Glimpses of Glory God's Victory

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,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

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.