Peace on Earth - Part 1: Jesus is Our Hope | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. We have called this series

of Advent Peace on Earth because Jesus, when

his birth was announced and when he was born,

the angel said, Peace on Earth. They use this

phrase because Jesus came to establish everything

as a new beginning for the creation that he had

already created and to put everything in order

to bring the restoration of the shalom that he

only created. And each Sunday we're going to

hear about the different themes of Advent. Hope,

peace, joy, love, light, and then the expectation

of the return. And we will get to share the pulpit

with different people that will share with us

about these themes of Advent. So we are looking

forward to this season together. And today I

get to share about the topic of hope. In this

study, we will take a look at two prophecies

that took place in the Old Testament that were

fulfilled in the life of Jesus. And all of these

things connect so beautifully and they bring

to the surface what hope really is about. But

before we start digging into the scriptures and

studying more, I want to show you a couple of

pictures. Now, I know I showed you my camera

last week. I did not take these pictures. These

are not mine. But the first one is this, is the

picture of a tree that is in the middle of the

storm being bent and pushed to the limits for

these. Time of uncertainty. Oh, we are having

a little space here with the... Let's just pause

for a second. There it is. Now look at that tree.

And you are that tree. Shaken by the wind. The

storm. And it keeps going on and on and on. And

you feel like, I'm not sure I could do this any

longer. What does it feel like to be this tree?

And when the storm is over, will you remain standing?

Or will you collapse? Shaken by the wind. Now

let me show you this other picture. This is a

stump. Cut off. Everything that you're used to

and what was becoming suddenly gone. Abruptly

so. And in that space of being shocked by the

drastic change of life, is this the end? Or is

this a new beginning? Do you feel that this was

unfair? You didn't see it coming? What does it

feel like to be a stump? It was a Canadian woman.

Her name is Dorothy. She survived a car accident.

But her parents didn't. And she was just a little

child. So she had to grow up in the foster care

system, going from home to home. And it was during

that time of childhood, going from home to home,

she was under the care of a foster care family

that ended up sexually molesting her. Therefore,

as she grew older, she learned to simply hate.

Her life had been shaken. She had become a stump.

And not only that, but it kept coming against

her as if God was against her. So for 50 years

of her life, she hated God. To be a shaken tree,

to be a stump, is not easy. But it's exactly

in that season of life. That our understanding

of hope kicks in and makes the entire difference

of how we go through it. And that is something

that we are going to learn in this study today.

I want to introduce you to a king called Ahaz.

Ahaz was not a king that loved God. In fact,

he worshipped all these other deities and he

was a person who... whose heart had turned from

God completely. And he lived in a time in which

you have to rewind history and go to the 700s

before Jesus. This was the time also of prophet

Isaiah. So we are going to learn and read something

that took place almost 3 ,000 years ago. And

as we look at Ahaz and what was happening in

his life, you discover that he was being like

a tree shaken. So many things that were going

on in his life. And to understand what Prophet

Isaiah writes and to understand what was going

on during this period of history, You go to the

Old Testament and you look at 2 Kings, and 2

Kings tells you the story of everything that

is happening. And what we understand is that

the context of the surrounding nations, of everything

that was happening during the time of Ahaz, was

difficult. It was a time of war. It was a time

of expansion. There was a nation called the Assyrians.

Assyria is the region that is known today as

Iraq. And in that time, the kingdom of Assyria

was expanding. And as it was expanding, they

were conquering different areas in their surrounding.

But then, the nation of Syria and the nation

of Israel on the north, together forming an alliance

to attack the Assyrians and defend themselves

from them. Now you notice that the map has two

highlighted sections in two different colors

because it was a time in the nation of Israel

in which they were a divided kingdom. The kingdom

of the north had the capital in Samaria and the

kingdom of the south was Judah. And had the capital

in Jerusalem. And Ahaz was the kingdom of Judah

in the south. And he was living right there in

Jerusalem. So it so happens that the nation of

Syria and the north of Israel. They come together

and they decide that they are going to attack

Judah. And what is amazing about all of these

things and all of this time, even though it's

so ancient, we actually have archaeological elements

from that time. And what I love about archaeology

is how it always corroborates the historicity

of the Bible and the truthfulness of it. We have

discovered what is known as the seal of King

Ahaz. This was something that was used for legal

documents. And we also have the seal of prophet

Isaiah. Isn't that amazing? The same Isaiah that

you get to read in the Bible from. So Ahaz is

going through this time of turmoil in his life.

And when he hears that the neighbors in the north

are coming to invade them, he becomes very fearful.

Now, he had already been worshiping lots of the

different idols and he had brought so many idols

in Jerusalem and even in the temple. And he was

so pagan that he had even adopted some of the

practices of child sacrifice. He had himself

sacrificed some of his sons to the fire in the

worship of Moloch. So he was not a God that loved

God and that was seeking him. But it was a guy

that God was reaching to because he was a king

in the nation. So as he is hearing about this

news, God sends Isaiah with a message for him.

And we are told in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 2,

Isaiah 7:2

So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were what?

Shaken. As the trees of the forest are shaken

by the wind. He was that shaken tree. The tempest

was growing stronger. And he was freaking out.

And he was thinking. That he was going to find

rescue from the situation. But turning to the

king of Assyria. Pay him a lot of money. And

say you come and help us. And you fight for us

against these guys in the north. So he was trying

to control things so that he could control the

outcome, but he is completely driven by fear.

And God sends Isaiah to say, you know what? You

need to turn to me. Trust in me, not in pagans.

Trust in me, not in political powers. Trust in

me. So he tells Isaiah, Isaiah, I want you to

meet the king. Take your son with you. Go and

meet him in this location. And gives him the

exact GPS description of the location where he

needed to meet the king. So he goes to meet the

king. And as he meets him, God says, say this

to the king. Ahaz, be careful. Keep calm. Don't

be afraid. Don't let anxiety take over your heart.

And don't start making decisions that are rushed

and not driven by the right foundation. Be careful.

And then, it says, look. If you do not stand

firm in your faith right now, you will not stand

at all. If you are wanting to survive this storm,

you need to remain standing in the foundation

which is me. I am with you and I'm going to take

you through this. But you have to stand in this

foundation. Otherwise, you will become a casualty

of fear. And as a pagan person, he was just not

trusting, and he was doubting, and he wanted

to worship instead and seek the help from every

other possible deity to get his best luck possible.

And at that moment, God says to Isaiah, you know,

this guy is hard, but I really want him to get

it that I'm here with him and I'm going to lead,

not to turn to the king of the Assyrians. So

go to him and tell him, look, ask me for a sign,

any sign, just to confirm that I'm serious, I'm

here and I'm going to help you. So at that moment,

He goes, and it says, again, the Lord spoke to

Ahaz, ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether

in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.

God is here for you. But Ahaz's heart was not

for God. And he goes, I don't want to hear anything.

I don't want anything. And at that moment, God

is going the extra mile to meet him in his despair,

and he acts with that arrogance. He says, really?

Isaiah says, oh, you're really something else,

you know? Let me tell you what. God is going

to give you a sign anyway. And here he says,

therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a

son and will call him Emmanuel. For before the

boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose

the right, the land of the two kings you dread

will be laid waste. They are planning the attack,

but I'm here to tell you, it's not going to happen.

And this child will be born. And this child will

be the sign that I am with you. And you will

know it by his name. So you will be reminded

that I am with you. And Isaiah turned to the

nations. And proclaimed this. Devise your strategy.

But it will be thwarted. Propose your plan. But

it will not. Stand, for God is with us. But Ahaz

did not listen. Instead, he went to the temple

in Jerusalem. He took all the gold and all the

silver and all the things that were consecrated

to the worship of the one true God. He took all

of that. Send it to the pagan king of the Assyrians

as a payment. So that that king could fight for

them. And that king came and fought against the

north. But then later he came back and attacked

some sections of Judah. And he turned the kingdom

of Judah. into a state that now was subjugated

by the Assyrians that they have to pay taxes

all the time. And the hope that Ahaz sought was

not God himself. And instead of the time of crisis

turning to God, he rejected God altogether and

he tried to do it on his own. And that brought

consequences because God, through Isaiah and

all the prophets later, like Prophet Jeremiah,

he told the nation, look, guys, you have become

so corrupted. You don't care about truth anymore.

You don't care about seeking me anymore. And

therefore, there's going to be more storms that

are going to come down the road. And from there,

we know from this initial conversation with Ahaz,

That there's this prophecy given based on this

name that is right here on the screen for you.

This is what the name looks like in Hebrew. Emmanuel.

With us, God. God with us. And as God... Tries

to remind Ahaz. That he can indeed turn to him.

That he can rely on him. In the midst of the

crisis. Now he moves forward. To chapter 11.

And from being in a position. Of being a tree.

That is being shaken by the storm. Now the picture

changes. To being a stump. Because what is going

to happen. With his line. What is going to happen

when the kingdom is destroyed and there will

be no more king? What is going to happen with

my children and great -grandchildren? And at

that moment, the hopelessness takes over completely.

In fact, Ahaz died young. He started being a

king at age 20. Any 20 -year -olds here? In this

room? Imagine being the king at age 20. And he

died in his mid -30s, not with an honorable death.

But as the season of feeling like a stump comes

in, God sends Isaiah with another message. And

he's going to address this, and he will say in

chapter 11, verse 1, Out of the stump of David's

family will grow a shoot. Yes, a new branch bearing

fruit from the old root. I know this sounds like

this is the end of it, but it is not. Because

I have a plan. Yes, I had the plan of cutting

the tree down because it needed to be cut. But

it is not the end. This is the beginning of a

new stage. And this shoot is going to be a person.

And the spirit of the Lord will rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit

of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge

and the fear of the Lord. He will wear righteousness

like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In

that day, the heir to David's throne will be

a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations

will rally to him and the land where he lives

will be a glorious place. If you have never read

the entire chapter 11 of Isaiah, go home and

read it. Because it's a prophecy about the king

that was going to come. The promised Messiah

that was going to come and bring to righteousness.

and establish the kingdom that was never going

to end, the little shoot was going to become

a whole new tree that will never be caught again.

From a stump to a shoot. I do not know if you've

ever gone through a season where things are like

cut off completely, drastically. It's very disorienting,

very disorienting. But in this space, God speaks

hope. But hope, as it turns out, is... and is

a person. In both cases, when it felt like a

shaken tree, the hope was a name, a person that

was coming. When life felt like a stump, hope

was a person, one who was coming. And that person

is revealed in the New Testament at the beginning.

With the very first gospel, the gospel of Matthew,

his name is Jesus. And as you fast forward now

from 700 before Christ to the time of Jesus,

right before his birth, the book of Matthew begins

telling us how these prophecies that Isaiah had

given now will be fulfilled. The book of Matthew

begins with the genealogy of Jesus, the family

line of Jesus. And then when it gets to verse

18, it tells us how the birth of Jesus came about.

And it says, this is how the birth of Jesus,

the Messiah, came about. His mother Mary... Was

pledged to be married to Joseph. But before they

came together. She was found to be pregnant through

the Holy Spirit. Now. In the Jewish cultural

context, the way marriage worked was that the

moment the agreement was made between these families

for the guy and the woman to get married, they

will sign these documents, there was payment

that was made, and now that was officially that

they were going to get married, they will consider

now officially a couple. But not yet. Because

they would wait a year before the actual wedding

and celebration and the consummation of their

marriage. During that period of time, they were

not yet living as a married couple. They were

not yet sexually involved with each other. However,

if there was any infidelity that would take place

during that year, it was as serious as adultery

because they were already technically committed.

For marriage. So now you see that Mary is engaged

to Joseph. Everything has been signed. Everything

has been paid. And now oops. She is found to

be pregnant. But the text says she was pregnant.

Not by a person that was just a human person.

This was the Holy Spirit himself. And this. Child

that was within her now was conceived by God

through her. And Joseph hears about it. Of course,

he doesn't believe it. He's like, what? You want

to take me for a fool? What am I going to do

now? So he has a hard time. He's become a tree

shaken in the storm. He didn't see this coming.

This was not supposed to happen. And now he's

having a hard time going to sleep. But one of

those nights as he goes to sleep, he finally

falls asleep. And the verse tells us that Joseph,

to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man.

I did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he

decided to break the engagement quietly. I'm

just going to sign the papers, going to keep

it quiet, because otherwise my honor, the honor

of my family, her honor, the honor of her family,

let's keep it low. So he had made the decision

in his heart and goes to bed and as he falls

asleep, after he had considered this, an angel

of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take

Mary home as your wife because what is conceived

in her It's truly from the Holy Spirit. So don't

be afraid. You will go ahead. You will make your

head as you were planning. And now you are going

to take care of this child. She will give birth

to a son. And you are to give him the name Jesus.

Because he will save his people. From their sins.

Jesus in Hebrew is the name Yeshua. And he means

God saves. You are going to name this child God

saves. And as he is growing up in your home,

every time you name, you call his name, you're

going to say, God saves, come here. God saves,

it's time to eat. God saves. Every time the name

of this child is pronounced, you are pronouncing

this meaning. Because this child, Is the king

that was supposed to come to save their people

from their sins. And the passage in Matthew continues.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord

had said through the prophet. Prophet Isaiah.

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a

son. And they will call him. Emmanuel, which

means God with us. God with us. This Jesus, not

symbolically, but literally, is God with us.

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the

Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife, but

he did not have sexual relations with her until

her son was born. And here you have the two shaken

trees. Ahaz, when the prophecy was given, and

Joseph, when the prophecy is being fulfilled,

both being shaken by the storm in their lives,

both being in a place of... Fear. Where they

are in the verge of anxiety attack. And God reaches

both of them. And he tells them. Do not be afraid.

Follow me. I have a plan for this. But Ahaz decided

not to follow God. But Joseph decided to follow

God. And obey him. And that. is the story and

the beginning and the fulfillment of these two

prophecies. And now Joseph goes, marries Mary,

and when Jesus is born, he takes the child and

says, and Joseph named him, God saves. To the

very end, acted in obedience, not in fear. God

with us, Emmanuel. Yeshua, God saves. In Greek,

Yesu. God saves. In English, Jesus. The Savior

who came so that we can be with him. God with

us so we can be. With him. God with us. In the

midst of the storm. So that we will be shaken.

But not uprooted. God with us. So even though

we are a stump. Is not the end of our story.

Because God is with us. And God is the God of

new beginnings. And what is amazing about this

promise, about this fulfillment of who Jesus

is, is just as the book of Matthew begins with

these words saying God is with us, is being fulfilled

in this person. The very last words of the gospel

of Matthew is this person, the fulfillment of

Isaiah speaking. He has already died for our

sins. He has already paid for your shame. He

has already resurrected. He has already overcome

Satan. He has already overcome the power of death.

He has already overcome the power of sin. And

he is now ready to begin the fulfillment of the

promises of the new kingdom. But before... He

gathers the apostles and he says to them, I want

you to go to the world and start telling people

about me, God with us. I want you to go to the

world and start telling people that God saves

and I'm here to save them from their sins. You

will go and tell the world about me. And as soon

as he gives them the command, Jesus. Pronounced

as the very last words of the book of Matthew.

And I want you to read them with me. And be sure

of this. I am with you always. Even to the end

of the age. I am with you for how long? Until

when? Do you believe that? There's a reason why

Matthew began by telling us, God is with us.

If you are following Jesus, God is with us. There's

a reason why Matthew finished this book with

the words of assurance. You can be sure of this.

I am with you always. Because when we are shaken

by the storm. When it feels like it's the end.

And there's no hope for a new beginning. Because

this is impossible. In that moment. It's very

easy to feel. And then to believe. That God is

not with us. That he has abandoned us. That he's

playing tricks against us. And that is why Dorothy

spent 50 years of her life hating God. Because

she felt like a stump. As if God had completely

given her just the wrong treatment altogether.

Unfair. Not just. Why me? But the problem is

that 50 years of hating God. Did not bring any

more healing to her heart or any more peace.

Instead, it took the peace away. So as she became

an adult and she became older, she decided to

take a trip to Greece. You know, sometimes changing

environments helps you breathe differently. But

as a God -hater, she took that trip. And it so

happened that in that tour, there were people

that were gathering to read the Bible in a circle

together. And they invited her, stand here, you

know, we're going to read this because this happened

here in Greece. And they were reading from the

book of Acts. It was the story of these two guys

that had arrived to that town where they were

visiting in Greece. But they had been tortured.

And treated unjustly. And they had become imprisoned.

And as these two guys become imprisoned. As she

is reading and hearing the story being read.

It's like these two guys started praising God

with hymns. And at that moment Dorothy said.

What? How can you sing? Praises to God when you

have been tortured. Betrayed. Treated so badly.

And now you are chained in prison. At that moment

as one who had turned against God. Because of

her own suffering. She started asking questions

about that. Who is this people? Paul and Silas.

And can you really. Praise God in the midst of

suffering like that? Yes, you can. And yes, they

did. And at that moment, Dorothy says, well,

I want to know more about that God. Because 50

years of hating God is heavy. It's 50 years of

no peace. It's heavy. And now she realizes that

there's a God that can meet you in your own prison

and give you peace. And that is how Dorothy started

learning more about this God. Emmanuel got with

us. And soon she became a follower of Jesus.

Shaken tree. A stump. Not anymore. As she started

following Jesus, there was a friend that was

working in a shelter for women who had been abused,

abandoned. And said to Dorothy, Dorothy, would

you come and help me a little bit? It's becoming

very hard. I need extra help. Would you please

come and help me? And Dorothy says, you know,

I don't speak Spanish. What am I doing in Mexico?

Just come, help me. So she went. And at that

moment, when she met a 13 -year -old girl that

had been abused, completely hopeless, as a follower

of Jesus, now she realized that she could not

stand there and do nothing. And God started calling

her with the understanding of her own pain and

journey to now minister to the people that did

not know the hope. They knew the pain, but they

did not know God with us. So eventually Dorothy,

beyond her own imagination and planning, becomes

the founder of a ministry. That is a shelter

for women who have been abused and abandoned.

And as she serves his story, she says, you know,

I still do not understand why God would use me.

But I realize that God is not looking for experts.

He's looking for people who are willing. And

no matter how old you are and how old you have

become, you have to understand that God loves

you, he is with you, and he has a plan for you

even in your old age. How do you turn a stump

into a fruitful tree? Well, that takes a person

and his name is Jesus. And I'm here to tell you,

you are not a stump. If Jesus is your savior,

he has the power to redeem your story and bring

new beginnings, new callings, new impact. So

this prophecy and the fulfillment of Jesus as

being the very hope in which we stand. Has a

few implications. The first one of these implications.

Is that Jesus is indeed our living hope. So you

do not know hope. Unless you know Jesus. Therefore

if you are here. And you are listening to this

study. And Jesus is not your savior. The very

first thing that God wants you to do is to encounter

him as your savior. He came to save you from

your sins. You can choose to do like Ahaz did.

Go and keep worshiping all the other pagan deities.

But they have no power to forgive your sins and

to give you the peace that your soul needs. Only

Jesus can do that because only Jesus is God with

us. Only Jesus is the God who saves. If God is

drawing you to him, let this be the day in which

you turn to Jesus and you say, Jesus, I want

to follow you. Please forgive me for my sins.

I turn away from them and I'm going to follow

you the rest of my life. Would you make me one?

Of your people. That is something that you can

do. Anytime. Anywhere. And here right now. Today.

Experience Jesus. As your living hope. And you

will see. That even 50 years of hating God. Can

turn now in the rest of your life. Loving him.

It's amazing what God can do. If you just let

him. The second implication for us. Is that if

you are a follower of Jesus. The Bible says that

the moment you believed in Jesus. And you heard

the gospel of truth. That at that moment of believing.

You were given the Holy Spirit to live in you.

As a seal until the day of redemption. Which

means that if you are a follower of Jesus, God

is with you, in you, and for you. There's never

a second, there's never a minute of your life

in which God is not with you. It's impossible.

Because He is in you, you are sealed with the

Spirit until the day of redemption. So if you

have been shaken like a tree in the wind and

the storm. And you have been doubting whether

God is with you or not. If you are in a place

in which you have become discouraged. Because

you have been believing that God is against you.

That God has forgotten you. That he does not

see you. I'm here to tell you. Those are lies

from your true enemy. And your true enemy is

not God. Your true enemy is the devil. He's a

master liar. And he wants to deceive you so that

you will walk away from God rather than to him.

So today is the day for you to realize that you

have been duped by the enemy. And that's why

you have no peace. Don't point your finger to

God. Instead let him point the finger at the

path ahead and you follow him. So today as we

pray, tell the Lord, Lord I renounce the fear

that you have abandoned me. I renounce the lie

that you are not with me, that you don't care

about my future. I renounce that in your presence

because you are God with us. And the last implication

for us is that there's only one way of facing

this storm. And you must stand firm in your faith.

There's no other solid ground, only Jesus. And

once you are in the midst of this storm, when

things become so hard, where you are in that

space of thinking, there's no way I can go through

this one more day. I don't think I can do this.

When you are in that space. What are you going

to do? Are you going to abandon the faith? For

what? There's no hope in any other name under

heaven. But in Jesus alone. You will not find

what your soul needs. Stand firm in your faith.

And that's exactly what Isaiah told Ahaz. If

you do not stand firm in your faith now. You

will not end up standing at the end. You will

be uprooted. A fallen tree. Only with regrets

for the rest of your life. Because at the crucial

moment of trusting God with your doubts and your

pain. You chose not to remain strong in your

faith. Remain strong in your faith. The storm.

Will pass. The storm will end. And not only you

will remain standing. But God will bring you

a season of fruit. Fruitfulness that will bring

glory and impact for his kingdom like never before.

Father. Why do you love us so much? Us to do

so much. So that we could be saved from our sins.

So that the storm will not uproot us. So that

being a stump will not be the end of our story.

I don't know why you love us so much. But thank

you for loving us that much. And today in this

moment. In this place. Remind us that you never

left us. Remind us that you are not the enemy.

Remind us that you are with us. In Jesus' name

we pray, amen. Thank you for tuning in to the

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