Isaiah 44:1-5
1Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 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, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
5 One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
What would you guess to be the most common command or encouragement in the Bible? Is it the command to love? That is an important command and the core of God’s desire for human life. And yet, it is not God’s most frequent instruction to his people. Is it the command to be humble, or perhaps the command to trust the Lord, our God or to walk with moral integrity and holiness?
"But now” . . . in the face of our fears, whatever they may be, “this is what the Lord says, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel”:
Fear not! Because of my salvation PROMISES, you don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm not going to abandon you, not even to your sin. In our passage for today, God proclaims 3 salvation promises to comfort His people who fear they've been abandoned.
1) FEAR NOT BECAUSE I HAVE REDEEMED YOU
First of all, fear not, declares Yahweh, in verse 1, fear not because I have redeemed you (43:1, 3,4).
You don't have to be afraid any more. I'm not going to abandon you. I'm not going to leave you in your sin. I have and will redeem you.
2) FEAR NOT BECAUSE I HAVE SUMMONED YOU BY NAME
God's exchange of others, in our place, is directly linked to his second promise at the end of vs 1: Children of God, “fear not because . . . I have summoned you by name, you are mine.”
Out of all the sinful people God could have possibly chosen for redemption, God picked you. And he called you by name. One by one, God is calling his children out of spiritual exile and on to a journey home.
Come home ____ you are mine.
Come home _____, you are mine.
Come home _____, you are mine.
Don't be afraid. I have summoned you by name. I've called you on a journey to the promised land. I've called you out of bondage and into glorious freedom as the children of God. Has he called you by name? Then don't be afraid. You're on your way home to
the Promised Land. Where the meek shall inherit the earth.
3) FEAR NOT I AM WITH YOU
Christians are on a journey home. And that removes much of our fear. But it doesn't remove all of it. Which is why we need God’s third salvation promise. Although we're going home, it's a long and dangerous journey. A journey with many potholes and detours and side tracks that slow our progress and threaten to stop us in our tracks.
verse 2:
When you pass through the waters - not if but when you pass through the flood waters - I will be with you. God doesn’t promise that there won’t be floods or fires. But when you go through them, I will hold them back from utterly destroying you, like I did for my people when they passed out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, and like I held back the Jordon River during flood stage, so they could cross over into the promised land. The overwhelming floods of your own struggle will not wash you away.
And when you pass through the fire, you will not be burned. You will sweat, you will tire, you will faint, but the fumes will not overcome you and the flames will not consume you.
And when you pass through everything else, every other struggle imaginable, everything from A to Z, everything from water to fire, every natural and spiritual disaster possible, nothing will stop your journey. For I will be with you. Nothing will stop you from reaching your appointed destination.
Fear not, I am with you.
Conclusion:
Through many dangers, toils and snares we have already come. His grace has brought us safe thus far. And his grace will lead us home. Let these salvation promises be your comfort: I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. And I am with you always. Amen.
