Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

That's Unexpected! Isaiah 66:18-23

The future is uncertain. But God’s work and word is never uncertain. God’s methods are never hesitant or doubtful. God’s action is never a question mark, but an exclamation point punctuated with “Thus says the Lord!” And yet here is God telling Isaiah to proclaim that He will gather the ungodly nations together and save them. It is unexpected to think that God will use His enemies to carry out His mission. It not only unexpected, but we might think it’s impossible. And when we realize that we must count ourselves among the sinful nations, we should be trembling with fear.

For God, the unexpected becomes the expected. When we look at things from God’s perspective, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. God has wanted to save everyone from sin, death, and the power of the devil from Eden through eternity.