August 18, 2024: Isaiah 49:8 - In a Day of Salvation Have I Helped Thee

“Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages…” - Isaiah 49:8

Long before God sent Jesus to the earth to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and to be born of a virgin, He told us in His word that not only would He send Jesus at just the right time, but that He would hear and help Jesus, preserve Him, and give Him as a covenant of the people. Jesus would also establish the earth, and He would inherit all the desolate heritages. The prophets of old told of Jesus’ first coming long before Jesus would come. God gave us glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures, so that when He came the first time, His people, the Jews, would recognize Him as their Messiah. As written in Isaiah 49:2-3:

“And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Isaiah 49:2-3)

Salvation from sins is found only in Jesus Christ. The day of salvation was only made possible when Jesus was crucified, when His perfect and sinless blood was spilled on that cross, when He died, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven, where He sits now at the right hand of God the Father. Without the Lamb of God being our perfect sacrifice, we would still be under God’s law, but Jesus fulfilled the law and provides salvation from sins for all who choose to believe in and put our faith and trust in Him and Him alone to save us from our sin.

Let us read what Jesus said after He gave up His life on the cross, resurrected three days later, and appeared in the midst of His apostles:

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all these things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved [was necessary for] Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:44-48)

God chose the perfect time to send Jesus. Before Jesus would come, one would come before Him to prepare the way of the Lord, and his name was John, who would also be known as John the Baptist. John was Jesus’ cousin. John’s father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied the words below on the day of circumcision of John when John was eight days old:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the works began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation into his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring [Messiah] from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:68-79)

The apostle John wrote of John the Baptist:

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness of the Light [Jesus], that all men through him might believe. He [John] was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came into his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made [became] flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bear witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. And this is the record [testimony] of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizeth thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record [testified], saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” (John 1:6-37)

God sent John the Baptist to prepare not only His people for their Savior, their Messiah, but also to be a witness of the Light for the Gentiles. Because God is all knowing, He knew the Jews would reject Jesus because of their hardened hearts, and that afterwards, He would turn His attention to the Gentiles to provoke His people to jealousy until He will turn His attention back to the Jews (Romans 11:11). I believe we are drawing very near to that time.

Jesus did come to the earth, was despised and rejected by His own, was crucified, and gave up His life. He felt as though God had abandoned Him when He felt the unfathomable weight of the world’s sin upon Him. As He hung on that cross, He must have felt unrelenting sorrow and pain coursing through His veins, and He thirsted for a drink of cool water. With a loud voice, He cried out to God in agony, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Jesus felt and experienced what it was like to take on my sin, your sin, and the sins of everyone who has ever lived, and He took those sins to the cross even though He Himself had never sinned. He was and is the perfect, spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world for all who put our faith and trust in Him to save us from our sins. Evil, Satan, thought he had won. He thought he had defeated the Christ, but that wasn’t the end; rather, it was just the beginning. As God promised Jesus in Isaiah 49:8, He DID help Jesus through His time of agony on the cross, because those who crucified Him did not take His life; rather, Jesus willingly gave it up. Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,” (Luke 23:46) and saying these words “It is finished” (John 19:30) before “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost [his spirit].” (John 19:30) You see, Jesus had to die for the new covenant, the new testament, to be enacted, for it takes the death of the testator for it to go into effect:

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:19-20)

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge [cleanse] your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament [covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament [covenant], they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.” (Hebrews 9:14-16)

As God promised, He DID preserve Jesus because Jesus did not stay dead after His body was placed in a rich man’s tomb: He rose from the dead three days later. Jesus didn’t just die on the cross - He rose again, showed Himself to over 500 people at a single time (1 Corinthians 15:6), walked, talked, and ate with His disciples, expounded to two of His disciples all the things prophesied of Himself in the Scriptures as they traveled to Emmaus (Luke 24), and ascended to heaven forty days later, where He is now, sitting at the right hand of God. Jesus is not a dead God; He IS the true and living God. He will ultimately establish a new earth and will give it as an inheritance to all who trust in Him for our salvation and who have been made by righteous through His precious blood, having all our sins washed clean:

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:1-8)

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” (Daniel 7:18)

“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” (Daniel 7:27)

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8)

God’s word is truth, and to deny the truth is to allow one to be deceived by the lies, which stem from Satan. I can’t make you believe in Him, that Jesus is the Christ sent to the world so that we might be saved by Him. No, all I can do is tell you of Him, provide Scripture verses from His word that show that long ago we were told by God that Jesus would come the first time as the perfect Lamb of God to offer salvation to all who put our faith and trust in Him for our salvation, and that God’s word also tells us that Jesus is coming back again, but this time it will be in judgement of all who reject Him and choose to remain in sin. Those who reject Him will not inherit the kingdom of God but will be cast into the eternal lake fire. You may not like that fact, and you may not believe it, but I give you the truth and what you do with it is up to you and you alone.

Please know that if you have not been born again before you die, it will be too late to turn to Him after you are dead. Let us remember the words of Jesus who told us of a rich man who had everything and lived in luxury and of a beggar named Lazarus, who begged the rich man for just the crumbs that fell from the man’s table. Let us read what happened when both men died. The rich man had not put his faith and trust in God for his salvation but the beggar had:

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously [lived in luxury] every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Jesus Christ; Luke 16:19-31)

Although this is describing two Jewish men, the message is clear for all of us: Jesus Himself told us that hell is real, and so is heaven, referred to here as “Abraham’s bosom,” meaning a place of rest and free from torment, unlike hell, where only torments exist. We all will go to one of these two places when die, and where we go is our decision to make. Many people, including many pastors, say that hell is not real - have they not read these words of Jesus? They can fool themselves, and sadly, they are fooling many people who do not read the Bible for themselves to learn the truth, but that doesn’t change the truth. The rich man even asked for someone to go and warn his five living brothers so that they would not make the same mistake that he did. But the rich man was told that even if he could rise from the dead and go and warn them them, that his brothers, like the rich man, have the truth in God’s word and if they don’t believe it, they wouldn’t believe his brother’s warnings about being in hell, and they would not repent and turn to God. I pray that you will not make the same horrible mistake that the rich man did and instead you will choose eternal life with Jesus, a place of true peace and rest, free from all sin and sorrow. We can only have eternal life with Jesus if we are born again by His precious blood and believing in Him as our Savior. All who are not born again will be judged by their works. Because no work they could ever do could save them, they will be found guilty and cast into the lake of fire for eternity:

“And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Jesus Christ; Revelation 22:12-13)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:16-18) ❤️ ✝️