Advent - Isaiah 40:1-11 - ADVENT 2-Emotions of Christmas: Grief & Comfort

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Amen. Thanks, y'all. Thanks, James.

It's a beautiful arrangement of those beautiful words straight from Isaiah chapter 40,

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

which we're going to be reading here in just a minute.

Remember, we're trying this Christmas season to slow down a little bit,

to consider our hearts, how the reality of the Christmas story,

the incarnation of the Son of God speaks to and should shape the deepest parts of who we are.

And so last week we started by talking about our deep longings,

our desire for fulfillment, for the things in this world to be as they should be.

We saw in Isaiah 11 that the promise of Christmas is an eternal hope

for those longings one day, someday to be truly met

as Jesus comes to make us and the world everything we were created to be.

Christmas gives us an eternal hope,

not a hope placed in a temporary change of circumstances or improvement in life situation,

but rather hope in an eternal Savior

and His complete and lasting fulfillment of our deepest longings.

And you may say, and you may have said to yourself last week,

well, that's nice. That's all well and good.

That's true. I believe that.

But my life is hard.

Things are tough.

I'm looking forward to eternity, but today is really difficult for me.

What I'm facing now is still overwhelming to me.

Does God care anything about that?

Does Christmas have anything to speak to me in this life at all?

Well, it does.

And it's never less than that eternal hope,

but it's also a message of comfort for us right where we are today as well.

That's what we'll hear this morning in Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

This passage is written to God's people in exile,

taken away from the promised land under an oppressive foreign ruler,

without a home,

seemingly without a God to care for them.

Listen to God's message for those people in Isaiah 40 at verse 1.

The message is comfort.

Comfort.

Comfort.

Comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

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

A voice cries,

in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.

Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

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

The uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

A voice says cry.

And I said,

What shall I cry?

All flesh is grass and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers.

The flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it.

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers.

The flower fades.

But the word of our God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news.

Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news.

Lift it up.

Fear not.

Say to the cities of Judah,

Behold your God.

Behold the Lord God comes with might.

And his arm rules for him.

Behold his reward is with him and his recompense before him.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd.

He will gather the lambs in his arms.

He will carry them in his bosom.

And gently lead those that are with young.

Thus far God's holy, inerrant, infallible word.

As we just read, the grass withers.

The flower fades.

But the word of our God will indeed stand forever.

Let's ask for his help now as we look to his word together this morning.

Pray with me.

Father, we are so grateful for the gift of your word.

For the privilege of holding it.

Of reading it.

Of hearing it.

And then of your spirit working it into our hearts.

Changing us by it.

That it would be what shapes our hearts.

More than anything else we read this week.

More than anything else we watch or experience this week.

Would you, Father, open our hearts.

Soften them to your word.

And speak to us clearly.

I need to hear from you.

We need to hear from you.

And so would you speak through your word.

As you love to do.

We thank you for that.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Kids, some of you will know my friend Alexander.

Alexander had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Some of you have read about his day before.

Alexander looks like that all the time.

That's the kind of face you have when you have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

I'm not going to read you his whole story this morning.

But I want to give you just a taste of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

It goes like this.

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth.

And now there's gum in my hair.

And when I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on the skateboard.

And by mistake, I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running.

And I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

At breakfast, Anthony found a Corvette Stingray car kit in his breakfast cereal box.

And Nick found a junior undercover agent code ring in his breakfast cereal box.

But in my breakfast cereal box, all I found was breakfast cereal.

I think I'll move to Australia.

At school, Mrs. Dickens liked Paul's picture of the sailboat better than my picture of the invisible castle.

At singing time, she said I sang too loud.

At counting time, she said I left out 16.

Who needs 16?

I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I could tell because Paul said I wasn't his best friend anymore.

He said that Philip Parker was his best friend.

And that Albert Moya was his next best friend.

And that I was only his third best friend.

There were two cupcakes in Philip Parker's lunch bag.

And Albert got a Hershey bar with almonds.

And Paul's mother gave him a piece of jelly roll that had little coconut sprinkles on the top.

Guess whose mother forgot to put in dessert?

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

That's what it was because after school, my mom took us all to the dentist.

And Dr. Fields found a cavity just in me.

Come back next week and I'll fix it, Dr. Fields said.

Next week, I said, I'm going to Australia.

On the way downstairs, the elevator door closed on my foot.

And while we were waiting for my mom to go get the car, Anthony made me fall where it was muddy.

And then when I started crying because of the mud, Nick said I was a crybaby.

And while I was punching Nick for saying crybaby, my mom came back with the car and scolded me for being muddy and fighting.

It's a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I told everybody.

No one even answered.

There were lima beans for dinner and I hate limas.

There was kissing on TV and I hate kissing.

My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain and I had to wear my railroad train pajamas.

I hate my railroad train pajamas.

When I went to bed, Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep and the Mickey Mouse nightlight burned out and I bit my tongue.

The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me.

It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

My mom says some days are like that.

Even in Australia.

Those hard days happen, don't they?

Even in Australia.

Kids, have you ever had a really, really hard day?

Anybody had a hard day?

Yes, some of you have had.

And all of your parents are thinking, no, you've never had a really, really hard day before.

You have, we've all had hard days.

The things that are hard for us may be different from the ones that are hard for Alexander.

But we've all had really hard days, haven't we?

Sometimes we feel like day after day after day for a season of days.

God's people, as I said earlier, are facing some of those really hard days when God speaks to them in Isaiah 40.

It's written to people in specific, difficult situations in their lives.

Their whole world has been shattered.

They're far away from home in exile.

Nothing around that is comforting to them.

They're feeling alone and abandoned by the God who has promised them good.

Many of them are depressed about themselves because they know that their idolatry has led to this.

The darkness has gotten so great around them, they describe that in Isaiah,

that they've begun to wonder if God even cares about them and their plight.

In verse 27 of this chapter, they say,

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,

My way is hidden from the Lord, and my cause is disregarded by my God?

Why is God not fixing this?

Where is He in the disappointment that I'm living?

Does He even care and know about how hard this is?

Those are only some of the questions that we ask in our grief, aren't they?

Why is God not solving the problems I'm facing in this world?

Where are you, God?

Are you even there?

Do you even care about my pain, about the deep disappointment I feel with where I am,

with how things are?

Some of us are asking those questions this morning.

Some of us have asked them in other particular situations in our lives,

when the grief has mounted in our hearts.

Most of us will ask them again,

when the pain and the grief comes back,

and we weren't planning on it or expecting it,

and these questions will come quickly to our hearts.

Something happens and your world is shattered.

You feel alone and overwhelmed with grief.

Your husband abandons you,

and you grieve the loss of a dream of family life.

You suffer a life-changing illness or injury,

and you grieve the loss of normalcy and functionality.

You fall into that sin again,

and you feel beaten down,

and you grieve the loss of self-worth,

and your hope for ever being different,

or ever overcoming this.

You feel the darkness of depression closing in around you,

and you grieve the loss of joy in life,

and the hope of having a good day ever again.

Getting out of bed may be hard.

Laughing may be hard.

Praying may be really hard.

And we say things in those moments like,

no one has been where I am.

I just feel so alone.

No one understands or cares about how I feel.

And when we say those things,

we quite naturally start to feel the same things about God,

don't we?

Just like the Israelites,

feeling,

He's abandoned me too.

He doesn't care about me.

Perhaps I don't even deserve for Him to care

about me after what I've done.

How could He possibly still care about me?

And He can't be trusted anyway.

I become a Christian.

I start going to church.

I really start trying to live for Jesus.

And then all this happens?

I mean,

here I am.

I find myself,

God, is this how you treat people

who try to live for you?

Is that the way you work, God?

So deep,

deep grief is something that we're all familiar with

in one way or another.

It may be different for each of us,

but we know the feeling.

Now Isaiah in his prophecy

has already promised eternal hope

in a coming Messiah.

But here in chapter 40,

the focus of his ministry shifts

from talking to people

about a potential coming exile

and warning them about that

to actually speaking to those

who find themselves in exile.

And for most of the rest

of this lengthy prophetic book,

that's what he's doing.

He's addressing those people,

offering comfort

to those who are in exile,

grieving their difficult plight.

And that's how Isaiah starts

this section at the beginning

of chapter 40, right?

Comfort!

Comfort my people,

says the Lord.

And the comfort is not complex.

I'm not going to pretend

like it is this morning,

but it's exactly the comfort

that we need.

The essence of comfort

in Isaiah 40,

the comfort of Christmas,

is God is with us.

You are not alone.

You have not been abandoned.

Your pain is not purposeless.

God is with you.

That's actually the essence

of comfort, isn't it?

Think about it.

What's most comforting to you

in your low, dark places?

What does comfort feel like?

Who's been comforting to you?

Comfort is the person

who just shows up with you,

isn't it?

Who enters into your pain

and your grief

and who stays with you

while it hurts.

And even if it keeps hurting,

they stay with you.

They stay there with you.

They're for you.

And God Himself

shows up with us.

I'm not going to make it

more complex than that.

But as you walk through

these verses

and see more of who God is,

it makes it perhaps

even more beautiful

and even more comforting

to us.

Tell me more about this God

who's there with me,

who shows up.

How can I know He's with me

and for me?

Because, well,

it does not feel like that.

That's not what I feel

in those moments.

I don't feel like He's with me

or for me.

Who is He?

Well, the God promised

to be with us first

is the God whose commitment

to His people

is unwavering.

Look at just the first verse

of this chapter.

There's enough comfort

in these two pronouns alone

for the whole sanctuary

of us this morning.

Look at that.

Comfort, comfort,

my people,

says your God.

Comfort, my people,

says your God.

They've done nothing

to earn the status

as His people

and everything

to lose it.

God has even had to send them

into exile,

into agony,

apart from the things

that He has promised

for them.

But as I do that,

He says,

you are still

my people

and I am still

your God.

He says,

speaking tenderly

to us,

verse 2.

It's the comfort

of a crying child

who has failed

and fears the rejection

of everyone

being scooped up

by a parent

and told,

oh my sweet girl,

your daddy is here.

I've got you.

My beloved friend,

I'm your friend.

I'm here for you.

I'm not going anywhere.

God says,

our relationship

hasn't changed

because you ran

the other way

or because life

made you feel

like I had.

It didn't change

our relationship.

I'm your God

and you're my

people,

my children.

Then the God

promised to be with us

is the God

whose arrival

coming to us

is promised

and prepared for.

Remember from our study

of Luke recently

the very words

of these next few verses

being used of John the Baptist?

Verses 3-5,

he came to prepare hearts

to welcome

and receive

the coming Savior.

That's what's meant

by these verses.

A voice cries,

in the wilderness

prepare the way

of the Lord.

Make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.

Every valley

shall be lifted up.

Every mountain

and hill

be made low.

The uneven ground

shall become level.

The rough places

a plain.

What can happen?

What's all the

geographical description

for?

The glory of the Lord

shall be revealed

and all flesh

shall see it together.

The way for God

to come to us

is being prepared

and made smooth.

God's coming to us

is so certain

and so important

that it's been

carefully prepared for

so he can come quickly

and surely

to us.

a smooth

straight path

has been made

so God's glory

can be revealed

in our midst.

God is showing

up

with us.

But how do I know

for sure?

Can I trust

that promise?

The one that it says

the mouth

of the Lord

has spoken

that this is going

to happen.

Will it?

Really?

Because I mean

lots of people

promise things

to me

only to let me down.

I've experienced

that.

Will that's

even some of the

people I've trusted

the most

and that's a large

part of where

my grief

is coming from

this morning.

even the ones

I thought

would always

be here

with me

are not

anymore.

The God

promising

to come

be with you

is the God

whose word

can be trusted

when nothing

and no one

else

can.

It's what Isaiah

tells us in verse 6.

A voice says

cry.

I said what shall I cry?

All flesh is grass

and all its beauty

like the flower

of the field.

The grass

withers

the flower

fades

when the breath

of the Lord

blows on it.

Surely the people

are grass.

The grass

withers

the flower

fades

but different

from all of those

from all those

people

from everything

in creation

the word

of our God

will stand

forever.

People are weak

right?

They may lie.

They may die.

A spouse

may abandon

you.

A best friend

may move

away.

A pastor

may fall

into moral

failure.

Ultimate

trust

can't be placed

in any

person.

So ultimate

comfort

can't come

from any

person.

But

the word

of our God

will stand

forever.

you can

count

on what

he says

he's going

to do

happening

in your

life.

Even when

you feel

everyone else

has left

you

your God

promises

he's moving

towards you.

He's with

you

and for

you.

We got to

keep moving

because it's

just getting

better and I'm

going to keep

talking more.

Here's the

great announcement

of comfort

that God

wants everyone

to hear.

What's it

going to

what's the

whole thing

building towards

God's being

revealed.

He's here.

You can

trust him.

Go up on a

high mountain

Zion.

Herald of

good news.

Lift up your

voice with

strength.

Jerusalem

herald of

good news.

Lift it

up.

Fear not.

Say

what's the

announcement?

Behold

your God.

That's the

big news.

It's short.

It's simple.

God's here.

Ta-da!

That's the

announcement.

commitment.

That's what

Isaiah has to

declare.

The tidings of

comfort and

joy.

Behold your

God.

Behold your

God comes

with might.

And his arm

rules for him.

He's coming.

He's strong and

mighty.

The rest of the

chapter here in

Isaiah is going

to go to great

lengths to talk

about God's

awesome power.

Nothing can

keep him from

us.

He's the

sovereign

creator and

ruler whose

might is

incomparable.

Nothing in

all of creation

could keep him

from us.

But what I want

you to see even

more so,

before I get

distracted by that

more,

before God goes

into all of

that about his

great might,

is that it is

matched only

by his tender

care.

Verse 11.

He will tend

his flock like

a shepherd.

He will gather

the lambs in

his arms.

He will carry

them in his

bosom and

gently lead

those that are

with young.

He will tend

his flock like

a shepherd.

He will gather

the lambs in

his arms.

And we say it

that way because

that's the way we

talk.

He gathers the

lambs in his

arms.

Actually,

in the Hebrew,

the word arms

is the exact same

word from verse

10.

His arm that

rules for him

is again singular

down here.

He will gather

the lambs in

his arm.

In the same

mighty arm.

God's strong

arm is his

tender arm.

It's the same

mighty arm that

demolishes kings

that also scoops

us up when

we're broken and

holds us close

to his heart and

cares for us.

The arm that

provides ruling

power for the

whole world

provides resting

peace for his

lambs, for his

little children.

It controls the

stars and the

seasons and

carries us at

the same time.

Wow.

You know why?

You know why God

does that?

You know why his

mighty arm can be

his tender arm?

Why do we get

that kind of

attention from the

ruler of the

universe?

You know.

Because he loves

us.

No, no, it's not

possible.

If he loved me,

he wouldn't let...

No, listen.

He loves you

so much

that he would

lead you

into those dark

places partially

so you'll

experience and

know for sure

that he will

never leave

you.

Even there.

He hasn't led

you there so

that you'll prove

to yourself he

doesn't care about

you.

He's walked with

you there so

that you can know

if he's there,

he'll never leave

you anywhere,

that you can

always trust him

to be with you.

He didn't stop

short of death

itself for you.

He's with you

when you don't

feel it.

His heart

treasures his

people personally.

Look back at

verse 10.

The Lord God

comes with might

and his arm

rules for him.

Behold, his

reward is with

him and his

recompense, the

thing he's getting

back, is before

him.

He will tend

his flock like a

shepherd, gather

the lambs in his

arms, carry them

in his bosom, gently

lead those that are

with young.

Who's his reward?

What's his

recompense?

It's his flock,

right?

That he will gather

and carry and not

just as one big

group that he has

gathered to himself

but with intimate

personal care

and gently

lead those

that are

with young.

He is most

tender

with those

who are

most

hurting.

What a good

God.

Most tender

with those

who are

most

hurting

and he knows

them.

If you're thinking

that your grief

might be too

deep,

that your sin

might be too

big,

that your pain

might be too

devastating,

it's not.

You can actually

expect him

in your life

to be

especially

present

there.

Especially

forgiving.

Especially

comforting.

He is most

tender with

those

most

hurting.

You will

experience

over time

what Joseph

learned when

he was

being sold

into Egypt

away from

the promised

land.

What

Corrie ten Boom

articulated

after enduring

a Nazi

prison camp.

There is

no pit

so deep

that he

is not

deeper

still.

Dear ones,

listen.

This is the

good shepherd.

You may have

known some

bad ones.

This is the

good shepherd.

He calls

his sheep

by name

and they

hear his

voice.

Your name

is written

on the

palm of

his hand.

He will

never forget

you.

No matter

how bad

your day

has been,

no matter

how terrible

your life

circumstances

are and

what they're

telling you,

he has not

abandoned you

and he

never will

forget you.

He will

always,

always be

with you

wherever

you are.

Dare I

say even

in Australia.

This last

image here

of God

as the

tender shepherd,

I couldn't

help but

think of

Psalm 23.

Right?

The Lord

is my

shepherd.

And so

even when

I walk

through the

valley of

the shadow

of death,

I will fear

no evil

for you

are what?

With me.

Your rod

and your

staff,

they do

what?

Comfort

me.

Because you're

with me.

Even there,

even in the

darkest places

David has

been,

you're

with me.

And so

I'm

comforted.

That's the

comfort

of Christmas

for our

grieving,

hurting

hearts.

God

is

with us.

Emmanuel.

That's what it

means.

Ron read the

verse,

the angel

telling

Joseph,

his name

will be

Emmanuel.

God

with us.

In the

person of

Jesus,

the baby

in the

manger,

God has

broken

into our

pain

and endured

the worst

of it

with us

and for

us.

The message

of Christmas

is that God

loves us

so much

that nothing

can keep

him from

us.

He will

come and

find us

wherever we

are.

From the

lowly

manger

to the

sorrowful

shedding of

tears at

the grave

of a loved

one,

to the

horrific

pain

of the

cross,

he knows

our

grief,

doesn't he?

He knows

our grief.

That's why

it's tidings

of comfort

and joy

that in

Bethlehem

was born

the Son

of God

by name.

The God

of heaven

was right

there with

them,

the angels

telling the

shepherds.

He's over

there in

Bethlehem,

right over

there near

you.

God

himself

in

Bethlehem.

Tidings

of comfort

and joy.

You can

behold

your God

with you.

As we

prepare to

come to

the Lord's

table

together,

let me see

if I can

connect

last week

and this

week in

one really

important

way.

Last week

we talked

about our

hope for

eternity,

right?

that we

still long

and await

the coming

of Jesus

again to

make us

and all

creation

as we

should be.

And this

morning we've

been talking

about comfort

for today

that God

is with us

now.

But you see

those two

things can't

be separated

entirely.

When we

experience the

comfort of

God with

us, we

are experiencing

eternity

today.

That's what

is happening

this morning.

Part of the

comfort we

receive is

that the

God who

is with

us today

has made

our eternity

sure.

Verse two

says he's

not just

going to

hang around,

just be

here with

us.

He's bringing

peace to

our warfare.

He's a

mighty God.

He's doing

something for

us.

He's forgiving

our sins

so that

he can be

with us

forever.

And we

get a

foretaste,

a glimpse,

a taste

of that

eternal

reality

today

in his

being

with

us.

The

communion

table that

God sets

before us

today is

a picture

of the

wedding feast

of the

Lamb that

will go on

and we

will enjoy

for

eternity

with our

God.

This is a

picture of

that.

This is a

rehearsal

dinner,

if you

will,

where there

is a

wedding feast

to come

with God.

Those who

will be

seated at

that table

at the

wedding feast

of the

Lamb are

those seated

at this

table today

tasting just

a little bit

of eternity

because that's

true.

true.

It's true

that Jesus

has gone

to the

cross so

that our

sins can

be forgiven.

That's an

eternal reality

that we taste

a little bit

of this

morning at

this table

even while

we still

struggle

with our

sins.

There's an

eternal reality

that God is

with us

forever

and you

get to

taste

just a

little bit

of God

being with

you

today

even while

you still

wait to

be with

Him

forever.

We already

sit today

at this

table and

experience

the comfort

of God

with us

that He

would come

and eat

with us.

May that

eternal hope

and that

comfort today

both give us

great joy

as we come

to celebrate

together.

These are

the words of

institution of

this supper

in 1 Corinthians

11.

Paul writes,

I received

from the

Lord what I

also delivered

to you

that the

Lord Jesus

on the night

He was

betrayed

took bread

and when

He had

given thanks

He broke

it and

said,

this is

my body

which is

for you.

Do this

in remembrance

of me.

In the same

way also

He took

the cup

after supper

saying,

this cup

is the new

covenant

in my blood.

Do this

as often

as you

drink it

in remembrance

of me

for as often

as you

eat this

bread

and drink

the cup

you proclaim

the Lord's

death

until He

comes.

This table

is the Lord's

table.

He has

said it.

He comes

to eat

with us.

It's not

the table

of Southwood

or the

Presbyterian

church.

So if you

know by

trusting in

Christ

the hope

of eternity

with God

come and

celebrate a

foretaste

of that

this morning

at this

table.

And if you

don't know

Jesus,

if you don't

know the

eternal hope

of having

your sins

forgiven,

if you're

not willing

this morning

to turn

from your

sins and

trust Him

again,

believer,

don't come

to this

table.

I'd encourage

you not to

come to

the thing

that's

temporary

and try

to have

a foretaste

of something

that's not

eternally

true for

you.

Rather,

come to

Jesus and

have eternity

dealt with.

Then come

and celebrate

with us

something that

for you

will then be

truly a

foretaste

of an

eternal

reality.

If you

trust Jesus,

if He

secures your

eternity,

your God

meets with

you now.

Come.

Come and

meet with

Him.

Let's pray.

Father,

that you

would have

ever moved

towards us

is astonishing

to us.

We ran

from you.

We run

from you.

And you've

set the table

again this

morning.

Day after

day,

you invite

us home.

Moment by

moment,

you remind

us that

we're your

children.

And we're

so grateful.

Might these

common elements

have a very

sacred purpose

this morning.

Father,

in our

hearts,

would they

remind us

deeply,

would they

comfort us

with the

knowledge of

your presence

and your

love,

that you're

with us

and that

you're for

us always

because of

Jesus.

And we ask

it in His

name.

Amen.

Amen.

For more

information,

visit us

online at

southwood.org.

For more

information,

visit us

online at

southwood.org.

World milk,

in 17

hours and

hours and

we awareness

of

you

and

F

after

higher

riage,

you