1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 He was driving 30 miles per hour, or 100 miles per hour. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:49,000 He was driving 30 miles per hour. He was driving 30 miles per hour. He was driving 30 miles per hour. 3 00:00:49,000 --> 00:01:09,000 He was driving 30 miles per hour. He was driving 30 miles per hour. He was driving 30 miles per hour. 4 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:19,000 I'm going to go get it. I have time to turn it up. 5 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,000 I have time to turn it up. 6 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:16,000 I've got mine. 7 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:57,000 Okay. Hi, Stu. Okay. I think we're going to get started. Good morning. Hopefully everybody's recovered from Thanksgiving. It's good to see everybody that's here. 8 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:06,000 We're going to get started this morning by reading together. We are starting our Advent time, our Advent season. 9 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:33,000 As we're moving out of Thanksgiving, we're going to be reading together out of Psalm 65. John Calvin describes this Psalm as God waking us up from a stupor of thanklessness, which is interesting because we just came out of Thanksgiving, but it's interesting how quickly we can enter into thanklessness. 10 00:03:33,000 --> 00:04:02,000 One, I'm just trying to pull this up here where he said it much better than I could say it. He says, "Calvin observes, 'We are bound in whatever part of the world we live to acknowledge the riches of the divine goodness seen in the earth's fertility and increase, and yet it would seem as if the more clarity human beings have in observing causes in nature, they will rest in those more determinedly instead of ascending by them to God." 11 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:31,000 which just means we are more appreciative of the thing than the Creator, the created than the Creator. And so this psalm here is kind of, it wakes us up. It starts with, "Praise is due to you, O God," which means he's been lacking in praise. And so as we read this together, oh, no, not to the song. As we read this together, we're going to stand, and then when we sing our first Song, the kids are going to come and light the first candle of Advent, which represents hope. 12 00:04:31,000 --> 00:05:00,980 And the psalm that we're going to be reading, the verses of it, just kind of to the hope that we have in God and how even when we start to get this attitude of thanklessness or we're trusting in ourselves or things that have been created, always there and he's steadfast and he's who our hope should be in. And so let's go ahead and stand up. And we're going to be reading Psalm 65. And we're going to be doing verses of 13 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:30,980 5 through 8. And it says, "By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might, who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the molt of their people. 14 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:47,000 So that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy." This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. 15 00:05:47,000 --> 00:06:03,000 God, we thank you so much for all that you've given us. We thank you that we're able to pause and have a time of thankfulness and to just be reminded of all the good things that you do for us and all the good things you give us. 16 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:17,000 And not just that, but your power and your might and how we can see all of that from just where we stand to as far as we can see to all the ways to the ends of the earth. 17 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:32,400 And we just thank you so much for your mercies that are new every morning and how we can still shout for joy in the evenings when we've had a hard day and when it seems like there's nothing to be thankful for you, God, and the hope that we have in you. 18 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Those that are gathered here today, and we thank you for the season of Advent that we're coming into and just reflecting on your arrival and what that means, not just for those in biblical times, but for us now. Be with our service today and allow it to glorify you in Jesus name. Amen. 19 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,000 All right. So we're going to be singing Hosanna. 20 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,000 We turn to you. 21 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,000 We turn to you. 22 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,000 Hope is stirring. 23 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,000 Hearts of love. 24 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,000 We turn to you. 25 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,000 Hope is stirring. 26 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,000 Hearts of love. 27 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,000 We turn to you. 28 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,000 Hope is stirring. 29 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:38,000 Hearts are yearning for you. 30 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:43,000 We long for you. 31 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:52,000 'Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the day. 32 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:59,000 And in your presence, all our fears are washed away. 33 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,000 Washed away. 34 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:11,000 Hosanna! Hosanna! 35 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:20,000 You are the God who sings us, worthy of all our prayers. 36 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:40,000 Hear the sound. Hearts returning to you. We turn to you. 37 00:08:40,000 --> 00:09:04,000 In your kingdom, broken lies are made new. You make all things new. 'Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the day. 38 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:32,000 And in your presence we'll ask, I'll wash the way. I'll wash the way. Hosanna. Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. Worthy of all our praises. 39 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:52,000 Hosanna. Hosanna. Come every way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. 40 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:29,940 All right. If you want to stand, you can, or if you want to sit, you can. We are going to be moving into our prayer and share time, and I think we're live, because it wasn't working, but if we are, if you are watching, there will be a phone number for you to text. If you have any prayer requests or anything you'd like to share with us, please send that to that number, and we'll share those here together, and then we're going to be muted here during that time for privacy reasons, and then we'll be back after that to just continue on into our 41 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,500 service. All right. And so we're going to be singing, "O come, O come, Emmanuel." 42 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:26,000 Yes, I'll hear until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. 43 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:52,000 O come, thou rod of Jesse, free, thine own from Satan's tyranny. From deaths of hell thy people save, and give them victory, O all the grave. 44 00:11:52,000 --> 00:12:18,000 Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Thou day-spring come, and share our spirits by thine adverting. 45 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:44,000 Dispers of gloomy clouds of night, and depths of shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. 46 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:50,000 All right, you may be seated. 47 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,000 Let's pray. 48 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,000 Let's pray. 49 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,000 Let's pray. 50 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,000 Amen. 51 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,000 Amen. 52 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:43,980 All right. As we continue on, Brandon wanted me to share something out of this book, The Thoughts That Make Your Heart Sing, that is by Sally Lloyd-Jones, who's one of our favorite authors. She put together one of our favorite kids' Bibles, the Jesus Storybook Bible, and so this is technically a kids' book, but sometimes we can all learn things from kids' books. 53 00:19:44,000 --> 00:20:13,980 So, Dr. Seuss shows that. But this just talks about winter and the hope that we can see in wintertime as well and all of that, and so it says, "In the winter, it looks like the trees have all died. Their leaves wither and drop off. They stand like skeletons against the cold, desolate sky. But did you know that even before a single leaf falls to the ground, next spring's bud is ready? Next summer's bud is ready. 54 00:20:13,980 --> 00:20:43,960 Next summer's leaf is furled inside that tiny bud waiting. And Jesus says that there is nothing broken that won't be bended, nothing sick that won't be healed, nothing dead that won't live again, because God is making everything sad come untrue. We can't see it now, but remember the fruit tree in the winter? It looks dead, but the buds are ready to go, and come spring they will blossom in fruit." And then it references Revelation 21:5, which says Jesus says, 55 00:20:43,960 --> 00:21:13,940 "I am making everything new." And so that ties in well with what we're going to be singing next as we continue on in our time of communion, which is "Christ our hope in life and death." 56 00:21:13,940 --> 00:21:43,920 Christ alone. What is our only confidence? That our souls to Him belong. Who holds our days within His hands? What comes upon from His command? And what will keep us to the end? The love of Christ in which we stand? 57 00:21:43,920 --> 00:22:13,900 Oh, say hallelujah! Our hope springs eternal. Oh, say hallelujah! Now and ever we confess Christ our hope in life and death. 58 00:22:13,900 --> 00:22:43,880 What truth can cause the troubled soul? God is good. God is good. Where is His grace and goodness known? In our grave, Redeemer's blood. Who holds our faith when fears arise? Who stands above the stormy trials? 59 00:22:43,880 --> 00:23:13,860 Who sends the waves that bring us nigh unto the shore, the rock of Christ? Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now whenever we confess, Christ our hope is eternal. 60 00:23:13,860 --> 00:23:15,860 We will be alive and dead. 61 00:23:43,840 --> 00:24:02,840 If we rise to meet the Lord, then sin and death will be destroyed, and we will feast in endless joy, when Christ is ours forevermore. 62 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:29,840 Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess, Christ our hope in life and death. Oh, sing hallelujah. 63 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:56,840 Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess, Christ our hope in life and death. Now and ever we confess, Christ our hope in life and death. 64 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:23,840 Throughout the history of the Church, 65 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:46,840 there has been an effort to try to instill God's truth from the Bible into the hearts of His people. And so one of the forms that that takes is that of questions and answers, questions designed to have a biblical answer or to summarize maybe a large portion of Scripture. 66 00:25:46,840 --> 00:26:02,840 And that's not a new idea. It has happened through the centuries. In fact, it began not long after Jesus because most of the church, as it began, were not able to read. And so how do you commit truth of Scripture to heart? And so they did it in a couple of ways. 67 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:30,840 Sometimes they just simply memorized the Scripture they had. Or in other cases, they would take big ideas in Scripture from all through the Bible and summarize them down in statements that could be memorized to summarize biblical truth with the intention of seeking to put these biblical truths into the depths of our hearts in a way that we can understand and quickly recall. 68 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:50,840 But I don't think that is just a new idea with the church. In fact, throughout Scripture you find God using sort of very simple things to direct us to a bigger truth, something that we can hold very easily in our heart that lets us see the big truth of what God has done. 69 00:26:50,840 --> 00:27:07,840 Probably one of the first examples in Scripture is that of Noah and the rainbow, this very simple physical phenomenon that points us to God and His goodness and also to His judgment, and we see it in Egypt. 70 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:19,840 As they are getting ready to leave and to not experience the judgment of God, the Israelites will place the blood of the Lamb on their doorstep so that those who are under the blood of the Lamb 71 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:48,840 will not find themselves under the judgment of God. And as the people go into Canaan, if you remember, as they cross the Jordan River, the several men, 12 men, are instructed to pick up stones and they build a monument with the explicit purpose of when your children ask what those stones are, give them a ready answer about God's goodness and greatness. And we see this not just in Joshua, but throughout 72 00:27:48,840 --> 00:28:17,840 the Old Testament. God using pictures that are designed to bring us a response of what God has done from the truth of what he has said in Scripture. Jesus does a very similar thing. If you remember, now as he is talking about anxiety and fearfulness and uncertainty about the future and will we have enough and will we be able to get what we need, he points us simply to those pictures of the sparrow and of the lily 73 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:46,840 of the field and how God in his grace cares for them and as you struggle and as you're hurting and as you're uncertain you see the sparrow flitting through the trees and the flowers waving in the field and it brings to mind that response that God cares for them and he cares for you. But I think the greatest of these happens with Jesus the night before he is betrayed as he sits participating in the Passover meal. 74 00:28:46,840 --> 00:29:11,840 And the symbolism that is throughout that story is remarkable because you have the Passover lamb who will take away the sins of the entire world sitting around partaking of this Passover lamb. The one whose blood will allow the judgment of God to pass over us is remembering that time in Egypt where the blood of the lamb allowed the judgment of God to pass over his people. 75 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:29,840 And in those moments, Jesus will take the bread of the Passover meal. He'll take the cup that reminds the Israelites of how God redeemed them from Egypt, and he makes them into this picture of our salvation. 76 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:36,840 This bread that we share and this cup that we drink point us to the hope that we have in Jesus. 77 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:48,840 And so, as we just sang, and as the church has said, for several hundred years, and as we see through Scripture, what is our hope in life and death? 78 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:59,840 That we are not our own, but we belong body and soul, both in life and death, to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. 79 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:11,840 Father, let this instill the truth of Your grace, the power of Your mercy, the wonder of Your salvation deep into the depths of our hearts. 80 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:20,840 That as we partake of these very simple things, this bread and this cup, that You would encourage our souls, that You would nourish our spirits, 81 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:31,840 that You would call us to righteousness in our lives, that we would see the truth of our brokenness, of Your love, of Your judgment, 82 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:44,840 and of the salvation from that judgment through Jesus' death on the cross. Help us to see You, to see Your hope, and to place our hope in that place that does not shake or does not move. 83 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:50,840 I ask that You bless this bread and this cup. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 84 00:30:50,840 --> 00:31:03,840 If you would take the bread with me, as Jesus takes with His disciples after the meal, He will say, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 85 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:13,840 In the same way, He took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." 86 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:24,840 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. 87 00:31:41,840 --> 00:32:02,840 This morning's reading is from Matthew 12, and to connect this directly to what Brandon preached on last Sunday, this is kind of the branch and the fruit of the roots that are a little bit mundane. 88 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:14,840 I think Brandon described it as kind of property boundaries, or there were these endless lists of kings that were kind of in so-and-so, and then there were 20 kings. 89 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:27,840 We're seeing this morning what that means throughout hundreds and hundreds and thousands of years later, God being faithful to his promises. 90 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:42,840 And it says in Matthew 12:15, "Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from them. And many followed him, and he healed them all, and ordered them not to make him known. 91 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:56,840 This was to fill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased." 92 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:12,840 I will put my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 93 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:32,840 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope. This is the word of the Lord. 94 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:55,840 So we begin our Advent journey together. We want to sort of use this time to prepare our hearts and minds as we look both backwards to the first arrival of Jesus and as we look forward to the day that he will come again. 95 00:33:55,840 --> 00:34:04,840 And so one of the things we try to do to sort of help us sort of see that visual progression is for the kids, for example, we light the 96 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:17,840 Advent candles as we light an additional one each week, to sort of see this visual progression for us that helps us see these wonderful things that God has done and promised to us. 97 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:26,840 And so we sort of see that as a progression. The word Advent just simply means arrival, and that's what we're considering for the next four weeks leading to Christmas. 98 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:33,840 So let's pray, and then we're going to dive into Matthew chapter 12. Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for your church. 99 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:46,840 Thank you for the encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We just thank you for all the good gifts that you have given us and bestowed upon us, and we thank you most of all for Jesus. 100 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:56,840 And so as we prepare our hearts, we just ask that you would help us this morning to see that there is hope in this dark and troubled world. 101 00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:05,840 That hope is found not in a thing or in a plan or in some sort of objective, but it's found in the person and the work of your son, Jesus. 102 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:10,840 So be with us this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 103 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:17,840 Now probably most of us have had that experience of not really being on the same page as someone else. 104 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:26,840 Now remember, in the very early days of grocery delivery or grocery pickup, this happened quite regularly. 105 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:37,840 For example, there was a time that our neighbor had ordered, she wanted five bananas, and the way you ordered it from the Walmart app, it said, you know, per banana. 106 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:43,840 So she ordered five bananas, went and picked them up, and then we get this call that's like, "Hey, you guys want any bananas?" 107 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:48,840 Because instead of five bananas, they gave us five pounds of bananas. 108 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:53,840 And then another time when we were ordering apples, we thought we were ordering a three-pound bag of apples. 109 00:35:53,840 --> 00:36:00,840 But instead of that, we got the groceries, and we looked through them, and there was just simply three apples. 110 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:05,840 Which, if you know our kids and their love for apples, it takes about 30 seconds for those three apples. 111 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,840 They don't go very far. And what we find is that we live in a world where, 112 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:16,840 oftentimes, we may be using the same words, or the same numbers, but in different situations, 113 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:19,840 they might mean different things to different people. 114 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:23,840 Right? One person might have one definition, another has another definition, 115 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,840 and we might be saying the same things, and we end up talking past each other, 116 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:33,840 or over each other, or around each other. And we often find ourselves not on the same page. 117 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:39,840 And I think this is especially true when it comes to the idea of hope. 118 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:43,840 We can use hope in our English language in a lot of different ways. 119 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:48,840 So, for example, we might use the word hope to simply mean wish, right? 120 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:53,840 I sort of desire something, I really want it, I don't know if it's going to happen, 121 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:56,840 so we would sort of use it interchangeably with wish. 122 00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:00,840 You know, I hope, you know, that this happens when we really mean I wish it would happen. 123 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:03,840 Not big chance, but it would be nice if it did. 124 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:10,840 And then sometimes we use hope as a way to sort of a synonym for hinting, right? 125 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:18,840 So I might say to Rachel, "I really, really, really hope that there's a motorcycle under the Christmas tree this year," right? 126 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:24,840 Now, I'm not hoping one magically appears, I'm hoping she takes my hint and goes and gets me a motorcycle, right? 127 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:33,840 And so sometimes we use hope as a synonym for maybe you'll do this if I hint sort of subtly. 128 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:40,840 And then there are other times we use hope to sort of talk about maybe an opportunity in the future, right? 129 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:49,840 I know things aren't great right now, but if you look at the way events are sort of coming together, I hope that it will turn out the way we want. 130 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:54,840 In fact, we heard this in the last couple weeks as we were leading up to the election, right? 131 00:37:54,840 --> 00:38:01,840 Each side, "I hope this happens. I hope this happens. Here's my data, and I hope events turn out the way that I want." 132 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:10,840 And we use hope in all these different ways, and those are not bad, but when we read hope in the Bible, it's different than these. 133 00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:18,840 And so if we bring our ideas of hope to biblical hope, one of the things that will happen for us is we won't understand 134 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:27,840 the wonder of biblical hope. If hope is simply a wish or maybe a plan going forward that we hope things will sort of follow that plan and turn out, 135 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:37,840 or a hint to a loved one to buy us a certain Christmas present, we aren't going to get the depth and the wonder of biblical hope. 136 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:47,840 And hope at its heart has, at its heart, sort of in all the ways we use it, this picture of anticipation, expectation, and a desire 137 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:54,840 for something to happen in the future. Now, when it comes to the Bible, there's a couple different words used for hope. 138 00:38:54,840 --> 00:39:00,840 And in the Old Testament, the two that are most prevalent, one simply means waiting, right? 139 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:06,840 That hope is just simply waiting for God to do what He has promised to do, right? 140 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:12,840 It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but we trust that God has done it, and we simply wait for Him. 141 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,840 In fact, you'll read that through the Psalms. We'll read an example in a minute where it says, 142 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:20,840 "Wait for the Lord," right? That's a picture of hope. 143 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:25,840 The other picture of hope that's used frequently, and not necessarily translated waiting, 144 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:28,840 but translated hope very frequently in the Old Testament, 145 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:36,840 has this picture of tension that's being stretched out in anticipation and excitement. 146 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:40,840 And just like when we're kids, we stretch out a rubber band, and you stretch it, and you stretch it, 147 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:45,840 and all of a sudden it breaks, and then you snap your friend with it, or you get snapped with it. 148 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,840 But that picture of that tension is sort of exploding. 149 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:52,840 That biblical hope is this picture of tension, and then it explodes, 150 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:57,840 but not in something painful, but in something wonderful and joyful. 151 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:01,840 And so these two pictures of the Old Testament, one of waiting, 152 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:05,840 and the other of sort of this stretching, and this tension, and this tension, 153 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:10,840 until hope sort of breaks through in an explosion of joy. 154 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,840 In fact, let me read to you from the 130th Psalm. It says this: 155 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:20,840 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope. 156 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:23,840 My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchman in the morning, 157 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:25,840 more than the watchman for the morning. 158 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:30,840 O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love, 159 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:35,840 and with Him there is plentiful redemption, and He will redeem Israel from all iniquities." 160 00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:38,840 And you have both of those pictures of hope, the picture of waiting, 161 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:43,840 and this picture of growing expectation that ultimately explodes 162 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:49,840 into God's redemption of His people from all of their sins. 163 00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:53,840 And I would also like to differentiate, just for a minute this morning, 164 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:56,840 the difference between hope and optimism, right? 165 00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:58,840 Some of us are optimists, right? 166 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:01,840 We look at things, we say, "I see how this can turn out for good," right? 167 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,840 It can be dark, everything can be going wrong, everything can be broken, 168 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:08,840 and an optimist says, "Well, I can see the good that's happening here, 169 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:10,840 and maybe the good that might come from this." 170 00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:13,840 Hope is different from optimism. 171 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:17,840 Not that optimism is bad, but hope is different. 172 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:20,840 Let me read to you from the book of Hosea. 173 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:24,840 And if you're not familiar with the book of Hosea, it's a difficult story, 174 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:28,840 not just in Israel's history, but for Hosea personally, 175 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:34,840 because Hosea is called to live as a parable of how God is dealing with His people. 176 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:36,840 He's called to marry a wife of unfaithfulness. 177 00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:41,840 He has several children, one of whom he names "not my child." 178 00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:45,840 His wife eventually abandons him, runs away, and then he goes and redeems her 179 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:49,840 and brings her back into his house, a picture of what God is doing for Israel. 180 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:55,840 But Israel in this time isn't just in the darkness of rebellion and unfaithfulness to God. 181 00:41:55,840 --> 00:42:02,840 They are in the midst of struggle with foreigners who are invading and persecuting and giving them problems. 182 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:06,840 And here's what Hosea says in chapter 2:15. 183 00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:11,840 "And there I will give her vineyards, and make the valley of Achor," 184 00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:15,840 that's literally the valley of trouble, "a door of hope." 185 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:18,840 And there she shall answer, as in the days of her youth, 186 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,840 as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. 187 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:27,840 And so the picture there is not optimism. Israel doesn't see a way forward, right? 188 00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:30,840 They're in the valley of trouble, and that's where they are. 189 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:37,840 But what Hosea says is, it's not about optimism and sort of looking for the best in the bad situation, 190 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:40,840 but that God will literally step into the valley of trouble. 191 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:47,840 He's going to rip open a door of hope, just as He did when He brought you out of Egypt. 192 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:51,840 You weren't expecting it. You didn't expect the power and the miracles. 193 00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:58,840 And here God brings you out, redeems you with an outstretched arm, surprising everyone. 194 00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:03,840 And so you have this picture of the valley of trouble being turned into a door of hope. 195 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:06,840 And then you come to the New Testament. 196 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:13,840 And the picture of the New Testament is that Jesus ultimately is the door of hope for all people. 197 00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:20,840 That all of us, in the valley of trouble, or in the valley of darkness, 198 00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:25,840 Jesus is the light and the door of hope. In fact, Peter says it this way: 199 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:28,840 Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 200 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:33,840 who according to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again 201 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:37,840 to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 202 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:42,840 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, 203 00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:47,840 kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith 204 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:51,840 for His salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 205 00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:54,840 That this picture of a world that is filled with darkness, 206 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:57,840 and if you read through the accounts of the birth of Jesus, 207 00:43:57,840 --> 00:43:59,840 you'll see that picture over and over again. 208 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:01,840 That in the darkness, a light has dawned. 209 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:04,840 Those who are under darkness are brought out into the light. 210 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:11,840 That those who are suffering and struggling are brought to redemption and hope through Jesus. 211 00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:16,840 You see, biblically, hope doesn't come to a plan or a strategy. 212 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:21,840 It comes to a person, and that person ultimately is Jesus. 213 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:26,840 And we find ourselves, if we're honest and if we pay attention to what is going around us, 214 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:31,840 living in a world that is so often bleak and broken. 215 00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:35,840 There's hurt, and there's struggle, and there's difficulty. 216 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:39,840 And so do we depend on optimism, just hoping everything will be good? 217 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:41,840 No, we have hope. 218 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:46,840 Do we just sort of wish for things to get better? No, we have hope. 219 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:51,840 We might say, "Well, how is it possible that we have this hope in the midst of darkness?" 220 00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:56,840 So I want to go to Matthew chapter 12 and spend a little time in this text this morning. 221 00:44:56,840 --> 00:45:03,840 And I want to start by sort of showing you the context of this text, and what is going around what Jesus does, 222 00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:07,840 and then what Matthew reveals to us from the book of Isaiah. 223 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:12,840 So Jesus is in the middle of a section of Scripture where it's filled with conflict. 224 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:17,840 It begins in the very first part. It's the Sabbath day. Jesus and His disciples are walking through a field. 225 00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:22,840 The disciples are kind of snacky, right? Sometimes as we walk along, we would like a snack. 226 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:27,840 They're walking through a grain field, and they're sort of running their hands through the grain field as they walk along, 227 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:32,840 and they'll pick up a few grains, kind of roll them in their hands, and pop them in their mouth and eat them. 228 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:40,840 And the Pharisees and religious leaders of the day will see this and say, "Jesus, your disciples are violating the Sabbath. 229 00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:48,840 They are not honoring the Sabbath. One of the Ten Commandments that God has given His people, they honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, designed to be a day of rest. 230 00:45:48,840 --> 00:45:54,840 These religious leaders look at Jesus and His disciples, and they say, "They're out here harvesting fields." 231 00:45:54,840 --> 00:46:03,840 Now, that accusation is incredibly ridiculous, right? There is a huge difference from harvesting a field and walking through the field, 232 00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:09,840 picking up a little bit of grain and putting it in their mouth to eat as they walk along. And Jesus, knowing this ridiculousness, 233 00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:18,840 is going to respond in a very remarkable way. First of all, He's going to bring two examples to bear in these first few verses. 234 00:46:18,840 --> 00:46:27,840 The first example that He brings to bear is that of David when he takes the bread that is consecrated for the priest because he is hungry. 235 00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:36,840 He uses of the priests who serve and work on the Sabbath because they're doing God's work. And He's saying, "My disciples are doing God's work. 236 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:43,840 They're just like priests, and they have this same kind of exception." The third thing Jesus does, He gets a little confrontational 237 00:46:43,840 --> 00:46:50,840 and looks at them and goes, "Have you read the Bible?" And that would be a massive insult to people who had devoted 238 00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:57,840 themselves to the intricacies of those first five books of the Bible, and in some cases, memorizing the entire law of God. 239 00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:04,840 All 632 different laws, memorizing them, trying to keep them, writing a whole bunch of laws based on those laws. 240 00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:11,840 This would have been an insult to say, "You even read the Bible?" And then Jesus sort of caps it all off by saying, 241 00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:18,840 "The Lord of the Sabbath, the one who institutes the Sabbath, the one who creates the Sabbath, gets to decide what men and women do 242 00:47:18,840 --> 00:47:24,840 on the Sabbath, and I'm..." What He's saying to them is, "I'm the Lord of the Sabbath, and I get to be the ultimate arbiter 243 00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:32,840 of the day that I created and how it's used." And so that begins a conflict. The Pharisees do not respond well to that. 244 00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:40,840 And so the second conflict we see is, Jesus is in the synagogue, and there is a man who has a withered hand, a hand 245 00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:48,840 that is crippled in some way, and he's placed there in the synagogue that Jesus is in as bait, because they said, 246 00:47:48,840 --> 00:47:56,840 "We can get Jesus for violating the Sabbath if He heals this guy on the Sabbath day." And Jesus, of course, being 247 00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:04,840 full of compassion, heals the man, and they immediately began to protest about how Jesus has healed this man on 248 00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:11,840 the Sabbath, violated the Sabbath. He is not listening to the law of God. And so Jesus will point out their own 249 00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:17,840 hypocrisy, because if they have a sheep who falls into a ditch, they go rescue the sheep, and isn't a man in 250 00:48:17,840 --> 00:48:24,840 the rescue of this man more important than the sheep? And so being fully defeated, so what often happens today 251 00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:31,840 happens in Jesus's day, where instead of dealing with facts and reality, we just immediately sort of jump to 252 00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:39,840 anger, and this anger ultimately leads to violence. And so they're seeking and plotting a way to attack and to kill 253 00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:47,840 Jesus as we come to our text this morning. And we find that Jesus immediately leaves town. And this is not 254 00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:53,840 because Jesus is afraid, or Jesus is weak, or he's uncertain about the future. It's because Jesus has a plan 255 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:58,840 that's bigger than this little synagogue and this little debate with a bunch of grumpy religious 256 00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:06,840 leaders. His plan stretches back all the way to the beginning, to the redemption of mankind. And what 257 00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:13,840 Matthew is going to do for us as Jesus leaves town to avoid this conflict, he's going to pull back the 258 00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:18,840 curtain. He's going to reveal the wonder of that plan. We've all seen those sort of big revelations. Maybe 259 00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:22,840 it's one of those shows where they're remodeling the house, and they finally get it remodeled, and they 260 00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:26,840 they have the people who are going to live there, and they stand there, and they say, "Remember what your 261 00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:32,840 house used to look like?" And then you open up the big panels, and there's the new house all painted, the 262 00:49:32,840 --> 00:49:38,840 yards, the landscape. You walk through the front door. Everything's different and beautiful. So on one 263 00:49:38,840 --> 00:49:45,840 hand, we have this conflict in Jesus leaving town ahead of this sort of angry mob of religious leaders. And 264 00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:51,840 what Matthew is going to do is he's going to pull back the curtain of those events and let us see what is 265 00:49:51,840 --> 00:49:58,840 behind them. And so we see this plan that Matthew has. And so in Isaiah, just for some context, the verses 266 00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:05,840 that Matthew will quote, there are four servant songs in the book of Isaiah. This is the very first one. We're 267 00:50:05,840 --> 00:50:11,840 probably most familiar with that of the suffering servant from Isaiah 53. But this is the first of 268 00:50:11,840 --> 00:50:17,840 four servant songs in Isaiah. I'll just read it again to you. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. So 269 00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:22,840 there's this violence and this conflict. Many followed him. He healed all of them, and ordered 270 00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:27,840 them not to make him known, not because Jesus is afraid, but because there's a bigger plan. Matthew 271 00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:32,840 is now going to pull this curtain back. Matthew will say, "This is to fulfill what was spoken 272 00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:37,840 by the prophet Isaiah. Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul 273 00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:44,840 is well pleased, I will put my spirit upon him. He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He 274 00:50:44,840 --> 00:50:51,840 will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will 275 00:50:51,840 --> 00:50:58,840 not break. A smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory, and in his 276 00:50:58,840 --> 00:51:04,840 name Gentiles will hope." And so first of all, I want you to see what Isaiah has to say about 277 00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:12,840 the identity, about who Jesus is, and through that identity we see that you and I are loved 278 00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:20,840 by God. This is intentionally directing us to Jesus. The word that it begins with, "Behold 279 00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:26,840 my servant." We might say, "Look at this." That's one of the things we do. It's a funny thing 280 00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:31,840 that happened to me as a parent. I never really pointed out cows until I had a bunch of kids who 281 00:51:31,840 --> 00:51:35,840 love cows and horses, so you're driving down the road and go, "There's a cow! There's a cow! 282 00:51:35,840 --> 00:51:40,840 There's a calf! There's a horse!" What Isaiah, through God, and God is saying through Isaiah 283 00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:48,840 here is God is going, "Look at my son! Look at my son!" That's the picture of this word "Behold." Look at who 284 00:51:48,840 --> 00:51:58,840 he is. And we see the preciousness of God the Father giving us the gift of God the Son. Listen to what he says. 285 00:51:58,840 --> 00:52:08,840 "My beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased." God the Father says, "God the Son," that he both loves him and is pleased 286 00:52:08,840 --> 00:52:12,840 with him. That's important, right? Because we can love things and not be pleased with them. I mentioned a 287 00:52:12,840 --> 00:52:18,840 couple weeks ago that our dogs, you know, late at night encountered a skunk. We washed him with the skunk 288 00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:24,840 shampoo, got it to where they don't smell that bad anymore until this morning. We let him out first thing 289 00:52:24,840 --> 00:52:30,840 in the morning into the rain. And you know what rain does? So that it just reconstitutes everything. And then they 290 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:34,840 come back in the door, and I'm sitting there on the couch looking through my sermon, and here comes my big 291 00:52:34,840 --> 00:52:40,840 wet doofus of a dog who now smells exactly like a skunk and thinks he can come sit on my lap, right? 292 00:52:40,840 --> 00:52:47,840 I love him, not pleased with him in that moment, right? We've all experienced that. There's a love and a deep 293 00:52:47,840 --> 00:52:53,840 love for someone, but we're not pleased with them. What you find here is that God says two things. First of all, 294 00:52:53,840 --> 00:53:03,840 I love the Son. He's my beloved, but also what he is doing is what I have planned, that I am pleased with him. 295 00:53:03,840 --> 00:53:15,840 God looks at the Son and he proclaims this, not for Jesus' benefit, but for ours, that this is his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased. 296 00:53:15,840 --> 00:53:24,840 But we also see that these events are planned. Isaiah writes 700 years before Jesus, and now these four 297 00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:32,840 suffering servant songs will go on to describe the life of Jesus, right? His purpose, his call, his obedience, his 298 00:53:32,840 --> 00:53:38,840 suffering, and you have this sort of wonderful prophecy. And we see that the 299 00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:45,840 gift of God to us is a big one. It's his beloved Son. And it's a planned one for our 300 00:53:45,840 --> 00:53:53,840 redemption and our salvation. And as we come to this, and as we see who Jesus is, as Isaiah 301 00:53:53,840 --> 00:54:00,840 from God describes, we're reminded that we are loved, right? One of the most familiar and well-known 302 00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:06,840 verses in all the Bible, right? For God so loved the world that he did what? He sent his 303 00:54:06,840 --> 00:54:13,840 only begotten Son. Or in Romans chapter 5, that God shows his love for us, yet that while we 304 00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:20,840 were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And as we look to the identity of Jesus and who he 305 00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:29,840 is, and the very fact that he is among us, that he is with us, we're reminded that we are loved. 306 00:54:29,840 --> 00:54:38,840 That our relationship with God is not accidental or an afterthought. The second thing we see 307 00:54:38,840 --> 00:54:45,840 in this prophecy of Isaiah is that in the attitude of Jesus, we see that we are welcomed. Look 308 00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:52,840 at what it says in verses 15 and 16. "Jesus, aware of this, withdrew, and many followed him, 309 00:54:52,840 --> 00:54:58,840 and he healed them all, and ordered them not to make him known." And then in the second half of 310 00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:04,840 verse 18 and 19, "And he will proclaim justice to Gentiles. He will not quarrel 311 00:55:04,840 --> 00:55:10,840 or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets." What you find is that in the healing 312 00:55:10,840 --> 00:55:14,840 of all of these people, they heard Jesus has healed this man on the Sabbath, and as Jesus 313 00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:19,840 leaves town, every single person who needs to be healed follows Jesus. Now, Jesus could 314 00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:25,840 have said, "Look guys, I'm busy, right? I've got a place to be, things to do, a plan from God 315 00:55:25,840 --> 00:55:30,840 to accomplish." He could also have said, "This is too dangerous, right? They want to kill 316 00:55:30,840 --> 00:55:36,840 me because I healed one guy in the synagogue, and now there's a whole crowd of you following 317 00:55:36,840 --> 00:55:41,840 along. Are you trying to get me killed?" But that's not what Jesus does. What does it say? 318 00:55:41,840 --> 00:55:48,840 It says that he healed them all. Right? Jesus doesn't say, "I'm too important, too 319 00:55:48,840 --> 00:55:58,840 lazy, or that I'm afraid." In this crowd in verses 15 and 16, we see that Jesus deeply cares 320 00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:05,840 for the hurting. But then the second part of this prophecy talks about how Jesus comes with 321 00:56:05,840 --> 00:56:12,840 justice, but He's not going to come in a way where He is quarreling or crying aloud, nor 322 00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:19,840 hear His voice in the streets. In the healing, and in this picture of quietness, we see a 323 00:56:19,840 --> 00:56:27,840 humility in Jesus. Not a weakness, but a gentleness. And the reason that Jesus comes in gentleness 324 00:56:27,840 --> 00:56:35,840 is because if He comes fully revealing His glory and power, we're going to run away in fear. 325 00:56:35,840 --> 00:56:40,840 If you think about when God descends on Sinai, and the people gathered there for the covenant 326 00:56:40,840 --> 00:56:45,840 at the bottom of the mountain, they say to Moses, "We can't hear God. 327 00:56:45,840 --> 00:56:48,840 You go talk to God and bring it to us." And so Moses goes to the mountain, 328 00:56:48,840 --> 00:56:51,840 and he comes down, and his face is reflecting the glory of God. 329 00:56:51,840 --> 00:56:57,840 They can't even stand to be in a reflection of the glory of God because it is so terrifying. 330 00:56:57,840 --> 00:57:02,840 Or Peter, when he gets that glimpse of Jesus when they're fishing, and all the fish come into the boat, 331 00:57:02,840 --> 00:57:08,840 and Peter just immediately says, "Lord, depart from me, for I'm a sinful man." Just that tiny glimpse of the glory 332 00:57:08,840 --> 00:57:17,840 of God sends us into fear because it puts into stark contrast that he is holy and that we are not. 333 00:57:17,840 --> 00:57:25,840 And so Jesus comes humbly so that we would know that we are welcome to come to him. 334 00:57:25,840 --> 00:57:31,840 A couple months ago, I was sitting in our living room, and I got a notification from our doorbell camera 335 00:57:31,840 --> 00:57:36,840 that said, "Animal scene on the front porch." And I'm like, "Are both dogs here?" 336 00:57:36,840 --> 00:57:42,840 And I check, and they whir, and so I pop it open, and there's this little tan dog kind of running around the front yard. 337 00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:48,840 And so I go outside. It's like 10 o'clock on a Saturday night. I go outside, and he's kind of running around. 338 00:57:48,840 --> 00:57:56,840 Now, you have a couple options, right? "Hey, come here right now!" Or, which that never works, I just simply sat down on the front steps and said, 339 00:57:56,840 --> 00:58:04,840 "Hey, buddy." He comes trotting over, and I grab his collar, get a leash on him, right? Because the gentleness shows that you're welcome. 340 00:58:04,840 --> 00:58:14,840 And Jesus doesn't come going, "Hey!" Right? He comes quietly and gently, not yelling, not crying out in the streets, 341 00:58:14,840 --> 00:58:20,840 but he comes with this picture of gentleness, and he welcomes us with tenderness. 342 00:58:20,840 --> 00:58:27,840 Jonathan Edwards will say in his wonderful sermon called "The Diverse Excellencies of Christ," and he says this, 343 00:58:27,840 --> 00:58:33,840 "If you come, you may not fear that you shall be accepted, for he is a lamb to all who come to him, 344 00:58:33,840 --> 00:58:37,840 and he receives them with infinite grace and tenderness." 345 00:58:37,840 --> 00:58:45,840 The third thing we see is that in this, the actions of Jesus, and what he does, is that we are not disposable. 346 00:58:45,840 --> 00:58:53,840 We have this wonderful prophecy: "A bruised reed he will not quench, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, 347 00:58:53,840 --> 00:58:57,840 until he brings justice to glory." Now, this is probably a hard picture for us to understand, 348 00:58:57,840 --> 00:59:02,840 because with the exception of special occasions or nicely smelling candles to make our house smell better, 349 00:59:02,840 --> 00:59:07,840 make our house smell better, we don't do a lot of things with wicks or with reeds. 350 00:59:07,840 --> 00:59:12,840 And the picture here is of broken things that normally would be discarded. 351 00:59:12,840 --> 00:59:19,840 So if this reed is picturing a stalk of weed, if that stalk is broken and bent over and has a weak spot, 352 00:59:19,840 --> 00:59:22,840 it doesn't go on to produce grain. It's worthless. 353 00:59:22,840 --> 00:59:27,840 If you're seeking to harvest that for the fiber, that bruise in that reed, 354 00:59:27,840 --> 00:59:31,840 it kind of makes that worthless as you're pulling it apart and getting the fibers out. 355 00:59:31,840 --> 00:59:36,840 And so what you would do with a bruised reed or a broken stalk of grain, 356 00:59:36,840 --> 00:59:41,840 you would say, "This has no value," and you throw it away. 357 00:59:41,840 --> 00:59:45,840 Or with a wick that is sitting and it's smoldering. 358 00:59:45,840 --> 00:59:50,840 And it kind of has a little bit of fire but not a lot, and it's mostly smoke, 359 00:59:50,840 --> 00:59:54,840 most of the time you would quench it, put it out, 360 00:59:54,840 --> 00:59:57,840 either replace the wick in your oil lamp or cut it off, 361 00:59:57,840 --> 01:00:00,840 because that part of the wick is no longer serving its purpose. 362 01:00:00,840 --> 01:00:02,840 That's what Jesus does. 363 01:00:02,840 --> 01:00:06,840 He doesn't break the bruised reed. 364 01:00:06,840 --> 01:00:09,840 He doesn't put out the struggling candle. 365 01:00:09,840 --> 01:00:12,840 It's this picture of God not throwing people away, 366 01:00:12,840 --> 01:00:15,840 not treating them as disposable. 367 01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:17,840 God doesn't look at your brokenness. 368 01:00:17,840 --> 01:00:20,840 God does not look at your struggle and say, 369 01:00:20,840 --> 01:00:23,840 "I'm going to find somebody who's in better shape." 370 01:00:23,840 --> 01:00:27,840 God comes to the bruised reed, 371 01:00:27,840 --> 01:00:31,840 and He comes to that struggling wick, 372 01:00:31,840 --> 01:00:35,840 and instead of disposing of them, 373 01:00:35,840 --> 01:00:37,840 He brings them into His family. 374 01:00:37,840 --> 01:00:39,840 It's a beautiful picture, 375 01:00:39,840 --> 01:00:44,840 a picture that has encouraged the church for centuries. 376 01:00:44,840 --> 01:00:47,840 Jesus' gentleness and patience, 377 01:00:47,840 --> 01:00:52,840 He doesn't see those who struggle as being disposable. 378 01:00:52,840 --> 01:00:54,840 And so we see these pictures, 379 01:00:54,840 --> 01:00:58,840 this love and this humility and this gentleness, 380 01:00:58,840 --> 01:01:01,840 that we see God's love through the identity of Jesus, 381 01:01:01,840 --> 01:01:05,840 we see His welcome through the attitude and the humility of Jesus, 382 01:01:05,840 --> 01:01:09,840 and we see His care for us in the actions of Jesus. 383 01:01:09,840 --> 01:01:13,840 And those are all good and wonderful things. 384 01:01:13,840 --> 01:01:16,840 But at the heart of it, 385 01:01:16,840 --> 01:01:18,840 we need to be rescued. 386 01:01:18,840 --> 01:01:21,840 It's good to have somebody that loves us. 387 01:01:21,840 --> 01:01:24,840 It's good to have somebody that humbly welcomes us. 388 01:01:24,840 --> 01:01:28,840 It's good to have somebody who doesn't treat us as disposable. 389 01:01:28,840 --> 01:01:31,840 But what about my enemies? 390 01:01:31,840 --> 01:01:35,840 And notice how this is written. 391 01:01:35,840 --> 01:01:38,840 "Behold my servant whom I have chosen, 392 01:01:38,840 --> 01:01:40,840 my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. 393 01:01:40,840 --> 01:01:42,840 I will put my spirit in him, 394 01:01:42,840 --> 01:01:46,840 and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 395 01:01:46,840 --> 01:01:48,840 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, 396 01:01:48,840 --> 01:01:50,840 nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets, 397 01:01:50,840 --> 01:01:53,840 a bruised reed he will not break, 398 01:01:53,840 --> 01:01:56,840 a smoldering wick he will not quench 399 01:01:56,840 --> 01:01:59,840 until he brings justice to victory, 400 01:01:59,840 --> 01:02:03,840 and in his name the Gentiles will hope." 401 01:02:03,840 --> 01:02:05,840 And throughout all of these things, 402 01:02:05,840 --> 01:02:09,840 the love and the humility and the welcome 403 01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:13,840 and the not treating broken people as disposable 404 01:02:13,840 --> 01:02:17,840 runs this thread of the power and the victory 405 01:02:17,840 --> 01:02:21,840 and the greatness of God. 406 01:02:21,840 --> 01:02:24,840 I don't want you to mistake the humility of God 407 01:02:24,840 --> 01:02:25,840 or the love of God 408 01:02:25,840 --> 01:02:29,840 or the care of God for weakness. 409 01:02:29,840 --> 01:02:32,840 We see God's strength 410 01:02:32,840 --> 01:02:34,840 in Him being the one who rescues, 411 01:02:34,840 --> 01:02:37,840 who is the hope not just of the Jewish nation, 412 01:02:37,840 --> 01:02:40,840 but all nations, all of the Gentiles, 413 01:02:40,840 --> 01:02:42,840 the one in whom there is hope, 414 01:02:42,840 --> 01:02:46,840 the one who brings this to victory. 415 01:02:46,840 --> 01:02:51,840 Isaiah, in Isaiah 40, pictures it like this. 416 01:02:51,840 --> 01:02:53,840 Sort of two pictures. 417 01:02:53,840 --> 01:02:54,840 The first picture is this, 418 01:02:54,840 --> 01:02:56,840 "Behold, the Lord God comes with might, 419 01:02:56,840 --> 01:02:59,840 and His arm rules for Him. 420 01:02:59,840 --> 01:03:01,840 Behold, His reward is with Him, 421 01:03:01,840 --> 01:03:04,840 and His recompense before Him." 422 01:03:04,840 --> 01:03:07,840 And this picture of God in His power 423 01:03:07,840 --> 01:03:11,840 coming in both judgment and deliverance for His people. 424 01:03:11,840 --> 01:03:14,840 And then the second half of this says, 425 01:03:14,840 --> 01:03:17,840 "He will tend His flock like a shepherd. 426 01:03:17,840 --> 01:03:20,840 He will gather the lambs in His arms. 427 01:03:20,840 --> 01:03:22,840 He will carry them in His bosom 428 01:03:22,840 --> 01:03:25,840 and gently lead those who are young." 429 01:03:25,840 --> 01:03:27,840 You see, in this prophecy of Isaiah, 430 01:03:27,840 --> 01:03:31,840 we see both the strength and the power of Jesus. 431 01:03:31,840 --> 01:03:33,840 That He has the strength and power, 432 01:03:33,840 --> 01:03:35,840 that He is the King who can deliver us. 433 01:03:35,840 --> 01:03:38,840 He is the one who can save us from our fears, 434 01:03:38,840 --> 01:03:40,840 can rescue us from death, 435 01:03:40,840 --> 01:03:43,840 who can save us from our sins, 436 01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:46,840 who rises from the tomb in victory, 437 01:03:46,840 --> 01:03:48,840 giving us hope. 438 01:03:48,840 --> 01:03:51,840 But He doesn't do it proudly and arrogantly. 439 01:03:51,840 --> 01:03:53,840 Standing there saying, "Look at me." 440 01:03:53,840 --> 01:03:57,840 He does it with love and with humility 441 01:03:57,840 --> 01:04:02,840 and with this care for those who are broken and hurting. 442 01:04:02,840 --> 01:04:05,840 And in these verses, you have this beautiful picture 443 01:04:05,840 --> 01:04:09,840 of the power to bring justice and salvation 444 01:04:09,840 --> 01:04:11,840 and to be the hope of the world. 445 01:04:11,840 --> 01:04:15,840 But He does it in a way that welcomes us and loves us 446 01:04:15,840 --> 01:04:19,840 and calls us to Himself. 447 01:04:19,840 --> 01:04:22,840 You see, it would be easy for the religious leaders in Jesus' day 448 01:04:22,840 --> 01:04:25,840 to look at Jesus and say, "Oh, He's scared. He's running away." 449 01:04:25,840 --> 01:04:27,840 It's not what Jesus is doing. 450 01:04:27,840 --> 01:04:31,840 He's going to come in justice and in victory 451 01:04:31,840 --> 01:04:34,840 over death and over the grave. 452 01:04:34,840 --> 01:04:37,840 But He's going to do so while calling, 453 01:04:37,840 --> 01:04:42,840 broken, hurting people to Himself and showing them love. 454 01:04:42,840 --> 01:04:46,840 And so the question that we have to ask ourselves this morning 455 01:04:46,840 --> 01:04:48,840 is what am I putting my hope in, right? 456 01:04:48,840 --> 01:04:52,840 It's easy for me to put my hope in things. 457 01:04:52,840 --> 01:04:55,840 Or it's easy for me to put my hope in plans. 458 01:04:55,840 --> 01:04:58,840 It's easy for me to put my hope, 459 01:04:58,840 --> 01:05:01,840 and probably true of most of us, in my own strength 460 01:05:01,840 --> 01:05:03,840 and my own ability to figure it out. 461 01:05:03,840 --> 01:05:06,840 The call of this prophecy in Isaiah 462 01:05:06,840 --> 01:05:10,840 and the point of this picture in Matthew 12, 463 01:05:10,840 --> 01:05:13,840 is that our hope isn't in any of those things. 464 01:05:13,840 --> 01:05:16,840 That's the hope of the religious leaders. 465 01:05:16,840 --> 01:05:18,840 We hope in the strength and the power of God 466 01:05:18,840 --> 01:05:21,840 who comes with justice and salvation, 467 01:05:21,840 --> 01:05:24,840 that He also comes to us 468 01:05:24,840 --> 01:05:27,840 humbly, filled with love, 469 01:05:27,840 --> 01:05:30,840 and will not break the bruised or the smoldering. 470 01:05:30,840 --> 01:05:34,840 He will not dispose of the struggling. 471 01:05:34,840 --> 01:05:36,840 Let's pray. 472 01:05:36,840 --> 01:05:40,840 Father, as we consider the arrival of Your Son, 473 01:05:40,840 --> 01:05:43,840 in humility, 474 01:05:43,840 --> 01:05:45,840 in gentleness, and in love, 475 01:05:45,840 --> 01:05:47,840 help us to see clearly 476 01:05:47,840 --> 01:05:50,840 that we are loved, 477 01:05:50,840 --> 01:05:53,840 that we are welcomed, 478 01:05:53,840 --> 01:05:56,840 that we are worth saving 479 01:05:56,840 --> 01:05:59,840 because of Jesus, not because of ourselves. 480 01:05:59,840 --> 01:06:02,840 He takes our brokenness and our struggles. 481 01:06:02,840 --> 01:06:05,840 He is the one who heals and restores. 482 01:06:05,840 --> 01:06:10,840 But help us also in that to see His power and His strength. 483 01:06:10,840 --> 01:06:12,840 The ability to heal. 484 01:06:12,840 --> 01:06:14,840 The ability to bring justice. 485 01:06:14,840 --> 01:06:16,840 The ability to set things right. 486 01:06:16,840 --> 01:06:18,840 Help us as we move toward Christmas, 487 01:06:18,840 --> 01:06:20,840 and we consider hope 488 01:06:20,840 --> 01:06:22,840 that You would focus our eyes on Jesus. 489 01:06:22,840 --> 01:06:25,840 It's in His name we pray. Amen. 490 01:06:25,840 --> 01:06:28,840 We're going to stand and sing 491 01:06:28,840 --> 01:06:30,840 What I think kind of sums this up, 492 01:06:30,840 --> 01:06:32,840 this picture of salvation. 493 01:06:32,840 --> 01:06:33,840 So we're going to stand and sing 494 01:06:33,840 --> 01:06:35,840 "Mighty to Save." 495 01:06:58,840 --> 01:07:28,820 Let mercy fall on me. Everyone needs forgiveness. The kindness of the Savior. The hope of nations. Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save. 496 01:07:28,820 --> 01:07:45,820 He is mighty to save. Forever, author of salvation. He rose and conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave. 497 01:07:45,820 --> 01:07:58,800 So take me as you find all my fears and failures. Fill my life again. 498 01:07:58,800 --> 01:08:28,780 Give my life to follow. Everything I believe in, now I surrender. Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save forever. 499 01:08:28,780 --> 01:08:58,760 Author of salvation. He rose and conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave. Shine a light and let the whole world see. Singing for the glory of the risen King. Jesus, shine a light and let the whole world see. 500 01:08:58,760 --> 01:09:28,740 The glory of the risen King. Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save. Forever, author of salvation. He rose and conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave. 501 01:09:28,740 --> 01:09:58,720 Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save. Forever, author of salvation. He rose and conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave. 502 01:09:58,720 --> 01:10:21,720 For the glory of the risen King. Jesus, shine a light and let the whole world see. We're singing for the glory of the risen King. 503 01:10:21,720 --> 01:10:28,700 Thankful for all of you joining us here this morning. I'm encouraged by you and 504 01:10:28,700 --> 01:10:39,700 thankful for you. As we proceed into this coming week, one of the things we'll be doing is this Wednesday, 7pm, we'll be back for our Wednesday evening Bible study. 505 01:10:39,700 --> 01:10:53,700 We're going to spend some time. It's very easy when it comes to the accounts of Jesus arriving into our world, stepping into our history with the prophecy and all of these events. 506 01:10:53,700 --> 01:11:20,700 It's very easy sometimes for us to condense those down very quickly, and so what we want to do is kind of maybe spread them out and look at some of the history and see how God's providential hand is at work in all of these events and all of these prophecies and all of these wonderful things and the testimony of God's faithfulness, not just in one area, but throughout all generations throughout history. 507 01:11:20,700 --> 01:11:50,680 So we're excited to do that. We'll be back next Sunday talking a little bit more as we move into these Advent themes of hope, joy, peace, and love. And just sort of as a side note, if you were reading through that prophecy in Isaiah and that bruised reed and the smoldering wick, one of the Puritans, Richard Baxter, in 1610 wrote a book that is entirely focused on those two sections, Christians, 508 01:11:50,680 --> 01:12:16,680 for the last, you know, 500 years, 400 years have found that incredibly encouraging and helpful. I think you might even be able to find it for free on Amazon Kindle, but it's just called The Bruised Reeder. It's actually Richard Sibbes, not Richard Baxter. So if you're interested in pursuing that, just a little more. We're going to pray, and then I'll read a little bit of Scripture. We'll sing the doxology and be dismissed. 509 01:12:16,680 --> 01:12:27,680 Father in heaven, thank you for the goodness of your grace. Thank you for the hope that you've instilled within us. We thank you for your church. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 510 01:12:27,680 --> 01:12:39,680 Zechariah, speaking about John the baptizer, will say, "And for you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways." 511 01:12:39,680 --> 01:12:45,680 And then he's going to talk about what Jesus would do, and what John will do, to give knowledge of salvation for his people, 512 01:12:45,680 --> 01:12:52,680 and the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise will visit us from on high, 513 01:12:52,680 --> 01:13:01,680 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 514 01:13:10,680 --> 01:13:31,680 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 515 01:13:40,680 --> 01:13:45,680 Praise God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 516 01:14:10,680 --> 01:14:40,660 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 517 01:14:40,680 --> 01:15:10,660 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 518 01:15:10,680 --> 01:15:40,660 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 519 01:19:10,680 --> 01:19:40,660 Son, Holy Ghost. 520 01:19:40,680 --> 01:20:10,660 Son, Holy Ghost. 521 01:20:10,680 --> 01:20:40,660 Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. 522 01:20:40,680 --> 01:20:53,420 Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray.