Promise for Restoration

Yesterday was sermon day. All of us interns were required to prepare a 20-minute sermon on an assigned passage from scripture to give to our class and staff. Public speaking is one of my fears, making this sermon deal pretty frightening. But the Lord is faithful and he gave me strength and authority to speak. It was by no means perfect, but I can see how I am beginning to grow and be more comfortable in a teaching role.

You can read through my sermon below if you want.

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This world that we live in is pretty messed up. I mean, let’s face it; unless you’re living under a rock, it’s nearly impossible to get through a single day without seeing or hearing news of tragedy and heartbreak. We just passed the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, which claimed the lives of thousands of people and left an entire city in ruins. And a year later, the country has seen very little progress in the way of rebuilding and is overwhelmed with homelessness, disease, and despair. Just 2 weeks ago, a crazed shooter at an Arizona shopping center took the lives of 6 innocent people, including a 9 year old little girl. The families, the community, and the entire nation were left stunned. Sickness and accidents seem to have affected each of us in some way or another. Even now, we are walking alongside our sister Grace and her family in the devastating reality of Stage 3 Colon Cancer, struggling to understand God’s plan. Unfortunately, I could go on and on about the tragedy and brokenness of our world.

On a more personal note, I first experienced the reality of poverty during my time spent in La Paz, Bolivia. One group I got to know in Bolivia was the shoeshiners. In La Paz there are thousands of people (mostly young guys) that walk the city streets looking for shoeshine clients. At first sight they might even frighten you because most of them wear ski masks over their faces. Most of the guys do this to conceal their identity because shoeshining is looked upon as one of the most shameful and lowly occupations. In the overwhelmed urban economy with few job opportunities, the guys are doing their best to earn an income to support their families or pay their way through school, but many of their families and friends don’t even know that they’re shoeshiners. The culture is one of shame and hopelessness and despair, often steeped in alcoholism and violence. One specific story that comes to mind is about a shoeshiner named Freddy. At the time Freddy was about 30 years old. He was married and had two young kids that he adored. One day he came to basketball practice completely trashed. The guys had come to practice a little tipsy before, but this was different. Freddy was drunk and not only that, he had tears in his eyes. He went on to tell us that he just found out that his wife had been cheating on him… for the past 10 years… with his brother! Freddy was in complete despair. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know where to turn or how to save his marriage, so he turned to alcohol. The next several months, it was a rare occasion to see Freddy sober. It can be a real challenge to encourage these guys, especially when they are ignored and condemned by so many of their own people. How do you even begin to speak hope into these situations?

I’m here to tell you that despite the heartbreak and the brokenness of this world, there is hope. There is hope for a future free from injustice, free from sorrow, and free from violence. There will be a day when every tear will be wiped away and every wrong will be made right.

Today we’re going to look at God’s promise for the restoration of his people. I’m going to read from the book of Isaiah, chapter 65, starting in verse 17. Listen, and soak in God’s promise to you as I read the passage…

Isaiah 65:17-19

Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

The word of the Lord.

We serve a God who cares deeply for his people. Amen? And one day all the brokenness and the pain of this world will cease. God promises to restore his people to right standing with him. Despite the darkness of this world, we have a hope for restoration – a hope that our Creator will redeem his beloved sons and daughters and delight in them.

Let’s look at the verses that follow to get a fuller picture of God’s vision for this restored world. Verse 20 reads,

“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.”

What kind of picture does this paint? What would this mean for our present world? It kinda sounds like good health care! Babies and mothers would never be in danger of dying during childbirth. Everyone would be able to live long and full lives. The elderly would be loved and cared for. Disease would no longer steal away our loved ones. Violence would no longer take the lives of our youth.

And then the next couple of verses:

“They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.”

So in God’s ideal, His beloved would be able to live and work and eat as they choose. All the oppression and the unbalanced distribution of wealth in our world would finally be rectified. Everyone would have rights to their very own land and own their own home and work would no longer be meaningless toil. Work would be a joy! Can you even imagine such a place? The days would march on peacefully into eternity, allowing every person the opportunity to truly enjoy and appreciate this beautiful world and live out the good and intended purposes for their lives.

And in a similar vein, the passage continues:

“They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

God’s people would be truly BLESSED… not just in theory or in principle, but in tangible and extravagant ways. When this restored kingdom finally comes, we will know unrestricted intimacy with our Creator! There will be continuous and everlasting peace and justice will finally be served to the enemies of the Lord. That would mean no more gang wars here or anywhere! God’s people will live on forever basking in the glory of God and rejoicing in his beautiful and perfect creation.

Wow, it’s quite a vision isn’t it? It’s beautiful. This is the God we serve. This is the future that we hope and yearn for.

Knowing all this, what does it look like for us to live as a people that hope for redemption?

First of all, this hope requires action.

Our God is not a passive or uninvolved God, he is a God that cares deeply and loves extravagantly. And I believe he invites us to be involved in this work as well. When we see injustice in our world, we should react with passion rather than apathy; with compassionate action rather than sterile sentiments; with a helping hand rather than a judgmental eye; with love rather than hate. If we are to alleviate the pain and suffering of our poor brothers and sisters here in South LA and the world, we must believe that transformation is possible here and now. The Servant Partners chapter in the Living Mission book expresses this idea well. It says:

“…the fact that God has allowed such suffering should not lead us to believe that he is indifferent to it or that he does not intend to limit its presence in the world. His plan to deal with suffering is to create a people who live as citizens of his kingdom on the earth. We are to be salt and light in an insipid and dark world. At this point in the story, we who follow Jesus are participants in God’s answer to the world’s brokenness. Eventually the promise is that God himself will wipe away our tears, but in this life he calls us to be his hands and feet… Our efforts to see God’s kingdom come will always be imperfect …but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be moving towards God’s intention for us.” Living Mission p. 74-75

Until the day the LORD restores his people and wipes away each and every tear, we are called to do our part to usher in his kingdom here on earth. We are called to react to injustice with zeal, proclaiming NO MORE!

NO MORE will there be hunger.

NO MORE will homelessness.

NO MORE will there be abuse and violence.

NO MORE will there be sickness and disease.

NO MORE will there be hopelessness and despair.

Now, I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here about seeking redemption and justice for the poor and hurting. Each one of us has set our lives on course to serve and love the poor. We see God’s heart for the least of these and want to be involved in bringing help and answers and hope. This is the kingdom of God in action, but as we work toward this end, we must be careful about the attitude of our hearts in this work, for God alone can heal. Amen? And God alone can fulfill his promise for the restoration of his people. God ALONE can redeem his people.

So, when we look forward to the hope of the restored kingdom, what should our attitude be?

Our attitude should be one of anticipation and hope. The promise for restoration should be a promise that we cling to, believing God to fulfill it. This promise should completely determine our attitude and trajectory.

In addition to waiting with anticipation and responding to the injustices of our world, I believe there is even more that the LORD requires of us. Let’s revisit the passage in Isaiah again:

Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

We see that God commands us to be glad and rejoice forever in his creation. This verse refers specifically to the future restored creation – which means having our eyes fixed on heaven and being confident that God will have the last word in all this – but how many times does Jesus refer to the Kingdom of God on earth? The kingdom is here. The kingdom is within us. Just as we have learned to pray: His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. So, one tangible way that we can live as a people of hope is to find joy in God’s creation here and now. And I don’t think creation simply means the mountains and the sun and the trees, but it also includes his people and the role he created them to fulfill. We should rejoice in the small ways in which our friends and neighbors are living up to the purpose God has given them. We bring glory to our Creator when we find joy in His creation.

So let’s rejoice!

Let’s rejoice when the youth choose God rather than gangs.

Let’s rejoice when crime drops and education improves.

Let’s rejoice when love overpowers lust.

Let’s rejoice in the determination of our neighbors to overcome.

And let’s rejoice in the transformation that God ALONE can bring!

This world is broken and hurting, but there is also so much to rejoice about. The Living God is present here with us, bringing real restoration and hope to his people. His forgiveness and love has transformed us into new creations. The old has gone, the new has come. We have all personally experienced the restorative power of God, giving us a very powerful witness to share with our hurting neighbors. Am I right? Transformation is possible now and we can rejoice in that reality! The Lord is powerful and good, always faithful to fulfill his promises.

So… remember my friend Freddy? Well I wish I could tell you that God healed his brokenness and that he wakes up each day filled with hope. I actually don’t know how he’s doing right now. While I was in Bolivia, my friends and I would invite him to study the bible with us and learn the truth about a compassionate God that promises to redeem all things. But Freddy would show up to our bible studies trashed out of his mind and filled with anger. Unfortunately, Freddy didn’t make a decision to follow Christ at that time, but I pray that he has come to know the Lord since then and been transformed by his peace and hope. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to change Freddy’s heart. But it’s not our job anyways, it’s God’s. And I have to trust that the Lord is able to do that work and without my help. It was frustrating to see the downward spiral of Freddy’s life and I struggled for a while wondering why God would not pull him from the pit. But the Lord is in control and the Lord promises to redeem ALL things.

More powerful than the hope we have for restoration in this world, we hope for a time when ALL things will be made right - when our broken relationship with the Father will be restored once and for all. And when God’s creation will be renewed and restored to its original radiance and splendor. When we will be free to experience unrestricted intimacy with our Creator and live in his good and life-giving purpose for us.

Stay tuned for Grace’s sermon to learn more about the awesome reality of a restored relationship with our Creator. But let’s remember and relish in God’s promise for the restoration of his creation – a world free of tears, free of oppression, free of violence – and FULL of the presence and peace of our Lord.

So what are you going to do? How are you going to live a life of hope, of action, and of joy?

Maybe it means standing up for a cause that you believe in. Like fighting to insure that everyone has access to a good education; or working to reduce domestic violence and abuse; or making sure everyone on the globe has access to clean water. Maybe you can focus your time here in South LA on encouraging the single moms in your building or helping high school students apply for college.

Maybe it means making an effort to rejoice in the beauty of creation and all the ways the Lord is bringing about healing and transformation to this world. As an example, I know Grace has been intentionally practicing this discipline by trying to praise the Lord daily via an online journal. It’s a great way to remember the Lord’s goodness and focus on his promise for the redemption of this world. Maybe a practical exercise like this could be helpful for you as well.

So what are you going to do? How are you going to respond to God’s promise? Try to take some time this week to think about it.

I want to encourage us to be a people of hope. Let’s be a people that works toward the transformation of this world and looks to the future with excited anticipation, trusting God to fulfill his promise for complete restoration.