REDEEMED! – part 3
Isaiah 43:1-44:5 (43:14-21)
March 17, 2024
John MacArthur shared this story in a sermon on redemption:
“I remember when I was a little boy I read a book, a little book. It left an indelible impression upon my mind. It was about a little boy who made a little boat. He got some pieces of wood and he kind of carved them out and glued them together and made a little boat and put a little mast on it and made a little sail and attached it to the boat, and worked very hard with his little tools and produced what to him was a very special little sailboat, and painted it up the way he wanted it. Went down to the lake nearby to sail it. It was carried along, however, by a strong breeze and eventually got beyond his reach and then it went out of sight. He was sad about losing this little prize of his own craftsmanship. And later walking through the little town he lived in he noticed it was for sale in the window of a shop. He went in and told the shopkeeper that it was his and he tried to lay claim to it. He was not believed, however, and the man behind the counter demanded that if he wanted it he’d have to pay for it. He’d have to buy the very boat that he had made with his own hands. He went home, broke open his little piggy bank and found that he had just enough money. So he returned to the shop, put the money on the counter and bought back his little boat. It was surely his then, twice his, he said, because he not only made it but he redeemed it.”
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/80-200/the-basics-of-redemption
Well that’s the concept we are talking about here in Isaiah 43.
We are talking about being REDEEMED!
We are seeing not only what redemption is, but even more specifically
We are seeing who it’s for, and what it does.
As you know,
• Isaiah is preaching prophetically to a people who will live over 100 years after him.
• He is preaching specifically to those who will be exiles in Babylon as a result of their idolatry before God.
• Those captives, no doubt were concerned that God had totally abandoned them and rejected them.
But nothing could be farther from the truth.
And the reason is because they had been redeemed.
Isaiah 43:1 “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!”
• Certainly Israel had been exiled.
• Certainly Israel was being disciplined by God.
• Certainly they deserved it.
But that never meant that God was finished with them,
Or that that He had somehow forgotten them.
On the contrary, He had redeemed them.
We know the same to be true for the church.
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”
Colossians 1:13-14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Hebrews 9:11-12 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Like Israel, we have been redeemed.
When Isaiah starts speaking about the benefits of redemption
To those captives in Babylon,
We are also very interested to learn about it.
• We want to know what this redemption is.
• We want to know who it is for.
• We want to know what it does.
And that is what we are learning here in Isaiah 43.
As we said from the outset, there are 5 realities of redemption
That we want to look at here in Isaiah 43 and the first 5 verses of 44.
We saw the first one last Sunday morning:
#1 A PARTICULAR REDEMPTION
Isaiah 43:1-7
In that we mean that God didn’t universally redeem all people,
But He totally and effectively and powerfully redeemed His people.
If you try to hold to a universal redemption
Then you strip the very work of redemption of all its power.
Because it then becomes a redemption that can’t save.
When you see that Christ died to redeem everyone,
But not everyone ends up saved
Then clearly it is a redemption that can’t redeem without help.
And though we listed several problems with that,
THE ONE WE FOCUS ON here is the great disservice that does to the confidence of those who are redeemed.
Church you need to understand the benefits of a particular redemption.
Isaiah taught us that God’s redemption was NOT universal.
IN FACT God gave up Egypt to redeem Israel.
Isaiah 43:3 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.”
Clearly God redeemed Israel, not Egypt.
• But what God did for Israel was totally effective and powerful.
• He brought them out with a mighty hand…all of those whom He had redeemed.
So God’s redemption is limited to a particular people,
But we also now know that it is a powerful redemption
To totally save everyone it is for.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING as someone who Christ redeemed
Who does not enjoy the full benefits of redemption (salvation).
Christ’s redemption is a powerful redemption!
• Those He purchases are His.
• He does not abandon them or forget them.
• It is a particular redemption.
We know that as those who have been redeemed, Christ will have us.
1. We are His!
2. We are Safe!
3. We are Precious!
4. We are Returning!
Charles Spurgeon once said on this issue:
“We say Christ so died that he infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through Christ’s death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved.”
(Owen, John [The Death of Death In The Death of Christ; The Banner of Truth Trust; Carlisle, PA 2020] pg.14)
We do not say that God redeemed every man,
But those He did redeem are actually and totally redeemed indeed!
“He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood!”
“From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride, with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.”
J.I. Packer wrote:
“Redemption, according to Arminianism, secured for God a right to make this offer, but did not of itself ensure that anyone would ever accept it…Christ’s death created an opportunity for the exercise of saving faith, but that is all it did…Calvinists, however, define redemption as Christ’s actual substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners, through which God was reconciled to them, their liability to punishment was forever destroyed, and a title to eternal life was secured for them. In consequence of this, they now have in God’s sight a right to the gift of faith, as the means of entry into the enjoyment of the inheritance. Calvary, in other words, not merely made possible the salvation of those for whom Christ died; it ensured that they would be brought to faith and their salvation made actual. The cross saves. “Where as the Arminian will only say: “I could not have gained my salvation without Calvary,” the Calvinist will say: “Christ gained my salvation for me at Calvary.”
(ibid. pg. 7)
Amen to that!
“Jesus paid it all! All to Him I owe! Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”
He has redeemed us! We are His!
He bought us! We are His!
He will not be without those whom He has purchased.
It is a particular redemption.
#2 A PURPOSED REDEMPTION
Isaiah 43:8-13
This we saw Sunday night.
That the purpose of our redemption is the glory of God.
We saw that Israel was nothing but blind and deaf sinners, but God CALLED them out anyway.
• ABSOLUTE INABILITY
• UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
• EFFECTUAL CALL
We saw that God then CHALLENGED the false gods to show even one person whom they had been able to redeem.
Of course they could not.
We saw the CONCLUSION of the matter.
Isaiah 43:10-13 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
There we were reminded that God’s redemption cannot be resisted or undone. If He redeems you, no one can reverse it.
• PRESERVATION OF THE SAINTS
In short God does it all, without any aid from the sinner.
It demonstrates that God alone is God and that He alone can save.
THE PURPOSE OF REDEMPTION IS THE GLORY OF GOD.
We receive the benefits and blessings of redemption,
But the glory of it is all His!
It is a Particular redemption and it is a Purposed redemption
This morning let’s look at the third aspect of this redemption.
#3 A PROMISING REDEMPTION
Isaiah 43:14-21
That is to say that benefits and blessings of redemption
Extend even into promises for the future.
When we speak of having been redeemed
• We DON’T JUST boast in what God has done for us,
• We ALSO anticipate what God has promised still to do.
Redemption has blessings remembered from the past,
But also anticipated in the future.
And this is the direction Isaiah takes his congregation in these 8 verses.
Here God speaks about His work on Israel’s behalf.
1) WHAT I AM DOING (14-15)
“Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And will bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the ships in which they rejoice. “I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.”
NOTICE FIRST: the way in which God here addresses Himself to His people in exile.
When we began the chapter in verse 1
God introduced Himself as “Creator” and “He who formed you”.
We noted how those titles are true, but they are also true of every man.
• God created all men.
• God formed all nations.
BUT NOW God has moved to that more glorious title
Which is reserved only for those whom He has saved.
To them we read, “Thus says the LORD your Redeemer”
God is your Creator, but for us He is more, He is also our Redeemer
Just like the boy with the sail boat, we are doubly His for He made us and bought us
We even find great joy in the second title whereby God reveals Himself as “the Holy One of Israel”
• Not just the Holy One, but Israel’s Holy One.
• We are His, but He is also ours.
It just reminds us yet again of
The personal and particular nature of God’s redemption.
I cannot stress it enough.
It is NOT just some universal indifferent powerless redemption where God redeems all but may or may not have them.
• There is a relationship here.
• There is an intimacy here.
• We are His and He is ours because He has redeemed us.
You see that language throughout.
And here we take a step forward
To see WHAT GOD IS DOING on behalf of His redeemed.
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And will bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the ships in which they rejoice.”
What is God speaking about here?
He is speaking about His current mission to overthrow Babylon.
• Remember, Cyrus of Persia is on his way.
• He is coming to topple Babylon.
He will “bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the chips in which they rejoice.”
When Habakkuk spoke of Babylon, he described their cruelty and idolatry like this:
Habakkuk 1:15-16 “The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful.”
• Habakkuk spoke of them like literal fishers of men.
• He described them as those who catch men and haul them off
• And then give credit to their idols for their success.
Isaiah says God is about to treat them like the fish
And load them up in ships and carry them away.
THAT IS WHAT GOD IS CURRENTLY DOING.
Cyrus isn’t here yet, but God knows he’s coming.
And do you notice why?
“For your sake…”
• Just as God gave Egypt as a ransom for His redeemed now He will do the same to Babylon.
TURN TO: JEREMIAH 50
(READ 50:1-20)
• You see there God’s announcement of Babylon’s judgment because she has offended God and oppressed His people.
• He is answering her foul treatment of those He redeemed.
(READ 50:28)
(READ 50:33-34)
• God is coming as a strong Redeemer to rescue those whom He has purchased.
(READ 51:1-10)
And did you catch verse 5?
“For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken By his God, the LORD of hosts, Although their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel.”
You see the point over and over and over.
RIGHT NOW Israel is slaves languishing under Babylonian rule.
• It is hard to see what God is doing…if anything.
• The land is anxious because they know Cyrus is on his way.
And God’s response to His people is: I’M DOING THIS ALL FOR YOU.
• I’m the One sending Cyrus.
• I’m the One toppling Babylon.
• And I’m doing it for My people.
AND WE STOP HERE YET AGAIN
And just ponder the blessing of being one of God’s redeemed.
It is often that we have no clue what is really going on in the world.
• We are all subject to whatever deceptive media outlet we watch.
• None of them tell us the truth,
• And even if what they say is true, none of them tell us the whole truth.
• And part of the reason is, they don’t really know.
Let’s face it, WE DON’T KNOW what the future holds for our nation,
For our society, for our normal way of life.
BUT GOD DOES…
And WE DON’T FULLY UNDERSTAND everything going on right now.
We agree that our nation is a nation that is under the wrath of God.
• If you believe Romans 1 that is the only conclusion you can come to.
• There is no other explanation for the rise of idolatry, homosexuality, and
depravity.
Ours is a nation that God is judging.
• We don’t know if that judgment will be redemptive or destructive.
• We have no idea if it is God’s plan to save the United States of America or to
destroy it.
But we do know this.
WHATEVER GOD DOES,
HE DOES FOR THE BENEFIT OF HIS PEOPLE.
Everything God is doing right now, He is doing for His people.
WE HAVE BEEN REDEEMED…WE ARE HIS.
• We are not under condemnation.
• We are not under wrath.
• We have been redeemed.
We may feel like Lot in Sodom,
• But God pulled Lot out before He destroyed Sodom.
We may feel like Noah in a wicked world,
• But God preserved Noah through the judgment.
As we read last Sunday morning:
Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”
And again, WHY?
Because, “I have redeemed you…you are Mine”
Here you have God revealing what He is currently doing.
It is imperceptive to the eyes and ears of His people.
• But rest assured God is at work.
It may even look like everything is unravelling.
• But not for God’s people.
I promise you the same is true today.
• You may not know where.
• You man not know how.
• But I promise you that God is currently at work for the benefit of His people.
(15) “I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.”
• Not THE “Holy One”
• Not THE “King”
• But “YOUR Holy One…YOUR King.”
I am yours and you are Mine.
All that you see going on, I am doing for you.
That is what God is doing.
There is a second point God would make.
2) WHAT I HAVE DONE (16-17)
“Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters, Who brings forth the chariot and the horse, The army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick):”
What is God referring to here?
It is the Exodus.
• When God made “a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters”
• When He called the chariot and the horse in too,
• But then closed the waters over them and put out their candle so that they would not rise again.
It’s a reference to God’s past redemption.
Exodus 3:7-10 “The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Exodus 6:1-8 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.” God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them. “I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. “Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ‘I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.’”
God is reminding them of what He has already done.
• According to His promises to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,
• God promised to redeem their descendants and bring them back.
• He promised to deliver them with a mighty hand.
And God did that.
ISRAEL KNEW THIS.
Every year they commemorated it with the taking of the Passover
To remember how God delivered them out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
This is God’s way of reminding them that
He is at work for them even though they may not see it.
Do you suppose God would go to all that trouble to deliver you out of Egypt only to lose you in Babylon?
• Of course not.
• He redeemed you.
• He worked for you and He is working for you now.
And to that, we can all think of past redemption in our lives.
Certainly we think of the work of the cross.
• How our sin was imputed to Him and He bore it.
• How He rose from the dead proving He was effective.
But even on a personal note, do you remember God’s specific deliverance of you in the past?
• Think of your testimony.
• Think of our changed life.
• Think of your freedom from sin.
Do you remember what God has done for you?
Well that should give you confidence that God is currently working for you now as well.
But even that is NOT the main point.
Finally we come to it:
3) WHAT I WILL DO (18-21)
“Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. “The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. “The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.”
After reminding them of the great deliverance God gave them out of Egypt God then says, “Do not call to mind former things, Or ponder things of the past.”
Certainly that DOES NOT MEAN that God wants them to forget the Exodus.
Certainly that DOES NOT MEAN God wants them to stop taking the Passover.
What it does mean is that Israel shouldn’t act as though
All the benefits of their redemption have already been experienced.
Don’t assume that the Exodus was
The only benefit of redemption that you will ever receive from God.
Some benefits of redemption
• Already happened (Exodus)
• Are currently happening (Cyrus is coming)
• Are still coming (you are going home)
You actually have God here speaking about a new Exodus.
(19-20) “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. “The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people.”
God says DON’T just focus on what I have done,
Turn your gaze toward what I am about to do.
The FIRST TIME I opened a roadway through the sea.
• THIS TIME “I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.”
And this river in the wilderness will be so mighty and so sufficient
That even the wild animals are going to benefit from it and love it.
They will love the waters, but they are not for them, they are for you.
“To give drink to My chosen people.”
THERE IS THAT PARTICULAR REDEMPTION AGAIN!
IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE, IT IS FOR YOU.
Do others benefit from My blessings poured out upon you? Yes.
BUT THE BLESSING IS FOR YOU.
We see that even today.
• We are taught how the only reason the tares are allowed to exist is because
God is not willing to damage the wheat in order to destroy them.
• Peter reminded us that the only reason that God has not yet returned to
destroy the world is because He’s patiently waiting for all His elect to be saved
• Sodom benefited from the presence of Lot
• Unbelieving spouses benefit from the presence of a believing spouse
Even though wild animals may enjoy the benefits,
That river is for God’s chosen people.
And again, Who are His redeemed?
(21) “The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.”
There are those previous two points reiterated again.
• We see that particular atonement – “The people whom I formed for Myself”
• We see that purposed atonement – “Will declare My praise”
But here the call of God is for Israel
To not simply focus on what God did in the past,
But to fix their eyes on what God has promised to do in the future.
The benefits of redemption certainly BECAME OURS AT THE CROSS,
But THEY EXTEND far into eternity.
Romans 5:9-10 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
Do you catch the “much more” there?
• Certainly we received justification (past tense)
• Certainly we received reconciliation (past tense)
• But there is “much more” to come.
• “we shall be saved by His life”
There is a salvation that is to us past tense (justification)
There is a salvation that is to us present tense (sanctification)
There is a salvation that is to us future tense (glorification)
Romans 8:29-30 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
God did a work for us.
God is at work for us.
God will still do more for us.
THERE ARE STILL MORE PROMISES
Ours is a promising redemption.
The focus of our text this morning is to get you to lift your eyes and see
That the benefits of the cross don’t stop at the moment of your salvation.
The cross is also currently at work in your life to SANCTIFY you.
1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
• Paul spoke us as “being saved” as in presently.
Let me remind you that sanctification is salvation too!
• God is saving you in your sanctification.
• That is good.
But even that is NOT the main focus of this passage.
THE FOCUS HERE IS ON WHAT GOD WILL DO.
So much so that God told these refugees, “Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past.”
And what sort of things was God talking about?
THEM GOING HOME!
Jeremiah 19:10-11 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Church, we want to recognize this today as well.
The cross worked in the past to justify you and reconcile you to God.
The cross is working in the present to sanctify you.
But the cross is also at work in your life to bring you safely home.
I don’t want you to forget all that God did for you in the past,
But today God turns our attention toward
What He has promised to do for His redeemed in the future.
Paul said:
2 Timothy 4:18 “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Peter wrote:
1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
And in his second letter:
2 Peter 3:10-13 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
Do you see what we look forward to?
Why can we anticipate such things?
• Why can we so eagerly look forward to heaven?
• Why can we know that God will do this for us?
• Because: “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”
Listen to this one:
Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
Do you suppose that God would pay the price of the life of His Son to redeem you and then withhold the benefits of that redemption from you?
Does God typically pay for that which He does not receive?
Of course not!
He paid for us… “how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
It is the “all things” you need to FOCUS ON this morning church.
This life is not all there is.
This broken country is not all there is.
This fallen world is not all there is.
God promised those refugees that Babylon wouldn’t last.
I’ve got something better for you!
I’m bringing you home!
Why would you cling to Babylon?
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
Philippians 3:7-13 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
We read all of those passages about Babylon’s judgment from Jeremiah.
There were also some APPEALS in there.
Jeremiah 50:8 “Wander away from the midst of Babylon And go forth from the land of the Chaldeans; Be also like male goats at the head of the flock.”
Jeremiah 51:6 “Flee from the midst of Babylon, And each of you save his life! Do not be destroyed in her punishment, For this is the LORD’S time of vengeance; He is going to render recompense to her.”
Jeremiah 51:45 “Come forth from her midst, My people, And each of you save yourselves From the fierce anger of the LORD.”
God IS destroying this place and He’s doing it for you!
Go read Revelation 18.
Church, Christ died to redeem us.
• He purchased our pardon and we have been forgiven of our sin.
• He also died to sanctify us and by His present work as aliens in this foreign land we are being saved through sanctification.
• But He also died to glorify us and through His redemption we have an inheritance secured and it is ours.
Let go of this broken fallen system.
Let go of this world.
And this morning set your eyes on what is coming!
Glory awaits His bride.
We are going home!
Why?
Because, “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”
