WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.120 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:15.300 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:35.340 Good morning, I'm Melissa Arsuniega and I'm part of the North Berkeley Tuesday Night Community Group at the Wesolowskis. 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:43.579 Today's scripture reading is from the book of Isaiah, chapter 59, verses 1-21, as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:46.900 A reading from the prophet Isaiah. 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:53.100 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 00:00:53.699 --> 00:00:57.060 But your iniquities have separated you from your God. 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:01.839 Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. 00:01:02.879 --> 00:01:06.640 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:12.039 Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:14.760 No one calls for justice. 00:01:15.140 --> 00:01:17.140 No one pleads a case with integrity. 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:19.719 They rely on empty arguments. 00:01:20.060 --> 00:01:21.040 They utter lies. 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:23.900 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. 00:01:24.800 --> 00:01:28.680 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:31.660 Whoever eats their eggs will die. 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:35.219 And when one is broken, an adder is hatched. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.260 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing. 00:01:38.880 --> 00:01:41.140 They cannot cover themselves with what they make. 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:43.680 Their deeds are evil deeds. 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:46.579 The acts of violence are in their hands. 00:01:47.299 --> 00:01:49.060 Their feet rush into sin. 00:01:49.420 --> 00:01:51.680 They are swift to shed innocent blood. 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:54.019 They pursue evil schemes. 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:56.819 Acts of violence mark their ways. 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:00.500 The way of peace they do not know. 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:03.099 There is no justice in their paths. 00:02:03.740 --> 00:02:05.960 They have turned them into crooked roads. 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:08.520 No one walks along. 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:10.560 Them will know peace. 00:02:11.139 --> 00:02:14.259 So justice is far from us. 00:02:14.259 --> 00:02:16.500 And righteousness does not reach us. 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:19.159 We look for light, but always darkness. 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:22.639 For brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:27.120 Like the blind, we grope along the wall. 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:30.179 Feeling our way like people without eyes. 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:33.879 At midday, we stumble as if it were twilight. 00:02:35.019 --> 00:02:37.180 Among the strong, we are like the dead. 00:02:37.180 --> 00:02:39.300 We all growl like bears. 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:42.060 We moan mournfully like doves. 00:02:42.540 --> 00:02:45.599 We look for justice, but find none. 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:48.680 For deliverance, but it is far away. 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:52.700 For our offenses are many in your sight. 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:55.240 And our sins testify against us. 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:57.819 Our offenses are ever with us. 00:02:58.140 --> 00:02:59.879 And we acknowledge our iniquities. 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:03.500 Rebellion and treachery against the Lord. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:05.879 Turning our backs on our God. 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:08.219 Inciting revolt and oppression. 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:11.379 Uttering lies our hearts have conceived. 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:14.879 So justice is driven back. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:17.199 And righteousness stands at a distance. 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:19.939 Truth has stumbled in the streets. 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:22.039 Honesty cannot enter. 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:24.500 Truth is nowhere to be found. 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:27.019 And whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:31.340 The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. 00:03:31.959 --> 00:03:33.879 He saw that there was no one. 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:38.299 He was appalled that there was no one to intervene. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:42.419 So his own arm achieved salvation for him. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:45.159 And his own righteousness sustained him. 00:03:46.459 --> 00:03:49.319 He put on righteousness as his breastplate. 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:52.000 And the helmet of salvation on his head. 00:03:52.519 --> 00:03:54.239 He put on the garments of vengeance. 00:03:54.799 --> 00:03:57.459 And wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:00.439 According to what they have done. 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:02.139 So will he repay. 00:04:02.859 --> 00:04:04.060 Wrath to his enemies. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:06.439 And retribution to his foes. 00:04:06.799 --> 00:04:08.819 He will repay the islands their due. 00:04:09.939 --> 00:04:10.799 From the west. 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:13.419 People will fear the name of the Lord. 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:15.899 And from the rising of the sun. 00:04:15.899 --> 00:04:18.219 They will revere in his glory. 00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:19.420 His glory. 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:22.240 For he will come like a pent-up flood. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.500 That the breath of the Lord drives along. 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.120 The redeemer will come to Zion. 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:30.080 To those in Jacob who repent of their sins. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:31.180 Declares the Lord. 00:04:31.840 --> 00:04:32.840 As for me. 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:34.860 This is my covenant with them. 00:04:35.400 --> 00:04:36.240 Says the Lord. 00:04:36.980 --> 00:04:38.740 My spirit who is on you. 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:40.759 Who will not depart from you. 00:04:41.020 --> 00:04:43.080 And my words that I have put in your mouth. 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:45.280 Will always be on your lips. 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:47.079 On the lips of your children. 00:04:47.599 --> 00:04:49.119 And on the lips of their descendants. 00:04:49.799 --> 00:04:50.859 From this time on. 00:04:51.039 --> 00:04:51.479 And forever. 00:04:51.859 --> 00:04:52.639 Says the Lord. 00:04:53.359 --> 00:04:54.319 The grass withers. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:55.399 And the flowers fall. 00:04:56.059 --> 00:04:57.259 The glory for God. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:04:58.199 Say it forever. 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:07.300 Thank you Melissa. 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:08.719 For that scripture reading. 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:09.399 Good morning everyone. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:10.199 My name is Andrew. 00:05:10.740 --> 00:05:11.879 I'm one of the pastors here. 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:15.680 And I look forward to getting into God's word with you this morning. 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:17.079 Will you pray with me? 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:24.300 Father we pray that we would come into your presence. 00:05:24.919 --> 00:05:26.659 Attentive to your word this morning. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:32.279 That we would believe that we shall not live by bread alone. 00:05:32.419 --> 00:05:35.899 But by every word that comes from your mouth. 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:43.019 Help us to see that what is preached is not mere thoughts. 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:44.579 Mere religious teachings. 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:46.019 But life itself. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:47.919 From our creator. 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:48.699 Our maker. 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:49.939 And our redeemer. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.379 And in the preaching of your word. 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:55.719 Oh God we pray that you would convince and convict us. 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:57.319 Of the sinfulness of sin. 00:05:58.419 --> 00:06:01.639 And the sweetness of our salvation in Jesus Christ. 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:06.299 Oh God to quote our children's director Jane George. 00:06:07.219 --> 00:06:09.719 We for every one look we take at our sin. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:10.879 Look to you. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:11.939 And look to Christ. 00:06:11.939 --> 00:06:12.819 A hundred times. 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:13.939 A thousand times more. 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:17.699 And would we know the goodness of the good news. 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:19.500 That Jesus has come. 00:06:20.060 --> 00:06:21.060 And he's coming again. 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:23.899 So be honored in the preaching of your word we pray. 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:25.219 In Jesus' name. 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:26.279 Amen. 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:28.920 So in case you're new. 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:33.439 Well clearly we are a church here that intentionally celebrates. 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:35.079 Or observes I should say. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:36.220 The season of Advent. 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:36.660 Advent. 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:37.560 And if you're like me. 00:06:37.640 --> 00:06:39.480 Like Jonathan mentioned earlier. 00:06:40.020 --> 00:06:42.220 I didn't grow up observing Advent. 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:43.580 And if you're like me. 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:44.580 You might need to also know. 00:06:44.820 --> 00:06:45.840 Again like Jonathan mentioned. 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:47.360 That Advent means coming. 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:47.740 All right. 00:06:47.820 --> 00:06:48.180 Coming. 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:50.440 That's what we are here to focus on. 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:51.480 And to me. 00:06:51.900 --> 00:06:53.420 This theme of coming. 00:06:53.780 --> 00:06:54.380 This theme of Advent. 00:06:54.379 --> 00:07:00.139 Advent is probably one of the most compelling themes in all of Christianity to me. 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:01.500 This theme of a Messiah. 00:07:01.719 --> 00:07:03.980 Of a salvation that is coming. 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:06.920 Coming as in not yet arrived. 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:09.360 But still definitely on the way. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:09.600 Right? 00:07:09.659 --> 00:07:12.920 A salvation that is sadly not yet here. 00:07:13.480 --> 00:07:17.819 And yet a certain salvation that is not yet here. 00:07:17.819 --> 00:07:29.680 I think Advent so beautifully captures and communicates these two realities that authentic Christianity has always tried to hold together both pain and promise. 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:30.339 Right? 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:31.620 This notion of a sure hope. 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:34.939 Not some escapist opiate for the masses. 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:35.420 Right? 00:07:35.539 --> 00:07:40.259 But a hope that's organically even tied to the story of suffering itself. 00:07:41.100 --> 00:07:42.519 There's a pastor I've been reading. 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:43.300 Vanessa Stricker. 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:45.079 She puts it like this in her Advent devotional. 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:47.279 Suffering is the birthplace. 00:07:47.819 --> 00:07:48.339 Of hope. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:55.500 And this hope is not mere wishful thinking like, oh I hope the Warriors win another championship this year. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.139 No, Christian hope. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:03.519 Though unseen and unrealized is something that's sure and secure in the mind of God. 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:07.980 And therefore it's something to be expected and anticipated by God's people. 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:10.279 I like how Ann Voskamp puts it. 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:15.860 The practice of Advent is participating in the ancient expectancy of the Messiah. 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:18.920 And ardently expecting him again. 00:08:19.900 --> 00:08:26.960 So really, and especially in this season of Advent, the Christian faith permits, even demands, that we keep it real. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:29.339 That's what we're here to do in worship today. 00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:30.719 We're here to keep it real. 00:08:30.819 --> 00:08:32.059 Real about all our brokenness. 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:32.980 All our yearnings. 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:33.740 Every hurt. 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:34.279 Every longing. 00:08:34.379 --> 00:08:35.620 It's all real. 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:42.240 And yet just as real as our every yearning is the hope that we have in the Messiah who has come. 00:08:42.699 --> 00:08:44.519 And who's coming again to save the world. 00:08:44.620 --> 00:08:45.539 To make all things new. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:47.139 To make all things right. 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:58.299 Now every Advent here at Christ Church, in order to sit and stew in this both Ann pain and promise reality, we lend our ears to the Hebrew prophets, as Jonathan mentioned. 00:08:58.299 --> 00:09:04.360 The Holy Spirit-inspired voices of old who also yearned for a coming Messiah, a coming salvation. 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:09.319 And so for these next four Sundays, as Jonathan mentioned, we're going to be heeding the prophetic voice of Isaiah. 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:13.720 Now opening up our passage today, we're actually in the final chapters of Isaiah. 00:09:14.280 --> 00:09:17.260 This prophetic voice to a post-exilic Israel. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.860 Those who returned from Babylon to Israel. 00:09:21.640 --> 00:09:25.160 Those who never thought that they would even see the promised land again. 00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:31.940 So just for context, this return from exile was a major event in the life and history of Israel. 00:09:31.940 --> 00:09:47.740 After seeing their walls, their kingdom, their temple destroyed, after yet another captivity underneath another pagan nation, because they broke their covenant with God, many of them wondered, you know, are we even going to be a people anymore? 00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:49.480 So this was a huge event. 00:09:49.760 --> 00:09:51.680 God bringing them home out of Babylon. 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.320 It was like being delivered out of Egypt all over again. 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:56.460 A major, major salvation event. 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:57.840 A major answer to prayers. 00:09:58.100 --> 00:09:59.620 A major mercy from God. 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:08.820 And so you might think that after this major mercy from God, all right, surely, surely by now, after 70 years of exile, surely Israel had learned her lesson, right? 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.720 Surely Israel would finally get it right, be all that Yahweh intended for her to be. 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:14.639 A light to the nations. 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:18.440 A servant of justice and shalom in all the world. 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:23.259 Surely this was going to be the beginning of the new Jerusalem and God's eternal kingdom, right? 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.740 But can I ask, have you ever hit rock bottom? 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:32.180 Like, found yourself in the pigsty just like the prodigal son, a victim of your own folly? 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:36.840 And have you ever experienced incredible mercy, incredible deliverance from God? 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:38.779 And have you ever promised God in response? 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:39.639 Like, wow, God. 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:41.419 Wow, God, thank you. 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:42.379 I promise. 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:44.519 I promise I'll be faithful from now on. 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:46.879 I promise I'll do whatever you want me to do. 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:49.659 I promise I'll do exactly what you want me to do. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:51.039 Be who you want me to be. 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:54.259 I will never let another drop of alcohol touch my tongue. 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:56.599 I will never put another toxic substance into my body. 00:10:56.679 --> 00:10:58.980 Never view another pornographic image. 00:10:59.099 --> 00:11:00.399 I will never lose my temper again. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:01.079 No more cutting. 00:11:01.379 --> 00:11:01.959 No more vomiting. 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:03.059 No more self-harm. 00:11:03.339 --> 00:11:03.860 Never again. 00:11:03.939 --> 00:11:05.860 Have you ever said such a thing to God? 00:11:05.939 --> 00:11:09.799 Made such a promise to Him after seeing His mercy and His kindness towards you? 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:11.240 I know I have. 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:14.179 But how many of us have kept our promises? 00:11:14.179 --> 00:11:21.219 How many of us have responded to the mercy and deliverance of God with a flawless faithfulness? 00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:28.799 See, Israel's story is a mirror of ours, particularly in their cycle of sin, their cycle of straying from God. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.299 If Israel's story and ours are any indication, sin is powerful. 00:11:33.939 --> 00:11:37.719 There is something menacingly powerful about sin. 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:44.800 There's this powerful pull to sin that perpetuates a pernicious pattern that destroys everything it touches. 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:53.200 And here at the end of Isaiah, the same spirit that was in Isaiah at the beginning of his ministry calling Israel to repent or else they would go into exile, 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:57.360 the same spirit calls out to post-exilic Israel yet again. 00:11:57.920 --> 00:11:59.120 To repent again. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:08.200 Because even after this second great salvation event in their nation's history, this newly delivered Israel has not been made truly new. 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:14.019 This new post-exilic Israel isn't yet the new Israel, the new Jerusalem. 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:19.399 Their sin and its toxic effects have continued just as before. 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:23.000 And so the question that this raises is, can God's hand really save? 00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:28.220 Or is the sin of God's people more potent than the strength of God's hand? 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:31.420 And I wonder how many of us have pondered this question ourselves. 00:12:31.540 --> 00:12:33.540 Like, can God really save us? 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:35.480 Even from ourselves? 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:39.100 The other week I got a call from a good friend of mine. 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:40.500 He reached out to me. 00:12:40.560 --> 00:12:45.980 He was distraught because of the damage that his porn addiction was wreaking on his relationship. 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:49.160 And he said to me, I want victory over this. 00:12:49.660 --> 00:12:51.639 And I want to believe I can have victory over this. 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:53.200 But I feel so helpless. 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:53.400 Yes. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:59.540 And I'm afraid that victory will elude me and destroy everything that I love. 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.600 And maybe this morning you find yourself in a similar pit. 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.759 A pit you've even dug for yourself and thrown yourself into yet again. 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:14.900 And then like, you want to cry out for God's help, but you know that you would be crying out to God for help with unclean lips. 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:18.579 And that your misery is largely a misery of your own making. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:22.439 And so you feel helpless, defeated, and undeserving. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:32.779 And you find it hard to believe that God can save you because this is the 77th time, maybe even the 490th time that you've fallen harming yourself and those around you. 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:34.860 And you feel like you'll never find victory. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:36.860 Never be who you want to be. 00:13:37.319 --> 00:13:39.480 Never be who God wants you to be. 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:43.399 And you wonder, can God really save me from my mess? 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:46.440 Can God really save us from our mess? 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:49.279 Or is his arm too short to save? 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:54.060 Well, that's what our prophetic word speaks to this morning. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:54.860 Verse 1. 00:13:55.800 --> 00:14:03.500 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.019 And this is God's news. 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:07.720 This is God's good news for us this morning. 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:15.240 That even when sin splits, spoils, and stumbles, our covenant God, he sees, he steps in, and he saves. 00:14:15.300 --> 00:14:16.700 That's the good news of Advent. 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:22.639 That even when sin splits, spoils, and stumbles, our covenant God sees, steps in, and he saves. 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:26.759 Now, man, I wish I could just end here on verse 1 because this really just preaches itself, right? 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:31.879 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:35.040 And I'm sure you would love me to end the sermon right here as well, right? 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:38.240 But we cannot ignore verse 2. 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.019 Verse 2, the word but. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:42.579 But, right? 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:44.959 Like, yes, the Lord is capable of saving. 00:14:45.079 --> 00:14:47.459 The Lord does hear our cries for salvation. 00:14:47.719 --> 00:14:57.379 But, verse 2, but your iniquities, your dang iniquities, your sin, your perverse, immoral conduct and behavior. 00:14:57.379 --> 00:14:59.439 You see, the God of the scriptures can save. 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:00.700 He loves to save. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:05.740 But we have to understand that salvation, the salvation that he offers is neither cheap nor easy. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:09.179 It isn't some flippant, okay, no big, I forgive you, all good. 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:14.879 The salvation offered in Christianity isn't a mere sweeping of our mess under the rug. 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:17.360 No, our mess is far, far too big for that. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.440 This past Thanksgiving weekend, our daughters came down with some pretty bad fevers. 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:23.880 That's why Chelsea and them are not here. 00:15:24.780 --> 00:15:30.840 And just on Friday night, my eldest daughter, Cammie, she leaned over the top of her bunk bed and she vomited. 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:37.320 And it landed on her little sister and her bunk below all over the floor. 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:39.540 Her mess was huge. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.080 I could not sweep it under the rug. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:53.240 It took, it required a daddy getting out of bed at 2 a.m., holding her to the toilet, holding her hair back in case she had any more, 00:15:53.900 --> 00:16:00.900 cleaning her up, rinsing her mouth, re-brushing her teeth, changing her and her sister's bedsheets, 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:06.680 getting on his knees to clean up the splash zone, to sanitize that, 00:16:07.640 --> 00:16:09.800 and worst of all, on a sermon writing week, all right? 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:18.359 And my point is that while this little girl's daddy was willing and capable, totally able to clean up her mess, 00:16:18.859 --> 00:16:24.240 and while her daddy would be willing to do it a thousand times more because he so loves her, 00:16:25.599 --> 00:16:26.959 it wasn't no big deal. 00:16:28.479 --> 00:16:29.719 It cost him. 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:35.399 So you see, in the same way, God's arm isn't too short to say, 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:40.379 but this must never give us the impression that our sin isn't a big deal. 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:46.720 And unless we see the sinfulness of sin, we will never savor the sweetness of salvation. 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:51.539 So in this Advent season, just as we acknowledge both pain and promise, 00:16:51.699 --> 00:16:55.419 we have to be a people who acknowledge both sin and salvation. 00:16:56.179 --> 00:16:58.620 So that's what we're going to look at in this prophetic voice. 00:16:58.620 --> 00:17:02.539 And according to the prophetic voice we're looking at today, the sinfulness of sin, like I said, 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:04.839 it splits, spoils, and stumbles. 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:06.839 So look with me at verse 2. 00:17:06.900 --> 00:17:07.759 Look how it splits. 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:11.940 But your iniquities have separated you from God. 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:15.380 Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:20.599 Christchurch, what if we saw sin for what it really was? 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:25.619 Not simply that thing we want to do, but that our strict Heavenly Father forbids. 00:17:25.619 --> 00:17:32.819 But what if we saw sin as that which splits us from God, from our Father altogether, 00:17:33.399 --> 00:17:38.139 that which separates us from our Maker, our Sustainer, our Redeemer, and our Friend? 00:17:38.219 --> 00:17:44.319 What if we understood sin to be that one thing, that one thing that keeps God from doing the one thing 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:46.339 he most wants to do with his image-bearing creatures, 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:50.319 that one thing that keeps God from hearing us and being with us? 00:17:51.259 --> 00:17:54.299 See, sin isn't just bad just because God says so. 00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:56.379 It's the root of everything gone wrong. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:01.500 It is anti-Godness, separating us from God and therefore life itself. 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:05.980 Jackie Hill Perry, she quotes a Puritan and then puts it in her own words. 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:06.339 She says, 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:17.579 She says, 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:20.819 There is nothing so unlike God than sin. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:26.000 Nothing so awful as that presence within us that is repelled by God's voice, 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:29.759 sickening at its core, vomit by another name. 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:33.299 See, again, sin splits us from God. 00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:36.599 It splits us from God and therefore it splits us from each other. 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:37.259 Look at verse 3. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:42.640 In Israel, sin resulted in human beings shedding the blood of other human beings 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:44.319 and muttering lies to one another. 00:18:45.099 --> 00:18:46.619 And you might think, okay, that's their problem. 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:47.539 It's not my problem. 00:18:47.900 --> 00:18:51.039 My lies aren't that significant and I'm definitely no murderer. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.000 But don't you see? 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:57.559 Don't you see that while you may not have taken a gun to a bar this week 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:00.440 or to a school this week or in your lifetime, 00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:06.720 the root sin that gave birth to these heinous sins we grieved in the news this week, 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:10.420 the self-interest, the disregard for other image bearers, 00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:14.279 the flawed and backward thinking that led to these atrocities 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:16.920 that we kind of so flippantly just self-righteously condemn, 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:21.119 all of that exists within each and every one of us. 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:27.700 How many degrees of difference is there between the callousness in my heart 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:31.200 toward the unsheltered person I drive past every day 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:35.240 and the Colorado Springs shooter's callousness of heart 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:37.559 toward the bartender that he shot and killed? 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:39.759 Sure, there is a difference. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:45.680 There is a difference in degree, but categorically, is it not very much the same? 00:19:46.879 --> 00:19:51.039 Sin produces a world in which everyone is only looking out for themselves. 00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:55.519 Sin is the belief that God is not good and therefore his creation is not good 00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:57.640 and that therefore our neighbors are our competitors 00:19:57.640 --> 00:19:59.960 and that in this free-for-all of life, 00:20:00.339 --> 00:20:04.480 we can and must do whatever it takes to advance our own interests 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:08.099 because no one else will look out for us, surely not God. 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:13.079 Because God cannot be good, according to the serpent's lie from the beginning. 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:15.699 And that is what sin does. 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:19.319 This is what happens when we are split from God and from one another. 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:21.719 Everything gets spoiled. 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:26.719 Everything is spoiled because everything was meant to be in communion with God 00:20:26.719 --> 00:20:28.039 and with one another. 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:31.559 Blood was never meant to be on our hands, 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:33.679 nor guilt on our fingers, 00:20:33.899 --> 00:20:35.179 nor lies upon our lips, 00:20:35.299 --> 00:20:36.719 nor wickedness on our tongues. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.860 And we're not just talking about the spoiling of individuals, 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:42.039 but the spoiling of whole societies. 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:46.720 In Israel, both before and after the exile and the return, 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:47.700 verse 4, 00:20:48.339 --> 00:20:50.980 no one even wanted justice. 00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:54.259 Think about that, the forsaking of justice 00:20:54.259 --> 00:20:58.460 and how this spoils whole entire societies. 00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:02.700 In Israel, like today, people who pled their cases and went to court, 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:05.759 they didn't plead on the basis of justice and integrity, 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:07.460 but only on the basis of self-interest, 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.400 employing empty arguments and utter lies, 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:12.220 giving birth to more and more evil, 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:13.860 vipers and spiders, 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:16.660 multiplied, creeping and crawling everywhere. 00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:18.819 And again, sin is both, 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.900 again, it's both individual and societal. 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:24.579 That's what the scriptures teach. 00:21:24.579 --> 00:21:27.740 Like, while many of our progressive friends might emphasize 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:30.559 the corporate, systemic, structural sins of society, 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:33.779 and while many of our conservative friends might emphasize 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:36.960 the personal, private, and particular sins of individuals, 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:40.119 the scriptures teach that sin has spoiled both, 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:43.379 individuals and whole societies. 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:47.800 We don't just have a problem with individual racists, 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:50.360 but we have a systemic racism problem. 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:53.540 And we don't just have a public policy problem 00:21:53.540 --> 00:21:55.200 when it comes to mass shootings. 00:21:55.320 --> 00:21:57.840 We have a unique story after unique story 00:21:57.840 --> 00:22:00.120 of wicked, immoral, hateful individuals 00:22:00.120 --> 00:22:03.280 who are also broken, hurting, and lonely individuals, 00:22:03.860 --> 00:22:06.180 self-destructing and taking others down. 00:22:06.300 --> 00:22:08.200 It's individual and it's corporate. 00:22:09.020 --> 00:22:10.960 That is the pervasiveness of sin. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:13.740 And so just like in Israel, verse seven, 00:22:14.100 --> 00:22:15.559 we see feet rush into sin. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:17.539 They're swift to shed innocent blood. 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:19.100 They pursue evil schemes. 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:21.400 Acts of violence mark their ways. 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:23.620 Verse eight, the way of shalom we do not know. 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:25.600 There is no justice in our paths. 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.960 Our roads are crooked and none of them lead to peace. 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:31.720 We can't even agree, right? 00:22:31.840 --> 00:22:34.420 We can't even agree on what justice and peace are, right? 00:22:34.819 --> 00:22:36.860 Half of us say that this road is crooked. 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:38.819 The other half say that it is straight 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:41.079 and neither tribe has found shalom. 00:22:42.419 --> 00:22:44.539 And see, this is what's so insidious about sin 00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:46.079 and how it spoils everything. 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:49.000 Sin isn't just some wrongdoing or immoral act 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:50.460 that's just plain to everyone to see, 00:22:50.539 --> 00:22:53.740 but it's a force of evil that spoils our very sight. 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:57.700 It straight up blinds us and causes us to stumble. 00:22:58.419 --> 00:23:01.099 Like it turns everything backwards and upside down. 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:04.740 Verse nine, therefore justice is far from us 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:06.880 and righteousness does not reach us. 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:09.420 We hope for light, but behold darkness. 00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:12.380 For brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:15.640 Like the blind, we grope along the wall, 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:17.799 feeling our way like people without eyes. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:19.880 At midday, when the light should shine brightest, 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:22.240 we stumble as if it were twilight. 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:26.059 Verse 11, we growl like bears, moan like doves. 00:23:26.120 --> 00:23:29.920 We become less human, more like beasts, animals, 00:23:30.579 --> 00:23:31.880 not made in God's image. 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:34.600 Yearning for justice and deliverance, 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:36.300 but finding none nearby. 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:39.300 And the backwardness continues, verse 13. 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:41.860 Rebellion and treachery against the Lord, 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:45.280 turning our backs on God, inciting revolt and oppression, 00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:47.440 uttering lies our hearts have conceived. 00:23:47.580 --> 00:23:49.820 Verse 14, sin driving justice back, 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:52.460 making righteousness stand at a distance. 00:23:52.660 --> 00:23:54.560 Truth stumbling in the streets, 00:23:54.780 --> 00:23:56.360 honesty unable to enter. 00:23:56.540 --> 00:23:57.880 Truth nowhere to be found. 00:23:58.200 --> 00:23:59.580 And everything is so backward 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:04.079 that whoever shuns evil becomes prey like a target. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:06.839 This is what sin does, 00:24:07.679 --> 00:24:10.519 not just in an individual, but in a community. 00:24:11.179 --> 00:24:13.439 And this is probably the scariest thing about sin. 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:15.359 We can be separated from God, 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:16.819 spoiled rotten, 00:24:17.399 --> 00:24:18.819 and stumbling along in the darkness, 00:24:18.939 --> 00:24:20.619 going further and further down the road 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:23.079 of our own self-inflicted dehumanization. 00:24:23.199 --> 00:24:25.519 We can be so backwards, so upside down, 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:27.480 and yet not even know it. 00:24:28.139 --> 00:24:29.440 Because just as Jesus said, 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:32.339 people love the darkness rather than the light. 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:35.639 You know, H.G. Wells tells this story, 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:38.160 it's titled, The Country of the Blind, 00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:41.160 in which the protagonist's name is Nunez. 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:42.639 He discovers a community 00:24:42.639 --> 00:24:44.619 that's been struck with blindness 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:46.200 for many, many generations. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:48.400 Every single person in the community has been blind, 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:50.119 and it's been that way for many generations. 00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:53.199 They've kind of evolved and adapted to a life together 00:24:53.199 --> 00:24:55.599 without sight for a very long time. 00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:58.979 And no one even knows what sight is. 00:24:59.079 --> 00:25:01.139 They rise up every day in their windowless houses, 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.719 and they have no idea what their eyes were made for. 00:25:04.659 --> 00:25:05.759 And so this protagonist, Nunez, 00:25:05.819 --> 00:25:08.339 he tries to convey to them what sight is, 00:25:08.419 --> 00:25:10.019 what a gift he has to offer them 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:11.799 as someone who can see. 00:25:12.659 --> 00:25:14.099 But they have no concept, 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:17.179 cannot even imagine what it might mean to see. 00:25:17.180 --> 00:25:18.920 But the thing is, 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:21.360 not only are they unable to understand him, 00:25:21.820 --> 00:25:24.140 but they think that there's something wrong with him 00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:25.440 and not themselves. 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:28.019 This guy with this strange imagination 00:25:28.019 --> 00:25:30.900 and his obsession with this thing he calls sight, 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:33.900 and they think that the problem is with his eyes. 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:36.120 And so when the doctor suggests 00:25:36.120 --> 00:25:38.299 they cure Nunez of his insanity 00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:40.039 by removing his eyes, 00:25:40.100 --> 00:25:41.779 they're like, oh, thank heavens for science. 00:25:41.779 --> 00:25:46.240 And he initially even consents 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:48.619 to have his eyes removed, 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:51.420 to be a part of their community 00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:53.539 and to join them in their darkness, 00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:57.920 because they will not acknowledge his gift of sight. 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:01.099 And see, this is an illustration of the power of sin 00:26:01.099 --> 00:26:03.799 and how it splits, spoils, and stumbles 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:05.899 so, so stealthily 00:26:05.899 --> 00:26:08.259 that we might not even notice. 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:11.039 We modern Western people, right, 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:13.160 who like to think that we're so advanced, 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:15.079 so developed, so objective, 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:16.319 so clear-headed, 00:26:17.379 --> 00:26:18.559 but might it be 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:19.940 that in so many ways 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:21.440 we are like beasts, 00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:23.660 stumbling along in the darkness 00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:27.099 as we ignore the prophetic word of God 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:28.240 calling us back to him 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.440 and into his light. 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:31.180 Christ Church, 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:32.559 our world is a mess. 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:34.359 Our country is a mess. 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:37.319 Our lives are all a mess. 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:38.220 The church is a mess. 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:39.359 Our church is a mess. 00:26:39.539 --> 00:26:40.700 This church, Christ Church, 00:26:40.899 --> 00:26:41.539 is a mess. 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:42.220 It really is. 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:45.819 And call me old-fashioned, 00:26:46.159 --> 00:26:47.359 call me a fundamentalist, 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:49.619 a fire and brimstone preacher, 00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:52.319 but we have a huge problem, 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:54.220 and it's a sin problem. 00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:57.220 And you will hear that preached here at Christ Church, 00:26:57.299 --> 00:26:59.639 that we have a sin problem, 00:27:00.019 --> 00:27:02.500 and that's the root of every other problem. 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:04.000 And it's deeper, 00:27:04.519 --> 00:27:05.220 and it's darker, 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:06.600 and it's more dangerous 00:27:06.600 --> 00:27:08.279 than we would ever dare imagine. 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:10.920 And it's separating us from God, 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:12.299 spoiling our lives, 00:27:12.440 --> 00:27:13.319 spoiling others' lives, 00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:14.000 our society. 00:27:14.600 --> 00:27:17.100 It's producing dehumanized, 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:18.160 beast-like creatures 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:18.940 stumbling around, 00:27:19.059 --> 00:27:19.799 unable to tell, 00:27:19.900 --> 00:27:20.740 light from darkness, 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:22.380 blood is being shed, 00:27:22.660 --> 00:27:23.640 lies are being spoken, 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:26.180 and the sin would have us believe 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:28.120 that the problem is merely outside of us. 00:27:28.119 --> 00:27:29.739 But no, 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:33.139 we have a sin problem, 00:27:33.819 --> 00:27:35.939 both inside and out. 00:27:36.939 --> 00:27:39.779 And if this doesn't produce a sense of urgency, 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:41.500 and sobriety, 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:43.959 and repentance within us, 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:47.659 then we only illustrate the prophetic point here, 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:51.500 about even God's people stumbling in the darkness, 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:53.719 unable to see his light. 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:56.220 The truth of the matter, 00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:57.819 the truth of Advent, 00:27:58.059 --> 00:28:00.500 is that our sin begs for salvation, 00:28:01.100 --> 00:28:02.220 begs for a Savior. 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:04.440 But the problem is who? 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:05.720 Who? 00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:06.799 You know, 00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:08.660 throughout this text that we read this morning, 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:09.700 this prophetic word, 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:11.120 there's been a repeated refrain. 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:12.259 Verse four, 00:28:13.019 --> 00:28:14.360 no one calls for justice. 00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:16.920 No one pleads a case with integrity. 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:17.480 Verse eight, 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:18.940 no one will know peace. 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:19.720 Verse 16, 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:21.600 he saw that there was no one. 00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:24.720 He was appalled that there was no one to intervene. 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:26.700 Let that sink in. 00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:28.059 No one. 00:28:28.620 --> 00:28:29.079 No one? 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:29.819 Yeah, 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:30.720 no one. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:32.039 You know, 00:28:32.059 --> 00:28:33.000 I've told this story before, 00:28:33.100 --> 00:28:35.000 but there's this old documentary I saw years ago 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:36.559 called Waiting for Superman. 00:28:37.360 --> 00:28:37.860 And in it, 00:28:37.940 --> 00:28:38.539 this activist, 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:39.200 educator, 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:39.839 Jeffrey Canada, 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:41.579 he talks about how he grew up in the 50s, 00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:44.259 in the South Bronx of New York, 00:28:44.600 --> 00:28:46.360 and how he was a big comic book reader. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:48.140 And he loved comic books 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:50.880 because the idea of Superman gave him hope 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.220 that even in the depths of the ghetto, 00:28:53.320 --> 00:28:53.759 he says, 00:28:54.120 --> 00:28:55.240 he could still have hope. 00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:57.840 But then around fourth grade, 00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:58.200 he says, 00:28:58.420 --> 00:29:00.100 one of the saddest days of his life 00:29:00.100 --> 00:29:02.400 was when his mother told him 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:04.920 that Superman didn't exist. 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:07.240 And he was crying, 00:29:07.380 --> 00:29:08.300 and he was crying, 00:29:08.360 --> 00:29:09.300 and his mom just thought, 00:29:09.400 --> 00:29:09.520 oh, 00:29:09.560 --> 00:29:10.620 he's crying just because, 00:29:10.860 --> 00:29:11.020 you know, 00:29:11.020 --> 00:29:12.240 it's kind of like someone finding out 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:13.300 that Santa isn't real. 00:29:14.360 --> 00:29:15.720 Did I burst anyone's bubble here? 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:18.720 But he said no. 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:20.539 He said no. 00:29:20.700 --> 00:29:21.559 I was crying 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:23.700 because at that moment, 00:29:24.380 --> 00:29:25.380 I realized 00:29:25.380 --> 00:29:27.259 that there was no one coming 00:29:27.259 --> 00:29:28.160 with enough power 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:29.640 to save us. 00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:32.839 Jeffrey Canada was heartbroken 00:29:32.839 --> 00:29:33.700 by the reality 00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:35.240 that there was no arm long enough, 00:29:35.339 --> 00:29:36.880 no arm strong enough 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.960 to save. 00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:39.640 And Christchurch, 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:40.680 have we experienced 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:42.220 this kind of hopelessness, 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:43.940 this kind of desperation? 00:29:43.940 --> 00:29:46.700 Or do we find it hard to relate? 00:29:47.600 --> 00:29:48.519 Because so many of us, 00:29:48.580 --> 00:29:49.220 myself included, 00:29:49.360 --> 00:29:50.240 live such privileged 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:51.420 and comfy lives. 00:29:53.120 --> 00:29:54.500 But what if our privilege, 00:29:54.740 --> 00:29:56.000 what if all our comfort, 00:29:57.140 --> 00:29:58.259 what if they're not actually 00:29:58.259 --> 00:29:59.080 gifts from God, 00:29:59.180 --> 00:30:00.860 but actually demonic distractions 00:30:00.860 --> 00:30:02.320 from the devil? 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:05.000 Distractions keeping us 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:06.080 from seeing our need 00:30:06.080 --> 00:30:06.720 for a Superman, 00:30:06.860 --> 00:30:08.320 our need for a Savior. 00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:10.880 Distractions keeping us 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:11.880 from seeing the problem 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:13.240 of having no one 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:13.940 to intervene, 00:30:14.260 --> 00:30:15.360 no one to save. 00:30:16.340 --> 00:30:18.280 If we cannot understand this, 00:30:18.700 --> 00:30:20.280 our dire need for a Savior, 00:30:21.160 --> 00:30:22.680 then we won't ever understand 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:24.040 the Christian faith. 00:30:24.800 --> 00:30:27.180 That is Apostle Paul writes, 00:30:27.540 --> 00:30:28.640 Jews and Gentiles alike 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:30.480 are all under the power of sin. 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:31.920 As it is written, 00:30:32.060 --> 00:30:33.140 there is no one righteous, 00:30:33.520 --> 00:30:34.220 not even one. 00:30:34.280 --> 00:30:35.460 There is no one who understands. 00:30:35.600 --> 00:30:36.900 There is no one who seeks God. 00:30:37.080 --> 00:30:38.140 All have turned away. 00:30:38.420 --> 00:30:39.660 They have together become worthless. 00:30:39.660 --> 00:30:41.300 There is no one who does good, 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:42.259 not even one. 00:30:42.820 --> 00:30:44.040 Their throats are open graves. 00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:45.480 Their tongues practice deceit. 00:30:45.540 --> 00:30:46.440 The poison of vipers 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:47.279 is on their lips. 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:48.600 Their mouths are full 00:30:48.600 --> 00:30:49.519 of cursing and bitterness. 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:50.519 Their feet are swift 00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:51.540 to shed blood. 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:52.740 Ruin and misery 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:53.500 mark their ways 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:54.180 in the way of peace 00:30:54.180 --> 00:30:54.840 they do not know. 00:30:55.040 --> 00:30:56.120 There is no fear of God 00:30:56.120 --> 00:30:56.840 before their eyes. 00:30:57.060 --> 00:30:57.279 Therefore, 00:30:57.560 --> 00:30:58.920 no one will be declared 00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:01.340 righteous in God's sight. 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:03.620 Friends, this is us. 00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:06.200 This is us. 00:31:06.300 --> 00:31:07.900 And this is a problem. 00:31:07.900 --> 00:31:09.960 The situation of sin, 00:31:10.040 --> 00:31:10.540 the toll of sin, 00:31:10.600 --> 00:31:11.800 the wages of sin 00:31:11.800 --> 00:31:13.180 is utter hopelessness 00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:14.780 across the entire swath 00:31:14.780 --> 00:31:16.460 of fallen humanity. 00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:18.680 And no one can bring 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:19.320 the salvation 00:31:19.320 --> 00:31:20.400 that everyone needs. 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:21.900 No one. 00:31:23.040 --> 00:31:23.560 No one. 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:24.140 Not one. 00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:26.440 But the good news, 00:31:26.780 --> 00:31:28.380 the beauty of our prophetic word 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:29.080 this morning 00:31:29.080 --> 00:31:30.860 is that when God saw 00:31:30.860 --> 00:31:31.720 that there was no one 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:32.460 to intervene, 00:31:33.460 --> 00:31:33.960 He did. 00:31:34.920 --> 00:31:35.840 He intervened. 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:37.380 Verse 16. 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:39.800 He saw that there was no one. 00:31:39.840 --> 00:31:40.500 He was appalled 00:31:40.500 --> 00:31:41.280 that there was no one 00:31:41.280 --> 00:31:41.759 to intervene. 00:31:42.120 --> 00:31:42.420 So, 00:31:43.060 --> 00:31:44.019 His own arm 00:31:44.019 --> 00:31:45.620 achieved salvation for Him 00:31:45.620 --> 00:31:47.019 and His own righteousness 00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:48.080 sustained Him 00:31:48.080 --> 00:31:49.620 and this is the gospel. 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:50.960 That God saw 00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:52.280 our appalling conditions 00:31:52.280 --> 00:31:52.680 split, 00:31:53.060 --> 00:31:53.460 spoiled, 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:54.660 and stumbling from sin 00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:55.259 and that no one 00:31:55.259 --> 00:31:56.120 could save us but Himself 00:31:56.120 --> 00:31:57.340 and so He stepped in 00:31:57.340 --> 00:31:58.180 willingly, 00:31:58.860 --> 00:31:59.519 out of love, 00:32:00.100 --> 00:32:01.220 to save His people. 00:32:01.320 --> 00:32:02.000 Like a warrior, 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:03.300 it says here in verse 17, 00:32:03.360 --> 00:32:03.880 He put on 00:32:03.880 --> 00:32:05.200 the breastplate of righteousness 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:06.900 and the helmet of salvation, 00:32:07.100 --> 00:32:08.000 garments of vengeance 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:09.140 and a cloak of zeal, 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:10.740 all vestments far too pure 00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:11.759 and far too heavy 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:12.740 for any fallen human 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:13.440 to put on. 00:32:14.580 --> 00:32:15.259 And He came, 00:32:15.380 --> 00:32:15.720 verse 8, 00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:16.759 to repay wrath 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:17.920 to His enemies, 00:32:18.840 --> 00:32:20.220 retribution to His foes 00:32:20.220 --> 00:32:21.180 and to repay everyone 00:32:21.180 --> 00:32:22.080 what they were due. 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:23.279 True justice. 00:32:23.900 --> 00:32:24.799 Unleashing a flood, 00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:25.880 it says in verse 19, 00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:27.039 by the breath of His mouth 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:28.580 like the judgment waters 00:32:28.580 --> 00:32:29.319 of Noah. 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:31.439 The full wrath of God 00:32:31.439 --> 00:32:32.960 unleashed yet again 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:33.659 upon the earth, 00:32:33.939 --> 00:32:35.439 upon all that is wicked. 00:32:36.779 --> 00:32:38.599 But the incredible plot twist 00:32:38.599 --> 00:32:40.119 of this salvation story 00:32:40.119 --> 00:32:41.240 is that this divine warrior 00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:41.939 chose to fight 00:32:41.939 --> 00:32:42.659 in a manner that 00:32:42.659 --> 00:32:44.059 no one would have expected 00:32:44.059 --> 00:32:45.679 from any Messiah figure. 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:47.559 He came to do this 00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:47.919 in a manner 00:32:47.919 --> 00:32:49.039 one might even consider 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:49.759 unbecoming 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:51.299 of the God of the universe. 00:32:52.299 --> 00:32:52.460 See, 00:32:52.539 --> 00:32:53.519 in bringing this wrath, 00:32:53.659 --> 00:32:54.099 this flood, 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:55.179 and retribution 00:32:55.179 --> 00:32:55.939 against the wicked, 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:56.939 something had to be done 00:32:56.939 --> 00:32:57.720 so that His own 00:32:57.720 --> 00:32:58.819 covenant-breaking people 00:32:58.819 --> 00:33:00.779 wouldn't also be swept up 00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:01.500 and destroyed 00:33:01.500 --> 00:33:03.539 along with God's enemies, 00:33:04.019 --> 00:33:04.579 though they surely 00:33:04.579 --> 00:33:05.879 deserved it as well. 00:33:06.899 --> 00:33:07.939 So what did God do? 00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:09.539 He came. 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:10.759 Advent. 00:33:11.379 --> 00:33:11.939 He came. 00:33:12.619 --> 00:33:13.960 And coming to this world 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:15.019 with His breastplate 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:15.720 of righteousness, 00:33:15.919 --> 00:33:16.659 He exchanged, 00:33:16.879 --> 00:33:17.919 He traded it 00:33:17.919 --> 00:33:18.899 to His sinful people 00:33:18.899 --> 00:33:20.139 for them to wear 00:33:20.139 --> 00:33:21.779 His righteousness instead. 00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:23.939 And in exchange 00:33:23.939 --> 00:33:24.899 for His righteousness, 00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:27.299 He donned their shameful 00:33:27.299 --> 00:33:28.379 breastplates 00:33:28.380 --> 00:33:30.020 of unrighteousness. 00:33:30.520 --> 00:33:31.120 In exchange 00:33:31.120 --> 00:33:32.020 for His helmet 00:33:32.020 --> 00:33:32.620 of salvation, 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:33.540 He donned 00:33:33.540 --> 00:33:34.920 a crown of thorns. 00:33:35.640 --> 00:33:36.600 And for people's 00:33:36.600 --> 00:33:37.140 justification, 00:33:37.760 --> 00:33:38.260 He bore 00:33:38.260 --> 00:33:39.240 their retribution, 00:33:39.620 --> 00:33:40.380 the very wrath 00:33:40.380 --> 00:33:40.740 of God, 00:33:40.800 --> 00:33:41.380 the whole weight 00:33:41.380 --> 00:33:42.340 of the ocean 00:33:42.340 --> 00:33:43.480 of God's judgment 00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:44.500 against that, 00:33:44.580 --> 00:33:45.380 all that is evil 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:46.100 and wicked 00:33:46.100 --> 00:33:46.920 and sinful. 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:47.540 He bore it 00:33:47.540 --> 00:33:48.700 all for us, 00:33:49.360 --> 00:33:50.680 put sin to death, 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:51.440 all of it 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:52.160 with His body 00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:53.940 nailed to a cross, 00:33:54.420 --> 00:33:55.540 emptying His very own 00:33:55.540 --> 00:33:56.360 spirit in order 00:33:56.359 --> 00:33:57.019 that His spirit 00:33:57.019 --> 00:33:57.439 might never 00:33:57.439 --> 00:33:59.139 depart from us. 00:33:59.539 --> 00:34:00.699 And this is the good news 00:34:00.699 --> 00:34:01.539 of Advent. 00:34:02.439 --> 00:34:02.959 Verse 20, 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:04.319 the Redeemer 00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:05.659 will come. 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:07.139 The Redeemer 00:34:07.139 --> 00:34:08.039 has come 00:34:08.039 --> 00:34:08.920 in the flesh 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:09.559 to Zion, 00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:10.480 to those in Jacob 00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:10.960 who repent 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:11.619 of their sins, 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:12.920 declares the Lord. 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:15.139 For while God's people, 00:34:15.279 --> 00:34:15.859 us included, 00:34:15.980 --> 00:34:17.119 have broken covenant 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:18.359 again and again, 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:19.639 verse 21, 00:34:19.799 --> 00:34:20.179 God says, 00:34:20.319 --> 00:34:20.980 as for me, 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:22.219 as for me, 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:23.819 this is my covenant 00:34:23.820 --> 00:34:24.280 with them. 00:34:24.780 --> 00:34:25.440 My spirit 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:26.120 who is on you 00:34:26.120 --> 00:34:26.800 will not depart 00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:27.240 from you, 00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:28.200 nor my words, 00:34:28.420 --> 00:34:28.880 says the Lord. 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:29.600 And I love that. 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:31.080 God is like, 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:31.640 yeah, 00:34:31.720 --> 00:34:32.400 you went ahead 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:33.539 and you did you. 00:34:34.080 --> 00:34:35.240 You broke covenant. 00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:36.860 You departed from me. 00:34:36.860 --> 00:34:38.059 But as for me, 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:39.620 my covenant, 00:34:40.019 --> 00:34:40.760 my spirit, 00:34:41.140 --> 00:34:41.960 my words 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:43.380 will not depart 00:34:43.380 --> 00:34:43.920 from you 00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:45.180 and that is the gospel. 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:47.420 The amazing grace of God. 00:34:47.700 --> 00:34:47.840 Yeah, 00:34:47.900 --> 00:34:48.940 you did screw up. 00:34:49.660 --> 00:34:50.360 You did make 00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:51.000 a huge 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:51.820 and impossible 00:34:51.820 --> 00:34:52.660 mess 00:34:52.659 --> 00:34:53.399 of yourselves 00:34:53.399 --> 00:34:54.119 and all those 00:34:54.119 --> 00:34:54.739 around you. 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:56.779 But as for me, 00:34:56.859 --> 00:34:57.460 God says, 00:34:58.179 --> 00:34:59.019 but as for me, 00:35:00.359 --> 00:35:00.879 he says, 00:35:01.219 --> 00:35:02.179 in the person of Jesus, 00:35:02.819 --> 00:35:03.420 God's son, 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:04.319 the one who the prophets 00:35:04.319 --> 00:35:04.980 waited for, 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:06.420 the one we wait for 00:35:06.420 --> 00:35:07.159 who's coming again, 00:35:07.279 --> 00:35:08.679 in the person of Jesus, 00:35:08.839 --> 00:35:10.179 God has spoken to us. 00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:10.719 The initiative 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:12.119 is all mine. 00:35:12.659 --> 00:35:13.279 The cost 00:35:13.279 --> 00:35:14.279 is all mine, 00:35:14.519 --> 00:35:15.359 says the Lord. 00:35:16.199 --> 00:35:17.219 For even when your sin 00:35:17.219 --> 00:35:18.239 has left you split, 00:35:18.659 --> 00:35:18.980 spoiled, 00:35:19.139 --> 00:35:19.599 and stumbling 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:20.679 in the darkness, 00:35:21.179 --> 00:35:22.019 your covenant God 00:35:22.019 --> 00:35:22.539 has seen, 00:35:23.179 --> 00:35:24.019 he stepped in 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:25.279 and he saves 00:35:25.279 --> 00:35:26.539 in Jesus Christ 00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:28.259 and he's coming again 00:35:28.259 --> 00:35:29.500 and friends, 00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:31.059 he's well worth the wait. 00:35:31.819 --> 00:35:32.879 He's well worth the wait. 00:35:33.619 --> 00:35:34.279 Will you pray with me? 00:35:40.279 --> 00:35:41.039 Well, Lord, 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:41.859 I just 00:35:41.859 --> 00:35:43.819 come before you 00:35:43.819 --> 00:35:45.719 recognizing that 00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:46.639 even 00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:48.319 having heard your word 00:35:48.319 --> 00:35:48.920 this morning, 00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:50.619 some of us 00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:51.820 are not even convinced 00:35:51.820 --> 00:35:52.880 that we need to wait 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:55.079 for this 00:35:55.079 --> 00:35:56.559 so great salvation 00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:58.860 from our sin, 00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:00.760 from our darkness, 00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:01.700 and I pray 00:36:01.700 --> 00:36:02.280 that you would 00:36:02.280 --> 00:36:04.280 convince us, 00:36:04.440 --> 00:36:04.780 oh God, 00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:06.639 of the sinfulness 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:07.260 of sin. 00:36:07.940 --> 00:36:08.240 Again, 00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:08.800 that we might know 00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:09.300 the sweetness 00:36:09.300 --> 00:36:10.680 of salvation 00:36:10.680 --> 00:36:12.099 in Christ. 00:36:12.099 --> 00:36:14.779 Lord, 00:36:14.779 --> 00:36:15.639 if we do not see 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:16.440 the great privilege 00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:17.019 that it is 00:36:17.019 --> 00:36:17.819 to have a God 00:36:17.819 --> 00:36:19.279 who comes 00:36:19.279 --> 00:36:20.639 to us, 00:36:21.319 --> 00:36:23.460 who does not just 00:36:23.460 --> 00:36:24.360 stand up there 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:25.480 with his arms crossed 00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:26.639 waiting for us 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:27.119 to come to him, 00:36:27.139 --> 00:36:27.819 but who comes 00:36:27.819 --> 00:36:28.519 to us 00:36:28.519 --> 00:36:29.900 even when we 00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:30.940 run away, 00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:33.039 if we don't see 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:33.699 the good news 00:36:33.699 --> 00:36:34.000 in that, 00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:34.259 God, 00:36:34.320 --> 00:36:34.739 I pray that you 00:36:34.739 --> 00:36:35.539 open our eyes, 00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:37.099 rescue us 00:36:37.099 --> 00:36:37.820 from our darkness, 00:36:39.940 --> 00:36:40.519 and make us 00:36:40.519 --> 00:36:41.139 worshipers 00:36:41.139 --> 00:36:42.719 of Jesus Christ, 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:45.099 the one who came, 00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:46.199 the coming one. 00:36:48.059 --> 00:36:49.000 Help us to hold 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:49.480 this, Lord, 00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:50.179 in this season, 00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:51.420 the season 00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:52.539 of waiting. 00:36:54.320 --> 00:36:55.219 Help us to hold 00:36:55.219 --> 00:36:56.079 this pain 00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:56.820 and this promise. 00:36:56.960 --> 00:36:57.460 Help us to be 00:36:57.460 --> 00:36:58.500 people of hope. 00:36:59.420 --> 00:37:00.239 Not the kind of 00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:01.360 wishful thinking hope, 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:01.880 but the hope 00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:02.480 of Christianity, 00:37:02.699 --> 00:37:03.360 the hope of the world, 00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:04.360 the sure hope 00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:06.099 that you promised us 00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:07.360 in Christ. 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:09.440 Lord, 00:37:09.539 --> 00:37:10.539 be worshiped 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:11.019 this morning. 00:37:11.179 --> 00:37:11.699 Be worshiped 00:37:11.699 --> 00:37:13.099 in this Advent season. 00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:14.920 We yearn for you. 00:37:15.239 --> 00:37:16.059 We long for you. 00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:17.579 And we thank you 00:37:17.579 --> 00:37:18.480 that it's just 00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:19.219 a matter of time 00:37:19.219 --> 00:37:20.400 and the help 00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:21.019 is on the way. 00:37:22.259 --> 00:37:23.119 Thank you, God. 00:37:23.219 --> 00:37:23.980 In Jesus' name. 00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:24.900 Amen.