False Beliefs that Deceived the Babylonians (Isaiah 47:8-15)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“8 Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children'; 9 But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments. 10 For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, 'No one sees me'; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me.' 11 Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know. 12 Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth-- Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail. 13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you. 14 Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before! 15 Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.”
Introduction
From Eve's message, this is the testimony that we heard. When Pastor Kwang-Su Ryu was an assistant pastor, he visited the home of a church member. When he gave worship at that home, he heard loud noises of banging. After the worship was over, the pastor asked the homeowner who was banging and she replied that her son is demon possessed. Every time the child hears worship and messages, he starts screaming and banging. After he gave the sermon, Pastor Ryu was given a command, to come and give worship service at the church officer’s home. He went home and found all of the Bible verses regarding healing, and brought it to the house. He read and explained all of those Bible verses to the child. That child was eventually healed, he was able to experience that God’s word is truly alive and active. This shows how powerful the word of God is. When we take the word of God as living and active within our lives, then the word of God will work in our lives. Last time, we spoke about the destruction of Babylon. From today’s sermon, we can see how Babylon lived a walk of faith full of in-corrections and misunderstanding.
1. Babylonians Are Deceived
1) The Babylonians' delusion
Verses 8, 10 - This showed the great amount of arrogance upon Babylon. Babylon thought that they were living the best life and everything was going good for them. It is God who is in control of life but they boasted firmly that they will never be widows or without children. They were thinking that they were in control of life and they were challenging God. If you look at this, then you can see the seriousness of the problem of arrogance.
Verse 10 - What Babylon relied on only themselves and but they were full of evil. Even if they lived the most wicked and evil life, no one will know about it. The Babylonians were full of boast because they achieved things on their own. Their arrogance were this full. They were proclaiming that no one is better or greater than them. They kept repeatedly proclaiming this. When people become this arrogant, then this shows how much they change. They cannot see God. They will block the glory of God. But what God should be saying, the Babylonians were saying.
2) The root of destruction
Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.” and Isaiah 45:21 “Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.”- They were saying the words that God should be saying. God did not leave them but made them fall into utter destruction.
Verses 9, 11 - God said that He will make sure that the Babylonians will become widows and without children, and lose everything. No matter what they do or try to do to prevent this, God was saying that they cannot block their fate and destiny of destruction that will come upon them. This happened because of their incorrect faith. They didn’t know that their chants to prevent their destruction were for the devil and evil spirits.
Verse 11 - God was speaking about what will happen to those who do evil and wickedness before God. You may not know why everything wrong is happening to you and you feel like you are losing everything, and nothing is working out. But if you look at this, God’s judgment is quick, interesting and humorous. The Babylonians were boasting that they will never become widows and will never be childless. But when God’s judgment came upon them, God judged them where they became widows and childless. If you look down on others and criticize others, then the same thing will happen to you eventually. That is why we must always remain humble. People may call it, “Karma.” We must be careful what we do and say.
Psalm 73:18-19 “Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.” - People gain power and go to high positions. When they reach there they are placed in slippery places. In those slippery places, if God pushes you just slightly, then you will fall and will fall very quickly. You will be consumed with utter terror when this happens.
2. Incorrect Beliefs of Babylon
1) Babylonian religions
Verse 12 - Ever since they were born, they were born to memorize chants and sorceries. They thought that if they did this then they would receive answers and the goodness of their lives. When the world turns into problems, they turn to sorcerers and memorize chants. We all know that all idol worshippers will face death. People who do this, they believe that miracles will come upon their lives. People keep memorizing these chants and keep repeating them over and over again. These people enter into 24 hour prayer with these chants. But what is absolute is that problems will come to them eventually. Within a cult group in Korea, they cannot look at the faces of Christians. When I look at them with one stare, I could tell right away that they were possessed with evil spirits. They couldn’t stand still and couldn’t speak at all. If you speak in chants then evil spirits will take over you.
2) False beliefs of the Babylonians
Verses 13-15 - We can see what kind of faith that they possessed. They would stare that the sky and prophesy of what will happen in the future. They will look at stars and try to prophecy of the future of people around them. Or other people will look at the moon and predict the futures of people. Many people will listen to what they say and be fearful, and stake their lives to keep their words and predictions. These people will predict the future of their nations and will try to keep that sorcery to preserve their future and prosperity. God is saying that these are all nonsense and don’t reply on these things. When we look on YouTube and newspapers, people try to speak of different prophecies but don’t believe in them.
When you read those things, remember Leviticus 19:31 “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.” - Believing in those things will only torment our souls. God is the one who created the heavens and the earth. God who created all things, He is the only one who can see the future so we should try not to see it or have other people see it.
Verse 14 - This was what God proclaimed. There were people who looked at the stars and moon that God created, they would look at them and try to predict the future but God was saying that they are nothing but like dry grass. Which means that they are meaningless and have no value or any power to save you. These are all nonsense and useless so don’t believe in them. But so many people fall into these things.
Verse 15 - No one can save you but only God can.
3. True Faith in the Throne
1) The true nature of the devil's authority
Revelation 12:9 “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” - What kind of creature was Satan? He was a being that deceived people. He is a deceiver and a liar. All of the prophecies of man, they are all lies so don’t believe in them. Many people will believe in them and search after these sorcerers to find the answers to their problems. People will chase after these famous shamans who proclaim prophecies such as South and North Korea will be unified. This prophecy will be nice but don’t be deceived. When you believe and hear these prophecies, don’t pollute your ears with these lies and deceptions.
Numbers 23:23 “For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’ ” - The background of this event was Balaam, a corrupt prophet and the king of Moab, Barak, were trying to curse Israel. They were trying to get their gods and even the God of Israel to cure them but this couldn’t be done. For Israel, no one could curse them. What does this mean? For children of God, no sorcery or evil can go against the children of God. No one can harm the children of God. For nonbelievers, they should always be on alert and be weary because Satan will always try to attack them.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” - For the children of God, no one can harm you because God is always protecting you. No matter what happens, don’t worry. Why is that?
John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” - If you become a child of God, that is it. Just like how no one could touch the Israelites, no one can touch or harm you.
Hold to Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” - there is great power within God and that power is upon us. What is that authority and power? That power is within Christ and that power is upon you. Be victorious. No matter what problem comes to you, there is no need for you to worry. You are children of God. This is because you are God’s treasure and jewel.
2) True treasure
2 Corinthians 4:4, 6, 7 “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” - We may be weak and vulnerable but we are God’s treasure and jewel. What is that treasure? That treasure is of great power and authority. The treasure inside of us is God, Himself. Hold onto this. Jesus Christ who is the True King is within us. We just need to enjoy this mystery of the true treasure.
2 Corinthians 4:4 - For nonbelievers, Satan is their master but for children of God, Satan runs away from us. This is because of the image of God within us. We possess the authority and power to cast out Satan so there is no need for us to run away from Satan.
2 Corinthians 4:6 - This is talking about Christ who is within our heart. This Christ who possesses the light of life and light of creation is within us. This means that we possess the power to save the 237 nations. Enjoy this blessing.
Conclusion
2 Corinthians 4:11 “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” - The method to enjoy Christ is to always allow ourselves to be discarded before God. Entrust all things to God. Hold onto only Christ. When we do this, then we will receive a new life. Then, the power of life that is within Christ will be upon us.
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