brought him and he shall make his way prosperous. “Come near to me and hear this: “From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it happened, I was there.” Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me with his Spirit. Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go. Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your offspring also would have been as the sand and the descendants of your body like its grains. His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.” Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With the sound of joyful shouting announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth; say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!” They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. He also split the rock and the waters gushed out. “There is no peace”, says Yahweh, “for the wicked.””

ISAIAH 48 – CHASTENING AND MERCY FOR JUDAH

A. The LORD clearly sees the hard hearts of His people.

1. (1-2) The LORD sees the hypocrisy of Judah.

a. House of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel: Judah should take notice of this opening statement. God identified His people as the house of Jacob – the name Jacob essentially meaning “deceiver, cheater” – and said they only have the name of Israel, not the character of Israel, which means “governed by God.”

b. And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah: The second statement of Isaiah 48 isn’t any more complimentary to the southern kingdom of Judah. God reminded them of their tribal ancestor, Judah, who was noted for his cruelty (Genesis 37:26-27) and immorality (Genesis 38). The LORD spoke to His people and said, “You come from your father Judah.” It was not a compliment.

c. Who swear by the name of the LORD…but not in truth or in righteousness: God exposed the sin of His people. They took His name, identified with the holy city, and gave the appearance that they did lean on the God of Israel. Yet it was only image, not reality, and God saw through the image to the reality.

i. Look at all Judah has: “An honoured name, an impeccable pedigree, a true religious allegiance, a privileged citizenship and a mighty God to rely on – but it is all unreal. There is no genuineness (truth) in it, nor does it satisfy the standards of God (righteousness).” (Motyer)

2. (3-5) The LORD sees that Judah has no excuse.

A. former things from the beginning…. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass: The LORD has shown Israel His power to declare the future in predictive prophecy. He did this because I knew that you were obstinate, knowing Israel’s love of idolatry, He gave them irrefutable evidence.

b. Lest you should say: This means that Judah was without excuse. They knew the greatness and power of God, yet they still lived with only a religious image, without a spiritual reality.

3. (6-8) The LORD sees how deep the sinfulness of Judah is.

a. You have heard; see all this. And will you not declare it? It was as if the LORD was amazed that His people had seen all of His great power and glory, yet they still stood in stubborn rebellion against Him.

b. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb: The LORD stated the reason why His people were so deeply sinful. They were sinners from the womb, so their sinfulness was deeply rooted.

i. It is a difficult concept for our individualistic ears, but the Bible teaches that we are sinners from the womb, and that we inherited a sin nature because we descend from Adam and sinned in Adam (Romans 5:12). It isn’t our individual acts of sin that make us sinners; it is our descent from Adam. Our individual acts of sin merely prove that each of us is a transgressor from the womb. It is the fruit of our  nature.

B. The LORD’s mercy to His undeserving people.

1. (9-13) The reason for the LORD’s mercy to His people.

a. For My name’s sake I will defer My anger: Knowing how deeply sinful His people are, why would the LORD ever show mercy to His people? He does it for His name’s sake. It isn’t because Israel deserves mercy; indeed, mercy can never be deserved. God gives it to glorify Himself and to further His eternal purpose. Last week we talked about Yahweh as our  redeemer. Hd is way more than that. He is the refiner! Turn up the heat.!

b. I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it: Why had a disobedient Israel felt refining fires from the LORD? Again, it was for the sake and honor and glory of the LORD. Remember the unique nature if an old testament prophet is that their is layered for their time but also our time frame in the last says.

i. Does it bother us to know that God allows trials and His refining fires in our lives for His own sake? We should remember that we are not at the center of the universe, but God is. Everything He does and allows furthers His eternal purpose.

c. I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last…. My right hand has stretched out the heavens: To answer any resentment among His people, God reminded them WHY He allowed things for His glory and to further His praise. He can do it because of who He is – the only True God, the God of all glory, the God of all eternity, the God of all Creation.

2. (14-19) The unfulfilled potential of God’s disobedient people.

a. The LORD loves him: Though Yahweh is the God of all glory and power, He is not some kind of narcissist. God is motivated by love for His people.

i. It is the LORD’s love for us that makes Him want us to obey and praise Him. Love desires, quite properly, that things work according to their design and purpose. We were designed and purposed to obey and praise our Creator. God can call us to submit to Him, and honor Him, for our good, not to satisfy some need in God.

ii. So, just as much as it is the love of the LORD for His people that shall do His pleasure on Babylon – punishing this nation that set itself against His people – so it is the love of the LORD that allows the refining fires to touch His people.

b. Come near to Me, hear this…. now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me: This is the Servant of the LORD, the Messiah Himself speaking. Only He was from the beginning. The Messiah is pleading with His people.

i. “Finally (Isaiah 48:16) another speaker mysteriously enters the prophecy. This verse has a number of features that have mystified commentators, who have been puzzled particularly by its final couplet. Young, Kidner, and other conservative commentators have argued that the new speaker introduced here (or in the whole verse) is in fact God’s Servant, the Servant of the songs…. Perhaps he is introduced here because Cyrus’ work is in fact simply a harbinger of the much greater deliverance he would bring to God’s people.” (Grogan)

c. Oh, that you had heeded My commandments: In light of His power and love for Israel, God laments their unfulfilled potential, unfulfilled because of their disobedience.

i. If they had only obeyed, then your peace would have been like a river. Peace as flowing, bountiful, and life-giving as a river.

ii. If they had only obeyed, then your righteousness would have been like the waves of the sea. Righteousness as certain, as unending, as reliable as the sea.

iii. If they had only obeyed, then your descendants would have been like the sand. Descendants as numerous and as dense in population as the sand.

iv. It is sobering to think what unfulfilled potential we have, and what disobedience or unbelief keeps us from everything God has for us. “Yes, I am deeply impressed with the simplicity of the road to revival. Just twenty-four hours’ obedience in our lives, and we would be living in such a flood tide of Holy Spirit blessing that there would not be room enough to contain it!” (Redpath)

3. (20-22) Praise for the LORD’s redemption – and a warning.

a. Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing: Despite Israel’s disobedience and unfulfilled potential, the LORD still loves them and will still free them from their captivity in Babylon. When they leave Babylon, they will go forth with a voice of singing.

b. Declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth; say, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob”: God tells His people to declare His praises to the end of the earth. The whole world should know how great and merciful God is.

c. “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked”: Hand in hand with praise for the greatness of the LORD is a contrast – the destined misery for the wicked.

i. Often, it seems that the way of the wicked is peaceful. This was how it seemed to the Psalmist in Psalm 73; yet when he saw the end of the wicked, and gained perspective in the house of the LORD, he knew that ultimately, there is no peace…for the wicked.

ii. “Isaiah 48:22 is a refrain that occurs again in Isaiah 57:21, and both times it comes at the end of a nine-chapter section.” (Wolf)

iii. The broad section of Isaiah 40-48focused on the promise of God’s deliverance of His people from their captivity in Babylon, and the specific prediction of the Gentile king who would deliver them, Cyrus. Through the section, God shows that His desire to deliver His people proves His love, His ability to deliver His people proves His power, and His prophetic knowledge of the deliverer proves His uniqueness among all gods. Starting with Isaiah 49, there is no longer a mention of Cyrus, now the focus is on the ultimate deliverer, the Messiah. Though there is still reference to the deliverance from Babylon’s captivity, the real focus is on the ultimate deliverance the Messiah will bring.

Our mindset must break King centered or Christ centered. In other words NOT Man centered.

I saw this quote the other day and made a slight amendment, I close with it:

Quit worshipping ministers.

Quit worshipping politicians.

Quit worshipping celebrities.

Quit worshipping influencers.

Quit worshipping athletes.

Quit worshipping doctors.

Quit worshipping people, period.

Remember to Worship and seek the King of kings and His righteousness. His kingdom not the kingdoms of this world.

Matthew 6:33 and 34