In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith begins by quoting a verse from the Bible, emphasizing that God has created and redeemed His people. He then shares a childhood story about a gingerbread boy who comes to life and runs away from the little girl who baked him. Pastor Chuck relates this story to the idea that God is in control and nothing can hinder His work. He concludes by offering a book called "Six Vital Questions of Life" that explores important questions asked by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans and provides biblical answers to strengthen one's relationship with God.

Welcome to the Word for Today. The Word for Today is a continuous study of the Bible taught by Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently teaching from the Old Testament, and if you're following along in your Bible, we'll be continuing today in Isaiah chapter 43, beginning with verse 1, as we continue with an in-depth message And now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck. But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. It sort of reminds me of this story that I can remember from a child about the little gingerbread boy. The little girl had worked hard to bake the perfect gingerbread man. And having formed him, baked him, as she was putting the final raisin button on him, he suddenly jumped out of the pan and began to run away. And she began chasing after him as fast as she could run. And he called back and he said, run, run as fast as you can. You'll never catch me. I'm a gingerbread man. And sure enough, she couldn't catch him. He ran away. She went home crying. But the next day, as she was walking down the street, she looked in the window of the bakery store and there smiling at her was her little gingerbread man. So she went into the store and she said, Sir, I want my gingerbread man who is in the window. And he said, he will cost you 10 cents. She said, no, it's mine. I made him. He said, he will cost you 10 cents if you want him. So she went home and got her bank and got the pennies out and went back to the store and said, I want my gingerbread man. And she put the 10 pennies down on the counter and the man went to the window and took the little gingerbread boy out and handed it to her. And as she went down the street, clutching it tightly, she said, now you're really mine. I made you and now I bought you. And that's basically what God is saying here to Israel. I created you. I formed you and I have redeemed you. You're mine. And that's what God says to you. I made you and now I have bought you. You're mine. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. God makes his claim. You belong to me. You're mine. And when you pass through the waters, now they're going to go through some difficult times because of their rebellion. The Proverbs talk about fools because of their rebellion, are chastised. And the nation is to be chastised. They're going to go through some severe times. When you pass through the water, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. Reminds you of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace of on Nebuchadnezzar that would be coming up. Neither shall the flame kindle on thee. And so God's declaration, I'm going to watch over you. I'll keep you. You're going to go through deep water. You're going to go through some fiery trials. But I will be with you. I will sustain you through these things. For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. And I gave Egypt for thy ransom and Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Now, the interesting thing, when the Medo-Persian Empire conquered the Babylonian Empire, the nation was taken captive by the Babylonians. The Babylonians were then conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire. And when the Medo-Persian Empire took over and Cyrus was the king, Cyrus gave the decree to release the Jews from their captivity throughout the whole kingdom to help them to go back and to reestablish themselves in the land. And shortly after this decree of giving the people back their land, he conquered Egypt and Ethiopia. So they think that this reference, I have given them as a ransom for thee. Then God says, okay, let my people go and for them, you know, I'll let you conquer Egypt and Ethiopia and all. Since you were precious in my sight. And always in that God talking about his people and he says, you're precious in my sight. And I think God looks down and sees you and says, oh, you're precious in my sight. Isn't that neat? God loves you. And God looks upon you with such love and he just says, oh, you're just a precious group of people in my sight. Now, we're not always in our own. We have failures. We're too painfully aware of our failures. And sometimes we're so disappointed in ourselves, disappointed in our weaknesses. And yet, as God looks upon you, it's just with tenderness, with love, forgiveness, precious in my sight. Thou hast been honorable and I have loved thee. Oh, I can't, you know, what can you say? God loves me. I mean, therefore, will I give men for thee and people for thy life. I'm going to watch over you. I'm going to keep you. You're precious to me. I love you. What more can God say? What beautiful words coming from God to his people. Fear not, he said, for I am with you and I will bring your descendants from the east and I will gather them from the west and I will say to the north, give them up and to the south, don't keep them back. And I will bring my sons from far and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Even everyone that is called by my name, for I have created him for my glory and formed him. Yea, I have made him. So God's promised. And I said, this is 100 years before they went into captivity. And yet God is promising how he's going to bring them back. And he's going to gather them from the east and west and north and south where they've been scattered and going to bring them back into the land. And then the Lord said, for I have created him for my glory. And here again is one of those phrases that you want to take a special note of because it answers that philosophical question that has plagued the minds of man through the centuries. Why am I here? What is the purpose of my existence? And the purpose of your existence is to bring glory to God. I have created you for my glory, God said. And if you will live your life to bring glory to God, you will have the most satisfying, fulfilling life possible. You will be able to say with David, my cup runneth over. I can't handle it all. God's blessing, God's goodness is more than I can handle when you live for his glory. If you live for your own glory, if you live for yourself, then the glory will fade and you will be brought into shame. And there will be an emptiness. There will always be the desire for more and more and more. But how satisfying it is to live a life, to bring glory to God. And that's the purpose of your existence. When in heaven, as the cherubim are worshiping God around the throne, saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. The twenty-four elders respond to that worship and they say, thou art worthy, O God, to receive glory and honor, for thou hast created all things. And for your good pleasure they are and were created. Now here God said, I have created you, I have formed you, I have made you. I mean, you haven't evolved. I am the one. I formed you, I created you, I made you. But why did he form and create and make you? For his glory. Learn that. It's a key of life. Live for his glory. You'll have a successful life, a rich and full life. Bring forth, he said, the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears. It's tragic when people having eyes do not see and having ears do not hear. That insensitivity that people have to spiritual things. They're insensate. The Bible says the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit, neither can he know them. They are spiritually discerned. And having eyes they do not see, having ears they do not hear. And so here he speaks of this condition of those who had eyes but they were blind, they had ears but they were deaf. And let all the nations be gathered together. Let the people be assembled. And who among them can declare this and show us the former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses that they may be justified or let them hear and say it is the truth. Now this is sort of a challenge to God, to the nations and their gods. If they are really gods, let them declare the former things or let them declare what is going to happen. It's a challenge for them to prophesy and predict future events, to tell a thing before it takes place. And the Lord declares, show us these things or else bring forth their witnesses that they may be justified. Let's see the witness to what they have said and what has been accomplished or let them hear what I am saying and say it is the truth. God who speaks of former things before they happen. God who speaks of future things before they happen. The former things refers to the prophecies already fulfilled and of course the other are those that are yet to be fulfilled. And so God said, now you are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen. Now even as the Lord said this to Israel, Jesus said this to his church. And so much of what applies in God's relationship with Israel is paralleled to the relationship of Christ and his church. And you can take really those scriptures and those promises that God makes to his people and I don't think that you do the scripture injustice by applying them to the church. And the relationship of Christ to the church. Though God speaks to Israel and said, I love you, you're precious in my eyes. Jesus says that to you, his church. That same kind of a close relationship that Israel experienced with the Father is the kind of a relationship that you experience with his son Jesus Christ. That beautiful, loving relationship. So there are those who like to take the scriptures and carefully divide them off. And you get these kind of promises when you pass through the water, I will be with you, you know, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. And through the fires and so forth, they say, well, you can't take that for you. That's a promise to Israel, you know, that's not to the church and so forth. And they try to divide the scripture that way. And they say rightly dividing the word of truth. Well, in a technical sense, they are right. But yet, I do not see that the relationship of the church with Christ is that much different than the relationship with Israel and God. Israel was called the wife of God and the church is the wife, the bride of Christ. And so I don't like to deny people, the wonderful promises of God to his people. And if you're God's people, I believe the promises come to us. Now, Jesus said, You are my witnesses. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be witnesses of me, both in Jerusalem and in Judea, Samaria. And so here you are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen and and you are servants of God. God has chosen. Jesus said, You did not choose me. I chose you and ordained that you should be my disciples and that you should bring forth fruit. That you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I am God. There's no other God before me or after me. I'm it, he's saying. I even I am Jehovah and beside me there is no savior. So this declaration of God and in the face of the New Agers who are standing at Malibu and declaring that they are God and God said beside me there is none. I'm God and there's none before me and there's none after me. I'm it. If you want a true God, this is it. And you have really, that's it. I've declared and I have saved and I have showed when there was no strange God among you. Therefore, you are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Now, the nation Israel was to be the witness that he is God. A few years ago when we were traveling in Israel, we saw a young Israeli girl who was in the armed services and she was hitchhiking. So we had some room in the bus and Kay said to the guide and driver, Why don't we give her a ride? So they pulled over and the girl got in the bus with us. She could speak English and so Kay started a conversation with her. The girl soon indicated to Kay that she was an atheist. She didn't believe in God. So Kay said, Well, do you observe Sabbath? She said, Oh yes, they all observe Sabbath. That's part of our culture. So Kay said, Well, do you know the Bible? Have you ever read the Bible? She said, Of course. She said, We have to in school. And she said, But you don't believe the Bible? No. She said that was just sort of like fairy tales. People need to believe in something. And so they made up these stories about God so that the people could believe in something. And so I said to her, You know, the interesting thing to me is that your being in this land is more or less proof to me that God does exist. Taking the scripture here, you are my witnesses. And she says, How do you mean? And I said, Well, now you're in the land here. The Bible said that God would bring you back into the land. But if you don't believe in God, then what right do you have for this land? Here you're armed and you're in the service here and and all. But what right do you have being here? What right do you have fighting against the Arabs and the Palestinians? Why should you have this land? She said, Well, God gave us this. I said, Wait a minute. You don't believe in God. Nix that one. But I said, The very fact that you are here in this land as a nation is a witness to the truth of God and God's word. And this is what God said. You are my witnesses. Your very existence, the continued existence of the nation of Israel is a witness of the truth of God, a very strong witness of the truth of God. Yes, he said before the day was I am before there was a time before there were days I existed. I am. And I have showed when there was no strange God among you. And therefore you are my witnesses, saith the Lord that I am God before the day was I am he and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work and who shall hinder it? God is declaring now his sovereign power. Awesome power. I will work and who can hinder my work? Lord, let me know. Face to face. Lord, let me see you. Pastor Chuck Smith will return with a few closing comments. But first, I'd like to remind you that today's message is available in its unedited form on cassette or CD. Simply write or call and ask for ordering details on tape or CD number C-3262. Again, that's tape or CD number C-3262. As we come to a close in today's program, we'd like to introduce a brand new book written by Pastor Chuck Smith entitled Six Vital Questions of Life. In his new book, Pastor Chuck considers six life-changing questions asked by the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans and then expounds upon the biblical answers that can revolutionize your Christian walk with God. Satan is relentlessly pointing out our failures and mistakes, and even though Satan is condemning us, Pastor Chuck reminds us of the Scriptures that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. When Satan is hassling you concerning God's love, look to the cross where God displayed how much he loves you. So if you ever had a question or concern with respect to your relationship with God, the book Six Vital Questions of Life by Pastor Chuck will reassure and reinforce God's unique plan and purpose for your life. You see, if God is for you, then who can be against you? These are just some of the answers that can help you understand the love that God has for you and that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. This is definitely a life-changing resource and one you'll want to share with your family and friends, especially if there is a misconception of God's love in a person's life. Again, you'll be requesting the book Six Vital Questions of Life, new by Chuck Smith. Also, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, you can do so by simply asking for program number C-3262 when you write or call. Once again, that's program number C-3262. Our address is the word for today, Post Office Box 8000, Costa Mesa, California 92628. We can also be reached by dialing toll-free 1-800-272-9673. Once again, that's 1-800-272-WORD. Or you can reach us on the World Wide Web at www.twft.com. Or if you'd like to email us, you can do so at info at twft.com. Well, coming up next time on the Word for Today, Pastor Chuck will be continuing his fascinating study through the book of Isaiah. That's coming up next time on the Word for Today. And now, with a few closing comments, here's Pastor Chuck. We will really find ourselves on our knees before the Lord more and more. And we will as we pray for our leadership and as we pray for the conditions of our nation, of our community. And I pray that the Lord will draw you unto Himself into a deeper commitment to the things of God than you've ever experienced before. That you'll realize how empty and unfulfilling are the things of this world. And you will devote your life to those things that are eternal and the purposes of God which are always eternal. And that we will begin also to live for the eternal values. This program is sponsored by the Word for Today. The Radio Ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.