“Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord. “Enlarge the site of your tent, and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your pegs deep. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will dispossess nations and inhabit the desolate cities.” (Isaiah 54:1-3 CSB)
The test of your faith is not just found in the orthodox beliefs you embrace, but also in the joy your soul expresses through worship!
Surprise! Don’t you love a good surprise? I do, even though I’m terrible at surprising anyone. A surprise causes your heart to beat a bit faster and your body responds in a completely natural way. When God surprises us, it should cause our hearts to beat a bit faster and our bodies to respond naturally. Isaiah describes this very idea in verse 1 with words like “rejoice” and “burst into song and shout.” Our focal passage, Isaiah 54:1-3, is all about how God surprises us when we don’t deserve it and least expect it.
For proper context and understanding, you may need to go back and read last week’s focal passage, Isaiah 53:10-12. The surprises God presents to us in Isaiah 54-55 are based entirely upon the “finished” work of His Servant as described in Isaiah 40-53, the Servant Songs. The Servant will be given “the many” as His portion and the “mighty” as spoil because of His obedience to God’s will. Now, Isaiah describes those results as innumerable children and outrageous rejoicing for a woman who has never given birth or been in labor.
When we receive something we deserve, we don’t normally rejoice over it. We expect it, anticipate it, even demand it, and when it doesn’t come we grumble about it. But when we get something that is deserved and expected, we don’t generally rejoice. It’s not a surprise, it is an expectation. It’s a bit like the difference between a paycheck and a bonus. The paycheck is earned and expected. In fact, you probably know exactly how much to expect. No surprises there. But if you’ve done a great job and gone beyond expectation and receive bonus pay, that’s a surprise and you rejoice and may even go celebrate it.
In this instance, we are both the one who is surprised and the surprise. That may sound odd, but the barren woman is Zion, the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the City of God, the Bride of Christ and the New Testament Church and is made up of all the redeemed children of God. We are “the many” He has received as His portion and the “seed” of His sacrifice and we should be excited over what He has done and rejoicing over our growing family. Not just a little bit happy about it, our heart should beat faster, our feet should start to dance as we rejoice and our voices should break out into song and shouting! Not because of what we’ve done but because of what He has done. Not what we’ve earned, but His grace.
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus tells His disciples: “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33 CSB) We live in a world filled with struggle and suffering, but we can have courage, we can rejoice, we can dance and sing because HE has conquered this world! This world no longer has power over us, we have been redeemed and set free from its death grip.
That’s why we gather and celebrate each week, but it’s especially why we gather and celebrate this morning. He is our reason for rejoicing, He is the cause for our song, He is the dance in our step and the joy in our worship. This morning, we don’t mourn over His death. This morning, we shout, we dance, we celebrate, we sing because He has overcome the sorrow and suffering of this world, HE IS RISEN! Death’s hold upon us has been broken. We are children of THE King and He has conquered the grave and He promises us life, eternal life. Life like it’s meant to be. Life as God intended and as He created. Life that is filled with grace, truth, justice, love and righteousness.
This morning, my message for you has two possible outcomes. It can be a message of hope or one of desperation. It can be about fulfilled promises or broken dreams. It can be a story of your redemption and freedom or of your judgment and slavery. The question really comes down to whether you will live life in the glorious, redemptive freedom of the Servant’s completed work or in the vain, weak, inadequate and enslaving power of your own. Will you be a child of God’s promise or a child of your own achievement? Grace or works? Freedom or slavery? (See Galatians 4:21-31)
But church, you need to hear these next words of God’s promise to bless the Servant’s obedience. He tells us to enlarge the site of our tent, to stretch out the curtains, lengthen the ropes, and drive the pegs deep. Why? Because He’s not finished adding children to the church’s family. The surprise is not just that God has included you and me in the fulfillment of His promise, but that He is drawing people from every nation, people, tribe, language and ethnicity to come and be a part of His holy people. Descendants for Abraham, not by human will or physical birth but by faith through the fulfillment of His promise.
Most churches will have folks they seldom see who will come to worship today because it is Easter. If you’re one of them, please listen to Isaiah’s words. Being a part of God’s family is not a part time or occasional role you take on. We need to move over and you need to move in, alongside us. Yes, everybody’s family can be challenging and frustrating. But family is family and you love them even when they’re difficult and different. If you don’t have a place to love, serve and worship God then you need to find one and you need to make a covenant with them and a commitment to them. We would love for you to come and serve, love and worship God alongside us.
What’s most disturbing is that we often get upset when someone embraces God’s love and grace and we think they don’t deserve it. Wait, what? None of us deserve God’s love and grace but we desperately need it. It is only when you recognize you don’t deserve God’s love and grace that you can truly find it. If you think you deserve it, you’ve already missed it. If you think He couldn’t possibly love you, you’re on the verge of discovering it. Just knock…
““Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8 CSB)
One other danger I often see is we want someone to act as a proxy for our obedience. What do I mean? I mean, we expect someone, some government or some non-governmental organization or agency to do what God has called the church to do. In other words, we expect someone else to fulfill our familial obligations and responsibilities. God commands for us to “enlarge the site of your tent” in this passage and that implies that we will have others join our family and that entails familial obligations. Not only obligations for family, but also responsibilities to those we are trying to reach with the Good News of Jesus’ love and sacrifice.
Historically, the church has been a primary source for education, health care and end of life care in our dark world. We educate because we have a perspective on truth that points to our Savior. We provide health care and end of life care because we serve the Great Physician and the One who gives eternal life to those who love and follow Him. When everyone else is hiding in fear, we ought to be the ones who step out in faith with the love of God and His message of hope.
“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 CSB)
Finally, I want to end with a few things we must be willing to do in the fulfillment of God’s promises. He tells us, “do not hold back; lengthen your ropes and drive your pegs deep” because we will spread out and dispossess nations and inhabit desolate cities. This isn’t just about making room for unexpected family joining us, it is also about holding onto those things that make us uniquely God’s. Every family has things that bind them together, and it is more than just blood and DNA. In fact, we are more bound to those who share our faith than we are to relatives and family members who don’t share our faith.
The Apostle Paul calls for us to have a distinct unity of purpose and calling that goes far beyond anything else that binds us together. We unite around common values and desires. Most of those are very weak and fail to last through challenging circumstances – like sports teams. But the body of Christ, the church, is called to a unity that is built on the immutability (unchanging nature) of the Father, Son and the Spirit. We have something that binds us together that does not and cannot fail – the LORD God and His promises.
Today, we celebrate the fulfillment of that promise. When Jesus committed Himself to carrying out God’s plan of redemption He saw it through to completion. As He declared on the cross, “it is FINISHED!” In our focal passage, Isaiah had the privilege of looking down through the ages and seeing God’s promise being fulfilled. Today, I have the privilege of looking out across this group and seeing the same thing – God’s promise being fulfilled through each of you.
“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6 CSB)
Because of that, my voice wants to sing and shout, my feet want to dance and my heart wants to rejoice. You and I are the result of God’s joy. We are the product of His grace dancing, of His voice singing and shouting. We ARE His rejoicing. That’s incredibly Good News! Scripture tells us that when He spoke, the world came into being. When He made man, He knelt down, formed him from the dust and breathed into him life. When we broke God’s heart with our rebellion, God set out to bring us back and when His grace danced we were born anew – not of flesh and blood, but by His Spirit.
So, today you have a choice. You can dance to the song of God’s grace or you can hum your own tune. You can find life in Him, or you can try to build it on your own. One word of advice, dance with Him because your efforts don’t stand a chance…
Hilltop Baptist Church - Shawnee, OK 
Leave a comment