Okay, now this evening, Isaiah
43. Isaiah 43. And we could well
entitle this message, Fear Not. Fear Not. He says that in verse
1. Fear not, because I have redeemed
thee. Fear not, because I have redeemed
thee. And then look at verse 5. Isaiah
43 verse 5. Fear not, for I am with thee. I'll bring thy seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west." So we could call this
message, Oh Israel, People of God, Fear Not. Fear Not. But the title I'm going to use
this evening is The Precious Promises of God that are given
to us here. Five or six different promises
he gives us here. I have redeemed thee, I've called
thee, you're mine, I'll be with you, I'm your savior, you're
precious in my sight, I've loved thee, all those blessings we
have in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the words
of Peter in 2 Peter 1, he said of these promises we read in
the gospel, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises that by these you might be partakers of a divine nature,
exceeding great and precious promises God has given unto us. Now, remember as Paul writes
about Abraham in Romans chapter 4, he says, Abraham was strong
in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that all
that God had promised He is able to do. He's able to perform. Now, who are these promises for?
Look at verse one again, Isaiah 43, but now the, saith the Lord
that created thee, that made thee and formed thee, O Jacob,
O Israel, fear not. Now, often when we read of Jacob
and Israel in scripture, we have a tendency to think of that national
people. These promises here in the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the gospel of Isaiah, when he
talks about Jacob and Israel, he's talking about God's elect,
God's chosen. Who are these precious promises
of the gospel given unto? Not to all men without exception,
but unto God's chosen people who are blessed of God. He says
this in this chapter several times, I have chosen you. Look
over here at Isaiah 44 verse 1. Yet now hear, O Jacob, my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen. God's chosen people. He's talking
here about the Israel of God, the elect of God. Thus saith
the Lord that made thee and formed thee from the womb, which will
help thee. Fear not, O Jacob, my servant,
and thou Jeshurun, which is another name for Israel, for I have chosen
thee. You remember our Lord said to
his disciples, you didn't choose me. I chose you unto salvation. Now Jacob and Israel here, these
promises are given to God's spiritual people, given exclusively to
the Lord's covenant people, not talking about the natural descendants
of Abraham or the natural descendants of Jacob, because if that be
so, that would exclude us, wouldn't it? but rather the true spiritual
sons of Abraham and the true spiritual sons of Jacob. Remember
from our Bible study in the book of Galatians, where we studied
and read this verse, Galatians 3, 7, know you not, know you
therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children
of Abraham. And then in Galatians 3, 29,
if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according
to the promise. He's made us heirs of God and
joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers of the gospel
of Christ, like Jacob, are sovereignly loved of the Lord. You remember
the scripture from Isaiah? Not only in Isaiah, but also
in the book of Romans, where it said, Jacob have I loved?
Esau hath I hated, that the purpose of God, according to election,
might stand. God's chosen people in Christ,
and He's chosen people from all eternity, and made them new creatures
in Christ. He has changed our name. from
Jacob to Israel. Remember when Jacob of old met
the Lord? And he said unto Jacob, thy name
shall no more be called Jacob, which means cheat, supplanter,
sinner, but Israel. For as a prince hast thou power
with God and with men and hast prevailed. So God changed his
name from cheat, supplanter, to a prince of God. God changed
Jacob's name and chose him and made him a new creature in Christ. Loved him from all eternity.
Now notice carefully that these covenant people are the Lord's
creation. He says that in verse 1. But now thus sayeth the Lord
that created thee. He created us anew in Christ
Jesus. Again, he says that in verse
7, for everyone that is called by my name, for I have created
him, and he did it for his glory, his glory. I have formed him,
yea, I have made him. Remember the Apostle Paul writes,
if any man be in Christ, we are a new creation, a new creation. We can say with the Apostle Paul,
I am what I am. by the grace of God. Who made
you to differ from another? What do you have that you didn't
receive? Everything we have, we have it by His grace. Ephesians
2, right down below where we were reading earlier, says, we
are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus, created in Him. He has made us His people by
His sovereign love, by His sovereign choice alone. He has loved us
and called us. Speaking of this psalm, don't
turn, let me just read it to you. This is Psalm 100, verse
3. Know ye not, know ye that the
Lord, He is God? It is He that made us, and not
we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep
of His pasture. We didn't make ourselves. We
are no self-made man. He made us new creatures in Christ. He chose us. unto salvation. Every believer is a formation
and creation of Almighty God and his sovereign grace that
he may be glorified. That's the bottom line, is it
not? Remember, look at verse 21 in this chapter. God said,
this people have I formed for myself. I chose them, I formed
them, I made them. They shall show forth my praise,
or they shall show forth my glory. We studied in Galatians chapter
6, remember Paul said, God forbid that I should glory, save in
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that the grand design of
all that God does? It's for His glory, isn't it?
For His glory. The Lord knowing the frailties
and weakness of our flesh, He tells us here as His people,
He tells us here not to fear. Fear not! Fear not! Look back
to Isaiah 41 verse 10. This is one of my favorite verses
in the Gospel according to Isaiah. Isaiah 41 verse 10. Fear thou
not, For I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I
will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold
thee, with the right hand of my righteousness." Boy, what
an encouragement. Again in this same chapter, Isaiah
41, look at verse 13. For I, the Lord thy God, will
hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, fear not, I will
help thee. Fear not thou worm, Jacob, ye
men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord,
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Who says so? Thus saith
the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. The believer
resting in the Lord Jesus Christ has no need to fear our sin. Our sins are many and against
God, but the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to put away our sin.
The believer resting in the Lord Jesus Christ has no need to fear
death. I don't fear death. God changed
the character of death, the believer. Our Lord said, because I live,
you shall live also. The believer resting in the Lord
Jesus Christ has no need to fear sin, death, hell, or judgment. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that Satan
called a roaring lion going about seeking who he may devour, The
Lord has defeated him and conquered him. We are more than conquerors
through him that loved us. Thanks be to God who's given
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, several reasons
why he says here, do not fear. Oh Israel, oh Jacob, you're mine,
I've created you, I've formed you. Fear not, he said, I've
redeemed thee. I have redeemed thee. We have
a Redeemer that cannot fail. We are redeemed with what? his
precious blood. This word redeemed here has the
meaning and sense of being delivered. He is our deliverer. He delivered
us from our sin by his own blood. I have redeemed thee. In the
same chapter, look at verse 25, Isaiah 43, 25. I, even I, am
he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake. and will not
remember thy sin. He is our Redeemer. I love this
verse in Isaiah 44. Look over there. Isaiah 44 verse
21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel,
for thou art my servant. I formed thee. Thou art my servant,
O Israel. Thou shalt not be forgotten of
me. I have blotted out as a thick
cloud thy transgression and as a cloud thy sin. Now return unto
me. I have redeemed thee. I have
redeemed thee. You remember Paul writing in
Ephesians chapter one, talking about the blessings we have in
the gospel, in whom, that is in Christ, we're accepted in
the beloved, in whom we have redemption, to his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, for
I have redeemed thee. Read on Isaiah 44 verse 23, saying,
O heavens, for the Lord had done it. Now who redeemed who? We
didn't deliver ourselves. We didn't redeem ourselves. For
the Lord hath done it. Shout, ye lower parts of the
earth. Break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forth, and every
tree therein. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob
his elect. He has chosen and glorified himself
in doing so. All the honor and glory for our
redemption belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. I love what Peter
writes when he writes about being redeemed with the precious blood
of Christ. Not with silver and gold, not
with vain works and traditions of men, but we are redeemed with
the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He obtained for
us with his own blood eternal redemption. It is a particular
redemption. He says, O Jacob and O Israel.
God says, I lay down my life for the sheep. It is a costly
redemption, his blood. God bought the church with his
own blood. It is a complete redemption.
He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us. God said their sin and their iniquity will I remember
no more. It's an effectual redemption. We are redeemed with his blood.
He bought us. God's gonna have everyone he
bought. Gonna take him home to glory and enjoy him forever.
It's satisfying. Certainly satisfying to me, but
what's more important is satisfying to God. He shall see of the travail
of his soul and shall be satisfied. And He obtained for us not temporary
amnesty. He obtained for us eternal salvation. He obtained for us eternal redemption
with His own blood. We have a Redeemer. We have a
redemption through His blood. And notice who did this. For
I have redeemed thee. It's all His work. He has done
it. He purposed it and He accomplished
salvation for us. Therefore, fear not. You see
what He's saying? Fear not. I'm your Redeemer. I'm your Savior. He said, I'm
God. Beside me there is no other.
Fear not. And then He says, secondly, fear
not for I have called thee. I have called thee by thy name."
God knows His sheep by name. You remember John chapter 10?
He says, I know my sheep by name, and lead them out. 2 Timothy
2.19 says this, The foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. How long has God
known his people? I have known thee by name. Remember what he said of Jeremiah,
before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and I called thee. And I redeemed thee, and I've
made thee a prophet unto my people. I've called thee by thy name. How does God call out his people?
He calls out his people with his word. He calls out his people
with the preaching of the gospel. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to call out his people and to save them by his
grace. He does it with the word of truth
of his own will, beget he us. with the word of truth. Now,
this is not a general call of the gospel. This is that effectual,
irresistible call of God the Holy Spirit that will conquer
with invincible power. When God calls a sinner, that
sinner will answer. I have called thee by thy name. And then he said, you're mine.
You're mine. I am my Lord. Do you remember
that study from Song of Solomon? I am my Lord and He is mine. He is mine. Now this call of
God is not the call of the preacher, not the call of the church. This
is the call of God with the word of truth and the power of God
the Holy Spirit to the heart of the sinner. It's an invincible,
conquering call of God. It's a personal call. He said,
Matthew, follow me. He said, Zacchaeus, come down.
He said, Lazarus, come forth. He that was dead came forth.
You see, it's a personal call. It's a powerful call too, isn't
it? Thy people shall be willing in the day of God's power. It's
a penetrating, piercing call to the heart. to the heart, with
the heart man believeth unto salvation. Salvation is a heart
work, it's God working in you both to will and to do his good
pleasure. And it's a producing call, it
gets resolved, it gets the job done. Paul reminds as he writes
to young Timothy from a Roman prison cell, he said it's God
who saved us and called us. know that He saved us, and that
He called us with a holy calling, not according to our work, but
according to God's own purpose and grace. So, fear not, I have
redeemed thee. Fear not, I have called thee
by thy name. Personally, powerfully, eternally, he says, in the last
part of verse one, he said, you're mine, you're mine, you're mine. Our Lord said this in John 6,
All that the Father giveth to me, they shall come to me. And those that come to me, I'll
never cast them out. The reason He redeemed us with
His own blood and called us by His fetching, saving grace, is
because we belong to Him. Remember our Lord prayed in John
17, He said, the Father had given me power over all flesh that
I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given to
me. He redeemed us. He called us. He said, I know you by name.
He said, you're my property. You're mine. He bought us. He
said, you're no more your own. You're bought with a price. And
that price is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. How long have
we belonged to him? Well, he chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Fear not. I have chosen thee. And then the fourth reason we
see is this. Fear not, he says. I'm with you. I'm with you. Look
at verse 2. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with you. When Israel came to the Red Sea,
they couldn't get through that Red Sea or around it or over
it. God parted the sea. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. When Jordan went into the Excuse
me, when Israel went across Jordan, again the waters parted because
the Lord was with them. When thou pass through the waters,
I'll be with thee. Through the rivers, they shall
not overflow thee. When you walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. Why, I will be with thee. Look at verse five, fear not.
Isaiah 43 verse 5, fear not for I'm with thee. I'm with thee. I can believe his promise, can't
you? I'm with thee. I'm with thee. I'll never leave
you. I'll never forsake you. The Lord will not forsake his
people in a time of trial. And that's what that means here
when you go through the waters, through the rivers, through the
fire, talking about trials that come our way, trials that come
our way. The Lord will not forsake His
people in the time of trial, but rather He has promised us
to be with us, to be with us. When the Lord ascended back to
glory, He had His apostles around Him, and He said to them, go
and preach the gospel in all the world. And then He said this,
remember, I have all power in heaven and earth. And he said,
I am with you always. The Lord's with his people always. Hebrews 13 said, I'll never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. He has said, so that we may boldly
say, the Lord is our helper. The Lord promised to us is not
that we won't have trials. That's not his promise to us.
You remember in John chapter 16, he said, these words have
spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In this world,
you shall have tribulation. But then he said, be of good
cheer. Be of good cheer. I will overcome. The Lord's promise
unto us is not that we won't have trial, but rather that his
grace is sufficient in the time of trials. That's what Rippon
wrote in that psalm. Fear not, I am with thee, oh
be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I'll still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld
by my righteous, omnipotent hand. When through deep waters I call
thee to go, the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow, for
I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee
thy deepest distress. When through thy retrials thy
pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy
supply. The flame shall not hurt thee.
I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine." Here is the fifth thing I want
us to look at. Fear not. Fear not. I am with thee. I have
called thee. I have redeemed thee. I know
you by name. You are mine. And then he says
in verse 3, For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel. He said, I am your Savior. I
am your Redeemer. And I'm your Savior. I am your
Savior alone. Beside me there is no other Savior. Look right across the page, Isaiah
43 verse 11. For I, even I am the Lord. Beside
me there is no other Savior. Turn to Isaiah 45. Remember this
promise here. Isaiah 45. Look at verse 20. Assemble yourselves, Isaiah 40. 5 verse 20. Assemble yourselves, come, draw
near together, ye that are escaped of the nation. They have no knowledge,
yet set up wood of their graven image, and pray unto a God that
cannot save. Tell ye, bring them near, yea,
let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
times? Who hath told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord, There is no God else beside me, a just
God and a Savior. There is none beside me, now
look unto me and be saved. All the ends of the earth, I
am God and there is no other Savior. Remember when Peter and
John went to the temple after the day of Pentecost and that
blind beggar was asking for alms, or that crippled beggar was asking
for alms. And Peter said, silver and gold
have I none, but such as I have, give I thee in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. And he went leaping and
praising our God. Well, Peter and John got in trouble
over that. The Pharisees got all upset over it and called
them before their council and said, in whose name have you
done this? And he said, in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, it's the one that you crucified. And then
he said, neither is there salvation in any other, for there's no
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. God will spare no expense. Look
at verse 3 again. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, a just God and a Savior, I gave Egypt for
your ransom, and Ethiopia, and Sheba, since thou was precious
in my sight. Thou has been honorable. I have
loved thee, therefore will I give men for thee, and people for
thy life. God will spare no expense to
save his people. You remember Romans 8, 32? God
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? God spared not
His Son. God will give nations and people
for His people, and He gave His own Son to die in our room, in
our stead. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only Savior, Son of God, the certified Savior, the guaranteed
Savior. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sin. Notice carefully the words in
verse 4, Isaiah 43 verse 4, "...thence thou was precious in my sight."
Precious in the sight of God? Remember our Lord said, "...of
those his people who have died, precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints." The Lord's people are precious
unto him. The sheep have no value in themselves. We're but hell-deserving, guilty,
ungodly sinners. The wages of sin is death, that's
what we deserve. We don't even consider ourselves
to be precious or valuable, but he does. He does. The Lord considers
us his elect, his bride, his church, precious in his sight. He calls us his jewels. His sheep,
so much so, so valuable in His sight that He redeemed us with
His own blood. He gave us precious faith to
lay hold upon the promise of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is that so, verse 4,
since that was precious in my sight, Don't fear, fear not,
you're precious in my sight. Not only that, he says, thou
has been honorable, honorable. He says, I've loved thee, I've
loved thee. He also says, thy people are
honorable and loved of God. Precious, honorable, and loved.
You see, he bought us, he redeemed us, he loved us. How are we honorable
in his sight? We're not so by nature, but this
is what the Lord has made us by his grace. We are accepted
in the beloved. It's not people all the time
going around saying, well, I've accepted Jesus as my personal
savior. That's not written in the word
of God. We are accepted in the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. He washed us from our sin in
his own blood. We're precious in his sight. We're honorable in his sight
because God sees us in Christ. This is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. And he's pleased with all those
in his son. I have loved thee. And he's loved
his people. You remember Jeremiah 31. He
said, I've loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore,
with loving kindness have I drawn thee to myself. Therefore, will
I give whatever it takes. I'll give men for thee and people
for thy life." What do we know about this love
of God? This love of God is sovereign. This love of God is unchangeable.
It's electing love and it's sacrificial love. Here it is love, not that
we love God, but that He loved us and that He gave His Son for
us. One more thing here, I'll let
you go. Verse 5, verse 6, and verse 7. Fear not. Fear not. For I am with thee. Notice this. He said, I will
bring. I will bring thy seed. They may live in the east. They
may live in the west. They may live in the north. Or they may live in the south.
I will say to the north, give up to the south, keep not back,
bring my sons from far and my daughters from the ends of the
earth. Everyone that is called by my
name, for I have created him for my glory. I have formed him,
yea, I have made him. Now this word here I want us
to think on for just a moment. I will bring thy seed. I will. I will, God said, and
they shall. I will and they shall. The very
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is wrapped up in the salvation
of his people. He must save, must justify, must
redeem, must call out and bring them all home safely. His glory is at stake. 1 Peter 3, 18 says this, Christ
also once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to glory. That's the only way we're gonna
be brought, by Christ's sacrifice for us. He's called the captain
of our salvation, who's bringing many sons, many sons, unto glory."
Now, I'm going to close with this. You can turn with me if
you want to, John chapter 6. If not, I'll just read it to
you. I will bring that seed God's chosen, His elect, all the way
home to glory. Who says so? God says so. John chapter 6, look at verse
37. All that the Father giveth me,
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will, and no wise
cast out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all which
he hath given me I should lose," well, some of them, maybe a few,
I'll lose nothing. You see, we're precious in His
sight, honorable in love, redeemed and called. He said, I'm with
you, you're mine. I should lose nothing, but raise
it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone would see that the Son, and believe
it on Him, may have everlasting life, and I'll raise Him up at
the last day. Is there any of God's elect,
the sheep of Christ, for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died. Is
he going to lose any of his sheep? Any of his elect? Oh no. His
glory is at stake in this matter. I will be their God and they
shall be my people, saith the Lord, fear not.