You know, a servant is not doing God a favor. A servant is just loving back on God. When you give your offerings and tithes, you're giving back to God what belongs to him. You're serving God.
And it's not a pitch to get you to give. It's just, it's out of the abundance of the heart. The mouth speaks and the hands do when in the spirit.
Of course, the flesh resists all of this. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Isaiah. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now here's Pastor Rick as he continues teaching in Isaiah chapter 44 with this edition of Cross-Reference Radio.
Verse 4, they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses. He's talking about Israel. This is a big deal, especially because the world has watched this happen even before 1948. They watched Israel retain authority influencing kings and heads of state. It's incredible how many Nobel Peace Prizes have been won by Jewish people in comparison to Gentiles. It is quite significant and is the hand of God on them as a people. Anyway, not approving their rejection of him, but guarding them for the day when all Israel will be saved. Again, I've already covered the only nation to be without a nation or without a land, a homeland for 2,000 years and then get their land and continue on as though it never stopped.
It's just picked up and it's astounding. This is extended to the church, such a teaching as verse 4, they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses. And it reminds us of Psalm 1, blessed is the man whose leaf will not fade.
He talks about the tree planted by the rivers of water. John 10, why this extends to the church. Jesus speaking, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold.
Them also I must bring and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd. You know, again, the church wasn't born in the days of Christ. He was laying the foundation for it and they didn't have the same understanding of many things that Christ said that we get because we have the fuller picture. And that's one of the verses. They weren't thinking Gentile when he said that. We know it's Gentiles. God even said to Paul, I'm sending you to the Gentiles. Well, verse 5, one will say, I am Yahweh's. Another will call himself by the name of Jacob or Jacob. Another will write with his hand, Yahweh, Yahweh, the name, and name himself by the name of Israel. So there's going to be this revival, spiritual revival.
Revival is something that's brought back to life. And the Jewish people, there's a day coming where they will see their Messiah, they will love him, they will love their faith, and they will be very outspoken about it. You remember, when the great tribulation period comes, after that period ends, Christ comes back and he sets up rule on earth. And there will be millions of people who have not died, who will be alive and spared, they will survive the great tribulation period, and life will go on for them for a very long time. Anyway, they will love Jesus Christ.
They don't love him right now. He's an opponent of their truth. And it's unfortunate because the scriptures have so much to say about their Messiah, whose life is matched by Christ. And he is either the Christ or there's not going to be one because the door is closed.
Being able to identify, you know, who's from Judah and who's from, I mean, you just can't now. Who's from the line of David? It has to be Christ. Now, at this point, by process of elimination, with all the things we know about him, Zechariah 12.10, I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. When we look at the life of Christ, we say, man, that's a perfect match.
Nobody else. I mean, he was said to be born in Bethlehem. You can't self-fulfill that prophecy. You can't say, you know what, I'm going to be born in Bethlehem unless you're God, son of God as Jesus is.
And the Jews will embrace their heritage as God's people, free from idolatry, free from rejection of Christ. But in the meantime, meanwhile, back at the church, we're supposed to be doing the work, bringing the light to the world. And it takes a lot to do that. It can't get done if you don't love the Lord. But if you love the Lord, then you have what you need.
You have what God needs to work through you. But it's not enough to just say you love the Lord. If you've been around Christianity long enough, you've had your full of people who boast about how much they love the Lord and they live like. When they come, the room goes dark. When they come in a room, oh, man, there are. I don't know if they're imposters or just weak or whatever the case is. There's no excuse to be like that.
And yet, there's no excuse to be too mean towards them either. It says here in verse 6, thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts, I am the first and the last. Beside me there is no God. Redeemer is here as a dominant Isaiah theme throughout these last 27 chapters. He brings up the Redeemer. Titus, in the New Testament, Paul writing to Titus, he talks about these things. Paul knew this verse very well.
He says, writing to Titus, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. You see, this is what makes the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormon's teachings so sinister. They say they have the same Bible and then some other stuff, too. Well, that other stuff, too, gets them to contradict what is plain speak scripture. They are without excuse and their judgment is self-inflicted. It doesn't matter that they're passionate. People are passionate about a lot of things. It doesn't automatically make it acceptable to God.
People are passionate about stealing from other people and they get elected. Anyway, verse 14 of Titus chapter 2, keep it in context, glorious appearing of our great God and Savior who gave himself for us. There's no way to disconnect this that he might redeem us from every lawless deed. You see the redemption? Isaiah says there's only one Redeemer and that is Yahweh. Paul comes along, a Jewish believer, and he says, that Redeemer in Isaiah 44 is the one who died for us. That's how he redeemed us.
That's how he pulled it off. It's one thing to tell mankind I love you, I'm God. It's another thing to die for them, to become sin for us because the Bible says, cursed is he who is hung on a tree in judgment, that is, of course, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people zealous for good works. You know, a servant is not doing God a favor. A servant is just loving back on God. When you give your offerings and tithes, you're giving back to God what belongs to him. You're serving God and it's not a pitch to get you to give. It's out of the abundance of the heart.
The mouth speaks and the hands do when in the spirit. Of course, the flesh resists all of this. But this verse from Titus, I mean, it could not be possible for him to say that he has redeemed us from every lawless deed to purify for himself his own special people unless with such a verse came there is now therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. And if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father who is able to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Sin can't knock you out of salvation.
Rejection of Christ can, which is the ultimate sin. And that first commandment Isaiah is upholding, you shall have no other gods before me because there are no other gods. And to pretend that there are is the grandest insult a person can launch against the only true God.
And the whole the world is full of this behavior. So there is more to Yahweh than Yahweh. And what I mean by that is our understanding when we come to the word Yahweh. This is more to him than just what happened with the Jews. It picks up in the New Testament, what happens with Gentiles too.
And then it continues on. We'll never know everything there is to know about God. But we will always be able to grow in the grace and the knowledge of God. So when God says, Genesis 1 26, then God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Well the adjective our and the pronoun us is clearly plural and telling us that there's more to God than what we might initially believe. And he takes the Bible to open this up to us to get us closer to understanding that this is not polytheism. There aren't multiple gods. There's one God expressed in three persons to us. First Timothy 6 15. He who is, speaking of Christ, the blessed and only potentate. And we get our English word from that Greek word despot.
It's full authority but not a cruel character. The king of kings and Lord of lords. Well here it says in verse 6, thus Yahweh the king of Israel and his Redeemer, Israel's Redeemer, the Yahweh of hosts. I am the first and I am the last and beside me there is no other. That means without beginning without ending. That's self-existence from eternity past. Now Jesus, 2700 years later in direct affirmation of his own deity, because you know the Jehovah's Witnesses will say well he never said he was God.
Well they don't know their Bibles. Called himself the first and the last, which the Bible says is reserved for deity. And so you have it in Revelation 1 17, 2 8, 21 6 and 22 13. And it shows up elsewhere in other forms but the criteria for being divine is self-existence and immorality just for starters. Revelation 21 6, I am alpha and omega. Beginning and the end.
I'm it. Everything is set in me. You can only say that if you're God. No angel can say that. Mary could never say that. She would never want to say that. And if you tried to tell her to her face that she is worthy of that she'd slap you. Or ask me to do it for her.
Which I would oblige. Anyhow, all right no humor or attempts thereof. So this title is claimed by God three times by Isaiah. Now that doesn't mean the writers of the New Testament looked that up and said we better say it three times in the New Testament too. They're just going about their business sharing the gospel. It shows up three times in the New Testament indicating the oneness in God with the Godhead in this sense John 10 verse 30.
I and my father are one. So anyway it shows up more than three times but in the New Testament for emphasis. Anyway besides me there is no God.
Well that rules out all the religions outside the Bible. Which a carnal man can't stand. What do you mean yours is the only way? Well can't there be one way? There are things that are one way with you. You're the one that has exclusive rights to your wallet.
Oh if you're single. And so you know but we understand exclusivity. We understand that. Why can't a sovereign God be that way? Has he no right to be God? Can there not be a true way which would therefore render all other ways false if they are in opposition?
Of course. Judaism comes close now but it falls short. Not always but it does now. The prophet the Jewish prophet Jeremiah warned he said you know the day is going to come with this covenant we have with the covenant people of Yahweh. It's going to be upgraded and when the upgrade comes the one before the upgrade will be obsolete. There'll be elements of it we retain but overall it's the new covenant that will overrule. Jeremiah 31 31 behold the days are coming says Yahweh when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Hebrews 8 13 in that he says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete.
Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Paul said that without knowing that the temple was going to be destroyed shortly after his death by the Romans and Judaism would be chased out of Israel for two thousand years. It's incredible that just when you get into the Bible you know you the naysayers come along and they try and they fail but it's serious but anyway let's come back because we got so much here and so attempts to validate other religions only militates oneself against God and you maybe you've met people they so sure of themselves and they get loud and they've got all these things they do what about this and what about that what about the pygmies and like they care about the pygmies. Anyway Mark chapter 12 and if you're new to Christianity you understand it's not my opinion that's why you get the cross-reference verses. So here it is in scripture you go look it up you untie the link if you can or you honor it if you cannot. Mark 12 30 Jesus had said this you know listen oh Israel the Lord your God has won you should love the God your Father with all your heart soul mind and strength the second commandment is like the first you should love your neighbor as yourself and the scribe who challenged him says this recognizing that Jesus was spot on in this theology. Mark 12 32 so the scribe said to him well said teacher you have spoken the truth for there is one God and there is no other but he. This is monotheism I don't care for all those words.
Sometimes they help to get to the point but other times they just make people think they know more words than the other guy. This attempt to validate other religions that militates a person from God makes them an enemy of God by default. Mark 12 30 Jesus said he who is this is actually not Mark 12 30 but I'm going to read it in Matthew 12 30. There it is. He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. It's two teams you pick mine and you pick the other one. Again we understand that kind of thinking. In fact businesses they get it very night well because if you come into certain businesses as a salesman they make you sign a non-compete.
You're either on this team or you're gonna take you to court if you use anything from this team against us. Romans 8 7 because the carnal mind is at enmity against God that's war with God for it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can be without the touch of God you will not submit to the idea of his exclusivity. Ten times the exclusivity of God is emphatically declared by this one prophet more than any others of the Old Testament as outright as I did say it does in 43 44 chapter 45 and 46 he slams this. Judaism before Christianity Christianity Judaism is becomes Christianity that's the ideal. Christianity never makes room for other religions to operate within Christianity that's leaven well we're just gonna add this we're gonna mingle it no you're not that's leaven and if you try to keep it out oh boy you're gonna make more enemies than you shake a stick at. I had very few Christian enemies until I became pastor now I got stacks of them this reoccurring dream I go to the stadium filled with thousands of people they're all the people who used to come to the church no okay I don't have that kind of dream but I sometimes think that way and it's not that they're you know less Christians or out of love with Christ or any this it's the war we're in this is how it is but a pastor and a congregation cannot let leaven in and if somebody says well I just want to put a few watchtower pamphlets on the back table you see there might be some places that call themselves churches would let that kind of behavior Christianity does not leave room for Christians to disagree with Christ if you disagree with Christ you know by default you're wrong you might feel it now now let's be fair we can feel it like Lord I know you're right but I sure feel you're wrong because you know we're trapped in this carnal body and our emotions will try to take over the ship and we have to fight those things Christianity declares that other gods are not divine but are products of hell's influence they are fictitious imposters and Isaiah hated them and he's going to get to that if I ever get to it and so verse 7 now and who can proclaim as I do God speaking then let him declare let him declare it and set it in order for me since I appointed the ancient people and the things that are coming and shall come let them show these to them so God says tell the future that's a criteria of being divine you can't can you or you get one guess right and you think that is step how did the Hindu cow become sacred how does somebody you know what we're not gonna eat that anymore we're gonna worship it how did that happen how did Allah become defend you know the the source of defense we got to defend our God you got the wrong God if you got to defend your God my God defends me and if he decides not to then he makes a martyr out of me then the New Testament is very clear if you're going to suffer you suffer in righteousness not because you're a bozo and Peter you know Peter makes that very clear how do the new ages justify evolving into deity well we are just all over it's just the age of aquarium whatever they come up with it and they just make stuff up and demand you respect them and accept it and mingle it in it we're seeing this with those who worship their sexual conduct it's not enough that you tolerate them you have to celebrate them and when you don't they'll try to get you to lose your job try to starve you to death or hurt you in some form this is the work of the devil and so when Isaiah says these things that they're quite who can come along and say oh that's not so verse 8 do not fear nor be afraid have I not told you from that time and declared it you are my witnesses is there a God besides me indeed there is no other rock I know not one now of course the New Testament applies this rock to being Christ that was with the Jews in the Old Testament how dare God be God and disallow anybody else's God who does he think he is this is what we face if fake gods want the respect that the true God has and let them distinguish themselves let them start telling the future and they can Satan hates this because he can never be equal with God he tried but it failed but he has managed to sell this hatred to opponents of the scripture and there you know a person could say they believe in the Bible and actively work against it those who are opponents of the scripture they too hate that the only true God is the only God as though there was some law somewhere that says no there are you know like a vending machine you just put your coin in and you select which one you want and out it pops verse 9 those who make an image all of them are useless and their precious things shall not profit they are their own witnesses they neither see nor know and that they may be ashamed they're the own witnesses in other words they sit there as a dust collector on your shelf that's their proof of deity that's it they can collect dust and they have to be carried around or take all the all the bird droppings have to be moved off of them yeah they make these giant buddhas somebody's got clean that thing this is idolatry and and again the god makers find no problem with it you can understand you can understand why whole nations go for this what you cannot what you then struggle with is when they're confronted with solid Christianity that they they they persist anyway such has been the case with the missionaries we've had many missionaries in histories that have done just incredible work and Mao the Chinese monster the communist China should make to specify that the communist Chinese monster he purged the land of Christianity and the darkness that is in China spiritual darkness is is pretty pretty bad anyway verse 9 coming back to this worship worship being created things creates a judgment these are little catchy phrases that I made up myself but they're true if you create your God you have created judgment for yourself such worship was absurd and blasphemous to Isaiah idolatry is as modern as it is ancient it's just it doesn't go away because they don't make little you know grotesque statues of some thousands no longer idolaters thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio today cross reference radio is a ministry of pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel mechanics ville in Virginia if you'd like to learn more about this ministry we invite you to visit our website cross reference radio.com you'll find a number of teachings from pastor Rick available there we also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast when you subscribe you'll be notified of new additions of cross reference radio just search for cross reference radio on your favorite podcast app you can also follow the links at cross reference radio dot com we're glad we were able to spend time with you today tune in next time to continue learning from the book of Isaiah with pastor Rick right here on cross reference radio.
