Isaiah 65:17-25 - "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. 20 " No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, And their offspring with them. 24 " It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," Says the LORD.
Theme: The LORD's Coming Attraction
- Forgetting
- Rejoicing
- Living
Dear fellow redeemed in Jesus Christ,
COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU! Do you remember what the last movie you went to was? While the theater may have said the movie was scheduled to start at 7, we have come to realize that the actual feature doesn't start then. Because from 7 to 7:20 there are previews of movies that will be released in the future. With these previews you never get to see the whole movie. You don't get to see how the movie ends. In fact, there are some movies where the previews are better than the movie itself! But Hollywood’s purpose in all this is to give you a taste of coming attractions. They hope you'll get so excited about an upcoming movie that you'll want to come back and see it.
Throughout Scripture God gives His saints a preview of what is to come. Especially what is in store for us in heaven. Similar to a movie trailer, God does not tell us everything that is coming, but He tells us just enough. He gives us a preview of His coming attraction. In our text for this today we have a most blessed coming attraction to consider. The LORD God Himself tells us of what things are going to be like after Judgment Day. The LORD says this coming attraction will feature forgetting, rejoicing, and living.
Now, as we consider this coming attraction we may wonder - who is this for? Who is God talking to? Why is He going to do this? How can I be part of this? That is the absolute best part of this coming attraction! We know well that gospel filled passage of John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God sent His Son into the world to save us. Jesus came to rescue us from the everlasting death in hell that we earned by our sins. He came to pay for our sins and cleanse us by His blood. He came to earn our righteousness. And God promises that whoever believes in Jesus will have everlasting life. Therefore in our text, the LORD is telling us what He will do for His people, His elect. The LORD is telling us what He will do for all believers in Christ. So as we go through and consider this blessed coming attraction, consider this, that it is the LORD who is directing all this and we who are starring in it. What the LORD is doing, He is doing for you through Jesus. Let us consider the LORD's coming attraction!
FORGETTING
It's called having a senior moment. As we grow older, our memories tend to fail us more and more. It can get very frustrating when you lose your train of thought or can't remember something simple. There are cherished memories we'd love to hold onto, such as births, weddings, and loved ones. On the other hand, throughout our lives there are things we would much rather never remember, such as pain, suffering, and sadness. As the LORD gives us a preview of this coming attraction, He says there will be forgetting, but in this case we'll be glad we forgot.
Our text begins with the LORD telling us of something that is going to take place in the future. He says, "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth." Behold, God says, look at what I am going to do. The Apostle Peter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote that this new heavens and new earth will be created after the "day of the Lord." (3:10) This will happen after Jesus returns from heaven. After the dead will be raised and all will be judged. After those who rejected Jesus as their Savior have been sent to hell to suffer for eternity. Then Jesus will invite those who believed in Him as their Savior, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Mt 25:34) Come inherit the new heavens and the new earth!
Of this new creation the LORD says, “And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” This new creation will be so incredible that the LORD says the former, our sin-filled and sorrow-filled lives in this dying world, will not be remembered. The LORD says it won't even come to mind because what God is going to create will be so wonderful that we will forget about our lives in this old world. This is a preview of the LORD's coming attraction - in His new creation we will forget about the old.
REJOICING
While we enjoy many things in our lives here, there is a lot of sorrow that we experience. Sin scars every aspect of our lives. Sin brings the sorrow of death. But the LORD says we are going to forget about all that. In the LORD's coming attraction there will be no sorrow, only rejoicing. We will rejoice for what God has done FOR us and God Himself will rejoice OVER us.
As the LORD gives us a preview of what He is going to do, He wants us to ponder it and forever rejoice over it. "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create." We know the sorrow and disappointment we regularly feel in this life. But the LORD would instead have us consider what He is doing. This new heaven and new earth that the LORD will create will be like it was before the fall into sin - no sin, no death, no curse. In fact, the LORD says in His new creation, "The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying." This reminds us of what was revealed to John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Rev. 21:4) This is God's new creation. It is one of rejoicing. As we rejoice in the great things God has in store for us!
But then the LORD says something truly amazing. He says He will rejoice over US! “For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people.” When the LORD speaks of Jerusalem here, we may think He is talking about Jerusalem the city over in Israel, some 7000 miles from here. But is there anything worth rejoicing over in that city? There seems to be nothing but war and strife in the current Jerusalem. Instead the LORD here speaks of a new Jerusalem, a place where God dwells with His people. This is the Holy Christian Church, all believers in Jesus Christ. Through His Holy Spirit God dwells in us now in time, and in this new creation God Himself will dwell with us. The LORD says He will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in His people. This is you! God will rejoice in you!
But what is there in us that the LORD would want to rejoice over? In and of ourselves there is nothing. On our own, God looks on us and says, “They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.” (Ps 14:3) But this is precisely the reason Jesus came. Jesus came so that the LORD would rejoice over us. He paid for our sins and through faith in Him His righteousness becomes our own. It is only in Jesus that the LORD rejoices over us. Now, in Christ, the Father looks on you, sees His Son, and can say of you, “This is My beloved child in whom I am well pleased!” Imagine that, the LORD rejoicing in us! Amazing! All this because of what Jesus, the Son of God, did for us! Let us rejoice in what the LORD has done for us, as the LORD rejoices in us through Jesus!
LIVING
It seems that death surrounds us. We see death in nature. We hear of it in the news. We receive word of loved ones who died. Young and old alike, death affects us all. This brings the greatest sorrow to our lives in this world. We know how even Jesus Himself wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. Cancer, heart problems, bad hips, diabetes, stubbed toes, and the list goes on and on of the effect sin has taken on this world. But the LORD says that His new heavens and new earth are going to be very different. At the LORD's coming attraction there will only be LIFE.
In verses 20 through 25 the LORD tries to help us understand the abundant life that will be ours in the new heavens and the new earth. Because this is prophetic language we do not take it literally, but more as God painting a picture for us to help us understand something that is far beyond our comprehension.
Listen to the abundant life that is to come: "No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed." NO MORE, says the LORD, NO MORE! No more will there be such a thing as an infant mortality rate. At one hundred years, someone will still be considered a child. In the new creation there will be abundant life - eternal life! The LORD emphasizes this further in verse 22, “For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Like those mighty sequoias and redwood trees of California that can live for thousands of years, the LORD says that is what our lives are going to be like. Life, unlike anything we know and experience in this world, will be ours forever in God’s coming attraction.
But until that time, until the trumpet sounds, and we shall reign with Christ eternally, God has some promises He wants to strengthen us with. He promises that He will hear us and He will protect us. "It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," Says the LORD. As we run the race of our faith now in time and eagerly await the new heavens and new earth, the LORD says that He will hear our prayers. Through Jesus Christ, God hears our prayers and answers us as He knows best. He will hear us and protect us. Even the most ferocious of enemies shall not hurt nor destroy God's people, in all His holy mountain. This is what Jesus promised us when He said that the gates of hades cannot prevail against us and when He said that no one is able to snatch us from His hand.
The LORD wants us to know of what awaits all believers in Christ. He will create new heavens and a new earth. This creation will be so splendid that we will forget all the former things of this old world of sin and death. This creation will be so amazing that we will rejoice that God has done all this for us as a gift of His grace. And because of Jesus He will rejoice over us, His people. This new creation will be filled with abundant life and no sorrow or suffering. All this is your, freely, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus has earned it for you! Therefore let us rejoice even now because the LORD has said it and it shall be so! Coming soon for eternity for you! AMEN
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Isaiah 65:17-25 "The LORD's Coming Attraction"
Isaiah 65:17-25 - "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. 20 " No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, And their offspring with them. 24 " It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," Says the LORD.
Theme: The LORD's Coming Attraction
- Forgetting
- Rejoicing
- Living
Dear fellow redeemed in Jesus Christ,
COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU! Do you remember what the last movie you went to was? While the theater may have said the movie was scheduled to start at 7, we have come to realize that the actual feature doesn't start then. Because from 7 to 7:20 there are previews of movies that will be released in the future. With these previews you never get to see the whole movie. You don't get to see how the movie ends. In fact, there are some movies where the previews are better than the movie itself! But Hollywood’s purpose in all this is to give you a taste of coming attractions. They hope you'll get so excited about an upcoming movie that you'll want to come back and see it.
Throughout Scripture God gives His saints a preview of what is to come. Especially what is in store for us in heaven. Similar to a movie trailer, God does not tell us everything that is coming, but He tells us just enough. He gives us a preview of His coming attraction. In our text for this today we have a most blessed coming attraction to consider. The LORD God Himself tells us of what things are going to be like after Judgment Day. The LORD says this coming attraction will feature forgetting, rejoicing, and living.
Now, as we consider this coming attraction we may wonder - who is this for? Who is God talking to? Why is He going to do this? How can I be part of this? That is the absolute best part of this coming attraction! We know well that gospel filled passage of John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God sent His Son into the world to save us. Jesus came to rescue us from the everlasting death in hell that we earned by our sins. He came to pay for our sins and cleanse us by His blood. He came to earn our righteousness. And God promises that whoever believes in Jesus will have everlasting life. Therefore in our text, the LORD is telling us what He will do for His people, His elect. The LORD is telling us what He will do for all believers in Christ. So as we go through and consider this blessed coming attraction, consider this, that it is the LORD who is directing all this and we who are starring in it. What the LORD is doing, He is doing for you through Jesus. Let us consider the LORD's coming attraction!
FORGETTING
It's called having a senior moment. As we grow older, our memories tend to fail us more and more. It can get very frustrating when you lose your train of thought or can't remember something simple. There are cherished memories we'd love to hold onto, such as births, weddings, and loved ones. On the other hand, throughout our lives there are things we would much rather never remember, such as pain, suffering, and sadness. As the LORD gives us a preview of this coming attraction, He says there will be forgetting, but in this case we'll be glad we forgot.
Our text begins with the LORD telling us of something that is going to take place in the future. He says, "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth." Behold, God says, look at what I am going to do. The Apostle Peter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote that this new heavens and new earth will be created after the "day of the Lord." (3:10) This will happen after Jesus returns from heaven. After the dead will be raised and all will be judged. After those who rejected Jesus as their Savior have been sent to hell to suffer for eternity. Then Jesus will invite those who believed in Him as their Savior, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Mt 25:34) Come inherit the new heavens and the new earth!
Of this new creation the LORD says, “And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” This new creation will be so incredible that the LORD says the former, our sin-filled and sorrow-filled lives in this dying world, will not be remembered. The LORD says it won't even come to mind because what God is going to create will be so wonderful that we will forget about our lives in this old world. This is a preview of the LORD's coming attraction - in His new creation we will forget about the old.
REJOICING
While we enjoy many things in our lives here, there is a lot of sorrow that we experience. Sin scars every aspect of our lives. Sin brings the sorrow of death. But the LORD says we are going to forget about all that. In the LORD's coming attraction there will be no sorrow, only rejoicing. We will rejoice for what God has done FOR us and God Himself will rejoice OVER us.
As the LORD gives us a preview of what He is going to do, He wants us to ponder it and forever rejoice over it. "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create." We know the sorrow and disappointment we regularly feel in this life. But the LORD would instead have us consider what He is doing. This new heaven and new earth that the LORD will create will be like it was before the fall into sin - no sin, no death, no curse. In fact, the LORD says in His new creation, "The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying." This reminds us of what was revealed to John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Rev. 21:4) This is God's new creation. It is one of rejoicing. As we rejoice in the great things God has in store for us!
But then the LORD says something truly amazing. He says He will rejoice over US! “For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people.” When the LORD speaks of Jerusalem here, we may think He is talking about Jerusalem the city over in Israel, some 7000 miles from here. But is there anything worth rejoicing over in that city? There seems to be nothing but war and strife in the current Jerusalem. Instead the LORD here speaks of a new Jerusalem, a place where God dwells with His people. This is the Holy Christian Church, all believers in Jesus Christ. Through His Holy Spirit God dwells in us now in time, and in this new creation God Himself will dwell with us. The LORD says He will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in His people. This is you! God will rejoice in you!
But what is there in us that the LORD would want to rejoice over? In and of ourselves there is nothing. On our own, God looks on us and says, “They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.” (Ps 14:3) But this is precisely the reason Jesus came. Jesus came so that the LORD would rejoice over us. He paid for our sins and through faith in Him His righteousness becomes our own. It is only in Jesus that the LORD rejoices over us. Now, in Christ, the Father looks on you, sees His Son, and can say of you, “This is My beloved child in whom I am well pleased!” Imagine that, the LORD rejoicing in us! Amazing! All this because of what Jesus, the Son of God, did for us! Let us rejoice in what the LORD has done for us, as the LORD rejoices in us through Jesus!
LIVING
It seems that death surrounds us. We see death in nature. We hear of it in the news. We receive word of loved ones who died. Young and old alike, death affects us all. This brings the greatest sorrow to our lives in this world. We know how even Jesus Himself wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. Cancer, heart problems, bad hips, diabetes, stubbed toes, and the list goes on and on of the effect sin has taken on this world. But the LORD says that His new heavens and new earth are going to be very different. At the LORD's coming attraction there will only be LIFE.
In verses 20 through 25 the LORD tries to help us understand the abundant life that will be ours in the new heavens and the new earth. Because this is prophetic language we do not take it literally, but more as God painting a picture for us to help us understand something that is far beyond our comprehension.
Listen to the abundant life that is to come: "No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed." NO MORE, says the LORD, NO MORE! No more will there be such a thing as an infant mortality rate. At one hundred years, someone will still be considered a child. In the new creation there will be abundant life - eternal life! The LORD emphasizes this further in verse 22, “For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Like those mighty sequoias and redwood trees of California that can live for thousands of years, the LORD says that is what our lives are going to be like. Life, unlike anything we know and experience in this world, will be ours forever in God’s coming attraction.
But until that time, until the trumpet sounds, and we shall reign with Christ eternally, God has some promises He wants to strengthen us with. He promises that He will hear us and He will protect us. "It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," Says the LORD. As we run the race of our faith now in time and eagerly await the new heavens and new earth, the LORD says that He will hear our prayers. Through Jesus Christ, God hears our prayers and answers us as He knows best. He will hear us and protect us. Even the most ferocious of enemies shall not hurt nor destroy God's people, in all His holy mountain. This is what Jesus promised us when He said that the gates of hades cannot prevail against us and when He said that no one is able to snatch us from His hand.
The LORD wants us to know of what awaits all believers in Christ. He will create new heavens and a new earth. This creation will be so splendid that we will forget all the former things of this old world of sin and death. This creation will be so amazing that we will rejoice that God has done all this for us as a gift of His grace. And because of Jesus He will rejoice over us, His people. This new creation will be filled with abundant life and no sorrow or suffering. All this is your, freely, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus has earned it for you! Therefore let us rejoice even now because the LORD has said it and it shall be so! Coming soon for eternity for you! AMEN
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