Let’s Feast!

21st Sunday after Pentecost, 10/29/17
Isaiah 25:6-9


Let’s Feast!
I. In the presence of our God
II. Who has destroyed death
III. Trusting in his faithfulness


This past week the Target Corporation announced that it was going to ease off on Christmas advertising. What did they mean by that and why would they do it, when we are already seeing retailers putting on the Christmas advertising press? Well, their stated purpose was noble. The Target Corporation wants people in the US to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving without being distracted (dare we say “bombarded”?) by Christmas advertising. I’m hoping Target lives up to its word and that other retailers take notice.

Wouldn’t it be nice this Thanksgiving, in light of all the turmoil that we’ve faced as a nation these past few months and years, to be able to
concentrate for a few minutes on how richly our God has blessed us? Wouldn’t it go a long way in promoting the health and unity of our country if would have the opportunity and take the opportunity to focus on how good we have it instead of how bad we have it? With the month of November right around the corner—the month of our national day of Thanksgiving—let’s hope and pray that happens.

But don’t wait until then to enjoy the spiritual blessings our God has showered upon us. Today’s worship focus is on the joy of our salvation. I realize that you may be experiencing problems, heart-aches and setbacks in your life. But here and now you have the opportunity to rejoice over the salvation—the rescue from hell—which your God has won for you.

In fact, in this morning’s sermon text from Isaiah, our God presents those blessings to us as if they were a feast that he’s prepared for us to enjoy. So let’s not wait until Thanksgiving Day rolls around to be thankful. Let’s not delay in enjoying the blessings of our salvation. Instead, let’s feast! Pull up a chair to the banquet table which your God has prepared for you and take it all in! Let’s feast and as we do so may our God fill us with the joy of our salvation!

Part I.

I recall an incident in my ministry here in which I had really botched a situation with one of our members. I was so embarrassed that I could hardly face the person. I had apologized profusely, but it still didn’t make me feel any better. I couldn’t forget that I had strained our relationship by what I had said and done. I easily expected that I might never see that person again. But guess what? They invited me over to their home. They treated me as a guest. They reassured me that all was forgotten and that they held nothing against me. They even offered me something to eat and drink while we talked. I was overwhelmed!

Have you ever been in that situation? Many of you have. And all of us are in that situation again this morning as our God transports us to the feast he has prepared for us.

Look at what your God has prepared for you! He states through Isaiah, “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.” The Lord tells us that he has prepared a feast for us on a mountain. Just where and what is that? In many verses of the Old Testament the Lord refers to Mount Zion or simply to Zion. It was one of the hills on which the city of Jerusalem was built. Specifically it was the mountain on which the Temple was built. But in this verse, the Lord isn’t referring to a physical mountain. He’s referring to the life he has in store for all those who trust in Jesus as their Savior. Simply put, he’s referring to heaven.

During his ministry on earth, Jesus referred to heaven as a wedding feast or as a banquet that the Lord has prepared for those who trust in him. That’s exactly the imagery the Lord is using here. He speaks of choice meat and the finest of wines. He’s offering us the finest to eat and drink. Nothing else compares to the feast our God has prepared for us.

And he invites us to enjoy it in his presence. Can you imagine that? He has invited me. I know how terribly I have sinned against God. I’m ashamed of some of the things I’ve said and done. How about you? Are you trying to forget the shameful ways you’ve treated others? Will you ever be able to forget how unfaithful you’ve been to your Lord? Why would the Lord want anything to do with us? But he does! In fact, he invites us to enjoy a feast in his presence.

So let’s feast! Let’s feast in the presence of our God.

This Tuesday marks the 500th Anniversary of Luther’s Reformation of the Church. You might be aware that, prior to re-discovering the truth that we are saved by grace and not by works, guilt drove Luther to despair. He hated the God who demanded of him more than he could ever hope to give him. The thought of being in the presence of God filled Luther with fear and dread.
Have you ever thought of your God that way? Have you ever been so plagued by guilt that the last place you wanted to be was near the holy God? Our sins have a way of driving us away from him. So how can we ever hope to feast in God’s presence? Through Christ! The reason Jesus came to this earth was to assure you of eternal life in God’s presence. God wants to feast with you eternally so much that he didn’t leave any part of that up to you. He did it all in Christ. He credits Jesus’ holy life to you as your life. He took your sins and had Jesus punished for them, every one of them, so that now you are a forgiven, holy child of God by faith in Jesus. God makes you fit to feast with him. So let’s feast forever in his presence!

Part II.

Just about every week I receive an invitation to dinner at a local restaurant from a financial planner. I have yet to accept one. How about you? But what if the invitation was on a seminar on avoiding death and living forever? Would you be interested? Probably not. You’d probably consider it to be just another scam.

But listen to the promise of your God. “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces.” It’s one of life’s toughest moments when our loved one’s casket is closed and the funeral director locks it. Death is inevitable and sooner or later it will claim each one of us.

So, is it just another scam when your God tells you, “He will swallow up death forever”? Absolutely not! You can take his promise to the bank. Jesus once declared, “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn. 11:26). God’s definition of death is separation from him. Jesus came to live and die and rise again so that we can have life with God. That happens even if death claims our bodies. For the Christian, the death of the body means life for the soul with God in heaven. In fact, we Christians live with the promise that not even death will claim our bodies forever. When Jesus returns he will raise our bodies and glorify them. So, even though we die, we live. And even though our bodies die, they will rise again. That’s the feast our God has prepared for us.

Let’s feast in the presence of God who has destroyed death.

Not so fond of thinking about your death? Are you a little uneasy about what lies beyond this life? Then listen to this, “God will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples.” He destroyed death by his death—the death of his Son. And his resurrection from the dead guarantees it. If Jesus lives, we, too, shall live! That’s the message of Easter and that’s the message every Christian holds to each day of the Christian life by faith in Jesus. A risen, living and ascended Lord Jesus promises you life with him. Don’t just nibble on that good news; feast on it! Let’s feast on the certainty that our God has destroyed death!

Part III.

How long would you be willing to endure unfaithfulness in your relationship with someone else? Not long, right? As soon as you learn that the other person has violated your relationship in some way, you’re done. It’s over.

Your God wants you to feast on an eternal relationship with him. But what if he fails you at some point? What if he’s not there when you really need him? What if he turns his back on you?

Can’t happen! Won’t happen! Isaiah declares, “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.” Your relationship with your God is not necessarily dependent on what he will do for you; it’s what he has already done for you. “We trusted in him, and he saved us.” Our salvation is complete. That means our future—our eternal future—is absolutely sure. Nothing can undo or overcome what Jesus did for you by his death and resurrection. As Christians we don’t live each day hoping for a relationship with our God that lasts forever; we know it’s ours through Christ. Our God is faithful. He promises it to us.

So let’s feast! You have a God who is and must be faithful to you.

So why do doubts about our future arise in us? Not because of who our God is but because of who we are. Why should the Lord be so faithful to us, when each of our sins demonstrates our unfaithfulness to him? Why? Because of who he is—the God of faithful love who forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin. He so loved the world that he sent his Son as the Savior. He so loved you that he sent his Son as your Savior. Our sins are forgiven! Heaven is ours!

So let’s relax! Let’s rejoice! Let’s feast! Feast on the good news of your salvation! Amen.