The Promise of a Savior (3)

Isaiah 16:1-5 “1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive; 4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, 5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.””

Introduction

This morning is our first Sunday of Advent, which means we will take a break from our 1 & 2 Samuel series. As the elders we decided to call this Advent series “What Child is This?”.

Because during the next 4 weeks we will be trying to look at what the Bible has to say about this child we will be celebrating on December 25th.

But for those of you who might not be familiar with the season of Advent, the church has historically reserved the 4 Sundays before Christmas to prepare our hearts for the coming of our savior.

Advent means “coming”, so when we talk about advent we are talking about a season of waiting and preparation. This morning, I want to open up with a quote from Fleming Rutledge who says:

“In the church, this is the season of Advent. It’s superficially understood as a time to get ready for Christmas, but in truth it’s the season for contemplating the judgment of God. Advent is the season that, when properly understood, does not flinch from the darkness that stalks us all in this world. Advent begins in the dark and moves toward the light—but the season should not move too quickly or too glibly, lest we fail to acknowledge the depth of the darkness. As our Lord Jesus tells us, unless we see the light of God clearly, what we call light is actually darkness: “how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:23). Advent bids us take a fearless inventory of the darkness: the darkness without and the darkness within.” ― Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ

As you’ve noticed, the world is officially in the Christmas spirit. Starbucks already has their red cups, Michael Buble, Mariah Carey, and Wham! have come out of their cave and are assaulting our ears everywhere we go. There are lights and decorations everywhere we go.

So the world is already in Christmas mode. The World is ready to celebrate Christmas, the problem is that a whole lot of people don’t know what we’re celebrating.

When we lived in Malaysia, a Muslim country, you would not believe how big the Christmas season is. The malls are decked out with amazing trees, lights and everything Christmas. Which was really shocking initially, until we realized that in our culture it’s equally as easy to celebrate a Christ-less Christmas.

If we are not careful during this season, we can be distracted by all the lights colors and smells of Christmas and be swept up by our culture and completely miss why Christmas was necessary in the first place.

So the season of Advent is a season of waiting and preparation for the coming of the Savior. But the question is, do we actually need a savior?

Today we will look at a passage that helps us remember why it is that we need a savior. It is only when we understand our need and inability to save ourselves, that we lift our eyes from ourselves and look for a Savior.

If I do my job correctly this morning, my hope is that we would walk away from here remembering that we indeed need a savior. And that for those of us who already know Jesus, this truth makes a claim on the way we live our lives and interact with the world around us.