Why Not (part 5)
I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. (Isa 60:17)
Series:
Review
In Isaiah 60:17 God says, I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness.
This a promise of what life will be like when God’s Messiah—our Lord Jesus Christ—brings His Kingdom.
And just so, Christ speaks peace over His people:
- Mat 11:28-29, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... and you will find rest for your souls."
- John 14:17, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. ...Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
- Colossians 3:15, (Paul writes) "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts."
And just so, Christ leads us in doing what is right:
- Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." And Matthew 6:9, "Pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." And in Matthew 7:24, "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise person who built their house upon the rock."
- John 7:38, "Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water!'"
- 2Corinthians 5:14, (Paul writes) "And so the love of Christ directs us forward."
Concluding Thoughts
The Kingdom in which we live is a kingdom of Peace and of being “obedient from the heart” to God’s righteous will.
Is that what our life is like?
Are we living with a sense that “it is well, with my soul”? Are we living with a sense “all things are working together for good”?
Are we living by our new, true, heart of love, which Christ has put within us? “I will give you a new heart… And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27) Do we have this direction and desire, that “they would see my good works and give glory to my Father who is in heaven”? (Mat 5:16)
This is the freedom and the joy of which the whole Bible speaks. It is a freedom and joy we can actually experience now, as we look to Jesus, lean on Jesus, listen to Jesus, let ourselves be loved by Jesus, learn from Jesus, live with Jesus, and live for Him.
Friend, in your new life under our great and awesome God, He wants only to know, Are you today enjoying the Peace His Son obtained for you? Are you enjoying the good and right works which He wants to do with you today?
His heart for us now as it has always been is that we be Blessed, in His Name. And He has made known to us the path of life. And He has brought us into His presence, for He has brought us to His Son Jesus.
Jesus came proclaiming, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand!” And it still is for each of us, every day, isn’t it?
It’s a kingdom of peace and of flourishing, a kingdom of love and of joy. Wouldn’t you love to live in it, if you could? You can. You do! So why not? Let’s. Amen.
PRAYER
Father God, You extend to us a peace that surpasses understanding, and You invite us to live within its protection. You call us to follow You in righteousness, and You fill us with a hunger and thirst for this very way of life.
You don't only do good to us but You do good within us. You bring us into Your Peace and You fill us with Your love.
We bow before You in fear and awe at the beauty of this grace, the undeserved goodness You lavish on us through Jesus. Help us to know this to be true, to remember it, to pray like it's true, and to give ourselves more wholly to these truths--more wholly to Your love, more wholly to Your Spirit, more wholly to our Lord Jesus Christ. In His Name--thanks be to God--Amen.
Photo by Artem Balashevsky on Unsplash