Evidence

In this morning’s text Jesus considers three groups. The first group, the Gentile nations, takes up only the first sentence. We’re going to bypass that today. Then, Jesus considers His Church, the people of God, but He divides them into two groups: those that are faithful and those that are not. To put it in words that we find elsewhere in Isaiah, Jesus takes a look at the remnant, who are blessed, and at the rest, who are cursed. I will be looking at this text from the vantage point of a question. And that question is simply this: What’s the difference between the faithful remnant and the rest of the people of God? Bear in mind that both groups are within the Church. So, how can you tell the difference between these two groups? It’s important that you understand why I ask this question. My goal is not to for us to criticize other people because of their sin. To be sure, there is a place for pointing out sin in others. Jesus, in fact, commands it. ‘If your brother sins against you, go to him and tell him his fault…’ But that is not the purpose of my question. Rather than point at another person, I would like you to point at yourself. I want you to be able to ask, ‘Which group am I in?’, and come to an accurate answer. I want you to be able to ask this question and come away assured that you are one of the faithful. I want to encourage you. To be honest with you, your encouragement is not my ultimate goal. One great need of our day is a bold Christian witness – or better, lots of bold Christian witnesses. Jesus deserves at least that. But how can anyone do that well without knowing – really knowing – that he belongs to Jesus? If there is going to be boldness, there must first be assurance. So, do you see the goal? It’s that you would be bold for Jesus out there in your part of the world, taking your stand in the face of opposition, both visible and invisible. Toward that end I want you to know, with confidence, that Jesus is yours and that you are His. That’s what the sermon is about. In our text Jesus makes a distinction in His Church and in so doing He points you to assurance.

Now, please listen as I read the first part of Isaiah 65.

Most of you are familiar with our five questions for membership. For the uninitiated, these are questions that we ask of those who desire to become members of our congregation. They deal with sin, Jesus as Savior, Jesus as Lord, commitment to the people who make up the church and submission to its leadership. These are good questions. They cover the territory well. However, as you know, anyone can listen to the questions and say, ‘Yes’ to each of them. And even after Todd and I discuss these questions with someone, he can still say that he’s a Christian and should be able to join – even if he hasn’t really entrusted himself to Jesus. And throughout all of this he can be entirely sincere. The five questions really don’t prove anything. What proves whether a person really is a disciple of Jesus is not words alone. The proof is in his life. And that’s one reason why Jesus told us, ‘You shall know them by their fruit.’

As you watch someone in the midst of normal daily living – or better, as you watch yourself in the midst of daily living, you will get glimpses about the reality of your profession of faith. But everything gets real clear once you hit the wall. When some crisis erupts, reality shows. That’s when the heart is revealed. That’s when a person’s real commitments and the real beliefs can be clearly seen. And so, you should be grateful for times when life gets hard. Those are the times when you can really see your heart. Those are the times when you can be encouraged. Peter speaks to this. ‘In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’ Did you hear what Peter said? ‘… the tested genuineness of your faith…’ When crisis hits, to be sure, you are shaken. Your initial response might even be sinful. But as you work it through, ultimately what comes out is your faith in Jesus, a real faith in Jesus. You repent of that sin that popped out, and then you come again to Jesus in faith telling Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I still trust You.’ That’s genuine faith, and you know that it is genuine because it was put to the test, and it passed. I hope that you can see why Peter speaks so positively about trials. They are a route to assurance, an assurance that leads to a bold witness for Jesus. The five questions are important, but they are validated only when life gets hard, when faith is put to the test. ‘You shall know them by their fruit.’

All of that helps to explain what is going on in our text. Jesus points to some specific fruit – visible evidence – that reveals that true faith is alive in the heart. He sets that up by first pointing to evidence that shows a lack of faith. First the negative and then the positive. So, He says, ‘I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices…’ Let’s look at these three items here on Jesus’ list. First there is the rebellion. Rebellion is a reaction against legitimate authority, a refusal to submit. Here, the legitimate authority is Jesus who is Lord over His Church. Jesus is talking about those who refuse to follow Him, professing Christians who refuse to submit to His Lordship over their lives. Out of that rebellion come the other two items on this list. These rebels follow ‘their own devices’, their own ideas about how to live. And that leads them into ‘a way that is not good’, a way that leads to death. Do you see the flow of this? There is the attitude of rebellion against Jesus. Out of this comes replacing His ideas about living with their own. And that ends up with this person no longer on the narrow way that leads to life but on the broad way that leads to destruction. This may not show when life is going along smoothly. But it will show when faith is put to the test. And Jesus takes this rebellion personally. He calls them ‘a people who provoke me to my face continually’. And so, He promises justice: ‘I will not keep silent, but I will repay…’. Jesus says this to some within His Church.

Now, let me remind you again why we are working through all of this. It’s not about pointing at others. It’s about looking at yourselves. So, everything that I’ve just said is to function as a warning to you. Here is a list from Jesus, a list of attitudes and actions, that you need to stay away from, far away from. I point out this list because it’s just a fact that we are all tempted by these sorts of things. None of us should ever say, ‘Oh that will never happen to me’. That’s just pride, and it’s the first step down the wrong road. The key to avoiding this is developing a heart that quickly submits to the Scriptures. Whatever the Bible teaches, that’s what you cling to. We need to do our homework, but at the end of all of that, whatever the Scriptures teach, however odd it might seem, that’s what we are to live by. Sadly, there are too many Christians today who are not taught to do this. So, personal opinions have the same standing as the teaching of the Bible. One result is that they are open to great danger. So, guard your hearts. Be quick to heed what the Spirit says in His Word. Stay far away from the evils on this list.

Now, we’re ready to take a look at some good fruit, some qualities of faithfulness, that Jesus points out. ‘Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me. … I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.’ Jesus speaks here about ‘my people who have sought me.’ ‘Sought’ is just the present tense of the word ‘seek’, and both are church words that we need to translate. When you are looking for the keys to the car, you never say that you seek them. You might search for or hunt for them, but ‘seeking’ isn’t a word that comes to mind in that situation. But what is clear in that situation is this thought. ‘I want my keys!!’ There is a measure of intensity, especially when you are already five minutes late. And that’s ‘seek’: to look for something and that with desire; to want it badly. So, a couple of Psalms that capture this thought:

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

To seek the Lord is to hear your heart say, ‘I want Jesus. I desire Him more than anything.’

That’s the first item on His list. The next shows up as something missing in the lives of the rebellious: ‘when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen’. What happened to Samuel fits here. I’m guessing that some of you kids might not know about what happened to Samuel. So, listen carefully. When Samuel was a little boy he lived with Eli the priest. One night when he was in bed Samuel heard his name being called. He thought Eli was calling him, and being an obedient little boy he ran to Eli’s bedroom and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But Eli hadn’t called him. So, he told Samuel to go back to bed. And he did. Once again Samuel heard his name called. Again, thinking that it was Eli, and still being that obedient little boy, he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But Eli had not called him, and, once again, he sent Samuel back to bed. This happened a third time. And Samuel, even still being an obedient boy, responded as he had before. But Eli figured out that it was Jesus who was calling him. So, he told Samuel that next time he heard the voice he was to say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears’. And he sent Samuel back to bed. And Jesus called a fourth time, but this time Samuel knew what to do. ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.’ That’s what Jesus is talking about in our text. This is what He expects from us. When He calls, we answer. When He speaks, we listen. Just like Samuel. ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.’

What is key here is not the words that we say in response. What is key here is the attitude of our hearts, an attitude that says, ‘Lord Jesus, I want to do whatever you want me to do. Just tell me what it is and please give me the ability to do it.’ That’s the attitude of a faithful disciple. In this, we are like Isaiah back in chapter 6 or like Samuel or like many other saints who have responded to Jesus in similar ways. We present ourselves to Jesus as His servant, ready to do His bidding, whatever that may be. And this makes sense when you remember what we are seeking. We want Jesus. We desire Him. There will be some who will wonder, ‘If Jesus speaks to me, how will I hear His voice? How will I know it’s Him?’ Believe it or not, knowing the answers to those questions is not what is most important. What is most important is the desire to answer when He calls, to listen when He speaks. What is most important is that within the heart is the attitude of a disciple who is ready to obey. If that is in place, then Jesus will make sure that you get the message. Remember that Samuel didn’t know how to listen for Jesus. He even got it wrong three times. But Jesus was patient, and He made sure that Samuel was able to hear. You will learn how to listen to Jesus. He will teach you.

There is more fruit in our text. These next fruit is a little different, though. This fruit is the blessing that Jesus gives to His servants. ‘Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.’ Here, the blessings are things like eating and drinking, rejoicing and singing and being happy. The picture here is of a celebration, a banquet where the people are having a great time. And isn’t it interesting how food shows up so often when the Bible pictures the joy of God’s saints. This picture reflects some basic attitudes of Jesus’ faithful servants. This isn’t how a faithful Christian always responds to life. There is a time for tears and mourning. Remember: Jesus wept. But notwithstanding that, the basic orientation of the Christian, even in this very fallen world, is rejoicing at what Jesus is doing. It’s celebrating His goodness. Oftentimes, it comes out as singing, singing His praise. And again, this is first of all a matter of the heart. It will show in how we live and that even in times of crisis, though it will show differently then. But it always starts with the heart. So, joy and singing His praise and the things that go with them are essential aspects of being a faithful disciple. And these are things that are showing in your lives. More evidence.

Now there is one more fruit that I think needs to be included. It’s not here in our text, but if I don’t mention it I think that you will be misled. So, some familiar words from the Apostle Paul: ‘For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.’ He also wrote, ‘For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.’ Paul was a faithful servant of Jesus. His life proved it. Lots of crises and lots of proof of a genuine faith. But he found within himself a war: wanting to do right but doing wrong instead. When we all get to eternity we will evidence our faith perfectly and fully. But until then we will be fighting to be able to do that. And the reality of the fighting within is more fruit. Some think that any battling to be faithful must be a sign that they are doing it wrong, that their faith is not real. But it’s the opposite that’s true! The battle within is more proof. The battle within is the evidence that you really do desire Jesus and that you are willing to fight for that desire. Since it is a real battle there will be times when you don’t win. There will be times when you fall into some sin or other. And that’s why repentance and faith are so important. Since there is a battle there will be lots of repenting going on, lots of coming again to Jesus. But by this ongoing repenting and believing all over again, there is progress. Your desire for Jesus is now partial, incomplete, imperfect. But it grows and your ability to fight for that grows; your willingness to do whatever Jesus calls you to do also grows, and your enjoyment of Jesus grows. And that growth – growth that you fight for – is more evidence of the genuineness of your faith.

Last thought. So what do you do now? Should you have a list of traits to work on? Or some attitudes that you need to develop, complete with a detailed plan to follow? No. What you do is pray. You cannot produce this fruit. Only the Spirit of Jesus can do that. And He will produce it in you. So, pray. Pray about becoming more faithful, about desiring Jesus more and more, about the battles that you face and how you want to defeat sin in your life. And then, listen to what Jesus calls you to do. The Spirit will make obedience possible. The Spirit will develop in you a faithful heart. And that will lead to assurance, a growing confidence that you belong to Jesus. And out of that will come a bold witness that will have a role in changing the world.