Three Streams of Revival

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 89:1-18

What a wonderful song praising the power, strength, might and sovereignty of God almighty! May this be true of us, that we will “sing of the steadfast love of the Lord almighty (verse 1). And so today as we prepare our hearts for service today I would just like to reiterate the God that we gather to bring glory honor and praise to. His faithful love is established forever (verse 2) He has made a covenant with David, by which we are all saved through the one from David who was the son of God who now reigns forever in heaven. He works wonders worthy of all praise and glory, there is none like him. He keeps council with himself and there is no God besides him. and this is all just in these first 7 verse. He is strong and mighty, worthy of all glory honor and praise, so today as we begin with a time of silent prayer and reflection I would encourage you to reflect on this: We serve a glorious and wondrous God who sees fit to meet with us, to hear our praises. In fact they pleas him. Lets pray!

Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-10

Sermon:

GMC! I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

We are rapidly approaching the end of our series through Isaiah, which is quite a bittersweet time for me. On one hand we have been in this book for a long time, like an old friend it has become familiar and dear to me, It is usually the end of a series that you finally get the full feeling of the authors flow and voice, it becomes more natural to hear from them. yet on the other hand it is exciting to look ahead, and see what is coming next. I bring this up because this weeks passage in particular forces me to live in the same sort of tension that finishing a sermon series does. This passage will force us to look forward. Past even now to a time when all that Isaiah has said will come to pass in it’s fullest sense. But in order to do so we have to look back, we have to remember what he has said, as many different thoughts all come together to form the full tapestry of what he has been saying.

By way of example, I am of an age and personality type (hardcore nerd) that means The Lord of the Rings trilogy had great impact on my life. And one of the things that I love about the Lord of the rings is at the end of the first book (or movie i guess) there is a great shift. Now instead of following one story line, that of the fellowship, you follow multiple different lines, you have Frodo and Sam off to Mordor, Pippen and Merry have been kidnapped, and Gimili Legolas ad Aragon are on a quest to save Merry and Pippen. What makes The Lord of the rings so great is how Tolkien manages to tie together all these different story lines into one magnificent story with a singular vision for the end.

So too we have seen many different themes, many different thoughts that Isaiah has been weaving into a tapestry of all that god is doing and saying. And so as we approach the end he will begin to crystallize and bring to ahead these different thoughts.

So today will be just a little different, we are going to look a these different themes and thoughts that Isaiah has been developing, and see how this will come to a glorious and powerful end. But before we dive in, lets begin with a word of prayer.

PRAY

So the picture that we will be using is that of multiple streams coming together flowing towards one vision of ending. and so we start with a “stream” that has been one of the biggest keys and themes and in some sense controversial of Isaiah: the WORLDWIDE STREAM

The Worldwide Stream...

We have been going back and forth between God speaking an the people speaking, well for the rest of the book of Isaiah it will be God, noted with many “says the Lord” or “hear the words of the Lord”. and he opens with a call to the great wide world.

Isaiah 65:1 ESV

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.

Ok, God is saying, I am ready, it is time. Now the call is going to go broader and deeper. Not only will I answer to those who call upon my name, but actually I will answer those who are not even asking for me!. Not only will those within my people who seek after me find me, but this call is greater and bigger. It goes even to those who do not seek me. He will not JUST be the God of a people called by his name, now he will show his presence to other nations.

and this is a profound and important thought. Put your finger here and turn with me quickly to Romans 10. Paul has been in Romans dealing with some dig and important issues, but not the least of all is: why is it that the Jews had the law but now the (unclean, uncircumcised) gentiles are welcomed into the fold of what we would call “God’s people”. and as he draws near to the end of that argument he goes to this verse to prove his point.

Romans 10:20 ESV

Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

And Paul is right, this is extraordinarily bold. On one hand it flies in the face of logic. If they don’t seek God how will they find him? if they are not even asking for God why would he show himself to them? And this then is the miracle of salvation, it is the miracle of God’s grace, it is the hope that we have that God calls US out of darkness. We sometimes get passages like this twisted, because it is bold, but we are mis reading the boldness often I think. If I may channel my inner RC Sproul for just a second: What is crazy and bold is NOT that God is found by those “who do not seek him” what is bold and unimaginable in that ANYONE would be able to find him. It not JUST that the un-asking find God, its that God sees fit to meet with ANYONE, for no one is righteous, no not one, and no one seeks God.

And as we approach the end of Isaiah God says I was ready, its happening, we are nearing the fullness of the stream of thought that the call of Repentance, the call to return, the work of the servant to redeem, to save is reaching it’s climax. this stream is cresting the bank, but we have to get another stream to join the flow, and so we immediately turn our attention to THE JUDGEMENT STREAM.

The Judgement Stream...

Isaiah 65:2–7 ESV

I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig’s flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together, says the Lord; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.”

Again we pick up the call of judgement, interestingly it comes on the heel of the worldwide call, the not-so-hidden irony here is that he will meet with he world while simultaneously it is the people who thought they were safe, who thought they had it made that are in the most danger here. But there is something else here too worth noting. This is a picture of God in his patience and grace THEN his judgement.

It opens with “I have spread out my hands all the day” which is a sign of, in some sense, pleading. We do this with Willow all the time, it is arms open, come here, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when she says “no” and runs away laughing.... But here we have God’s people, well, they were supposed to be his people and yet they have rebelled, verse 2. How quickly they have moved from God’s people to a people who “provoke him continually”. and verse 3-5 continue to illuminate and describe their rebellion and what the nature of their provoking is.

it is a defilement of all God commanded, sitting in tombs eating unclean foods, engaging in all sorts of idolatry. and so they have become an irritant. Verse 5 tells us they are like a smoke in his nostrils. If you have ever been sitting around a camp fire and had the wind change direction so now you are downwind with a face full of smoke you get the feeling. and so verse 6 judgement is stated. and this is a tragic comparison with the call in verse one in one sense, and it is a just and righteous declaration by holy God in another. lets read 6 and 7 again.

Isaiah 65:6–7 ESV

Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together, says the Lord; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.”

Judgement is coming, God will not keep silent I will INDEED repay. It is sure. they will pay for their “former deeds” verse 7. There will be recompense for their sins says the Lord. Woe to those who do not hear the call and instead are swept up in the, yes stream for the picture, but in reality the raging river of God’s wrath and judgement, and this river is flowing to it’s head, but there is one more stream that will find it’s fulfillment in this passage. that is the REMNANT STREAM

The Remnant Stream...

Over and over again we have seen in Isaiah that though there is wrath, and though there is judgement, there is also a remnant, there is a part of God’s people who are faithful to God, and even here God tells us that he will remember and save that remnant.

Isaiah 65:8–9 ESV

Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.

And this is one of the streams that can take us way way back. It has been a long long time since we have been In Isaiah 5, but that is where, in Isaiah, we first saw the thought of a vineyard. To refresh our memory there it was the wicked and useless vineyard of the Lord. He tended them, he protected them, he loved them and all that came forth was sour wine. Grapes that were good for nothing. But here the vineyard has changed. now among the cluster there is not just some good grapes, but in fact the best grapes.

Not being a vine tender and knowing nothing about wine I had to take the word of my commentaries on this one, but the thought that “new wine is found in the cluster” is to say that the best, the choicest, the most-good-est wine is here being harvested. It is, as verse 8 says “a blessing”. so too is the remnant that the Lord will call out. As the river of judgement is flowing we are sure to be reminded of the river of God’s grace. For from out of captivity, out of darkness, out of a lost and sinful people there will be some that hear the call. there's the other stream that is flowing here, and he will save. verse 9 again

Isaiah 65:9 ESV

I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.

and all of these streams come together and flow to a vision of consummation.

… all flow to a vision of CONSUMMATION

This is a super fancy word with a simple definition. Consummation is the point at which something is complete or finalized.

and as Isaiah develops this thought of consummation he begins to paint it in a sense of already and not yet, but there is a huge focus here on the not-yet, even for us. because He points us to the glorious end.

But we start in verse 10

Isaiah 65:10–12 ESV

Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me. But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.”

So God is saying there will be a time when those who hear the call, this is part of the consummation of the worldwide and remnant streams, will lie down in pastures but, and here is the culmination of the judgement stream, for those who reject him, who rebel, who forget his mountain will face wrath. There is a beautiful wordplay here with Destiny and destined in verse 11-12

So the remnant will be saved the rebels will face sure and powerful painful judgement. This is not soft language. it is just a s strong as, when we read the anointed conqueror will wear clothes stained with the blood of his enemies here he will destine you “for the sword and you will bow down to slaughter.” It is a terrible thing to face the wrath of almighty God.

and the judgement stream is sort of wrapped up, it reaches its final thought with a comparison, and really it is more of a contrast between the fates of those who are the remnant, and those who face judgement.

Isaiah 65:13–16 ESV

Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit. You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name, so that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.

God will meet all the needs of his people and those who rebel will face judgement. There is NO more clear language, and there is no more simple way that I can put it. When Isaiah gets to the end, there is no thought of: “you know you have the people who heard God’s call, and over here you have a group of mostly good people, and they tried really hard” No. Isaiah is clear there are two groups of people. those who are known and chosen, we would call them the remnant, and you have everyone who faces the judgement of God.

Lets stop trying to do God favors, lets stop trying to lessen the blow of things like this: you have but two options, serve the Lord in gladness or face his wrath and judgment. that is where the river of Isaiah has been taking us. To tie a bow on his thoughts Isaiah leaves NO room for someone to escape this call. there is but one way to God that God has ordained. and so, will you eat as his servant or will you be hungry as his enemy?

But now we turn our attention to the final vision of the end of the remnant stream, and the final outcome of the world wide call. What is incredible is the world wide call ends in a NEW WORLD. as God tells us now of the new heavens and the new earth. There is a lot here we will not be able to dive into all of it. there is room here for a full end-times -eschatological sermon, but I want us to think of it this way: What God is doing and what God is saying is “I have a plan, i have a vision”. Those who hear the worldwide call, those who will be my remnant, have hope, and have faith.

Having shown the final end of the judgement stream we need to end the other streams too:

Isaiah 65:17–25 ESV

“For 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. 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, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 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. 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.

When we, the remnant, the redeemed, those who hear the call, those who have the blessed hope of finding God, to use verse 1 language, of hearing him say here I am, here I am, have a great hope. It is a new and perfect wold where there is no more tears, no more pain, no more sickness. No more dying infants. no more heartbreak and tragedy. no more sickness and death. no more striving and pointless labor. ‘they shall not build and another inhabit” you hall enjoy the fruits of your hands. You will have here describe in many different ways LONG life we know that that is really really really long life for we look forward to eternal life in Christ Jesus. When he creates the new heavens and the new earth we will glory and rejoice in his splendor.

All things will be made right. This is the final vision of the consummation of god’s plan. In some sense, this is the end of Isaiah, we will see next week our response to this and a few final issues that get cleared up, but this is what he has been building to. this is our hope.

So to end, If I may theologize just a little bit here, I want to make sure that we, as the people who live in the time in between the two advents, look at this passage in the right way. What Isaiah doesn't tell us explicitly, but what Scripture tells us as a whole, all of these streams lead us to Christ, and the final vision only happens because of him too.

How does the world hear the call? It is Jesus who made the worldwide call possible

Ephesians 2:14 ESV

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

How do we even HEAR the call, it is through he person and work of Jesus Christ. It is because he ascended into heaven and now lives forever to intercede and he sends us the comforter the Holy Spirit who draws us unto himself, who seals and convicts us. We don’t even hear the call apart form Christ.

He is also the fulfilment of the Judgement stream. We spent a whole sermon just a few weeks on the judgement of Christ ans he rules and reigns as the anointed conqueror. The one who’s name is faithful and true. the one who rules with a rod of iron and tramples the winepress of the wrath of almighty God.

And he is the one who calls the remnant. we are saved because of him. there can only be a remnant because He is the propitiation for our sins and now we are his body he is the head. we are IN christ. we are saved and made a remnant because of the work of Christ.

John 1:9–14 ESV

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

All of these things can come to fruition, all the consummation can happen because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. and so that is where we place all our hope. We know that we can trust in a new heaven and a new earth because he gave us his son… will he not also give us all things.

We know there is hope because the enemies of sin and death were defeated on the cross and so what else do we have to fear. And so we long for and look forward to a new heavens and a new earth, when all things are made right, when life and blessing flow forevermore.

Lets PRAY.