The Evidence of the Throne for Those Who Remain to Enjoy (Isaiah 17:1-14)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“1 The burden against Damascus. 'Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,' Says the Lord of hosts. 4 'In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of his flesh grow lean. 5 It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim. 6 Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches,' Says the Lord God of Israel. 7 In that day a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars. 9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be desolation. 10 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; 11 In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow. 12 Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us.”
Introduction
We have listened to the pastor Kwang-Su Ryu’s testimony and during his testimony, he told us that many years ago, there was a huge problem that he encountered and it was a crisis that almost bought his downfall. Pastor Ryu was in a crisis where he almost gave up and so for two months, he started to pray consistency. I think he prayed very earnestly before God and at that time, he said that he prayed within the name of Jesus Christ very sincerely. When we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, He gives us the blessing even in the midst of problems. When you pray, pray for the power of the heavenly throne and for all darkness be broken in the name of Jesus Christ. He prayed this prayer sincerely. He prayed for this for two months and he was able to receive answers but he didn’t receive it immediately. Even though he didn’t receive answers immediately but he stated that he was able to experience peace. This is how proof that you are being accurately guided. From that point on, more answers continued to come upon him. He received many answers that he couldn’t believe how many answers he was receiving. When we face a problem and pray, then you will experience peace in your heart. This is the peace that God gives you. God is showing you evidence that He has accepted your prayers. This is because Jesus Christ is the one who listens to our prayers. This is the proof of our prayers, Jesus gives us peace. When you pray, I pray that you may experience peace. No matter what problems comes to us, if we experience this peace then a problem is not a problem at all for us. We read today’s Biblical scripture, the one who listens and answers our prayer is Jesus who is living. This is very important. Even now, the living God is giving us the word of God and is working to fulfill His word. May this day become a day where you receive the greatest blessing.
1. The Word of the Lord God
1) Warning against Damascus
Verses 1-3 - Damascus is the present day Syria. In today’s biblical scripture, the background was based on the warning of Isaiah 7:2 “And it was told to the house of David, saying, 'Syria’s forces are deployed in Ephraim.' So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.” Judah’s king, Ahaz was given a warning. Ahaz, Judah’s King was being attacked by two nations, Damascus and Northern Israel, and he started trembling in fear. At that time, Ahaz used his brain and decided to ask for help from Assyria and to attack the two nations. At that time, God gave a warning to King Ahaz and the land of Judah, and was commanding Ahaz to pray to God instead of relying on other nations. God was telling Ahaz that he will experience destruction if he relies on other nations and to rely on God alone. God gave another warning to Ahaz after Damascus was trying to attack Judah. God was not happy towards the Gentiles and Gentiles nations that were trying to attack his people and his people’s nation that had His covenant. Israel was a nation that God raised up for His covenant and a nation where the Messiah will come. Since these Gentile nations were trying to destroy Israel, God was not pleased.
Verse 1 - God said that Damascus will become a ruinous heap.
Verse 2 - God was completely going to destroy Northern Israel and Damascus to the point where no one will experience any peace and animals will lay in peace because no one will be in those lands.
Verse 3 - God was saying that He will completely destroy Damascus. Israel received a lot of God’s glory but a lot of that glory was taken away when they started worshiping idols. During King David and Samuel’s time, God’s glory was upon them greatly but due to idol worship, all of that glory will be taken away. God said that He declared this. God was declaring that this was His word. He declared it as if He was stamping a decree or signing a contract. If He made this decree, this means that this is final and will absolutely be fulfilled. Why is that? God is alive. God’s word will absolutely be fulfilled.
2) Warning against North Israel
Verses 4-6 - Northern Israel and Aram were trying to destroy Israel and so God gave a warning to Northern Israel.
Verse 4 - Northern Israel was once a very powerful nation. Northern Israel came and destroyed 120,000 soldiers of Israel and took them as captives. Northern Israel was a very powerful nation but that powerful nation was ripped of God’s glory and became very weak. They became so weak that it was written that their fatness of their flesh will grow lean. It didn’t end there.
Verse 5 - When we gather harvest, you take the head of the wheat and cut off the body of the wheat. This is what God was going to do to the land of Northern Israel. When you cut grains, there are leftovers but God was saying that even the leftovers will be taken and nothing will be left. When there are leftovers, the impoverished can come to pick up the leftovers but all of the leftovers will be taken away and nothing will remain. Why was God this furious? We can see that Northern Israel went against the nation of King David who had the covenant of God. Anyone who challenges against God’s covenant and people of His covenant, God said that He will not stand still. Anyone who goes against God’s covenant, God said that He will not stand still. This caused the absolute destruction of Northern Israel. This is the reason why we must hold onto God’s covenant. We must be thankful for the fact that we possess God’s covenant.
Verse 6 - This is interesting. All of the trees and grains were absolutely destroyed but a few remained. It was written that there were olives still remaining on top of the trees but no matter how much they shook the olive trees, they couldn’t get the remaining olives. What does this mean? No matter what crisis or incident arises, there are always remaining ones. It may seem like everything is destroyed and gone but God will leave behind His remaining ones. This is an astounding word of God.
Verse 3 talks about the remaining ones. The nations of Northern Israel and Damascus, God said that He will absolutely destroy these nations. But God said that He will leave behind remaining ones in Northern Israel. Why was that? Northern Israel were the descendants of Abraham. God promised to Abraham that through his descendants will save the world so God kept His covenant with Abraham. But Damascus had nothing to do with God’s covenant and Abraham. This is very important. Abraham was acknowledged by God and was blessed tremendously by God. When we believe that God is alive and go towards God and His covenant, God will not only bless us but He will bless our descendants. When you sincerely and devotionally hold onto God’s covenant, then God will be very happy and pleased. Not only will you be blessed but your descendants will be blessed tremendously.
Verse 6 - That is why it said that this was God’s decree. Enjoy this blessing.
2. Blessings of Those Who Remain
1) The concerns of those who remain
Verses 7-8 - Who are the remaining ones? The characteristics of the remaining ones are ones who look up to God during the midst of problems. When a person faces a problem, their true self appears. The Bible explains about those who remain. The remaining one will look towards their maker. When you look up to God, your Creator, and repent; this is an image of a true remaining one. You will look up to God and will give worship that glorifies God. You will come out of idolatry and restore worship.
Not only that but in verse 8 - You used to worship idols but now you are able to reexamine yourself and repent. You are able to see the spiritual reality. They will no longer look towards idols. This is talking about changing your life direction. You are setting your life direction towards God alone, the Creator God. Enjoy this blessing. What about those who don’t repent?
2) The concerns of those who do not repent
Verses 9-11 - When the Israelites entered Canaan, God commanded the Israelites to destroy all of the Canaanites and everything within it. This was because the Canaanites were worshipping idols and using everything to make idols. That is why God wanted to destroy any traces of idol worship. But at that time, the Israelites started making their own idols and worshiping them. Those who cannot repent and come before God, they cannot worship God at all.
Verse 10 - You start forgetting God’s word. The Israelites started getting busy worshiping idols instead. If you don’t know God, a nation will focus on trying to build their nation and making their nation more powerful. If you realize the spiritual fact, then you realize that true power comes from God not from money or economic status. There are so many people who misinterpret many things and problems even though they attend church.
Verse 11 - You start focusing on how to live a better life but God is saying that all of your prosperity will not become yours in the end. You put all of your energy into your prosperity but in the end, it will all be taken away. This is talking about the economic reality of those who leave God. You must believe and experience that God is alive. When you do this, then you will experience great power. Even if you don’t reap much fruits, God said that He will bring you great prosperity with those few fruits if you remain in God’s covenant. Great evidences will be given to those who hold onto His covenant. Enjoy the power of the heavenly throne.
3. Experiencing the Living God
1) The power of the Throne
Verses 12-14 - Many nations will experience wars against each other like waves clashing against each other.
But what is more important is seen in verse 13 - This is astounding power. No matter how powerful a nation may come against you, if God rebukes that mighty nation, that mighty nation will fall down immediately. Even a mighty nation, a great gush of wind will come and ruin that mighty nation if God commands it. No matter how powerful the world may be, if God pours down His wind then it will fall down immediately. This is who God is. God does all of this for His remaining ones and to fulfill His covenant.
Verse 14 - Many people interpret that King Hezekiah was the one who destroyed the entire 185,000 Assyrian army.
We must hold onto Isaiah 40:15 “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.” - We say that America, Russia, and China are all powerful nations but in God’s eyes, they are only seen as a drop in the bucket. Even if you gather all of the armies in this world, they are nothing in front of God. There is a great nation or an island but all of that is nothing to God. This is who God is. This is how powerful God. That powerful God who is sitting on the royal throne is with us. Believe in this. Nothing is a problem to us. God will use His remaining ones and will absolutely protect and watch His remaining ones.
2) The key to the Throne
John 1:1, 3, 12 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 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.” - The word of God is God. Jesus is the word of God. This means that Jesus is God.
John 1:3 - God is who is sitting at the throne God is the Creator God. That is why we must take God’s word very seriously. God created the world with the word of God. It is so important for us to believe in the word of God. If you believe in Jesus then you must believe in the word of God. If you believe in the word, you believe in the heavenly throne. This is very important.
John 1:12 - If you believe in the word of God, you will become a child of God. This is important. You need to have faith that you are a child of God. If you have this assurance then this is all that you need
Matthew 16:19 “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” - We already possess this blessing. For a child of God, we have been given the keys of heaven and earth. All children of God have received the heavenly keys. If we hold onto this and pray with it, then great works will arise in our lives.
John 14:26, 14 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” - This is an astounding message of God. The moment we believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the works of the Holy Spirit will come upon us. How can we receive the Holy Spirit? When you believe in Jesus. You believe in the word of God.
John 14:14 - Whenever I pray, I pray with the heavenly keys. I pray truly believing in the word of God. When you pray with the assurance of God’s word, then you will receive answers. If you pray with faith, then your prayers will absolutely be fulfilled and answered. When you pray, think about whether you are praying with true faith or not. Examine if you are just talking when you pray or do you pray with faith? When you pray with faith and experience peace, then this is the evidence of your faith. You will see evidences in your life.
3) The evidence of the Throne
Mark 16:17-18 “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” - Do you believe that God is alive? If you believe in this, then it is finished. When I pray with someone who is sick, I examine myself first. I pray with the faith that God’s word will absolutely be fulfilled. I pray with this faith. Then works will arise. This is because I believe that God is alive. This was what Apostle Paul believed in.
Acts 16:18, 3:6 “And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And he came out that very hour. 3:6 Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' ” - Paul took this demon possessed person and prayed with faith. When you pray with faith, the works of the Holy Spirit will arise. God will work with His light then darkness will flee.
Acts 3:6 - What is this that we possess? We have Christ. If we believe that Jesus is alive then works will arise no matter what. This was what Paul believed in. How did he give? He gave with the name of Jesus Christ and the crippled man walked. This is the blessing and evidence of the heavenly throne. This was not what was only granted to Paul and Peter but this is blessing that we also possess.
Luke 10:17 “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.' ” - The 70 workers were considered ordinary individuals, not apostles or great individuals like Paul but when they prayed in the name of Jesus, works arise. They had faith in the name of Jesus Christ. The same works will arise for us too. The Bible shows us so many evidences but if we don’t believe in it, then the Bible means nothing to you. May all problems in your life, may they all be solved with the word of God and with faith.
Conclusion
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” - We must hold onto this absolutely. We must absolutely hold onto from here is, “…He who believes in Me.” Do you believe? God said those who believe, God will work. Even works arose for Deacon Philip who was just a deacon. This is an astounding message. God promised that He is with us by the Holy Spirit. The start of all blessings of saving the world start with us holding onto God’s word with faith.
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