let's take out our Bibles open to Isaiah 41 verse 21 and while you get there 41 verse 21 and while you get there I'm going to set the stage by telling you about this crazy article that I read in Christianity Today Now by now everybody's heard of AI right artificial intelligence right some of you love it you use it some of you are kind of freaked out by it maybe because you watched a Terminator movie when you were young I don't know but according to this article and I quote we are about to witness the birth of a new kind of religion in the next few years or even months we will see the emergence of groups devoted to the worship of artificial intelligence the latest generations of AI powered chatbots have already left their early users a struck and sometimes terrified by their power these are the same Sublime emotions that lie at the heart of our experience of the Divine that sounds ridiculous right it's sounds crazy when I told that to Martha she was like that's so stupid and yet here's the point since the Garden of Eden humans have been vulnerable to leaving the worship of the one true God the sad history of humanity is filled with the foolishness of worshiping Idols created things Romans 1 Paul States it very clearly he says although Humanity claimed to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images they exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve created things rather than the Creator God is so serious about Idols that it's in the second commandment he forbids it there and why is he so concerned with Idols because an idol is a substitute for God an idol is a substitute for God Tim Keller in his book counterfeit Gods explains it really really well and I want to read this to you an idol is anything more important to you than God anything that absorbs your heart and Imagination more than God God anything you seek to give you what only God can give an idol is whatever you look at and say in your heart of hearts if I have that then I feel my life has meaning I know I'll have value and I'll feel satisfied significant and secure and when you consider Keller's explanation don't we do this all the time don't we do this all the time whether it's money possessions politics it's an election year we do this all the time we trust in things to satisfy the deepest longings of our heart over God and when we do that we miss the mark and in our study of Isaiah today sadly the Israelites have done just that they've turned away from Yahweh the one true God to the idols of the Nations Isaiah tells us about this in Chapter 2 he says that the land is full of idols and so Isaiah's message today comes to Israel in response to their persistent rebellion and to the idol worship and here Isaiah paints this Vivid picture of their future a future marked by Devastation and judgment remember the Assyrians came and then the Babylonians came and they destroyed Israel and Judah and they scattered their people and exiled their people and the temple is in rubble but amidst the pain and The desolation there's a glimmer of hope remember chapter 40 God speaks a word of comfort to his people beckoning them to trust him and if you remember Pastor John said last week this whole series is really about trust namely in whom do you trust and that's the question that we all need to ask ourselves today in whom or what are you trusting to satisfy you to give you significance and security so let's dive into Isaiah 41 and 42 today and let's see how God wants to open our eyes to the stupidity of Idols the supremacy of God and the satisfaction found only in him let's go to him in prayer God we pray that you would open our eyes today to your word We Praise You for Your Presence through your Holy Spirit we praise you for your word and we pray now God that you would use the word enlightened and illumined by your spirit to transform our hearts today God make us more aware of Idols in our lives and help us to turn to you we pray this in your name Jesus amen all right verse 21 chapter 41:21 you ready two people are ready all right here we go present your case says the Lord set forth your arguments says Jacob's King tell us you Idols what is going to happen tell us what the former things were so that we may consider them and know their final outcome or declare us the things to come tell us what the future holds so that we may know that you are gods do something whether good or bad so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear the point one is the stupidity of idols and so just as we began in chapter 41 we're in this kind of courtroom setting we're witnessing this Divine challenge as God is calling the idols out to present their case and what's on trial it's their supposed Divinity their power to predict the future in ancient times Idols had all sorts of domains agriculture wealth National Power but perhaps the Pinnacle of their power center was their ability to tell the the future that was the mark of their deity was to tell the future so what does God do he challenges them at the heart of their power cental to prove themselves and he says tell us Idols what is going to happen tell us the future oh you can't do that well well tell us why the past happened like it did interpret the past oh you can't do that either then God says well do something do anything good or bad so that we know that you have some Supernatural power and of course the Idols are silent and they demand the verdict that God gives in verse 24 let's go to that but you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless whoever chooses you is detestable now this is vivid language from Isaiah but what he's doing he's making it clear that Idols have nothing to offer the Israelites in fact they're worse than nothing they're so utterly worth worthless that they're detrimental why because whoever chooses an idol is detestable now that doesn't mean that God hates the Israelites or hates people who worship idols no he loves his Wayward people but he sees the Israelites kind of like I see my dog Franklin now I love Franklin here's a picture of Franklin isn't he so cute I think we have another picture of Franklin too because he's like the sweetest look at him he's that's his Christmas sweater he was reading that day but he's so cute and he's usually so sweet and lovable however Franklin has a problem he is drawn to trash like snotty kleenexes and wated up paper towels and empty Ziplock bags and dirty old socks that we throw away he Treasures these and he Hoards them and he kind of leans over them and he gets all tense and then when we come over to him he just growls I don't think he even enjoys it he just growls and then his eyes turn like black and Beady and we call it precious mode you know from The Lord of the Rings character my press Gollum and the and the ring of power turns Gollum into this hideous bee well Franklin he hovers over this trash and it turns him in from this lovingly little cute guy that you saw on the screen to this detestable little creature and we just marvel at his stupidity because we try to give him like these awesome bacon treats or we try to give him a new stuffed toy or play fetch with him and guess what he doesn't go for any of it he just goes for that wor worthless piece of trash and I think that's the image that Isaiah is portraying here when we opt for worthless Idols as a substitute for God we degrade ourselves before God and others think about sex money and power that's the Unholy Trinity of Idols all right think about that no matter which one you prioritize event eventually they become your God and you'll exploit people or you'll compromise your morals or you'll drive away and neglect the people that you love most in the world how often have we heard about how these particular Idols have ruined lives you hear about it all the time and even in the church especially in the church we hear about it and here God is revealing the true nature of Idols they are are stupid and then in verse 25 the attention shifts from the stupidity of God or the stupidity of Idols excuse me to the supremacy of God the supremacy of God I have stirred up one from the north and he comes one from the Rising Sun who calls on my name he treads on rulers as if they were mortar as if he were a Potter treading the clay who told of this from the beginning so that we could know or beforehand so that we could say he was right no one told of this no one foretold it no one heard words from you he's talking to Idols I says God was the first to tell Zion look here they are I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news now this is kind of hard to figure out what God is saying but what he's doing is now he is predicting the future he's doing the very thing that the idols could not and listen this is incredible I mean this is incredible verse 25 I have stirred up one from the north who is this unnamed one from the north God is going to raise up Cyrus in the future to be the king of the Persian Empire who would eventually come and invade from the north he comes from the Rising Sun the Persian Empire was east of Babylon and where does the Sun rise east yes you're awake awesome and then he conquers the rules of Babylon crumbling their empire as if he were a Potter treading the clay and historians report that when Cyrus rode in Babylon barely put up a fight verse 26 who told of this from the beginning God did through the prophet Isaiah who wrote this check this out 150 years before it happened I was the first to tell says God in verse 27 Cyrus wasn't even born yet and when Cyrus conquers Babylon he frees the Jews and allows them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and Cyrus is the messenger of good news given to Jerusalem so why wasn't Cyrus named In this passage because it's not about him it's not about him we'll talk more about him in the coming weeks but the future deliv an is all about the supremacy of God it's God who raises up Cyrus and delivers his people it's God who is recording it now so that when the next Generations witness it happen they will know that Yahweh alone is God he's the only one that can deliver not an idol God is the only one who saves and in verse 29 God continues his condemnation of Idols verse 29 see they are all false their deeds amount to nothing their images are but wind and confusion that word false in other translations it's the word vanity and that's the same word used in Ecclesiastes remember when the teacher is trying to tell all his listeners that all of life's Pursuits apart from God are absolutely meaningless they're like a vapor they're nothing see these Idols are nothing they're meaningless and they're empty and our modern day Idols they do the same thing they offer a false sense of identity fleeting satisfaction and I'm not just talking about the sinful Idols you know like greed or sex outside of God's design idolatry happens when we take good things and we put them above God and we make them ultimate things it's not so far from home is it so sports are they an idol they can be are relationships bad well no they're good they're part of God's design but can they be an idol can they be where you de derive love and meaning and purpose in life yes they can when Good Things become ultimate things that's idolatry too and so can we just take a moment moment and consider how much time we spend on these things I know almost all of you have them if you don't have one just bless you they're supposed to be good things that make our lives better they're supposed to connect us digitally to anyone at any time we have all the knowledge of the world in the palm of our hand so they should make us smarter right how many of you think that honestly deep connection to this thing is making your life better making your life healthier making you happier more satisfied nobody's raising your hands well you'd be right in line with all the evidence in her book ien psychologist Jean twang she highlights that individuals particularly from jenz who are constantly glued to their screens texting and engaging with social media their experience ing Rising rates of depression loneliness anxiety sleep disturbances and even Suicidal Thoughts despite having access to vast information and connectivity we find ourselves far from content they don't always make us happy and moreover smoke smartphones aren't really making us smarter either we're consuming so much information so much information so much visual stimuli out of the time that's actually cus causing our brains to rewire have you heard about this and when our brains rewire themselves it actually is causing our critical thinking skills to erode slowly so our smartphones are actually making us stupid how ironic and for some of you I know you just don't like the fact that I keep using the word stupid because when you grew up like in my house it was a naughty word right Martha but this is not my language this is the Lord's language through the Prophet Jeremiah people who worship idols are stupid and foolish it's we who are stupid if we think that we can fill our heart's desire with what only God is meant to fill he knows what we need he knows best he alone is God so in whom or what are you trusting to satisfy you today and in then in beginning of chapter 42 God offers his people and alternative to the stupidity of their Idols he offers satisfaction in a servant let's read 42 here is my servant who I uphold My Chosen One in whom I Delight I will put my spirit in him and he will bring Justice to the Nations he will not shout or cry out or raise his voice in the streets a bruised Reed he will not break and a smoldering Wick he will not snuff out in faithfulness he will bring forth Justice and he will not falter or be discouraged till he establish justice on the earth in his teachings the islands will put their hope so who do you think this servant is see last week we saw that Israel was to be the servant of the Lord and next week God will still be calling Israel the servant and we've seen other servants throughout history but this this is not Israel this is the promised Messiah this is the king of the line of David this is Jesus and the first four verses of chapter 42 they're called the servant songs of Isaiah and this is the first of four that are all fulfilled in Jesus and now how did I figure that out I just read my Bible because it's in Matthew 12 we can read these words right there fulfilled in Jesus and so here he is and another word for here is Behold Him God is saying look to my servant the Messiah Jesus look to him he is the chosen one he is the Christ and in him there is Delight he is the one who will satisfy the longings of his people he is the one that is coming and he's not going to take it by force he's going to come in humility he's going to come with gentleness and by the power of the spirit and so how does this Messiah how does Jesus come to bring satisfaction well it says in chap in verse one verse three and verse four it's Justice he's going to bring Justice to the Nations verse one he's going to bring forth Justice verse three he's going to establish justice on Earth verse four Justice is coming and we don't get that excited about it unless you're a Law and Order buff we just think Justice is the legal system right the courtroom but it's so much more biblical Justice is so much better check this out the word translated Justice here is the same word used in Exodus to describe the plan or the blueprint for the Tabernacle so biblical Justice is more like God's designed plan or BL blueprint for Human Society human flourishing it's the world as it ought to be it's everything made right wow isn't that what you really long for let's be honest do you want another dollar or another job or do you just want to be at peace and everything be right in your life see I God knows that what we really long for is Justice and he's bringing it he will not shout or cry out or raise his voice in the streets a bruised Reed he will not break a smoldering Wick he will not snuff out that's verse two and so notice how different Jesus the servant is from Cyrus who says in chapter 41 he's going to come and he's going to trample on rulers as on mortar no Cyrus comes with might but Jesus he comes with gentleness and humility he doesn't need to subjugate you but he could but he invites you he loves you he has compassion on our sinfulness he wants to forgive us and heal us and restore us that's why it says he will not shout or cry out a bruised Reed a smoldering Wick those are the hurting and the broken and when Matthew quotes these verses in in chapter 12 guess what Jesus is doing he's healing the broken and the hurting and today if you feel like I am a bruised Reed I am bent over and ready to break Jesus wants to mend your heart today he wants you to know his depth of love love for you he came for the hurting and the weary and he offers rest and healing or maybe you feel like I'm a smoldering Wick that my faith is so faint right now and I feel far from God he doesn't want to push you away even though that's in our nature to run from him no he wants you to behold him he's ready to ignite that flame of faith fath in your heart but we've got to look we have to behold Jesus then in verse five God speaks to Jesus his servant this is what God the Lord says the creator of Heavens who stretches them out who spreads out the Earth with all that Springs from it who gives breath to his people and Life to those who walk on it colon It's a colon because that's God's title that's his qualifications to declare this and then he says I the Lord Yahweh have called you in righteousness and I will take hold of your hand I will keep you and I will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles the Lord's servant was supposed to be Israel but they failed in obedience to be the blessing to the Nations and so Jesus we know this he comes and he lives a perfectly righteous life verse six and then he's crucified and God takes his hand and he raises him from the grave and in doing so Jesus becomes the Covenant the New Covenant we're going to celebrate to communion today and those words are going to ring out that this is my body broken for you this is the New Covenant in my blood shed for the Forgiveness of sins Jesus has come guys we're reading about the gospel 700 years before it happened I hope you're starting to trust God because he really does what he says he will do he is trustworthy who are we putting our trust in and then verse seven he's going to open the eyes that are blind he's going to free the captives from prison and release the dungeon those who sit in darkness yes Hallelujah guys he's going to bring freedom he's bringing Freedom that's his promise to bring spiritual Freedom he's opening our spiritual eyes to see the glory and the grace of his son and he's freeing us from our self-imposed prisons of sin and idolatry listen that's what Idols do when you give yourself and make something more important other than God it enslaves you that's what Paul talks about in Romans it imprisons you and it demands your attention and your time and then it deceives you and begins to erode away at your life perhaps you've heard this saying money is a great tool but it's a merciless Tyrant see money is not bad in fact when you make Jesus the Lord of your life then money becomes something that you're so eager to give away because it's his anyway because he's Lord and guess what you can trust him with it who has been blessed because you've trusted God with your finances yes he is trustworthy but unfortunately I know too many families who have absolutely been wrecked by greed and by the Love of Money verse eight I am the Lord that is my name I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to Idols see the former things have taken place and the new things I declare before they spring into being I announce them to you and here God is just reminding us that guess what the Idol are false we've established that they're not worthy of your trust because they can't do anything he alone is God Yahweh alone is God it's God who 150 years from now raises Cyrus up to deliver his people it's God 700 years from this message that comes as Jesus Christ to set the prisoners free to establish justice and restoration on the earth and he alone deserves the glory and the praise why do you think we sang that song today no one else no one else deserves Your Glory no one else deserves your praise because he alone Jesus is Worthy that is the truth that we sing about in verse 10 sing to the Lord a new song his praise from the ends of the Earth you go down to the Sea and all that's in it you islands and all who live in them let the Wilderness in its Town raise their voices let the settlements where Kadar lives Rejoice let the people of CA Sing For Joy let them shout from the mountain tops let them give glory to the Lord and Proclaim his praise in the islands and God says because I'm the only one worthy and because of all the new things it's time to sing a new song church it's time to sing a new song so whenever you sing a new song sing a new song in scripture it's God's invitation to praise him for something new CU he's always doing something new he's always doing something praiseworthy and our natural response when Jesus is number one is to give him praise and honor for that and here Jesus is bringing the gospel to the world and I love this in in verse 11 and 12 it's the Wilderness that's the outskirt towns Kadar is the Arabian Desert so that's south of Israel CA is the people who live in the mountains and then the islands those are the remote places see God is bringing the gospel not just to the Israelites to the whole world and we know this but I love what's Happening Here guys what's happening when the gospel comes to these places what's happening they're rejoicing they're filled with joy why because God is a god of Joy did you know that Joy is mentioned 430 times in scripture who thinks God is mean no he's a god of Joy what he wants for us is to be filled with joy and isn't it ironic that the very reason we run to Idols is to fill ourselves with joy AKA happiness and yet here God is saying I give this freely in a life live for Jesus who are you trusting and maybe the question is has the gospel come to you has Joy actually come to you because when the gospel truly comes to you at least according to scripture we can't help but sing praise to him we can't help but worship Him and lift our voices and so that's why just like John said that's why we have extended times of worship at rever so again another plug come come to rever this Friday and worship him and let's fill this place with the joy of the Lord and experience that together you see Jesus is the alternative to our Idols he is the alternative to our our idols and with him is Joy verse 13 the Lord will March out like a mighty man like a warrior he'll stir up his zeal with a shout he'll raise the battlecry and he'll triumph over his enemies for a long time I've kept silent I've been quiet and I've held myself back but now like a woman in childbirth I cry out I gasp and I pant God will deliver he will triumph over enemies of sin and death and we've seen that in Christ though the Israelites they're gonna have to wait they're gonna have to wait and just like a pregnant mother Waits until the time is right to give birth to her child God has been waiting until the right time to deliver his people to deliver through Christ but guess what God is always worth the wait he's always worth the wait and yet I don't know about you I'm not so good at waiting all the time because in the waiting it's so easy to turn back to our idols think about that how many times have you been Idol been dissatisfied and you've run to something for Comfort we do it all the time I did this when I first knew that God was calling me into Ministry I was sure of it people around me were sure of it and when I went and I talked to my pastor he's like I'm sure of it that I'm just hearing that you need a season to wait and get ready and that devastated me cuz I was ready now cuz I don't like to wait and so instead of actually taking that to the Lord in prayer and waiting and readying myself for full-time Ministry I just went kneed deep in work I went head first I just poured myself into my work why because work is where I found my value as a person work was where I found my significance and so I poured poured myself into work and guess what it was successful like our company overd doubled in size and of course my workload overd doubled in size as well and so on the outside by all human perspectives my work life and my life looked incredible we had money we had a house on a golf course I had a beautiful family though I rarely saw them and yet inside I was empty I was miserable and I know it wasn't n very easy on my wife either because I was often absent now praise God he's a god of Second Chances but guess what I had to do I had to wait and instead of waiting in peace I had to wait in pain and discomfort and so as God maybe inviting today you to wait on him instead of running to something else because if he promises he's going to make that way because he's good like that check out verse 15 I will lay waste the mountains and the hills and dry up all their vegetation I will turn rivers and islands and dry up the pools you see what God's doing here is he's tearing down the barriers to to traveling the path you know for us it's easy we just drive through mountains on the freeways right we go hiking on paths that somebody's already cleared for us at least I do and we cross these expansive Bridges so that we can actually go across the river and yet in Israel's time in Isaiah's day they couldn't travel those were barriers but God is going to make a way he's going to make a way verse 16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known along unfamiliar paths I will guide them I will turn the darkness into light before them and I'll make the rough places smooth these are the things I will do and I will not forsake them see God is going to make a way for Israel who he often calls and refers to as the blind but it's going to look different think about it when Christ came he didn't look like what Israel wanted him to look like he didn't act like or say the things that they he wanted him to because his way was different and so he was rejected by by many and in the same way I think God often wants us as we follow him he wants us to trust him because he's going to pull you most likely on a way that you had never seen before but in that that's where you experience the blessing and the satisfaction of the Lord maybe you've heard me tell this story before but before I was following Jesus I was like I was just this musician that wanted to be a rock star I wanted to play in front of crowds of people as they sang the songs that I was singing and yet it wasn't happening and then I went to this promisekeepers and I gave my life to Christ and I said all right Lord I'm going to make you number one I'm going to give you whatever you want to do with my musical skills my talents you can have it and so he put me in front of a crowd of people and now I lead them to sing and you guys are awesome at singing but that's the goodness of the Lord right he makes a way when you see like there is no way but he gets the glory for it and that's the key he gets the glory but guess what you get the joy he gets the glory and you get the joy and then in verse 17 he gives us a final warning about our Idols he says but those who trust in Idols who say to images you are our Gods will be turned back in utter shame when we put our trust in things other than God for our ultimate happiness for our satisfaction for our identity for you name it for the good of our nation even politics can be an idol eventually half of the people are going to lose in an election and if you put your hope in that particular candidate what's it going to do wait four more years but if Jesus sits on the throne then you've got security no matter what happens in your life and that's what he offers us if you live for your career just remember your career can't die for your sins in fact if you fail in your career it's going to punish you but if Jesus is the Lord of your life and you fail at your career guess what you're still a child of God and most likely you trust him and know that well that wasn't God's plan for me anyway he's got something else for me in my life and then you're not devastated yeah it stings but you have a hope and a trust but if you put that in an idol the result ends up being shame and often we find shame in so many places because we've given ourselves to the wrong thing and the ultimate shame for idolators is that we're turned back from eternal life and that's not a place that any of us want to be and so if anything other than God is sitting on the throne of your heart if anything is the compass by which you live then you're in danger and you might be asking well I believe that Jesus died for my sins so practically what do I do what do I do to pull my heart away from these things that I just love more than Jesus what do I do well I'll tell you what doesn't work it doesn't work to try to love those things less it just doesn't you have to love Jesus more and the only way that's ever worked in my life is to say the three little words and it's not I love you it's seek Jesus first say that with me seek Jesus first if you remember one thing today and you say that one thing for the rest of your life you're going to be okay seek Jesus first in Matthew 6 Jesus is speaking to a crowd of people who didn't have enough food a nice enough house they didn't have the right drip that's Clos for you older people and he said these words seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and then all these things will be added to you and what these people really wanted is they wanted satisfaction and they only thought that they needed it in clothes and houses and food and stuff and God says no you trust me and I'll give you what you need and that's going to satisfy the desire of your heart and so seek Him First immerse yourself in this book this is the word of God and it's meant to satisfy your soul and when we walk in obedience to this word and when we're in fellowship with others and when we pray and Ponder all that he is and all that he's done for us then that sense of love and gratitude I promise you it's going to break through the grasp that Idol has on your heart and it's going to Dethrone whatever is there and so church I want to invite you to taste and see that's God's invitation in his word taste and see that the Lord is good because once you have a taste for Christ sitting on the throne of your heart then you'll begin to develop a distaste for those things that are not of God and then the other good things in your life well they'll still be good because they're gifts from him they're meant to be enjoyed by his children but guess what they will pass away and when they do your eyes will be fixed on the King on the only one who can satisfy it's kind of like that old hymn when writes Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus look full look fully into his wonderful face and then the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace there is no substitute for Jesus yeah and here's what's beautiful why we were once running around looking for a substitute to fill that void Jesus went to a cross to be your substitute so that you could experience one day all that he has for you I want to invite you to embrace that today Embrace that today there there is no substitute for God so we're going to take communion but before we do we're just going to spend some time in silence processing his word confessing our sin I think that somebody probably has an idol that needs to be dethroned today I know I've been working on it all week and if you're here and you're not a Christian and you've never surrendered your life Jesus to follow him and you've been searching for satisfaction everywhere and you can't get any the invitation for you is to taste and see it's to give up the idols and Trust Jesus with your future Romans 10:10 says this is how easy it is you just believe in your heart that he is the Son of God that Jesus is the son of God and that you confess with your mouth that he is Lord of your life that he sits on the throne of your heart and then you'll be saved the invitation is to seek Jesus first