ISAIAH 482008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 48

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. We're in Isaiah chapter 48 this evening. Let's start out in verse 1. It says, Hear this, O house of Jacob.

As we start out in Isaiah chapter 48 this morning, God is speaking to his people.

And he's speaking to his people that he has promised that he will bring them out of Babylon. At the time that Isaiah is writing this, Babylon is not a great threat. In fact, the nation of Assyria is the nation that is threatening Judah as Isaiah is writing these things.

But Babylon was promised to come later. God had told in advance, history in advance, that Babylon was going to conquer Assyria. And then Babylon was also going to conquer the nation of Judah. And Judah was going to be taken into captivity for their disobedience against God, for their rebellion against him, and for their refusal, really, to hear what God has been saying to them and be obedient to him.

And so Babylon is going to conquer Judah, but then God also promised that Babylon would be judged and that Babylon would be conquered and that God would use the man Cyrus to allow his people to be brought out of Babylon and return to Judah, return to the promised land through this man named Cyrus that was going to take place a couple hundred years after Judah.

Isaiah is writing these things. So there's lots of things we're talking about that Isaiah is writing well before they even take place. It's history in advance because it's exactly accurate.

And so as God is telling them about these things that are going to pass and promising that Babylon is going to be destroyed even though he's going to use Babylon to judge Judah, he now speaks specifically to Judah, specifically to that remnant that remains, those few there who are left in the city of Jerusalem, those few who are left there in the land that God had promised to his people.

He speaks to them and he starts out saying, hear this, O house of Jacob. The idea of hearing, God will be speaking to throughout this chapter. He'll be using words like hear, or you heard, or you did not hear. Listen to me, he calls to them. God is always asking his people to

to listen up. If you remember in the book of Revelation, as Jesus is writing to each of the churches, he says somewhere in the letter to each of the seven churches, let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

God is always calling us as His people. He's calling the church. Here He's calling Judah as His people to hear Him, to listen to Him. Now it's a strange thing that God would need to present this request and make this demand because you would think,

Knowing the God that we serve, recognizing that He has in mind and in His heart, His plans are what is best for us and what is eternally good for us. He is the Almighty God, the all-knowing God with all wisdom and all power and all might. He is not hiding. He's not trying to keep Himself from us, but He's seeking to reveal Himself to us. It would make sense that we would always be listening and attentive to what God is saying.

But unfortunately, Judah was this way. We are the same way. Our ears grow dull and our hearts become hard. And we, well, we forget to listen to God. We get too busy to hear what he has to say.

We get too proud and think that we know best and so we start listening to our own selves. We get caught up with our own plans and desires and we get consumed with those things and we forget, as crazy as this may sound, we forget to hear from God.

And let me just get this straight again. God has been writing here history in advance, 200 years before the things happened, writing every detail. And it's fulfilled exactly that way because God knows the beginning from the end. Wouldn't you want to hear what God has to say to you? Knowing that he desires what is best for you eternally. He desires for you things that you can't even imagine or think of. Don't you want to hear that?

What God is saying to you. He's not just an impersonal God that's out there somewhere, but He's right here with us. He says where two or three are gathered, I'm there in their midst. And He desires that personal relationship with each one of us. You would think that we would be excited about and attentive to the things that God would desire to say. But unfortunately for us, our hearts are prone to wander.

And we need to be reminded. And so God calls Jacob, he calls Judah to hear the things he's about to say. He says, hear this here at the beginning of chapter 48. Hear this, O house of Jacob. Now notice he says, who are called by the name of Israel. Now he's making a distinction there. He says you're called by the name of Israel. Not that you really accurately represent the name Israel. Israel means governed by God.

He calls them Jacob. He says, oh, hear this, oh, house of Jacob. Jacob was the heel catcher, the supplanter, the guy who is always trying to do things on his own and figure out his own plans and do life the way that he thought it was best. God later changed his name to Israel, but he calls here the nation of Judah, even possibly extending it to us this evening, Jacob.

When we are trying to live life our own way and do our own thing. But he says that they're called by the name of Israel. So although they're living their life as Jacob did, in their own plans, in their own devices, the way that they want to, they still go under the name of Israel. They still have the title of, we're governed by God. And so their title doesn't match the way that they're actually living. What they're called doesn't really match Israel.

their lifestyle. And the same thing happens to you and I as we call ourselves Christians. And yet the title doesn't match our life when we're not following Christ. It doesn't match our life when we're doing our own thing and not listening to what God would say. So God says, hear this. I want you to pay attention, to listen to this. He says, look, you're called by the name of Israel and

Later on in verse 1, he says, you swear by the name of the Lord and you make mention of the God of Israel. So they talk about God. They swear to God. They swear by the name of God. They call themselves by his name and say that they're governed by him. But there at the end of verse 1, he says, but not in truth or in righteousness. Right?

So while they have this label and the appearance of being godly and being governed by God and walking with God and having relationship with God, the reality is they do not. He says it's not in truth and it's not in righteousness.

They do not have a right relationship with God. They are not governed by God. They're not walking with God. They just know the right things to say and they go by the title, but the reality is not there in their lives. Let's go on to verse 2. He says, For they call themselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel. The Lord of hosts is his name. I have declared the former things from the beginning. They went forth from my mouth and I caused them to hear it.

Suddenly I did them and they came to pass because I knew that you were obstinate and your neck was an iron sinew and your brow bronze. Verse 5, even from the beginning I have declared it to you. Before it came to pass, I proclaimed it to you, lest you should say my idol has done them and my carved image and my molded image have commanded them. Here as we go on now in verses 2 through 5, God is continuing his plea and

For Judah to hear him, to listen to him. He says, they call themselves after the holy city. Again, they're playing the part. They're pretending like they walk with God. But in reality, they're not. And so God says, I have declared the former things from the beginning. Now, this is something that God uses over and over again to prove that he alone is God. Because there's no one else who can proclaim in advance the things that are to come.

Especially the way that God does with details and 100% accuracy. God says, I've declared the former things from the beginning. They went forth from my mouth and I caused them to hear it. Now again, Isaiah is writing these things several hundred years before these things will come to pass. And so he's saying, I've brought it forth from my lips. My mouth has brought it forth and I've caused you to hear it. Why? Why?

He says in verse 4, because I knew that you were obstinate or hard or difficult or stubborn. Your neck was ironed, your brow was bronze, that you're thick-headed.

And you refuse to be taught. You refuse to listen. I told you these things in advance. God says, look, the reason why I'm laying out this history in advance is because I know you. And I know how hard-headed you are. And how you refuse to listen. And how you choose not to hear what I am saying. I am telling you these things in advance because I know how stubborn you are. You're my people in name, but not in truth.

He tells them. And so he says, I've laid it out from the beginning in verse 5. I've declared it to you before it came to pass. God made sure to lay it out for them before it was actually going to happen. Because he says, otherwise, you would say, my idol did this. This God that I'm worshiping now, it's the God that delivered us from Babylon.

It's the God that brought us back into the land. It's because, you know, recently I started worshiping this God that now we're being blessed again and our crops are being provided for and the rain is coming and we're being established here in the land. It's because I've been worshiping this God. God says, look, I've told you in advance so that when it comes to pass, you will know that I am the Lord.

I've told you in advance that you won't be able to claim that it's someone else that has done this for you. God wants his people to know that he is God. He wants his people to listen to him. But because they were not going to, because he knew in advance that they would not, because he knew of their stubbornness and hard-heartedness, he tells them in advance the things that are going to take place. Look at verse 6. He says,

And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them. They are created now and not from the beginning. And before this day you have not heard them, lest you should say, Of course I know them. Verse 8. Surely you did not hear. Surely you did not know. Surely from long ago your ear was not opened, for I knew that you would deal very treacherously and were called a transgressor

from the womb. Here God continues to bring his rebuke against Judah, really. He says, you have heard. You see all this? All these things that I'm telling you, all these things that I've told you in advance, you've heard. How many times as Christians do we say, well, I don't know what the Lord is saying, or I don't know what the Lord wants me to do, or I didn't know that's wrong, or I didn't know this. And God says, look, you've heard. I've told you. How many times have

Have I shared with you and shown you these things out of my word? You have heard, look at all this, look at all these things that God has laid before us. You have heard these things. He goes on to say, I've made you hear new things from this time. Not only have you heard all these old things, but I've shown you new things, things that were not known before. They're created now, he says, but not from the beginning. And this day you've heard them.

But he goes on to say, lest you should say, of course I knew them. Surely you did hear. Surely you did know. From long ago, your ear was open. But what's the problem? Although it's written down, although God said it, he says, I knew you would not listen. Why? Well, he says in verse 8, the end, therefore I knew that you would deal very treacherously and were called a transgressor from the womb. Here's the real issue. The problem is the nation of Judah is made up entirely of sinners.

And that's the problem with you and I today as well. It's the struggle that we go through because we are in this body. We struggle with the flesh and from the womb, we're called transgressors. God says, I told you these things in advance and you didn't hear. I knew you wasn't going to hear. I knew you weren't going to hear because, well, you're transgressors and you deal very treacherously with

And you ignore me and you go behind my back or try to anyways. And you say one thing, you know, there in the temple, but then you go out and live a different way and worship these other gods and try to do this on your own and live life the way that you want to. I know that you would live this way and deal very treacherously. I know that you were called a transgressor, but notice from the womb. God says, look, I've made you here, but still you didn't know these things because you've been a sinner before.

Since you were born. From the womb. That's even before you were born. You might be familiar with the fact that you are a sinner. But we need to understand that we're not called sinners because we sin. We call a liar a liar because they lie. But that's not why we're called sinners. It's the other way around. The reason why we sin is because we're sinners. We're born that way. Before we even have an opportunity to

To prove it, it's proven that we are sinners because we sin. Our sin proves that we're sinners. Our sin doesn't make us a sinner. Here's the point. If you're born that way, there's nothing you can do about it. You can't be good enough to change it. You can't work hard enough. It's not like, well, I'm not a sinner anymore because I've worked really hard and now I don't sin. No, you've been a sinner, well, even before you could help it.

Even in the womb, you were called a transgressor. Why? Well, we inherited the sinful nature of Adam. In Romans 5, verse 19, it tells us, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. Every one of us inherited the nature of Adam. We inherited his sinful nature. And so every one of us are by nature, even in the womb, we are sinners also.

But the good news is, the rest of Romans 5.19 is, so also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteous. And so we're all sinners. We've all inherited this from Adam.

a wonderful inheritance that he has passed down from us. But what we also have is the opportunity. Everyone has the opportunity since we're all sinners. We're all in the same place. We've all fallen short of the glory of God. We all have the opportunity to be made righteous by one man, that man, Jesus Christ. Because of what he did, we all have the opportunity to have right standing with God.

to be declared righteous, to be justified, to be set apart for God, to walk with Him and be transformed by the renewing of our minds, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us. We all have the opportunity because we all start in the same place. We're sinners.

Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Even though from the womb we are called the transgressor, we can change this whole story here. It parallels us really well. We don't listen. We try to live our life, you know, on our own and with our own plans and our own devices and we don't hear what God is saying. But we can change this story. We can change this pattern if we will simply turn to Jesus Christ. If we'll stop and listen. If we'll give Him our hearts. If we'll give Him our hearts.

If we will surrender to Him. We can change all of this. We can hear from God. We can be obedient to Him and walk with Him. We can grow in a relationship with Him. It doesn't have to be this way.

Although, as we read these things, we can very easily parallel the nation of Judah in our own hearts and see, man, you know, we don't hear. And God says over and over again, listen, would you listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church? And how many times we just do our own thing and we know what God has said, but we try to get around it anyways. But it doesn't have to be that way. Although it parallels well, God says, look,

Why do you want to be miserable all the time? Why do you try to do it on your own all the time? Why don't you come and listen to me? Why don't you hear what I have to say? You're called a transgressor from the womb, but now you have the opportunity in Jesus Christ to change that. You don't have to continue in that way. You can be my child. You can be declared righteous by a right relationship with me.

By faith in Jesus Christ, by turning to him. We have the opportunity to change this whole story. Judah doesn't, unfortunately, but God doesn't give up on them. Let's look at verse 9. He says, For my name's sake, I will defer my anger. And for my praise, I will restrain it from you so that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it.

for how should my name be profaned and I will not give my glory to another. Here's what God says, even though you've been called the sinner from birth, from in the womb you've been a transgressor, and even though you've dealt treacherously, and even though I knew already in advance that you were going to be obstinate and not listen and not hear what I'm saying and not pay attention to these words and

I knew ahead of time that I was going to have to deal with you in this way. But he says, for my name's sake, I will defer my anger and for my praise, I will restrain it from you. God says, even though you're rebellious and even though you don't listen to what I'm saying and even though you don't pay attention to me and don't walk with me and don't take advantage of all these blessings and opportunities I have in front of you, I'm going to hold back my anger.

Now understand how amazing this is. I mean, this is a people, this is God's people. The people he chose to reveal himself to the rest of the world. He has been so incredibly good to them. They deserve to be wiped out. Yet God says, I'm going to hold back. I'm going to defer my anger. I'm going to delay it for a while. I'm not going to allow my wrath to be poured out yet. It's not yet time. He says, for my name's sake, because you have my name.

Because my name has been attached to you, God says of Judah and Israel, my anger will be deferred. He says, so that I do not cut you off. There's some today that teach that Israel has been cut off. There's some today that teach that the church replaces Israel and God never has any further plans for Israel any longer. There's some that teach that. But it's not what the Bible teaches. God says, I'm deferring my anger, my praise...

It's going to be magnified. I'm not going to cut you off. God still has plans and purposes for his people. There's going to be an outpouring of God's spirit upon the nation of Israel. And God is going to once again work with them as a nation, as a people, and pour out his spirit upon them to use them for his glory and to bring them glory.

to the place that he desires for them to be. It's going to take place later on. We know it as the tribulation period in the millennial kingdom. God is going to be doing this work. And right now, yes, he's working with the church and the church is who he's using to reach the world, but he's not done with Israel. They're not cut off. He's going, well, he has deferred his anger. Verse 10, Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. He says,

I'm not going to cut you off. I'm not giving up on you. I'm not kicking you out yet. Instead, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to refine you. I'm going to do some work within you. I'm going to test you and prove that you really can be made of gold. But he says, not as silver. I'm going to test you in the furnace of affliction. He's not literally going to hold them into or over a fire like you would with silver.

The furnace that God uses is the furnace of affliction. How does God test us? How does God prove that we're genuine? How does he refine us and get rid of those impurities? God says of Judah, the nation of Israel, that he tests them in the furnace of affliction. Here's the thing.

This is all before they've been conquered. This is all before they've been taken captive. And God's still crying out, would you hear me? You don't have to go this route, but I know that you're obstinate. I know that you're stubborn. I know that you're not going to listen. So I want you to know, for my name's sake, because of my, not because of you, but because of me.

I'm not going to cut you off. I'm going to hold back my anger. I'm not just going to demolish you and wipe you off the face of the earth so that you never exist. No, I'm going to hold it back, but I am going to test you, and I'm going to refine you. I'm going to work on those impurities that are there in your life through affliction. The nation of Judah would experience it through captivity, and God is dealing with our idolatrous hearts.

Through this captivity, through these 70 years, they're being captive in the nation of Babylon. He's dealing with their hearts. He's dealing with their ears for not listening to him. But he says, it's for my sake. There in verse 11, for my own sake, I will do it so that my name will not be profaned. Here's the thing. God had attached his name to this people. Remember at the beginning there in verse 1, who are called by the name of Israel.

They're called by the name of God. And because God had attached his name to them, he says, for my name's sake, I'm not going to cut you off. And for my name's sake, I'm going to refine you and test you in the furnace of affliction. Here's an incredible thing that we have, a privilege and honor that we have as Christians, being called by the name of Christ, being part of his body. We get these same promises. God will not.

He will not allow his name to be profaned. For his sake, he's going to work in your heart. And so if you, being a child of God, desire to rebel against him, if you desire to be obstinate and not hear what he's saying, if you desire and you choose to live your own life and do your own thing and really live by the name of Jacob, although you call yourself by the name of Israel, God says, for my own sake, I'm going to defer my anger.

I'm not going to completely get rid of you. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to test you in the furnace of affliction. God says, look, I chasten those that I love. You're my child. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to give up on you so easily just because you've decided to be, well, you've been a transgressor since you were in the womb. I knew that already. You're not surprising me by this wickedness that you're practicing and the things that you're doing.

I've not given up on you. I'm not finished with you. You might think that you're finished with me or you might think that I'm finished with you, but I'm not. For my name's sake, God says, because I've put my name in you, because I've put my spirit in you as a guarantee of that which is to come. For my sake, God says, I'm going to chasten you. And it's not going to be easy. It's going to be the furnace of affliction. But I love you too much to let you go.

And I've put my name in you and my name will not be profaned. God says there at the end, I will not give my glory to another. No one else is going to save you. No one else is going to redeem you. No one else is going to do this work in you. God says, I won't give my glory to another. No one else is going to have the glory and say, ha, ha, ha. I did it. I did what God could not do. You won't have the glory either. You can't say, I cleaned up my life when God couldn't. God's going to do it.

And if you choose to be obstinate, just like Judah, if you choose to rebel, you're choosing the hard path, but understand, you're not going to outdo God. You're not going to outwit God. You're not going to escape His plan. You have His name. You have His Spirit as a guarantee. He's not going to let you go. He will not cut you off. He will refine you. And whatever it takes, He will refine you in the furnace of affliction. God loves us.

Therefore, he chastens us. Hebrews chapter 12 talks about this.

Because He loves us, He disciplines us. That's why James tells us to count it joy when we go through various trials, those furnaces of affliction, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience. And patience, well, when it's complete, when the fullness of patience is there, then we become complete. Then we're made perfect. God perfects us. He purifies us. He cleanses us through the furnace of affliction.

Because he loves us, because you have his name. And he refuses to let you go. Verse 12. Again, he says, Verse 14. Verse 14.

Verse 16. Verse 16.

Here God continues on to share with them and he says, he calls out again as he did at the beginning to hear this. He says, listen to me, O Jacob and Israel, my call, those who are called by my name. You're my people. Listen to me. He's continually asking us and calling us as he was them to listen to him. Are you listening to the Lord? Has he spoken to you recently? Are you walking with him? Are you hearing what he is saying?

to the churches, to you personally and individually. He says, listen to me. Again, he's calling out to us that he would have right relationship with us, that we would be brought into this intimacy that he desires, that we could hear him and listen to him and walk with him. He says, look, I am he. I'm the first and I'm also the last. Again, another way that he points out that he alone is God.

Nothing was before him. Nothing will outlast him. He alone is the eternal God Almighty. He says, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth.

Another proof that he often uses to show that he alone is God. I'm the creator. No one else has created these things. No one else has created this earth. I lead the foundation. My right hand has stretched out the heavens. I am the creator of the universe. He says, when I call to them, they stand up together. God says, when I say jump, the earth says, how high?

The earth responds to my commands. I laid their foundations. I established them. I created them. The irony of all this is God created all these things, the universe and galaxies that we can't even imagine. And yet His own people, called by His own name, do not listen to Him. Do you see the tragedy in that? Here's God, the first and the last, the creator of all things, the sustainer of all things.

They respond to His commands. Yet His people, because He's given them a free will, they have the choice. And they use that opportunity. They use that freedom that God gave to choose not to hear. It's not that they could not hear. It's that they refused to hear. God is not in some secret dark corner somewhere.

Trying to elude us, playing hide-and-go-seek, hoping that we won't find him, hoping that we won't find out his will for our lives. He's crying out. He's eager to share and speak his heart in our lives. And he's the creator of the universe, and yet, he says in verse 14, all of you assemble yourselves and hear, listen,

I want you to hear these things. Verse 16, he says, come near to me. Hear this. Again, over and over, God is saying, would you listen? Would you please hear what I have to say? Would you hear what I want to share with you? He says, I've not spoken in secret from the beginning. I'm not trying to hide things.

This verse also could be speaking of the Messiah. As Jesus said the same thing, I've spoken nothing in secret. And he says, now the Lord God and his spirit have sent me. The spirit of God is upon him, he said, to proclaim good news. God has sent his son, Jesus Christ, for you and I, because he wants us to hear him. We're starting the book of Hebrews this coming Sunday, and there in the beginning part of Hebrews in chapter 1,

It tells us that God has spoken in times past in various ways through the prophets to the fathers, but has in these last days spoken to us through his son. If we want to hear God, if we want to listen to him, it will be through his son, Jesus Christ. God has provided for us his son, that we could hear him. He's chosen to bring his voice, to bring his will, to bring his word to

Through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It's through a relationship with Him and drawing close to Him and walking with Him that we can hear from God. Verse 17, Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord your God who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go. Verse 18, You can hear the heartbreak of God in this. Oh, that you had heeded my commandments.

Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Verse 19, your descendants also would have been like the sand and the offspring of your body like the grains of sand. His name would not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. God says, I am the Lord your Redeemer. I'm the one who saves you. I'm the one who teaches you to profit.

You want to profit? You want to do well in life? You want to be blessed? You want to experience the fullness of joy and all that God has in store? He's the one who does it. He's the one who teaches us those things. He's the one who leads us by the way that we should go. He's the one who shows us what's best for us in our lives. He's the one who gives to us the right things, the things that will bless us for eternity. And so he says, oh,

I wish, how I wish you would have heeded my commandments. I wish you would have heard what I was saying to you. I wish you would have listened to what I had spoken to you, what I had shared with you. Because if you had, then your peace would have been like a river. See, God wants what's best for us. He has plans of hope and for peace for us.

Not to destroy us, not to ruin us, not to make us miserable. What God has in store for us cannot be beaten by anything that we can think of or anything this world can offer. God says, you would only listen to, you would have had peace like a river, not just a little bit of peace or a piece of peace here and there, you know, a little bit here, a little bit there, but peace like a river.

All around you, flowing, just constantly going through. Man, just constant peace. Does that describe your life right now? Maybe you need to take heed to God's commandments. He says your righteousness would be like the waves of the sea. The waves just constantly, constantly coming, coming, coming, coming. Your righteousness, it would be non-stop.

You'd be walking with God and right standing with God. Your descendants would have been like the sand. Now as Isaiah is writing these things to the nation of Judah, there's hardly anybody left. At one time they had populated the whole land of Israel. There was, well we go back to Egypt, there was we estimate like 6 million or so that came out. They go into the promised land. I mean there's an abundance of them but well there's very few of them left now. In fact,

Assyria has conquered all the fortified cities. Really, the only people left in the nation of Judah are in the city of Jerusalem. There's one city left of all the land of Israel. He says, if you had listened, your descendants would have been like the sand, like the grains. There would have been a multitude of you. But because you did not listen, because you didn't heed, there's only a remnant left. There's only a few left. Where would you be?

Right now, if you had been obedient to God. Where would you be right now if you had walked in relationship with Him? It's kind of heartbreaking to consider, I know. Not to make us feel condemned and give up, but God calls them to consider, oh man, if only you had listened. If only you'd paid attention when I said those things, because what I mean for you is what's good, right?

The plans that I have for you are to prosper you. I'm the God who leads you to profit and shows you the way that you should go. Where would you be now?

If instead of backsliding and walking away and trying to do your own thing and kind of playing with Christianity for a while and pretending Christianity for a while and sometimes walking and having the mountaintop experiences that he speaks to you and, whoo, God's good, but then having those valleys where, ah, I just kind of do my own thing and walk in my own ways. Where would you be right now if you didn't live your life that way but instead that you walked with God?

and really had a relationship with God, and lived with Him, and communication with Him, where would you be right now? God says, oh, that you would have listened. And we can feel bummed out and want to give up, but that's not the point. Here's the point. It's not too late. You're here. You're breathing. You have the opportunity. It's not too late. And so He says in verse 20, go forth from Babylon.

He says, look, if only you'd listen, if only you'd heard, man, things would have been so much better. But it's not too late. Go forth from Babylon. Get out of there. The time is now.

The time is now to go out of captivity, to get out of those things that bind you, to get out of those that hold you captive. God says, I still have time to set you free. I still have time to bring you back into the land and restore you and profit you and lead you and guide you and give you peace that passes all understanding and joy and abundance. There's still time. There's still the opportunity. I haven't given up on you. I haven't cut you off. You're called by my name.

Now listen to me. If you're not going to listen to me before all this takes place, well, now you've been tested. Now you've been through the affliction. You've been in captivity and all things would have been so different if you would have listened to me. But it's not too late. Now listen.

Go forth from Babylon, he says in verse 20. Flee from the Chaldeans with the voice of singing. Declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth. Say, the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. It's still time. You can still praise God and say, praise God, hallelujah. You can declare it to the ends of the earth. He has redeemed us.

He set us free. Verse 21, And they did not thirst when He led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them. He also split the rock and waters gushed out. This is the God who provides for us and meets our every need. And we don't have to thirst even in the midst of a wilderness. God provides. This is the God that has set me free. There's still time. There's still opportunity. You can still experience the peace like a river and the righteousness like waves of the sea.

abundance of joy, you can still experience the fullness of what God has for you. We can still get it if we'll listen, if we'll hear, if we'll be obedient. But if not, verse 22, there is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked. So the choice is ours. He has spoken. Will we hear? Will we listen and take heed? God asked the nation of Judah to listen, but they refused. And so he allowed them to go into captivity.

He allowed this great trial and affliction. This was not, there was no, you know, Geneva Conventions and rules of war and the way that you're supposed to, you know, treat prisoners of war and things like that. There was none of that. There was great brutality. Two weeks ago, as we looked at chapter 47, God is rebuking Babylon because when they did come and conquer Judah, they had no mercy. This was a, well, this was a very, very difficult time.

A hideous affliction that God allowed it to refine them. He allowed captivity to be the furnace of affliction that later on he could say, come forth out of Babylon. Here now God sets them free. It's still yet future at this point, but here he's saying at the end of the captivity, at the end of the time, now go back. You've run from me. You've been taken captive. You've wound up in this far land, in this distant country. Go back. Go back.

to where I first called you. Go back to right relationship with God. Go back to the cross. It's like he told the church in Revelation, remember from where you've fallen. Go back and do the things that you did at first. Get right with God. He says, go forth from Babylon. I'll take care of you. I'll provide for you. I'll meet your needs. I'll give you peace like a river. But there is no peace for the wicked. At the end of the Babylonian captivity, when Cyrus makes the proclamation,

Whoever wants to go can go back to Judah. God's told me to rebuild the city, to rebuild the temple. All of you, God's people, go back. You're free to go back and return there. But only a small percentage returned. Still, even through the fire of affliction, many of God's people refused to listen, refused to return. Most of them stayed in Babylon. And that's the choice that you and I have.

They probably thought, man, we're so settled here. You know, we've been established and we got our homes and everything's set. You know, we got the kids in the schools that we wanted and our mortgage is going to be paid off in just a couple of years. And I'm just about to get the car that I want. And man, at my job, things are going really, they probably thought, man, things are so set. We're going to have so much more peace if we stay in Babylon.

You know, to move and to go to... Man, it's in turmoil and there's nothing there. I mean, we're going to start from scratch. We're not going to have peace there. God says, listen to me. Heed my commandments. I'll give you peace like a river. And there is no peace for the wicked. If you don't listen to me, if you're disobedient, if you rebel against me, you're never going to have peace. As much as you try to find it, as much as you try to grasp hold of it, it's always going to elude you. You'll never have it. But if you'll listen to me, if you'll return...

Through the wilderness. Through the desert. Yes, in the midst of great threats. But if you'll return, if you'll listen to me, because I'm telling you, you'll have peace like a river and righteousness like the waves of the sea. God extends his voice to us this evening. He extends his words to our ears that we would hear, that we would obey.

And if we do, there'll be cause for great rejoicing. We'll be able to declare and proclaim to the ends of the earth, the Lord has redeemed his servant. God is so good. We'll be able to have peace. Or the choice is ours. We can choose not to hear. We can choose not to walk in relationship with God. We can choose not to obey him. But be warned if you choose that. Because God says there is no peace for the wicked.

If you want to choose the hard way, if you want to choose the captivity, if you want to choose wickedness, understand there's no peace. No peace if you do not walk with God. He is, Jesus Christ is, the Prince of Peace. If you want peace, hear His voice. Listen to Him and be obedient to what He has said. Amen.

So let's take some time to do that. The worship team is going to come up right now. I want to encourage you and exhort you to listen to the Lord. Present yourself to Him. Allow Him to speak to you. Allow these things that He's already said this evening to penetrate your heart and see if He would have you to respond. And take this time to get right with Him. Take this time to meet with Him. Take this time even to stop singing and just listen. What does God want to speak to you this evening? Let's take some time this evening.

to listen to the Lord. And so this evening, instead of ministering to one another and sharing with one another, they're going to lead us in worship. And let's just listen. Let's just hear what God is saying to us, that we would be able to respond, that we'd be able to walk in the way that He would lead us, that we could experience the fullness of His plans and purposes for our lives. So let's worship the Lord together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.