Grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Isaiah 65:17-25
“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
Dear friends in Christ,
Few saw it turning out this way. The polls, the media, the data all showed Hillary Clinton would become the next president of the United States in decisive fashion. That did not happen.
Much to the surprise of the media, strategists, and analysts, Donald Trump was running strong. Voter turnout exceeded expectations – at least voters for Trump.
As the polls closed on the east coast – votes were tallied. Trump was doing better than expected. States that were thought to be battleground states went Trump’s way; first North Carolina and then Florida. Soon the attention turned to the Midwest. States that were long thought to support Hillary Clinton were choosing Trump instead. The national media was shocked. They wondered how the polls, which favored Clinton, could be so wrong. In the wee hours of the night the call was made. Donald Trump will become the next president of the United States.
Today there are ecstatic folks in our country. A ground swell of people who felt disillusioned with the direction we were going as a nation have hope. They have a new vision for the future.
Today there are also millions of people in our country who are devastated by the election results. They too had a vision for the future. Now they are very worried where our new president and congress will lead.
Somehow, someway the divide that exists must heal, if we are to move forward as a nation. Even though these are troubled times, the comfort we all share is: our God is in control. He was before this election began and he will be in the future. As the Apostle Paul said, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Normally, we don’t discuss politics in worship. They really have no place here, because politics focus on life here on earth; whereas what we want to talk about focuses on heavenly things. However, I did bring the subject up because the events of the last twenty-four hours seem to fit with our Scripture lesson in several ways.
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump presented their vision for the future to American voters. Today, our Scripture lesson presents a vision for the future too. And the great thing about this vision is that there is no disagreement. This is a vision we are all united in. Today let us review:
Isaiah’s Vision of Glory
- We can see it now
- We will live it soon
Let me set the scene for Isaiah’s vision of glory. Isaiah served as a prophet of God during the stormy period marking the expansion of the Assyrian empire and the decline of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Under King Tiglath-Pileser (745-727 B.C.) the Assyrians swept westward into Aram and Canaan. About 733 the kings of Aram and Israel tried to pressure Ahaz, king of Judah, into joining a coalition against Assyria. Ahaz chose instead to ask Tiglath-Pileser for help, a decision condemned by Isaiah. Assyria did assist Judah and conquered the northern kingdom in 722 B.C. This made Judah even more vulnerable. And then in 701 B.C. King Sennacherib of Assyria threatened Jerusalem itself. The godly king Hezekiah prayed that God would save his people. Isaiah predicted that God would force the Assyrians to withdraw from the city, which they did.
Nevertheless, Isaiah warned Judah that her sin would bring captivity, years later, at the hands of Babylon (586 B.C.). Isaiah foresaw that Babylon would defeat the Assyrians and then Judah under King Nebuchadnezzar. God’s people would now be forced to leave their homes and live in exile. However, Isaiah also foresaw the rise of Cyrus of Persia who would defeat the Babylonians and allow God’s people to return to their homeland.
This is the setting for much of the Book of Isaiah. As we come near the end of the book, Isaiah prays that God might change his mind and not bring on his people the destruction he promised. Isaiah prayed, “After all this, O LORD, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?” (Isaiah 64:12). But it was too late. God answered, “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations – to a people who continually provoke me to my very face…See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps, both your sins and the sins of your fathers,” says the LORD (Isaiah 65:2,3,6,7). Judgment was coming.
These were troubled times for God’s people. The Assyrians were threatening to destroy them. Isaiah warned that within 100 years the Babylonians actually would. The future looked very bleak. Yet despite what the future promised to bring, God offered a glimmer of hope. There were still some in Judah who put God first in their lives. A remnant remained. God hadn’t forgotten about them. And so God has Isaiah share with his people a vision of the future, a vision of glory.
Speaking for God, Isaiah said, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more” (Isaiah 65:17-19).
Isaiah’s vision for the future, his vision of glory encompasses many years. It is a vision that sees God’s protecting hand rest on his people of the New Testament era: from the time of Christ to now and beyond.
God promised that he would change how he dealt with the people and nations of the world. In Old Testament times, entire nations were destroyed. When the Children of Israel took possession of the Promised Land, they did it by force. Anyone who stood in God’s way was destroyed. So God’s people began to take possession of cities they did not build, houses they did not construct, and fields they did not plant. And when God’s people sinned, God dealt with them quickly and severely. Remember what happened when they made the golden calf? About 3000 were put to death (Exodus 32). And when they grumbled and complained about the food sent from heaven, God sent venomous snakes (Number 21).
Isaiah foresees that in the future, God would be more patient with people and with nations. Sin would still exist. People would still die. Calamities will still take place. However, God’s protecting hand will guide those who follow him. Isaiah prophesied, “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them” (Isaiah 65:20-23).
We can see Isaiah’s prophecy coming true. We can see this happening in our world right now. He has certainly been patient with you and me, hasn’t he? We are, without a doubt, sinful human beings. We deserve to spend our eternity in hell. Yet he doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve. We find ourselves under the protection of his hand.
I don’t know about you, but I find that to be very comforting. I find it very comforting to know, “Your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:10). I find it very comforting to know that even in a world that at times seems to be thrown into confusion, with no glimmer of hope, God is still right there, still in control, still guiding, still leading us where he wants us to go.
We may not have a world aggressor knocking at our door, threatening to send us into exile as God’s people did in Isaiah’s day, but we do know what it is like to be scared for the future. We have this political unrest. We wrestle with jobs, health care, taxes, racism, and discrimination. Our families are affected by what is happening around us. We don’t always understand each other. We’re not always willing to try. Sin has certainly made a mess out of our world, hasn’t it?
Yet, we do know where to go. We know we can go to God in prayer and know that he will hear us, provide for us, protect us. We know that he watches over us. We’ve all seen it. We’ve all experienced it. It is happening right now! And for that we give him thanks and praise.
Isaiah’s vision of glory is something that we can see right now. But you know what? It gets even better. We will live it soon.
On this Saint’s Triumphant Sunday, let’s not forget our goal. Our goal isn’t to spend eternity here on a sinful earth. We’re waiting for Jesus to either come again or take us home. We’re looking forward to when the dead will rise from the grave. We’re looking forward to receiving new bodies, perfect and holy. We’re looking forward to spending our eternity free from sin and guilt, free from pain and death. And then we’re looking forward to the new heaven and earth our God will create. We’re looking forward to being reunited with loved ones; with being in the presence of our God. We’re looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face! We’re looking forward to glory!
My guess is that all of us here have lost loved ones to death. Yet because of Christ, our tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy. We know where they are. We know their souls are in heaven. We know for a fact that they are living with Jesus. They’re singing his praises. One day soon it will be our turn.
Not too long ago, one of our members received news from her doctor. She was told that she was going to die. She asked me, “How long do you think that is going to take?” I said, “I don’t know. He’ll come and get you once he’s got your room painted, not before.”
One day soon, we will all live in God’s glory. How long will that take? For some of us, not too long at all. The Lord might call you home by the end of next year. He might call others ten years from now. And still others, 50 years from now. We don’t know exactly when our Lord will call. Once he has your room painted, he’s coming. And I do know this: if Jesus doesn’t come again within the next 100 years, every single person here will be called home. Every one. There is your comfort. There is your hope. Life in heaven will bring about such a dramatic change! Listen to Isaiah’s vision of glory, “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord(Isaiah 65:25).
The events of last night turned our world upside down. Most were left with a sense of shock and awe. Some see this as a sign of hope. Others see it as a sign of dread. Who knows what the future holds? Don’t worry. God is in control. Always has been. Always will be.
Instead of worrying about the future of our great country, focus your thoughts and prayers on something bigger. Something better. Focus on Isaiah’s Vision of Glory. We can see it now. And by God’s grace, we’ll live it soon.
Amen.
And now may the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.