2/7/13. Isaiah 41:1-29. DO NOT FEAR, FOR I AM WITH YOU – my devotional

Key Verse: 41:10                                                                                                                                                            Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

     Dear Lord, make us holy people of God through your grace of forgiveness. Fill our hearts with holy desires and a burning desire to know you. Help my kids be Christians who long to know you and dwell with you. Make my home a sanctuary where people can come to learn about Jesus Christ and the gospel of God.  I come to you now on bended knee to learn from your word. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: God’s Sovereignty (1-16).

Verses 1-16 , “Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment. ² “Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. ³ He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. ⁴ Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.” ⁵ The islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward; ⁶ they help each other and say to their companions, “Be strong!” ⁷ The metalworker encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer spurs on the one who strikes the anvil. One says of the welding, “It is good.” The other nails down the idol so it will not topple. ⁸ “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, ⁹ I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. ¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ¹¹ “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. ¹² Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. ¹³ For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. ¹⁴ Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. ¹⁶ You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel.”

God rules over and judges the nations. He would raise Cyrus the Persian, a pagan king, from the east and hand over the nations to him in judgment. (2) God would turn those nations to dust. Those nations confidently depended on useless idols fashioned by human hands. In contrast, God’s people felt weak and fearful. But God had chosen them to be his servants. They ought not to fear for God was with them and would help them. Their enemies would become nothing. Like a loving parent, God takes hold of their right hand and tells them not to fear.

There are many forces in this world opposing Christ and Christians. But those opposing forces will by leveled. They will be flattened by God. They will be shown for what they are worth in this world and also on the Day of Judgment. Think about Nazi-ism. What about communism? They have been flattened. What is the future of humanism? It is proven to be a bankrupt philosophy as this world goes from bad to worse. For example I can’t believe the extent of banditry and gun related crimes in this world, in the USA and in the 3^rd world. What about the parts of the world that are ruled by false religion? Is the future going to be violent, lonely, ignorant, poverty stricken place? All those who oppose Jesus will meet their demise in history.

Jesus invites all those who oppose him to meet him in the place of judgment. (1) They should be very much afraid. I don’t mind meeting God in the place of judgment because I have Jesus as my advocate. Yes, my sins would have made me an object of God’s judgment, but I know that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I know that when I stand before my creator, he will accept me with love and forgiveness for no other reason other than Jesus died for my sins. I accept this through faith. Lord, I look forward to meeting you at the place of judgment because of my savior Jesus.

Part of the grace of God is the calling of God. Look at verses 8-10 again, “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, ⁹ I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. ¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God called Israel. He calls nations and people to serve his holy purpose. God called England in the last three centuries to preach the Gospel. He has called America to preach the Gospel in this century.  He has called us to be his servants.  I have been called to be servant of the word of God.  I am called to preach and teach. I am not that good of a disciple raiser. I have found a calling to be a co-ordinator for the sending of missionaries to the people of NW Ontario. I thank God for his calling in my life. It is the grace of God to me and my family.

God promises to protect all those who accept his calling and live as servants of Christ. Look at verses 11-14 again, “¹¹All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. ¹² Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. ¹³ For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. ¹⁴ Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” What a blessing it is to live under the Lord’s protection. This world is so full of insecurity. In Nicaragua people pray, “Thank you Lord for keeping me safe today.” Managua has 20 people die each day from gun violence. But our missionaries stay and preach the gospel.  God will protect his people. God will guide me and my family. He will never leave us. Even though there are many inner struggles to be embraced, God is and will continue to lead us through them all.

 Part 2: Idols Are Less Than Nothing (17-29).

Verses 17-29, “¹⁷The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸ I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. ¹⁹ I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, ²⁰ so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. ²¹ “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King. ²² “Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, ²³ tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. ²⁴ But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable. ²⁵ “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes— one from the rising sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay. ²⁶ Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’? No one told of this, no one foretold it, no one heard any words from you. ²⁷ I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’ I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news. ²⁸ I look but there is no one— no one among the gods to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them. ²⁹ See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion.”

Though people may find themselves thirsty, God provides water for the poor and needy. He turns the desert into a pool of water. He makes the wasteland fruitful. He does this so that people may see and know him. He has literally done this in Israel where there are fruitful and beautiful orchards in the desert. People of faith have taken wastelands and turned them into fields of abundance.

God also does this for the spiritually thirsty. Older people are thirsty simply working and listening to depressing news stories and waiting for retirement. Younger people are thirsty with thinking that social networking on and off line and music can fill their hearts and mind with satisfaction. Humans are created for more than this. We are created to be like expensive sports cars. Why are we driving them 30 miles per hour on country roads? We need Christ to satisfy our thirsty hearts.

Jesus came to me when I was a thirsty, hedonistic sinner at the age of 22. I was so thirsty thinking that classic rock music, partying, exercise and traveling could fill that void. But I was thirsty and ruining my life with all kinds of vices to find satisfaction. But Jesus came to me and quenched my thirsty heart. My life key verse is John 4:13-14, “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus quenched my heart and satisfied my heart. If he could do that for me, he can do that anyone. Jesus is the answer.

Prayer: Lord, please hold me by your righteous right hand and take away my fear. Reveal your glory and drive away the idols in our land and quench my thirsty heart with your love.”

One Word: Do not fear; God is with us