Lifetime God

I. EXORDIUM:

When there's a fire in your house, which one will you carry first to safety? your idols/images or your money?

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believers with idolatries.

III. OBJECTIVES:

To show that GOD can't be compared to idols or images.

IV. TEXT:

Isaiah 46:4 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

V. THESIS:

GOD is our lifetime GOD, unlike idols GOD made us, cares, carries us and saves us.

VI. TITLE:

Lifetime GOD

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Author: Isaiah - son of Amos, prophesied during reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

B. Isaiah is regarded as greatest Old Testament prophet: (1) preeminently the prophet of redemption, (2) passages in this book are among the finest in literature.

VIII. MAIN BODY:

A. Why is He called our lifetime GOD, as opposed to idols/images?

1. GOD is our GOD throughout our lifetime. (Isaiah 43:13, Psalms 89:1)

a. Until our hair is white with age.

Isaiah 43:13 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

“From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”

Psalms 89:1 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.

Our age are irrelevant with GOD, He will continue to show us His faithfulness thru the years, even beyond eternity, from eternity to eternity He is GOD. His unfailing love never ceases and never fails on us. Our bodies will be buried but when we wake up, we will see Him as He is.

2. GOD made us. (Isaiah 45:11-12, Isaiah 44:9-20)

Unlike the idols and images of men, which the carver have made, our GOD made us.

Isaiah 45:11-12 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.

Isaiah 44:9-20 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.

Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit?

All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.

The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.

Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.

He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.

Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!

He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”

Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”

Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.

The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”

The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

3. GOD cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)

1 Peter 5:7 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.