back with me to Isaiah chapter
40. Isaiah lived about 600 years
before the Lord Jesus Christ was born. He is known as the
most evangelical of all the Old Testament prophets. He spoke
of Christ all through his prophecy. It's interesting to note, I don't
know if you've ever noticed this before, but we have 66 books
in our Bible, 66 books. 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in
the New Testament. And the way Isaiah was divided
up, it too has 66 books. and 39 chapters, and then chapter
40, we have the prophecy of John the Baptist, who introduced the
forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, who introduced the gospel
of Christ in the New Testament. And if you notice here, in this
passage we read in Isaiah chapter 40, that John the Baptist is
prophesied of And he asked the question in verse six, what shall
I cry? What shall I cry? And if you
look at the scriptures here, you see that his message was
twofold. He was told to cry, first of
all, all flesh is grass. All flesh is grass. What does
he mean by that? All flesh is grass. He shows
us the brevity of life, the brevity of life, your life, my life,
the life of all men and women, how short it is. It's like a
vapor, the Apostle James tells us, that appears for just a little
while and vanishes away. So the grass springs up in the
morning and it's cut down in the evening. All flesh is grass. Have you heard that message?
Have you learned that message? Every person here, you live in
this world for just a short time, but you're going out into eternity,
never, ever ending eternity. All flesh is grass. And then
the second part of his message is behold thy God. Behold thy
God. I could preach from that, but
I would just mention this. John the Baptist, who we see
here, is prophesied of. Remember, he's the one who said,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold thy God. Jesus Christ he is. God manifest
in the flesh. But this chapter begins with
these words, comfort ye, comfort ye, my people. And I want us
to look this morning in chapter 41 at a few verses here which
are words and verses of comfort to God's people. If you turn
over a page into chapter 41, let's begin reading in verse
8 and read through verse 14. These words of comfort, now these
words of comfort are real. Verse eight, but thou, Israel,
art my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham,
my friend, thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and
called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee,
thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 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
my right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed
against thee shall be ashamed and confounded. They shall be
as nothing, and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou
shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended
with thee. They that war against thee shall
be as nothing, and as a thing of naught. For I the Lord thy
God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, I
am with thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and
ye men of Israel, I will help thee, saith the Lord. and thy
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Words of comfort. I have three
parts to my message this morning. First, I want you to think with
me about this. To whom are these words of comfort
addressed? These are very comforting words,
but to whom are they addressed? To whom is he speaking? Well,
there are five terms in these verses that we have read, which
tell us to whom these words of comfort are applied. First, in
verse eight, Israel. He's speaking to Israel, God's
servant. He's speaking to God's servant,
Jacob. He's speaking to Jacob, the seed
of Abraham. He's speaking to the seed of
Abraham. And then in verse 14, thy worm. He's speaking to this worm. Now I want us to look at these
names, not as they're given here in this text, but as they appear
in the scriptures. In other words, as they first
appear in Genesis and then on through the scripture. The first
one is the seed of Abraham. The seed of Abraham. What does
that mean? Who are these people? The seed
of Abraham. What does that mean? Who is Abraham? Well, Abraham, as we see here,
God called him his friend. God called him his friend. God
chose him and caused him to leave his family and the land of his
birth and to go out and follow the Lord. And the scripture says,
Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now the Apostle Paul uses that
verse of scripture in the New Testament when he is explaining
how it is, teaching how it is that men and women are justified
before God. Through faith, just like Abraham,
he believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. What
was imputed? What was charged to Abraham for
righteousness? The righteousness of God, the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. But here this verse speaks
to the seed of Abraham. After Abraham believed God, and
then he was afraid that he would not have a seed. Him and Sarah
went a long time there, they had no child. And one day, one
evening, he said to God, God appeared to him and he said,
this servant's gonna be my heir, my seed. And God said, oh no.
And he took him out, remember? And he said, look up into the
stars. And before that, he had told
him, if you can number the sand of the earth, that's what your
seed is going to be. It's going to be like the stars
for multitudes. Now, Abraham has a fleshly seed,
the nation of Israel, the nation of Israel, but he also has a
spiritual seed. The scripture in the New Testament
teaches us that Abraham is the father of all believers. If you are a child of God today,
you are a son of Abraham. You are one of the seed of Abraham. In other words, in Galatians,
the apostle said, and if you be Christ, if you be Christ,
then are you Abraham's seed. If you are a Christian, if you
are a child of God this morning, then you are Abraham's spiritual
seed. You know, the Bible speaks of
two Israels. There's a national Israel and
there's a spiritual Israel, a spiritual Israel. And this is what this
verse of scripture reminds us of. And this is a title that
we're given here, the seed of Abraham. Is Abraham your father? He is if you are a child of God. If you trust in the Lord Jesus
Christ, you are saved in the same way Abraham was saved. The
seed of Abraham. But then the second title we
see here is Jacob. Jacob. Now Jacob here is used
as a collective term of all of God's children, not just the
individual Jacob, not just the grandson of Abraham, but the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. These words of comfort are addressed
to Jacob. Now there are three things about
Jacob, three things recorded in the word of God about Jacob
that are true of every child of God. Everyone to whom these
words apply. There are three things which
were true about Jacob that's true of you this morning. If
you are one of God's children, Jacob, number one, Jacob have
I loved. You are loved of God. And his
love for you didn't begin yesterday. His love for you is from everlasting
to everlasting. That's the first thing about
Jacob that is true of everyone of God's children who are loved
of God. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son. And whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. God loved Jacob. He loved his chosen people, his
elect people. The second thing, about Jacob
that is true of all of God's children, you've been found.
You've been found. You say, well, I never knew I
was lost. Well, you've not been found.
That's the sad thing. If you've never been found, you
don't think you've ever been lost. That's sad. Because whether
you realize it or not, All men, as we come into this world, are
lost. You say, what do you mean lost?
I mean lost. We're alienated. We're strangers. We're alienated from God, enmity
with God. That's what the scripture says.
And I want you to look at a verse. Keep your place here. I've got
to have you turn here, but look back to Deuteronomy chapter 32. First thing about all of God's
children that was true of Jacob and is true of you is that you
are loved by God with an everlasting love. And number two, that you've
been found, that you've been found. Here in verse 9 of chapter
32 in Deuteronomy, notice what the scripture says. For the Lord's
portion is his people. Jacob, there it is, Jacob is
the lot of his inheritance. He found him. Who found who? People are, we're all bad about
this, I guess, but we say, well, I found the Lord. No, the Lord
was never lost. It was never lost. He found him. God found Jacob. The Son of Man,
the Lord Jesus Christ said, the Son of Man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost. He found him. Where did he find
him? In a waste, in a desert land,
in the waste howling wilderness. He led him about, he instructed
him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. And I want you to
think about this now. He found him. God found Jacob. The good shepherd finds his sheep. Our Lord told a similar parable
two times about a shepherd who lost one of his sheep. And he
seeks until he finds that lost sheep. He finds him and he carries
him home. He kept him as the apple of his
eye. He protected him. You protect
your eye, don't you? And this is so important, that
you be found. That you be found. When you leave
this world, you'll never be found. Men are only found in this life. Men are only saved in this world,
in this life. Don't believe a lie which Satan
has tried to teach people that there's going to be a second
chance or there's no hell, there's no eternal wrath of God. That's
a lie. You must be found in this world,
in this life. Jacob was found. He was found. The Apostle Paul
said it like this in Philippians. He said he was apprehended. He
wasn't seeking God, and yet God found him, sought him, apprehended
him. Have you been found? Have you? Have you been found? Do you know
that you were lost? You were made to recognize that,
to know that, that you had a need of a savior? You had a need of
being found, of being saved? A third thing, like Jacob, every
child of God receives a new name. Jacob, that was his name that
was given to him at birth, but when God found him, he changed
his name. He changed his name to Israel. But I want you to look here,
if you're still in Isaiah, turn over to Isaiah 62. Isaiah 62
and verse 4. When God found Jacob, his name, he
changed his name. And here in Isaiah 62 and verse
4, thou shalt no more be termed forsaken. Now that was our name. That was your name when we came
into this world. We were like that infant in Ezekiel
chapter 16 that was cast out. Forsaken, still in our own blood. Forsaken and not been taken care
of. That was our name, forsaken. Neither shall thy land anymore
be termed desolate. That was true of us also. We
were desolate. We could not bring forth fruit
unto God. We couldn't do that because we
didn't know God. We were desolate. But notice,
but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah, for thou
shalt be married. For the Lord delighteth in thee,
and thy land shall be married. Hephzibah, that's your name now.
Hephzibah, which means the Lord delights in thee. He delights
in his people. You say, well, I don't see anything
in myself to delight in. No, I'm sure you don't. I don't
either, but he does. He delights in his people. The next term in our text is
Israel. And I think of all these terms
that to me, this is the most difficult to define. He's speaking to Israel. I know
who Israel is, but the name Israel, it's made up of two Hebrew words,
which means he will rule as God. He will rule as God. But these
words of comfort, they're directed first of all to the seed of Abraham,
second to Jacob, third to Israel, and fourth, God's servant, God's
servant. This is true of all of God's
children. Now listen to me, this is very
important. When a person receives the Lord
Jesus Christ, We receive him as Lord, that means we become
his servant and his savior. That means he saves us from our
sins. But you cannot receive the Lord
Jesus Christ merely as savior and not receive him as Lord. That's an impossibility. No. All of God's children are servants
of the Lord. This is what the Apostle Paul
said when he was on that ship and the ship was in danger. You
know, he was being carried to Rome as a prisoner and the ship
was met out there in the sea and tossed. And he said, the
angel of God stood by me last night, whose I am and whom I
serve. In other words, whose I am. I
am God's, he bought me, he saved me, whom I serve, he's my Lord,
I serve him. That's true of all of God's children. And then notice the last one,
thou worm. So here we have five titles to
whom these words are addressed, all speaking of the same people,
of course. All speaking of the same people,
but we're all called by these various terms, and the last one
is thou worm. Now that brings me to the second
part of my message. Why? Why would God's church be
pictured by a worm? Why would God's church be called
a worm? Well, I have three reasons. First
of all, Number one, a worm is a small creature. And the Lord
Jesus Christ called his church a little flock, a little flock. Now when the Lord's church is
viewed all together as John the Revelator, or John in the book
of Revelation rather, as he had the privilege of seeing all of
God's children collected, all gathered together, He said, a
great multitude which no man could number of all nations and
kindreds and people and tongues. Won't it be wonderful to be among
that group? Won't it? Think about that. When
we're all gathered there, all of God's children are gathered
home, millions are brought home, and Christ in the very middle,
the Lamb upon the throne, and all of us singing His praises
and shouting hallelujahs to the Lamb who hath redeemed us by
His blood out of every kindred and tribe and tongue and nation,
a great multitude. But in this world, as we are
scattered about over the centuries and around the world, were compared,
and compared to the world's religion, a little flock, a little flock. A worm is a little creature.
Fear not, thou worm, Jacob. Fear not, little flock. Second,
a worm is an insignificant creature. No one thinks much about a worm. Sometimes when I'm working in
my garden, I'll turn over a shovel of dirt and I'll see a worm there.
I don't think much about it. Try not to kill it, but that
doesn't mean much to me. A worm is an insignificant creature. And for the most part, for the
most part, as the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, not many
wise men after the flesh, Not many mighty and not many noble
are called. And I didn't say not any, but
not many. A worm is an insignificant creature. And God's children, for the most
part in this world, are insignificant. And I know there have been some
kings, there have been some presidents, and there have been some men
who are considered lifted up, and women in this world. But
for the most part, God's children have been just common, everyday
people. Hath not God chosen the poor
of this world rich in faith? That's what Jane said. Insignificant. And there's a
reason for that, isn't there? As Hannah, in her song, she said,
he raiseth up the poor out of the dust. He lifteth the beggar from the
dunghill to set them among princes and to make them inherit the
throne of glory. God's purpose, of course, is
that no flesh should glory in his presence. A third thing about
a worm, the weak creature. A weak creature doesn't have
any strength. Look with me to 2 Corinthians just a moment.
2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, in verses
three and four, the apostle says, For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Now, as a child of God, we are
given weapons because we're in a battle. We're in a warfare
from the time we're saved until the time the Lord takes us home
or brings us home. We're in a battle, we're in a
warfare, and he has given us weapons of warfare. But did you
notice they're only mighty through God? They're only mighty through
God, through his blessing. You can have the sword of the
spirit, you can have the helmet of salvation, all of these various
weapons, but they're only mighty through God. Why? Because in
ourselves, We're weak. We're weak. When Christian, in Pilgrim's
Progress, when he came to the Valley of Humiliation, he was
almost overcome until he realized that the promises that God had
given him in the Word of God, that when he would quote one
of them, he started winning the battle. But until he began to
quote those promises, claim those promises, he was surely going
to be defeated. And when he got the victory there
over Apollyon, he goes on into the valley of the shadow of death,
and he realizes that the weapons that served him in the valley
of humiliation no longer served, that now what he needed was prayer,
all prayer. God has given us these weapons,
but they're only mighty through him, through his power. Here's the third part of the
message. How does the Lord counsel and comfort his people? Well,
they're all here in verse 10. We have it all here in verse
10 of Isaiah 41. Fear thou not, be not dismayed. Fear thou not, be not dismayed. Why is it that we should not
fear? Why is it that a child of God
should never be dismayed? Number one, I am with thee. I am with thee. That's the word
of God. I am with thee. Did you know
that each person in the blessed trinity is promised to be with
us? Here it is, God the Father, I
am with thee. God the Son incarnate said, lo,
I am with thee to the end of the ages. And he said in John
14, I will pray the Father, he shall give you another comforter
who shall abide with you forever. So God, this is a reason a child
of God should not fear, no matter what calamity. what trouble that
you come into in this life, fear not, be not dismayed, I, I am
with thee. This shows his omnipresence too,
doesn't it? No matter where you are, no matter
where a child of God is around this world, you're never out
of the presence of God. I am with thee. And sometimes
just having someone come alongside and be with you is a great comfort,
isn't it? I've experienced that. I'm sure
you have too. You've been in some trouble and
things look pretty bad and then someone, a friend maybe just
came along and they didn't just come along, God sent them along
and they spoke a word to you and you just felt better already. They didn't have any more strength
than you have, any more power than you have, but just their
company, just their presence was a help to you. Fear not,
be not dismayed, I am with thee. Number two, fear not, be not
dismayed, I am thy God. And that's one of the promises
of the new covenant, isn't it? Not only that he will remember
our sins and iniquities no more, but I will be their God and they
shall be my people. And really that one promise is
all anyone ever needs. If we could just believe that,
just get a hold of that. God is my God. Why should I be
afraid? Why should I be dismayed? God
is in control. God has this all worked out.
He knows the end from the beginning. I am thy God. Number three, I will strengthen
thee. As I've already said, we have
no strength in ourselves. But I look back and I love to
read church history. It's been a great blessing to
me over the years. I wish I knew more of it. I wish
I could remember more than I've read. But I've read of men who, when their persecutors were
lighting the faggots, the stuff that they had piled around them,
the sticks and the hay and the things to burn, and tied a sack
of gunpowder around their neck or something if they were merciful. how those men could sing, sing.
And how that one martyr, that English martyr, told his friend
who was tied to his back, both of them being burned, cheer up,
cheer up. We're going to light a fire today
in England that will never be put out. How did they do that? He said, I couldn't do it. One
martyr, remember, before he was to be burned at the stake the
next day, he had a candle there in his cell the night before,
and he tried to stick his finger in there. And oh, he couldn't
do it. He did it, but pulled it back.
How am I going to face the fire? But he did. And he did it triumphantly. How was that possible? I've read of the Moravian missionaries
who wanted to witness and preach to slaves. I believe they were
slaves in the New World. And the only way they could reach
them, they had to sell themselves into slavery. They sold themselves
to become slaves, to be sent among slaves. How did they do
that? Paul said, I can do all things
through Christ, who strengtheneth me. God said here, I will strengthen,
fear not, be not dismayed, I will strengthen thee. Number four,
I will help thee. William Carey, who was considered
the first of the Baptist missionaries, went to India, remember, in the
18th century. But he is known for this statement
that he made, Expect great things, attempt great things. Expect
great things. Expect great things. Our God
is great. He said, I will help thee and
attempt great things. You see someone, they say, well,
that person would never listen. That person would never hear
the gospel. Attempt great things. Expect
great things. You've read stories, and you
know this is true. I read a story just this past
week about a man in England. He was an entertainer in the
pubs, played the fiddle. And he was such a wicked man.
Oh, I couldn't even describe the wickedness. the awful life
that he lived to his wife and his two children who actually
he caused their death by his inattention to them and not taking
care of them and just an awful drunk of a man finally ended
up in prison. And there was a prison guard
there who talked to him about his soul. God saved him. People didn't believe him. His
wife, she didn't believe him. But I tell you what, God had
done a work of grace in his heart, and God raised him up as a preacher,
a lay preacher. God's able to attempt, expect
great things, attempt great things. And the last thing, I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness. This promise concerns
his special grace, assuring us of his protection and his preservation. Though through every trial, he
will uphold his people. He will give grace. When thou
passest through the waters, through the rivers, they shall not overflow
thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, Thou shall not be burned. The flame shall not kindle upon
thee. That's God's promise. I will
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. All my brother
and sister in Christ today, fear not. Be not dismayed. No matter what confronts us,
no matter what faces us or what we're facing, don't be afraid. Fear not. What more can he say
than to you he hath said, you who unto Jesus for refuge hath
fled? Amen. Number 298, hymn number
298.