128. Inheritor of My Mountains (3)

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Hymns: RHC 209 Because He Lives 203 He Lives 227 Until Then O Glorious Day! 

Isaiah 65

16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. 17For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

Inheritors of My Mountains (3)

OUTLINE

  • Blessings of the Gentiles and Bypassing of the Conceited Jews (v1-7, v11-12, 14b-15)
  • Blessings of the LORD’s True Servants (v8-10, 13-14a, 16-25)
    • The Remnant Identified (v8-10, 13-14a, 16)
    • Enjoying the Millennia and Eternal Comforts (v17-25)

The Christian life is a happy and joyous life. Because our sins are forgiven us by God and we have eternal life. We have the assurance that because we believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible, we have life with God. Jesus died for our sins and rose again the third day for our justification. We have the assurance of salvation because we take hold of the promises of God’s Word by faith. We are God’s children through Jesus Christ. 

16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

The whole nation shall not be cut off, but a remnant shall be kept and saved.

  • Enjoying the Millennia and Eternal Comforts (v17-25)

17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

Yet there would be future glory and prosperity, such as His true people had desired, and such as they had sought in their prayers; and the chapter concludes with a glowing description of the glory which would bless Israel, His people (v17-25).

The Lord will create anew when He returns and rule from Jerusalem. There is the allusion to the new heavens and new earth that comes when Christ returns to established His rule on earth for a thousand.

All the earth will turn to Christ. There would be true joy on earth when Christ rules.

19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 

Weeping and crying are the voices of anguish and distress. When the LORD returns, there will be great rejoicing especially for the people of God.

They would be freed from persecutors that incarcerate and imprison and distress them.

Here comes the scene in the Millennium when our Lord has returned to establish His rule on earth for 1000 years.

Revelation 20:1-6 (KJV) And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 

The age of man shall be extended like it was after creation when men lived to ripe old age.

Genesis 5:1-32 (KJV) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: 4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. … 11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. … 14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died. … 16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: … 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. 21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. 27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. … 30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

After the flood, the age dropped to 120 years old – Genesis 6:3 (KJV) And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

He has not recovered ever since. Today, our average age is 80-90 years old.

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 

There will be peace and they will be able to stay in their freehold houses without fear of being evicted due to lease expiry. 

They shall enjoy the fruit of their labour. The LORD will give to their land abundant increase in their crops and they shall enjoy the fruit of their labour.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 

The people of God shall enjoy peace from invasion, they would be protected. The LORD Himself will guard them and protect them.

The age of man will be the age of trees. He shall live like the first generations of men. There will still be death but there will be long life.

23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 

Recall in the building of the Second Temple the people were wandering afar off in their own business and the LORD curse their labour – Haggai 1:6 (KJV) Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put itinto a bag with holes.

Israel will be turned to the LORD – Jeremiah 32:38-40 (KJV) And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

The nation of Israel will be regathered – Zechariah 10:8-10 (KJV) I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. 10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and placeshall not be found for them.

24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 

1 John 5:14-15 (KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

The reason why Christians have the strength to face trials and temptations is that they have a God who answers their prayers. Therefore, the believer needs to learn at the onset of their spiritual journey, how to pray! Our Lord Jesus sets for us the example how He rose up early before the day begins to pray.

35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. (Mk. 1:35 KJV)

You recall our message during church camp on prayer – Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV) 6 Be careful (be filled with cares, turmoil, worry, anxious, distracted, Pres. Act. Imper.) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The Apostle Paul is not worried though in prison. He bids them to stop such worry. Stop an action already begun! He commands them to stop worrying. 

1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Prayer is communion and fellowship with God. It is the highest form of human communication as it touches on the divine. It brings with it a transcendent value to meet our present and future needs. Its purpose encompasses all aspects of the believer’s life impacting his eternal well-being. The importance of prayer is as oxygen that supports the very life and continued well-being of the human body. When a man meets with God, he is ushered into the supernatural, made possible, through Jesus Christ, who by His life and death and resurrection opened the way of assess and communication with our heavenly Father. What a privilege!

Prayer brings a believer from a state of worry to a state of worship and culminates in a state of weal. The word “weal” means a sound, healthy or prosperous state; well-being. The word means to be strong, to avail, to prevail. It has a primary sense of strength, soundness, a state of well-being, a state which is prosperous, or not in the least unfortunate, not declining, prosperity and happiness. 

The restfulness that comes with a heart connected with the Giver and Sustainer of life is immense. It is described as a peace beyond comprehension, a settled heart, established upon the truth of who God is and His care for our eternal good and well-being. This is the power of prayer in the believer’s life. And we would take time in this camp to move from a state of worry to a state of weal. The secret is in worship according to His Word by the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Andrew Murray said well, “One of the greatest hindrances to believing prayer is undoubtedly this: Many don’t know if what they ask is according to the will of God. As long as they are in doubt on this point, they cannot have the boldness to ask in the assurance that they will certainly receive…we should have the confidence to say to the Father that we know we are asking according to His will, and we know that He hears us. With such boldness, He will hear us no matter what we ask for, as long as it is according to His will. In faith, we should know that we have the answer. And even as we are praying, we should be able to receive what we ask for. John supposes that when we pray, we first find out if our prayers are according to the will of God. They may be according to God’s will, and yet not to be answered at once, or without the persevering prayer of faith. It is to give us courage to persevere and to be strong in faith that He tells us we can have boldness or confidence in prayer, because if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. It is evident that if we are uncertain whether our petitions are according to His will, we cannot have the comfort of His promise, “We know that we have petitions which we have asked of Him.”

He further said well, “What we need is to see clearly how the Father leads His waiting, teachable child to know that his petition is according to His will. Through God’s holy Word – taken up and kept in the heart, the life and the will – and through God’s Holy Spirit – accepted in His dwelling and leading – we will learn to know that our petitions are according to His will…In the Word, the Father reveals in general promises the great principles of His will with His people. The child has to take the promise and apply it to the special circumstances in His life to which it has reference.”

The Book of Nehemiah is a personal testimony of Nehemiah how God in answer to prayer, he prayed for 4 months and God opened the way for him to build the walls of Jerusalem in 53 days.

The words used to describe Nehemiah’s prayer (Nehemiah 1:4) and (Nehemiah 1:6) coming from the root word used 84 times[1] in the Old Testament is translated “pray oneself”. It is used 4 times in Nehemiah 1:4, 1:6, 2:4, 4:3 and it is interesting to note the same root word a noun in Nehemiah 3:25 which means “a wall-builder”.[2] Nehemiah was heart-broken for the broken walls of Jerusalem and the act of prayer is the act of relying on God to do the building. In prayer, the Christian seek to align his will with God’s will. It is well attested in other portions of Scripture Psalm 127:1a “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:” It is a time of fellowship with the great master builder, the “God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4), who is all powerful, all knowing and all present. The theology of Nehemiah’s prayer is that he submits himself to the might, knowledge and abiding presence of the God through the Holy Spirit that in dwells him. He knew that he neither has the might, the knowledge or the ability to do the task and ask God to take over and take charge of the matter.

Now, these walls were literal walls in that day, but we’re asking a question: not only, “What did it mean then?” but, “What does it mean today?” Because, you see, walls are also symbolical. Walls stand for protection. Walls are symbolic of separation. Walls speak to us of conservation. Walls spoke of the glory of God. Walls, in the Bible, and especially around the city of Jerusalem, had a symbolic meaning. They spoke of the glory of God; they spoke of the salvation of God; they spoke of the protection of God over His people. And, the walls had fallen. Now, what does this mean to us today? We too are called to rebuild some walls that are in decay. And, I want you to think with me, for a moment, about some walls today that have fallen to the ground, some walls that are in disarray.[3]

Nehemiah must have studied the Scriptures well for he prayed the words of Scripture and not his own words. The will of God is found in the Scriptures, in obeying the Word of God, one does the will of God. 

25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

In the Millennium, the curse is removed. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. 

Isaiah 11:6-9 (KJV) The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 2:4 (KJV) And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

There will be peace in the animal world and in the human world. The animals would be come herbivorous. Eden, the lost paradise of men comes back to him when Christ returns to rule the earth. We look forward to this blessed day! Amen. 

[1] The search engine of Bible Works 6.0 yielded 84 times in 83 verses repeated 1Samuel 2:25. 

[2] F. Brown, S. Driver, C. Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Driggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, (Masschussets, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 2003), 813.

[3] The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons.