Dry Eyes, Sermon Aug 30

You can listen to this message on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q5030h8oXog 

As we continue our sermon series in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, here are the first verses of chapter one:

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. Revelation 1:4-7

We are on the precipice of the Lord’s second coming. The rapid pace at which social, religious, and political events are occurring – not just in America, but across the globe – prophecy is being fulfilled at such a rapid pace I cannot wrap my mind around it.

A week or two ago I told you why I am convinced most people alive today will see the Lord’s return. But to not repeat what I said a few weeks ago, let me simply say the two primary reasons I am convinced we are on the cusp of the Lord’s return are these:

First, Israel is back in their land after 2000 years – back in the Land where they have to be for many of the end-time prophecies to be fulfilled – prophecies spoken by prophets such as Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, and  by the New Testament writers such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, and Paul.

And second, like no other time in the history of earth, technology now enables governments to microchip their citizens and not only track their movements, but to control any and every any kind of economic transactions that the government chooses to control. That includes groceries, medical care, social security payments, pensions and so forth.

Revelation chapter 13 speaks specifically to that prophecy, and it is very important for us to know of that prophecy. John tells us that the Antichrist – the smooth-talking future dictator of the Western world – will not only perform miracles, he also “causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark . . . Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

When the disciples asked Him what will be the sign of His return He spoke of several. Here is a synopsis of what He said in the various gospels: There will be wars and earthquakes and plagues and famines across the globe. Christians will experience terrible persecutions at the hands of governments, strangers, neighbors, friends, and even by family. Then the one the Bible calls the Antichrist will take his seat in the Temple in Jerusalem. But that begs the question – what temple? There is no temple in Jerusalem today. 

Well, mark it down – the Israel WILL rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in our lifetime. After that, there will be such worldwide tribulation, misery, and terror that “Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. . . . . Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13)

Listen now to Jesus’ final words of warning at the end of Mark 13, beginning in verse 33: “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.   Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”

In five verses He repeats Himself – Be on the alert! Do you think the Lord was trying to make a point in those few verses?

Christian, listen. Now is not a time to be kicking back and watching television without considering the shortness of the time. Are you – are WE – being diligent in our walk of holiness, being careful to avoid gossip and anger and feuds and strife and jealousies? Do you have family yet unsaved? Or friends who do not yet love the Lord? Are you praying for them every day? Do you ask the Holy Spirit for opportunities to talk to them about eternity and God’s offer to forgive ALL of their sins?

John then turns to see who was speaking with him, and he gives us a description of the Being he saw. John writes: “His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.  His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.”

THIS is the Jesus you and I will see when He returns – not a meek lamb, but a fiery Judge. Jesus showed us only a glimpse His judgment when He turned over the tables of the money changers and chased them from the Temple with a whip. We heard only a whisper of His wrath when He told the religious leaders they were hypocrites and sons of hell.

And what is His purpose for judgment?  Is it to ‘get even’?  Is it to kill and destroy for the sake of killing and destroying?  Of course not. God is love, and love does not seek to kill and destroy. Love seeks ONLY reconciliation.

When God metes our justice and judgment it is for the purpose of bringing wayward sinners to REPENTENCE and reconciliation with Himself. The purpose of God’s judgment is to shake us awake, to open our eyes to our eternal destiny if we do not give ourselves over to the One who loves us so much He sent His Son to die a sacrificial death for you and for me, to pay the penalty of death and destruction which we deserve because of our sins.

When He judges sin on that great day of Judgment, He will not be swayed by what church we attended or how often we received Holy Communion, or how many years we sang in the choir or taught Sunday school classes to children.

What He will want to see from us is how OBEDIENT we were to His commandments and how faithful we were to live humbly before Him and others. He will look into the books that will record our lives and see how often we confessed our sins and then turned from those sins.  For good reason, the writer to the Hebrews tells us our God is a consuming fire.

And so, what does King Jesus say to each of the seven churches? Let’s turn first to the church at Ephesus:

“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false . . . .”

Christian, take courage. God knows your works and your labor and your perseverance for Him. He knows your history – before you came to faith, and your history after you committed yourself to Him, down to this very moment as you listen to His word preached.

But now also please hear this: In His great love for the Christians at Ephesus, Jesus speaks words all of us will do well to heed and apply to ourselves: He commends them for putting to the test false teachers.

One of Satan’s strategies has ALWAYS been to introduce false teachers into the Church. Paul spoke of those false teachers in his second letter to the church at Corinth. Peter and John, in their epistles, also warned of false teachers.

And I am taking this moment to also warn you that there are still many false teachers in pulpits and church classrooms, and on radio and television today. We MUST be cautious. We MUST do as we find in Acts 17 when the Bereans ‘studied the Scriptures daily” to verify even what the apostle Paul was preaching.  AND I URGE YOU: Verify with the Scriptures what I preach and teach each week. And challenge me if you think I am teaching something false.

So, Jesus commends them for ferreting out false teachers. But the Lord also had a warning for them – because He loved them:

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 

Why do we give our time, talent, and treasure to the Lord’s work? Why do we read our bibles or pray? Has our devotion to Christ become simply a force of habit, or is there something deeper that motivates us?

Some of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day got so caught up in following the RULES of their worship of God that they lost the REASON for their worship of God.

And do you think that can’t happen to us, to forget the REASON why we do what we do?  Of course, it can. And thus, the reason for the Lord’s rebuke of His children there in Ephesus. Jesus called them to come back to their first love, to remember when they used to love Him, when they longed to please Him.

He called them to remember how close they were to Him in prayer, in meditating on His words, in sharing their faith with friends and family and acquaintances. He wants them – and us – to remember the concern we had for souls – souls drifting toward eternal darkness and agony and emptiness and loneliness, souls of our families, of our friends, of our neighbors?” Oh, that we might all remember those times when we had such sweet fellowship together with Him, not out of a sense of duty, but out of our deep devotion to Him.

Can we hear Him? Jesus says to the church at Ephesus and wherever it is you and I are, “Come back to your love for Me. Let that love for Me be the motivation for the good things you do and say and think.”

As I bring this message to a close, I want to share with you the lyrics of a song written several decades ago by Keith Green, a passionate Christian songwriter and pianist. He died at the age of 29 in a tragic plane accident. My Eyes are Dry expresses my heart’s cry, and I hope your heart’s cry as well, when we sense our devotion to Christ growing cold.

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how
I ought to be
Alive to You
And dead to me

[Chorus]
Oh, what can be done
For an old heart like mine?
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
In the wine of Your blood

And all God’s people said, “Amen.”

Growing Old with God

(I wrote this several years ago and is excerpted from my second book, Lessons Along the Journey. I updated only the dates to make it current).

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I hadn’t slept well the night before, and weariness settled over me like a heavy rug. Nancy and I returned home from Mass, ate lunch, and were unwinding on the couch where she continued our conversation about her passion for art.

But I couldn't keep my mind from drifting. As it did, my eyes focused on her face. I’d noticed her changing features before, but somehow this time I saw her anew. Creases now feather her cheeks and forehead where her skin was once smooth and supple. Gone is her naturally dark auburn hair. She colors it blonde to mask the gray.

When I asked Nancy to marry me 45 years ago, I thought I knew her. I thought I loved her. Now, half-listening to her describe the colors she planned to use in her next project, I realized how little I really knew or loved her in 1975.

We’ve weathered many storms during our years together. Some of them were tsunamis. I don’t even like to dredge them up in my memory. Our son suffered through divorce. Nancy’s beloved stepfather died. Two years later, I lost mine. Then Nancy lost her mother. A couple of years ago, I lost mine. Financial crises and long periods of unemployment rocked our marriage from time to time. Friends turned their backs on us because of our commitment to Christ. And then there were a dozen military-related moves from one end of the country to the other, which forced us to leave family, friends, and familiar places.

Sometimes I wonder how we survived it all. God’s grace? Unquestionably. Intervening from the shadows, often without revealing His hand, our Father brought peace when turmoil overwhelmed us, and freedom when fear bound us. He quieted us when, in frustration, we lashed out at each other instead of going to our knees before our God. God’s grace, certainly.

But something else has proven vital to our relationship: our communication with each other. I suppose better than eighty percent of our discussions over the years have been casual.

You know the kind: what’s for dinner, what happened at work, the kids have colds . . . . But because of that casual eighty percent, she and I can also meet in intimate, deeply personal conversations. We are able to talk about our hopes, joys, fears and dreams because we have spent so much of our time learning about each other. That’s why I know her – and love her – so much more today than I did when we married.

Which brings me to the real point.

Forty-eight years ago, I thought I knew Jesus. I thought I loved him. But, oh, how my knowledge of Him and my love for Him are so very different today than they were in 1972 when I first offered Him my heart. Why? Unquestionably, because of God’s grace. But I am sure there is something else at work.

Early in my walk with Christ, I learned the importance of communing with Him in prayer and the study of His scriptures. Over the years, I’ve worn out four Bibles, memorized scores of Scripture texts, and can allude to a hundred more. I’ve spent time with Him in the morning, the evening, and throughout the day.

To be honest, most of my prayers – eighty percent? – are not what I would call passionate. You know the kind: Lord, I need a good evaluation at work. Gerry needs a job. Helen’s son is ill. But because of that eighty percent, because I communicate so often with Him, I know how to be intimate with Him when battles rage beyond my control.  

In the first stanza of his poem, Rabbi Ben Ezra, Robert Browning wrote, “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be. The last of life, for which the first was made, our times are in His hand who said ‘A whole I planned, youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!’”

As husbands and wives grow old together, they learn what love and intimacy with each other looks like. And when men and women grow old with the King of Glory, they learn what love and intimacy with Him is like.

When life’s storms rip at our foundations, when the hot breath of Satan prickles down our neck, our deeply personal knowledge of God will be our fortress. Our passionate love for Him, born through intimate communion, will be our strength. Surely, that is one reason the prophet urged: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

Feeling Like You Are In Exile?

This is the edited version of my pre-recorded sermon for August 23. You can listen to the message on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6zA3Lq7WvwA 

As the days grow increasingly confused and dangerous, I am increasingly concerned that we know in whom we have believed, and that we are convinced that Jesus Christ is not only returning for His Bride, but that He truly is Lord, King, and Master of all Creation and all circumstances.

This knowledge must become in our hearts more than academic or philosophical. It must be visceral, a confidence that is birthed once again in our innermost spirit.

So, turning now to the first verses of chapter one: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

John penned this prophetic unveiling while he was exiled to a small island because the governing powers got tired of hearing his message of Jesus Christ. But oh, what God did with John when he was in exile! Do you realize we would not likely have this wonderful and encouraging message from Jesus Christ if John had NOT been exiled?

In fact, we could say the same thing of the book of Ezekiel. He too was in exile when God gave him his visions recorded for us in his Old Testament book. We could also say the same thing of Daniel who was in exile when God gave him the visions now recorded for us in his book.

Do you feel as if you are living in exile? Many of you are separated from your families. You are separated from your church. To degrees you are separated from your friends and neighbors here. You are exiled to this building and you can’t even go shopping like you used to be able.

Do not fear. God is still able to speak TO you and THROUGH you in this our common exile.

Let’s go back to the first few verses again: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John . . .”

When we speak of God and His timing – the word ‘soon’ does not often mean what I think of as ‘soon.’ For me, soon means this week, or certainly before the next thirty days have gone by. But for God – well, soon could be tonight, or it could be – as is obviously the case with Revelation, ‘soon’ could be 2000 years later.

And for us to think the Lord’s return is so soon that it might be tonight, we are in good company. The first apostles were absolutely convinced the Lord Jesus would return in their lifetime. It was not until decades later that realized their calendar was not the same as that of the Lord Jesus.

Which brings us to the first principle point of this message today: STAY ON THE ALERT. Listen to the warning the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples (Matthew 24:42ff): “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will."

In my sermon a few weeks ago, I acknowledged how difficult it is to stay very long on our tiptoes in anticipation for the Lord’s return. But do not forget this: Although Jesus might not return to earth for another thousand years – He could call any of us home TONIGHT. And thus, the imperative to live properly each day.

Are you ready? And how do you KNOW that you are ready? I hope your answer is NOT based on the church you attend, or because you sang in the church choir or taught Bible lessons to children. Instead, I hope you are sure of your salvation only because of your faith in what God Himself has promised to all who put their trust in Jesus as the sacrifice for their own sins – and you are living in obedience to the best of your ability to the revealed will of God.

There is a reason the Lord Jesus chose to say within the first three verses of this book of promise and of warning: Blessed is he who . . . heed[s] the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Holiness. Righteousness. Sanctification. Perseverance. And God’s Judgment. Fierce, and unending judgment for those who willfully reject the mercy and forgiveness of God to their dying breath. Those are the themes which run like a crimson thread throughout the 22 chapters of this book.

So John continues in verse four, and brings us to my next point: “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood . . . .”

The first point of my message is: Be on the alert. My second point: Be cleansed. Here is what he writes in verse five: To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.

To help us make personal application of the magnitude of what Jesus did for us, I remind you of a story Jesus tells in Luke 7:36-47:

“Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

“And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Most of us have no clue how dark and rancid and gangrenous our sins are – those of our past and those of our present. We sin so easily, so casually, so often without hardly a thought about the depth and breadth of our sins that are an absolute stench in God’s nostrils. They’re only venial sins, as some call them; Little sins that hardly make their way to our conscious thought. A word of gossip. A lie. A harsh word. A selfish act. An improper fantasy. Joking that borders on being vulgar.

If a person lives his or her life with merely an intellectual understanding that he or she is a sinner, that person will NEVER be able to grow as deeply in love with Jesus as He would like all of us to grow.

He who is forgiven much, loves much. He who is forgiven little, loves little. Why? Because he has little reason to rejoice in God’s unfathomable mercy and grace.

Back now to the text. John continues: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

Here John is quoting or alluding to the Old Testament prophecies of the second coming of the Messiah. Zechariah 12:10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son.” And then Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming . . .”

Isn't that a wonderful image? Jesus, coming with the clouds of heaven. And when He comes, every eye will see Him. Remember what the angels said to the apostles as they watched Jesus ascend to heaven? You find in in Acts 1, beginning with verse nine:

[Jesus] was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

I love what John wrote in his first epistle about the Lord’s second coming: “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” (1 John 2:28)

The only reason I can glean from Scripture that would explain why we would shrink from Jesus at His coming would be that we would be consciously living in sin. If we don’t want to shrink away from Him when He returns, then seek from the Holy Spirit the grace and mercy to live a holy life.

As I bring this to a close, John records God the Father saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Which brings me to my third and final point of today’s message. Be Alert. Be cleansed. And be trusting.

God knows the end of the story, the end of history as we know it. There will be no surprises for God at any point in the timeline between today and the day He does away with this present earth and ushers in a new heaven and earth.

And so, He asks me again – Richard, do you trust Me? Will you trust me to lead you every day and into and through every circumstance and situation of your life? Even will you trust Me in your COVID exile?

That’s an important question He asks me. And He asks YOU the same question.

I will not be like Peter and promise I will always and completely trust Him at every twist and turn of my life. I certainly WANT to trust Him that way – but I know the weakness of my flesh all too well. But I can pray that the Holy Spirit mature my faith to that level where I DO trust Him at every twist and turn of my life from now on.

And I am certain that you who want that kind of faith and trust as well for yourself. Won’t you then also ask the Holy Spirit to mature your faith to that level as well.

We continue our series in Revelation next time.

You. Are. Mine.

This is an edited version of the message I preached online for Sunday August 16, 2020. You can also listen to the message on YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISyILTA1GJw 

My text today comes from the first verse of Isaiah 43: But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel,

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

That Isaiah begins his message with “Thus says the Lord,” is not an insignificant point. Everything we say about this text is rooted in those four words: “Thus says the Lord.”

Why? Because He is the almighty Creator of all that is seen and unseen. When God speaks, who can silence Him? Who can open what he has closed, or close what He has opened? The Scriptures from one end of the book to the other proclaim His absolute and undiluted authority and sovereignty over all creation – peoples, nations, economies, even viruses, famines, plagues, hurricanes and tornadoes  – the whole of nature itself.

And it does not matter one whit the power that any person or any nation might have. They are all, each one and every one, merely tools in the divinely orchestrated symphony called ‘God’s Purpose and Will.”

Why does God keep reminding us of His authority and supreme power? Because we so easily forget to remember – not a speck of dust falls to the ground without His permission. Not a person can harm us without God’s permission. Not a demon in hell – not even Satan himself – can touch us without God’s permission.

The Lord Jesus, as He stood before the Roman governor who was about to condemn Him to the cross, Jesus said to him: “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:10-11a)

I need to repeat that – for myself, and for you. Jesus said to the Roman governor Pilate: “You would have no authority over me unless My Father had given it to you.”

And let me quickly add, He says the same thing to presidents, and congressmen and women, and to judges and Supreme Court Justices – they have not power except what God has given them. And Oh! They’d better use that power wisely and justly.

Pilate’s power was merely an illusion. Without God’s permission, he was no more powerful than a cockroach.

Remember what Jesus said to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers surrounded them to take Jesus into custody. Matthew tells us: Then Jesus said to [Peter], “Put your sword back into its place . . . Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?” (Matthew 26:52-53)

St Therese of Lisieux died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. Here is what she learned about God at a very young age:  “Everything is a grace, everything is the direct effect of our Father's love - difficulties, contradictions, humiliations, all the soul's miseries, her burdens, her needs - everything, because through them, she learns humility, realizes her weakness . . . Whatever be the character of life or its unexpected events - to the heart that loves, all is well.”

Standing in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus held all authority in heaven and on earth in His grasp. Nevertheless, He let Himself be carried along by the events which, to the uninformed eye, were evil and unthinkable and ultimately deadly. But to the eye of faith, everything that was unfolding in the Garden, even to Golgotha’s hill – everything was ALL part of God’s perfect Symphony of Salvation. Everything, Jesus knew, was a grace because to the heart that loves the Father, all is well.

God also tells us through Isaiah: Do not fear.

Again through Isaiah God asks us: “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies and of the son of man who is made like grass, that you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, as he makes ready to destroy?” (Isaiah 51:12-13)

Christian! Do not fear; Not the COVID virus, not the riots and social upheavals rampaging across the country – not anything in your life. Our God is sovereign over all things, all things, all things. And God assures us: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty . . . . He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.” (Psalm 91:1-4)

And God then reminds us He has redeemed you and me who have given our hearts to our Savior, Jesus. One dictionary definition of redemption is: the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment or the clearing of a debt.

Some of you may remember singing this song in church:

“He paid the debt he did not owe. I owed the debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace . . . Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.”

He paid the debt on calvary. He saved my soul. He set me free. I’m so glad that Jesus washed all my sins away. And now I sing a brand-new song,
Amazing Grace . . .Christ paid the debt that I could never pay.

Almighty God – the One who created us – has redeemed us! Listen to what Holy Spirit tells us through Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus . . .” (Romans 3:23-24) 

And in chapter five: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (5:8)

When God had Paul use the word “Justification’ it was because God wants us to know that as a direct result of His mercy, when we come to Him in humble faith, He imputes – He ‘credits’ to us – the righteousness of the sinless Son of God, and our sins are imputed to Him – credited, shall we say, to Him. That is precisely what Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21: God made Him who knew no sin to BE sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

In simple terms, God now declares those who are in Christ to be without guilt because of our faith in Christ’s sacrificial atonement for us. God declares sinners like you and me ‘innocent,’ because Jesus’ righteousness has been credited to our account.

So, God He tells through Isaiah to fear not. He tells us He has redeemed us. And He also tells us He calls us by our name.

I have heard far too many preachers and apologists opine that the idea that Jesus is a “personal savior” is foreign to the New Testament message. They say Jesus came to save a ‘church’. In their opinion, community  salvation – and not personal  salvation – is the pre-eminent focus of Scripture.

What an unbiblical deceptive lie that is! No wonder so many people in the pew feel distanced from their heavenly Father. They’re told again and again in subtle and not-so-subtle ways they’re just one of a bunch. They say there’s really nothing special about them or that God’s desire is for a personal and intimate relationship with them.

I will tell you as plainly as I know how – that kind of tripe is an outrageous lie.

Yes, Jesus took on human flesh to save the “church” (Ephesians 5:25-27) and to establish a ‘people’ for Himself (Titus 2:14). But texts taken out of context are usually pretexts to teach error. For, let us not forget:

The Good Shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep safe in the fold and searched for the ONE gone astray (Luke 15:3-7). He sought for the ONE blind man who’d been ostracized from his synagogue (John 9:1-38). He made a point to pass through Samaria to meet ONE woman unwelcomed by her community (John 4:1-38). The Philippian jailer pleaded with St. Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” And the apostle answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ‘you’ will be saved” (Acts 15:25-31). “Come to me” the Lord Jesus invited, “ALL [i.e. every ONE of you] who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give [each of] you rest” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Over and over, the Holy Spirit makes the point through both the New Testament and Old Testament writers – Jesus longs for us to each know Him as our personal savior. He longs for us to each know Him in an intimate, warm and richly emotional relationship.

Let’s return now again to today’s primary text. God tells us -- “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name.” And now, the fifth point, God immediately adds: You. Are. Mine!

When the Holy Spirit opened our hearts to the message of God’s offer to forgive all of our sins and to adopt us into His family, and when we responded by entering the waters of baptism and our ongoing devotion to Christ, then you and I – singular, unique, special – you and I belong to God.

Please hear this: Almighty God says to you – whatever is your name – He says to you right now: “You. Are. Mine.”

Do you not know that He loves you so very much that He personally, with His own fingers, formed you in your mothers’ womb? (Psalm 139:13). He loves you so much that He is intimately involved with your every movement and moment (Psalm 139:3). He calls you by your name (John 10:3); He knows how many hairs you have on your head (Luke 12:7), and not a word passes across your tongue that He does not already know (Psalm 139:4).

Truly, you are your beloved’s, He is yours . . . and His banner over ‘you’ is love. (See the Song of Solomon 2:4)

Oh, may God the Holy Spirit help us to no longer remain biblically illiterate, but to study the Scriptures daily to see whether the words of preachers and pastors and evangelists and priests and deacons – and yes, even if MY words are truth.

The omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Creator is our FATHER – our ‘Abba’ – our DADDY, if you will. He is ours and we are His through our faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Therefore, we will not fear. He has redeemed us with His own and most costly blood. He has called you and me, each of us personally by name. And He says to each of us who are His through Christ alone:

You. Are. Mine.