Welcome to The Word for Today.
The Word for Today is a continuous study
of the Bible, taught by Pastor Chuck Smith
of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.
Pastor Chuck is currently teaching from the Old
Testament, and if you're following along in your
Bible, we'll be continuing today in Isaiah chapter
41, beginning with verse 8.
As we continue with an in-depth message
entitled, The Greatness of God.
And now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck.
Jesus said, I no longer call you servants,
but I call you friends.
I love that.
A friend of God.
Thou whom I have taken from the ends
of the earth, and called thee from the
chief men thereof, and I said unto thee,
Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee,
and not cast thee away.
Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, I've
chosen you, I'll not cast you away.
Fear thou not, for I am with you.
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yea, I will help
you, yea, I will uphold you with the
right hand of my righteousness.
Now I want you to hear this as
God is just speaking it to you tonight,
no matter what the situation or difficulty that
you might be facing.
God has chosen you to be His servant.
God has called you as His.
And God is saying to you, as you're
looking at the prospects of this next week,
as you're looking at the situation that you're
going to be facing, the difficulties that lie
in front of you, the Lord is saying,
fear not, for I am with you.
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yea, I will help
you, yea, I will uphold you with the
right hand of my righteousness.
If God before us, who can be against
us?
Fear not.
God said, I am with you.
Behold, all they that were incensed against you
will be ashamed and confounded.
God will take your part.
God will defend you.
They shall be as nothing, and they that
strive with you shall perish.
Oh, the blessing of being a servant of
God.
How blessed.
When God takes my part, when God defends
me, you will seek after those that were
your enemies, those that were incensed.
You will seek after them, you'll not even
be able to find them, even those that
were contending with you, fighting with you.
They that war against you shall be as
nothing, they will be less than nothing, a
thing of naught.
For I, the Lord thy God, will hold
thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not,
I will help thee.
I love that.
God said, I will hold your right hand.
As my children were growing up, and we
would come walking down the street, come to
the street corner, I would always say to
them, let Daddy take your hand.
I'll hold your hand while we cross the
street.
And I always held their hand to cross
the street.
I never said to them, hold Daddy's hand.
I always said, let Daddy hold your hand.
Because if sudden danger should arise, I wanted
to be holding their hand rather than them
holding my hand.
Because in danger, and if I had to
pull suddenly upon them, their hand could slip.
They were weak.
I wanted to make sure that I could
pull them out of danger because of my
strength.
God doesn't say to you, hold my hand
now, we're going to go through some tough
times here.
He says, I will hold your hand.
We're going through some rough water.
Oh, how comforting it is to have God
holding my right hand.
I the Lord thy God will hold thy
right hand, saying unto you, don't be afraid,
I will help you.
Oh man, I love that.
Don't be afraid, I will help you.
What more do you need?
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye men of
Israel, I will help you.
Don't be afraid, I will help you.
Sayeth the Lord, the Redeemer, here we have
it now, the Goel, the Kinsman Redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel, the introduction of Jesus
here, who is the Kinsman Redeemer.
We'll get into that.
He uses this seven times and we'll go
into it more fully when we get to
the 59th chapter and we have a better
opportunity to deal with it.
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp
threshing instrument.
This is what I'm going to do.
I'm going to make you subdue the enemies.
I'll make you like a new sharp threshing
instrument having teeth and you will thresh the
mountains of grain or corn.
You'll beat them small and you will make
the hills as chaff.
Thou shalt fan them and the wind shall
carry them away, that is your enemies.
The whirlwind will scatter them and you will
rejoice in the Lord and you will glory
in the Holy One of Israel.
I'm going to work in your behalf that
you might glory in the Lord and rejoice
in Him.
When the poor and needy seek water and
there is none and their tongue is failing
for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them.
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake
them.
I will open rivers in high places, fountains
in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of
water and the dry land springs of water.
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar
and the acacia tree and the myrtle and
the oil tree.
And I will set in the desert the
fir tree, the pine, the box tree together
that they may see and know and consider
and understand together.
The hand of the Lord has done this.
The Holy One of Israel created it.
God said, I'm going to be with you.
When you're going through difficult places, you think
you're going to perish.
I will provide.
I will be there.
I will provide for you.
Your life seems like it's just drying up.
You're going to die for thirst.
You cry unto me.
I will be there.
I will open up rivers, fountains in the
valleys, pools of water in the wilderness, dry
and in the dry land springs of water,
artesian wells.
God is just, take this in a spiritual
sense.
He's just saying, I will be to you
everything.
I will provide for you all that you
need.
I'll take care of you.
And then I will make you fruitful.
There in that barren area of your life,
you'll become fruitful.
There in the wilderness, all of the trees
to be planted.
And the whole idea is found, or the
purpose of it is found in verse 20.
That you may see the hand of God
at work, that you may know and that
you might consider and that you might understand
that the hand of the Lord has done
this.
God wants you to recognize His work in
your life.
And God works in our lives that we
might see and know and consider.
Wow, it was God who did that.
God is at work.
Look what the Lord has done.
And He wants you to recognize His hand.
So many times we call on the Lord
in our hour of need and desperation.
And we say, Oh God, you know, help.
If you'll just get me out of this
Lord, I'll do anything and all.
And then God comes through and we say,
Boy, I was so lucky.
You can't believe how lucky I am, you
know.
Like the little kid sliding down the barn
roof, falling, tumbling, saying, God, help me.
And about that time, his pants got caught
on a nail.
He came to a ripping halt.
And he said, Never mind, Lord.
Nail caught me.
So typical.
We call on the Lord for help and
then because God works in natural ways so
many times to give us help.
We say, Well, never mind, Lord.
My friends came through.
Never mind, Lord.
It's OK now.
It's all worked out.
Well, who worked it out that you might
know, that you might see, that you might
consider?
It's the Lord that was watching over you.
It was the Lord that took care of
you.
Now, we're in court.
God has brought these other gods in.
And he's going to, he's the prosecuting attorney
and the judge, but with him, it's all
right.
He says, Produce your cause, saith the Lord.
Bring forth some strong reasons, saith the King
of Jacob.
Let them bring forth and show us what
is going to happen.
Let them show us from the former times
things that will take place in the future,
what they will be, that we might consider
them and know the latter end of them
or declare to us things that are going
to come.
Now, here's the challenge of God to these
other false gods.
You say you're gods.
All right, fine.
Prove it.
Tell us something that's going to happen.
Tell us what will be the outcome of
this event here.
Tell us what's going to take place in
the future.
Prove that you are gods.
Give us some evidence.
And this whole area of prophecy is one
of the strongest apologetics for the proof that
the Bible is the word of God, the
inspired word of God, because he told us
in advance of things that would take place.
As Jesus said, And now I have told
you before it happens, so that when it
does happen, you might believe.
And so God is challenging now.
And for the next few chapters, he's going
to be challenging the false gods to go
ahead and prophesy something.
Tell us something.
Amaze us, astound us.
Do something.
And that's basically what he said.
Declare to us things that are going to
come.
Show us the things that are to come
hereafter, that we may know that you are
gods.
Yea, do something.
Either good or bad.
That we might be dismayed.
Do something that will just dismay us.
Anything.
There you are just sitting there, you little
god.
Now do something.
Say something.
Do anything.
That we might be dismayed.
Wow, did you see that?
Did you hear that?
And so God is challenging all these.
Bring these little gods.
Send them out here now.
Okay, now say something.
Do something.
Tell us something that's going to happen.
And yet people worship them.
Yet people pray to them.
Yet people give to them.
Yet people sacrifice for them.
And so God says, okay, let's sit in
court and let's see you do something.
Do good or do evil.
That we may be dismayed and behold it
together.
But then God says, look, you are nothing.
You are the work of nothing.
And it's an abomination for any man to
choose you.
Those that choose you have become an abomination.
Those that choose to serve these gods, you
become an abomination.
Serving false gods is an abominable thing.
Because you're nothing.
You're the work of nothing.
Now the Lord again, speaking of Cyrus, said,
I've raised up one from the north.
He shall come from the rising of the
sun, that is the east, and he shall
call upon my name.
He will come upon the princes as upon
mortar, and as the potter treads the clay.
He'll tread down the nations like a potter
in mixing the clay.
He would put it on the ground and
step on it all to work it and
to knead the clay.
Who hath declared from the beginning that we
may know?
Where is the God that has told you
in advance things that were going to happen?
And beforehand that we may say that he
is righteous.
Yea, there is none that shows you anything.
None that declares.
There's none that hears your words.
These gods can't hear you.
They can't speak to you.
They can't tell you what's going to happen.
The first shall say to Zion, Behold them,
and I will give to Jerusalem one that
bringeth good tidings.
For behold, for I beheld, and there was
no man even among them, and there was
no counselor that when I asked them could
answer a word.
So God is saying, Look, there's not one
that could answer.
Behold, they are all vanity.
Their works are nothing.
Their molten images are wind and confusion.
The false gods that men hold on to.
Jeremiah was called of God to prophesy to
the nation.
And God said, Go out and tell the
people that they've committed two evils.
The first is they have forsaken me, the
fountain of living water.
And they have carved out cisterns that can
hold no water because they're broken cisterns.
Every man has a God.
Every man has an object of master passion
that he worships in his life.
With some it is pleasure, the Old Testament
God of Molech.
With some it is power, the Old Testament
God of Mammon.
With some it is intellect, the Old Testament
God of Baal.
With some it is sex, the Old Testament
God, Goddess Ashtoreth.
But every man has that master passion that
governs and controls his life, his God.
And when a person forsakes the true and
the living God, then that doesn't mean that
you don't have a God.
That means that you have some other God,
some other idol to which you bow, that
governs your life.
And if you will carefully examine your life
and look at that which is all absorbing
for you, that which really is your impulse
and impetus to get out of bed, that
which keeps you going, that's your God.
But as the Lord said concerning these other
gods, they are broken cisterns, they can't hold
water.
They are nothing, they are less than nothing
and it's an abomination for those who serve
them.
David points out a rather awesome truth.
He said the gods of the heathen are
many.
They carve these idols out and they carve
eyes in the idols but they can't see.
They carve ears on them but they can't
hear.
They carve feet on them but they can't
walk.
And mouths they have but they can't speak.
So he talks about man making his gods
and he makes his gods like himself.
I carve ears on my God because I
have ears.
I carve eyes because I have eyes.
And so a man makes a God like
himself.
But he makes his God less than himself.
Because the psalmist said though they have feet
they can't walk.
Though they have ears they can't hear.
And this is pretty much what God was
saying.
Say something, do something, you know.
But they can't speak.
They can't hear.
And a man who worships insensate gods, a
man who worships the intellect or pleasure, lives
for pleasure, the man who lives for power
and money and possessions, the man who is
controlled by these things, becomes like his God.
If your God is false you are becoming
false.
Because a man becomes like his God.
They that have made them have become like
the gods they've made.
And that's the clincher.
You are becoming like your God.
If your God is a God that you
have made, you've made him less than yourself,
and thus you're on the way down.
It's an abomination to you because you're becoming
like your God, which is nothing.
And you're being destroyed.
You're on the way down.
But if you are worshiping the true and
the living God, then you're on the way
up.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God.
It doesn't yet appear what we're going to
be, but we know when he appears we're
going to be like him.
A man becomes like his God.
We with open face beholding the glory of
the Lord are changed from glory to glory
into the same image by his Spirit that's
working in us.
I'm becoming like my God.
I'm glad that I serve the true and
the living God.
The God who is able from the beginning
to tell things that are going to happen.
The God who has proved himself over and
over again.
And we'll be getting into some fascinating proofs
as we go into the next few chapters.
And God again challenges the false gods.
He said, okay, you know, guys haven't been
able to tell you.
Now I'm going to tell you some things.
And he starts naming guys 150 years before
they're born and talking and giving details about
what they're going to be doing and how
they're going to do it and all.
So 150 years later, here it happens.
You say, wow, he knew what he was
talking about.
Face to face, Lord let me know.
Face to face, Lord let me see you.
Chuck Smith will return with a few closing
comments.
But first I'd like to remind you that
today's message is available in its unedited form
on cassette or CD.
Simply write or call and ask for ordering
details on tape or CD number C3260.
Again, that's tape or CD number C3260.
As we come to a close in today's
program, we'd like to recommend a resource just
for women.
Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in
the hustle and bustle of Christmas.
Buying presents, decorating, cooking, the list grows longer
every day.
Without realizing it, we can easily forget the
true meaning of why we celebrate our Lord's
birth.
For this reason, the word for today presents
A Season of Joy, an audio Bible study
that reflects the true meaning of Christmas.
Hosted by Kay Smith, wife of Pastor Chuck.
Kay reminds us to spend time at the
Lord's feet despite our busy schedules.
Guest speakers also include Elizabeth Elliott, Sheila Walsh,
and Marge Caldwell, exhorting us to remember that
it's through Jesus Christ that our season of
joy can be peaceful and complete.
Also ask about Pastor Chuck Smith's tract entitled,
How Can a Man Be Born Again?
Available in both Spanish and English, this would
make the perfect addition to Christmas cards or
gifts.
To order your copy of A Season of
Joy and How Can a Man Be Born
Again, call the word for today at 1
-800-272-WORD or write to us at
P.O. Box 8000, Costa Mesa, California, 92628.
And remember, the word for today would like
to assist you this Christmas in spreading the
gospel of Jesus to your family, friends, and
coworkers.
Please call our customer service department to help
you in finding that perfect gift that will
reflect the true meaning of Christmas.
And if you call right now and mention
this radio ad, the word for today will
give you a 20% discount on any
resource carried by the word for today.
Once again, that number to call is 1
-800-272-9673.
And for those of you that would like
to visit our website, you can do so
at www.twft.com.
Or if you would like to email us,
you can do so at info at twft
.com.
Well, coming up next time on The Word
for Today, Pastor Chuck will be continuing his
fascinating study through the book of Isaiah.
That's coming up next time on The Word
for Today.
And now, with a few closing comments, here's
Pastor Chuck.
We thank you, Lord, that we can wait
upon you tonight, that our strength will be
renewed, that we might be able to mount
up with wings as eagles, that we can
run and not be weary, that we can
walk and not faint, that the Lord, the
creator of the heavens and the earth, who
stretched out the heavens like a curtain, who
measures the waters in the hollow of his
hand, has said to us, Fear not, for
I am with you.
Thank you, Lord, for your help for us
who are weak.
Thank you for your presence.
Thank you for your love.
Thank you for your goodness, your eternal goodness.
And thank you, Lord, for your word, your
sure word.
You said it, and you have done it.
We thank you, in Jesus' name.
Amen.