“When the Soviets and the western nations signed a treaty to reduce
nuclear missiles, many had to be destroyed. Hunks of metal from a scrapped
Soviet missile were shipped to London where they were used to make 100 million
pens. It was a new twist on an old text from Isaiah (2:4) about beating swords
into plowshares.” --
Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing
Company, 1997). –Bible Illustrator.
Scripture
Text: Isaiah 2:1
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2
In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as
chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations
will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up
to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach
us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from
Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword
against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 5 Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.
This
is a prophecy concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Isaiah
say that in the last days. This
is the millennial reign or this is the age of the ages when the kingdom of God
will be established on earth for all of eternity.
This is a coming event. This
is heaven on earth. What will
happen? The focus of the entire
world will be on God. What will
happen then?
1.
The Lord’s temple will be the most important place in the world.
How
important is God’s house today. How
important is it to you? How
important is the Lord in the world?
2.
God will be recognized for who He is.
Do
the people of the world today recognize who God is?
Do we recognize who He is?
3.
God will be worshipped by all in the world.
What
do people worship today? What do
you worship today? Will we give
ourselves completely to God in worship?
‘During one service I was
complaining to the Lord about the lack of attendance:
"Lord, attendance is just not what I'd like it to be."
This was the Lord's response: "My
son, attendance is not what I'd like it to be in heaven."
That was the last time I complained to the Lord about lack of
attendance.” -- Harvey Koelner, Leadership, Vol. 10, no. 3.
4.
God will be the only true God in the entire world.
Will
He be our only God today?
All
people will seek God. All
people will desire God’s law. Do
you seek the Lord and His will for your life?
5.
God’s teaching will be desired.
If
you knew the Lord’s desire for your life would you follow Him?
6.
God will be the judge of all the nations and He will settle all
disputes. Disputes
will continue in this time, but the Lord will judge and settle the matter.
God will be the King and all the nations will cease to be at war.
God’s presence will cause the nations to be at peace.
The swords and spears will be used for agriculture.
Peace will come not by
human achievement but because of God’s presence and work in Jerusalem. At
that time Israel will be filled with God’s Spirit (Ezek. 36:24-30 ) and her
sins will be forgiven.[1]
7.
God will cause all nations to turn from wars and armies to His ways.
The
invitation from Isaiah is to walk in the light of the Lord.
In view of the fact that
in the Millennium all nations will stream to Jerusalem to learn God’s Word,
it would be sensible for Israel, already knowing that Law, to follow it
(walking in its ”light“) until the Lord sets up His glorious kingdom.[2]
V. 5 . In the light of
God’s promises of pardon for repentant sinners, and in view of the glorious
prospects for the future conversion of the Gentiles, the prophet urged his
countrymen to walk in the light and live to please God, trusting Him to
perform His word. They were to do this even though it meant running counter to
the stream of the times and opposing current and fashionable trends.[3]
“There's
a problem with the Christmas spirit. You've noticed how it passes?
One
of the most striking illustrations of this comes from a story told to me many
years ago by an old German man. He fought with the German forces in the First
World War. For the benefit of the thirty something people, I'll remind you
that in those days warfare was not high tech but hand-to-hand trench warfare.
Soldiers lived, fought, and died in trenches full of mud and blood and vermin.
In those trenches, dug in the fields of France, enemies could actually hear
each other talking. They didn't need satellites to locate the enemy. The enemy
was just over there.
This
old gentleman told me how on one cold, moonlit Christmas Eve, he huddled in
the bottom of the trench. Because of the annual Christmas truce, the fighting
had stopped. Suddenly, from the British trenches a loud, sweet tenor voice
began to sing "The Lord Is My Shepherd," and the sound floated up
into the clear, moonlit air.
Then
he said something surprising: from the German trenches, a rich baritone voice
tuned in, singing "Der Herr Ist Mein Heiter auf Deutsche." For a few
moments, everybody in both trenches concentrated on the sound of these two
invisible singers and the beautiful music and the harmony. The British soldier
and the German soldier sang praise to the Lord who was their shepherd. The
singing stopped, and the sound slowly died away.
"We
huddled in the bottom of our trenches and tried to keep warm until Christmas
Day dawned," he said. "Early on Christmas morning, some of the
British soldiers climbed out of their trenches into the no man's land,
carrying a football."
One
soldier carried a round football (a real football where the foot is applied to
the ball!). (You need to understand that whenever the British go anywhere,
they always take two things with them: their teapots and their footballs.)
These English soldiers started kicking around a football, in a pickup game in
no man's land, between the trenches.
Then
the old man said, "Some of the German soldiers climbed out, and England
played Germany at football in no man's land on Christmas Day in the middle of
the battlefield in France in the first World War." (England won.)
Then
he said, "The next morning, the carnage began again, with machine guns
and bayonet fighting. Everything was back to normal."
-- Stuart Briscoe, "Christmas 365 Days a Year," Preaching
Today, Tape No. 135.