How To Face An Uncertain Future – part 2
Isaiah 41:1-29 (8-29)
February 18, 2024
Let’s dive back into our study of this chapter tonight.
You know now the background of the chapter
• Babylon is bracing for a Medo-Persian invasion.
• They are all experiencing anxiety over Cyrus of Persia.
• To address the situation God in effect calls for a town hall meeting.
#1 GOD’S CONVERSATION
Isaiah 41:1-4
God asks the people who is behind the Medo-Persian conquest
Then He answers that it is Him.
(4) “Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’”
And our simple point was that
• If you knew God’s judgment was falling on your land wouldn’t you think it wise to seek Him and find out how to appease His wrath?
• Wouldn’t you want to do what the king of Nineveh did in the days of Jonah and beseech God’s mercy?
Well, that’s not what the people of Babylon did.
#2 GOD’S OBSERVATION
Isaiah 41:5-7
Instead of humbling themselves and seeking God they went to work.
• It was their objective to figure out a way, by their own strength, to alleviate God’s promised judgment.
• Their plan was to build a new god who could deliver them from the coming judgment.
• And they declared it good.
It is the folly of man to think that they can satisfy the righteous requirements of a holy God through their own human efforts.
And at this point we just noticed
The horrible condition that the sinners of Babylon are in.
They are headed for judgment and nothing they have done will stop it.
But then we came to the comforting part of the chapter.
While God’s judgment is falling squarely on Babylon,
God takes a moment to make sure His people understand
That His wrath is not focused on them.
#3 GOD’S CONSOLATION
Isaiah 41:8-20
God is NOT sending Medo-Persia to conquer His people.
His wrath is reserved for the pagans who do not trust Him.
And so we started looking at the message that
God has for His people even as they live in uncertain times.
This is a great message for you church as we live in uncertain times.
• We can see God’s obvious wrath on our nation.
• We can see that God has given our society over to idolatry, homosexuality,
and depraved thinking.
• God’s wrath is evident.
But we also are reminded that it is not His people that He is angry at,
Nor is it His people that He is judging.
God has not destined us for wrath.
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
So we get a section of tremendous comfort.
4 promises of God to His people in an uncertain future.
1) I HAVE CHOSEN YOU IN COVENANT (8-9)
The foundational point here is that
God has a completely DIFFERENT DESTINY for His people.
“My servant”
“whom I have chosen”
“My friend”
And it carries the understanding with us that
• If God sent His Son to redeem us by shedding His own blood on the cross to save us from wrath, do you suppose that God is going to then turn around and judge us anyway?
Would God so waste the sacrifice of His only Son?
NO, WE ARE HIS.
He watches over us, He has chosen us, He calls us friend.
Certainly that was true for Israel,
But it is also TRUE OF US GENTILES
Who have been adopted into fellowship with God.
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:19 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,”
Paul lays it out so wonderfully in Romans 8:
Romans 8:29-32 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
While the world should most certainly live in absolute dread of the coming wrath of God, the church has nothing to fear.
WE ARE CHOSEN.
Not only that, but look at verse 9.
(9) “You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.”
This speaks to the great lengths from which God called His people.
Sometimes we say things like, “I’m grateful to have been born in a nation where Christ was readily accessible.”
And that is a wonderful opportunity,
But the reality is that if you are God’s chosen
He’s coming to “the ends of the earth” to “its remotest parts” to get you.
There was no where Israel could go that they were beyond God’s reach.
They were his.
So are we.
And God reiterates, “I have chosen you and not rejected you.”
It’s the truth that you’re His, by His doing, according to His will,
And therefore you do not need to fear His judgment.
WHAT A COMFORT
When you live in a world that is earning God’s judgment by the second.
I have chosen you in covenant
2) I AM WITH YOU IN CHAOS (10)
“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
We think of all the things that are broadcasted throughout our airways and so many of them are DESIGNED TO MAKE US AFRAID.
FEAR IS A GREAT MANIPULATOR.
I don’t watch it anymore, but I remember several years ago turning on Shawn Hannity on Fox news and he opened his segment with the words, “Why you need to be afraid…”
That’s what they pump at us. They sell chaos and tell us to be afraid.
That’s what is going on here for these people.
One can only imagine the talk at the market about Cyrus and Persians.
Anxiety would be running high.
But that runs absolutely contrary to the message of Scripture
Where God tells His people, “Do not fear”.
And the reason is because, “I am with you.”
The circumstances may be scary, but remember I AM THERE.
Isaiah 43:1-7 “But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
• Do we need the reminder about that 4th man in the flame?
• Do we need the reminder of who shut the lions mouths?
• Do we need the reminder of Jesus saying, “Surely I am with you always…”?
And He reiterates it:
“Do not anxiously look about you”
Why? “for I am your God.”
Never forget THE GOD FACTOR.
He makes all the difference.
And He promises to be with His people.
Philippians 4:6-9 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
And that is certainly a good reminder even to us today
Who dwell in an anxiety loving uncertain world.
WE HAVE GOD AND HE IS OUR GOD.
And the promise again pointed out.
“I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Whatever the challenge you face, I’ll give you the strength to meet it.
When the trials come, He will hold us.
Jude 24-25 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
He keeps us from stumbling.
He makes us stand.
We have a great High Priest “who is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them”.
When you hear that anxiety causing news,
Remember that the news never tells you about
The presence of God in the midst of your trial.
God reminds His people, I am with you in chaos.
3) I WILL HELP YOU IN CONFLICT (11-16)
(11-13) “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent. “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.”
Here God puts a special spotlight on the literal enemies of His people.
• Maybe it was the Babylonians still…
• Maybe it was other refugees…
• Maybe it was the Persians…
What is true is that
It doesn’t matter because God is bigger than all of them.
• God promises shame and dishonor for all those who are angry at His people.
• God promises all those who contend will perish.
• God says you’ll actually go out looking for your enemies and won’t find them.
WHY?
“For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’”
How many conflicts do we read about in the Old Testament when Israel went out to battle and should not have been victorious?
• How did they get out of Egypt?
• How did they defeat Jericho?
• How did Gideon defeat the Midianites?
• How did Samson handle the Philistines?
There was one constant, God was with them.
We sometimes face difficult jobs or projects
And we think it might too much for us, but then another brother says, “Need some help?”
AND WE ARE ENERGIZED because what was impossible by ourselves
Becomes possible with a little help.
Well what is impossible if God is your help?
There is nothing that can’t be accomplished if He is in the midst of the battle.
And it’s not just because of what He can do for you,
But even what He can do through you.
(14-16) “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares the LORD, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. “Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff. “You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will rejoice in the LORD, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.”
I hope you caught the transformation.
• God starts out by calling Jacob “you worm”.
• And that is not far off.
But notice what God says in verse 15, “Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;”
• A threshing sledge was like a wooden pallet pulled over the top of the grain.
• It twisted and ground the grain and separated the grain from the stalk.
• It was a tool meant specifically to damage and separate.
Back in Isaiah 21 we were told that in Babylon the children of Israel would be a threshed people.
Isaiah 21:10 “O my threshed people, and my afflicted of the threshing floor! What I have heard from the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, I make known to you.”
They were going to get pummeled in Babylon for a season.
Isaiah 28 reminded however that threshing wasn’t mean to last forever.
Isaiah 28:28 “Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer.”
We remember Isaiah telling his people not to be a tough nut to crack.
But now we find, here at the end of the exile that
God is actually going to make Jacob the threshing sledge.
Previously he was the worm, being pulverized by the sledge,
Now he is the sledge and he is doing the pulverizing.
A contemporary analogy would be when people say, “Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.”
Well Israel is now going from bug to windshield.
“You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff.”
Your enemies will not claim victory over you,
You will have victory over them.
Certainly a Millennial Promise, but a certain promise of God.
God says, “You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the storm will scatter them;”
What is impossible for man is only possible when God is your help.
• You will succeed where success does not seem possible.
• You will win where victory seems impossible.
And at the end:
“you will rejoice in the LORD, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.”
God is teaching His people that point which Jesus made:
“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Remember that church.
• We face scary times…
• We face difficult times…
• We face overwhelming times…
• We face mountains of fear and anxiety…
But God is our help in conflict
And He is a mountain moving and mountain leveling God.
Psalms 46 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.”
Let sinners be terrified, but let God’s people be at peace.
God is for us.
And there is one more reminder God has for His people.
4) I WILL ANSWER YOU IN CRISIS (17-20)
“The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the LORD, will answer them Myself, As the God of Israel I will not forsake them. “I will open rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water. “I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress, That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
We certainly are NOT SAYING that there may not be difficult times for these Jewish people if Persia attacks.
• Certainly there are physical and political ramifications.
• Scarcity of food can be universal…
• Loss of utilities can be universal…
And so there can be some common suffering
That affects even the people of God during difficult times.
We see that even today.
It’s not like non-believers are the only people dealing with inflation.
But what God reveals here is that
He will answer the cry of His people when they are in need.
(17) “The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the LORD, will answer them Myself, As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.”
• Are you afflicted? Ask God.
• Are you thirsty? Ask God.
• Are you hungry? Ask God.
He says, “I…will answer them Myself…I will not forsake them.”
And then you see God working supernaturally to meet the needs of His people.
In verse 18
• He will bring water from places where water doesn’t exist.
• Like water from a rock and fountains in the desert.
He will bring so much water that in verse 19 it will grow cedars and myrtles and olive trees.
And it will become apparent to all that God has done this.
He promises not to forsake the cry of His people.
He promises not to ignore the needy among them.
Didn’t Jesus tell us not to worry about what we will eat or what we will wear?
Didn’t Jesus demonstrate on more than one occasion that bread was not an issue for Him?
Our God brought bread from heaven and water from a rock.
And He promises provision for His people.
While the nations are busy stock-piling and hording and prepping,
God has already told us that our security is not in our storehouse,
But in His promises.
HE IS FOR HIS PEOPLE.
So while the world is building idols and putting all their trust in them.
God is busy promising His people that He will care for them.
• He has Chosen them.
• He will be with them.
• He will help them.
• He will answer them.
Jesus does not forsake His own.
Listen to His prayer the night before He was crucified.
John 17:11-15 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”
I don’t know what kind of judgment God might bring on the land.
Famine, war, blackout, whatever.
Romans 8:35-39 “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I don’t know what kind of judgment God might bring on the land,
But I do know that His children need not fear it.
GOD CARES FOR HIS OWN.
That is God’s reassurance to His people.
So here we are at this town hall meeting.
• God has announced that He is the driving force behind Persia.
• He in effect asked the peoples how they were going to respond
• They decided to turn to their own homemade gods.
• God then announced what He will be doing for His people.
And that brings us to the next point.
#4 GOD’S EXAMINATION
Isaiah 41:21-24
This one is an all-out challenge by God.
I just told you what I am going to do for My people.
What I want to know is what your gods plan for you?
So here God calls those idols that were made to the center of the room.
I’d like to hear from you.
“Present your case,” the LORD says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The King of Jacob says.”
I have chosen My people.
I am going to be with them.
I am going to help them.
I am going to answer them.
What are you going to do for your people?
(22) “Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place…”
In other words, have your idol prophesy about what is coming. (crickets)
Ok, well, let’s regroup.
“As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome.”
If you don’t want to divulge the future, why don’t you help us make sense of the past? Why don’t you tell us what you were doing through all of that.
(crickets)
“Or announce to us what is coming;”
Just give us some sort of assurance about the future even if you aren’t going to get specific about events.
(crickets)
(23) “Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.”
DO SOMETHING!
SAY SOMETHING!
Don’t just sit there not falling over.
• Give us some insight.
• Make some promise.
• Give encouragement, give a threat, give insight, something.
(crickets)
Throughout the entire cross examination
It appears their fancy little graven image chose to plead the 5th.
And so God gives His thoughts.
(24) “Behold, you are of no account, And your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.”
• “no account”
• “nothing”
• “abomination”
How foolish is it to trust in some other savior.
And we can’t help but think of the world’s would-be saviors.
Do you know how many in our country right now think Trump is a savior?
(Oh, they’ll say he’s not a savior.)
But
• I’ve heard promises that he is really in control even though you can’t see it.
• I’ve heard prophecies that he is coming back.
• I’ve heard prophecies that when he comes back he’ll restore wealth and
prosperity to the land.
• I’ve heard about other nations and religions bowing to him.
For someone they say isn’t a savior they sure treat him a lot like Jesus.
Others see their storerooms and gun vaults
As their source of security and protection.
Me, I’ve got 14 chickens.
“no account” “nothing”
Do you see how foolish it is to trust in anything other than God?
• Who else has promises like His?
• Who else has power like His?
• Who else can do what He does?
It is so foolish that these nations in Babylon,
Even when given the opportunity to trust in God and find “new strength”
They would instead choose to run to an idol that does not totter,
But that does nothing else either.
And that leads to the final point of the chapter.
#5 GOD’S DECLARATION
Isaiah 41:25-29
At this point all has been heard.
• God has announced that He is the One sending Cyrus
• He has announced what He is going to do to protect His people in the midst of it.
• He has also observed that instead of trusting Him, the nations have determined to build for themselves gods who literally know nothing.
SO NOW COMES THE FINAL DECLARATION OF GOD
TO CONCLUDE THIS TOWN HALL MEETING.
He reiterates the facts.
(25) “I have aroused one from the north, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as upon mortar, Even as the potter treads clay.”
• Cyrus is coming and I am the One who sent Him.
• And He is going to run over this place.
(26) “Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was no one who declared, Surely there was no one who proclaimed, Surely there was no one who heard your words.”
• I am the only One who knows this.
• I am the only One who has a solution for this.
• I am the only One worth listening to on the subject.
(27) “Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’”
God reminds the nations that He is in total control of the situation
And His people will be fine.
But the same cannot be said for the coastlands
Who refuse to listen to Him.
(28-29) “But when I look, there is no one, And there is no counselor among them Who, if I ask, can give an answer. “Behold, all of them are false; Their works are worthless, Their molten images are wind and emptiness.”
Your idols are worthless and useless and emptiness.
• They can’t counsel you.
• They can’t enlighten you.
• They certainly can’t deliver you.
It reminds of how Jude spoke of false prophets in the church.
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”
And yet this is who the nations are trusting in.
SO NOW, WHAT IS THE POINT?
What is it that we are supposed to learn from a chapter like this?
Even in our world
We understand what it is to have anxiety about the future.
We have all developed a sense that things may be getting worse.
• We hear rumors of recession.
• We hear rumors of war.
• We hear rumors of corruption.
We don’t really know what is true and what isn’t,
But there is no shortage of information that might cause us anxiety.
But what God says here speaks directly to such concern.
• If you are God’s child you have nothing to fear.
• God is sovereign over all of it.
• He does not forget His children.
So if you are a child of God,
Take a deep breath and rest in Him.
I’m NOT telling you that you have to bury your head in the sand and totally ignore all external news, I’m just telling you to listen to it in the right mindset.
Know that God is in control of all of it,
And even if God is bringing judgment upon our nation,
Know that His judgment is not on His children.
He has chosen us.
He is with us.
He will help us.
He will answer us.
TURN TO: PSALMS 135
What a great reminder for the people of God.
Our God has always been a deliverer of His people,
And as His people we have nothing to fear.
It is those WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD who should be concerned.
It is those who are putting their trust in their own efforts
Or in some politician or in some system
Or in some hoard of supplies or goods that should be concerned.
None of those things can save you in the day of God’s judgment.
And so the call of God to unredeemed sinners is clear.
(1) “Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, And let the peoples gain new strength;”
God will give that same “new strength” and hope to you
If you will stop your arguing, stop your striving, and start listening to God and submit to Him.
Trust Him and He’ll save you too.
Acts 17:29-31 “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
And that is the message for the unredeemed.
• Don’t think God is anything like the false gods of this world.
• He is far more glorious.
• And the true God demands repentance from you before the judgment comes.
So in light of troubling times.
• If you are a child of God then rest in Him.
• If you are not, then repent and run to Him.
It is the only way to survive in light of an uncertain future.
