Choose One of the Doors

Isaiah 49:1-13

A message for all people and all nations, to pay attention to the servant of the LORD, and this 

is what God tells us about the calling of this servant: “The LORD called me from the womb, 

from the body of my mother he named my name.  He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in 

the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me 

away.  And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 

 (Isaiah 49:1-3 ESV)  If you spent time in the book of Jeremiah 1:4-8, this sounds much like 

God’s call to Jeremiah; “Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “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.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, 

for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say,‘ I am only a youth’; for to all 

to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not 

be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”  (Jeremiah 1:4-8 ESV)

When reading verse five we see this servants calling is to bring Jacob back to him that is 

Israel coming back to God.  This servant is not going to work some magic or supernatural 

act, no he is going to serve the Father and let the Father do it all through him.  This is what 

the Father is going to do for the servant; he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be 

my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will 

make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”   

(Isaiah 49:6 ESV)

With that said, who is this servant God is speaking about?  We have three doors, first door 

is Isaiah, the second door is Jeremiah, and the third door is Jesus, I do pray that you picked 

the third door, for in Him is the light of the world (John 8:12).  Do you recall Matthew’s account 

of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law and then all who were brought to him were healed, 

some were oppressed by demons and others were sick.  And this is what Matthew tells us,  

“This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore 

our diseases.”  (Matthew 8:17)  And in Matthew 12:18-21, “This was to fulfill what was spoken 

by the prophet Isaiah:  “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom 

my soul is well pleased.  I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the 

Gentiles.  He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a 

bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice 

to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”  (Matthew 12:17-21 ESV)  

You may want to look at the apostle John’s account in John 12:38, but we should also look 

at Acts 8:30-35.  Do you recall the Spirit taking Philip to where the Ethiopian Eunuch was 

reading the book of Isaiah and Philip asked if he understood what he was reading; this is 

what he was reading: “Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:   

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he 

opens not his mouth.  In his humiliation justice was denied him.  Who can describe his 

generation?  For his life is taken away from the earth.”  And the eunuch said to Philip, 

“About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news 

about Jesus.”  (Acts 8:32-35 ESV)  For Jesus came to serve and not be served, He is the 

only light that can bring you out of darkness, He is the Servant, but He is also the “I AM”, 

the Creator, the light of the world.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Many are Called

Isaiah 48:12-22

Do you recall the Scripture where it says, “For many are called but few are chosen” it is found in Matthew 22:14, and it is a story Jesus told about a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and Jesus compares it to the kingdom of heaven.  How the king sent his servant out to people he knew and people who knew his son, but they ignored the invite and went on with their lives, and some who were invited seized his servants, treating them shamefully, and killing some of them.  In his anger the king sent his army with orders to destroy the murderers and burn their city.  Then the king told his servant to go out into main roads and invite as many as you find, and so the servant did so, finding both good and bad.  The HCSB has this note on page 1656, “Many people are invited to God’s kingdom, but only those who repent and honor the Son are chosen to enter.”  I also wanted to share this quote: “Many are called; few chosen - Many hear; few believe. Yea, many are members of the visible, but few of the invisible Church.” Wesley's Notes on Matthew 22:14

The call above is to whosoever will, but the call in Isaiah 48 is the called to God’s chosen people, Israel.  He is calling them out of slavery and He is reminding them of who is calling, their Creator, and this is what God said; “I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.  My hands laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.”  You would think His people would pay attention to Him, but then God let them in on what is going to happen, how He will bless Cyrus the pagan king of Persia who the LORD will use to deliver His people from the Babylonians. 

We should remember God is speaking through Isaiah’s lips, and in verse 16, Isaiah is telling the people to come and listen to him, for he has always been upfront with the words God has given him.  Once more, Isaiah reminds the people whose words he is speaking; “This is what the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who leads you in the way you should go.  If only you had paid attention to my commands.”  They would have experienced blessing but instead they received God’s judgment.  Because of Israel’s sin, God was not able to bless them, so instead of a growing population, it had declined.

We who are in Christ have been called and by God’s grace and the faith He has given us we have been chosen.  But I am fearful that many who attend church and do good things, have never come to a time of repentance, where they understand and see themselves as wicked sinners whose redemption is found in the blood of Jesus Christ, and no one else.  Could that be why Wesley made such a statement?  “Many are called; few chosen - Many hear; few believe. Yea, many are members of the visible, but few of the invisible Church.” Wesley's Notes on Matthew 22:14

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

 

In Name Only

Isaiah 48:1-11

When much is given much is required, my friend and barber would often say, Rice you do not have to worry about being a has-been, you’re a never was.  It takes a good friend to wake one up when they are on a path to failure, and most of my youth and early adult life had no structure, no plan, and for sure no goals.  I had the family name of Rice, and that name was closely associated with the church and the Christian faith, and if someone had asked me if I was a Christian, my answer would have been yes. 

Many in Isaiah’s time who were from the house of Jacob and who were called by the name Israel, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, were much like me in my early life.  God is telling Isaiah to tell them, “they swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right.  For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is His name.”  But they forgot or never really knew the God of Abraham; they were Jews much like I was a Christian, in name only.

God is reminding Judah of His faithfulness, of how He had sent the prophet to proclaim what He was going to do, the past events are making reference to what the prophets spoke of both the blessing and the curses.  It was always Judah’s choice, God had made it clear both by His prophet the cost of sin, and the blessing of obedience.  Now no one should want God to refer to you as having a bronze forehead, for nothing can get through such a head and a neck of iron is stiff and does not have the ability to turn.  It is a picture of God’s people not willing to hear or repent, and I’m fearful that is the Church of 2014.

It is important to remember Judah is a captive, we often forget that many in the church are being held in captivity by sin, and these powers have names:  lust, greed, fear, and all kinds of sexual sins.  Many of us, like the people of Isaiah’s time, have no understanding of how sinful we are and how much God loves us.  Timothy Keller gives this insight into our problem: “The gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, but more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope.”  When we come to grips with this, we are open to the new things God has for us.

Speaking of “New Things” God is going to announce new things to Judah before they come into being, things like the use of Cyrus to deliver His people.  In verses 8-9, God declares that His peoples ears have been closed to His commands, and He is calling them to listen, and that will require acting on what is heard.  If only we in the Church were as concerned for the name of God, as God is, how different our world would be.

In verse 10, we see God as the Silversmith subjecting His people to a fire that removes all the impurities; often God uses affliction and pain to do this.  God reminds all of us He will not share His glory with anyone.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

  

 

How secure is the U.S.A.?

Isaiah 47

Being 72 and blessed with good health, a mind that seems to work most of the time and the wife of my youth who I love more today than anytime in our short 49 years together, is such a blessing.  To have been blessed with parents who instructed me in the teachings of Scripture and in the blessing of work, and the understanding that God will keep an account of my actions, both good and bad.  My parents had little of material stuff, but they always set aside ten percent of my dad’s earnings to be given as a tithe to the Lord, and taught me it was all the LORD’s and He had entrusted me to manage what was given to us.    We find this teaching in the Acts of the apostles, chapter 20:35, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

With that said, I must confess Jan and I have made many mistakes, me more than Jan, mistakes of forgetting who is the owner and who is the manager.  And through it all God has blessed us with a lifestyle we could never have dreamed of when we walked out of Emanuel Baptist Church as man and wife.  We now find ourselves living in a culture much like the one Isaiah is sharing about, look at verse ten of chapter 47 with me.  It seems to describe a civilization much like ours; “You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, “No one sees me;” your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”  Does it ring in your ears, me first, I’m special, I’ve always been special, and I deserve what I want when I want it, and by the way, that is the way it is so get over it.  This culture has grown up being told, to get what they want without dreaming or working for it and it is a culture of greed and a desire for more, with little or no desire for God or the things of God. 

This once great nation, Babylon who had achieved dominance among the nations of the world, (note: much like the USA) but its former glory will be turned to oblivion.  God addressed the leading women as Virgin Daughters, a term only used for His people up to this point.  These daughters were pampered and spoiled, but now they were not being served but serving, doing lowly chores, a contrast to her former exalted status.  

God makes it clear in verses 6-7, He used Babylon as a tool of His anger against Judah, but Babylon sought its own glory, and its pride became its downfall.  Babylon is compared to a woman, a lover of luxury, and one who feels she is secure, much like the culture we enjoy.  She has the attitude of all is good I will be OK no matter what happens to others.  She brags about her husband and children, for to be a woman living in that time without a husband and children was to have no meaning and no protection.  But Babylon is compared to a woman who loses her husband and children in one day.  She cannot avert it, no matter what she tries she is not able to ward it off, devastation will happen suddenly and unexpectedly.  

Babylon loved her sorceries, she tried to tell the future by looking at the stars, she was haughty and prideful, but when God has spoken often in Scripture to us as people and to nations He will bring judgment on all who put other gods before Him.

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Define the word Idol

Isaiah 46

How would you define the word idol?  In my opinion, it is best described “as anything that takes the place of God in your thinking.”  If my definition is correct the “anything” can be many things, a wife, a husband, children, jobs, a pastor, a building you call the church, golf, sports, vacations, second home, wealth, and because it can be anything, only you can place your finger on the idol you are worshiping.  We could ask ourselves many questions about our idols, but most of us refuse to acknowledge we have any, so why ask the question? 

If you call yourself a Christian, then by definition you are: “a person who has received 

Christian baptism or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his teachings,” taken from the online 

dictionary.  I believe the dictionary makes a good attempt with its definition, so let’s just go 

with it; however, Romans 10:8-11 gives a clearer definition: “But what does it say? “The word 

is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that 

God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is 

justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone 

who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”   

Do Christians have idols, little gods we think about, put first in our lives, look forward to 

spending time with, think about and long for?  And the answer is a sad yes, if you buy into 

my definition of “as anything that takes the place of God in your thinking.”  Is it a new 

problem for us human critters, and once more the answer is a big fat no, and Isaiah is being 

told by God to address it to the people of Isaiah’s time, and to you and me.  If you do not 

believe this, then you do not believe the very Bible that speaks of God loving you so much 

that He stepped out of glory, and came down to take on flesh and totally depend on His 

Father for all His needs.  As my dear friend John Davis has often said, “to me you can’t have

 it round and square.”  

The first four verses of chapter 46 address a little god (idol) that needs to be carried by man 

and the contrast of God who carried the burdens of His people.  As you go farther into the 

chapter you see the little gods of the people taking on the character of creation, and all of 

them were made with human hands.  God reminds us in verses 3-4, what He has done for 

us, and then in verse five He ask each of us this question:    “To whom will you liken Me 

and make Me equal, and compare Me, that we may be alike? (Isaiah 46:5 ESV)  And 

the answer is: anything that takes the place of God in your thinking or actions.”  

A wise person will pay attention to what God is saying in verses 8-13, “Remember this and 

stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am 

God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the 

beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and 

I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel 

from a far country.  I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.  

 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness: I bring near my 

righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for 

Israel my glory.”  That salvation has a name, the One in John’s gospel who was addressed 

as the Word; His name is Jesus the Christ.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word 

was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were 

made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, 

and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has 

not overcome it.”  (John 1:1-5 ESV)  

So whom will you worship, your idol, or the One who created all things?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Prophetic Vision

Isaiah 45:15-25

I have heard it said, the Bible is not relevant, what does a book like Isaiah written in 698-740 B.C., have that you and I need?  There is one thing striking about the ones who often make such foolish statements, often they have not spent anytime with the prophet’s writing.  For one thing, Isaiah is the most quoted book of the Old Testament in the New Testament it is by far the book in the O.T. that will give the reader the greatest insights into the character and nature of God.  Isaiah anticipated Messiah’s coming with amazing clarity, and it is poetic, intriguing in its prophetic vision.

Today’s headlines in the News; “An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that Western and Israeli leaders hoped would bring an end to the current Gaza war had already collapsed by Tuesday afternoon, just hours after Israel's cabinet voted in favor of the truce.  Around mid-morning, Israeli ministers voted 6-2 to accept the Egyptian proposal, and the Israeli army was ordered to halt all operations against terrorist forces in Gaza.  But the Gaza rockets just kept coming. Volley after volley targeted central and northern Israel. And though Israel's Iron Dome prevented any serious damage or injuries, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel wouldn't accept the lopsided situation for very long.  By mid-afternoon, Israel was against striking targets in Gaza, and the war appeared to be back in full swing.” 

Do you recall God speaking to the prophet Isaiah about Egypt; look at Isaiah 31:1, “Woe to 

those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they 

are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of 

Israel or consult the LORD!” What? Isaiah is in the Jewish Bible, and yet they have not 

learned, they are looking to Egypt, to the Western nations and to the U.S.A., and yet Israel’s 

hope is not found in any of the above nations, it is only found in the LORD.

In Isaiah 45:1-25, God is making sure that we who are called by His name understand He 

has never hidden Himself from us, but it may seem so, in that His ways are higher than ours, 

and His thoughts are higher than ours.  But God has gone to the extreme to pursue a 

relationship and make Himself known to His creation.  It matters not what little gods you 

have chosen; government, money, power, none, nothing and no one but our Creator can 

reveal the future.

So God in the time of Isaiah and God of 2015 is the same, and both Israel and you and I 

must look only to Him.  Please ponder these words: “Declare and present your case; let 

them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, 

the LORD?  And there is no other god besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is 

none besides Me. “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and 

there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness 

a word that shall not return: ‘To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.” 

(Isaiah 45:21-23 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

No gods but God

Isaiah 45:14

How open are your eyes, what are you seeing, a world that is moving to kindness, to seeking the favor of God, and who is looking to put others before self?  If so please remove the meds from your cabinet, take off your rose colored glasses and come out into the light, for it is in light that we always expel darkness.  And my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is not only dark but also each day we see reports of evil being called good and good being called evil.  This morning as I read the verses listed above a light was turned on, this Scripture is the total answer for this time in history, and it comes from around 698-740 B.C.

Now it begins with: “Thus says the LORD: “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of 

Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall 

follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, 

saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides Him.’”(Isaiah 45:14 ESV)  

In this verse you will see the answer to all the problems in our world, hate, distrust, fear, 

murder, divorce, enemies, for all of them are listed in the men of stature that came to bow 

down to Israel in Isaiah’s vision.  Egypt who once had the Israelites as their slaves, and 

who saw the God who Israel worshipped kill all of their first born, and destroy their army, 

Cush who was controlled by Egypt and then for a while conquered them and also fought 

the Assyrians, was no friend of Israel or Judah, and the Sabeans were "men of stature," 

and engaged in merchandise.

As one who not only follows Christ, but has taken the next step by faith and bowed my 

knee and will to receive the payment for my sin on what Jesus Christ did on the Cross, and 

by confessing with my mouth that Jesus is LORD and believing in my heart that God raised 

Him from the dead, and have confessed this to you and others, I have been saved, no 

longer an alien but now a son of the Father, and a friend and brother of Jesus Christ.   

Each of the hand picked 12 who were followers of Christ also came to this same conclusion, 

with the exception of Judas, all were followers, but it was their act of faith, and the 

Holy Spirits filling them that made them world changers.

So to all who by faith have entered into Christ and He into you, the answer is so simple, 

die to self, but it is not simple, your flesh does not want to die, in fact it wants to be looked 

at as right, and good.  And that is why the apostle Paul, give us these verses: “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)

How does this tie into Isaiah 45:14, when the world sees Jesus in you they come to this 

understanding: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides Him.’”  When 

that happens, the world comes and brings all the chains that have held them in bondage, 

for you have the answer to life, now and for eternity.  My prayer is that you and I will grasp 

this truth, and it is important to remember Jesus has already prayed this for each of us; “I do 

not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that 

they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, 

so that the world may believe that you have sent Me. The glory that you have given Me I 

have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me, 

that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and 

loved them even as You loved Me.”  (John 17:20-23 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice