Sermon Text: Isaiah 60:1–4
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 23rd March 2025
Sermon Text: Isaiah 60:1–4
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 23rd March 2025
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The first word “and” takes our attention to what has been discussed in the preceding verse. In the light of the earlier verse, we learn that while anxiety destroys the peace of heart, prayer restores and maintains peace in our hearts. To everyone who in everything prays with thanksgiving (v. 6), the peace of God is promised!
The “peace of God” is the peace which God gives. The peace referred to here is the blessed assurance that God bestows upon a praying soul in the midst of his needs and troubles. No one else can grant us peace, but the Possessor of peace, our Lord Himself. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The peace of God is not a wish or prayer, but a promise of God; it is guaranteed.
The peace that God promises is incomprehensible to man, for it “passeth all understanding”. No person could ever imagine or device it. There is nothing in this world that can offer such a noble and superior peace as that which God offers. This is not the result of self-esteem or selfconfidence. This cannot be secured by the schemes and powers of man. This is not what man achieves through the practice of some meditation techniques. No psychologist or psychotherapist can offer such peace and tranquillity as God promises. Though unfathomable to men, it is the Christian’s experience. God’s peace will be powerfully at work in the lives of those who rely on Him in prayer.
The human reasoning often leads to doubt and anxiety. When man’s desperate ingenuity fails to alleviate his problems, he falls further into anxiety and depression. However, God’s peace is effective in removing all disquietude. It “shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Our hearts and minds, our affections and thoughts need to be guarded; here we are promised that the peace of God will protect them. Unguarded passions and imaginations will destroy our testimony and effectiveness. Unwise decisions and foolish speculations can wreck our and others’ lives. But when our hearts and minds are guarded by God’s peace, we shall be safe and sound. Such protective peace from God comes through Christ, who is the source of our salvation and all divine blessings.
6b But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Herein we have the remedy to the terrible malady of anxiety. Prayer helps us to battle anxiety and get rid of it from our hearts. By praying to God, we can repress anxiety. Prayer frees us from anxiety.
Prayer is the expression of our faith in the Lord. We tell the Lord all our needs and troubles in prayer because we trust in His help, which He has promised. When we pray, we affirm that God cares for us, and that His care for us is the best. Every praying man declares that no one ever cares for him like his God. When the heart is taught to believe in the good providence of God and encouraged to express that faith by communing with God in prayer, anxiety will naturally be resisted and driven out.
We are instructed that “in every thing” we must pray. “Don’t be anxious about anything, but pray about everything!” is the divine counsel. There are some who pray only when great needs or troubles come upon them. If we do not pray in everything, even what appears to be a “small matter” can fill our heart with anxiety and wreck our peace. Nothing is too small to destabilise our life; hence, nothing is too small to bring to God. If we are ready to believe that nothing is too great for God to care for, then let us also believe that nothing is too small for us to confide in Him. God, who made this gigantic universe, also cares for the tiny sparrows.
Prayer is the soul’s believing and reverential approach unto God. It consists of supplication, thanksgiving, etc. The word “prayer” denotes general prayer, which is a humble and reverential approach to God for help. The word “supplication” denotes a plea for a specific matter, thus expressing one’s craving for divine supply in his life. The word “thanksgiving” denotes grateful expressions of joy and confidence in God which honour and please God.
It is with thanksgiving that we ought to make our requests known to God. A prayer without thanksgiving is a selfish prayer. Can it be right to pray for benefits and never honour our Benefactor? Thanksgiving will prevent us from being preoccupied with our wants, and it will fill our minds with the praise of our benevolent God. Do not offer a formal prayer to submit a wish list. Let your prayers be “perfumed” with praise. In our sufferings, let us sing His praise and pray. Take the hymn book and sing as you pray.
6a Be careful for nothing.
Well, that is an old way of saying, “Be not anxious about anything”. The Greek word (merimnáō) translated “careful” does not indicate that we should not exercise care in carrying out our responsibilities. The same word is used to teach us to care for one another (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:25). We are also taught in the Scriptures to provide for our families (cf. 1 Timothy 5:8). The advice here is that we should free our minds from anxiety and worry.
An incessant concern for our temporal affairs is an evil that we should avoid. Firstly, it expresses a lack of faith in God’s goodness and mercy. Anxiety proceeds from a heart that refuses to accept God’s good providence. Our Lord Jesus has assured us, saying, “your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:32). Jesus also warned that to worry about daily necessities of life is to be like the Gentiles who know not the goodness of our God (cf. Matthew 6:32a). Let us not dishonour our God by worrying about our needs, our responsibilities, our troubles, etc. Anxiety equals distrust of God’s care for His own people. Anxiety is a sin, for it refuses to trust God’s gracious and good providence.
Secondly, the evil of anxiety is also seen in its effects on oneself. Anxiety will lead to self-destructive conduct and attitudes. Anxiety weakens a person physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. An anxious mind produces nothing good, only added trouble. Anxiety causes a person to be unhappy, moody, grumpy, ill-tempered and depressed. It has even turned some into maniacs! Anxiety is also known to cause severe physical trauma, resulting in migraine, body aches, vomiting, diarrhoea, high blood pressure, etc. Worse still, many have abandoned Christ because of their anxiety for material gain. Jesus said in Mark 4:19, “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” Anxiety will cause a person to be self-focused and worldly-minded.
One’s anxiety can also affect those who are around him. Obsessive mannerism caused by anxiety had wrecked many relationships and filled homes with unhappiness and quarrels. So, let us cast off anxiety from our hearts. Whenever it assaults us, let us go to the LORD in prayer, and take hold of all His promises. Get rid of anxiety, and be more cheerful and productive by the grace and knowledge of the LORD.
4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.
Dark clouds of calamities were gathering over the people of Israel. The peril that the LORD had warned for so long was almost upon them. However, the prophet encouraged the genuine believers among them with these words: “Trust ye in the LORD for ever”. He was urging the believers to keep and rest their confidence in the LORD at all times, even in times of adversity, affliction, persecution, poverty, ridicule or any kind of trial.
Trusting in the LORD always, come what may, indicates our submission to His will. It means we are assured that whatever He wills to do in our lives is right. This was the spirit of the patriarch Job who (amidst all his trials) could say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). When besieged by many troubles, we must habitually put our trust in Him, cleaving to Him and seeking to please Him to prove our unwavering faith in Him. In pain, let us call on Him. In anxiety, let us hope in Him. In weakness, let us lean on Him for strength. Trust the LORD for everything and with everything.
The encouragement to trust in the LORD is also given in our text. It tells us, “for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength”. Our encouragement to trust the LORD at all times is based on the everlasting strength of God. In order to strengthen our confidence in the LORD, His name is here emphasised and exalted as “the LORD JEHOVAH”. In the original Hebrew text, we have a repetition of the name JEHOVAH (Yâhovah) – first, a contracted form of the name (yah), and then the name (Yâhovah). The purpose of employing both forms of the name is to call emphatic attention to all that His name implies – His glory, power, wisdom, holiness, mercy, faithfulness, etc. – and to excite the highest admiration and confidence. He is the unchanging covenantal God of His people in all circumstances.
Moreover, we are reminded that there is everlasting strength in the LORD JEHOVAH. The phrase “everlasting strength” in the Hebrew text literally reads “the rock of ages”. The idea is that God is firm and unchangeable like an eternal rock, and therefore we can count on Him as our ever-present help. The LORD JEHOVAH is a safe refuge for us to run into when the storms and tempests of trouble blow hard against us. Let us find our strength in the Almighty, the LORD JEHOVAH. We are strong when we trust in our eternally mighty God. Let us cultivate an unflinching trust in an unchanging God!
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Have you ever considered, “What is it that hinders peace in your heart?” Whenever man fails to be in communion with God, he is unplugged from the true and ultimate source of peace. For God has revealed Himself in the Scriptures as “the God of peace” (cf. Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Hebrews 13:20). So, whatever hinders man’s communion with God also hinders his peace.
Because sin hinders man from enjoying God’s presence and communion (cf. Psalm 5:4; 1 John 1:6-7; 2 Corinthians 6:14-16), it also obstructs God’s peace from flowing unto him (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21; Romans 3:17). Besides sin, lack of faith in God disconnects one from peace. Isaiah the prophet foretold of great “woe” (not peace) that would come upon the Jews who would trust in wealth, human strength and idols instead of their God. He forewarned them in Isaiah 30:1, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.” Again in Isaiah 31:1, he said, “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots … but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!” So Psalm 146:3 admonishes us, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”
Only genuine trust in God and His promises can secure peace. The mind that has confidence in God shall not be frantic or distraught when it is struck by severe trials like persecution, poverty, sickness, or bereavement. Isaiah was addressing the Jews who would in the near prophetic future be stripped of their possessions and be carried away to a far distant land as captives and slaves. Despite being humiliated and subjected to great reproaches and scorn, the remnant Jews’ confidence in God would not be shaken. They would still trust in Him and believe that He could and would make a way for them. Their mind would thus be kept in perfect peace. The phrase “perfect peace” in Hebrew is “peace, peace”; such a repetition of the word denotes emphasis, and here it evidently points to undisturbed, perfect peace. So it has been with thousands and thousands of the persecuted and afflicted people of God, including His martyrs. When they committed their cause to Him amidst the storms of persecution, in the prison and even at the stake, the Lord kept them all in perfect peace.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The fifth piece of armour that God has given to Christians for their spiritual battle is “the helmet of salvation”. The helmet protected the head, the most vital and most often targeted part of the soldier’s body. Scarcely would a warrior rush off to battle without taking his helmet with him. Even modern troops always have their helmets on when they report for duty, which is all the more needful when in the thick of battle.
But what is the helmet of salvation? To be sure, the helmet of salvation is not worn as a means to getting saved. Rather, it means being assured of one’s salvation. It is all about a Christian’s need to cultivate a strong assurance regarding his salvation though Satan’s attacks at times may seem so overwhelming. It is the assurance that he will neither be debilitated nor destroyed in the midst of battle.
In order to grasp the significance of “the helmet of salvation”, one must understand the three aspects of salvation as found in the Scriptures; i.e. those who are justified will be sanctified and ultimately, glorified. When Satan harasses and confronts us with numerous trials, let us look forward to the day when we shall be with our Lord Jesus forever. The day is coming when sin and Satan can no longer molest us. So let us never quit, no matter how malicious the devil’s threat is. We must fight on as we continue to don this helmet of salvation until the day of glorification.
The sixth piece of armour that God has given to Christians for their spiritual battle is “the sword of the Spirit”. The first five components of God’s armour that Paul has enumerated thus far have been primarily for defensive purposes. This one last piece, however, gives both defensive and offensive might to those who carry it to battle. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit because it is the Holy Spirit who handed this sword over to God’s people for their use. Because the Word of God wields the omnipotent power of the Spirit, it helps us to put our enemy, the devil, to flight. That was what happened to Satan who came to tempt the Lord Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus merely brandished the Spirit’s sword by saying, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10). Then the devil fled and the battle ended, just like that.
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The fourth piece of armour that God has given to Christians for their spiritual battle is “the shield of faith”. The type of shield mentioned here is thureon in Greek. This is the original word that is translated as “shield” in this verse. This shield, measuring 4½ feet by 2½ feet, was made of a thick and hard wooden plank, covered with either metal or leather. The metal would deflect the enemies’ arrows, while the leather was treated with some oil to extinguish the fiery pitch on the arrows. This shield was designed for maximum protection and deployed for a specific strategy in a major battle.
Verse 16 opens with the two words, “Above all”, to convey to the readers that over and above the already-mentioned armour components in the preceding verses, here is another vital piece that the Christian soldier should also bring with him to battle. It simply means that in addition to the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the gospel-shoes, the believer must take up the shield of faith.
Every soldier who has already taken up these pieces of armour, as mentioned in verses 14 and 15, will have the shield of faith as an added protection. “Faith” mentioned here is the faith that we place in Christ as we come to Him, knowing that He will give us full salvation. It expresses a strong confidence in the Saviour and His promises to forgive, save and secure forever. Such faith will persevere amidst sufferings, we having been persuaded that our Lord is faithful to keep all His promises. This was Paul’s sentiment expressed in 2 Timothy 1:12: “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
The very same shield of faith protects us from Satan’s fiery darts. The “fiery darts of the wicked” refer to the devil’s fearsome attacks on the believer to destroy his faith. These fiery darts hurled at the believer may vary in frequency and intensity. He often sends fiery trials (1 Peter 4:12) and fiery temptations of lust (1 Corinthians 7:9). But if we stand with the shield of faith, we can overcome the enemy and emerge victorious.
We know that it is the Great Commission of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ unto His followers to: “Go … and teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19), emphasising the need to spread His Biblical truths across linguistic and national barriers. One of the most effective ways to do this is by translating sound Biblical materials into different languages. Good translation of Biblical materials ensures that people from diverse linguistic backgrounds can receive the truths of God’s Word in a way that speaks to their hearts and minds.
The following are reasons why we should attempt, as the Lord enables, to make sound materials available in local languages within mission stations.
So, in our humble ways, we also try to make our Bible Witness Literature available to non-English speakers in our mission fields. Several brethren in our mission stations are trying to translate our Gospel tracts, devotional books and other materials, that these may be printed in the coming years.
Sermon Text: Psalm 106:1–48
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 16th March 2025