To be here, good to see y'all.
And since I last stood here, September, seven months, time
flies. Time goes by fast, doesn't it?
Yes. Is it that way with you? Yes. But since, nothing has changed
since that time in regards to my preaching. I can't preach
unless God enables me to do so. So you pray for me that God will
be pleased to make His word effectual. Will you turn in your Bibles
to Isaiah? Our text will be a few verses
from Isaiah 45, but we'll begin by reading a few verses in chapter
43 first. When Ruth was singing that song
in the verse where she said, even though the shepherd's calling
sinners are still fearful, afraid to face the light. Old John Newton
wrote in his famous hymn Amazing Grace, it was grace that taught
my heart to fear, and during that fear we are afraid to face
the light. As she sang, I thought of old
John Bunyan. He talked about being in that
condition under conviction of sin and was afraid to come to
God because he thought he won't have mercy on a sinner like me. And Bunyan said he found out
so far from rejecting him that there was rejoicing in heaven
when that sinner came back to the Father's house. Such is God's
amazing grace. Isaiah's name. means salvation
of the Lord, or the Lord will save. And I'm sure you're aware
that he's been referred to as the fifth evangelist, along with
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, because he gives such a clear,
so very clear picture of our Redeemer. This prophecy, the
book of Isaiah, has been referred to as the Gospel of Isaiah. Brother
Henry Mahan has a commentary on this book with that title,
The Gospel According to Isaiah. And though the message spoken
to the people that lived in Isaiah's time was for them in their day,
it's also for us in our day as well. In our day as well because
it speaks of eternal things. It speaks of things that time
doesn't affect, that time cannot change. For example, they speak
of God. They speak of God, and God, the
true God, cannot change. He cannot change. He declares
that over and over again, and we find it very comforting. does
not affect the God of eternity. Time has no effect on that one
who had no beginning and shall have no end. Time springs from
Him. In the beginning, God. But He
was before that. He was before the beginning.
In chapter 43 of Isaiah, at verse 10, we read this. Isaiah 43 and
verse 10. God speaking, and he says, You
are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen,
that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am
he, that I am he. 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 Savior. My, that sounds rather bigoted,
rather narrow-minded. Hear it again. God says, besides
me, there is no Savior, never has been, and never shall be. I am the Lord, I change not. And the prophecy of Isaiah, as
indeed the entire Word of God, speaks of man's need of God's
salvation. And that's another thing that
does not change. Does time alter that? Does time
change that? The need of man's salvation?
Has man outgrown that? Back in the garden, when our
daddy sinned and fell and heard the voice of God, remember how
he reacted? Remember how he reacted. He hears
the voice of God, and he hides. He hides. He's terrified. He's absolutely terrified, and
nothing has changed. When you see Adam thanking, thinking
so far fallen in his thoughts that he thought he could actually
hide from the omniscient God. When you see him crouching there
in the bushes of the garden, you see yourself and you see
me. All men by nature hear the voice
of God and their first reaction is to hide. Isaiah said in chapter
64, all of our righteousness, Do fate as the leaf. All of our
righteousness is as a filthy rag. Doesn't that sound familiar?
All of us. No exceptions. Paul said there's
non-righteous. Paul, can we sit down and discuss
that? No. No discussion. No vote. There's non-righteous. Not one. Paul seems to say, just in case
you may have misunderstood me, let me emphasize that again.
No, not one. There is none that seeketh after
God. No, not one. There is none that
understandeth. Not one. And man's vain attempts,
man's vain attempts to save himself by his own words, that hasn't
changed either, has it? In chapter 1 of Isaiah, God speaks
and He says, what's the profit of your solemn feast, and your
holy days, and your lifting up hands? Who has ordered this? How dare you come into my presence
with these vain reputations, just this religious tradition. And he said, I'm tired of it.
I'm sick of it. Away with it. And nothing has
changed in that regard either, has it? In Romans chapter 10,
Paul said, my brethren, my kinsmen after the flesh, I have a continual
heaviness in my heart for them. He said, I bear them record.
They have a zeal for God, their concept of God, their thoughts
of God, but it's not according to knowledge. And they prove
it, going about, attempting to establish their own righteousness,
if they knew anything. If they had a clue, they would
know how futile, how useless that is. That hasn't changed,
has it? It was true in Isaiah's day,
in Paul's day, and in our day. And something else hasn't changed,
for which we're thankful. Believers are Christ, the just
God and Savior. He has not changed. Look in chapter
53, and then we'll come to chapter 45. Thank God this hasn't changed. What the prophet said concerning
the coming Redeemer, he wrote in verse 10. It pleased the Lord
to bruise him, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. Though
he was innocent, though there were no deceit in his mouth,
yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, to crush him. He hath put
him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, what shall happen? What will be the outcome
of that? What will be the issue of that?
Christ said, if a corn of wheat falleth to the ground and die,
it bringeth forth much fruit. And Isaiah saw that exactly,
didn't he? He shall see his seed. There's
no question about that. No doubt about that. He that
is the Messiah, the Son of God that was bruised by the wrath
of God, he shall see his city, he shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear And He's still justifying
many, for He shall bear their iniquities. His sacrifice speaks
everlasting satisfaction to the justice of the Holy God to whom
He made atonement. Therefore, His sheep are still
hearing His voice. And when they hear, they follow
Him. Thank God that hasn't changed
either, has it? Now in chapter 45, let's read
a few verses here. Very familiar verses. Only three,
verses 20, 21, and 22. In Isaiah 45. God speaks. And He says, assemble yourselves
and come. Draw near together. Ye that are
escaped of the nations, that have no knowledge, that set up
the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a God that cannot
save. Tell ye and bring them near.
Bring your gods, bring all your gods. Yea, and let them take
counsel together. Let them line up and have a powwow.
And who had declared this from ancient time? Who had told it
from that time? Have not I, the Lord? Not them,
not your little gods, but I, the Lord. And there is no God
else beside me, a just God and a Savior. There is none beside
me. Look unto me, and this hasn't
changed either, has it? Look unto me and be ye saved.
If God Almighty is pleased to open someone's eyes tonight who
has never seen the glory of his dear son, this will happen. There's no doubt about it. There's
no question about it. Look unto me and be ye saved. It'll happen. All the ends of
the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. That's the title of my message,
The God That Saves. A good illustration of that.
When I was looking over my notes this afternoon, I thought a good
illustration of that is when Elijah challenged all those false
prophets, 450 prophets of Baal, plus 400 more, 850, and he told
the king Ahab, bring them all up to Mount Carmel, and we're
going to settle this thing, and bring all Israel there, all the
children of Israel. I want them to gather there in
the morning. And they all come. Can you imagine the sight? And
Elijah said, now, this is what we're going to do. We'll each
take a bullock. And you false prophets, you offer
your bullock upon the altar. You prepare it. And I'll prepare
mine the same way. And then you call upon your God.
And then when you're finished, I'll call upon my God. And the
God that answers by fire, He's God. Now He's God. And we're told it was morning,
they prepared the sacrifice, the prophets of Baal, and they
began to pray to their God. Nothing happened. Nothing happened.
They were praying to a God that could not save. And Elijah said,
well, maybe He's asleep. Maybe he can't hear you. Maybe
you ought to just scream a little louder." And they did. And they
cut themselves. It looked like some mad Pentecostals. But they couldn't get their God's
attention because they were praying to a God that could not save.
Just as we read in Isaiah 45. And they continued that way till
the evening sacrifice. I guess they were finally spent. Give out. Elijah comes forth,
you know the story, and he offers his sacrifice and he prays. He
prays. And the God who is God, not this
God who cannot save, but this God who says, look unto me and
be ye saved, because I am God. And there's none beside me. There's
none like me. There's no equal to me. The fire
of God fell from heaven and not only consumed the sacrifice,
it consumed the wood, the fire, or rather the water and the stones
and the water around the sacrifice in the trenches. And the people
said, the Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God. And when
God in His grace brings a helpless sinner, when He strips that helpless
sinner, brings him down to what he actually is, and makes him
to know it. And to cry his heart is only
this. The most important thing in his
life is now this. How can I be just with God? How can God have mercy upon a
sinner like me? And the God of our boy, David,
the great physician. The great physician. He comes. Thou son of David, that blind
beggar, bankrupt sinner cries, have mercy on me. And the King
of Glory, the just God and Savior, my soul, stops dead in His tracks
and says, I will see, receive thy sight. And He opens His eyes
and He says, my soul, what a God. The Lord, He is God. Look unto Me and be ye saved. He's the God that saves. He says, I am God. And there
is none else. Salvation, this salvation that
is His, and all that it involves is of the Lord. Salvation, that's
a big word. That's a big word. When I visit
the grandchildren, one of Larry Dale's daughters,
Laura, occasionally she'll bring a storybook and I'll be sitting
there on the couch and she'll just crawl up and sit on my lap
and say, Paul, Paul, I'm going to read you a story. I like that. I enjoy that. And she'll start
to read and I'm looking over her shoulder and she'll come
to a word that just, she's got the paws. She won't ask me to
pronounce it for her. No, she just won't do that. And
she'll try and and try to sound it out, and then she'll look
up at me and say, Pawpaw, that's a big word. Salvation, myrtle,
that's a big word. And that's a big work. And it
requires a big God to accomplish that. Not these little gods that
cannot save, but the God of all grace, the God of all glory,
setting upon his throne, and he in mercy says, look unto me,
look unto me, and be ye saved. Salvation and all that's necessary
to let the sinner from the depths of spiritual death stand in the
presence of God who says in answer to this question, how can that
sinner be just with God? You know what God's answer is?
It must be perfect. It must be perfect to be accepted. Think about that. Oh, think about
that. Is that so? Is that what God
Almighty requires? Is that what He demands before
any sinner can approach Him accepted? He must be perfect? Is that scriptural? Yes, it is. God said it must
be perfect to be accepted. And here's the beauty of this
great God and Savior. Every sinner that God saves by
His grace stands before Him just that way. Exactly that way. Perfect. This is what we read
of in Hebrews chapter 7. Let me read it to you. Hebrews
chapter 7. We're told this, verse 19. For the law made nothing perfect,
But, don't you love those buts, those interjections, interceptions
of God's grace? For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw
nigh unto God. Now how can that be? Who is that? The Lord Jesus Christ. By Him,
we're presented before God as perfect. To Him that is able,
Jude wrote, to keep you from falling and to present you perfect
before the presence of His glory. And John sees that scene open
before him in glory. John saw that multitude before
the throne. And he said, they were without
fault. My soul. Mr. Brain, can you imagine? I can't. You can't either. What
sort of grace this must be to bring not only a sinner like
this one and those that are gathered here, but a multitude that no
man can number. God's grace has been so sufficient. Our Savior is so mighty to save
that He brings them all around the throne of God Almighty, and
God looks at every one of them, and we're told they're before
the throne of God without fault. Without fault. Oh, my soul, what
a great God and Savior. Remember that infant? that was cast out into the field
to die in Ezekiel chapter 16. And after God found it, after
the great shepherd of the sheep came to where that helpless infant
was, a picture of us by nature, and clothed it, and washed it,
here's the result. And thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect. It was perfect
through my comeliness which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord
God. Look unto me and be ye saved."
That's the God that saves. Throughout this book of Isaiah,
indeed throughout the Word of God, he describes himself as
he really is. Not what people think he is,
not what they imagine him to be, or what they would like him
to be, but he describes himself as he really is. And that which
he speaks most about himself is his uniqueness. His uniqueness. Over and over again he says,
there's not another like me. I'm God. Who will you compare
me to? Look, if you will, at verse 5
in chapter 45 of Isaiah. Throughout this book, God does
this. But he says in verse 5, I am God, or rather, I am the
Lord, and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I
go to thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know
from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none
beside me. I am the Lord and there is none
else. I form light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. Look down at verse 18 in the
same chapter. For thus saith the Lord that
created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth and made
it. He hath established it. He hath created it not in vain.
He formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is none
else. Is that your concept of God?
Is that your concept of God? How God describes himself? He's
the mighty God. He says in chapter 42 concerning
His righteous servant, He says He shall not fail. Sadly, and it is sad, it is sad. All around us, constantly, we
hear about a God who wants to but can't. A God that's frustrated
at every turn. Every purpose is frustrated.
This God's will can even be overcome by the will of puny man. That's not God. God says, that's
not me. That's not me. I do all my will,
saith the Lord. And concerning his righteous
servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, in chapter 42, he says, he shall
not fail. Merle, don't you like that? He
shall not fail. We cry out, children of God,
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body
of this death? Who shall deliver me from this
spiritual corpse that's within me? Who shall deliver me? Bless
God, He shall not fail. Paul said, Jesus Christ, our
great Shepherd said, I give my sheep eternal life, and they
shall never perish. And bless His name, He shall
not fail. Father, I will also that all
those whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they
might behold my glory, and he shall not fail. Bless his name. He'll lose not
one that the Father entrusted into his blessed hands. When Joseph was told not to fret,
but marry Mary, And that child that's born of her, that is conceived
of the Holy Ghost, he call his name Jesus. For he shall save
his people from their sins, and he shall not fail. To the uttermost. He'll save
them to the uttermost. He's the mighty God. Oh, when he bowed his head upon
the cross, and cried, it is finished. He did not fail, Don. He did
not fail. Oh, he did not fail. Yes, he
was made sin that we be made the righteousness of God in him.
Yes, he bore our sins in his own body on the tree and he bore
them away. They're gone. They're gone. They'll not be found. They're
buried in the sea of God's forgetfulness. Verse 22 of Isaiah 45. Oh, are these not sad words?
Are these not sad words? What a sad picture. They pray
unto a God that cannot save. Can you think of anything more
tragic? Can you think of anything more
tragic? Lose health? Oh, but this is
more tragic. To pray unto a God that cannot
save? What a sad picture. And yet multitudes
today profess faith in that very God that cannot save. Can you think of anything of
greater consequence? God don't allow our children,
our loved ones, don't allow that. Don't allow them to be blinded
to trust in a God that cannot save. And God calls all these
false gods before them. He says, bring them. All nations,
all people, bring your gods that have no knowledge. Bring them
before me. and ask them, who's done this? Who's purposed this? Who brings
this up the past? Who accomplishes this? Not them,
but God. You set up a God and grave an
image. I don't think I'm speaking to
anybody that's going to go home and bow down to a stump. Just
don't think that's likely to happen. But people do pray unto
a God they've carved, as your pastor has said often, out of
their own depraved imaginations. And he cannot save. He's not
the God of the Scripture. If you were to stand on the steps
of most churches in America this Sunday, take your pick. And as
the folks leave after worshipping, as they say, And you would ask
him, describe your God to me. Could you describe your God to
me, the one you just professed to worship? Describe your God
to me. And listen to their description. Listen to their description.
He no more resembles the God we just read about than a flea. And then you describe your God
to them. And watch how they react. Say,
my God is sovereign. My God rules over everything. The God in whom my immortal soul,
He holds in His hand. He has power over all flesh. He saves people on purpose. And
they'll look at you and say, what? Are you kidding me? You mean God does things on purpose? If He's God, of course He does. And this is the God that says,
look unto Me, look unto Me and be ye saved. Now if all you want, if all you
want is a little religion, look unto this other God that cannot
save you. He'll give you that. All you want is a little ointment,
a little spasm to get you through then this God that cannot save,
he can give you that. Oh, but if there's a sinner that
wants the grace of God, they won't be satisfied unless the
God of all grace speaks to his heart sweet words like this,
thy sins are forgiven, if that's what you need. If you need the
touch of the great physician, listen. Listen to what he says. Look under me. Look unto me,
and be ye saved, for I am God, and there is none else." What
he promises, what he purposes, he's able to perform. Wouldn't
make much sense for him to purpose, would it, David, if he couldn't
bring it to pass? Why bother? Why bother? But he said, I shall do all my
will. I shall do all my pleasure."
Look in chapter 63 of Isaiah. Here we have another picture
of our Redeemer. And what a glorious picture it
is. This is that one of whom God
the Father said, shall not fail. Who is this that cometh from
Edom with thy garments from Bazarath? This that is glorious in his
apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength. Who could that
be? Who could that be? And he answers,
O child of God, hear your Redeemer. I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save. Mighty the Saviour, He that saves
to the very uttermost. That's our God. That's our Redeemer. He says, I trod the winepress
alone, by myself, and of the people there were none with me. As that time grew closer, He
told His disciples, Behold, we go to Jerusalem. Behold, we go
up to Jerusalem. and the Son of Man shall be delivered
into the hands of men. You'll go with me so far, but
then I'll leave you behind, because I must trod the winepress alone. And they'll scourge me, and spit
upon me, and beat me, and they'll crucify me. But this they could
not do. This they could not do. They
hated me without a cause, and they demonstrated. They vented
their hatred upon me. As He hung on the cross dying,
they mocked Him and had a party. But one thing they could not
do, they could not make Him to be seen. No. Couldn't do it, could they? The
hymn writer said, many hands were raised to wound Him. Yes,
sir. None, not one we interposed to
save all, but the awful stroke that found him, the stroke that
made him sin, the stroke that beneath it he cried out, my God,
why has thou forsaken me? That was God's justice that gave
that. God gave that. Behold, we go
up to Jerusalem. He trod the winepress alone. And of the people, there were
none with him. I looked, and there was none
to help, and I wondered if there was none to uphold. Therefore,
oh, our Redeemer says, mine own arm brought salvation unto me,
and my fury it upheld me. Who is this? Who is this traveling
in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save. Any great sinners? Great sinners? Oh, this is a great Savior. Mighty
to save. He says in verse 22, a just God
and Savior back in Isaiah 45. And Savior. A just God must punish sin. He cannot, he will not save anyone
at the expense of his justice. Never been such a thing. Never
has been. But he says he's a just God and
Savior. Mercy and truth are met together. Oh, at Calvary, the mighty gulf
that God did span, justice cast Adam out of the garden. But he
goes out wearing a garment of an innocent substitute with the
promise of a Redeemer. God in justice destroys the world
with a flood. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the just God and Savior. God will punish sin. He will
not compromise his just character. And God will have mercy. God's
justice is no longer an argument for the believer why God should
not forgive his sins. It's an argument why he should. He's a just God and Savior. And that's where our peace is.
Oh, the fall into the arms of our Redeemer. My peace I give
unto you. My peace I leave with you. Not
as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. Is there in this life, child
of God, is there a greater joy, a greater joy in knowing Not
when the storms of life have ceased. Not when we're lying
next to still waters. Oh, no. When the storms of life
are raging. When this world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea. Oh, but to lie down and know
that Thou who rulest wind and water stands by me. I have peace with God that cannot
change. Because it's in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Last of all, again, verse 22
of Isaiah 45, look what our great God and Savior says. He says,
look unto me, look unto me and be ye saved. Look unto me. Three words, look unto me. That's
it. Look and live, that's it. Our Lord told that religious
Pharisee, that teacher in Israel that snuck to see him at night,
didn't want brother Pharisees to know about it. Nicodemus,
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, he said, even
so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And you
recall, in Numbers 21, Moses went through the camp and he
didn't say, mum's the word. He said, look, look and live. And that's exactly what God says. Look, not work, not labor, but
look. Look at the Lord Jesus Christ
and live forever. And everyone, everyone who's
ever done that has experienced God's great salvation. There's
never been one that looked to Him as He says here and was not
saved. Is there one here? Is there one
here? Is there any sinner here? that
was ever made the look to the Lamb of God that He didn't save. Is there one? And if this place
was busting at the seams with redeemed sinners tonight, there
wouldn't be one that could stand and say, I sought mercy, I came
to Him for mercy, and He turned me away. It will never happen.
It will never happen. Glory to His name. And I'm so
thankful for that. Be ye saved. God doesn't speak
like some of us do, some preachers. I hear them hedge and qualify
the language of scripture and stammer and just seem to have
difficulty speaking words like this. Look unto me and be ye
saved. As your pastor has often said,
they act like they're afraid one of the non-elect are going
to slip in. Don't worry about that. Don't
worry about that. Don't waste time with that sort
of thought. Oh, no. God says in all sincerity,
look, look, no babies, no buts, no doubts. Are you thirsty? The Lord says, come to me and
drink. Come to me and drink. Are you hungry? Taste of the
bread of life and live forever. Anybody heavy laden, come to
him for rest. Oh, religion, the very opposite
of rest, isn't it? Wear you out. Religion wears
you out. What must I do to be saved? Don't touch that. And don't dare
touch that. Don't drink that. And don't taste
that. And don't go there and don't
wear the other and put you in chains. The very opposite of rest. I
can't move. The Lord said, come unto me.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll
give you rest." Oh, what a rest. For a weary, burdened sinner
just to fall into the arms of his weighty, heavenly Father
and just rest right there forever. Oh, that's rest, is it not? The
hymn writer said, just as I am. Without one plea, just as I am
though tossed about, with many a conflict and many a doubt,
fighting and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I'm still going
to come. Come. Yes, I'll come with fightings
within and fears without, but O Lamb of God, you bid me come,
you bid me look, I'll come, I'll look, and you will be saved. One hymn writer expressed it
like this. As the serpent raised by Moses healed the burning serpent's
bite, Jesus thus himself discloses to the wounded sinner's sight.
Hear his gracious invitation. I have life and peace to give. I have brought out full salvation. Sinner, sinner, look to me and
live. What a look that was, Bobby.
I've never seen anything to compare to it. Not in this world. And one day, one day, I'm going to see him as he is.
And be like him. What a Savior. God bless you.
So good to be with you.