A Harvest of Joy and Peace (Isaiah 55:10-13)

Gardener David Hobson wrote, "I grow plants for many reasons: to please my soul, to challenge my patience, for novelty, or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy of seeing them grow."  I have to admit that I am not much of a gardener when it comes to actual plants (that's my wife's department), but God has called me to be a spiritual gardener.  Really all Christians are called to be spiritual gardeners.  Here is an interesting statistic.  When asked why do people start attending church?  2% said through advertising, 6% are invited by the pastor, 6% are contacted through an organized visitation and 86% came because a friend invited them.  Frankly, that means that you have more influence with your friends than does your pastor.  But why do it?  Like David Hobson the best motivation is the joy of seeing the seeds grow.

Isaiah was also a spiritual gardener.  His prophetic words were like rain that watered the earth.  Through him God said, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth…"  Water can make things grow just about anywhere.  Have you ever seen a paved road that is no longer used?  Eventually even that paved road will be covered over with vegetation.  It is the role of the spiritual gardener to sprinkle God's Word upon a garden of souls, even if the souls seem hard and resistant to that Word.  Just as Jesus and the apostles did not withhold the Word of God from anyone, even the scribes and the Pharisees, so we are not to withhold God's Word from anyone either because we do not know what might happen as a result of that Word.  Who knew that the rabbi Saul would become the apostle Paul?  The prophet Jeremiah said in chapter 20:9, "If I say, 'I will not mention him [i.e. God], or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."

Isaiah like Jeremiah, Jesus and the apostles, spent a lot of time watering hard hearts.  Yet it was necessary and God said, "…it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."  Isaiah spent most of his time preaching the bad news, referring to God's impending judgment, but he interspersed that with some incredible good news promises such as Isaiah 53:5, "But he [the Messiah] was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."

It is always a challenge for us to get the balance of bad news and good news right.  Sometimes we get stuck on the bad news and spend the vast amount of time criticizing society and those who are within that society.  We get good at diagnosing the problem but fail to prescribe the cure.  In so doing we will never see a harvest of joy and peace.

But other times we may totally ignore the law and only speak of God's love and forgiveness.  Some go as far as to say that the bad news no longer has any relevance in our teaching.  "That's Old Testament and we need to be New Testament Christians" they will say.  But in that case the Gospel seems to be irrelevant.  If Jesus came to save people and they have no understanding of what they need to be saved from, they will not see the value of the Gospel.  It would be like a doctor who spends all his time prescribing treatment without ever diagnosing problems.  Instead of the Gospel reaping a harvest of joy and peace, the reaction will be ho-hum.  In my online evangelism I include sharing such passages as Galatians 5:19-21, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

We have probably all heard the day time psychologists.  People seem to need to feel good about themselves.  I once heard a news commentator say that the trend of parents today is they believe that all children are devils except their own.  Why don't parents want to admit that their children are devils sometimes?  Because they think that would mean that they are bad parents. 

The point is that anyone who shares God's Word has to share both the bad news and the good news.  The bad news is that every person needs to understand that by nature we are all in trouble, that there is no salvation outside of Christ.  When we see God's judgment upon the world through hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, wild fires and plagues, it is not that the people in the direct line of fire from these events are worse than the rest of us, but it is a shot across the bow of the world, calling us to wake up before Judgment Day comes upon all of us.  When people told Jesus about those upon whom a tower in Siloam fell He responded, "… do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:4-5).  We might want to believe that hell was an Old Testament theme, but Jesus spoke more about hell than any other person in the Bible.  Unless people understand hell the Word of forgiveness will not bring a harvest of joy and peace.

But Isaiah also spoke much about the good news.  In chapter 55, verse 1 he invites people, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come; buy wine and milk without money and without price."  John must have been thinking of these words when He wrote in Revelation 22:17, "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price."

Isaiah also gave precious good news in chapter 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."  When these words and others like them fall upon a person's heart that has been made aware of their sins, they can indeed produce a harvest of joy and peace.

When Isaiah writes, "For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands," he is referring to Israel coming back from the Babylonian Captivity.  They were led to Babylon because of their sins but God, out of His incredible mercy, forgives them and leads them back to the Promised Land.

The call upon all Christians is to share that though we have all sinned and gone astray and are helpless to save ourselves, God in His mercy has sent His Son Jesus to give up His life for us so that in Him we might have forgiveness of sins and the promise of everlasting life in Heaven.  This is the message that produces joy and peace.

It is said that when Leonardo da Vinci first painted the Last Supper that the painting was slightly different.  When a group of art students first saw the painting they were immensely impressed by the delicate design of the lace border on the tablecloth.  Upon seeing the reaction of these students he immediately took up a brush, dipped it in some paint and made a few long strokes obliterating the lace.  Then with uncontrollable feeling he shouted, "Now, you fools, look at the face of Christ!"

It is the call of every Christian to invite people to look at Christ, the only Savior and hope for the world.  If we will faithfully water our world with the message of human sin and God's solution, His Son, our Savior, then people who are dead in their trespasses and sins can be awakened by the Spirit to a new life of joy and peace and, as Isaiah says in our text, "it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."  When God forgave Isaiah his sins and called him to water Israel with God's Word his response was, "Here I am, send me."  As the forgiven children of God may every Christian have the same response!  May God help us to say, "Here I am, send me."  Then there will be a harvest of joy and peace.

William Fischer