"Advent" Isaiah 7:1-14

Good morning, church.

Would you turn with me to our sermon passage, Isaiah chapter 7.

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

That's page 535 in the Pew Bible.

As Pastor Matt mentioned, leading up to Christmas,

the church historically celebrates a season called Advent.

Advent's a word that simply means arrival or coming.

This is the time of year when we remember Jesus' first advent,

his first coming in the incarnation,

and we look ahead to his second advent, his second coming in glory.

And this year, to do that, we're going to be looking at four passages in the book of Isaiah.

And each of these passages talks about the coming of the Messiah,

the coming of Christ, and the light that he has brought into our darkness.

Now, one of the things that many folks do in this early part of the season is decorate for Christmas.

Thanks to Kirsten and everyone else who helped to decorate the sanctuary yesterday.

It looks great.

But how about you?

Is this the weekend that you pull out the garland and the ornaments and the wreaths?

Do you put up your Christmas tree this weekend?

There's something comforting and enriching, I think,

about bringing out the same decorations year after year,

perhaps the nativity scene,

which if you made it to Sunday school this morning,

you learned that St. Francis, like, invented the nativity scene.

So, check that out on the podcast.

He didn't invent it, but, you know, he kind of, well, whatever.

You can listen to it and figure it out for yourself.

So, maybe you bring out your nativity set.

Maybe you bring out your ornaments.

Maybe you hang the stockings.

You know, these kind of traditions can give a sense of continuity and stability

to what can often be a hectic and stressful time of year, can't it?

But the danger, of course,

is that over time,

these things lose their meaning.

It can just become stuff that we trudge out this time of year

to try to get in the mood.

But in reality, it doesn't carry much weight, right?

It's just decoration.

Now, I wonder if some Scripture passages

become the same thing for us,

especially during Advent.

We've heard them before lots of times,

and they become just decoration.

With little traction in our everyday lives,

with little relevance

for our deeper fears or longings.

Behold, the Virgin will conceive and bear a son,

and you shall call his name Emmanuel.

Is that familiar Advent verse just decoration for us?

Or is it a light piercing the darkness?

Well, I hope we'll find that it's the latter.

Because when we look at Isaiah chapter 7,

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

where that prophecy is first given,

we find that it doesn't come in the midst of holiday celebrations

and cookie baking and stockings over the fire.

It comes in the midst of fear and turmoil.

It comes to a tragic young king

who's about to lose his kingdom

before his reign has even begun.

It comes in the middle of messy geopolitics,

war-hungry empires,

and petty kingdoms vying for survival.

It comes to a people so afraid

that they're like branches of a tree

shaken in the wind.

And it comes to us

in our fears.

When our world seems about to crumble,

when we're grasping for security,

for stability,

when we're trying to find something reliable

to save us,

right there in our fears,

that's where it comes.

Whether they be political fears

or family fears,

job fears or relationship fears,

childhood fears or old age fears,

that's where the promise comes.

So let's pick up this passage

in Isaiah chapter 7,

Isaiah 7:1–14

verses 1 through 14.

And let's see what God has to say to us.

Isaiah 7, 1 through 14,

we'll have it on the screens.

If you want to follow along,

it's page 535 in the Pew Bible.

It goes like this,

In the days of Ahaz,

the son of Jotham,

son of Uzziah,

king of Judah,

Rezan, the king of Syria,

and Pekah, the son of Ramaliah,

the king of Israel,

came up to Jerusalem

to wage war against it,

but could not yet mount an attack against it.

When the house of David was told,

Syria is in league with Ephraim,

the heart of Ahaz

and the heart of his people shook

as the trees of the forest

shake before the wind.

And the Lord said to Isaiah,

go out to meet Ahaz,

you,

and Sheer,

Jashub,

your son,

at the end of the conduit

of the upper pool

on the highway

to the washer's field,

and say to him,

be careful,

be quiet,

do not fear.

And do not let your heart

be faint

because of these two

smoldering stumps

of firebrands

at the fierce anger

of Rezan

and Syria

and the son of Ramaliah.

Because Syria

with Ephraim

and the son of Ramaliah

has devised Ezel against you

saying,

let's go up against Judah

and terrify it

and let us conquer it

for ourselves

and set up the son of Tabil

as king in the midst of it.

Thus says the Lord God,

it shall not stand

and it shall not come to pass.

For the head of Syria

is Damascus

and the head of Damascus

is Rezan

and within 65 years

Ephraim will be shattered

from being a people.

And the head of Ephraim

is Samaria

and the head of Samaria

is the son of Ramaliah.

If you are not firm in faith,

you will not be firm at all.

Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz,

ask a sign of the Lord your God.

Let it be as deep as Sheol

or as high as heaven.

But Ahaz said,

I will not ask.

I will not put the Lord

to the test.

And he said,

hear then, O house of David,

is it too little for you

to weary men

that you weary my God also?

Therefore, the Lord himself

will give you a sign.

Behold,

the virgin shall conceive

and bear a son

and shall call his name

Emmanuel.

All right, let's pray.

Father, we have read your word.

Help us now to understand

what it is your spirit

is saying to us through it.

And let us see

how this text brings us

to your incarnate word,

our Lord Jesus Christ,

who is our only hope

and security.

In his name we pray.

Amen.

So, in verses 1-2

of Isaiah 7,

we see the people's fear.

And then, in verses 3-14,

we see two ways

that God invites us

to respond to our fears.

Let's briefly look at the fear

in verses 1-2.

We're told there

that the heart of Ahaz

and the heart of his people

shook as the trees of the forest

shake before the wind.

Now, the date here

is most likely 735 B.C.

And Ahaz has just recently

come to the throne

of the southern kingdom

called Judah.

Ahaz's father, Jothan,

and his grandfather, Uzziah,

were both good kings

for the most part.

But now, just as Ahaz

takes the throne,

things start falling apart.

We know from the history books

of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles

and chapter 16 of 2 Kings

and chapter 28 of 2 Chronicles

that Ahaz's kingdom

is getting pressured

on every side.

Most immediately,

there are two kings,

one from the northern kingdom

of Israel

and one from their northern neighbor,

Syria.

These two kings have shown up

on Ahaz's doorstep

to bully him

into joining their alliance

against the vast empire

of Assyria.

Assyria, at this time,

was the dominant superpower

and they were brutal.

So these two local kings,

Rezan and Pekah,

they're ready to dethrone Ahaz,

put a puppet ruler in his place

so that they can forge

a coalition against

this looming threat.

Now put yourself

in Ahaz's shoes.

Your reign is just getting started.

You're probably

in your early 20s,

something like that Ahaz was.

And you hear word

that looming in the distance

is a hungry empire

ready to devour.

And now your closest neighbors

are bringing their armies

against you as well.

This is a crisis

of huge proportions.

And it doesn't seem like

there's really a way out, right?

Do you fight against

your two northern neighbors?

If you lose,

they dethrone you.

But what happens if you win?

Most likely,

you'll be so depleted militarily

that you'll simply then

fall to the Assyrians

when they inevitably come.

On the other hand,

do you join their petty alliance?

Again, what hope is there in that?

Can their small little kingdoms

really stand

against the war machine

that's about to come

crashing down upon them all?

And so the heart of Ahaz

and the heart of all the people

shake like trees in a storm.

You know, there are two ways

that you can approach

the Christmas season,

this season we call Advent.

On the one hand,

you can stuff yourself full

of sentimentality and distraction.

And there's plenty to be had

this time of year.

You can try to use nostalgia

and Christmas cookies

and Hallmark movies

and ugly sweaters

and peppermint mochas

to mask or dull

or ignore

what's really going on

inside of you.

You can just try

to cover it all over.

But that doesn't stop

the shaking, does it?

Still, our hearts shake

like trees in the wind.

On the other hand,

you can do what Christians

for hundreds and hundreds

of years have done.

They have used

the season of Advent

as a time

not to ignore

or distract

or dull themselves,

but to get real

with themselves

and with God.

To admit that we

do have

very real fears

and insecurities.

To admit that we

aren't the sort of people

that we long to be

as we look back

over the year

that's gone by.

To acknowledge

that our hearts

are shaking

and maybe we don't

even know why.

And to ask,

to ask God to come

and to show us.

You know,

traditionally,

Advent

was a penitential season

of the church.

At its best,

that meant that Advent

was a time

not merely

to distract ourselves,

but to do some

serious self-examination

in the Lord's presence.

To ask Him

to come

and to do

a deep work

in our fearful

and sinful hearts.

Of course,

that doesn't mean

you can't enjoy

the Christmas season.

You should enjoy

this season.

Watch a Hallmark movie

or two

or three

if that's your sort of thing.

I mean,

they all have the exact

same plot, right?

So, you know,

if you like one,

you sort of like them all.

By all means,

eat a Christmas cookie.

But friend,

don't miss,

don't miss out

on the deepest joy

that there is

to be found

in Advent.

And that joy

doesn't come

from ignoring

our fears,

but from admitting them

in God's presence

and then seeing

how He will meet you

in the midst of them.

So, how does God

invite us to respond

here in Isaiah 7?

Well, in times

of great fear,

God invites us

to trust

His sovereign

word.

In times of great fear,

trust

God's sovereign

word.

We see this

in verses 3 through 9.

Through Isaiah,

God sends His word

to Ahaz.

Ahaz is out

inspecting the water

supply into the city.

Why is he doing that?

Well, he's preparing

for invasion,

you see.

He's trying to figure out

how he's going to

get himself

out of the crisis.

And while Ahaz

is in the middle

of trying to come up

with a plan

to rescue himself,

God's word comes.

And it's a word

of promise.

Are you afraid,

Ahaz,

of these two kings

knocking at your door,

Rezin and Pekah?

They look scary.

They talk big.

But let me tell you

what I see.

Two smoldering

stumps.

You think they're going

to set your kingdom

ablaze,

but I'm telling you,

Ahaz,

they're already

burned out.

Don't be afraid

of them.

What they're threatening

won't come to pass.

Within your lifetime,

God says,

these two kingdoms

won't even be

recognizable anymore.

And then God says

this to Ahaz,

if you're not firm

in faith,

you won't be firm

at all.

Where does real

stability in the midst

of crisis come from?

What will calm

our shaking hearts

when the storms

of fear blow?

Does it come from

having a great plan

for how to respond?

That can help.

Does it come from

knowing the right people?

Sometimes.

Does it come from

having wealth

or resources?

Maybe,

to some degree.

But none of those

things will really

make you firm.

They're all shaky

at best.

None of them

will last.

No,

real stability

comes

when we hear

the word

of the sovereign God

and trust Him.

Why?

Because God

is God.

Infinitely wise

and righteous

and good.

God knows the end

from the beginning.

He put the most

massive stars

in place

and fashioned

the most

intricate detail

of the tiniest

Adam

and this powerful

and good God

says,

hear my voice

and trust me.

That's where

your stability

must lie

because then

your life

rests on a foundation

that's not subject

to the

fallen whims

of the world.

But your life

rests on the

infinitely sure

purposes

of the sovereign

God.

God.

in crisis

God's word

came to Ahaz

offering him

the divine

perspective

that he so

desperately needed

in that moment.

A young king

afraid of losing

his throne,

afraid of losing

his life

and God says

they won't harm

you Ahaz.

Trust me.

Be careful.

Be quiet.

Do not fear

and don't let

your heart

be faint.

What promise

do you need

to hear

from God's

word today?

You might be

thinking,

well,

look,

if a prophet

showed up

and told me

exactly what

God wanted to hear,

that would make

it a little easier,

right?

But friend,

consider

that we have

something

even better

than that.

God has

actually

preserved

his spoken

words

in his

written word

and the Holy

Spirit

speaks through

the written

word

every time

it is read

in prayerful

trust.

Do you see

then how

much better

of a position

we are in

than Ahaz?

We don't have

to wait for

an Isaiah

to show up.

You can open

God's written

word

and immerse

yourself in

God's sovereign

promises

at any time

and in any

place.

How good

God has

been to us.

The Apostle

Peter says

in his second

letter,

God has

granted to

us

his precious

and very

great promises

so that

through them

you may

become partakers

of the divine

nature.

You can

become more

and more

like Christ

as you hear

his word.

What promises

do you need

to hear

today?

Perhaps

you've begun

to fear

that God

has forgotten

you,

that your

life is

simply

wending on

in meaninglessness.

But listen

when God's

word says,

I know

the plans

I have

for you,

plans for

welfare

and not

for evil,

to give

you a future

and hope.

Perhaps

you're in the

midst of great

trial or

suffering

and you

wonder if

any good

is going

to come

out of

it.

But listen

when God's

word says,

for those

who love

God,

all things

work together

for their

good.

For those

whom God

foreknew,

he also

predestined

to be

conformed

to the

image

of his

son,

in order

that he

might be

the first

born among

many brothers

and sisters,

and those

whom he

predestined

he also

called,

and those

whom he

called

he justified,

and those

whom he

justified

he glorified.

All things

are working

for your

good,

sister,

for your

glory.

Perhaps

you're

wrestling

with an

area of

obedience,

and to

walk in

the way

of Christ

just seems

too costly.

You think

of the

sacrifice

you might

need to

make

to follow

Jesus,

and it's

overwhelming

for you.

But listen

when God's

word says,

when Jesus

says,

truly I

say to

you,

there's no

one who

has left

house,

or brothers,

or sisters,

or mother,

or father,

or children,

or lands,

for my

sake and

for the

gospel,

who will

not receive

a hundredfold

now in

this time,

houses,

and brothers,

and sisters,

and mothers,

and children,

and lands,

and in the

age to

come,

eternal

life.

What you

may lose

now is

nothing

compared to

what you

will gain

when you

take up

your cross

and follow

Jesus.

perhaps

you're

struggling

under the

weight

of guilt.

Maybe

through the

Holy Spirit's

conviction

you've begun

to see

your sin,

how great

it is,

how little

you fought

against it,

how offensive

it is to

the God

who made

you and

who loves

you,

and you

wrestle with

the fear

that perhaps

God hasn't

forgiven you,

perhaps he's

withheld his

mercy from

you.

But listen

when God's

word says,

come now,

let us reason

together,

says the

Lord,

though your

sins are

like scarlet,

they shall

be as white

as snow.

Though they

are red

like crimson,

they shall

become like

wool.

Friends,

Jesus'

death on

the cross

is sufficient

to pay

for a

hundred

lifetimes

of your

sins,

and infinitely

more.

There is

no sin

that his

death

has not

washed

away

for all

who simply

trust in

him.

Though your

sins are

like scarlet,

they shall

be white

as snow.

With

every

promise

of God's

sovereign

word,

we place

another

rock

into a

foundation

that no

storm

can topple.

Our

hearts may

shake like

trees in

the storm,

but hearing

God's

word and

trusting

God's

word will

push our

roots deeper

into the

soil of

his stability

so that no

wind will

cause us

to fall.

So brothers

and sisters,

in times of

great fear,

trust God's

sovereign

word.

But God

doesn't stop

there.

He's warned

Ahaz,

if you're not

firm in

faith,

you will

not be

firm at

all.

And

knowing

that our

faith is

so often

not firm,

God

pursues

Ahaz

even

further.

And this

is what we

see in

verses 10

through 14.

In this

paragraph,

we see the

second way

God invites

us to

respond to

our fears.

In

times of

great

fear,

we must

receive

God's

gracious

sign.

In

times of

great fear,

receive

God's

gracious

sign.

In

verses 10

and 11,

God

pursues

Ahaz.

He says,

ask a sign

of the

Lord your

God.

Let it

be as

deep as

Sheol or

as high

as heaven.

What a

gracious

thing for

God to

do.

You know,

God could

have said,

look,

Ahaz,

I told

you what's

true,

now it's

up to

you.

Believe

it or

don't.

But God

actually goes

a step

further.

He says,

let me

give you

a sign,

Ahaz.

I won't

just give

you my

promise,

though that

should be

good enough.

I'll give

you a sign,

I'll do

something in

history and

material creation

to help you

believe the

promise.

I'll give

you something

that's a

marker,

that everything

I've said

will come

true and

that you'll

know that

it was

me.

What

condescension

on God's

part to do

such a

thing?

But what

happens next

is tragic.

In verse

12,

Ahaz

rejects

God's

gracious

offer.

Now,

at first,

it sounds

like Ahaz

is being

really

spiritual,

right?

I won't

put the

Lord to

the test.

It sounds

holy,

right?

It sounds

deferential.

But we

know from

the rest

of Isaiah

and we

know from

the history

given in

2 Kings

and in

2 Chronicles

that Ahaz

is not

being sincere

here.

He's already

made up his

mind how

he will

respond to

the crisis.

He's already

got a plan

of action

that doesn't

involve God.

So he

gives this

kind of

pious sounding

answer,

but in reality

he's telling

God,

no thanks,

I'm going

to do it

my way.

Friends,

beware of

using piety

to avoid

God and

to simply

go your

own way.

And what

was Ahaz's

way?

How does

this young

king see

his way

out of

the crisis?

How will

he keep

his head

on his

shoulders

and his

kingdom

under

his feet

when

everything

is going

wrong?

Well,

from a

human

point of

view,

he does

something

incredibly

clever.

Rather than

fighting these

two local

kings in

order to

keep his

independence,

and rather

than joining

them in

kind of a

petty

alliance,

he actually

outmaneuvers

them.

He makes

a pact

with none

other than

the empire

of Assyria.

he goes

to the

looming

war machine

itself,

and he

cuts a

deal.

And in

the short

term,

it works.

But in

the long

term,

it's a

disaster.

And isn't

that the

way it

always goes?

The very

things we

trust to

save us

apart from

God,

in the

end,

devour

us.

Ask

anyone

familiar

with

addiction,

and they'll

tell you.

At first,

alcohol,

or drugs,

or sex,

it begins

as a way

to kind of

cover up

the hurt,

and the

pain,

or the

shame,

or the

guilt,

and it

sort of

works at

first.

But then

you become

enslaved.

You need

more and

more,

and you

can't stop,

and it

controls

everything.

And the

hurt,

and the

pain,

and the

shame,

and the

guilt,

they don't

go away.

They just

get worse

and worse.

Now,

with alcohol,

or drugs,

or sex,

it's kind

of easy

to spot,

right?

But what

about our

more

respectable

substitute

self-rescue

attempts?

We throw

ourselves

into work.

We throw

ourselves

into

good works.

We throw

ourselves

into family.

We throw

ourselves

even into

religion.

as an

attempt to

save

ourselves,

to find

our way

through

the

crisis,

and it

backfires.

These

self-rescue

projects ask

more and

more of us.

We need to

work more

hours.

We need to

have a

more perfect

family.

We need to

be more

performative

and more

devout in

our religious

practices.

They ask

more and

more of us,

and they give

less and

less.

And our

fears remain.

they backfired

on us just

as they

backfired on

Ahaz.

If you go

on and read

the rest of

Isaiah 7

and 9,

you'll see how

they describe

that God's

saying that the

Assyrian Empire

would come and

it would topple

not just northern

Israel, not just

Damascus and

Syria, but it

would keep

coming.

And like a

swarm of

bees, like a

razor cutting

down everything

in its path,

death, the

empire would

come right to

Jerusalem's

doorstep and

leave the

kingdom in

ruins.

Ahaz made a

deal with the

devil, and in

time the devil

would come for

his due.

But even

though Ahaz had

rejected God's

gracious offer,

in his mercy,

God still gives

the sign.

verse 13,

and he said,

here then,

O house of

David, is it

too little for

you to weary

men that you

weary my God

also?

There's another

sign that Ahaz

wasn't being

sincere.

And then God

says this,

therefore the

Lord himself

will give you

a sign.

Behold, the

virgin shall

conceive and

bear a son and

shall call his

name Emmanuel.

And the passage

goes on to say,

if you keep

reading it, that

in a few short

years, by the

time that

newborn child

has grown up

enough to tell

right from wrong,

these two kings

that Ahaz is so

afraid of will

be defeated.

But because Ahaz

has rejected God

and entrusted

himself to

Assyria, this

child will also

serve as a sign

of judgment.

By the time the

child can tell

right from wrong,

the empire of

Assyria will

have toppled the

cities of Judah

and turned the

once cultivated

farmlands into

wastes and

wilderness.

And the only

thing that will

be left to eat

are the things

that they'll

have to hunt or

gather, like

honey or curds

and milk from

their couple of

goats that are

left over.

And there you

have it, Isaiah

7.

Merry Christmas.

But is that all

that God's sign

in Isaiah 7

was meant to

convey?

Was it just a sign

of hope and

judgment for

Ahaz's day?

You know, as we

read on in this

section of Isaiah,

this whole section,

which is chapter 7

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

through 12, we

see that there's

more here than

initially meets

the eye.

It becomes clear

that the prophecy

of chapter 7

verse 14 has

both a provisional

fulfillment, but it

reaches out into

an ultimate

fulfillment.

In chapter 8, we

see this provisional

fulfillment.

Isaiah's own wife

gives birth to a

son.

They give him a

symbolic name.

And we're told that

by the time this

child can say,

my father or my

mother, the threat

of Damascus and

Samaria will be no

more.

But does that

exhaust the sign

of verse 14?

No.

Because the rest

of Isaiah 7

through 12 will

point to us, as we

follow the same

argument along, it

will point us to an

even greater child to

be born.

In chapter 9, we're

told that a child

will be born who

will have an

everlasting reign.

And then in

chapter 11, this

coming king is

shown to be full

of the Holy

Spirit, so full

of God's presence

that he'll be

perfect in justice

and perfect in

wisdom.

And through his

reign, God's

people and God's

creation even will

be restored and

healed forever.

So this provisional

fulfillment in

Isaiah's day

couldn't exhaust the

full promise that

God had given

starting in Isaiah

7.

No, a day would

come when a virgin

would conceive and

bear a son.

And he would be

Emmanuel, God

with us.

Not merely a sign,

but a reality.

And he would be

full of justice and

wisdom.

And his kingdom

would never end.

And this promise

of Isaiah 7, 9,

and 11 would

remain with God's

people for

generations.

It would outlast

the Assyrian

empire.

It would outlast

even the kingdom

of Judah.

It would persist

through the

Babylonian exile.

And then when

Babylon falls, it

would keep going

throughout the rule

of the Persians and

right into the

middle of the Roman

occupation who

displaced the

Persians.

And when God's

people were still

under the rule of

their enemies, an

oppression that

began all the way

back in the days

of Ahaz and his

fateful decision at

the upper pool on

the highway to the

washer's field, the

downward slide that

began on that day,

that promise would

persist all the way

down hundreds of

years into the

midst of Roman

oppression.

And in the sixth

month, after

generations of

waiting, the angel

Gabriel was sent

from God to a

city of Galilee

named Nazareth, to a

virgin betrothed to a

man whose name was

Joseph of the house

of David.

And the virgin's name

was Mary.

And he came to her and

said, Greetings, O

favored one, the Lord

is with you.

But she was greatly

troubled at this

saying and tried to

discern what sort of

greeting this might be.

And the angel said to

her, Don't be afraid,

Mary, for you have

found favor with God.

And behold, you will

conceive in your womb

and bear a son, and you

shall call his name

Jesus.

He will be great and

will be called the Son

of the Most High.

And the Lord God will

give to him the throne

of his father David, and

he will reign over the

house of Jacob forever,

and of his kingdom

there will be no end.

And Mary said to the

angel, How will this be

since I am a virgin?

And the angel answered

her, The Holy Spirit

will come upon you, and

the power of the Most

High will overshadow you.

Therefore, the child to

be born will be called

holy, the Son of God.

And behold, your

relative Elizabeth in her

old age has also

conceived a son, and

this is the sixth month

with her who is called

barren, for nothing will

be impossible with God.

And Mary said, Behold, I

am the servant of the

Lord.

Let it be to me according

to your word.

And the angel departed

from her.

Contrast for a moment,

Ahaz with Mary.

Ahaz was in an impossible

situation from a human

perspective, wasn't he?

His young reign was almost

over before it began, and

rather than trust God's

word, he trusted what his

own efforts could accomplish,

this military alliance with

Assyria.

But Mary, receiving an

equally impossible promise

from a human perspective,

says, Behold, I am the

servant of the Lord.

Let it be to me according

to your word.

For nothing will be

impossible with God.

God.

And when Jesus Christ was

born, the sign of Isaiah

7 became a reality.

God entered space and time

and history.

God took on our human nature

in its entirety, and he

fulfilled every promise that

had been made for thousands

of years, including the

promise of Isaiah 7, that a

virgin will conceive and bear

a son, and you'll call his

name Emmanuel, which means

God with us.

But why a virgin birth?

Why did God choose to enter

history in this way?

Because the rescue that God

would accomplish through Jesus,

the Messiah, would be his own

work from beginning to end.

God would become fully human

through Mary, but not as a

result of human work or

effort or accomplishment or

deeds.

Mary's part was to hear the

promise and believe, and

that's true of all of us.

That's what God wanted Ahaz to

see.

That Ahaz didn't need to scheme

and fret and make his own

salvation.

That Ahaz could trust that God

would accomplish what his own

works could not.

And that's why it had to be a

virgin birth, because God

wanted our faith to rest on

him and on him alone.

It's his work from beginning to

end.

And if it's his work from

beginning to end, then in times

of great fear, our faith has

found the greatest place to

rest.

Our faith has found a resting

place, not in device or creed.

We trust the ever-living one

whose wounds shall plead for me.

The one who took human nature

apart from any human work also

died and rose again apart from any

of your works, so that now you and

I can be rescued utterly apart from

our works.

And that means we need no longer

fear.

When our hearts shake like trees in

a storm, we know that Emmanuel has

come.

God is with us.

Jesus Christ has secured eternal

salvation and eternal life for all

who simply trust in him.

Every promise is yes and amen in

him.

So we can let go of our false

comforts and our self-rescue

projects and cling to him

completely.

And in him, in Emmanuel, find

security and comfort no matter what

the storms may be.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus, we simply pause and give

you praise as the one who is the

fulfillment of all God's promises.

And Lord, we thank you that you are

an anchor in the fiercest storms.

Father, seeing how you fulfilled your

promises in Jesus, we can be sure

that you will likewise make good on

all of your word to us.