Faith For Troubled Times: Isaiah (Message #48)

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Virginia George
5 years ago
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1 Faith For Troubled Times: Isaiah (Message #48) The Frog in the Kettle Isaiah 47 & 48

2 Isaiah 47:1 2 (ESV) 1 Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the river

3 Her humiliation Her pride Babylon (the kettle)

4 Isaiah 47:8 13 (ESV) 8 Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children : 9 These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, I am, and there is no one besides me. 11 But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away;

5 Isaiah 47:8 13 (ESV) and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing. 12 Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror. 13 You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.

6 Her humiliation Her pride Her helplessness Babylon (the kettle)

7 Isaiah 47:14 (ESV) 14 Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before

8 Her humiliation Her pride Her helplessness Babylon (the kettle) Her judgement: the fire that consumes, not comforts

9 Babylon: The Godless world We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. Human life has meaning because we create and develop our futures.

10 Isaiah 48:1 2 (ESV) 1 Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. 2 For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name

11 Judah (the frog) Confident in their orthodoxy

12 Isaiah 48:4 (ESV) 4 Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, 8 You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel.

13 Judah (the frog) Confident in their orthodoxy Obstinate: Temperamentally difficult Necks of iron: unsubmissive Brass foreheads: impenetrable Unopened ears: unteachable Rebels from before birth Surprise! Just like Babylon

14 Isaiah 48:9 11 (ESV) 9 For my name s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. Her judgement: the fire that refines, not consumes

15 Isaiah 48.12, Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. 16 Draw near to me, hear this: Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!..20 Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob! 21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out.

16 God He refines Judah for the sake of His glory He invites Judah to listen and flee Babylon

17 The church in the world today Don't judge them because we are like them. Instead Confess

18 Idols still! Isaiah has lingered over the problem of idols. He doesn't want to move on until we understand that idols are basic to our daily lives. They are so obvious to us, we don't see them. We don't see our culture; our culture is what we see with. We are influenced in ways we don't notice. We have problems and never understand their real cause. So Isaiah wants us to think about this until we see with new clarity. We need to think and pray about this until our emotions lock onto God himself. And when our hearts do find that God is what we really long for, then we are released from idolatry and are caught up in true worship that will never end throughout time and eternity

19 The church in the world today Don't judge them because we are like them. Instead Confess Worship Listen and bless Babylon with grace and mercy

20 Titus 2:11 12; 3:3 7 (ESV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

21 Titus 2:11 12; 3:3 7 (ESV) 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior

22 God He promises refreshing and strength in this pilgrimage

them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. Isaiah 44:1-28 ESV "But now hear, O Jacob My servant, Israel whom I have chosen! 2 Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun