Skip to content The Certainty of God's Promises in Prophecy - Isaiah 45 Jan 1 · 14 min ...more
The Certainty of God's Promises in Prophecy - Isaiah 45
January 1, 2025 · 14 min
Ring in the New Year with a divine message from Isaiah 45 and learn how ancient prophecies relate to Christ's message.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand January 1, 2025 · 14 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Ring in the New Year with a divine message from Isaiah 45 and learn how ancient prophecies relate to Christ's message. ...more Show the full description Show less Ring in the New Year with a divine message from Isaiah 45 and learn how ancient prophecies relate to Christ's message.
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The Prophecy of Cyrus and God's Sovereignty 0:10 Good morning, and happy New Year. I can't think of a better way to start the New Year than in the word of God. And this morning, we have an amazing and very interesting passage of scripture as we look0:22 at Isaiah chapter 45 verse 22. Look to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. Now we were0:33 introduced to Cyrus in the last verse of Isaiah 44, and the discussion of Cyrus continues. Now keep in mind that when the scripture was written, it did not have chapter and verse.0:45 That happened much later. In fact, the standardization of chapters came from the Paris Bible in the thirteenth century. So here in chapter 45, we have Cyrus, the deliverer of the Jewish nation from0:57 Babylonian captivity. Now amazingly, this prophesied that this prophecy that identifies Cyrus by name comes nearly 2 centuries before he was born. It was in1:09 it was about 210 years later, that Cyrus and his uncle Darius would take Babylon, which was the world power at the time. Now Cyrus, aka Cyrus the1:21 Great, went on to establish the Persian, empire, which was the largest empire in the world, ruling nearly half of the world's population at that time. The1:33 empire lasted 200 years from 5 29 BC to 3 30 BC. Now why is Cyrus important?1:44 Well, 2 primary reasons, he was the great deliverer of God's people, a type of messiah. You cannot you cannot read the Old Testament. That's why the Old Testament1:56 is important. It's because you cannot read it without seeing the types and shadows of the New Testament and the kingdom of god, And Cyrus points to Jesus.2:08 Again, in the Old Testament, we see in the natural what is unfolding in the spiritual in the New Testament. Secondly, Isaiah accurately prophesied the deliverance2:19 of Jerusalem from Assyria, which was a near term prophecy. Alright? Remember he said that it happened just within within 10 years. Now here, Isaiah prophesied something2:31 200 years later with such detail like the ruler's name that there can be no question that it was fulfilled. Now why does that matter? Well, because2:43 Isaiah also prophesied about the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem 700 years later, as well as the second coming of the Messiah and his millennial reign. So when2:54 Cyrus rose as a world leader and set the Jewish people free, what did that do for the promise of the coming messiah? It gave it extreme3:07 credibility. Jesus's birth in Bethlehem is a historical fact. Alright? It's a fact. And what does that do for us regarding the second coming of the3:19 Messiah and his reign? You can take it to the bank. It's pure gold. You can take it to the bank. Verse 1 chapter 45,3:30 Thus says the lord to his anointed, meaning the 1 that is called, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him and loose the3:42 armors of armor of kings. That means their armor is loose. They're no longer needful of it because they're dead. To open before him the double doors so that the gates will not be shut. Now these double3:54 doors, these gates, this is a reference to Babylon. Verse 3. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that you may know that I, the lord, who call you by your4:06 name, am the god of Israel. Now, 1 of Cyrus' first major victories was Croesus, the king of Lydia, which4:18 was a very wealthy kingdom. So that's where the the wealth, the riches first came from. Verse 4, my jay for Jacob, my servant's sake, and for Israel, my elect, I have even4:30 called you by your name. I have named you, though you have not known me. Verse 5, I am the lord and there is no other. There is no god besides me. I will4:42 gird you though you have not known me. Now this is important to know that this is making very clear that god is sovereign over all men and over all nations,4:53 using them for his purposes. Alright? He didn't know Cyrus didn't know god. He was not of the Jewish race, but god used him. Now for his purpose,5:05 what was his purpose? We'll look at verse 6. That they may know that from the rising of the sun to the setting of to its setting, there is none5:17 besides me. I am the lord, and there is no other. That from the rising of the sun to its setting, that there is none besides me. I am the lord, and there is no other. He is the lord of all the earth. I5:29 form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create calamity. I, the lord, do all these things. Now the lord is lord of creation. He created all things. So question is did he create evil?5:41 Did he create calamity? No. God did not create evil. He created the laws that govern the physical universe, which includes the moral law, which is inscribed upon the hearts of men, which Paul talks about in5:52 Romans chapter 2. Within natural law is the penalty of violating it. Alright? The moral law is no different than the physical law that governs the universe.6:04 If you attempt to violate the physical law of gravity by jumping off of a building, a 12 story building, guess what? There are consequences. The same is true in violating6:16 a moral law. Evil is the result, and innocent people are often harmed. But it is not god who has done the harm.6:28 Alright? Might not agree with that answer. Let's look at verse 9. Woe to him who strives with his maker. Let the potsherd strive with the potsherd of the6:40 earth. Shall the clay say to him who forms it? What are you making? Or shall your handiwork say he has no hands? Woe to him who says to his father, what are you6:52 begetting? Or to the woman, what have you brought forth? Verse 11, thus says the lord, the holy 1 of Israel, his maker, ask me of things7:04 to come concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands. You command me. Instead of arguing with God about his purposes, what he's doing, why7:16 is he doing this, pray for wisdom and insight into what god is doing, and ask him for what you need. Lord, how can I be a part of what you're doing? How can I understand? How can I join7:27 with you in your purposes? Verse 12, I have made the earth and created man on it. My hands stretched out the heavens, and all their hosts I commanded. Remember,7:40 you are talking to the creator of all things. This fact should encourage us as well as humble us in his presence. Verse 13. I have raised him up in righteousness. I will direct all his ways. He7:52 shall build my city and let my exiles go free. Not for price or for reward, says the lord of host. Now back to Cyrus as an8:04 antitype, a a a of of Christ, of a messiah, not for price or reward, but for the righteous purposes of god. Now verse 14 speaks to8:16 the land and the nations that Cyrus would acquire, but also the gathering in the future of the of, gentiles to Israel and Israel's future restoration. Verse8:28 15, truly, you are god who hide yourself, oh god of Israel, the savior. They shall be ashamed and also disgraced. All of them, they shall go into confusion together who are makers of idols. But Israel8:40 shall be saved by the lord with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever. The idols worshiped by the Gentiles are contrasted with the 1 true god who has8:52 never been idle. He's never been idle. He's been busy because he is the creator. Look at verse 18. For thus says the lord who created the heavens, who is god, who formed the earth and made9:03 it, who has established it, who has not created it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited. I am the lord, and there is no other. Now this is of9:15 great importance to us today as we consider where our society is. You know, the prevailing culture's denial of god's sovereignty is directly9:27 connected to denying him as creator. Right? We say god can't tell me what to do. He can't even tell me I'm you can't say that I'm born a male or a female. I can declare who I am. That's9:39 denying him as creator. In over a hundred and 50 years after Darwin developed his theory of evolution, despite the theory being filled with more holes than Swiss cheese, it still9:51 taught as if it were a fact to our children, denying him as the creator. So if you deny him as the creator, you deny him as the sovereign. And this is at the heart of the spiritual battle that10:02 is raging around us, and we must have the ability to see this. We must understand it, and we must know how to respond to it. Evolution is10:14 an idol just by another name. It has been created by man to stand in the place of god. Alright. Verse 20. Assemble yourselves and come,10:26 draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge. Who carry the wood of their carved images, and pray to a god that cannot save. Tell and bring forth your case. Yes. Let them10:38 take counsel together who have who has declared this from ancient times. Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the lord? And there is no other god besides me, a just god and10:50 savior. There is none besides me. Look to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am god, and there is no other. This clearly points to the11:01 gospel message. An invitation for all people in all places to look to the Lord for salvation. Verse 23, I have sworn by myself. The word has gone out of my11:13 mouth in righteousness and shall not return. That to me, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Now mark this down. This will happen.11:25 God says the word has gone forth. It will happen. Look at the words of Paul that he writes to the Philippians. Therefore, verse, Philippians 2 verse 9.11:37 Therefore, god also has highly exalted him. Who? The Messiah, Jesus Christ, and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow11:49 of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is lord to the glory of god the father. It is12:01 happening. It will happen. It is the word of god. Father, thank you for your word. As we begin this year, as we begin 20 25, Lord, a12:13 new year, new opportunities. But, lord, may we determine to be in your word. May we determine to confess you as lord and savior and to make you known.12:25 Lord, may anything that would take the the the shape or form of an idol we we don't call it an idol. It may not look like an idol, but anything that lord that lord that we would12:37 look to to instead of you. Lord, I pray that we would remove those from our lives and that lord that our focus would be upon you. And I pray lord that you would move in12:49 mighty ways as we're on this journey in in our lives, in our communities, in our churches, and, Lord, yes, in our nation. For we pray and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.13:01 Alright. Again, thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.13:09 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a a few minutes a day, you13:21 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot o r g slash bible.In this video 0:10 The Prophecy of Cyrus and God's Sovereignty94K followers
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