Advent week 2
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
This morning, we begin a journey through some of the most amazing prophecies about the birth of Christ, from the Prophet Isaiah. As we journey through these texts this Advent, I want to encourage each of us to do more studying of the passages on our own because it is only through continuous study and reading that we can truly take into our hearts the meaning of the words and what they hold true for us in today’s world. I want to give us some historical context to the Prophet’s writings and then talk a bit about what it means to have true hope, not the hope that this world teaches us, but the hope that comes from being in relationship with Christ…the only kind of hope we truly need as Christians. So, let’s begin with a little bit of history. Isaiah, we believe, lived at a time when the land of Judah and Israel were divided with one another. He wrote, mainly, from Jerusalem and spoke of events that were to happen in the near future as well as some distant events. Because we know that he lived at the time of certain rulers, we can place the time of his writings to be somewhere around 700 years before Jesus’ birth. Now, let’s put this in perspective…as we look at Isaiah’s writings about the Messiah, which we know to be Jesus, he wrote these words 700 years before anyone even knew who Jesus was. Think about that for a moment…Isaiah wrote about Jesus a really long time before anyone would ever know him. I want you to keep this in mind as we dive deeper this morning into Isaiah’s words. Remember this too, Isaiah wrote those words for the people what had been a united nation and now its divided, living in the land that God provided to them, and because they rebelled against God, the land was soon going to be taken from them and they were now a divided family. Sounds a lot like our world today doesn’t it? But there is hope in Isaiah’s words and my prayer for this morning is that you see that hope, take it into your hearts, and then share it with others because this world needs a tremendous amount of hope...
Let’s pray!
2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3 And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. 5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Hope reassures believers in this present life
Verse 2 talks of whats to come.
God’s government will be established in the last days. His reign will be forever. The world does not acknowledge Him as King but he is. Kingdoms rise and fall but God’s kingdom stands strong and will not be destroyed.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
13 It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
We can wait expectantly for this promise and have hope now. Our hope is not only for the future but in Christ we have received the gift of hope for today, tomorrow, and for eternity. As we celebrate the the birth of Christ this Christmas we must hold onto this gift of hope that we as believers have received. It’s not enough to know of this gift but we must open it and enjoy it today, and share Him with the world. Christ is our Rock just as He was for Israel. They were waiting for the prophesied Messiah but we know that He was born of a virgin and we have seen how many of the prophecies of the Old Testament have come to be true. Yet there are still more to come and we wait in Hope for the second coming of Christ when He comes for His pure bride. We need to stop trusting human resources and start trusting in God.
It’s this hope that reassures us not just for the future but today and everyday. We must have a confident hope!
Hope encourages believers to rejoice
We rejoice because He has made Himself known to us and He has chosen us. He is not just the God of Isaac or Jacob or Israel no He is our God too! He is the God of the Jews and Gentiles.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
He is teaching us His ways and His will for us. We find life in Him. We have not just heard the Good News but we have received it and welcomed Jesus into our lives. We are heirs to His kingdom. Christmas is a time to remember all we have recieved in Christ. He is the ultimate gift. You can’t go to any store to buy salvation it’s a free gift. No material gift can fill or replace what we have recieved in Christ! This hope in Christ reminds us to rejoice in Christ.
3 And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
In verse 3 we see that people will be seeking the Lord in the end days and they will learn His ways and walk in His path. No all will seek Him but we should because He is our Lord and Savior! He wants all to worship Him and He wants us to invite people to worship Him. Instruction will come from Zion in the last days and His word will cause people to obey Him. We don’t have to wait and we should not wait to receive Him. He is calling us to put our hope in Him and rejoice.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
There is unity in the world and not fighting when we put our hope in Christ and we rejoice. It’s this unity that will draw others to Him. We are one with Him and we are the church His body because of what he did for us. We value His word and cling to it. Our life is all about Christ and no longer about us. He is our peace, our hope, our joy. He is our source and supplier for everything good. This is why we celebrate Christmas. It’s not for the tree, the presents, family, food, but because Christ was born the One who was prophesied about in the Old Testament.
9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
We shout for joy Christ is king. He is our almighty Savior. The Good news has been made known to us. We share Him with the world.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
This child has been born and His name is Jesus. In Him we have hope! He is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. We shout praises of this hope we have in Christ!
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
We don’t wait for Him like we would wait for Santa when we were children. We wait expectantly because we know He is coming. As we wait in hope we are strengthened by His word and He give us strength to persevere without losing hope because our eyes are on the gift from above Jesus Christ. We don’t go to the world to find our hope but our hope is everlasting and never goes away.
It’s this hope that encourages us as believers to rejoice.
Hope encourages believers to look for restoration
Our hope in Christ can trust that He will judge justly in spite of what we see happening around us now. His peace will reign in a world where in the flesh there is not peace. His peace will overcome the flesh and be victorious. He will restore us and prepare us for His coming.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And guide the nations on the earth. Selah.
19 Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged before You.
He unites what is at war with each other. He unites what we in the flesh put idols before Him. We need to get rid of the idols weather it’s man, money, material things, or anything we put 1st in our lives. He is sufficient.
Look at how Isaiah 2 closes.
22 Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?
All we see with our eyes will one day be gone but Hope in Christ is for eternity.
There will be war in the world until the coming of Christ but when He comes every knee will bow.
11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
This day is soon coming!
23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
It’s grace that we receive in Christ that we have received from God. The true gift from God who loves us. Lets celebrate the gift of Christ this Christmas and everyday for the rest of our eternal life.
Closing!
Hope reassures believers in this present life
We can have confidence in this hope!
Hope encourages believers to rejoice
We can rejoice because we believe in Jesus!
Hope encourages believers to look for restoration
With this hope we can know that he is in the process of restoring us.
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
And our hope in Him can trust He will judge justly . Those who trust in Him have nothing to worry about. We can rest in joy and peace in His promise. How can we say no to the One who loves us! How can we wait for or why would we want to wait any longer to receive this free gift. If He has made Himself known to you and His Spirit is stirring in you come to Him today! Celebrate fully the gift of Christ today. Don’t wait a moment longer! The One who parted the sea promises He will make a way for you and me! He is calling ! Respond today! Stand on the truth that will never let you fall. He will provide all the strength you need to keep going on. My Rock, My shield, My firm foundation, I will not be shaken!