Have I ruined my life for good?

We all carry the weight of regrets. Choices we wish we could undo. Seasons we wasted. Words we can’t take back.

Welcome to the book of Isaiah, a prophecy written to people like you and me. Back in chapter 1 he laid out this problem, for God’s people Israel. But now in chapter 65 he lays out the solution, which is God’s person Jesus.

And in chapter 65, Isaiah says two very simple things:
1) Self-reliance is self-destructive
2) God’s good forgiveness is recreating what we ruined

The first, 1) Self-reliance is self-destructive

Isaiah’s prophecy is a massive book. But, the gist of the problem he describes is very simple. Back in 65:2 God said this:

² I spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in the path that is not good, following their own thoughts.

We rely on our own thoughts, our own ideas, our own motives and effort. Which seems, to us, absolutely fine.

But, it has terrible consequences for our lives, vv. 6-7:

⁶ Look, it is written in front of me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will repay them fully ⁷ for your iniquities and the iniquities of your ancestors together,’ says the Lord. ‘Because they burned incense on the mountains and reproached me on the hills, I will reward them fully for their former deeds.’

What’s written in front of God is His Law. The perfect standard of love that says: Under the Law you get what you give. Under the Law love and you’ll be loved. Under the Law, as you do to others, so it will be done to you.

And it is that principle — good in itself — that ruins our lives, because relying on ourselves we are not good.

And that’s because whatever you trust is your God. That’s the very definition of a god… …the thing to which you look for goodness.

Isaiah explains in v. 3 that self-reliance leads to self-worship, to put that in ancient language — idolatry:

³ a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks;

Relying on yourself seems like a good idea. It seems to make sense.

But, it’s not true: self-reliance really is self-destructive

When you rely on your own thoughts… you simply justify your worst decisions.
“I thought it would be fine.”
“I knew what I was doing.”
“I followed my heart.”
“I trusted my instincts.”
Try saying that to your spouse when you’re upset with you. It won’t work. It won’t help. It just results in Regret. Loss. Broken relationship.

When you rely on your own motives… you excuse your sin.
“I didn’t mean any harm.”
“I wasn’t feeling angry.”
“I only had good intentions.”
Try saying that to your kids when they’ve been hurt by you They’ll feel you’re not listening, and slowly start pulling away.

When you rely on your own strength… you burn out.
—running on empty
—trying to hold everything together
—refusing to ask for help
Here lies Exhaustion. Anger. Coldness.

When you rely on your own goodness… you become judgmental
comparing yourself to others
needing to be right all the time
That’s the pride that poisons relationships.

When you rely on your own plans… you panic when life doesn’t obey you.
the past is full of failed expectations
the present with anxiety over your situation
the future with fear that you can’t control outcomes
A life of fear will cost you dear.

When you rely on your own identity… other people become threats.
what they say makes you insecure
when you’re challenged, you become defensive
You’ll just damage your relationships and isolate yourself.

When you rely on your own solutions… you repeat the same mistakes.
The same fights.
The same patterns.
The same sins.
The same regrets.
Self-reliance is self-destructive All of us are trapped in cycles you can’t escape.

But, the point of Isaiah vv. 17-25 is simply this: God doesn’t leave you there:

2) God is recreating what we’ve destroyed

Hear God’s promise to you in v. 17:

¹⁷ For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.

This isn’t pie in the sky when you die. This is a promise for now.

For the prophet Isaiah, being a “new creation” means being God’s forgiven people, here’s what he says in 51:16:

¹⁶ And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

In Baptism God says: “You are my child.” And… The Apostle Paul says exactly the same thing in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

This new creation, this new thing, is to forget your mistakes, ch 43 says this:

¹⁸ Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. ¹⁹ Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? ²¹ the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise…. ²⁵ I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

In Christ:
You are not defined by your past.
You are defined by your Baptism.
You don’t have to pay for your mistakes.

God is making something from your mistakes.
Your errors are not Lord.
Jesus is Lord.

This is the point of the Church: Not to be a place of shame, but a place of joy, vv. 18-19:

¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. ¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.

This is God’s promise for you now — in this world, in this life, in His Church.

For the prophet Isaiah, joy is not something in the distant heavens, but the fruit of forgiveness — now and forever. Here’s what he says in 12:2-4:

12 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴ And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.

2) God is recreating what we’ve destroyed

This is what the coming world will be like. When Jesus returns and judges all things. He will establish an eternity defined by forgiveness, not by retaliation.

And that New Creation begins now, in the church, in the kingdom of Christ on earth:

The church is not a place for settling scores, or making people pay, or raking over mistakes.

It’s a place where things are just let go. Freely.That is Christian joy.

Jesus said that knowing God through His forgiveness is eternal life, and even though our bodies are wasting away, Isaiah says we experience that eternal life now, v. 20:

²⁰ No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

The Law of Moses warned of curses that come upon those who break God’s Law: Shortened lifespan; Child mortality; Fruitless labour; Homes not lived in

Isaiah describes the quality of life we experience in forgiveness, vv. 21-22:

²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Forgiven people don’t rely on themselves to secure their kids’ future and so live lives as controlling and domineering parents, but trust God to give faith to their children, v. 23:

²³ They shall not labour in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them.

Forgiven people don’t rely on themselves to win God over, as though by religious works and many words He will hear them, but trust God that He wants to listen, v. 24:

²⁴ Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.

Forgiven people don’t react to others and so push them away, but live in peace because of mutual forgiveness, v. 25:

²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

This echoes the great Christmas promise of Isaiah 11, of what life will be like when baby Jesus comes to earth:

⁶ The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.

You carry regret. You carry shame. You carry the memory of things you cannot undo. You carry their consequences.

Isaiah says: God will not let your mistakes define you: Past, present, or future.

God is recreating what we’ve destroyed

In Christ, we are defined by forgiveness. In Christ’s kingdom, the world is being remade. That will be finished when he returns. But, it has started now in the Church.

In Colossians 1:13-14, Paul says this:

¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

So, Have I ruined my life for good?

Christians experience hardship. Living for Christ is a life of suffering. We’ve covered that lots in sermons this year. But… suffering is not the same as spoiling.

1) Self-reliance is self-destructive

Trusting yourself really does ruin things. Self-trust bears fruit in self-worship, self-defensiveness, self-focus. These things ruin your relationships, your life.

But, God’s good forgiveness is recreating what we ruined

A new creation that we’ll see finished when Jesus returns, But has started now in the church, as we gather around God’s Word of forgiveness, and it takes root in our hearts.

So, Hear this. Believe it. Share it. Because as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:

¹⁶ From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!