12/18/22 Sermon Isaiah 7:10-16 "Presence That Speaks of Love" 14 Minutes

Isaiah 7:10-16

This morning I'll be reading Isaiah chapter 7 verses 10 through 16. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Isaiah 7:10-16 In the preceding verses,,, Ahaz and the people of Judah have found out that Syria and Israel (Ephraim) have made an alliance against Judah and are threatening Jerusalem. Isaiah has just told Ahaz that he should not fear,,, but as we will see from these verses,,, Ahaz doesn't trust God like he should! Isaiah 7:10–16 (HCSB) 10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: 11 “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God—from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven.” 12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.” 13 Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? 14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. 15 By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good, he will be eating butter and honey. 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday was the third Sunday of Advent and we lit the candle of “everlasting joy”.

I hope you remember the words spoken during that lighting,,, so that all will know that we walk with a skip in our step because we can see the destination,,, and because of that,,, it is pure joy,,, as we are ascending to God’s promise.

This morning we lit the candle of a “presence that speaks of love”,,, and I hope you remember that reading that said: We light these candles, the candle of joyous hope, of proclaimed peace, of deep everlasting joy, and today of presence that speaks of love, as a sign that no matter our circumstance, we know we are not alone.

This advent season,,, as we do each advent,,, we are looking back to the birth of Christ,,, the blessings of Christ in our lives today,,, and,,, we are also looking to the future,,, the glorious return of our Lord and Savior!

Last Sunday we also looked at Matthew 11:2-11 and we seen that John was chosen by God,,, given a job to do that he carried out to the best of his ability,,, and yet,,, he still ends up in prison,,, with doubts and questions!

But,,, he takes his doubts and questions to the right place,,, the One that will be able to give him the peace of mind that he needs,,, which was Jesus Christ of course,,, and from this we should learn to do the same!

If we would truly do this correctly,,, satan would never be able to use those doubts and questions to make us stray off the path that God has set us on.

This morning we will look at these verses in Isaiah and see how they will help us in our walk with Go this week.

___________________________________ Verses 10 through 12 say: 10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: 11 “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God—from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven.” 12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.”

As I told you at the beginning,,, in the preceding verses,,, Ahaz and the people of Judah have found out that Syria and Israel (Ephraim),,, the northern kingdom,,, have made an alliance against Judah and are threatening Jerusalem.

As a result of this,,, the people are afraid.

When Isaiah gives him the message from God,,, Ahaz doesn't respond correctly.

One of my commentaries said that,,, possibly Ahaz had already made up his mind to seek Assyria for assistance instead of waiting for God to help.

Ahaz said that he did not want to test the Lord,,, but by refusing to follow God’s directive to ask for a confirming miracle,,, he was testing the Lord’s patience,,, (as well as man’s patience),,, as we will see in the next verse.

___________________________________ Verse 13 says: 13 Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God?

Isaiah knows somehow that Ahaz is unwilling to trust God.

And because of Ahaz' mistake in not trusting God,,, Isaiah gives him the next message from God.

___________________________________ Verse 14 says: 14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

Like many prophecies,,, this one seems to have had an early fulfillment,,, (in the days of Ahaz),,, and later,,, complete fulfillment (in the birth of Christ).

Verse 14 points to Christ,,, or definitely seems to,,, — the Son of the virgin whose name indicates,,, that He is Immanuel,,, God-with-us.

My Wesley Commentary says: This promised birth supposed the preservation of that city, and nation, and tribe, in and of which the Messiah was to be born; and therefore there was no cause to fear that ruin which their enemies now threatened. Immanuel—God with us; God dwelling among us, in our nature, John 1:14. God and man meeting in one person, and being a mediator between God and men. For the design of these words is not so much to relate the name by which Christ should commonly be called, as to describe his nature and office.

___________________________________ Verses 15 and 16 say: 15 By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good, he will be eating butter and honey. 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.

My Believer’s Bible Commentary says that this may refer to Isaiah’s second son,,, who is said to be a sign in 8:18.

This maiden-born son will live in poverty (eating butter and honey) until he reaches the age of accountability.

But before he reaches that age, the lands of Syria and Israel will be forsaken by … their kings and thus the alliance that Judah feared will come to nothing.

___________________________________ Matthew speaks of this prophecy by Isaiah as being fulfilled by the birth of Christ,,, and that along with the many revelations from the commentaries that I have read,,, are all that I need to be convinced of this fact.

Too many times we get caught up in trying to make the Bible fit the way that we think it should with our limited knowledge,,, that it causes us problems,,, it makes us doubt!

Like John in prison last week that we learned about,,, satan can use that information,,, or,,, actually,,, mis-information,,, against us!

What we need to concentrate on,,, are the words in the Bible and use them the way that they are written,,, even if we don’t have enough information to prove them to anyone.

Because,,, as we obtain more and more information from the sites that are being uncovered,,, we will get that information verified one day,,, and if not,,, we can still proceed through faith,,, because of all of the times that God has been faithful to us through His word “that” we can prove!

And that’s all that we need to do,,, just keep believing God’s word,,, and just ignore the doubts and questions that arise.

___________________________________ We know that we have that “Presence That Speaks of Love” because of God’s faithful word!

We have the written word that proves this prophesy of Isaiah is true today.

And if Ahaz would have shown God just a little bit of faith,,, it would have been so much better for him and the people of Judah,,, but he chose to put his faith in the strength of men instead of God,,, and that is a bad mistake.

And it’s a bad mistake for us as well.

Any time that we don’t trust God the way that we should,,, we end up paying for it.

And it usually cause us to lose sight of God’s path and wander around with our doubts and questions.

When really,,, all that we need to do,,, is trust God,,, even when that seems impossible,,, and remember that God is capable of so much more than we can ever imagine,,, so trust Him to do what is best,,, especially when we don’t see any way out on our own!

We have that “Presence That Speaks of Love” because of God’s love for us,,, and it helps us to know that Jesus Christ fulfilled that prophesy from Isaiah over 2 thousand years ago.

And because of that,,, Immanuel,,, God is with us,,, every day,,, giving us His,,, “Presence That Speaks of Love”,,, a love that helps us,,, each and every day,,, as we struggle with all that this world throws at us!

God loves us,,, and we know that even when we doubt and question what is happening,,, like John in prison,,, and as we have seen today,,, we trust in the answer that we get,,, from the word of God,,, and Jesus Christ,,, our Lord and Savior,,, as we are ascending,,, to God’s promise,,, and continue to experience that “joyous hope”,,, “proclaimed peace”,,, “everlasting joy”,,, and “Presence That Speaks of Love” as we continue our advent journey,,, towards the celebration of Jesus’ birth!

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