Sermon # 132 Series: Isaiah

Title: “Woe Unto Him That Striveth With His Maker!”

Text: Isaiah 45:9

Subject: A Warning to Rebels

Date: Sunday Evening – October 11, 1992

Introduction:

Isaiah 45 is a declaration of God’s absolute sovereignty, a declaration of God’s total, universal, absolute dominion over all things. Our text (verse 9) is a warning to all who dare rebel against this great and glorious Sovereign - “Woe Unto Him That Striveth With His Maker!”

“Keep silence, all created things,

And wait you Maker’s nod;

My soul stands trembling while she sings

The honors of her God.

Life, death, and hell, and worlds unknown,

Hang on His firm decree;

He sits on no precarious throne,

Nor borrows leave to be.

Chained to His throne a volume lies

With all the fates of men,

With every angel’s form and size

Drawn by the eternal pen.

His providence unfolds the book,

And makes His counsels shine;

Each opening leaf and every stroke

Fulfils some bright design.

Here He exalts neglected worms

To sceptres and a crown;

And then the following page He turns,

And treads the monarch down.

Not Gabriel asks the reason why,

Nor God the reason gives’

Nor dares the favorite angel pry

Between the folded leaves.

My God, I would not long to see

My fate with curious eyes,

What gloomy lines are wait for me,

Or what bright scenes may rise.

In Thy fair gook of life and grace

May I but find my name,

Recorded in some humble place

Beneath my Lord the Lamb!”

Proposition: Sooner or later all people will be made to bow to and acknowledge God’s absolute sovereignty, either in worship or in astonishment.

Illus: Nebuchadnezzar- Sooner or later, everybody is going to learn what

Nebuchadnezzar learned- (Daniel 4).

I want us to begin at verse 5 and work our way down to our text in verse 9.

Verse 5- Here is a declaration of God’s absolute sovereignty, both over individual men and nations. We can never get a right view of life, or of history, or of world events until we understand that God Almighty is the sovereign Ruler of all things.

· All the Affairs of Men- Cyrus!

· All the Affairs of Nations- Babylon! Persia!

Verse 6- The reason why God does what he does in the exercise of his universal sovereignty is that he might be glorified as God alone by all his creatures- (Rom. 9:17; Rev. 4:1).

Verse 7- As he is sovereign over all men and all nations, so the Lord our God is totally sovereign over all the affairs of providence and grace (Ps. 115:3; 135:6).

1. “I form the light!”

· Natural Light (Gen. 1:3-5; 8:22).

· Moral Light (Rom. 2:15).

· Spiritual Light (II Cor. 4:6).

2. “And create darkness!”

He creates darkness by withdrawing the sun, or by causing a solar eclipse, hiding the sun, He creates darkness in men by removing their sight. He creates moral darkness by withdrawing from reprobate men the very light of nature (Rom. 1). And this is the forrunner of everlasting darkness.

3. “I make peace!”

· Peace between God and man.

· Peace between man and man.

· Peace in the heart.

· Peace in churches.

· Peace in the home.

· Peace in the world.

4. “And create evil!”

He is not talking about the evil of sin. That is not God’s work- (James 1:13). Sin is over perversion of God’s work! When he says, “I create evil,” the Lord God is declaring that all afflictions, adversities and calamities, the providential punishment of sin, are the works of his hands (Job 2:10; Amos 3:6).

5. “I the Lord do all these things!”

The Persians (Iranians) over whom Cyrus was to reign had a pagan nation (Zoroastrianism) that there are two gods, one good, the other evil- Here, long before Zoroastres developed his heresy, the Lord God declares that he alone is God, sovereign over good and evil.

Verse 8- As all good and evil in providence comes from the hand of God, so all grace and salvation is the work of his hands. God is sovereign over all men, sovereign in all world events, and sovereign in the exercise of his grace. Verse 8 is a prophetic declaration of the saving, redemptive work of Christ, the Lord our Righteousness.

1. He came down from heaven to earth.

2. He brought in an everlasting righteousness.

3. When he finished his work salvation and righteousness sprang up together (Ps. 85:7, 10, 11).

4. “I the Lord have created it!” “Salvation is of the Lord.”

The Absolute Sovereignty of God is a matter of indisputable fact. It is so manifestly revealed in Holy Scripture and attested to in the history of the world that no one can fail to recognize it as a matter of indisputable fact. Many suppress and deny what they know must be so. They “hold the truth in unrighteousness!” But they cannot erase this fact from their minds- If there is a God in heaven who creates and upholds all things, that God is totally, absolutely sovereign!

Yet, despite all that they know, facts they cannot deny, men and women are still found fighting against God. Our text stands as a solemn warning form God to all who dare rebel against him- “Was Unto Him That Striveth With His Maker!”

Let me wrap this message up by asking a question and then making a statement.

I. My question to you is this- Are You Striving Against God?

Perhaps you think, “It is impossible for men to strive against God.” But the fact is men and women do it all the time. This is the great characteristic difference between the believer and the unbeliever. The believer bows to God. The unbeliever strives against God. The believer has surrendered to the rule of Christ. The unbeliever kicks against the rule of Christ. For the believer the issue of lordship has been settled. For the unbeliever the issue is yet unresolved.

Note: Though the issue has been settled for the believer, it is a matter that must be dealt with everyday. Everybody we must bring ourselves again under the rule of Christ.

A. To strive against God is to Resist His Will.

1. God has revealed his will to men everywhere to repent, to trust Christ, to bow to the rule of his Son. But men everywhere respond like Pharaoh, saying, “Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice? I know not the Lord, neither will I obey his voice!”

NOTE: No father would, or should, tolerate such impudence from a child; and God will not tolerate it from you!

2. Children of God, your Father has revealed his will to you in his Word, see that you obey it- (Pro. 3:5-6).

NOTE: Obedience to God’s will is a matter of faith!

B. To strive against God is to Murmur at His Providence.

Illus: David- Psalm 73!

“Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy and shall break

In blessing on your head!

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust Him for His grace;

Behind the frowning providence

He hides a smiling face!”

“Submit yourself to God!” (Matt. 11:28-30; Rom. 8:28).

C. To strive against God is to Dispute His Right To Be Gracious To Whom He Will Be Gracious- (Rom. 9:11-23).

We all claim the right for ourselves to do with our own what we will; but we attempt to tell God Almighty that it is not right for him to do with his own what he will! Be sure you get this. The Lord God Almighty…

1. Chose to whom he would be gracious, and passed by all others!

2. Redeemed the people of his choice with the blood of Christ, and passed by all others! (Heb. 2:16).

3. Sends his gospel to some, and hides it from others! (Read Matt. 11).

4. Pours out his Spirit upon some, and leaves others in their bondage, darkness and death!

5. He has mercy on whom he will; and whom he will he hardens.

Grace belongs to God. He gives it to whom he will. Now you can fight that if you want to. But your resistance is not going to alter God’s purpose!

D. To strive against God is to Reject and Despise The Gospel of His Grace.

Our great and glorious God, this August Sovereign of the Universe invites, commands, and who’s sinners to be reconciled to him through the blood of Christ (II Cor. 5:18-2). But, like those described in the parable, we consider anything a justificable excuse for our striving against God. (Luke 14:18-20).

Your unbelief, your refusal to trust Christ is…

1. Rebellion to His Rule!

2. Self-righteousness and Pride!

3. Enmity against God!

4. Contempt for the Blood of Christ and the Grace of God!

5. A Declaration that God is a liar!

6. Striving against God!

Are you striving against God? If you are, be warned. “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!”

II. To Strive Against God is the Height of Sin and Folly.

Nothing in all the world is more sinful. And nothing is more foolishly absurd. Shall a man strive against his Maker!

A. What could be more arrogantly impudent, and presumptuous? (vv. 9-10).

B. What could be more blatantly foolish?

C. What could be more certainly ruinous?

Application:

Our God is as gracious as he is great- Strive no more with him! (Jer. 18:6-8).