Trust God’s Love For The Remnant

Many of you know that my wife works for a dermatologist as a medical assistant.  Almost every day a drug rep brings in lunch for the staff.  They enjoy meals from restaurants like On the Boarder, Maria’s Tex-Mex, and Olive Garden.  I’m not quite so lucky where I work.  I take my lunch to church almost everyday, but do you know who rescues me from needing a wonderful lunch?  June does every morning.  Now, I’m not saying she gets up early to cook something special for my lunch, but I can tell you that every lunch she has made for me from the remnants of her office lunch has proclaimed her love for me by nourishing me.  She put remnants in my lunchbox.  Almost every day I eat the remnants from On the Boarder, Maria’s Tex-Mex, and Olive Garden and I love those delicious remnants!  I probably can’t remember what remnants I ate for lunch last week, but I can tell you that each remnant of food I ate nourished and strengthened my life.

Our theme for this Sunday is “From the Tiniest Seed Grows The Largest Kingdom. A remnant is like a seed, in that it is small and insignificant.  But, our Lord raised up his Kingdom through “The Remnant” all through holy Scriptures.  Like me you probably can’t remember every time this word was used in Scriptures, but I can proclaim to you that each time the Holy Spirit inspired his prophets and apostles to record this word for us, it nourishes our faith and our soul by focusing our hearts to

Trust God’s Love For The Remnant

To Rescue His People in Grace

The term “Remnant” is not a word we tend to use a whole lot in our culture and when we do, we probably use it as I did, to describe remnants of food in a to-go box, or a leftover piece of cloth or carpet.  But, the idea of a remnant in the Bible is quite different and is a very significant concept.  Isaiah was inspired to use this word (Hebrew: שְׁאָר  Sh-Ar) when he wrote: “²⁰ It will come about in that day that those who remain from Israel.” How much did this word mean to Isaiah?  He actually names his first-born son  (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב )“She’ar-jashuv” that we would translate, “A remnant shall return.”  Isaiah wrote, “²⁰ It will come about in that day that those who remain from Israel and those from the house of Jacob who have survived will never again lean on the one who struck them.”  Our God is truly amazing!  He linked a promise of rescue to the threat of ruin!  Like so many prophecies in the Old Testament, this one too had a near-term and a long-term fulfillment.  At this time in Isaiah’s life the Assyrians were a major world power that invaded the unfaithful 10 northern tribes of Israel and scattered them among the nations. The remaining house of Jacob, or should I say the “remnant tribe of Judah,” although they were sinful, idol worshiping people, they needed to be rescued from the Assyrians.  Isaiah’s prophesy assured them that even though Assyria would attack Jerusalem, the Lord God would rescue them.  For our Gracious Lord God had a promise to fulfill to send the Savior through his treasured people.  The Lord made his promise and the people were called to Trust in God’s Love For the Remnant to Rescue His People in Grace.

That’s exactly what God did.

“²⁰ It will come about in that day that those who remain from Israel and those from the house of Jacob who have survived will never again lean on the one who struck them, but they will truly lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ²¹ A remnant will return to the mighty God, namely, the remnant of Jacob.” 

This was immediately fulfilled in Isaiah 37 when King Hezekiah chose to lean on his gracious Lord rather than the deal that was offered to him by King Sennacherib.  Do you remember what happened?  Isaiah records, “³⁶ Then an angel of the Lord went and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp” (Is 37:36).  Our Loving God Rescued the Remnant in his grace.

The long-term fulfillment of Isaiah’s words happened when Jesus came.  There is good reason why Jesus said, “³² Do not be afraid, little flock” (Luke 12:32).  The world had every reason to be afraid due to sin, rebellion and unfaithfulness.  Then God’s ultimate fulfillment came when Jesus graciously rescued you.  Yes, we know how much we needed to be rescued.  Dear members of Divine Peace, we also know our sins.  The words of Isaiah expose our sins, when we “lean on the one who struck them.” Dear church members, is your attitude toward worship one of excitement and anticipation, or has Satan struck you with enmity and antagonism because of the style of worship doesn’t fit your fancy?  How much are you committed to the mission and service of God’s kingdom?  What would your evangelism account look like regarding God-pleasing witnessing Christ?  Dear Parents, remember the excitement you had the first time you held your child in your arms?  Maybe even some fear due to the responsibility before you?  Or maybe you’ve become lazy or lost your passion to train up your child in the knowledge and love of God or what parents here has never been tempted to want to even quit?!?  And when it comes to trusting in the power of God’s Word maybe you’ve been tempted to Woo people to Christ instead of trusting in the power of the Word and leave the wooing to the Holy Spirit!  Faith doesn’t come from entertainment, but from the power of the Word!  Or maybe you’ve been tempted to avoid preaching and teaching the hard stuff for fear of upsetting a friend or relative.  Dear remnant of God, REPENT of these idols in your life!  We are like spoiled little brats who want God to leave us alone unless we need him for something that selfishly suits us at the moment.

But God’s response isn’t determined by some spark of anger.  His commitment to his children doesn’t cease because of our sinful behavior. Our glorious God Rescues His People in Grace.  Jesus came and saved God’s remnant.  Jesus’ attitude at worship was God’s Word and not about the style of worship at the synagogue.  Jesus’ truthful teaching was about instructing children and adults to see Christ in God’s Word.  Jesus faithful preaching pointed people to God’s promises and fulfilments from Holy Scriptures.  Jesus did it all for you!  Jesus Rescued You in Grace!  Trust in God’s Love For The Remnant and let’s

To Proclaim His Word To Every Race

The attacks on God’s flock—his remnant, are going to continue.  The world has grown to over 8.1 billion people.  And how many of these people are Christians?  It is reported that about 2.3 billion people are Christian.  But, we also know this number is shrinking in our neighborhoods for according to (worldpopulationview.com) only 65% of Americans are Christian.  The prophecy of Isaiah speaks to us today: “²² Although your people, Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Complete destruction has been decreed—overwhelming, but righteous.”  Yes, by the grace of God we are still breathing in our time of grace.  But, everyone here knows that the day will come when Jesus is going to return to bring his final, righteous judgment on the world.  What does this message say to you, dear remnant of God?  It means God’s gracious time for the existence of this world is getting closer.  You’ve had the conversations with people in your life.  They all recognize that the world is getting worse and worse.  We have also heard Isaiah’s clear prophecy, “²³ For the Lord, the Lord of Armies, will bring about the destruction decreed for the whole earth (that is every person of every race).”  The Devil knows this, too.  He loves to keep God’s suffering remnant away from the Means of Grace by tempting us to doubt God’s Love for the Remnant with accusations like this, “If God really loved you, then why would he allow this disease to happen to you?….Why doesn’t God fulfill your desires in your marriage?  Why doesn’t your God provide more pastors and teachers for you church?”  Then comes our own sinful flesh that becomes anxious and stressed out.

• “Why should I be a faithful church member that gathers with God’s people for worship?  I can worship at home!”…..
• ”Why should I faithfully teach Jesus’ little lambs?  I can wing it!”…..
• ”Why should I spend any time reading or listening to the Bible, when most of what I read doesn’t seem to apply to me anyway?” 

Finally, the world around us doesn’t trust the church and finds no use for the church.  But, what all these temptations don’t consider is the fact that, “the Lord, the Lord of Armies, will bring about the destruction decreed for the whole earth.”

There’s the important lesson for us today.  God often uses seemingly insignificant people and things (remnants) to accomplish grand plans. You are the Remnant that the Lord God works through to proclaim his Word to Every Race!  As much as I enjoy the nutritious remnants June sends for my lunches, I don’t regret eating most of my meals.  Likewise God takes Remnants like you to proclaim his Word.  The Word seems like the Tiniest of Seeds through which God Grows His Kingdom.  I do pray you take to heart the encouraging words of Isaiah, “²¹ A remnant will return to the mighty God, namely, the remnant of Jacob.”  None is greater than God’s gracious plan to save us through Jesus Christ!  One God-Man Jesus has forgiven all your sins, opened the glorious gates of heaven, and crushed the devil’s power. Through faith in Jesus Christ you are the Remnant!

Compared to other gatherings at churches in DFW we seem like a pretty small group—a Remnant.  The weakness and insignificance of people make what really counts stand out—the greatness and grace of God!  God bless our worship because we know Jesus is coming back.  We also know that it is the gospel that will rescue people. We also know that Jesus has graciously called us to be his messengers of God’s love to a fallen world.    Statistically, only 1 out of every 4 people we meet trusts in Jesus. You are God’s remnant.  Therefore, Trust in God’s Love For The Remnant and Let’s Proclaim His Word To Every Race, For God To Rescue His people in grace.  Amen.