CHFC - Week 4 (Isaiah 49:8-13)

This is ERC Sundays, the messages at Emmaus Rd.

Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people

striving to grow in Jesus and make him known to others through

our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church

at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week's message.

We are in week four of our Coming Home for Christmas

series, Advent in Isaiah. We're going to be in Isaiah 49

today. If you want to bring out your

phones or there's Bibles in the chairs in front of you, it's on

page 610 in those Bibles in the seats.

If you'd like to follow along, we're going to be in Isaiah 49,

8 through 13. We're going to jump around to

some other stuff too, but this is the that's the route of where

we're going to get started. So Isaiah 49, starting at verse

8, this is what the Lord says in the time of my favor, I will

answer you. And in the day of salvation, I

will help you. I will keep you and will make

you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and

to reassign its desolate inheritance.

Inheritances to say to the captives, come out and to those

in darkness be free. They will feed beside the roads

and find pasture on every barren hill.

They were neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat

nor the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them

will guide them and lead them. Besides springs of water, I will

turn all my mountains into roads, and all my highways will

be raised up. See, they will come from afar,

some from the north, some from the West, some from the region

of Aswan. Shout for joy you heavens,

rejoice you earth. Burst into song you mountains,

for the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his

afflicted ones. This is the word of God.

What do you want for Christmas? Honest question, looking for

answers. What?

What do you want for Christmas? Wow, OK, you are of that age.

That makes sense. Good health?

A cat? OK, we had pets.

No drama. Oh, OK, we're going to talk

about dysfunction in a minute. Yep.

Quarters for laundry money. Tangible things.

Yes, we do have a spectrum of tangible and intangible things

that we want for Christmas. But why?

Why do we give gifts? Do we give gifts out of, as

we've talked about already this morning, out of love because he

first loved us? If we give a gift attached to

receiving a gift back, is it really a gift?

What happens if we get maybe an unexpected gift?

Someone, we weren't planning on giving us a gift.

They give us a gift. What's our first reaction?

Well, I didn't get you anything. What was the, was there another?

I think that's one of two responses.

Last service got both of them. Someone yelled out thank you.

And someone yelled out, I didn't get you anything at the same

time. Those are two choices.

One of those responses focuses on the gift given, and the other

response focuses on what I did to be worthy of that gift, what

I did to earn or deserve that gift being given to me.

And that's not the point of gifts.

The point of gifts is to receive.

And that's it. In this passage in Isaiah, he

frames this time, this coming Messiah deliverance for this

people in exile. If you remember the context of

of where we are, this people of Israel, oppressed, captured,

enslaved by their enemies in Babylon, the time has come for

them to be delivered from exile. And this passage in Isaiah is

talking about both their present circumstance, a coming, lasting

Messiah, and it's also words of encouragement for us today as we

feel the burdens of exile in this life, as we feel sin,

shame, guilt, dysfunction, as we feel things that make us feel

like this world is not our home. Jesus came to earth to make a

way to our true home in heaven. In the first verse in our

passage today, verse 8, the Lord says, so we should listen.

In the time of my favor, I will answer you, and in the day of

salvation I will help you. There are some of you here today

who feel like you haven't felt God's favor in a while.

You're living in exile. You're feeling exiled from God,

whether it's things of of your own doing or just experiencing

the weight of of sin, the dysfunction of this world, other

people's wrongdoing, all of that hurts and builds up and and

gives us this unnatural feeling in this world like we're not

meant for this. The Lord says in the time of my

favor, I will answer you. This response to this people in

exile was incredibly encouraging, but also lasting.

Looking ahead, this most favorable time would be when God

Jesus sets heaven aside and comes to earth.

That is the greatest time of God's favor for us, this day of

salvation. Paul quotes this verse in his

second letter to the Corinthians.

He encourages the early church by saying in a favorable time, I

listen to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.

That's the quote. Now this is Paul's explanation.

Behold, now is the favorable time.

Behold, now is the day of salvation.

So Jesus come to earth for us, God with us.

Yes, it was an event that happened 2000 years ago, but

it's just as real and fresh for the person today who encounters

him. That is their greatest day of

God's favor. That is their day of salvation

from that day forward. Whatever day that was for you,

maybe it's today, you're living in the same Providence, the same

favor that was delivered to the people of Israel in Isaiah, that

was delivered to the people of the whole earth in Jesus's

coming, us included. And it's also on a personal

level that when you confess your sins to Jesus, believe that his

life was poured out on a cross and he rose three days later for

you, that is the most favorable time from God to you.

It's a gift. Isaiah then goes on, This is

more real life stuff, but I think we can still apply it to

to what we have. This wandering people in the

desert making their way back to their land.

They will feed the side the roads and find pasture on every

barren hill. There's going to be Providence

even in the midst of desolation. They will neither hunger nor

thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun be down on them.

He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them

beside springs of water. Best of all is His presence.

God goes with them. That's why Jesus come down to

earth is so significant. He made a plan, just as we saw

with Moses, just as we saw with Joseph.

It wasn't so much the how but The Who that God lays out this

plan. And to put the cherry on top,

I'm going with you. I will be with you.

I will help you do this, Isaiah goes on.

I will turn all my mountains into roads and my highways will

be raised up. Every mountain we can't overcome

is levelled. Every valley is raised up and

away, made see they will come from afar, from the north, from

the West, from the region of Aswan.

That's that's a region far to the east, some somewhere in

Asia. Not so important as the location

as the idea that that this reaching, this deliverance, this

Providence would reach the ends of the earth.

It would be this all-encompassing, immeasurable

deliverance for all people. Paul again quotes a different

part of Isaiah later in this same chapter in 2nd Corinthians

6, he quotes Isaiah 52 saying, I will make my dwelling among them

and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be

my people. Again reminding them of the

promise that God is with them and for them.

Therefore go out from their myths and be separate from them,

says Lord, and touch no unclean thing.

Then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you

shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

This isn't something to do to earn the gift, but it is

prescriptive of what needs to be done in response to the gift.

This morning I didn't even plan this, but before the 1st service

I came back to my desk and this stuff was on it.

This is not liquor, it's vanilla extract.

First service. Someone thought I was just going

to take a swig of that. Not right now.

So there's no name on this though.

I don't know who this is from. I am thankful, but I don't even

have it. I can't even oh, I didn't get

you anything. I don't know who to give it to.

I I couldn't even respond that way.

I can only receive this. Now we do have option.

I can, I can receive it or I can leave it.

I cannot use it, but I can't do anything to earn it.

It's it's already it's already here.

It's already given. My options are to use it or to

reject it. The second part of this passage

in Second Corinthians is what we do in response to the gift.

Do we use it? Do we act on it, or do we just

let it alone? In Christ you are set apart.

You are made holy, washed holy by the blood of Jesus.

So therefore the things of this world have to go away.

The unclean things have to be separate and gone, and when we

do that, I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and

daughters to me, says the Lord. It's not to earn it.

It's just lived in response to the gift given how we act on it

and how we use it. We went and saw.

My family went and saw the David movie yesterday.

It's only been out a couple days.

You maybe haven't seen it yet, but you should go see it.

It was great. It is it's an animated flick.

Phil Wickham is the voice of of David.

But it was great telling the story of David and Goliath all

the way up to the point where he's crowned king of Israel.

Really close to the biblical narrative.

They're they stay really true to that.

It was really well done. But I was struck as I was

thinking about gifts and, and, and, and giving and this sermon

this week, as I was watching that movie yesterday, I was

struck by the scene. The Philistine army isn't is

invading. They've set their camp up.

Goliath has come down and the kings have agreed.

OK, we're just my greatest warrior against your greatest

warrior. But Goliath comes out and no one

in the Israelites wants to fight Goliath for fear of being

killed. David, little shepherd boy.

David comes to the army lines bringing supplies for his

brothers. His three brothers are part of

the army and he comes to the armies gathered and it's like,

what, what's going on? There's no, there's no fighting.

There's this giant dude over here.

He's throwing insults at you guys and and at our God and, and

no one's doing anything. What's going on?

So he goes before Saul and, and says, I'll fight, I'll fight for

you. And God goes with me.

David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the

lion, from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of

this Philistine. And Saul said to David, go and

the Lord be with you. And then Saul clothed David with

his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his

head and clothed him with a coat of mail.

This is yet another response to a gift.

I think we can have this kind of aligned in my thinking yesterday

that this this was an unexpected gift that Saw was receiving.

David was coming to him with deliverance, with a plan, with a

way out of this seemingly insurmountable darkness giant.

This this thing that couldn't be solved.

And David had the faith and confidence, belief in God, that

God would go with him and strengthen him in it.

And Saul's like, yeah, glad you're here.

That sounds great, but let me help.

Well, let's let's get you armored up and, and get you on

your way. And this is how I would do this.

He took the gift and then added to it like this is a this is a

really, this is a stove top potpourri thing that is

obviously thought out. There's there's like clove and

cinnamon and cranberries and orange in here.

If I were to take this and then add like, hey, but I really like

peppermint, that would like ruin everything that's going on here,

right, right. Like this was the plan.

This this was a gift. This was thought out and the

solution was done. This will make your house smell

nice, right? I could add other things to this

and ruin it. That's what Saul's doing here.

He didn't he didn't just receive the gift.

He took. It was like, but you know, it

would be better if does anyone ever do that?

You give them the gift and you're like, well, I like this

color. But what would have been better

is if you got me this green 1 instead, right?

That's what Saul's doing here in receiving this gift.

Rather than responding, receiving with the same faith

and trust that David had and was offering, he wanted to add his

two cents. And there's no part of our

salvation. It's not that Jesus did 99% and

we added one. Jesus did it all.

It's a gift given that can only be received.

We can't add to it. We can't earn it.

There's nothing that we could do to enhance it.

Isaiah then prescribes the response to this gift given.

Shout for joy, you heavens, rejoice, you earth burst into

song, you mountains. For the Lord comforts his

people, and we'll have compassion on his afflicted

ones. It's right there.

We respond in praise, we respond in joy.

Why? For the Lord comforts His

people, and we'll have compassion on His afflicted

ones. That's His response to our

affliction is love, is mercy, is compassion.

How many of you are feeling afflicted here this morning?

I don't know what it might be. It might be addiction, deceit,

family dysfunction, anger, lust. Maybe it's just a lack of

discipline or a tendency for sloth and just to not push

forward on a given thing. Maybe it's a lack of trust in

God being who He says he is and doing what He said he would do.

Just arriving at a lukewarm point in your faith.

Whatever darkness, whatever giant is standing before you

right now, holding you back from just freely receiving this gift

this year, this Christmas, don't do what's all did.

Don't try to get this part of your life straightened out and

cleaned up so that you can wholly receive Jesus.

Well, that's not the point of the gift.

The gift is there to bring light and peace and hope to the

darkest places of your life. The time of God's favor has come

upon you, upon all of us. And that's what this Christmas

time is here to remind us. For the gift given in Jesus and

the gift of His return to come. He can defeat whatever giant is

standing before you. Today's the darkest day of the

year, right? There's the least amount of

sunlight today, right? And then we're gradually heading

back the other way. Jesus came to be the light of

the world that the darkness would not overcome it.

Whenever darkness is surrounding your life today, from this day

forward, starting right now in this time of God's favor, if you

understand God's plan of salvation for you, starting

today, you got to let the light win.

You got to freely receive and stop trying to help.

So we can't we can't help. We can't add to it.

It is full and complete. All we can do is receive and

respond. So So what does that look like

Matt? You're saying a lot of things.

And maybe if I just take some fairy dust and wish on a

Unicorn, all my problems are going to go away.

Right. Like, we we can't just have this

at. OK, God fights for me and he's

beside me. Yeah, I believe that.

But what does that really look like?

Well, first you got to get to like, do you actually believe

that, that he's there for you and then he fights for you.

And then what does that actually look like?

Paul writes a prescription to the early church in First

Thessalonians. Rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all

circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for

you. One of our responses to a gift

was thankfulness, right? Gratefulness.

This first part of the passage is the do's.

The second part is the don'ts. Do not quench the Spirit.

Do not despise prophecies. Test everything.

Hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

If you're real about whatever darkness, whatever giant,

whatever insurmountable thing is facing you today, some of it's

probably not your fault. Some of it is probably just the

fallout of sin, the brokenness of this world, the stupidness of

people. But some of it you've probably

brought upon yourself. You've done the don'ts and

you're maybe not doing the do's. Are you brought to a place of

joy? Do you have joy in the Lord or

are you just acting joyful? Do you pray?

We have, we have worries. And I know sometimes it feels

like we don't even choose to worry, it's just there.

But do you choose to pray? If you're going to pray, why

worry? And if you're going to worry,

why pray? Pray without ceasing bringing

our concerns before a Father who listens.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the

will of God for you. Those are the do's, then the

don'ts. Don't do the things that take

you from Him. Don't do the things that He

prohibits, that steal your affections away.

Abstain from every form of evil. You know yourself best.

Whatever's dragging you down, whatever is pulling you away

from Him, it's got to go. This year, reminded of this gift

of the coming of Jesus, we can take this gift.

This is how we put Him first in our lives and keep Him there.

This is how we respond with a life lived out with a sweet,

sweet sound, a response of worship.

The word Hallelujah. We said we sang it in one of the

first songs and we sing it in songs, but I feel like we don't

often enough talk about what it means.

It's praise be to God, but it's with an attitude of

thankfulness. So literally, it's thanks be to

God for what He has done. This is the prescription to live

out a heartfelt Hallelujah in response to the gift, a right

attitude of gratitude, of thankfulness in freely receiving

this gift. Why?

So that the God of peace Himself may sanctify you completely.

May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at

the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He who calls you is faithful, and He will surely do it.

Just as with the Israelites in Egypt and the Israelites coming

out of exile in Isaiah. This is the direction, this is

the promise that He goes with us.

So with the heartfelt Hallelujah, we respond.

Thanks be to God. Thanks for listening to ERC

Sundays. To support the work God is doing

at Emmaus Rd. Church, visit

emmausrdonline.org/giving.