Last week in our Kingdom Revealed series; we talked about mountains, which provides us a nice segway into Thanksgiving and Advent.
Isaiah 25:6–9 (NIV)
6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. 9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
We know from earlier in Isaiah that this is the mountain of the Lord’s temple.
Isaiah 2:2 (NIV)
2 In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
We will dig more into this verse next week as we talk about Advent, but for today, we will focus on Isaiah 25:9, where Isaiah says, “Rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” This exhortation reminds me of one of my favorite go-to passages that works well at Thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:4–8 (NIV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
We need to think about the thoughts that remind us of God’s goodness toward us. Let’s call it “thanking thinking.”
When we remember what God has done for us, it helps us to understand and rest in His faithfulness. Even when facing difficult circumstances, we can think about how He has moved in our lives and on our behalf repeatedly. This type of thinking produces in us a thankful heart.
One of the things that made Isaiah thankful was knowing the eternal nature of God’s blessings upon him. Let’s look again at Isaiah 25:6-9.
Isaiah 25:6–9 (NIV)
6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. 9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Does it remind you of what we have seen in Revelations 21 and 22?
Revelation 21:1–4 (NIV)
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God will be with them and their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
As followers of Christ, we can have a thankful heart because we rest in His faithfulness and hope for what lies ahead. We will look at all this and more at Keys Vineyard Church this weekend, so join us in person or online.
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
