Advent Week 2
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The decorations have changed. We put up our Christmas tree this weekend and it is decked out not in nice white lights, but bright red and green, with crazy ornaments all over it. For me for some reason it does not feel right if my Christmas tree is not just a little bit tacky. And our decorations on Sunday morning have changed as well. We don’t see red and green we see purple, purple on the table, in front of me, and on the screen. Why purple? Well as my 4 year old son Hollis informed me after Christ Kids a couple weeks ago “Dad did you know that purple is the color of kings.”
As my 4 year old son told me after he came back from Christ kids
The kids learned that during the Advent season, this season of waiting and anticipating our colors change to purple because we are waiting for the coming king.
So as we anticipate, we roll out the purple carpet so to speak getting ready to celebrate that the king has come, and in anticipate when the king will come again.
Our passage this morning from Isaiah is a promise from God to his people that a king will come. And when he does we will find comfort, literally be able to breath again.
The king has come and the king is coming and we need to be reminded of this because often we are not living in light of the reality of the coming king. It seems either like an extremely distant past or an extremely distant future. What bearing does it have now. What does it look like for our lives to be governed by the king today, to be citizens of a heavenly kingdom.
Others of you are more sceptical, you have seen the news, powerful people that promise this that and the other and it is all just power plays. And your like yeah, but how is this promised good news not just really fake news, what is the power play, what is really going on here.
Develop the idea that the king is coming
But in our passage this morning we see the promise of the coming king and because of this we will see that we should prepare the way for the king, proclaim the good news of the king, and trust the word of the king.
FCF:
FCF:
Often we are not preparing for the king to come, living the life that that we will live,
We question whether we can really know the future to come
or maybe we believe God’s word, but we try to keep it private or to ourselves.
maybe we don’t want to proclaim we don’t proclaim to one another the good news.
People let us down, our
So first we should
The coming of king Jesus is the anwser to our longing
The spiritual concerns deal with hat is coming for God’s people,
Our passage shows us this morning shows us that the king
Proposition: The King is coming
We need to
and because of this we should
Prepare the way of the King
Prepare the way of the King
Look with me at verse 3
A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
So you have this voice crying, like this rider who goes out before the king arrives and says:
Is 40:3
okay we need a straight highway, and every mountain will be removed. Every valley will be lifted up. Prepare the way everybody the king is coming. The way the secret service might come in before the president “okay that street will be blocked off, those cars will be moved, alright everybody get prepared the commander in chief is gonna be here soon.”
rider on a horse before the king arrives, would make an announcement.
and a there is going to be this highway with nothing impeding it, it will be straight, it won’t go up and over mountains or down and through difficult valleys.
And in we see that John the baptist is this herald before the coming king. And from John the baptist we get a clearer picture that preparing the way, is not so much about bulldozing mountains, as it is about confessing our sins repenting of our sin, and bearing the fruit in keeping with that repentance.
Simply preparing the way for the coming king means to turn from the things that bring death to the one who gives life. And living as citizens of heaven. Living today the life that is to come. Preparing the way for the kingdom that is coming.
Isaiah 40:3-
Illustration:
When I was a teenager and applying for a job for the first time, I was getting dressed and I had on a polo shirt and khaki pants. Nothing fancy, but when my dad saw he said, “son you have to change, your going to a job interview, you need to wear a cote and tie.” And I said something like, but dad I am not applying to work at a law firm I am applying to work at the Cajun kitchen. And he told me something really important, he said, you don’t dress for the job your applying for today, you dress for the job that is to come.
Application: As Christians we participate in preparing the way for the king by living today the life that is to come. As citizens of heaven. There is this misconception out there when it comes being a Christian. That so long as you prayed this prayer one time that you get this get out hell free pass and now your a Christian and that is what Christianity is really about. But a follower of Jesus is about living that future life today. We are living today the life that is to come. Preparing the way of the king.
Application: A future oriented life.
The king is coming so we should prepare the way as well as
Proclaim the good news of the king
Proclaim the good news of the king
Look with me at verse 9
Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
: 9
God’s people hear that the king is coming, so they are told to get up on a high mountain and shout to Jerusalem and cities of Judah, that is God’s people, the good news.
The good news being that God will put an end to evil and will gently care for his people. Look with me at verse 10 and 11
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
Two things, first the Lord is not someone to be trifled with, he comes with might. He will not let evil go un punished. He does not turn a deaf hear to those who are being harmed and everyone will have to give an account to him, no one gets away with evil.
Second, he is gentle and patient. The Lord will carry those who are too young to keep up, and the mothers he will gently lead.
This is how we are comforted, that is made to breath again. Because we know that when the king comes, he will be the one to doll out Justice, it is not in our hands, and we know that when he comes he will rule with gentleness, not as a harsh taskmaster. But as someone who knows all our needs, and all our frailties.
The Lord will carry those who are too young to keep up, and the mothers he will gently lead.
Application:
We are to proclaim this to one another. So when one of our sisters in Christ has her church’s building and property taken away in a legal battle, and that property is where she laid to rest her child who died in infancy, we can proclaim to here that God will have the last say. That that is wrong and those who took that property will have to give an account to the Lord of hosts.
And we can also proclaim the good news that God is with her, and will gently lead her through the pain no faster than she can go, but at just the right pace. Because the promised king has come and is coming again, and he will be your shepherd even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
The king is coming we should proclaim the good news to one another, as well as
Trust the word of the King
Trust the word of the King
Look with me at verses 6-8
A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Is 40:
All flesh is like grass and flowers, hear today and gone tomorrow, but God’s word stands forever, it does not wither, or fade. But is eternally sure. In scripture we see God’s word as powerful, God spoke creation into being. God’s words cannot be empty like our words can. Because when God speaks there is action. And the in our passage we are reminded how much more powerful and everlasting God’s words of promise, so much more true and sure than human counterpart.
God does thing with his word. So when God promises something it is not simply
Illustration:
You know in the news right now there is this special investigation being done by the FBI into Russian interference in the election. And if you are following it, I am sure you know more about it than me, and I will probably miss some details because it is a confusing mess. But one of the reasons this special investigation was started because you could not complete trust congress to lead the investigation, because they might not be unbiased. So you have this special investigation and recently it came out that there were some FBI agents that were not unbiased and so could not be trusted. So now the question is who investigates the special investigators of Russian interference, and can they be trusted.
Application:
I say all this to say trust today is at an all time low. Every promised word that is spoken seems to be a power play, a tool of manipulation. So what do you do? Who can you trust? I mean you have to trust somebody. The lure of cynicism is that it tells us that we can see through the empty promises, but we have to see through to something we have to land somewhere. We have to find truth, there has to be something that stands forever. Our passage tells us that this is the promised word of God, that his word stands forever.
So if you are here this morning and you are not a Christian, or maybe you are, but you are doubting. What you need ask yourself is who do you trust? Advertisers? Philosophers, scientists, politicians, Hollywood, the masses, Humans and human ideas come and go, what is in today is going to be out tomorrow. All flesh is like grass and flowers. But the word of God stands forever.
Well, our passage reminds us that all flesh is like grass and flowers, hear today and gone tomorrow. But there is one who’s promised word is sure. So sure in fact that when spoken action happens.
And you may say to me, well how can I know that God’s word is not simply a power play a tool of manipulation?
Cynicism
Well because God’s promised word carries action. So that when God promises, things happen.
of God is God himself.
the promised word of God is God himself.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
His word is not like ours, it cannot be empty, we can’t see through God’s word because it is solid. It has flesh and bone.
Conclusion:
He promised a king would come, and his promised word became flesh and dwelt among us. look with me at verse 5
Verse 5 says
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
And in we read
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken. His promised glory has been revealed when the promised work of God took on a face. God’s promised word in-fleshed: Jesus Christ. Behold your God
It is Advent and we wait together as a Church to celebrate that the king has come, that the promised word of God was not empty words, but the word that became en fleshed.
In a world where words are used as manipulation, or co-ourse, or to seduce us to spend, we need a word that can be trusted. A word that will bring comfort and allow us to breath again. That word, is the good news that the promised king has come and will come again.
His word became flesh.
Conclusion
God’s word gives us assurance when all words are power plays by people who are hear today and gone tomorrow
Proclaim to one another the good news of what the King will do
Conclusion:
the King is coming
the King is coming, what we need is new life breathed into us, we cannot depend on our heritage, abraham is our father