Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Isaiah 65. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- It is a significant aspect of our sinful nature that selfishness and self-interest is virtually always a compelling issue for our behavior. It is hard to calculate just how many times in a day that we do something to bring comfort or satisfaction to ourselves.
- So it is that the things of this life can become most important and critical to us. The fact is that many people think of religion – including Christianity – as something that primarily helps us “in this life only.” But the apostle warns us about this – that “if in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
- So my hope and prayer for you all this morning is that you see the blessings of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection for our life here in this world. But even more importantly, that you see and grasp the wondrous blessings that are soon to come – in God’s heavenly kingdom. This is the principle message of our text from Isaiah 65.
- It is important for us – and for all people – to understand that:
I. Things Are Much Better In The World After The Death And Resurrection Of Jesus
A. The Church, The Fellowship Of God’s Children, Of Believers In Christ Jesus, Has Grown Immensely
Matt. 16:16-18 “He asked the disciples, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock [your confession of Who I am] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’”
B. With The Growth Of The Church, Principles Of Charity And Goodness Have Come Into The World
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
John 1:4,5 “In Him was life, and the Life was the Light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Statement: It is difficult to calculate all of the good, all of the reduction of human suffering and misery that has occurred in the world as a result of the experience of Christ’s wondrous, sacrificial love for us on the cross. The hospitals, the schools, the charitable organizations – all of these originate from the principles of love taught by Christ, and the power of His love to move His people of faith. To contemplate how Christ has loved us is critical if we are going to love “just and He has loved us.” He suffered and died for our sin, guilt, and condemnation – to take away our sin and guilt, to reconcile the Father to us, to provide us with a righteousness that the Father wraps us in.
Application: So yes, this helps us immensely in this life, to have courage and confidence in the knowledge of God’s great love for us! However:
II. The Complete Renewal Of Humanity Is Yet To Come
A. A New Heaven And A New Earth Are Coming
Text: “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.”
B. Then We Will Be Blessed With Full Life And Purpose
Text: “I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days. . . . They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of My people be, and My chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them.”
C. And For Believers – Who Are Devoted To And Alive To God But Dead To Sin – There Will Be Complete Peace And Life For All
Text: “’Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,’ says the LORD.”
Statement: We all know that this description can never apply to our time “in this life,” in this fallen world. Solomon reminds us of the vanity and temporal nature of life in this world, in the book of Ecclesiastes: “There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. [Eccl. 5:13-17] So also the apostle Paul reminds us: “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” [1 Tim. 6:7}
Application: So, although we receive wonderful blessings through Christ for this life, this life is temporal, and whatever we invest in earthly things shall be lost forever. However, the good that we invest in – the charities, the church, other people directly – these are heavenly investments that last forever. And this is an eternal life that we are headed to, one with no futility or vanity!
Transition: And although we are blessed to participate in the wondrous new creation that occurs at Christ’s return, it is important to remember that:
III. Mankind Does Not Accomplish This, But God But God Does
A. It Does Not Happen In This Life
“an infant lives but a few days . . . an old man dies without filling out his days . . . they build but another inhabits, they plant but another eats . . . Thy labor in vain and bear children for calamity.”
B. But It Will Be Reality In The New World
Text: “Be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people.”
Statement: So, while we are filled with joy even in this life – as we contemplate the great salvation which God has given us through the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, we still look forward to and anticipate and even greater existence in God’s new heavens and earth! It is all good for those who “belong to Christ.”
Application: All of this eases us out of the entrapment of a temporal perspective on human life and existence. It changes the logic of our selfishness and desire for comfort and pleasure. So it ennobles our lives here and now, and fills us with a joy far greater than earthly joys.
Conclusion: This is what Christ has done for us, what God wants us to grasp and hold onto, so that we have hope not only in this life, but also hope for eternity, for the life to come! All of this comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our dear Savior. May God grant each of us this blessedness and Easter joy, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.