Preacher’s Pulpit by Dr. Joe Tims
What Believers Have in Christ
Isaiah 43:1-7
INTRODUCTION
(Jn 10:10b) “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.”
This abundant life is not the prosperity that so many are preaching today.
It’s the new life one has in Christ as their personal savior.
(Isa 43:1) “But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
Before the Lord saved us we were:
(John 8:44a) “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.”
Because of God’s grace in Christ we began a wonderful new life with the Lord.
The Bible tells us that this new life in Christ is ours to enjoy.
(Phil 4:19) “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Let us look at what as believers we have in God’s Salvation through Christ.
I. GOD SAVES FROM THE PAST
(Isa 43:1) “But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
A. 3 things God has done for every believer in his past.
1. Redemption
(Rev 1:5) “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”
2. Renewal
a. When God says He called them by their name, that implies knowledge of who they were and are.
b. When they became His, He changed their name because He had changed their character.
c. What we were called lost, children of the devil, sinners, the wicked, the children of wrath, the damned.
d. What we came to be called Saints, Children of God, The Redeemed, Saved, Citizens of Heaven
3. Reception
a. God reminds the Israelites that He has taken possession of them and they are His alone.
b. When we came to Jesus, we were received just as we were!
c. At the very moment of salvation, Jesus took possession of our lives and now, we belong to Him.
(1 Cor 6:20) “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
II. GOD PROVIDES IN THE PRESENT
(Isa 43:2) “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
A. God reminds the Israelites that He has met their need since day one and that He has pledged Himself to continue to do just that.
B. He reminds the Believer of the same in the NT
(Phil 4:19) “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
C. God has not changed!
D. What He did for Israel, He can be counted on to do for you and me!
E. He is no respecter of persons.
F. There is not an area of life in which God won’t work to fulfill His promises to us.
G. As we face the storms, walk through the valleys, endure the dark nights of life, remember that He is the same God now as He was then and He will never fail us!
(Eph 3:20) “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
III. GOD’S PROMISE OF A FUTURE
(Isa 43:5-7) “Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; (6) I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; (7) Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”
A. In these verses, God reminds His people that they have a bright future.
B. He promises to gather them together and bring them back to their promised land.
C. We too live under the hope of His promises.
D. There will be a Gathering.
(1 Cor 15:51 52) “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
E. One day, Jesus will return in the clouds and receive His people unto Himself.
F. In light of His coming, what are we to do?
1. Be Ready Matt. 24:44
2. Be Looking Luke 12:37; 2 Tim. 4:8
3. Be Pure 1 John 3:3
CONCLUSION:
Our world is a world of trials, depressions and anxieties.
Heaven, however, will be a place of endless praise and ceaseless worship of a worthy God.
Are we ready for this promise to become a reality? I hope so, because it will not be long now.