I Will Be With You

 Little Johnny wandered into the kitchen as Mom was making supper. "Johnny, will you get me a can of tomato soup out of the pantry?" But Johnny answered, "Mom, it's dark in there. I'm scared. Will you go with me?" Mom asked again. Again, Johnny was scared. "Mom, won't you please go with me." Mom reassured him. "It's OK honey. Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny inched over to the pantry, opened the door, & peeked in. It's dark. He turned to leave, then turned back. "Jesus, if you're in there, will you hand me that can of soup?" Jesus promises to be with us. But He may not hand us the soup. He is Emmanuel. God with us. But that doesn't excuse us from being sent into the dark, even if we're afraid. Israel's outlook was dark. For 39 chapters, God has been warning her. Repent! Or I will discipline you. You'll go into exile, in Babylon. ~150 yrs. later, in 586 B.C. she did. And for 70 years, God's people will feel defeated, disillusioned, bitter, & abandoned. Even so, God assures His people. 'You will suffer. But you won't be alone. I'll watch over you. When the time has fully come, I'll come for you." As for now? His servant Israel is blind, deaf, & dumb. She's failed. In Isa 43:1-7, God continues. 1aBut now, listen. Why? With Israel, we wonder. If God plans to make us suffer, why listen? 1cHe created you, O Jacob. Jacob, the trickster. He stands for the sin nature we all inherit from Adam & Eve. It distorts us from birth. All sin & fall short of God's glory. Like Jacob. But God is our Creator. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He alone knows how to fix us. He alone can. Before the world began, He dreamed of us. Each one. He caused us to be born in times that best suit us. And He won't leave us how He finds us. 1dHe formed you, O Israel. He creates us, then forms us. Shapes us. Like Israel. As we grow, God shapes us all to fit His vision. God created Jacob, The Trickster. God then formed him into Israel, father of the nation. God creates & then forms us, too. As individuals & as nations. He forms us to fit His vision. So, in our verses, God isn't done with Israel. He's still forming her to be His Servant. Now, Israel, listen! 1bThis is what the LORD says. The LORD. Yahweh. God's personal name that He gave her. It's also the Name by which we know Jesus in the OT. With His personal name, Jesus is reminding Israel (& us). He's ours. We're His. Forever. His message? 1e"Fear not, for I've redeemed you. God redeemed Israel. Ransomed her at great cost from slavery in Egypt. The cost? Every Egyptian 1st born son. (Don't forget. God loves His created people in Egypt, too.) For us, the cost was God's own 1st born Son. We're all ransomed. Israel, from slavery in Egypt. Us, from slavery to sin. 1fI've summoned you by name. For them & for us, it's like Re 3:20. He stands at the door & knocks, calling our name. As He called ancient Israel, He called His apostles. 'Come. Follow Me.' He calls each of us, too. Why? 1gYou are mine. Individually, & also as a people. As individuals, we're each His beloved possession. Even so, few in the OT got the Holy Spirit. Out of all the nations, God chose Israel to be His Servant. When she & the 1st covenant failed, He redeemed us all. Now, we each receive His Spirit. United in Him, we're His body. The point? Then & now, God loves His people, His bride. He loves us passionately. Because He loves us so passionately, He watches over us. 2aWhen you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. When Jesus brings His people back from Babylon, He'll be with them as they cross every river. Even if we have to enter the dark pantry to get soup, He'll be with us. He'll bear the fear for us if we'll give it to Him. 2bWhen you pass through the rivers, they won't sweep over you. God will be with us. Therefore, no trial can sweep us away. 2cWhen you walk through the fire, you won't be burned. Nor will trials scorch us & take us down. 3bThe flames won't set you ablaze. Even flaming trials can't turn us to ashes & destroy us. In a fallen world, we will pass through waters, rivers, fire, & flames. We will go through trials & tragedy. God is assuring us. Trials may hurt. But God says He'll be with us. And however deep our hurt, His love will go deeper. Always. That was true for Israel. It'll be true for us. What's the guarantee? Look who's speaking. 3aFor I'm the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. It's as if God sees our doubt, rears back, & reminds us just who's speaking! To what lengths will God go for us? 3cI give Egypt for your ransom, Cush & Seba in your stead. Does God mean this literally? Scripture never says He did so. So, I think He's saying His people are more precious to Him than any others. 4aYou're precious & honored in my sight. More than precious. God says we're honored! Look around at each other. Cleverly disguised in these bodies we lug around are extraordinarily beautiful, glorious creatures. So glorious, if we could see each other as God sees us we'd be tempted to fall down & worship! How is that possible? Look at God's answer. 4bI love you. Therefore, I'll give men in exchange for you. God loves us all so much! I'll give 4cpeople in exchange for your life. Why does He have to? We're born dead in sin. Everyone born will die. Unless He regenerates us, we're all dead in our sins. But God loves us all too much to let anyone go. We're created in His image. So, He'll give Himself so we can live. Jesus did come. He gave His own eternal life in exchange for our doomed life. He died our death. All because He loves us with a love that'll never let us go. 5aDon't be afraid, for I'm with you. If He's with us, why fear? He's all-powerful & perfect love! Perfect love drives out fear. And, 5bI'll bring your children from the east & gather you from the west. Wherever we've strayed from East to West, He's coming for us. 6aI'll say to the north, 'Give them up!' & to the south, 'Don't hold them back.' From North to south, He'll free us from whatever holds us back. 6bBring my sons from afar & my daughters from the ends of the earth. The King has spoken! All His servants (angels & us) are now responsible to bring them to Him! (Did you realize this was a missionary text?) Why so urgent? Bring 7aeveryone who is called by my name. Christians. God's people in every age. His body. His beloved bride. And ever since Jesus, now called by His name: Christians. Little Christs. All created & formed for His purpose. 7bI created them for my glory. That's our ultimate purpose. Enjoy God & bring Him glory forever. 7cI formed & made them." He makes & creates us, then forms us. He fashions us to fit His purpose. To bring Him glory. He loves us. We're His. And He's ours. When God says He'll be with us, He means it. Every minute. What qualifies us to receive such treatment? A relationship to Him. If we're called by His Name, we're His family. And when we're His family, it's to God's glory that He watches over us. Our role? Forget the past. Remember that He's with us. Concentrate on one fact. Keep remembering whose we are. Why? If we're His, He'll take care of us. He brought Israel home to the Promised Land. Just so, He'll bring us all safely home to His Kingdom. No need to fear. Let's wrap up. Josh bought an old organ. Once magnificent, it was shabby & banged up. It barely played. Josh called in experts from everywhere, hoping they could restore it. When they finished, it looked like new. Blotchy varnish was lovingly restored to show its beauty. Carved ornaments all glistened. But there was still one problem. The insides sat in boxes on the floor. Josh advertising for more experts to restore its beautiful sounds. No one could. Finally, an old, wrinkled, nearly blind man knocked on his door. "I'm here to fix it." Josh laughed. "You think you can? Experts from all over the world have tried." The old man answered, "It can't hurt to try." Josh showed him the organ, & the old man set to work. Several days later, the organ played like new! Josh was stunned. "How did you do that?" The old man answered, "I made it." Likewise, God says, "I made you. I've redeemed you. I've called you by name. I love you. You're mine. I'll be with you." He alone is our hope. Our deliverer. Both now & in the future. Like the organ's maker He can best fix & restore & give new life to us because He made us. He's The Only One who can truly fix us, restore us, & give new life. And when He does, He sends us to bring back others of His children. I Will Be With You - Isaiah 43:1-7 Page 1 of 1