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Summary

Absolutely nothing Absolutely Nothing So Luther cautions about the why me here the potter exercises complete control over the clay The clay are the word of his hand So we then can have confidence we can have confidence with regard to whatever we are experiencing here That that is being formed whether it is good or whether God allows challenges into our lives No matter whether we are broken or whether we are whole our one purpose is to do what but to bring glory to God And we are called to bring an empowered to bring glory to God not only in the good times but also in the Challenging times and God removes the why off of the table because Emory thing that God allows is for here comes the phrase again His ultimate good is ultimate glory in our ultimate good And so we can then say Because I know who you are in light of the cross because I know who you are in light of the word I can trust you then potter So we as the clay don't turn and say Why me Why me instead how can I give you glory God and empower me to give you glory amidst all of that That is the purpose with regard to why we are here is to bring him Glory take a look at chapter 45 verse 13 I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness and I will make all his path straight He shall build my city and set my exiles tree not for price or reward says the Lord of hosts God is in charge of all of history all of history God is in charge of even even heathen nations to carry out his will And so as one looks at the at the world and when has there ever been a generation that has not asked what's the world coming to Right, that's a universal question right As we look at the world and we say well, what is the world coming to as God's still in charge? Here's the second point underneath that He remains hidden outside of the revelation of Scripture because outside of the revelation of Scripture We have no Reliable information about him none If we want to know who God is and what God says we must turn to his word because that's where he has revealed himself and that's where he has spoken We don't turn inward To ourselves we turn outward to his word Here's a third subpoint of that God has revealed to us what it is we need to know in his word So that tells us right Then we're not going to know everything nor are we going to understand everything. Let's go to Isaiah 55 We'll peek ahead a little bit Isaiah chapter 55 verse 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts Nor are your ways my ways says the Lord For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts God is smarter than us Right God's God And we're the creature And that means we will not always understand his ways But he has given us enough to know So when we don't understand his ways We return to that which we know Which is what he has revealed to us in his word We return amidst things we don't understand to what we know His incredible love for us that through Christ he has opened up eternity for us that our sins have been atoned for We turn to what he know we know all of his attributes that he's omnipotent omniscient etc We return to what we know that we are here amidst things we can't understand I'm its God reserves in his own counsel To give him glory And that's freeing For us because the opposite course of action Is when we don't understand his ways we are tempted to do what but build an idol And why do we build an idol out of anything We build an idol so that we can control it We can control it We can say Here's God Because I And if we fashion it then Then we say thus say if me I have fashioned then a God Instead of Saying I will not fashion the God of my own making and turn to the God of my own making In attempt to control a God that I can't always understand but I will rest in the surety of who God is Reveal to his word and that'll be enough That'll be enough Because there are those times in life right where we say I don't understand this God. I don't understand But I know who you are and I will trust in that The hidden God speaks in his word and that is Enough It's enough Well from the restoration of Israel the Lord then turns to the to the downfall of Babylon You see him paying here So he returned he returns now to this talking about the downfall of Babylon and the Lord depicts The absolute helplessness of the gods That the Babylonians had created and the Babylonians had had a bunch of gods a bunch of a gods Two of their two of their gods was was Bell and Mibo Um, so let's take a look at chapter 46 verses 1 to 4 And here Isaiah is talking about the downfall of Babylon Chapter 46 Bell bows down Nebo stupes Their idols are on beasts and kettle These things you carry are loaded as burdens on weary animals They stoop they bow down together they cannot save the burden But themselves go into captivity Listen to me O house of Jacob all the remnant of the house of Israel Who have been born by me from your birth carried from the womb even to your old age. I am he Even when you turn gray I will carry you I've made and I will bear I will carry And will save These two of the prominent gods of Babylon among the multitude of gods neither of those gods Could stop the fall of Babylon Remember it and that that comes Persia Persia defeats Babylon So rewind the tape there you got remember the power of Syria right Syria was defeated by the Babylonians and then the Babylonians are defeated by the By the Persians here The picture then of these gods as pictured as as just Hågley helps being carried out on the city on the backs of tired ox Isaiah's mission then is to announce Not only the future captivity and release of the Jews But also at Babylon itself would fall Let's go to 47 Bruce 8 Now therefore hear this you lover of pleasures who sit securely who say in your heart I am and there is no one besides me I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children Both these things shall come upon you in a moment in one day the loss of children in widowhood Shall come upon you in full measure in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enhancements You felt secure in your wickedness you said no one sees me your wisdom in your knowledge led you astray And you sit in your heart. I am and there is no one beside me But the evil shall come upon you which you cannot charm away Disaster shall fall upon you which you will not be able to ward off and ruin the shall come on you suddenly of which you know Nothing Isaiah already saw the downfall of Babylon already saw When you go to 48 You've got some classic law and and gospel that go on in chapter 48 The first portion of chapter 48 Is is really giving the law against the house of of Jacob the hardness of their hearts the second portion of 48 Um is a word of invitation To leave Babylon and to trust in the Lord So let's go to a 48 will pick up in in 17 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer the Holy one of Israel I am the Lord your God who teaches you for your own good Who leads you and the way you should go Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments and your prosperity would have been like a river in your success like the waves of the sea Your offspring would have been like the sand in your descendants like its grains their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me Go out from Babylon flee from Caldia Declare this with a shout of joy proclaim it Send it forth to the end of the earth say the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob Verse 20 here tells the people this word of prophecy that when the time comes they are to announce to the ends here of the earth with Shouts of joy their redemption here from Babylonian captivity And when you think of us God has redeemed us in a much greater way hasn't he Then a release of the people out of captivity we've been redeemed through the cross of Jesus Christ and may we As his redeemed people announce with great joy what God has done If God called the people to announce with great joy here The redemption from the Babylonian captivity how much more how much more Do we have the joy and are we cold to express that joy and that reality In terms of what God has done for us in Christ So We've seen here now today the raising up a Cyrus The return of the Jews to Palestine to rebuild Jerusalem in the temple That word of prophecy here Ultimate purpose Deserving the people out of which the Messiah will come and redeem the world We've seen that whatever God makes of us Are we broken or whole our purpose is to give him glory We've seen How the hidden God speaks through his word and if we want to know Who he is and what he says We don't go inward We go outward to the word We've seen the total helplessness of idols and our temptation to create our own idols in whatever form When we cry out with the with the why me And we've seen how God has redeemed us in a much greater way No wonder we can announce with joy Well, we'll continue next week as we turn to chapters 49 to 52 If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke the second chapter, if you're using a Pew edition of the Bible, you can find this on page 51 in the New Testament.

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