Sermon – Isaiah 43: 1-7 – Loved By God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Isaiah 43: 1-7 – Loved By God

Baptism of the Lord

January 13, 2013

Today is the Sunday when we remember the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan by John. This marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry. John's baptism was about repentance for the forgiveness of sin. But Jesus was sinless, the perfect Son of God, and therefore had no need to repent of his sins. Something else was going on there. We will see what God was trying to tell us, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

This is our seventh week together looking at some of the Old Testament prophets. Jeremiah, Malachi, Zephaniah, Micah, and Isaiah have all told us then whenever we have fallen into despair we rest in the assurance and hope that God will send a redeemer. Time and again the people of God saw their families killed, their homes and farms destroyed, their cities and temple reduced to rubble. They must have asked: Why did these bad things happen? Why does God allow bad things to happen to us?

This question is always on the lips of people who have experienced great loss. A loved one dies and we ask: Why? The doctor diagnoses our fatigue and says our liver is failing, and we ask: Why? We loose the job that has supported our family for decades and we ask: Why? Why, God, do you let bad things happen to your people?

The prophets are quite clear about this. It's not God's fault. God does not want bad things to happen to you, but they do. Sin has so warped God's creation that bad things happen all the time. And God's response when bad thing occurred is not to prevent them, but to send a redeemer to rescue us. Preventing all bad things from occurring is not part of God's character. But being with us, protecting us and redeeming us is. God does not stop the fiery furnace or the flood. But God is with us in the fire and flood and will rescue us. God did not prevent the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah and the exile of his people to Babylon. But he was with his people in exile and sent King Cyrus of Persia to redeem them. God is our insurance policy who does not prevent the car accident, but will get you a rental while your car is being fixed.

We should pause for a moment and consider the astonishing fact that the creator of world is so concerned about each one of us that he is with us and redeems us from all evil. Isn't it amazing the our creator God chooses to be with us when we experience the grief of losing a loved one? Isn't it remarkable that God wants to comfort us when we are sitting in the doctor's office getting the bad news? Isn't it incredible that God wants to strengthen us when we are dealing with something that overwhelms us? Why would the creator of the universe be concerned about you or me? The answer to this comes from the Prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 43:1-7 ^NIV Isaiah 43:1 But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. ² 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. ³ For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. ⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. ⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. ⁶ I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-- ⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

The creator God who is so concerned about us that he will send a redeemer to drag us out of the pit does so because he loves us. Scripture teaches us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8 and 16). And if this is true then our creator God needed someone to love because love is always in relationship with another. So if God is love, then God needed someone to love. And so God created you and me to love. We were created so that God would have people to love. His Son who redeems us and his Spirit who strengthens and comforts us are all expressions of that love.

God' love is absolute. His promise is to do whatever it takes, pay any price, to redeem us from evil. God demonstrated his great love for us by sending son, Jesus, into the world. Jesus is the redeemer who paid with his life for our sins. And if God loves us so much that would send his only Son for us, what is our response? If God loves us, what should we do? The answer from scripture is that we should love one another. We should love God. And if we, the church, love one another then the world will see God in us because God is love. God demonstrated this love in giving up his own life on the cross. God was willing to sacrifice his own Son to redeem us from slavery to sin. And so our love for God must be total, without reservation. We are to love God with all of our hearts, soul and mind, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

We see all of this in Jesus' baptism. You heard these words from Luke. “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22) We know from this that God and Jesus are bound together in love. And the chord that binds the Father and Son together in love is the Dove, the Holy Spirit. This is why baptism is so important. When we pass through the baptismal waters heaven opens and God's says “you are the one I love”.

Listen to what scripture says about God's love for us and our love for God:

Exodus 34:6 God (is) slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 7:9 He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Deuteronomy 7:12 God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.

Deuteronomy 30:16 I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands.

Psalm 42:8 ⁸ By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me

Psalm 48:9 ⁹ Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

Psalm 136:26 ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Luke 10:27 Love your neighbor as yourself.

Romans 5:5 God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:8 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:28 In all things God works for the good of those who love him,

Romans 8:39 - 9:1 (Nothing) in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 13:11 God of love and peace will be with you.

Ephesians 2:4-5 Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ.

Ephesians 5:2 Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us.

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

All of this is a great mystery. God, the creator of the universe loves us and wants us to love him and to love one another. All this happens because we believe in a God who is love and created us as objects to love. He loves us so much that he gave his only son to pay for our sins. And when we pass though the baptismal water he calls us his beloved.

Thank you dear Lord, for loving us. Your character is love. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are bound together by love. You created us as people so that you would have something to love. And so we love you in return. Help us to love you and love one another just as you have commanded us. Amen.