WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:10.240 First of all, I'd like to thank all the many people that worked so hard in preparation for the candlelight service last evening. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:14.640 Val Reeves, Val, thank you for your direction. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:18.719 And the Lord knows how many hours have been put into this. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:26.079 The adult choirs, the youth choirs, the readers, and so many behind the scenes. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:38.000 The sanctuary was full last night, and we just thank God for the gathering of God's people to remember what the real meaning of Christmas in Advent is about. 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:49.439 I also just think as I go through so many Advent worship services, the tension that I always feel in Advent. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:01:03.439 We sing, we hear songs sung with joy and celebration as the children just sang, and then we sing hymns that remind us that there is this tension. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:27.599 At least I feel that there's this built-in tension when we think about Advent, because Advent requires of us that we go back and picture what it was like to live in a land of darkness and to live without hope for many of them because they felt the heavy hand of God upon them because of their sins and because of their rebelliousness. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:30.400 And they lived in exile. 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:39.359 They had hard lives, and that's why they needed desperately hope. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:46.560 They needed to know that a Messiah would come and rescue them. 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:50.879 And sometimes they believed that and sometimes they didn't. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:59.120 And so you have these, you have these hymns and minor keys, and you have these hymns and Advent that remind us, go back. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:05.359 And just imagine what it would have been like before Jesus came. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:14.639 And yet at the same time we can sing songs and hymns of joy and celebration because he did come. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.520 And we live between the two Advents. 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.000 What a precious time to be alive. 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:25.199 Between the two comings of Christ. 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:29.280 And because he came the first time, we know that he's going to return. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:33.680 And we still have some of that tension ourselves, don't we? 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:42.719 Because life is not fully transformed, and we still wait for the new heavens and the new earth. 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:44.960 And that's good. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:48.879 It's good in Advent to remind us of these things. 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:54.400 My scripture reading this morning comes from Isaiah chapter 40, the first 11 verses. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:03:01.680 If you're new with us this morning, we've been going through a series, Advent series, promises of hope in the dark. 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:08.240 And we come to what one more passage in Isaiah's prophecy. 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:11.919 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:25.599 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she is received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:35.759 A voice cries, In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:41.520 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low. 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:56.000 The uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:58.879 A voice says, Cry. 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:01.759 And I said, What shall I cry? 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:07.680 All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.800 The grass withers, the flower fades. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:16.000 When the breath of the Lord blows on it, surely the people are grass. 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:21.360 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:24.959 Get on up to a high mountain. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:27.600 O Zion, herald of good news. 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:29.839 Lift up your voice with strength. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:32.959 O Jerusalem, herald of good news. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:35.519 Lift it up, fear not. 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:40.480 Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God. 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:46.480 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:51.680 Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense is with him. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:54.800 He will tend his shepherds. 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:57.920 He will gather the lambs in his arms. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.680 And gently lead those that are with young. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:09.199 This is the reading of God's holy and perfect word. 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:15.439 Please join me in prayer as we ask the Spirit to do his work among us and in us this morning. 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:25.759 Father, we do thank you that you fulfilled your promise as you said you would. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:26.959 You sent your son. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.000 And everything is different because you did. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:33.839 We thank you, Father, for the first coming of your Son. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:38.879 We thank you as we look forward to the return to the second coming of your Son. 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:42.240 We'll usher in a new age. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:49.360 But Lord, we thank you for your word that never fades, that never withers. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:59.439 We thank you that the one sure thing that we have to stand on and believe in this day is the word of our God, which will stand forever. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:02.879 Spirit of God, make your word come alive to us now. 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:04.720 We pray in Christ's name. 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:05.680 Amen. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:11.759 Isaiah is an interesting book, is it not? 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:14.319 It's a long book. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:16.560 There's a lot of history. 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.959 It's a book that we could get lost in. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:29.839 There's a lot of names of towns and people that we maybe not are so familiar with, but it's a great book. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:36.319 I heartily encourage you to get well acquainted with it if you have not already. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:49.279 And as we preach through this book this month of December, I hope that it's just teasing you and just inviting you to get to know the book better. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:51.439 I love Isaiah. 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.519 What a hard ministry he had. 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:58.160 He faced a lot of challenges in his own life because of his ministry. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:10.000 He had to do some strange things we don't have time to get into, as symbolic of the work of God in his people's lives. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:22.240 And yet, Isaiah, a brilliant man, Isaiah uses more vocabulary than any other Old Testament writer. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:36.720 He was a court statesman, as we saw last week, court chaplain, well educated, breadth of knowledge, and we see that come out in so many ways in his book. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:44.800 And this is a very brief overview, but chapters one through 39, there's a lot of judgment. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:47.040 We've seen. 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:49.759 There's a lot of focus on sin. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:55.920 And it's not just Israelites' sin, it's the sin of the nations. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:03.040 And so in chapters 1 through 39, we see God's righteousness, God's holiness. 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:11.360 God is so holy that the scriptures tell us he cannot look on iniquity without having to do something about it. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:16.000 And there's two responses in the Word of God when God looks on iniquity. 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:24.480 And he punishes it because he is so perfect. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:34.879 One of Isaiah's favorite phrases is the Holy One of Israel, referring to God, the Holy One of Israel. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:41.440 But the second response that God has to sin, after he judges it, there's a second way he deals with it. 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:43.039 He forgives it. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:46.960 Well, he doesn't actually forgive it. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.679 God doesn't forgive it. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:51.840 God forgives people. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:09:12.320 He forgives sinners who see the judgment, the hand of God over them because of their sin, yet also see a Messiah, a rescuer, a deliverer, Jesus Christ, that He sent so that we will not be punished for our sins. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:20.000 I'd like to remind you from time to time, there's always new people in this congregation. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:23.440 God never punishes any sin twice. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:26.399 You know that. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:29.679 He never punishes any sin twice. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:37.440 The punishment for your sin will either fall on you, or the punishment for your sin will fall on Jesus. 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:41.279 It doesn't fall on both. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:43.279 That's the gospel. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.000 If it fell on Jesus, it will never fall on you. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.480 Now his chastening hand, that's a different story. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:10:02.320 His fatherly discipline, that's something different to correct us, to draw us back in fellowship. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:17.840 But we see so much of this in the book of Isaiah, especially the first 39 chapters, where we just see God chastising, but even more punishing the nations who have oppressed his people. 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:24.399 You get to chapter 40, and it's like, is this the same movie? 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:26.720 Is this the same book? 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:28.720 Is this the same story? 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:30.240 Well, it is. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:37.679 But starting at chapter 40, the word is not so much confrontation as consolation. 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:42.159 And we're ready for that, aren't we? 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:54.879 If we've been looking at our own lives, if we've been considering our own sinfulness before God, if we've been looking at the dark places of our lives, we're ready for consolation. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:56.960 Comfort. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:03.600 To understand chapter 40, we have to, you have to understand something else. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:06.159 You have to understand that. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:34.480 It seems as though God transports them into heaven and he sees what's going to happen. 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:37.360 Not in his current day. 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:39.120 We're not going to go back in that. 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.200 We did a history lesson last week, right? 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:51.759 As the Israelites were preparing because they were scared because the evil empire of Syria was coming, knocking on their door, and they were scared and they didn't know what to do, and they were looking for alliances. 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:54.159 Well, that's not what he sees here. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:12:06.480 He's looking way down the road, and he sees that the Assyrian threat is going to be stopped, but God is going to raise up another empire, Babylon. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:19.120 And Babylon is going to be an instrument of God to teach his people another lesson because they just seem to always be straying from God. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.000 And he uses Babylon. 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:26.320 And if you go back and you read Isaiah chapter 39, you understand why. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:29.360 King Hezekiah did some really stupid things. 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:36.559 I mean, he was a good king for most of his life, but he did some foolish things at the end of his life. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.159 Let me just say something here. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.360 Watch your life wherever you are. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:58.480 I see time and again in the Old Testament scriptures, people that were faithful to God for many years of their life that didn't end well. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:05.919 Hezekiah was one of those who really made some big mistakes at the end of his life. 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:07.440 And he should have known better. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:09.279 God was really good to him. 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:11.360 God used him. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:22.240 But he did some foolish things, which ended up being used for the Babylonians to come and take over. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:28.159 And so in 605 BC, they came to Jerusalem and they started knocking down the walls. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.080 They started knocking down the city. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.120 And they took away exiles into Babylon. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:36.480 And they came back in 597 and they did the same thing. 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:41.120 And they came back finally in 586 and they came back and they leveled the city. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:50.240 They took all the rest of the whoever is on Jerusalem at that point, and they deport them all to Babylon. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:58.399 This is what Isaiah saw decades before it happened, because God showed it to him. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:07.200 It's in this context that we read what is before us this morning. 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:22.720 What Isaiah is saying to them, people of God, the day's coming when you're going to be under the oppression of another nation, not Assyria, Babylon, and you're going to feel tempted to give up all hope. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.080 You're going to want to throw in the towel. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:28.960 God doesn't really love us. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:31.840 Look at the way he treats us. 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:34.399 God doesn't really care about us. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:38.480 Because if he did, how do you explain that we're in Babylon? 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:54.720 You know, someone has said that for the Israelites when they were in Egypt for 400 years, it was harder for God to get Egypt out of the Israelites than the Israelites out of Egypt. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:59.919 He got the Israelites out of Egypt in one night. 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:01.200 Right? 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.840 One night he got them out of Egypt. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:11.279 But it seemed like it took 40 years to get Egypt out of them in the desert, in the wilderness, because of their unbelief. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.159 This is what Isaiah sees. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:26.799 He sees people who think by judging their circumstances, God doesn't love us anymore. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:31.200 God's not taking very good care of us. 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.720 And there was a lot of weeping, there was a lot of despair. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.320 Some of the people in Babylon, you know what they did? 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.799 I mean, they were really resourceful. 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:45.519 They thought, well, we're not going back home to Jerusalem. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:47.759 We might as well just settle in. 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:54.320 We might as well just kind of get cozy up to the gods in Babylon. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:16:02.480 Just kind of get enculturated in Babylonian culture and just accept it. 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:12.320 Comfort requires confidence that requires truth. 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:19.840 This morning, the first point is simply the good news is promised by God in the book of Isaiah, chapters 40 to 66. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:21.840 The good news is promised. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:25.039 The comfort that was offered in dark times. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.720 Isaiah sees the exile years ahead. 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.480 People are saying, God is judging us for our sins. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:33.679 We're doomed? 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:34.399 No. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:37.120 God is working. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:44.320 He will have the victory over Babylon, and he will have the victory over the sins of his people. 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:49.600 The message is no longer primarily one of judgment, but comfort. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:51.200 Look at the text. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:54.159 What are the first two words you see? 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:03.519 Do you know why words are repeated in Scripture, just like they are in our day? 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:05.279 For emphasis. 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:10.799 Look, just because everything I said the last five minutes is why you read comfort, comfort twice. 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:14.880 They were really down. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:20.559 Comfort, comfort my people. 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:29.200 Do you understand how precious it is to be able to apply that personal pronoun to you? 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:31.920 Are you God's people? 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:37.359 God has a people, a people that he has redeemed. 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:45.039 And when he says, I bring comfort to my people, don't take that for granted. 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:49.279 Because there's a lot of people on this earth that aren't his people. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:52.240 Don't take that for granted. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:18:00.079 If you're one of God's people, you just thank him again this morning and you praise him. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.119 Comfort, comfort my people. 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:08.000 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.119 You know what the Hebrew says? 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:13.359 Speak to the heart. 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:22.640 We had a really good discussion in our session meeting yesterday, the elders talking about this. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:27.200 Let me let you in on a little bit of that. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.640 The Bible never contrasts the head and the heart. 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:35.440 Some of you are saying, what? 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:36.640 No. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:41.759 The Bible is the lips in the heart. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:49.599 That's why Isaiah the prophet could say, these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:19:11.279 When God does a gospel work in your life, not only does he work in your mind, he gives you new information or old information that's like new, he works in your emotions, and he also works in your will, your volition. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:15.839 Understand that? 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:23.680 So in the Hebrew culture, in the Hebrew way of thinking, we really don't know as much as we think we know. 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:26.000 You with me? 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:28.400 You don't know. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:38.240 You don't know if your mind is not engaged, if your emotions are not stirred, if your will is not informed, guess what? 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:39.759 You really don't know. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.480 It's just information downloads in your head. 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:57.119 It's this accumulation of all this information, but if it's not going somewhere, you don't really know. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:03.920 What did I say? 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:05.519 What did Isaiah say? 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:09.119 Speak tenderly to the what? 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:10.160 What was the word? 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:12.079 Heart. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:17.119 Don't just tell my people more facts. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:20.720 Don't just tell my people, cheer up. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:28.559 I want you to, by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of God is going to speak to the hearts of God's people. 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:32.480 And where they are gripped in fear, they will trust. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.920 And where they have been without hope, they will believe. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:42.079 And where there has been no joy, there will be real gospel joy. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.759 This is the gospel. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:47.599 Comfort, comfort my people. 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:50.240 Speak to the heart. 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:53.279 It's more than just speaking comfort. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:21:04.880 It's God is seeking by the work of his spirit to persuade his people, inviting them to respond to his loving, comforting heart. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:09.279 It is Zephaniah chapter 3, verse 17. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:11.440 The Lord your God is with you. 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.640 He's in the midst of you. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:14.559 He's a mighty Savior. 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:16.799 And he will what? 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:21.279 Quiet you with his love. 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:27.039 That's what Martin Luther called the lullabies that God sings. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.680 How long has it been since God has sung to you a lullaby? 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:41.839 I was with some pastors not long ago. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:48.240 And most of them said, I don't I can't remember. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:50.960 Pastors. 00:21:53.039 --> 00:21:58.640 One of them said, I can't remember the last time I thought about God's love for me and God's delight in me. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.759 These were pastors. 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:06.160 Look, if it can happen to the pastors, it can happen to you. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:07.759 It can happen to me. 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:08.960 What am I doing? 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:11.200 What am I doing to keep my heart tender? 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.759 What am I doing to have my ears open? 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:15.599 Do you see what he says there? 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.720 Three different times he talks about a voice. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:20.400 A voice cries. 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:21.839 Verse 3. 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.599 Well, we see the voice really in verse 2. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:26.640 Speak. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:28.400 A voice cries. 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:31.119 Verse 6, a voice cries. 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:34.319 We see the voice coming back in the last few verses. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.279 A voice calls out and says, What? 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:38.880 Listen. 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:45.359 You know, sometimes we're just really bad listeners, aren't we? 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.119 Don't be nudging, don't be poking your spouse. 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:55.920 You can have that talk later. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.680 But sometimes we're just not really good listeners. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:06.319 And sometimes we don't listen to him very well. 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:18.400 Because there's all kinds of stuff that gets kind of stuck in our mind about how we think God is or how we think God should be. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:29.440 And when we get off that track, we're not aware of it much of the time, but our hearts start to shut down. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:35.680 And we no longer hear the Father singing lullabies over us. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:46.160 And when that happens, our lives get noisier and busier, and we just feel the anxiety ramping up. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:51.839 And when that happens, we just feel like we've got to just do something. 00:23:55.599 --> 00:24:01.440 And that's just always proof that we uh we're not hearing the father's lullaby. 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:15.519 Because when we hear the father's lullaby, and we hear the father say, comfort, comfort, speak tenderly to the hearts of my people, what happens is we find rest in a new way. 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.880 And we find peace in a new way. 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:20.720 And comfort. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:23.680 You know what we say? 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.400 Oh, Father, I know. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:28.799 I mean, I now remember. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:32.880 I now know in a different way that you have been with me all along. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:37.200 You've been with me every step of this journey. 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:40.720 We say thank you, Father. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.200 We say thank you, Jesus. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:47.519 Thank you that I have not been punished for my sin. 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:51.039 Thank you, Jesus, that you took the punishment for my sin. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:53.519 That's what happens. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:58.319 Isaiah says the punishment for our sin has been accepted. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:00.400 Pardoned, he says. 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.960 Double for all of her sins. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:08.079 Think about that. 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:11.519 Double for all of her sins. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:18.000 Does that make you think in the New Testament when the Apostle Paul said, for when sin where sin abounds, what does grace do? 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:20.240 Superabounds. 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:36.640 That's why we're going to sing joy to the world in a few minutes. 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:41.440 Because we're we're sin abounds, grace superabounds. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:44.319 And because the Messiah that was promised came. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:51.599 What if you actually believed this today? 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:55.440 How would it change your Christmas season? 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:59.599 What if you heard God's lullaby today in a different way? 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:04.400 What if you heard the words of Isaiah ring in your hearts and your ears in a new way? 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:06.559 Comfort, comfort my people. 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:08.079 Speak tenderly. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:09.279 Cry to her. 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:11.200 Her warfare is ended. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:13.200 Her iniquity is pardoned. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:17.200 She has received from the Lord's hand double for all of her sins. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:26.480 And then a voice in the wilderness cries out, prepare the way, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.200 We talked about highways last night, right? 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:30.880 Highways. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:35.839 You don't make your highway. 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:46.799 When we go about trying to make our own way through this world, it doesn't go well. 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:49.279 Jesus came to be our highway. 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:54.559 Jesus came to make a way through all the deserts of our lives. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:57.359 He is the highway. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:00.400 As we said last night, the tolls are paid. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:04.319 The restrooms and stops are perfectly located. 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:08.240 He knows exactly where you are on your journey. 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:11.279 He knows exactly what you need on your journey. 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:14.079 And he can give it to you. 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:17.599 But you have to see him in his glory. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:20.160 You have to see what he's done for you. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:22.480 You have to see that he's for you. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:29.119 This is an important point in understanding the text. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:35.039 When he says in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:39.200 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:43.839 The uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places like a plain. 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:49.039 But you have to understand that primarily he's not referring to you. 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:52.880 Who do you think he is referring to? 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:55.039 Jesus. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:06.559 These are descriptive words of what needed to happen for Jesus to be able to come and to leave the glories of heaven. 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:13.759 All this was preparation work that the prophets talked about so many times. 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:16.960 Because Jesus is the highway. 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:21.519 I guess you could think of it like this. 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:25.200 There were a lot of mountains that needed to be moved. 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:32.880 There was a lot of construction work, so to speak, that needed to happen for the incarnation. 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:37.599 For Jesus to become our Messiah, the incarnation. 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:40.400 Philippians 2 talks about it more. 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:47.599 They're not calling us primarily to prepare the way. 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:50.559 The way will be prepared for you. 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:53.599 Isaiah 35, verse 8. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:58.000 Isaiah 42, verse 16, if you want to look at it further. 00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:00.000 The way is ready. 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:05.359 The Christmas dinner table is set. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:11.279 I'm looking forward to the Christmas dinner. 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:13.920 The table has been prepared. 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:15.440 The meal is ready. 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:28.480 Which I've never done. 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:31.440 I've never done that. 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:34.240 But I've watched it. 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:40.880 And sometimes I see my dear wife look like she might need a nap. 00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:44.079 Some of you need a nap, right? 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:46.240 When you've been in the kitchen all day. 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:49.279 So that the rest of us can just feast. 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:51.359 No. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:56.720 You aren't making this meal. 00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:58.720 You're not preparing this meal. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:00.640 You're not in the kitchen. 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:03.920 It's all been done for you by him. 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:07.519 Because he left heaven to come to earth. 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:11.359 He prepared the all the preparations were made. 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:13.279 Now what do you do? 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:17.119 You come and sit at the table. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:19.680 You come and sit. 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:22.960 And you enjoy the meal. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:30.720 And you say, thank you, Jesus, for the way you feed me. 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:33.119 Because he's the highway. 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:39.759 The Lord's road will be straight, it will be level, and it will be free of obstacles. 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:42.640 God did all of this for us. 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:45.359 We don't build this highway. 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:48.480 The deliverance must come from the outside. 00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:57.119 The meal must be prepared by someone else to be enjoyed by us, but prepared by Him. 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:03.759 Now, is there not some secondary application of this to us? 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:04.559 Yeah. 00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:10.400 John the Baptist came as preparing the way, and John the Baptist said, repent. 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:13.039 Confess your sins. 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:15.599 Look to this Messiah. 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:18.960 Well, that's true. 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:24.880 I mean, we do have to do that in order to enjoy the meal. 00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:41.119 I don't know about you, but the more I open up to the work of God's Spirit in my life, and the more I look to Jesus, I do repent. 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:44.640 And I do believe. 00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:47.599 And the meal tastes better. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:51.279 There's a work to be done by the Spirit in each of our hearts. 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:53.920 What's getting in the way of you believing this? 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:55.920 What's getting in the way of you accepting this? 00:31:56.079 --> 00:31:58.480 What's getting in the way of you sitting down at the table? 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:03.200 God says, I want you to address that. 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:05.279 I want you to open up to that. 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:08.640 I want you to hear my voice that calls out. 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:09.599 Listen. 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:14.240 Some of you know how Charles Spurgeon was saved. 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:19.680 He went to a little chapel in a snowstorm. 00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:25.279 The preacher couldn't make it. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:31.039 So a deacon who wasn't really a preacher preached. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:34.960 And all he kept saying from Isaiah was, look up. 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:36.319 Look up. 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:37.599 Look up. 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:41.680 And Spurgeon said he would, I mean, it was a very small crowd. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.799 He knew that he was the visitor. 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:48.640 Probably stuck out like a sore thumb. 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:53.920 He said, I felt like the deacon's eyes were just boring in on me. 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:55.279 Look up. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:56.880 Look up. 00:32:57.839 --> 00:32:58.720 Look up. 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:01.759 Look to Jesus. 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:05.759 Secondly, the good news experienced. 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:07.359 We must cheer. 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:10.559 We must respond to his voice. 00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:13.839 Do not ignore his voice this morning. 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:18.480 Preparing the way. 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:21.440 Is he leveling you? 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:26.960 Do you know what the upheaval of repentance looks like by experience? 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:36.160 Or is that just kind of getting all lost in the busyness of your life? 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.680 And all the noises in life? 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.880