When all has been Heard

Isaiah 44:9-20

As one reads verses 9-20, it is difficult for people living in the U.S.A. or any Western culture to grasp the worship of, or even being the fabricator of something a person would bow down to and worship.  But it was not so in the time of Isaiah, for most of the nations around them had some form of idol made by a craftsman and worshipped by its people.  As people who read and study the Scriptures, we recall King Solomon who first married a beautiful Jewish girl, the love of his life, but sometime later he married Naamah, an Ammonite princess and next he entered a political alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt and married his daughter, and allowed her to bring in her gods.  We do not know the mind of Solomon, but one must wonder and see the changes, after the infestation of idols into his home and his kingdom.  He became very open to the pagan and immoral influence of women, in that he had a total of 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines, who turned his heart from the LORD.

King Solomon’s worship was not in their idols, but that is not to say he did not worship false gods, for Solomon had an idol much like many in and out of the Church today and in the time of Paul the apostle.  You find this idol in your home, at school, in church, in the market place, it goes where you go, for it is worship of self, it is placing self first.  It’s a sneaky little idol, it loves to look good, it will work hard on its performance in order to be accepted by others, it will serve in order to gain acceptance, and yes, it will put self before all others if it can do it in a manner that make others believe it’s better than both God and the person knows to be true.

My teacher Bill Gilham would often state: “God never intended for you to get your needs 

met through your own resources.  The flesh is incapable of supplying what God intends 

to supply Himself.”  So how does a Solomon, or someone like you and me remove this idol 

from its control over our lives?  That question is a good starting point, and a beginning point is 

examining ourselves to see if we pass the test laid out in 2 Corinthians 13:5, (“Examine 

yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Or do you not realize 

this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the 

test!”)  Once you passed the test, your next step is found in Romans 12:1-3,  “I appeal to you 

therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy 

and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but 

be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will 

of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  For by the grace given to me I say to 

everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think 

with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”   

(Romans 12:1-3 ESV)

What was common to Solomon is communal to all mankind; we love being in charge, 

running the show, or as old blue eyes sang, “I did it my way.”  It does not require intelligence 

to understand the world is trying to mold you to get you to conform to its patterns, but the 

Holy Spirit is willing to transform you and place into you the attitude and heart of Christ, 

who loves you and lives in you, that is, if you passed the test.  God has sent the Helper 

(the Holy Spirit) to guide you into all truth, but God will not force you to develop habits that 

produce Godly character, and so if you want to do so you must begin to renew your mind.  

 I’ve found it to be very helpful in understanding my kind of flesh; it likes to be first, it likes to 

be right, it likes to be noticed, and it likes you to think better of me than God and I know to 

be true.  And God desires for all flesh is not to make it better, but to kill it.  Not to kill you, but 

to renew your mind so you look to God in all things, not to yourself.  King Solomon came 

to this conclusion: “The end of the matter, all has been heard. Fear God and keep his 

commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

As a slow learner

Isaiah 44:6-8

For many years as a child and even into my adulthood I accepted a lie about my intelligence, and my lack of learning was equated to a low I.Q. and not to any of the problems we understand today as deterrents to learning.  My poor mother’s first two children were great students, they enjoyed reading and it was a rare time when they made a “B” on their report cards.  For me it was common to make a “D” and very exceptional to make a “B”.  For me it was the draw of climbing a tree or playing ball, over reading or studying a book.  Mother would often tell me I was stupid or dumb, and even as an adult she would tell me that I was a long way from being one of the brighter ones in the family.  I was a slow learner and when I would mess up as an adult, I would always go to the dumb card, but thank God Jan was there to tell me it was a lie from the one who came to destroy you, and she was 100% correct.  Now that does not change the fact about my lack of studying, and my lack of education would be a deterrent in all aspects of life.

So how does the above story have any relevance to Isaiah 44:6-8?  A great question, for often I’ve tried the dumb card on God, have you ever used it with God?  When little gods creep into our lives and the Holy Spirit confronts us with, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me?  Let him proclaim it.  Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed and ancient people.  Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.  Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?  And you are my witnesses!  Is there a God besides me?  There is no Rock; I know not any.”  So what does a high or low I.Q. follower of Jesus Christ do when confronted with these idols, these little gods whom God proclaims are not gods, but become sources of worship? 

We will learn in the verses that follow that the idols were made by a craftsman who was skillful with wood, gold, and silver and behind their actions was the old serpent, that Jesus refers to as the thief in John 10:10.  But in the Western culture we do not bow down to idols made by the hands of skillful craftsman, do we?  The old serpent, the one who deceived Eve in the garden, has changed the idols, to dogs and cats, sports, material possessions, or the lack of them, to occupations, and to blessings, like our children, or grandchildren, it is all inclusive; anything taking God’s place, anything you value more than Him.  Anything which takes the place of God in your life is an idol, and God who is jealous will confront His children with this message: “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”

No one but God knows what tomorrow will bring, and He has given us insight through His prophets.  In verse eight, we are moved to a courtroom setting and we His people will witness to the fact that only God is a Rock, a place of refuge and protection in all the storms, and not the false gods we run to.

As a slow learner, one who has put their trust in men, in success, in material possessions, 

in government, in my status in the church, and in myself; I’ve come to this conclusion; it is 

absolute futility putting our hope anywhere but in our LORD.  This is from the Teacher, 

son of David, king of Jerusalem.  “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! 

All is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV)  And this is how Solomon ended his council: “The end 

of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the 

whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, 

whether good or evil.”  (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

We are Abraham’s offspring

Isaiah 44:1-5

We are instructed in Scripture not to add or take away from the Word of God, and there is judgment for anyone who is foolish and does so.  As we have often stated, you can ask the Holy Spirit to give you the imagination to place yourself in the story, by doing so we are not adding but are taking away.  As a person who has by faith entered into Christ, much has happen you may or may not fully understand, but praise God our understanding does not change the promises of God. 

God has chosen Israel from all the people of the world, but He has also stated often in 

Scripture they are a stiff-necked people, a people who try living independently from His 

Laws and precepts.  Open your Bibles to Romans 11:11, “So I ask, did they stumble in 

order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come 

to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.”  (Romans 11:11 ESV)  Now keep reading 

and you will find we Gentiles were grafted into the family of God’s chosen, verses 17-20, 

 “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were 

grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not 

be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, 

but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might 

be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand 

fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.”  (Romans 11:17-20)

Also we are warned not to become proud look with me at Galatians 3:15-18, “To give a 

human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to 

it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. 

It does not say, “And to offspring’s,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your 

offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, 

does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For 

if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to 

Abraham by a promise.”  (Galatians 3:15-18 ESV)  

We are Abraham’s offspring, not by any act on our part, but by placing your faith in the 

finished work of Jesus on the cross, where He conquers death and sin.  Scripture makes 

it very clear in Galatians 3:25-29, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under 

a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you 

as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there 

is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  

And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”  

 (Galatians 3:25-29 ESV)  So enjoy being part of the promises made to Israel, for from 

all the people of the world God set them apart.  No one else but Israel is referred to in 

such endearment as being birthed by God, and Jeshurun is used as a name for Israel.  

 Verse five tells us they will have the mark of God’s ownership on their lives.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

No Expectation of God

Isaiah 43:14-28

Often we hear someone tell us their opinion on many things, from raising children to running the country, but we do not have an Isaiah proclaiming a message in this manner: “This is what the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:” and if God blessed us with such a messenger would anyone listen?  We have to some degree covered the history of how Babylon came to power in the seventh century B.C. to defeat the Assyrians, thus establishing the Neo-Babylonian Empire.  The Chaldean tribe’s home base was at the point of two great rivers that emptied into what is called today the Persian Gulf, so shipping was of great importance to them.  And now this great empire will wander from place to place after their defeat.

While having dinner one evening with some dear friends from middle school days, we were discussing the mess we as a culture are leaving for our children and grandchildren.  By the time that conversation was over, I was depressed, and this morning I was excited to listen to Isaiah.  How America needs an awaking to our LORD, our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and to listen to what He has said, and remember what He has done.

That is what God is telling His people coming out of Babylon, to recall what God has done for them, how He freed them from the Egyptians and lead them through the Red Sea, and crushed the great army of Egypt with the waters He had parted so that His people could walk through the sea on dry land.  God is telling His people coming out of Babylon to no longer dwell on the past, for He is doing a new thing, and do they understand, do they see what He is up to in this new exodus?  Not by the sea but in the wilderness He will reverse nature, with rivers in the desert and it will bring about a water source for both His people and the wild animals.

I wonder are we the Church making God weary, are we like Israel when God tells them they have not called on Him, “you have become weary of Me.”  We do not know if Israel quit making sacrifices or if it was a heart attitude of going though the motions with no expectation of God hearing and acting on their prayers.  I have a family member who has had little or no contact with a daughter for 15 years, and for many years our prayer has been asking God to make that relationship right, and this morning I heard God had answered our prayers, a time to rejoice!  But when we pray with no expectation it wearies the heart of God, and how we need to understand it is God’s time line, it is His plan for us, and many of us need to pray; not my plan but your best is what we seek.

If verse 25 does not warm your heart, run quickly to 2 Corinthians 13:5 and do what it instructs you to do.  “It is I who sweep away your transgressions for My own sake and remember your sins no more.”  Having God who knows your thoughts, chooses to not only forgive your sins but to remove your sins from His memory; for His Son Jesus became sin for us, taking it and nailing it to a cross.  Sin and death have been defeated, we are free to choose, sin no longer has control that is unless we make the wrong choice.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Spiritual Insensitivity has no time line

Isaiah 43:8-13

How are the people being described in verse eight?   People who are blind, yet have eyes, 

and deaf, yet have ears, these folks can see with their eyes but God states they are blind, 

and they can hear with their ears, but God refers to them as deaf.  If we go back to Isaiah 

42:20, these are the people God is mentioning, “Though seeing many things, you do not l

isten.”  Having spiritual insensitivity has no time line, the people of Judah, the people of 

Israel were guilty of being blind to the ways of God; they talked the talk, they even went 

through the motions, but they were dead in their hearts and actions to God’s ways.  

Hundreds of years later the apostle is calling out to the church leaders this message; “But 

if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve 

what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you 

yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the 

foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you 

then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do 

you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery do you commit adultery? You 

who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking 

the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because 

of you.”  (Romans 2:17-24 ESV)

Spiritual insensitivity has not stopped, we the Church, Christ living in us and we living in 

Christ, could it be that we have failed to take the test in 2 Corinthians 13:5? These people 

of Isaiah’s time were poor test takers, when God challenged them to find anyone among 

the nations to give a report of the importance of past events; it is another sarcastic comment 

on the powerless idols of the nations.  Verses 10-12, are God’s court room where the nations 

and His people that are referred to as His servants are called as witnesses to the power of 

these idols, these other gods, and the court room is silent when ask to witness about how 

their gods worked in and through their lives.

A quiet court room where only the chosen of God could come forth and proclaim, You alone 

are God and only You can save us as You have in the past.  Church, open your eyes, ask 

God to give you ears to hear these words of Isaiah 43:10-13, “You are my witnesses,” 

declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe 

me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any 

after me. I, even I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved 

and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” 

declares the LORD, “and I am God.  Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver 

from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”  (Isaiah 43:10-13 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God knows your name

Isaiah 43:1-7

When God speaks do you listen?  I hope so, and if you are a listener Isaiah chapter 43 is going to fill you with joy beyond human understanding, no matter what stage of life you are in.  Now be still, turn off the noise, and allow the Spirit of God to fill you with these words from God.  “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.  Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.  Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.  I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

How often in our busy life we forget God knows our name, God is very familiar with every aspect of our life.  I have a sign on my back porch that reads: “Smile you Rascal, God knows all about you and loves you anyway.”  God called Jeremiah to be His prophet when the people of Jerusalem went into exile, and this is what God said to him; “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  (Jeremiah 1:5)  And we have these words from Jesus in John 10:3, “To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”  Calling one by name shows a high level of familiarity, as a follower of Christ, He knows your name.  And in that God changed the name of Jacob to Israel, God wants the people to understand He will be the one leading them, He will be their soon deliverer.

God is making it clear no matter the obstacle water, river or fire, God is bigger than the situation, and so “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  God is also making it clear to Israel they are valued more than Egypt, Cush, or Seba, they are a chosen people, and so are we who are in Christ.  Peter, the apostle of Jesus Christ, had this to say about our value to the Father; “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)   

Many a follower of Christ does not “feel” like a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, but it not about feel so get over it and act like who you are in Christ. Verse ten goes on to tell us the following: Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  So “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  God knows your name, and His love is beyond your understanding.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is the USA acting like a Strong willed Child?

Isaiah 42:18-25

Have you watched a strong willed child?  Maybe you were one, or maybe you have one, but they seem to be deaf to any instruction other than what they want to do.  God is addressing Israel’s failure to hear and see and He refers to them as His servant, His messenger whom He has sent.  Though God is using physical disabilities they represent spiritual disabilities; Israel sees many things, but does not hear, so God magnified His instruction and made it glorious.  In fact, God sent His prophets, like Isaiah, and later Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but they were not heard, for like the strong willed child, they were deaf and blind to any instruction other than what they wanted to do. 

Could that not be said of the United States of America today?  Have we not turned our backs on all that is holy, have we not told God to stay out of our business, our schools, our courts, our government?  Now the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A. – 1.8 million have told God they have a better plan than His on marriage, they should read Isaiah 42:18-25 about the judgment that came on Israel for choosing to go against the commandments of God.

When judgment comes on America, as it did on Israel, no one is coming to help, in fact they became the plunder and all there resources were looted.  Verses 23-24, is a question for the future and I believe it is a question for America: “Who among you will pay attention to this?  Let him listen and obey in the future.  Who gave Jacob to the robber, and Israel to the plunderers?  Was it not the LORD?  Have we not sinned against Him?  They were not willing to walk in His ways, and they would not listen to His instruction.”

It is because of my fear of God, for He keeps His Word, that I see judgment coming to the country I love, to a people who are heading down the same road as Israel has gone, the blind leading the blind.  Church, our only hope is Jesus, unless the people of God humble themselves and repent, we will see judgment in our lifetime.  It was a choice for Israel and it is now our choice, for God has spoken, He has stepped out of heaven and taken our form, and taken our sins to the Cross, in fact He who was pure, our Creator, loved us so much that He became the payment to a Holy God who is just and required the shedding of blood for the payment of sin, but only God is without sin, only Jesus could pay the price required by the Father. 

Independence from God will lead us as a people and a nation to a place we would never have chosen, but like Israel, we have a choice.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Sing to the Lord a new Song

Isaiah 42:10-17

Sing to the Lord a new song, it is not a request it is a command, but it is one these people want to do, why, because they had been duped into putting trust in little gods, idols that had no ability to deliver on the hope of these people.  You may be wondering what was this new song, it was much like the song Moses and the people of Israel sang to the LORD.

“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,  “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.”  (Exodus 15:1-3) 

How often do you acknowledge God as a warrior?  God who does not change, could it be Christians need a class on the basics of God’s attributes?  God is a personal Spirit, and we can have an intimate relationship with Him, God is all powerful and I can go to Him with all my needs, God is ever-present, never leaves us, God knows everything, and I can ask anything of Him, God is sovereign, and I must submit to His will.  We must also understand God is holy, and calls us into holiness, God is absolute truth, I must act on what He has said,

God is righteous, and so I must live by His standards, God is just, and I must not let my feelings distract me from this truth, God is love; He is committed to my best,

God is merciful, He forgives me when I confess with sincerity, God is faithful, He always keeps His promises, and once more, God does not change, our future is secure and eternal.  Many a person who has not studied the Scripture have made foolish statements about how the God of the old testament and the new testament are different, but that is out of ignorance, He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, He is.  President Bill Clinton ask the famous question what is, is, and the answer; God is. 

In Isaiah 42:13, “The LORD advances like a warrior; He stirs up His zeal like a soldier.  He shouts, He roars aloud, He prevails over His enemies.”   When God shows up as a warrior, we never have to wonder about the outcome.  It has been a long time since God has shown up as a warrior, but Isaiah tells the people, do not take silence for approval, God is about to give birth to His righteous anger toward the people of God.  God as the warrior uses the elements of nature to destroy His enemies as seen in Nahum 1:2-6, “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.  The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.  His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.  He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers.  The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.  Who can stand before his indignation?  Who can endure the heat of his anger?  His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.”

God is going to rescue His people, even the blind, but those who have pursued idols, will not be helped, they will experience shame, and in verses 18-25, it explains why God’s people will experience judgment.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Leader to step on the World Scene

Isaiah 42:1-9

When the world you live in sees it’s foundations being shaken, a world where Christians who give to the poor all over the world and bring the gospel of love and life are often in distain, but Muslims whose mandate is to kill anyone who is not of their religion, and has women on the level of slaves is not referred to as evil.   This current darkness tells us it’s OK for a man to marry a man and a women to marry a women, when even nature tells us that is foolish and God has commanded a man to leave his father and mother to marry a young women is no longer the norm, in fact this upside down world we live in refers to good as evil and evil as good. We find ourselves in this current darkness, and you do not have to be Christian to understand the foundations are being shaken.  You do not have to be a follower of Christ to look for a leader who can step on the world scene and bring order to this present darkness we are living in. 

Isaiah, God’s prophet, gave insight to such a leader 700 years before He came on the 

scene, and many commentaries give a list of options to whom the Lord’s chosen servant is, 

but beware of finding truth in commentaries, they are opinions, some have great insight, 

others are at best the thoughts of man.  I was taught and believe the Bible is the best 

commentary, it requires studying, and asking the Helper (the Holy Spirit) to allow us to see 

and understand what is needed this day to live life to the full.  So as we explore these nine 

verses, beginning with verses 1-4, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom 

my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He 

will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not 

break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He 

will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the 

coastlands wait for his law.”   Certainly this is the leader that upside down people are looking 

for, chosen by God, who will bring forth justice to the nations.  God goes on to remind us He 

is our Creator, and that He is totally in charge.  This leader will be a covenant and a light for 

the nations and He will open the eyes of the blind, many are blind in our churches today, 

looking to a political party, and not to the only one who can change the hearts of people.   

Verses 5-7, give us this information; “Thus says God, the LORD,  who created the heavens

 and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath 

to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the LORD; I have called you in 

righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for 

the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners 

from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” 

How we need to believe that our God tells the truth, and when this present darkness is 

found in our churches and neighborhoods, our cities, counties, state, and nation, see us 

acting in accordance with God’s Word, they will listen.  Ponder on verses 8,and 9, “I am the 

LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, 

the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth 

I tell you of them.”  Many in the church today place their priest, or pastor in a place of 

worship, God calls this an idol, and is clear He will not share His glory with your child, 

your husband, wife, or pastor.  God so loves you that He told Isaiah to inform us about 

what He was going to do 700 years before it happened.  Now turn to the book of 

Matthew 12:15-21, I’m only going to show you verses 15-17, “Jesus, aware of this, 

withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not 

to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:” 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

"Want Creators"

June 20, 2014

Isaiah 41:15-29

Gratefulness seems lost in our culture, a society built on self, and instant gratification; not on faith or family, but on what I call a culture constructed on “want creators.”   “Want creators” make us dissatisfied with what we have, they lie about our worth, and we allow them full access to our family, and especially our children who have no understanding that they are being conned.  I learned first and foremost as a sales person that it was impossible to sell someone who was content and happy with the present item you were trying to replace.  So as a sales person you need to develop a technique which will either put some fear of this older technology, or draw a picture in the buyer’s mind of being seen by their peers as a person who is on the forefront of technology, and the perks an acclaim of being a trendsetter.

But it is so much easier with children, for the businessman will look at cost to benefits, but the children only see a new toy or clothing that the man on television tells them will make then happy, successful, or make them popular, and the hook is set.  When it comes to adults and men it may be Golfsmith, or Cabala’s, or Dick’s or Gulf Pro, and when it comes to the ladies, it’s a mall, or a kitchen store, these are “want creators.”  Have you ever gone house hunting, say at a parade of homes, did you come away with some dissatisfaction of your present home, were you grateful for your home, did you acknowledge the many blessings God has given you?  Were you thankful, perhaps not, and why the “want creator” grabbed your heart, it is closely kin to the thief in John 10:10?

So we find our heavenly Father, who knows our thoughts, is telling the people of Judah and Israel to look to Him, and be sure He and He only is our source and He cares for each of us.  We, as those we are reading about, have a tendency to run to these little idols, for we have allowed Channel One the deceptive channel to tell us happiness can be found in stuff, in others, in status, but look what our Creator Jesus Christ has stated in John 10:10. 

Jacob’s King is God, and in verse 21 He is challenging the nations and their idols.   

These idols had no understanding of the future, but the people of Judah had a history 

of what God had done for them and those who put faith in them.  We understand from 

history God had raised up King Cyrus of Persia to come against the Babylonians, and 

it was not by his might but Cyrus was a tool being used by God to bring his people out 

of judgment.  The many false gods we look to for happiness are a delusion, and if 

only we would look and learn from Isaiah 41:28-29, “But when I look, there is no one; 

among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer.  Behold, they are 

all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.”   

(Isaiah 41:28-29)  The false gods we put our hope in are nonexistent, so how can they 

give advice?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Fears Influence

Isaiah 41:10-16

For a few years after my encounter with Jesus in a hotel room in Victoria, Texas, I lived the role of an undercover Christian, at my job and even around people who I knew were not of the Christian faith, I was what the writer of James 1:5-8 would call a double-minded man.  I was full of opinions but lacked wisdom and had a long road ahead of me when it came to understanding how to live life by God’s precepts.  I’ve come to understand after many years of trying to live out the teachings in Scripture, that two voices or two channels are playing in my mind, one sounds like my voice, southern twang and we call that Channel One, the (Deceptive Channel) and it’s all about what I deserve or attacks on my person, the other put thoughts in my mind that are foreign to my way of thinking, like giving, helping, praying, serving someone that I do not even know, I call that Channel Two and it is the voice of the Holy Spirit.  First, to live a life of victory one must come to grips with John 10:10, and choose to turn-off Channel One, and seek a quiet place to hear and then to act on what the Holy Spirit has said. 

It may not sound spiritual, but you and I need discipline in all areas of life, and we need balance in our habits, for it is our habits of seeking to walk in a manner that pleases God that we find integrity.   Reading Scripture does not change our life, acting on and putting into practice what Scripture says will change our life.  And I am discovering as I incline my heart to God’s ways and truth, how foolish any other path is.  If you are a “Truth-seeker” read Proverbs two and three.

Never in my short life on this planet has fear had such influence over Christians, and as a friend told me recently, you do not have to be a follower of Christ to see the darkness, the evil in our government an our society as a whole.  But as one who claims to follow Christ, has Scripture not spoken often to us about fear?  One great word is found in; “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7) And Jesus said and it is recorded in Matthew 10:26-28,  “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  Max Lucado gives this insight, “Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.”

My prayer for us is that we allow Isaiah 41:10 to take root in our mind and in our heart, and that we feed our faith with promises like God is making to the people of Judah and Israel and to all His children in Isaiah 41:13-14, “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.” Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice