Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter 43. Isaiah 43. Before we begin, let's ask our
Lord's blessing. Our Father, thank you again for
the day that you've given us. Lord, we ask would you bless
your Word to our hearts would you cause us to hear. Comfort
our hearts. Pray for your people that are
sick. Lord, have mercy. I ask you to
save sinners today for Christ's sake. Amen. I'm going to want to consider
the first 13 verses of Isaiah. And as we look, I'll deal with
the verses as we come to them. But I know this, in this wicked world of uncertainty,
and it's uncertain to us, we don't know what a day holds.
We don't know. We get up and we trust our Lord
that God Almighty would have mercy, compassion, help us. Lord, as we seek your direction
and guidance, but while we're in this world, in the midst of
trials and tribulation, we have great reason to rejoice. That is to be happy. be cheerful. We are exhorted to rejoice, to
be cheerful. The scripture says in Philippians
4, 4, Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. Now listen to this. I was going
back over my notes this morning, and I was looking at these statements
that I had jotted down. And I thought to myself, while
I read these reasons for us to rejoice, I thought, Lord, help
me to not look and hear these things with
just a natural ear and just naturally say, oh yeah, those are good.
Lord, help me here. Rejoice in His grace which is
always sufficient. It's always sufficient. I want
to believe that. I want to know that. Rejoice
in His blood which cleanseth us, the Scripture says, from
all sin, that there is therefore now no condemnation to them that
be in Christ Jesus. Oh, that I might know Him. in his righteousness which justifies
us before the law. Wobed in his righteousness, found
in him, almighty God looks upon his people
in Christ, holy, holy. Rejoice in his love which never Well, I find myself, and how
many times have I admitted this? The amount of times that I've
admitted it is just nothing compared to the times that it happens.
When I go through this day and I find myself so oblivious to
the mercy, the love of Almighty God toward His people. He said,
I've loved you with an everlasting love. He never ceases to look
upon His people. In His Son, perfect love never
fails. And how many times do I find
myself not even thinking about it? when I try to pray. And I mean
that honestly. When I try to pray. And I find
myself a few minutes thinking about things that just don't
matter. And I thank the Lord that your
love never fails. Rejoice in His providence. For
the Scripture sets forth that He works all things. He works all things together
for good to them that love Him, to them who are called according
to His purpose. Everything that Almighty God
worked today and is working today and shall work He is working
everything that comes the way of His people in this world for
their good, for the glory of His sign. Rejoice! Lord, I don't even know what
You did. I have no earthly idea. Everything that's happening,
everything that he's doing, he's doing according to his eternal
purpose and grace and mercy. Bringing to himself, his people,
causing everything to happen for their good. Rejoice in the
Lord. Rejoice in his intercession. which never ceases. Lord, you
ever live to make intercession for your own. Rejoice! Rejoice! And then our Lord, speaking
to his disciples, said this, Rejoice that your names are written
in heaven. He wrote them there. He wrote
them there before the foundation of the world. Wrote them in the
book of life itself. Wrote them in Christ. Oh, do
we not have reason to rejoice. And Lord, thank You that You
do not charge us with the iniquity of not rejoicing as we are ought. Thank You. Thank You. Isaiah 43 verses 1 to 13 gloriously sets
forth the foundation of our rejoicing. I want to read these 13 verses
and just listen to what our Lord has to say. And think upon this
truth. We rejoice in you. Verse 1, But
now, thus saith the Lord that created thee, he that formed
thee, O Israel, fear not. The Lord That word create is
the same word found back in Genesis. The scripture sets forth, God
Almighty said, let us make man. Let us consider man. Let's consider
man. Let's make him. Let's consider
man in his relationship to the Messiah. One vessel unto honor. Another vessel unto desire. Almighty
God has the right to do that very thing. The potter says to
the clay, whatever the potter purposes concerning the clay,
does the potter have the right? Yes, he does. So created he them. The word there, create, means
to cut down or to make fat. He's got the right. In this instance,
it is to make fat, to prosper. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, that made you fat, that made you prosperous in Him,
qualified it, chose to show mercy. Oh Jacob! Oh heel catcher! Oh supplanter! He that formed
thee, O Israel, that is, He that fashioned and molded you as the
potter. Fear not. Fear not. Lord, what do you say is the reason for me to not be
fearful? Here it is, first one. Middle
of the verse, Isaiah 43, verse 1. Here it is. I have redeemed
thee. God's people. Jacob's in themselves. Supplanters. Heel catchers. You who are in yourself rebels
against God. But Israel's. oppressed with
God. Israel's with the Lord. You've
been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
from the penalty of sin, from the power of Satan, from the
curse of the law, from the chains of hell and death. Rejoice. Fear not. Why? I've redeemed
you. I've delivered you. From all
of the things that were against you by full payment made, what
was due? That's what he paid. What did
we owe? What he paid. I've redeemed you. That which you forfeited in the
fall, I paid back. I paid for it. I answered for it. What was forfeited? I'll tell you the first thing
I know. Life. Spiritual life. And all of the
privileges that we had with Almighty God before the transgression,
before Adam walked with God, talked with God, fellowshiped
with God. I was thinking this morning,
oh, what the Lord had to say to Adam before Adam fell. Can you imagine? God Almighty
walked with him. That's Scripture that says he
came in the cool of the day after Adam fell. And I think, oh, those
blessed conversations that they had. And in that day when Adam
fell, the Lord had told him, in the day you eat, You're going
to die. I can just... No, I can't. I was going to say, I can just
imagine. No, I can't. Second, the moment he ate of
that fruit, everything changed. Fellowship,
gone. Love for God, gone. The whole nature, now under the
dominion of sin. Scripture says though, Isaiah
69, 4, that which I did not take away, I restored. Life, pleasure,
fellowship, joy, peace with Almighty God. We have now a new nature
that willingly loves Him. God's people loves the Lord. They love Him. They know Him.
They trust Him. And while they are trusting and
loving, struggling in themselves, warring in themselves, knowing
in themselves, and while they're trusting Him, knowing the rebellion
that's in themselves, Old wretched man Paul says that I am. There's
the new man asking for forgiveness for what that old man is doing.
That new man doesn't sin. That new man loves God. Fear
not. Fear not. I've redeemed you. Here's the second thing I know.
Verse 1, I've called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. We have great reason to rejoice
and to fear not. I've called you by thy name. Just turn over a few pages, Isaiah
62. Isaiah 62, verses 1 to 4. I've
called you by your name. Isaiah 62, verse 1 to 4. For Zion's sake, For the bride's
sake. For the sake of the church. For
the sake of God's elect. For the sake of God's chosen.
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof goes forth
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings
thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the
mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of
glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand
of thy God. Lord, what did you name me? Lord,
what's that new name that you named me? Verse 4, Thou shalt
no more be termed forsaken, neither shalt thy land any more be termed
desolate, but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, my delight. Thy land, Beulah, Married. For the Lord delighteth in thee,
and thy land shall be married. I've called you. Fear not. I've redeemed you. And I've called
you by your name. Come unto me, my delight. Come
unto me, you that's married to me. You that has eternally been
betrothed unto the Lord of glory. I called you. I called you with
an effectual and a particular calling. I called you that you
heard Me. I didn't leave you to a general
call that you wouldn't hear. I gave you ears to hear. I gave
you a heart to believe. I gave you eyes to see. And I
called you with a heavenly and a powerful calling. And the reason
that I called you is because you're mine. You're mine. When I call my wife at home,
I delight to hear her voice. I delight. I delight to see her. Why? Because she's mine. And
I'm married to her. She's my delight. Can you imagine
the joy of Almighty God that would say to His people, you're
mine. I chose to show mercy to you. I chose to have compassion on
you. I gave you an electing grace
To my Lamb, and now in Him, you are holy
and without blame before me in love. Fear not. Fear not. I call you. You're mine. You
heard my voice. My spirit bears witness with
your spirit. It's your mind. Here's the third
thing. Verse 2 and 3 of Isaiah 43. Here's the reason, number 3,
to not be fearful. I will be with you. 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 shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sema for thee. Don't be afraid. I'm going to
be with you. Boy, in this life we have affliction,
don't we? We'll be talking about our dear
friend, Brother Jeff, Brother Gene, different ones that are
struggling, trials and tribulations. We all have them. The Lord says
to His people, don't be afraid. Fear not. My grace never fails. Many, Psalm 3419, of the afflictions
of the righteous. But the Lord delivereth him out
of them all. All of them. All of them. All of them. But Lord, there
are some afflictions that I've got that just seem so unbearable. The Lord delivereth them out
of them all. I know this, I know that that
Scripture right there is number one, true of our Savior. The
trials, the tribulations, the afflictions that He bore in our
stand, hated of men, despised, lied on. The Lord delivered Him
out of them all. Just look what it cost Him. The
Lord delivered him out of them all. And I'll tell you this,
all his people in him are delivered out of them all. Don't be afraid. Fear not. Persecution, sickness,
sorrows. The Lord has promised, I will
be with you. Lord, teach me this. Bring this back to my memory
right now. Lord, when I'm apprehensive,
Lord, when I'm troubled, remind me these things, these trials
that come by His good providence to exhibit His faithfulness. He sends these things. 1 Peter
1-7, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. I am the Lord thy God, the Holy
One of Israel, thy Savior. The covenant God. The one that
all men shall have to deal with. He says, I will be with you. I'll be with you. I'll order
all things. I'll direct everything. Everything
is going to be directed for your good. The glory of Almighty God
and His precious Savior. Don't be afraid. Here's the fourth thing that
we have to be afraid. Verses 4-9, not only has He said,
I've redeemed you, I've called you, I'll be with you, but I'll
tell you another thing, we're going to be with Him. Verses
4-9 says this, Since thou wast precious in my sight, Thou hast
been honorable. I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and thy people for thy life. Fear
not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
Give up. To the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from far, my daughters
from the ends of the earth. Everyone that is called by my
name, for I have created him for my glory. I have formed him,
yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people
that have eyes, the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations
be gathered together. Let the people be assembled who
among them can declare this and show us former things. Let them
bring forth their witnesses that they may be justified, or let
them hear and say, It is truth. You're going to be with me. You're
going to be with me. I know what's happening this
morning. I know what's happening. The Lord is bringing his people
to himself. You that know him, you know what
you're doing. You're coming again. He that
cometh unto me. He that cometh unto me. And we
hear these blessed truths and say, Lord, thank You. I thank
You that You called me from the north, from the east, from the
south, the west, Lord, wherever I was. You that have everlastingly
known me. You that's loved me. You that
chose to show mercy to me. Lord, thank You that You would
not leave me to myself. Thank You that You've given me
to your Son as His bride crowned us with His righteousness because
you loved us. The Lord, Jeremiah 31, 3, hath
appeared of old from afar unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. I've loved you with a love that
doesn't fail. With loving kindness, I've drawn
you from the idols of your self-righteousness. I've given you a heart wherein
I dwell. And I teach you by my Spirit,
under the sound of my gospel. And I'm drawing you to Myself. And I will wean you from the
love of this world. And oh, how that love is fair. You're going to be with Me. You're
going to be with Me. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Fear not. For I am with thee,
as we said in verse 5. I will bring thy seed. My sons,
my daughters in Christ, bring them from the east, gather them
from the west. Say to the north, give up. To the south, keep not
back. All God's elect, created. That's what verse 7 says. Every
one that is called by my name, I have created him for my glory. Show me your glory. I'm going to say to the north,
south, east and west, come to me. I'm going to have mercy on
whomsoever I will. I'll have compassion on whomsoever
I will. That's my glory. You're going to be with me. Number
five, fear not. Verses 10 to 12. It is. Fear
not. You are my witnesses. Verses
10 to 12. You are my witnesses, saith the
Lord, and my servant, whom I have chosen, that ye may know and
believe me, understand that I am he. Before me there is no God
formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord,
and beside me there is no Savior. I have declared, I have saved. I have showed, when there was
no strange God among you, therefore, you are my witnesses, saith the
Lord, that I am God." Do you know what the beauty of that
is? A witness is one that has personally seen. One that has
actually witnessed for himself. This is not second-hand information
to God's people. We're not talking about something
that we have no part in. that we've not truly witnessed
by faith. Oh, but to know that we that
have witnessed Him by faith, we're going to see Him. We're
going to actually see Him. Almighty God, we know by divine
revelation. This is life eternal, that they
may know Thee, be witnesses of Thee, know Him, love Him. Life eternal. We know that our God is God. I know that the God that we serve,
sovereign, holy, He does as he will in the army of heaven. Let
someone speak of a God that's trying to do something, and a
believer will say, that's not the God that I serve. No, the
God that I serve redeems. And He calls. And He's with His
people. And they're with Him. And he
draws, and they come. He says to the north, you give
up. He says to the south, west, east, you come to me. He tells them, you know me. You know me. You're my witnesses. We know there's no God, but our
God. And lastly, Thirteen, here's
the last reason, don't be afraid. You're not going to perish. You're
not going to perish. Yea, before the day was, I am
he. And there's none that can deliver
out of my hand. I will work. And who shall let
it? Who shall turn it back? Almighty God does what He desires,
what He's pleased to do. Before there was a day, before
there was time, God Almighty determined, according to His
everlasting covenant of grace, He determined the salvation of
the people, and before He ever made them in time. He justified them in Christ.
He justified them. He saw the blood. Slain from
before the foundation of the world. Chosen in Him. You're not going to perish. He who loves His people, keeps
His people. He who spoke them into existence
in time, called us by grace. Who can hinder Him? He made everything. He purposed everything. He rules
everything. Who is going to hinder God Almighty? God Almighty! Who is going to
stop Him? Who? He works. Who shall let it? Let me ask
you this. Is this the God of your salvation? If this is the God Almighty of
your salvation, fear not. Fear not. Lord, teach me these
things afresh. Lord, I want to hear this. I
want to. This is the God that I love.
And I'm so sorry that I find myself so hindered by myself,
the cause of myself. Lord, have mercy on me for Christ's
sake.