Something New

Isaiah is the Christological heart of the OT. No other OT book gives us such a good, clear picture of the savior and his work in the salvation of man. Let’s look briefly at Isaiah 43 then we will focus on verse 1 and verse 19

Isaiah 43:1–3 ESV

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

In these verses we see reassurance that God will deliver Israel from the Babylonian captivity.

“Called by his name”

Here in Chapter 43, we see God reminding Israel of what has been done, and that they are His. “Called by his name”

Ownership

you are mine

Psalm 100:3 ESV

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Romans 14:8 ESV

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Familiarity

He knows us

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Psalm 139:1–6 ESV

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:13 ESV

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

Kinship

We bear the family name

Ephesians 1:5 ESV

he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

Galatians 4:5–7 ESV

to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

He flies our banner, We need to fly His.

Also, we are learning that there is no other God in the verses between here and verse 13

The conclusion in 43:13 is inescapable: There is no one who can successfully contest his will.

He is “it”; there is no one else.

Oswalt, John N.. Isaiah (The NIV Application Commentary) (Kindle Locations 10679-10680). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Why are these things important?

because

If we know we are His, and we know there is none greater than He, we can have confidence in whatever He is doing, even if it goes against what we are used to.

Which leads us to verse 19

Isaiah 43:19 ESV

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The Israelites believed who God says he is and who God says they are. He reminds them of how he delivered them from the exodus.

They get excited, they think, “man, God is going to do it

“Just like he did back then!”

We love predictable things. I think that is why we have such a tendency to harken for the days of old

Isaiah 43:18 ESV

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

God is intending to turn things upside down.

We tend to think of new as a different color of the same shoes or, for me, a new pattern of plaid.

For God it means more than that.

Just go with me for just a minute.

Way in the Wilderness

We have certainly been navigating a wilderness these last few months.

Rivers in the Desert

Only 47% of American now report that they are involved regularly with a church. But in a year of challenges, we got to see 26 baptisms last year and 76 in the last 4 years. You all have had 58 in the last 5 years. Those are not insignificant things. That is changed lives, healed souls. Each one of those is a little bit of water in a desert of spiritual dryness.

Romans 8:14 ESV

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Romans 8:18–19 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

Our best days are ahead of us!

It is inconsistent with scripture for us to believe that our best days are behind us. As believers we have far more awaiting us than we have that has passed us by.

God is going to do something new here.

but we do not have to fear the unknown because we can trust the known.

John 14:1 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

If God is bringing us together, it may be different than what He has done before but we can trust Him. We can lean on Him and His promises.

I, for one, am excited about the days ahead.

I know He will do something new, and I am unafraid!

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

I trust who He is and I trust that I am His.

I look forward to what He will do here!

I hope you will join me in that!