Yahweh’s Plan From The Beginning
(7 minutes)
Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more.
No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only the cursed will die that young! In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and confiscate their vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken! (Isaiah 65:17-25)
"We can't hope to see anything done that we don't believe is possible. We must begin to challenge the things that we believe...This matters so much, because without hope, without theology being transformed and changed, you won't even see your own life properly. You won't see the value in your own life." (Pastor Tim)
We're trying to answer the question: is Isaiah 65 really what God wants to see happen on the earth, or is it destined to be plunged into ruin and destruction? Is it all supposed to get worse, or is the Kingdom supposed to expand until the glory of the Lord covers the earth like the waters cover the sea?
If we want to know God's heart for the cosmos, we need to go back to the very beginning. If we want to know what Yahweh's intentions were, we just need to go back to the start and see what direction He wanted this to go.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28)
Yahweh started with a garden, but He intended for that garden to take over the whole world. His heart was for Adam and Eve to grow, so their dominion would grow. Abba wants the entire cosmos returned to Garden-status. You can see His heart in these first words He shared with Adam and Eve: "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God started with a small garden that Adam and Eve could handle, but He wanted that Garden of Delight to subdue the entire world.
Like Pastor Tim said, Yahweh pressed pause on this plan when Adam and Eve fell, but the moment Jesus died on that cross and was resurrected, God set the world back on course to be overtaken by the government of His Kingdom. It has been slowly, but surely, getting better and better ever since Jesus reclaimed authority. And He has given that authority to us. He has given that authority to you. Do you believe it?
We will not see anything done, that we don't believe is possible. Our faith and hope are required to see heaven invade earth. What are you believing for? What are you expecting? Do you believe things will get worse? Or do you see what Isaiah saw - the leaven of the Kingdom expanding in every area until everything is restored?
What if "things have to get worse" is an awful lie of the enemy designed to get beloved sons and daughters to stop cultivating Yahweh's garden and hand over their authority to transform the world?
What if Isaiah was right?
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Worship: "You Restore Everything" by Rick Pino
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
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