Sermon for 11/13/22 "God's Answer" 15 Minutes

Isaiah 65:17-25

This morning I'll be reading Isaiah chapter 65 verses 17 through 25. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Isaiah 65:17-25 In these verses,,, Isaiah is writing the answer from God,,, in response to the prayers of the nation that occurred in the earlier chapters. God's judgement has been told,,, now God lets them know how He will bless them.

Isaiah 65:17–25 (HCSB) 17 “For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind. 18 Then be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people. The sound of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her. 20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live only a few days, or an old man not live out his days. Indeed, the youth will die at a hundred years, and the one who misses a hundred years will be cursed. 21 People will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They will not build and others live in them; they will not plant and others eat. For My people’s lives will be like the lifetime of a tree. My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor without success or bear children destined for disaster, for they will be a people blessed by the Lord along with their descendants. 24 Even before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on My entire holy mountain,” says the Lord. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. -----------------------------------------------------------

Last Sunday we looked at Luke 20:27-38 and we seen that Jesus explained that God is the “God of the Living” not of the dead in His explanation to the Sadducees question about the resurrection.

This revelation is important for us today when we are searching for answers to help us in our faith.

To know that “God is “The God of the Living” should give us the confidence to know that the resurrection is a definite future event that we can all look forward to as children of God.

We should also be aware,,, that satan will always be looking for any way that he can trip us up and make us doubt God.

That’s why that it is so important to study the Bible so that when someone tries to trick you into something that you will regret later,,, you can do the right thing by obeying God going forward,,, and by doing so,,, maybe you will be able to help them to see the error that is making them see things the wrong way.

By doing that,,, you will save yourself,,, and hopefully,,, someone else!

The Sadducees said that they knew the Bible,,, but they really didn’t.

We can see that when we look at these scriptures,,, we can see how much they actually missed,,, once Jesus showed them the information that they could not see,,, even though it was something that they knew “about”,,, but they apparently didn’t understand.

So as we remember these verses,,, remember that God is “The God of the Living”,,, and because of everything that Jesus Christ did for us,,, we will be able to spend eternity with Him,,, and live,,, victoriously,,, forever more!

This morning we will see how these verses in Isaiah help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 17 says: 17 “For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.

My Believer’s Bible Commentary says,,, The closing verses of chapter 65 describe millennial conditions.

The new heavens and the new earth here refer to Christ’s kingdom on earth; in Revelation 21 they refer to the eternal state.

In Isaiah’s new heavens and new earth there is still sin and death; - but in Revelation 21,,, these have passed away.

David Jeremiah described it this way,,, Children will be born during this time,,, and some of those children will rebel against God.

Just like today,,, each person born during the Millennial Age will make a personal decision,,, either for,,, or against,,, Christ.

We can be confident of this: Rebellion won’t last long.

God will know the intent of every heart,,, and there will be swift justice for every wrong.

The Bible says our Lord will rule with a rod of iron.

That means there won’t be any delays in justice—no long waits for trials or for sentences to be carried out.

There will be immediate justice during the holy reign of King Jesus.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 18 and 19 say: 18 Then be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people. The sound of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.

When the kingdom comes,,, the Lord will rejoice in Jerusalem and in the people of Israel.

The sounds of sorrow and anguish will no longer be heard.

The pain and suffering that we endure today will be something that we will not experience any more.

We will know and understand the blessings that we receive better at that time.

This is important for us today,,, especially as we move closer to the celebration of Thanksgiving.

We need to always give thanks and praise to God,,, and it is especially important during the holidays.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 20 through 23 say: 20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live only a few days, or an old man not live out his days. Indeed, the youth will die at a hundred years, and the one who misses a hundred years will be cursed. 21 People will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They will not build and others live in them; they will not plant and others eat. For My people’s lives will be like the lifetime of a tree. My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor without success or bear children destined for disaster, for they will be a people blessed by the Lord along with their descendants.

Because of the world’s perfect conditions during the thousand-year reign of Christ,,, people will live for a long time.

It appears that life spans will return to the way that they were before the Flood when humans lived to be more than nine hundred years old.

Infant mortality and premature death will be eradicated.

A person who dies at the age of one hundred years will be thought of as a child.

Men will live to enjoy the fruit of their labors because the lifespan will extend throughout the Millennium for the faithful.

There will be no unproductive labor,,, and young people will not be cut off by war or calamity.

Parents and children will enjoy the blessing of the LORD.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 24 and 25 say: 24 Even before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on My entire holy mountain,” says the Lord.

There will be no more hindrances to prayer.

Even before we have any idea of a need,,, God will have already began to take care of that need!

Wild animals will be domesticated,,, and poisonous snakes will feed on the dust of defeat and humiliation.

There will be no more danger in God’s holy mountain of Zion.

What a blessing this will be for those of us that are Christians,,, just the beginnings of the amazing,,, wonderful things that we will experience.

----------------------------------------------------------- We are getting closer to the day of Thanksgiving,,, and we know that during this day,,, we should always be thankful.

But,,, we are reminded all the time that we should be thankful every day for the blessings from God.

But we come up short over and over again.

These verses should help us going forward this week to remember to thank God for the blessings that we have today,,, and the “glorious blessings we will experience in the future.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13,,, what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer”,,, part of those words,,, as you all know,,, say,,, thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.

That prayer remains unanswered.

At the start of the Millennium,,, God’s kingdom,,, will come to earth.

Until then,,, we look forward to that day!

----------------------------------------------------------- So you see,,, Isaiah was giving the Israelites a glimpse of what is to come,,, an answer to their prayer that they had been praying for.

We have that same assurance today.

Because of God’s faithfulness,,, we know that this will come true one day.

And it will be because of “God’s Answer” that we can be thankful today,,, and every day,,, as we look forward to the fulfilment of the words that we say every week as we repeat the Lords Prayer,,, thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.

Because at that time,,, God’s kingdom will be here on earth,,, and His rule will be the beginning,,, of blessings that we cannot see or understand fully,,, and we need to give God the praise and glory each and every day,,, as we look forward to that time,,, for something that we will receive that we did not deserve,,, but God loved us even though we were sinners to make a way for us.

And by doing so,,, we should not have any problem being thankful,,, each and every day,,, of our life!

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------