Let them approach, then let them speak. Let us draw together near for judgment. Who stirred up one from the east, whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them and passes on safely by paths his feet have not trod. Who has performed and done this? calling the generations from the beginning. I, the Lord, the first and with the last, I am He. The coastlands have seen and are afraid. The ends of the earth tremble. They have drawn near and come. Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, Be strong. The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer, him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldiering, It is good. and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, My friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, You are My servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them. Those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. It is I who say to you, fear not. I am the one who helps you. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for these words. Thank you that we can read them as New Testament Christians having been given the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ and the comfort and assurance that we have in him. Lord, I pray that your spirit now would also give us eyes to see these truths and hearts to receive them. that we would worship you and trust your goodness. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, here we are, January 2, 2022, the beginning of a brand new year. I was reading an article this past week by J.A. Meadors, and he just remarked on the difference between this new year and last new year. If you remember last year, people were very happy about January 1, 2021. People had had it with 2020 and were glad to see it go, good riddance, and were very excited about the potential of a new year. And Meadors writes this, he says, have you noticed what people are saying about 2022? Me neither. I haven't seen anyone say anything hopeful about 22. No bold statements that 22 can't be worse than 21. It seems like there is a change in tone, posture, and expectation when it comes to this new year. Maybe we are still dragging from the whiplash of it all. Perhaps our hope in society, civility, common sense, and decency have also fallen victim to supply chain issues. Maybe reality has set in. It's an interesting thought. You don't need to have a trained eye or be a hardcore pessimist to see trouble in the world in which we live. On the international front, Russia is threatening Ukraine, China is threatening Taiwan. Here at home, we just kind of look around us and despair as we see it. It just feels like an increasing spiritual darkness coming over the land. Public schools actually are indoctrinating our children, the children of this country, in LGBTQ and woke propaganda. It's happening. Economically, Inflation is rearing its head. Product shortages are expected to continue. The national debt continues to skyrocket. And of course, COVID is still here, and we still don't know how to deal with it. And the church is suffering all over the world. Persecution continues to rise. Every year, it becomes more dangerous and more places to be a Christian. Those are the facts as we begin 2021. You don't have to be a pessimist to begin this new year with some apprehension. But you see, that's the beauty of being a Christian, is that we can look at the world, we can look at the future with a different view, with a different perspective. God's children do not have reasons for fear. Isaiah 41 is really actually quite relevant for our context, our historical context, because Isaiah is, this is 2,700 years ago, so 700 years before Christ, but it is a time of turmoil in the world. You have on the international front, you have Assyria, which is rearing its ugly head. It's a military force that is threatening surrounding nations and conquering them. In fact, in Isaiah's lifetime, the Assyrians are going to capture the ten northern tribes of Israel and carry them away into exile, and they will never return. And little Judah, to the south, seems to be next in line and is threatened, as you know, by Assyria. That's just as the people of God look out. When they look in, they also see decay, spiritual despondency. Judah is not doing well. The people of God are not in a good place. Isaiah in his prophecy will admonish them and rebuke them and call them to repentance because they're spiritually dead. They're spiritually asleep. They're corrupt. These are not good times for God's people. The people of God would have great reasons for discouragement. But God sends his prophet Isaiah to comfort them, to give them a message that will encourage and strengthen them. And it's a beautiful message that we have to look at tonight. The text begins in chapter two with a question for the nations. You'll see in chapter two that God has gathered the nations together. Listen to me. Let the peoples approach. Let them speak. Let us together draw near for judgment. So God is gathering the nations to to consider something, to make a judgment about something. And God poses a question to Judah and to the nations of the world. The question is, who controls human history? Who raises up kings? Who gives victories to armies? Verse 2, who stirred up one from the east? Whom victory meets at every step. Some commentators say this is most likely a reference to Assyria. Others think it may be a reference to Cyrus, who is to come later. Either way, the question is, who stirs up these pagan kings? This pagan army rises up and he gives nations before him. He tramples kings underfoot, makes them like dust. Who does this? Verse 4, who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? Who holds the reins of human history? Who directs the course of armies, and rising nations, and supply chain problems, and pandemics? And God answers, of course, immediately, verse 4, I, the Lord, the first and with the last, I am He. I do. God lays claim to all of it. The mess of the world in that day, God says, I am directing it. Macher in his commentary says, ìAll events originate in heaven. All individuals are stirred and guided by the Lord. All empires rise and fall at His direction, and there is no other ultimate agent. Such monotheism, one God, and monergism, one active agent. is a pillow fit for the most aching head, a sedative for the most tattered nerves, and a ground for trusting the divine promises." A sedative for the most tattered nerves. There are a lot of tattered nerves in our world today, and many of them belong to God's children. And God wants us to be reminded that the distress and the disarray that's all around us, it's not random, it's not by accident. It is divinely purposed. God is at work. God is judging the nations, including our own. God is on the throne of His world. And God wants the nations and Israel, Judah particularly, to hear that, to see that, to believe that. Now sadly, in verses 5 through 7, we see that. The nations hear that call, but instead of responding and acknowledging the sovereign power of God, what the nations do is they flee to their idols. They gather in their fear, and they try to save themselves. You can read about it. Verse 7, the craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer, him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldiering, it is good. and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. You have a picture of some guys, they gather together and say, we need help, and let's erect this little god, and so one guy pounds it out on the anvil, and the other guy welds it together, and the other guy's laying gold over top of it, and then they grab some nails and they hammer it to the floor so it can't move, and they're trusting that in a world that doesn't work, and in the presence of calamity, this thing's gonna help. This is going to be our deliverance. That's the picture. It's laughable, but it's astonishingly familiar. Isn't this exactly what you see happening in our world today? In the face of a pandemic, you don't see nations turning to the Lord in repentance and faith. I haven't read about it. What you see is nations turning to their gods. They turn to their science and their political powers, their military strength. You could read verse 7, they create their vaccines and they say it is good, and they strengthen it with boosters so that it cannot be moved. It's not a word against vaccines or boosters. But you see, we just got to realize the idolatry of a world that's trying to fix itself with no reference to God, no reference whatsoever. And so you see the nations of the world, they craft new weapons and multi-trillion dollar social bills and carefully spin the narrative in the idolatrous conviction that politics and power and propaganda will be able to make the world serve our purposes. We will be able to control this fallen world and make it serve our ends. Nothing has changed in the 2700 years since Isaiah wrote these words. The response of the nations today is exactly what it was then they turned to their idols. And again, we don't need to argue against any of the things I've just mentioned—vaccines, science, politics, or weapons even, right? We just need to acknowledge the idolatry that surrounds us. The futility of our world's commitment to make life work without reference to God. This conviction, this sick conviction that people and even Christians can share, if we just have the right people in power, if we just apply the right science, get people to do the right things, follow the right program, we can make this world heaven on earth. We can fix the problem. Well, God has a question for this world. Where did COVID come from? And if you say China, you're not paying attention. It comes from God. Pandemics don't just randomly spring up. The devil's not ruling over this world. That's not what God says in Isaiah chapter 41. It is I. The first and the last, I am He. So every response you see that ignores that truth and every attempt to fix what's wrong with this world while ignoring God is idolatry. Every effort to fix the brokenness and the ruin of life without reference, or that doesn't begin with repentance, right, acknowledging God is God, it's idolatry. And I think we just as Christians need to be able to see the truth of it. God certainly does. But God doesn't just have a rebuke for the nations, He has comfort for His church. Because while the nations try to save themselves by their idols, God speaks comfort to his people. Notice verse 8 begins with, but you. A distinguishing conjunction, right? But you. God sees his people as distinct from the world. They are in the world, but not of the world. They are set apart in his mind and in his heart, and God has a word for these people. distinct people, you, Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, you are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off. This morning we talked about how the doctrine of election defines us, and that's exactly again what we see here. God defines his people by his election. You whom I have chosen, that's who they are. You whom I took from the ends of the earth. You who I called from its farthest corners. You to whom I say, I have chosen you and not cast you off. That language belongs specifically to Israel, to God's people, and it defines them. This is who they are in relation to God. And so you see, He speaks into their fear and consternation as they look at the newspapers of their day and the world around them and the decay within, and God speaks into all of that, not with a quick fix, but with an eternal fact. He is an everlasting God who rules the nations, and they are His people. They are His chosen possession. God clearly believes that this concept of His divine election of these particular people should provide a, it should be a source of great comfort, great encouragement. This should change things. And the reason you see is that God's calling an election. It's irrevocable, right? I've called you and not cast you off. I, the Lord, do not change. And it means that God is for them, and God is with them, and He will always be for them, and He will continue the work that He's begun all the way until its completion. Those He predestined, He also called. Those He called, He also justified. And those He justified, He also glorified. Every one. Everyone that was in the beginning when God predestined and chose is going to be glorified. The reality you see is that our life is not fundamentally determined by the circumstances that we find ourselves in. It's not determined by the headlines. It's not determined by what different men in places of power decide to do or not to do. Your life actually is determined by your God, and so God applies this truth of their election, very specifically to their life. What are the benefits that accrue to God's chosen people? What difference does it actually make? And the fundamental difference that God points out is that it means we don't have to be afraid. We don't have to be afraid. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. Fear is, Fear is something that all of us live with to one degree or another. We fear what might happen. We maybe fear what is happening. And that can be a big stage or small stage. We fear our own weakness. We fear maybe the power of people around us. We look into a new year, and we see hard things, very hard things happening to people around us and loved ones. And we fear for our kids. We fear for our grandkids. And we can just sort of think that, well, fear is just rational and normal. Fear is just, it means you're, You're awake, but God doesn't see it that way. God speaks to Judah and says, fear not. Judah has some hard things to face, and Isaiah has talked about it. If Judah doesn't repent, they're going to end up in captivity, and that's exactly what does happen. It's very hard, and yet God means their identity and what he is to them and for them to remove the fear. even if the hardships remain. So there are two facts that God wants to communicate to them, His presence and His commitment. Notice His presence, I am with you. Emmanuel, God with us. Not just God for us, but God with us. And then the commitment, I am your God. It might seem like a strange thing for God to say, because we could say on one hand, well, He's everybody's God, right? Whether they believe in Him or not, He's still God, and He's still directing and still controlling all things. So why does He say to Israel, I am your God? Well, it's because He is a God to His people in a way that He is not to those who are not His people. God has accepted certain responsibilities and obligations concerning Israel. You can maybe use the analogy of a parent. If you're a parent, you have children, you know that you have a general concern for children at large. If you see the neighbor's boy walking into the street, your reaction is going to be to go and try immediately to rescue him. You have a concern for children. but you have a specific concern and a specific responsibility for your own children. You can care for many different children in a general way, but only to specific children do you say, I'm your dad, I'm your mom, and I promise to love you and to protect you and to care for you. I promise to be there for you your whole life. When you fail, when life is hard, I will never stop being your dad. I'll never stop being your mom. Well, that's what God means when he says, I am your God. I'll never stop being your God. And I've taken responsibilities and obligations upon myself to be your God so that Israel's failure reflects poorly on God. David would appeal to this, right? When David goes to fight Goliath, David appeals to God, Lord don't let your name, you've attached your name to Israel. You cannot let your name be dishonored by their defeat. God has attached himself to us in that way. I'm your God. And he's gonna function as Israel's God, as a parent functions. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. God wants us to hear, right, His irrevocable commitment to you, His child. He's our God. And He speaks with the tender encouragement of a father. Look at verse 13. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. Isn't that a beautiful thought? The God of heaven, who made everything, who knows all things, the infinite God, the perfect, righteous, holy, Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God says, I'll hold your hand. That's a startling thought. And it's absolutely true. It is I who say to you, fear not. God says, look at me. Look at me. I, the living God, I say to you, don't be afraid. I've got you by the hand. I am the one who helps you. You're not alone. God's not left you to rely on your strength. He's not left you to rely on the help of other men. You don't have to uphold yourself with your own righteousness. God promises to do all that with His righteous right hand. Charles Spurgeon in his commentary is devotional on these words, says, God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this responsibility, for He is able to do everything. Believer, until you can drain the ocean of omnipotence dry, until you can break into pieces the towering mountains of His almighty strength, you never need to fear. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply you with daily strength. While He is able to uphold the universe, do not dream that He will prove unable to fulfill His own promises." And of course, if we were to talk and I asked you, why are you afraid? Don't you think God is strong enough? Don't you think He's able? I don't think anyone here would say, no, I don't think He is. He can do lots of things, but I don't think He can fix the trouble that I'm in. I don't think He can actually. Nobody would say that. So why do we fear? Because we're not sure that He's willing. We're not sure that He's eager. And that's because we see the truth of our sin. We feel the weight of it. Well, that's why it's so beautiful when Matthew speaks of the fulfillment of these words in Matthew 1, chapter 1, as Matthew talks about the angel speaking to Joseph. And he points out, she will bear a son, verse 21, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel." Immanuel, that's the word we find here in Isaiah chapter 41. Jesus is God with us, literally. The word becoming flesh and dwelling among us in truth. God taking on our human form and our human flesh in order to rescue us from our sin, in order to deal specifically with the very thing that causes us doubt. concerning God's willingness to help us. You see, God with us, that glorious truth is exactly what was lost in the fall. Adam's sin forced him and all of his descendants out of the Garden of Eden, out of the paradise of God's presence. And ever since, mankind has lived, in a sense, east of Eden, in the wilderness, without hope, without God. which is the definition of loss. To be without God is what it means to be lost. To be without God eternally is the definition of what it means to be in hell. There's no greater loss, no greater deprivation or greater calamity that can happen in time or eternity than to be without God. And yet that's where we were by nature in Adam, and so how inestimably precious then God's gift in Jesus, who is Immanuel. God with us. That God has not left us east of Eden, He's not left us to our lost estate, but He's come to us in the wilderness of our sin. He left the paradise of heaven to find us and save us and bring us back home. Home to God. Emmanuel means that the gates of Eden have been opened. The guards have been removed. And we, through Jesus, are ushered in to the paradise of God's presence for this life and the life to come. God is with us. God is with us. And He wants us to know it. He wants us to be convinced of it. to be certain of it. Jesus wants us to be certain of it. We're not alone. We're not on our own. We're not doing the best we can with a cheerleader somewhere up in the vast heavens. God is with us. Do you remember how the Gospel of Matthew ends? The last words that Matthew records of Jesus as Jesus is about to ascend into heaven are these, In other words, take this to heart. Listen, hear me. Jesus says to his disciples, Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. I am with you always. I am Immanuel always, even to the end of the age. Jesus wants us to know it, wants us to believe it. That we're, every day that we live in this world, every day that we live in this life is a day that we live by the grace of God, with God. Jesus with us, by His Holy Spirit. And then what? What happens after this life? Well, in Revelation 21, the very end of the Bible, John hears a loud voice from heaven repeating precisely the truths of Isaiah 41. Revelation 21, verse three, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." Friends, that means that in this life and in the life to come, we have these truths that are irrevocable, unshakable. And we have every reason to believe them, every reason to lay hold on them. And so I charge you, the next time fear, anxiety, despair, enters into your mind when you read the latest bad news or you think about a certain frightening thing that might happen in 2022. Take that circumstance and all of the reality of it and just bring it to the reality of this. I'm with you. I'm your God. I have chosen you. You're mine. I'll hold you by the hand. I'll strengthen you. I'll help you. He will not let you fall. Let's live in the beauty of that truth. Amen. Father in heaven, you know how fearful we can be. I thank you so much, Lord God, that as a heavenly Father, you You don't just rebuke us, but you invite us, Lord, to these deep truths that you are God, and you are our God, and you are with us. And that is a rock on which we can stand. That's a bed where we can lay our head. That is a calm for our tattered nerves. Oh, Lord, I thank you. Who are we that you would have chosen us to be your own precious possession? And, Lord, I thank you so much that you have sealed this promise to us in the blood of your own Son, Jesus Christ, so that, Lord, when our sin rises up against us and testifies about our unworthiness, we can acknowledge that to be true and point to Jesus, who is fully worthy. The Jesus who has brought us home to God, who's reconciled us to God, And the Jesus who reigns now over this world does so with scars in his hand as he purchased our redemption. And so, Lord, we have no reason to doubt. Forgive us when we do. And Lord, I pray that this truth would be precious to us and take root in our hearts, that we learn to look at our life and look at our world in a new way with eyes that see the reality of God and the goodness of God and the promises of God. and with hearts that believe. And we'll give you the thanks. In Jesus' name, amen.