Sermon #23 Series: Isaiah
Title: Faith - The Mother of Stability
Text: Isaiah 7:9
Subject: Encouragements
to Faith
Date: Sunday Evening - September 17, 1989
Tape
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Introduction:
Ahaz
was probably the most wicked king ever to sit upon the throne of David in the
house of Judah. He was a rank
idolater. He revived the worship of
Malech in the valley of Hinnom. He
filled Jerusalem with graven images. He
even burned his own son as a sacrifice to Malech! Yet, this pagan king pretended to have great reverence for God
(See v. 12)!
When
the kings of Syria and Samaria formed a confederacy to kill Ahaz and destroy
Judah, Ahaz was terrified. But instead
of turning to God for help, he made arrangements to turn himself and the
kingdom of Judah over to Tiglath-pilser, the cruel, barbaric, pagan king of
Assyria. He trusted not in the Lord
God, but in the arm of the flesh. He
turned for refuge not to the Lord God of Israel, but to the armies of the
Assyrians.
God
sent Isaiah to Ahaz to warn him not to look to the King of Assyria, but to the
King of heaven, and to promise him deliverance from the hands of his enemies,
if he would simply believe God. But
Ahaz was obstinate in his unbelief.
Isaiah 7 contains Isaiah’s confrontation with Ahaz the King.
If
Ahaz had only believed God, Judah would have been saved. Ahaz would have been established in his
throne. But he would not believe. And his unbelief was the cause of his
instability and ruin. Tonight, I want
to take one sentence from this chapter for my text. It is the last sentence of verse 9 - “If ye will not believe,
surely ye shall not be established.”
This sentence is recorded in the Book of God for our learning and our instruction. It is recorded here by Divine Inspiration to
encourage us to believe God.
Proposition:
The cause of Ahaz’s instability was his unbelief; and
unbelief was the cause of his destruction.
Divisions: Tonight,
I want briefly to talk to you about these four things:
1.
The Veracity of God.
2. The Unbelief of Men.
3. The Nature of Faith.
4. The Cause of Instability.
I.
THE
VERACITY OF GOD.
How
I wish I could persuade you, and fully persuade my own heart that God is true
in all things and deserves to be believed.
He is worthy of our most implicit faith and confidence
(Ps. 100:5; 117:1-2; 119:160).
· God is True to His Purposes.
· God is True to His Promises.
· God is True to His People.
A. God has prepared the
veracity of his word.
· Is there a promise He has not kept?
· Is there a prophecy he has not fulfilled?
B. A good many of us here have proved his
faithfulness in many ways for many years - (Lam. 3:1-26).
· His Goodness.
· His Providence.
· His Forgiveness.
· His Preservation.
C. The gospel I preach to you is as true and
faithful as the God for whom I speak - (I John 1:9).
· The Covenant of Grace is True!
· The Accomplishment of Redemption is True!
· The Offer of Free Pardon is True!
God
is true. If you get nothing else I say
tonight, I pray that you will get hold of this, God is true. He deserves to be believed. God is worthy of our faith.
II.
THE
UNBELIEF OF MAN.
Man by
nature is not willing to believe God.
If I understand the Word of God, the greatest, most abominable evil in
this world is the horrible sin of unbelief - (I John 5:10). Yet unbelief is the nature of man and the
bent of man’s will.
Both
faith and unbelief involve the will.
Our text says, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established.” Believing is a matter of
the will. No one believes without
willing to believe. Faith is a gift of
God wrought in us, not upon us. He
works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. He gives us a will to believe. Faith is a voluntary thing. If I believe God, I do so willingly. And unbelief is a voluntary thing. If you refuse to believe God, you do so
voluntarily, you choose to do so. And
your unbelief is your own fault. It is
a crime for which you must bear all blame and guilt. Why is man so unwilling to believe? Why do you not believe God?
Note: Man by nature prefers to believe
anything rather
than believe God.
· The Speculations of Science.
· The Myths of Mysticism.
· The Reports of Sociologists.
Why? Why do men and women refuse to believe God?
A. They prefer feeling to faith.
· Emotional Religion.
B. They believe in themselves.
C. They prefer visions, signs, miracles, and experiences to revelation.
D. Faith in Christ begins with an acknowledgment of personal sin, depravity, guilt and inability.
Tonight,
you are without excuse. God has
spoken. Your unbelief is
voluntary. You believe not God because
you choose not to believe him.
III. THE NATURE OF FAITH.
What is
faith? Faith is taking God at his Word
(Heb.11:1-3).
·
About Creation!
·
About Himself!
·
About His Son!
·
About Myself!
·
About His Salvation!
·
About His Providence!
A. Faith is an index of the
heart.
·
It proves love!
B. Faith is the proof of grace.
· Regeneration.
· Redemption.
· Election.
C. Faith inspires prayer.
Illustration: David (II Sam. 7:27).
D. Faith glorifies God (Heb. 11:6; John 6:29;
11:40).
· The highest form of praise in the universe is faith!
IV. THE CAUSE OF INSTABILITY.
Our
text says, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”
A. First, and foremost, that
means if you do not trust Christ, you will not be established in the kingdom of
God. If you do not believe God, you
will be lost forever.
B. But let me take the liberty of applying this
text to us, to you who are God’s people, and to the members of this church.
If
you will not believe you will not be…
1.
Established in Comfort.
2. Established in Doctrine.
3. Established in Hope.
4. Established in Service - (Zeph. 3:16; I Cor. 15:58).
5. Established in Consecration.
Application:
Illustration: The Old English Squire at Christmas -
Get a Bigger Basket! (Heb. 4:16).
Sinner, God is greater in mercy than you are in sin. He is more willing to forgive than you are to transgress. And He is more able to save than you are to do evil. But, “if ye will not believe, ye surely shall not be established.” God help you to believe!