Make Room: Peace In The Waiting

Elements

In Isaiah 40:1-5, God announced, through the prophet Isaiah, comfort and peace to His people, Israel waiting in exile in Babylon, by promising that He would lead them home to Jerusalem, and called them to prepare the way for His arrival that would be witnessed by all the nations.

Main Idea: We make room for peace not by waiting for circumstances to change, but by preparing our hearts for God's presence while we wait.

I want my audience to intentionally make room in their lives this Christmas season for peace in the midst of whatever circumstances they are currently facing knowing that Jesus Christ will return to bring peace once and for all.

Intro

Have you ever noticed how much of our lives are spent waiting? We wait in line at the store. We wait for test results to come back from the doctor. We wait on that phone call to see if we got the job or not. We wait on other people to finish a task so that we can take our turn at the same task. We wait in traffic. And if we’re honest, when we’re waiting, it often feels anything but peaceful. The other day I was at the pharmacy. And I was dropping by there to pick up some medicine before I had to be somewhere else at a certain time. And I had a window of about 30 minutes. And so I pull up to the store, I get out of my truck, I run in and think I’ll quickly pick up what I need to get and I get to the pharmacy and turn the corner and there are 6 people ahead of me in line. And the line is moving really slow. And so I’m thinking I should leave but I’m already there and so I wait in line. But the 30 minute window I have is closing and the line isn’t moving, at all. And I can feel my blood pressure rising as I’m standing there. And I’m saying to myself in my head “is it really that hard to get someone their prescription?” And the longer I stand there the more impatient I get. I’m feeling every emotion but peace. And then I get to the counter finally and something is wrong with my order and now I’m the guy holding up the line and now everyone is staring at me like I had stared at them. Waiting brings us everything but peace.

Waiting is not something that we naturally do well. And so often, we believe that peace will come after the waiting, after the moment or the circumstances finally change. But Scripture tells us a different story. You see, Advent, these weeks leading up to Christmas is a season of waiting. It’s a season of expectation. It’s the period of time where we as the Church, as followers of Jesus, learn to wait well. And what are we waiting for? We’re waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. We’re waiting for the second coming of our King, Jesus. You see, while we celebrate what we call the first Advent, the birth of Jesus at Christmas, we wait for what we call the second Advent, when Jesus will come again just as He promised. And to celebrate that and to remind us of this time of waiting, during these weeks leading up to Christmas, we celebrate Advent. We light a candle each week, on Sunday, to emphasize a different aspect of this waiting.

Last week, we began our Advent sermon series entitled Make Room and we lit the candle representing Hope. And we began our celebration of Advent talking about the Hope that we have in waiting for Jesus’s return. We said that because Jesus is the promised Light who steps into our darkness and reigns with unending peace, we must make room in our hearts and lives to receive the hope only He can give. And today, on this second Sunday of Advent, we lit the candle representing Peace. And it’s interesting that we would talk about peace in this context of waiting because, like we said before, usually in periods of waiting in our lives, peace is lacking.

Message

And as we open our copy of God’s Word today to Isaiah 40, we find the people of Judah in a similar situation to where we find ourselves today. They are in exile in Babylon. They are waiting on God to deliver them but, in their waiting, there’s no peace. They had been in Babylon in exile for decades. After ignoring warning after warning from prophets God had sent their way and after years of unfaithfulness, in 586 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed during a devastating siege. The city was in ruins, the temple had been burned, and the people of Judah had been taken 900 miles away from their homeland. Surrounded by foreign people, foreign gods, and foreign customs, Jerusalem was a distant memory for the people of Judah. And in their minds, the thought that kept playing over and over again was “God has forgotten us.” They’re waiting and in that waiting, there’s no peace.

But it’s into this moment of waiting that God, through the prophet Isaiah, speaks words of peace. Isaiah 40:1-5, the prophet says,...

In the midst of their waiting, God broke through the silence reminding them that He had not forgotten them but He was coming for them. They were still waiting. They were still in exile far from home but even in exile there was peace in the waiting.

And just like the people of Judah, who were waiting in exile, we as the people of God are waiting on the second coming of Jesus Christ. And in this time of waiting, sometimes it may feel like there’s no peace. But Isaiah proclaims to us today that there is “peace in the waiting because Christ has come.” And while we are waiting on the second coming of our Savior King, we can experience peace that only comes from our Savior King.

So today, on this second Sunday of Advent, as we light the candle of peace, here’s our main idea: We make room for peace not by waiting for circumstances to change, but by preparing our hearts for God's presence while we wait.

And today, in Isaiah 40:1-5, the prophet gives us three ways we make room for peace in the waiting of Advent.

1. We make room for peace in the waiting of Advent by embracing God’s assurance of forgiveness. (vs. 1-2)

Assurance. It’s a word that gets misused a lot in this day and time. In our culture, the word assurance means having a guarantee that things will turn out the way we want them to. We say things like “I need some assurance this plan will work,” “I need some assurance that you’re going to do what you said you will do.” Assurance becomes this kind of emotional insurance policy, something that we think protects us from discomfort, uncertainty, or risk. But when it comes down to it, there are really not that many things in this life that can fully promise us assurance. I mean think about what we are really saying when we seek assurance from someone, we are really seeking control. Because we think that being in control of the situation is where peace is found. If we can guarantee a certain outcome, then we will have peace.

This is the kind of assurance the world offers us. It’s an assurance that brings peace from certain outcomes, but the problem with that is no one is in control, fully, of outcomes. But the assurance God offers is different. The assurance God offers is not based on us being in control, it is based on trusting that God is sovereign. You see, while our world ties assurance to outcome or success, Scripture ties assurance to God, specifically His character, His Word, and His presence. While the world wants assurance of circumstances and outcomes, God promises assurance of Himself. And this is exactly where Isaiah 40 begins. Not with outcomes but with God’s heart and God’s character. Look at vs. 1...

Notice immediately the repetition here at the beginning. When God says something once, we need to pay attention; but when God says something twice, we definitely need to hone in. He says “Comfort, comfort my people,...” This is God highlighting and placing what He is saying in bold and italics and underlining it. This is God leaning in close to His people, He’s speaking with urgency and He’s speaking with love. For 39 chapters, Isaiah has proclaimed the judgment of God on the people of Judah. It’s been judgment after judgment, condemnation after condemnation. The people of Judah feel crushed and broken under His judgments. They are tempted to think that God has forgotten them as they feel the weight of His silence. And then God breaks through and speaks a word of comfort and peace over His people assuring them above all that they have been forgiven. After 70 years of silence and discipline, God speaks into this moment of waiting and His words are not rebuke, His words are comfort and peace.

And He doesn’t just offer vague reassurance. He gets specific. Look at vs. 2… He says...

Three declarations that assure God’s people of His forgiveness: “her time of hard service is over,” “her iniquity has been pardoned,” “she has received double for all her sins.” The struggle is coming to an end. The guilt, the sin, the rebellion, is pardoned. The debt hasn’t just been cancelled, it’s been paid and then some. Forgiveness has been granted.

And this is where true peace in our lives begins. True peace is not found in changing circumstances, it’s found in us embracing the assurance of God’s forgiveness. Because...

a. Sin’s penalty is paid.

The Jewish people knew why they were in exile in Babylon. They weren’t there by some accident or circumstances that just happened. They were there because of their sin. For generations, the prophets that God had sent had warned them “turn away from your idols and return to Me or face the coming judgment.” But they didn’t listen. God had given them chance after chance to turn back to Him but they refused. And then what God had warned them about, happened. And decades later, they found themselves in exile in a foreign land all because of their sinful choices. And for years they waited. For years they prayed. Wondering if they would ever hear God’s voice again, and if His forgiveness would ever come. No peace, no rest.

And then God, through His prophet, says “your iniquity is pardoned.” Your sins are forgiven. Have their circumstances immediately changed? No. But in their waiting, in their exile, they now have peace because God has guaranteed that their sin is forgiven.

And this is where peace begins for all of us. This is the foundation of everything else in Isaiah 40 and in our lives. That our iniquity has been pardoned and our sin is forgiven. There’s no guessing if that will happen or hoping that will happen. It is done. This was true for the people of Judah then and it is true for us as followers of Jesus now. For those of us who stand much further down the line of redemptive history, we know this forgiveness has come through the death of Jesus Christ for all of us on the cross. You see, when God spoke these words to the people of Judah through the prophet Isaiah, there’s no doubt that He was looking forward to what He would do to make this forgiveness possible. He would send His Son Jesus to be the Savior of the world, to pay the penalty for our sin by dying on the cross for you and for me. And because sin’s penalty is paid, we can make room for peace.

Sin’s penalty is paid and...

b. God’s purpose is proclaimed.

Isaiah, speaking for God to the people, says in vs. 2 “she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” This isn’t about excessive punishment, it’s about complete atonement. The word “double” here means “twice as much.” But it’s more than that, it is the idea of the scales being perfectly balanced and the overpayment of something to not only satisfy the debt but to leave nothing undone. It’s complete atonement which is God’s final purpose for His people. Sure, His desire was to set them free from captivity and exile but the ultimate desire of God was the restoration of His relationship with His people. And through Isaiah, God proclaims that His people have been forgiven and reconciled with Him.

And this is His ultimate purpose for all of us as well. This is the story of all of Scripture. It’s the restoration and the reconciliation of our relationship with God. The whole story, from the very beginning, has been moving towards the ultimate purpose of God to make a way for sinful people to be reconciled with Him. It’s God taking the initiative to pay the price we could not pay. God proclaims that His ultimate purpose is not our condemnation but our redemption and this proclamation speaks loudest at Christmas, the celebration of God sending Jesus for us. It’s the beginning of our salvation.

And this is why we can make room for peace this time of year. This is why the waiting of Advent points us to peace because we know the heart of God was on full display at Christmas. And God’s purpose from the very beginning has been to bring us to Himself in forgiveness and reconciliation. The warfare has ended, the sin debt has been paid, God’s purpose has been proclaimed-that when we surrender our hearts and lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord there’s the assurance that God has forgiven us. And as we embrace the assurance, the guarantee of that forgiveness, we make room for peace while we wait on Jesus one day to return for us.

Second,...

2. We make room for peace in the waiting of Advent by embracing God’s alignment of our hearts through forgiveness. (vs. 3-4)

There’s no doubt that God had in mind the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross when He spoke these words through the prophet Isaiah to His people and this is even more clear in vs. 3-4. He says...

Now, this may sound strange to us but for the people of Judah in exile, this would have made perfect sense. The imagery here is a of a king coming to visit His people. And in preparation, ambassadors were sent ahead to make sure the roads were smooth and level so that there would be no difficulty or obstacle obstructing the path of the king as he came to his people. There have even been recordings in the books of history that talk about some kings and queens going to the extreme of having whole mountains level to carve a road to their people. And ultimately, this prophecy points to what John the Baptist would do in preparing the way for the coming of Jesus Christ as he called the Jewish people to repentance in preparation for the salvation Christ would bring. Isaiah isn’t calling for the preparation of a physical road, he is calling for the preparation of the hearts of God’s people. God is coming to set them free from exile but ultimately He will send His Son Jesus to set them free from the captivity of sin and death. And for the hearts of the people to be ready, a preparation must take place, and alignment of the hearts of the people must happen.

And in the same way, for us to make room for peace in our time of waiting, we must embrace God’s alignment of our hearts as well. And when that happens, it results in...

a. Hearts prepared for God’s presence.

Isaiah’s words in vs. 3 are a call for preparation. He says “make straight a highway for our God in the desert.”

It’s the highway of our hearts. It’s the clearing of obstacles, it’s the removing of clutter, it’s the blasting away of things that block what God is wanting to do in our hearts and lives. It’s a preparation for the presence of God in us.

You see, at times, even as followers of Jesus, our hearts get out of line. Sin pulls us, shame twists us, fear overwhelms us, pride pushes us off center. And all of this robs us of peace. But the good news of Advent is that through God’s forgiveness of our sin, our hearts are realigned and as we embrace this realignment of our hearts, we make room for the peace of God in our lives, a peace that only comes through His presence in us. You see, we can look for peace in other people and in other places, but true peace is only found in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Just as John the Baptist proclaimed in John 1:29 “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Today, we look to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and we embrace the forgiveness that comes through His sacrifice for us on the cross. And as we do, we prepare the highway of our hearts for His presence in our lives.

It’s hearts prepared for God’s presence and it’s...

b. Lives leveled for the Gospel’s advancement.

He continues in vs. 4...

God tells His people “I’m coming to you, to set you free, to bring forgiveness but it’s going to require a realignment of your lives.” You see, the people of Judah living in exile in Babylon weren’t just preparing to be set free, they were preparing their own hearts. And not only that, they were preparing to be a testimony to the world around them of the glory of God that God is faithful and forgiving and He keeps His promises to His people.

It’s the same message John the Baptist brought to the Jewish people as he prepared the way for Jesus preaching a message of repentance of sin leveling the pride of the Jewish religious leaders and giving hope to those who felt they were beyond forgiveness. That Jesus had come to seek and to save the lost.

And for you and for me, waiting on the return of Christ, God calls for a leveling in our lives as well. He wants to radically reorder our hearts and our lives to be centered on Him. He wants to lift the valleys of despair and hopelessness in our lives, the places where we’ve lost hope, where we’ve settled for less than what God wants for us. Those valleys need to be lifted up by the truth of God’s Word. He also wants to level the mountains of pride in our lives as well. Those places in our lives where we think we don’t need God. Those places that we’ve kept from submission to His Lordship in our lives. The people and things we’ve placed in priority above Him. Those mountains in our lives need to be leveled.

And when that happens, when the low places in our lives are lifted and the high places in our lives are humbled, we make room for the Gospel of Jesus to be advanced in the culture around us. We become people through whom the peace and presence of God flows freely and we testify of a God who keeps His promises and restores and forgives. And when the world looks at our lives, they see that the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly transforms and that true peace comes from a heart and a life that is aligned in a right relationship with God.

We make room for peace in the waiting of Advent by embracing God’s alignment of our hearts through forgiveness.

Third,...

3. We make room for peace in the waiting of Advent by anticipating God’s glory revealed. (vs. 5)

And this anticipation is really the whole point of the Advent season for us as followers of Jesus. Because Advent, again, is not just about us looking back to what God has done, it’s not just about us looking inward examining our hearts and lives to see what God is doing, it’s mainly about us looking forward to what God will do. And this is what Isaiah is pointing to as well when he says in vs. 5...

In our lives, anticipation brings with it excitement and disappointment. And it all depends on how the circumstances work out. We anticipate that we’ll get a promotion at our job and if we do, it brings excitement, if we don’t it brings disappointment. We anticipate good news from a situation we’ve been waiting on and if good news comes, it brings excitement, if it’s bad news, it brings disappointment. In reality, our anticipation tends to bring with it uncertainty because it is dependent on circumstances that are out of our control. But the kind of anticipation that Isaiah is pointing to is different. It’s not wishful thinking, crossing our fingers and hoping something will work out. It’s confident waiting. It’s not anchored in what might happen, it’s trusting in what God has promised will happen: God’s glory being revealed. And it’s...

a. God’s glory revealed for all to see.

He says in the first part of this powerful statement...

The word for “glory” here is the Hebrew word meaning “heaviness, weightiness, importance.” It carries with it the idea of worthiness. God’s glory is the actual presence of who He is put on display. And for the Jewish exiles, these words meant everything because in their deportation to Babylon and in the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple had been destroyed. The place where the presence and glory of God dwelt on earth had been leveled. For years they had sacrificed and worshipped God and met with Him at the temple in Jerusalem and now it was gone and for years they wondered if they would ever experience His presence in their lives again. And God speaks to them an unshakeable promise that they will experience His presence and His glory among them again. And it will be revealed in such a powerful way that all the nations will be witness to it. And while the immediate fulfillment of this promise came as the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, the ultimate fulfillment came on that first Christmas in a manger in Bethlehem when Jesus Christ, the Son of God was born. And just as the surrounding nations witnessed the return of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the city was eventually fulfilled; on that first Christmas, through the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s presence came to dwell among us, and the revelation of His glory began to be fully manifested before the eyes of all human kind. And through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the glory of God was revealed to its fullest extent.

Theologian Andrew Davis puts it beautifully for us, “The display of God’s glory to all the world is nowhere greater than at the cross of Jesus Christ. There we see all the attributes of God radiantly displayed—his love, mercy, grace, wisdom, power, wrath, justice, and patience. So, Isaiah 40:5 gives us the centerpiece of the Gospel. In this “spoken word” of the Lord, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the glory of the Lord appears radiantly for all who hear and believe.” (Andrew Davis)

On the cross, as Jesus gave His life for the sins of the world, God’s glory was revealed in the ultimate act of love. And through His resurrection, death has been defeated and salvation has been secured for all who will place their faith and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. And through followers of Jesus like you and me, God has chosen to take to Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth as every nation, tribe, and tongue witnesses the transforming power of God’s glory through salvation.

And one day, Jesus Christ will return and on that day, all will see His glory fully revealed. God will make all things new and He will dwell with His people forever. There will be no more death, no more pain, no more mourning. And that’s what we’re waiting for. And because we have this promise, there’s peace possible in the waiting.

We trust in what God has promised because one day God’s glory will be revealed for all to see. And this means that...

b. Our hope is anchored for all eternity.

Isaiah rooted the anticipation of the Jewish exiles and he roots our anticipation as the people of God in these unshakeable words found at the end of vs. 5, he says...

You see, their hope and ours is anchored in the promise that Jesus is coming back for us. God came in rescue of the people of Israel, Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem in rescue of all people, and one day, He is coming back to for that final rescue mission for all who have placed their faith and trust in Him as Savior and Lord. And because of this promise, our hope is anchored for all eternity.

You see, when the people of Israel heard this promise proclaimed, they were still in exile in Babylon waiting. And this promise gave them peace. They weren’t waiting with uncertainty anymore, no, this promise changed everything. And for you and for me, this is where peace comes from in the midst of waiting. It’s not a peace that comes from knowing when our circumstances will change, it’s peace that comes from knowing that what God promises will come to pass. Our hope is anchored for all of eternity because it rests on the word of our God who never changes. He keeps His promises, and He has promised that His glory will be revealed, that He will come for us again, and that He will make all things new.

So, if you’re in a season of waiting and the struggle to find peace feels like it will never end. Anchor your hope not in you and your ability, anchor your hope in Jesus and His promise to you and to me. This is the peace of Advent. We're waiting for Jesus' return. We're living in the tension between what has already been accomplished and what is not yet fully realized. But our hope is secure because God has spoken. Christ has come. He will come again. And his glory will fill the earth.

While we wait, we make room for peace by anchoring our hope in that promise. By living as people who know how the story ends. By letting the certainty of God's future glory shape how we live in the present.

Closing

We make room for peace in the waiting of Advent by embracing God’s assurance of forgiveness-because when we know that sin's penalty is paid and that God's purpose is our redemption, the weight of guilt lifts and we can rest in his grace. We make room for peace in the waiting of Advent by embracing God’s alignment of our hearts through forgiveness-because when we surrender to his reordering of our hearts, our lives become level ground where his presence can dwell freely. We make room for peace in the waiting of Advent by anticipating God’s glory revealed-because When we anchor our hope not in changed circumstances but in God's unchanging promises, we can wait with confidence. Will you make room for peace this Christmas?