Open your Bibles with me to Isaiah
40. While you're turning there, I
got a text from a pastor about noon today. He woke up this morning
thinking they might have a cancellation and they might perform his procedure,
that they might do surgery today. around I think sometime before
lunch or around lunchtime, they told him they were discharging
him. So he'll be coming home the 10th. He has a follow-up
appointment on the 10th. So hopefully find out more then. So I think they're quite discouraged,
hoping this would happen today. Continue to keep him and Janet
in our prayers. And Frank had mentioned that
right now he's just really not up for company at this point
in time, but I do know he enjoys receiving texts and encouragement,
so continue to do that. Our young adult Bible school
will be this weekend. We'll have that Saturday, Sunday,
and Monday at 7. And that will be for this year's
graduates through age 30. So that rules a lot of you out. Our Bible school for our teenagers,
we haven't completely given up hope on that yet. Maybe if school
gets delayed a little bit more, we'll be able to do that as well.
Isaiah chapter 40. Comfort ye Comfort ye my people, saith your
God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned. For she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth
in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight
in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass. and all the goodliness thereof
is of the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, because of the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it.
Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. O Zion,
that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountains.
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, Lift up thy voice with
strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah,
Behold your God. Behold, the Lord God will come
with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his
reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his
flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm. carry them in his bosom, and
shall gently lead those that are with you." We'll end our
reading there. Let's go to our Lord. Our God and Father in heaven,
Lord, we thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity
to once again gather together as a people. Lord, we pray you
would Bless us with Your presence here this evening. Lord, take Thy Word and Lord,
bless it to our hearts. Lord, bless us to see more of
our Savior, more of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bless us to know
Him who is life eternal. Lord, we pray for those of our
number who are in a time of trouble and difficulty. I pray especially for our pastor
that you would comfort him and strengthen him in this time of
difficulty. Lord, that you give him some
relief from this pain. Lord, we thank you for your mercies
towards us. Lord, we confess we're not worthy
of the least of thy mercies, the least of thy goodness. Lord,
forgive us when we murmur, forgive us when we complain and find
fault. Lord, cause us to be thankful. Give us thankful hearts rejoicing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now again, we pray you would
bless us here this evening. Bless us with your presence.
Set aside the thoughts and cares of this world. Let us see Christ. For it's in His name we pray
and give thee thanks. This is my father's world And
to my listening ears All nature sings and round me rings the
music of the spheres. This is my Father's world, I
rest me in the thought Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas,
His hands the wonders wrought. This is my Father's world, The
birds their carols raise, The morning light, the lily white,
declare their Maker's praise. This is my Father's world. He shines in all that's fair. In the rustling grass I hear
him pass He speaks to me everywhere This is my father's world Oh,
let me ne'er forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet. This is my father's word. The battle is not done. Jesus who died shall be satisfied
and earth and heaven be one. Well, wouldn't we do well to
remember that? This is our calling. Let's open our Bibles to Isaiah
43. Isaiah 43. I want us to look at just a few
verses of Scripture from this passage here this evening. Look
beginning in verse 1. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not. I'd like to take the title of
our message this evening from those two words, fear not. You know, I can't think of a
time in my lifetime in which I have seen, given I've not seen
much, but so much division, not just in our country, but it seems
like in the world as a whole. So much disregard for authority,
those in authority. So much rebellion. So much turmoil. It just seems to be commonplace
in our day. We're in a worldwide pandemic.
There's riots. Seems like taking place all the
time. And not just in places. There's
things on the news that we see riots. You think, well, there's
riots there all the time. But then so many places now that
are typically just peaceful places. And our kids are out of school. Folks are out of work. I guess
we could just go on and on. But it seems to me like what
might be described as perilous times. we read about in God's
Word. Paul writing, turn to 2 Timothy. Hold your place there, but turn
to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy 3 and verse 1. Paul writing to Timothy, he said
in the last days, perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of them own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
not giving God the glory due to His name, disobedient to parents,
not just parents but despising authority in general. unthankful,
unholy, without natural affection, leaving the natural use of the
man and woman, truce breakers, contracts, agreements, they mean
nothing. I guess that's why seven lawyers
have to sign off on them. The bond of marriage seems to mean nothing. False accusers. those who would
slander and gossip and tell just outright lies about others, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of that which is good, traitors, heady, high-minded,
lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form
of godliness. Can't we see that form of form
of godliness in our time? I mean, how many places did you
drive by this evening on your way here of people meeting together,
parking lots full of cars, a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof? Saying things like, God wants
to, but He can't unless you let Him. a form. They go through
the rituals and the motions and the stained windows and all those
things, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. He says, from such, turn away. Have nothing to do with them. Well, isn't that a commentary? Isn't that a commentary on our
day? Doesn't that describe our day. And though it's a time of uncertainty
for us, it's not a time of uncertainty for our God. He orders and directs
all things. But nonetheless, it is a time
of trouble for His people, a time of difficulty, a time of fear. And maybe we ask ourselves, what
do we do about this? What am I to do? Turn with me
to Luke chapter 12, beginning in verse 3. whatsoever you have spoken in
darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which you have
spoken in the ear and closet shall be proclaimed upon the
housetops. And I say unto you, my friends,"
now this is the Lord speaking. He said, I say unto you, my friends,
be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have
no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom
you shall fear. Fear him, which after he hath
killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear
him. Are not five sparrows sold for
two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your
head are numbered. Fear not, therefore. ye are of
more value than many sparrows." Our Lord said, be afraid. Be afraid of Him that can kill
the body and have power to cast your soul into hell. But be not
afraid. Don't be afraid of those that
can kill the body and that's all they can do. That's the worst.
That's the worst they can do. Be not afraid of them. There's
two different things there. Be afraid of Him, but He says
be not afraid of them. Be not afraid of sickness, of
disease, whatever it might be. Be not afraid of them. Back here in Isaiah 43, we read, Fear not. Thus saith the Lord."
This is God speaking. God who speaks truth. In 2 Corinthians
1.20, for all the promises of God, in Him are yea, and in Him
amen, unto the glory of God. His promises. What God says is
sure and certain. Over in Numbers we read, God's
not a man that He should lie, neither the Son of Man that He
should repent. Hath He said, and shall He not
do it? Hath He spoken it, and shall
He not make good on it? What He says He'll do, He'll
do. Thus saith the Lord, fear not. Don't be afraid. Don't fear the
things of this world. death, judgment, whatever it
might be. Don't fear it. And I believe in this passage
of scripture, there's probably more, but I see six reasons,
six reasons to not fear. Six things I believe that should
bring us, give us great comfort. The first is this, who he's speaking
to. Look here at who he's speaking
to. Now listen, there are those who have reason to fear. There
are those who should fear. But he says, not Jacob, not Israel. Fear not, Jacob. Fear not, Israel. Here he speaks to his church. Jacob. Jacob. Does that not speak to our fallen
nature? our sinful nature, Jacob, supplanter,
thief. But listen, the scriptures declare
that God loved Jacob. God chose Jacob. God gave Jacob
the birthright. God gave him a new name. He said,
your name is not going to be Jacob anymore. It's going to
be Israel, Prince of God, Prince of God, true Israel. Here He
speaks of God's elect, of His church, of His sheep. And He tells them, fear not.
To the church, fear not. Second, fear not for I have redeemed
thee. I've redeemed thee. Those that He purchased, that's
what that word redeem means, to purchase or to buy back. being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. And that redemption is found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's He that paid the redemption
price. Brother Walter Groover, I remember
Henry telling this story. I've heard several of God's preachers
tell this story about that little boy down there in the Yucatan. Him and his father had made a
beautiful kite. Don't know how much time, but
they had built this kite, and one day, it was windy enough
to take that kite out and fly it. So he went and tied some
string to that kite, and that wind grabbed it and just took
it further up in the air and further up in the air, until
finally, that string broke, and that little boy's kite flew away. He lost. He lost his kite. And in a few days, they were
walking through town. I don't know if it was a flea
market or a little store, but they saw that kite. That little
boy saw his kite. He said, Dad, there's my kite.
There's my kite. I'm going to go get it. And he
went into the store, and he found the owner, and he said, I want
my kite. He said, son, that's not your kite. He said, that's
my kite. He said, no. No, that kite was
lost and I found it. It's my kite. And if you want
it, here's the price. The price must be paid. The little
boy's father reached into his pocket and he gave him a little
bit of money to buy that kite back. He said when he paid for
that kite, he took it and he held it in his arms and he said,
you're mine. You're mine twice. I made you
and I bought you. The Lord Jesus Christ redeemed
His people. That kite, there's only one way
He got that kite back. The price had to be paid for
it. The redemption price had to be
paid. And the Lord Jesus Christ, He
paid the redemption price of His people. He bought us. He bought us back. Fear not. Fear not, O Israel. Fear not,
Jacob. I have redeemed you. I have made
you and I have bought you back. You know, something tells me that little boy probably still
has that kite. If he's still alive, he probably still has
that kite somewhere. In Revelation 5, 9, speaking
of our Lord, it says, Thou art worthy to take the book, to open
the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us. Thou hast bought us back, Thou
hast purchased us, redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every
kindred, tribe, nation, and tongue, redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb. without paying the redemption
price. Again, that kite's not his, is it? The Lord Jesus Christ,
He paid the redemption price for His people. Redeemed, how
I love that song. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim
it. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed through His
infinite mercy, His child and forever I am. Fear not. In Psalm 130, let Israel hope
in the Lord, for with him, with the Lord, there is mercy, and
with him is plenteous redemption. Fear not, I have redeemed thee. Third, back there in Isaiah 43,
he said, I've called thee by thy name. The scriptures declare
that whom he predestinated, them, He called. He called us to Christ by the
Spirit of God. He called us out of tradition
and ceremony and self-righteousness, called out of sin into the light
of the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Chosen in
Christ from before the foundation of the world and called by His
grace. Paul writing to the Galatians,
he said, when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by His grace, to do what? To reveal His Son
in me. We're called by His grace. Not
according to our works. He didn't leave us to ourselves,
did He? Aren't we thankful that He did
not leave us to ourselves? That He didn't leave us in our
sin? and shame and despair and guilt. But no, He called us,
called us to Himself. Turn over to Matthew chapter
9. Look at verse 9 of Matthew 9.
There was a publican named Levi. We know him as Matthew. And he
was sitting at the receipt of custom. These publicans, we know
they were despised by their countrymen. They were tax collectors. And
look at verse 9. And as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom,
and he said unto him, Two words. Follow me. Matthew, what did
he do? He arose and he followed Him. He called Matthew. Matthew, a
publican, a sinner. We read that our Lord saw him. He foreknew him. God's speaking
to Jeremiah. He said, before I formed thee
in the belly, I was with thee. I knew thee. and before thou
camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee." He foreknew his people. He saw a man named Matthew. This is a particular man. The
old writers say this was a house of custom where probably there
were many people there, but we only read of one that the Lord
called, Matthew. He saw Matthew and he said to
him, follow me. This man named Matthew, whose
name, he's appropriately named, isn't he? His name means gift
of God. Gift of God. There's no indication
he'd ever heard of Christ. He had no good works. He was a publican. He had no
good works to present himself to the Lord. His occupation, he was a publican. His sin did not stop the Lord
from calling him. Shouldn't that be an encouragement
to us all? His sin did not stop the Lord from calling him. And
the Lord called him in power. He said, follow me. Follow me. He didn't say, he didn't walk
up to him and whisper in his ear, Matthew, would you like
to follow me? That's what men say in our time,
isn't it? He didn't say, Matthew, if you'll
just take the first step, I'll carry you the rest of the way.
No, he spoke in power. He said, Matthew, follow me. A powerful call, a life-giving
call, an effectual call, an irresistible call. You see that Matthew, what
did Matthew do? Matthew arose and he followed
Him. And He calls us by name. He says that in Isaiah 43, I
have called thee by thy name. And we see it throughout the
scriptures, don't we? Remember, Lazarus, there Lazarus lay in
the grave. His body stank, he'd been there
so long. Lazarus, come forth. He that was dead came forth. Zacchaeus, our Lord's passing
through, comes to the place, he looks up. Zacchaeus is just
there for the show. But the Lord calls him in power.
He says, Zacchaeus, come down. Zacchaeus came down, didn't he?
He calleth his own sheep by name. And listen, we're told to walk
worthy of that calling. We're to walk in a manner of
life that's worthy of that holy calling. We're of this world. Or we're
in this world, but we're not of this world. Fear not. Fear not, I have called
thee. Listen. Fear not. His people, He's speaking to
His people. He said, I've redeemed you. I've called you by name.
And then fourth, He says, thou art mine. We're His. Turn over to John chapter 17. Look at verse 9 of John 17. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. Those that the Father gave him,
those for whom Christ died, those who are kept by the power of
God, We're His workmanship. That's how we're described. We're
His workmanship created in Christ Jesus and two good works that
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. His people,
the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100, verse 3, let me read
this to you. Know ye that the Lord, He is
God. It is He that hath made us, not
we ourselves. We are His people. sheep of His
pasture, His people by creation, His people by redemption. And as His, we're kept by Him. We're kept by the power of God,
safe and secure in His hands. Our Lord, speaking in John 10,
He said, My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand." Safe and secure in his hand. I had an uncle when I was a kid. He put a quarter in his hand.
And he'd always say, you get it out, it's yours. And we'd
all try. I mean, we would all try. It
never could. And I'm convinced to this day,
if I'd had a crowbar, I couldn't have pried his hand open to get
that quarter. And I think if a man can hold
on to something that tight, and we do, there's a lot of things
we hold on to, aren't there? In God's hands. How safe and
secure are His people in His hands? He said, no man, no man
will pluck them out of My hand, no man will pluck them out of
My Father's hand. Isn't that a reason not to fear?
Isn't that a good thing to be reminded of that we're in His
hands? Back in Daniel chapter 3, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, They had refused to bow down to that idol
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And the king had told
him, he said, I'm going to give you a second chance. He said,
when you hear the music playing, when you hear the psaltery and
the sackbut and all those instruments, he said, you bow down. And if
you do, well, it'll be well for you. It'll be a good thing for
you. But if you don't, you don't. It's not going to be well for
you. If not, he said, I'm going to cast you into that fiery furnace. And listen to what he said. This
is what he said to these men. He said, Who is that God that
shall deliver you out of my hands? A man said that. A man said that. Who's the God that will deliver
you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
they said, we don't need to think about this. We're not careful
to answer you, O King. If it be so, the God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from this burning, fiery furnace.
And listen, O King, He will deliver us out of your hand. My friends, we're not in man's
hands. We probably get that in our heads
at times, but we're not in man's hands. We're in his hands. I was thinking about this. I know in Kentucky, folks in
Kentucky get worked up about what the governor's saying, and
folks in Ohio get worked up about what the governor's saying, and
we get worked up about what the president's saying. And listen. How quickly we forget these men
are in His hands too. What does the Scripture say?
It says the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord. And
He turneth whithersoever He will. These men in authority, God's
put them there. There's no authority but that
of God. We're His clay. We're His clay
and He will do with us what He will. Over there in Exodus, think
about old Pharaoh. You know, I bet, I would have
to think the children of Israel, there wasn't a day they went
home from work that they weren't wound up about what old Pharaoh
was doing. What did God say about Pharaoh?
He said this, He said, for this cause have I raised thee up. For what reason? To make you
miserable? To give you reasons to complain?
No, he said, I did this to make my power known. That's why God
raised a man up like Pharaoh. That my name, listen, to show
in thee my power and that my name may be declared throughout
all the earth. God's got a purpose in these
things. God's got a reason in these things. I think our problem is, I don't
think, I know this is it. We often get in our heads that
this is all about us. It's all about me. And it's not. It's about Him. It's all about
Him. And we are in, again, we're in
His hands. He said, Thou art mine. Let's take comfort in that. Thou
art mine. Let's read on. Back to Isaiah
43 verse 2. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with thee. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with thee. Not if you pass through the waters,
when you pass through the waters. There are going to be times of
trouble. And the religion of this world would say this, you're
sick or poor because your faith isn't great enough. Isn't that
what religion tells man? If you'd have more faith, you
wouldn't be sick or you'd be healed from this sickness if
you just had more faith. What this Scripture says here
goes all against this health and wealth religion that's prominent
in our day. If that were the case, it would
say something like this, if you have enough faith, you won't
have to pass through the waters. That's not what it says, does
it? It says when, when you pass through the waters. And in His
time, God's going to strip these things away from us. He's going
to wean us from this world and teach us to rest in Him, to get
us away from this arm of flesh that we're so quick to lean on. Whatever the trouble, whatever
the sickness, whatever the sorrow that may come our way, He says
this, I'm with you. I'm with you. He's ever near
His people. How about when we walk through
the fire? He says when you walk through the fire, temptation,
persecution, fiery trials that come our way, He says you'll
not be burned. The flame will not kindle upon
you. You will not be consumed by the
fire. Turn to Exodus 3. Exodus 3 beginning with verse
2. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame
of fire out of the midst of a bush, and behold, the bush burned with
fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I'll now turn
aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. How
is it? How is it that that bush did
not burn. What a great sight that must
have been, but how is it that that bush did not burn? How is
it that that flame wasn't kindled upon? Here a few weeks ago, somebody
drove by our house and threw out, I guess, a cigarette or
something, and it caught the whole, just one little spark,
caught the whole hillside on fire. How is it that bush was
not burned? Look at verse 4 of Exodus 3.
When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto
him out of the midst of the bush, and he said, Moses, Moses, and
he said, Here am I. How is it that bush didn't burn?
God was in that bush. And what's our hope? Christ,
what's the scripture? Christ in you, the hope of glory. When you walk through the fire,
no flame shall kindle upon you." You know, back there in Daniel,
King Nebuchadnezzar, he threw those men into that burning,
fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And at some point, the king looked down into that furnace. Wasn't there three men? Wasn't
there three men cast into that furnace? And he said this, he
said, I see four men. Now I see four men. One, one
of them like the Son of God. And we read of those three men
that the flame wasn't, there wasn't even a smell of smoke
on them when they come out of that furnace. God is with His
people. He said they're loose, walking
in the midst of that fire. Where he is, aren't we? We rest
in that, that we are His. Here's my fifth reason. Turn
back to Isaiah 43. Look at verse 3. Reason not to fear? He said,
I am the Lord thy God. Thy God. In verse 2 we read, Thou art mine. I'm his. Think about it. We're his. And
then here in verse three, he said, I am the Lord thy God. He's mine. I'm his and he is
mine. Isn't that what that hymn says? I am his and he is mine. Forever, His forever, only His. Who the Lord and me shall part,
or what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart. Heaven
and earth may fade and flee, firstborn light and gloom decline,
but while God and I shall be, I am His, He is mine. Let's read on in our text. He
said, 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." That's what he says of his people. Thou wast precious
in my sight. Thou hast been honorable. I've
loved thee. He's loved us with an everlasting
love. Therefore will I give men for
thee and people for thy life. What did He give? He gave His
only begotten Son for His people. We read, He that spared not His
own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not
with Him also freely give us all things? And then sixth, a
reason not to fear. Look at verse 5. Fear not, for I am with thee. Our Lord said, I'll never leave
thee nor forsake thee. Turn with me to one more passage
of Scripture. We'll close. Look over at Exodus
chapter 14. The Lord had brought Israel out
of Egypt, out of bondage, and Pharaoh had pursued after them. And when the children of Israel,
we read, when they lifted up their eyes, they saw the Egyptians,
marching after them. This army of the Egyptians chasing
after them. I just bet they think like I
do, like we do. When they saw that army coming,
what are we going to do? What are we going to do? Look at verse 10 of Exodus. Here we read that 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 scared to death. And
the children of Israel cried out. They were sore afraid. They were exceeding afraid. They
were greatly afraid. Fear of the enemy. Fear of what
surrounded them. No doubt fear of their own inability
to do anything about it. Look at verse 13. Moses said to the people, this
is what he spoke to them. He said, fear ye not. Don't be
afraid. What do we do Moses? Fear ye
not. Stand still. Don't do anything. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord, which He will show to you today. For the Egyptians
whom you've seen today, you'll see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you. You shall hold your peace. You shall rest in Him. Fear not. Stand still, see the
salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you." And what
happened? What happened? God delivered
His people, didn't He? The enemy, not only did He deliver
the people, He conquered the enemy. He completely conquered
the enemy. Isn't that what He did for His
people on the cross when He suffered? when He sent His only begotten
Son to suffer and die on the cross, He conquered the enemy. He crushed Satan's head and He
delivered His people. How else could He cry, it's finished? That was His words, it's finished. Salvation is accomplished. So
let me ask you this, why would we fear? We will. But why would we ever fear knowing
that God is with us? And listen, He's not a fair-weather
friend. He told His disciples, He said,
Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Oh, I pray that He would enable
us to not be fearful, to just rest in Him to rest in His grace,
to rest in His mercy, to rest in knowing this, that He doeth
all things well. Alright. Let's go to our Lord. Our God and Father in Heaven,
we thank You for this day again. We thank You for this Thy Word. Lord, forgive us our fears and
our doubts. Lord, cause us to rest in thee,
to truly rest in thee. Lord, we thank you for your mercies.
We thank you for your grace. We thank you that salvation is
of the Lord. Bless your word. Bless it to
our hearts. I pray thee for Christ's sake,
amen. Go to this page.