Prepare for Your Unique Savior!

2nd Sunday in Advent, 12/8/13
Isaiah 11:1-10


Prepare for Your Unique Savior!
I. He comes from a unique source.
II. He comes with unique qualities.
III. He comes with a unique peace.


It’s all so predictable. Every year at this time some people don’t even wait for Thanksgiving to be over before it’s full bore towards Christmas. Did we think it would be any different this year? And I’m not just limiting my comments to merchants. They’ve had their Christmas items on display since the end of October. I’m talking about the people in your neighborhood, you and me included. Some people have had Christmas lights on and Christmas trees decorated and on display for more than a week already. The yearly Christmas specials have already been aired on TV just as they have in years past. The company Christmas parties will follow soon just as they always do. Mailboxes will be filled with Christmas greetings. It’s all so predictable.

But as Advent Christians, we know what this season of Advent is all about. It’s about preparing our hearts for our Savior’s coming to this earth, not so much as the Child of Bethlehem the first time, but as the King of kings and Lord of lords the second time. And there’s nothing predictable about that.

So how do you prepare for something when you don’t know when it will happen?

The Lord himself helps us with that this morning. To prepare your heart for his unpredictable return to this earth, recall who he was when he came to this earth the first time and what he still is. The Lord helps us recall exactly that through these words of Isaiah us this morning. In them Isaiah reminds us just how unique our Savior is. Prepare for your unique Savior! May our God graciously prepare us!

Part I.

We don’t know who will be our nation’s leader in a little more than three years. We know who it won’t be, but no one can say with absolute certainty who it will be. We might have our opinions and wishes, but none of us really knows.

When Isaiah wrote these words of our text, that uncertainty about the next leader of God’s people was unthinkable. For the past 200 years King David or one of his descendants had ruled over the people of Judah. As each king’s age advanced, they could see which son of his would succeed him on the throne. It was all very predictable.

But it would end. Isaiah didn’t know exactly when, but we do since we have the advantage of history. About 100 years after Isaiah finished serving as one of God’s prophets, the Babylonians removed the final descendant of King David from his throne in Jerusalem and no king has ever sat on it since. The royal family tree of David had been chopped down cleanly and the only thing left was a stump. So now what?

God used Isaiah to foretell , “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” What’s this? New growth from what appeared to be a dead stump, the stump of Jesse? What’s Isaiah referring to? Jesse was King David’s father. He’s referring to the fact that none of Jesse’s descendants had been ruling for as long as any one of God’s people could remember. The Jews had long ago ceased to look for a king to arise among them from David’s family line. First the Babylonians, then the Persians, then the Greeks and then the Romans ruled over them. But when the time was just right, God announced to a virgin named Mary, a descendant of Jesse, that she would be the mother of the Savior, an eternal King! How amazing! How unlikely in the grand scheme of things. But all things are possible for our God.

Prepare for your unique Savior! He comes from a unique source.

We’ll join millions of Christians during the next few weeks to keep Christ in Christmas. In fact, we’ll take every opportunity to do so. But our world will still be unimpressed. Our world is only too happy to celebrate Christmas without Christ. In doing so, it’s unprepared for his return. But that’s OK with the people of our world. They just want the celebrations and the decorations and the presents. And that wears on us. It saddens us. It can even take some of the luster off our own celebrations. But realize it has always been that way. The sinful mass of humanity has never waited expectantly for the Savior—not in Isaiah’s day, not in Jesus’ days on earth, and not in our own. But by God’s grace and power we are. We know and believe in him as our Savior. That faith makes us ready to celebrate his birth, but more importantly, it makes us ready for his return. That Savior came into our world in the most unlikely of ways—via a virgin birth. We know it and believe it. That faith prepares you for your unique Savior.

Part II.

If you intend to do any kind of building or remodeling, you need to consider what you want it to look like. Most building contractors will listen to you describe what you want and then spend a good deal of time making a drawing of what they heard you say.

The family tree of David had been cut down, but the Lord intended to renew it. He would send an eternal King and Savior and he used Isaiah to describe him for us. Here’s what he said, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.” First, he tells us to watch for the Holy Spirit to rest on the Savior. In a little more than a month we’ll celebrate that very thing. At the baptism of Jesus the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove and rested on Jesus. How unique!

After that description, the Lord lists 6 qualities to look for in the Savior. Those qualities are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Once Jesus began to preach and teach the people, they instantly recognized how different he was from any other prophet. His words were filled with saving wisdom and truth such as they had never heard before. And he backed up those words with his almighty power as shown in his miracles. But he never used his superior position to his own advantage or glory. He always and only did the will of his heavenly Father. His lived each day in fear or respect of his Father’s plans for him as the Savior.

Finally, the Lord describes the Savior as the One who would judge with righteousness. He states, “Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” He saved the best description for last. Our God is not in the business of damning sinners; he’s in the business of saving them. He saves sinners by winning forgiveness for them and giving them the righteousness or holiness he demands. Jesus won that holiness for each of us and he gives it to us by faith in him. On the Last Day when he returns he will declare before all people that you have that righteousness. That will be his glorious judgment about you. He’s a Savior like no other!

Prepare for your unique Savior. He comes with unique qualities.

Many of us have a list of things we’d like for Christmas. And those who love us will try to get those items for us. Usually it isn’t that difficult since there are countless merchants willing to sell those items to you in their stores and via websites. But what you and I need most of all only One person can give us. What we need is saving wisdom from God. What we need is someone with the power to change our sinful hearts into holy hearts. What we need is someone to provide us with the holiness we don’t have. That unique person is none other than Jesus Christ. We don’t celebrate the coming of Jesus because he was such a wise person who showed us how to love other people. We celebrate his coming because he’s the Savior we desperately needed. There was and is and never will be anyone like him. How blessed you are to be able to celebrate his birth and to look for his return to this earth! Prepare for your unique Savior!

Part III.

I know that some of you are dyed-in-the-wool animal lovers. You love your pets and anyone else’s too. If there’s a show about animals on TV, you’re likely to watch it—with one exception. You probably don’t care to watch shows that portray the harshness of the animal food chain. They can be brutal. But that what it’s like in nature.

So what is Isaiah describing when he speaks about wolves, leopards, lions and bears existing in peace with livestock? Where in the world does that occur? In fact, he even has infants and children playing safely in what we know are dangerous areas. Where and when did such a place exist?

In the Garden of Eden prior to the fall into sin. There humans and animals all lived in peace and quiet without hostility and death.

But where can we find it now? In the church. The peace that Isaiah describes is the peace that the Savior brings to those who love and trust in him. As different as we are, that peace exists among us. Not perfectly. We’re still sinners with sinful natures. But the perfect peace which Jesus won for us and gives to us by faith in him also causes us to live in peace with each other. How different! How unique!

Prepare for your unique Savior! He comes with a unique peace.

What Isaiah describes here won’t be fully realized until Jesus returns. That’s why he came the first time—to win that peace, that life, that eternity for us. It’s yours by faith in him. And with that faith you’re ready for his return. This Advent season focus on what a unique Savior you have. That focus will make this a truly blessed season for you. Amen.