Abundant Life

“Instead of your being deserted and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you an object of eternal pride, a joy from age to age. You will nurse on the milk of nations, and nurse at the breast of kings; you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” (Isaiah‬ ‭60‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

God has chosen what is weak and shameful in this world to be the platform on which His strength and glory will be revealed and fully demonstrated (see 1 Cor. 1:26-31). Over the past few weeks we have talked about how much we need a hero. We need someone who can come into our world and change us and everything in it. Someone who has the power to destroy the evil that permeates and destroys our world. Someone who can overpower the sin that is so deeply embedded within us.

But why would God choose to do this through what is weak and shameful? Why would He choose to save us through the shame, horror and humiliation of a Roman cross? Because it demonstrates that we are completely incapable of saving ourselves and He is the only source of redemption for mankind. We would choose strength and power to demonstrate our ability to conquer and save but God chose what we view as weakness to reveal His power. His power is not demonstrated through force but through love and sacrifice. His salvation doesn’t come through forced submission but through our will being lovingly submitted to His.

We live in a culture filled with advertisements and subtle coercion. Companies continually working to convince us that their product or service is the best choice to transform our lives. Politicians working to convince us that their choices have our best interest in mind. What we value determines our choices, right? Most of us try to strike a balance between quality and price. We might want the best, but we may have to settle for less because of cost. My wife and I recently had to buy a new car. I read reviews and researched brand reliability and I asked my wife about her desires and preferences regarding features and finishes. In the end, we purchased a vehicle that was the best of all these things combined at a price we could afford. I think that is a pretty common approach.

Ultimately, that is exactly what we tend do in our search for a better life. We read the reviews, we ask friends, we evaluate the options, we weigh the costs and then we make a choice. The option we choose is usually a balance between quality and price. What do I really want and what can I really afford. But I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to settle for less, not this time. The cheap option just won’t satisfy because it is just that, a cheap substitute. I won’t lie to you, either. The quality option doesn’t come cheap, but it is attainable. But before we talk price, let’s talk value…

While I didn’t include the entire 60th chapter of Isaiah in our focal passage, I would encourage you to go read the full chapter here. In it, Isaiah describes what life is like when God’s glory is revealed in and through His people. But I believe it is important to note, we aren’t talking about political or ethnic Israel. We’re talking about the spiritual Israel, those who walk in obedience to God in the faith of their father, Abraham. Listen to the contrast between the two choices:

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you. For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the Lord will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your radiance.” (Isaiah‬ ‭60‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

When the glory of the LORD shines over us, then nations will be drawn to its radiance. When we are truly transformed by the gospel of Jesus and begin to live in obedience to God’s word and His will, then His glory will shine on us and be revealed through us. We live in a world dominated by darkness and God has chosen to bring light into this dark world in a personal way. He has chosen to conquer evil but to do so in a way that demonstrates His power in a way we could never anticipate, one person at a time. Why? Because true transformation comes through personal love not mass coercion.

Oh church, we need to hear this. God has chosen to demonstrate His power, His glory and His love through people who are willing to sell out to Him and His kingly rule over us. When we have finally grown weary of trying to achieve this on our own; when we realize our attempts at changing our world are futile and surrender to Him, then, and only then, will we begin to see His plan fall into place. It won’t come through building bigger and grander edifices. It can’t come through pursuing our own agendas and promoting our own plans. God’s glory can NEVER shine when we put the spotlight on our own abilities and exalt ourselves. God’s glory only shines when we fade into the background and He takes center stage with all the focus on Him.

I am convinced that one of the main reasons the American church is in decline is because we have spent so much effort and time in exalting ourselves and not Him! We’re more interested in promoting ourselves, our agendas and our abilities that we are in exalting Him. We’re more interested in comfort than we are in the cross of Christ. We’re more focused on attendance and budget goals than His kingdom and His will. What if we changed our goals from increasing attendance and meeting budget to seeing lives changed and God glorified? If I understand Isaiah correctly, when God truly rules over our lives then His glory will shine over us and nations will be drawn to its light, kings will come and bow before its radiance.

What does that look like in practical terms? How does this play out in real life? If you look at the next few verses, they describe what happens. The riches of the sea and the wealth of the nations are brought to God’s people. Caravans of camels from Sheba will cover the land bearing gold, frankincense and praises of the LORD. Flocks from Kedar and rams of Nebaioth will serve God’s people and will be an acceptable sacrifice on God’s altar. Finally, even the remote islands, with the ships from Tarshish leading the way, will bring God’s children and their riches from the far reaches of the world “for the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.”

As you read those verses, what stands out foremost in your thoughts? What caught your attention about how God describes these events? Was it the wealth, the riches, the gold and the silver? If so, you missed the real emphasis and that’s what has happened to most of us with our focus on the kingdom of God. We get focused on the wrong thing. We read these verses and our thoughts focus in on the wealth, riches and comfort it can bring us. In doing so, we’ve missed the true wealth and the real value of what God said. If you pay attention, it can be found in the phrase: “I will glorify My beautiful house.” Let me explain…

The flocks of Kedar and the rams of Nebaioth become acceptable sacrifices on God’s altar. If you don’t recognize those names, pay attention. Those are sons of Ishmael, Abraham’s other son (see Gen. 25:13, 1 Chron. 1:29). The verse implies the children of Ishmael will turn from Islam to faith in God and in service to His Son, Jesus, and to the Church. They will worship with us in obedience at the altar of the One, True LORD over all creation. Not as Muslims, but as believers and disciples of the LORD’s Messiah. The focus of these verses is NOT on the gold, silver, wealth and riches of these distant lands but upon the people of God, then chosen ones, who flow out of all nations on earth and come by faith to Zion, the city and kingdom of God. The focus of these verses is on the fulfillment of the kingdom rule of God over all men from every nation, every tribe, every tongue who will come and walk with Him in obedience by faith.

That’s where our focus must always be centered. The mission and focus of the church must not be on its comfort and its survival. Our focus must never be on our continued existence and our personal comfort in that process but upon our service to Him and our sacrifice for His kingdom. “Whoever tries to make his life secure will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭33‬ ‭HCSB‬‬) Folks, I need to make a confession and ask your forgiveness here. My thoughts and prayers for our church, over the past few years, have been more focused on our survival and not on our obedience and sacrifice for His kingdom.  I’ve watched as our congregation has aged over the past 35 years, myself included, and I’ve worried about our future. But I was wrong to worry about our age, that’s entirely natural. I was just near sighted an focused on the wrong issue…

“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear? ’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭HCSB‬‬) Do you see it? Where our focus should be? We don’t need to be focused on the age of our people, we need to be focused on the mission of the church – His kingdom rule over us and His righteousness in us. Is that your focus? My goal and focus for us over the next four years will be to make that our top priority. If I do that and we follow His plan then I don’t need to worry about what happens to this church when I retire. 

Next, notice how God uses our failures of faith to shape us as He molds us into a people to whom He can show mercy and bestow His favor (see v. 10). He tells them “although I struck you in My wrath, yet I will show mercy to you with My favor.” I have stated throughout our study in Isaiah, God’s wrath is never intended for our destruction but for our redemption. God judges our sin not because He hates us, but because He loves us and desires for us to know and experience the good He has for us. God hates sin but He loves you in the same way you would hate cancer destroying a loved one even while you express your deep and abiding love for them. God’s intent in His judgment is to destroy the sin “cancer” within us while driving us to repentance, confession and faith. He loves us so much that He can’t stand to see us embrace something that will destroy us. 

But don’t miss this, God’s mercy and favor are never deserved and should not cause us to become prideful and arrogant. The very definition of mercy is that God’s forgiveness and favor are undeserved. What God does in us and for us is not based on our goodness and perceived morality. It is based on our need and God’s love, goodness and righteousness. I point this out because I know our tendency is to puff up with pride whenever we encounter God’s blessings. Blessings should never make us prideful, they should make us thankful. Pride pushes God away while thankfulness draws Him near.

We’ve now ascended to the heart of God’s desire and the focus of Isaiah’s poetic oracle: Zion, the city and kingdom of God (v. 12). The Apostle John refers to this same focus in his vision of the New Jerusalem. She is the culmination of God’s desire and His mission. This is the very mission and focus of the church that I mentioned, above. Just as John references God in the past, present and future tense – the “Alpha and the Omega, the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty” (see Rev. 1:8) – so also is His mission, His purpose, and His focus – Zion; she was, she is and she will be. The rule and kingdom of God stretches into eternity past, into eternity yet to come and it exists even now, in the present moment. We’re not waiting on the kingdom of God to come among us, it is already present in the lives of those who walk in obedience to Him by faith. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow but to live in the present (Matt. 6:34). Stop worrying about tomorrow and when Jesus will come back and start living today in obedience to Him!

This is where things get hard for us. This is where the wrath of God upon sin gets very real. It’s where the rubber meets the road, as we say. We’ve reached the pinnacle of God’s purpose – His right to rule over His creation. However, when we refuse to submit ourselves to God’s purpose – to His kingdom rule over all creation – then our rebellion is complete and His judgment will be just. In the translation I use, it is translated as the word “annihilated”. It can also be translated as “destruction” or “ruin”. Yes, it’s the same basic idea. Here’s what it comes down to, when we refuse life without God then we get what we desire. But life without God is not life on our own terms, it is annihilation, destruction or ruin. Life doesn’t exist without God. So, when we choose life without Him then we end up with those results – nothing, zip, nada, no life, annihilation. Without God, our lives descend into complete and utter ruin, right now and stretching all the way into eternity.

Let that sink in. Ultimately, God gives us what we want. We just refuse to acknowledge the truth of our choices. As Moses told the people as they prepared to enter the Promise Land: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

The Good News that God sent to us through Jesus is not about how to be a better, morally good people. Jesus didn’t come to make us better, He came to give dead men life. Without Him we will never know life and with Him we will never know death. As Moses said, choose life so that you and your family may live, love the LORD your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him. For He is your life… 

This chapter is written as a series of five poems. The first two lead us up the mountain to the third which is the pinnacle, the focus that we find in verse 12 – Zion, the city and people of God. That’s Old Testament language for the kingdom of God. The last two take us down the other side and describe life in that city, living in obedience to the LORD and His word. They are words of stark contrast: darkness will be replaced with light, violence and destruction will be replaced with peace and righteousness, the city walls will be named salvation and the gates will be called praise. That’s not only in stark contrast to the Jerusalem of Isaiah’s day, it is in very stark contrast to the Jerusalem of our day. 

Finally, I need you to see how this culminates. Jesus came to inaugurate the kingdom of God in this world. He told us, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; no one will say, ‘Look here! ’ or ‘There! ’ For you see, the kingdom of God is among you.” (Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭HCSB‬‬) Isaiah puts it this way, “Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch I planted, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified (v. 21).” As always, we want to make the outcome about us. If a plant grows, blooms and then multiplies, who should get the glory? The plant or the one who made it grow? The blessings of God in our lives are simply the result of His work in us and the growth He causes, so that He may be glorified. 

We are the work of His hands, so that He may be glorified… God brings us up the mountain and into His kingdom so that we live out our faith and He receives the glory. Are you living out your faith in such a way that God is being glorified? Don’t make this about the blessings you might get, make this about the glory He deserves. When we stay focused on His kingdom and righteousness, the blessings flow automatically. That’s His promise and He keeps His promises. Make your life about Him and His kingdom and you’ll experience the results, abundant life. Remember, if you try and save your life, you will lose it but if you are willing to lose your life for Him, you will find life.