Sermon #1361                                  Miscellaneous Sermons

 

Title:                       The Believer’s

Response To God’s Salvation

          Text:            Isaiah 12:1-6

          Readings:     Bob Poncer and Gary Baker

          Subject:       Praise To God For His Grace

          Date:            Sunday Evening – August 29, 1999

          Tape #         V-43b

 

          Introduction:

 

          I have no doubt that I am speaking to some here tonight who will soon, perhaps this very hour, be saved by God’s almighty free grace in Christ. You fully deserve the wrath of God. Your personal depravity, sin, rebellion, and obstinate unbelief deserve to be punished forever. But God is gracious. And he will soon save some of you.

 

·        He chose you as the object of his love in eternal election.

·        The Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed you with his own precious blood - He obeyed the law of God for you - And he satisfied the offended justice of God as your Substitute at Calvary.

·        If God the Father chose you and God the Son redeemed you, I am here to tell you that there is a day appointed which you cannot escape, a day of grace, and when that day comes God the Holy Spirit will effectually give you life and call you to faith in Christ by his irresistible grace (Ps. 65:4; 110:3).

 

          Perhaps you are now a scoffer. Maybe you secretly laugh at all the fuss we make about grace, righteousness, redemption, and the glory of God. But in that day God has appointed, if you are privileged to be numbered among his elect, a radical change will take place in your heart. I want to talk to you now about that day. I pray that this very day shall be to some of you the day of God’s salvation.

 

          Let’s turn in our Bibles to Isaiah 12. The title of my message is - The Believer’s Response To God’s Salvation. I want to show you tonight how sinners who are saved by God’s sovereign grace respond to his salvation. My text is Isaiah 12:1-6. This chapter is Isaiah’s conclusion to the sermon that began in chapter 8.

 

Proposition: This whole sermon is a prophecy of the coming of Christ and the day of God’s salvation and grace.

 

v.    1 - “And in that day” - The day Isaiah is talking about is the day of grace and salvation. It is the day when God comes to deliver his elect from the bondage of sin. This day of salvation was typified in the deliverance of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. (11:16). The redemption of Israel out of Egypt was twofold.

 

·        A Redemption by Price - The Blood of the Lamb.

·        A Redemption by Power - “His Mighty Wind” (11:15; John 3:8).

 

          We know that Isaiah is writing about this gospel age and the day of salvation for God’s elect because chapter eleven shows us that our salvation, the salvation of God’s elect is in the subject being addressed. Look at a few verses in chapter eleven. In the day that God comes to a sinner in saving grace there will be

 

1.   An Outpouring of His Spirit (11:15).

 

And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make [men] go over dryshod.  (Isaiah 11:15)

 

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.  (Zechariah 12:10)

 

2.   A Revelation of His Son (11:10).

 

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.  (Isaiah 11:10)

 

3.   A Gathering of His Elect (11:11-12).

 

And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.    And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  (Isaiah 11:11-12)

 

4.   A Conversion by His Almighty Grace (11:6-9).

 

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.    And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.    And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.    They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.  (Isaiah 11:6-9)

 

          Read on. Look at the next line in verse 1. “In that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise Thee!

 

The word for “praise” here is “confess.” When God comes to his elect in saving power and grace, the sinner whom he saves will confess Christ (Rom. 10:9-13) -

 

·        In His Heart.

·        With His Mouth.

·        In Baptism.

 

And this is the confession we make to God our Savior, for the praise of the glory of his grace.

 

          Though thou was angry with me” - Have you ever known the wrath of God upon you? When he comes in saving grace the first thing he does is to reveal his wrath against sin (2 Cor. 5:11“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”). Until you are lost you will never be saved.

 

          Thine anger is turned away!” Turned away by the precious blood of Christ and turned away by the gracious application of the blood to my heart (Heb. 9:12-14).

 

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us].    For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:    How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  (Hebrews 9:12-14)

 

          And thou comfortest me!” (Isa. 40:1-2). How does God comfort his people? He does it through the preaching of the gospel by the power of his Spirit by which…

 

1.   The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts (Rom. 5:1-5).

2.   The forgiveness of sin is proclaimed in our souls (I John 1:9).

3.   The promises of the covenant are made known to us (2 Tim. 1:9-10).

 

Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,    But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour  Jesus   Christ,   who   hath   abolished  death,   and   hath brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel:  (2 Timothy 1:9-10)

 

4.   The sweet assurance of acceptance with and access to God is granted to our consciences (Heb. 10:15-23).

 

[Whereof] the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,    This [is] the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;    And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.    Now where remission of these [is, there is] no more offering for sin.    Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,    By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;    And [having] an high priest over the house of God;    Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.    Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;)  (Hebrews 10:15-23)

 

          NOW, LOOK AT… Isaiah is still describing the confessions of a sinner saved by the grace of God

 

v.    2 - “Behold, God is my salvation” - or God is my Savior.

 

          The Lord Jesus Christ is God, the great God and our Savior. He is the Savior appointed by the Father, promised in the covenant, and sent in the fullness of time, and now revealed in my heart by the Spirit.

 

          Notice that word, “Behold,” which prefixes this confession.

·        It is a word of assurance - “God is my salvation.”

·        It is a word of affirmation, acknowledging to all that God is my salvation.

·        It is a word of adoration, admiring God for his salvation.

·        It is a word of exclusion, declaring that God alone is my Savior. It is a word of amazement. This great and glorious God is my salvation (1 John 3:1).

·        And it is a word of hope to all who hear it - If God is my salvation, maybe he will be your salvation too!

 

READ ON.

 

          I will trust and not be afraid!” I will trust Christ for all my salvation, be confident of him, and look upon myself as one who is safe and secure in him. And trusting him, I will not be afraid (Rom. 8:28-29). “I will not be afraid!”

 

·        Of Sin!

·        Of Satan!

·        Of the World!

·        Of the Flesh!

·        Of Death!

·        Of Hell!

·        Of Condemnation! – Trusting Christ alone as my salvation, I have absolutely no reason to be afraid even of the holiness, justice, and truth of God!

 

          The ground of this confident faith is not myself, my works, my feelings, or my experience, but in my God.  Read the rest of verse two.

 

For the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”

 

The Lord JEHOVAH is God my Deliverer. He is Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

 

1.   He is my Strength.

 

·        The Strength of my Life.

·        The Strength of all Grace.

·        The Strength of all Duty.

·        The Strength for every Trial.

 

2.   He is my Song.

 

·        His Person.

·        His Work.

 

3.   He is my Salvation.

 

          If ever you come to Christ and obtain salvation by him, you will never tire of hearing it, or of repeating it. “The Lord JEHOVAH, he is become my salvation!”

 

          John Gill said, “Salvation is wrought out by Christ, and believers have it in him, and they know it, and believe it, and are already saved in him.”

 

          MOVE ON TO

 

v.    3 - “Therefore” because God is your salvation, “with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

 

          Water represents daily, reviving, refreshing grace. The bucket with which we draw this water is faith. It must be drawn by prayer. What are these wells of salvation?

 

1.   The Triune God.

 

·        The Father (Jer. 2:13 -- “the fountain of living waters”).

·        The Spirit (John 4:14A well of water “springing up unto everlasting life!”).

·        The Son (Song 4:15My Beloved is “a well of living water”).

 

2.   The Word of God.

3.   The Covenant of Grace.

4.   The Promises of the Gospel.

 

          Now, look at verse four. Once God saves a sinner by his grace, the saved sinner is not content to have grace himself. He wants others to worship, honor, praise, and trust his God. Look at this next verse.

 

v.    4 - “And in that day ye shall say, Praise the Lord!” Believers want all men to give praise to Christ, the Lord.

 

·        For His Person.

·        For His Perfection.

·        For His Performances.

 

          Call upon His name.” That is to say, “Worship Him.” To call upon the name of the Lord is not merely saying his name. It is worshipping him!

 

          Declare His doings among the people.” Declare to all the world what wondrous things Christ has done.

 

·        His Obedience.

·        His Death.

·        His Intercession.

·        His Grace.

·        His Providence.

 

          Make mention that his name is exalted” (Acts 4:12; Phil. 2:9-10).

 

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.  (Acts 4:12)

 

  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:    That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;    And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:9-11)

 

VERSE 5 - “Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things.”

 

Sing unto the Lord songs, and hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing how great and good he is. Sing of what he is in himself. And sing of what he is to his people, “for he hath done excellent things.”

 

1. He has wrought out an excellent salvation.

2.   He has brought in an excellent righteousness.

3.   He has offered up an excellent sacrifice.

4.   He has obtained an excellent victory.

 

          This is known in all the earth!” The apostles preached it everywhere. The church in ages past has made it known to all. And we must in our day make it known in all places.

 

Now, look at verse six.

 

v.    6 - “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”

 

          Here is great reason for constant, exuberant praise among God’s saints.

 

1.   Christ, the Holy One of Israel, is “in the midst of thee.”

2.   And He is Great!

 

·        A Great God.

·        A Great Redeemer.

·        A Great Savior.

·        A Great King.

·        A Great High Priest.

·        A Great Husband.

·        A Great Friend.

 

May God be pleased to make him yours this hour by the mighty operation of his grace, granting you life and faith in his dear Son. God grant it, I pray, for Christ’s sake.

 

AMEN.