Keith Battle - In God's Bag Pt. 4, The Best is Yet To Come

My subject is «The Best is Yet to Come.» The best is yet to come. When Isaiah gave this prophecy to the people of Israel, they were in bad shape. If you remember in part 2 of this series, they weren’t just in Babylon for a couple of days; they were in Babylon for 70 years. If you had a bad year, the Israelites can relate. If you had a bad last ten years, the Israelites can relate. If you’ve had a bad 70 years, the Israelites can relate. They were in a place without freedom, in a foreign land, in a place of discomfort for 70 years. Then God turned it around. When God turned it, the Bible says in verse 14, it’s interesting that He starts giving His résumé. It’s very interesting when God talks about who He is. Whenever God reintroduces Himself to someone, He is trying to let them know what He is able to do. He says, «I need to remind you, in case you forgot what my capabilities are.» He starts off by saying, «I am your Redeemer,» and He runs down who He is: «I am the Holy One of Israel.» Then He says, «For your sakes, what’s about to go down? For your sakes, I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in the very ships they are so proud of.»

Let me explain what that means right there. The Babylonians were nautical in nature; their strength was in the seas, and they controlled trade and commerce. They had a strong navy and a lot of pride in their ships and fleet. God says those same ships, the ones they are proud of, are the same ships I’m going to use to run them off. I’m going to make them flee from the very thing they take pride in. He says, «I’m going to do that for your sakes.»

Then He says in verse 15, again giving His résumé: «I am the Lord, the Holy One, the Creator of Israel and your King.» Let me turn to it, so I don’t miss it. He says in verse 16, «Watch this! I am the Lord who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea.» What He’s doing is reminding them not just of who He is but of what He’s already done. He says, «I need to remind you that when you were being chased, when I got you out of Egypt, you were in Egyptian slavery for 430 years, and I got you out of that. The way I brought you out was by bringing you through a sea on dry land.»

Look at verse 16 one more time: «I’m the one who opened up a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea; I did that.» Then He says in verse 17, «I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses and drowned them beneath the waves.» What God is saying right here is, «I’m the one that made them chase you.» They didn’t just let Israel go. God told Moses, «Go to Pharaoh and tell him to let My people go.» Pharaoh should’ve just let them go, but God says, «I’m going to make them incapable of bothering you anymore by killing them.» So He made them chase Israel to the river. God opens up the river, and they walk through while their enemies drown.

That’s good right there! It is possible to be under such cover of God, under such protection of God, that you’re walking around while the very thing that people don’t like about you drowns again. God said, «I sent them against you so I could drown them. I drew them into these waters to drown them.» That’s good right there! By the way, whenever God is going to bless you, it may require a fight first, but you won’t have to throw a punch; the Lord will fight on your behalf. He says, «I’m the one that did that. I drowned them.»

He says in verse 17, «I vanquished them like you blow a candle out. Just like that, they’re gone!» God can turn things around in your life just like that. But this is what He says: a lot of times, God will remind us of what He did to encourage us in our current situation. But He switches it up right here. He says, «I want you to remember that,» but then says, «Forget all about that.» He wants us to forget the former things, not because He doesn’t want us to be grateful, but because what I’m about to do will blow away what I’ve done.

Let me slow down. What I’m about to do is going to far exceed what I’ve done for you in the past. Just elbow somebody and say, «I don’t even believe it can get any better!» If God’s got something better coming, you need to understand what that means. If God says, «I’ve got something better for you than what I’ve already done,» and you know He’s already been good to you…