Let us Pray for Mercy

Intro

- This Christmas season we are going to do something that I believe will prove beneficial as we go into the new year. While we celebrate the Advent of Christ, we are going to be praying along with Isaiah for his coming.

What will be interesting about the way we will do this, is that as we work our way through some prayers found in the book of Isaiah regarding the first coming of the Messiah, we will find words to voice our concerns and desires for Christ’s work on earth to be done through us.

- This first week will begin where all prayers should and that is a recognition of our great need for the Lord and his mercy in our own lives while also praying it be realized in the lives of others.

- As you find your way to our text this morning. There is a common experience which I believe we all can relate to and that is the picture of a child trying to get the attention of their parent.

Sometimes this can grow extremely repetitive, and wear down the nerves of the parent. But what I would like to focus upon is the expectation of this child as it come to grasp the attention of their parent.

If you think back to when you were a child and did the same thing, there was this expectation that “if I could only get their attention then action will follow.”

Here we have this prayer that calls for this attention, but also calls for the Lord’s action. I believe we should learn from and start now in our praying like this.

Sermon

The elements of this prayer will help us shape our own:

1) The Complaint (63:15-19)

2) The Confession (64:1-7)

3) The Appeal (64:8-12)

1) The Complaint (63:15-19)

- This section will answer the “what” the intercessor desires of the Lord. It is very simple, “God stir up your zeal and might, and pour out your compassion upon your people as you have in the past.”

The implicit here is that God seems to have forgotten his people, but we know that is not true. So what is going on?

God disciplines his children, and he has done so and will do for their sin.

- As we come before the Lord, we, through Christ, we must acknowledge the issue at hand. It is one the church continues to struggle through, but if we as a church are to grow penitent hearts are required.

We should take time this advent to at least reflect upon, and deal with our sin.

At this point you may be asking why is Adam developing this at this time of year? It is because unless we get this part right, why would we ever expect to see Kingdom growth when we do not acknowledge that we could not do this apart from Him.

2) The Confession (64:1-7)

- It is at this point that the intercessor prays for something is is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus at his first coming, and will be repeated in his second.

You see when Christ the heavens were torn open at Jesus’ first advent amazingly thre was not the wrath of God that was wrought upon the earth, rather a heavenly chours singing to the shepherds, and then at Jesus’ baptism a peaceful dove identifying Jesus as the Lamb given for the sins of the world.

God has torn the heavens open but instead of wrath upon sinners the world received a sacrificial lamd who bore the sin of those sinners.

- We pray this as the intercessor did, we should pray this, we must pray this for God to tear open the heavens and pour down the power of his holy Spirit to do more saving acts “awesome works that we did not expect.”

This is the prayer of revival for God to transform people form seething enemies to obedient children.

- This come first in the confession of His saints, and recognition of our deserved discipline, but the praise for the mercy that it has been laid upon the redeeming Lamb.

3) The Appeal (64:8-12)

- “O Lord, we, your sinful people, desperately needd yout to cover our sins and acts on our behalf. Please Lord, tear open the heavens and comedown to destroy our enemies, despite the fact that we deserve all the judgements you have wisely meted out to us! Please Lord no longer be silent or restrain your affections for us. Act O Lord!.

So the intercessor turns again to God the father (who has adopted us), to God the potter (who has shaped us), to act on behalf of his sinful people.