Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
Isaiah’s Audacious Hope
Isaiah 7:14 December 2, 2007
Advent is here and do you know what that means? It means there are only 22 more shopping days
left until Christmas!
It means that you will hear Christmas carols and holiday music playing in all the stores. It means
the daily newspaper will get thicker and heavier with sales flyers and brochures to get you into the
mall. It means that Santa Claus, or a variation of his likeness, will appear in more television
commercials than any other figure over the next three weeks.
It is easy to get cynical this time of year. The truth is that the season Advent as we celebrate it in
the church, calls us to stand against our culture’s call to consumerism. The word means “coming”
and refers to the coronation of a King. Traditionally it’s been a time for prayer, penitence and
preparation to help believers slow down enough to savor the Savior’s birth.
Advent is meant to be a spiritual journey that helps us focus on the greatest gift of all so that we
can worship the Word made flesh with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. That is why we
have special music, readings, candles and sermons in worship that help us reflect and rejoice. As
we experience the ancient/future dimension of this time of the year, it strikes me that one can
never start too early when getting ready for something really big.
While we as Baptists are not known as a liturgical church, we use an Advent Wreath with four
candles. We light a different candle each week, shining the light on the themes of hope, peace, joy
and love through different readings by families in our church. This helps create a sense of
expectation so that we don’t just get caught up in the consumerism of our culture. Using rich
reminders from Scriptures, our aim is to keep the Christ of Christmas present in the midst of all
the presents as we focus on his first “coming” to this world. We want His beauty to shine bright in
the busyness of our lives. And that can only happen when we slow down.
So this morning I want to look briefly at the book of Isaiah. Isaiah has often been called the “fifth
gospel” because it is filled with so much good news. It was written about 700 years before the
time of Christ, a fact that should cause us to wonder and worship as we contemplate how
specifically these prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
This book contains some of the most beautiful language ever written and it was quoted by Jesus
extensively. Some have pointed out that the 66 chapters in Isaiah serve as a “miniature” Bible, since
there are 66 books in the Bible. The first 39 chapters correspond to the “law” of the Old Testament
and the final 27 correspond to the “liberty” taught in the New Testament.
While there are many themes to this book, I want to mention just three:
*God is in control.
*The Messiah is coming.
*God always has a remnant that stays committed to Him.
Isaiah’s name means “Jehovah saves” and he ministered for more than fifty years during the reigns
of four different kings. He was impacted when the northern kingdom of ten tribes, referred to as
Israel, was destroyed and its inhabitants were led into captivity. Ministering in the south in the land
of Judah during a time of cultural corruption, part of his mission was to warn the people that the
same thing would happen to them unless they repent. His opening words begin with a complaint in
Isaiah 1:4: “Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt…” and yet he continued to offer words of
hope throughout the book.
I titled this sermon “Isaiah’s Audacious Hope.” The word “audacious” means to be bold and
fearless. Isaiah is bold about his longing for something more. He dared to believe that something
better was coming even though his culture was corrupt and everything around him seemed so
dark. We can summarize Isaiah’s audaciousness by looking at what he said in 64:1:
“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down…”
Isaiah is longing for the Lord to somehow come down into his world to make sense out of all the
nonsense, to bring peace to all the problems, to dispel the darkness and to extricate evil. Sound
familiar? You see Isaiah’s hope is our hope as well. That is why his prophesies resonate with our
hearts.
So let’s take a few minutes to look at what he has to say.
I want to quickly move through four passages in chapters 7, 9 and 11 that speak to his hope and
our joy.
When we come to chapter 7, an evil king named Ahaz is on the throne. He had deliberately
disobeyed God and as a result his kingdom came under attack from all quarters. Instead of turning
to the Lord, Ahaz begins to think about partnering with the evil empire of Assyria. At this crucial
time, God in His great love and mercy toward the house of David, took the initiative and sent Isaiah
the prophet to help King Ahaz.
In verse 10 we read that he was supposed to ask for a sign that would help him believe. In verse
12 we see that Ahaz refused to ask for a sign. This lights Isaiah up in verse 13: “Hear now, you
house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God
also?” Then we come to this remarkable prophetic passage in verse 14: “Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call
Him Immanuel.”
• The Lord Himself will give the sign.
Here is good news point number one: God is not going to wait for us to get over ourselves. He is
going to act in spite of our stubbornness. Ahaz would not bow to God and ask for help but God
was going to send it anyway. So even if you don’t know you need a savior, one is available to you
when you are ready.
Isaiah’s audacious hope came true when Jesus, Emmanuel – God with us- was born. Every year
on Christmas we pause to remember this awesome truth. God loves us so much that He came into
our world.
Jump Quickly over to Isaiah 9. Verse 1:
“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles,
by the way of the sea, along the Jordan.”
Zebulun and Naphtali are tribes from the north of Israel, making up the land of Galilee. For many
years the people in this region knew only grief because of the onslaught of enemies. Because they
lived closest to the bad guys they were the first ones attacked. Isaiah tells of a time in the future
where gloom will be replaced with gladness in Galilee.
Here is good news point number two: Christmas was, and is, birthed in the midst of great grief. So
darkness will not last long when God comes near.
While the angels were proclaiming “peace on earth,” Herod was preparing to annihilate infants;
while Mary was worshipping, other mothers were weeping for their children (see Jeremiah 31:15;
Matthew 2:18). Christmas joy is best understood with the junk of life all around us because
gladness comes when we’re grieving. Is that where you’re at today? That’s OK if you are because
that’s exactly where Immanuel will meet you.
Verse 2 describes how the birth of Christ will bring brightness to a dark world: “The people
walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a
light has dawned.”
I’m looking forward to our Christmas Eve service again this year as we light candles to show the
impact that Christ has made on a dark world. In referring to Himself in John 8:12, Jesus said, “I
am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life.” In the place of burdens, God wants to give us blessings. No wonder Isaiah was excited.
Finally let’s look at Isaiah 11. In verses 1-2 we read,
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit
of the LORD will rest on him…”
In Isaiah’s day it felt hopeless because it seemed like the only thing left were stumps. The northern
kingdom had been destroyed and things were looking bleak for the south. Do you ever feel like
that? Have the stumps in your life harpooned your hope?
But wait. A shoot will come up from the stump. Jesse is the father of King David and it’s through
his line that the Savior will come to the world.
Isaiah is not only able to catch a vision of the Savior as a shoot, he can see a time when peace will
prevail, previewing the angels’ proclamation to the shepherds in Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” He fleshes this out in a series of
amazing contrasts to show that during His Second Advent, Jesus will usher in a time of protracted
peace. There’s a lot here but allow me to just quote Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little
child will lead them.”
When Jesus comes again, He will come as the conquering King and the Prince of Peace. We tend
to count the shopping days until Christmas; what we should be doing is counting the days until
Christ comes again in glory and power so that we’re ready for His return. That is an audacious
hope. The problems of this day will soon be gone and be replaced by the glory of the Lord.
That’s why we continually come back to the table of the Lord. We need to be reminded that God
hears our cries and wants to see his hope fulfilled in us. As we enter the advent season, let us
remember that Isaiah’s hope has already been fulfilled in the one we worship today. He is the God
of Wonder, the Lord of light, the author of our salvation. Emmanuel, God with us.
Amen.
Isaiah 7:14 December 2, 2007
Advent is here and do you know what that means? It means there are only 22 more shopping days
left until Christmas!
It means that you will hear Christmas carols and holiday music playing in all the stores. It means
the daily newspaper will get thicker and heavier with sales flyers and brochures to get you into the
mall. It means that Santa Claus, or a variation of his likeness, will appear in more television
commercials than any other figure over the next three weeks.
It is easy to get cynical this time of year. The truth is that the season Advent as we celebrate it in
the church, calls us to stand against our culture’s call to consumerism. The word means “coming”
and refers to the coronation of a King. Traditionally it’s been a time for prayer, penitence and
preparation to help believers slow down enough to savor the Savior’s birth.
Advent is meant to be a spiritual journey that helps us focus on the greatest gift of all so that we
can worship the Word made flesh with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. That is why we
have special music, readings, candles and sermons in worship that help us reflect and rejoice. As
we experience the ancient/future dimension of this time of the year, it strikes me that one can
never start too early when getting ready for something really big.
While we as Baptists are not known as a liturgical church, we use an Advent Wreath with four
candles. We light a different candle each week, shining the light on the themes of hope, peace, joy
and love through different readings by families in our church. This helps create a sense of
expectation so that we don’t just get caught up in the consumerism of our culture. Using rich
reminders from Scriptures, our aim is to keep the Christ of Christmas present in the midst of all
the presents as we focus on his first “coming” to this world. We want His beauty to shine bright in
the busyness of our lives. And that can only happen when we slow down.
So this morning I want to look briefly at the book of Isaiah. Isaiah has often been called the “fifth
gospel” because it is filled with so much good news. It was written about 700 years before the
time of Christ, a fact that should cause us to wonder and worship as we contemplate how
specifically these prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
This book contains some of the most beautiful language ever written and it was quoted by Jesus
extensively. Some have pointed out that the 66 chapters in Isaiah serve as a “miniature” Bible, since
there are 66 books in the Bible. The first 39 chapters correspond to the “law” of the Old Testament
and the final 27 correspond to the “liberty” taught in the New Testament.
While there are many themes to this book, I want to mention just three:
*God is in control.
*The Messiah is coming.
*God always has a remnant that stays committed to Him.
Isaiah’s name means “Jehovah saves” and he ministered for more than fifty years during the reigns
of four different kings. He was impacted when the northern kingdom of ten tribes, referred to as
Israel, was destroyed and its inhabitants were led into captivity. Ministering in the south in the land
of Judah during a time of cultural corruption, part of his mission was to warn the people that the
same thing would happen to them unless they repent. His opening words begin with a complaint in
Isaiah 1:4: “Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt…” and yet he continued to offer words of
hope throughout the book.
I titled this sermon “Isaiah’s Audacious Hope.” The word “audacious” means to be bold and
fearless. Isaiah is bold about his longing for something more. He dared to believe that something
better was coming even though his culture was corrupt and everything around him seemed so
dark. We can summarize Isaiah’s audaciousness by looking at what he said in 64:1:
“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down…”
Isaiah is longing for the Lord to somehow come down into his world to make sense out of all the
nonsense, to bring peace to all the problems, to dispel the darkness and to extricate evil. Sound
familiar? You see Isaiah’s hope is our hope as well. That is why his prophesies resonate with our
hearts.
So let’s take a few minutes to look at what he has to say.
I want to quickly move through four passages in chapters 7, 9 and 11 that speak to his hope and
our joy.
When we come to chapter 7, an evil king named Ahaz is on the throne. He had deliberately
disobeyed God and as a result his kingdom came under attack from all quarters. Instead of turning
to the Lord, Ahaz begins to think about partnering with the evil empire of Assyria. At this crucial
time, God in His great love and mercy toward the house of David, took the initiative and sent Isaiah
the prophet to help King Ahaz.
In verse 10 we read that he was supposed to ask for a sign that would help him believe. In verse
12 we see that Ahaz refused to ask for a sign. This lights Isaiah up in verse 13: “Hear now, you
house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God
also?” Then we come to this remarkable prophetic passage in verse 14: “Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call
Him Immanuel.”
• The Lord Himself will give the sign.
Here is good news point number one: God is not going to wait for us to get over ourselves. He is
going to act in spite of our stubbornness. Ahaz would not bow to God and ask for help but God
was going to send it anyway. So even if you don’t know you need a savior, one is available to you
when you are ready.
Isaiah’s audacious hope came true when Jesus, Emmanuel – God with us- was born. Every year
on Christmas we pause to remember this awesome truth. God loves us so much that He came into
our world.
Jump Quickly over to Isaiah 9. Verse 1:
“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles,
by the way of the sea, along the Jordan.”
Zebulun and Naphtali are tribes from the north of Israel, making up the land of Galilee. For many
years the people in this region knew only grief because of the onslaught of enemies. Because they
lived closest to the bad guys they were the first ones attacked. Isaiah tells of a time in the future
where gloom will be replaced with gladness in Galilee.
Here is good news point number two: Christmas was, and is, birthed in the midst of great grief. So
darkness will not last long when God comes near.
While the angels were proclaiming “peace on earth,” Herod was preparing to annihilate infants;
while Mary was worshipping, other mothers were weeping for their children (see Jeremiah 31:15;
Matthew 2:18). Christmas joy is best understood with the junk of life all around us because
gladness comes when we’re grieving. Is that where you’re at today? That’s OK if you are because
that’s exactly where Immanuel will meet you.
Verse 2 describes how the birth of Christ will bring brightness to a dark world: “The people
walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a
light has dawned.”
I’m looking forward to our Christmas Eve service again this year as we light candles to show the
impact that Christ has made on a dark world. In referring to Himself in John 8:12, Jesus said, “I
am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life.” In the place of burdens, God wants to give us blessings. No wonder Isaiah was excited.
Finally let’s look at Isaiah 11. In verses 1-2 we read,
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit
of the LORD will rest on him…”
In Isaiah’s day it felt hopeless because it seemed like the only thing left were stumps. The northern
kingdom had been destroyed and things were looking bleak for the south. Do you ever feel like
that? Have the stumps in your life harpooned your hope?
But wait. A shoot will come up from the stump. Jesse is the father of King David and it’s through
his line that the Savior will come to the world.
Isaiah is not only able to catch a vision of the Savior as a shoot, he can see a time when peace will
prevail, previewing the angels’ proclamation to the shepherds in Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” He fleshes this out in a series of
amazing contrasts to show that during His Second Advent, Jesus will usher in a time of protracted
peace. There’s a lot here but allow me to just quote Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little
child will lead them.”
When Jesus comes again, He will come as the conquering King and the Prince of Peace. We tend
to count the shopping days until Christmas; what we should be doing is counting the days until
Christ comes again in glory and power so that we’re ready for His return. That is an audacious
hope. The problems of this day will soon be gone and be replaced by the glory of the Lord.
That’s why we continually come back to the table of the Lord. We need to be reminded that God
hears our cries and wants to see his hope fulfilled in us. As we enter the advent season, let us
remember that Isaiah’s hope has already been fulfilled in the one we worship today. He is the God
of Wonder, the Lord of light, the author of our salvation. Emmanuel, God with us.
Amen.
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