We Need Relief

The world needs a Savior, a Rescuer, a Redeemer. People who live 6000 miles from here in Moscow, Russia, & people who live less than 6000 feet from here in Flora, MS. Today, we preach & proclaim that Jesus is that Savior, Rescuer, & Redeemer & that He has come. And nearly 3000 years ago, Isaiah was preaching & proclaiming that Jesus was coming.

Then, like now, times were desperate. The people of God were rotting internally from moral & spiritual rebellion & corruption. And on a national level, multiple enemies were threatening to attack the nation of Judah. People were panicking, turning from God, turning to superstition & occultic practices to try to find some sense of safety & peace. Even the king sacrificed his own son to a pagan god (2 Kings 16:3).

Into this hopeless, godless atmosphere, the Spirit of God led Isaiah to interject a prophetic word of hope. Hope was coming & it was coming in the form of a baby that would be born in a tiny village named Bethlehem. It would be a while before that actual event would happen. But when you KNOW that hope is coming, you can hang on b/c your perspective changes.

APPLICATION – The advent of Jesus into the world changes our perspective on everything!

“advent” – arrival; an appearing or coming into place

Let’s consider some of the blessings of the Advent of Jesus:

HE DISPELS DARKNESS – v. 2 – Over & over in Scripture, “darkness” is equated w/ sin, evil, our godless world system.

- Ephesians 6:12 – “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.” (TLB)

- John 3:19 – “This is the judgment—that light has entered the world and men have preferred darkness to light because their deeds are evil.” (Phillips)

- John 8:12 – “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.’” (NLT)

- Romans 1:21 – “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (ESV)

Physically walking in the darkness is dangerous. Spiritually walking in the darkness is deadly. Take heart, brothers & sisters! How awesome that Jesus has come to dispel the darkness of sin & lead us into His eternal light & into eternal life when we trust Him to save us!

HE DIRECTS OUR LIVES – “Wonderful Counselor” – Ron Mumbower – good friend. Counselor. Called & trained to help give guidance to people in times of difficulty, confusion, & pain. So good to have someone like him to go to when we need direction. Verse 6 – Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor – literally, “the wonder of a counselor.” Word “wonderful” – “marvelous, extraordinary, beyond the normal capacity to perform.” We have a Savior who brings His light into our lives to lead us, His wisdom into our life to direct us, & His counsel into our lives to teach us. Times of decision will come to all of us. Times of confusion will happen to all of us. Times where we come to a fork in the road will appear to all of us. Take heart, brothers & sisters! We have a Wonderful Counselor to direct us!

HE DEFENDS HIS PEOPLE – “Mighty God” – Anybody feel like you’re in a battle? Every time you turn around, you’re getting hit w/ an attack from the enemy. Sometimes it’s a full-frontal assault. Most of the time it’s a sneak attack. But we are constantly finding ourselves fighting against Satan & his forces. It can cause us to grow pretty weary.

But take heart, brothers & sisters! That tiny baby that was born in Bethlehem is our Mighty God who has come in the flesh. He came to seek & to save those who are lost. He came to preach the Good News. He came to teach the truths of the Kingdom of God. He came to heal those who were sick & lame & broken. He came to die on the cross, defeat death & hell, & be resurrected victorious. And as our Mighty, All-Powerful God, He came to defend us against the vicious, relentless attacks of Satan! And guess what? He has already won the war, which means WE WIN!!! HE IS DEVOTED TO HIS CHILDREN – “Everlasting Father” – He’s our Father Forever. He is completely & perfectly devoted to His children. Thesaurus – synonyms for “devoted” – caring, concerned, dedicated, devout, dutiful, faithful, loving, steadfast, thoughtful, true, zealous. As our Everlasting Father, Jesus will always provide for us. He will always show compassion to us. He will always watch over us – “never sleep or slumber” (Psalm 121:1). He will always lead us, guide us, & go w/ us through whatever we face. Take heart, brothers & sisters! You have an Everlasting Father! Your earthly father may be gone, but our Everlasting Father will never leave us nor forsake us!

HE DELIVERS DIVINE PEACE – “Prince of Peace” – The absence of peace is a disturbing reality for a lot of people in our world – maybe even in this place today. We want our minds to quiet down & be at peace, but it just won’t happen. We want our marriages & families to have peace, but it’s not there. We sometimes joke about beauty pageant participants always saying that they want “world peace” when asked their on-stage question, but the truth is that the only way anyone in their world can have peace is to know this one who is the Prince of Peace. Other than our salvation, I believe that possessing the peace that ONLY Jesus can give is one of the greatest blessings of knowing Christ as Lord.

CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS

Isaiah told us that Jesus is coming

We know that Jesus has come.

Now it’s time for us to come to Jesus.