On this mountain...

-->

Great news from the Grand Story this morning... Isaiah prophecies:

"On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

And he will swallow up on this mountain

the covering that is cast over all peoples,

the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 25:6-8)

"On this mountain." What mountain is this and where can I get me some of that? Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem which is situated high on a mountain in Israel. The same site where Abraham offered his only son and God spared Isaac by sending a substitute to take his place. ON the same mountain where David paid the full price of the threshing floor because he would not offer sacrifices to God which cost him nothing, and where the sacrifice he offered saved the nation from the penalty of sin. On the same mountain where Solomon built the Temple to be the place where God chose to gather His people and be present among them, in their midst. On this mountain Jesus, the Word made flesh, would be the substitute sacrifice, would pay the full price for our sin, and where He will return to dwell among us as our King.

"For ALL peoples." No matter who you are, where you've come from, or what you've done. This feast is available to you.

"He will swallow up... death." The veil that is spread over us all. All lay under the curse brought about by our rebellion against God. But the death and resurrection of Christ defeated it forever and made a way for us back to the life we were intended to live all along.

"God will wipe away tears from all the faces..." All the pain and hurt and suffering, sickness, disease... gone. All the shame, guilt, tragic consequences of selfish lives, the cumulative effect our brokenness has wreaked on the earth... wiped away. Jesus echoes this promise in His revelation to the Apostle John: "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.' ' (Revelation 21:3-4)

"for the LORD has spoken." This is the best part. He promised. And He never breaks a promise. Not one word of His promises has ever failed. I know some who refuse to believe it. But He never promised we would never experience pain or suffering. He never promised we would not have to face the consequences of our selfishness. He never promised bad things wouldn't happen.

But He did promise that He would defeat death, lift the curse, and make all things new. He promised that the coming kingdom, for those who believe His promise, would be so great that all the tragedy and horror of centuries of human cruelty and evil has wrought would seem like "momentary, light affliction" by comparison (2 Cor. 4:17). Paul said they weren't even worth bothering to compare at all! (Rom. 8:18) God promised that we would be so comforted and healed and restored in the coming Kingdom that "the former things will not be remembered." (Isa. 65:17)

How good would something have to be to make the cumulative suffering of human history seem like nothing more than a dim memory? I don't think we have the capacity to even imagine it. So instead we are faced with a choice: believe the Promise and live like it's true, or give up in despair and make a god out of whatever you can find laying around that will numb the pain until you die.

I have made my choice. I believe the Promise. I've made my home "on this mountain." I hope to see you there!

Week 11 of the Grand Story... the plot thickens!

“They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.” (Deut. 32:21)

One of the very last instructions God gave Moses was to write a song and teach it to the people of Israel. This song was to be a witness against them when – not if, but when – they abandoned Him and went after the false gods of the pagan nations around them. Tucked away in this song is a lyrical couplet that contains an important prophecy, a sneak peek into His future plans to redeem all of humanity out from under the curse of sin and restore them to Himself.

God says, “I am going to stir up in you a desire for me by extending My grace to Gentiles. You will see the beauty of my love and mercy toward them and it will actually make you jealous for that kind of relationship with Me.”

He further unfolds this plan through the prophet Hosea: “And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’” (Hos. 2:23, NASB) He speaks through Isaiah, “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.” (Isa. 65:1) In Romans 11:11, Paul confirms that “salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.” God’s plan all along has been to redeem all of humanity, not just Israel. He chose them to be the people He would reveal Himself to and through so that “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 22:18)

Even now, God is always only ever about one thing: His Kingdom, the comprehensive rule of God over everything and everyone in all places at all times. That is Plan A and there is no Plan B. That is where history is headed and nothing can stop it. Right now God continues to draw men, women, boys, and girls from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people to Himself through Jesus Christ. And the primary way He chooses to extend that invitation is through the changed lives of ordinary, messed-up, broken people like you and me. Bit-by-bit, day-by-day, we are being transformed by His love into the image of His Son that we were originally created to bear.

Scripture records another song, one that we will sing someday – Jews and Gentiles together – when Christ returns: “Worthy are You… for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5: 9-10)

Come quickly, Jesus!

New Message: Out of the Main Stream

What happens when the church loses its "first love"? How can we tell if our church is in danger of drifting out of the current of God's presence and power, and becoming a closed off, stagnant pool? Yesterday I had the honor of teaching from Revelation 2:1-5 at my church, Church at the Ridge. In case you weren't there, or if you are one of my out-of-town friends or family, I have posted it here. I would love to hear your feedback! Thanks!