ISAIAH 652008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 65

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. Well, this evening we're in Isaiah chapter 65.

Isaiah chapter 65, as I've been sharing for the past several weeks, we're wrapping up the book of Isaiah and as we do, he's focused primarily on the end times. He's focused on things that are still yet to come for us.

Many of the things that Isaiah prophesied about have already come true. Babylon did conquer Jerusalem as he had promised. And those things that Isaiah had been sharing about for Israel were near future. But he also prophesied about and shared about things that are yet to come, even still for us. And so we're looking at the end time scenario.

And a quick overview of that end time scenario so that you understand the context of what we're talking about this evening. Right now we are living in the last days. We call it the last days because that's what the Bible calls it. It's known also as the time of the Gentiles or the time where God is working within the church and he's poured out his spirit upon the church and called us to be the light of the world. But

But there's coming a day very shortly, and we really believe it's sooner today than it was yesterday, it's coming closer and closer each day, that God is going to catch up the church, as 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 says. There's going to be a rapture that takes place where he snags his believers, the church, off of this earth. We are caught up to meet with him in the clouds.

And then we will forever be with the Lord. And so many of these things that we're looking at are things that are going to be taking place. And yet we will already be with Jesus during this time. And so the next big thing, the next really element of the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church. It's not a set date. We can't count down days to it. We don't know when it's going to happen. It will be a surprise, but it is going to happen.

And at some point after the rapture of the church, then the Antichrist is going to be revealed. The man of sin or the man of lawlessness, as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And

And he's going to come on the scene and the seven-year tribulation period is going to begin. As he makes a covenant with God's people, with the nation of Israel, the seven years will begin and it will be seven years of judgment and wrath being poured out upon the entire world. It's going to be judgment and wrath and tribulation like the world has never seen nor known.

And so there's going to be great tribulation during that seven-year period. And it will end, the climax of that seven-year period will be the Battle of Armageddon as the nations gather together to war against one another. But then Jesus will appear. They will then attempt to war against Jesus, war against the Lamb. And there will be a great slaughter because nobody can be victorious in coming against God, in coming against Jesus Christ.

And at that point, Jesus will return to the earth. He'll set foot on the Mount of Olives. He'll establish his kingdom and he'll rule and reign on this earth for how long? 1,000 years, the millennial kingdom. He'll reign for 1,000 years and at the end of that 1,000 years will be the final judgment.

And there'll be a new heaven and a new earth according to the book of Revelation. And we'll see that here in Isaiah as well. And so that's the picture. That's the quick overview. Right now we're looking forward to the rapture of the church, but all of these things are yet future and yet to happen. And that's what Isaiah is talking about.

Now, for us, it might seem like, well, this is a very long time away. What's the point in looking at these things? But I want to encourage you this evening, as I shared on Sunday, the thought that the Lord brought to me and a friend as we were having breakfast together, is that we can base each moment upon eternity, or we can base eternity upon each moment.

If we base eternity upon each moment, then every moment we're looking at the events and the things around us and saying, I don't know if I'm going to make it. I don't know what the Lord has in store. His promises are, you know, not so sure because look at this event in my life and look at that. We're looking at each moment and trying to come to a conclusion about eternity based upon what we're experiencing at this moment.

And that's a very bad way to go through life because you'll be tossed around and beaten up. But the best thing to do is base each moment on eternity.

Not fixing our eyes here in this plane, but looking up, knowing that our redemption draws nigh. Looking up and looking to eternity, knowing that He has in store for us this inheritance that's undefiled and incorruptible, that cannot fade away. He has in store for us these promises that He will be faithful to give us, and we will forever be with the Lord. And so we walk each moment with that knowledge, with that understanding, so that we can have faith in Jesus Christ.

and be obedient to Him and be a light in this dark world. And so I want to encourage you this morning as we look at these things. They're so important to know and to study, even if we won't participate in all of these things, because we know what's ahead for us, and we know what's in store for us, so that we can live this life to the best of our ability and according to the will of God. So we start off in verse 1 and 2 of Isaiah chapter 65. It says...

I was sought by those who did not ask for me. I was 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. I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good according to their own thoughts. Here as we begin the chapter in chapter 65, we have God speaking.

Now, in previous chapters, we've been looking at Isaiah sharing and he's been kind of speaking the remnant of Israel, the few that were left, the few that were faithful to God have been praying, have been crying out to the Lord. Here in chapter 65, we have God speaking, God's response really to all of the things that have been going on.

And here in verse 1, God says, He says, God is really speaking here kind of an exclamation, kind of an awe or a wonderment that He's saying, He's saying,

Those who weren't seeking me, the nation that wasn't called by my name, the people that didn't have the word of God, the Gentiles...

are the ones who found me. And we could see this so clearly applied to Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul the Apostle does, in Romans chapter 10, he applies this and he says, he's looking at the nation, he says, he quotes this verse, he says, I was found by those who did not seek me. But in contrast, in verse 21 of Romans chapter 10, he says, but to Israel, he says, all day long I've stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

They're quoting Isaiah chapter 65 verses 1 and 2. He says, the Gentiles received Jesus. They received the Messiah. But the ironic thing is the Gentiles were not waiting for the Messiah. The Jewish people, on the other hand, they were the ones from the very beginning God had been promising the Messiah to.

They were the ones who had been given the promises, who knew the promises, who were looking for the Messiah. If you asked any Jew, are you waiting for the Messiah? They'd be like, yeah. If you asked a Gentile, they'd be like, what's a Messiah? What are you talking about? What does that mean? They weren't looking. They didn't know to look for the coming Messiah. And yet it's those who were not looking, who did not know, who didn't have the promises of God, who didn't know the Word of God, that were open to receiving Messiah.

the Savior, when he came. In contrast, we see the Jewish people. And Paul says, but to Israel, he says, and we see that in verse 2, I've stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people. Israel, on the contrast, is the rebellious people. And God has been stretching out his hands to them. But they continue to rebel. They continue to walk away from him.

And you know, as we look at these things, he's speaking about the Jews and the Gentiles. By the way, a Gentile is just a person who is not Jewish, if you didn't know that. So as we talk about the Jews and Gentiles, it's so easy to apply this as well, though. We see this so clearly between those who are religious and those who are not. You know, the religious leaders of Jesus' day were Gentiles.

in opposition to the things of Jesus and the things of God. They were in rebellion, but it was the people who were not caught up in religion. They were not caught up in ritualism that were able to receive Jesus Christ and what he had to offer. And it's a very dangerous thing for us to get caught in the same trap of religion. It's very easy for people

people to go to church and get caught up in religion and although they they're the ones who have the promises we're the ones who have the promises we're the ones who are looking for the rapture we're the ones who are looking for all those things to happen it's not about being religious and being very faithful in our rituals it's really about a relationship with god and so if we although we attend church we're living life contrary to what he has called us to do and we're living life in sin for in rebellion

God in the same way is stretching out His hands to a rebellious people. A rebellious people. He goes on there in verse 2. He says, They walk in a way that is not good. What's the way that is not good? He says, According to their own thoughts. And this is a challenging thought for me. And I want to encourage you to spend some time considering this. He says, The way that is not good, the way to walk that is rebellious,

is to walk according to your own thoughts. To walk according to your own thoughts. Now, how many times have you ever explained an action that you've taken, a decision that you've made, with the words, well, I thought, well, this is what I was thinking, well, this is what I figured. God says, they walk in a way that's not good, and that way is to walk according to

to their own thoughts. We see this played out in the book of Judges over and over again, where everyone did what was right in their own eyes. They walked according to their own thoughts, to their own heart. In Proverbs chapter 28 verse 26, it tells us that whoever trusts in his own heart is a fool. And as we start off this evening as looking at Isaiah chapter 65 and that which is to come, I want to encourage you, I want to challenge us to consider our ways and

And consider our path and the life that we have chosen to live, the life that we are living. And whether or not we are living according to our own ways and what we figured out, or whether we're living in response and in obedience to God and what He is speaking to our hearts. God's ways are not our ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, God's ways are higher than our ways.

And so it's so important for you and I to walk according to His ways, to walk in obedience to Him, because to walk according to our own ways and our own thoughts is rebellion. He goes on in verses 3 through 5 to talk about this rebellious people. He says, "...a people who provoke me to anger continually to my face, who sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on altars of brick."

He goes on now to talk about these rebellious people.

And he says, they provoke me to anger. And notice he says, to my face. They're in my face with their rebellion.

They're continuing constantly, openly in their rebellion. And he goes on to describe some of their practices. Now, these practices that he's talking about are things that are completely contrary to his word, as well as the worship of false gods. It's idolatry. That's the sacrificing in the gardens, the burning of incense there upon the altars. But then in rebellion to God, they eat swine's flesh.

God had commanded them to have a particular diet and it was not to include swine or pigs. And so,

they were not to do so but they openly they in God's face in your face and this is the key of rebellion I don't care what you have to say I figured out my ways are better and I've got my reasons why I can do this and it's okay for me to participate in this and practice this because whatever we come up with in our heads and they have all this figured out and they just openly before God this is who I am this is what I do and that's all there is to it

But then, although they're practicing idolatry and worshipping false gods, although they're disobeying God's commandments, he says in verse 5, they say, here's what these rebellious people say. Hey, step back, stay away from me. I don't want you to defile me because I'm holier than you are. Although they're practicing great wickedness, they consider themselves to be holy and they look judgmentally upon others.

with condemnation. They're self-righteous and full of themselves. They're hypocritical in their attitudes and actions. It's so easy for us, isn't it, to become this way, to be living and practicing our own ways, disregarding the things of God, and yet considering ourselves to be holy and righteous and judgmental of others. Remember the parable that Jesus told in Luke chapter 18?

In Luke chapter 18, he tells a parable. It says it's for those who trust in themselves that they are righteous and despise others. And there are those to this day, many of us have fallen into that trap where we trust in our own righteousness. We trust in God.

Our goodness and it causes us to despise others. And Jesus tells this story about two men who go to the temple to pray and one's a Pharisee and the other is a tax collector who is considered to be a very great sinner.

And the Pharisee stood and he prays, Oh God, I thank you that I'm not in sin in this way. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer. Oh, thank you God that I'm not even like this tax collector, this sinner. Oh, I fast twice a week, he says, and I give tithes of all that I possess. And so the Pharisee is very self-righteous. Oh God, thank you that I'm so wonderful is essentially what he's saying.

Thank you, God, that I'm so great and I'm so faithful. And thank you, Lord, that I'm so righteous. Not like this guy over here. He's trusting in his own righteousness and despising someone else. But in contrast, Jesus tells of the tax collector who, standing afar off, won't even lift his eyes to heaven. And he says, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus says, that one, that tax collector, who...

He confessed. He agreed with God. He agreed with God about his sin, about his sinful condition, about his ways. And it was that man who went home justified. It was that man who went home with the blessing of God. God having heard him. These God's people, they're rebellious, but they're counting on their rituals. They're counting on their religion. They're counting on their faithfulness in these certain things.

To make them so righteous and causing them to despise others. But God, He's intervening. He's going to make it clear. This is not the way He wants us to live. Look at verse 6. He says, Behold, it is written before me. I will not keep silence, but will repay. Even repay into their bosom.

Here God says, I am going to repay. Repay.

I will measure their former work into their bosom according to their sin, according to their iniquity, according to the way that they lived. I'm going to measure that out and I'm going to repay them according to that measurement. And by a show of hands, how many of you want to be repaid according to the measurement of the wrong that you have done? Anybody?

But this is the state of the rebellious. This is what the rebellious will receive. God will repay. Understand, He will not allow injustice. God says, I will not keep silence. Now, God is patient and He gives room for repentance.

And many times people mistake that patience, that time that he allows for repentance as God's acceptance and they figure that, well, God's not going to do anything and nothing bad seems to happen and so they use it to convince themselves that they're okay and they continue on in the path. But in reality, God says, I will not keep silence. Yes, he does allow for patience, but he will not allow injustice.

He will not allow injustice. And rebellion will not go unpunished. It will be repaid according to the measure of the iniquity. According to the measure of their former work, they will receive the just judgment for that. And that's why it's so important for us. Because God says He resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. It's so important for us to have the heart and the attitude of the tax collector who we recognize that

Lord, I'm a sinner and I'm not worthy. We're not trusting in our own righteousness, but are trusting by faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ being applied to us just as He promised. And it's not about our goodness and our good works and our righteousness. And that affords us nothing. And if we put our faith and trust in those things, well, it's a great danger. It's so important for us to humble ourselves.

And the judgment that's due us as we humble ourselves, the grace that is given to us is that the judgment that was owed to us because of our sin and rebellion was placed upon Jesus Christ. And He took that punishment. He took that judgment. He took that penalty for us. But the proud, the self-righteous, those who are trusting in their own works, they will receive full payment for their sin. And what is that payment? Romans 6.23 The wages of sin are death.

What's the payment for sin? Death. Death. And so God says, I will not keep silence. I will not let justice go or injustice go unanswered. I will bring justice. It might not be in our timing, but it will take place. And that's why it's so important in the time that he gives us to repent, to turn to him, to humble ourselves, to agree with him about our sinful condition and receive the gift that he offers us in Jesus Christ.

Because as we turn to Him, God is able to spare His people. Look at verse 8. Thus says the Lord, as the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it. So will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all.

I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and from Judah and air of my mountains. My elect shall inherit it and my servant shall dwell there. Sharon shall be a fold of flocks and the valley of Acre a place for herds to lie down for my people who have sought me.

Now here again as we're looking at these things specifically we're looking at the nation of Israel and we're looking at the future of the nation and although Israel has been in rebellion against God for many years at the time Isaiah is writing this they're in rebellion against God. God is here promising he's not going to wipe them out altogether and

And so he says, as new wine is found in the cluster. So he's talking about a cluster of grapes. And he's saying, look, most of them are rebellious. Most of them are rotten. Most of them are worthless. But I'm not going to throw them all out because there's a few that are good. There's some that are good. And I'm not going to throw the good ones out with the bad ones. And so he says, I'm going to bring forth descendants from Jacob.

The cluster is spared, or the good grapes in the cluster are spared. He's going to bring them out and he's going to reestablish them in the land. And we've seen that take place in part as Israel has come back into the land that God had given to them. But we will see the real fulfillment of this take place during the millennium, during that thousand year reign of Christ as God's people will come back and there will be this incredible fulfillment

regathering and repopulating of the land of Israel and it will be bountiful and well he says there in verse 10 Sharon shall be a fold of flocks the valley of Acre a place for herds to lie down for my people who have sought me so the few the remnants those who have been faithful to God will repopulate the land of Israel and they will be blessed there in the land so God's people are spared

Even though they are due this great judgment, even though He says, I will measure their former work into their bosom. He says, I'm not going to toss out the whole cluster because there's some there who are faithful. God is able to weed out those who are His.

He's able to, I guess those who aren't His is a better way to put that. He's able to hold on to and bring forth those who are His. You remember Sodom and Gomorrah. As there, Abraham is negotiating with God. God says, I'm going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham says, well, are you going to destroy the righteous along with the wicked? What if there's 50 righteous in the city? And God says, I won't destroy it if there's 50 righteous.

I'm not going to throw out the whole cluster if there's some good grapes in it. Well, what if there's 45? I won't destroy it for 45. All the way down to, what if there's 10 righteous? God says, I won't destroy it for 10 righteous. There wasn't 10 righteous. And so what did God do? The few who were righteous, He brought them out of Sodom and Gomorrah and then the rest received the measure of their former work into their bosom. As Sodom and Gomorrah experienced the judgment of God.

The righteous were delivered. He brought forth those who were his and those who remained were judged. In the same way, Jesus told a parable in Matthew chapter 13 about the wheat and the tares. The good seed and the bad seed. And the landowner sowed the good seed, but then an enemy came and sowed the tares or the weeds, the bad seed amongst them.

And when they started to grow up, then the servants realized and they said, look, master, there's some tears growing in with the wheat. There's some bad seed in there as well. Didn't you sow good seed? He said, oh yeah, the enemy must have sowed some bad seed. And the servant said, well, let's go take care of them right now. And he says, no, you'll damage the good seed by trying to get rid of the tears. And so he said, wait till the end. When it's harvest time, then you can separate them and the tears will be burned and the good seed will be stored up.

God knows how to preserve the righteous for eternal life and he knows how to preserve the wicked for judgment. And that's good. It's comforting because we don't have to figure it all out right now. Looking at each other, it's very hard to tell who's a wheat and who's a tare. Looking around us in the world, we don't know. What we do know is right now we have time.

Right now we have time. God will sort those things out in His time. He's able to bring forth those who are His and then bring justice and righteousness to those who have been in rebellion against Him. Going on in verse 11, He says, But you are those who forsake the Lord. So here God is speaking very clearly. He says, I'm able to bring forth the righteous, bring forth those who are mine. But He says, But you...

Would you want to be in Isaiah's shoes as you're delivering this message? But you are those who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad, and who furnish a drink offering for many. Therefore I will number you for the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter. Because when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not hear, but did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight."

God says, you are those who forsake the Lord. This Gad and many that he is referring to were pagan gods. Again, talking about the idolatry that they were involved in. Their rebellion against God was great. And so God says, therefore I will number you for the sword.

It's a play on words there. Many, the God was also meant number. And so he says, you've been worshiping the God of numbers. And so I'm going to number you for the sword. I'm going to count you in the number for judgment. Let us not be mistaken that God, yes, he is a God of love, but he will not tolerate. He does not tolerate injustice.

And so because of their sin and rebellion, he numbers them for the sword. He says, you will bow down to the slaughter. You're bowing down before false gods. You're worshiping these false gods. Okay, again, this contrasting thought, play on thought here. You're bowing down before idols. Okay, you're going to bow down for slaughter. You're going to be slaughtered. You're going to be judged. You're going to experience the judgment of God. Why? Because when I called, you did not answer. And when I spoke, you did not hear.

God is very clear. God is incredibly clear. What does He desire? He desires for us to hear Him, to walk with Him. It's about this relationship that when He calls us, we would respond like the little boy Samuel, Here I am. Speak, Lord, for your servant listens. That we would be submitted to Him and surrender to Him. This is what God desires for us. And when God says, Go to Okinawa, you go. And when God says,

Break off that relationship, you break it off. That when God says, go minister to that person, you go. That when God says, stay away from that activity and that sin, you stay away. God desires to meet with us and for us to know him. And so when he says, draw near to me, spend time with me, then we do. But these people, and maybe you, God calls, they didn't answer. You ever do that on your phone?

You look at the number. It's so easy with cell phones now, huh? You look at the number. Oh, man. That's going to be a long conversation. I don't know if I want to get into that one right now. I do that with George all the time because George talks forever once you get him on the phone. George knows. You know what's going to be a tough conversation? Oh, man. That's a tough one. God says, I called. You looked at the caller ID. You said, I don't want to pick that one up. I don't want to answer that one. God said, I spoke to you, but you didn't hear. You didn't hear.

You did evil before my eyes and He chose that which I do not delight. You deliberately chose the things that I have asked you to stay away from, that I have called you to keep yourself from. You deliberately chose that which I hate. Therefore, you'll receive the just measurement. It's your choice. You chose it. You choose it. It's your opportunity. The power is completely in your hand. You choose either...

To answer the call or to ignore it. You choose to walk with Him or not to. You choose to be obedient or disobedient. You choose to have relationship with Him or to chase your own heart and your own ways. It's your choice. And God lays it before you. It's entirely up to you. The choices. Now, the walking and the doing of it, He says, I'll help you with.

In fact, whatever choice you make, He'll help you with it. If it's for Him, great, He'll help you. If it's against Him, well, we saw that last week. He strengthens those decisions as well. It's your choice to answer His call or not. Now, to help you make this choice, He gives you some examples of those who receive His call, those who answer His call, and those who do not. Look at verse 13. Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

Verse 15,

So here we go on and God gives the contrast. It's a compare and contrast here.

So that we can have a nice clean decision for us. It's not really difficult. There's not a whole lot of complications to it. It's very simple and straightforward. God says, look, I called you, you didn't answer. Therefore, you're rebellious. Now, my servants, he says, they're going to eat. But the rebellious are going to be hungry. Which do you want to choose? My servants, they're going to have plenty to drink. The thirst is going to be quenched. But you...

are going to be thirsty. Which do you want to choose? It's your choice. Hey, my servants, they're going to sing for joy of heart. But the rebellious, they're going to cry for sorrow of heart. What do you choose? The choice is yours. It's up to you. It's amazing to me sometimes that God entrusts us with such an important choice.

These things we're talking about, you know, hungry, thirsty, and crying for sorrow of heart, or being satisfied and fed, and having drink, and having great joy. These are not, we're not talking about the momentary things of this life. We're not just talking about, you know, whether you are prosperous and, you know, make it through this economic crisis. We're not just talking about the things that, but we're talking about eternity. You want to be...

Eternally separated from God or eternally with God? The choice is yours. He gives you this choice. He gives me this choice. And so he says in verse 15, You shall leave your name as a curse to my chosen. Your name is going to be a curse. Why? So that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth. God will fulfill these things that he is saying. He said it. He's the God of truth.

God would not be the God of truth if He does not judge the rebellious. He would not be the God of truth if He doesn't fulfill what He has said in regards to judgment and rebellion and sin. He's not just and holy if He does not judge rebellion. And so don't think that God's just making false threats because He wants you to be good and then in the end really He's going to go real easy on you. No, in the end the people are going to say, He's the God of truth.

He wasn't lying. He said all those things and he wasn't joking. He didn't water it down. He said what he meant and he meant what he said and he did exactly what he said he was going to do. Afterwards, he's saying, look, the people are going to be able to recognize he is the God of truth. It's true exactly what he said. Those that responded to God's call, they were fed, they were given drink, they were given joy and sang for great joy of heart. And those that did not answer his call,

Those who did not hear His voice, those who chose that which God did not delight in, were given hunger and thirst and great grief of spirit. The choice is ours. What do we choose? Now He goes on to talk about the things still yet to come. Verse 17,

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. Here God goes on to say, the joy that I give, the song that's the joy in the heart of those who follow me. Again, this is not just in this life. It's not this life that we're looking at, but we're looking at eternity.

Here this portion, verses 17 through 19, is talking about eternity, corresponding with Revelation chapter 21. In Revelation chapter 21, verse 1, it tells us that God creates a new heaven and a new earth. And that's what he says here in verse 17. Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered. In verse 2 of Revelation 21, there's a new Jerusalem that God brings down.

And he says in verse 18, For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people a joy. In verse 19, he says, I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard. And in Revelation chapter 21 verse 4, it says God will wipe away every tear. There's going to be this new work. We're talking about eternity as God creates a new heaven and a new earth. And as God brings great joy into

He says, be glad and rejoice and rejoicing and joy and rejoice and joy over and over in these few verses 17 through 19. This is what's in store for those who answer when God calls, for those who walk with God. Again, this is what we're basing each moment on. We're looking forward. Yeah, this moment might be difficult. This moment, or as Paul would say, this light and momentary affliction, it's just for a moment. Right?

But what stands for us or what is in place for us in eternity is joy, rejoicing. And yes, we can have joy in the midst of difficulty and tribulation now, but we still experience the tribulation. But there, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more difficulty. This is what God has in store for us.

Going on in verse 20, he says, As he goes on now here in verse 20 and following, he's talking about the millennial kingdom.

And during this thousand year reign, we see the beginning of his new work, the beginning of the new heavens and new earth, the beginning of this work that he is doing for the rest of eternity as he reigns for that thousand years. And during this time, there's going to be this great restoration, a rejoicing in the work of God. The curse is reversed. And he says, no more. It's been this way, but no more.

Shall an infant from there live but a few days? No more infant mortality. The curse is reversed. No more will it be that an old man has not fulfilled his days. He'll live to the fullness of his days, in other words. If someone dies at a hundred years old, shall we count it as a child? For us, a hundred years old, man, you're lucky if you live that long, or unlucky, depending on which way you look at it. It's very rare.

But in those days, it would be very rare for someone not to live to 100 years old. That's like a mere child that's barely beginning in life. And he says, the sinner being 100 years old shall be accursed. The sinner who dies at 100 years old, or in other words, the person who dies at 100 years old is a sinner, and they'll be accursed. They'll die and they'll be immediately judged. They're going to be accursed. They're going to be cut off. Those who die are the ones who are

and rebellion to God during that millennial kingdom. Going on, verses 21 and following, he says, "...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 as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people. And my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble."

For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring with them. As he goes on, he says, look, they're going to build houses and then live in them. And we say, what's the big deal? Well, all throughout Israel's history, they've built houses and then been driven out of their property and their homes and their cities and their lands and someone else would go in and live in them. In fact, we saw that pretty recently, didn't we? As they were driven out of...

The Gaza Strip. They were driven out of certain regions within Israel. They all had to leave and then other people came in and lived in their houses. God says, no longer will that happen. They're going to build it and they're going to live in it. They're going to be living in the protection and the provision of God. They're going to plant and they're going to eat the fruit.

Now again, it doesn't maybe sound really like a big shock to us, but for most of Israel's history, they've planted, they've harvested, they've, you know, sown and built up this, the food and the vegetation. And then someone else will come in and take it from them. But in those days, they'll be under the protection and provision of God, the blessing of God. He says, as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people. I like that.

Just a good picture for us. As the days of a tree. You know how long trees live? Trees can live for a really long time. In fact, in Israel, as we were there, we saw some olive trees that are estimated to be over a thousand years old. There's redwoods up in Northern California that are over 2,000 years old. It's amazing. And yet, that's how God's people will be in those days. As the days of a tree.

He says, they shall not labor in vain nor bring forth children for trouble. For the Jewish person, I'm sure it's a great concern. They bring forth children and there's a very good chance they're going to suffer persecution. They're going to suffer affliction. The world, the world around Israel, the world around Jerusalem, even right now, it's the way it's always been. It's been against them and fighting against them and malicious towards them. But no longer in those days. In those days,

They're going to bring forth children and they'll be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord. It'll be a great joy for them to bring forth.

Verse 24, it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer. And while they are still speaking, I will hear. Verse 25, 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. Again, what we're seeing here is the curse reversed.

The lion and the lamb or the wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The wolf's not going to feed on the lamb. They're going to feed together. Carnivores will become herbivores. They're going to eat vegetation. They're going to... Well, it's going to be radically different. The lion and the ox will... I'm sorry, the lion will eat straw like the ox. Radically different. There's going to be a reversal of the curse that came upon the world as a result of sin.

During that millennial period and then on into the rest of eternity, God has some incredible things in store. Some incredible things in store for His people, for those who answer His call, for those who hear His voice, for those who choose the things that He delights in. And you know what He delights in? If I could have the worship team come up as we close on this thought. Turn with me to Psalm chapter 51. In Psalm chapter 51...

David there is crying out to the Lord. And he says in verse 16 of Psalm 51, he says, For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it. You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. Those who choose what God delights in. What is it that God delights in? We're very often so proud of ourselves that...

the sacrifices that we make or have made for God. But here's the real sacrifices of God. Here's really what God desires. He desires a broken and a contrite heart, a broken spirit. We're talking about humility, like the tax collector who beat his chest and wouldn't even look up, agreeing with God, Lord, save me, have mercy on me, I'm a sinner. This is what God delights in. And I want to encourage you and challenge you this evening.

There's great things to look forward to that God has in store for those who will choose what He delights in. Will you choose? Will you make the choice to humble yourself, to turn from sin, to turn from a lifestyle against God? Will you choose the things that He delights? A broken spirit and a contrite heart, a broken heart, not puffed up with pride, not full of yourself, not trusting in yourself, but looking to God.

As they lead us in worship in this first song, I want to encourage you. Let's just spend some time before the Lord and choosing what He delights in. Humbling ourselves before Him and crying out to Him for mercy. As we do, we can base this moment on eternity. Yeah, base this moment on eternity. As we cry out to Him for mercy, we're guaranteed this is what He delights in. We're guaranteed this is what brings Him great pleasure.

We're guaranteed these things that we're reading about, the great joys of eternity, are for those who will humble themselves and walk with God. So let's do that this morning. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.