First Advent Midweek sermon 11/30/2011

First Midweek Advent Sermon 11/30/11 Text: Isaiah 40:1-2 This Advent in our Wednesday services we are going to take a closer look at Isaiah 40:1-11. Each week I will take two or more verses and talk about them so that we can get a better understanding of the text thus strengthening our faith. As we go through the text each week you will see how relevant God’s Word is for our lives today. Sir Winston Churchill was once asked to give the qualifications a person needed in order to succeed in politics, and he replied: “It is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.” While that is certainly true for a Politian it is not true for God’s prophets who were correct all of the time. They didn’t have to explain away their mistakes, for God tells us in Deuteronomy 18:22 that “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true it is a “message that the Lord has not spoken.” In other words the person who called himself a prophet was not one if what they said did not come true. Something to remember today when you listen to the pastors proclaiming the end at a certain time or some other prophetic saying. And in Isaiah 8:20 the Prophet Isaiah says, “If they speak not according to this word (that is God’s Word), it is because there is no light in them”. Isaiah was a man who had God’s light, and he was not afraid to let it shine. That is why it is so appropriate to study Isaiah’s writings in Advent the season of light. Before we examine the text of Isaiah’s prophecy, let’s get acquainted with the background of the book so that we can better understand the man and his times. Isaiah which means “Salvation of the Lord” proclaimed to the people of God five different acts of deliverance that God would perform. First the deliverance of Judah from Assyrian invasion. Second, the deliverance of the nation from Babylonian Captivity. Third, the future deliverance of the Jews from worldwide dispersion among the Gentiles. Fourth, this prophecy concerns us, the deliverance of lost sinners from judgment and last, another prophecy that concerns us, he prophesied about the final deliverance of creation from the bondage of sin when the kingdom is established. While the last two prophecies have not been completely fulfilled yet there is no reason since the other four prophecies have come to true to not believe that they will take place. Isaiah was definitely a man in touch with God. He saw through visions God’s Son and God’s glory. He heard God’s message. When Isaiah spoke he spoke for God, as he sought to bring the nation back to God before it was too late. Just as God loved Judah Isaiah loved his nation. He uses the phrase “my people” twenty-six times in his book. He pleaded with Judah to return to God and warned kings when their foreign policy was contrary to God’s will. Just as God hates sin Isaiah hated sin; especially the sin of just going through the motions of worshiping God. As much as God is quick to condemn sin through his prophets he is just as quick to offer the wonderful Gospel message of forgiveness through his prophets. That is what Isaiah is doing in our readings today. It is a wonderful Gospel message to a people whose world had come crashing down around them. They were in a heathen land. Their beloved city Jerusalem along with the temple where God resided was leveled and burned. I would imagine that, as they were being forced to go to Babylon and while living there they were wondering what happened to their powerful almighty God who had promised to protect them. Heartache and despair were abundant. Then God spoke through Isaiah wonderful words of comfort. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.” Comfort in the context that they were in did not mean that God just sympathized with the plight of the Israelites. God through Isaiah is encouraging them. That is a long way off from having sympathy for them which is a feeling while comforting them by encouraging them is an action. God is going to restore his relationship with them by having their beloved city and temple restored. His presence in the temple will comfort them. In verse two Isaiah is saying that God loves them sacrificially. This is where the idea of the suffering servant begins to take place. God is willing to do whatever is needed to restore his people, the people he so dearly loves. He wants them to know that their sin that got them in the mess they were in has been forgiven, not because of anything they did, but because loves them. He forgives them. The last part of verse two is a hard one to understand, “that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.” It sounds like God is saying he doubled the punishment for their sin. It is sort of like you sin a little, I will punish a lot. And then after I have punished you double amount of the sin you did then you are forgiven. That is what it sounds like, but is that what it is saying? It makes sense to us because that is the way we would like it to be, but is that what God is saying through Isaiah? Let’s take a look. You have to go back to the Hebrew and its general usage concerning the words that are translated, “she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.” Once you have done that and I don’t have time to go over the passages today, you see that the people of Israel received double blessings from God not double punishment. Double grace; that is the foolishness of God. Now that we have a better understanding of the first two verses of our Scripture reading for today the question has to be asked: Since God’s Word is timeless, what do the verses mean for us today? The only way to answer that question is to ask another series of questions: How is your life today? Is everything going good or could there be some improvement in your life? Are you troubled with some sin that you, as hard as you try, cannot get rid of? How is family life going? Could it be better? I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If your answer to any of those questions was that you need help this passage is for you. We all need a Savior who does not just stand by looking at us with sympathy, but acts in power, giving what only he can give us; peace between us and God and peace in our lives as we live them today. Peace be to you. Amen.