WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:11.580 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:15.419 ! use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at Christchurcheastbay.org. 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:26.960 Good morning. 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:28.620 My name is Denise Yan. 00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:32.640 I'm part of the San Francisco Community Group and Women Reading Women. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:40.740 Today's scripture reading is from the book of Isaiah, chapter 54, verses 1-10, as printed 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:41.539 in your liturgy. 00:00:44.900 --> 00:00:48.040 Sing, barren women, you who never bore a child. 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:55.180 Burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor, because more are the children 00:00:55.179 --> 00:00:59.240 of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband, says the Lord. 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:01.899 Enlarge the place of your tent. 00:01:02.619 --> 00:01:04.400 Stretch your tent curtains wide. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:05.959 Do not hold back. 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:07.359 Lengthen your cords. 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:08.819 Strengthen your stakes. 00:01:09.539 --> 00:01:12.480 For you will spread out to the right and to the left. 00:01:12.980 --> 00:01:17.260 Your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. 00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:19.719 Do not be afraid. 00:01:20.240 --> 00:01:21.540 You will not be put to shame. 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:23.080 Do not fear disgrace. 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:25.140 You will not be humiliated. 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:30.939 You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:33.820 For your maker is your husband. 00:01:34.460 --> 00:01:36.380 The Lord Almighty is his name. 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:39.000 The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:42.420 He is called the God of all the earth. 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:47.320 The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.019 A wife who married young, only to be rejected, says your God. 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:56.400 For a brief moment I abandon you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:02.140 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:05.219 I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. 00:02:05.219 --> 00:02:11.860 To me, this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:13.300 again cover the earth. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:18.780 So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:25.139 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:30.520 not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:31.319 on you. 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:37.039 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. 00:02:37.459 --> 00:02:38.359 Thank you, Denise. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:39.079 Good morning. 00:02:41.159 --> 00:02:45.739 It's the fourth Sunday of Advent, our last Sunday that we're going to be in the prophet 00:02:45.739 --> 00:02:48.780 Isaiah, so I'm looking forward to opening up God's word with you. 00:02:48.859 --> 00:02:50.240 Let's go to him in prayer. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:03:03.740 Speak, Lord, in ways that inspire us, in ways that convict us of sin, and most importantly 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:10.020 in ways that lift our eyes up to your Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, who came 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:11.219 and who's coming again. 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:13.360 Set our hearts on him. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:20.260 Let us behold him as the love of God given to us at Christmas. 00:03:21.320 --> 00:03:22.820 In his name we pray, amen. 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:30.500 So just this past week, my two daughters got these like holiday goodie bags, and in the 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:37.120 goodie bags were these cute little like maybe like toenail-sized polar bears, little figurines. 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:41.439 And each of them got two, so we had four in total. 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:47.800 And my younger daughter, Leah, as soon as she saw these little polar bears, she decided that 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:51.680 these would be like the perfect Christmas gift for her kindergarten buddies. 00:03:52.480 --> 00:03:57.580 And we were so proud of her for thinking of others, being willing to part with these polar 00:03:57.580 --> 00:03:59.140 bears for the sake of her friends. 00:03:59.700 --> 00:04:01.680 But there was one small problem. 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:06.759 Leah has three besties, but she only had two polar bears. 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:14.840 So we all turned to Cammie, our first grader, you know, hoping she'd be mature, hoping she'd 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:20.120 do the math, be loving, be willing to give up just one of her polar bears so that Leah 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:21.459 could give three away. 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:26.959 And so we asked Cammie, hey, JJ, that means big sister in Chinese, can Leah have one of 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:30.920 yours so she can give gifts to all three of her friends? 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.540 And man, this could have been such a beautiful Christ-like moment, right? 00:04:35.540 --> 00:04:40.800 Both of our girls sacrificing for the sake of others, giving three polar bears away and 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:46.640 sharing that one in our peaceful household, loving each other as sisters and good little 00:04:46.640 --> 00:04:47.540 pastor's kids. 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:50.280 But of course, that's not what happened. 00:04:51.200 --> 00:04:53.600 Cammie was like, no, I want it. 00:04:55.160 --> 00:05:00.520 And listen, this is not a story about which daughter I love more or about how frustratingly 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:03.139 selfish a pastor's kid can be. 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:07.099 No, this is the story of a pastor and a parent in process. 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:10.259 Me thinking through, okay, how am I going to play this? 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:17.560 Because the pastor in me, the biblical counselor in me was like, man, I'm so sad about this 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:19.180 selfishness I see in my daughter. 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:20.180 I'm so disappointed. 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:24.839 And I kind of want to call her out on this right now because she needs to know that selfishness 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:27.079 is like everything that's wrong with the world. 00:05:27.679 --> 00:05:31.639 And I don't want to guilt or shame her into giving and loving others, but I do want her 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:35.500 to have an aversion to the selfishness in her heart. 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:40.199 I want her to hate selfishness and to practice putting it to death in her life. 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:41.319 It's not the way of Jesus. 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:42.819 It's not the way of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:48.239 It's not something that honors God, and it's definitely not God's best for her. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:54.340 And then on top of those thoughts, you know, as a millennial parent, I put on my Dr. Becky 00:05:54.340 --> 00:05:59.699 hat, and I thought to myself, okay, how can I help Cammie in this moment get in touch with 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:01.240 her good inside, right? 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:07.079 How can I compassionately, calmly help Cammie think rationally about this? 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:12.960 It's like maybe, hey, I know you love these polar bears, and they are super cute, but you'll 00:06:12.960 --> 00:06:13.800 still have one. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:15.139 Do you really need two? 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:18.479 And wouldn't you want someone else to share with you? 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:20.039 Think of how it will make Leah feel. 00:06:20.159 --> 00:06:21.500 Think of how it will make her friends feel. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:25.240 Don't you want to spread some kindness and generosity into the world? 00:06:25.339 --> 00:06:27.860 What an opportunity to be a big girl. 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:33.459 So me and Chels, we just like looked at each other like, hmm, how are we going to play this? 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:34.519 And we did our best. 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:39.879 I tried to reason with her and psychologize her into giving just like Dr. Becky would, 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:40.959 but it didn't work. 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:47.120 Then I also talked to her about selfishness, and I played the Jesus card, right, about how 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:48.359 unselfish he was. 00:06:49.099 --> 00:06:50.879 But no, she wouldn't budge. 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:55.079 And you know, ultimately, we weren't going to force her to give up the polar bear. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:56.419 It really was hers. 00:06:56.699 --> 00:06:58.659 It was her choice to make, right? 00:06:58.719 --> 00:06:59.899 You can't force generosity. 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:03.679 You can't force someone to be loving and sacrificial, right? 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:08.980 So that night, as I tucked her in, kissed her on the forehead, I left my girl's room thinking 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:12.000 about this as a parent and as a pastor. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:18.360 How is it that people like my daughter, people like all of us, this congregation, how is it 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:20.800 that people are shaped into people of love? 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:27.360 How can we help people to a point where their desire to give outweighs the fear of loss? 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:33.120 Today's the fourth Sunday of Advent, and when we lit that fourth candle this morning, we 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.060 were lighting what's called the love candle. 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:40.020 We've been moving through Advent from hope to peace to joy, and now we come to love. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:44.420 Because that's what hope, peace, and joy inspire in God's people, love. 00:07:44.460 --> 00:07:48.639 And not like love as mere holiday sentiment, like fleeting feelings. 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:54.459 Not love as obligation, like, you know, buying that Christmas present for certain people, you 00:07:54.459 --> 00:07:58.620 know, that certain person that you just kind of, you buy it for them because it'd feel awkward 00:07:58.620 --> 00:07:59.079 not to. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:07:59.740 No. 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:01.959 We're talking about real love. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:08.779 God's love as the deepest and most anchoring reality in which God wants to form His people. 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:15.699 Now, the passage today, Isaiah chapter 54 that we're looking at, what this is, is it's 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:19.839 a prophetic call, it's a prophetic vision, it's a prophetic invitation and voice. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.500 It's Isaiah's voice speaking on behalf of God to God's people, calling them, inviting 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:28.980 them, imploring them, really, to respond to the greatest thing that God has ever done, 00:08:29.039 --> 00:08:32.460 the greatest image and display of God's love in all of history. 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:36.919 And we see that actually in the chapter right before, in Isaiah chapter 53, the famous prophetic 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:41.840 image of the suffering servant who had come to save God's people, even after God's people 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:45.259 had rebelled and chosen infidelity again and again and again. 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:49.299 Even after they failed to be the servants of God that they were meant to be, Isaiah 53 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:55.159 is about how God was still resolved to love them and to send forth another servant to bear 00:08:55.159 --> 00:08:59.240 their pain and suffering, to take upon Himself their punishments, their afflictions, to be 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:04.580 pierced for their transgressions, crushed for their sins, to bear their sins, the sins 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:10.460 of the lost sheep of Israel, and to be crushed as a substitute lamb, to be wounded in their place 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:11.740 that they might be healed. 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:17.060 And yet somehow, at the end of Isaiah 53, you have this suffering, murdered servant 00:09:17.060 --> 00:09:17.560 of God. 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:22.600 In the last two verses, though, of Isaiah 53, it says that after he suffered, he will see 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:24.820 the light of life and be satisfied. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:25.980 He will justify many. 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:30.340 Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils because 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:33.019 he poured out his life unto death. 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:35.120 And this is where our text picks up. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:42.320 Isaiah 54, in response to this incredible act of God where he saves his people, not by simply 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:48.220 conquering their enemies, but by sending a servant to suffer in their place for all the 00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:52.560 ways that they'd become their own worst enemies and even enemies of God. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:59.960 Isaiah 54 is a prophetic invitation to God's people to behold and respond to this servant who 00:09:59.960 --> 00:10:06.019 was slain for their sins and yet somehow raised to greatness as a blessing for many, countless 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:08.720 multitudes of undeserving beneficiaries. 00:10:10.060 --> 00:10:16.280 Isaiah 54 calls God's people to respond to this incredible act of sacrificial love and bounty. 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:21.180 It gives us a picture, a vision of what it looks like to be astounded by the love of God 00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:27.799 in such a way that, like, transforms us and transforms our lives to live radical lives of love as well. 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:34.000 So let's turn our attention to this poetic image from Isaiah 54 here starting in verse 1. 00:10:35.819 --> 00:10:41.939 Now, I want you to notice in verse 1 that the very first thing that the prophetic voice basically 00:10:41.939 --> 00:10:50.219 calls out and commands the people to, in response to the love of God, it isn't try harder or like, 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:56.300 oh man, you really owe God, you guys, so you better go do something hard, do something costly for him. 00:10:56.860 --> 00:10:59.200 No, it's just sing. 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:01.480 Verse 1, sing. 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:07.279 See, God's love doesn't just call for like cognitive understanding and agreement from our heads or even 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:10.639 active busyness and productivity from our hands. 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:14.840 No, most importantly, it calls for a full and overflowing heart. 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:20.680 It calls for a singing soul, a response so deep that it's just reflexive and uncontainable. 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:26.700 Singing is what happens when God's love is not just understood or agreed upon but felt. 00:11:27.259 --> 00:11:28.899 And this is why Christians sing. 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:31.060 This is why we sing every single Sunday. 00:11:31.160 --> 00:11:32.700 It's so integral to our worship. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:38.019 It's an incredibly important spiritual discipline for God's people as we are being formed as people 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:38.639 of love. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:42.659 It's not that, you know, thing that we do here to stall so you can make it to church in time 00:11:42.659 --> 00:11:44.179 to at least hear the sermon, all right? 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:48.819 Singing isn't that expendable portion of Christian worship. 00:11:48.939 --> 00:11:54.139 No, it's essential to our formation, not just as Christians but as human beings. 00:11:55.159 --> 00:12:00.620 And maybe this sounds weird for some of us because our, you know, contemporary Western culture, 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:04.159 in this culture, you know, adults rarely sing, right? 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:10.480 Especially not together, singings largely shifted from being a communal, heartfelt, cultural expression 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:16.139 of the things that most move us to just something performed by entertainment professionals for 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:18.179 the rest of us to consume. 00:12:18.819 --> 00:12:22.240 Think of that scene from Elf, my all-time favorite movie, all right? 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:23.500 Will Ferrell's The Man. 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:26.120 Not thus saith the Lord, but I do like him a lot. 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:32.620 Think of that scene, though, where Buddy first shows up to his dad's office in the Empire 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:33.399 State Building, right? 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:38.779 Remember, he shows up for the first time and his dad's just, like, expecting a performance 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:39.379 from him. 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:42.679 Like, maybe throw his name into Jingle Bells or something like that. 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:48.539 And Buddy is put on the spot and so he sings, like, the most awkward and cringy song of the 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:49.139 whole movie. 00:12:49.459 --> 00:12:57.620 It's like, I'm here with my dad and we've never met and he wants me to sing him a song, 00:12:57.819 --> 00:12:58.120 right? 00:12:58.620 --> 00:12:59.059 I love it. 00:12:59.159 --> 00:12:59.579 I love it. 00:12:59.580 --> 00:13:04.620 See, for Buddy, though, Buddy has lived his whole life. 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:10.520 In his whole life, he's been singing communally with the full-throated Christmas spirit along 00:13:10.520 --> 00:13:13.540 with Santa and all the elves in the North Pole. 00:13:13.539 --> 00:13:20.860 But now in this New York office, with Christmas cheer at an all-time low, Buddy's dad, who actually 00:13:20.860 --> 00:13:26.199 used to love making music back in the days when he was young and in love, now Buddy's 00:13:26.199 --> 00:13:29.419 dad only sees music as a trivial commodity. 00:13:29.419 --> 00:13:35.059 Even after his change of heart toward Buddy, and even after he becomes a believer in Santa, 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:40.860 we see that he's still too embarrassed to sing in public with his fellow New Yorkers. 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:45.299 And his refusal to sing actually threatens to ruin Christmas for the entire world. 00:13:46.459 --> 00:13:48.979 But then, eventually what happens? 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:55.720 It's when he finally raises his voice with all of New York City, that's when Christmas is saved. 00:13:55.940 --> 00:14:01.379 And that's the moment when we're finally convinced that he's been saved, that his heart's been 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:03.519 transformed by like a newfound love. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.820 When he finally bursts into song, that's when we know. 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:12.860 That's when he comes alive and becomes the best, most human, most natural and endearing version 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:18.300 of himself, with the movie ending with him like leisurely, beautifully, and soulfully making music 00:14:18.300 --> 00:14:21.039 with his family by the Christmas tree, right? 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:23.560 And this is what Isaiah is getting at. 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:28.000 This is what he has in mind for the love-soaked, love-transformed people of God 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:32.100 when he implores them to sing in response to what God has so lovingly done for them. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:33.779 Singing is what God's people do. 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:38.139 It's the natural expression of those who've been astounded by the love of God. 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:42.840 But what's also intriguing about this passage is not just that it starts with a command 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:45.660 to sing, but also who it tells to sing. 00:14:46.060 --> 00:14:50.240 Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child. 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:54.240 Burst in a song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor. 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:57.820 Here God's people are being personified by a barren woman. 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:01.100 And not just a barren woman who never gave birth, but also a desolate woman. 00:15:01.160 --> 00:15:04.700 You could translate that as an appalling, deserted, desolate woman. 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:11.100 And remember, being barren, unwanted, and deserted in this culture would have been like the greatest 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:16.240 possible disappointment and shame in this society. 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:22.100 To not be wanted, to not have a family and bear offspring in that day, to be seen as undesirable 00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:22.980 and unproductive. 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:26.279 No woman would ever write that story for herself. 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:28.379 And this is what happened. 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:29.779 This is what had happened to Israel. 00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:34.560 Israel found herself diminished and undone, exiled, and tossed to and fro by the powers 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:38.699 that be far from the flourishing vineyard that God meant for her to be. 00:15:39.819 --> 00:15:45.179 And yet, because of the great love with which God loved her, this barren and deserted woman 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:49.339 is invited here to sing, burst into song, shout for joy. 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:52.500 Not because God was going to finally make her fertile all of a sudden. 00:15:52.619 --> 00:15:56.099 Look, it says, shout for joy, you who were never in labor. 00:15:56.739 --> 00:16:01.659 So somehow, just as the suffering servant somehow ended up seeing the light of life, God was going 00:16:01.659 --> 00:16:07.139 to make this woman, He was going to make this barren woman fruitful without making her fertile. 00:16:07.959 --> 00:16:13.860 Shout for joy, you who were never in labor, because more are the children of the desolate 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:16.379 woman than of her who has a husband. 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:21.759 Somehow, this barren, desolate woman is going to have more children than the ancient trad wife. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:22.199 All right? 00:16:23.199 --> 00:16:29.079 And in light of this, this barren woman is being called by God not only to sing with joy about 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:33.360 what He's going to do, but to live and to make plans in light of all the children, all the 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.840 descendants shall eventually have in the future. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:42.840 Verse 2, enlarge the place of your tent, stretch out your tent curtains wide, do not hold back, 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:44.820 lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:46.820 Basically, build a bigger house. 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:49.560 Do the work of planning for God's abundance. 00:16:49.900 --> 00:16:50.420 Start now. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:55.480 Make room for all that God wants to do in your life, all that God wants to give you beyond 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:57.200 what you could ever imagine. 00:16:57.620 --> 00:17:00.560 Verse 3, for you will spread out to the right and to the left. 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:04.099 Your descendants will even dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:09.220 He's saying, you are going to have a victorious, sprawling offspring across the whole earth. 00:17:09.360 --> 00:17:14.279 What Isaiah 54 is saying to God's people is that no matter how barren we may feel, no matter 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:20.220 how desolate, appalling, deserted, no matter how much scarcity and limitation we face, God's 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:26.860 always got a better plan and future for us because of His suffering and risen servant. 00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:32.759 And not only are we encouraged to sing of that great comfort and hope, but even today, even 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:38.779 before we see the fulfillment of the promise, we are called to enlarge our tents, to live 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:41.600 into God's future now as though it's already arrived. 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:46.220 We're called to make room, make space now for God's abundance in our lives. 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:48.600 And listen, I'm not preaching the prosperity gospel here. 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:53.559 Actually, that God is saying these things to the barren and desolate woman, that somehow 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:58.259 she'll have more children than the woman with the husband, even though never going into labor, 00:17:58.879 --> 00:18:03.759 that's actually proof that God's not promising the barren woman here the storyline she would 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:05.480 have chosen or written for herself. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:12.159 No, He's promising her a fruitfulness she never could have conceived or engineered, a better 00:18:12.159 --> 00:18:15.500 story than the one she'd ever have written for herself. 00:18:15.500 --> 00:18:19.720 When God says, enlarge your tent, make room for my abundance in your life, He's not saying, 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:23.779 all right, start maxing out those credit cards, set yourself up for that dream life. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:31.240 No, He's saying, prepare yourself for my perfect and better future for you, my better plan for 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:31.500 you. 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:37.000 We talked about this on the first Sunday Advent, that this God, He's a God of hope, right, 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:43.299 which means that He is a God of surprises, the ultimate author of our lives who orchestrates 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:49.359 fruitfulness out of our perceived barrenness in ways that, like, defy our limited imaginations. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:53.420 So the application question is, are we willing to accept this? 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:59.579 God's better plans to make us fruitful His way, even without making us fertile in the way 00:18:59.579 --> 00:19:01.480 maybe we initially hoped. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:08.779 You know, all the way back in 1916, there were these two African-American girls. 00:19:08.899 --> 00:19:14.599 They were 15 years old, and they had been going through a Bible study with this young German-American 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:18.399 woman named Lillian Crager, and eventually they became Christians. 00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:19.659 They converted to Christianity. 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:24.039 Now, Lillian belonged to a church in Midtown Manhattan. 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:30.200 And so the two girls, they were willing to commute from Harlem down to Midtown Manhattan. 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:34.399 They just wanted to be part of the church that Lillian belonged to, so they sought membership 00:19:34.399 --> 00:19:34.720 there. 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:39.899 But because of the color of their skin, these two girls were denied membership. 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:44.539 So what these girls did was they asked Lillian, well, would you be willing to come up to Harlem 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:50.440 to continue leading us in Bible study so we could learn more, so we could reach more of our 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:51.359 friends here in Harlem? 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:53.019 And that's what Lillian did. 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:56.599 She went up to Harlem every week, and she led a Bible study for them. 00:19:56.879 --> 00:20:01.039 She commuted uptown to Harlem, away from her family, right? 00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:05.559 But the thing was, Lillian's family was very displeased with this. 00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:12.200 They ostracized her and how she was mixing with colored people, and not just her, like, 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:15.039 immediate household, but she was actually also engaged. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:21.539 So her fiancé, he threatened to call off the wedding if she continued her ministry in Harlem. 00:20:21.539 --> 00:20:28.500 So as you could imagine, Lillian agonized over this, the sense of calling to these girls 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:32.920 in Harlem, and yet also her good, her good natural desire to be married, to become a mom, 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:34.379 to start a family. 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:42.220 But as the story goes in Lillian Crager's inner conflict, God spoke a clear word to her, 00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:46.720 and she came upon this very text that we're looking at this morning, Isaiah 54, 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:52.680 more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband. 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:55.259 And that was it for her. 00:20:55.960 --> 00:21:01.559 She chose the 15-year-old converts from Harlem over her family, over her fiancé, over the future 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:03.460 she thought she was about to have. 00:21:03.460 --> 00:21:05.759 And it cost her dearly. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:12.039 But within a year, there was a group of 12 Christians now in Harlem gathered as a result 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:13.039 of her Bible studies. 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:16.039 They launched a church called Bethel Gospel Assembly. 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:24.559 And in this church, Bethel Gospel Assembly, Lillian Crager soon became known as Mother Crager. 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:29.440 And this church eventually blew up to 1,200 members. 00:21:30.859 --> 00:21:35.399 See, Lillian Crager could have settled down with a nice home, a nice nuclear family in 00:21:35.399 --> 00:21:40.279 midtown Manhattan, but instead she chose to enlarge her tent. 00:21:41.139 --> 00:21:44.519 She chose to live into the future more than into the present. 00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:49.379 Instead of living into the German-American dream of 1916 with maybe like five kids in a 00:21:49.379 --> 00:21:52.940 four-bedroom apartment, she chose to live into the new creation future. 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:59.620 As a citizen of the kingdom of heaven where her family consisted of people from every nation, 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:01.759 tribe, and tongue, of every skin color and culture. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:07.140 That's what people do when they are secure in the love of God. 00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:13.920 They love without abandon, even at great cost, because they are no longer afraid of what they 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:14.580 might lose. 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:19.620 And that brings us to verse four where the prophet has more to say about how to respond to the 00:22:19.620 --> 00:22:20.700 sacrificial love of God. 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:23.620 He says, sing, barren woman, enlarge your tent. 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:26.279 And then here in verse four, he says, do not be afraid. 00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:28.220 You will not be put to shame. 00:22:28.340 --> 00:22:29.279 Do not fear disgrace. 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:31.000 You will not be humiliated. 00:22:31.580 --> 00:22:36.519 You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:40.059 See, barrenness isn't our only problem. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:45.220 For many of us, we don't just feel barren and empty and infertile, but also, and maybe worse, 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:51.220 we feel ashamed, disgraced, disqualified, and fearful of God's wrath. 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:53.400 Because we know we've fallen short. 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:55.360 There's no mistake about it. 00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:58.539 Israel had fallen far, far short of God's standards. 00:22:59.420 --> 00:23:03.319 We know all the ways that we've screwed up and failed to live up to even just our own 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:05.319 standards, let alone God's standards. 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:10.740 And so it makes sense to us that God would be angry, that we've forfeited a peaceful and 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:14.200 loving relationship with our Creator because of all the pollution that we've introduced 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:15.240 into His creation. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:18.500 All the words we've spoken that we wish we could unsay. 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:23.919 All the relationships we've damaged, left unrepaired, and have to kind of anxiously navigate, 00:23:24.159 --> 00:23:25.559 especially during the holiday season. 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:31.960 All the patterns we promised ourselves and we promised God that we would give up, that 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:35.359 we were done with, but that actually linger in our lives. 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:40.839 This is what the Bible calls sin, unrighteousness, unfaithfulness. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:47.039 And we all have a ton of it on our records, just as the people of Israel, who God did angrily 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:48.500 abandon and hide His face from. 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:52.339 As it says here in verse 7, God admits, I did abandon you, I did hide my face from you 00:23:52.339 --> 00:23:57.419 because sin is real, and God is right and righteous to be angry with sin and to forsake 00:23:57.419 --> 00:23:58.279 the unfaithful. 00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:02.379 So this record of sin, it actually makes us all wonder, right? 00:24:02.419 --> 00:24:06.159 Not just whether God can bring a brighter future out of our barren circumstances, but 00:24:06.159 --> 00:24:11.079 also whether our past has put us beyond the reach of God's love for us. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:18.980 And it's to this sensible feeling of shame, disgrace, and fear that God speaks to us through 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:19.399 the prophet. 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:23.259 Not with denial, not with the minimization of our flaws, but with the promise. 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:24.800 Do not be afraid. 00:24:25.120 --> 00:24:26.340 You will not be put to shame. 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:27.120 How? 00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:28.060 Why not? 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:32.040 Verse 5, for your maker is your husband. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:36.860 This isn't don't be afraid because what you did isn't that bad. 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:37.940 You'll do better next time. 00:24:38.060 --> 00:24:43.460 No, this is do not be afraid because of who I am to you and for you. 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:44.160 I'm your maker. 00:24:44.800 --> 00:24:48.300 The one who knit you in your mother's womb, brought you into existence. 00:24:48.299 --> 00:24:51.359 The one who knows you inside and out, up and down. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:55.279 And the one who didn't just have the power to create you, but the one who also still has 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:57.180 the power to recreate you. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.319 And I've chosen to be more than a maker to you. 00:25:00.419 --> 00:25:02.759 I've chosen to bind myself to you in love. 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:07.240 As a husband, to a wife, the Lord Almighty, literally the Lord of hosts. 00:25:07.639 --> 00:25:09.359 All the hosts of heaven are at my disposal. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:12.019 I'm more powerful than you could ever imagine. 00:25:12.659 --> 00:25:13.559 And I choose you. 00:25:14.159 --> 00:25:16.979 I'm committed to you always and forever. 00:25:17.719 --> 00:25:20.899 And not only is your maker your husband, but the holy one, it says. 00:25:21.179 --> 00:25:22.500 The one of a kind. 00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:24.219 Holy, holy, holy. 00:25:24.379 --> 00:25:25.839 Standard of purity himself. 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:29.240 The holy one is also your redeemer. 00:25:29.919 --> 00:25:32.039 The one who claims you as his own. 00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:34.279 Takes responsibility for you. 00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:38.759 Purchases you at a cost and publicly declares your worth. 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:40.599 The God of all the earth, it says here. 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:42.660 The one to whom all creation belongs. 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:47.839 He says, I am still willing to pay for you in addition to all that I already have. 00:25:48.859 --> 00:25:50.480 Your maker is your husband. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:52.700 And the holy one is your redeemer. 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:55.980 This isn't just abstract, like theological God language. 00:25:56.099 --> 00:25:56.819 This is personal. 00:25:57.539 --> 00:26:00.220 This is I am yours and you are mine forever. 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:00.339 Forever. 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:02.700 This is God saying, I will have you. 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:03.700 I will cover you. 00:26:03.900 --> 00:26:05.700 I will bind my future to yours. 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:07.440 This is what God says to his people. 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:09.400 You are worth redeeming to me. 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:12.120 You are worth loving to me. 00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:16.579 And I wonder if that's the word you need to hear this morning. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:21.140 Maybe something you've heard before, but something you need to hear fresh. 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:22.920 That God loves you. 00:26:24.140 --> 00:26:26.579 God loves you. 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:30.019 You, the holy one, the maker. 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:37.519 He's willing to pay the price, bear the cost for you, to redeem you. 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:45.939 You, us, poor, wretched, barren, and bumbling, sinful, rebellious, unfaithful, ungrateful, us. 00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:47.859 This is the gospel. 00:26:48.899 --> 00:26:50.480 This is the good news of Christianity. 00:26:51.419 --> 00:26:52.899 That God loves you. 00:26:52.900 --> 00:27:00.040 This is the news that inspires our songs and our courage to live in love no matter the cost. 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:03.200 The news that casts out all fear, erases all shame. 00:27:03.360 --> 00:27:04.800 This is the God of the Bible. 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:09.680 A God who does not wait for you to find your way home, but calls, pursues, initiates. 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:11.960 Can you hear his voice to you this morning? 00:27:12.080 --> 00:27:12.900 God loves you. 00:27:14.360 --> 00:27:16.000 Even if you feel far from him. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:18.980 You haven't been in his presence in quite a while. 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:48.960 Verse 6 says, 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:51.880 That's what he's focused on. 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:54.279 That's what he wants, to show you that he loves you. 00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:59.380 He will ever and always be calling back to himself the ones that he loves at great cost, 00:27:59.500 --> 00:28:02.960 at cost of energy and patience, at great emotional cost. 00:28:03.860 --> 00:28:05.680 But he's your redeemer. 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:08.700 He's willing to spend it on you. 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:11.599 Even after you've gone after other lovers, 00:28:12.460 --> 00:28:14.980 even in your barrenness and undesirability, 00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:16.860 he runs toward the rejected. 00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:20.919 He's a God whose compassion runs deeper than his dismay. 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:22.039 Verse 7, 00:28:22.379 --> 00:28:25.740 For a brief moment, I did abandon you, he says, 00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:29.339 but with deep compassion, I will bring you back. 00:28:29.419 --> 00:28:30.059 Likewise, verse 8, 00:28:30.259 --> 00:28:33.399 In a surge, in a quick outburst of anger or wrath, 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:35.559 I did hide my face from you briefly. 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:36.819 For a moment, he says, 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:42.759 But with everlasting kindness, I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:45.000 Do you see the contrast here in verses 7 and 8? 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:49.339 Do you see the asymmetry between his real anger, absence, and judgment, 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:52.019 and his massively outsized love? 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:53.740 Abandonment for a brief moment, 00:28:54.159 --> 00:28:57.339 but deep, deeper compassion that brings you back. 00:28:57.700 --> 00:29:00.579 A surge of wrath, a moment of hiding his face, 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:04.559 but everlasting kindness and love. 00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:08.659 The glory of the gospel is that God's wrath is real, but it's not ultimate. 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:13.439 His compassion is greater, his love lasts longer, and his commitment runs deeper. 00:29:13.899 --> 00:29:16.480 And I wonder, do you know that kind of love? 00:29:17.419 --> 00:29:21.679 This love unfailing and unshakable that can survive our barrenness, 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:24.579 at last our rebellion, overwhelm our shame. 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:28.419 If we want to be who God made us to be, 00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:30.919 if we want to be people of love, 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:36.259 if we want this kind of radical, self-giving, sacrificial love to flow from us, 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:38.699 if that is how we want to show up in this broken world, 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:42.240 where selfishness far outweighs our selflessness, 00:29:43.159 --> 00:29:47.939 we have to be captured, we have to be captivated by this amazing love of God, 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:51.839 the absolutely unique love of God that was lavished upon us 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:55.480 when Jesus Christ, the suffering servant, bore our sins, 00:29:55.939 --> 00:29:58.359 took on himself the punishment our sins deserved, 00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:00.459 and brought us healing by his wounds. 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:05.519 This is the only way we will ever be formed into people of love. 00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:08.980 You know, recently I sat down with a pastor 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:11.240 that we just wanted to get to know each other, 00:30:11.399 --> 00:30:14.939 and this pastor, he basically lived like my worst nightmare. 00:30:15.059 --> 00:30:16.339 And honestly, in more ways than one, 00:30:16.399 --> 00:30:19.419 but one of the ways was that his wife had an affair. 00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:21.200 She cheated on him. 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:25.080 And from what I could tell, man, this pastor did everything right. 00:30:25.180 --> 00:30:26.060 He loved his wife. 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:27.820 They actually had a great relationship. 00:30:28.420 --> 00:30:30.900 It wasn't like he fell into any of the normal traps 00:30:30.900 --> 00:30:33.140 that you hear all these other pastors falling into. 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:34.800 No, this was a man who kept God first. 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:37.180 He devoted himself to prayer and fasting. 00:30:37.340 --> 00:30:38.300 He was loved by his people. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:40.700 In fact, his people still miss him as their pastor. 00:30:40.820 --> 00:30:44.019 This church that he planted, right, 15 years ago, 00:30:44.060 --> 00:30:46.740 he invested 15 years of his life in this church. 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:50.980 But ultimately, long story short, this pastor's wife's infidelity 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:52.220 cost him his job. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:54.180 It nearly broke his family. 00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:56.640 It buried him in questions of shame, like, 00:30:56.759 --> 00:30:57.779 was I not enough for her? 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:00.140 And what does this say about me as a pastor? 00:31:01.099 --> 00:31:02.680 He had all the potential to break him, 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:04.480 all the potential to silence his singing, 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:06.620 push him into self-protection mode, 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:08.779 and let him waste away in shame. 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:11.779 But the pastor I met was not a man 00:31:11.779 --> 00:31:14.680 wallowing in self-pity or victimhood. 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:18.660 Yes, he's got scars, but he held his head high, 00:31:19.320 --> 00:31:20.700 and he's forgiven his wife, 00:31:21.400 --> 00:31:23.279 and they're still together three years later. 00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:25.460 He speaks no ill of her. 00:31:25.560 --> 00:31:27.980 In fact, he remains her greatest defender and supporter. 00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:31.740 He's still able to celebrate who she is, 00:31:32.120 --> 00:31:32.980 who she's becoming. 00:31:33.180 --> 00:31:34.860 In fact, he told me that their marriage today, 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:37.340 three years after the incident, after the affair, 00:31:37.560 --> 00:31:39.360 is better than it's ever been. 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:43.019 And I was just blown away to hear this. 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:45.399 And then you know what he said to me? 00:31:46.359 --> 00:31:47.179 He said to me, 00:31:47.619 --> 00:31:50.459 there is absolutely no way I could have survived any of this. 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:51.879 No way I could have forgiven her. 00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:54.399 No way my family could have weathered this. 00:31:55.119 --> 00:31:56.240 Apart from the gospel. 00:31:57.619 --> 00:31:59.019 Apart from the cross. 00:31:59.179 --> 00:32:01.299 Apart from knowing, trusting, and wanting to live out 00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:03.559 what Jesus has done for me. 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:07.980 Can you imagine if the world was filled 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:10.039 with this kind of love? 00:32:11.139 --> 00:32:12.740 These kinds of loving people. 00:32:12.879 --> 00:32:14.659 So secure in the love of Christ 00:32:14.659 --> 00:32:16.819 that we could love anyone in any circumstance 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:19.879 because of Christ's steadfast love for us. 00:32:20.599 --> 00:32:22.059 See, this kind of love, 00:32:22.099 --> 00:32:24.759 it doesn't come from personality or willpower 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:26.039 or wishful optimism. 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:27.619 It doesn't make sense. 00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:29.779 It doesn't make sense unless, 00:32:29.779 --> 00:32:32.279 unless the love of Christ is real and true 00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:33.519 and at work in us. 00:32:33.879 --> 00:32:35.799 It doesn't make sense unless we are sure 00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:37.299 that justice has been paid 00:32:37.299 --> 00:32:38.660 and every repentant sin covered 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:41.299 and atoned for by the blood of Jesus Christ. 00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:43.920 Yet this is exactly the kind of love 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:44.779 that the world needs. 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:47.579 This is what each of us desperately needs. 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:49.660 The security of the love of God 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:52.200 so secure we can sing in any circumstance, 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:55.359 so secure we can even enlarge our tense 00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:57.220 in anticipation of God's promises, 00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:59.279 so secure that our shame and disgrace, 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:02.399 are overshadowed by His compassionate pursuit of us. 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:05.019 It's not a love that overlooks our sin, 00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:07.039 but a love that overcomes our sin 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:09.319 by the sacrificial work of Christ. 00:33:09.420 --> 00:33:10.139 Look at verse nine. 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:13.079 God says here, yeah, your sins are bad. 00:33:13.339 --> 00:33:16.160 So bad I could and should have blot you out for them. 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:17.759 To me, this is just like the days of Noah. 00:33:17.819 --> 00:33:18.839 Your sins are that bad. 00:33:19.019 --> 00:33:20.619 They demand a cosmic flood. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:24.119 But again, the beauty of the gospel 00:33:24.119 --> 00:33:26.700 is that God is more committed to saving 00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:27.460 than slaughtering. 00:33:27.900 --> 00:33:29.360 And He is far better at saving 00:33:29.360 --> 00:33:31.140 than even we are at sinning. 00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:34.400 So just like He swore in mercy 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:36.580 that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth, 00:33:36.779 --> 00:33:37.480 He says here, 00:33:37.620 --> 00:33:39.880 so now I have sworn not to be angry. 00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:40.600 You can translate, 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:42.500 not to be wrathful with you, 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:44.400 never to rebuke you again. 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:46.019 And this is just incredible. 00:33:46.019 --> 00:33:49.359 Basically, God is comparing His love for you 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:51.879 to one of the most solemn and solid oaths 00:33:51.879 --> 00:33:53.319 He has ever made in human history. 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:55.700 And then He says something even stronger in verse 10. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:58.500 Though the immovable mountains be shaken 00:33:58.500 --> 00:34:01.200 and the steadfast hills be removed, 00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:06.299 yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:10.460 nor my covenant of peace be removed. 00:34:10.460 --> 00:34:12.920 Can you think of a greater oath, 00:34:13.720 --> 00:34:15.699 a more trustworthy promise, 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:17.199 a firmer foundation? 00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:20.019 God doesn't swear by something greater than Himself 00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:21.539 because there is nothing greater. 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:22.380 He is the Lord. 00:34:22.500 --> 00:34:24.280 He is Yahweh the I Am. 00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:26.619 And I love how it's put in Hebrews, 00:34:27.460 --> 00:34:30.199 in the Hebrew here in verse 10 where He says, 00:34:31.300 --> 00:34:31.480 again, 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:32.900 though the mountains be shaken 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:34.800 and the hills be removed, 00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:38.400 yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:40.019 nor my covenant of peace be removed, 00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:40.619 says, 00:34:40.679 --> 00:34:41.579 and literally in the Hebrew, 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:42.420 says, 00:34:43.059 --> 00:34:44.360 the compassion toward you, 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:44.719 Lord. 00:34:45.179 --> 00:34:46.219 That's how it reads here, 00:34:46.280 --> 00:34:47.059 literally in the Hebrew. 00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:48.780 Not just says the Lord, 00:34:49.019 --> 00:34:50.820 says the compassion toward you, 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:51.320 Lord. 00:34:52.420 --> 00:34:54.740 Like all He ever had to be 00:34:54.740 --> 00:34:56.159 was the Lord, 00:34:56.719 --> 00:34:57.219 Yahweh, 00:34:57.699 --> 00:34:58.639 but out of love, 00:34:59.159 --> 00:35:00.219 out of sacrificial, 00:35:00.219 --> 00:35:00.959 unfailing, 00:35:01.099 --> 00:35:02.279 and unshakable love. 00:35:02.359 --> 00:35:03.219 He has committed Himself 00:35:03.219 --> 00:35:05.039 to not just being the Lord, 00:35:05.159 --> 00:35:07.119 but the compassion toward you, 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:07.939 Lord. 00:35:08.819 --> 00:35:11.199 By entering into this oath and covenant, 00:35:11.299 --> 00:35:13.179 He has literally taken on an identity 00:35:13.179 --> 00:35:14.980 that has you, 00:35:15.459 --> 00:35:17.399 that includes you in who He is. 00:35:18.659 --> 00:35:20.439 And He hasn't just sworn a covenant of love 00:35:20.439 --> 00:35:21.639 and peace with us, 00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:24.019 but He's proven it in Christ. 00:35:24.899 --> 00:35:26.059 His love is sworn, 00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:28.739 and His Son's been slain. 00:35:28.739 --> 00:35:32.159 So how could we not live 00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:32.739 in the unfailing, 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:35.159 unshakable love of God, 00:35:35.279 --> 00:35:36.619 singing even in our barrenness, 00:35:36.879 --> 00:35:37.779 enlarging our tents 00:35:37.779 --> 00:35:39.979 according to God's future perfect promises, 00:35:40.179 --> 00:35:41.299 being honest about our sin, 00:35:41.599 --> 00:35:43.859 and yet without descending into fear or shame, 00:35:43.919 --> 00:35:46.099 but rather pouring ourselves out in love 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:47.439 because God's love for us 00:35:47.439 --> 00:35:48.099 has been sworn, 00:35:48.479 --> 00:35:48.699 proven, 00:35:48.839 --> 00:35:50.679 and can never be taken from us. 00:35:50.879 --> 00:35:51.019 See, 00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:51.399 this, 00:35:51.799 --> 00:35:52.939 this is what happens 00:35:52.939 --> 00:35:54.699 when people are shaped 00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:55.799 and transformed 00:35:55.799 --> 00:35:57.159 into people of love. 00:35:57.159 --> 00:35:59.460 God's love frees us 00:35:59.460 --> 00:36:01.239 to give our polar bears away. 00:36:02.940 --> 00:36:05.139 It's a love unfailing and unshakable. 00:36:05.299 --> 00:36:05.839 So this Advent, 00:36:06.059 --> 00:36:06.859 this Christmas, 00:36:07.799 --> 00:36:09.679 let's spend ourselves freely 00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:12.000 because this love we did not earn 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:14.920 is also love we cannot lose. 00:36:15.799 --> 00:36:16.460 Let's pray. 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:16.480 Let's pray. 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:22.400 Oh Lord, 00:36:22.460 --> 00:36:23.320 we love the gospel. 00:36:24.420 --> 00:36:25.460 It is good news 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:28.039 that you've loved us 00:36:28.039 --> 00:36:29.900 not because of anything in us, 00:36:31.099 --> 00:36:32.840 but as you said to your people of old, 00:36:33.099 --> 00:36:33.840 you just loved us 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:34.639 because you loved us 00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:35.460 because you loved us. 00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:37.119 It's all about who you are 00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:38.179 and not who we are. 00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:39.400 But in that, 00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:39.599 Lord, 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:40.980 you've given us worth. 00:36:41.059 --> 00:36:42.579 You've given us an identity. 00:36:42.579 --> 00:36:46.380 And just as we did not earn it, 00:36:46.639 --> 00:36:47.079 oh Lord, 00:36:47.279 --> 00:36:49.139 we celebrate that we cannot lose it, 00:36:50.039 --> 00:36:51.019 your love toward us. 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:53.099 So let us live out of it, 00:36:53.199 --> 00:36:53.360 Lord, 00:36:54.179 --> 00:36:55.380 as sacrificial people, 00:36:55.980 --> 00:36:57.779 as the body of Christ, 00:36:58.779 --> 00:37:00.340 as those who see 00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:01.340 and believe 00:37:01.340 --> 00:37:02.279 that what he's done 00:37:02.279 --> 00:37:03.360 is the most beautiful thing 00:37:03.360 --> 00:37:04.139 in all of history, 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:06.759 as those who want to share 00:37:06.759 --> 00:37:08.119 his good news 00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:09.219 and shine his light 00:37:09.219 --> 00:37:10.980 and bring his hope, 00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:12.239 bring his hope to the world, 00:37:12.399 --> 00:37:12.619 God. 00:37:13.439 --> 00:37:14.739 Would you do that in us 00:37:14.739 --> 00:37:15.500 by your spirit, 00:37:15.980 --> 00:37:16.619 by your word, 00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:17.139 we pray 00:37:17.139 --> 00:37:18.559 in Jesus' name. 00:37:19.359 --> 00:37:19.599 Amen.