Today let’s look at Isaiah chapter 49. Today’s message title is “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation”. Verse 8 says, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you.’”
Isaiah prophesized that the Messiah, the anointed one, would come to set Israel, which was captive to Babylon, free. Just as the prophecy said, in 538 B.C., 70 years after Israel was captured and deported by Babylon, Israel was set free by the Persian King Cyrus. This liberation was God’s favor and salvation.
Also this was a pattern of the liberation of people captive as slaves to sin being set free by God’s Savior, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul quoted this passage and then said, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:2) This liberation is the real favor of God and salvation in the New Testament. “The time of God’s favor” (II Cor. 6:2) and salvation is now. Today I would like to talk about the abundance of “God’s favor” (II Cor. 6:2) and salvation.

I The mercy of God (Vs. 7)
First let’s look at what the Lord is like who saves us from our sin. Please look at verse 7. “This is what the LORD says-
the Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel-
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
‘Kings will see you and rise up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy one of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Here it tells us what God who saved the people of Israel from captivity is like. He is “the Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel.” (7) To redeem means to pay the price and buy. It may be easier understood if it is said that he paid the ransom money and set them free. Often kidnappings occurs for ransom money. Those on the side of the kidnapped pay a ransom and the kidnapped is set free In the same way, when God’s people, Israel, were suffering as captives, slaves to Babylon, God paid a sufficient price and bought them back, and set them free from their sufferings.
Also here it says, “The Holy One”. (7) “The Holy One” (7) means the one separated from this world. This world is filthy with sin, but God is “the Holy One” (7) with no sin, stains, or not even one spot of dirt. Like this “the Holy One”, (7) the Lord, paid the price and redeemed Israel who had fallen to sin.
The Lord says “to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of the rulers: ‘Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy one of Israel, who has chosen you.’” (7)
He “who was despised and abhorred by the nation” (7) and “the servant of the rulers” (7) are Israel. Now the Lord, Israel’s Savior, will save Israel who is captive to Babylon, “despised and abhorred…the servant of the rulers” (7) from their terrible situation. Then now Babylon which captured Israel and made them slaves will after this bow down to Israel.
This will happen because “the Holy one of Israel” (7) will rise up and save them. 70 years have already passed since Israel was captured by Babylon and deported. 70 years are a lot of years. For a person that is 70 years old that would have been from the time he was born up until now. During that time he was always captive, unavoidably living in discomfort.　Therefore, the amount of Israelite who had a real faith had decreased. Many wondered if there was really a God, why they had to continue in this terrible condition. They thought that if even they were told they would be set free, 70 years had passed so God is no help. They were controlled by such thinking.
However, to such people the Lord said, “Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy one of Israel, who has chosen you.” (7) Here what I think is wonderful is that they are chosen by God. If you are chosen by God, then no matter what God will be responsible for you to the end. He will definitely save you.
Please look at verse 15. This is next week’s passage, but here it says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” God will never forget you. Probably in human love there is no stronger bond than the mother child. A mother’s love is a world that exceeds logic. That is how much a mother thinks about her child. That exceeds logic.
However, it is sad, but there are cases when a mother abandons her child. There are cases when a mother gets so into pachinko that she forgets about her child in the car and he dies. Therefore, a mother’s love isn’t definite. However, God is different. God will definitely not forget you.
Verse 16 says, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” This engraving is like tattooing. It is on a different level than just writing on your hands with a pen. Archeologically as old as about 1300B.C. there was such a custom. On Ancient Egypt’s mummies it has been found that they already done tattooing. It was a sign that the bride belonged to the groom or that a slave was that master’s slave so as a sign is was put on the arm or leg. Therefore, to be engraved on the palms of God’s hands is to be eternally never forgotten.
Moreover, how could God who went to point of putting his only son on the cross for you, forget you? More than having a tattoo on his hands, he has the scars of the nails of the cross. The scars of the cross will eternally never disappear. God that loves you that much would definitely not forget you. Sometimes we say that no one notices us, no one loves us, and we are lonely, but that is because we are not looking at God. If you look to God, if you remember what God did through Jesus, you will definitely not be depressed. You will be full of thankfulness. God promised to love you, to sympathize with you, to stand beside you, and until the end of the world to be with you. The important thing is that you have God’s mercy in your heart.

II. Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation (Vs. 8)
The second point is about when the day of salvation is. It is now. Please look at verse 8. It says, “This is what the LORD says:
‘In the time of my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances.”
In the age of Isaiah the time of God’s favor and “the day of salvation” (8) is the day when Israel is set free from Babylon. The Lord is promising that such a day will definitely come.
Paul quoted these words and said the following in II Cor. 6:1 and 2, “As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the time of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
Paul uses it as the day when through Jesus Christ all men will be set free from bonds of sin which is like the captivity of Babylon. In other words, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Cor. 5:21) God through Christ reconciled the world to himself “not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (II Cor.5; 19) “Therefore, is any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (II Cor. 5:17) This is the time of God’s favor, and “the day of salvation.” (8) God fulfilled this through Jesus Christ. God’s blessings are already before your eyes. Therefore, don’t accept it for nothing. Take hold of it now.
We all have a past, present, and a future. There is no one without a past and there is no one to whom the future does not come. The certain thing is that the past has already passed by. Also the future has still not come. Only the now is in front of us. Some people live in the past. They think about how great the past was. However, we can never return to our past a second time. In reverse, some people live in the future always thinking about what they are going to do. They are just putting all their hope in the future. The past too and the future too are just in the hands of God. What God is allowing us to decide is the now. We can live only in the now.
Many people want to live an abundant life. An abundant life is made by having an abundant life now. “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:2) If now you don’t receive the blessing that God has prepared for you, you may not be able to be grasp them again. Now to believe in Jesus Christ as the savior that God has prepared is to not be wasteful of the Lord’s grace.
This is a fable. One day the training period for the disciples of the devil was finished. At last it was time for Devil’s disciples to be sent out into the world. The boss of the devils said to his followers, “Now you are being sent out to the place of humans. What is your strategy?”
Then one of the disciples said, “”Boss, I think I want to do this. I want to go to the place of humans and make them believe that there is no god.”
Then the boss of the devils said, “You mustn’t do that. Because all men are made by God so instinctively they know that there is a God. Therefore it is difficult to deny it. Your strategy is no good.”
Then the second disciple said, “How about this method? How about telling them that there is no hell, and no judgment of their sin? There is only heaven. It’s o.k. You all can go to heaven. You have nothing to worry about. Live your life as you please so that you have no regrets.”
Then the boss said, “That’s no good either. Man is instinctively fearful that if he does something bad then he will go to hell. Therefore, that too is difficult to deny.”
Then the third disciple said, “Then Boss, how about this? We’ll get them to assume that there is a God, and that there is a hell. However, it is not necessary to believe now. You can believe when you have a little more free time. After you get a little older is fine. After you study a little more is fine.”
The Boss said, “That is a good method.”
Then the devils were successful with that strategy. Lots of people always say, “After a little while, after I have a little more free time, after I get older, I’ll believe, but not now.” They say things like that and then miss the chance. However, there is definitely a limit on our life. No one knows when it will end. Also no one knows when the Lord Jesus will come to get his people, when the second coming is. However, when that time comes, it is too late. The back door will be closed so it will be too late.

Please remember Noah’s ark. In the age of Noah, even though Noah advised the people that the flood was coming so to repent and enter the ark, the people laughed and took no notice of his advice. However, one day, the door of the ark was shut. The back door of the ark was closed. Then for 40 days and nights it continued to rain. The earth was covered by floods. All the people and animals that didn’t enter the ark were destroyed. No matter how much people desired salvation, the door would not open. In the course of time such a time will come. However at that time it will be too late.
“Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:2) Now while you are listening to this message of salvation is the opportune time. At this time of God’s favor and “the day of salvation” (8) may your heart be opened and may you believe in Jesus Christ’s salvation and may you begin living a life of walking with the Lord.

III. Streams of living water will flow (Vs. 9-12)
Lastly, let’s look at what will happen to those who receive God’s salvation. Please look at verses 9 to 12. “To say to the captives ‘Come out.’
and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.
They will neither hunger nor thirst,
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways will be raised up.
See, they will come from afar-
some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Aswan..
This is a promise that the people that are captive to Babylon will be set free and that they will return to Jerusalem. “The captives” and “those in darkness” of verse 9 refer to their condition when Israel was captive to Babylon. Then when such people are told to “Come out” (9) and “Be free!” (9) “they will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.” (9) Wherever God brings his people he will take care of them and they will not lack anything. Even ground “beside the roads” (9) will be good ground for the sheep of his pasture to feed in. They will be provided for so well that “they will neither hunger nor thirst.” (10) They will be sheltered and protected from everything. “Nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.” (10) They will be under God’s gracious guidance. “He who has compassion on them,” (10) in bringing them out of their captivity from Babylon, “will guide them beside springs of water.” (10) This is how it will be for the Israelite who are set free from Babylon. This is also what it is like for those who are set free from their sin by Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “’if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39)
Our salvation has not been completely finished yet, but even on this earth too we can foretaste it. When we believe in our Savior Jesus, “as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:38) By believing in Jesus the living hell on earth will become a paradise on earth. How wonderful that is!
There is a man named Fred Smith who lives in America. He is quite old, 90 years old. Moreover he isn’t in great health.4 times a week he has to have a dialysis. He is one of the journalists for the Christian magazine, “Leadership journal”. He said the following, “I am happy every day. That is because I learned to accept the things that I can’t change, not to be mournful for the things I lost, and to enjoy the things that I have left. Looking back over everything my faith always grew at times of adversity Everyone has times of depression, but such times, are really times for chances of growth. The sufferings of life are not punishments from God. Such times are really times for chances of growth. Then if our faith grows, we can help others.
Jesus Christ said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:38)
The grace that we receive from God will flow from within us and water the people around us. However, a lake is not like this. It just receives and accumulates. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:38) We are living to receive God’s grace, and for the blessings to flow out to the people around us. This begins by going to Jesus and believing in Him. These blessings are already prepared. Please receive salvation. ““I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:2)