Coney Hill Baptist Church
Demonstrating God’s Love Together
20th April 2008
Encountering God:
Comfort & Protection
Isa. 43:1-7
Intro:
As we saw a couple of weeks ago, despite the prophet’s challenging and unflinching vision, the central part of Isaiah’s book is a message of comfort.
So far, as we’ve looked at the consequences of encountering God, we’ve focussed on His glory and the sense we have of being almost overwhelmed. That sense of God’s sheer scale is vital, but it’s not the whole story. Virtually every divine encounter also testifies to His love.
The sheer fact that ‘God is love’ has been described as the most profound truth there is, yet it’s not solely a New Testament truth. God’s care, compassion and tenderness pours out of Old Testament encounters too. If it didn’t then none of the great biblical heroes would have been able to survive their encounters with Him, let alone be inspired by them.
In that sense the book of Isaiah is the whole Bible in miniature. God of awesome majesty, affirming His presence in the world He has created, and stooping to graciously tend it, with gentle, gracious love. Like we sometimes witness in the world of nature, in wildlife documentaries, gentleness is never more moving than when it is exhibited by those capable of enormous, even brutal, power.
The Carers Identity … (v.1) A Father who Loves …
‘So this is what the Lord says ….’ who created you, in the grandest sense, who formed you, particularly and individually. ‘Fear not’ … for you have been saved by me, named by me … I treat you as my very own.
The comfort that Isaiah brings isn’t fantasy or wishful thinking, it’s rooted in the character of God, his nature and identity. God as Father, not only providing and nurturing but all for the purpose of securing a future for those he loves.
The Manufacturer’s Guarantee…(v.2) A Creator who Protects
Recognising the inevitability of danger, that the world God has created is full of risk and potential disaster, the water, the fire and so much else besides can bless us, yet harm us too.
The promise though, God’s guarantee if you like, is for His presence, His limitation of the extent of the trouble, it is never beyond his reach, and His protection.
That can be hard to work out, it doesn’t always mean want we want it to mean, at times it appears as if God breaks His word here. It must’ve for Isaiah and His people too. But through the long lens of God’s dealings with his people we can see that it’s true, and so, for now, we need faith.
The Divine Dealer … (v’s 3-7) A Saviour who Redeems
Working out our salvation, what it takes for us to be made safe and secure. Not just a desire but the fulfilling of all the practical considerations, not least the willingness to pay the price.
As with other parts of the prophecy there are different historical focal points in view here. These are promises which hold good for all time in all places, yet they are specifically being worked out in
Conc.
Encountering God is challenging, can be disturbing, ought never to be taken lightly. But what he desires us to know, perhaps above all, is that in that meeting, his principle concern will always be to wrap his arms around us, keep us safe and let us know that we are loved.
Office Address:
Coney Hill Road
West Wickham
Kent
BR4 9BU