Beside Me, there is no God
Isaiah 44:6-8 “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and His Redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last: and beside Me there is no God.
And who, as I, shall call and shall declare it, and set in order before me, since I appointed the ancient people? And the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not told thee from that time, and since declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside Me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
The God we trust in, is a God of incontestable sovereignty and irresistible power!
He is the Lord Jehovah….self-existent and self-sufficient….
….and He is the Lord of Hosts…of all the hosts of Heaven and earth, of angels and of men….of all that He can muster as an army against those that fight against His people.
He is the King…and those that take God for their King shall have Him for their Redeemer.
He is God from everlasting,….before the world was….
….and He will be so, to eternity beyond.
If God did not create….nothing would ever have been.
If God did not uphold the world…….all would soon come to destruction again.
“Beside Me there is no God.” His people never need to hope in another.
Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.”
(There are only three creations:
The heaven and earth….Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Our new nature,…we are created in Christ Jesus….Ephesians 2:10
And a new heaven and a new earth….Isaiah 65:17)
For Thou hast created all things: As the Son of God, He created all things!
As the Man, Christ Jesus, He bought back all that was lost at the fall….and gave us redemption….the creation of a new nature within us.
Romans 12:1 “I beseech thee therefore, brethren; by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Now it is His Pleasure, that I be empowered to do what must be done.
For I can not do it, of myself.
But Who do we present our bodies to?
God the Father sets on His Throne.
God the Son has His own body, as the Man, Christ Jesus.
God the Holy Spirit has come to earth…and we have the privilege to present our bodies to Him, to be His dwelling place on earth.
As mankind, we lost the Presence of the Holy Spirit, after the fall.
He comes back into our spirits at regeneration…..and abides with us.
And God calls us, as an act of the will, to present our bodies to Him……and to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
To be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19)…..we must be emptied of self.
And it takes the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit to lead us to be emptied of self…..and that is why…..even though He abides with us…..we need to present our bodies to Him….
….”present” means to “stand beside, to aid”….we willfully stand beside the Lord in all that comes to us….in all that we do…..in all that we are.
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
And when we “present” ourselves to the Holy Spirit….He frees us from conformity to the world (our old habits, and the desire to be like everyone else)….
…..and transforms us (amazing word!)…..changes us….our minds which are our attitudes and reasons…..which influence our walk….to God’s attitudes toward everything…..
….(and He goes on to tell us what that is later in the chapter Romans 12:9-21)…
…..and this, enables us to prove….God’s Will in ourselves.
He calls to each of us…..will we?……Present ourselves to the Holy Spirit to be emptied of our self-life….that we might be filled by the Holy Spirit with all the fullness of God?
To the degree you are willing to be emptied, He will fill you, for all that is now….and will yet come!
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 