Subject: Embracing the Future
Text: Isaiah 43: 14-21 “Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. 16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. 21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.” Isaiah 43:14-21
Introduction: After the difficulties of the past and the drudgery of the present, God calls on Israel to embrace their future. For each of us embracing the future can be a great challenge. Every human being has three areas of existence: The Past, the present and the future. The past is behind us, we live in the present and the future is ahead of us.
Embracing the future does not mean that all the challengings are over. The nation of Israel would face a few more years of oppression and bondage. Yet, God promises to hear their cry and bring deliverance each time. In our text, God promises to do a new thing that would surpass all that he had done in the past. This text comes with an unwritten caution. There is a danger of allowing past successes and past failures to limit our expectations of the future. Looking at the past can give us a new sense of appreciation for all God has done through the years. The past can serve as a launching pad for the future which allows us to go forward with a new determination.
One cannot move ahead while looking back. No vehicle can go backward and forward at the same time. The Bible outlines that losers and failures are those who look back and dwell in the past; and when we dwell in the past fear, bitterness and un-forgiveness persist! We must only use our past as a tool for learning and gaining wisdom. When we make mistakes, we are not to dwell on it and beat up on ourselves. Once we have truly repented, God never uses our past actions to judge us. Only malicious people, the media and politicians tend to use people's past to judge them. Our past does not determine our future, therefore it should not be used to hold you hostage. When a person continually looks back to the past, they are poised to backslide and as such, are making their past their future. The failure of the Israelites was their continual looking back to and yearning for the things from which God had already delivered them. Looking back to the past keeps you from focusing on the positive and from the blessings ahead where the prosperity and even greater things await. Even nations are unable to move forward because they keep looking back. The past must only be used for the sake of history and archiving.
Continually dwelling on the past can hinder us. We become fearful of change and become paralyzed to move forward. Israel’s past had been filled with ups and downs.
The experience the Israelites most constantly talked about was what God had done through Moses. Through Moses, God had subdued the mighty powers of Egypt, led them through the wilderness of Sinai to the verge of Jordan. They witness innumerable miracles and demonstration of God’s power and might. Now in Babylon, God using Isaiah to alert them to the fact that there past was not the future. God has a more glorious future planned for them if they could only embrace it! The forces of Babylon with their high walls and mighty army looked almost invincible! Yet God was looking beyond the seventy years of Babylonians oppression and captivity to the complete restoration of Jerusalem and Judah.
The Israelites seemed to be trapped by looking back and dwelling on their past. God was planning an exciting future for His chosen people. Backward thinking and backward-looking people are still around today! After serving as a pastor in a mainline denominational church, I have observed many members of the church who are mesmerized by their wonderful and glorious history. The rear mirror deserves an occasional glance, but our attention must on the windshield. It’s great to look back a Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. It’s great to call ourselves the Freedom Church. Yet, we must learn the art of looking back without living back. It’s time to embrace your Future! Notice the boldness in Isaiah’s proclamation, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” If we are going to embrace our future, first we must be willing to forget about things of old. (Isa. 43:18)
1. We can embrace their future if we are willing forget the past
Php 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”
The past was good, beneficial, wonderful, historical and necessary. In order to strengthen our faith in this promise of God, we should glance back upon the Lord's wonders of old but then expect yet greater things! Our God has not changed, nor are the fountains of his power and grace exhausted. Dwelling on the past can blind us to our present condition and rob us of necessary preparations for future glory. We must beware of our present condition and great need serve this present age. Not only can the past blind us of our present conditions, it can blind us to our future opportunities. Being raised in central North Carolina, in America's golden triangle of nicotine, the epicenter of tobacco farming and cigarette manufacturing, people have begun to think the unthinkable -- to imagine a world posted with no-smoking signs. Tobacco was deeply rooted in the culture and economy of North Carolina. But with each passing year, its clout here diminishes both as an agricultural product and a political force. Today, the state's leaders would rather North Carolina be known for its gleaming corporate laboratories than for the musky brick factories churning out Lucky Strikes. The landscape changed and farmers had to change with it.
God had planned a bold, new and wonderful future for Israel. There deliverance from the Babylonian oppression would surpass all that they had experienced before, but they must embrace the future. As believers in Jesus Christ, our past is not our future because of Calvary. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins. By His grace, the believer’s past, present and future sins are forgiven. Believers have been put right with God. We have been redeemed. Don’t allow Satan to torment you with your past, point him to Calvary. We can embrace their future if we are willing forget the past. Then we can embrace the future if we are willing to accept God’s promise of a New Thing!
2. We can embrace the future if we are willing to accept God’s promise of a New Thing! Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?
Most people like the sound of a new thing, but it can be difficult to believe. Many people become excited by a new year, a new home, a new car, a new job and the like. But with usage and passing of time, the newness disappears, and we are disappointed again. Somehow, we get use to our new house, the car ages and the job becomes boring. For some, it hard to believe God can do a new thing. For others, a new thing means change, fear of the unknown and the like. The present situation feels like an old shoe. They worry about breaking in a new pair. Yet God promises to do a new thing.
This promise is not optional, nor is God asking for permission: God is not saying, May I? or I desire to, but God is declaring, “I will do a new thing! God speaks as if it is already done! The question TODAY is “Are you willing to participate in God’s new thing?” God’s plans can be trusted. He is the Holy One of Israel who cannot lie. If you were overwhelmed by what God did in Egypt, get ready to be completely awed. God has planted the seeds of a new thing and though you cannot see it now, it will spring forth. Nothing can or will prevent it. A new thing is on the way. We all can embrace our future if we are willing forget the past, embrace our future and willingly accept God’s promise of a New Thing! God’s new thing will bring new challenges and even some difficulties. The statement, “I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Means venturing into uncharted territories and walk through some dry places, but it will be worth it!
3. We can embrace the future if we recognize that there will be difficulties ahead.
“I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
God will make a way because right now there is no way. There is nothing but wilderness and confusion. Don’t allow what you see to control what you believe. God will make a way. God will provide rivers not just a fountain or springs. A fountain is personal for a limited number of people. A spring is for a village or a community. Rivers are for the entire world. It has been said that the mighty Amazon River of South American flows into the ocean with such force that it affect the current of the ocean for hundreds of miles. Finally, God promises that the new thing will spring forth. That is a farming term. When a farmer put a seed in the ground, he has great confidence that the coming forth of a harvest is just a matter of time. We can embrace the future because our victory is just a matter of time. It’s just a matter of time! (1) We can embrace their future if we are willing forget the past. (2) accept God’s promise of a new thing (3) recognize that there will be difficulties ahead (4) finally, be a witness of praise for the glory of God and the benefit of mankind.
4. We can embrace our future if we are willing to be a witness of praise. Isa 43:20 The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Isaiah mentions the affects of the favor of God. God’s ways and rivers will affect the whole world. The beast of the field, the dragons and the owls are those in need of refreshment and blessing. The world is a parched, dry place where many are in constant search for food and sustenance. Under normal circumstances, many have no knowledge of God; they fail to recognize God, or his blessing. So, God needs a witness. If it were not for God’s witness, many would attribute their good fortune to luck or skill. But God sends a witness to proclaim that these blessing come by the grace of God. When God gives drink to His people, His chosen, they are expected to give Him Praise. God says, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.”
(1) We can embrace the future if we forget the past.
(2) We can embrace the future if we accept God’s promise of a New Thing!
(3) We can embrace the future if we recognize that there will be difficulties ahead.
(4) We can embrace our future and be His witnesses of praise before the world.
Psalms 100:1-6 “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
