Bible Talks - Family Church (9:45am)
Series: From Darkness to Dawn · Talk No. 8
Your heart’s desire
Sunday, 06 November 2005
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1. Living in the presence of greatness.
I was talking to the bloke after a funeral I had taken.
If you can rank funerals, this was not a particularly ‘nice’ one. A lady with a young family had contracted a rare and aggressive cancer, and within six weeks of diagnosis she was dead. I had been with the family almost every day of that six weeks. They were a very ordinary, working class couple, proud of their kids, had almost paid off their modest home in Sydney’s far west. When I met them, neither were Christians, and had no particular interest in spiritual things. But Keith had sought me out when he first had the news of his wife’s diagnosis.
Over the six week period, I spoke regularly with Keith and Meg about the gospel and God, and God’s great love for her. Two days before she died, Meg gave her life into the hands of the Lord Jesus.
So at her funeral, I could speak loudly and clearly about the healing and joy that Meg was experiencing, and would continue to experience for eternity! And how God had used what was a tragedy for that family, into a way for them to learn about the forgiveness and eternal life that God offers.
But not everyone was convinced. And at the get together after the funeral, I was pinned in a corner by a relative of Meg’s who told me in no uncertain terms that what I had said about God and Meg was wrong! And that HIS idea of God had no room for allowing sickness like this! “I like to think of God as being like…” was his line.
We talked for over an hour, but I couldn’t convince him of the foolishness and illogical nature of his thinking. As if we can arbitrarily decide what the supreme creator of the universe is like! As if the clay pot can decide what the potter is like! It would be silly enough if Philip stood up declared, “I like to think of Neil and being like…” as if by saying it, it can change who I am!
And yet so many people – including some Christians – have the idea locked in their head that they can choose God’s characteristics and his nature, that they can box God up in a package of their liking, and put him on a shelf somewhere where He won’t bother them.
The book of Isaiah makes a nonsense of that kind of thinking. The book opened by challenging our picture of God. And it closes on the same note. And some of things said here we may well find disturbing and, thinking back to last week, may push us to change some things.
But I want to I want to point out four areas that Isaiah 66 raises to challenge our image and our understanding of God.
(a) God cannot be boxed (v1-2)
As I’ve just mentioned, people have always wanted to box God up and reduce him into an idea that they are comfortable with – In the O.T., the temple was a classic example, with it’s many rituals and the protective structures of the often corrupt priesthood. And you only have to read some of Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees in the gospels to see how they had boxed God up with the Temple rituals and the Jewish law in his day. But we do exactly the same thing today!
We compartmentalise God in our lives – in other words, we allow him involvement in certain parts of our lives but not others. So we might be happy to have God Lord of one part of our lives, but not of our money. Or Lord of another part, but not Lord of our sex lives. But God cannot be boxed in like that! Read with me from V1 [1-2a].
He is the creator of all things. He rules all things. He deserves to be honoured above all, and yet that’s where we fail Him most of all… Which brings us the next area:
(b) Self-made worship (v3)
One of the most stupid things we humans do - after deciding what God is like, is to decide what he wants of us. vs3-4 speak clearly of this problem – and of God’s response to this silliness.
The people thought worship equalled religious rituals and rules. So, they created all sorts of elaborate and involved activities and rituals to do in the Temple at Jerusalem, or elsewhere and they declared to themselves: “God must be very pleased with us!” They decided that was what God wanted.
But the real problem is mentioned in v4b “…For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” (Isaiah 66:4, NIV) The people didn’t listen to God, and went their own way. And in doing so, they did evil and chose what displeased God – the very opposite of what the people of God are supposed to do!
Now I want to suggest that this is still so easy to do – church and religious activities become substitutes for listening, faith and obedience.
A good example of how this can creep into even bodies like us Sydney Anglicans is how many people restrict the idea of ‘worship’ to what we do in this building on a Sunday. Even the terminology misleads and confuses. Many still refer to this meeting as a ‘worship service’, but I would strongly suggest from Scripture that such thinking and speaking is very misleading and encourages bad practice.
Paul got it right in Romans 12 when he said: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1 NIV
The N.T. is clear. ‘Worship’ of God is something that should be as natural to Christians as breathing.
Yet, we only tend to apply that word to what takes place in this building on a Sunday! What happens the other 167 hours in the week? Do we stop breathing?
This hour each week is no more or no less ‘worship’ than any other hour for fair dinkum followers of Jesus. And as for being a ‘service’ –are we serving God more here than at any other time of the week? If that is what we are thinking, then we fail to understand what God desires of us as service.
As those verses in Romans 12 makes very clear, worship and service of God must embrace the whole of our lives, and back in Isaiah 66, v18-20 speak of a particular expression of service and worship that we should heed.
Those verses speak of God’s missionary heart, and how he is gathering people from everywhere to himself. V19-20 speak of how he sends people to do the work of gathering – to be God’s agents in bringing them into relationship with him.
That is worship! That is the kind of service that God wants of us!
Paul understood this as Romans 15:15-16 make clear [in your outline]. This is worship that God desires, this is the service he wants for us, and we have been called to share in this ministry. This is the mission of the whole church – let’s make sure we play our part, and realise that our Sunday gatherings are not more worshipful than any other time of the week, and we are certainly not serving God in any special way during this hour.
But please do not jump to conclusions! I am not saying church on Sunday is not important! It is – but primarily as time spent together in the word of God, praying and singing to encourage and build each other up as we seek to serve God in every other part of our week.
I did say that might be parts of this you wouldn’t like! 
At the core of this thinking is our next point:
(c) God-honouring worship
Read the second half of v2. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” (NIV)
We need to recognise or remind ourselves of the truth about God and the truth about us. God is the powerful and holy Creator, Sustainer and Judge. We must first understand this if we are to appreciate that we can come before God as Father, and Saviour.
Indeed, understanding these basic truths about God are essential if we are to understand the nature of worship and service of God. Each of us need to stand before these words and ask ourselves: Have I forgotten the majesty and holiness of the one, true God? Have I become too flippant in my attitude before God? Do I take God for granted?
As we continue to dwell on who God is and how we should live in response to those truths, we come to v6 in Isaiah 66 and our fourth point:
(d) The enormous patience of God has a limit (2 Peter 3)
v6 is in fact, a sombre warning – a warning that one day we will all face judgment. Israel was promised this in this verse and it happened to them. But of course there remains a final judgment, a judgment which no one will escape (v24). We know from elsewhere in Scripture that that judgement hasn’t happened yet, and this has caused many people to question whether it will– but 2 Peter 3:8-13 declares very clearly that it will (a section worth reading).
So armed with the knowledge of a certain coming judgement, it is clear that the present, is the time of God’s patience. A time when He is holding back from pronouncing the final judgment. When will that patience run out? We don’t know. And that’s the scary part!
What about you, your friends and family? What will happen to them when God’s patience does run out?
God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but longs for people to turn to him and share in the new heaven and the new earth. What a great thing this will be for those who have heeded the warnings and accepted the offer of a new life in Christ!
For those tuned into understanding these things, God will fulfil our heart’s desire!
But… is it your heart’s desire? Or have you allowed your heart to be sidetracked?
2. Your heart’s desire (65:17ff)
(a) Paradise (65:17-19, 25)
Heart’s desires can be tricky things. God has placed within us a desire for happiness, but it is very easily hijacked!
v17-19 use pretty strange language, but they basically speak of how God’s people look forward to a time of genuine blessing and goodness. And we can have absolute confidence that God will deliver on that promise! But we know that we’re not there yet, so what we need to do is to persevere in hope, trusting God to keep his promises, reminding ourselves that God has made us, and remade us in order that we might share in paradise with him [22].
(b) The fountain of youth (65:20)
This new world that God will make, will see the people of God living forever according to v20. Which reminds us of how not right it is when we see people ‘cut down in their prime’.
One of the most vivid memories of our time at Tregear in Mt Druitt, was my first three funerals. I hadn’t led many funerals before then, but these three all happened in the first three weeks of our time there. The first one was for a twelve year old boy who died of encephalitis, the second was for a 23 year old who took his own life, and the third a baby girl who died at two days old.
But as tragic and disturbing as those deaths were, and as challenging as the funerals were, the real problem is not premature death, but death itself – and according to these verses, and many other parts of the Bible, death has now been overcome once and for all in Christ!
So don’t allow your heart’s desire to be for this life to be drawn out. Don’t yearn for this world’s false ideas of the ‘fountain of youth’. The fountain of youth is a reality – but only in Christ. So make him your heart’s desire.
(c) Complete security of lifestyle (65:21-22)
When we do that, it filters through to many other parts of our lives. Many Australians spend so much time, energy and money on protecting and promoting their lifestyle.
We’re told to be certain that we surround ourselves with as many possessions and material things as we can. Insulate ourselves from the harsh realities of life.
But Jesus said “Don’t store up treasures on earth… but treasure in heaven”. And so v 21-22 also remind us and encourage is that is it by faith that we are to look forward to a lifestyle which is fully secure and satisfying – so as Tim reminded us a couple of weeks ago, don’t allow your heart’s desire to be distracted by the cheap imitation that our culture tries to foist upon us now.
(d) Deeply satisfying work (65:22-23)
Another huge area of life that threatens to hijack our heart’s desire is the lure of satisfying work. Australia used to be known as the ‘land of the long weekend’ – a title that characterised our laid back approach to work. But that has all changed in recent years. Australians now work among the longest working hours in the Western world! Why? In part because work satisfaction has become a highly desirable goal for us. Workaholism is the new norm in the Australian workplace.
In itself, a contentment and satisfaction at our work is a gift of God. Yet, it is so easy to turn God’s good gift into something that ends up competing with God.
If you live for your work, then ultimately, you will be destroyed along with your work. The more godly alternative according to v22-23, is to live for the Lord and his work, make Him your heart’s desire, and know that the fruit of your labour will endure forever.
(e) A delight and a joy (65:19,24)
So, we’ve been urged, warned, encouraged and pushed into confronting our false and inaccurate images of God. We’ve been shown how stupid and foolish it is to make up ideas of God to suit ourselves.
We’ve been painted a clear picture of what the one, true God is like in Isaiah 66 – and across the whole book. And so now, finally, we finish on a high note. Perhaps the greatest news for us that comes out of this final chapter, is that God looks upon his people – us - as his delight. V19 tells us that he rejoices in his people!
What a wonderful message! If you are a Christian man or woman, or child, then God delights in you! You are his joy! Individually and collectively, we are his workmanship – the results of his finest work. This wonderful state is, of course, not our achievement. It is all the work of God who made us and remade us to share in paradise with him.
So let’s leave Isaiah with that idea planted firmly in our minds, and with a fresh commitment to keep our eyes fixed on our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as we look forward to the new heavens and the new earth, and all the great things they will bring for us forever!
