Power of One True God
Notes
Transcript
Treasure God above it all
Treasure God above it all
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
This verse is huge. And honestly, we can look at so many different implications of it, or nuances to it and what it means for us. We will only look at one today, and really one aspect or justification for the one.
Why should we treasure God above all?
Set the table- the Scripture we are going to look at as a focus for the why is really amazing. Context- The people of Israel were in rebellion, yet God is acting to save / redeem His people. Outside of their deserving to be saved, or qualification- the reality is they were completely undeserving and unqualified, more in line with totally deserving judgement and condemnation. But God...
1 Now this is what the Lord says— the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel— “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.
He is personal. He knows you, and has chosen you. We do not need to be afraid, because the God of the universe is our protector.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and the rivers will not overwhelm you, When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched and the flame will not burn you.
The provision of God in the middle of terrifying circumstances. Deadly circumstances.
Realize this this is not merely physical, some of our most terrifying circumstances are Spiritual, Relational, and incredibly difficult. But GOD is for you, He is with you, He is faithful.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior. I have given Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place.
4 Because you are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you, I will give people in exchange for you and nations instead of your life.
He was, is, and always will be willing to pay the most precious price for His people. Historically He cleared the way to bring Israel out of captivity. And historically / spiritually He has cleared they way for you and I to return to Him. He paid the ultimate price for you, and me. He sent His son Jesus to Die on a Cross so we could come home. HOW WILL WE NOT TREASURE HIM ABOVE ALL THINGS???? He was crucified for you. BY NAME HE DID IT FOR YOU. Will you treasure Him?
5 Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”
We can stop running. Often we place distance between us and God. we keep Him at arms length at best. We run for any number of reasons- doubt, feelings of unworthiness - guilt/shame, even mistrust due to past hurts.
We need not be afraid for any reason. We need not delay to clean ourselves up, or become a better you. There is no better you that deserves this. WE DONT DESERVE THIS KIND OF LOVE, none of us. We are all utterly in bondage, from the east to the west, meaning we arent able to free ourselves and we have to have a redeemer. GOD is the redeemer. The chains are only able to be broken by Christ. We cannot please Him or come to Him on our own, we have to come to Him through Jesus. The Cross is everything.
8 Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes, and are deaf, yet have ears.
9 All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled. Who among them can declare this, and tell us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate themselves, so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses”— this is the Lord’s declaration— “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me.
11 I—I am the Lord. Besides me, there is no Savior.
12 I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed— and not some foreign god among you. So you are my witnesses”— this is the Lord’s declaration— “and I am God.
13 Also, from today on I am he alone, and none can rescue from my power. I act, and who can reverse it?”
Our natural state is to reject or ignore the glory of God. In fact Romans 8 tells us we are unable to please god, or glorify God. Even though we have eyes and ears, we can’t see or hear on our own. we are completely dependent upon God.
The grandeur of God- His power, His authority, His Glory.
Whatever our idols may be, they pale in comparison to God. They will always let us down. They deceive us. We may not worship rocks or carved idols, or maybe some of us do. Oftentimes our idolatry comes in innocent looking covers: Family over God (Spouse / Kids), career success, social media success, financial success, sexual conquests, instant gratification, Sports, the list grows.
Listen anything that we place as a treasure over God, IDOL. We are far too easily pleased with superficial worldly desires, when God made you and me for so much more. What this scripture says is simple- whatever else may be brought to the table as an object of worship, past present future. HE alone is God, and they are insignificant in comparison to Him. He is the only source of salvation and the only source of true satisfaction and delight.
14 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: Because of you, I will send an army to Babylon and bring all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans in the ships in which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
If we will treasure Him, He will bring all these idolatrous desires into the right perspective. You see success or really most of the things i mentioned arent inherently bad. But how we treasure them is the measure. When we treasure God as primary object of affection, then how we treat these things can not only enhance our delight in them, but increase our delight in God as well. You see, when we treasure God, and we begin to see that our spouse is a gift from Him, the flaws seem to lessen in our sight, but the gift seems to display more. Which in turn increases our gratitude not only in the gift but even more for the giver. Kids, same, career success same, you see the cycle.
16 This is what the Lord says— who makes a way in the sea, and a path through raging water,
17 who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty one together (they lie down, they do not rise again; they are extinguished, put out like a wick)—
The sea, the chariot and horse, the army- These would represent insurmountable obstacles. the reader would react to these with utter hopelessness if facing any one of them, let alone all of them.
Have you ever felt like it was hopeless, or that you are hopeless?
In God’s economy, there is no such thing as hopeless. the imagery of a wick being snuffed out. Imagine- even your most hopeless and desperate situation- God is in control.
There is no more desperate situation than your lostness. There is nothing you can do on your own, all of us deserve judgement. Yet God has provided the resolution to our lostness. He sent Jesus, and Jesus’ life was extinguished
18 “Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old.
To some of us, this is still hard because we have baggage. Not all of us fart glitter and ooze rainbows out of our eyes. For a huge portion of my life i was an absolute mess, and felt totally unlovable. Truth be told, all of us have some baggage. But God.
This adds to the amazing nature of Jesus’ action on our behalf. Our past carries this weight on our lives.. Yet God says, forget it, don’t sweat it. Let it go, it is a burden that He has removed from us through Jesus. We are FREE because of Him. There is nothing that you have done that should hold weight over you. Good or Bad, GOD IS ALL THAT MATTERS. He Redeems you Fully.
19 Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.
20 Wild animals— jackals and ostriches—will honor me, because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people.
21 The people I formed for myself will declare my praise.
Seeing the redemption of God and the beauty of it all, and the fact that we truly don’t deserve it. Yet He gives it to us, He fights for us, He redefines us, He gives us a new name, new identity, and He does it on a personal level. He knows your name.
This is why we should treasure God above all. He is worthy of our absolute devotion and treasuring. There is nothing more worthy of such devotion. Nothing, nobody, zilche, nada. God is worthy of it all, and this is just one perspective that displays His worth of such devotion. There are limitless reasons and perspectives, but even looking at just this one we can see the WHY we should treasure Him like this.
And to leave no room for us to take credit ourselves, to enhance the why we treasure God totally and primarily. He clears up any confusion for the conclusion.
God is the author of our salvation, on our own we cannot please God, we are unable to do so. But God.
22 “But, Jacob, you have not called on me, because, Israel, you have become weary of me.
23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings or wearied you with incense.
24 You have not bought me aromatic cane with silver, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25 “I am the one, I sweep away your transgressions for my own sake and remember your sins no more.
God in His mercy and for His own glory is calling you. Calling you to abandon our idolatry, abandon our shallow delights, abandon what robs us of the greatest treasure. His is calling you, He is calling us to treasure Him above it all, above everything. He has made the way, the way is Jesus. He has provided His Spirit to help maximize our joy and faithfulness. And He has done it all for His glory.
Ladies and gentlemen. What is worship? It is simply this- To treasure God above all, and live as a living sacrifice. If we will treasure Him, the other is the natural overflow of this delight.
If you have never publicly professed Jesus as your Lord, or today feel the call of God on your life for repentance and pursuit of Him, then as the worship team plays, i would ask you to obey the call. Surrender to Christ. Treasure Him above it all, and find the rest and peace in His arms. He is so worthy, and He is faithful. Your past, present or future do not scare Him. He loves you, and wants you. Will you embrace Him today? If so, we have some ushers in the back to talk to as they play, and i’ll be up front over here, and after the service we will be available as well.
Prayer.
Next steps:
Reflect on What God has done
Praise Him for What He has done
Live in the delight of God
Share What He has done