The 4th Sunday after Trinity

SERMON - Be Glad and Rejoice Forever in the Lord!

INI

Text: Isaiah 65:17-19, 24-25

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying…. It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.

In Christ Jesus, who “makes all things new” (Revelation 21:5), dear fellow redeemed:

The words that you have just heard read to you may have a familiar ring to them. They are words of prophecy that are also recorded elsewhere in Scripture. The passage regarding the various animals living in peace with one another is found in a very familiar Christian prophecy in Isaiah 11, while the reference to God creating a “new heavens and a new earth” are repeated by Peter in his Second Epistle and by Jesus in His Revelation to the apostle John.

These prophetic words recorded by Isaiah some 750 years before the birth of Christ had both immediate and extended applications. Their immediate application was to the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity. They would have proven a great comfort to Old Testament believers like Daniel and Jeremiah. But they also speak of the New Testament era in which we live and the reality of the coming Kingdom of Heaven to which we all look forward. While our lives here in this world may at times be extremely challenging, the LORD God through Isaiah assures us that we need never lose hope. As the LORD God helped Israel in the past, so He will help us in the present as well as in the future. Therefore, He commands us to BE GLAD AND REJOICE FOREVER IN THE LORD! Why would He give us such a command, and why ought we strive eagerly to fulfill it? The LORD provides us with two reasons. First of all, He replaces the old with the new and, secondly, He promises to hear and to bless!

I.

Yes, the LORD replaces the old with the new! Isaiah records the words of the LORD, who says, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”

These words found their first fulfillment when King Cyrus issued his proclamation allowing the Jews to return from captivity in Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord under the post-exilic leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua. At that time He created through their efforts and under His blessing a new Jerusalem—a new home for His displaced people. There was joy and rejoicing when the foundation of the temple was re-laid and when it was finally completed some twenty years later.

The fulfillment of these words of prophecy, however, continues today and will conclude only when our eyes behold the new heavens and new earth of our eternal home. But what exactly do I mean when I say that God is busy fulfilling these words of prophecy today? The concept of our LORD replacing the old with the new is found throughout our New Testaments. Jesus, for instance, hinted at this when He suggested to the disciples of John the Baptizer that people do not put “new” wine in “old” wineskins (cf. Matthew 9:17). Jesus had come to institute a “new covenant” symbolized by the Lord’s Supper (cf. Matthew 26:28), of which we partake later in our service this morning. That new covenant is based upon the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and expressed in the gospel message.

That which is old is sin and death. It has been the plague of mankind since our parents fell into sin in the Garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 3:1ff.). That which is old is the selfish nature of man and sinful hearts, which Jesus testifies produce only “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, (and) blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19). That which is old is the unending chase of mankind after material wealth and worldly power, by which they assume they will achieve lasting fame and joy, but which inevitably leads to disappointment. That which is old are all of the attempts of mankind to rectify such sin through their own efforts, for such efforts can only fail. As the apostle Paul so aptly points out in Romans: “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (3:20). That which is old is anger, bitterness, and a thirst for revenge—all of those things which cause such pain to our relationship with our fellow human beings, and which keep us estranged from a living relationship with our God. That which is old is the aging of our bodies and the crippled nature of our souls enflamed and enslaved by the passions of this world.

But the Bible tells us that Jesus came to replace the old with the new. When we are led by the Spirit of God to confess our sins and to find in Jesus our hope of salvation—the old passes away and we become new. As the apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ…. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (5:17-18, 21).

Are you caught in the web of addiction? Are you caught in a cycle of bitterness and family strife? Is your heart dominated by fear or worry? Then turn to Jesus Christ and God your heavenly Father! “Cast all your cares upon Him,” for as the apostle Peter assures you, “He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Do not put your trust in yourself or other people, but rather trust in the LORD, for He alone can and does make us new. Solomon advises us: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). We acknowledge our God when we humbly submit ourselves—our will and our ways to His truths as revealed in the Scriptures. Let us not simply as Christians politely "tip our hats" to God and then go along our own chosen paths, but rather let us listen and apply and obey, for then we will find solutions for what we might well now consider unsolvable problems within our lives. Then our tears will be replaced by laughter and our sorrows by joy! Therefore, BE GLAD AND REJOICE FOREVER IN THE LORD! He replaces the old with the new!

II.

He also promises to hear and to bless! Isaiah goes on to record these words of our LORD: “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.

The imagery used in the final verse of our text will surely find its ultimate fulfillment in heaven, where absolute peace will reign in every sense for all time. There we will see God’s “new heavens and new earth” in all its divinely inspired glory. What a glorious future awaits each of us—a gift of our God’s grace received with all certainty by faith!

In the meantime, as we face the trials and troubles of this life and as we experience also the joys and the triumphs, we are only a word away from our God and Savior! Jesus calls upon us in His Sermon on the Mount to “ask” for whatever it may be that we need, and He promises that it will be “given” to us (cf. Luke 11:9). On Maundy Thursday evening Jesus encouraged His disciples, even as He encourages us: “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). That same evening He said: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:7-8). The apostle Paul encourages us: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

My dear friends, that old and familiar hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” urges us repeatedly to “take it to the Lord in prayer” (TLH 457:2). He will hear and He will respond. He always has and always will for those who put their trust in Him. Oh, there are times when we feel so weak and undeserving, but that is alright for we are always weak and undeserving and the grace of God upholds us in our weakness and overlooks in Christ our un-deservedness! Yes, despite our unworthiness, He fills our lives with blessings! Count them, dear friends, each morning and each evening. To recognize them is to foster gratitude within our hearts, and it is that gratitude that will enable us in large part to fulfill our text’s command—BE GLAD AND REJOICE FOREVER IN THE LORD!

The apostle Paul urges us to do the same: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) While our hearts may at times want to cry out that it must have been so very easy for someone as blessed as the apostle Paul to say such a thing, let us remember that Paul penned those words as he lay in prison, having awaited a trial for four years, and anticipating what may well have been a death sentence. We have every reason to BE GLAD AND REJOICE FOREVER IN THE LORD, for He replaces the old with the new, and promises to hear and to bless! Hallelujah, for this is true for each of us! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting
To God alone be the glory!