If you would, please turn to
the book of Isaiah, chapter 43. And to start, I'm just gonna read one
verse. Isaiah chapter 43, and what I
wanna read, well, I'll tell you what. I'll read from verse 18,
let's do that. Isaiah 43 verse 18, remember
ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold,
I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth, shall
ye not know it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field
shall honor me and the dragons and the owls. because I give
waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give
drink to my people, my chosen. This is the verse I wanted to
read, verse 21. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise. That's the title, Paul. They
shall show forth my praise. Now I want to say something as
basically as an introduction, but it has not really so much
to do with the text. I just want to state a few things.
I do not want to and I endeavor not to preach at anyone. I mean this. I want to preach to you. Because
as I am preaching to you, I am also preaching to myself. I don't
want to preach at you. I've seen a lot of it on television.
There's a lot of people out there, and I've been in other places
where they preach at people. I want to preach to you. There's
a difference. I know it's subtle sometimes,
but it is a difference. But what I mean is here, with
everyone here, those on the internet and those on the television,
if they're watching, I do try my best to preach to you. The
Sovereign Grace Chapel and I myself, we don't have an agenda. What
we wanna have is a message. I preach what I know and I know
what I've been taught by him. in his word and actually from
the world around us through his word. And we use only the scripture
as a reference. And everything I say applies
to me as well as it does to you. I know I'm not better than any
other sinner. I know I'm not better than any
other sinner saved by grace. But I do need to remind myself
of it. And if I do give that kind of impression, I do apologize. And that's a mistake on my part,
because I don't want to give that impression. That being said,
I will admit to having no patience with lying preachers. Not those mistaken, not those
necessarily in error, but lying preachers who hold a place of
authority and they lie about God, his son and his spirit.
I will not be tolerant of any lies about God or his truth or
his son by his grace. Never. Not because I'm any better. but that the Lord Jesus Christ
and his truth are to be defended by us, to be proclaimed by us. Now, today from this passage,
I'm gonna speak about irresistible grace and the perseverance of
the saints. We speak about Tulip all the
time, we just normally don't name it. And I'm not really naming
it now, it's just that that's what is gonna come out. Because
the boldly stated fact that God saves and keeps his people is
a great comfort to his people. And as an added benefit for my
own personal self, it's a great thorn in the flesh to unbelievers. especially those who name the
name of Christ but don't believe Christ. I mean, is it okay to
say that? I really enjoy Jesus Christ saving
and keeping his people, even when it annoys unbelievers. Because
thus saith the Lord, comfort ye, comfort ye who? My people. And the only comfort we have
for believers is his word. And what his word says. Because
his word is always true and every man is a liar. This verse, verse 21 starts out,
this people have I formed. Now it does continue on from
verse 20. I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the
desert to give drink to my people." What? My chosen. This people. Let there be no doubt as to who
the people are and who is the creator here and the one who forms. Because
creating and forming are both his works, but they are not the
same thing. Here he states it plainly, I
have formed these people. What does that mean? Look at
Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 1. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob. and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not. For I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. I created Jacob. Ah, I formed
him. Israel. I created one who became
the usurper, but I formed the prince with God. There's a world
of difference between those two. And yet, Jacob and Israel are
the same person. It's almost like you had two
natures, Mason. There's an old man and a new
man. But this word here, I form thee,
O Israel, O prince with God, one who has power with God, that's
the same word here. This people have I formed. And that word means to have molded
into shape. What shape? The shape you wanted. This is God we're talking about.
This is the Lord we're talking about. And specifically, if you
look it up in Strong's, the dictionary, it says, just like a potter molds
the clay in the shape he wants it. This people I have made. I have formed them. They are more than what they
used to be. It's like Jacob is no longer
just Jacob. He's also Israel. Jacob's still there. And it shows. You read the Old Testament. It
shows sometimes. When he come back to see his
brother Esau, he was fearful and put everybody in front of
him. But he was still Israel at that
time. Created Jacob I formed Israel
the word create is create and the word formed is to be molded
by the Lord Then he says this in verse 1
fear not why not I Have redeemed thee I Have redeemed thee I have called you by your name. What? That sort of sounds like
good shepherd talk. It is. It's exactly like the
good shepherd said. I call my sheep by name. And what's it say then? And they
follow me. No questions. No questions. He didn't say they follow me
perfectly. Thank God he didn't. Because I can't, and neither
can you. But he says you do follow. And
here, it's I've redeemed thee. I've called thee by thy name. He tells us in another place, don't you know? You are not your
own. You have been bought with a price. Don't you know? Three words. Thou art mine. I created you. I formed you. I redeemed you. And I called
you by name. This people have I formed. What? for myself, for myself,
for myself. I bought you, I redeemed you,
you're mine. This people I have formed for
myself. I created Jacob and I formed
Israel for myself. The Lord did not create or form
his people for the world. He created and formed his people
for himself. He didn't even create and form
us for our own selves, for themselves. I formed them for myself. Yes,
Jacob benefited by becoming Israel. by being named Israel, by God.
But I didn't do it for Jacob. God said, I did it for me. I
did it for myself. You understand, our salvation,
none of it is in any of us. Not one piece of our salvation.
Our salvation is totally based upon the covenant made between
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Alone Alone I formed
thee for myself This people Every single one of them were formed
for God They were formed by God and they were formed for God This was a covenant between the
father and the son and Our salvation rests totally and
completely in God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He formed us for himself. Who
does this people belong to? To the Lord himself. They belong
to the Lord of hosts and the Holy One of Israel. This is really too glorious to
be understood without the grace of God. With the grace of God,
by the grace of God, we get a glimpse. We just see through a glass darkly.
But understand if you can, and this is, our salvation, none
of it is dependent upon ourselves. We're dependent upon God. He
is the potter, we are the clay. And he makes vessels under honor
and vessels under dishonor as it pleases him. This people have I formed for
myself. And then he says this, they shall
show forth my praise. Very quickly, this is not a question. This is not a request. This is
a statement of fact. This people, they are going to
show forth my praise. Well, they is this people. What does that mean? Well, it
means no other people. There are people who accuse us
of being divisive. I am not divisive. This is what
God said. He said, this people have I formed
and they shall show forth my praise. And that's what he meant. That's
what he said and that's what he meant. Thus saith the Lord,
I have a people, I formed them for myself, and they are mine. I love that
part, they are mine. This people, they are God's.
He created them, he formed them, he redeemed them, he called them
by name, and they shall, what? Show forth my praise. God is glorified in the salvation
of His people. God is glorified in the work
of His Son. Not in my work. It says they're
gonna show forth His praise. It didn't say they're gonna create
His praise. There are those, oh, if you don't praise God,
God won't be praised. Oh, yes, He will. Yes, He will. His works praise Him. His works praise Him. And guess
what? If you believe the Son, you are
His workmanship. And you are to the praise and
to the honor and to the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Yes, we ought to praise God.
The Psalms are full of it. This whole book is full of it. Why? Because he's created us,
he's formed us, he's redeemed us, and he's called us by name,
and he's promised that we are going to show forth his praise.
What's that mean? Well, you're gonna have to be
around to show forth his praise. Because if you're not there,
you can't show forth anything. Now, it's not by your works.
It's by your very existence. As a child of God, as a heir
of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ, we, those who believe,
show forth praise and glory unto God the Father. How? any son. It's not in you, it's
any son. These people, they are mine. What do these people have to
praise though? We are to praise him. Well, look
at Isaiah 43 and verse two. When thou passest through the
waters, now very carefully, it's when you pass through the waters,
not if, when, I will be with thee. And through the rivers
they shall not overflow thee. Why? Because I will be with thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, again not if, thou shalt not be burned, neither shalt
the flame kindle upon thee. Why? I'm with thee. I am with thee. I am with thee. How are we to the praise and
to the honor and to the glory of God? He's with us if you know
Him, if you believe Him. He's with you. I am with you when you walk through
the fire. You won't be overflowed, you
won't be burnt, you won't catch on fire. Why? I'm with you. You understand? Here in Isaiah,
these first two verses, it doesn't have anything for us to do. This
is the work of God. Now, how can you go through this?
I have redeemed, what? I've created thee, formed thee,
redeemed thee, called thee by thy name, and I'm with thee.
How is that possible without your salvation? Well, it's not. The longsuffering of the Lord
is salvation. It's not the longsuffering of
us. His people shall show forth His
praise. Because if you don't praise the
one who did create you, form you, redeem you, and called you,
you don't know that one. They shall show forth His praise. And they believe. These are the only ones that
fit this category. These are the words of our Lord
Jesus Christ when he said, whosoever believes, what? Shall not perish. Because whosoever believes hath,
has, what? Everlasting life. He told Lazarus' sister, Whosoever
believeth on me what? shall never die Then he asked
her believe us now this What I want to ask you is believe
us now him Because if you believe us now him you shall never die
you have already have because he's the one that gave it and
everlasting life eternal life Now I know we are surrounded
on every side by those who say you can have it and you can lose
it and Then maybe get it back again You understand That's not
what the scripture says We don't have everlasting life
because we believe that We believe because he has given us everlasting
life. They try to put man before God,
and it doesn't work that way, not in the scriptures. God has
never, ever worked that way. The Lord of glory has never been
dependent upon a man, and never will be. What he says, he has
done. And what he says you to do, you're
gonna do. Verse seven of Isaiah 43 says
this. Even everyone that is called
by my name, for I have, excuse me, for I have created him for
my glory. I have formed him, yea, I have
made him. Everyone that the Lord has created
and formed and redeemed and is called by their name, thou art
mine. Thou art mine. And I did it for my glory. This people have I formed for
myself, they shall show forth my praise. They shall always
show forth my praise. Well, I read it last week. It
pleased the Lord to make you his people. It's for his glory. We're not promised any glory.
Why? We don't deserve any glory. He
deserves it all. Why? Because he did it all. What does this mean if you're
a believer? If you are a believer in the
Lord Jesus Christ, it means that God created you, and formed you
and redeemed you and called you by your name. And it also means
he is with you. I don't know any other better
words of comfort for one who knows Jesus Christ. God forms, God molds, God shapes,
and God saves this people. This people, every single solitary
child of God. We do have a little bit of knowledge
given here in the scriptures about our end on this world. If it does end and he doesn't
come back, Hebrews 11, 13 says, these all
died in faith. In faith, in faith. not having
received the promises but having seen them afar off and were persuaded
of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth. What'd he say? Everyone that is called by my
name for I have created him for my glory. The people, this people, in Hebrews
11, my brethren, your brethren. You understand, I'm not putting
myself in the same category with Moses and Abraham and Rahab or
Abel and Enoch. No, God put me in that category. Those in Hebrews 11 were saved
by the same grace that saved you. And if you believe Christ,
these are your brothers and sisters. I take no pride in it. I was
put there. I'm overwhelmed by it, awed by
it. David, Samuel, Samson, the rest. God put us there with them. First Peter one and three, verse
four says this, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from
the dead. Two, two. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise. We have been begotten again to
a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the dead to an
inheritance. What? Incorruptible. And undefiled. And that fadeth not away. What? Reserved in heaven for
you My inheritance is reserved in
heaven for me My inheritance is in his son It's in Jesus Christ
But he said Peter's right. He says it's mine. There's an
inheritance what reserved for you reserved for me if you believe
in Now, I know about reservations. I have to make them at work with
Enterprise Rent-A-Car. And I agree with Jerry Seinfeld
wholeheartedly. They're really good at accepting
reservations, but they're not really good at keeping them sometimes.
Because I send a customer over there, and the car's gone that
they were supposed to have. But I can tell you this, I didn't
make this reservation. This is a reservation God and
his son have made for each and every individual child of God. And listen, Jesus Christ didn't
make a reservation for you if you ain't gonna make it there.
It ain't gonna happen. It will never happen. Every reservation
he has is for you. It's individual. It is for us,
all of us. Every single one are kept by
the power of God through faith. Every single one have an inheritance,
incorruptible, undefiled, and it fades not away, and it is
reserved in heaven for his people. Each and every single one. And if he's made that reservation
for you, guess what? You're gonna keep it. Because
it ain't up to you, it's up to him. We are being kept now by His
power. Right now. Until then. Eight words. But of Him are ye
in Christ Jesus. who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. That, that, according
as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise. That's reserved for you, too. I don't understand how you can
read stuff like that and come up with a stupid idea that I
could lose that. I'm good at losing stuff. I will
admit. I know other people that are
good at losing stuff. But you understand. Didn't get
this I Didn't make this I didn't form
this This is the work of God and what he has promised he is
able to perform and He shall perform it but under the last
day It's reserved in heaven for you Our Heavenly Father, thank
you again for this time, this place. Thank you most of all
for your son, in whom you have given us all
things. Thank you, Lord. Be with Walter
as he comes to preach. Give us a message we need to
hear, and give us the understanding to understand it. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.