•Isaiah 41:21-42:9
•King of kings, Lord of lords
21 Set forth your case, says the LORD;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them, and tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
or declare to us the things to come.
23 Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
that we may be dismayed and terrified.
24 Behold, you are nothing,
and your work is less than nothing;
an abomination is he who chooses you.
25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 I was the first to say to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 But when I look, there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 Behold, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their metal images are empty wind.
(Isaiah 41:21-29 ESV)
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
(Isaiah 42:1-4 ESV)
5 Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
(Isaiah 42:5-9ESV)
Main Point
• These verse compare the Holy and Living God of the patriarchs with the pagan gods and their idols
• They are seen as impotent
• God is capable
• He has declared in the past, knowing the past, and has brought things into the present, and predicts what is to come
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Application Points
•King of kings, Lord of lords
– We see a direct challenge by God
– Why is it so significant? Because it is a direct challenge to the very foundation of belief
– It is also a direct challenge in our own time
– All of (nature) were associated with the gods
– The pagan belief of old was the idols contained the essence of the gods
– The gods were nourished and kept powerful through these acts
– The challenge…is to the whole understanding to the worldview of the pagans
– What if the elements were not gods, but were subjects to a God who was beyond them?
Application Points
•King of kings, Lord of lords (2)
– This is the challenge, that these other gods were nothing more than imposters
– Those who formulated their understanding of the world around these impowers were delusional
– The challenge is against the people who held these views
– While many believe paganism is no longer an issue…it is a growing phenomena within our culture
– It does not matter whether or not that truth best represents the world…all that matters is your view
– Many Christians have succumbed to this belief
– We have not seen that being prophetic is not only telling the future…but telling the truth
Application Points
•King of kings, Lord of lords (3)
– Did the pagans want to hear their idols were nothing?
– Did the pagans love that God was challenging not only their gods, but them?
– Only through the truth, could such a transformation come
– Our society is not one which anti-pagan
– It is filled with beliefs contrary to the reality of God
– Our society is one which people are inventing new beliefs every day
– These idols, representing their gods
– Our society we are seeing idols being made…with surgeons hands to create idols based upon their own beliefs
– Meanwhile, God says to the idols, do you know all the first things?
– I can say a human I know not all the events of the past and how every thread has been woven in this tapestry of history
– I am finite, I am unable to know the way God knows
Application Points
•King of kings, Lord of lords (4)
– God, however, does know
– He has provided His wisdom to navigate and understand this world
– He has given us the Servant, Jesus Christ, to give His Law and provide for us a means to understand Him and be renewed by Him
– The challenge issued today is no different than the challenge God has always given to humanity
– Never have we been able to provide the answers, and never have we been able to finds gods so great
– Only the God of all things, the King of Jacob, is worthy and able
– Let us make sure that we are not susceptible ourselves to such thoughts
– Instead, let us seek the truth above all…and let us proclaim the truth to all
– He has provided, He has accomplished
– There is no king, no lord, apart from Him
– He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords
•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
–Origins
–Where we began
–Fall
–What went wrong
–Redemption
–How it is fixed
–Glorification
–Where it at leads
