12-10-23 - 2nd Sunday of Advent Sermon "Peace" 17 Minutes

Isaiah 40:1-11

This morning I'll be reading Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1 through 11. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Isaiah 40:1-11 This is a passage of scripture that is read at Christmas time a lot. This scripture will hopefully be comforting to us,,, considering everything going on,,, around us today! Isaiah 40:1–11 (HCSB) 1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” 3 A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!” Another said, “What should I cry out?” “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the Lord blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.” 9 Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Lord God comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him. 11 He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing. 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 we had our hanging of the greens service,,, and our 1st Sunday of Advent candle lighting and reading.

The word for last Sunday was "Hope"!

And,,, even though the word "hope" was not used in the reading,,, there was a "hope" implied there,,, just as there is always "hope" where the birth of Jesus Christ is anticipated!

Hope,,, as I've spoken of before,,, is not a question,,, but something sure,,, something definite,,, given by Jesus Christ,,, because without Him,,, there is no "Hope"!

The way that we use "Hope" is secure because it relies on the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

So because of Him,,, there is no doubt!

A "hope" that is needed more than ever today as we deal with our almost daily struggles!

A "hope" that doesn't make our troubles go away,,, but makes them bearable!

It's Christ that our hope and faith stand on!

And,,, our "Hope" is sure,,, because God is the same yesterday,,, today,,, and tomorrow,,, He never changes,,, so "Hope" will never change!

We can also see "Hope" in our world today!

If we just take the time to truly look,,, and I challenged you,,, to take the time to watch out for,,, "hope" in our world,,, and our communities,,, this Christmas season!

And,,, I reminded you,,, that,,, sure,,, we aren't perfect,,, and we could be better,,, but we could be worse too!

And for that,,, I'm hopeful,,, and thankful,,, this Christmas season.

So you were told,,, do your best to see where you can see "Hope" around you this season,,, and let "Christ",,, give you,,, the "Hope" you need,,, to live a life of "Hope"!

As we continue our journey,,, towards the celebration,,, of our Savior and King's birth!

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

___________________________________ Verses 1-2 said: 1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”

Chapter 40 opens with a message of comfort for the returning captives.

It appears that these words are given to Isaiah to give to the people so that they would be comforted during the Babylonian exile.

And as it says,,, Jerusalem’s troubles are over,,, her iniquity is pardoned,,, for she has received … double (that is, full and fitting measure,,, or punishment),,, for all her sins.

This will be fully realized at the Second Coming of Christ.

My commentary said that,,, in the meantime,,, this old earth,,, and even the church today,,, is definitely,,, in need,,, of comfort.

Each one of us can do his or her part,,, to comfort God’s people:

___________________________________ Verses 3-5 said: 3 A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The call goes out to “Prepare the way of the LORD.”

John the Baptist filled the role of forerunner at Christ’s First Advent (Matt. 3:3), and Elijah will fill it,,, at the Second Advent (Mal. 4:5, 6).

The preparation for His coming is moral and spiritual,,, not topographical.

Morgan writes:

The faithful among men prepare His way and make straight His highway when they yield to Him their complete loyalty, and confide in Him alone.

Mountains and hills represent the proud and arrogant among men,,, valleys the people of low degree.

All unevenness and roughness of character must be made smooth.

The glory of the LORD (that is, the LORD Himself) shall be revealed,,, and all flesh shall see it together (see Rev. 1:7).

___________________________________ Verses 6-8 said: 6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!” Another said, “What should I cry out?” “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the Lord blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

My Bible Knowledge Commentary says: A second voice (cf. v. 3) spoke,,, this voice,,, probably God’s,,, gave the command,,, probably to Isaiah,,, to cry out.

The voice told him to contrast the difference between people and God.

People are temporary and they change.

They are like wild grass and flowers that come up in the springtime only to fade and fail when the weather gets hot (cf. Psalm 37:2; 102:11; 103:15–16).

By contrast,,, God never fails for His Word endures forever.

This fact would greatly comfort and encourage the people in exile who read these words.

Because God’s Word stands, His prophecy that the people would be restored to their land was sure to be fulfilled.

___________________________________ Verses 9-11 said: 9 Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Lord God comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him. 11 He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.

My commentary says: perhaps the one who was to take good tidings to Jerusalem,,, was someone who was passing on Isaiah’s message.

The messenger was to tell loudly to the towns of Judah that God was coming (v. 9) to Jerusalem,,, restoring His people from exile.

Presumably Isaiah envisioned the return from exile as leading immediately into the Millennium,,, though of course Bible passages written later,,, indicate an extensive time gap between the two events.

God was described first as the Sovereign LORD who is a powerful, conquering King (v. 10).

He not only rules in power,,, but He also brings spoils from war,,, (His reward, i.e., blessings),,, with Him.

Arm suggests strength,,, a concept Isaiah frequently mentioned (40:10; 51:5 [twice], 9; 52:10; 53:1; 59:1, 16; 60:4; 62:8; 63:5, 12).

God was also pictured as a tender Shepherd (cf. Psalm 23:1; 80:1; John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4),,, who carefully carries and leads the weak and helpless members of His flock (cf. Jeremiah 13:17, 20; Micah 4:8; 5:4; 7:14; Zechariah 10:3).

These two aspects of the Lord’s character are emphasized throughout this second major portion of Isaiah’s book.

___________________________________ The main point that I want us to remember going forward,,, is that even though Israel has sinned and turned away from God,,, and that,,, sin,,, led to the punishment that they have been through,,, the fact is,,, God is now giving them words of encouragement,,, words of comfort,,, since they have repented of that sin!

And they can believe these words because,,, it said in verse 8: 8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

So we know that God's word is true today,,, just as it was for them at that time!

And no matter what we have done wrong in the past,,, God will forgive us as well!

___________________________________ Also,,, there will always be wars,,, and rumors of wars,,, until Jesus returns to set things right in this world that has been ruined by sin!

So we need to remember these words of comfort as we look forward to our day set aside to celebrate Jesus' birth,,, and to His second coming as well!

The events going on around the world,,, the war in Israel,,, Ukraine,,, the shootings we keep experiencing in this country,,, the threat of violence,,, etc.…

These are events that we need to be aware of,,, yes for sure,,, but we don't need to let them take our eyes and minds off of our duty that we still have to the world,,, and that's spreading the good news,,, of Jesus Christ,,, especially during the Christmas season!

We don't need to stick our heads in the sand,,, and lose sight of the fact,,, that God is in control,,, even though it may not look like it to us at the time!

We,,, as Christians today,,, need to take comfort in these words today,,, and remember as we look at the birth of Christ,,, that this set in place the glorious chance for us to be restored to the relationship with God that sin had ruined,,, but God's word were true,,, and they never changed,,, and we can see the fulfillment of them today,,, and that lets us know that the words that He is coming back again,,, are true as well!

So,,, lets celebrate His birth,,, because we know that God's words of comfort were true then,,, and they are just as true,,, for us,,, today!

That's why,,, that we have that "peace" today,,, that we always look to,,, the 2nd Sunday of Advent!

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