Rarely do I have occasion when
I'm traveling preaching to go visit places, and I'm not much
of a tourist anyway. I've never been on but just a
few guided tours in my life. But the best I ever experienced
was in 1987, first time Shelby and I were in England, when Bill
Clark took us up to Bedford. And we were there where John
Bunyan spent his entire life and ministry, and privileged
to visit the area where Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years for
preaching the gospel. If you haven't read Pilgrim's
Progress, I urge you to read it. It is a tremendous, tremendous
gift of God to the English-speaking people of this world. I urge
you to read it. But everything that Bunyan used
in his allegorical story of his experience of God's grace. Every
physical image he used could be seen from his jail cell. Now
his jail cell wasn't like modern jail cells. The jail was just
a closet, a wooden closet built under a bridge over a river and
you can imagine the dampness and cold and it was just small,
just a small thing hanging suspended under that bridge. But he could
look out the jail cell door and see the slough despond and the
hill of difficulty and the house beautiful and the wicked gate
and all those things. But in his Pilgrim's Progress,
Bunyan describes Christian and hopeful on one occasion when
they were imprisoned in the dark dungeon of Doubting Castle. And
when it appeared that giant despair was about to destroy them and
sure to do so, Christian remembered that he had a key in his pocket.
And with the key, he picked the lock of the dungeon and he and
hopeful escaped from the dark dungeon and overcame giant despair. The key was called promise. How often I've needed and use
that key these past 47 years, that key called promise is my subject
tonight. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
42. Isaiah chapter 42. Isaiah in this chapter is describing
our Lord Jesus Christ. And as you read through this
in the succeeding chapters, you will find it very difficult to
determine when the Lord God addresses Jacob and Israel is he talking
to Jacob and Israel that is to you and me his people or is he
talking to Christ our Savior our surety and our representative
and The reason that it's very difficult to determine is because
God intended it to be difficult to determine for that which is
spoken concerning our Savior is spoken concerning us and that
which is spoken concerning us is spoken concerning him and
But beginning in chapter 42, he clearly is showing us the
person and work of our dear Redeemer. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall bring
forth justice to the Gentiles, righteousness to the Gentiles,
judgment to the Gentiles. And he'll do it with no frustration.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He who is God our
Savior, this mighty one, is tender, compassionate, and caring with
the needs of his people. He shall bring forth judgment
to truth. He will bring forth judgment,
righteousness, justice to truth. Make it clear that God does all
things in truth and in justice. He shall not fail. Would to God those words were
emblazoned in the hearts of every preacher who stands to speak
in the name of God throughout the world. Of this you can be
sure. Jesus Christ, Jehovah's servant,
shall not fail. With him, failure is an impossibility. Whatever it is he wants to do,
he does. Whatever it is he wills he brings
to pass Whatever he puts his hand to he performs whatever
he agreed to as our covenant surety he accomplished He shall
not fail Till he shall bring forth I'm sorry shall not fail
nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth. I
justice, righteousness, and judgment, till he's finished his work,
redeemed and saved all his people by the sacrifice of himself.
And the isles, that is, speaking of the Gentile nations, God's
elect, scattered among the peoples of the earth, shall wait for
his law. The isles shall wait for his
word. Are you waiting for his word?
Look down at verse 16. Let me give it to you. This is
God's promise to you and me. One of those promises of our
God that is in Christ Jesus, in whom all the promises of God
are yea and amen. The Lord God says, I will bring
the blind by a way that they knew not. I will lead them in
paths that they have not known. I will make darkness light before
them. and crooked things straight.
These things will I do unto them and not forsake them. Now I repeat
without question, this is talking about the revelation of God's
grace in Christ our substitute, whom Isaiah describes as one
who will save his people by magnifying the law and making it honorable
as he states in verse 21. But this promise also reaches
beyond redemption. This is God's promise to his
people while we live in this dark, dark world. We were blind,
but now we see because he's given us eyes to see the kingdom of
God. He's led us in paths of grace,
righteousness and faith that we knew not before. And then
the promise reaches us in our present circumstance. The Lord
God declares to you and me. I will make darkness light before
them. Crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them
and not forsake them. God's promise is I will make
darkness light before you. I will make crooked Confusing
things straight before you and I will not forsake you After
reading that and mulling it over and reading it and mulling it
over some more this week I continue reading next several chapters
and after making these promises the Lord God making this promise
the Lord God Gives us a whole slew of promises in the next
chapter. We'll start in chapter 43 and Jacob and Israel are here
spoken of as both Jacob and Israel But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee. Oh Jacob, and he that formed
thee. Oh Israel Why does he use both
names? Jacob and Israel Jacob is the
name which represents what we are by nature and are fallen,
sinful, corrupt, depraved, fickle, frail, natural being. Israel
is that name which God gave to Jacob when he wrestled him and
pinned him to the ground and made him confess that his name
is Jacob. Shabu was reading one of the
Spurgeons readings to me coming home yesterday. And the passage
speaks of Jacob as a prince who prevailed with God. I found it
interesting and instructive. When was it that he prevailed
with God? When he was conquered by his grace. When the Lord pressed
him and pinned him and said, what's your name? He said, my
name's Jacob. He prevailed with God and the
Lord God said, your name's Israel now. You're a prince with God. You're a prince with God. And
the Lord God would have us always remember what we are by nature. Don't ever forget that. Always
remember what you are by nature. Sin. Sin is your name, your first
name, your middle name, and your last name. Sin's your game, sin's
your nature, sin's what we are. That's what we are. But we are
princes with God by his grace. made righteous the very righteousness
of God in his dear son, forgiven of all sin, our transgressions,
our iniquities, our sins blotted out by him, by the precious blood
of his darling son, and made the very righteousness of God
in him. And so he would have us always
remember what we are, and at the same time, remember who and
what we are in Christ, what he has done for us by his grace. The chapter begins, the first
word that the Lord God gives to us, his Jacob, his Israel,
is this, fear not, fear not, fear not. Repeatedly, repeatedly,
God says to us who are so prone to fear, God says to us who invent
reasons to fear, He says to us who constantly are given to fear,
don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. And then he
gives us reason after reason after reason after reason why
we shouldn't be afraid. Now, I'm not even going to make
an effort at preaching to you from the passages we're going
to look at tonight. I'd compare it more like children
in a candy store. I'm just going to pull out some
samples and you can water them around a little bit and enjoy
them. I would like, oh, how I would like to be able to preach to
you this way. I pray that God will cause you to hear me just
this way, just as if it was just Bill Raleigh and Don Fortner.
I'm visiting you in your house and pull up a chair right beside
you in your easy chair and say, look at what God said. This is
for you. Children of God, this is for
you. The Lord God gives us this declaration Isaiah 43 verse 1. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Number one reason for I have
redeemed. I have redeemed. That one declaration in its context. Ought to forever destroy every
thought of universal redemption in the minds of any person God
says since I've redeemed you you've got nothing to be afraid
of I have redeemed you I bought you at such a price The price
of the precious blood of my darling son at such a price that you
can be sure No harm is going to come to you I've redeemed
you. I've redeemed you. Do you remember
what Brother Scott Richardson said standing in this pulpit
one night years ago? He said, there's been no bad
news since I got the good news. There's been no bad news since
I got the good news. That's what the Lord said. Fear
not, Jacob. Fear not, Israel. I've redeemed
you. Look at the next line. I have
called thee by thy name. All whom he has redeemed are
called, called with an effectual, irresistible personal call. This is called efficacious grace.
Sweet promise this is. God says, don't forget I bought
you. I sought you out. I called you
to me. I graciously forced you to come
when you were terrified. And when you came, I received
you graciously. I called you personally. I called
you by name. I called you when you needed
me and nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. I called
you. I am more and more convinced, more convinced today than I have
ever been in my life. That when God calls you, you'll
know it. I called you by name. That doesn't
mean you're gonna hear a shout from heaven and God says, Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me? Doesn't mean that at all. It
means you're gonna hear it just as surely. As if he said, I'm
calling Don Ranere. I'm talking to Shelby Fortner.
That's who I'm talking to. Just that certain. Just that
clear. So that he says, I've called you by name. This is what
that means. Look at the next line. Thou art
mine. You're my property, my possession. You're mine, my son, my daughter. That means that you're always
under my watchful eye, the apple of my eye. Always provided for
and cared for by my hand, by my goodness and by my mercy. That means goodness and mercy
shall follow you all the days of your life. Look at verse two.
When thou passes through the waters. It doesn't say if, does it? Then say if. This helped wealth, prosperity,
hucksters. who would have you to believe
that you believe in Jesus, everything's going to be smooth from now on.
No, there are going to be struggles and difficulties and trials and
heartaches that you could not know if you didn't believe him.
And believing him will not prevent you from all the pains, heartaches
and woes that other people suffer in this world. When thou passes
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. Oh yes, you must go through deep
waters of trouble, roaring, raging rivers of woe, and hot, terrible,
fiery furnaces of affliction. But you will pass through them,
and they will do you no harm. I went back and read again Daniel
chapter 3. You remember Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego? They were cast into the burning,
fiery furnace. And when they were cast into
the burning, fiery furnace, they were brought out and they didn't
even smell like they'd been around any smoke. The flame didn't touch
them. They didn't lose anything. They
didn't lose anything except the cords that bound them. That's
all they lost. That's all. So it is with God's
people in the midst of trouble. These woes and trials and adversities
will do you no harm, but only good because God, your God, your
Redeemer says, I will be with thee. In the river and in the deep
water and in the fiery furnace, I will be with Nebuchadnezzar
said didn't we throw three men in that furnace? Yes, sir. We
threw three men in there He says I see four down there and one
of them looks to me like the Son of God So it is I will be with thee
let's move on verse 3 For I am the Lord thy God the
Holy One of Israel thy Savior I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Saba for thee. I am the Lord, thy God, the holy
one of Israel. Jehovah, the mighty God, Elohim,
the omnipotent triune Jehovah, father, son, and holy ghost,
the holy one of Israel declares he is your God. I'm not reluctant to say this,
and I'm not looking for something to say. I want you to hear what
I'm about to tell you. And I couldn't even imagine saying
this, Merle, if I didn't see it written right here in this
book. God, in all his glorious being, is as much your property
as you are his. I'm your God. He is as much your
possession as you're his possession That means all that god is is
yours The great three-in-one jehovah declares. I am thy savior
When he says I gave egypt for thy ransom ethiopian seba for
thee he's saying There's nothing That I won't sacrifice for you There's nothing I refuse to do
for you. Here is the logic of heaven. 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? My dear friend, Brother Harry
Graham, I used to hear him frequently say this. Be talking about a
passage like this and he'd get done preaching. I'd say something
to him He said if I could just live a tad of what I preach I'd
get along real well. Oh my soul, I am thy savior That means everything's alright
all the time look at verse 4 Since thou was precious in my sight
What? precious The word means highly
valued Very costly. Cherished. Highly esteemed. You and I are God's treasure. His jewels, he says, they shall
be mine in that day when I make up my jewels, saith the Lord.
Though despised by men, if you trust Christ, you're precious
to God. A royal diadem in the crown of
his glory. Since thou was precious in my
sight, thou has been honorable. Because you're precious to God,
because you're dear to God, he has made you honorable, not the
other way around. He didn't find you honorable
and say, now you're precious to me. Because he loved you with
an everlasting love, he made you honorable. made you honorable
by his own honor. You remember how Ezekiel describes
that infant cast out from his mother's womb? And the Lord says,
I passed by the time of love. Behold, that time was the time
of love. And I passed by the and I spread my skirt over the
and I said unto thee, live and thou became as mine. And you
became comely, beautiful. through my beauty which I put
upon thee. God Almighty giving us his son
has given us the perfection of his son, the purity of his son,
the holiness of his son, the righteousness of his son. All
that perfection that Christ is, is ours in Christ Jesus the Lord. This is how God describes us
as his people. These are virgins. Chaste virgins. Presented as
a chaste virgin to the Lord God. Virgins. With no guile. With no impurity. With no imperfection. He says, you've been honorable. That means I have loved thee.
I have loved thee. Again, let men talk as they please
about universal love. That's useless love. Let's talk
about special love. Love that means you've got nothing
to be afraid of. Fear not, he says. I've loved
you. I've loved you. You needn't be
afraid of me. If you don't need to be afraid
of me, you don't need to be afraid of anything else. He loves his
own elect so greatly that he sacrifices men and nations for
them. Here's his message. This is how
much I love you and what you mean to me. And I'll sacrifice
the whole world for you. I'll sacrifice all the creation
for you. Look at verse five. Fear not,
for I am with thee. 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
my daughters from the ends of the earth Even everyone that
is called by my name for I've created him for my glory. I have formed him. Yay. I have
made him God says I am with thee Back up in verse 2. You remember
he said I will be with thee. I Here he says, I am with you. I'm with you right now. I'm with you. Wherever you are,
whatever your circumstances. Whatever the darkness is that
seems to engulf your world, whatever the trouble is, whatever the
heartache is, I am with you now. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Let your
moderation be known to all men. Let your ease of heart, your
gentleness of spirit, your peaceable disposition be known to all men,
the Lord's at hand, the Lord's at hand. A child just gets easy when suddenly
frightened, when that child jumps into his daddy's arms or jumps
into his mama's arms, and that heart just beating and beating
and beating is quickly calmed. Because the child just doesn't
have any better sense than to presume if daddy's near, everything's
all right. If mama's near, she's holding
me, nothing gonna hurt me. Child just doesn't have any better
sense than to presume that. Oh, my soul, this is no presumption. If God is with me, I have no
reason to fear. Every anxiety, every fret, every
fear, every Disturbance of heart every Uneasiness of mind is utterly
Excuseless. I'm with thee. I Have created
you he says for my glory The very glory of God Wrapped up
in the salvation of his people. Well, the ledger was handling
this so well this morning in John 17 The glory of our Redeemer
The glory of the triune God is the salvation of his people.
By this, God shows his glory. By this, God displays his glory.
Look at verse 13. 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? When he created heaven and earth,
there was no opposition to it. Nothing hindered it. So it is
in his providence. All things are done exactly as
God pleases. So it is in all his decrees.
So it is in his salvation. The Lord God says none can deliver
out of my hand. He gave us eternal life and declared
they shall never perish because none can deliver out of or tear
us from his omnipotent hand. We're safe in the grip of omnipotent
grace. I am the Lord, your holy one,
the creator of Israel, your king. Move on to verse 19. Behold,
I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth. Shall
you not know it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness and rivers in the desert. I'll make a way in the wilderness."
And children of Israel were wandering for 40 years in the wilderness.
They're just wandering. Looked like they're chasing their
tails. That's kind of the way I feel most of the time. Just
wondering, what's happening? What's happening? What's going
on? God had ordered a way for them. And for them, it was the
best, most direct way to the land of promise. So it is with you and me. In
all the confusion that is constantly surrounding
our lives, the way God has laid for us through this wilderness
is his way. Cody, you're just getting started.
Just getting started. And whatever God has for you
for the rest of your life, it is the way he's ordained for
you. It is the best way for you and
the most direct way to Canaan's fair and happy land. Now, in
that wilderness, he says, I will give you rivers. in the desert. Constantly flowing
river to constantly refresh your soul. Christ Jesus, the Lord. Oh, drink and be refreshed. Look at verse 21 and learn why
God made us and what he's sworn he will do with us. This people
have I formed for myself. They shall show forth my praise. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise. Nevertheless, he saved them,
the psalmist tells us, for his namesake. They shall show forth
my praise. Now, this doesn't mean they shall, while they live on
this earth, show forth my praise, though that certainly is true
in measure. But not much measure. I've been praying every day.
Countless times through the day for 47 years. God helped me to
honor you today. This is God's promise. When this
is all done, Don Fortner is going to show forth his praise. Everything about me shall show
forth his praise Everything about you God's elect shall show forth
his praise in that day when he stands us before wandering worlds
It says look here what my grace has done. They shall show forth
my praise Verse 25 I Even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions
for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins. He blots out our transgressions
continually and never remembers our sins. Frank, as often as we transgress,
He blots out. Isn't that amazing? David said,
I've sinned. Nathan said, the Lord's put away
your sin. He blotteth out our transgressions. I've got to hurry. I won't get done. Let's look
at verse 21, chapter 44. Isaiah 44, 21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel,
for thou art my servant. Obviously, he's talking about
Christ. Jacob and Israel you singular are my servant. I Have
found I have formed thee thou art my servant. Oh Israel thou
shalt not be forgotten to me. I Have blotted out as a thick
cloud thy transgressions and as a cloud thy sins Return unto
me for I have redeemed thee Brother Don is obviously talking about
Christ our Redeemer, but how can those words be applied to
him? Read the 69th Psalm and hear how he applies them to himself.
The Lord Jesus in Psalm 38 verse 4 tells us that his iniquities
were going over his head as a heavy burden, a burden too heavy for
him. He who was made sin for us is
here spoken of. Our Lord Jesus made sin for us,
stood as our head and our surety. But hear the wonder of this expression. Oh, what language God uses to
show us our blessedness in Christ. You see, he who is our surety,
who was made sin for us, By whose blood our sins made his were
bled out and forgiven and put away That's the forgiveness we
have So that in Christ we have no sin in Christ We are freed
from sin. Let's see. I stated in the New
Testament turn to first Peter chapter 4 first Peter chapter
4 For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin. He who was made sin, when his
sufferings are over, has ceased from sin, that he should no longer
live the rest of his lifetime in the flesh to the lust of men. but to the will of God. That's
not talking about Christ, Mark. That's talking about you. That's
talking about you. When he suffered in the flesh,
we suffered in the flesh and now have ceased from sin, no
longer live after our lust in this flesh. For the time and
past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of
the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess
of wine, revelings, banqueting, and abominable idolatries, wherein
they think it strange that you run not with them to the same
excess of riot, speaking evil of you. Now, move on. Thou shalt not
be forgotten of me. Thou shalt not be forgotten of
me, for I have redeemed thee. When my father and my mother
forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Thou shalt not be forgotten of
me. How often I forget him, but him,
he never forgets me. Thou shalt not be forgotten,
never off my mind. Never out of my thoughts Never
not the attention of my care Yeah, I'll give a chapter 45
verse 2 I Will go before thee. I Will go before thee our Savior
always walks in the front Here he promises I'll go ahead
of you clearing the road and paving it with grace. I'll break
down the gates of hell before you, smash the locks and kick
down the bars of your prison. I'll go before you. Verse three. I will give thee
the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places
that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by
thy name, and the God of Israel. You may be in darkness now. If
not today, hang on, tomorrow it'll come. And if you're in darkness and
you're gods, you will fetch treasures from
the darkness that engulfs you. I've never been down in a pit,
very deep pit, never been down in a well, some of you thought
I may have, but I'm told, I'm told that in a deep well, in
a deep well, you can look up through the dark pit into the
sky and see stars that can't be seen with the naked eye from
any other position except in that deep, deep pit. Whether
that's so or not, I don't know. But I do know this. From the
deep darkness in which God puts you, his child. He shows you
bright light and treasures you could not otherwise see. He says,
I'll give you treasures in the darkness. You'll find even more
in the next line, verse 17. Israel shall be saved in the
Lord with an everlasting salvation God's gonna save his elect all
of them. It's a matter of absolute certainty
And this is what he is doing now What he has done in all the
past and what he shall do in all the future Now one more thing
one more thing Ye Shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world
without end. There are a lot of loose ends
here, tons of confusing things in our experience here, much
that makes us blush with shame now. But soon, things are going
to be different, gloriously different. when at last we stand yonder
on the glory side of eternity and look back over all of this I can't even think about it now
without blushing with shame but there'll be nothing, nothing,
nothing that will cause us shame Will not be confounded. Will
not be confused. Will not be put to confusion.
Will not be shaken. Will not be disturbed by anything
or anyone. World without end. To the endless ages of eternity. you shall not be ashamed. Won't
that be wonderful? In heaven's clearer light, we'll
see. All things worked out for good. Amen.