We have spent two months in the book of Isaiah
and covered about two-thirds of the chapters.
Have you caught a glimpse of God's glory and grace yet?
We have passed through the junction of chapter 39
where Isaiah addresses God's people
as they face the imminent threat of the Assyrian emperor,
Aidan.
Thank you.
And we passed this junction to where now Isaiah addresses God's people
as refugees in exile from chapter 40 onward.
We have seen glimpses of God's glory and grace
through God's holiness, present kingship, rules, judgment, rest, delivery, and arrival.
Please visit our webpage or our YouTube channel
to revisit those sermons until you see them,
until you see the glory of God,
the God's glory and grace,
especially if you recently joined us or watching us online.
As Tim Chester very helpfully summarized for us in this book,
we need to study Isaiah at least for the following seven reasons.
It enlarges our view of God,
enriches our love for Christ,
sharpen our understanding of salvation,
illuminates our Bible reading,
comforts our fear and sorrows,
excites our vision for the church,
and fuels our commitment to mission.
These are what you can and should look for as you read Isaiah.
More than any other book in the Old Testament,
Isaiah forms a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
And only hearing a 20 to 30 minute sermon each Sunday
will not be enough for you to see that and to appreciate this link.
So please pick up your Bible during the week and read Isaiah for yourself.
You can buy this book by Tim Chester called Isaiah for You,
or you can also use this study guide with guided questions for your reflection as you read.
We can email this to you if you give us your detail
using the link in our description in the live stream,
or just fill in the form in the iPad outside on our Connect desk.
Today, I hope to show you God's glory and grace in his victory
as we look into chapter 43 in more detail.
So please turn your Bible to chapter 43 or open our St. Paul's app.
You'll find in chapter 43 themes that contain throughout chapter 40 to 48.
The chapter can be divided into two sessions.
Both sessions start up with the new Exodus.
The former session followed by God in child,
and the later session, human in child.
And that will be the structure of today.
The Exodus language appears in verse 1 to 7 and 14 to 21,
starting both sessions saying,
this is what the Lord says,
and finishing with God mentioning the people he formed.
They both refer to God as our Creator, Redeemer, and the Holy One.
God led his people out of Egypt through the water and river into the promised land.
He wiped out their enemy and provided food and water for them.
He will do it again about 70 years after their exile to Babylon.
It's around 200 years from when God's people initially heed these promises of delivery.
God redeemed his people from slavery in Egypt to form a new nation.
The same promise and operation will take place in the future.
God will gather his people back to him through a new Exodus.
God sent his people into exile as judgment against their sin,
for they will not follow his way.
They do not obey his law.
But the gathering is not just referring to the return of God from Babylon.
God will gather his people from the east and west,
north and south, from the end of the earth.
The promise of a new Exodus, the delivery from God's judgment,
is not just for God's people in Isaiah's time.
God will show his mercy and grace and keep redeeming for his glory.
And most remarkably, he says,
I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Since you are precious and honor in my sight,
and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
God loves the people he created for his glory,
whom he formed and made.
He will continue to give people a nation in exchange for them.
God accomplished the new Exodus by doing an exchange,
substituting one for the other.
In the book of John in the New Testament,
it tells us that the person that God gave up in exchange for us
and to give us new life is Jesus.
John 3.16 says,
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whomever believed in him shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise
of a more significant, better Exodus from slavery and death.
God promised in Isaiah 43.19 that,
I am making a way in the wilderness and a stream in the wasteland.
Jesus, in John 14, referred to himself as the way, the truth, and the life.
In both John 4.7,
Jesus referred to himself as the living water
that will cringe all human thirst.
The writers of the New Testament see Jesus as a redeemer
who set us free to lead us back to God.
Last Sunday, when we looked into Isaiah 40,
we highlighted how Mark's gospel
began to announce the end of exile
and how Jesus was referred to as the Passover lamb.
Based on Isaiah's proclamation of God's promise,
writer in the New Testament could interpret what Jesus accomplished
as the ultimate Exodus of liberation from sin and death.
Throughout the New Testament,
the work of Jesus is described using New Exodus language.
At the Transfiguration in Luke chapter 9,
Jesus, Moses, and Elijah spoke about Jesus' departure,
which in Greek means Exodus.
Luke's account of the Last Supper in chapter 22
referenced the Passover lamb,
Passover because Jesus is a true Passover lamb
whose blood redeemed us from sin and protect us from death.
Paul and Peter also wrote their letters
with the Exodus model in mind.
God's people were given a promise of hope
that their exiles of judgment will come to an end.
This promise is also offered to us
with the same intimacy
as spoken in verse 2 to 5 in Isaiah 43.
Maybe you feel like you're sinking
or being overwhelmed by life
or you're feeling the heat
of all the troubles that are happening.
If the thought of God coming to you
scares you more than bringing you joy,
maybe there is something in your past
that caused you to worry about
whether God still loves you.
God is telling you to forget the formal things.
Do not dwell in the past.
See, I am doing a new thing.
Now it's springing up.
Do you not perceive it.
The past is helpful for certain things,
which I will talk about later.
But God has repeatedly reminded his people
to forget the formal things
and not to dwell on the past
because many of God's people
often have eyes but are blind,
have ears but are deaf,
as stated in verse 8.
Human do not perceive the work of God
in their life and the world
because humans have a very small
and limited view of God.
We do not see God as who he is.
So God is taking a nation to court.
We do not see...
He put himself on trial,
bringing accusation against the other gods
and ideology of the world,
ultimately challenging our perception of him.
All the nations gather together
in the people's assembly,
which of their gods foretold this
and proclaim to us the former things.
Let them bring in their weakness
to prove they are right
so that others may hear and say it is true.
God lays out the evidence of his credentials
in verse 10 to 13,
and this is what he says.
I am the creator.
Before me, no God was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
All other gods or ideologies are man-made.
God goes into details in chapter 40 to 46
as to the foolishness and delusion
of those who create idols of God's creation.
He goes on to say,
I am the savior.
Apart from me, there's no savior.
God alone can save.
I am not some foreign god among you.
Even though God's people
often mistake others to be their savior,
but in reality,
it was God who has saved them.
God is a revealer.
I have revealed and proclaimed.
God has spoken through his prophets,
his son, and in his word.
Only God can talk about the future.
Which of their gods foretold this
and proclaim to us the former things?
God alone is a true God
because he can predict the future,
and he can predict the future
because he determines the future.
God is a sovereign king.
No one can deliver me,
deliver out of my hand
when I ask who can reserve it.
No God can undo the work of God
throughout the history of mankind.
God alone is the creator,
savior,
revealer,
and king.
No one else can create,
recreate,
save,
reveal,
and reign.
God is unique,
and there's no other like him.
He's mighty to save
and worthy of all
of our following and praise.
Is that how you see God?
What kind of God
are you presenting to the world?
When people look at your life,
is God just like
any other idol
people use to fill in their life?
Like some vending machine
that you put in your good deeds
in exchange for comfort and peace.
These are essential questions
because God has chosen us
to be his servant and witness.
God's people are living proof
that God and God alone can save.
You are my witness
and my servant
whom I have chosen
so that you might know
and believe me
and understand that I am he.
You are my witness
that I am God,
yes,
and from ancient days
I am he.
What you tell
or show people
about your experience of God
in your daily life,
in your testimony you give,
in how you treat your colleagues,
classmates,
neighbors,
and friends
are all the reviews
that you provide
for God before humanity.
Testifying to God
before humanity
is a role of Christian
and God's church.
No matter how long
you have been a Christian,
whether on a staff team
or as a leader,
Christians are chosen
to be God's witness
without exception.
God has done
what no other God can do
and what he has done
no other God can undo.
If God has trusted you
to witness for him,
why spend so much time thinking,
am I good enough
to do the job?
God has chosen you
and knows
what he can do
with you.
It's a worry
about whether
you will do a good job,
more of a concern
about saving your faith
and looking competent
before people
than helping others
to catch glimpses
of God's glory
and grace.
If the creator,
savior,
revealer,
and king
has faith in you
as his witness,
your most appropriate
response
will only be
putting your faith
in him
and asking him
to help you
to get the job done.
So many of us
treat God
and the role
he gives us
like the people
in Isaiah's time,
allowing other things
to weary us
and see everything
as a burden
but not bother
to ask God
for help.
Yet,
you have not
called on me,
Jacob.
You have not
weary yourself
for me,
Israel.
God's demand
are not burdensome.
He knows
what we can handle
at different stages
of our life.
God says
in verse 23,
I have not burdened you
with grain offering,
nor weary you
with demands
for incense.
But God states
in verse 24
that the main issue
is not on his side
but what humanity
is doing
with our life.
You have burdened me
with your sins
and weary me
with your offenses.
It's not God's demand
that are burdensome
but our action,
our way of life,
and our attitude
regarding sins
and towards God
that need to be examined.
So,
after putting himself
on trial,
God now
put humanity
on trial
to address
the accusation
against him
and put the record
straight.
Refill the past
for me.
Let's argue
the matters together.
Stay the case
for your innocence.
As I say,
the past is helpful
to a certain point.
It's helpful
as a reference point
for us
to see what God
has done
and reveal
how we have
treated God.
And when humans do,
what does humanity
have to show
for their innocence?
Very little.
There's no case
for human,
humanity
is in innocence.
Your first father
sinned,
those I sent
to teach you
rebels against me.
Since Adam
rebels against God,
the world
is broken
by sin
and everything
is falling apart.
Looking through history,
no one could support
the case of innocence,
not even Abraham,
whom God
credited as righteous.
And the final
verdict
on humanity
is destruction
as mentioned
in verse 28.
Destruction
is what humanity
deserves,
but that's not
the end
of God's trial
of humankind.
There's a crucial
first
before God
calls us
to reveal the past
that we need
to look at.
God says
in verse 25,
I,
even I,
am the one
who brought out
your transgression
for my own sake.
And remember
your sin
no more.
As I have
explained earlier,
before God
examines our case
of inevitable defeat,
even before
any evidence
is presented,
and with such
an undeniable
verdict,
God already
has a substitution
to take our place.
Jesus steps
into humanity
and takes our place
in the judgment.
There will be
a final day
of judgment,
but for God's
people,
the trial
is over.
It's done
and dusted
with the death
and resurrection
of Jesus,
with the judgment
falling on Jesus
and him
taking our place.
God
blocked out
our transgression
and remembers
our sin
no more.
In Romans
4,
25,
it says,
he was delivered
over to death
for our sins
and was straight
to life
for our
justification.
The not guilty
verdict
has already
been delivered.
The examination
is over
and we have
passed
with full marks
because
we got the
grade that
Jesus deserved.
In verse 25
tell us that
God blocks out
our transgression
for his own sake.
God sent Jesus
for our sake
to meet our need
for a redeemer.
But he also sent
Jesus for his own sake
that is to reveal
his glory
and grace.
God promised
not to remember
your sins
no more
and that's all
the more reason
why we should forget
the former things
and do not dwell
on the past.
So don't be
better
at remembering
your sin
than God is.
Jesus
gave
the best
witness
of God's
glory
and grace
of how much
God loves you
and me.
God says
in verse 10
you are my
witness
and my servant
whom I have
chosen
so that you
may know
and believe
me
and understand
that I am
he.
The more
you witness
and serve
God
in your life
and by your
proclamation
the more
you will
know
and believe
and understand
that God
is true
and it's
your heavenly
father
who treasure
and loves
you.
After the
pastor and
theologian
Tim Keller
passed away
a few years
ago
many people
wrote tribute
about his
impact on
them.
Trish
Warren
a New York
Time
columnist
said Tim
Keller
showed her
what a
Christian
leader
should be.
witness
Tim
Keller
in a
public
debate
with a
secular
humanist
in her
early
twenties.
At one
moment
Keller's
opponent
struggled
with the
point he
was making
and was
fair and
clear.
Keller
did not
go in
for the
cue
making
his
opponent
look
foolish
instead
he paused
and asked
is this
what you
mean?
Restating
and strengthening
the argument
more precisely
before his
countering.
She says
this in
her tribute
this generosity
and understanding
towards those
with whom
we disagree
helped shape
the way
I now see
the world.
It had more
of an impact
on me
as a
Christian
than any
argument
could.
Keller
refused
to easily
refuse
the easy
route of
debate
insisting
on finding
the best
argument
of others
even
it means
strengthening
his
opponent's
case.
He was
in pursuit
for truth
and kindness
not
point
scoring.
That night
I saw
what Christian
leaders
should be
like.
With his
life
Tim Keller
testified to
God's
victory
through
Christ
to the
world.
We are
not
Tim
Keller
and many
of us
rarely
engage
in public
debate.
However
we
interact
with
many
people
daily
having
different
conversations
and
discussions
with
others
and
most
of
time
with
ourselves.
At
all those
moments
take
comfort
and hope
in God's
glory and
grace
to treat
the past
and God
in the
proper
perspective.
Remember
the victory
God has
accomplished
through
Jesus'
exodus
for us
all.
And be
God's
witness
that we
belong
to God's
family
in God's
present
and God's
future.
May God
bless you
and keep
you.
Thank you.