In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith discusses the folly of idol worship and the emptiness of pursuing worldly desires. He emphasizes that these idols, whether representing sex, money, or power, are all vanity and cannot bring true fulfillment. Pastor Chuck reminds the listeners that God has chosen and formed them for Himself, with the purpose of showing forth His praise. However, he also points out that the people have not called upon God and have grown weary of Him. The sermon highlights the need to turn away from idols and worldly pursuits and instead seek a relationship with God, who loves and has a unique plan for each individual's life.

Welcome to the Word for Today. The Word for Today is a continuous study of the Bible, taught by Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently teaching from the Old Testament. And if you're following along in your Bible, we'll be continuing today in Isaiah chapter 43, beginning with verse 14, as we continue with an in-depth study. And now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck. Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, for your sake I have sent to Babylon, and I have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Now he speaks here of Babylon. And Babylon is not yet a dominating empire. Babylon is still a secondary power. Assyria is the great power in the world at this point. But he even is speaking already of the fall of Babylon before it ever rose. I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. And thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters. Could this be a hint of the ocean currents? We know that there are paths in the waters. The currents in the oceans that have been discovered, and of course they are now used by the ocean liners and the freighters and so forth. They follow the ocean currents and save actually tremendously on fuel by taking the paths in the seas. Which bringeth forth the chariot and the horse, the army and the power? They shall lie down together, they shall not rise, they are extinct, and they are quenched as a toe, or a punk, a fuse. So God's speaking of going to bring Babylon down. Remember ye not the former things? Neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth. Shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls, because I give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. Now you go over to Israel today and you do see that God has done just that. Down in the once desert area around Beersheba, they have brought the water from the Sea of Galilee and they've irrigated down there. And it's much like our Imperial Valley. The weather is warm and it is compatible for growing food year round. And it's a very lush, glorious area that was once desert area there, cause the rivers in the desert and the waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed. I've made, I've formed, I've created. God said, I've formed them for myself and they shall show forth my praise. Now again, the parallel in the New Testament, the book of Ephesians chapter one, as he speaks of his chosen, having chosen us in Christ before the foundations of the world, that we might be to the praise of the glory of his grace. That we might bring glory to God. And so I have formed you, he said, for myself and they shall show forth my praise. But he said, you have not called upon me, O Jacob, but you have been weary of me, O Israel. And here they are, this favored nation status with God, all of the blessings of God, and still they have not responded. Thou has not brought me the small cattle of the burnt offerings, neither have you honored me with your sacrifices. I've not caused you to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense, but you have brought me no sweet cane with mercy, with money. Now the sweet cane was a part of the chemicals or part of the perfume actually that they used in the making of the anointing oil. Going back to the book of Exodus, as God commanded them to make this holy anointed oil to anoint for consecration, the different vessels and all, this anointing oil, a part of the concocting of it, included this cane. And it's a reference to this sweet cane, which was sort of an oiled perfume. And God said, you haven't brought it to me, neither have you filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices, but you have made me to serve with your sins. Thou hast weary me with your iniquities. Here God is wanting fellowship, but they continue in their sin. They continue in their iniquity and God can't fellowship with them in that condition. But I, even I am he that blots out your transgressions for my own sake. Not really because you deserve it. It is through his grace that they have been forgiven. It is through God's grace that you are forgiven. We don't deserve these blessings of God. We don't deserve all that God has done for us. It's through his grace in order that he might have fellowship with you. He exercises his grace towards you. And then he said, I will not remember your sins. Isn't that great? God forgets one thing, your sin. I love that. God said he'll never bring it up against you again. That's what real forgiveness is all about. We, we say, oh, I forgive you, but we really don't quite often. Because when there is true forgiveness, there is also forgetness. True forgiveness doesn't bring it up again. And, and when a person says, well, I forgive you, that's all right. Not always is it a true forgiveness, because when a incident arises at a later time and you say, oh, I'm so sorry, would you forgive, hey man, how many, I already, you know, you did that before. Don't you remember? And, you know, well, it wasn't a true forgiveness if it's being brought up again and remembered against you again. And so God's great forgiveness is, is that of forgetting. That's the kind of forgiveness that you have from God. Your past has been blotted out. As far as God is concerned, the past sin does not exist. God's forgiveness is total and God's forgiveness is complete. You are the one who won't forgive yourself. You are the one who is living in this misery because you can't forget. And, and what a shame to constantly being, bringing it up to God when he's already forgot it. You're reminding him of it. That's not a smart thing to do. Receive God's total and complete forgiveness. Realize that it's not to be remembered against you again. Here's the word justified that you may be justified. And that's what this kind of forgiveness is all about. Justified means just as though you never did it. And that's the kind of forgiveness that God has for you. It's just as though you never did it. That's beautiful. God doesn't remember it against me ever again because I am just as though I had never done it in the first place. That's what God's justification is all about. Declare thou that you may be justified, he said. Let's plead together. In another little ways further along the line here in Isaiah, we're going to read God saying, come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they may be as white as snow. Though they be red as crimson, they may be as white as wool. God wanting to forgive you. Sometimes we have the wrong concept of God. We think God's holding it against me. No, God wants to forgive you. God wants to get it out of the way. He says, just confess it so we can move on. Don't hang on to it. Just confess it, forsake it, and let's go on. I'll forget it. I'll forgive and I'll justify you. Come now, let's reason together. I'm willing to forgive. I'm willing to justify you. Now the sin goes back to your first father, back to Adam. Your first father sinned. And even your teachers have transgressed against me. There is none righteous, no, not one, none that doeth good, none that seeketh after God, the Scripture said. And therefore, he said, I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary and I've given Jacob to the curse and Israel to the reproaches. Their sin goes back to your, to your first father. Yet now, hear, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus saith the Lord that made thee, formed thee from the womb, which will help thee. Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, and thou Jizran, whom I have chosen." So the idea of chosen, twice mentioned here. Again, formed you, I have made you. God has formed His people. God has chosen His people. And I will pour water upon him that is thirsty. Remember Jesus stood and said, if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He that drinketh of the water that I give out of his innermost being floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit upon thy children and my blessings on your offspring or your children. Your descendants will be blessed. It's such a glorious thing to serve the Lord and to see the blessings of the Lord upon your children and your children's children. What a joy and what a blessing it is to have this beautiful work of God in the hearts of our children and of our children's children as we are able to see it now in the next generation. It's just so beautiful. Pouring water upon the thirsty, floods upon the dry ground. And the relationship again, pouring the Spirit upon your children. In the last days the Lord said He'll pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Young men shall see visions. And they shall spring up, the Lord said, as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. This springing up, the abundance and that freshness and that neat, neat life that we have in Christ. And one shall say, I am the Lord's. Another shall call himself by the name of Jacob. And another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord and surname himself by the name of Israel. And so that commitment to God, I'm the Lord's. And then they began to take the names such as Israel governed by God and that commitment of themselves to God. And thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel and His Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Lord of hosts. I am the first. I am the last. Beside me there is no God. In the book of Revelation, the beginning and the end. I'm the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, the totality. Our lives are completely encompassed by Him. He's behind me, the psalmist said. He is before me and His hand is upon me. As Paul said, in Him we live, we move, we have our being. I am the first and the last. I'm the beginning and the end. I'm the Alpha and the Omega. And beside me there is no true God. There are gods that people have, but they are not true God. And who as I shall call and declare it and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people and the things that are coming and shall come, let them show unto them. Now God said, who can prophesy like I can? Who can declare it before it ever happens as I do? The things that are going to happen, who can, who can tell the future? Let them come and let them show us, let them demonstrate. Fear ye not, neither be afraid, have not I told you from that time and have declared it. You are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? There is no God. I know not any. I like that. If he doesn't know of any, then it's rather foolish for you to say you do. That minister up in Washington who said, when I look in the mirror, I see God. And when God looks in the mirror, He sees me. I am God, you know. Sad. Well, it's worse than that. It's bad. If he'd only read. Jesus said, in that day I'll say, depart from me. I never knew you. But hey, I'm God. I didn't know you. Because beside me there is no God. I know not any. Now they that make a graven image, all of these little idols are empty. They are nothing. Now, the nation had been playing around with idolatry. When Hezekiah became king, he destroyed many of the idols that they had set up. And there was a surface spiritual reformation under Hezekiah. But at the death of Hezekiah, idolatry came back with a vengeance. And the nation of Judah was plunging into idolatry, so that by the time that Jeremiah, a hundred years later, was prophesying, the nation was given over to idolatry. There were many idols in every home. These little statues that the people prayed before, and the people worshipped. It was an abomination unto God, and it was forbidden under the law, and yet the people began to make these idols. The interesting thing is that when Professor Shiloh did the excavations on the site of Ophel, the city of David there in Jerusalem, as they were doing their excavations, they came to the strata of ashes that were created when Nebuchadnezzar burned the city of Jerusalem. And you can see there in the excavations, as they made a cut down, you can see there the strata of ashes that are a mute testimony to the truth of God's word that spoke of Jerusalem being burned with fire by Nebuchadnezzar. And you can see the ashes of that fire is still there as a strata in the cuts that they've made there on the side of the mountain. And in the homes at that strata, the houses of the people, Professor Shiloh told me that they found hundreds of little idols, several idols in each little house that was there. And so God is going to address here the subject of idolatry, making idols and worshiping them. And though it doesn't really relate to us today in as much as we don't really form or fashion little idols, still people have idols in their hearts that they worship. You see, the idols to them represented many of the things that people worship today. These things they called gods, and they made little likenesses to represent these different things. So if a person says, I'm a party animal, I love to party, you know, I live to party and all, and I've seen it on the bumper stickers, you know, life is a party, born to party. And then there are those born to shop. And that is a person's god. They haven't created an idol, but in those days they did have the little idol Bacchus. And that was saying, I'm born to party. I live for party. They did have the little idols that represented Ashtoreth. And that was saying, I'm into sex. They did have idols that represented money and power. And they said, I'm after the bucks. And so they formed idols. And the Lord speaks of the folly of these. They make these little graven images, but they are all of them vanity or emptiness. And their delectable things shall not profit. They're crafty arts. And they are their own witnesses. These little idols are, can't you see? They have eyes, but they can't see. And they don't know anything. Face to face, Lord, let me know. Face to face, Lord, let me see you. Pastor Chuck Smith will return with a few closing comments. But first I'd like to remind you that today's message is available in its unedited form on cassette or CD. Simply write or call and ask for ordering details on tape or CD number C3262. Again, that's tape or CD number C3262. As we come to a close in today's program, we'd like to introduce a brand new book written by Pastor Chuck Smith entitled six vital questions of life. In his new book, Pastor Chuck considers six life changing questions asked by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans, and then expounds upon the biblical answers that can revolutionize your Christian walk with God. Satan is relentlessly pointing out our failures and mistakes. And even though Satan is condemning us, Pastor Chuck reminds us of the scriptures that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. When Satan is hassling you concerning God's love, look to the cross where God displayed how much he loves you. So if you ever had a question or concern with respect to your relationship with God, the book six vital questions of life by Pastor Chuck will reassure and reinforce God's unique plan and purpose for your life. You see, if God is for you, then who can be against you? These are just some of the answers that can help you understand the love that God has for you, and that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. This is definitely a life-changing resource and one you'll want to share with your family and friends, especially if there is a misconception of God's love in a person's life. Again, you'll be requesting the book, six vital questions of life, new by Chuck Smith. Also, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, you can do so by simply asking for program number C 3262 when you write or call. Once again, that's program number C 3262. Our address is the word for today. Post office box 8000 Costa Mesa, California 92628. We can also be reached by dialing toll free 1-800-272-9673. Once again, that's 1-800-272-WORD. Or you can reach us on the worldwide web at www.twft.com. Or if you'd like to email us, you can do so at info at twft.com. Well, coming up next time on the word for today, Pastor Chuck will be continuing his fascinating study through the book of Isaiah. That's coming up next time on the word for today. And now with a few closing comments, here's Pastor Chuck. Father, we thank you for that finished work of Jesus Christ, who once and for all offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins, that he might reconcile us, Lord, unto you through the blood of the cross and make us children of God. Lord, we thank you that you were willing to bear our sins, that you were wounded and pierced for our transgressions. You were crushed for our inequities. Lord, may we walk in the glorious light of the gospel, drawn by your love to this fellowship with God. In his name we pray. This program is sponsored by the word for today. The radio ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.