Seeking once again the help of the Lord, I'd like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read together, the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 41, and the text you'll find in verses 13 and 14. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob and ye men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Those of you who were with us this morning, we looked at the Canaanite woman who came to the Lord Jesus Christ and understanding something far greater than all of the religious Jews, the Pharisees and the scribes who just came to the Lord Jesus to reason with him, try to trip him up, to accuse him and then Jesus, it seems like he contrasts this external religion that these people had with what a true religion really is, as he crosses over the sea and goes into the Gentile region of the Tyre and Sidon.

to come away from the crowds for a little while, yet purposely, we would say, being the all-knowing God, purposely coming to the Gentile places, the light of the Gentiles, to expose the hypocrisy of the Jewish nation and their desire for only an external religion, and then to be shamed by the faith of this Gentile woman who persistently comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, and even though the Lord Jesus Christ is silent, does not say a word to her, she continues to press, she continues not to be discouraged, and even though Jesus says, look, I've only come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and she understands that that it is not and then he says it's not me that i should take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs and she says then truth lord it's true but the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table.

And because of her response, her response demonstrates all that is taking place within her heart. The pride of the Pharisees and the humility of this Canaanite woman are laid clearly as evidences of false religion or an external religion and a true work of God within the heart.

The true work of God in the heart strips away any pride, any ideas of self, and brings a person to understand who they are before the throne of God. They may be the king of a country, or they may be a tramp on the street, yet when they approach a holy God, they are nothing more than an unclean thing. their cleanness can only come through, or their worth can only come through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so as this Gentile woman comes and worships the Lord Jesus Christ, it is demonstrating to us what a true work of grace does in the heart, that we realise that we are not worthy of the least of the mercies and we are only saved by the grace of God, the undeserved love of God to sinners in Christ Jesus.

The Pharisees, their idea, as Paul tells it, that he was seeking to obtain a salvation, a righteousness for himself. Yet the scripture clearly states, not by works of righteousnesses that we have done, This woman, she came to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ with no hope of herself in her ability, but came to the Lord Jesus Christ and she praised that simple prayer, Lord, help me.

And that prayer has been on the lips of every single Christian from the day that lady spoke it. Lord help me. Every minister that gets into the pulpit pleads, Lord help me. Every Sunday school teacher goes before the children with, Lord, help me. Every man who comes to the front to pray in public comes with those words on his lips, Lord, help me. And every Christian that sets forth into the workplace comes with those words, Lord, help me. Every day it is the anthem that rings in heaven, Lord, help me. No help in self I find, and yet has sought it well. There is no help in self, must come from the Lord Jesus Christ. And so as this lady, she cries, Lord, help me. And Jesus says, O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Your request is answered. Jesus says, I will. I will help thee.

you have in your mind, I'm sure, of a parent or an uncle or an auntie or a grandma holding the hand of a little child. In their simplicity, they're asking, help me. And nobody with any ounce of love in their heart would reject that plea. as a little child looks up and says help me they immediately no matter how hard-hearted person they are they will stretch forth their hand and they will they will offer that help

so i was thinking about this you know sometimes there are times when we can't actually help and when jesse was young i think i've told you this before when he had the muscle biopsy in London and they took him into the theatre and they put a mask on his face to gas him or to, I don't know, do something. But as he looked out of that mask at Elsie, he said, Mummy, help me. Mummy, help me. Now, the only help that Elsie could do was to allow the doctors to continue on in their work. To Jesse, he wanted help to be released from the mask, to be released from whatever was taking place and the thoughts that were going through his mind. But to his mother, his mother knew that the help that she needed to give was to wait and to leave him in the hands of the doctors.

And so like with the Lord Jesus Christ, here with that lady, he waits to help her. He knows that to help her immediately would not be beneficial to her, but so he waits. And so sometimes the Lord waits, and he is helping us in waiting, because as I said this morning, he is drawing out a greater experience for us. He is drawing out what is truly going on in our hearts. He's really showing us who we are by nature. And just like this lady, as she goes on a miniature teaching process, given to her by the Lord Jesus Christ, showing her, exposing her soul, and not only exposing her soul to herself, but also to the disciples who were looking on. And so sometimes the Lord must wait that he may be gracious. Sometimes the Lord must wait before he comes to our aid, but in the waiting, he is not delaying, but he is working out his eternal purposes in our lives.

and with the people of Israel as the prophet Isaiah prophesies regarding their sin and their move into captivity and then their deliverance. He's not prophesying things that they would not need. He's not prophesying things that would not be helpful to them. is prophesying a word that would be of comfort to them in the future. You see, as Isaiah is prophesying regarding the Lord. and telling them not to fear, telling them not to be dismayed, saying to them that God will strengthen them, saying to them that God will help them, saying to them that God will give them his right hand of his righteousness. They did not need that word at that particular time. That word was for a hundred or so years in the future. The people of Israel were still not in captivity. Isaiah is prophesying before they're even taken into Babylon. And so he's prophesying a word of comfort that will be useful to them in the future. sometimes the Lord does that to us. He gives us a word of encouragement. He gives us a word of blessing and we may have it in our minds to meditate upon it and he may give it to us prior to our trial. He may prepare us for the difficulty that we are going to go through. He may give us a fear not.

And we may wonder, well, why has this word been made such a blessing? Why have I fed upon this word? And then as we continue on in the week, we realize, well, this is why. Because the Lord knows the future, just as he did with this Canaanite woman. He left the shores. He left the Jews and went over into the Gentile regions to meet with this lady. He knew she would be there. He knew the situation with her daughter. He knew that she would find the right house where he was, even though they were hiding or seeking to exclude themselves from the general public knowledge. Jesus knew all about it. And he knows all about our case, and he prepares us for the trials that we are going to go through, just like the people of Israel.

You know, they did not deserve the Lord's mercy. nor did this gentile lady she did not deserve the Lord's mercy yet and she understood that she didn't deserve it. The people of Israel they didn't deserve the Lord's mercy they didn't deserve judgment and God gave them judgment but in the same hand he demonstrated his love towards them in offering them uh in telling them exactly what was going to to take place He tells them they're going to be carried away. He tells them that they're going to be there for 70 years. He tells them that they're going to be delivered and brought again into the place of Israel. And so they go into captivity with a promise.

Daniel, when he was in captivity, he knew of this promise. And knowing of this promise no doubt helped him to continue in the trial, in the captivity that he was in. In Daniel chapter 9, when Daniel is in prayer, In verse two, it says, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of years where the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. So Daniel understood by the word of God that through the prophecy of what was going to take place.

And what did he do? He didn't just say, oh, well, you know, here's the prophecy. It's going to last for, you know, 70 years. I've just got to be here for a little while and wait for God to work things out. No. He set his face unto the Lord God. to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting, with sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my God and made confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping covenant and mercy unto them that love him and to them that keep his commandments, we have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments.

What did he do? He understood that God had set a time, but he also understood the reasons why they were in captivity was because of their sin. And so he set his face to seek the Lord by prayer and request and fasting and mourning and repentance over his sin and confess to the great God of Israel. was only that it is only him that could deliver them from their captivity confessed their sin.

In verse 23 it tells us at the beginning of my supplication the commandment came forth and I'm come forth to give thee and I come forth to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity. and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

And so as Daniel is praying, as he is confessing his own sin and the sins of his people before his God, his cry reaches heaven and the angel is sent from heaven to Daniel. to give him wisdom and understanding.

How did Daniel seek to determine his present circumstances? How did he seek to understand all that was taking place in his life? By coming to the Word of God, by seeking to compare his situation with the Word of God. and then by praying over it, asking the Lord for understanding, asking the Lord for clarity, asking the Lord for perseverance and confession of his sin. By reading and praying, he gained understanding by understanding of his present situation.

You see, God prepared his people prior to them going into captivity. So they went into the captivity with promises of deliverance, with promises that he would be with them in the captivity and that they were not to fear, they were not to be dismayed, that they would be strengthened, that they would be helped, even though they were under the judgment of God, that God would be with them in that judgment. because they were still his children. They were still his people. He was still in a covenant, a relationship with them. He refers to them as, thou art Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend.

And just because they had sinned against them, God did not cast them off. Yes, he chastened them. But the Bible tells us no chastening for their presence seems to be joyous but grievous. God disciplines his children for their good. He disciplines his children for the benefit of their souls that they may learn of him and learn more of themselves.

The Bible tells us in the book of Ezra Now God promised them these 70 years. In Jeremiah, he promised them 70 years. And in Jeremiah also, he promises them that he would raise up one from the East, Cyrus by name, who would come. And he would deliver them from the hand of the Babylonians. And he would use this man Cyrus to bring the people of Israel back to the promised land.

And so when the 70 years was up, God brought this king Cyrus, who was an ungodly man. Yet God used him as his instrument to bring about his purposes.

As we look at the world today, I know there are some who are fearful about what is about to take place. Now, we have big, powerful countries. We have Russia, we have China, we have America threatening each other. We have Donald Trump saying that he's going to take over Greenland and all these things, all these threats that are taking place.

We have to remember that God is on the throne. The Lord Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father. All power and all authority has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have to look back as Daniel gained comfort from the Word of God, the promises of the Word of God, that there was a time set for deliverance. And so there is a time set for the deliverance of the people of God. There is a time set for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that section, that time of when Christ ascended unto heaven and to when Jesus Christ will come again, as we saw the other week, wars and rumours of wars are going to come. The earth is going to become more and more restless. That does not mean that God is out of control. God is still in control and he was totally in control as he was dealing with the people of Israel. He prophesied a hundred or fifty years before they go into captivity. He promises them and tells them exactly what is going to take place. He says to them that he was going to be with them, that they didn't need to be afraid, that he was going to hold their hand and he was going to help them and he was going to raise up one to deliver them.

And it came by this Mansiris. Although in the scriptures we go back to Ezra, yet Ezra comes after the prophecy of Isaiah and Jeremiah because they are the ones that went into, they are the ones that came out of Babylon and went into Jerusalem. It's historical figures in the scriptures. And so God raises up this man. In 2nd Chronicles, right at the very end, 36, it says, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. that he made proclamation throughout all the kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me, and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah, who is there among you, of all his people, the Lord his God be with you, be with him, and let him go up.

You see, he says, the Lord has placed it in my hearts, to do this thing. It's not the very words of Donald Trump. He believes that the Lord has spared him and the Lord did spare him as he was shot through the ear. Millimeters from death. We cannot deny that the Lord spared his life and we cannot deny that the Lord has enabled him to do certain things. But the Lord enabled Cyrus also to do certain things. And so the Lord is enabling Donald Trump and China and Russia and Iran to work out his own purposes. Although they believe they are doing their own will, they believe that they are going after their own hearts, yet God allows these things to take place to bring about his own purposes for the plans of his own people.

just as Cyrus was raised up for the good of the people of Israel, to bring them out of Babylon and back into the promised land. You see, so that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. You see, God was never out of control. And we have the whole canon of scripture. We have all the promises of God contained in this book. We know exactly what is going to take place. Yes, we don't have the specific timings of everything, but we have it all laid out. that all of these things are going to happen, that all these things are going to take place, but nowhere is it written that Jesus Christ loses control, especially of his dearly beloved people. He's in a covenant relationship with them that can never be broken because it's sealed with his blood.

So you and I, if we're the Lord's people, we're just like Daniel. Daniel was held captive in a foreign land, yet he had the word of God to give him comfort. The believer is held captive in a foreign land. Strangers and pilgrims are on this world, waiting to be delivered to glory, yet we have the word. the Word of God to give us comfort, the Word of God to give us hope that all of these things are not out of control, they are in the control and the will of Almighty God. And so just like Daniel who gained comfort from the Scriptures by looking into the Word, he was able to walk out his time in Babylon as a man of God. A trustworthy man in a foreign land. The Lord was with him. And the Lord is with you and I if we are his. And we can walk worthily in this generation of ours. For the Lord is with us. We don't have to be afraid because he says, don't be afraid. Why do we not have to be afraid? Because he says, I am with you. I am your God. I will strengthen you and I will, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

So Daniel didn't need to fear. As he was thrown into the lions, he trusted in the true and living God who shut the lion's mouth. And that same God is the God of the believer. And so we don't have to fear. Because the Lord who shut the lion's mouth is able to shut the mouths of those who come up against us.

Fear not, for I am with thee. And so again, we have that beautiful picture of a child and an adult. The child is afraid. And so it runs to the adult. And it finds comfort. Those of you who've experienced life with children, you know, in the night they have a dream, they're stirred. Where do they come? They come into the parents' room. They say, cuddle me, mummy, cuddle me, daddy. Can I get into your bed? I'm afraid. And that fear goes away. when they are with their parents or with their grandparents or somebody that they trust. And so our fear should go away when we come to focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We should not be afraid. Why? For I am with you.

What did he say to the apostles? Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Who is the I? The I is the Lord, Jehovah, the unchanging, immortal God, this self-existent, eternal being who has ever been and who ever will be, who outlives kings and conquerors, princes and queens. He remains on the throne while thrones come and go. When Trump is gone, Jesus will still be there. When Putin is gone, Jesus will still be there, unchanged. He is the I, and he says, I am with you.

How can he be with you? He is with you because He is with you through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the woman, as she came to Jesus, she understood this man is my only hope. Lord, help me. I will help you. I will hold your hand. Does that show us? shows us something of love, does it not? Although God himself he doesn't have any hands because he is spirit but he says I will hold your hand, I will lead you, I will go with you, I will guide you, I will direct you, I will protect you. He gives us a sense of security.

As the children of Israel were taken from Babylon, back to Jerusalem, the Lord says, I will make the crooked things straight, the rough places plain, the mountains shall flow down at thy presence. All obstacles will be removed. Why? Because the Lord is with his people. He will lead them and guide them and direct them. He says, don't fear. I will. I will help you. What did the lady ask for? She asked for help. Jesus helped her. And Jesus will help you if you ask him. He never turns anybody away who comes seeking him and asking him for help.

Do you need help with your sin? Or then you've come to the right place. Jesus, friend of sinners, hear me. If you need help with your sin, then Jesus is the one that you need to go to. If you need help with your troubles, then Jesus is the one that you need to go to. If you need help with your doubt, then Jesus is the one that you need to go to. If you need help with your assurance, then Jesus is the one that you need to go to. If you have troubles in life, if you need help in this life, Jesus is the one that you need to go to.

Lord, help me. I will help you. I will help you. because he can help you because there is nothing that is too hard for the Lord. Nothing shall be called impossible with God. He raises up Osiris to deliver his people. He says 70 years and 70 years is accomplished and they go. Nothing can stop his plans from unfolding. No Donald Trump, no Putin, no China. He will work, the Bible says, and who shall hinder it? Nobody. I will help you.

He says, again, fear not. Look, in this chapter, there's three. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will help you. The Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying, fear not, I will help thee. Fear not.

you worm. I think I've said it before, you know, people say that we are Gatsby's worms. But it's only quoting what the scripture says. Now this lady, when Jesus says, you know, it's not good for me to cast the children's food to dogs, She says, yes, Lord. The dogs eat from the crumbs which fall from the master's table. Yes, exactly. I know who I am. I'm in your presence. I am a scavenger. Mephibosheth, I'm a dead dog. I am not worthy to come and sit and eat at the king's table. I'm just a dead dog.

God himself calls Jacob, the people of Israel, a worm. If we've ever seen worms, I know you children definitely, we've seen worms, we've picked them up. They're helpless creatures. They have no defense mechanisms, although they can exist if you cut them in half. Yet they are defenseless creatures, though very useful in the soil as God's creation. Yet they are helpless. They are weak. They are easily trodden underfoot. And just like the people of Israel, they were weak. They were helpless by themselves. They were completely dependent upon God for their deliverance and for their strength, just like you and I. We are worms in the sight of God. We have no strength. We have no ability of ourselves.

We've seen, no doubt, after it's rained and the worms, they come into the puddles. And then as the sun comes out, the puddle dries up and the worm withers up and dies. It's unable to help itself, unable to defend itself. We shouldn't be offended when God calls us a worm. We should see that that's true. I have no strength, I am weak, I am easily trodden underfoot by my enemies, but that weakness causes me to cry out for help and dependence upon God.

That Canaanite woman, she was helpless, she was a worm, she was a dog seeking for help from a master. Job says in Job 25, how then can a man be justified with God? Or how Sorry, it's not Job, but the book of Job says, how can he be clean that was born of a woman? Behold, even to the moon and it shineth not, yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man that is a worm and the son of man, which is a worm.

saw the life of Job, how easily trouble was afflicted upon him and how easily he was brought low, his own strength brought to nothing, that God remains almighty and all-powerful seated upon the throne. His help came from God, which is Psalm 121. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from where does my help come? Where does your help come from? Yourself, your own strength, your own intellect, your own ability, your friends round about you? The psalmist says, my help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. The Canaanite lady went to Jesus. She says, Lord, sovereign, son of David, King, Messiah. That's where her help came from. Where is your help coming from? Where do you seek to gain your help from?

The psalmist, my help comes from the Lord Jehovah, the eternal God who made heaven and earth. No one can stop his hand or say unto him, what are you doing? an insignificant worm, yet trusting in the greatness of an almighty God. Just like the people of Israel, easily pushed around, easily taken into captivity, yet delivered by a mighty God in his time and in his way.

Fear not thou worm, Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord. and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. His people are the redeemed. They have been purchased with his own blood. They have been called from captivity and been delivered into the spiritual Israel. They are, as here is written, Jacob and Israel, we are under that covenant relationship as types. Our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

How was he going to help them? He was going to help them by his right hand. Yea, I will help thee. I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. The right hand is seen as the right hand of power, that God's power was going to deliver them. In verse 17, it says that he was going to deliver them also by his provision. So we have his power, and we have his provision.

When the poor and needy seek water and there is none and their tongue faileth for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. And he goes on. And so by his provision, there is nothing that is too hard for the Lord.

You cry out, Lord, help me. heaven and earth at His command, He waits to answer prayer. What can He do? He can do everything. To bring about His own purposes and His own will in the life of His dear people, He can make the desert into a fruitful land. He can make the trial into a blessing. He can turn our circumstances in a moment. If we would cry unto Him in our trouble, just as Israel in that covenant relationship with God.

Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend, the believer is in Christ Jesus, the son of God. In a covenant relationship with Christ, that's why he will help you. Not because you're the best Christian that ever lived, but because you're in a covenant relationship with his son. And you see your need of help. You see that you are a worm. You see that you are not worthy to sit at the king's table, yet you cry unto God through the Lord Jesus Christ, asking for that help. And he will answer because of the blood of the Lord Jesus. because of that covenant that was made with Father, Son and Holy Spirit as he died for his dear people, that's why he will help. He will help you because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So as we continue on in another week, Let this be our prayer every single day. Lord, help me. How will he help you? He says, I will help you. I will help you by my strength. I'll help you by my presence. I'll help you by my power. I will hold your hand and I will lead you and guide you and direct you. There is nothing that is too hard for me. Lo, I'll be with you always, even to the end of the world. The psalmist said, my help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. May we prove it then this week as we go out into the world about our daily business. May we be led by the almighty God. May we hold his right hand. Amen.

Let's sing together our final hymn of the day from Hymns for Worship, number 171.

171. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise. Hymns for Worship, 171, tune 485.

♪ Take my life and let it be ♪
♪ Consecrated Lord to Thee ♪
♪ Take my love, protect my days ♪
♪ Let them flow as seas ♪
♪ Take my hands and lift them up ♪
♪ Let the impulse of my love ♪
♪ Take my feet and lift them up ♪
Safe and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice and let me sing,
Always hear me, for all my gain.
Take my lips and gather me,
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver, run my gold,
♪ God so mightily with God ♪
♪ Take the yin and take the yang and use ♪
♪ Every path that thou shalt go ♪
♪ Take my will and make it thine ♪
♪ It shall be in your law divine ♪
♪ Take my heart, it is thine alone ♪
♪ It shall be thy royal throne ♪
♪ Take my love, my Lord, my all ♪
♪ Where thy feet its treasure store ♪

Telling myself that I will be Almighty God, we do give Thee thanks that with Thy people that we may know something of Thy presence and help in our daily lives. We thank Thee that we can have Thy leading guidance and direction.

And we thank Thee, Lord, for Thy revealed will that is found within Thy holy word. and that we pray that they'll help us each to be like Daniel who was able in the midst of his captivity to search the scriptures and to find comfort and hope to help him to press on. We ask Lord then that they'll make us ready for that final deliverance. We will be delivered from our captivity here below and taken to that eternal rest, that promised land.

Do Lord increase our faith and give us that faith just like the Canaanite woman to come to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and to ask Lord help me. Do then dismiss us, we pray, with thy blessing.

And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit do be with you each now and for evermore. Amen.