Now let's open our Bibles to
Isaiah chapter 43. Isaiah 43, we'll read the first
seven verses. 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. 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 Sheba for thee, since thou wast precious in my
sight. Thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and 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, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every
one that is called by my name, for I have created him for my
glory. I have formed him, yea, I have
made him. Thank God for his word. Let's
bow together. Our Father, we've gathered here
together this evening to worship your matchless name. And Father,
I pray that you would enable us to do that, to worship you
in spirit and in truth. Don't let us just go through
the motions of religion. But Father, speak to us tonight
through thy word. and enable us to worship. Father,
I pray you'd be with our brother Eric in a mighty and special
way this evening, that you would enable him to preach above and
beyond himself, because you've enabled him to preach in the
power of thy spirit. And Father, give us a hearing ear, a heart
that is receptive, a heart that's hungry, thirsty for Christ. And Father, enable us to hear.
enable our hearts to be thrilled to one more time hear the glorious
gospel of Christ our Savior. Redemption, full and free, sure
and certain in Him because of who He is and what He has already
accomplished for His people. Father, how we thank you for
this opportunity. We pray that you not allow us
to let it go to waste. Father, I thank you for this
place. I thank you for the family of
believers that you've called together. Father, I pray that
your blessing would be upon each home, upon each one, upon us
as a congregation, Father, that you'd cause us to band together
in this common goal to have Christ crucified, preached in our town
to our generation. Father, cause us to love one
another, care for one another, be a help and encouragement to
one another. Father, thank you for the many
blessings of this life, how abundantly that you've blessed us. And we
know it is your blessing, not because we've earned or deserved
anything, it's all because of your free grace. And we're thankful. We beg your forgiveness, Father,
for the times we do murmur and complain against your good providence
after all that you've done for us. And Father, we pray for our
country at this time. We pray you'd be with our leaders,
that you'd give them wisdom that they do not have, understanding
that they do not have to be able to navigate all the problems
and the circumstances in our country and the turmoil worldwide. Father, bless them that your
people might be blessed and that we might continue to have a land
of freedom where we can live and worship you in peace. And
Father, we dare not forget to pray for those that you brought
in the time of trouble and trial. There are many, Father, we pray
you'd be with them. We thank you for the good report
we've had on several of our brethren, how you've been with them. Father,
we pray you comfort the hearts of your people. Comfort them
with your presence, as we've just read. Father, we pray you
deliver as soon as it can be thy will. Now, Father, all these
things we ask, and we give thanks in that name which is above every
name. For the name and the glory and the sake of our Lord Jesus
Christ, we pray. Amen. Open your Bibles back to Isaiah
43. Isaiah 43. Title of the message
this evening is two words. Fear not, fear not. Let's look beginning with verse
one of Isaiah 43. 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. Now all scripture, all scripture
is God-breathed. Every word of this book. In 1
Peter 1, we read that prophecy came not in old time by the will
of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit. Paul said the same thing, writing
to young Timothy. He said that all scripture is
given by inspiration of God. It's profitable. It's helpful
for doctrine, for our learning, for reproof, evidence, for correction,
straightening up, for instruction in righteousness. that the man
of God may be perfect, that he might be complete and thoroughly
furnished unto all good works. We know, we know that every word
in this book is the inspired word of God. That's not in question. But I want you to listen again
to these first four words. Thus saith the Lord. There is no question about who's
speaking here, is there? Isn't that clear? And could there
be anything more worthy of our attention than this, thus saith the Lord. The Lord that created thee, O
Jacob. Isn't it amazing, God, that he's
the God of all creation? Almighty God is the God of all
creation. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. We read this, that all things,
all things, everything on this earth has God's fingerprint on
it, doesn't it? All things were made by Him and
without Him was not anything made that was made. David wrote
this in the Psalms, he said, I am fearfully and wonderfully
made. Thus saith the Lord that created
thee, O Jacob. And that word created, it can
also be interpreted to choose. It never ceases to amaze me God's
Word. Did he choose Jacob? He did,
didn't he? He chose Jacob. He set his love upon Jacob. That's what he said. Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. I can think of people that I
can say I love. In each one of those, I can think
of many redeeming qualities about them. What was it about Jacob that
would cause Almighty God to set his love upon him? Consider his name, just his name
alone. It means supplanter. It means
thief. What redeeming qualities did
Jacob have? Were there any? Well, he was
a liar. Scriptures say he was a deceiver.
That's evident in Scripture, isn't it? We've said this before,
if Jacob was around you, or if you saw him walking towards you,
you would immediately reach for your bill phone. And I kind of
feel like as he walked away, you would probably check again
and look and see if there was anything left. Why, Jacob? Why would God choose Take it. Turn with me to Romans chapter
nine. Romans chapter nine, beginning
with verse nine. For this is the word of promise.
At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not
only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even our
father Isaac, for the children, being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. was an object of God's mercy before he was born. A choice made. Men talk about
a choice. They try to say that's man's
choice. That's not what I read here.
A choice made before he had done any good or evil. God's choice. Chosen according to the purpose
of Almighty God. According to His mercy. Think
about that. According to God's mercy. According to God's sovereign
will. That's the Word of God speaking. And we need not make any Apologies
for it. And you know that's a description
of not just Jacob, but every believer that Almighty God's
pleased to save. Paul, writing in the book of
Ephesians, he said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. according as He hath chose us
in Him." When did He do that? When somebody walked an aisle?
When somebody decided to follow Jesus? No. When did God choose
Him? When did He choose all of His
people? According as He hath chose us
in Him before the foundation of the world. that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, according to
the good pleasure of his will. Thus saith the Lord that created
thee, O Jacob, that chose thee, O Jacob. Has He spoke that to you? Has
Almighty God in mercy spoke that to you? I pray He has. And if He hasn't, I pray He will. Read on in our text, Isaiah 43,
1. Thus saith the Lord that created
thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee O Israel, he that formed thee. Again, these words, that word
formed, it means to mold, like a potter molds a piece of clay. Romans 9.21 says this, Hath not
the potter power over the clay to make one a vessel of honor
and the other a vessel of dishonor? You know, say it's easy to make
a vessel of dishonor. You just leave it alone. Just
leave it, leave it to itself. He's no longer, Jacob's no longer
a supplanter, no longer a thief, but Israel, a prince with God. You know, he made something,
he made him something that he wasn't, something that he could
never be. And again, isn't that what he's
done? Almighty God has done for every one of his sheep. What were we? Sin. All Jacob's sin were all sin. Yet God made his son to be sin. That we, that his people might
be made the very righteousness of God. Frank, you said that Sunday morning.
I know that there's a service we have that we don't refer to
that passage. Thus saith the Lord that created
thee, O Jacob, he that formed thee, O Israel. Quickly, let's review. Who's
speaking? Almighty God. Almighty gospel,
who's he speaking to? Jacob, Israel, his sheep, his
church. What does he have to say? What
is the message for his church? What is the message
for his people? You still have Isaiah 43 one?
Fear not. Fear not. Two words. Why is that so hard for us to
remember? Fear not. A message of comfort, a message
of hope. Fear not. And that message has
not changed. It's the same. throughout God's
Word. Back there, remember the children
of Israel? They're at the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army approaching. What was the message? Fear not. Fear not. And then he gives us
a few reasons here to not fear. Now one, I believe we've already
covered this. Salvation. deliverance, it's
not by the will of man, it's by the will of Almighty God. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. It's not by what we do or by
what we don't do. The children having done neither
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might change. It's not what we do. It's not
what we don't, but rather what He has done for us. Can you see that in Jacob and
Israel? Salvation is of the Lord. Second, He says this, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have redeemed thee. Turn to Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter three, look
at verse 13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law being made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Think about that. The Lord Jesus
Christ. He is holy. He is harmless, He
is undefiled, He is separate from sinners, He's made higher
than the heavens, and yet there on the cross of Calvary, we read
earlier He was made sin. Here we read He was made a curse. The Lord Jesus Christ made a
curse. for us, made a curse for us to
redeem us, to redeem His people. He redeemed us. He delivered
us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. That means the redemption price,
there wasn't a down payment made, it was paid in full. Paid in
full. And we can't even, with our finite,
we can't even begin to understand what that debt, what that debt
was. He paid it in full. The law, it no longer has a demand
on God's people. Hawker wrote this, he said, the
prison doors of justice are thrown open and the Lord's redeemed
ones are set free. Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ,
hath once died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring
us to God. Fear not, salvation is of the
Lord. Fear not, I have redeemed thee. Fear not, third, I have called
thee by name. In Genesis 12 and again throughout
Scripture, but God called Abraham. He called Abraham. He said to
get thee out of thy country. and out of thy kindred and from
thy father's house." There he was in that pagan land, that
land of idolatry. He said, get out into a land. He didn't tell him where he was
going. He said, into a land that I will show you. And what did
Abraham do? He went, didn't he? He went. In Leviticus 3, he called Moses
there at the burning bush. He said, I've seen the affliction
of thy people. I know their sorrow. I have come
down to deliver them, to bring them up out of that land to a
good land, a land that flows with milk and honey. How about in the New Testament?
Remember Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus was just, I just think
he was just there to see, at least he thought, what the fuss
was all about. Climbed up in that tree, And
I just, I love this verse when it says he came to the place,
that place that had been determined from all eternity. He came to
the place and he looked up and he called him by name, didn't
he? Zacchaeus, come down. Can you imagine how quick Zacchaeus
come down out of that tree? In Matthew 9, Jesus passed forth
from thence and he saw a man named Matthew Sitting at the
receipt of custom Matthew was sitting there doing what he did
every day Collecting collecting taxes taking money And the Lord looked at him and
he said follow What he did He didn't even bother
counting out, did he? No. No, he arose and he followed
him. Fear not. Fear not. I have redeemed thee. I have
called thee by name. Thou art mine. We sing that song, I belong.
I belong to the king. I'm his. Remember that he told
that parable of that lost sheep? That one lost sheep and he left
that night. Why did he go after it? It was
his sheep. It belonged to him and he searched
until he found it and when he found it, he laid it up on his
shoulder and he carried it home. Went and told all of his neighbors,
come see this lost sheep. It was lost, now it's found. Thou art mine. And then, last, he says this. I will be with thee. Is that a reason to not be afraid? I will be with thee. He is with His people at all
times, at all times. He said, when thou passest through
the waters, I will be with thee. You played that chorus, didn't
you? Some through the water, some through the flood, some
through the fire, but all through His blood. I will be with you.
You know, the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea. God delivered His people. And
in doing so, He destroyed the enemy. Isn't that amazing? They passed through on dry land.
And I think sometimes when we tell that, it sounds pretty simple,
right? I mean, it sounds pretty easy. Back there in Exodus 14.10, it
says this, it said, When Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel
lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them,
and they were sore afraid. They were just slaves that had
just escaped, and here's this mighty army coming after them. And it says, the children of
Israel, they cried unto the Lord. They were exceedingly afraid. Has that ever happened to you?
Are there times when you're fearful, we're afraid? Listen to what
they said. Were there not enough graves
in Egypt that you brought us out here in the wilderness to
die? How quickly, how quickly they
forgot who had delivered them. Can we enter into that? How quickly? They said this, we would have
been better left to be slaves in Egypt than to be brought to
this place. And you know, Moses, There's
no account that he lectured them or gave them a stern talking
to or anything. What did he say to them? Fear
ye not. We have to be told that over
and over again, don't we? Fear ye not. He said this, stand
still. You older ones, did your parents
ever tell you that? Be still. Just just be still and then what? See the salvation of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you.
And you're going to hold your peace. Back to Isaiah 43 here, he said
when you pass through the waters. And. I don't know who said this
originally. I've got it circled and a little
Little note there in my Bible, it doesn't say if you pass through
the waters, does it? It says when, when. But what else does he say? I
will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When you walk through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the fire kindle upon thee. You know, this thing of fire,
in 1 Peter 4, 12, it says this, Peter writes this, he said, Beloved,
think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to
try you, as it's some strange thing that
happened to you, but rather rejoice. That's what it says. Rejoice
in so much as you are partakers of Christ's suffering, that when
his glory shall be revealed, you may be exceeding glad. And then again, this thing of
fire back there in the book of Daniel, we read of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar,
They refused to bow down to that false god, to that idol. And
he cast them into the furnace. And he was so mad that he cranked
that thing up seven times hotter than what it should have been.
And he bound them. They were bound
and they were cast into the fire. A little bit later, we read this.
Nebuchadnezzar was astonished. He said, didn't we put three
men into that fiery furnace? He said, I see four. They're
loose. They went inbound. They're loose. They're walking. They have no
harm on them. And the fourth one? all the way
back there in Daniel, he said, the fourth one is like to the
Son of God. He's with his people, isn't he? They went inbound, they came
out free. And you know there wasn't, Scripture
says this, there wasn't a hair singed, their clothes weren't
changed, and there wasn't even the smell of smoke on them. They were completely, completely
delivered. God delivered them through the
water, through the fire. Christ is with his people. Listen, though they may endure
trouble for a while, and we're pretty much guaranteed that,
aren't we? He delivered. his people. David wrote this in Psalm 54
7. David knew something about trouble,
didn't he? And David says this, he hath delivered me. He didn't say out of most of
my trouble. He said he had delivered me out of all of my Well, let's
read on here. Isaiah 43, verse 3. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom.
He gave, didn't he? He gave. God gave his son. The
Lord Jesus Christ gave his life. He gave. I gave Egypt for thy
ransom, Ethiopia, and Seba for thee, since thou was, think about
that, precious, precious in my sight. Thou hast been honorable,
I have loved thee, therefore will I give men for thee and
people for thy life. And then he says it again here,
in case we didn't get it the first time. Fear not, I am with
thee. I'll bring thy seed from the
east Gather thee from the west, I'll say to the north, give up,
and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from afar, my daughters
from the ends of the earth, even everyone that is called by my
name. For I have created him for my
glory. I have formed him, yea, I have
made him." Now, one more time, look back here at verse five. Fear not. Fear not. And he repeats again what was
said there in verse two. Fear not, for I am with thee. I am with thee. I was thinking
about this today. When I was a young boy, we had
a church we attended I don't know, it probably wasn't 300
yards, 400 yards from our house. And most of the time, just about
all the time, we walked. We walked to church. And we walked
on the road, but it was wooded on both sides. I don't care to admit this. Sometimes
I walked alone, and when it was dark, I was scared. Now, I would like to think I
was maybe Landry's age or younger. I was probably maybe Ben's age.
I don't know. But I can tell you, when it was
dark and I was by myself, I would run just as fast as my feet would
carry me. But here's something I know. When my dad walked with me, it didn't matter how dark it
was. It didn't matter what kind of
noises were coming out of the woods. I wasn't afraid. What's the difference? My dad was with me. What'd that say there? Fear not, for I am with thee. Who's with us? Almighty God is
with His people. Our Heavenly Father is with us. Fear not, fear not. Let me ask you one more time,
who's speaking here? Thus saith the Lord, God speaking. Who's he speaking to? His church,
his bride, his people. What's the message? Fear not. Fear not, for I am
with thee. He saved us. He redeemed us. He called us by name. He says
thou art mine. He's with us. He's ever with
his people. Fear not. Fear not for I am with
thee. Let's go to our normal prayer. Our God, Father in heaven, we
thank you for this day. We thank you for this opportunity
to gather together to worship you, Lord, to hear a message
from thy word. Lord, I pray you bless your word.
Lord, bless your word to our hearts. Give glory for thy great
name's sake. And Lord, let us ever be mindful,
Lord, to not fear, but to rest in thee in all, in all things. Lord, bless us this day. Continue
with us throughout this week, and Lord, return us, return us
this Lord's day. Bless us to know Thee. Bless us to know Thy Son. Bless
us to rest in Thee. For Christ's sake, amen.