"HOPE"
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(John Ramirez is Reading Isaiah 59)
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs;
they weave the spider’s web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,
which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.
21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
Good Afternoon. Thank you John for Reading our Passage of Scripture. I want to begin today by telling you how excited I am that you are here with us today. This is not an accident that you are here. There is a reason that God has you here today and I am excited we get to open God’s Word once again and have some hope in this world. I was listening to the radio this week in my car and the two men were asking each other what they were hoping to get for Christmas this year. There is a lot of talk about hope or hoping to get things around Christmas.
So, let me ask you a question today. What exactly are you hoping for this Christmas?
As Children we were always hoping and even wishing for that perfect gift that we had wanted all year but never got. As we grow older we begin to hope for other things. Bigger things. Sometimes we can hope for a better job with more finances. We hope for better health, or a change of environment, and even relationships.
So, why do we hope for something better???
Because most people, not all, but most people believe that what they are looking for, and in, will help solve their biggest problem. If only I had this or got that it could fix my problem.
But do you know what are biggest problem actually is? It’s us. Our biggest problem is this life dwells inside us and it is the fact that we are all sinners.
Turn with me today to Isaiah chapter 59. This passage of Scripture is what John just read to us and what it does is exposes our need for hope and then supplies the source of hope with the wonderful prophecy of the birth of Christ.
Let’s begin in verse 2.
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
This is a tough verse. Wether we like it or not, wether we want to admit it or not there is a huge problem. The Apostle Paul says it like this.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We have fallen short, we miss the mark. So, what can you do about this problem? Well what do a lot of people do when they get called out on something? What do people do when the get caught or even confronted?
Some people lie about the situation.
Some people deny the situation.
Others want to blame shift. It’s easy today to blame others for our problems. It was my family or ancestor’s fault, it’s the government’s fault, it’s God’s fault and that’s why so many people are mad at God.
Or we can accept the charge (sin), confess that we are wrong to the sinful thing and ask for forgiveness.
Here is what Israel does when they are called out with their sinful ways. Look at verse 12 with me.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
The nation of Israel’s sin testified against them. In verse 13 we see that they denied the Lord, they turned away from following the Lord. They revolted and even lied. They are also guilty of social injustice. They have unjustly condemned people to death, they have been false witnesses and their sin is self-destructive. This reminds me so often of what is happening in our world today. So, why does Israel confess their sin? They could have acted like other nations and other people do. Hey we are not that bad or what about this other really bad nation. They could have also denied their sins. But, no they actually see how bad the problem is. The fact that their sin has caused God to hide his face from them so that he does not hear them when they call out. They confessed their sin because they realized that their only true source of hope wasn’t in themselves, but in Yaweh the one true God. He alone was lasting hope. In themselves they realized what hopelessness was all about.
So, what does God do here? Let’s take a look at verse 16.
16 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
God steps in and He intervenes. God steps in to deliver us from our hopelessness. We see here in verse 16 that God intercedes and he brought salvation to us in the giving of His Son Jesus.
Conclusion: As we get ready to celebrate Christmas with family and friends the bottom line is that we all really do hope for something or someone.
-From the Little things in this life.
-To the biggest of concerns.
Our lives are shaped and motivated and yes even frustrated by hope. So, wether we like it or not our biggest problem is our sin, and the fact that we are desperately in need of a Savior. So, this year as we get ready to receive and give gifts may we be reminded God has given us the gift of salvation. God gave us His one and only Son who is the greatest hope for all mankind. This is how the prophet Isaiah finishes this chapter by sharing with us the good news of the gospel.
20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.
You know this thing we call the gift of life is so temporary and because of that I must ask you today, has there come a time in your life where you have recognized the Redeemer and Savior Jesus? Has there come a time where you have turned from your transgression and sin and confessed that to God? If not, do that today. Know that you don’t have to be a slave to sin. Jesus can set you free and you can live a life of peace and joy. “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that is cannot save, or his ear dull, that is cannot hear.” Jesus was born to die for sinners like you and I. This is why He came. What a great gift you and I have been given.
(Pray and Explain what we will do.)
Begin Lighting Candles and Sing Silent Night.
Closing Benediction: Number Chapter 6 Tells us.
27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
The Lord represented His person and His character. And so, in Ancient Israel before the time of Christ the Priests were to call for God to dwell among His people and meet all their needs. And so here is my prayer for you tonight as we go out and celebrate the birth of Christ.
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Merry Christmas Antioch. We hope you and your family have a Wonderful Holiday Season and invite you back tomorrow morning at 10:30 to worship with us on the Lord’s Day. The Day that we celebrate the Risen Savior.