I’m sure you have heard the following expression said concerning someone (and most times it is said in a negative context) but the expression, “So & so has an agenda!” or “That group has an agenda!”
We live in a nation & even a world where there are certain people & groups who not only have an agenda but are determined to see their pet passion or personal agenda accomplished. From politicians to activists to judges to dictators & madmen to business people to multi-millionaires who use their millions to push & fund their agenda – all over our nation & our world people are pushing their agendas. Some of these agendas are small but others are quite large – seeking to impact all of society & for some, even the entire world. Some have tried but thankfully failed [Hitler would be one]. Some are more successful than others & some are extremely successful – to the place of altering thinking, changing laws & lifestyles.
For many of these it would be an accurate description to say they are determined, passionate & even zealous in pursuing the accomplishment & success of their agenda/goal.
• LGBTQ agenda – This would be an apt description of the lgbtq agenda. They have been Determined,
passionate & zealous to make this lifestyle accepted in every aspect of society.
• Planned Parenthood
• Climate Change
• PETA
Now having an agenda is not necessarily something bad. I had an agenda (& still do) as it related to my children & I hope you do, too. I have an agenda for this fellowship. Agenda’s aren’t necessarily bad – they can be very good, even God-honoring. The frustrating thing is not having the power, ability & authority to carry it out; to guarantee its success.
Now in terms of agendas - no one has had a bigger or grander agenda than God. Think about His agenda. What was it? We could say it in different ways:
• To rescue fallen, sinful man from his utter doom that awaits him when he stands before a holy God to give an
account.
• To restore a fallen world to the perfect place it once was.
• To forever rid the universe of the most evil & wicked being there ever has or will be.
• To establish a kingdom where perfect righteousness & loyalty forever reigns.
• To show forth the might, wisdom, glory & majesty of His Being.
• And course the centerpiece of His agenda was the birth, death, resurrection, ascension & 2nd coming of His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ which we, in part, celebrate today.
That is an impressive agenda. Sometimes we hear of, say, a president coming into office with an impressive, far-reaching & all-encompassing agenda. I’d call God’s agenda incredibly impressive, far-reaching & definitely all-encompassing.
But as I said, the frustrating thing is not having the power, ability & authority to carry it out; to guarantee its success. And that’s what I want us to think about this morning.
There is a powerful little statement found in Isaiah 9, one that has captivated my thoughts this season. I have been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now. I think it gets overlooked b/c we so focus on the verses preceding it. This 1 little sentence at the end of the verse doesn’t get much press as I discovered in studying it this week. The bulk of the explanation & commentary on this section is spent on the prophecy & description of the coming Messiah who was to be born. Great sermons have been preached on the names foretold of the coming Savior & Messiah & you know them so well: Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. We sing about them. But very little is said, at least in what I read, about this powerful little statement. But w/o this declaration at the end - none of the prophecy would have happened. Jesus wouldn’t have been born. The agenda would have failed.
Isaiah 9 - Background – This was a dark, rebellious, idolatrous culture to which Isaiah wrote. A nation & a time not too much unlike our own day. A nation that was under God’s discipline & would continue under it. But into these dark times Isaiah prophecies of the coming of light (v.2), a great light – the Messiah. His prophecy contains elements of Jesus’ 1st coming but also His 2nd coming. And it was prophesy designed to give the people hope. Everything looked so black & so hopeless that the godly remnant needed to be assured that God was still on the throne & that His agenda had not failed - that there was hope for the future. With that as background we come to the 2 most familiar verses of the prophecy:
• 9:6-7 – For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.
And then we come to that last statement that I spoke of which gets overlooked but is so critical & essential: “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
• ESV: The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this.
• KJV: The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
• LB: This is going to happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies has dedicated himself to do it!
• NLT: The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
The reason why God’s agenda will succeed, why it has & will not fail is b/c “the zeal, the passionate commitment of the Lord of hosts will accomplish it” – will see that it succeeds. All of His power & all of His authority & all of His wisdom is pledged to make sure this happened. Therefore, there was no doubt that the incarnation would happen, that the crucifixion would happen, that the resurrection would happen & that the 2nd coming of Christ in full glory will happen – b/c the passionate commitment & zeal of God Almighty was & is driving it – therefore what force in all the universe could stop it?
Yet that didn’t stop some from trying. There have been beings & forces that tried to stop it – even as far back as the days of Genesis. Ever since God made that astonishing promise in Genesis 3:15 that One would come from the seed of the woman & would defeat the serpent or Satan – since that day Satan was feverishly pulling out all stops to prevent the coming of this One who would grow up & crush him through His death on the cross. And I’ve traced that for you before through the OT into the 1st chapters of Matthew, Satan’s devilish attempts to prevent Jesus’ coming. But he couldn’t, he could not stop God’s agenda b/c the zeal & passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty was behind it, therefore it was assured. So what we learned is that Satan had an agenda too but he did not have the power, ability & authority to carry it out; to guarantee its success.
Now in thinking about the incarnation, looking at it from the human side – there were so many massive obstacles God had to overcome to fulfill His agenda:
• Satan – and all he & his demons did to try to prevent Jesus’ coming.
• How does an infinite God become a finite man & still remain 100% God? How in the world can you make that
happen? How in the world can that be?
• The obstacle of a woman becoming pregnant while still a virgin.
• The story of Christ’s birth is so incredible, so miraculous – but it didn’t just happen. There were forces &
beings working passionately to keep it from happening. But it did happen – b/c there was also Someone
who was passionately committed to making it happen!
• And even after Jesus’ birth there continued to be risks to God’s agenda of Jesus becoming the Savior of
mankind through, for example, King Herod’s attempt to have Jesus’ killed in the days after His birth. But it
failed too!
Now you realize from God’s side, there were no obstacles b/c nothing or no one can pose even the slightest distraction or problem to God. He is omnipotent. He is omniscient. He is sovereign. In fact, that’s what makes whatever His zeal is directed towards succeed – b/c standing behind God’s zeal is all His mighty attributes.
At the same time, we as humans should know that we can always rest in the fact that nothing & no one is able to thwart God’s agenda b/c – again, He declared that His zeal & passionate commitment would make sure His agenda succeeded.
So that you can get another snapshot of God’s zeal & its implications in action – turn to Isaiah 36-37 – Sennacherib, king Assyria, a super-power of his day invades Judah & surrounds Jerusalem. No one or nation had been able to stand up against Sennacherib. He issues frightening threats through his general that terrifies the entire city. King Hezekiah goes to the house of the Lord & spreads their threats out before the Lord. He then prays & calls on the Lord to deliver them so that (37:20), “all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.”
God sends word to Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah. In it, the Lord, proclaims that He will defeat & deliver Judah from Sennacherib & also speaks of the future establishment of the messianic kingdom. But in prophesying about Sennacherib’s coming defeat, God declares, (37:33-35) “Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, or throw up a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”
But in speaking of the Sennacherib’s defeat & the prophecy of the establishment of the future messianic kingdom, God declares, (v.32b) “The zeal (passionate commitment) of the Lord of hosts will perform this (make this happen).”
And then the very next thing we read is that while the army slept, the angel of the Lord went out & struck down 185,000 of the Assyrians. And we read (v.36), “…and when [the] men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.” There were 185,000 corpses lying all over the place. And then we read that Sennacherib…departed & returned home. And some time later, one day while he was worshipping in the house of his false god, 2 of his sons killed him w/ the sword. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.
God has had an agenda & He has faced more opposition than any other person(s) or group has ever faced – combined. But every item on His agenda has been fulfilled, has succeeded or is on schedule too b/c the zeal & passionate commitment of the Lord of Hosts has been & continues to be behind it to accomplish it.
In fact, God’s zeal is behind all of His agendas. Would you agree?
• In light of that, do you think God has an agenda for your life?
• Do you think He is zealous to see that agenda succeed?
• Therefore, what does that say concerning all the attempts by the enemy of God to disrupt & derail your life?
• What about all the intrusions in your life?
• All the obstacles that invade your life?
• All the trials & hardships that touch your life?
If you will trust Him & put your life & situations in His hands, do you think He will let His agenda for you fail? Now I understand it might look like it sometimes. It looked like His agenda had failed many times in the OT – but it hadn’t. And you know 1 thing His zeal is committed to doing in those times when it appears everything is out-of-whack? You’re going to love this – this is a great verse – His zeal is committed to causing all things to work together for good to those who love Him. Isn’t that a great verse?
Let me ask you again: If you will trust Him & put your life & situations in His hands, do you think He will let His agenda for you fail? Now just recognize His agenda for you & your agenda for yourself, might be just a little bit different. Maybe a lot different. Don’t get confused on that point.
But as you trust & submit, you can also rest that the zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s armies is at work – in you, for you, on behalf of you.
In the world where the enemy of God is working so feverishly to destroy mankind & thwart all of God’s purposes – God zeal is at work so that all His agenda succeeds & is accomplished.
And let me just say, in our world where the antagonism & hostility against Christianity has increased greatly over the last few years & will continue to do so, we can grow anxious & fearful about the future. But rest assured God will overthrow all opposition to His will & rule. Righteousness will win – b/c the zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make it happen.
So let us rejoice & give thanks - that b/c of His zeal to accomplish His agenda, we can come in faith & confidence as we present the issues that touch our lives to Him & call upon Him for help – knowing that He will bring to bear in our situation that same zeal that Isaiah talked about, the same zeal Hezekiah experienced as he cried out to God for help – b/c God has an agenda for your life & His glory is at stake – and God is always zealous for His glory; is passionately committed to His glory & part of His agenda is to see His glory displayed in your life.
And the incarnation, which we celebrate this season, is a powerful example of what the zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies can accomplish.
He is an awesome God. He is the Lord Almighty who reigns. Hallelujah!
