Good morning, church.
Would you turn with me to our sermon passage, Isaiah chapter 7.
That's page 535 in the Pew Bible.
As Pastor Matt mentioned, leading up to Christmas,
the church historically celebrates a season called Advent.
Advent's a word that simply means arrival or coming.
This is the time of year when we remember Jesus' first advent,
his first coming in the incarnation,
and we look ahead to his second advent, his second coming in glory.
And this year, to do that, we're going to be looking at four passages in the book of Isaiah.
And each of these passages talks about the coming of the Messiah,
the coming of Christ, and the light that he has brought into our darkness.
Now, one of the things that many folks do in this early part of the season is decorate for Christmas.
Thanks to Kirsten and everyone else who helped to decorate the sanctuary yesterday.
It looks great.
But how about you?
Is this the weekend that you pull out the garland and the ornaments and the wreaths?
Do you put up your Christmas tree this weekend?
There's something comforting and enriching, I think,
about bringing out the same decorations year after year,
perhaps the nativity scene,
which if you made it to Sunday school this morning,
you learned that St. Francis, like, invented the nativity scene.
So, check that out on the podcast.
He didn't invent it, but, you know, he kind of, well, whatever.
You can listen to it and figure it out for yourself.
So, maybe you bring out your nativity set.
Maybe you bring out your ornaments.
Maybe you hang the stockings.
You know, these kind of traditions can give a sense of continuity and stability
to what can often be a hectic and stressful time of year, can't it?
But the danger, of course,
is that over time,
these things lose their meaning.
It can just become stuff that we trudge out this time of year
to try to get in the mood.
But in reality, it doesn't carry much weight, right?
It's just decoration.
Now, I wonder if some Scripture passages
become the same thing for us,
especially during Advent.
We've heard them before lots of times,
and they become just decoration.
With little traction in our everyday lives,
with little relevance
for our deeper fears or longings.
Behold, the Virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and you shall call his name Emmanuel.
Is that familiar Advent verse just decoration for us?
Or is it a light piercing the darkness?
Well, I hope we'll find that it's the latter.
Because when we look at Isaiah chapter 7,
where that prophecy is first given,
we find that it doesn't come in the midst of holiday celebrations
and cookie baking and stockings over the fire.
It comes in the midst of fear and turmoil.
It comes to a tragic young king
who's about to lose his kingdom
before his reign has even begun.
It comes in the middle of messy geopolitics,
war-hungry empires,
and petty kingdoms vying for survival.
It comes to a people so afraid
that they're like branches of a tree
shaken in the wind.
And it comes to us
in our fears.
When our world seems about to crumble,
when we're grasping for security,
for stability,
when we're trying to find something reliable
to save us,
right there in our fears,
that's where it comes.
Whether they be political fears
or family fears,
job fears or relationship fears,
childhood fears or old age fears,
that's where the promise comes.
So let's pick up this passage
in Isaiah chapter 7,
verses 1 through 14.
And let's see what God has to say to us.
Isaiah 7, 1 through 14,
we'll have it on the screens.
If you want to follow along,
it's page 535 in the Pew Bible.
It goes like this,
In the days of Ahaz,
the son of Jotham,
son of Uzziah,
king of Judah,
Rezan, the king of Syria,
and Pekah, the son of Ramaliah,
the king of Israel,
came up to Jerusalem
to wage war against it,
but could not yet mount an attack against it.
When the house of David was told,
Syria is in league with Ephraim,
the heart of Ahaz
and the heart of his people shook
as the trees of the forest
shake before the wind.
And the Lord said to Isaiah,
go out to meet Ahaz,
you,
and Sheer,
Jashub,
your son,
at the end of the conduit
of the upper pool
on the highway
to the washer's field,
and say to him,
be careful,
be quiet,
do not fear.
And do not let your heart
be faint
because of these two
smoldering stumps
of firebrands
at the fierce anger
of Rezan
and Syria
and the son of Ramaliah.
Because Syria
with Ephraim
and the son of Ramaliah
has devised Ezel against you
saying,
let's go up against Judah
and terrify it
and let us conquer it
for ourselves
and set up the son of Tabil
as king in the midst of it.
Thus says the Lord God,
it shall not stand
and it shall not come to pass.
For the head of Syria
is Damascus
and the head of Damascus
is Rezan
and within 65 years
Ephraim will be shattered
from being a people.
And the head of Ephraim
is Samaria
and the head of Samaria
is the son of Ramaliah.
If you are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.
Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz,
ask a sign of the Lord your God.
Let it be as deep as Sheol
or as high as heaven.
But Ahaz said,
I will not ask.
I will not put the Lord
to the test.
And he said,
hear then, O house of David,
is it too little for you
to weary men
that you weary my God also?
Therefore, the Lord himself
will give you a sign.
Behold,
the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son
and shall call his name
Emmanuel.
All right, let's pray.
Father, we have read your word.
Help us now to understand
what it is your spirit
is saying to us through it.
And let us see
how this text brings us
to your incarnate word,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is our only hope
and security.
In his name we pray.
Amen.
So, in verses 1-2
of Isaiah 7,
we see the people's fear.
And then, in verses 3-14,
we see two ways
that God invites us
to respond to our fears.
Let's briefly look at the fear
in verses 1-2.
We're told there
that the heart of Ahaz
and the heart of his people
shook as the trees of the forest
shake before the wind.
Now, the date here
is most likely 735 B.C.
And Ahaz has just recently
come to the throne
of the southern kingdom
called Judah.
Ahaz's father, Jothan,
and his grandfather, Uzziah,
were both good kings
for the most part.
But now, just as Ahaz
takes the throne,
things start falling apart.
We know from the history books
of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles
and chapter 16 of 2 Kings
and chapter 28 of 2 Chronicles
that Ahaz's kingdom
is getting pressured
on every side.
Most immediately,
there are two kings,
one from the northern kingdom
of Israel
and one from their northern neighbor,
Syria.
These two kings have shown up
on Ahaz's doorstep
to bully him
into joining their alliance
against the vast empire
of Assyria.
Assyria, at this time,
was the dominant superpower
and they were brutal.
So these two local kings,
Rezan and Pekah,
they're ready to dethrone Ahaz,
put a puppet ruler in his place
so that they can forge
a coalition against
this looming threat.
Now put yourself
in Ahaz's shoes.
Your reign is just getting started.
You're probably
in your early 20s,
something like that Ahaz was.
And you hear word
that looming in the distance
is a hungry empire
ready to devour.
And now your closest neighbors
are bringing their armies
against you as well.
This is a crisis
of huge proportions.
And it doesn't seem like
there's really a way out, right?
Do you fight against
your two northern neighbors?
If you lose,
they dethrone you.
But what happens if you win?
Most likely,
you'll be so depleted militarily
that you'll simply then
fall to the Assyrians
when they inevitably come.
On the other hand,
do you join their petty alliance?
Again, what hope is there in that?
Can their small little kingdoms
really stand
against the war machine
that's about to come
crashing down upon them all?
And so the heart of Ahaz
and the heart of all the people
shake like trees in a storm.
You know, there are two ways
that you can approach
the Christmas season,
this season we call Advent.
On the one hand,
you can stuff yourself full
of sentimentality and distraction.
And there's plenty to be had
this time of year.
You can try to use nostalgia
and Christmas cookies
and Hallmark movies
and ugly sweaters
and peppermint mochas
to mask or dull
or ignore
what's really going on
inside of you.
You can just try
to cover it all over.
But that doesn't stop
the shaking, does it?
Still, our hearts shake
like trees in the wind.
On the other hand,
you can do what Christians
for hundreds and hundreds
of years have done.
They have used
the season of Advent
as a time
not to ignore
or distract
or dull themselves,
but to get real
with themselves
and with God.
To admit that we
do have
very real fears
and insecurities.
To admit that we
aren't the sort of people
that we long to be
as we look back
over the year
that's gone by.
To acknowledge
that our hearts
are shaking
and maybe we don't
even know why.
And to ask,
to ask God to come
and to show us.
You know,
traditionally,
Advent
was a penitential season
of the church.
At its best,
that meant that Advent
was a time
not merely
to distract ourselves,
but to do some
serious self-examination
in the Lord's presence.
To ask Him
to come
and to do
a deep work
in our fearful
and sinful hearts.
Of course,
that doesn't mean
you can't enjoy
the Christmas season.
You should enjoy
this season.
Watch a Hallmark movie
or two
or three
if that's your sort of thing.
I mean,
they all have the exact
same plot, right?
So, you know,
if you like one,
you sort of like them all.
By all means,
eat a Christmas cookie.
But friend,
don't miss,
don't miss out
on the deepest joy
that there is
to be found
in Advent.
And that joy
doesn't come
from ignoring
our fears,
but from admitting them
in God's presence
and then seeing
how He will meet you
in the midst of them.
So, how does God
invite us to respond
here in Isaiah 7?
Well, in times
of great fear,
God invites us
to trust
His sovereign
word.
In times of great fear,
trust
God's sovereign
word.
We see this
in verses 3 through 9.
Through Isaiah,
God sends His word
to Ahaz.
Ahaz is out
inspecting the water
supply into the city.
Why is he doing that?
Well, he's preparing
for invasion,
you see.
He's trying to figure out
how he's going to
get himself
out of the crisis.
And while Ahaz
is in the middle
of trying to come up
with a plan
to rescue himself,
God's word comes.
And it's a word
of promise.
Are you afraid,
Ahaz,
of these two kings
knocking at your door,
Rezin and Pekah?
They look scary.
They talk big.
But let me tell you
what I see.
Two smoldering
stumps.
You think they're going
to set your kingdom
ablaze,
but I'm telling you,
Ahaz,
they're already
burned out.
Don't be afraid
of them.
What they're threatening
won't come to pass.
Within your lifetime,
God says,
these two kingdoms
won't even be
recognizable anymore.
And then God says
this to Ahaz,
if you're not firm
in faith,
you won't be firm
at all.
Where does real
stability in the midst
of crisis come from?
What will calm
our shaking hearts
when the storms
of fear blow?
Does it come from
having a great plan
for how to respond?
That can help.
Does it come from
knowing the right people?
Sometimes.
Does it come from
having wealth
or resources?
Maybe,
to some degree.
But none of those
things will really
make you firm.
They're all shaky
at best.
None of them
will last.
No,
real stability
comes
when we hear
the word
of the sovereign God
and trust Him.
Why?
Because God
is God.
Infinitely wise
and righteous
and good.
God knows the end
from the beginning.
He put the most
massive stars
in place
and fashioned
the most
intricate detail
of the tiniest
Adam
and this powerful
and good God
says,
hear my voice
and trust me.
That's where
your stability
must lie
because then
your life
rests on a foundation
that's not subject
to the
fallen whims
of the world.
But your life
rests on the
infinitely sure
purposes
of the sovereign
God.
in crisis
God's word
came to Ahaz
offering him
the divine
perspective
that he so
desperately needed
in that moment.
A young king
afraid of losing
his throne,
afraid of losing
his life
and God says
they won't harm
you Ahaz.
Trust me.
Be careful.
Be quiet.
Do not fear
and don't let
your heart
be faint.
What promise
do you need
to hear
from God's
word today?
You might be
thinking,
well,
look,
if a prophet
showed up
and told me
exactly what
God wanted to hear,
that would make
it a little easier,
right?
But friend,
consider
that we have
something
even better
than that.
God has
actually
preserved
his spoken
words
in his
written word
and the Holy
Spirit
speaks through
the written
word
every time
it is read
in prayerful
trust.
Do you see
then how
much better
of a position
we are in
than Ahaz?
We don't have
to wait for
an Isaiah
to show up.
You can open
God's written
word
and immerse
yourself in
God's sovereign
promises
at any time
and in any
place.
How good
God has
been to us.
The Apostle
Peter says
in his second
letter,
God has
granted to
us
his precious
and very
great promises
so that
through them
you may
become partakers
of the divine
nature.
You can
become more
and more
like Christ
as you hear
his word.
What promises
do you need
to hear
today?
Perhaps
you've begun
to fear
that God
has forgotten
you,
that your
life is
simply
wending on
in meaninglessness.
But listen
when God's
word says,
I know
the plans
I have
for you,
plans for
welfare
and not
for evil,
to give
you a future
and hope.
Perhaps
you're in the
midst of great
trial or
suffering
and you
wonder if
any good
is going
to come
out of
it.
But listen
when God's
word says,
for those
who love
God,
all things
work together
for their
good.
For those
whom God
foreknew,
he also
predestined
to be
conformed
to the
image
of his
son,
in order
that he
might be
the first
born among
many brothers
and sisters,
and those
whom he
predestined
he also
called,
and those
whom he
called
he justified,
and those
whom he
justified
he glorified.
All things
are working
for your
good,
sister,
for your
glory.
Perhaps
you're
wrestling
with an
area of
obedience,
and to
walk in
the way
of Christ
just seems
too costly.
You think
of the
sacrifice
you might
need to
make
to follow
Jesus,
and it's
overwhelming
for you.
But listen
when God's
word says,
when Jesus
says,
truly I
say to
you,
there's no
one who
has left
house,
or brothers,
or sisters,
or mother,
or father,
or children,
or lands,
for my
sake and
for the
gospel,
who will
not receive
a hundredfold
now in
this time,
houses,
and brothers,
and sisters,
and mothers,
and children,
and lands,
and in the
age to
come,
eternal
life.
What you
may lose
now is
nothing
compared to
what you
will gain
when you
take up
your cross
and follow
Jesus.
perhaps
you're
struggling
under the
weight
of guilt.
Maybe
through the
Holy Spirit's
conviction
you've begun
to see
your sin,
how great
it is,
how little
you fought
against it,
how offensive
it is to
the God
who made
you and
who loves
you,
and you
wrestle with
the fear
that perhaps
God hasn't
forgiven you,
perhaps he's
withheld his
mercy from
you.
But listen
when God's
word says,
come now,
let us reason
together,
says the
Lord,
though your
sins are
like scarlet,
they shall
be as white
as snow.
Though they
are red
like crimson,
they shall
become like
wool.
Friends,
Jesus'
death on
the cross
is sufficient
to pay
for a
hundred
lifetimes
of your
sins,
and infinitely
more.
There is
no sin
that his
death
has not
washed
away
for all
who simply
trust in
him.
Though your
sins are
like scarlet,
they shall
be white
as snow.
With
every
promise
of God's
sovereign
word,
we place
another
rock
into a
foundation
that no
storm
can topple.
Our
hearts may
shake like
trees in
the storm,
but hearing
God's
word and
trusting
God's
word will
push our
roots deeper
into the
soil of
his stability
so that no
wind will
cause us
to fall.
So brothers
and sisters,
in times of
great fear,
trust God's
sovereign
word.
But God
doesn't stop
there.
He's warned
Ahaz,
if you're not
firm in
faith,
you will
not be
firm at
all.
And
knowing
that our
faith is
so often
not firm,
God
pursues
Ahaz
even
further.
And this
is what we
see in
verses 10
through 14.
In this
paragraph,
we see the
second way
God invites
us to
respond to
our fears.
In
times of
great
fear,
we must
receive
God's
gracious
sign.
In
times of
great fear,
receive
God's
gracious
sign.
In
verses 10
and 11,
God
pursues
Ahaz.
He says,
ask a sign
of the
Lord your
God.
Let it
be as
deep as
Sheol or
as high
as heaven.
What a
gracious
thing for
God to
do.
You know,
God could
have said,
look,
Ahaz,
I told
you what's
true,
now it's
up to
you.
Believe
it or
don't.
But God
actually goes
a step
further.
He says,
let me
give you
a sign,
Ahaz.
I won't
just give
you my
promise,
though that
should be
good enough.
I'll give
you a sign,
I'll do
something in
history and
material creation
to help you
believe the
promise.
I'll give
you something
that's a
marker,
that everything
I've said
will come
true and
that you'll
know that
it was
me.
What
condescension
on God's
part to do
such a
thing?
But what
happens next
is tragic.
In verse
12,
Ahaz
rejects
God's
gracious
offer.
Now,
at first,
it sounds
like Ahaz
is being
really
spiritual,
right?
I won't
put the
Lord to
the test.
It sounds
holy,
right?
It sounds
deferential.
But we
know from
the rest
of Isaiah
and we
know from
the history
given in
2 Kings
and in
2 Chronicles
that Ahaz
is not
being sincere
here.
He's already
made up his
mind how
he will
respond to
the crisis.
He's already
got a plan
of action
that doesn't
involve God.
So he
gives this
kind of
pious sounding
answer,
but in reality
he's telling
God,
no thanks,
I'm going
to do it
my way.
Friends,
beware of
using piety
to avoid
God and
to simply
go your
own way.
And what
was Ahaz's
way?
How does
this young
king see
his way
out of
the crisis?
How will
he keep
his head
on his
shoulders
and his
kingdom
under
his feet
when
everything
is going
wrong?
Well,
from a
human
point of
view,
he does
something
incredibly
clever.
Rather than
fighting these
two local
kings in
order to
keep his
independence,
and rather
than joining
them in
kind of a
petty
alliance,
he actually
outmaneuvers
them.
He makes
a pact
with none
other than
the empire
of Assyria.
he goes
to the
looming
war machine
itself,
and he
cuts a
deal.
And in
the short
term,
it works.
But in
the long
term,
it's a
disaster.
And isn't
that the
way it
always goes?
The very
things we
trust to
save us
apart from
God,
in the
end,
devour
us.
Ask
anyone
familiar
with
addiction,
and they'll
tell you.
At first,
alcohol,
or drugs,
or sex,
it begins
as a way
to kind of
cover up
the hurt,
and the
pain,
or the
shame,
or the
guilt,
and it
sort of
works at
first.
But then
you become
enslaved.
You need
more and
more,
and you
can't stop,
and it
controls
everything.
And the
hurt,
and the
pain,
and the
shame,
and the
guilt,
they don't
go away.
They just
get worse
and worse.
Now,
with alcohol,
or drugs,
or sex,
it's kind
of easy
to spot,
right?
But what
about our
more
respectable
substitute
self-rescue
attempts?
We throw
ourselves
into work.
We throw
ourselves
into
good works.
We throw
ourselves
into family.
We throw
ourselves
even into
religion.
as an
attempt to
save
ourselves,
to find
our way
through
the
crisis,
and it
backfires.
These
self-rescue
projects ask
more and
more of us.
We need to
work more
hours.
We need to
have a
more perfect
family.
We need to
be more
performative
and more
devout in
our religious
practices.
They ask
more and
more of us,
and they give
less and
less.
And our
fears remain.
they backfired
on us just
as they
backfired on
Ahaz.
If you go
on and read
the rest of
Isaiah 7
and 9,
you'll see how
they describe
that God's
saying that the
Assyrian Empire
would come and
it would topple
not just northern
Israel, not just
Damascus and
Syria, but it
would keep
coming.
And like a
swarm of
bees, like a
razor cutting
down everything
in its path,
death, the
empire would
come right to
Jerusalem's
doorstep and
leave the
kingdom in
ruins.
Ahaz made a
deal with the
devil, and in
time the devil
would come for
his due.
But even
though Ahaz had
rejected God's
gracious offer,
in his mercy,
God still gives
the sign.
verse 13,
and he said,
here then,
O house of
David, is it
too little for
you to weary
men that you
weary my God
also?
There's another
sign that Ahaz
wasn't being
sincere.
And then God
says this,
therefore the
Lord himself
will give you
a sign.
Behold, the
virgin shall
conceive and
bear a son and
shall call his
name Emmanuel.
And the passage
goes on to say,
if you keep
reading it, that
in a few short
years, by the
time that
newborn child
has grown up
enough to tell
right from wrong,
these two kings
that Ahaz is so
afraid of will
be defeated.
But because Ahaz
has rejected God
and entrusted
himself to
Assyria, this
child will also
serve as a sign
of judgment.
By the time the
child can tell
right from wrong,
the empire of
Assyria will
have toppled the
cities of Judah
and turned the
once cultivated
farmlands into
wastes and
wilderness.
And the only
thing that will
be left to eat
are the things
that they'll
have to hunt or
gather, like
honey or curds
and milk from
their couple of
goats that are
left over.
And there you
have it, Isaiah
7.
Merry Christmas.
But is that all
that God's sign
in Isaiah 7
was meant to
convey?
Was it just a sign
of hope and
judgment for
Ahaz's day?
You know, as we
read on in this
section of Isaiah,
this whole section,
which is chapter 7
through 12, we
see that there's
more here than
initially meets
the eye.
It becomes clear
that the prophecy
of chapter 7
verse 14 has
both a provisional
fulfillment, but it
reaches out into
an ultimate
fulfillment.
In chapter 8, we
see this provisional
fulfillment.
Isaiah's own wife
gives birth to a
son.
They give him a
symbolic name.
And we're told that
by the time this
child can say,
my father or my
mother, the threat
of Damascus and
Samaria will be no
more.
But does that
exhaust the sign
of verse 14?
No.
Because the rest
of Isaiah 7
through 12 will
point to us, as we
follow the same
argument along, it
will point us to an
even greater child to
be born.
In chapter 9, we're
told that a child
will be born who
will have an
everlasting reign.
And then in
chapter 11, this
coming king is
shown to be full
of the Holy
Spirit, so full
of God's presence
that he'll be
perfect in justice
and perfect in
wisdom.
And through his
reign, God's
people and God's
creation even will
be restored and
healed forever.
So this provisional
fulfillment in
Isaiah's day
couldn't exhaust the
full promise that
God had given
starting in Isaiah
7.
No, a day would
come when a virgin
would conceive and
bear a son.
And he would be
Emmanuel, God
with us.
Not merely a sign,
but a reality.
And he would be
full of justice and
wisdom.
And his kingdom
would never end.
And this promise
of Isaiah 7, 9,
and 11 would
remain with God's
people for
generations.
It would outlast
the Assyrian
empire.
It would outlast
even the kingdom
of Judah.
It would persist
through the
Babylonian exile.
And then when
Babylon falls, it
would keep going
throughout the rule
of the Persians and
right into the
middle of the Roman
occupation who
displaced the
Persians.
And when God's
people were still
under the rule of
their enemies, an
oppression that
began all the way
back in the days
of Ahaz and his
fateful decision at
the upper pool on
the highway to the
washer's field, the
downward slide that
began on that day,
that promise would
persist all the way
down hundreds of
years into the
midst of Roman
oppression.
And in the sixth
month, after
generations of
waiting, the angel
Gabriel was sent
from God to a
city of Galilee
named Nazareth, to a
virgin betrothed to a
man whose name was
Joseph of the house
of David.
And the virgin's name
was Mary.
And he came to her and
said, Greetings, O
favored one, the Lord
is with you.
But she was greatly
troubled at this
saying and tried to
discern what sort of
greeting this might be.
And the angel said to
her, Don't be afraid,
Mary, for you have
found favor with God.
And behold, you will
conceive in your womb
and bear a son, and you
shall call his name
Jesus.
He will be great and
will be called the Son
of the Most High.
And the Lord God will
give to him the throne
of his father David, and
he will reign over the
house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom
there will be no end.
And Mary said to the
angel, How will this be
since I am a virgin?
And the angel answered
her, The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and
the power of the Most
High will overshadow you.
Therefore, the child to
be born will be called
holy, the Son of God.
And behold, your
relative Elizabeth in her
old age has also
conceived a son, and
this is the sixth month
with her who is called
barren, for nothing will
be impossible with God.
And Mary said, Behold, I
am the servant of the
Lord.
Let it be to me according
to your word.
And the angel departed
from her.
Contrast for a moment,
Ahaz with Mary.
Ahaz was in an impossible
situation from a human
perspective, wasn't he?
His young reign was almost
over before it began, and
rather than trust God's
word, he trusted what his
own efforts could accomplish,
this military alliance with
Assyria.
But Mary, receiving an
equally impossible promise
from a human perspective,
says, Behold, I am the
servant of the Lord.
Let it be to me according
to your word.
For nothing will be
impossible with God.
God.
And when Jesus Christ was
born, the sign of Isaiah
7 became a reality.
God entered space and time
and history.
God took on our human nature
in its entirety, and he
fulfilled every promise that
had been made for thousands
of years, including the
promise of Isaiah 7, that a
virgin will conceive and bear
a son, and you'll call his
name Emmanuel, which means
God with us.
But why a virgin birth?
Why did God choose to enter
history in this way?
Because the rescue that God
would accomplish through Jesus,
the Messiah, would be his own
work from beginning to end.
God would become fully human
through Mary, but not as a
result of human work or
effort or accomplishment or
deeds.
Mary's part was to hear the
promise and believe, and
that's true of all of us.
That's what God wanted Ahaz to
see.
That Ahaz didn't need to scheme
and fret and make his own
salvation.
That Ahaz could trust that God
would accomplish what his own
works could not.
And that's why it had to be a
virgin birth, because God
wanted our faith to rest on
him and on him alone.
It's his work from beginning to
end.
And if it's his work from
beginning to end, then in times
of great fear, our faith has
found the greatest place to
rest.
Our faith has found a resting
place, not in device or creed.
We trust the ever-living one
whose wounds shall plead for me.
The one who took human nature
apart from any human work also
died and rose again apart from any
of your works, so that now you and
I can be rescued utterly apart from
our works.
And that means we need no longer
fear.
When our hearts shake like trees in
a storm, we know that Emmanuel has
come.
God is with us.
Jesus Christ has secured eternal
salvation and eternal life for all
who simply trust in him.
Every promise is yes and amen in
him.
So we can let go of our false
comforts and our self-rescue
projects and cling to him
completely.
And in him, in Emmanuel, find
security and comfort no matter what
the storms may be.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus, we simply pause and give
you praise as the one who is the
fulfillment of all God's promises.
And Lord, we thank you that you are
an anchor in the fiercest storms.
Father, seeing how you fulfilled your
promises in Jesus, we can be sure
that you will likewise make good on
all of your word to us.