This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Hi, this is Pastor Tom and I want to welcome you to week 6, day 1 of a look
through the book of Isaiah, chapter 43 today. Remember, where are we in this
study? Remember part 1 of Isaiah is about God's vision for change.

Part 2, which we started last week, is about God's vision for a different kind
of comfort. God does not want you to settle for a comfortable life. He does want
you to live a comforted life.

Comforted, it has to do with what you're resting on. When you rest your trust on
God, you experience His comfort through your daily life. When you try to rest
your trust on something else for your comfort, you experience this drain in your
daily life.

When you find your comfort in God, you find God's power for your daily life. So
we start this week with chapter 43 and then into the beginning of chapter 44. In
this chapter we see five powerful reasons you can live in God's comfort.

Reason number one, God has called you by name. Isaiah 43, 1-3, "But now," this
is what the Lord says, "he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel, do
not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name.

You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you
pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set
you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

" These words, first prophetically spoken by Isaiah, were first addressed to
people far away from home with many more years to go before they would come back
into the promised land. In many ways this relates to our lives. We're far away
from heaven as our home, many more years to go on this earth, and he gives them
this promise in the midst of this, "Don't forget, you're called by God's name.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, you are called by God's name. " Now notice he
does not say here that they will not face problems because they're called by
God's name. He does say that God will be with them in their problems.

He does say that God will protect them in their problems. When you pass through
the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not
sweep over you.

You're going to face some rivers, some fires, some difficulties in this life,
but you're called by his name. He's going to be with you. You may feel like your
problems are too great to bear.

Here's the comfort. Your problems cannot destroy you. Even death cannot destroy
you because you're God's, and he protects those who are his.

Second truth in this chapter, to comfort you in daily life, God uses you as his
witness. In verse 10 down to verse 12, "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 no God was formed, and there will not be one
after me.

I even I am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and
saved and proclaimed. I am not some foreign God among you.

You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, that I am God. " This chapter reminds
us that your comfort not only comes from God's ministry to you, but also from
the fact that he uses you to minister to others. Now you may think you don't
have much to offer as a witness, or maybe that you've made too many mistakes to
be a witness.

Here's the comfort. God wants to use you no matter what, no matter what your
fears, no matter what your past. These words are given prophetically to Israel
while they're in exile because of their sins.

And God there is still telling them, "You are my witnesses. " We do suffer
consequences for our sins, no doubt about that. But one of those consequences is
not God deciding to no longer use you.

No matter what, he still has a purpose for you. You can be a witness to how God
pulls you out of the pit, even if you jumped into that pit. You can be a witness
to the truth that God is a God of a second chance.

Third truth to give you God's comfort in daily life is in verse 13, "God holds
you in his hand. " Isaiah 43, 13 says, "From eternity to eternity I am God. No
one can snatch anyone out of my hand.

No one can undo what I have done. " Now you may realize how deeply this reminds
us of Jesus' words in John chapter 10, that we are his sheep, the sheep of his
pasture. No one can snatch us out of God's hands.

You may be afraid that you're not strong enough to hold on to God. Here's the
comfort, he's holding on to you. Remember that today.

Fourth truth in this chapter is the truth that God is doing something new.
That's what you hold on to for God's comfort in daily life. God is doing
something new.

43, verse 16 says, "This is what the Lord says, 'He who made a way through the
sea, a path through the mighty waters. '" So he's referring here to the Red Sea.
And this had been the moment of victory for the people of Israel.

The assurance again and again for God's people that God would be there with them
in any circumstance. God looks back to this moment of deliverance at the Red Sea
again and again and again throughout the Old Testament. They were commanded to
look together at this moment of deliverance every year as they celebrated the
Passover.

So knowing how important a moment this was, that makes what is said next even
more shocking. Beginning in verse 18, after talking about the Red Sea, Isaiah
prophesies, "Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past.

See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild
animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the
wilderness and streams in the wasteland to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself, that they may proclaim my praise. " God is doing
something new.

Now it may appear to you that God isn't doing much in your life right now.
Here's the comfort. God is doing something new because of Jesus Christ, and
that's what he's referring to here as he talks about this stream that's in the
wasteland, in the desert, this way that he's prepared.

God is doing something new in your life. In fact, he's doing something new in
you, and he's doing something new for you. In you, he's growing you in the
character of Christ.

Even with all the struggle that you might be having right now, he is right now
in you growing the character of Christ. He's working to do that every day. And
for you, he's preparing for you the home of heaven.

Those are truths about your life that no matter what the circumstances, God is
doing something new. On those days when you most feel like it's the same old,
same old, God is doing something new in you because of Jesus Christ. Now as we
get to chapter 44, beginning of chapter 44, there's one other thing that God is
doing to encourage you in daily life, to comfort you in daily life.

God pours out his Spirit on you. God pours out his Spirit on you, beginning in
verse 1. "But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.

This is what the Lord says. He who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who
will help you. Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have
chosen, for I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground.

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.
" He talks about Israel and Jacob here, which you know are names for the people
of Israel. He also uses the term Jeshurun, which is a poetic, tender name for
Israel.

It means "my dear upright people. " So he's speaking with tender love to them
here and he says, "I'm going to pour out my Spirit. " Well that's the promise
that we now have in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ came to pour out God's Spirit on our lives. You may wonder if you
have what it takes to make it through. Here's the comfort.

God pours out His Spirit on you. Jesus reflects these words in John 14, 16-17,
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you
and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for He lives with
you and will be in you.

" Another Advocate, a name for the Spirit, the word "paraclete" here, which
means "helper or counselor or friend or comforter. " King James translates this,
"another comforter. " God gives us His comfort through the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit.

So you want to live with hope every day, with God's comfort every day? Remember
these truths. God calls you by name.

God uses you as His witness. God holds you in His hand. God is doing something
new in you, and God pours out His Spirit on you.

Let's just tell Him, "Thank you. " My Father, we are thankful. We're thankful
that You don't leave us alone.

We're thankful that You give us Your comfort in such powerful ways every day, so
that we can live in Your power. Help us not to try to comfort ourselves or try
to find comfort in this world. Instead, we want to look to You as our source of
strength and love and comfort.

So we look to You right now, in Jesus' name, Amen. Tomorrow, we're going to talk
about how to build an idol.