Isaiah 48:1-22
Do You Hear Me?

Introduction
1. God is speaking all around us... “Do you hear Me?”
2. Isaiah 48:1-22 a form of the word “hear” is used 10 times:

God is speaking all around us... “Do you hear Me?”
I. THE CONFLICT IN HEARING 48:1-8
A. The Profession 1,2
1. The Jewish exiles were God’s chosen people. They had a lot going for them:
Called…Swear by my name…Make mention of the God of Israel…Call themselves a
holy city…Stay themselves on the God of Israel.
2. We as believers could say the same thing. We have so many things going for us. We
stop listening to the voice of God.
B. The Problem 1b
Not in truth nor righteousness
1.Their profession of faith fell short…absolute Truth…Rightness. We must adjust
our lives to do what God wants.
2.They were nominal. They weren’t listening to God! They were not open to the
‘surprises’ of God in their daily lives. Cyrus didn’t fit in their plans.
3.They were limiting God to the smallness of their idols. Idols were predictable. They never acted out of character. Their idol was not bigger than their own thinking ability.
4.Are you willing to let God be God? Faith says, “Your will be done, in Your way, at Your pace, by Your grace, for Your glory.”
C. The Practice 3-8
They said the right things. God was aware of their true spiritual condition. (4, 8) It
refers to Israel’s unbending and unyielding. No idol knows the future. God knows all
about tomorrow…Let God Be God!
1. What The Lord Had Done In the Past 3-6a Former things…Babylon, Cyrus.
*God isn’t defeated because His people do not live by real faith. He has
Everything figured out.
*Former thing…at every step along the way He has been faithful to His
promises…in spite of us, not because of us from the beginning. As God’s
blessings break upon us we tend to thinks of secondary causes…good sense,
connections, hard work…instead of seeing God everywhere our perceptions fill
the landscape of life with idols. 5
*Why? I see your problem. 4 They were stiff necks…opinionated…self-assured.
2. What The Lord Was Doing In the Present 6b-8 New Things…New
Predictions. New is new to us, but it is not ‘new’ to Him. Kept Things…kept in
reserve by God (41:22, 23; 42:9; 43:9, 18; 44:7, 8; 45:21; 46:10) all show His ability
to predict the future. No idol can do that!
*God looks ahead to ‘new things’…a new outpouring of grace. He’ll accomplish
them in creative ways…new ways that we cannot foresee. He intends to keep on
surprising us, because we can’t be trusted with full disclosure of His plans.
*We don’t like uncertainty. We don’t like feeling helpless…if we could only see
the future! Would that really be good for us? What if God told us everything in
advance?
*We would soon think we could take control. Verse 8 is the bent of our hearts.
God tells us enough in the Bible to trust Him, but not enough to ignore Him.
He keeps leading us along even when our thoughts treat Him more like a
problem than a joy.

God is speaking all around us... “Do you hear Me?”
II. THE CONFIDENCE IN HEARING 48:9-16
A. The Ground for Confidence 9-11
1. Confidence cannot be in our merit. If Israel were to be cut off, God’s promises to the
patriarchs would fail. God cannot lie!
2. In verse 10 He will not destroy, but refine! In verse 11 For mine own sake. Why
does God love us so much? Why does he put up with us? For Mine own sake…God
always gives us better than we deserve. He will not give His glory to another. Not
only does our performance not secure us God’s favor…it’s our lousy
performance that God uses to display His favor.
3. He loves us for reasons that only make sense to God. He loves us with mercy, on
mercy, on mercy to display His glory!! God is not frustrated by our failing. We
grieve Him, but do not defeat Him! Our failings can display His mercy…grace
and glory!
B. The God of Confidence 12-13
Hearken unto Me We have every reason to listen to Him:
1.He is the God of Eternity. 12 I am the first…I am the last He initiates everything (or permits everything). He wins in all things!
2.He is the God of Creation. 13 Creation shows us that He always accomplishes His purpose. He is the God of history. He is BIG. Don’t diminish Him because the size of your problem. We can only make God smaller, but we can never make Him larger than He is!
C. The Guide in Confidence 14-15
Hath declared.
1.He is referring to Cyrus.
2.God can use whatever means He wants to bring glory to Himself!
D. The Glory of Confidence 16
1. This description cannot refer to Cyrus.
2. The ultimate deliverer. The ultimate answer is Jesus Christ! The Triunity of God is
mentioned in the Old Testament. (Chapter 49, 50, 53) A divine person has come.
We see God’s involvement with us. God sent His Spirit!

God is speaking all around us... “Do you hear Me?”
III. THE CRITERIA IN HEARING 48:17-22
A. The Consequences of Disobedience 17-19
1. Blessings Available 17 In all the turbulence of life God is teaching us. He is
leading us. The Lord Redeems…The Lord Teaches. The Lord Leads. LET GOD
HAVE HIS WAY!
2. Blessings Averted 18-19 They would have enjoyed Peace. They would have
enjoyed Righteousness. They would have enjoyed Fruitfulness. They would
have enjoyed Preservation. BUT THEY WOULDN’T!!
B. The Conclusion of Obedience 20-22
1. God is good wherever He leads.
2. There Will Be Great Joy. There Will Be World Wide Testimony. There Will
Be Provision For Their Needs.

There is no peace for the wicked…if you reject God’s mercy.

Resistance To Trust
Refusing To Listen
Delaying To Follow

Will You Let God be God?