Okay, we are continuing the book of Isaiah. We're up to Isaiah 45. Now, I've been showing
you how these chapters, these numbers of chapters correspond with the numbers, or the numbers
of the book of the Bible, books of the Bible by the same corresponding numbers. I always
mess it up and I explain that. But if we're in Isaiah 45, what is the 45th book of the
Bible? Does anyone know? Romans. Almost. Very close. Romans. Alright. Now, when you look
at Isaiah 45, look at verse number 23, I have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of
my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear. Now, that verse actually gets repeated for us in the New Testament. Does
anyone know which book of the Bible that one gets repeated in? There is Philippians. Okay.
Very close. Every knee shall bow. But in the New Testament, we've got that every knee
shall bow and every tongue shall confess. Where is that? Which book of the Bible is
that in? I'm trying to make it really easy. No trick questions here. What is the 45th
book of the Bible? Alright, Romans. Alright, so what I want you to do is keep your finger
there and turn to Romans, and we're going to have a look at this very shortly, okay?
But just turn to Romans, keep your finger there, and then come back with me to Isaiah.
I just want you to have it open because, again, this is where you got one specific
chapter, Isaiah 45, and if you know the book of Romans pretty well, I couldn't even cover
all of the similarities, all the themes that you're going to see that are very similar
in the book of Romans. I'm going to show you some of those connections very shortly. But
the title for the sermon tonight is Every Knee Shall Bow. Every Knee Shall Bow. Now,
before we get into Isaiah 45, I just want us to look at Isaiah 44 very quickly. Just
the last verse there in verse number 28. It says, That saith of Cyrus, that's been King
Cyrus, he is my shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem
thou shalt be built and to thy temple thy foundation shall be laid. So we had a look
at this when we studied through Isaiah 44 that King Cyrus is mentioned, you know, 157,
I don't know, 170 years before it existed, this prophecy of Cyrus that he would allow
the Jews to return back into Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, and this was prophesied
long time ago there in the book of Isaiah. Now, the reason we read that is because when
you look at Isaiah 45, verse number 1, the same thought continues. It says in verse number
1, Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue
nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved
gates, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee and make the crooked places
straight. I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron.
So King Cyrus was a king of Persia, alright? A king of Persia. Now, at the time of Isaiah,
he's been warning the Jews of the coming captivity of Babylon, alright? And of course Babylon
was that great nation, King Nebuchadnezzar would be the king that would take over, you
know, the kingdoms and be responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem, and I believe
I proved this to this church, I believe I did, that King Nebuchadnezzar actually got
saved. Believe it or not, he actually got saved. What about King Cyrus? Well, later
on, after King Nebuchadnezzar, his grandson, Belshazzar, would be the final king of Babylon,
then the Persian, the Medo-Persian Empire would come and take over all of those lands
of Babylon, and that king would be King Darius, and then after King Darius, you would have
another king, then you get to King Cyrus, and here we have King Cyrus being mentioned
as the king that would allow the Jews to go back and rebuild the temple. King Cyrus is
also known for being the king that indirectly wrote into the law that all peoples of the
land are to pray to him, which caused Daniel to be thrown into the lion's den. So, I just
want to build a few connections there, we're going to have a look at some of these stories
in a moment, but notice that it's God that's given Cyrus the ability and the power to subdue
nations under him. God is, like, this is written from God to Cyrus, like, Isaiah 45 is God
speaking to Cyrus, in verse number one, thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus.
Like God is specifically speaking to this king. I believe that Cyrus would have read
these scriptures. You know, to have, like, a great man like Daniel in the kingdom as
an advisor to King Cyrus, I'm pretty confident that Daniel would have been someone that said,
hey, look, Cyrus, God's got a letter to you right here, right, you know, Isaiah 45, he's
got some writings to you. And I believe the historian, I don't know, it's hard to believe
historians, but I believe Josephus, he's a well known historian, documented that King
Cyrus was aware of these scriptures that were written about him. Okay. And so I also believe
that Cyrus, and I can't prove this conclusively, but I do believe Cyrus got saved as well.
And I'll show you in a minute why that is. All right. But again, have a look at verse
number one, I just want to show you something here. It says, thus saith the Lord to his
anointed Cyrus, whose right hand hath beholden to subdue nations before him, and I will loose
the loins of kings. What does that mean? To loose the loins of kings? You know, this actually
means to bring fear to kings, to loosen the loins of kings. And this actually gets repeated
for us in the book of Daniel. So if you can come with me to the book of Daniel, I just
want to show you here, when Babylon was in power, remember Nebuchadnezzar was the king
that would take over Judah, and then his grandson, Belshazzar, would blaspheme the
Lord. He would take these, he would have a great party, remember that great party? He
would take the instruments of gold and silver that were from the temple, from the house
of the Lord, and he would use these instruments during his drunken party, and that very same
night would be the end of his kingdom. Now in Daniel chapter five, Daniel chapter five
and verse number one, Daniel chapter five and verse number one it says, Belshazzar the
king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand.
So just showing you it's Belshazzar the king there, he has this drunken party, it's blaspheme
in the Lord, and then we get to verse number five, drop down to verse number five. In the
same hour came four fingers of a man's hand, remember this miracle? And wrote over against
a candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the
part of the hand that wrote. So a miracle takes place, a hand shows up, maybe the hand
of God, or the hand of an angel, and he begins to write on the wall these things. And then
look at verse number six, then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts
troubled him, look at this, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote
one against another. So that statement, the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees
smiting against another, talks about his fears. He's seen this miracle, what is going on?
What is his hand? And he brings great fear, and of course that would be the final night
of his kingdom, and then King Darius would come and take over, the Medo-Persian empire
would come and take over that land. Alright, so, again prophesied about the loins of the
king's being loosed there, prophesied in Isaiah 45. Now keep a finger there in Daniel,
we will come back to Daniel, come back with me to Isaiah 45 and verse number three, Isaiah
45 and verse number three, again God's speaking to Cyrus, he says, and I will give thee the
treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that
I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. So God's given Cyrus
all the treasures of the lands he's taken care of, and he says, I'm doing this so you
know who I am, so that you know that I am the God of Israel. Verse number four, for
Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name. I have
surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. So at this point, Cyrus, you don't know
me, you're not a believer, but I want you to know me, this is why I'm writing this chapter
to you. He says in verse number five, I am the Lord, right? He's telling Cyrus, I am
the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me, I go to thee, though thou
hast not known me. All right, so God says, look, I'm the one that strengthen you, I've
go to you, I've given you a power, I've given you a king, even though you don't know me,
I am the one that has done this, right? And this is why, verse number six, that they may
know from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none beside me, I
am the Lord, and there is none else. So God's revealing himself to King Cyrus. I want you
to know that I'm the only God, there is no other God, and the reason I'm revealing myself
to you, King Cyrus, is that all may know from the rising of the sun, that's the east, and
from the west, because I want the whole world to know that I am the Lord. And God would
use King Cyrus to make all the world know who the real Lord God is. And so let's go
to Daniel chapter six, where we see this happen. In Daniel chapter six, and verse number 25,
Daniel chapter six, and this is the story of Daniel and the lion's den, we're not going
to go through the story, it's a very famous story, you should know it, but King Darius
indirectly, by mistake, signs into law that nobody's allowed to pray to any God, but only
to him, right? This was by the advice of his counsellors, and they wanted, these counsellors
wanted to destroy Daniel, because they knew that Daniel would never pray to a king, that
Daniel would only pray to the Lord God, and so Daniel opens the windows, he just prays
to Jerusalem, very publicly, they arrest him, they throw him into the lion's den, and not
even the king can take back the command that he put into writing. Anyway, King Darius,
he loves Daniel, he loves, you know, a great man of God like Daniel, and he then checks
up on Daniel, finds that Daniel is still alive, Daniel confesses, and you know, says that
God is the one that held back the mouths of the lions, he's been delivered by the Lord
God, and look how King Darius responds here, in Daniel chapter six, and verse number 25.
Then King Darius wrote unto all people, then King Darius, now I know this is not Cyrus,
but Cyrus not only represents himself, but he represents obviously the kingdom of the
Medo-Persian empire, and in Daniel 6.25, then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations
and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. So he starts
writing to everybody, every tongue, every nation, he begins by peace, like he's bringing
peace to these nations. And then verse number 26, I make a decree that in every dominion
of my kingdom, men tremble and fear for the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, and
steadfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall
be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescuer, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven
and in earth, who have delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered
in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus, the Persian, okay. So I just want to
show you that there, Daniel's there, you know, I mean, he saw multiple kings rise and fall,
he's always been this prominent man in these kingdoms of Babylon and the Medo-Persian empire.
And so as God is prophesying of Cyrus, obviously there in Isaiah 45, sorry that got Darius
and Cyrus confused, but essentially when God many times speaks of a king, he not only
speaks of that king, but he speaks of the kingdom of that king. And so God is using
these events to reveal himself who he is, that this empire or this kingdom would proclaim
the true God of the Bible. Now come back with me to Isaiah 45 please, Isaiah 45. So I mean,
it's amazing, like, to think that, like, like, let's say, whoever gets, or it's President
Biden again, I guess, currently President Biden of the United States, that he would
write to all nations, says, look, I'm just, I'm sending you peace. And the only true God
of the Bible is the God of Daniel, okay. It's the God of Israel, it's the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, you know, it's Jesus Christ, his son, could you imagine like President
Biden doing something like that, and writing to all nations of the earth in every language.
So that would be amazing if something like that could happen. It would be amazing. It's
just amazing that it took place in the times here of the Old Testament. So God revealed
himself to these powerful nations, and he gave him the ability to take, you know, the
wicked Jews at the time, you know, into captivity for the purpose that his name would be known
throughout the whole world. Isaiah 45 and verse number seven. He says, I form the light
and create darkness. Actually, before I read that, I want to go back to verse number six
very quickly, because I want to start building your thoughts here, because verse number seven
gets corrupted a lot by Calvinists, you know, those that believe in Reformed theology, it's
those that believe that Jesus, God chooses who gets saved and who gets damned, okay.
Before we read verse number seven, let's read verse number six again. That they may know
from the rising of the sun, so that's east, and from the west. I just want to show you
that God starts to use opposites here, okay. So it's from the rising of the sun, and then
from the, you know, the sun setting, east and west, that there is none beside me. I'm
the Lord and there is none else. So it's kind of like the opposite. I'm the Lord, there's
none else, okay. Like God starts using these opposite terms. And then we get to verse number
seven. I form the light and create darkness. So what's the opposite of light? Darkness,
okay. As we keep going, I want to show you why. He says, I make peace and create evil.
I, the Lord, do all these things. Now, verse number seven, people say, well, God, it says
here that God creates darkness, and he creates evil. And again, I'm not going to say, I'm
not going to paint all Calvinists with a broad brush, but I'm going to say at least
the Calvinists, the reformed theologists, or theologies, whatever you call them, right,
that believe these things. The ones that I've discussed, I've spoken to in person, I've
corresponded by text messages or emails or whatever it is, people that I know personally,
have taken this verse, number seven, to show me that God creates sin. Have you guys ever
come across that? Even though it says, I form the light and create darkness. And though
he creates darkness, doesn't God say there is no darkness in him, like in 1 John, that
he is light and in him there is no darkness at all? Obviously referring to sin. So when
you say he creates evil, and look, I remember like someone showing me this, like someone
that I actually care about, like a friend, okay. I still believe he's a friend today.
And it's like, well, the reason, see, God chooses some to get saved and some to be damned.
You see, God actually allows these people to be in, to create, to do evil, or to be
in sin. And because they're in sin, you know, they're going to be damned by God and thrown
into hellfire, which I kind of agree, of course, we're all sinners, and we all deserve to suffer
in hell. But as he's explained to me, I had to ask him a question like, I don't understand
what you're saying to me, brother. I assume he was my brother. I don't know, maybe he
was. Are you saying that God has predestined or created, like, all the sins I've committed,
they were planned by God for me to commit? Like, are you saying that every sin that's
committed by man, God wanted men to commit those sins? And he kind of like sheeples,
he goes, Yeah, that's true. That's what I believe. Like, you're crazy. What? Look at
Isaiah 45, verse number seven, I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things.
Now very quickly. The reason I wanted to give you the lead up from verse number six, is
to show you the opposites. Okay, from the horizon of the sun from the east to the west,
I am the Lord, there is none else. I from the light create darkness, opposites. If it
says I make peace and create evil, I the Lord do all these things, what is the opposite
of peace? Yeah, war is what it is. Okay. And so, especially if you take the context
of what we just read, where God is speaking to Cyrus, he said, I'm gonna make all nations
subdued under you. How do you think that happens? War, okay. It requires, you know, one nation
to go to war against another nation, to take their resources to take their people to put
people into captivity, and all of that. And so all God is saying, like, if you just took
it at face value, what God is saying is, yeah, there are times that I bring peace on the
earth, and there are times that I allow war to take place. And in the context of King
Cyrus, he's given them this power, he's given them power over many nations. So as King Cyrus
goes and conquers other lands, God's given him that ability to create warfare. And of
course, that is evil, because in the Bible, evil is primarily associated with the word
harm, something that is harmful. Okay. It doesn't mean it's sinful. Like, for example,
you know, if Australia, we got our, we got our defense force, right? If we had an opposing
nation that's trying to come in, and wipe us all out, our defense force, you know, we've
got our our aircrafts, and we've got our ships, and we've got our soldiers, you know, defending
our borders, and they kill other soldiers? Have they created harm? Yeah, is it evil?
Yeah, it's damaging, it's warfare, but it's not sinful to take care of your, you know,
of your own land, or it's not sinful to, you know, to defend yourself, self defense, that's
not a sinful thing to do. But you know, all sin is evil, because all sin is harmful, but
not all harmful things are sins. You know, the example, the great example that we can
use is, you know, if someone commits murder, that's sin, and that's harmful, but that murderer,
according to the righteous law of God, when they're found to be guilty, ought to be put
to death, right? And so you put that person to death, you know, by the government's power,
is that sin? No, it's justice. But we're still causing evil, because we're putting a man
to death, but that evil would not be sinful, but it's still harmful. Obviously, it destroys
a life. And so, when it says here that God creates evil, again, just keep it within the
context, is God allowed King Cyrus to use evil or warfare to conquer these lands and
these nations. Let's continue there, verse number eight.
You have created it. So what is God offering King Cyrus here? Salvation. He says, look,
drop down your heavens from above, let the skies pull down your ashes, let the earth
draw open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness bring up together. I,
the Lord, have created. You'll soon see the parallels here with the book of Romans. So
if you can, please come with me to Romans chapter one. And I can't believe just how
similar the teaching here is. So it says that he's bringing forth salvation, and let
righteousness bring up together. And then we have a look at Romans one, and you guys
know these verses very well. Romans 1 16, Romans 1 16. Romans 1 16 says, For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
So notice that the salvation that is being offered to everyone that believes is the righteousness
of God, which is exactly what we're talking about there, that the heavens being opened,
bringing forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created
it. Now keep your finger there in Romans. Come back with me to Isaiah 45. I want to
show you something else. Isaiah 45 and verse number nine. Because how does Romans one continue?
It mentions about the power of the gospel, our salvation, but then he goes on to people
that reject the Lord, doesn't it? And when you look at Isaiah 45, verse number nine,
look at it says here. Woe, verse number nine, woe unto him that striveth with his maker.
Let the potsherd drive, sorry, strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay
say to him that fashioned it? What makest thou, or thy work? He hath no hands. Alright,
so God is saying a potsherd is a piece of clay. It's a piece of pottery, okay? He says
let the potsherd strive or fight, because he creates evil, alright, there's warfare,
let them strive with the potsherds of the earth. Okay, so it's nation against nation,
and kingdoms, armies versus armies. Alright, he says, alright, just let the earth fight
amongst themselves. But then he says, shall the clay, the same people that are making
these wars on the earth, say to him who fashioned it, which is God, what makest thou? You know,
to thy work he hath no hands. Like he says, look, you can't, you can strive with man,
but who's going to strive with the maker? Who's going to strive with God? That's the
question that's been brought forth here. Verse number 10. Woe unto him that saith unto his
father, what begatest thou? Or to the woman, what hast thou brought forth? So woe unto
him that goes to their parents and complains about being born, okay? And I kind of find
verse number 10 kind of funny, I don't know if my mum remembers or not. But I remember,
you know when you're a teenager, you say stupid things. I remember when I was a teenager,
I said something to, I can't remember the context of it exactly, but I was kind of frustrated,
angry or whatever, right? And I was like to my mum, I said something like, yeah, but
I never asked to be born. I don't know if you remember that mum. And my mum said, yeah,
I didn't get asked to be born either. It's like, oh, yeah. Who asked to be born? Nobody.
But we're born, we're here on the earth, and obviously we get married and the kids come
and generations come. But it's kind of like foolish, like God's saying like it's foolish
to complain to your parents about being brought forth. And it's kind of like he's saying the
same thing. It's like, it's foolish to be angry at God. He's your maker. He's your creator.
Verse number 11. Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and his maker, ask me of
things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. I have
made the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens
and all their hosts have I commanded. So God says, not only have I created all man, I've
created the earth, I've created the heavens, the planets, the stars, I've created it all.
He says, what is man to strive against his maker? And so God is revealing himself to
be the creator of all things. And obviously, as human beings, when we actually acknowledge
there's a creator, what should we do? Should we strive with our maker? Should we fight
with God? Of course not. It's foolishness. We should have obviously humbled ourselves
before a mighty God. But yet, that's how Romans continues. If you come back with me to Romans
1, we saw that we should not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God
unto salvation. And then we continue in Romans 1, verse number 20. Romans 1, 20, for the
invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without
excuse. God says nobody has any excuse to not believe in him. We can look at creation,
we can look at our heavens, we can look at the sun, the moon, the stars, we can look
at life. The laboratories still can't create life from scratch. They say it's possible.
They say life came from non-life. They say organic matter came from rocks, but they can't
prove it. They've never proven it. But people believe it, don't they? What do people believe
in evolution? Why do they believe in the Big Bang? Because they hate the Creator. They
hate their Maker. It's not that, ah, I just don't believe there is no God. It's like,
yeah, I'm without excuse, there is a God, but I don't like him. And that's what we see
in Isaiah 45, people striving against their Maker. Like, God's making it very clear that
he is the Creator of all things. Look at verse 25. He says, God is the Creator of all things.
Romans 1.21, Romans 1.21, because that when they knew God, see, there is no such thing
as atheists. They knew God. They glorified him not as God. Neither were thankful, but
became vain in their imaginations. And their foolish heart was darkened. So you guys are
wise. You, at some point, realize as a God and say, oh, thank you, God. Thank you, God,
for creating me. Now, can you reveal yourself to me? I want to know who you are. I want
to know how to be made right with you. You know, whatever was driving, you know, whatever
was driven in your heart to seek the Lord, the Lord says if you seek him, you'll find
him. But there are those that do not want to glorify God. They weren't thankful. It
became vain in their imaginations, vain empty. Empty thoughts, empty stupid, well, maybe
it was a big bang. Maybe everything came from nothing. Everything, all the matter of the
universe, boiled down to a tiny spot, even smaller than a full stop on your page. And
that somehow exploded. And then life came forth. It rained on the rocks. And out came
the jellyfish. Oh, no, the single cell organism. And then from that, the jellyfish. And then
the jellyfish came on the land and became a frog. I mean, it's not quite, but it's just
as stupid. What people teach, how a frog became a, I don't know, a rat, and the rat
became a dog, and the dog started to climb a tree, became a monkey, and the monkey shaved,
and here we are, brethren, here we are. It's pretty much what they believe. I know I'm
not doing the right family tree here, but, you know, it's pretty much the same thing.
Vain imaginations. Anything but God, anything but a maker, anything but a creator. And it
says, and their foolish heart was darkened. Verse number 22, professing themselves to
be wise. Isn't that what they call themselves? Professing, professers. To be wise, they became
fools. And, of course, this continues down the downward trajectory of the reprobate.
But I won't go into all that topic right now. But I just want to show you that we see that
God is, the themes are there. The themes found in Isaiah 45 are the same themes that
we see in Romans, especially Romans chapter 1 there. I'm going to show you some other
passages in the book of Romans, so don't turn away from there. But come back with me to
Isaiah 45, Isaiah 45. And so, you know, God is challenging Cyrus to recognize the maker,
recognize the creator. Cyrus did not know him, but God's revealing himself to Cyrus,
showing him that I'm the one that's giving you these powers. You know, I'm the creator,
I'm the maker. And then verse number 13, I have raised him up in righteousness. I believe,
again, God, again, speaking of Cyrus. I have raised Cyrus up in righteousness. And I will
direct all his ways. He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives. Not for price
nor reward, sayeth the Lord of hosts. So again, the one who allowed the Jews to go back into
the land was King Cyrus, okay? And he lets the captives go, because remember the Jews
were captive for 70 years in Babylon, or, you know, under the Persian Empire at that
point in time. And then they would be let go by Cyrus. And he allows them to go and
rebuild. And I love what God says in verse 13, not for price nor reward. Like, Cyrus
gets no benefit from it. He's the one that gives the resources. He's the one that makes
sure they have the materials, they have the money, they have the law on their side to
go back and rebuild. Cyrus gets nothing out of this transaction of allowing them to go
back and rebuild. So this is something the Lord has put in his heart. Verse number 14.
Now this is really interesting. Thus saith the Lord, the labour of Egypt, and merchandise
of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans. The Sabeans there are Sheba, okay? Remember the Queen
of Sheba? That's where it's from. I looked this up. Apparently it's, people don't really
know where Sheba may have really been, but it's kind of accepted that it's probably
modern day Yemen, okay? It's probably that's where Sheba was. But God is essentially
saying, look, you're going to let my people go. You're going to let the captives go.
But he's going to allow the labour of Egypt, he's going to allow other people of other
lands to come make sure that the Medo-Persian Empire continues to be successful. And it
says, sorry, of the Sabeans, men of stature shall come over unto thee, and they shall
be thine, they shall come after thee. In chains they shall come over, and look at this, and
they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, look
surely God is in thee, and there is none else, there is no God, okay? So you have these
people coming from Egypt and Ethiopia and from Sheba, so as Cyrus lets the Jews go to
rebuild, God's going to replenish his kingdom with the workers and the labourers, and they're
going to say about him that God is in you, which is an interesting thought. Now, either
this means Cyrus gets saved because God is in him, like, you know, great is he that is
in you than he that is in the world kind of idea, or they're saying this because then
it says, and there is none else, there is no God, either they're saying that Cyrus,
you are God, but I find that hard to believe based on how Cyrus actually responds to the
God of Israel, it seems to me that they're saying, look, the God that is in you, the
God that you worship now is the only God and there is no other God besides that, that's
how I read it, though they could be worshipping Cyrus as God, I don't know, I guess you
could take it both ways, but again, based on how we see Cyrus honour the Lord God and
recognise that God has given him his power and his prestige, it seems to me, at least
with these passages, again, I can't be conclusive, but it seems to me that he has accepted the
God of Daniel as his God. Look at verse 15. Now, this is speaking to God here.
Now, again, we need to just take this verse in context of what we're reading here. When
it says God is hiding himself, it's not like he's not trying to reveal himself.
Everything we've seen so far, he's revealing himself to Cyrus. He wants everyone from east
to west to know about who this God, the creator of all things is, but as we continue, it talks
about idols. So, man wants a God that they can see, that's why they make idols. They
want to be able to see with these eyes, but we know that what pleases God is our faith,
not our eyes. We've got to walk by faith. And so, I've not, you know, yeah, with these
eyes, I've never seen God. With these hands, I've never touched God. But, spiritually,
I've seen God. I know who God is. I read his word and I have a picture of who God is, my
Heavenly Father, my loving Father who sent his son to die for me. I've never touched,
my hands have never touched Christ, but spiritually I have touched Christ. You know, he has worked
in me. I have the Holy Spirit living within me. My body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
and I believe in Christ Jesus. I know he died for me and somehow, somewhere in the realm
of faith, I've seen Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. You know what I mean?
Not with these eyes. Not with these eyes. I can't say this has ever happened with
these eyes and with these hands. And so, in that type of understanding, yeah, God hides
himself. Sometimes people say, if you knock on someone's door, I'll believe in God if
he just appears before me. Well, that person's looking for an idol. He's looking for an object.
He's looking for something to look at and worship. And so, as we continue, you'll
notice that verse 15 is followed up with verse 16, which says,
So there it is. The reason God hides himself is the comparison being idols that people
can see. No, we've not seen God with these eyes. We believe he exists by faith.
And then verse 17,
Verse 17 is so powerful.
This is really interesting because there are those that teach dispensationalism.
Most independent Baptist churches hold to a dispensational interpretation of the Bible,
which in many ways I do not care too much about. But there are those that go very extreme
with dispensationalism. And they'll say, well, in this dispensational, in this age
of the Old Testament, God had a different way of salvation. Right? They'll say that
it was by works. You had to go and offer those sacrifices, which is ridiculous because
Daniel could not offer any sacrifices. The temple was destroyed. It was destroyed by fire.
He was in captivity. Like, think about those that were in captivity for 70 years in Babylon.
They couldn't go to the house of God. They couldn't go to the temple. They couldn't offer their sacrifices.
So if that's how you get saved, none of those got saved. But yet we have men like Daniel and his
three friends that would definitely believe us. Right? But notice that the salvation
that was offered in the Old Testament days is what? An everlasting salvation.
So how can we say that the salvation offered in the Old Testament
is different to the salvation offered in the New Testament? Otherwise, if it's different,
it's not an everlasting salvation. Right? It's the same gospel. It's the same
salvation offered in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament.
Now what's really interesting about this, it says you shall not be ashamed. So those that worship idols,
they shall be ashamed. But those that are saved in the Lord with the everlasting
salvation, it says you shall not be ashamed, nor confounded, world without end.
World without end. Again, it's forever. The same salvation is the same. As long as the world
exists, the same salvation will exist without end. Okay?
Now, you've got a finger in Romans. Come with me to Romans 10. You probably know this passage.
Romans 10 and verse 11. Romans 10 and verse 11.
Romans 10. Romans 10, verse 11.
The Bible reads, For the scripture saith,
Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
So what is this everlasting salvation? How do we receive it?
By believing on him. By believing on Jesus Christ. And the moment you believe on Christ,
you will not be ashamed. It's an everlasting salvation. It can never end.
World without end. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, this same
salvation that has been offered to Cyrus and all the nations of the earth is the same
salvation offered for us here in the New Testament.
Come back with me. I think I've got another reference in Romans. I've got three more
references in Romans, so keep a finger in Romans. And come back with me to Isaiah 45
and verse number 18.
So before I continue, you know, I believe this is where God's offering Cyrus
salvation. You can choose the idols. The idols of your lands.
You know, all the idols you've worshipped in the past. Or you can have the God,
which, you know, the everlasting salvation where you will not be ashamed.
And because, you know, this chapter truly is God revealing himself to Cyrus.
Verse number 18. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens,
God himself that formed the earth and made it, and have established it.
He created it not in vain. He formed it to be inhabited.
I am the Lord and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret.
In a dark place of the earth, I said not unto the seed of Jacob,
seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.
Assemble yourselves and come. Draw an ear together,
ye that are escaped of the nations. I want you to notice that.
God is speaking to the nations. They have no knowledge that set up the wood
of their graven image and pray unto a God that cannot save.
So he's telling the people of the nations, look,
these gods, these graven images, all right, they cannot save.
You know, you can't pray to these idols, these false gods.
They can't answer prayers. They can't save you.
But obviously the God that doesn't hide himself, he reveals himself, all right,
especially he reveals himself through the scriptures, is the God that saves.
Now, this reminds me of Romans 11. If you can come with me to Romans 11,
verse number four, Romans 11, verse number four.
Romans 11 and verse number four.
But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men
who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Even so, then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
And so obviously the image of Baal is an idol, right?
And this is a time when, you know, it appeared that there were no believers on the earth.
There was no one that worshipped the true God of the Bible.
And it seemed very dim, and yet God demonstrates there are believers.
There are at least seven thousand men that have not bowed the knee to Baal.
And, you know, I kind of think about ourselves here in 2024.
And, you know, blessed are Baptist Church.
Obviously we have more attendance on a Sunday.
But we're not a very big church, and New Life Baptist Church is not a very big church.
And when we combine all the great churches that are truly in Christ Jesus by number,
and then you compare the population of Australia, we are but few.
We are but few.
And sometimes it feels like we're the only ones.
And everyone's worshipping a false god and idols.
And yet somewhere out there, brethren, we have other brothers and sisters in the Lord.
They have not bowed the knee to Baal.
They worship the one true God.
They need to get themselves into church, though.
They need to get themselves, hey, if they're in Sydney, they need to get themselves here at Blessed are Baptist Church.
But we're just reminded that, you know, again, this has been a theme throughout all these chapters,
that it's either idols or it's God.
It's like, you've got to decide. It's God or it's the big bang.
Even that's a idol, right?
I mean, even these things are...
There is no God beside the God that saves us.
And the God of Daniel and the God of Isaiah and the God of Paul.
You know, that's the same God that we worship and we love.
And I'm just thankful that we don't have to set up some image and some picture and see him.
And yet we all know him by faith.
You know, thank God that we have not bowed our knee to Baal.
But come back to me to Isaiah 45.
You know, the title of the sermon was, Every Knee Shall Bow.
And that's not to Baal.
We know that's a reference to God.
So even those that have bowed their knee to Baal, even those that have bowed their knees to fall to God,
one day, every single person is going to bow to Jesus Christ.
And I want to bow in righteousness.
I want to bow to him in Christ Jesus.
I want to bow to him in sin and rebellion and worshiping, following a false religion, having my faith in my works.
Could you imagine coming to God in your filthy rags and having to bow yourself?
Or just bow yourself as a child of God?
And you bow yourself and just humble yourself, that's my Saviour, that's my Christ.
We've got no problems worshiping and praising the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know, it's such an honour to be able to bow our knees to Christ and praise him.
But think about an unsaved, filthy sinner having to be forcibly bow themselves before Christ
and acknowledge that they're damned to hell because they never accepted the Son as their Saviour.
But we'll come to that in a moment.
Verse number 21.
I love how often God speaks about salvation in this chapter.
He's our judge, he's a just God.
He's just, he's got to judge us.
But then he saves us.
You know, it's just amazing, like, he judges us, you're a sinner, worthy of help.
Think about I'm going to save you.
I'm going to be your Saviour, I'm going to die for your sins.
How can we reject this beautiful God that we love and worship?
What a great God that we have.
Look at verse number 22.
Look unto me, and be ye saved.
Who, the Jews?
All the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.
This is like Cyrus, like God's on Cyrus, I want you to know this.
Look unto me and be ye saved.
And tell all the earth, tell everybody, this is the way, right?
Isn't that salvation? Isn't that how it is to look unto me?
That's all it is.
It's faith on the Lord. Faith on Christ Jesus.
Just look at him.
Yes, I accept you.
I accept what you've done for me.
I accept that you're my Saviour.
I accept that you died for my sins.
I accept that I can't save myself.
I accept that I'm on my way to hell and I need a Saviour.
You look to God, you put your faith on him, and he saves.
All the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.
Verse number 23, I have sworn by myself.
That means, do you know what that means?
It's like when we swear, we say, I swear, we shouldn't swear.
We shouldn't make vowels like that.
But how do we say it?
I'm just thinking about, I haven't said those words in so long,
but when I was a kid you used to say,
I'm not lying, cross my heart, hope to die, or something like that.
I swear on my mother's grave, or something like that, right?
You know, when you're invoking something greater,
that what you're about to speak is truth.
And yet there is nothing greater than God.
So he says, I've sworn by myself.
Like God is saying, I swear by God, by myself that this is true.
He says, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness,
and shall not return.
That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
So when he says there that out of his mouth,
the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return,
he says, look, I'm not going to take back these words.
These words aren't going to be taken back.
That people are going to bow, every knee is going to bow,
and every tongue is going to swear that he is the only God,
there is none other God.
Now you've got a finger there in Romans,
so come with me to Romans 14, because this is where it gets repeated.
Romans 14, verse 11.
Romans 14 and verse number 11.
Romans 14, verse number 11.
So you're right, brother, about Philippians, it does speak about this,
but Romans 14 is the much clearer connection.
It says in verse number 11, for it is written, that's in Isaiah 45,
as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.
So then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Everyone will give an account of himself to God.
Now, we're going to give an account for our sins?
Nope.
Because our sins have been judged and taken care of by Jesus Christ on the cross.
When we give an account to God, it's for our works.
There will be some gold and silver and precious stones,
there will be some wood, hay and stubble,
and the fire of God's judgment is going to come and burn off that wood, hay and stubble,
and all that will be left is the purified gold, silver and precious stones.
And God's going to reward us for the great things that we've done for him on this earth.
He said, what if I've done no works?
Well, when the fire burns through and there's nothing left,
you see the foundation of Christ, and it's Christ that saves you.
It's a free gift.
Salvation is a free gift, but if you want to work and earn some rewards,
you can be glorified, have a greater glory in heaven,
have greater rewards in heaven, lay your treasures in heaven.
That is a great thing that we ought to be seeking for as believers.
But one day, the unbelievers too will have to bow their knees,
and they're going to be judged by their works,
and they're going to be found to come short of the righteousness of God.
They've come short.
And we're not going to come short because we're going to stand in Christ's righteousness.
When God the Father sees us, he sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ,
no problems, no problems for us.
But imagine not being clothed by Christ's righteousness,
having to bow yourself before God,
and you're confessing.
At that point, you can't go, no, I choose another God.
No, your tongue will swear and confess Christ as the Lord Jesus, as the Savior, as God.
But it's too late, and they're going to be cast into hellfire forever.
Keep your finger there in Romans, and look at Isaiah 45, verse 24.
Verse 24 says,
That's all we're going to say.
Remember, it's his righteousness.
It's his strength.
In the Lord, this is so important.
In the Lord, look at this,
Now, this chapter should really bring a lot of question marks
about what verse number 25, the final verse, is speaking about.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory.
You notice how Israel has been really emphasized in that last verse there,
all the seed of Israel.
But then all the verses that led up to it were what?
Does God just want Jews or Hebrews or the children of Israel, say, the physical people?
No, he's trying to reach out to all nations, isn't he?
But then we end with all the seed of Israel be justified.
It's a really interesting thought there.
Now, if you're a dispensationalist, you're going to look at verse number 25 and say,
well, that is about the physical nation of Israel.
That's about the Jews there in the Middle East right now who Christ rejected.
They're all going to get saved. Isn't that what they believe?
Somehow they're all just going to get saved.
Or is God speaking about all believers of all nations making up all the seed of Israel?
And that's what Romans is about.
The book of Romans explains this in greater detail.
Come with me to Romans 11.
Romans 11, please, Romans 11 and verse number 26.
You guys know these verses, I'm sure.
Romans 11, 26.
Romans 11, 26 says,
And so all Israel shall be saved.
As it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
So is it true that all Israel will be saved?
Well, that's what it says, and what did Isaiah 45 say?
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified.
So all of Israel must be saved.
That's what it says there, right?
But notice what the end of verse number 26 says.
There shall come out of Zion the deliverer,
we know that's Jesus,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
So, who is all Israel?
It's obviously the people that have received the deliverer, which is Jesus.
So if a Jew in the Middle East today dies rejecting Jesus
in their false religion of Judaism,
and they die without the deliverer,
could we say they are truly Israel?
No.
Otherwise we have a contradiction in the Bible,
because that so-called Israelite
is going to die without Jesus and go to hell.
No, all of Israel will be saved.
And Christ Jesus is that deliverer.
Now, Romans 11, a lot of people turn,
again the dispensationalists will turn to Romans 11 and say,
see, all of the Jews are just going to get saved just as a nation.
I don't know what this means, but they talk about it.
Just the whole nation is just going to get saved like that
the moment they see Christ come back in the clouds.
I mean, that doesn't even happen today.
People get saved individually.
Each individual person with free will makes a decision,
I'm going to believe in the deliverer,
I'm going to believe in my Savior,
I'm putting my faith in Christ alone.
That is an individual basis, is it not?
Free will to decide whether you want to trust Christ or not.
But somehow, in the dispensationalist world,
free will gets taken away,
and instead of being individual, it becomes national.
And somehow, I don't even know what that means.
What about Jews that live in the US?
Are they national Israel in the Middle East?
They're not, but somehow they are.
And so they use these strange terms to try to sound intellectual,
but that's not what it is,
because that religion of Judaism are Christ rejecters.
And they're dying and going to hell every single day.
So they can't be all of Israel.
They can't be all the seed of Israel.
Now before we get to Romans 11,
we should have come across Romans 9.
So come read to Romans 9.
Romans 9 and verse number 6.
Romans 9, 6 says,
Not as though the word of God have taken none effect.
So important, let's continue reading.
For they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel.
So those that are of Israel,
let's say our 1948 modern day Israel,
those that are of Israel are not all Israel.
Who is all Israel?
Well it's not those which are of Israel.
Verse number 7.
Neither because they are the seed of Abraham,
they are all children,
but in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
That is, this is so important,
they which are the children of the flesh,
look at this,
these are not the children of God,
but the children of the promise
are counted for the seed.
For the seed.
Who's the seed of Israel?
Again Isaiah 45, verse number 25 said,
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory.
So is it 1948 modern day Israel,
that's the seed of Israel?
Are they all Israel?
They are not.
Just because they are of the flesh,
my DNA says I'm Ashkenazi.
Who cares?
Have you accepted the deliverer?
Now obviously before we get to Romans 9,
we should have read Romans 2.
So let's go to Romans 2.
And look, this is a major doctrine in the book of Romans.
So I don't have time to obviously look at every passage here,
but I just want to give you a quick break down here
in Romans 2 and verse number 28.
Romans 2, verse number 28.
Actually I want to turn there,
because I might read a verse before that,
if my memory serves me right.
Romans 2.
That's alright, we'll just read verse number 28.
It says, For he is not a Jew.
Who's not a Jew?
Which is one outwardly?
The outward Jew.
The long sideburns.
The funny hats.
The funny dance.
The funny praying against a wall, whatever they do.
The outward Jew, right?
He is not a Jew.
Which is one outwardly?
Neither is that circumcision.
Oh, they're circumcised as well.
Neither is that circumcision.
Which is outward in the flesh.
That is not a Jew.
When you go to Israel today,
and you see the funny hats, and you see the long sideburns,
and they're doing this to a wall,
and you go, those are Jews.
No, God says, they are not a Jew.
Which are outwardly.
Verse number 29.
But he is a Jew which is one inwardly.
And circumcision is that of the heart.
When we believe on Christ Jesus, we believe with our heart, don't we?
It's a circumcision of the heart.
In the spirit, and not in the letter.
The letter is a reference to the law.
We're not saved by the law.
Whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Brethren, if you've been circumcised, if you've believed on Christ Jesus,
if you've accepted the Saviour, the Deliverer out of Zion,
the Bible says you've been circumcised in the heart.
What does that mean?
Well, to understand that, you need to understand what circumcision is.
I won't go into the graphic details.
But essentially, a piece of flesh is cut away and discarded.
Okay?
Guess what? Salvation is not by our flesh.
It's not by our efforts.
It's not by our works.
We discard our flesh.
That's not going to save us.
Our abilities are not going to save us.
We cut that off, and we say the only one that's going to save us is Christ Jesus.
And we believe with our hearts, and the circumcision takes place.
And if that's happened, brethren, you're a Jew inwardly.
You don't have to wear the hat, you don't have to have the sideburns,
you don't have to have the baf mitzvah, whatever you call it.
You don't need to make sure you don't work on the Sabbath, because Christ is our Sabbath.
Christ is our Sabbath.
I keep the Sabbath every day of my life.
Because that's Jesus. He's my Sabbath.
I rest in Him. Every day.
I never go tomorrow, maybe. It is by works.
It still rests.
I'm still keeping the Sabbath the moment I trust the Christ every single day of my life.
Because you're a Jew inwardly.
And the big picture of the book of Romans, it's called Romans.
It's written to the Gentiles.
It's written to the Romans that they can be a Jew inwardly.
And that being a child of Israel, being all Israel, is not of the flesh, it's not outward.
It's the promise. It's the seed of Israel, which is of course Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3, if you're in Christ Jesus, you're the seed of Abraham.
You are that very same seed that the promises were made unto you.
And so when we read Romans 11, verse 26,
And so all Israel shall be saved.
Who is all Israel?
All believers.
Everyone that is a Jew inwardly.
Everyone that has believed on Christ with their hearts.
And so when Isaiah 45 verse 25 ends,
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified.
It doesn't come out of, it's not just a random verse.
It's building up everything we've covered.
Cyrus, believe in me.
Know who I am, I'm revealing myself to you Cyrus.
Tell the ends of the earth, tell from east to the west,
All nations that they can have a Savior.
There is no other God beside me.
So you have all nations who decide to put their faith on Jesus.
Guess what? They too are the seed of Israel.
All the seed of Israel will be justified.
And shall glory.
See verse 25 is not just some random verse.
It builds up to everything we've read in those previous passages.
We have all the nations believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
They too are the seed of Israel.
Alright brethren, the title of the sermon was
Every Knee Shall Bow.
And boy I can't wait to bow to Jesus.
I can't wait.
I can't wait to love him, to serve him, to praise him.
I don't know what I'm going to say to my Savior.
What can we say but thank you?
What about these wicked people?
Unthankful, isn't that what they say?
They're not thankful.
What can I say but thank you?
Thank you Jesus for loving me so much.
Anyway, every knee shall bow.