Stay Tuned!
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
We get excited for the “coming soon”’s in our life.
We get excited for the “coming soon”’s in our life.
Entertainment industry is great at this — the invention of “The Trailer” (Mandalorian — Longmire)
New Restaurant in Town — We see the building start, progress — sign goes up “Coming Soon”
Website “Coming Soon” page — used to be bad but we’ve gotten smart — countdowns, email sign up
Picture of Coming Soon
If the flow of the Advent season was made into a movie — then the first Sunday of Advent is the trailer
This week in our texts we get a hint of what God is up to — we are invited to “Stay Tuned!” — something big is about to happen — be alert — you don’t want to miss this — watch the horizon — be ready — It is coming soon!
Whether its your favorite movie — possibility of a new restaurant — new website — or anything — the “coming soon”’s in our lives are meant to create longing — it calls us to long for the new — the better — the change we are looking for — longing creates hope. The question is not are you longing, but instead what are you longing for — Isaiah was a “longing” prophet. I am in Isaiah 64 today...
BIBLE TEXT
BIBLE TEXT
Background
People of God are in trouble — enemies of God’s People have overcome them — they are being taken into exile — cities are in ruins
Their temple is destroyed — the place where the presence of God rested — their strength — protection — all is gone
They are in real trouble and things do not look good
Isaiah begins to prophecy — the structure of his writing is important — helps us see the deeper meaning
A1 Longing
B1 Lament
A2 Longing
B2 Lament
A3 Longing
C1 Appeal
Look down from heaven and see, from your lofty throne, holy and glorious. Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us. But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.
Isaiah longs for the love of God
Isaiah longs for the love of God
“Where are your zeal and your might?” — God’s love for his people was known and seen in his mighty actions in their real life. As long as the people saw God moving — working — fighting for them then they believed God loved them
“Your tenderness and compassion are withheld” — they believed what was happening to them was God withholding his love from them
“But you are our father” — Can’t you see that we are hurting — can’t you see that we are in trouble — can’t you see how bad things are right now — you are our father — your are our redeemer — We long for your love God — we long for you to act on our behalf once again
Why, Lord, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance. For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary. We are yours from of old; but you have not ruled over them, they have not been called by your name.
Isaiah laments that their hearts have grown hard
Isaiah laments that their hearts have grown hard
It seems that Isaiah is blaming God for the sins of the people — is this true? — is it God’s fault when we wander from God because God is absent — silent
The translation has troubles — what I believe Isaiah is saying when tied to the first part of this section is this —
God — when you seem silent/absent — we doubt — we wander
God — when you allow bad things to happen — we slowly turn from you to other ways to be happy
God — when you shake up and take away our security blankets — we love you a little less each day till we don’t fear you like we used to
Like a household when the parents go away for the evening and leave the kids in charge. When the parent isn’t present, the kids make a mess of things!
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?
Isaiah longs for the presence of God
Isaiah longs for the presence of God
When God shows up — things happen — mountains tremble — water boils — enemies of God become worshipers of God
The presence of God is the catalyst for change
Isaiah longs for God to show up in a way that is unusual — God — these are desperate times — it requires more than politics — more than human systems — more than military might — our problems require a “coming down” — it requires you God to show up with your presence — there is none like you!
You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins.
Isaiah laments over the sin of the people
Isaiah laments over the sin of the people
“how then can we be saved?” — Salvation for Isaiah is directly tied to the presence of the Lord but our sin keeps us from the presence of God
Even our righteous acts are like filthy rags! — Why?
“Because no one calls on your name” — no one “strives to lay hold of you”
Isaiah longs for the presence of God because only the presence of God can transform — change them — only the presence of God will bring salvation — However, we do not strive to be in the presence — we turn to our own ways — even good ways — “righteous acts” but we do now seek God
Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.
Isaiah longs for the touch of God
Isaiah longs for the touch of God
One of the few places in the OT where God is referred to as “our father”
Isaiah longs for God’s touch — like clay in the hands of the potter — Isaiah sees that in all of this God is still at work in the lives of people — he is shaping and molding us to be a perfect reflection of God’s children even in the midst of difficult times.
Your sacred cities have become a wasteland; even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins. After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?
Isaiah appeals to God come without restraint
Isaiah appeals to God come without restraint
God things are bad — we long for your love — we long for your presence — we long for your touch
But please — break into our reality without restraint — hold nothing back
We are a wandering people with hardened hearts — we are a sinful people who do not seek you like we should
But God — do not hold back — come — come and do your thing
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Advent is about longing for Change
Advent is about longing for Change
The people of God all through out the Bible longed for God to make everything right — to establish His rule but they always lived with the tension of ungodly people who ruled them — used them — abused them
They longed for God’s love — God’s presence and God’s touch to lift them up — to overcome — to make everything in the world as it was meant to be
In Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good”
We made a mess of it — instead of throwing it all away and starting over — God chose to redeem it — to restore it — to reclaim it — God sees the good in everything
So, our hope is not just in a “setting things right” at the end of time — Jesus’ first coming (birth) — Jesus’ life — Jesus’ death — Jesus’ resurrection — and the coming of the HS mean the redeeming — restoring — saving work of God — the kingdom of God is pushing its way into our existence today
God longs to save us — He longs to see the broken healed — he wants to see relationships restored — wars end — fighting turned into celebration
God wants justice for all people now — the end of human trafficking — the end of abuse and hate — the end of violence — the end of all evil in the world
Advent is not just sitting around waiting for the end of time so this becomes reality, instead it is the hope and belief that the presence of God making this happen now
Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
The hope of Christmas is that God has broken into our reality and begun the kingdom work of restoring everything as it should be — now
We don’t see the change in our lives today because...
We are longing for the wrong things
We are longing for the wrong things
We long for Jesus to just come and snatch us away — end it all now — burn the place down
We long for political solutions — the right party to take power then my life will get better
We long for economic solutions — we believe that better jobs, more money will help
We long for consumer solutions — bigger bank account — bigger house — better car
We don’t lament over the right things
We don’t lament over the right things
We lament when our political candidate doesn’t win the election
We lament when we lose our jobs
We lament when the car breaks down or the furnace goes out
We don’t lament when our hearts wander from God — when our hearts grow hard to his love and discipline — when the fire is gone
We don’t lament over the sin in our lives — the knowing and willful actions that we know hurt our relationship with God and the knowing and willful actions that we know hurt our relationships with each other
Advent is about STAYING TUNED!
Advent is about STAYING TUNED!
Tuned into all God has done in the past — the incarnation — the first coming of Jesus — life — death — resurrection — HS
Tuned into all God has planned in the future
BUT — Advent is just as important that we staying tuned into all God wants to do in you and through you now
We are a people of hope now
The words to O Holy Night get it right:
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
As we turn our hearts back to God — confess our sins with a contrite heart — the presence of God rushes into our lives
Where the presence of the Lord is — there is peace, joy, love, and there is hope!