God’s Plan for You and for the World
By Pastor Matt Black
20 May
2007
Lord's Day morning
Isaiah 14:12-32
Introduction: Open your Bibles to the book of Isaiah 14. The title of tonight’s message is “God’s Plan for You and for the World”.
We’ll be looking at verses 12 through the end of the chapter. But let’s read a few verses tonight that set the stage.
Isaiah 14:24-27, “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
We preach the doctrines of Grace in this church without apology. Man has no power whatsoever in himself to change his own heart. “The carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Every person on earth comes into this world the natural born enemy of God, and it takes God’s work in the heart to overcome our natural pride, self dependence.
What we see in Isaiah 14 is a microcosm of the heart and soul of every human being apart from Christ. This chapter proves that the father of every person dead in trespasses and sins is the devil, for the lusts of their father they will do.
I. First we see that the Natural Desire of all men opposes the Eternal Purpose of God to be exalted in the earth. Look at verses 12-14, and here we have the king of Babylon who gained the whole world, but lost his own soul. He is here given the nickname, “Lucifer”. Lucifer is an important name. It refers to someone highly exalted in the sphere of time. It means “day star”—in other words, Lucifer is another name for the bright and beautiful sun that rises and sets each day. Even in this name we have a word picture of the temporary glories of this earth.
All men are born self deceived by their deceitful hearts, thinking they are the center of the universe. The heart of man leads him to believe that he as a created being can live independently from his Creator! Look at verses 12-14, and we see who foolish any one is to attempt to hijack the position of the Creator, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
At one time the King of Babylon weakened the nations. He was ruthless in stepping on people, destroying families and whole nations to get his own supremacy.
Man was created to be a worshipper of God and to do the will and directives of God. He was not meant to take the place of God.
A. Illustration: Five Star General
You see man was never intended to exercise sovereignty over his life. And when he does it is an absolute disaster! That’s what Isaiah 14 is all about. When a mere man or angel seeks to “be like the most High” (verse 14), he is like a private in the army sneaking behind the Five Star General’s desk and demanding to be Commander of all the forces. It is silly for a private to do that. It’ll get you kicked out of the Army. You would be Court Marshalled!
All men want their own way. They want to control their lives and their destiny. They want to be their own ruler.
B. You can see this thinking in the World.The World’s thinking Says: Do Your Own Thing. It’s a big deal today to be an individual, to have you own plans, to do our own thing. This world’s thinking says we all need to make it in this world and become as rich and as happy as possible. God’s got a different plan for you than this. In fact God has a plan and a future for every person on this planet. And here is the truth. You can run from God, but you can’t run very far. No man can escape the stretched out hand of God. It’s upon all the nations! All will be judged by him—your mother and father, your next door neighbor, and you. You will stand before God.
C. Ultimately You Cannot Do Your Own Thing: There is An Appointment You Cannot Break. You see God’s got an appointment with you that you cannot break. Today, 150,000 people will keep that appointment. And ten out of ten people will most surely die. There is no fountain of youth or medical miracle that will deliver them from this. You see, “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). You will stand before the Judgment Throne of Almighty God.
D. Man was Never Created to Live Independently
We are going to find out that man was never created to live independently. In fact man cannot live independently. Man was created in the likeness of God, but there are many ways we are not like God. God is the only independent Being that exists. We the Bible tells us that we were created to serve, not to be served. We were created to serve and worship the Creator. We are dependent beings. It is a simple fact. You did not make yourself. You are totally dependent on your Creator for life, breath, food, shelter, and health. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:18).
You see “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Jesus Christ “is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). The Bible goes so far as to say that all things are upheld “by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). We must at the end of the day agree with Paul writing in the book of Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
You really only have two choices: you can either be enslaved to a benevolent loving God who has an amazing plan for you, or you can be a slave of your addictions and the lusts of your flesh.
II. In God’s Eternal Purpose He reveals the Eternal Destiny of men without Christ
When man dies, he discovers finally he is not the sovereign lord of his destiny but only a mere, weak mortal, under the control of the eternal Lord of the universe. Look at the destiny of man in verses 15-23, “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. 21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. 22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. 23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts”.
So the eternal destiny of all who refuse to live under the eternal purpose of God is:
1. Hell (verse 15, “thou shalt be brought down to hell, to…the pit”.
2. Your reputation will be totally stripped—verse 16—(those in hell will “narrowly look upon thee”—they’ll look at you with their eyebrows furrowed, and a facial expression of unbelief and say “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms”?
3. All their sin will be rewarded and exposed, “the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned”. As Luke 12:3 says, “that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
4.
III. Now we see the Eternal Design of God among the nations—all people. Look at verses 24-27, “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
Empires exist to fulfill the purpose of God (verses 24-27). When God pronounces the word, whole empires crumble. The Lord is the Lord of hosts. He is the Lord of armies. We are not talking about armies of people, He is the Lord of the armies of angels. God is in full control everything that is going on in the world. You say, then why all the suffering? Because of sin. We have brought all this upon ourselves. We are responsible for all the sin. But God is responsible for judgment. And God brings judgment upon individuals and in upon whole empires.
God’s Eternal Purpose
God’s eternal purpose is that He would be all in all. All creation one day will be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). In the end no one will exalt himself above the throne of God. All who do so will suffer the ultimate rejection. They will not be rejected by a close friend, not by man, not by angels, but by the Almighty Creator Himself. The only hope you have tonight is God. If you reject Him you’re finished!
God’s purpose is that Christ would be “all in all”. He is Alpha and Omega, beginning and ending, first and last. He encompasses all things. All things are upheld by the Word of His power! By Him all things consist. This is what is going to happen in the end. We call that eschatology. Eschaton means the last age. It is the last part of history.
The Future Has Already Begun.
Now for the child of God, this eschaton has already begun. We have exalted Christ to the highest place. He is LORD! On the Last Day, Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! But for the Christian that reality has already taken place. AW Tozer put it like this:
“The Lord Jesus Christ is first! And for Him, I surrender everything; to Him I give all! To Jesus Christ my Lord and my Savior. He can command me! He's the head of my wife, He's the head of my children, He's the head of my ambitions, He is first and everything else is last! Anything else is not New Testament Christianity, brother and sister; anything else is a compromise, and it leaves people half-saved, confused, frustrated, bewildered and in the dark!... Jesus Christ is your exclusive Savior and all other relationships are determined and conditioned by this one over-whelming, almighty relationship!”
The greatest problem in the world today is not terrorism or communism. It is dead fundamentalism. We know all the words. We have all the clichés down. But Jesus said in Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Jesus said if you love me, live under my Lordship. Keep my commandments (John 14:15).
To accept Christ as my Saviour and Lord means that I am no longer to pretend I am independent. I am to form a complete and all out dependence on Him. I am to be emotionally attached to Christ. I am to yearn and long for Him. I am to be intellectually attached to Christ. He and He alone is to guide my thinking. I do not need NBC or the Drudge Report to inform my opinion on anything in the world today. Jesus is the Truth, and He is truth enough for any child of God! If I am saved by Jesus Christ, He is to command me completely: my thoughts, my attitudes, and my actions.
IV. The Terrible Danger coming upon all men.
Dear friend, one of the Puritan preachers said that you must go through hell to get to heaven. You must go down to go up! In order to know Christ, you must first know why you need Him. You must go with Christ and let go of all the temptation of the devil as he offers you all the kingdoms of this world. You must side with Christ and lose everything. If you do not, verses 28-30 tell us that we are in great danger. Verses 28-31, “In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. 29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. 30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times”.
Once Ahaz died, those of Palestina, or the Philistines, thought they had freedom. We must never confuse worldly freedom with freedom from God. You may have great ease in this life and think your money or your ease means that the way is all clear, but just when you least expect it, you will be caught.
He says here that out of the serpent’s root (or seed) shall come a “a fiery flying serpent” (verse 29), which means a flying snake—which would be much deadlier than one confined to the ground. The Philistines thought they would be free when Ahaz died, but Hezekiah, the flying serpent actually wiped the Philistines off the face of the earth once and for all we read this in 2 Kings 18:8, “He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city”. The poor and the need would no longer be taken advantage of. God would not even leave a remnant of the Philistines (verse 30).
The application is that just when you think all is well, that is the hour when Jesus will come. People will say all is well. They are totally at ease. Everyone in hell will be surprised that it actually exists and that they are there. They never bargained to be there. But you cannot bargain with God.
Stop living independently from God!
V. Finally we see the way of Deliverance!!! You don’t have to try to take the throne of God. Look at Verse 32, “What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.” The idea here is how can you explain that these nations, Assyria, Babylon, the Philistines—they were all wiped off the face of the map, but little Israel is still hoppin’ around? Here’s the answer: “the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.”
It is the poor who are in Zion. All the proud were either slaughtered or taken into slavery by pagan nations. But God would reserve a remnant in Zion—the poor of his people.
Conclusion: Tonight as we close, I let’s remember that we don’t need to ascend up to heaven, God has descended down to us! Isn’t that amazing? And I want Him! I don’t want Him for what He can give me. Let me read this poem by Frederick Brook
to you and then we’ll close.
My Goal
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace;
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
'Tis His to lead me there, not mine but His...
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
So faith bounds forward to its goal in God,
and love can trust her Lord to lead her there.
Upheld by Him, my soul is foll'wing hard,
Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.
No matter if the way be sometimes dark,
No matter though the cost be oft-times great,
He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark,
The way that leads to Him must needs be straight.
One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay;
One thing I do, I press on towards my Lord.
My God, my Glory here from day to day,
And in the glory there, my Great Reward.
Friend, what is your great reward? What are you living your life for? Just to get through the day? Just so you won’t suffer in hell? Christians experience their heavenly reward right now. God is reward enough for the Christian. He is not seeking a crown or a feeling. We are not Christians because we can get joy and love and peace. Those things are wonderful, but we are Christians because we are in love with Christ. He is our reward. He is more than enough. My cup overflows with Him. I don’t need anything else. Jesus has risen again and raised me with Him, and I kneel with Thomas and I say, “My Lord and my God!” As a Christian, you have to say, “My goal is God Himself”.
If Christ has been born in me, he wants to live in me, He wants to walk in me, He wants to talk in me, and He will work through me. He will overcome through me! Jesus has come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly. Abundant life comes by
“Salvation involves the reoccupation by God of a guilty sinner in such a way that Jesus Christ has the unchallenged absolute, perpetual right to dictate the terms whereby that individual will from now on run his life. For instance where he’s going to buy his new home. What vocation he’s going to study for as a student. Where he’s going to go next year on vacation. How he’s actually going to spend his money… all this is embraced in his salvation. And nothing less than that of course will do. Anything less than that shortchanges Jesus Christ and cheats him of that for which His blood was shed.”