Comfort, Comfort! | Prepare The Way

Sermon Transcript:

(transcribed with AI)

Well, this morning we are beginning a new sermon series throughout the season of Advent, and this series is really just called Prepare the Way. We're gonna see it from our text here this morning, where that comes from, but Advent is really a season of preparation. It's a season of getting ourselves ready for something that is coming up. And we remember at this point that long before Jesus was ever a baby in a manger, God was getting his people ready. God, as a good father to his people, took his time to get his children ready for what was coming.

Any of you who are parents, you know that it is one thing to get yourself ready to go. It is a whole another thing to get your kids ready to go somewhere. OK, when my wife and I adopted our kids, I mean, I don't think we showed up anywhere on time for at least 6 months. We had no idea how long it was going to take to get our children ready to go just anywhere. Before it was just put on shoes, grab your keys, walk out the door. Now suddenly it's, OK, I gotta get myself ready, and then I've gotta get bags ready, I've gotta get changes of clothes and food and supplies for whatever journey that we are going on, whether it's just to the grocery store or not, took so much longer. Getting yourself ready is one thing, getting others ready is a whole different thing entirely.

And here is really the point of Advent. Yes, we want to be ready, and we want to get our own lives ready for the coming of Christmas, but we also want to help others in that process as well. We actually want to bring others into this celebration of Christmas, and so we actually want to help others get ready, even as God got us ready. You think about it this way, God could have just sent Jesus at any point, God was already ready. He could have done this, Genesis chapter 4, he could have just sent Jesus, but he didn't. Instead he recognized, OK, actually, you're gonna need to take some time in order to get ready for what I'm about to do.

And actually that's really our goal as we walk through this series. That as we get our own hearts ready, that we would understand how God has prepared his own people, and so that others might also hear this good news. And so we're gonna start our series way back before Jesus was born. If you have a Bible with you, you can open up to the book of Isaiah. We're gonna be in Isaiah chapter 40 here this morning. And Isaiah is one of these major prophets in the Old Testament, not because what they say is more important than the minor prophets, it's just because their books are larger. But Isaiah really gives us a picture. He prepares us for what Jesus is going to do.

So if you have your Bible open, I'll invite you to simply follow along with me. Isaiah chapter 40, starting in verse 1. It's our tradition here, we stand as we read God's word. If you're able to, would you stand with me? Brothers and sisters, this is God's word.

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, every mountain and hill be made low, and 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.

As for the reading of God's word, you may be seated.

Well, we have spent the last number of months walking through the book of Galatians, and so this is quite a shift for us. Paul is very direct, he's just gonna tell you exactly what he's thinking. When we jump into Isaiah, I mean, we're reading something in just a whole different genre of thinking. This is far closer to poetry than it is like a lecture for us. And really that's how we are meant to understand it. This is often how the prophets would write.

And I know oftentimes when we think about prophets in the Old Testament, we primarily begin to think about, OK, they're gonna tell us something about the future, something way off, and we almost have in our own minds, there's something like a fortune teller. And really, that's not how the prophets operated in the Old Testament. In fact, closer, rather than a fortune teller, almost think of them like a news reporter. Oftentimes that's a far closer thing. They were talking to the people at that time about what was going on. And so God would speak to the prophets, and the prophets would then speak God's word to the people about what was happening among them.

And if you've ever read some of the prophets, you know oftentimes, God's message was, stop sinning. Oftentimes it was calling people out on what they were doing, how they were not following God, and so, being a prophet was not exactly the job most people wanted. People didn't like the prophets. A lot of the prophets were murdered for simply doing what God had called them to do. Most people didn't listen. In fact, even as Isaiah goes throughout his ministry, a lot of people didn't listen to him. But here actually, we're gonna meet someone who did. We're gonna meet a king who actually did listen to what God had, not perfectly as we're gonna see.

But God begins to now actually reveal to him something of what is going to happen in the future. And we're gonna see actually, this is a prophecy that's going to be fulfilled, actually a couple times in greater and greater and greater ways. God is gonna prepare his people for this coming salvation, not simply from their enemies around them, but actually from their sin. Even more than that, that God Himself would come and dwell with them, that they would see God with their own eyes. And so God's word for them is a word of comfort. Prepare them for what is coming up. And so as we walk through this passage, I want us to see, we can actually be confident, our sins are forgiven. So as we prepare the way for the Lord is coming.

But let's just start and understand this message of comfort. Our sins are forgiven. Isaiah starts off this prophecy, comfort, comfort, and we have to realize he is saying that in a very uncomfortable situation. Now you have to kind of go back a few chapters, we're jumping right into the middle of this book, and so we recognize Isaiah is a prophet, he's speaking in the land of Judah. This is at the time when the nation of Israel has been separated into two, there's the northern kingdom Israel, southern kingdom Judah. Isaiah is down here in Judah, talking to King Hezekiah. And as it turns out, Hezekiah is actually a pretty good king. Of all their kings, he's actually pretty high up there on the list of great kings that they have. He actually does listen to Isaiah and is wanting to follow God.

But at the same time, he's facing some pretty challenging things. See, at the time, Assyria had actually come to attack them. Assyria was the world superpower at the time, and what they would do is they would just sweep across the Near East and just conquer people after people after people after people. And in fact, what we find is just before this, they had actually wiped out the entire northern kingdom of Israel. It was gone. It's now just Assyria crushing down upon tiny little Judah. I mean, in comparison, Judah was nothing. This was a speck, as they were just sweeping across, they wouldn't have even thought twice to stop when they got to Judah, and so they didn't. They just started invading into the country.

In fact, they got all the way to Jerusalem, the capital city, had the entire city under siege. In fact, you can even look up the Assyrian records of this. In fact, this is what they write, says,

I reckoned them as spoil. Hezekiah himself, like a caged bird within Jerusalem, we have them trapped.

Hopelessly outmanned. And so what does Hezekiah do? He falls on his face before God. He puts all of his trust that God and God alone can save him from this enemy, and God delivers them. He absolutely wipes out the army, in fact, they all flee and run for their lives, and so instead of Hezekiah becoming the spoil, he's the one taking all of their spoils, as they just leave everything behind. I mean, you hear that and you think, my goodness, I mean, praise God. God's salvation is at work. Certainly it's happily ever after.

But human beings are never perfect. And even Hezekiah for all of his greatness, stumbles as he gets older. See now it's years later, and Hezekiah is living with this giant nation of Assyria on his back doorstep. And he's wondering how exactly am I ever going to get out of this. And so he comes up with a solution. Instead of trusting God, he's gonna go make some friends. And so he goes and makes friends with Babylon. Now if you know your history, you know, this is like going from the frying pan into the fire. This is actually far worse for him, he just doesn't know it yet.

And so he gets a bunch of envoys from Babylon, and he starts to try and show them everything that he's got. He welcomes them, and he shows them all of his treasuries, all of his military equipment, everything that he has, he shows in front of them. I mean this is like rolling out a red carpet for the fox to come into the hen house. I mean, they are just licking their lips going, great, it's really good to know this is all right here, we'll be back. In fact, if you know your history, that's exactly what they do.

And so Isaiah comes to Hezekiah and he goes, what did you do? Why would you show them this? How could you think that was a good idea? And actually the bigger problem is, why did you stop trusting God? He was your support, he was the one who rescued you. Why did you stop trusting him? In fact, Isaiah 39, God says,

behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon, nothing shall be left.

Hezekiah Why did you stop trusting God? In fact, throughout the rest of the Old Testament, you're gonna see this theme over and over and over again. Trust God, not what you can accomplish, but he stumbles here at the end, and Isaiah says it is going to be ruinous. Babylon does come They wipe them out. All of Judah destroyed Israel or Jerusalem is just leveled. They carried away everything that they had seen. In fact, he has in some ways kind of doomed them. He's not alone in that record, let's be very clear. And it takes a while before Babylon does return, but nonetheless, God's word proves true.

And you have to imagine, just put yourself in the shoes of just a person of Judah at that moment, seeing what your king has done, hearing the prophecy of Isaiah, that this is going to be for our destruction. And thinking, then what hope do we have? But see, this is not the end of Isaiah's prophecy. In fact, it's just the background. It's the background to which we come to our text this morning that opens up with the words,

comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Imagine hearing that, after hearing about the destruction of your entire nation, God says, but still, you are my people, I am your God, and I will bring comfort. Judgment is not the end of what God is doing, rather, he is calling them, return to me, and I will be your comforter. Verse 2,

speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

After so many rebukes, after so many warnings unheeded, after the proclamation of judgment, yet God will be tender with his people.

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

Again, this is what we call sort of prophetic past tense. He's talking about something that's already happened, yet it's going to happen in the future. What's the hope that God has for his people, actually, that this attack of Babylon against you is not going to be an is not going to be the end, but rather God will put an end to this warfare. To the end of fighting, he will pardon their iniquities, he will forgive their sin. Here is this promise, their sins have driven them out of God's presence, and yet the promise is, God will forgive. The very thing they needed most.

Says that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Now just to be very clear, that doesn't mean God's about to punish them twice. That's not what this means. Rather, it means actually God is going to double over on their sins, as in he will cover over all of their sins, completely forgive from his hand. In fact, just a little bit later in Isaiah we read.

Instead of your shame, there shall be a double portion. Instead of dishonor, they shall rejoice in their lot. Therefore in their land, they shall possess a double portion, they shall have everlasting joy.

God's not gonna punish them twice, rather what he's saying is, I will double up the grace given to you, there is nothing that will be left out.

And here, I mean, we need to see God's heart for his people. God is not maliciously wringing his hands and saying I can't wait to punish them. No, he's saying I can't wait to bring comfort and forgiveness to my people. Comfort and grace, God is quick to love, quick to forgive, and slow to anger. And so here is God's promise. Yes, Babylon is gonna come. You'll be taken off into exile, 70 years you'll be there, but that isn't the end of God's work. He will bring them out of exile again. And I mean, that's exactly what happens. You can read through your Bible, they go into exile. They spend 70 years there, but at the end of it, God restores them. Their warfare ends.

But we should note, there's a question left unanswered. But will God forgive their sins? Part of this gets fulfilled as the exiles return back to Jerusalem, and yet there's still that wondering, but hold on, Isaiah was talking about something more, about a forgiveness of sins, so where does that come from? Where is that comfort yet coming? And even by the time we get to the New Testament, that's exactly what they are wondering. Luke chapter 2, we actually read a man waiting for this promise. We're told

there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Here is a man waiting for this promise of comfort that God will bring. And so when Mary and Joseph enter into the temple with baby Jesus, what does he say?

Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation.

The comfort of Israel was always looking for the coming of Jesus, the forgiveness of our sins, and the grace of God that would double over and cover all of our sins. In fact, Jesus himself at the end of his ministry says,

he said to them, thus it is written that the Christ should suffer, and on the 3rd day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

From Jerusalem, this comfort of the forgiveness of sins shall go forth, this message that is to be for all people. Here is the message of Christmas. Here is the comfort we have as we approach this season. Sins are forgiven. In what Jesus has come to do as he enters into this world, as he goes to the cross, as he rises again, we see the forgiveness of all of our sins. The very comfort that God had promised is brought to us in the coming of Jesus Christ. As we approach Christmas, we are approaching God's comfort, lean deeply into his grace. Rest, trust fully in what Jesus has done. We celebrate Christmas because our sins are forgiven.

See, this is what God is preparing them for. He wants them to realize about what is coming up. And so in order to get his people ready, he sends them a messenger to prepare the way. Look back at verse 3 with me.

There's a voice cries, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

We're introduced to this voice, suddenly out of nowhere, crying out, prepare the way of the Lord. We're not told who the voice is yet. But it is a call to action. Prepare for the coming of God Himself, and, I mean, hear me, this would have been a command they would have understood at the time. See, whenever a king was going to enter into a city, what he would do is send in front of him a messenger. The messenger would then go to the city, and then he would say, alright, here everyone, you need to get ready, the king is coming. Get the giant city gates open, get the streets all cleared, sweep them off, fill in the potholes, get everyone ready for a celebration. Let's get some gifts together, all this sort of stuff, so that the coming of the king is met with this fanfare, the celebration, the king has come.

You can think of even when we had the Olympics here a number of years ago, we spent years preparing for that. They built whole cities, roads, all sorts of stadiums and buildings, just to host this one event. Here is what this voice is crying, get ready, the king is coming. But no earthly king, this shall be the Lord Himself. And in fact, Isaiah even goes further on, he says, not even just the city, in fact, get the wilderness ready, get the desert ready, these places that were uninhabitable, that were wild, that were dangerous, even them, get them ready, so the king can come.

Verse 4, he says,

every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill be made low, the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

See, this is more than just a quick clean up before the guests arrive. Isaiah's picturing terraforming the earth itself. So that the road would be smooth, there wouldn't even be a mountain road winding around, but rather a straight and clear way for God to come. Again, it's a picture of preparation for the coming of God.

And once again as we walk through the Bible, we see this fulfilled again and again in greater and greater ways. When God sends the people out of exile, he very much prepares the way. In fact, King Cyrus sends the exiles back, and in fact he even pays for the temple to be rebuilt and Jerusalem restored, but once again, God's got more in mind. In fact, in Malachi, last book in the Old Testament. God says,

behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he's coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Even as this has already been sort of partially fulfilled, God says, there's more coming. There's more yet coming. There is still a messenger who is gonna go before me. In fact, Malachi ends by telling us what this messenger will do. He says,

behold, I send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

This messenger who will prepare the way for God is not going to physically get things ready, but rather deal with the hearts of people. Spiritually, he will come to get his people ready. Get them ready for the forgiveness of God.

And here's something every single one of the gospel writers picks up on. Every single one of the four gospel writers, as they begin their gospel, they go, we need to understand that what Isaiah was talking about, what Malachi was talking about, the arrival of God's messenger, he came. In fact, look at the beginning of Mark. It says

as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the one, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John's role was getting people ready to hear the gospel of Jesus, proclaiming a repentance of sins, repent, turn away from your sin. In fact, that was John's whole goal was to help people understand. John is the one Isaiah had been describing. He's the one whose job it is to help people get ready for the coming of Jesus.

See, God didn't arrive on the scene unannounced. He knew people would need time, get themselves ready, get their hearts ready to understand what Jesus was about to do. In fact, that's what we are called to do. Even as we approach Christmas season, let us take the moment and prepare our own hearts. Actually begin to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. Even as Isaiah points us to John the Baptist, who points us to repentance, I think naturally that's what we're called to do. We need to prepare, not simply in decorations, not simply in gifts. Prepare our hearts spiritually for Christmas.

Take time, even repent. Turn to Jesus. Maybe take time and think about as we come to the end of this year, where are those places where we've been a bit like Hezekiah? Started out well. But then started to trust a little bit more in what we could accomplish. Trust in ourselves rather than trust in God. Has our focus on God been drifting? Have our sins become now part of our regular routine of life? Hear the message of John the Baptist, getting ready, prepare the way for the Lord, let us repent of our sin. Turn to Jesus once again. He has given us this promise of the forgiveness of our sins. Let us not ignore the opportunity to get ourselves ready for the coming of Christmas.

But hear me, I think it's also right to say. Let's also help others prepare as well. See this prophecy is both a description and an invitation for us, telling us what God is going to do, and a call to join in the work. Prepare the way of the Lord, make it clear for people to see and hear the message of the gospel. And so here's what we need to realize, let me be practical for just a few minutes. If I were to go to Mr. A Canadian and I were to say, you know what, you need to put your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Hear me, that's a true statement, but mister average Canadian actually doesn't know what that means.

What do you mean faith? Faith seems to be the opposite of knowing something, so am I supposed to just be ignorant of all things, blindly believe something without ever putting thought into it? Well, that's not what we mean by faith. Do we understand what sin actually is? We're taught that we're all good people and that all we really need is a little bit of education, maybe a bit of therapy to help us overcome some past traumas, and then we'll all be OK. Certainly, that's all I need. What are you talking about sin for? I'm not accountable before God. I don't believe there is even a God that would hold me accountable, and certainly if there was, he would say that I'm just fine. Certainly I've met his measure, standard of goodness. And finally, most people would say, I don't really know what Jesus did. Why would it matter? I don't even believe he truly lived or existed.

So, here's my point. I know I'm talking about a generic person. But if we want to share the message of the gospel with people around us, we have to understand that most people will not understand the churchy words that we use. Actually, we might need to prepare them a little bit, help them understand what does the message of the gospel actually look like. Not to mention here in Chilliwack. I mean, how many people have grown up in the church and left because they've been hurt at some point or another. On top of that, there's all the classic arguments on the attacks of faith. The idea that you can't trust the Bible. God couldn't exist because of science, or all religions basically teach the same thing.

Hear me, there are so many different mountains and valleys in people's way before they can understand this incredible news of the forgiveness of Jesus. And so as we get ourselves ready for the coming of Christmas, as we prepare our own hearts, would we also seek to help others in this journey as well. Help them fill in some of those valleys, bring down some of those mountains, or more often molehills. Peter puts it this way, he says,

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect.

Peter says, be prepared to make a defense, don't attack people. Give a reason for your hope, do it with gentleness and respect. Means you can't just shut down what everyone else is saying. Listen honestly. Give reason for your hope and your joy. See, in our day of quick and cutting rebuke, that is the way that most people communicate, especially over a divisive issue. Gentleness and respect may perhaps be our greatest defense. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, would we make a way for others to hear it as well?

See, hear me, I know there is no generic Canadian. Everyone's going to have different questions, different things that are going to be in their lives, and so there's no one way in which we can do all of this. But here, let me make a suggestion for you. How do we do this? How do we practically begin to build some of those bridges? Try this to start. Would you open up a spiritual conversation? See, I know for most of us, we don't wanna do that. We don't wanna touch the whole topic, it feels forbidden. But so often what happens is when you actually break that seal, you open up the topic, so often people just start pouring out, because it's something they've wanted to talk about for so long. Would you be willing to take that first step.

That's not all of what evangelism looks like, but certainly we need to learn how to start opening up and talking about what Jesus has done. If we wanna get people prepared to hear more about Jesus, would we speak about it? And then Listen, genuinely listen to other people. Hear their experiences, the challenges, the thoughts they have around faith. You're going to have to listen honestly and respectfully. It's how we represent Christ. And then Say Do you think I could share a bit about what I believe? Do you think I could share a little bit about what the Bible says about that?

Again, be gentle with others, be respectful, and yet let's be bold and courageous to open up these conversations, so people can hear more of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if you can't answer every one of their questions, and probably you can't, you're gonna need to say, hey, can I think about that and get back to you? Can I ask someone, and we can talk about this again. Keep that conversation open. Look, filling in a valley is gonna happen one shovelful at a time. But here's the thing, God's got a really big shovel. You don't do this alone. We recognize actually what we are doing in this is entering into what God is doing. We are entering into what God is already doing in the lives of people around us, and we get the joy of actually partnering with God to see people come to see and know and hear more of the gospel.

Would we be courageous, Break open that seal, begin to talk about the Bible, about faith, open up about our trust in Jesus. In the season where we are preparing our own hearts for the coming of Christ, let us look and bring others along with us. Invite people. This is a season where we have an open invitation to talk about this. Invite people to Christmas Eve. Enter into that work, because the Lord is coming.

And here, here this final point, because you might say, hold on a minute, Jesus already came. What are we doing preparing? Jesus already came. This certainly doesn't apply to us anymore, does it? But here's where we need to read that final verse one more time. Verse 5,

and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

See, this is what Isaiah is getting us prepared for. The forgiveness of our sins that will come with the presence of God Himself. As John the Baptist got people ready, he got them ready for the coming of Jesus, because Jesus is God. And yet Isaiah says all flesh will see it together. Everyone will see the coming of the Lord. And you might say, wait a minute. Not everyone saw Jesus. And you're right. In fact, even the people who did physically see him, did not even understand who he was most of the time. So did Isaiah just get this part of the prophecy wrong?

No. It's that it hasn't happened yet. See what the New Testament makes very clear for us, is that the first coming of Jesus, he came in humility, he came in obscurity, born as a baby in an outskirt town, in a barn laid in a feeding trough. Jesus didn't come to rule as a king, but to serve and die on the cross for our sins, but his second coming, He will come again, shall look remarkably different. Philippians says,

therefore, because of his death and resurrection, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There is a day that is coming when everyone will see Jesus for who he is. Every person both alive and dead, will see the glory of Jesus standing in heaven, Jesus shall reveal Himself. Not hidden but for all to see. In fact, Revelation says,

behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him. Even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him, even so, amen.

It will not be a secret when Jesus returns. It will be clear and plain for all to see. As Isaiah has said, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. The same mouth that uttered creation into existence has given us the sure promise, Jesus will return. As much as Advent is about preparing for the coming of Jesus' first coming, our whole lives is spent in preparation for his second coming. Let us prepare the way, because Jesus is coming again.

And so as we move into this Christmas season, as we get into the season of preparation, let us remember the promise of God, our sins are forgiven. Our great comfort is that our sins have not kept us away from God, but that in Jesus, our sins are dealt with in full. As we prepare our own hearts for the coming of Jesus, let us reach out to those around us, so that they may hear well the message of the gospel. Let us be quick to listen and ready to respond in the grace of Jesus, as we prepare for his second coming, when we will see him face to face.

Let's pray together. Our heavenly Father. I thank you that you have spoken to us. Lord, that you took your time to help us understand the incredible good news of Jesus Christ. Father, even as we go our own. And even as we sin, Father, we are reminded that our greatest comfort is found in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Lord, may we return to you again and again and again, for your promises are sure. Father, I pray, would you do the work of preparing our own hearts? Might we be quick to repent of our sins, quick to turn to you. And Lord, even as we do so, let us, let us seek out those around us. Father, would you give us opportunities to share this gospel with those around us? Because Lord, we look forward to your coming again. When we shall see you face to face, when our faith shall be sight. We ask all this in your name. Amen.