A Call To The Remnant

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. Isa 51:1-3

Isaiah is speaking to a people in chapter 51 who have spent a long time away from Jerusalem. He is speaking to holy remnant people who long to return to the place from whence they came. Long have they suffered in a land full of sin. To add to their sufferings, so many of Gods people seem to have been taken by Babylon, seem to be indulging in all of its worldliness and comforts. In fact, when the time came to leave, historians tell us that almost three-quarters of the Israelites did not return but did in fact choose to stay.

But what a joy it is to be comforted by the knowledge that the Lord can and does and will comfort His people in the ” waste places.” He promises to make the desert places like the garden of Eden. Joy and gladness shall be found in the wilderness and the voice of melody shall carry on the hot desert winds. The Body of Christ finds itself in such a time. Long has it dwelt in Babylon. Long has the hearts of the saints been vexed just like righteous Lot’s. There is a grieving in the hearts of the saints as they witness the comfort and those at ease in Babylon. The saints know in their hearts that when made to choose between ease in Babylon or the long winding narrow path through the waste places and wilderness that leads them home, so many will choose to stay in Babylon.

Yet, it is better to experience the joy of the Lord in the wilderness places that to experience the joy of the world for a season. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. (Heb 11:25-26)

Brothers and sisters, this is the choice that is opening up before us. That choice is becoming more and more pressing with every passing day. The pleasures of a world in comfort will lie before you but only if you run with the world. Will you run with the world?

And so, in the opening verse Isaiah calls us to remember where we came from. Can you remember the day you were born again saints? Can you remember the great joy you discovered in Him? Can you remember the gladness of you heart to be walking and talking with Jesus? Can you remember every victory in Christ, every trial He has brought you through? Remember now that He was with you when you passed through the waters of life, He was with you when you walked through fields of fire and tribulations so heavy you though you would never be able to bear them but because you were yoked to Jesus you burdens became light and you found rest for your soul. Counting your blessing as you bring to mind your past victories in Him begins to raise you spirit. It begins to lift up your eyes unto the maker of heaven and earth.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. (Isa 51:6)

And one more thing saints, one more thing that brings joy and comfort in the desert. We are a people not simply wandering aimlessly having left the world behind, but we are a people who are heading home. To look back and to look up brings great comfort but to look forward to our final destination brings us great joy. If you have ever been away from home for a long time and then finally headed home, you know something of what permeates the heart of the saint, the pilgrim, the sojourner. The closer you got to home, the more the anticipation built-in your heart until it became overwhelming and bubbling up in your spirit as familiar landmarks came into view telling you that you were almost there. Now I do not know how the migrating animals know to go where they have never been before. I do not know how the salmon comes back after thousand of miles to the exact spot where it was born and everything in them drives them forward. I do not know how the monarch butterfly can fly thousands of miles over vastly different terrains and end up back on the exact branch from where it left, but it does. Actually I do know. God has imprinted it upon their very DNA. Everything in them, their core instincts drive them forward. It is not knowledge or size of brain, it has been imprinted into the very core of what they are.

Can I argue saints that we, as brothers and sisters in Christ have something much grander and greater imprinted upon our very hearts and minds and souls. It is who and what we are that drives us forward. No hostile terrain can stop us. No created force in the universe can compel us to deviate from the path that is written upon our hearts. Kings have tried. Emperors have tried, generals have tried. Men of savage violence have tried. The demons have tried and the devil himself has tried and all have failed. For greater is He and the driving force that is in the saints than any other thing. Paul says it better than anyone.

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Rom 8:38-39)For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are on our way home saints. No one promised that it would be easy but we are a people who have been promised many things. We know that He will be with us as we pass through the waters. We know that He will be with us in the very midst of the fiery furnaces and tribulations of life. We know that His grace has been made available to us in every situation. We know that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We know that He can give us beauty from the ashes of our lives. We know that He can turn our mourning into dancing. We know that we have this great promise that lies at the end of our journey.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev 21:3-4)

Saints, it brings me to tears when I consider this end to our journey. I want you to consider this place before you finish reading this. For this place is the end of your journey and this place is closer to you now than when you first began. A place of no sin. Oh saints, consider for even a moment, a place of no sin. Does not your heart just leap within you and weep for the longing of it? This is your journey’s end. Be of good faith saints and stand strong. You are not alone, you never have been and you never will be. Stand fast in Him.