"God Knows"
Pastor Glenn Newton
12-04-05
This morning as we continue our wait, as we continue to look for the fulfillment of God’s promise of His return in Glory, we need to be reminded that God has always fulfilled his promises… Amen? We need to know that every prophecy that God has given to us through one of his prophets has been fulfilled or will be fulfilled in His time….
Today, the theme for this Advent Sunday is Prophecy, let me tell you what prophecy means: . Prophecy is a type of literature found not only in the OT books of Isaiah through Malachi but in the NT as well. Biblical prophets proclaimed God’s words and predicted the future. A prophecy may have both an immediate and a long-term reference. A prediction that was fulfilled in a prophet’s lifetime or soon thereafter may also point to a future fulfillment in the life, death, resurrection, and return of Christ. This morning in our Scripture we are going to see how the Prophets prophecy was not only a sign to the King of Judea for his immediate good, but it also was a prediction of Christ coming and bringing salvation to all mankind.
Turn with me to Isaiah 7:1-14
ISA 7:1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.
ISA 7:2 Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
ISA 7:3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 4 Say to him, `Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood--because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6 "Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it." 7 Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
" `It will not take place, it will not happen, ISA 7:8 for the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. ISA 7:9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’ "
ISA 7:10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." ISA 7:12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."
ISA 7:13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
This morning as you have walked into the church, you may not have foreign kings marching on you as King Ahaz did so many years ago, but the truth is some of the things that your facing, some of the problems in your life, some of the obstacles, maybe some of the people in your life…. They sure seem like marching armies who are out to destroy you, and your faith. This morning as we learn about King Ahaz and what God prophecied to him, you and I need to Hear God’s voice, Hear His Truth…. I want you to know and believe a simple truth this morning….. God Knows. God knows what is going on in your life. God knows whats happened in the past…. God Knows what is going on right now… and God knows what’s going to happen…. He wants you to Know that He is still on the Throne today… He is control even when it might not feel like it or look like it… Do you believe that this morning?
This prophecy that is written down in Isaiah 7, was written down about 735 years before it came to past when Christ was born in Bethlehem. Amazing isn’t it? God Knows… The question is do you really believe that in your heart of hearts?
King Ahaz, son of Jothem, was in a place in his life where he was feeling like things were going the wrong direction. Have you ever felt that way? King Ahaz had two enemy Kings coming his way, ready to attack and destroy Jerusalem, in fact they were already attacking but what does it say at the end of verse 1, “but they could not overpower it.”
Does anybody know why they couldn’t overpower it? Was it because King Ahaz was such a great military leader? Was it because Judea’s army was so much better than these other two armies? No.
The answer is because God is in control. God has a plan for all of us… God had a plan for his people 735 years before Christ would be born into this world… God has always had a plan… God has a plan for you…. In fact, His plan for you wasn’t drawn up the day after you were born because God was caught off guard by your arrival… The truth is God knew all about you before you were ever conceived… do you think you were an accident? You are wrong… God planned for you, your parents may not have planned for you… but God did and He has a plan for your life… and he wants you to understand that He knows what’s going on…. He’s not lost, and He’s not late…. Will you trust Him with your life? Will you trust Him with your future?
Just like with King Ahaz, the armies may come and attack you in your life, but when your trust is in the Lord, those armies will not be able to overcome you, not because you are so powerful, but because the one who fights for you is all powerful… will you believe that this morning?
On Friday night we had our Christmas Banquet for the Pastor’s on the district, and they always have some form of entertainment planned after the meal. We were blessed by the music and especially the testimony of Kim McClain. Kim McClain is a well known song writer out of Nashville, she has written songs for many of the big Country music stars, she has also written some hit songs for the Martins, a well known Southern Gospel group. She gave her story, one where she grew up in a troubled and violent home, but at the age of 10 years old, with the encouragement of her Grandmother, she felt God’s call on her life to be a songwriter, and she even at the age of 10 began to develop her talent as a songwriter. But because of the troubled homelife, she struggled in her walk with the Lord, she had no real Godly influences in her life to help her, in fact what she had was some real mixed metaphors as she called it…. Her Granddad was a Pentecostal Drunk Preacher… so she said that was pretty confusing to her growing up… as you could imagine.
She never forgot her calling, but she followed the legacy of her family and ended up getting married to an abusive husband, she lived in that kind of marriage for years… she said there was one time when she finally was able to get her husband to come to church… she said she knows he was really searching for some hope in his life… but what he found in this church was not the hope of Jesus, but a church who looked at him with a judgemental and condescending look…. So he never went back…. And she left with him.
Kim went into a spiral, she was divorced, she ended up with a eating disorder, after that she began to drink and party with her Nashville and Hollywood friends… she soon found that she was truly lost, trying to raise her kids on her own…. She knew God was calling her back to Him, and God used a Lutheran Pastor who reached out to her and invited her to come and lead his worship service. She said yes, even though she felt so unworthy… but she had a hunger to get back into church, back into the Word of God that she used to read as a child… as she lead worship in this Lutheran Church, she said God began to help her, cleanse her as she began to seek Him…… She decided to go back to school and get a degree in Music to enhance her career… so she started looking for schools…. She ended up a Trevecca Nazarene College… she said she didn’t know anything about the Church of the Nazarene… but she knew Jesus was a Nazarene.. So she enrolled. About the same time she found the Nazarene College, the Lutheran pastor moved so she started looking for another church, she decided to try a little white church close to her home… she didn’t know what kind of church it was… but found out it was a Nazarene church… she knew God was doing something.
She said there was something about those Nazarenes…. They had that spark in their eyes, they accepted her, they loved her unconditionally… she said that her new pastor believed that she had a calling from God to minister through her music, and kept telling her about this personal, intimate, one on one relationship with God that she had never really heard before…. Now in May, she will graduate and begin fulfilling her call as a full time Music Evangelist in the Church of the Nazarene….. God Knows where you are today…. God knows what He has in store for you… God’s plan for your life is perfect… will you trust Him?
God never lost track of Kim McClean, God has never lost track of you. Even when things don’t seem to be going the right way, God is still in control… Amen?
Ex. Mary and Joseph, the 3 Israelites who were literally thrown into the fire, Daniel, Paul, the Disciples after the crucifixion,
The Kings who were plotting against King Ahaz, they were marching, they looked like they would destroy Jerusalem, but God had other plans, listen to what He said, Isa. 7:7
7 Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " `It will not take place, it will not happen,”
We have an enemy that works at convincing us that he will destroy us, he seems to march against us with threats, with doubts, with temptations. His threats are real, Satan really does want to destroy our Faith, our Families, and our dreams. We have to decide who we will listen to, and what we will believe.
We have way to many Christians today who are giving the enemy more time in their thought life, more “air” time if you will, than they are giving the God who can deliver them.
If you want the strength, the encouragement that is available to you, take some time for God, let Him speak to you, encourage you, remind you that He Knows and He Cares about you and what your going through. One thing that Kim McCleain said over and over again that helped her find her spiritual footing again, she got back into God’s Word, she received strength from His Word as she began reading and studying the Word.
Where are you getting your Strength from? If you are neglecting those things that God has provided, you will soon find yourself empty and dry spiritually, and vulnerable to the enemy.
Listen to the words of David as he tells us where his strength comes from:
PS 18:1 I love you, O LORD, my strength. PS 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. PS 18:3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.”
This morning I have handed out a list of the Messianic prophecies and their Fulfillments, there are 56 listed…. I want you to know that when God says He’s going to do something, He does it. When God speaks, we need to Listen. When the Word says that we can Trust God… We Can. When life seems to be overwhelming you…. You need to know… that God Knows… and He’s in control… and he cares about you.
We are going to have a time of prayer… a time to talk… a time to listen to God… I believe He wants to speak to us…. He wants you to know that He not only speaks through time… but He still speaks today…. Do you need to hear from Him today?
Would you be willing to come and let God speak to you?
Maybe you have been going through all kinds of things, and you have felt like God has vanished….. He’s here, and He Knows….. Lets pray together…
