Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: A story in Focus on the Family tells the tragic stories of teenagers Heidi, Christopher, Amber, and Alicia.

Early one March morning, Heidi, 15, and her boyfriend, Christopher, 16, decided life wasn’t worth living.

After a short hike down a rugged path on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles, the teenage couple ducked through a hole in a chain-link fence to get to a narrow concrete spillway known locally as “the diving board.”

There, before dawn, the couple jumped, falling 150 feet into the crashing surf below.

Their bodies were found by a jogger at sunrise.

According to an article published on November 6 of this year among teenagers suicide is the second-leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults.”

Research shows that one of the key reasons for suicide attempts is having the feeling of hopelessness.

Focus Journal published the findings of research that shows that hopelessness “was significantly related to eventual suicide.”

Two months later and just a few miles down the coast, 14-year-old Amber and her 15-year-old friend, Alicia, also decided they’d had enough.

After tying their wrists together, the two teens walked to the edge of a cliff and jumped.

Friends and family knew that Amber and Alicia had been using drugs.

But they also said the girls were making progress and seemed happy.

According to an article published on November 6 of this year among teenagers suicide is the second-leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults.”

Research shows that one of the key reasons for suicide attempts is having the feeling of hopelessness.

Focus Journal published the findings of research that shows that hopelessness “was significantly related to eventual suicide.”

Life’s problems can often lead people down a path of depression and hopelessness.

Many people who fall into this state of mind believe that life does not matter anymore.

No matter how hopeless we believe our circumstances may be, hope always exists when we are in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

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But I am here to bring you great news!

There is an answer

Whether this mindset matches you or someone you know and love, I am here to bring you great news this morning!

There is an answer for those who have lost all hope and His name is Jesus!

He is the great hope giver.

You just have to be willing to accept what He’s offering.

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In the midst of life’s greatest disappointments

I.

The Hopelessness of the Jews (, , , , )

Verse 2 informs us that the Israelites were “walking in darkness.”

They found themselves in darkness because they had:

A. Rejected God

When Isaiah was given the prophecy regarding the coming Messiah, the Jews were a divided kingdom.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was led by an unfaithful man named Ahaz.

During his reign, Ahaz participated in and encouraged the Jews to worship the pagan gods of Baalim and Molech.

Molech’s followers built a great fire under molten images of the false diety, and when the it was red with heat, they would throw their children into the arms of the god.

The Chronicles tell us that Ahaz was known to sacrifice his own children to Molech and he reintroduced this type of worship to the Jews during his reign.

When Isaiah was given the prophecy regarding the coming Messiah, the Jews were a divided kingdom.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was led by an unfaithful man named Ahaz.

During his reign, Ahaz participated in and encouraged the Jews to worship the pagan gods of Baalim and Molech.

Molech’s followers built a great fire under molten images of the false diety, and when the it was red with heat, they would throw their children into the arms of the god.

The Chronicles tell us that Ahaz was known to sacrifice his own children to Molech and he reintroduced this type of worship to the Jews during his reign.

When Isaiah was given the prophecy regarding the coming Messiah, the Jews were a divided kingdom.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was led by an unfaithful man named Ahaz.

During his reign, Ahaz participated in and encouraged the Jews to worship the pagan gods of Baalim and Molech.

Molech’s followers built a great fire under molten images of the false diety, and when the it was red with heat, they would throw their children into the arms of the god.

The Chronicles tell us that Ahaz was known to sacrifice his own children to Molech and he reintroduced this type of worship to the Jews during his reign.

It’s no wonder then that Isaiah equates the Jewish rulers to “the rulers of Sodom” (), and the Jewish people to the “people of Gomorrah” (.)

It was during this time that the king of Syria and king of Samaria came together and decided they were going to war against Judah, remove Ahaz from the throne, and replace him with a puppet king they could control.

Because of his lack of faith in God, Ahaz turned to the king of Assyria for help in dealing with the coming threat.

We read in where God sent Isaiah to confront Ahaz and encourage him to not make this deal with the ruthless Assyrian king, but instead place his faith in Jehovah God.

: “‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands...’”

: “thus says the Lord God: ‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.’”

But Ahaz had already made up his mind that he was going to make a pact with Assyria and that’s what he did.

We learn in and that Ahaz had already committed himself and the southern kingdom to the brutal Assyrians.

In fact, the Bible tells us that he “took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house and sent a present to the king of Assyria.”

Ahaz then went on to remove the Lord’s alter in the Temple, replaced it with an Assyrian alter and instructed the priests to begin making offerings to Assyrian gods.

Assyria did come to Ahaz’s aid.

They wiped out the threat from the Syrian and Samarian kings, but four times they came and plundered Judah leaving them desolate and hopeless.

You see, just like God grew tired of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, he grew tired of the ways of the Jews.

We know this to be true because God tells Isaiah to inform the Jews that:

Just like God grew tired of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, he grew tired of the ways of the Jews.

We know this to be true because God tells Isaiah to inform the Jews that:

The Jews

B.

‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts...

‘When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you: even though you make many prayers, I will not listen…’() And unless they repent and return to Him they will:

‘be eaten by the sword...’ ()

In , the prophet informs king Ahaz that because the Jews placed their trust in things of this earth for salvation instead of having faith in Him, they will find themselves in “‘distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish.’”

And that’s what happened.

Assyria did come to Ahaz’s aid.

Not only did they wipe out the threat from the Syrian and Samarian kings, but four times they came and plundered Judah leaving them desolate and hopeless.

Ahaz’s decision to lead the Jews to place their trust in the godless and unforgiving Assyrian kings, and the Jews decision to go along with it, led them to be overtaken and left desolate.

In , the prophet informs king Ahaz that because the Jews placed their trust in things of this earth for salvation instead of having faith in Him, they will find themselves in “‘distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish.’”

And that’s what happened.

Assyria did come to Ahaz’s aid.

Not only did they wipe out the threat from the Syrian and Samarian kings, but four times they came and plundered Judah leaving them desolate and hopeless.

Ahaz’s decision to lead the Jews to place their trust in the godless and unforgiving Assyrian kings, and the Jews decision to go along with it, led them to be overtaken and left desolate.

How many of you here this morning are currently in a state of mental and spiritual anguish?

How many of you feel like you are in a state of hopelessness?

While others are celebrating Christmas, there’s no capacity for you to celebrate because there is no joy in your life.

Maybe you feel abandoned by family.

Maybe you are suffering through the loss of a loved one.

Maybe you are suffering through a broken relationship.

While others are celebrating Christmas, there’s no capacity for you to celebrate because there is no joy in your life.

Maybe you feel abandoned by family.

Maybe you are suffering through the loss of a loved one.

Maybe you are suffering through a broken relationship.

What a hopeless world we live in when we place our trust in the things of this earth to fill and satisfy us.

Are you seeking a more personal relationship with God this morning to help you endure and get through this season of life, or are you turning to different things this world offers?

Many years ago, one of my best friends started dating this young lady in the latter part of their high school years.

We all believed they would one day get married because they were a perfect fit.

And man, did he love her.

Everything he did during college was to prepare for their life together after college.

Not long into their senior years of college, they got engaged.

However, by the time graduation came around everything changed.

One thing led to another and they eventually called off the engagement and broke up.

This sent my best friend crashing down into a time of mental anguish, hopelessness, and anger.

At first he turned to Christ, but the amount of anger and despair he had led him down a path of alcohol abuse and horrible decision making.

All of this culminated when less than a year after the engagement was broken off, he met another a young lady at a bar, and within six months of meeting her they were engaged and married.