1603-27A XXX

THE UNSTOPPABLE KINGDOM OF GOD

(Isaiah 54:1-17)

TEXT: <Is. 54:9-10>

SUBJECT: God’s unstoppable Kingdom.

F.C.F: How can we succeed in God’s service against the odds?

PROPOSITION: Because God promises unfailing help, we can serve him with unfailing courage.

INTRODUCTION:

A. It’s an old puzzle of logic: what happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force? An object that is impossible to move and a force that cannot be resisted, like a lazy son-in-law and an ambitious mother-in-law: the collision between these two is certain to be noisy.

Of course the puzzle is more apparent than real. If there really were an immovable object, then by definition there could be no irresistible force. If there were an irresistible force, then by definition, there could be no immovable object. In truth, our God is both immovable and irresistible and there is none like him.

B. And yet, in the Christian life, in service to Christ and his kingdom, it sometimes seems that we face an immovable object, or that we are sometimes confronted by an irresistible force. We engage in ministry, serving God’s people and the world with the grace of God in Jesus Christ, seeking to do good, to accomplish God’s will, to bring hope and life and salvation into places of deadness, despair and condemnation. And all of God’s people are engaged in the work of the kingdom:

raising a godly family

relating God’s truth to others

reaching out in love in neighborhood, school, workplace

resisting the evil one

restraining sin in our own hearts

realizing all of God’s promises to us

C. In the day of our text in Isaiah God’s people were not much of a force at all, facing an object that appeared quite immovable. They were a little, conquered remnant of a people, hardly a nation at all, decimated by their own sin.

And yet God would send his Servant to save them. He would become their substitute. He would take upon himself their corruption of soul, and so on the cross Jesus appeared “more marred than any man,” wearing outwardly the horrific corruption which our sins have caused inwardly. He would take our condemnation, the righteous penalty for our sins, being wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. And he would take our place in resurrection, having risen again for us, to ensure our new and everlasting life.

D. And that’s why we can have hope in serving him. His kingdom is unstoppable. Isaiah uses three common images to display for us the wonder of the hope we have in Christ. BECAUSE GOD PROMISES UNFAILING HELP, WE CAN SERVE HIM WITH UNFAILING COURAGE.

I. WE REJOICE IN UNEXPLAINABLE FRUITFULNESS.

A. The first image is easy for us to understand, that of family. God promises fruitfulness as the family of God grows and spreads in great measure. “2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.” Here is a promise that God’s kingdom will grow. God will reclaim more and more of the earth as he renews the hearts of many and more and more own him as king. We should expect to be fruitful in our work for the kingdom. We should expect to make some progress, and this should propel us forward with courage and hope and joy.

B. What’s more, this fruitfulness or growth will be unexplainable; it will seemingly be against all odds. That’s because sin has so riddled and ruined us that it has made us barren. We cannot produce spiritual life, but only spiritual death and decay. Here is the great shock and surprise of the text. 54:1"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.” How can a barren woman produce such a vast family? Verse 4 calls her a “widow.” And the answer is that God will be her husband. God will change her circumstances and make her fruitful: “5 For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.”

Here is an even greater hope! Who is more fruitful than God? God possess life in himself. In the space of a few days, God created all of life. In your work for the kingdom in the home, neighborhood, school or workplace, or in the church you can move forward and reach ahead with confidence because it is God himself who makes us fruitful.

But even more…

II. WE HOPE IN UNSHAKABLE LOVINGKINDNESS.

A. God’s unfailing and loyal lovingkindness becomes the bedrock of our hope and courage. Isaiah employs the image of marriage to describe God’s love. “6 For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.”

It was as though God had abandoned briefly his wayward wife. Judah was always flirting with other gods, and so the Lord let her go for a time. But no more! God pledges his everlasting kindness. It is now “till death us do part”.

B. It is no accident that marriage was designed to be permanent. The marriage vows still read “as long as we both shall LIVE” (although for a time some pledged “as long as we both shall LOVE”). We need this permanent structure of faithfulness and trust so that we can blossom and thrive in a context of that security and love. And the same is true in our relationship with God.

I was absolutely stunned when I read in this text how certain is God’s love for his people. God invokes an image from the book of Genesis. “9 This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you.” As a child I learned the story of Noah and the terrible flood that covered the whole earth and drowned every living creature except those in the ark of safety. And after it was over, God set a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise that he would never again flood the whole earth. Every time I see a rainbow, I always think of God’s promise. And God has kept his Word. Never again will a flood cover the whole earth.

But here God promises that he will never be angry with his people again. This is perhaps hard for us to grasp. God’s wrath against the sins of his people was fully spent on his Servant, Christ on the cross. God will never again become angry with his people! Every time we see the sign of the rainbow, we can be warmed again with this assurance. In fact this is also the meaning of the sign of the Lord’s Supper. Christ’s body was broken so ours would not be; his blood was shed so that our sins could be forgiven.

C. God’s love will never fail. “10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” It’s in the strength of this covenant of love that we can hope for all in Christ, and we can risk all for Christ. We can gladly suffer, we can work beyond the point of weariness, and we can love without demanding love in return. All in the strength and security of God’s unshakable lovingkindness.

And each day…

III. WE PRESS ON IN UNASSAILABLE BOLDNESS.

A. The third image Isaiah uses is that of a city, a family, a marriage, and a city. In the ancient world cities were usually built on hills and were always surrounded by a wall. This was obviously for protection. When the enemy came to call, all the people of the outlying farms and villages would quickly gather provisions and head up to the city.

We could rightly subtitle Isaiah’s book “A Tale of Two Cities.” There is the city that man builds, the wicked city of Babylon in all her earthly opulence and splendor, a city with no lasting foundations, which will certainly fall. And there is the city which God is building.

And God promises to make his people into a city of magnificence and majesty. “11 O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones.” The whole city, walls, gates, battlements, even the unseen foundations, would be made of precious jewels and gems.

B. Now this does not refer to a literal city, but represents the glory of the people of God. God’s people will become beautiful in wisdom and righteousness, and this beauty will be their strength and security. “13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”

Because God has established his people in righteousness, God will be with them, and so can live with an unassailable boldness. The Psalmist writes: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” (Ps. 46:4-5) Here is God’s promise of protection: “15 If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.” God is the one who raises up the conqueror and gives him success. Before, God had brought both the Assyrians and Babylonians to chastise his people. But no more. “16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; 17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

C. That means we have a duty to live boldly before God and serve him without fear. This is the work of the Servant, our Savior Christ. He has reversed our waywardness and corruption of sin. He has taken the penalty we deserve for our sins and implanted his resurrection life within us. And so we have nothing to fear. We must live with joy, hope and courage.

CONCLUSION

During the 1964 confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia the British commanders asked a group of Gurkha soldiers if they would be willing to jump into combat from transport planes if the need arose. They could decline because they had never been trained to do so. The Gurkhas usually were willing to do anything, but this time they immediately refused.

The next day one of their officers returned and said that they would be willing if certain criteria were met. The officer said that they must be dropped over soft or marshy land with no outcropping rocks, and that the planes must fly as slowly as possible and no more than 100 feet off the ground.

The British commander replied that they would be dropped over jungle, so there would be no rocks, that the planes always flew slowly in such situations, but that they would have to fly higher than 100 feet or else the parachutes would not have time to open up.

And the Gurkha officer replied, “Parachutes? You didn’t say anything about parachutes.”

May God grant us joy in his unexplainable fruitfulness, hope in his unshakable lovingkindness and courage in his unassailable boldness.

J

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