Title: When God's Answer Isn't What We Wanted

Outline:

1. Introduction: The Challenge of Unanswered Prayer

• The experience of praying passionately but not receiving the desired answer.
• Isaiah's passionate plea for the revival and salvation of his people in Isaiah 63 and 64.
• God's answer in Isaiah 65 is not what Isaiah wanted.

1. God's Initial Answer: Calling Two Peoples (Isaiah 65:1-7)

• Confusion regarding the two groups mentioned in Isaiah 65:1-2.
• Using the New Testament (Romans 10:20-21) to understand the Old Testament.
• Isaiah 65:1 is about God being sought by those who did not ask or seek Him, referring to the Gentiles. They are a nation not called by God's name.
• Isaiah 65:2 is about God spreading His hands to a rebellious people (Israel) who walk in a way that is not good.
• Paul's wrestling in Romans 9-11 with the rejection of Jesus by most Jews and the salvation of many Gentiles mirrors this.
• Verses 3-7 describe the rebellious state of God's people: provoking God, sacrificing in gardens and on bricks, sitting in tombs, eating pig's flesh, and claiming to be too holy.
• God declares He will repay their iniquities and their fathers' iniquities.
• This judgment included the Babylonian captivity and the destruction of the temple after rejecting Jesus.

III. God Preserves a Faithful Remnant (Isaiah 65:8-10)

• Amidst the judgment, God promises not to destroy all, but to preserve a remnant for His servants' sake.
• This is linked to Paul's discussion of the remnant chosen by grace in Romans 11.
• God has always kept a holy remnant.

1. God Judges the Wicked and Blesses the Godly (Isaiah 65:11-16)

• Those who forsake God and forget His holy mountain, setting a table for fortune and filling cups for destiny, will be destined to the sword and slaughter.
• God's servants shall eat, drink, rejoice, and sing, while the rebellious shall be hungry, thirsty, put to shame, and cry out in pain.
• The rebellious will leave their name as a curse, but God's servants will be called by another name (hinting at Christians).
• In the land, people will bless themselves and swear by the God of truth, forgetting former troubles.
• The contrast between the godly and wicked is illustrated by the story of Lazarus and the rich man.
• It doesn't always seem like God's people are blessed and the wicked are judged in this world.

1. The Ultimate Answer: The New Heavens and a New Earth (Isaiah 65:17-25)

• The final answer to Isaiah's prayer and the prayers of God's people is the creation of new heavens and a new earth.
• Former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
• God creates Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people a gladness; no more weeping or distress.
• Description of life in the new creation: long life, building and inhabiting, planting and eating their fruit, not laboring in vain. Peace among creation is depicted (wolf and lamb, lion and ox).
• Before they call, God will answer; while speaking, He will hear.

1. Understanding the New Creation through the New Testament

• Ambiguity regarding verses like "the young man shall die a hundred years old" in Isaiah 65:20 within the context of a new creation.
• Looking to the New Testament, specifically 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21, for understanding the new heavens and new earth.
• These passages describe the passing away of the old creation and the absence of death, mourning, crying, or pain in the new creation.
• Isaiah 65:20 uses poetic imagery and "accommodating language" to describe an ideal world in terms the people could understand, not necessarily a literal description of eternal life in the final new creation.
• The Gospel is not just going to heaven when you die, but God saving His people and creation for this new reality.

VII. Conclusion: Living for the Ultimate Hope

• Sometimes our prayers are too small; God is doing something bigger.
• Pain and delay can be part of God's greater plan. Examples include Dave Shaver's death leading someone to church and George Mueller's prayers answered after his death.
• Whatever is broken in this world will be made right in the new heavens and earth.
• God is always gracious and treats us better than we deserve.
• Trust and wait for the coming world that is better than our best dreams.
• Challenge to live for eternity and Christ's kingdom.