Waiting for the King

A great section dealing with how God comforts us, how God comforts his people.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,

that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low.

The rough ground shall become level, the rugged places are plain, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all mankind together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

A voice says, cry out, and I said, what shall I cry?

All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.

Surely the people are grass, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain.

You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout.

Lift it up, lift it up, do not be afraid.

Say to the towns of Judah, here is your God.

See, the sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him.

See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.

He tends his flock like a shepherd.

He gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries them close to his heart.

He gently leads those that have young.

Okay, we are thinking about preparing and waiting.

Preparing for the king of grace.

But waiting is very much a feature of this time of year, isn't it?

Waiting for the holidays to come.

It always feels like a really long term.

If you are unfortunate enough to leave your Christmas shopping till late,

you will find yourself waiting for a long time in car park queues, and then in shop queues.

It's a time of waiting for family and friends to gather together for joy and celebration.

It's a time of waiting for nativity and carols by candlelight.

Anticipation and waiting can be a wonderful thing.

You know, when we talk with our kids about Christmas, I still remember my own excitement.

Come Christmas Eve as a kid, waiting for watch night services.

We always got to open a present early on Christmas Eve.

We always got to watch a Christmas movie.

The anticipation of Christmas is a really wonderful thing.

But anticipation and waiting can be a dreadful thing too, can't it?

When time stops, when our thoughts are consumed by that thing that lurks on the horizon,

that bad news perhaps, that difficulty in our relationship and the conversation

that we know we're going to need to have.

How we wait very much depends on what we're waiting for.

If you were to read the whole of Isaiah, in a sense you see that it's a prophecy

all about two different kinds of waiting.

Because for God's people Israel, all the way through this prophecy,

there is the warning and the stark reality that God's people were to go into exile.

They were about to face punishment from the Lord.

But that wasn't the only kind of waiting they were invited to.

They were also told that God would be faithful.

That he would return to them and show them grace and bring them back from exile.

And so they were to wait also with hope and expectation.

And as we see, as we read through Isaiah, we've been thinking about it in the morning

and in the evening, there is this promise that ties in with the coming of Jesus.

So 700 years before Jesus came, Isaiah, God through Isaiah, was promising hope.

Because Jesus, the King of Grace, was coming.

But what was true for Israel and what's true for us as well is that only God could transform their waiting.

Only God could allow them to anticipate their future with hope instead of fear because of judgment.

And this, in a sense, takes us to the heart of the gospel.

And when we think about what's the story of the Bible,

we find there is God and God is our creator.

And God is to be our Lord and our King.

But we find from the very first human beings till ourselves,

we are disloyal rebels.

We are seeking revolution.

We would love to, by ourselves, overthrow God's rights to be King.

In all of our hearts, there is that inclination, no King but me, no law but my law.

And because that's true, because that sin is at root in our hearts,

what should we be waiting for from God?

We should be waiting for his just judgment to fall, just like the people.

We should be waiting for God's judgment, the wages of sin, which are death.

Yet, because all of us, by nature, because of our actions, because of our sin nature,

we are guilty before God.

But the hope of Christmas is this,

that we are invited, because of Jesus, to wait with hope.

Because God, in his grace, sends Jesus as a gift of his love.

Jesus takes our place, becomes our substitute,

dies as if he were the worst of rebels.

Jesus dies taking the sin of his people,

with the result that, by God's grace,

and through faith and trust in the Lord Jesus,

people like us can be forgiven.

People like us can be called children of God.

People like us can now wait for the future,

anticipating glory,

instead of destruction.

So we're thinking about waiting.

Waiting for the promised king.

Let's think together about the message,

the message of comfort.

And where does that comfort come?

You know, verse 1,

comfort my people,

says your God.

That comfort comes from the fact that there is promised grace beyond judgment.

This text has a context.

In Isaiah chapter 39,

Isaiah 39 · chapter mention

and at verse 5 through 7,

we get the most clear announcement yet,

in the book,

of judgment to come.

So let's read that together.

Isaiah 39 at verse 5,

Isaiah said to Hezekiah,

he's the king,

hear the word of the Lord Almighty.

The time will surely come when everything in your palace

and all that your fathers have stored up until this day

will be carried off to Babylon.

Nothing will be left,

says the Lord.

And some of your own descendants,

your own flesh and blood,

who will be born to you,

will be taken away,

and they will become eunuchs

in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Judgment is coming in the form of exile.

They're going to be taken away as prisoners to Babylon.

For what?

You read the book of Isaiah,

and you find they were trusting in foreign kings

for their security rather than trusting in God.

You find a catalogue of abuse and injustice

towards the poor and the needy.

You find them polluting pure worship,

engaging in idolatry,

engaging in wild living.

Basically, the judgment was coming

because while they'd been called to be a holy people

and to be a kingdom of priests

and to be a light to the nations,

they were absolutely failing in those roles.

They were in covenant with God.

And under the terms of the covenant,

there was blessings when God's people

walked in obedience to him,

but there would be curse

when they walked in disobedience.

And so the tone largely of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah

is when it's speaking to Israel directly,

it's to say,

you've been unfaithful,

yet God says,

I will remain faithful.

A remnant will be saved,

not because you deserve it,

but because of my grace.

It's that same theme that Jesus picks up.

We were reading in family worship this morning,

the story of the prodigal son.

You know, that younger son

who wanted nothing to do with his dad,

who took his dad's money

and wasted it on wild living.

Going back home,

not sure what he was going to receive.

And he got back,

would he be welcomed?

He didn't really expect so.

But his dad,

full of grace and love,

ran to him and welcomed him

and through a feast

and a celebration for him.

And this is the hope

for Old Testament Israel.

This is the hope for us today

that there is the promise in Jesus

of grace beyond judgment.

Isaiah chapter 40,

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

it begins a new section in the book

going all the way through to chapter 55.

And the theme is that of comfort

and hope and God's gracious provision.

So to a people about to go into exile,

waiting for that,

they're also able to wait with hope.

Here is their motivation

for them to trust God

as they face exile.

Here is their one source of hope

as their world is about to be turned upside down.

Their hope is in God and his grace.

Verse one,

who is God speaking to there

when he says,

comfort, comfort my people,

says your God.

He's speaking to three voices

or three messengers.

Roddy, they read them for us.

So you see in verse three,

this is the one we're going to focus on,

a voice of one calling.

And he has,

this voice has a message

of comfort and hope.

Verse six to eight,

there is the second voice.

And that voice too speaks hope

that God's word,

God's word of promise will stand.

And then verses nine to 11,

there is this third voice,

this third message.

And it too speaks hope

that your savior king,

your powerful shepherd king,

will come.

So verse one,

God is speaking to these three messengers

and he's saying,

here's your tone.

Your tone to rebellious,

disobedient people

is to be that of comfort,

of kindness,

of parental care.

Verse two,

speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

Use a gentle tone.

Also the idea of persuading the people

to return,

to receive this invitation

back to the love of God.

It's a message of comfort

and it's to be spoken tenderly

because there is good news here.

Proclaim to her

that her hard service

has been completed.

So here's the thing,

even before they go into exile,

so they know in Babylon,

they're going to face

conditions of slavery.

There's going to be

hard labor going on there.

But even before that happens,

there is this promise

it will not be the last word.

That time will come to an end

and you will return home.

Proclaim that her hard service

has been completed,

that her sin

has been paid for.

This brings to mind

the language of sacrifice,

that there is an offering

that will satisfy God's justice

against their moral

and spiritual guilt.

Proclaim to her

that she has received

from the Lord's hand

double for all her sins.

She's received

from the Lord's hand.

Again, in the context of sacrifice,

who is it that sets up

the sacrificial system?

It's God.

God says,

here is how you are

to worship me.

Here is how you are

to find a way of forgiveness

and atonement

for your sins.

And God says,

I will forgive you

and I will welcome you

and I will regard you

as my own people.

You will receive double.

God will deal generously

with you.

So here is a message

of real comfort

for unfaithful people

if they will turn back to God,

if they will receive

the grace that he offers.

Here in the Old Testament,

we find this wonderful

gospel announcement

that with God,

there is a grace

that is greater

than all of our sin.

How is that possible?

Well, remember Isaiah 40

is part of a bigger section,

40 to 55.

That section

climaxes

with the announcement

of the suffering servant

of Isaiah 52 and 53

and the hope

and the joy

that he brings

in 54 and 55.

So the question

for the people

then was,

who is this suffering servant

that we are to wait for,

that we are to pin

our hopes on?

And we know

that he is Jesus.

We know that Jesus,

the child in the manger,

is the man on the cross

at Calvary,

is the promised

suffering servant

that we find

in the book of Isaiah.

He is the one

who is wounded for us.

He is the one

who is punished for us.

He is the one

who is killed

for our sin

and our rebellion.

And it's by his wounds,

Isaiah says,

that we are healed.

It's in his death

that we die

to the power of sin

over us.

That we have a new master

and his name is Jesus.

And in his resurrection life,

we enjoy true life

and real freedom.

There is comfort

because there is grace

beyond judgment.

And because that is true for us,

because we receive grace,

we are also to be those

who extend grace to others.

One of our favorite TV shows

is Modern Family.

And in Modern Family,

there is a Christmas episode.

The household that is involved

is the Dunphy family

and the dad is usually

a bit of a soft touch.

But he decides there comes a point

where he needs to lay down the law.

And so there is this suspicious burn mark

that is found on their couch.

And he presumes one of the kids

has been smoking.

And so he announces to the family,

this usual soft touch guy,

he announces Christmas is cancelled.

And he drags the Christmas tree

out into the garden.

And the whole episode

is about his angst

because Christmas has been cancelled.

And our family joke,

we talk about it quite a lot.

Let's not be the family

that cancels Christmas.

Let's not be the family

that's so heavy on judgment

that we forget

to show grace

to our children,

to the people

in our family,

in our neighborhood.

Because we have received grace,

we are to spread

the grace of God

to others.

What do we do

with the mistakes

and failures of others?

Are we quick to jump on them?

To judge and criticize?

Do we keep bringing up

those mistakes

so we never move past

and we don't allow others

to move past?

Or do we choose to remember

that love covers

over a multitude of sins?

This extension of grace

is a great way

to be counter-cultural

in a really positive way.

In a world where people

are quick to jump to,

these are my rights

that I demand.

In a world that's really quick

to say that person

should pay for that offense

or for that wrong,

we can dazzle

with the grace of God

that we find

in Jesus Christ.

So there is comfort here

because there is this promise

of grace beyond judgment.

Let's think now

about this messenger

in verses 3 to 5.

What's his message?

His message is

prepare

because the king of glory

and grace

is coming.

Let's read those verses.

A voice of one calling

in the desert,

prepare the way

for the Lord.

Make straight

in the wilderness

a highway

for our God.

Every valley

shall be raised up,

every mountain

and hill made low.

The rough ground

shall become level,

the rugged places

a plain.

And the glory

of the Lord

will be revealed

and all mankind

together will see it

for the mouth

of the Lord

has spoken.

Here's the picture.

It's the picture

of a royal procession

that's on the move.

And when royalty

was on the move

in this day

then the route

had to be made ready.

You had to do your best

to level the ground

so when the king

went through

and his horses

he had smooth passage.

That was still

the thinking

when Jesus

on his donkey

made his

triumphal entry

into Jerusalem.

What did the crowds

do for their king?

They put their cloaks

and their palm branches

on the ground

to make the way smooth

because royalty

was coming.

On a much lesser level

I used to work

as a school boy

and then as a student

in the co-op

in Port Tree

and one summer

the national boss

of the co-op

was coming

all the way

from Manchester

to visit our store.

And so what came next

was a frenzy

of just ridiculous

artificial activity.

So there was loads

of repainting

that was done

loads of cleaning

we all had to do

extra hours

to make sure

all the stuff

on the shelves

was like nice

and straightened up

for those few minutes

when he'd come

and have a quick chat

and disappear

and it was all

to really

no much purpose

at all.

But somebody

really important

was coming

and so we had

to prepare

the way.

Someone important

is coming here

and so it's time

to prepare.

The road must be

straight and smooth

and free

of obstacles.

It's a way

of saying

this king

this king

that Isaiah

has been told

to speak about

he's coming

he'll come quickly

he won't be

delayed.

So the question

for us again

is which king

is coming?

Who are we

preparing for?

As Isaiah

brings this message

who's coming

verse 3

prepare the way

for the Lord.

The personal

powerful

covenant making

God

is coming

for his people.

This is

verse 3

God's

highway.

He is on

his way

to bring

grace

beyond

judgment

and he

will not

be stopped.

This will

be a

powerful

revelation.

Verse 5

the glory

of the Lord

will

be revealed

because

whenever God

is acting

to save

people

we inevitably

see his

glory.

You think

about it

through the

Bible.

You think

about how

God saved

Noah

and he

receives

glory

for

providing

for

Noah

in the

ark.

God

gets glory

for the

way he

rescues

his people

from slavery

in Egypt

because he

delivers those

plagues

and he

opens the

Red Sea

so Israel

can travel

through

safely.

So often

in the Old

Testament

God gets

glory for

saving his

people because

he fights

the battles

for them.

The people

wait and

see the

deliverance

of God

and when

God comes

in human

form as

the Lord

Jesus Christ

he gets

glory as

he dies

for our

sin on

the cross.

That's what

Jesus prayed

for.

That he

would be

glorified,

that his

father would

be glorified

and there

is glory

there as

he accomplishes

the plan of

salvation,

as he opens

the way for

men and

women,

boys and

girls,

back to

God.

There is

glory whenever

any of us

individually

come to

faith in

the Lord

Jesus.

He's worked

the miracle

of grace

and glory

in our

hearts.

There is

the glory

that comes

because the

Lord is

present.

Here's

another way

of Isaiah

saying prepare

for Emmanuel,

prepare for

God to be

with you,

God in

his glory

to be

with you.

And notice

that this

won't just

be for a

few.

Remember the

extent of

God's

generous

grace.

This isn't

now just

for a

remnant,

a small

portion of

Israel.

When this

king comes,

when this

king of

glory and

grace is

revealed,

verse 5,

all mankind

together will

see it.

Jesus and

his glory is

to stand

as a

universal

revelation

of God's

grace for

the world.

So this

king is

coming.

We are

invited to

prepare and

this visit

is certain.

Verse 5,

the mouth

of the

Lord has

spoken.

So this

voice that

speaks tender

comfort is

saying to

people about

to go into

exile,

people living

in moral

and spiritual

darkness,

saying God

himself is

coming.

He will

come revealing

his glory to

the world.

He has come

to bring

freedom.

He has come

announcing sins

will be

forgiven.

Do we

see where

this is

heading?

Do we

see why

700 years

later,

as Mark

and Matthew

were writing

their gospels,

they saw

John the

Baptist as

this messenger?

As they

reflected on

the life of

Jesus and

his ministry

and his

saving work

on the cross

where they

thought,

well,

obviously,

John the

Baptist was

sent to

prepare the

way for

King Jesus.

And it

helps us to

understand why

John,

when he's

writing his

gospel,

said the

word became

flesh and

dwelt among

us and we

have seen

his glory,

the glory of

the one and

only,

full of grace

and truth

because this

king,

King Jesus,

he's the

Lord.

So for

Israel,

then here is

a hope for

them to hold

on to.

Here is

something worth

waiting for.

Yes,

they're waiting

for exile,

but yes,

they're also

promised that

there is grace

beyond that.

judgment and

for us,

well,

we know that

Jesus has

come.

We know that

his grace and

his glory have

appeared.

We have come

to know

grace beyond

the judgment

that we

deserve

because that's

the message

that the cross

speaks to us.

We look at the

cross and we

realize that's

what my sin

deserves.

And we look

at the cross

and we say,

that's God's

grace so that

I don't have

to receive

the punishment

that my sin

deserves.

So when days

seem dumb,

when we mess

up,

when we fail

and when we

sin,

we have this

message of

comfort that

our King

has come

and he is

for us.

And it's a

message for us

to share also.

for the

people that

we know

who seem

to lack

hope,

who live

with fear

and uncertainty,

who are

looking for

something solid

to hold

on to.

We can

say to

people,

did you

know that

our God

offers comfort

and hope?

And he's

shown us that

by giving us

Jesus.

So as we

await our

King's return,

so this first

group,

they're waiting

for the King

to come,

our King

has already

come,

now we're

waiting for

his return.

We can be

involved in

this work of

preparing the

way,

preparing the

way so that

others might

see and

respond to

the glory of

King Jesus.

We can

prepare the

way by

perhaps inviting

people to

come to

nativity or

to carols by

candlelight.

We can

prepare the

way by

sharing our

faith with

our colleagues

and our

family members.

we can

prepare the

way by

inviting

someone to

read the

Bible with

us and

all so that

people would

see the

glory of

the Lord

as we

find it

in Jesus.

Let's pray

together.

together.