Again, good to see you and good
to be here. Turn back again to Isaiah, Isaiah
45, Isaiah 45. I would encourage you sometime
today or this afternoon or sometime this week to read beginning at
verse or chapter 43 of Isaiah through chapter 49, because there
is a very stark comparison made by our wise God between the idol
and the true and living God, the false God and the only God
that saves. Let's begin by reading from Isaiah
45 at verse 20. God says, well, let's read verse
19. He said, I've not, I've not kept
this secret. I've not spoken in secret in
a dark place of the earth. The gospel is not something hidden
in a corner to be declared and all men everywhere. I said not
to the seat of Jacob seeking me in vain. It's never in vain
to seek God. It's always right to seek the
Lord. I declare things that are right. Whatever God says in his word,
it is right. You can bank on it, believe it,
and trust God. Now, verse 20 says, Assemble
yourselves and Draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations.
They have no knowledge that set up wood of their graven image. They have no knowledge of the
true and the living God, who try to approach God on the ground
of an idol, on the merit of an idol. They have no knowledge
that set up wood of their graven image, their vain imaginations,
and pray unto a God that cannot say. Now, why would any person,
if he had any sense at all, pray unto a God or worship a God who
cannot save? Thank God the God of Scripture,
the God of the Bible, is God who is able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by him, seeing he ever lived to make
intercession for us. Tell you. Tell them. Tell them. Bring them near. Bring them. Tell them and bring
them. We worship God here. Tell them
and bring your friends. Bring your family. Tell them
and bring them. Let them take counsel together. Who has declared
this from ancient times? This gospel that we preach is
no new gospel. The gospel is as old as God himself. We have no new message. Beware
of that preacher who comes with a new thing, something new, clever,
novel. The message we have is the ancient
gospel, it's the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who hath told it from that time, have not I the Lord, that there
is no God else beside me? Now this phrase here is repeated
several times and we'll look at several places here. You probably
noticed that. There is no God else beside me. Now there's just one true and
living God. He is almighty as we just saying
a minute ago, He is almighty and He is merciful. Almighty
and merciful. I am the Lord. There is no God
else beside me, a just God. That means God is holy. He's
a just God and He's merciful. Now you get a hold of that. I
need a holy God, a just God. And I need someone who can extend
mercy to me, not at the expense of his justice, not as expensive
as holiness. There is no God else beside me,
a just God and Savior. There is none beside me. Don't look anywhere else but
to this just God and Savior. He's called repeatedly the Lord
Jesus Christ throughout the book of Titus. He's called God, our
Savior, and he is. He who is our Savior is our God,
and we worship him, and we honor him, and we exalt him. Now, verse
22, look. Where are we to look? Look to
him. Look unto this one who is a just God and Savior. Look unto
me and be saved. All the ends of the earth. Who
is to look? Well, all the ends of the earth. Does that include
you? Well, you on the earth? Look! Look to him. Look to him. Look unto me, all ye ends of
the earth, for I am God, there is none else. I have sworn by
myself. God's taken an oath. He, when
he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself. I have sworn
by myself. The word has gone out of my mouth
in righteousness. Whatever God speaks is right
and shall not return. Remember he said in Isaiah 55,
the word shall not return unto me void, but it will accomplish
all my purpose, and it will, that unto me every knee is going
to bow, every knee is going to bow, every tongue will swear
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Surely, shall one say, now this is what every believer says right
here. Surely everyone, everyone who knows this one who is a just
God and Savior, we know this. Surely shall one say in the Lord,
I have righteousness and strength. Now notice if you have this Cambridge
that I have the center reference on that. Surely he shall say
of me in the Lord is all righteousness and strength, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the very Lord, our righteousness. He is not only
Jehovah Jireh, but he is Jehovah Sid Canoe, the Lord, our righteousness. And surely, surely this is what
you would say this morning, isn't it? I need a justifying righteousness
before God. Surely this is what this is your
confession, is it not? Surely this is what you would
say before God in the Lord Jesus Christ is all my righteousness. He's all my hope, he is all my
very salvation and strength and hope. Even to him shall men come
and all that are incensed against him. I pray there's none here
today that are incensed against him. Shall be ashamed. He once said
of the believer, those who rest on that foundation, turn over
here to Isaiah 28. All those who rest on that foundation
shall never be ashamed, shall never be confounded, rest upon
the foundation of Christ. But those who seek to find that
sandy and to stand on that sandy foundation, they'll be ashamed,
they'll be confounded before the throne of God. Isaiah 28,
16, Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion
for a foundation, a stone, A tried stone and this foundation is
Christ salvation in no other no other foundation can any man
lay than that which is laid a stone of tried stone. That means it's
tested. It's tested. It's sure it's certain
it's precious. Precious to you who believe it's
a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Do you want that saying there?
When Paul quotes that in Romans 9, he said, they shall never
be confounded and never be ashamed. We'll never be forced to flee
from that foundation. The Lord Jesus Christ will never
be pushed, be pushed out because he occupies our forerunner. He's
entered into glory and he occupies the throne for us seated at God's
right hand. What's true of the head is true
of the body. He is our head. And as the body of believers,
we rest in Him. For us to lose our salvation,
God would have to remove the Lord Jesus Christ off the throne. That ain't going to happen. He's
enthroned eternally. He ever lives to make intercession
for us. Now, let's see if we can work
on this phrase for just a little bit this morning. Found in Isaiah
45, verse 21, there is no God else. Beside me, a just God and a savior,
there is none. There is none beside me. Now, there is one thing made
absolutely clear when you read this chapter. There is but one
true living almighty God, one true and living absolute God. Now, let me show you some other
places here. If you turn back to Isaiah 43.
Isaiah 43, this statement is repeated over and over, and really
it's the message of all Scripture. There is but one Savior, there
is but one salvation, there is but one gospel, there is but
one God, there is but one way God justifies the ungodly, and
that is through the blood sacrifice, righteous obedience of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Isaiah 43, look what it says
here, verse 11. Even I am the Lord and beside
me there is no Savior. I have declared and have saved.
I have shown when there was no strange God among you. Therefore
you are my witnesses. Sayeth the Lord that I am God. See that? Now turn over to Isaiah
44, Isaiah 44 beginning at verse 6. Thus saith the Lord, the King
of Israel and his Redeemer. his Redeemer, his Savior, the
Lord of hosts, he's the Lord of his elect, he's the Lord of
hosts, I am the first, I am the last, beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call and
shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed
the ancient people, God's appointed a people unto salvation, I appointed
those people, he said, and things that are coming shall come, let
them show unto them, fear ye not, verse eight, Isaiah forty-four,
neither be you afraid. Have not I told thee from that
time? Have not I declared it? Have
not I declared it? You are my witnesses. There is a God. Is there a God
beside me? Question. You see that? Yea,
there is no God, I know not any. Now, God is God. He's absolute
God in all ways, again, in Isaiah 45. In Isaiah 45, verse 5, now,
I am the Lord, there is none else. There is no God beside
me. I girded thee, though you didn't
know me. Now, you think about this. You
think of the providence of God that kept you, protected you,
and saved you until God crossed your path with the gospel. When
you didn't know Him, He girded you. When you didn't believe
Him, trusted you before you ever knew him, before you ever heard
the gospel. I go to thee, though you didn't
know me, that they may know from the rising of the sun and from
the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, there is none
else, none else. I form the light, I create darkness,
I make peace, I create evil or calamity. I bring these things
to pass. I, the Lord, do all these things.
Drop down, ye heavens, from above. Let the skies pour down righteousness.
Let the earth open. Let them bring forth salvation,
and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have
created it." What? Salvation? Righteousness? Salvations
of the Lord, is it not? Now, one more scripture on this,
if you'll find Isaiah 46, verse 9. And we could read the evidence,
but I'm trying to... This is overwhelming evidence, is it
not? Not that we need overwhelming evidence, but God floods us with
a multitude of scriptures to declare that He is a just God
and Savior. He's almighty and merciful. Now, in Isaiah 46, verse 9, remember
the former things of old. I am God, and there is none else. I am God. Get a hold of this
phrase. There's none like me. What's he like? He said there's
none like me. What's he like? What is this
God that there's none beside? What's he like? Well, he's a
just God and Savior. There's none like me. Here's
Howard. Here's his character declaring
the end from the beginning. Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning. from the ancient time to things
that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, My counsel
will stand, I will do all My pleasure, calling a ravenous
bird from the east, bird or man, going to accomplish the purpose
of God, whether it's a bird or man, whatever means God chooses
will accomplish His purpose, calling a ravenous bird from
the east, a man that would execute My counsel. from a far country. Yeah, I've spoken it. I'll bring
it to pass. I purpose it. I will do it. My friend, this is the God that
we've come to worship and honor today. He is a just God and Savior. Now, what do we mean when we
say that God is just? We mean this, that he is holy
and righteous in sovereign in all his way. God is what was
the what is the central attribute of the God that we worship. We
say, well, God's merciful. Well, that's true. God is eternal. Well, that's true. But what is
it? What is his essential characteristic? Turn to Isaiah chapter six. God is just. But God is. Holy. God is holy. God is merciful, but not apart
from his holiness. God is love, but not apart from
his holiness. Isaiah chapter six. You remember
this in verse one, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw
the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim.
Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face,
with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And
one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. Well, what's our response to
that? Look at verse 5. Woe is me, I'm undone, I'm a
man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts. Have you ever seen God as holy,
eternal, just, and lifted up, exalted? If God has shown you
that, you'll see the flip side of that. All my righteousnesses,
all my best I have it, my best thought, my best point is filthiness
in God's sight. It's sin. God is holy. God is just. God is righteous. God is sovereign in all of His
works. He said, I've spoken it. I'll
bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I'll do it.
Can you count on it? Can you count on such a God as
this? Yes, you can, my friend. You can trust the whole weight
of your body, soul, and spirit upon His keeping, His care. We can trust Him. That's what
it says here in Isaiah 45. Because He is a just God and
Savior, He says, look to Me. Look to Me. Don't look to Mom
and Dad. Don't look to your church. Don't
look to your pastor. Look to Christ, look to the Lord
Jesus Christ and be saved. So God is holy and just, he's
sovereign in all of his word, his way, his work. He said, I've
spoken in, he says it twice in this chapter, I've spoken in
righteousness. The word has gone out of my mouth
in righteousness. Whatever God does, whatever he
speaks, it's right. Remember what Abraham said, shall
not the God of all the earth do right? And he will. He will. He's a just God. But now, wait a minute. He's
also merciful. He's also our Savior. He's God,
our Savior. Our God is merciful, gracious,
and long-suffering to the salvation of God's elect. Now, turn to
Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55. He is merciful. He is holy, righteous, and just. Thank God he is. Beside him there
is no other God. But this God whom we worship
is also the God, the only God, that delights to show mercy to
sinners. Isaiah 55, verse 6. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake
his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God,
for he will abundantly, abundantly pardon. Thank God he is holy,
but thank God he delights to show mercy. Now, don't try to
find this scripture. Let me just read it to you. But
in the book of Micah, in the book of Micah, God says this
in Micah seven verse eighteen who is a god like unto thee that
pardon that iniquity and passes by or passes over the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage. He retained it not as anger forever
because he delighted in mercy. He will turn again he will have
compassion upon us he will subdue our iniquity that will cast all
their sins into the depths of the sea, that will perform truth
to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our
fathers from the days of old." God delights to show mercy to
sinners. I'm going to take my place before
him like that publican as a mercy beggar and cry out unto God,
be merciful to me, the sinner. He delights to show mercy. And
he says, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall
be saved. I'm going to call. I'm going to beg him for mercy
because he's a God who delights to show mercy. He's a just God
and Savior. Now, back to Isaiah 45. A just
God and Savior. Now, this is demonstrated all
through Scripture, how God is just and how he is our Savior. Let me give you several illustrations
and examples of that. Adam sinned and was punished,
right? Why? God is just. God is holy. But I tell you, God also gave
his promise of mercy in that woman's seed that would crush
the serpent's head. You see, God is just and he is
merciful. We see another example of that.
The world was flooded in Noah's day. You remember every imagination
of the thoughts? Of all men were only evil continually,
and God, the flood of His wrath, fell upon all sinners. God is just, God is holy, but
yonder on that flood of God's wrath is an ark with eight souls
saved by the grace of God. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. God, you see His justice, His
holiness, and yet His mercy. in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
you all know that ark is a picture of Christ. God destroyed Sodom,
right? Truly so. God rained fire upon
Sodom and Gomorrah for their sin against God. God is just
and God is holy. God saved Lot. God delivered
Lot. All those who were in Sodom perished. God is holy, God is just. But God, on His errand of mercy,
saved Lot and delivered Lot. Why? God is merciful. God is
merciful. Did Lot deserve deliverance? No, Lot shouldn't have been in
Sodom. But he went there, and yet it wasn't a hindrance to
God showing mercy. Because God is merciful and he
saved a lot. The law was given its sign because
God is holy and just. No doubt about that. The law
was given to expose our sin. The law was given to expose the
exceeding sinfulness of our sin. The law is holy, just, and good.
God is holy. God is just. But also in that
law was given a tabernacle, a covenant of mercy. a covenant of grace
in that tabernacle, there was a holy of holies. What was in
that holy of holies? You remember the mercy seat on
the ark of the covenant, the broken law inside, and the blood
on the mercy seat? God said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. God is holy and just. You see
what I'm saying? And yet, he's a merciful God. He delights to show mercy upon
the ground and merit of the Lord Jesus Christ. and that eternal
covenant of grace. We see at Calvary this supreme
example of God's justice in His holiness, don't we? God is just
and holy. That's why the Lord Jesus Christ
is dying there at Calvary in the room instead of His people.
God is just, God is holy. Where sin is found, it must be
punished because God is holy. When sin is put and laid upon
the Lord Jesus Christ and our sin is imputed to Him, what happened
there at Calvary? The wrath of God. poured out
upon the substitute. Why? God is just. God is holy. But I tell you, in that we see
God provided that Lamb of God that He might be the just God
and Savior. We see God's mercy there, don't
we, at Calvary? God loved us so that He gave
His own Son to die in our room and in our stead. Now, let me
ask you six questions. Six questions. I won't keep you
much longer. Seeing that God is a just God and Savior, the
command here of the gospel in verse 22, Isaiah 45, is look
unto me. There's no salvation apart from
this one who is God our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart
from that blessed sacrifice he made on behalf of his people
that's not shed in vain. His blood is not shed in vain.
It's effectual to satisfying God in every aspect of his attributes. Therefore, he says, look unto
me, look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for
I am God and there is none else. Now, what are we to do? He said,
look, look, look unto me, look unto me. Now, isn't that the
same thing the Lord Jesus says? Turn over here to Matthew chapter
25. Same thing our Lord says to us
because he is the just God and Savior. Matthew eleven twenty
five. Matthew eleven verse twenty five
I thank the old father lord of heaven and earth because I would
hit the same. For the wise and prudent and
brief and have revealed them on the bag even so father for
so it seemed good and I sighed All things are delivered unto
me, my Father. No man knoweth the Son, but the
Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son, and he whomsoever the Son will reveal him. He is
a just God and a Savior." Now he said, Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.
And you shall find rest unto your soul, for my yoke is easy,
my burden is light." Where do we look? Are we to look unto
Christ? Look to the Lord Jesus Christ
and look to Him as our Almighty Savior. Look to Him as the only
mediator between God and sinners. There is one God and one mediator
between God and man. That is the man, Christ Jesus. Look to Him as the object of
faith. Faith has a foundation, it's the word, but faith has
a saving object. He said, look unto me and be
ye safe. Look to him as the all-sufficient
and only righteousness which justifies before God. You remember
Paul's testimony? He said we can all think but
loss, that we might win Christ and be found in him, not having
our own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is
through the faithfulness and the obedience of Christ. So we
look to him as our only mediator, our only savior, our only sufficient,
justifying righteousness. We look to him as the exalted
savior. You remember that promise? And let's turn over and read
it in Hebrews chapter four. Seeing, he said that we have
such a great high priest in Christ. Seeing we have such a great high
priest, let us come boldly into the throne of grace, Hebrews
chapter four. Verse fourteen, saying then that
we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens when
he by himself purged our sins, sat down at God's right hand,
saying that we have such a great high priest that is passed into
the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, who is our just God and
Savior, let us hold fast our salvation, hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmity,
but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. But what are we to do? He said,
look, look what it says there. Let us therefore come boldly
into the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy. He's a just
God, my friend, and the Savior, that we may obtain mercy, not
earn it, obtain it by his grace, that we might find grace to help
in time of need. So we look to him as exalted,
redeeming. We look to him alone, not anything
else. Not our works, not our religion,
not our experience, not our feelings, not our church. What was it Luther
said? Feelings come, feelings go. Feelings are deceiving. My warrant
is the word of God. Nothing else is worth believing. Look to him, my friend. That's
the command of God. Not to your experience, not to
your faith. Look to him. Look to cry. Secondly. What part in salvation should
we look? What part in salvation should
we look? Well, he's called the Alpha and the Omega. He's called
the beginning and the end. Look to him for every part of
salvation from our election To our redemption, to our calling,
to our glorification, look to him in every aspect of salvation. Depend upon him in everything,
for everything in salvation. He's the Alpha. He's the Omega. He's our justification. We look
to him. He's our glorification. The Apostle
put it this way, but of him, Are you in Christ, who of God
is made unto us? He's our wisdom, He's our righteousness,
He's our sanctification, and He's our redemption, that we
may glory only in Christ. God forbid we would glory in
any other but the Lord Jesus Christ. So what part do we look?
What part in salvation should we look for in Christ? Well,
Christ is all and in all. Look to Him for everything in
salvation. Now, let me ask you this. Thirdly,
what is the encouragement to look? What is our encouragement
to look? Well, he says, look unto me,
and here's our encouragement. Be safe. Doesn't that encourage
you? Well, you need salvation. Well,
look to him. That's our encouragement. Look
to him and know that he's the only just God and Savior. Look
to him. You know, it's his command to
look, to trust him, to believe him. God commanded all men everywhere
to repent. You have no option here. Look
to him. Trust him as the command of God. And the encouragement here is
that he is a savior. There is salvation in no other. No other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. Fourthly, what is the
result of looking to the Lord Jesus Christ? What's the result of looking in him. Something else here. Here's another question. Who
may look? Who may look to him? Who may
look to him? Who may come to him? Who may
trust him? Who may open him? Who may call upon the name of
the Lord? He said, whosoever. That's a pretty wide word, isn't
it? Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord. Who may look to him? Look what
it says there in verse 22. All the ends of the earth. All
the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. Who may look? Well, you may look. You may look. We're instructed
to go and preach the gospel to every creature. Have you heard
the gospel? Has God given you faith to believe
the gospel? Look to Him, my friend. Look
to Him and trust Christ. Well, let me ask you this question
in closing. When should we look to him? When
should we look to him? Always. David said in Psalm 662,
trust in him at all times. You people pour out your heart
before him. God is a refuge for us. Look to him always. When in the
dark, He is our life. Look to Him. When we are weak,
He is our strength. He said, My grace is sufficient.
When we're hungry, He's our food. He said, I'm the bread from heaven. When in sorrow, He's our joy. Rejoice in the Lord always and
again I say rejoice. When in trouble, He's our comfort. We have a refuge in Christ. When
in death, He's our life. Remember the promise our Lord
said that Martha those who believe I am the resurrection and the
life he that believed in me though he were dead. Yet he shall live
he is our life we have eternal life in him when in sin. He is our only savior. Our only redeemer when in need
he is our completeness. When we look to him you have
a need you in the dark. You have sinned look to him at
all times when in need he's our completeness in him dwells all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily and we are complete in him when
condemned. He's our justification before
God. We read this promise in scripture.
There is no condemnation to those who were in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you see what he's saying
here. Look unto me. He said, I'm a just God. There
is no God beside me. He's just. He's holy. He is the
only Savior of sinners. There's none else. Don't look
anywhere else. Now look to him. That's what
he's saying. That's the command of the gospel.
Look to Christ and be saved. All the ends of the earth. I
am God and there is none else. There is none else. Drop down
and look at verse 25. In the Lord shall all the seed
of Israel, that's his elect, all the seed of Israel shall
be justified, justified freely by his grace and shall be glorified,
glorified in him. Well, I pray the Lord will bless
that to your heart and may God give us all grace to look to
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is indeed a just God and Savior,
Savior of sinners. OK. Let's turn to hymn number 17
and stand together. Hymn number 17. Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise Teach me some melodious sonnet
sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount I'm fixed upon
it, mount of thy redeeming love. Last verse. Oh, to grace how
great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be Let Thy goodness, like
a fetter Find my wandering heart to Thee Prone to wander, Lord,
I feel it Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart,
oh, take and steal it. Steal it for thy courts above.