Text: Isaiah 40:3-5,9
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the desert prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the
Lord has spoken.”
9 You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
I remember seeing a Christmas tree. It must have taken days to decorate. It was awesome. Yet it was so full of decoration that I wondered out loud- Is there a tree in there someplace? The Christmas tree was all but obscured by the decorations.
Now don’t get the wrong idea. My theme is for today is NOT let’s see the tree! But think of the picture. Is it possible that we can do the same with Christmas? Are we about to hang so many things on these days before Christmas that we can hardly see it? Will we allow the clutter and trappings of this season to block out what God wants to bring to our hearts and lives?
When someone important is coming you get ready. This is a time when we get ready. The church calls it Advent which means coming. Christmas is coming. How are we getting ready. What are we getting ready for?
If you ask most people about being ready, you hear about trips to the mall. You’ll see anxious looks about getting the right gifts and preparations that still need to be done. Are the lights up? Even pastors and vicars allow the anxiety of deadlines overshadow what’s all important.
What are we missing? What should we be getting ready for? Think about it. What do we see happening over and over that first Christmas? What do you see again and again breaking out at the coming of Christ our Lord and Savior.
Think of the angels. Luke 2:13,14 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Then the shepherds. Luke2: 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Then that senior citizen of the kingdom, Simeon, in the temple. Luke2: 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God…
Then those mysterious men from the East called Magi:. Matthew 2: 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Do you see where God’s Word is pointing us? This season of Advent is about getting ready. And one thing we want to get ready for is this. That our hearts be ready to worship, worship at Christ’s coming whether it be his coming at Bethlehem or that day when he comes again in the clouds.
Here God’s prophet helps get us ready. Long before our Savior’s birth he points ahead to that time we shall soon celebrate.
So: It’s Advent: Get Ready to Worship
I. Remember Who’s coming
II. Prepare the way
To a people held captive in a far away place, would come exciting news. 9You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!” They would spend years in Babylon as a defeated people. But they were to remember this great promise. God would come. He would roll up his sleeves, bring down their captors and bring his people home once more. It would look like one King of Persia had merely conquered the king of Babylon. That’s how it looks in the pages of history. But they were to remember whose coming would make it so. Here is your God!
It must have been wonderful to see God remain true to his Word. To see wicked Babylon brought down. Those that had burned their temple to the ground. To hear that decree by the Persian king, you can go home. You can resettle your towns. You can rebuild your temple. Go in peace. Wow. That must have been great.
Yet that was just a small step on the way to an Advent far more wonderful. These words from Isaiah pointed to a far greater coming. They point to people in a far worse situation. Every one of us. It’s one thing to have to live in a place you don’t want to. It’s another to live your life without God and without hope. That was you and me. That’s where we are on our own. Held captive by a heart that drenches us with guilt. That thumbs its nose at God or just plain ignores his ways. Each of us has our own story to tell, don’t we? But it comes down to this. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23)
What to do with such people? What would you or I do? From the distant past came a promise that points each of us to one certain Child born long ago. We’re getting ready to celebrate his birth. Here is your God! Those words point to baby Jesus. Emmanuel. God with us. Here is your God come not to bring down on our heads what we surely deserve. Here is your God come as your brother to save you from what you deserve. Here is your God who would die for you. Here is your God who comes to you now in his Word with the Father’s love and forgiveness. Here is your God who comes to us dying sinners with hope.
So what are you doing this season? What are we going to fill our hearts and lives with these next few weeks? Stressful preparations, frantic shopping or travel. Will this season leave you once more feeling empty and spent. Or maybe you come to this season with something already in your heart. Something sad or painful that has come your way. I don’t know but I expect there is at least one of you that is hurting right now.
Well whatever it is for you, whether you are down or distracted. It’s Advent: Get ready to worship. And why? Friend, remember who’s coming. So prepare the Way.
3A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.4Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
People understood that picture. When a king planned to come to a town, he would often send someone ahead to spread the word. The people would then go to work on the road leading into town. You wanted to make it as easy as possible for your king. You didn’t want his horse to step into some big pothole and break his leg. That would not be good.
But the one coming to his people in Babylon was more than just a king. He is the Lord. Well the Lord needs no road to travel on. So this is not about filling potholes and improving a road in what is now Saudi Arabia. It’s a voice that called for God’s people to prepare a different way – the road to their hearts. To get ready to welcome his coming to set them free from Babylon.
Yet when that happened these same words were not yet fulfilled. For the day would come when God would send one certain voice to call out in another desert – the desert of Judea. He was to go before the Lord Jesus. We know him as John the Baptist. He carried out his ministry a long time ago but his words still speak to us today. Prepare the way of the Lord.
You see, if we’re getting ready to worship Him it’s wise to survey that road to our hearts. What do we find this morning? What condition is it in? Has that road become washed out with carelessness or neglect of God’s Word? Have we let it get overgrown with drinking, or lust instead of love, or just plain self-indulgence that never is happy or content? It leaves you empty. Believe me, I know.
Or is that road crooked with sins that we need to repent of? What have we let come between us and the Lord? A grudge that we refuse to let go. A selfishness that refuses to give and be generous to others. A heart that can’t see our desperate need for God’s forgiveness. John calls out from the desert to each of us. Prepare the way.
For it’s Advent: It’s time to get ready to worship. With the angels, the shepherds, the Magi and dear Simeon. For the stuff of this season cannot fill your heart. It cannot give you hope. But He can. The one who came as a Child. The one who will come in glory. The one who comes to us in his Word and his Supper with forgiveness and life. Here is your God! He is coming. Get ready to worship. Amen.
