Well, I want to turn your attention
to the passage that we read earlier on in Isaiah chapter 43. It's
interesting. I used to regularly listen to
the church service on Radio 4 on a Sunday morning, because I used
to be pottering around getting my breakfast. I haven't done
it for a while, but this morning, because I was coming here, I
was up early and I put the service on and it was a High Anglican
service, at least I think it was. And would you believe it,
the preacher, as it was, was preaching from Isaiah chapter
43, he was preaching from these words that we're looking at this
morning. I didn't much like what he said, we'll see what we can
see that's different and maybe a little bit more meaningful
than what he found here. Isaiah 43 then, I've called this
message Fear Not, Ye People Blessed of God. Because I think we all
agree that we get stressed with the trivia of life. Don't we? We all do. We all get stressed
with the trivia of life. Oh you think, oh people who preach
the gospel, they don't because they're floating around on a
higher plane. You ask Alison about Harry and I certainly know
for me and others that I know, I get stressed with the trivia
of life. And do you remember that old
chorus that used to be sung, don't know if you still sing
it here, count your blessings Count them every one, and it
will surprise you what the Lord has done. This passage really
is an outpouring from God of the blessings that we have. As
we go through this life stressed by the trivia of it, we need
to think, what has God done for us? With all the fears that we're
beset with, we need to think, what has God done for us? In
our fellowship back at home, we've been studying now for six
months, it must be, yes it is, six months, the book of Revelation.
and we're up to chapter 20 and as we've been going through it,
we've been seeing more and more things from the perspective of
heaven, you know, and there's a phrase that is said to John
more than once, come up hither, come up, you know, we're down
in amongst the weeds of this life so much, come up higher,
come up and look at it from God's perspective. So let's look at
the first half of Isaiah 43. I love these chapters. All Scripture
is profitable, isn't it? All Scripture is. But I particularly
love Isaiah chapter 40 through to 45. As I say, I love all of
Scripture, but particularly... I'll tell you why. Many, many
years ago, a long, long time ago when I was a young Christian,
We were being visited by Jehovah's Witnesses on the doorstep who
were trying to tell me that the Lord Jesus Christ was not God
and all these sorts of things and until that point everything
that I thought I believed I'd either got because somebody told
me or I'd got it from a book and in frustration with not being
able to answer these guys I started reading these chapters and it's
the first time in my experience as a Christian I really heard
God speaking to me, the message of who Christ is. It just resonated
and ever since then whenever I come back to these chapters
of the book of Isaiah I just find them such a blessing. So,
who is it from? Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee. In the first verse, the Lord,
the creator, the true, the omnipotent God. Who is speaking? If you're
gonna be encouraged by a message, you need to know, who is it from?
And we more and more listen to politicians give messages to
us, and we less and less believe that they're able to do what
they say they're going to do. You just look at the record.
The record's not a very good record, is it? But this is God
who is speaking to us. This is true, omnipotent God. You see, he says in verse 8,
he says, bring forth the blind people that have eyes and the
deaf that have ears. He's saying, you who believe
him. You who once were blind spiritually,
you who once were deaf spiritually, you've now been given eyes, you've
now been given ears to hear spiritual things that the natural man doesn't
receive, he can't receive them because they're spiritually discerned.
But you've now got these eyes and these ears. He says, verse
10, you are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom
I have chosen. You're his people. You're the
people of His choice, that you may know and believe Me and understand
that I am He. Understand that He's who? That
He's God. That He's the God of the universe.
You know, the world of religion all around us, and that service
I was listening to on the radio this morning, Their God is puny. Their God is pathetic. Their
God is constantly trying to make people get on with one another.
And he's wringing his hands because, oh, if only people would do what
he wants them to do. That's not the God of the Bible.
You who are my witnesses, he says, you know who I am, that
I am God, that you may know and believe and understand that I
am he. There's not another God. And
you know, I found this so vivid when I was being attacked concerning
the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Does it not seem to you as you
read these verses, before me there was no God formed, neither
shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside
me there is no Saviour. There's not two gods. There's
not a super-god and a sort of a sub-god. No, this is God, who
is God our Saviour. When it says in the New Testament,
from God our Saviour and the Lord Jesus Christ, it doesn't
mean two, it means two persons of the Godhead, but it doesn't
mean two gods. This is the one God, the God who is declared
and known and manifest in his Son. He says, I have declared,
he's spoken. I have saved, I have showed. there was no strange God among
you. Do you know, I take that, when Christ walks the earth,
when he was walking this earth, when they beheld him, a man,
as it says elsewhere in Isaiah, in 53, chapter 53, there was
no comeliness that we should desire him. He, you know, he
wasn't wandering around like a pop idol, he wasn't wandering
around as this super attractive looking physically person. But
there was no strange God among you. This is God. This is God. What does John say? Behold the
Lamb of God. What does Isaiah 40 say? Say
unto the cities of Judah, behold your God. This is who was among
you. No strange God. Therefore ye
are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the
day was, I am he. And there is none that can deliver
out of my hand. I will work, and who shall let
it? You see, compared with this God, He calls in verse 9, He
calls for those who are idolaters. Let all the nations be gathered
together. Let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this
and show us former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses,
that they may be justified, or let them hear and say, it is
truth. You know, you who are idolaters,
you bring your case, and if your case stands up, we'll listen
to you, but it doesn't. So then you should say, this
is truth, this is true God, this is the one who is speaking to
us. Believer, if you trust Christ and yet you are stressed with
the trivia of life, this is who speaks to us. Thus saith the
Lord that created you. The Lord that created you. Let
all of the idolaters testify if they can. God alone is God. There's no other savior. None
at all. At the Tower of Babel, Genesis
11, 12, that sort of area. At the Tower of Babel, Nimrod,
who is in scripture described as a mighty hunter, he's actually
that rebellious panther. He rebelled against God, you
know, they'd come out of the ark, they'd been in the flood,
the people started to multiply. Had the flood got rid of sin? No, sin was still in the heart
of man. Sin was still there. And what did they try to do there?
They tried to build a tower that would reach to heaven. They tried
to make a way of getting to heaven without what? Without blood redemption. without that which Christ alone
has accomplished. That is Satan's lie. But God
speaks contrary to the lie of Satan. The world all around us
believes the lie of Satan. The lie of Satan is that there
is no need for the justice of God. There is no need for the
satisfaction of the offended law of God. There is no need
for it. And that's Satan's lie. He was
a liar from the beginning. He's a liar now. No, this is
God. In Christ, absolute sovereign,
He has spoken, He has declared that He is the Saviour, He has
declared that not that salvation is on offer, not that salvation
is dependent on you, what He declares is He's accomplished
salvation. This is the difference between
the true gospel and a false gospel. A false gospel often sounds like
it's saying true things. But the true gospel is this.
It's a gospel of salvation accomplished. We don't offer salvation to people. We declare salvation to people.
We don't offer it for them to accept it or reject it. We declare
it. We declare it. And God will call
his people. And how do we know it's true?
He's demonstrated it. How has he demonstrated it? By
raising his son from the dead. This is true God. You who believe,
this is true God. This is the one who speaks to
us. In 1 John chapter 5 and verse 20 we read this, we know that
the Son of God is come. Who knows? The people of God.
You are my witnesses, he says. You've heard him. You've heard
him speaking to you. You've seen him speaking to you
in his word. We know that the Son of God is
come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is
true. And we are in Him that is true.
And how are we in Him? Even in His Son, Jesus Christ. That's how we know Him. the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Nowhere else, nowhere else, nowhere
else. Philip said to Jesus, John 14,
show us the father and that will do. That will be, that will satisfy
us. And what did Jesus say? Philip,
have I been so long with you? And yet you have not known me.
He who has seen me has seen the father. And John goes on to say,
This is true God and eternal life. Well, look who he's writing
to. This is the God who is speaking.
And he's saying it to Jacob, that created you, O Jacob, that
created you and that formed you, O Israel. This is who he's speaking
to, Jacob, Jacob. If you turn back a page in your
Bibles to chapter 41 and verse 14, we read there, fear not, Thou worm, Jacob. Do you ever sing that hymn? I
think it's a hymn of Isaac Watts and it says, such a worm as I. Well, this is where it comes
from. Such a worm. Do you know, worm is flattering. I mean, I'm a keen gardener and
I love to see worms in my compost heap and in the garden because
they do good. You know, earthworms do good. But what this worm is
here is actually a maggot. It's not very nice. You know,
this is where we are. As sinners, God says, thou worm,
you maggot, Jacob, fear not. I've created you, Jacob, I've
made you, I've created you, as he created Adam, in that sense
we are created beings of this living God who is speaking. But
Jacob speaks of this, what we are, all by nature, sinners. The name Jacob means deceiver. That's what Esau said when his
brother deceived him, well has he been called Jacob. because
he's a deceiver, he's a deceiver. But the one who by nature is
Jacob, the one who by nature is the sinner, like we all are,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, he
in the Lord Jesus Christ has formed his people, Israel. He that formed thee, O Israel. What does Israel mean? It means
a prince with God. Jacob, the sinner, the deceiver,
God says, you're going to be called Israel, a prince with
God. He says, fear not, for I have
redeemed you. What a rags to riches story that
is, isn't it? What a rags to riches situation. Whatever state we're in, in the
flesh, as sinners in the flesh, whatever state we're in, in the
Lord Jesus Christ, we read elsewhere in Scripture, we're seated in
heavenly places in Him. In eternity, outside of this
space-time creation, in eternity, we're seated in heavenly places
in Christ. We're taken from that horrible
pit of sin. and offense against the law and
the justice and the holiness of God, and we're seated in heavenly
places. He's taken us from that miry
clay and set our feet on a solid rock, and that rock was Christ. And these people, Jacob and Israel,
you might think there are those that claim this is just referring
to Jews, it's just referring to the physical descendants of
Abraham, but no it isn't. not even here in the Old Testament.
It's perfectly clear in the Old Testament. Look at verses 5 and
6. Fear not, I am with thee. Then he says, 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. This
Israel of God, for that's what it's called, in the New Testament,
the people of God, the church of God, the saints of God, the
elect of God, they're called the Israel of God. Galatians
6 verse 16. Peace be upon the Israel of God,
all of his people. And where do they come from?
All the ends of the earth. all the ends of the earth, all
the ends of the earth. He gathers them. We read in Revelation
that around that throne in the vision that John sees of that
glory, if you're a child of God and you have a hope of heaven,
This is what he sees. He sees around that throne, he
sees a multitude that no man can number. They're all known
to God. They're a fixed number known
to God, but it's a multitude that no man can number. They're
as innumerable as the grains of sand on the seashore are innumerable. They're as innumerable as the
stars in the sky are innumerable. And where do they come from?
every tribe and kindred and tongue and nation on earth. These are
the people to whom he's speaking. He's elect. He's elect. We've
gone, as I said, rags to riches, like the prodigal son. You know,
in the story that Jesus told of the prodigal son, he's feeding
pigswell. He's so hungry that he's even
prepared to eat. You know, pigs are prepared to
eat some pretty disgusting stuff. And he was so hungry, he was
prepared to eat it. That's where he is in his situation,
in his flesh as the Jacob. But where is he when he comes
home? When he comes home to his father, go and get the best robe.
His father runs to him and kisses him, go and get the best robe.
Kill the fatted calf, we're gonna have the best feast we've ever
had. This is where he is. He's wearing the best robe at
the feast in the father's house. And what does he say to his people? Think of your own experience
of grace. Is that where you are? Are you
one who has been brought from that pit of miry clay of sin? People are always trying to work
out how can we get people to understand the gospel and it's
a good thing to try and explain it and you know, oh let's convince
them that evolution isn't true, let's convince them that God's
created and then they'll all suddenly want to say, oh alright
well I'm interested in your gospel. If only it was so but it isn't,
it isn't, it isn't. No, none of that. It's not by
science that we understand that God has made things, it's by
faith, as Hebrews 11 verse 2 says. By faith we understand those
things. Now, they're always trying to
see how can we get people to understand, how can we get people
to be more amenable to the gospel. The thing that's needed is not
an understanding of evolution, it's an understanding of what
I am by nature. You know, do you ever sing that
hymn, a sinner is a sacred thing? Surprising. A sinner is a sacred
thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
This is it. When someone is coming to Christ
in faith, they've already been worked on by the Holy Spirit,
who shows them, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. God be merciful
to me, the sinner. That's what that Pharisee, That
penitent man that Jesus spoke about. God be merciful to me,
the sinner, for I've seen a glimpse. Oh, I don't think we ever see,
and not until glory will we ever see fully what we are by nature
against the holiness and majesty of the God who has created us
and who will judge us. A sinner. A sinner is a sacred
thing. That's what we need to know.
Knowing that we're a sinner, like the prodigal son, knowing
that he was amongst the pigswill, I must go home to my father's
house and perhaps he will be merciful to me. And God is merciful. God is a God. He delights in
mercy, is what he says. No, he says to people who believe
him, he says to those who trust his salvation, what does he say?
The very first two words, fear not, fear not. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Well, what is
there to fear? If you go out into the street
and you ask, are you afraid? And they'll say, well, I'm a
bit afraid of this hard guy down the road. I owe him a few quid
and he might do me some harm later on. You know, people have
got all sorts of fears like that, but most people will say to you,
I'm not afraid of anything. No, not at all. In a moment of
lightheartedness, no, I'm not afraid of anything at all. I'll
tell you what, fear catches up on everybody sooner or later
at some stage. The events of life. They're a
cause of fear, aren't they? The events of life. What events
of life? Well, poverty can come upon you.
Poverty. I've seen accounts of people
that were really quite prosperous and good jobs and good salaries
and some illness struck them and all of a sudden they couldn't
work and basically their income was taken away from them. These
things come along. There are times of sorrow, great
family sorrow. you know you choose your friends
or you tend to, your family you're stuck with and you have to live
with what you've got and they can be a cause of great sorrow
you can come across times of loss you can come across times
of ill health you know everybody glibly says oh how valuable your
health is if you've got your health you've got all you need
and in a sense that's very true But ill health comes upon people. And all of a sudden, there's
things to fear. Old age. You know, you're bubbling
along, and you're young, and you're healthy, and you're fit.
And you know, that felt like me five minutes ago. In just
over two months, I get my old age pension. and you know you
start to discover that since I turned 60 things have started
to creak a bit more and the things I used to be able to do without
any trouble at all I'm now paying for them when I do them and you
know there are things to fear there are things to fear And
ultimately, there's death to fear. Because as it says in Hebrews
chapter 2, those who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage. When it comes down to it, you
know, people make light of funerals, they make the most of the wake,
they have a few drinks with friends and it's all a happy time. But
you think about it. Someone that was dear and that
was loved has gone. They've died. And do you know
what? We're all in a queue. We're all edging towards the
front of the queue. Death. And after death? Judgment. And after judgment? Condemnation. And after condemnation? Hell. This is what the Word of God
says. Children get fearful in the night. I remember my boys,
my boys are now sort of in their forties and late thirties, but
I remember when they used to get fearful at night and I'd
go and I'd give them reasons not to be afraid, you know, start
out with comforting reasons. If they kept on doing it and
they kept on being a nuisance, I'd go back a little bit later
and I'd say, if you don't go to sleep, I'll give you something
to truly be frightened of. You know, the things that you're
frightened of are not real. I'm real. I'm coming back. But
you know, the parent goes and gives comforting words to the
frightened child. Well, our Heavenly Father does.
He gives comforting words to his people. Look what he says.
Verse one. Don't be afraid. Why not? Why
shouldn't I be afraid? I have redeemed you. I have redeemed
you. What does that do for me? Why
does that comfort me? Because of this, the soul that
sins, it shall die. We're in debt. Do you know, as
sinners, we're in debt. As sinners, we're in the most
dreadful debt. You get pictures of it with people
who get themselves into terrible debt and it's such a struggle
to get out of it. We're in debt. We're in debt to the law of God.
We're in debt to the justice of God. God is holy and we are
sinful. What are we going to do about
it? Because God's law... God cannot continue as God and
overlook sin. He must deal with it. He must
do something about it. His justice demands it. His very
nature demands that something be done about it. So we look
for where we can go to get the debt paid off, don't we? I wonder
if we can get some money from somewhere else. I wonder if somebody
else will lend us some money on more favorable terms. but
Psalm 49 verses 7 and 8 says this, none of them, none of them
can by any means redeem his brother, pay his brother's debt, none
of them, none of the other people you might go to, the priest or
that religion or that religion or these people, it doesn't matter
what you do, you cannot go to them to go and get your debt
paid off, they can't redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom
for him, why? for the redemption of their soul
is precious. In other words, the price is
too high. There's nobody that you might
go to in this life, there's no religion you might go to in this
life, has got anything like the resources that are necessary
to pay the sinner's sin debt. He says it ceases forever, meaning
don't even try there. There's no point. It's a lost
cause. but God has paid for you. Fear
not, O Jacob, Israel, fear not, I have redeemed you. How has
he redeemed us? He says, Job 33, 24, deliver
him, deliver the sinner from going down to the pit, down to
the pit of hell and condemnation. Why is he to be delivered, set
free from that situation? God says, I have found a ransom. God has found, how has he redeemed?
He has found a ransom. And how has He found a ransom?
In the blood of His Son. In the blood of His Son. The
soul that sins, it shall die. The life is in the blood, says
Deuteronomy. The Son of God, His lifeblood,
His precious, sinless lifeblood was poured out on the cross of
Calvary when He, who knew no sin, was made sin. He never committed
any sin, but at Calvary He was made sin. to pay the debt of
his people, and thereby he has made satisfaction to the justice
of God. So that the justice of God looks
and says, concerning the sins of his people that Christ took
on himself, the justice of God says no case to answer. The books
are clear. There's no case to answer. Again
and again we read, God looks for iniquity in his people. And
what does he find? None. Why? Because Christ has
taken it out of the way. He has nailed it to his cross.
He has dealt with it. The wrath and anger and justice
of God has poured out on him there. The fire of God has fallen
there. It has burned up the ground and
if you stand on that ground, It's like being in a forest fire.
I'm sure you've heard the story many times. But if you're in
a forest fire, the safest place is where the fire is already
burned. And in the Lord Jesus Christ, the fire of the wrath
of God against the sin of his people has already burned there. And so Ephesians 1 verse 7 says,
we have redemption. through his blood the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. This is what's
paid it, redemption through his blood, which purchases the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. And so he can say
in Hebrews 7.25, he has saved to the uttermost those who come
to God by him. Not saved by the skin of their
teeth, not saved by their fingernails, No, saved to the uttermost, absolutely
taken and placed on solid ground, so that there is therefore now
no condemnation. I have redeemed you. Fear not
the judgment that would terrify you. Justly, fear not. I have
redeemed you. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit. Has God redeemed you? How do
you know? How do you know? Has God redeemed
you? You know he's only redeemed his
elect. You know that, don't you? He's only redeemed his elect,
that multitude that no man can number. They're the ones he's
redeemed. Are you among them? How do you
know? I'll tell you how Paul knew that the Thessalonians were
among them. He says, I'm bound to give thanks
to God always for you, brethren, beloved of God, for God has from
the beginning chosen you to salvation. He's elected you, you're amongst
his elect who he has redeemed. He's chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit, that's the call and setting
apart of the spirit, and belief of the truth. Do you know in
this life there's only one piece of evidence that you really are
amongst the redeemed of God, and that is that you believe
the gospel of his son. not just with your head, but
with your heart. You believe it, and believing
it with your heart, you're devoted to it, and you want to follow
Him, and you want to serve Him, and you want to do what He says.
No, that's what it is, to know that you're redeemed. You know
that when it comes to that day of dying, for it's appointed
to man to die once, and then the judgment, And then after
that death, we know that we all must stand before the judgment
seat of Christ. And we know that it is a fearful
thing as a sinner to fall into the hands of the living God,
because our God is a consuming fire. But to his elect, to those
he's redeemed, he says this, fear not Israel, I have redeemed
you. Well, we've spent a long time
on that. Let's move on. The second thing is I've called
you. He's called us in verse one,
I've called you by your name. He's called us in regenerating
power by his spirit, by the Holy Spirit coming and taking that
which was dead in trespasses and sins, like Ezekiel's valley
of dry bones. You know, there's bones that
you see go by on the abattoir lorry that are still quite fresh
and you can smell them, can't you? These are dead bones. It
says in Ezekiel 37, these bones are very, very dry. But the Holy
Spirit comes. Prophesy to them, the Holy Spirit
comes, that wind of God comes, and they stand on their feet,
a mighty army. Holy Spirit quickening, and he
gives eyes to see. And how does it come? It comes
by the preaching of the gospel. And you read about it in Romans
10, how he calls, and whosoever calls on the name of the Lord
shall be saved. He calls his people to call on
him. There's another hymn, I don't
know if you ever sing that, I sought the Lord and afterward, I thought
it was me that was doing the seeking. I sought the Lord and
afterward I knew he moved my soul to seek him seeking me. This is the way God works. But
he calls his people. He says in other parts of the
scripture, I will hiss for them. Meaning what? I will whistle
for them. You know, like somebody whistles for their dog, and the
dog comes running. He says, I'll whistle for you.
You're my people, I will whistle for you. Calling his redeemed
people to come to him. But, not just that kind of call,
oy, come here, not that kind of call, only, but called by
the name of God. He says, I've called you by my
name. He says, I've called you by your
name, but look down in verse seven. everyone that is called
by my name, called by your name, but everyone that is called by
my name. This is speaking of the marriage
union that there is between Christ and his church. Do you know,
so many things are going out of fashion over the last 30,
40, 50 years, you know, it was always the case that the wife
would take her husband's name. Now it's regarded that, you know,
Oh we're all exactly equal therefore we don't want any of that sort
of nonsense, it's politically incorrect and you know the wife
should keep... No do you know that was a picture,
truly that was a picture of the union between Christ and his
church. Do you know in old law the man was entirely responsible
legally for his wife. and say, oh, what a terrible
situation to put me in, I'm not going to do that, you know, if
you went to the average girl's school and asked them, they've
all been taught politically correctly to regard that as vile and horrible
and terrible doctrine. But in actual fact, the intention
was that it was a beautiful picture of Christ and His church. Don't
you want the Lord Jesus Christ, your husband, to be entirely
responsible legally before God for everything that you've committed?
I know whom I have believed, And I'm going to lose my track,
but I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that
day. Because I'm in him, I've got
his name, I'm in union with him, I'm in marriage union with him.
We read about it in Romans 8. Whom he foreknew, he also predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called.
I think that there, where it says He called, it means He called
them with His name in eternity. He unified His people with His
Son in the One, the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world,
because after that He justifies them and glorifies them. You
see, the world around, and religion all around, carries the mark
of the beast. Again, revelation is very much
in my mind. They carry the mark of the beast.
They worship the image of the beast. but the people of God,
the saints of God, are called with the family name of God. I have called you, don't be afraid,
I've called you. I've given you my name. I've
wedded you to my son, is what he's saying to us. Thirdly, thirdly,
I've possessed you, I've possessed you. At the end of verse one
he says, thou art mine. You're mine. You're mine. Children
very soon learn the concept of what's mine and what's not mine,
don't they? With our grandchildren, the littler ones, one of them
will come along and he'll pick up a toy and he'll decide it's
his and not the other little ones. And these battles of possession
break out between, it's mine, it's mine, and it becomes very
precious to them, this thing that they want to possess. Well,
look, God says to his people, you are mine. You belong to me. This is the God of the universe.
This is the omnipotent one. You are mine. Intimate possession. You know, I talk about my wife.
She's my wife. I'm her husband. You know, there's
that possession. What will he not do for his beloved
possession? What will God not do for his
beloved possession? Fear not. Fear not ye people
blessed of God. What will he not do? He talks
about my sheep. He calls his people my sheep.
He says my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. They won't
follow a hireling. My sheep hear my voice. He says
there were a hundred sheep in the fold but one of them had
got away and he goes after the one sheep. His one sheep. It's
mine. He says I must have it and he
goes out onto that mountain and he goes out in the storm and
he does whatever is necessary and of course he's speaking of
him going to the cross and Suffering the wrath of God that that one
sheep that was given him in eternity might be his and so for all of
his sheep He protects his sheep. He provides for his sheep Psalm
23, the Lord's my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down
in green pastures. He leads me beside the still
waters. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. He
provides for his people. He calls them his, and as they're
his, he provides for them. You know, when we were bringing
up our children, and they're now bringing up their children,
but when we were bringing up our, I provided for them. They didn't buy their own clothes,
they didn't buy their own food, they didn't pay for their own
shelter, I provided for them. They had those things because
they were mine and I took care of them. God, how much more?
If you know how to give good things to your children, how
much more does God know how to give good things to his children?
And then fourthly, he says, I will be with you, verse two. When
you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And verse
five, fear not, I am with you. He is Jehovah Shammah, the Lord
who is there. Whatever fearful things we may
have to pass through, child of God, your heavenly father, all
powerful, is with you. with you, his people. Not with
everybody, not with everybody, with his people, with those who
believe him, with those who trust him. He says when you go through
the rivers, through the waters, and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow you. Rivers drown, don't they? Rivers
sweep away. The fire, he says when you walk
through the fire, who's going to walk through the fire? Well
I know three guys that did, sometime after this was written. In the
book of Daniel there was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and they
were put into that fiery furnace. And they were with there one
like the Son of God. Nebuchadnezzar said I looked
in there and I saw one like the Son of God. And the flame didn't
singe their clothes, there was not even a smell of burning upon
them. This is what God promises. Obviously, it's metaphorical
language. But he says, I will be with you. They won't overflow
you. It won't harm you, ultimately.
Because why? Will it harm you in this life?
Yes. 400 years ago, they were burning people at the stake in
London for heresy. And yes, the flame touched on
them, but not on their souls. Not on their souls. They confined
John Bunyan in Bedford Prison for 12 years, but they didn't
confine his spirit in Bedford Prison. He was in heavenly places
with Christ writing the books that he wrote. No, no, no. 1 Samuel 12, 22, the Lord will
not forsake his people for his great namesake because it has
pleased the Lord to make you his people. Hebrews 13, five
and six, he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee so that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper and I will
not fear what man shall do unto me. I'll speed up. Number five,
your God. Verse three, for I am the Lord
your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Do you know, I remember
when I was at school, in infant school, and you know, fights
used to break out amongst the boys, you know? And I only ever
had a sister, and she was younger than me, so she wasn't much good.
But some of the people that I would get into scraps with would say,
I've got a big brother and my big brother will come and thump
you if you hit me and I say well I'll get my dad and they'd say
well I'll get my dad and ultimately it'll be but my dad's bigger
than your dad you know that kind of thing well listen I know I'm
sounding trivializing but not intending to God says this I
am the Lord thy God the Holy One of Israel thy Savior People
of God, God who is your God is the Lord your God. This is who
he is. Do you want to know who he is?
I mentioned Nebuchadnezzar a moment ago. Let me read you what Nebuchadnezzar
said about this God. You know when Nebuchadnezzar
lost his sanity and he went out and ate the grass of the field
and his fingernails grew very long and his hair grew very long.
And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, this is his testimony,
We don't hear him say anything after this at the end of chapter
4 of Daniel. At the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted
up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me.
And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him
that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
his kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the
earth. And none can stay on his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? That's the testimony of that
heathen king who came to know who the God of heaven was. My
friends, if you're in Christ, he is your God. That's him. He orders world politics for
the eternal good of his people. That's what it means when he
says, I gave Egypt for thy ransom. You know, when, when he brought
Israel out of Egypt out of bondage, He conquered the Egyptians, he
drowned them in the Red Sea for the sake of his people. He orders
the events of this world for the good of his people. Is he
your God? Then fear not. Or is your God
like the God of religion? The God I was hearing about on
that radio church service this morning. The puny idol of religious
imagination who's incapable of doing anything. who only hopes,
who only wants, who only pleads with people to, oh, if only you'd
all live together nicely, then it would be such a nice world
in which you'd all live, and why don't you do all of these
things, and no, no, no. God is sovereign and all-powerful. And then the sixth point is this.
You, if you believe, he says you are precious. Verse four,
since thou was precious in my sight, Thou hast been honourable,
and I have loved thee. Precious to God, despite all
of your sin. Do you know, with true believers,
there are some who say the more you go on in the Christian life,
the holier and holier you get, and the more and more sanctified
you get, until you're ready to go to heaven, you know, you've
had all the rough edges knocked off you, and you're just about
fit to go to heaven. Do you know that's not my experience? I don't
believe it was the experience of the apostle Paul. Do you know
he started out by saying that he wasn't fit to be called an
apostle because he persecuted the church. And then a bit later
on he said, I'm the least of all of the apostles. Very, very
lowly. And then he says, Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. The more
he went on, in the last epistle he wrote he said, I am the chief
of sinners. He didn't say, I'm getting more
and more holy and more and more ready for heaven, because I'm
getting better and better at keeping the believer's rule of
life. No, no, no, he didn't say that. He said, I'm the chief
of sinners. And that's the only knowledge
that truly improves with age in the flesh, if you're a child
of God. But though we're like that, God calls us his jewels. I don't have any jewels at all
and the jewellery that my wife has got, she's not here so I
don't know if she's going to listen to this but I'll tell
you. None of it's very valuable. It's just, do you remember when
that guy, that owner of the big jewellery chain ruined his business
by telling an audience of people how had he got successful and
he told them that he'd sold them a load of rubbish basically.
I can't remember the exact words he used but he told them that
the jewellery he'd sold them was a load of rubbish and ultimately
his business went down the pan. And quite honestly, most of the
jewellery that my wife has is in that category. I think she
values the wedding ring, and even that. Wedding rings are
not very expensive, are they? But you know, real jewels, crown
jewels. Crown jewels, yeah. Priceless
jewels. Things that are so valuable.
That's what God calls his people. He says, Malachi 3.17, They shall
be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels, and I will spare them, as a man spareth his son. Think of that. I'll move on quickly.
Precious to God. Honorable. Honorable. Honorable. He says, if you read Ezekiel
16, he says how dishonorable was the parentage of Israel.
He says, you've come from Ammon and you've come, in truth, you're
a dishonorable thing. And I found you polluted in your
own blood, he said. But then God said, live. Read
it in Ezekiel 16. And he says, thy renown went
forth among the heathen for thy beauty, for thy beauty. For it was perfect through my
comeliness which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. That
which he found in its polluted condition, he made it honourable. How has he made his people honourable?
He's made us the sons of God. He's clothed us in the righteousness
of God, like that robe that the father put on the prodigal son.
He's imparted a righteous nature by his grace through his spirit.
He's given us a passport. You know, it's an honor to have
a passport, isn't it? It's a great honor. There are
people desperately coming across the Mediterranean. Desperate.
They'd love a British passport. They'd just love to have a...
He's given us a passport to heaven. He's made us honorable. And he's
loved us. He's loved us with an everlasting
love. When did he start loving us?
Everlastingly. Before the world began. A sacrificial
love. A love aimed solely at the eternal
good of its object. Therefore, he orders. He disposes
all things for the good of his people, eternally. He causes
all things to work together for good. And finally, we've got
there, finally. Number nine, why does he do it?
Verse seven, everyone that is called by my name for I have
created him for my glory. This is why he's done it. Why
has God done this? Why has God chosen a people in
Christ? Why has God taken them from the
pit of sin and put them in heavenly palaces? Why has God done this? for his glory. Moses asked God,
show me your glory, Exodus 33 verse 18. Show me your glory,
expect him to see something wonderful like, you know, Elijah with the
wind, the earthquake wind and fire and all of that sort of
stuff. He says, show me your glory, and what does God say?
I will show you my glory, this is my glory. I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. This is God's glory, is saving
a people from their sins. This is the greatest glory that
God is pleased to own as His own, is that He is a God of sovereign
electing grace. If your God is not a God of sovereign
electing grace, I tell you, my friend, you're worshipping an
idol, and your idol worship will do you no good at all. Read the
other chapters here, there's plenty about idolatry around
about them. God's glory is saving a people.
So we read of Christ, again it occurs in Isaiah, but it's Christ
saying, behold, I and the children whom he has given me. And I love
that Psalm 24. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and
mighty. He is the King of glory. When
he came to defeat Satan at the cross of Calvary, Then it says
again, lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is
the King of glory the second time? Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of hosts. The Lord of his people. The Lord
of his people that he takes to heaven. He is the King of glory.
This is the message of scripture. It's not, as so many would tell
us, God telling mankind how he wants us to live if only we'd
hear his word and live the way he wants us to live. No, it's
God telling his elect people how he saved them from Satan's
rebellion and destined them for glory. Brethren, believers, fear
not.