Okay, if you turn back to our
text in Isaiah chapter 43, and let me say while you're turning,
and I know you noticed it as we were reading it together,
the message from the Lord God in this passage of Scripture
is a simple one. We talked about that some in
the first hour. The gospel is a simple message. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. It's a simple message to understand,
but it's a difficult one to believe. And we prove that every day by
our own unbelief, don't we? God's message through the prophet
Isaiah here, a simple one, what is that message? He tells us
in two words, fear not, fear not. Why is it that we fear so
many things when God Almighty says, fear not? And that's the
first thing that we see here. The child of God fears not because
they see who it is that's speaking. Verse one, but now thus saith
the Lord, capital L-O-R-D. Now many people have many Lords,
but this is the Lord. All capital letters meaning this
is the Lord. This is Jehovah. This is the
self-existent eternal one. This is the Lord. There is no
other Lord. He's the only Lord. This is the
Lord. This is the Lord that created
thee. This is the sovereign creator
that's speaking. This is the Lord who in the beginning
was the Word, and this Word, this Lord, was with God, and
this Word, this Lord, was God. The same Lord was in the beginning
with God, and all things were made by Him, and without Him,
not anything that was made, or anything made that was made.
He made everything. This is the Lord who is the image
of the invisible God. This is the Lord by who all things
were created, whether they be in heaven or in earth. He created
all of it. The Lord, the Lord is the creator
of all things visible and invisible. whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all things.
And by Him, all things consist. And He's the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things, He might have the preeminence. That word
means superiority. He's God. He's supreme. He's superior. This Lord is God, the omnipotent
creator that created you. In Him was and is life, and His
life was the light of man. Is He your light? And is He your
light? Oh, if he is, thank God for it. He's the one that showed you
that. He's the one that revealed that to you. This is the Lord
by whom God made the world. He created all things in Jesus
Christ. This is the Lord who created
all things for his own pleasure. They are and were created. Who is this Lord? Well, read
on, verse one. This is the Lord who formed thee.
The Lord who formed man out of the dust of the ground. The Lord
who breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became
a living soul. That's who this Lord is. The
sovereign potter who molds lumps like me into a form created after
the image of his own self. The Hebrew word for form there
means to determine with resolution. I found that very interesting.
God fashions and forms and frames you and I with purpose. It's
this omnipotent God, this Almighty Creator and Sovereign Potter
that has fashioned and formed and framed us according to His
will and purpose. This is the Lord God omnipotent
who has redeemed us. He tells us so right here. I
have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. And I love these three words.
Thou art mine. I belong to him. I'm his and
he's mine. Who is this Lord that's speaking?
Our text distinguishes and reveals who He is. He's the Lord that
created you. He's the Lord that formed you. He's the Lord that redeemed you. He's the Lord that called you
by name. And He's the Lord that you belong
to. Why should we fear? Anything,
anyone. Secondly, who is the Lord speaking
to? Well, according to verse one,
he's speaking to the sons of Jacob. He's speaking to Israel,
not to the man Jacob, though he is certainly included, and
not to the nation of Israel, though some are of this number, or some from that number. You know, there's a lot of folks
that don't see these things. If God is speaking to every man
and woman, then every man and woman will be saved, but God's
not speaking to the nation of Israel. God is speaking to spiritual
Israel. Paul wrote in Romans chapter
two, verse 28, for he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly,
neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh.
That doesn't make a man a Jew, but he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart, in, by the Spirit, and not in the letter, the keeping
of the law, whose praise is not of men, but of God. In Romans
chapter 9, Paul said, For they are not all Israel, which are
of Israel, and neither because they are the seed of Abraham
are they all children. They which are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the same. Galatians 3, 7, Paul
wrote, know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the
same are the children of Abraham. In verse 26 of Galatians 3, it
says, for ye are all the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus. Now, whether you're from Africa,
whether you're from China, whether you're from Scotland, whether
you're red, yellow, black, and white, if you believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, you are a child of God. You're a son of Jacob. You're a child of Abraham. And
you are of Israel from the New Jerusalem. God calls us the sons
of Jacob for at least three reasons. First, because the Lord loved
Jacob. Isn't that what the Scriptures
teach? He wasn't very lovable, but the Lord loved him. You know
why? I'm not very lovable, but the
Lord loved me. And that's what the Lord said. He said, Jacob have I loved,
and Esau have I hated. The one who was more admirable
The one that you and I would have buddied up with was Esau.
And God said, I hated him, but he loved Jacob, the supplanter,
the deceitful one. Oh, I'm so glad that he loved
Jacob. Because there's a good reason
to believe that he loved me. Because he loved Jacob. This
is the Lord who declares to all believers, I have loved thee.
with an everlasting love. A love that never began. A love that never ends. An everlasting
love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn you. I've drawn you to Myself. If
you are trusting in Christ this morning, it's because God has
by His mercy and grace drawn you to Himself. We are the sons
of Jacob because God loves us. And secondly, we're the sons
of Jacob because God chose us. The psalmist tells us that very
thing. In Psalm 135, four, it says,
for the Lord had chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his
peculiar treasure. That's who he's talking about
here in Isaiah. Look back a page or so, you may
not have to turn back, but look at chapter 41, verse 8. Here God speaking to His people
says, But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the seed of Abraham, my friend. How comforting and glorious is
that thought. The Lord created and formed His
people, not only physically into temporal, physical life, but
spiritually into eternal life. The Lord loved His people before
the world began. The Lord chose His people before
time ever was. Therefore, His people are redeemed.
They're predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself. That's why. No other reason,
nothing found in me or you that would make it so. He saved us
according to the good pleasure of His will, Ephesians 1.5. And
that brings us to the third reason God refers to us as the sons
of Jacob. The Lord has redeemed us and
given us a new name. He said, I've called you by your
new name. And it's a new name. The Lord
said to Jacob, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but
Israel, for as a prince has thou power with God and with men,
Genesis 32. And as I said, Jacob, the supplanter,
the cheat, that's what he was. That's not a complimentary term,
is it? He's a cheat. He's a cheat. That's what Jacob
was. But now he's a prince. God made him so. God reached
down into the dunghill and lifts up the sinner and sets him among
princes. Jacob, the supplanter, the cheat,
is now a prince, a son of the king. Isn't it an amazing thought
that if you are trusting in Christ, you're a child of the King? Child
of the King. For God has lifted up the poor,
the needy, and lifteth up the beggar, one who begs for mercy
from the dunghill. A dunghill is just a heap of
rubbish and filth of sin. and He sets them among princes,
and He makes them to inherit the throne of glory. For the
pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world
upon them, and He'll keep the feet of His saints. He'll keep
me. And the wicked shall be silent
in darkness, for by strength, speaking of man's own strength,
shall no man prevail. Did you hear that? You can't
do anything to save yourself. It's by grace. It's by grace. You can't save yourself. You
can't keep yourself. Our salvation is not by our power,
it's not by our might, but it's by God's Spirit, saith the Lord. If you're going to be saved,
God's going to do the saving. Salvation is of the Lord. If any man or woman is to be
saved, it'll be the Lord that saves them. And it won't be by
their power or their might, but by the Spirit of God. Only God's
Spirit can regenerate one who is dead in trespasses and sin. Only God can give life to one
who's dead. So here in verse one, we see
these two words from our Lord that should give us great comfort
and assurance and rest and confidence. And what are they? Again, fear
not. Fear not. Any way you interpret
those two words, they mean don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. There is nothing for us to fear. Nothing. Why? Because God says,
I've created you, I've formed you, I've redeemed you, I've
called you by your name. And then God gives us the reason
for all these things, for thou art mine. That's why. We belong
to Him. He's out to do you good. He works
all things together for the good of them that love Him, who are
thee called according to His purpose. I remember a story that Walter
Groover used to tell about a father in Yucatan, Mexico, where he
lived. who helped his son build a beautiful
kite. Teresa and I went to the Yucatan
in Mexico in 2013, and we saw firsthand that people there don't
have much. They're very poor. So poor that
often they make or build that which they cannot afford. And
this young boy, his father built him this beautiful kite, and
he helped his dad. At least his dad made him think
he helped him. And this young boy got a big
ball of string, and Walter said that boy got out there on a windy
day and got that kite up in the air, and higher and higher it
began to fly, and farther and farther it flew from the ground
to where it was just a little speck in the sky. And then the
string broke, and the wind took the kite away, and the young
boy was heartbroken. Well, several days passed, Walter
said, and they were visiting in another village, and in Mexico
they have yard sales much like we have, and he said that they
were going along these booths here that they had set up, and
sure enough, there was his kite for sale. He said, that's my kite! That's
my kite! He looked at his daddy, he said,
daddy, that's my kite! That's my kite! And the man who
had the kite for sale said, no. He said, I found that kite. You may have lost it, but I found
it. And now it's my kite. And if
you want it to be your kite, you'll have to buy it. And with
tears in his eyes, he looked at his father, and his father
reached into his pocket, and he pulled out a couple of pesos
and paid the man. And the little boy bought, well,
he gave the money to his little boy, and the boy paid the man,
and that little boy bought back his kite. And he caressed that
kite in his arms and he spoke to that kite like you would a
friend. And he said, you're mine. You're
mine. He said, you're mine twice over. He said, I made you and I bought
you. Therefore, you're twice mine.
It's the same with the child of God. Our Lord made us and
He redeemed us. And not with just a few pesos.
No, with His own blood. And that's what the Lord is saying
here in verse 1. He said, I've made you and I've
bought you. We are twice His. We belong to
Christ by creation. We belong to Christ by the shedding
of His blood. We've been bought with a price.
Peter wrote, you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot. What do God's children have to
fear? Huh? If God be for us, if we
belong to God, who can be against us? Who shall lay anything to
our charge? It's God that justifies. God
is the one that we've offended. And if God's justice is satisfied,
who else can charge us? Who is he that condemneth? Paul
asked, who can condemn us if Christ died for us? Who can condemn
us if Christ is risen again? And not only risen, but he's
at the right hand of God and he's making intercession for
us. He's praying for us. Who shall
separate us from the love of God? Oh, I ask these questions
to myself often. Nothing or no one can separate
us from God's love because the love of God is in Christ Jesus. Not in what I do for God. If
I can do something to save myself, then I can do something to lose
my salvation. But if Christ has done for me
that perfect work and provided for me that perfect work of righteousness,
the very righteousness of God that God will accept, I have
nothing to fear concerning my salvation. I'm saved. I am saved. It's for certain. He's my surety. This is the Lord who says, fear
not. To fear anything is nothing but
disobedience to Him. When we really get right down
to it, God says, fear not, and when we fear, we're being disobedient
to Him. God promises to do some things
for those that He made, that He formed, that He called, and
that He redeemed. They are promises to those who
belong to Him. They're found in verse two. Here's
the first promise. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned, and neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. Now, To pass through water and
fire represents passing through various kinds of dangers and
trials and afflictions. We go through many things in
this life. It's with much tribulation that
we enter into the kingdom of God. In delivering his people out
of Egypt, as you know, God parted the Red Sea and all of Israel
walked through the waters on dry ground. I've often imagined
being there. As they walked through the Red
Sea on dry ground, there was a high wall of water on their
left. There was a high wall of water
on their right. But that water didn't overflow
them. You want to know why? Because God was with them. God
was with them. God held those walls back. He still is. Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, they walked through the fire of the world's Babylon's
furnace and were not harmed. And you know what? When they
pulled them out, they didn't even smell like smoke. No, the
flame shall not kindle upon thee. You won't even smell like smoke.
They had someone in that furnace with them. And even Nebuchadnezzar
had to admit that it was the Son of God. Oh, the child of God may be in
high waters today, and called to walk through the fire tomorrow. But the rivers of trials and
afflictions will not overflow them, and the fire shall not
burn them, neither the flame kindled upon them. Why? Because
God said, I'll be with you. And God is always with His people.
Always. even unto the ends of the earth.
They belong to God. And I'll say it one more time.
God created them. God made them. God formed them.
God redeemed them. God called them by their name. And God says to them, you're
mine. Linda, you're mine, God said.
Danny, you're mine. That's what the Lord said. That's
good news. That's good news. That's what
God is saying here in verse 3. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Your Savior. Our God is God. He's God Almighty. He's sovereign
and omnipotent. There's no God beside Him. Look
forward a page or two to Isaiah 44. Look at verse 6. Thus saith the Lord, the King
of Israel and His Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, the Lord Jesus.
I am the first and I am the last. And beside me, there is no God. Men make unto themselves a God,
but their God is no God at all. Look over and maybe another page,
Isaiah 45, look at verse 20. Assemble yourselves and come,
draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They
have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image
and pray unto a God they cannot save. That's all an idol is.
Look at verse 21. Tell ye and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
times? Who hath told it from that time?
Have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside
me, a just God and a Savior. There's none beside me. What
are we to do? Verse 22, look unto me and be
ye saved all the ends of the earth. For I am God and there
is none else. This is the God with whom we
have to do. Our God does what he wills. Our
God's in the heavens. He's done whatsoever He's pleased.
He does what He wills in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand, and none
can question Him. And back in Isaiah 43, verse
three, God says, for I, the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior, I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba
for thee. Oh, our God is the Lord God. Our God is a just God. Our God
is the only Savior. He gave Egypt for the ransom
of His people. He gives nations, Ethiopia and
Saba for His elect. Why, why, can you tell me why? Verse four, since thou, the sons
of Jacob, spiritual Israel, God's chosen people, since thou was
precious in my sight. Precious. What a precious word. What a precious word. Precious,
valuable, rare, prized. Oftentimes we value, we come
to the value of something based upon how rare it is. Well, God
has made His people precious and rare and prized and valuable
in His sight. The Lord has made us so. But
there's nothing in us or about us or done by us that makes us
precious in God's sight. God prizes us for one reason. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why. You see this? You didn't know
I was going to bring a prop this morning, did you? From a distance, it's hard to
see. I know it's small and it's insignificant. You can't even
tell what it is. But this is one of my most prized
possessions. It's a little bottle opener made
of metal that my father carried before I was ever born. Nothing
rare or valuable about the metal. But it's precious in my sight.
Why is it precious? Because of who it belonged to. We are precious in God's sight. Why? Because of who we belong
to. Christ is precious in His sight
and we belong to Him. We're one with Him. And did you
notice the tense of that statement? God said, Thou wast precious
in my sight. And you still are. God's chosen
have always been precious to Him. Always. Well, as we said,
He loves us with an everlasting love. Always been precious to
Him. God made us precious before the world began. God here says,
Thou hast been honorable. The elect of God have always
been honorable, not in and of themselves, but in Christ. God
made them honorable before time ever was, because Christ is the
Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, and He was slain
for His chosen people. That's why we're honorable. Notice
that the Lord here says, I have loved thee. He's always loved
His people in Christ. Always. How beautiful are these
three characteristics of God's people. They're precious in God's
sight. They're honorable in God's sight. And they are loved by God in
Christ. That's what I'll title this.
Precious, honorable, and loved by God in Christ. That's what we are. In Christ,
that's what we are. Have you ever considered all
the things in God's Word that are considered precious? It says
He is precious. Jesus Christ is precious. His
Word is called precious promises. The death of God's saints is
called precious. Believing in and on Christ is
called precious faith. I am precious in God's sight. I am honorable in God's sight. God's people are by nature dishonorable. Yet in Christ they are made honorable. In Him they abound in honor. In Christ, rich in honor. Made perfect with
honor. The sons of Jacob, now called
Israel, are now God's beloved. And we don't talk about our love
for God. We talk about God's love for
us. So, can you think of any reason
at all for the saved sinner to fear anything? Even death. Even death. Death is only a departure
to a promotion. We who now see through a glass
darkly will then see Christ face to face. We who now know in part
will then know God as He knows us. So the Lord again reiterates
in verse 5, fear not, fear not. Why should we fear? For I, the
Lord thy God, is with thee. I'll bring thy seed from the
east. I'll give it thee from the west. It's God who brings. It's God who gathers. In verse
6, the Lord says, I'll say to the north, give up. I'll say
to the south, keep not back. We come to Christ at His bidding.
By Christ bringing and by Christ gathering, by His effectual command,
like Lazarus, we who were dead came forth. Why? Because He called us to come
forth. God affectionately declares,
bring my sons from far away. Bring my daughters from the ends
of the earth. What assurance do we have that
God saves us, the wretched sinners that we are? Who comes to Christ? Verse 7, Even everyone that is
called by My name, for I have created him for My glory, and
I have formed him, yea, and I have made him, verse 8, bring forth
the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears.
You see, seeing and hearing is much more than we do with our
physical eyes and ears. God has to give us spiritual
sight. God has to grant us spiritual
blessing. spiritual hearing. And in verse
nine, God declares that they will see and they will hear for
he says, let them hear and let them say, it is truth to every
child of God that hears the gospel. That's what they say. That is
truth. Told me the truth about God.
I remember when Teresa and I first heard the gospel, that's what
I said to her. Somebody finally told me the truth about what
I am, about who Christ is, about what God has done for us in Christ. That's the truth. The gospel
is the truth. Thy word is truth, our Lord said.
You know, I was thinking yesterday about the passage that says that
Christ was numbered with the transgressors. Do you know who
those transgressors are? That's us. That's us. Christ was with us. He died for
the ungodly. God the Son identified with us. He said, I'm with you even to
the end of the earth. And then He prayed, Father, I
will that those that Thou has given me be with me where I am. God has never turned down a request
from the Lord Jesus. He always hears Him. He always
does the things that He asks. Every single prayer of the Lord
Jesus has always been answered. So I have to ask you one last
time, what is there for us to fear? Nothing or no one. Why? Because Christ, Emmanuel,
is God with us. May God be pleased to make it
so for his own glory, for our good, and for Christ's sake. Amen.