Our Great
God
Isaiah 45:1-7
Introduction
· Sabbatical
o
I want to first thank you for the opportunity and
generosity to take a sabbatical
o
I learned a lot
§ These are
the books I was able to get through during that time
§ They were
all meaningful, but some resonated more than others
§ I’ll be
highlighting three of them this morning, and giving you some snippets from each
§ Yes, you
won’t get out of here with less than three book recommendations this morning!
§ The most
intense truth I was reminded of by some long-dead guys how truly great our God
is
· The
passage this morning reflects that
· Here’s
what I think God wants us to walk away with this morning:
o
I alone am God – The great, glorious, sovereign God,
there is none like Me
o
I am worthy to be served
o
My Church should reflect Me
Message
· I alone am
God – The great, glorious, sovereign God, there is none like Me
o
(vv:5 & 6) “There is no other”
o
Allison – Historical
Theology
o
God displays His Sovereign glory over kings and
kingdoms
§ Look at
(v:1) Cyrus mentioned as God’s anointed
§ I appoint
you to rebuilt Jerusalem
§ 150 years
before he was born
§ Though you
do not know me (vv:4 & 5)
§ Why, “I am
the LORD, and there is no other…”
§ God is
sovereign over believers and unbelievers alike
o
His glorious sovereignty extends over all things
(v:7)
§ Light and
darkness
§ Well-being
and
calamity
§ Steve
brought this to us last week:
§ (Colossians
1:16) “For by Him (Jesus) all things were
created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for
Him.”
§ (v:6)
“that people may know…” – Who?
§ “from the
rising of the sun and from the west…” Where does the sun rise and where does it
set?
§ He’s
saying everyone, everywhere…
§ (Malachi
1:11) “For from the rising of the sun to
its setting (everywhere) My name will be great among the nations (everyone),
and in every place incense will be offered to My name, and a pure offering. For
My name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.”
§ Not “might
be, could be” but “will be”
§ If (Col.
1:16) is true, then it means Jesus is sovereign over all of the powers in
heaven and on earth
o
One truth that struck me about how glorious is came
from a thought from Augustine (BTW 4th century):
§ Infinity,
what is it?
Ø If God is
the definition of infinite, therefore everything must be finite to Him
Ø God alone
is infinite
Ø Think
about the universe, does it contain God?
Ø What was
there before the universe? If God dwells in unapproachable (1 Tim. 6:16) light,
what was there?
Ø It is confined
inside the counsel of God
Ø God wants
to be other, very other
§ How
glorious does Scripture portray God?
Ø (1 Chronicles 29:11-12) “Yours,
O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory
and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the
earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You
are exalted as Head above all. 12 Both
riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand are power
and might, and in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”
Ø You see
why He can say, “I am the Lord and there is no other”?
Ø (Ephesians
1:11) “In Him (Jesus) we have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him (the
Father) who works all things according to the counsel of His will”
Ø Through
Christ, God is working all things to the way that is best to display His glory
and bring about our good
o
Core Value #1
o
The Triune God is supreme and sovereign over all
things, working everything for His own glory.
o
You see that’s not our value, we’re affirming it is
one of God’s values
o
How do those truths practically play out in His
character?
§ Again, here’s
what Augustine had to say
§ He is: “Most high, most excellent…most all-powerful;
most compassionate/ and most just; most hidden/ and most near; most beautiful
and most strong and stable/, yet not contained; unchangeable/, yet changing all
things; never new/, never old; making all things new/, yet bringing old age
upon the proud … always working/, yet ever at rest; gathering/, yet needing
nothing/; sustaining, pervading, and protecting;/ creating, nourishing, and
developing;/ seeking/, and yet possessing all things/. You love/ but do not
burn [with passion]; you are jealous/ yet free from worry; you relent/ but have
no regrets; you are angry/ yet peaceful; you change your ways/ but leave your
plans unchanged; you recover what you find/, having yet never lost [it in the
first place]; you never need anything/, but you rejoice in gain; you do not
covet/, yet you require…[your stewards to return interest to you]. In order
that you may owe, more than enough is given to you;/ yet who has anything that
is not already yours? You pay off debts/ while owing nothing. And when you
forgive debts/, you lose nothing.” [1]
o
OK, so what?
§ You might
be saying, “So how does that help me today?”
§ Do you
think this God can meet your needs today, and tomorrow, and the next?
§ Will He
not give you what you need? And in the same way,
§ Will He
not keep from you anything which will draw your heart away from Him?
Ø A
promotion?
Ø A house?
Ø A hobby?
Ø A career?
Ø A screw in
the leg? (OK, I’d better explain…)
§ (Romans
8:28) is not a platitude…
§ Our God is
sooo other, yet so near
§ Could this
be what makes grace amazing?
Ø This is the
God who died for our sin
Ø This God –
who is soooo other…
Ø And if this
is true…
· He is
worthy to be served
o
Eusebius – Ecclesiastical
History
§ 1st
300 years of the church
§ Staggering
persecution
§ I won’t
for the sake of children describe what they endured, but you
should take time to know how they viewed the worth of Christ
§ How should
we?
o
Because we get to…
§ Cyrus had
to
§ We get
to serve Him
§ We are
driven by the staggering grace and mercy of God
§ So, in
your life, what does serving God look like?
§ What
ministry does this manifold grace compel you to serve in?
§ We are the
only people on the planet who get to serve
§ And as
that happens…
· The Church
reflects the character of God
o
especially in love and forgiveness
o
Ortlund – The
Gospel, How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ
o
Grace driven love
§ God, is
soooo other, no one loves like Him
§ The
doctrine of grace should create a culture of grace
§ Grace is
something it seems we think God extends, not His people
§ When
people walk in that door, what will they see? And…
§ What
should they see?
§ How do we
talk about our church family?
§ (v:6) that
people will know everywhere who God is. How?
§ (John
13:34b-35) ‘ “…love one another: just as
I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” ’
§ In the
same way the church displays the gospel, marriage does the same
§ (Ephesians
5:32) “This mystery is profound, and I am
saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Ø The
purpose of marriage is a powerful, visible display of the gospel
Ø Men, if
you want people to find you credible when you share Jesus, then let your
marriage be a testimony of the gospel: full of grace, love, sacrifice and
serving
Ø We love in
spite of, not because of
o
The Church should be a model of forgiveness
§ The church
suffers not from thinking too much of grace, but too little
§ As I think
about grace, love and forgiveness I want to take a moment to…
§ Hear the
words of a puritan theologian as he recreates what the dialogue could have
looked like in eternity past, before time began:
Ø “Our
Heavenly Father: My Son, here is a company of poor miserable souls that have
utterly undone themselves and now lie open to My justice. Justice demands
satisfaction either for them, or justice
will satisfy itself in the eternal ruin of them.
What shall be done for these souls?
Ø Son: O My
Father, such is My love and pity for them that rather then they shall perish
eternally, I will be responsible for them as their Guarantee. Bring all your
bills, that I may see what they owe You. Lord, bring them all in, that there
may be no single one left outstanding. At My hand You shall require it. I would
rather choose to suffer Your wrath than they suffer it. Upon Me, my Father,
upon Me be all their debt.
Ø Father:
But My Son, if You undertake for them, You must pay the last penny. Expect no
discounts. If I spare them, I will not spare You.
Ø Son: I am
willing, Father. Let it be so. Charge it all to Me. I am able to pay their
debt. And though it will undo Me, though it will impoverish all My riches and
empty all My accounts, yet I am content to undertake it.” [2]
§ We hold
onto others past wrongs and never let go. Grace leads to forgiveness.
Christ-like forgiveness:
Ø (Ephesians
4:32) “Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ø The key
is: as God in Christ forgave you
§ It’s like
a story of a wealthy Englishman who bought a Rolls-Royce
Ø It was
billed as the car that would never, ever break down, so he bought it, drove it
for a while
Ø Driving it
one day in France and it broke down
Ø Calls;
“The car you said would never break down has…”
Ø Immediately
they flew a mechanic to France, fixed the car and flew back
Ø The man
expected to receive a bill (it’s not often someone will send a mechanic to you)
Ø He’s a
wealthy man who expected a bill, but the bill wasn’t coming
Ø So he
calls RR saying he wanted to get this behind him
Ø The people
at RR told the man, “We’re sorry sir, but we have absolutely no record, of
anything ever having gone wrong with your car.”
§ And the
Holy God looks on your life, and mine, and pronounces, “I have absolutely no
record of sin requiring payment.”
Ø (Eph.
4:32) forgiving one another, as God in
Christ forgave you
§ That’s
God’s plan for His Church
· This last
thought:
o
I want to add this thought: How do we grow in our
understanding of God’s character? There needs to be a place for the Word of God
inform our understanding
C
o
What might the church look like displaying the
grace of God?
o
James the brother of Jesus (who wrote the epistle
of James) Because of his exceedingly godly life, he was nick named “The Just.”
Ø Here’s an
account of his martyrdom: The…Scribes
and Pharisees therefore placed James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and cried
out to him and said: ‘ “O Just man, in whom we ought all to believe, forasmuch
as the people are led astray after Jesus, the crucified one, declare to us,
what is the door to Jesus that was crucified?” And he answered with a loud
voice, “Why do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself is now
sitting in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come
upon the clouds of heaven.”…And they cried out, “Oh, oh, Justice himself is
deceived,”…going up therefore, they cast down (from the temple) the just man,
saying to one another, “Let us stone James”…And they began to stone him, as he
did not die immediately when cast down; but turning round, he knelt down
saying, “I beg you, O Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do.”…one of the priests…a son of the Rechabites, spoken of by the prophet
Jeremiah, cried out saying, “Stop! what are you doing? Justus is
praying for you…” ’ [3]
o
Let’s pray
[1]
Allison, G. R. (2011). Historical Theology: An Introduction to
Christian Doctrine (p. 214). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2]
Ray Orthlund, The Gospel, How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, (p.42),
Crossway (2014)
[3]
C.F. Cruse, Eusebius’
Ecclesiastical History, (originally translated by M. Hanmer, 1584) Hendrickson,
1998, pp. 60-61
