Gooding, David: The Restoration of Israel

Let's read together from the prophet Isaiah then. Tonight from the prophet Isaiah, three readings, the first of which comes from chapter forty three. Isaiah forty three one, but now saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. Verse seven: everyone that is called by my name and who I have created for my glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together and let all the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified, or let them hear and say it is truth. You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no savior. I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed, and there was no strange God among you. Therefore, you are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and I am God. Yea, since the day was, I am he, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who shall hinder it? And then some words from chapter fifty three. Isaiah fifty three and verse four. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet he humbled himself and opened not his mouth, as a lamb that is led to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. Yea, he opened not his mouth. And finally, from chapter fifty nine and verse uh twenty. Chapter fifty nine and verse twenty. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever. The chapters forty to sixty six of the book of Isaiah are perhaps some of the most beautiful, and some parts of them the best known of all the prophecies of Old Testament. Therein comes the delightful chapter from which we have read about our blessed Lord Jesus, how he was wounded for our transgressions, the chastisement of our peace upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. The chief delight of these chapters is that they prophesy the restoration of the nation of Israel. First of all, our Isaiah prophesied that the nation would be restored from their exile in Babylon. But then, carried along by the Holy Spirit, he prophesied of an even greater restoration, the restoration of Israel that shall take place when the Lord Jesus comes, at his second coming, when there shall come out a deliverer and a redeemer from Zion and turn away iniquity from Jacob. The mere mention of it gives your heart a flutter, doesn't it? As Paul put it, as he thought of the sorrow of Israel who had rejected the Messiah and rejected the gospel, he pointed out that their fall, their casting away, has been the riches of the Gentile. And if their fall and their casting away has been the riches of the Gentile, what shall their coming back again be? It shall be such a veritable harvest of the grace of God as shall make it like the very resurrection of the dead. The restoration of Israel, then, the great topic of these chapters, and as we think of Israel and the gloomy events in the Gulf, and we know from Israel's prophets the terrible anguish that the nation of Israel must yet pass through before the Lord comes. It's marvelous, isn't it, to have these bright prophecies, these suns shining behind the storm clouds. One day God's wrath and his chastisement of Israel will be over, and he shall turn to comfort his ancient people. These chapters tell us what will be involved in Israel's restoration. There are, so the, so the experts tell us, three major parts to this final section of Isaiah. And in the first part, and in the second, and in the third, Isaiah points out to us that Israel's restoration will involve their rediscovery of God. The rediscovery of the greatness and the purpose of God. And then, not so much for Israel, the rediscovery, but the discovery not only of God the Father, but the discovery of the person of the Son and the pattern of the suffering servant. The rediscovery of God, the discovery of the Son of God, and finally the rediscovery of the Spirit of God. So the verses told us that we have just read. It's interesting, isn't it, that we should be able to talk of Israel's rediscovery of God. For Israel, all down the centuries, were supposed to know God, weren't they? Right from the time when God called Abram out of Ur of Chaldees and made himself known to Abram as the true and the living God. Ever since that time, Israel had stood among the nations, conspicuous among the nations, but all the other nations were bowed down in miserable and crude idolatries, and Israel stood for belief in the one true God, creator of heaven and earth, and what a mission it was. But alas, in their very mission, they failed. As someone has put, you know, in the first generation, you have people, men and women, that have a conviction. So often in the second generation, conviction has deteriorated to be a mere doctrine. And what in the second generation is a mere doctrine, in the third generation becomes merely an opinion, one among many. And Israel, who were called to this sublime privilege to witness in the world to the one true God, themselves compromised their message, both in their mixture with pagan idolatry and in the grievously, uh, sinful way that they lived. And in the end, God turned them out of their country and sent them down to Babylon. When they are restored, it won't be just a coming back to their land. Their restoration will not be accomplished without their coming to rediscover God. We haven't the time tonight, obviously, to go into Israel and her future. By permission, we may apply it to ourselves, and I'm not, I'm not suggesting that, uh, you have apostatized in the months of the past year or compromised your message or anything of the sort. It's been marvelously interesting, hasn't it, to read the endless labours that have been done, the work for the Lord and the generous giving and the hard, backbreaking labour. And perhaps tonight we're feeling a bit tired, and there's a big future ahead of us. Wherein shall we find the strength and the grace to rise up and surge forward in the work of the Lord? I suggest to you that we shall find it where Israel one day will find it, in the rediscovery of God. So, in chapters forty to forty eight of this great book, we'll read how Israel will discover again God as creator, and not just the doctrine that God is creator, but they shall discover it in their own experience when God recreates Israel. And it will not be simply that Israel will tell the nations that God the Creator is the true God. They themselves will be the chief exhibit. And the nations shall look at Israel and see the reality of God, for that God has recreated his people. And Israel is encouraged with these wonderful words that we read from ver- chapter forty three. But now saith the Lord who created thee, everyone whom I have called by my name, I have created for my glory. As God recreates Israel among the nations, their very recreation will be a testimony to the living God. What will happen to Israel in some part has happened to us, hasn't it? May we prove its reality more and more in the year to come. Just let me remind you as you sit there, uh, on your seat. What a lovely thing, isn't it? For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, the works themselves being prepared before by God, that we should work in them. Sometimes it happens that as we get busy working for the Lord, presently it's our effort that comes to loom large in our minds. They are lovely occasions, aren't they, when we may sit back and remember that it's not merely what I am doing for God, but what God is doing through me and in me. Every one of us, isn't it true? You sir, and you, my dear good sister, a creation of God. Ah. I've never been invited because I think the businessmen will feel it not worth time, but there are occasions in this city when the fashion designers have their, I forget what they call them now, anyway, the eminent are invited along to witness their new creations for the season, you'll see, and there they come out and parade down the gangway and back again in the new creations, you'll see. Ha ha. And you too. Is it not so? Uh, if any man be in Christ, says Paul, there is a new creation nestling under your waistcoat and under your dress, and underneath the externals of our bodies, there is this miracle of divine grace. You have been created in Christ Jesus. If any person be in Christ, there is a new creation. Oh, God help us to lay back upon it and to discover again the reality of God as our creator. You see, says God to Israel, you didn't choose me, I chose you. And so said the Lord Jesus to his disciples, you didn't choose me, I chose you, I called you by my name. You shall show forth my praise, for I shall work, and no one will hinder it. So as we face the slog of another year, let our inner hearts be learning ever more to rest upon God, our creator. One day Israel shall discover again not only God, but they shall discover some of them for the first time, the person of the Son. Our Zechariah tells us of that wonderful occasion when the Lord Jesus shall come, and they shall look on him whom they pierced. They shall see the one whom the nation despised, whom the kings rejected. And they shall say in their consternation, but we esteemed him smitten of God and afflicted. We thought he was afflicted for his own sins. We held that he was a blasphemer. But when they shall see him whom they pierced, there shall be a day of great mourning and contrition, and they shall say, but he was wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripe we were healed. Oh, what a day it will be when Israel discovers the person of the Son. When he was here on earth, they rejected him. They thought they knew all there was to know about God. There was one God. That was perfectly true. But you know, their concept of one God were very limited, wasn't it? And it's possible for all of us to think we know everything about God, isn't it? We shall never do that. And because Israel had got one part of the truth that God is one, they weren't prepared to open their minds to consider what that oneness might be, a blessed Trinity in one. One plus one plus one is three, but one times one times one is one, isn't it? One One day day, Israel Israel. shall come with amazement to see that God was far bigger than they imagined him to be. Oh, God help us. We already know him and know the Son of God. In the days to come, God grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him to discover that God is bigger than we thought, and so is Jesus his son. We have the gospel, don't we? What a wonderful gospel it is. Thank be to God if in Apsley Street still the gospel is preached. The Jew nowadays has no gospel, for he is no suffering servant to proclaim to the nation, no sacrifice to proclaim. He has no gospel, therefore. All he can do is to preach his law to you and tell you to behave. Alas, large sections of Christendom have lost their grip on the gospel. And therefore, if they're given occasion to address the nation on the radio or television, they talk about the family or looking after the poor, and it's all jolly good, isn't it? Wonderful stuff. But sometimes they miss the opportunity to present the gospel, and what our weary world needs more than anything else is, of course, the gospel, how he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripe we are healed. But you know, if we're going to preach that gospel effectively, the gospel of the suffering servant of God, we must be prepared to follow the pattern, mustn't we, of the suffering servant. Christ has left us an example, says Peter, that we should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he reviled not again, but when he threatened, and when he was threatened, when he suffered, he threatened not. For he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and bore our sin in his body on the tree, that we, passing away from unrighteousness, might, from sin, might live unto righteousness. The suffering servant not only made atonement for sin, he left us an example that we might follow his steps. Says Peter to the slaves, you know, when your masters are unreasonable and they flog you even when you don't deserve it, and you could curse them. Pray, try and remember the pattern of the suffering servant. Where would you have been if Christ had cursed you when he suffered. And you women, says, Peter, talking to the married women who were converted and their husbands weren't converted. And when your husbands are very difficult and they won't listen to your preaching, try in your heart to remember the pattern of the suffering servant, that living like him, you could win your husband by your, your behavior, even if you can't win them by your word. Oh, let's seek the rewards that are going. Yes, don't let's be like James and John, shall we? Who thought could think only of sitting on thrones in the day to come, and had to be taught that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. If we are going to be effective to preach to the world about a savior who poured out his soul unto death, the most effective way of preaching it is for us to be willing, likewise, to pour out our souls and our bodies and all we have for our fellow men. And finally, in that coming day, Israel will discover, rediscover perhaps, the Spirit of God. When the Redeemer comes, other prophets tell us that God will pour out his Spirit on the nation of Israel, and his Spirit shall be in their mouth and with them forever. Wonderful day it shall be. We already have that spirit, don't we? Having the earnest of the spirit in our hearts. How could we possibly go about our work of being witnesses in the world if it all depended on us and our wisdom? Thank God it isn't so. And as we think about absolutely future and the work that lies ahead, God give us to discover ever again and ever more deeply the wonder that God's Holy Spirit is with us and in us, responsible for directing the work of Christ worldwide. He's had two thousand years of experience of guiding the church so far. It'll be sufficient to keep Abbsley on her tracks until the Lord comes and we go home to heaven. The Lord bless his word of encouragement to all our hearts for his name's sake.