March 25, 2007 Lent 5C
Sermon Title: “The Best Is Yet To Come”
Series: The Path of Discipleship
Text: Isaiah 43:16-21
Dr. Steve Jackson
Delivered on March 25, 2007
“Do not remember the former things…I am about to do a new ting now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:18-19
The Best Is Yet To Come
We’re in the fifth week of our journey along “The Path of Discipleship.” By now, if you’ve stuck to the path you’ve probably reached the point where you’ve hit “the wall.” “The wall” is a term runners use to describe the point at which you run out of glycogen reserves. Glycogen is basically sugar and it’s the fuel in your body that your muscles run on. When you run out of glycogen you have to begin burning fat for fuel and that doesn’t feel good. If you’ve ever done much running or hiking you know exactly what I’m talking about. Suddenly you feel as though a 600 pound bear has jumped on your back—or as if suddenly everything is all uphill. Your lungs are bursting, your calves are burning, your eyes glaze over and you go on autopilot, trying to just put one foot in front of the other and do your best not to slow down; everything goes into slow motion.
In conversations with some of you this past week, I sense that’s where you are today. I know for a fact it’s where I am. This last week was a tough one for me. Last weekend our cat Oreo died—she was my buddy. Then I had a birthday, and for some weird reason, birthdays always depress me. It was just a bad day at the ranch for me last week—I hit the wall. And like I said, I know it was for some of you too.
Thankfully, the Old Testament reading for this week can help us. Actually it can help you whether you feel like you’ve hit the wall, or whether you’re feeling on top of the world—that’s the wonderful thing about Scripture. But this passage, which is basically a proclamation of salvation, addresses the human condition in general, but it’s especially helpful for those of us feeling like we’re on the bottom of the pile—I guess the wise souls who created the lectionary realized exactly how we’d be feeling about right about now.
The way I want to look at the passage with you this morning is to divide it into three parts: the setting, the story, and the significance. Let’s dig right in, shall we?
The Setting - Discouragement
The setting of this story is that
William Ward describes discouragement as “dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is ingratitude for the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity regarding strength for tomorrow. It is unawareness of the presence of beauty, unconcern for the needs of our fellowman, and unbelief in the promises of old. It is impatience with time, immaturity of thought, and impoliteness to God.” Wow. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever had a day, or week, or month like that?
Former heavy-weight boxer James (Quick) Tillis was a cowboy from
Talk about discouraging! What a start, huh? Well, back to the setting of
this story, why is
Psalm 137 is the familiar Psalm that gives us a word picture of how they felt:
1 By the rivers of
when we remembered
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, "Sing us one
of the songs of
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
This is the heart cry of a despondent nation. It’s also the heart cry of
a despondent person. One who has lost confidence, courage, or hope. One thing
despondency does is to take away our “song.” This is what happened to
The Story – Deliverance!
So what’s the story, now that we have the setting of this prophecy? It’s
fascinating really. The first thing the Lord says is this—and I’ll paraphrase. “Hey…remember how I rescued you before? How
I brought you out of bondage to
Well fuggetaboutit.
Isn’t that odd? Isaiah 43:18 is one of the most unusual commandments in
the entire Bible—“do not remember the
former things…or consider the things of old.” You recognize that don’t you?
The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is always saying, “remember this” and
“remember that” and “May we be cursed if we forget your mercies Oh Lord” and on
and on. But here the Lord says, “Hey,
remember the defining moment in Jewish history—the Exodus—when I brought you,
my chosen people out of
Why would God say that?
The answer is found in verse 19, “I
am about to do a new thing now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” In other words, even the defining moment of
Now, again, to stick to the story as it is being told here, and as it was originally heard. The miraculous deliverance of Israel being foretold here actually occurred when a Persian king, Cyrus the Great, conquered Babylon and released the Jews to return to Jerusalem after being in exile in Babylon for 70 years.
But there’s more to the story than that. And that’s where the significance of the story comes in.
The Significance – It Describes Us
The significance of this story for you and for me is that it is your story and my story—it’s OUR story. It’s a story that gets repeated over and over again in history, and it gets repeated over and over again in each of our personal lives.
It’s our story in the bad times (better times are yet to come!)
And it’s our story in the good times (better times are yet to come!)
It’s the story of the young…and the old… the rich and the poor…those who grieve and those who rejoice…the powerful and those who are not (the best is yet to come!)
Think with me just for a moment about all the “times of your life.” Have you ever thought about the fact that few of us are ever truly happy in the present moment? Little kids make believe they’re adults, teens long to be old enough to drive, teens old enough to drive long to be able to drink, or vote, or go to college. College kids yearn to get a “real” job and a place of their own. Then with that secure they long to be married, or to have children, and eventually to retire. It’s in our nature to always be yearning for either the future or the past—and very little time living in the present moment.
That’s one of the great gifts of this passage—since it is your story and my story. One of the great gifts of the passage is it frees us to live fully in the present moment. The fact that the best is yet to come allows us to stop fretting about missing out on something now, and it allows us to endure the seemingly unendurable times we all have to go through at times in our lives. It also allows us to not pine for the past or to long for tomorrow. Because the best is yet to come, we can enjoy the present moment!
Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase of this Psalm (The Message) picks up on this theme with his translation of verse 18: “Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it?”
Trust and assurance that we are in God’s loving care—the same God who rescued the Israelites (and us) time after time—frees us from hand-wringing and from being consumed by either our past or our future. No matter what condition things are in right now—as long as we’re walking the face of this earth the best is always yet to come.
There will be lots of “little rescues” along the way for all of us—rescues from grief or even despondency over losing a favorite pet or loved one, or the “death” of a job or a marriage or a dream. From the discouragement of aging, from addiction, and from sinfulness in all the many forms we manifest it in our lives. But all of these will pale in comparison to the great rescue that will eventually come.
Friends, this is the gospel in a nutshell—it’s who we are—it’s our story.
This world is not our home—we are separated from our essential selves, from one
another, and from God. As we move through this world we are in God’s
providential care—he’s watching over us and he wants us to live happy,
wholesome, healthy lives. Lives free from sin. Lives according to his purposes.
But even in our best moments in this
life we “sit by the rivers of
The central message of this passage applies to you and to me. The captives will be set free and God himself will lead us through the wilderness home. These words were uttered to a community not yet free, and far from hopeful. God is both willing and able to do this. Look again at his promise in verse 19, “I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (v. 19). Look down at your Scripture sheets at the last verse of the Psalm we read today, “Those who go forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves” (Psalm 126:6). That’s good news! No matter what “time” you’re in today, for the believer the best is yet to come!
Isn’t that incredibly good news? And just as discouragement and
despondency is universal, recurring and contagious, so too is this good news!
It’s universal, and it applies whether it’s being proclaimed to Semitic people
2800 years ago, or to Africans in
In the book my Sunday School class just read John Ortberg tells a story you may have heard before, but it bears repeating this morning in the context of this message.
Martha was not only one of the most active members of her congregation, she was also one of the oldest. One day Ms. Martha, as she was known by all in the church, was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss her final wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and the dress she wanted to be buried in. Everything was settled and the pastor was about to leave when Martha suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said.
"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.
"This is very important," Martha continued.
"I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor stood looking at the her, not knowing quite what to say.” “That surprises you, doesn't it?" she asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.
“Well,” she said, “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, “Keep your fork.” And do you know what that meant? It meant dessert was coming! And it wasn’t going to be a cup of Jell-O or pudding or even a dish of ice cream. You don't need a fork for that. It meant the good stuff, was coming—something like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance. When they told me to keep my fork, I knew the best was yet to come! So I want people to see me there in my casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder “What's with the fork?” Then I want you to tell them: "Keep your fork, the best is yet to come."
At the funeral people walked by Miss Martha’s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and the fork in her right hand. And over and over again the preacher was asked, “What's with the fork?” And he got the opportunity to tell them…
This morning, as we move closer to Good Friday and as the shadow of the
cross begins to loom larger over the path of discipleship we are on, I need to
ask you, do you truly believe the best is yet to come? Do you believe Jesus believed
it as he came into sight of
It’s the gospel truth—it’s something so amazing words fail us when we try to describe it, but it’s God’s truth—it’s the gospel. It’s your story and it’s mine. Whether you are in the depths of despair or at the pinnacle of joy in your life, the best is yet to come…keep your fork.
Let’s pray...