Salvation God's Way
Notes
Transcript
Intro/FCF: Willow’s Stubbornness. She wants things her way, even if there is the same result the WAY that she wants it matters, even if it is not the best, or really the right its what she wants.
We are the exact same way, We say “God has ordained the ends and the means” but we just mean, I will admit God has ordained the ends because It can bring comfort sometimes, (but honestly even this many people buck against) but the means are up to me to work at and figure out and do my way. (even though our way is broken and wrong usually.
In the section that we are currently in we see that Isreal was struggling to understand the ways of God. Last week we talked about the need for revival, but that revival comes at the hand of, and by the will of and only because of God. It was revival God’s way.
So we are going to look at this morning “Salvation God’s way” because quite frankly, too often we strive for “Salvation my way”.
This is more insidious than it it might sound. We are a group here that by and large is quick to proclaim that salvation is a work of God, by God for the glory of God. But 1) do we really mean that? are we really sure that this is what we think and believe, But more importantly do we CONTINUE believing that in my life. I am saved out of darkness and into marvelous light. My sins were as red as scarlet but by the blood of Christ they have been washed clear, white as so. now I am
and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
but now we have to deal with sanctification, the ongoing work of salvation, the process day by day, moment by moment of being conformed into the image of Christ. And I think that this part of Salvation is where we step in and think, lets do THIS my way. and this will not do. Salvation is all of god, from the fist to the last, it is his way.
And this is what we will be looking at today.
But let’s PRAY!
Salvation is shown to us in CONTRASTS
Salvation is shown to us in CONTRASTS
What we will see today is that it is not always to easily say word for word what God is doing. This is because God is above us, he is greater than us, he is truly indescribable and therefore his works and his will is often indescribable. and So Isaiah helps us, he uses a tool of rhetoric to describe for us the working and moving of God in salvation. He does so by showing us salvation in A SERIES OF CONTRASTS
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This tool is often known as the way of negation. By showing us what salvation is NOT like it helps us to a) tear down walls and misconceptions that may be holding us back and B) starts to give us the proper framework to rightly understand.
Our BURDEN and God’s BURDEN
Our BURDEN and God’s BURDEN
We begin by looking at WHY we need salvation in the first place, and this is because all is not right, we have sinned, but sometimes we say that and loose sight of what that actually means. SO thankfully here we have a beautiful description of our sin here. Lets read:
“Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
and so we see that there is a large vast and important difference between OUR BURDEN AND GOD’S BURDEN
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God has just finished speaking of the great things he has done and will do for his people. He will make a way through the wilderness, he will call them all home, there will be a restoration and revival. But here we have tragic words:
“Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
The great tragedy of sin is that it is a forsaking of God. It is refusing to call on him. It is neglecting him in sacrifices, it is, simply put, refusing to Give God the place that he deserves.
Do you feel the burden of glorifying God, the burden of following all his commands, does it feel burdensome to live a righteous life? Be careful if you say yes, because OUR BURDEN, as we see it here, is actually no burden at all.
You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
This is the strange trouble that we live in. On one had we have an infinitely high calling we could call the “burden” that we are called to live to both incredibly simple and incredibly profound.
I can sum it up in one verse:
since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
and yet it is the whole scope of the Law and the prophets, there is so much wrapped up in this, but really this is not a “burden” it is the high privilege and calling of living a life worthy of the God of the universe.
but be reject him, we do not offer him all due laud and honor. and so the tragedy is that this then burdens God.
You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
And here is the contrast, our burden is no burden at all, it is offer God what he is due. He doesn't demand something outrageous, or uncalled for. he doest ask us to jump through inordinate hoops or do something strange. He JUST demands holiness. but our continual and profound failure to live up to that standard then is God’s burden. our SINS are what burden God, and if we can’t even live up to this, we have the foundation of why we could never achieve salvation our way, it is our failure to meet the demands of God that warrant our salvation, what deed could we do to ever earn salvation
I could put it this way, if living a live that would not demand salvation is not deemed as a burden, yet we cannot do that, what hope would we ever have of accomplishing the burdensome task of salvation? we couldn’t!
JUDGEMENT and SALVATION
JUDGEMENT and SALVATION
Thus far we should be expecting some seriously harsh language, some great wrath to fall, and we will see that this does KINDA come, but again it comes in contrast. Lets read the next section:
“I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;
set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
Your first father sinned,
and your mediators transgressed against me.
Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
and deliver Jacob to utter destruction
and Israel to reviling.
“But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”
Anther profound contrast to illustrate the great salvation of God as JUDGEMENT is contrasted with SALVATION
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this passage opens on a great proclamation of salvation, but the tone changes drastically and we feel the weight of judgement. Lets look a that first. We have in verse 26 another call to court, this time not the idols that were ridiculed earlier in Isaiah but the people of God are called to give account
Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;
set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
but the tragedy. Their fathers, the ancestors, those that came before had sinned.
Your first father sinned,
and your mediators transgressed against me.
Here is an interesting thought worth asking quickly, who is the “first father” mentioned here.
It might be Adam, the fist father of all men, who sinned against God by eating of the apple.
It might be Abraham, the first father listed in the title, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He sinned quite a few times, lying about who his wife was, not trusting God and seeking his own way of fulling the plans of God with Hagar, etc.
but possibly the fist father was Isreal, also known as Jacob, he also sinned, countless times...
But this is just the point I think, we all have sinned, all men sin, so any of the above first fathers fits the bill of one who sinned against God. So should we be surprised when judgement falls?
this is what makes the promise here of Salvation so crazy. part of the contrast is the need for, and rightness of Judgement, and the grace and mercy of the God that saves. because the salvation is not like the Judgement.
IT starts in
“I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
But just gets better and better.
“But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”
he pours out his spirit, writes his name upon our hands. The only picture I have here is from TOY STORY
what a joy to see the contrast between the warranted judgement and the precious gift of salvation that was wrought by God!
GOD’S POWER and IDOL’S FOLLY
GOD’S POWER and IDOL’S FOLLY
Our next contrast shows us WHY we should desire God’s salvation so highly by highlighting the difference between GOD’S POWER AND THE FOLLY OF IDOLS
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the first section is the power of God
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”
He is God alone Fist and last. There is none like him, High and lifted up, worth all glory honor and praise. he knows the end from the beginning and all that will occur in the interim. He Appoints people. We could elaborate. he lifts up kings and prices and he chooses and decrees when they fall. He is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. He us the the Rock and he stands alone. the power of God is singular in its scope and weight. he is GOD. Philosophers and Theologians contemplating him have no way to adequately describe him for he is God. We say things like he is The sole Necessary being, He is “the being greater than which none can be conceived” which is a fancy way of saying it is impossible to ever think of something greater, stronger, mightier, better, MORE than God, for he is God. He is almighty Omnipotent ruler of all.
but then we have a terrible parable of the folly of Idols.
All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Its a simple thought to understand showing the total and complete folly of Idols. verses 1-9 tell us point blank: Idols are “profitable for nothing” verse 10 and all who make them (let alone those who worship them) will be put to shame. Why? here is the tragedy.
the ironsmith works his heart out. he struggles and works blood sweat and tears, he puts his strength and wisdom into making this idol. and even in doing this he grows faint because he has to eat. So the Idol does not even have the strength to strengthen the one creating it...
but enter now the carpenter. He fashions an idol in - verse 13 - the “figure of a man.
So idols are made in mans image who is made in god’s image, now at best a copy of a copy. but it IS WORSE
he goes and cuts down a tree, lets assume it is a tall and beautiful and powerful and mighty tree.
Who grew the tree? (hint, it is the one who sends the rain in verse 14) its God. so God almighty grows a tree and now this carpenter takes the good gift of God and uses part of it for a sinful idol. But the other part he makes a fire with, he uses it to give him food. and heat. So the same object is now a god for this man in the form of an idol and also a tool for this man as he uses it to burn up. So as he is BURNING THE TREE he also prays to the tree - verse 17.
it is utter and complete foolishness and nonsense and it is sinful thoughts and FINALLY THE GREATEST TRAGEDY OF ALL--- HE HAS NO IDEA
his DELUDED HEART HAS LED HIM ASTRAY - and this is US
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
and this is why we need a better salvation, because man crafted salvation is idolatry, but salvation God’s way is salvation from the powerful hand of almighty God.
God’s WORK and our WORSHIP
God’s WORK and our WORSHIP
Which leads us to the final contrast, the one between GOD’S WORK AND OUR WORSHIP
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Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified in Israel.
So God works our salvation
he created us
he remembers us
HE BLOTS OUT OUR SINS
God’s work is the work of salvation.
again there is no work of us here yet. We remember, God works.
We remember what God has done and God does these incredible things for us. He has been good to us!
he redeemed us, we come to him and he works on our behalf. Praise be to the God that saved us.
and this becomes what we do. We worship. We offer praise. This comes full circle, because the problem was this was too much of a burden in the beginning of this passage. Well now that we are saved unto glorious grace worship of God becomes the natural outpouring.