Look at the Church through Isaiah's Eyes
Isaiah 65:17-25
111713M
How would you describe our church? First, there's the building. It's modern, simple,
with an imposing cross on the outside. Oh yes, there's the orange doors, and you
come into an entryway or vestibule with a statue of Jesus with his hands raised in
blessing. You go into the main part of the church, lofty ceiling, giant cross, lots of
stained glass, and a beautiful organ. What about the people? They're of all ages and
walks of life, friendly, and obviously care about outreach. They sing well too. The
worship service is mostly traditional with a contemporary flair. Now...how would you
describe THE Church? That is, the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of
Saints? It's the invisible gathering of all believers everywhere regardless of age,
nationality, social standing, gender or race. They're holy through faith in the Savior.
There is the Church Militant, that is, believers in Jesus still fighting the good fight of
faith in this world, and there's the church Triumphant, those believers who have died
and gone to heaven and are with the Lord in glory through his victory over sin and
death. It is the New Testament Church, on earth and in heaven, that Isaiah was
permitted to see.
Look at the Church through Isaiah's Eyes
1. The entryway is the Church Militant.
2. The sanctuary is the Church Triumphant.
1. Isaiah was writing to comfort God's Old Testament people whom God was
chastising through seventy years of captivity in Babylon. He was pointing them
ahead not only to their return to the homeland in Israel, but to the coming of the
Savior-Messiah, and the entire Messianic Age--the New Testament era and beyond
when God's people enter eternal glory. It's hard to separate the two as it often is in
prophecy. It's kind of like looking through binoculars; if you look through one lens you
get one perspective, and if you look through the other you get a little different
perspective. If you look through both at the same time, you get the complete picture.
That's what Isaiah gives us here. Let's look through the one lens first. Look a the
Church through Isaiah's eyes. The entryway is the Church Militant.
What we see is God blessing his people with his protection and his provision. In the
Old Testament, under the Old Covenant which his people broke numerous times,
God was carrying out judgment and chastisement against his people. They were
taken into captivity. Many of their lives were cut short in famine and battle, and many
of their children did not live past infancy. They had homes and vineyards that they
built and planted, but someone else got them when they were carried into exile. That
would all change under the New Covenant once the Savior came. Even in a world of
sin and sorrow, God would bless his Church through the Savior. His people's lives
would improve: 20 "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few
days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be
considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will
plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and
others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be
the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their
hands. 23 They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for
they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with
them.
Is this longevity and prosperity absolute and universal, applying to every last person
in the Church living in the world? Not necessarily. It's sort of like the Fourth
Commandment with its promise: "Honor your father and mother that it may go well
with you and you may enjoy long life on the earth." If someone has misfortune or
dies young, does that mean they were rebellious towards their parents? No, we can't
say that. It's a general rule-of-thumb; if you honor your parents you'll tend to stay out
of trouble and live longer. A similar thing is true here. All of us can cite faithful
Christians who died young, had a house foreclosed upon, or lost a child. My cousin's
son died of cancer at age 11, and my own brother died on the day he was born. Was
God not faithful to his promise? Of course he was. Those kids went to heaven as
baptized children of God. As Isaiah says elsewhere: The righteous perish, and no
one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death (Is 57:1-2). That's comforting, isn't
it? God was sparing them from something even more awful in their lives. Not to
mention God's promise, And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Ro 8:28).
God's people in the New Testament age experience God's blessings in even more
ways: they have access to him to him through prayer 24/7, and they live in the peace
that is there's through the forgiveness of sins Jesus won. Isaiah writes regarding
prayer, 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
As King David says in the psalm, Before a word is on my tongue you know it
completely, O LORD (Ps 139:4). Believers have this access to God through faith in
Jesus because of the forgiveness he won. They have peace with God through
Jesus. Isaiah says: 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will
eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm
nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. Again, we can't take his
words literally if we're talking about life in this world. Isaiah is using pictures to
describe the peace the angels spoke about when they announced the Savior's birth.
They said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his
favor rests" (Lk 2:14). It's the peace that all is well with God through Jesus
redeeming work.
We live in this wonderful age. We live under God's faithful protection and provision.
He answers our prayers before we even get around to praying them. We experience
his peace every time he says to us through his messengers, "I forgive you all your
sins." The amazing thing is that God does all of this even though we're not much
different than his Old Testament people with all their grumbling, chasing after idols,
disobeying God's commands, and neglecting the temple and its worship. They were
unfaithful, but he was faithful. He sent the Messiah and all the blessings he brought.
We deserve exile from God too--for all eternity. But instead God sent Jesus to be our
holiness and to carry our sins. He gives us all the blessings he promised as those
who live under his New Covenant of forgiveness in Jesus' blood. It's all by grace--his
undeserved favor!
2. And as good as it is in the Lord's Church in the New Testament age, it's going to
get even better when he returns. Look at the Church through Isaiah's eyes: The
sanctuary is the Church Triumphant. Now we're in the outer room of God's
Church, inside that church by faith in Jesus, yes indeed. But ultimately, that's not
where God wants us to remain. We're going inside to be with him!
There, everything will be new: 17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new
earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
The implication is we won't even remember all the bad stuff that happened to us
during our life in this world; thinking of it would likely dull our joy in heaven. John
says a similar thing in his Revelation: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has
passed away" (Rv 21:4). Whatever sin did to the order of things here on earth will be
removed from what God recreates.
And how do God's people respond to this? Joy. Pure joy: 18 But be glad and
rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy. After all, we will live in the fullness of joy with nothing wrong,
unholy, or out of place. It will be a perfect creation much as what Adam and Eve had
in Eden. Will God's people be bored going from one cloud to another? No, that's a
stereotype. We will likely have fulfilling work to do in service to God, much as Adam
and Eve had in the perfect world before the Fall.
And what is God's response to all of this? Likewise, joy. He himself says, 19 I will
rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping
and of crying will be heard in it no more. GOD delighting of finding joy in his
people? Yes. God likes to see his people happy. That's why he sent Jesus to save
them by his own life and death on the cross. It's a little like the WELS Kingdom
Workers and their Builders for Christ. They go to mission churches needing
construction work, or to WELS members who have lost their homes in tornados and
hurricanes, and they rebuild. It brings them joy when churches and families stand
before them in joy over what has been rebuilt. It will be similar with God when we are
in heaven. It brings great joy to God to have saved us, even if it was through the
sacrifice of his Son. He loved us that much!
Why did God reveal all of this to Isaiah to write down in Scripture? It was to
encourage sorrowful, hurting, doubtful children of God living at Isaiah's time. And it
was to encourage sorrowful, hurting, doubtful children of God living now. We have a
bright future to look forward to. Our delight will be in our loving God, and his delight
will be in us. Think of people you delight in. Maybe it's a spouse, or the children or
grandchildren you brag about when you drag out all those pictures. That's how God
feels about us in Christ! He delight in us for all eternity!
Our church may be a beautiful, practical and comfortable building filled with caring,
friendly, dedicated people. But the Lord's Church on earth is fighting in faith as they
prepare to enter a perfect existence with the Lord in heaven. They experience God's
protection and blessing here as they delight in a most joyful eternity. This is how
Isaiah saw the Lord's Church centuries before the Savior came. Whether Old
Testament or New, God reminded his people, better days are coming! Amen.
Isaiah 65:17-25
Look at the Church through Isaiah's Eyes
1. The entryway is the Church Militant.
2. The sanctuary is the Church Triumphant.
20 "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old
man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought
a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat
their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant
and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my
chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. 23 They will not toil in
vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed
by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.
The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken
away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from
evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death (Is
57:1-2).
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose (Ro 8:28).
24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD (Ps 139:4).
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the
ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on
all my holy mountain," says the LORD.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests"
(Lk 2:14).
17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will
not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Rv 21:4).
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create
Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of
weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.