“Why did God make me? Why am I here? Why do I have the influence that I have?” I’m betting that you have wrestled with these questions.
For most of you in this room, God has given you some measure of influence. You may be a teacher, a coach, a mom, a dad, a boss, an officer in a club, a captain of a team, a big brother or sister, or some other kind of leader. Why? Why did God make you and give you the influence that you have?
When God gives you influence
Series: Knowing God
Text: Isaiah 45:2-7
I’ve often wondered why some people call God “The Man Upstairs.” It’s been my experience that people who really know God well don’t talk about Him that way. He seems to be “The Man upstairs” to people who aren’t too comfortable with God. I’ve never noticed that the people who talk that way are often people who don’t really know God very well. This is a series for people who want God to be something more to you than “The Man Upstairs.” It’s for people who want to grow in their love for God…
… for people who are looking for meaning and purpose in life…
… for people who want greater influence…
… who long to trust Him more…
… and know more peace…
… and joy.
All of that and more come from knowing God. We’re in a series of studies in Isaiah where God introduces Himself to us with words like these: “I am God and there is no other.” Knowing God. It’s vital if you want to live well in this world. In our bookstore, we are offering our book for the month. It’s title is “Knowing God.” The author, J.I. Packer, helps us see how central this is when he writes…
“As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesman to fly him to London …and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it.” J. I Packer
Of course the best thing that will help us come to know God more intimately is to spend time in His word. We’ve developed scripture memory packs to help you memorize key verses in the Bible. One of the packs is called “The Character of God.” You might want to stop by the bookstore in the foyer and pick one up.
In today’s section of scripture, we are going to meet a man named Cyrus. He was a man of influence – a man God used. To really understand these verses, we have to understand a little about Cyrus.
Fast facts about Cyrus…
… He became King of Persia in 559 BC;
… He conquered Babylon in 539 BC (you can read about it in Daniel 5); and
… He encouraged the Jews to return to Israel and ordered the rebuilding
of the Temple.
Cyrus was the most powerful person in the world. In Isaiah 45:1, Cyrus is called the Lord’s anointed because he was raised up by God to do great things in the world, particularly in restoring the Jews their own land. Cyrus had power because he was to use this power to bless God’s people. How did he come to prominence? Why did God bless His life? What lessons from his life can we learn for you and me? Let’s read…
“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.”
Isaiah 45:2-7 (NASB)
(Prayer)
When I have influence…
1. … God is seeking to work for me.
Too few of us realize that God is the One who has given us the influence we have. If you are a boss or a leader in a company or ministry, God put you there. He’s been at work for you. How?
God works for me…
… by showing His power. v. 2
The city that Cyrus was to conquer was Babylon. Babylon was rich and strong. It was forty-five miles around the city – some say more. The walls were thirty-two feet thick and 100 cubits high. It was said that the walls were so wide thick that six chariots could drive on them side-by side. This was the city Cyrus was to conquer. Impossible? Not when God is showing His power for you!
I will go before you and make the rough places smooth…
God says to Cyrus, “I will go before you” – to clear the way and to make the rough places smooth. God is saying, “I will remove all obstacles out of your way and cause you to be able to handle all the difficulties.”
In the wall that surrounded Babylon there were a hundred gates, all made of solid brass, twenty-five on each side of the city. But these could not stop Cyrus from entering the city. God says,
…I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
No matter what position of influence you have, you are not there primarily because you have exerted your creativity and will. You are not there primarily because you have exploited your training and opportunity. You are where you are because of God’s power. He has opened the door for you. He’s shown His power by placing you where you are.
God works for me by showing His power.
… by sharing His provision. v. 3
Do you believe God will provide everything you need to do everything He wants you to do for Him?
I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
I love how God fulfilled this promise. One of the kings in Babylon before Cyrus was Nebuchadnezzar. He had gathered the riches of the world for himself. Jewish rabbis say that when he drew near his death, he thought about to whom he should leave his wealth. He was unwilling to leave it to the next king. So, he ordered containers of brass to be built and filled them with gold and jewels. He dug a place near the Euphrates River and rerouted the river to cover over the containers. The Jewish rabbis said that the day that Cyrus ordered the temple to be rebuilt, on that very day Cyrus discovered the location of those wealth-filled containers.
God wanted Cyrus to serve His people. So, God provided the resources. In a sense, God paid Cyrus for doing His work in blessing His people.
The generosity of God is available for you, too! He’ll provide all you need to so what He’s calling you to do!
God works for me by showing His power and sharing His provision.
When I have influence, God is seeking to work for me.
2. … God is seeking to work through me.
If you have influence, are you really aware that God desires to work through you? That you are where you are because He has a job for you to do for Him?
God works through me…
… according to His plan. v. 4a
Why did God show His power and share His provision with Cyrus?
For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name …
God gave Cyrus his influence to bless the Jews, the Lord’s chosen people. It was for their sakes, and not his, that God called Cyrus and raised him up to do the great things that he did. This was the plan of God – that Cyrus would deliver God’s people from their captivity.
God’s plan will not be stopped! You need to know that this was written 200 years before Cyrus was even born! It’s a proof that God is omniscient – that God knew things before they took place and could call things that were not, as though they were. The Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote that Cyrus read this prophecy in Isaiah concerning himself. All this was exactly fulfilled in his life. God has a plan and He will accomplish it!
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”
Ezra 1:2
If God has given you influence, then you must use all your resources for His glory – to bless His people. Cyrus was favored so God’s people would be released.
The prophetic plan of God. God has a plan for your life. Success is finding the will of God for your life and doing it.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
God plans our days even before we are born. David affirms this in Psalm 139:16. “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” Job says, “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5). This can be seen in the life of Paul, who says that God had “set me apart even from my mother’s womb” (Galatians 1:15). This can be seen in the life of Jeremiah to whom God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
God has a plan for you. Are you pursuing Him to know His plan?
God works through me according to His plan.
… as a result of His promotion. v. 4b
At one point in his life, Cyrus looked like he would have very little influence in the world. But look at who gave him a promotion.
… I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me.
Cyrus didn’t know God. He was trained to worship idols. So, the true God was an unknown God to him. But though he didn’t know God, God knew him. And gave Him the title of King of the Medes and Persians.
Whatever title you have or may one day have, it’s a gift of God!
God works through me according to His plan as a result of His promotion.
God’s power, provision, plan, and promotion. Today, we have touched on only four aspects of God’s nature. Next week, we’ll be looking at His sovereignty and creativity and righteousness. The list of His attributes go on and on.
I want to remind you of what we mentioned last week. Don’t think of God as a collection of attributes added together.
And we shouldn’t think of the attributes of God as something added on to who God really is. No. His whole being includes all of His attributes. Every attribute is true of all of God’s being. Every attribute also qualifies every other attribute.
Wayne Grudem’s book, Systematic Theology, has a diagram that might be helpful for us.
Here’s a better way to look at how these various attributes intersect. In the diagram, let’s let the vertical lines represent the attribute of power…
… and let’s let the horizontal lines represent he aspect of God’s provision.
One set of diagonal lines could represent God’s plan…
… while the other could represent God’s promotion.
Of course, we could go on and on with different attributes. Each attribute describes one aspect of His total character. God is a completely integrated Person who is infinitely perfect in all His attributes. He’s like a diamond, shining brilliantly with many perfect facets to His personality – all aligned for Him to work magnificently for and through His children.
When I have influence, God is seeking to work through me.
Why? Why is God seeking to work for me and through me? This is the heart of the talk today.
3. … God is seeking to be known by me. vv. 5-7
I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me.
These words are directed to Cyrus. “Cyrus, you ought to serve and worship Me. There is no God besides me in any of the countries that you have conquered. Yes, there are many so-called gods. But these are only fake deities. I gave you power, though you did not know Me. I made you king over many nations. I put on you a belt of strength and courage for war. I made you successful though you were ignorant of Me. It’s me and no one else. Now, I want you and others to come to know Me!”
Did you see it? It’s in verse three and verse six…
that you may know… that men may know…
Maybe it was Daniel who opened up the Bible and showed Cyrus this prophecy from Isaiah. How would you handle it if you saw your own name written in the Book? And your own achievements described in detail… knowing that what you were reading was written 200 years before? Why did God do this? It’s so he and everyone else around would acknowledge that the God of Israel was the Lord, the only living and true God.
What is it that we are to know of God? There are many things we need to know. But lets just consider the thoughts in verse 7.
I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.”
He that is the first Cause of all: I the Lord, the fountain of all being, am the fountain of all power.
God is the author of all well-being. We’re comfortable with that thought. But well-being isn’t all that comes from God. Calamity is also from Him. Punishment for sin, judgment, famine, sickness, even war.
Behold then the kindness and severity of God…
Romans 11:22
Don’t fail to see these two sides of God’s character. Don’t think only about God’s goodness alone nor only His wrath. But think about both together. Both are attributes and both must be acknowledged together is God is to be truly known.
We like a kind of Santa Claus deity. All goodness and no justice. But Exodus 34:6 says that He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. But Job asks…
Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?
Job 2:10
God in His wisdom has the ordered all our comforts and all our crosses in this world.
I love “Pink lady” apples. If I take a bite out of one side and say I love it, you wouldn’t be surprised. If I take a bite out of the other side and spit it out and say I hate it, you’d be confused. “How can you love one side and not the other? If you love the apple, you’ll love it all!”
Yet this is what we do with God. We love certain aspects of who He is, but not others. If we are to truly know Him, we must learn to love and appreciate both the kindness and the severity of God! Even when calamity comes, He is still working things out for our good! He wants us to know Him in that way.
When I have influence, God is seeking to be known by me.
* * *
Did Cyrus come to know God?
It doesn’t appear that Cyrus totally left his pagan idolatry. One historian says that when Cyrus found that his end was near, he offered sacrifices to Jupiter and to the sun and to other gods. He thanked them for how they had taken care of him. And then he prayed to them to grant happiness to his wife, children, friends, and country.
When I read that, I thought, “How sad.” God was so actively working for him and through him, yet he never came to know God personally. He’s not alone…
On day, some will stand before God – even those who have had God at work for them and through them and hear, “Depart from Me for I never knew you” (Matthew 7 23). Knowing God is vital for a abundant life in the now and eternal life in the future.
God says, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6).
“For my determined purpose it that I may know Him” (Philippians 3:10).
I want to know Him because He is worthy to be known. And an outcome for me is that it will increase my love, sense of purpose, influence, trust, peace, and joy.
What are you going to do to get to know God more intimately? How is God going to become for you more than the “Man upstairs”?
Little Simon Birch in the movie said, “I’m running out of time.” So are you! In the movie, that little guy afflicted with dwarfism knew something about God that others didn’t know. He had a trust that others didn’t have. It gave him a perspective, a peace, a hope, a power, an some influence that others didn’t have.
· Memorize scripture on the character and attribute of God.
· Read Knowing God.
· When you read your Bible, ask these questions, “What does this teach me about God? What changes in my beliefs and understanding need to be made so I can truly know God as He reveals Himself in the scripture?”
· As you go through your day, see God as the One who providentially controls all – the well-being and the calamity that comes your way. When something bad happens to you in your area of influence, say, “I love You, God. in this. I see You, God, in this. I want to know You, God, in this.”
What are you going to do to get to know God more intimately?
