#149. The King Who Was Written Into History Before He Lived: One of Scripture's Most Astonishing Prophesies | Isaiah 41-48

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This is the Dwelling Place

from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today

we have the delight of going

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through Isaiah 42 through 48.

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We're in the third section of Isaiah,

and so much of it points to Christ.

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There's a reason Isaiah is

known as the fifth gospel.

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Yesterday, God comforted his people

who were in exile in Babylon.

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But wait, Isaiah lived and wrote around

700 BC, And the Southern Kingdom didn't

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even fall to Babylon until 586 BC.

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So how is Isaiah writing this?

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Well, he certainly proved himself as a

worthy prophet in the previous chapters

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And if you'd like to understand a

little bit more About the different

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theories on how his prophecies came

to be I'm going to link a helpful

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video from the Bible Project that

explains it a little bit more.

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in chapter forty-two, we encounter

some verses that are directly

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quoted of Jesus in Matthew twelve.

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It occurs right after Jesus

heals a man on the Sabbath.

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And the Pharisees conspire how to

destroy Jesus Jesus is aware of this.

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He withdraws and many follow

him, and he healed them all, and

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ordered them not to make him known.

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This was to fulfill what was

spoken by the prophet Isaiah.

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" Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my

beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.

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I will put my Spirit upon him, and he

will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

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He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor

will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

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a bruised reed he will not break, and

a smoldering wick he will not quench,

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until he brings justice to victory; and

in his name the Gentiles will hope."

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Jesus knew that healing the

people and proclaiming the truth

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would ultimately end his life.

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But he did it, and he didn't just

do it for Israel He did it for the

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Gentiles and for you and I as well.

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You may have had a little bit of an

issue learning yesterday that the angel

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of the Lord killed one hundred and

eighty-five thousand Assyrians, and

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it's quite likely that this was Jesus

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before He took on human flesh.

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You might wrestle a little bit in your

spirit to reconcile this Jesus who

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came to restore and heal and save with

a Jesus who also brings judgment, but

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He is certainly the same perfect God.

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He is a Savior that lays down His life

so that we don't have to, but to all

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who reject Him, He will judge, and

He will certainly protect His bride

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There have been many times in my life

where I've meditated on that phrase,

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" a bruised reed he will not break and a

faintly burning wick he will not quench.

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There are times I felt so beaten

down by circumstances, and I

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feel I just can't take anymore.

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I've come to this verse and

said, "Lord, have mercy.

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I'm pleading with you to protect

me from any more trials right now."

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Sometimes, in His kindness,

I felt Him spare me,

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yet often, I felt Him strengthen me to

handle more, and I can only rejoice in the

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fact that He goes with me to bear it all

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More of Christ's mission is

unveiled in verses six through nine.

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As the Father says to

him, " I am the Lord.

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I have called you in righteousness.

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I will take you by the hand and keep you.

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I will give you as a covenant for the

people, a light for the nations, to open

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the eyes that are blind, to bring out

the prisoners from the dungeon, from

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the prison those who sit in darkness.

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I am the Lord, that is my name.

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My glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to carved idols.

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Behold, the former things have come to

pass, and the new things I now declare.

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Before they spring forth,

I tell you of them."

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Israel has chosen to not submit to

the Lord,, to the lordship of Yahweh.

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So he's initiating a new covenant

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but the people are thinking,

"How can you be a good God if

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you let us go into captivity?"

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Chapters 41 through 47 are like a trial

scene in which God is saying, " Not

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only did I allow it, I sovereignly

ordained it, but I did it for your

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good you'll probably recognize

these next verses from Isaiah 43

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But now thus says the Lord, he who created

you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel,

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fear not, for I have redeemed you.

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I have called you by name, you are mine.

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When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you, and through the

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rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.

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When you walk through fire,

you shall not be burnt, and the

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flame shall not consume you.

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For I am the Lord your God, the

Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

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I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush

and Seba in exchange for you.

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Because you are precious in my

eyes and honored, and I love you,

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I give men in exchange for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

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Fear not, for I am with you

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And verse ten says, "You are my

witnesses," declares the Lord,

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"and my servant whom I have chosen,

that you may know and believe

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me and understand that I am he.

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Before me no god was formed,

nor shall there be any after me.

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I am the Lord, and besides

me there is no savior.

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I declared and saved and proclaimed."

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Before my third son was born, god put

a portion of this chapter on my heart

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for his life verses I've talked about

it before, but when he was five, he went

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through several lengthy hospital stays.

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And I remember thinking, "Why in the

world did I choose these verses for him?

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Clearly, they speak of trial."

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But I watched as God strengthened

my little boy and his character.

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I watched him be God's witness to every

nurse and doctor that came in the room,

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a few years ago, Everett's siblings asked

him, "Do you wish it never happened?"

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And he said, " No.

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how could I wish away God's plans for me?

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He has a good plan for my

life, and I trust Him."

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I saw how the Lord strengthened him

through this, and through the years,

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I've learned to understand why God

called me to select these verses for him

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As he's endured more and more health

challenges, And I've realized not

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to pray off this part of his story,

but to rejoice in God's nearness

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and protection over his life.

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But I don't mean to make it seem

that I think these verses are just

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about us, because God's greater

purposes are certainly at work.

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as verse eighteen says, " Remember

not the former things, nor

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consider the things of old.

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Behold, I am doing a new thing.

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Now it springs forth.

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Do you not perceive it?

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I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

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The wild beasts will honor

Me, and jackals and ostriches.

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For I give water in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert, to give

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drink to My chosen people, the

people whom I formed for Myself,

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that they might declare My praise."

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We have the honor of being God's witnesses

and of bringing Him the praise He so

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rightly deserves as He does this new

thing of rescuing us through Jesus Christ

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But Israel still doesn't recognize it,

and in the next verses, God rebukes

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them for not being faithful to Him.

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And that's what makes God's response

in verse 25 all the more beautiful.

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" I, I am He who blots out your

transgressions for my own sake,

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and I will not remember your sins."

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God continues to reveal his character

in forty-four six through eight.

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Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,

and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts,

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" I am the first, and I am the last.

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Besides me, there is no God.

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Who is like me?

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Let him proclaim it.

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Let him declare and set it before me

since I appointed an ancient people.

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Let them declare what is to

come and what will happen.

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Fear not, nor be afraid.

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Have I not told you from

of old and declared it?

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And you are my witnesses.

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Is there a God besides me?

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There is no rock, I know not any

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As God rightfully elevates His perfect

character, there are also several

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portions that rebuke the worship of idols.

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One such section is in 44:14 through 20.

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And as I read the absolute absurdity

of worshiping what we can make with

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our hands, I hope it inspires you to

consider if there's anything in your

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life that you pursue more than the

Lord would have you The carpenter

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cuts down cedars, or he chooses a

cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow

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strong among the trees of the forest.

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He plants a cedar, and

the rain nourishes it.

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Then it becomes fuel for a man.

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He takes a part of it and warms himself;

he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

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Also he makes a god and worships it; he

makes it an idol and falls down before it.

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Half of it he burns in the fire;

over the half he eats meat; he

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roasts it and is satisfied.

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Also he warms himself and says, “Aha!

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I am warm, I have seen the fire”; and

the rest of it he makes into a god, his

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idol, and falls down and worships it.

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He prays to it and says,

“Deliver me, for you are my god!”

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They know not, nor do they discern,

for he has shut their eyes, so that

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they cannot see, and their hearts,

so that they cannot understand.

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No one considers, nor is there

knowledge or discernment to say,

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“ Half of it I burned in the fire; I

also baked bread on its coals.

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I roasted meat and have eaten.

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And shall I make the rest

of it an abomination?

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Shall I fall down before a block of wood?

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He feeds on ashes.

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A deluded heart has led him astray.

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And he cannot deliver himself or say,

" Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

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This satire is so convicting about the

foolishness of worshiping anything apart

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from the Lord Chapter 44 concludes with

God declaring that Cyrus is his shepherd

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and that he will fulfill God's purpose

and help rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

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Chapter 45 continues, " Thus says the

Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose

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right hand I have grasped to subdue

nations before him, and to loose the

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belts of kings, to open doors before

him, that gates may not be closed.

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I will go before you and

level the exalted places."

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I'm gonna pull out a few other phrases

from God's declaration to Cyrus.

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" You may not know that it is I, the Lord,

the God of Israel, who call you by name.

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For the sake of my servant Jacob and

Israel, my chosen, I call you by name.

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I name you, though you do not know me.

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I equip you, though you do not know me."

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King Cyrus, or Cyrus the Great, is

mentioned about 30 times in scripture.

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He reigned over Persia between 539 and

530 BC, and this is what is so incredible.

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These verses not only declare what God

used Cyrus to do, they say his very

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name And Isaiah wrote these about 150

years before Cyrus walked the earth.

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This king that did not submit to the

God of Israel was used to accomplish

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His purposes and fulfill His prophecies.

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They're some of the most specific,

incredible prophecies in Scripture.

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Could we serve a God that is

more powerful or sovereign?

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Remember that proverb that says

that a king's heart is like water

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in the Lord's hands, and that He

moves it whichever way He pleases?

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It's absolutely true.

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So do you and I need to

fear about anything today?

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Is anything too hard for the Lord?

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Is there anything that he's

not able to work in our kids'

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hearts or in our marriages?

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Or in our circumstances?

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Absolutely not God is going

to use this pagan King Cyrus

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To bring good, to be God's

shepherd, and to rebuild the temple.

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It's astounding that 45:1 even says

that Cyrus is God's anointed, which

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is sometimes translated Messiah.

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the historian Josephus even wrote

that Cyrus was informed of the

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biblical prophecies written about

him, and it's likely that this

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was done by the prophet Daniel.

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I just love how God reveals Himself

and what He's going to do, and how some

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prophecies are shrouded in mystery, and

we don't understand until they happen, and

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some could not be more clear like these

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In 45:19, God says, " I am the

Lord, and there is no other.

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I did not speak in secret,

in a land of darkness.

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I did not say to the offspring

of Jacob, ' Seek me in vain.'

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I, the Lord, speak the truth.

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I declare what is right.

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Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth.

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For I am God, and there is no other.

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By myself I have sworn; from my mouth

has gone out in righteousness a word that

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shall not return: To me every knee shall

bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance."

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This new thing that God is doing is

for all the people as he says, "Be

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saved to the ends of the earth."

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In chapter 46, God repeats this

phrase again, " For I am the

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Lord, and there is no other.

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I am God, and there is none like me."

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And that's why it's completely

appropriate that God condemns the lovers

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of pleasure who say of themselves, "I

am, and there is no one beside me."

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God tells them, "You felt

secure in your wickedness.

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You said, 'No one sees me.'

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Your wisdom and your

knowledge led you astray."

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After God calls Israel obstinate

and stiff-necked, in Isaiah 48

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verse 9, he begins, " For my

name's sake, I defer my anger.

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For the sake of my praise, I restrain

it for you, that I may not cut you off.

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Behold, I have refined

you, but not as silver.

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I have tried you in the

furnace of affliction.

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For my own sake, for

my own sake, I do it."

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For how should my name be profaned?

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My glory I will not give to another.

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There's an elder at my church that

talks about God's glory gauntlet,

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that He rightfully loves His glory.

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But the thing is, God's glory is

good for you and for me because

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in verse 17 He says, " I'm your

Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

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I am the Lord your God who

teaches you to profit, who leads

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you in the way you should go.

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Oh, that you had paid

attention to my commandments.

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Then your peace would have been

like a river and your righteousness

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like the waves of the sea."

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Your offspring would have been like the

sand and your descendants like its grain.

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Their name would never be cut

off or destroyed from before me

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God has good things stored up for us, and

when we give Him His glory and walk in

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righteousness, peace is available to us

But the last line from our reading today

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is a striking juxtaposition to this.

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" There is no peace," says

the Lord, " for the wicked."

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Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that

You are the Lord and there is no other.

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And what You declare will come to pass.

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You are sovereign over kings and nations.

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And we ask for forgiveness when we

pray so shortsightedly, pleading

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with You to change the hearts of our

family members and acting as though

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this is a difficult thing for You We

recognize that sometimes you use

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affliction and captivity to refine us.

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So we pray that we would not

be stiff-necked, but instead

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readily surrender to your ways.

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May we choose and our children

choose to follow your commandments

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that we could walk in the peace that

righteousness brings Thank you that

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you're with us in difficult times.

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We pray that our kids would experience

that when they walk through the

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waters, you are with them, and through

the rivers that they would not be

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overwhelmed, and through the fire

that they shall not be consumed.

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But we know that's only true if

they look to you as their salvation,

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and we pray you bring it about for

every child of every mom listening.

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I also pray for those that feel like a

bruised reed or a faintly burning wick.

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Jesus, we thank you that you

will be merciful to them.

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It's in your name we pray, amen