We'll be in Isaiah chapter 35.
Isaiah chapter 35. And as disconcerting or as troublesome
or as fearful, whatever the Wednesday's message was, I didn't make very
many comments on it, I just read it. Deuteronomy 35 verses 15
through 18. As hard as that was to look at that,
I hope this will be as cheerful, this will be the opposite of
that. This will be cheerful, we'll
find comforting and encouragement in it. The title is A Fearful
Heart Fear not, a fearful heart, fear not. Let's look at Isaiah
35 and verses three, four, starting in verse
three, and then we'll go a few other verses down, but we're
gonna look mainly at verses three and four, verse four. The prophet
says to the folks, to his people, strengthen ye the weak hands
and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them, that'd be to you
and I, that are of a fearful heart. Be strong, fear not. It's easy to say. It's just like,
oh, God's sovereign. And sometimes I've gotten aggravated
when somebody reminds me that God is sovereign. But I don't
want to hear that. I want somebody to sympathize with me. And sometimes,
and though this statement is true, here we go. Say to them
that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not. And here's why. Behold, your
God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He
will come and save you. He will come and save you. Then
the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap
as a harp, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness
shall waters break out and streams in the desert. Now, over several,
obviously hundreds of years, writers and commentators, they
say that this section is basically speaking about when the Lord
comes again the second time and wraps everything up. But also
other commentators say he's speaking about both times of visitation. Once, when he visits you or me
in salvation, or our children perhaps, He will come. He will
come. That's a promise. Visit and salvation. And also, we know he's coming
again. We know he's coming. We don't
know when, but we know he's coming again. So either way, either
way you look at this promise or this way of encouragement,
God gets the glory. Either he's coming again like
he said he would, to wrap everything up, or As he came to us in new
life, he did come with vengeance. He took that strong man, and
he cast him out, Satan. He cast him out. In the New Testament,
it says that. So he came with a vengeance, and he conquered
our foes. He conquered our enemies, and
he did recompense. He will come with vengeance.
Save you so whether you're speaking about in times or whether you're
speaking about us in our day of salvation Visitation or whether
he's talking about those who are here who don't know him and
will do something God gets the glory Either way. Well, let's
look at just two. There's just two points. You've
got a charge or an exhortation and then you have the promise
and And I, well, we'll get to the promise in a minute. I always
like to jump ahead because I love promises, but there's something,
there's some things in there that I've, I talk about promises. I recommend Spurgeon's book,
according to promise, all these different things. But the Lord
revealed to me the second level or the foundation of the promise.
And I think that is, it just, it totally blessed me beyond
compare. So let's look at the exhortation
or the charge. Okay, in verse three, strengthen
ye the weak hands, confirm the feeble knees, say to them that
are of a fearful heart. This is us, this is us who are
weak, weak-handed or feeble, feeble-kneed and are fearful. This is speaking to all of us.
This describes us in general, but by the Holy Spirit conviction,
it's describing us individually The elect of God. The elect of
God. He says, fear not. Say to them
that have a fearful heart, be strong and fear not. This is the exhortation. He says,
fear not. But we answer, Lord, I do fear. I do fear. Now, we don't know
what tomorrow's gonna bring, but we know whose hands tomorrow
is in. But we know that, we know God
is on the throne. We know he says, be strong, but
he's talking to those who have a fearful heart. We answer, I
do fear. I fear. Three things mainly,
but this goes in many directions. I fear myself. I fear myself. Relying upon the flesh too often
ought to be able to spot the flesh Ought to be able to say
no that's because if in the flesh profits nothing even believers
in the flesh Is there's no profit once you meet there's no profit Lot was a righteous man, but
how he struggled. He listened, he looked, he listened
to what was said, he looked in his eyes. This is, you know,
he first moved when he and Abraham, they split, but he chose the
most fertile. He saw, this is where I'm going
because this is This will suit my needs the best. And then the
next thing you know, he's not in Sodom and Gomorrah yet. And
then the scriptures, but then now he moved, now he's in, now
he's in amongst the wicked and his righteous soul was vexed
every day, every day. So I fear my flesh. I fear my
flesh. My flesh is proud. My flesh is
self-serving. It's self-seeking. It's what
I can get, what's best for me. I fear that because it dishonors
our Lord. It dishonors our Lord. Christ said, I am among
you as one that serves. And that's what we're to do.
We're to serve one another. But it's so hard. We want to
take care of ourselves. I fear that. I fear this wicked
world. The longer I'm here, The more
it's, it vexes me. It vexes me. Either whether it's,
you know, we don't have the television on much at all, but whether it's
the television, the commercials, everything is okay. It's just
doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Homosexuality,
all this other lesbian stuff, it's, you know, in the commercials.
It's in the commercials. It's all, it's okay. No, it isn't. No, it isn't. I made this comment
one time and this high schooler, I was doing rehab, and me and
this old guy were doing rehab, you know, should have been in
there, and this young athlete, you know, had knee problems,
typical. And we were talking. He wasn't
even involved in the conversation. We were talking over here, and
we both said, well, I fear for this generation. And boy, he
came back at me. My generation, your generation,
blah, blah, blah. And he just laid me out. And I just thought
to myself, cocky little rascal. Yes. Yes. I fear this world. I fear for our children. And
now I feel for my grandchild. What's he going to see? What's
going to be acceptable? You know, with our daughter,
we had to, you know, when they were teaching evolution stuff, she'd
come back and say this and that. We'd say, well, this is, you
know, this is not, this is not correct. This is what you're
gonna have, but it's not correct. And I used to think homeschooling
was horrible. Well, now, I'm, you know, if
you can do it, it's not so bad. It's not so bad. But I fear this
wicked world. It hated our Lord, and it will
surely hate me and hate you. I'm fearful of this world's looks,
I'm fearful that I'll be too attracted to their looks to be
liked. You know, nobody likes to be disliked. I'm fearful of
their frowns. You know, you think you're doing
a good job and then somebody comes up to you and now you're doing
it. You know, that's fearful. I'm fearful of the friendship
of this world because I know what that can do and I know what
he says about it in a word. Yes, we have friends. I'm not
denying that. We have to rub shoulders with
the world. We work. We get groceries, we do these things, we're in
the world. But how far? I fear it. He says, don't fear. I'm over it, but I do. I fear
Satan, that crafty serpent. He can easily outmaneuver me,
and this greatly concerns my heart. When I think I'm spiritual,
he'll let me just continue to think I'm spiritual, And then
the small little, you know, I'm looking out for this big stuff.
I'm looking out for world economies and this and that. And then something
happens in my front yard just, it's like aggravates, you know,
lawnmower won't start or something, just something little. Then my
heart's greatly concerned about that. Still, the exhortation
in our text is, say to them that are a fearful heart, be strong,
fear not. Fear not. We sing this hymn. How firm a foundation. Fear not. I am with thee. Be not dismayed,
for I am thy God. I will still give thee aid. I'll
strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by
my gracious, omnipotent hand. And that's what he says in the
hymnal, and that's based out of the word. Say to them that
are of a fearful heart, be strong and fear not. And in his word,
he gives us numerous examples, not of, he gives us numerous
examples of how his watch care and active care over us, does
he not? In illustrations, like for example,
he calls himself the true and the great shepherd over his sheep.
Turn to Isaiah 40, a couple of pages over, Isaiah 40. And verse 11, Isaiah 40 and verse
11, as our father is the shepherd, he shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arms and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. That's his promise. That's a
promise. So he gives us an illustration
of the great shepherd. He gives us another illustration
of the beloved husband wooing and courting his bride. Read
Songs of Solomon, just read Songs of Solomon and you see him as
our husband courting us and gathering us and bringing us unto himself.
We saw a couple weeks ago in Deuteronomy 32, he gives an illustration
about an eagle's care over her young ones. how he carries them
and how he hovers over them. And that's an illustration that
we can relate to. Fourthly, he is the king reigning
for good over his subjects. You see that in a typical Solomon
of David and Hezekiah and other illustrations in the book. These
are examples that he gives how these people cared for their
subjects. And our King of Kings is much
more has much more power and authority than these kings in
the Bible. And lastly, if not least, if not last, in my last
of my notes, he's an ever faithful and dependable father over his
little children. Turn to Deuteronomy 23, I'm sorry,
Numbers 23. Numbers 23. As a father, it's
an illustration of a father and his tender care over his children. Numbers 23 and verse 19. God is not a man that he should
lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. He has said,
and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken and shall he
not make it good? This is our heavenly father.
If he gives you a word of promise, he 100% guarantee We'll make
it good. We'll make it good. And look
at Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse
23. Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised. He is faithful that promised. Your faithfulness and my faithfulness,
it's subject to a lot of things, whether resources, financial
ability, strength, memory, memory loss. But Him, Him, He is faithful,
that promise. Which leads me to my next point.
Let's look at the promise. He's faithful, that promise. Okay, this is, let's look at
this a little closer. Say to them, Isaiah, speak to
your people. Pastors, speak to those whom
the Lord has given you care, as an under shepherd. Say to
them that are fearful heart, say to yourself, because you're
a fearful heart. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet,
be strong, fear not. Why? Behold, your God will come
with vengeance. Even God with the recompense,
he will come and save you. Now this, this is what blessed
me. And I don't know why I didn't
ever, I'm sure I've said, I don't know if I've said it or not.
I just didn't realize it as clearly. When you look at a promise, think
about the everlasting covenant. Okay, that was made without you
and I, we were not there. So anytime you read a promise
and you say, Lord, you've given me this promise, look at it in
a deeper level, go to the foundation. The root of the matter is, it
is based upon the everlasting covenant. Okay, when the new
bridge was going up, we used to go down to the riverfront
and then watch them. And they basically stopped the
water for each of those piers. They went down and went down
to bedrock. They went down to bedrock, they
pumped out the water, and then poured those piers. Now they
took all that stuff off of it, and you can't see. You can't
see what's under the water. But we have the privilege of
God's people to look beneath the surface, and it all comes
down to His covenant between He and His Father and the Spirit
for His people. Okay? The promise of the covenant. Behold, that's the first thing
I want to look at. Behold. Stop. Let me have your
attention. Clap your hands. You know, sometime
I had some school teachers that would do that and the kids would
all do that. I had one teacher throw chalk
at me and it whizzed by my head and boy, I turned. She got my
attention. This is what we're saying. Behold,
behold, it's like the town crier. She's walking up there getting
people's attention. That's what we're trying to do.
You're God. Whoa. Your God. Your God. Is he your God? Is he my God? Can I ask myself that? Is he
my God? Behold, your God. Your God. Oh, if he has revealed
himself to you, And to me, in the gospel of redeeming love,
the blessed son over all and all and in all, how God can be
both just and justify of him that believes. Has he revealed
to you through the gospel of how God saves sinners? Your sin,
my sin, the very dark and ever scarlet red with the guilt of
a thousand misdeeds. We were born in sin so that we
got strike one. And then as we live our life,
as he revealed to you, God demands perfection and we don't have
it. A thousand misdeeds, yes, yes,
and though they be red, he says they will be white as snow, Isaiah
1. Behold, your God, Now he's a
God of creation, but we must know him as the God, our Redeemer,
our Savior, your God. What droppings, this word, behold
your God, what droppings of pure sovereign grace to the likes
of us who absolutely do not deserve such consideration. And also
this promise that he will come He will come with vengeance.
He will come and save you. This promise, whether I said
it's either in the last days or it's in our time of salvation,
this is totally based upon His everlasting covenant, His promises.
So if the Lord gives you a promise, they're wide open. You need help
at work. It's the Lord that gives promotion.
I mean, there's anything you could say. I remember Tommy Robbins
and I used to talk about anything that happens in our life. It
can be found in the Bible for helps and encouragement, whatever. I mean, we think things are too
small. I'm, I'm having a rough time at work or I'm, I'm, you
know, whatever it might be. There's a place in here that
says something specifically for you. And this everlasting covenant
is not based upon or merited by us either positively or negatively. In other words, if you doubt
whether God is your God, that doesn't affect the outcome. That
does not affect the outcome of redemption. If he's your God,
he will come. You will know it. He will reveal
himself to you. Whether you do not feel saved
this morning, or think you've lived up to his mercy, or you
have many doubts or misgivings regarding this covenant, it is
this covenant, this promise, is not based on us. It's not
based on us. It's not based upon us, it's
not founded upon us, our emotional status, or any other thing regarding
self. No, God said it, the Son ratified
it, and the Spirit applies it. That's why we sing that song.
Hallelujah. What a savior. Be strong. Fear not. That's the exhortation
because we fear, but he backs it up with the promise. He backs
it up with the promise. And we may not see like the illustration
of the bridge and the water cannot. We may not fully understand. As Bruce said this morning, we
look through glass darkly. But don't doubt His Word. And
even if we do doubt, the Word of God is sure. It's sure. Brethren, may we quit looking
to self for assurance, but look to Him and Him only. Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4 and verse 16. I'm going to start right in the
middle, but I'll explain. Romans 4, verse 16, therefore
it, it, what's that? That's salvation or righteousness. Therefore it is of faith that
it might be by grace. To the end, the promise might
be sure to all the seed. That's what it is promised because
it's based on a covenant. And we weren't there. It's before
the foundation of the world. To the end, that this promise,
this covenant, might be sure to all the seed, every one of
God's elect, they're gonna, in time, they're gonna hear it,
and they're gonna come unto Him. Now, turn with me to Isaiah 62. This is, you know, kind of buckle
up, Buckle your seat belts. Here we go. This thing gets better. Isaiah 62 verses 1 through 4. Based upon this steadfast and
sure promise, which is what we're looking at in Isaiah 35, which
is based upon this covenant, This is what we're called. For
Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake
will I not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness,
and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the
Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory, and
thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the
Lord shall name. This is the new name we have.
There's two new names. Thou shalt also be a crown of
glory in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand by
God. Thou shalt