Scripture
Today is Sunday, December 25. It is the day in which we particularly remember the birth of Jesus Christ. During Advent, I have preached a series of messages on the Old Testament Scripture Readings that I am calling, “Advent in Isaiah.”
Isaiah ministered to a people who had drifted away from God. The people had become faithless. They were filled with hypocrisy, greed, and idolatry, which were all offenses against God. Nevertheless, God called Isaiah to tell the people that he was sending a child to be born who would be the Savior of sinners. It is that child’s birth that we celebrate today.
Let’s read about Zion’s coming salvation in Isaiah 62:6-12:
6 On your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the Lord in remembrance,
take no rest,
7 and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it a praise in the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“I will not again give your grain
to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink your wine
for which you have labored;
9 but those who garner it shall eat it
and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10 Go through, go through the gates;
prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway;
clear it of stones;
lift up a signal over the peoples.
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
“Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.”
12 And they shall be called The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
and you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken. (Isaiah 62:6-12)
Introduction
The essence of Christianity is joy. That message is summarized by the announcement of the angel at the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:10, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
That is such a powerful statement! You know, it takes very little to satisfy a baby. A baby cries when he is hungry or uncomfortable. Feed or change him, and he is happy. As children get older, it takes a little more to make them happy. Teenagers need more yet to bring about their happiness, but they usually get by on music, phones, and friends. But what we eventually all learn is that happiness doesn’t last. And so many young people turn to alcohol or drugs to provide them with happiness. Others try to find happiness in relationships or work. But they also discover that these things don’t provide lasting happiness.
God offers “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” In our culture, that is huge. And when real people living real lives have real joy, that is real proof that God saves sinners. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains the power of joy in the lives of God’s people. He writes:
As we face the modern world with all its trouble and turmoil and with all its difficulties and sadness, nothing is more important than that we who call ourselves Christian, and who claim the Name of Christ, should be representing our faith in such a way before others as to give them the impression that here is the solution, and here is the answer. In a world where everything has gone so sadly astray, we should be standing out as men and women apart, people characterized by a fundamental joy and certainty in spite of conditions, in spite of adversity.
Commentator Raymond Ortlund adds the following to Lloyd-Jones’ comment:
One of the marks of the early Christians was their joy in God as they lived in a hard world. According to one archaeologist, the apartment buildings of ancient Rome were so shoddily built that “the city was constantly filled with the noise of buildings collapsing or being torn down to prevent it; and the tenants of an [apartment] lived in constant expectation of its coming down on their heads.” That was the setting in which the Roman Christians raised their families. The classical world was not all gleaming marble and flowing white togas and sumptuous banquets. It was messy. The streets of Rome were deepest darkness after nightfall. There was no medical care as we know it, no inoculations for children, no retirement benefits, no air-conditioning, no refrigeration. But the early Christians, living in that world, stood out because God gave them a gift from beyond that world. Overflowing acceptance through the cross, God’s presence in their hearts, practical wisdom for daily life, and endless enjoyment of him in heaven – isn’t that enough to make people happy? They thought so.
Just telling people to be happy won’t work. But the gospel doesn’t do that. The gospel so transforms us that our joy is not artificial or self-manufactured; it is deep-rooted and life-altering. That is what Jesus came to do. He came to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19). And astonishingly, Jesus has made us partners with him in his mission.
Lesson
Isaiah 62:6-12 shows us that God’s goal is for people all over the world to enter into his joy.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. God Raises Intercessors (62:6-7)
2. God Makes an Oath (62:8-9)
3. God Summonses a People (62:10-12)
I. God Raises Intercessors (62:6-7)
First, God raises intercessors.
Isaiah said in verses 6-7, “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.” God has called all Christians to be watchmen, sentries, on the city wall. We are to keep our eyes open for enemy attacks and internal decay. We are to watch for opportunities and advancement. And just like watchmen keep everyone informed about what is going on, we are to keep each other informed and, more importantly, we are to keep God informed. And we do so through prayer. Quite remarkably, Isaiah says that we are to give God no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth. Isaiah’s reference to Jerusalem “is here the new city of God, the place where his people dwell in safety and in righteousness forever.”
Jonathan Edwards wrote a well-known message urging Christians to unite in prayer for revival. He concluded his message with these words:
It is very apparent from the Word of God that he often tries the faith and patience of his people, when they are crying to him for some great and important mercy, by withholding the mercy sought for a season; and not only so, but at first he may cause an increase of dark appearances. And yet he, without fail, at last prospers those who continue urgently in prayer with all perseverance and “will not let him go except he blesses.”
O. Hallesby wrote a lot about prayer. He said that prayer is like mining. Prayer is like boring holes deep into the rock of human hearts. It is hard work. It takes patience. We don’t often see results. In fact, when I worked in a gold mine in South Africa, I was at the rock face every day, and I never saw gold. But, I knew that I was part of the extraction process. And prayer is like that. At the right time, God lights the fuse of the dynamite of prayer, and he extracts the result he desires. And Isaiah says that God’s people are to give him no rest until he establishes Jesus’ church all over the world and makes it the praise of the earth.
God sent Jesus to this earth and he was born in Bethlehem. God’s goal is for people all over the world to enter into his joy. And he raises up intercessors who will pray and pray until the whole world is filled with the praise of Jesus.
II. God Makes an Oath (62:8-9)
Second, God makes an oath.
Isaiah wrote in verses 8-9, “The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: ‘I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.’” I like what commentator Raymond Ortlund says about these verses. He says, “God assures us that he’s preparing a place for us so great we’ll never want to leave.” By means of an oath God promises that those who belong to him because of their faith in Jesus Christ will enjoy food and drink without fear of loss. Moreover, they will also enjoy eating and drinking in the presence of God. Commentator Alec Motyer summarized the result of God’s oath, “The secure plenty that the people enjoy is accompanied by an unclouded intimacy with the Holy God.”
We live in a fallen world. We live in a world in which there is terrorism, war, suffering, injustice, poverty, illness, and so much more. We also experience pain, heartache, broken relationships, anger, resentment, and so much more. And we are tempted to ask, “God, don’t you see what is going on in this world? Can’t you do something about all the suffering and misery? We believe that you are all-powerful. Why don’t you act?” We need to remember that God has acted. That was the whole point of Jesus’ birth. His birth set in motion the reversal of all the sin and suffering in this world. And although God does not act each time we want him to do something, we are to remind ourselves that God has bound himself by an oath to bring a people into a right relationship with himself that will last for all eternity.
III. God Summonses a People (62:10-12)
And third, God summonses a people.
In his mind’s eye Isaiah saw a walled city. At one point, it had been desolate and forsaken. But now it was repopulated with redeemed people. The gates of the city are wide open, and a newly surfaced highway leading from the ends of the earth lead to this city, and people from all over the world are invited to enter God’s joy. So, Isaiah said in verses 10-12, “Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples. Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.’ And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.”
All of this will take place because a baby was born in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago. Isaiah was completely confident that all that he said would take place. In effect, he said, “This is God’s will. Christ is preparing a place for his people. The way has been made easy, like a built-up highway, so that anyone who desires Christ may enter into the city of God’s salvation.”
I like the way Raymond Ortlund summarizes these verses:
Every living church today is an entry-point into the eternal city. And we don’t want to complicate God’s will. Our gates, as it were, are wide-open. The only obstacle to living in the fullness of Christ forever is Christ. How could it be otherwise? If he isn’t what you want, then Heaven isn’t what you want, because Heaven is Christ. But the way in is open. Not even our sins can keep us out. Christ is the way, Christ is the reward, and Christ is the barrier. If you can accept him, you’re in. And across your life, along with all others in the New Covenant community, the hand of God will write these words: “Holy,” “Redeemed,” “Sought Out,” “Not Forsaken.”
Every Christian receives a new name when we put our trust in Jesus and repent of our sin. And we should never underestimate the importance of the new names that God gives us when we are adopted into his forever family. Ravi Zacharias tells the following story to help us understand the importance of a new name:
I have two very special friends whose lives have been a blessing to countless children who have been deformed from birth. They have established an orphanage to give them a home and find medical help to correct what can be corrected. Then they look for families who will adopt them. One little boy had always been passed over for adoption because he has a particular brain malfunction that is very rare. He often doesn’t connect thoughts. At about nine years of age, as I remember the story, he was becoming despondent as, one-by-one, he saw his housemates being selected by families and leaving. He began to ask those who were taking care of him why no one was adopting him. Why didn’t anybody choose him?
Through an incredible series of events, a couple from Texas, who had already adopted one child from the same orphanage, called to ask if this boy was still there. Through the goodness of the parents’ hearts, and the generosity of the couple who established the orphanage in agreeing to cover all the costs of his adoption, the day has been set for this little boy to be taken to his new home. The special part of the thrill for him is that he will be reunited with one of the little boys who was his housemate at one time.
His actual name is quite hard to pronounce, but it is quite a normal name in his native setting. His adoptive parents have sent him the name they want to give him – Anson Josiah, the initials of which are A.J. He now walks around that home, waiting for his new parents to come for him, telling everybody as he points to his chest, “You can call me A.J. My name is A.J.” Is it not interesting that even with the debilitation of disconnected thoughts, he is able to pick up the redeeming thrill of relationship and [his profound worth as] evidenced in his new name?
If you have put your trust in Jesus and repented of your sin, you have a new name. You are “Christian”! And you are also called “Holy,” “Redeemed,” “Sought Out,” “Not Forsaken.” And that should cause us great joy!
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed the concept of joy as set forth in Isaiah 62:6-12, let us recommit ourselves to have others enter into God’s joy with us.
Just before he died more than a decade ago, Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, gave an interview to Christianity Today. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
CT: What is your condition?
Bright: I’ve lost 60 percent of my lung capacity and it keeps going down. One day I’ll breathe my last, which is fine. I can say I’ve lived a pretty exciting life. But since it was announced to me that there is no cure for the disease, I’ve entered into a different relationship and a more wonderful intimacy with the Lord. James says to rejoice when you’re having difficulties. Paul speaks of rejoicing when you suffer. I know the reality of what they were saying….
CT: Your health is declining.
Bright: But my spirit is soaring.
CT: Do you feel you have completed the mission for which you were put on earth?
Bright: [God] doesn’t need Bill Bright any more than he needs a twig on a tree. He created us in his image, and he loves us… but he can raise up sticks and stones to worship him. So, it’s not as though my departure is going to leave a big hole….
CT: What would be your parting words to believers?
Bright: … Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest. Peace I leave with you.” So, my word to believers would be: Let us awaken out of our Laodicean spirit and return to our first love, as the church at Ephesus was admonished to do. And let us share this most joyful news with everybody on the planet.
Jesus’ birth transformed everything in this world. When we receive him as our Lord and Savior we enter into great joy. And we then have the privilege of inviting others to enter into that joy with us. So, let us tell people about Jesus so that they too can sing with us, “Joy to the world! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King.” Amen.
