This Is Our Advent Joy!

3rd Sunday in Advent, 12/15/13
Isaiah 35:1-10


This Is Our Advent Joy!
I. The security of living in the church
II. The blessings of being redeemed by the Lord


Like the song says, it’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? We see the words “cheer” and “joy” almost everywhere. We marvel at the light displays. We wonder how people have the time, energy and money to make such elaborate displays happen, and they do it very year. `And they make us happy. It’s the time of year when time with loved ones brings us happiness. For these reasons and many more, we should be just giddy.

But that’s not likely, is it? The truth is, this can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Much of that is due to our expectations. We expect certain things to get done. We expect certain people to talk and behave in a certain way. We expect a relationship will bring us the happiness we’re looking for. But it never quite works out that way, does it?

And even when our day is filled with happiness, it’s just that. A day. Most of the time, it’s far less than that. An afternoon. A couple hours.

And it ends up making this one of the most difficult times of the year for some people, psychologically speaking. That fallout for unmet Christmas expectations can be devastating for some. They begin to wonder if they can ever be happy if they can’t even find happiness at this time of year.

OK. I’ll stop with the Donny Downer routine. After, we’re Christians and the celebration of our Savior’s birth is only 10 days away. So where do we find our happiness, our joy, our cheer? It’s right here. It’s right here in the words of our Lord through his prophet Isaiah. This is our Advent joy! Follow along with me as we find it and may our hearts be filled with quiet, Christian joy!

Part I.

If you enjoy being frightened, you don’t have to wait for next October to arrive before fertile imaginations go to work manufacturing “haunted houses” and the like. The daily news is haunting enough. Our national security personnel are constantly vigilant because there are people and movements in our world that would be overjoyed to bring death to every US citizen. We face worldwide energy, pollution, water and food issues. Economies are on the brink of collapse while fiscal and governmental corruption abound. All of these make us globally uncertain.

And then we assess our personal situations and things aren’t so secure either. Many of us still haven’t recovered from the recession/depression several years ago. And now we’re that much older with that much less time left. We’re concerned about the world we’re leaving our children. Who knows what’s going to happen with health insurance coverage? And there are always your own personal insecurities that hardly anyone else knows. We’re insecure on so many fronts.

Our gracious God deals with those insecurities for us this morning. In the previous chapters of Isaiah he had announced harsh judgment against his people for their stubborn refusal to repent and to trust in him and follow his ways. He told them in no uncertain terms that their days as a nation of people were coming to an end. He had had it with them.

But then he turns about 180 degrees in this chapter of Isaiah. Listen to what he says, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.” Deserts are usually places where it’s hard to grow much, especially if the plants need daily water. For a human to be stranded in the desert heat without water and shelter can be deadly. But the Lord describes it as a place of life, abundant, beautiful life. Isaiah refers to three areas of the holy land which were known in his days for being places where plants and trees flourished. Just what is he talking about? He’s referring to the Church, the invisible gathering of all believers in Christ. In that Church there is spiritual life. Jesus established that Church by his life-giving work of living a holy life before God’s law in our place and suffering and dying on the cross for our sins.

But as insecure as we are, how can we be sure? How can we know that what Jesus said about himself as the Savior of the world is true? Look at what he did. Isaiah foretells, “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy” In today’s Gospel, Jesus referred to this prophecy about himself and his fulfillment of it. Our security in the Church is attested to by the miracles that Jesus did, all of them pointing to the fact that he is true God.

But once more our insecurities arise. What about all the evil in the world? It seems so unfair. We’re God’s people trying to live as children of God and we still suffer. We’re the justice? Jesus takes care of that, too. He says through Isaiah, “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’” Our security is found in the Church knowing that Jesus makes us righteous or holy by faith in him and he will judge those who reject him. We can live each day in knowing that we are at peace with God and confident that he will deal with all who oppose him.

This is our Advent joy—the security of living in the Church.

There isn’t much we can count on in this life. Just consider how many things you thought were true last year at this time that aren’t true this year. Maybe it was an employment situation or a relationship. Perhaps it was a direction you were going in life only to have it change completely some months ago. Things are vastly different now. And then there are the tragedies. Maybe you suffered through one or more since last Christmas. What’s in store for you between now and Christmas 2014? How uncertain our lives are! And when the uncertainties begin to pile up, we tend to react as if God has never done anything to help us in the past. And we worry that he won’t be able to do anything to help us in the future. To just such insecure Christians our God says, “Relax! Be strong! Do not fear!” The absolute truth is that we have eternal security through our Advent Lord Jesus Christ. Because he came as our Savior and completed his work, we have eternal security as live each day in his Church. The beautiful picture Isaiah paints is the spiritual reality of our lives and nothing can change that. Now what could give you more joy than that? This is our Advent joy—the security of living in the Church.

Part II.

All of us have suffered through an insecurity at one time or more in our lives. It happens when we question who we are or what we’re able to accomplish. It makes us question our identity, our personality. We wonder if we’re acceptable to others or not.

That can even happen in our spiritual lives. It happened to a man named Don who called me on the telephone years ago. He told me he had grown up in the church. He had been baptized as a child. But his life over the past few years had become a mess. He went through a bitter divorce. He was an alcoholic. Most recently his girlfriend became pregnant and he paid for her to have an abortion. He was certain that God couldn’t forgive him. He wasn’t simply insecure. He was in despair. I assured him that Jesus had redeemed him.

That’s exactly what the Lord declares to us in these words of Isaiah, “A highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way. Only the redeemed will walk there.” Our Advent joy is not found in the fact that we’ve cleaned up our lives enough that we deserve to walk on the Holy Highway of which Isaiah speaks. No, our Advent joy is that Jesus paid for our sins—even the worst of our sins—and made us his own. He bought us back. He washed us clean and placed us on the Holy Highway—the one that leads to eternal life with him.

And as we travel on that highway, he lends us his protection. That’s what Isaiah pictured with these words, “The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there.” Ancient travelers were in danger of being robbed by bandits or attacked by animals. Were it not for our Advent Lord Jesus, we’d face vicious spiritual attacks. But he promises to shield us with his almighty power. He assures us that we live in the safety of his hand. He is the mighty fortress for all of his redeemed.

And he will continue to surround us with that protection until he brings us home to eternal joy. Isaiah states, “They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” Now there’s a promise which stifles all our earthly uncertainties. Our Advent Lord has prepared eternal joy for us.

This is our Advent joy—the blessings of being redeemed by the Lord.

Even little children know that an object with their name on it means that object belongs to them. They have claimed it as their own. Jesus has claimed you as his own. It cost him his holy blood. But he was only too happy to pay it. As his own we live each day in the holiness he has won for us. We live each day with his blessed protection. We live each day one day closer to eternal joy. This is our Advent joy! Find your personal joy there! Amen.