Sermon Snippet – The Absolute Claim of God – Part II
INTRODUCTION – Last week from Isaiah 43:1-15, we considered the absolute claim, “I am God” (verse 12). We saw that God provides ample evidence regarding the past, present, and future to substantiate this all-encompassing statement. We return to this subject today. Given the excessive heat, I intend to preach a shorter message than usual.
1. GOD WILL NOT BE THWARTED
In Isaiah 45:18-25, we again find the claim, “I am God” (verse 22). This statement is supported by significant proof. First, our very existence is inexplicable without the existence of God (verse 18). Evolutionary ideas are speculative and are logically and scientifically indefensible (consider, for example, irreducible complexity, which necessitates that any living organism be fully formed and functional, including with an intricate DNA – information system intact, in order to exist). The Bible provides a reasonable explanation: God “formed the earth and made it…He formed it to be inhabited,” and it is! Here we are, created in God’s image. Second, God speaks plainly and powerfully through His Word (verse 19). Note the emphasis on “righteousness” and “things that are right.” His words will never lead us astray. Third, salvation is available to all people (verse 20 – “the nations” and verse 22 – “all the ends of the earth”). Israel, of course, is included (verse 25), but the offer of eternity in heaven is not exclusive: anyone can choose to trust in Jesus, God the Son, for His everlasting salvation (verse 22). God cannot be thwarted: His work is “not in vain” (verse 18), and His words “shall not return” (verse 23) – that is, they shall not turn back or be revoked. We should note that verse 23 is quoted in Philippians 2:10 and directly applied to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Either in humility or in humiliation, each person will finally acknowledge that Jesus is God.
2. GOD IS IN THE DETAILS
It is proverbial that the devil is in the details; in the negative sense of lying, finagling and inveigling, twisting words to his nefarious advantage (John 8:44), that axiom is accurate. However, in a purely positive sense, God is in the details: He knows the smallest things about us and is sovereign over them. Isaiah 46:9-11 includes another “I am God” statement; the immediate reference in verse 11 is about Cyrus from Babylon/Persia. The Israelites would be taken here in captivity; in this exile God would free them from their obscene obsession with idolatry. Cyrus is mentioned by name in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1; this prophetic specificity occurred more than a century before Cyrus decreed that the Jewish people could return to their homeland. Such a precise detail confounds skeptics, who sadly miss the great consolation that comes from knowing that God is aware of all things. Jesus reminds us that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30); yes, He knows each hair of the approximately 100,000 hairs on the average human head. He does not merely count them; He numbers each one individually. Truly, our God is in the details.
CONCLUSION – In closing, let us go back to Isaiah 45:22: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” God encourages us to carefully evaluate the evidence (“Look unto me”) and reach the reasonable conclusion: His absolute claim of “I am God” is based upon facts. He then further invites us, “Be ye saved.” The evidence of the life of Jesus, especially His death on the Cross and His resurrection, is weighty, even overwhelming. May each one of us trust Him for salvation, and may we rest knowing that His detailed plans for us cannot be thwarted.