JOY IN THE WAITING
Preached 28 November 2004

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 2:1-5
-- how many of you would agree with the old adage -- "time flies?"
-- I think most of us would -- can you believe that we just celebrated Thanksgiving? -- it seems just like yesterday that we were talking about the start of school and here we are at the end of November and the start of the Christmas season
-- it just seems like time is getting faster and faster and faster -- and I don't believe it's just because I'm getting older -- I think it is an actual fact -- I think it is an artifact of our modern age
-- we have gotten to the point where we are just always on the go and always running from one place to the next and I think we are using up just about every minute in our day
-- and when we stay so busy that we have no time to stop, it just seems to us like time is flying by
-- I know my own life is so busy that I just can't seem to find any time to do anything that I want to do -- my life is filled up with the "have-to-do's" -- I have a stack of books and magazines next to my chair in the living room that I have been wanting to read for some time -- but it seems like something always comes up that is more important that keeps me from reading them -- so my stack keeps getting bigger and bigger -- it's gotten to the point that I put magazines in the car with me and read a couple of paragraphs at red lights -- do you know what I'm talking about?
-- it just seems like our calendars are just busting at the seams with things that we have to do -- cheerleading camp -- soccer games -- basketball games -- buying supplies for Thanksgiving -- Christmas shopping -- Christmas parties -- work obligations -- it just seems like there is always something going on
-- Kim and I were talking just this week about Thanksgiving -- Thanksgiving was just such a rush for us -- Kim was saying how she remembered Thanksgiving as a relaxed time -- just sitting around with family and friends and playing games and watching t.v. and enjoying a meal together -- but now it's different -- we've just kind of crammed it into our busy schedules and barely take time to eat
-- we had invited our families to join us for Thanksgiving -- everyone rushed in on Wednesday night or Thursday morning to help get the meal ready -- then we all ate together -- and everyone rushed back out -- they had other things to do and couldn't sit and rest and visit for a while -- was it that way at your house?

-- I remember when I was a kid that Thanksgiving and Christmas were times when the family would put aside all the other things and come together and just spend time together -- now, it seems like we don't even have time for each other because we are just too busy
-- one of my fondest memories was the times in the summer when we cooked something on the grill -- that was before microwaves and gas grills -- do you remember that?
-- it was an event to cook something on the grill -- it took time -- you had to pile the charcoal in the middle of the grill and soak it with lighter fluid and light it -- and then you had to wait -- you had to wait for the coals to get white so you could spread them -- and that was the best part -- those were the times we would just sit out on the back porch in lawn chairs, just enjoying the night -- enjoying each other's company -- just enjoying the wait
-- and then, when the coals were just right -- you would spread them out and get the grate hot and then you would put the steak on the grill -- and you'd wait some more -- just sitting there -- smelling that steak cooking -- just anticipating what it would be like when it was done
-- but we've lost that part of our lives now -- everything is in a rush -- very few of us are willing to take the time to wait on charcoal to get ready so we can cook now a days

-- do you remember what the ads said when the first microwaves and gas grills started coming out? -- they said they would save us time -- we would have more time to spend with our families -- more time to enjoy the evening with friends -- more time to relax and unwind after a hard day at the office -- but, it didn't happen
-- instead, we took that precious time and used every single second up to the point where our lives are defined by our calendars -- and we've done it with everything -- even our holidays -- we end up rushing through Thanksgiving -- rushing through Christmas -- and then rushing through Easter -- we just don't take time to experience the joy of waiting anymore

-- I think that's one reason why I like the season of Advent so much -- I usually don't follow the Christian calendar when I prepare worship services -- but I do always try to set aside two seasons in the Christian calendar every year -- Advent and Easter -- as times to slow down and reflect on what God is doing in my life and in the life of the church
-- today is the start of the Christian year -- it is the first day of Advent -- Advent is a season of four weeks where we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Lord -- where we prepare to celebrate the incarnation of Christ at Christmas -- where we prepare to celebrate Christ who comes continually in Word and Spirit -- where we prepare for the day when Christ will return to set up His kingdom here on earth
-- the key to Advent -- the key to capturing the magic of the season -- is to recognize that it is a time of preparation -- a time of waiting -- a time of restful anticipation

-- I think that is something that we have lost in our modern age -- in our busy hurried lives with instant food and instant gratification we have forgotten what it feels like to wait for something -- the goal of Advent is to help you rediscover the art and beauty and joy of waiting as we look forward to the coming of Christ

-- do you remember how long Christmas Eve seemed to last when you were a kid -- how long the night seemed, because you were waiting in anticipation for Christmas morning -- when you would finally be allowed to get up and get out of bed and run into the living room and see all the presents under the tree and finally have the chance to open them up?
-- that feeling is what we are trying to recapture with Advent -- the waiting -- the longing -- for the future -- for the coming of Christ and for the coming of His kingdom

-- our text this morning speaks to that same longing -- in this passage, Isaiah is given a glimpse of the future to encourage the nation of Israel as they wait through long dark years for the coming of the Messiah

-- look with me now at verse 1 in this passage -- 1. This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

-- this is not a prophecy -- this is not a prediction of the future -- this is the future -- God gave Isaiah a vision of the future in order to give the people of Israel hope -- to give them something to wait for during the dark days to come
-- shortly after this vision of Isaiah, the nations of Israel and Judah were destroyed -- the people were carried off into captivity in Babylon and Assyria and the temple was burned and destroyed -- their very life was taken from them -- but God gave them this vision of the future so that they might look past their terrible situation and focus on the future coming of the Messiah who would restore Israel and Jerusalem back to its glory

-- in his book, "The Gift for All People," Max Lucado uses the illustration of mountain climbers to bring home the importance of knowing what it is we are waiting for -- he wrote that "a group of climbers set out to scale a large mountain in Europe -- the view boasted a breathtaking peak of snowcapped rocks -- on clear days the crested point reigned as king on the horizon -- its white tip jutted into the blue sky inviting admiration and offering inspiration
-- "on days like that the hikers made the greatest progress -- the peak stood above them like a compelling goal -- eyes were called upward -- the walk was brisk -- the cooperation was unselfish -- though many, they climbed as one, all looking to the same summit
-- "yet on some days the peak of the mountain was hidden from view -- the cloud covering would eclipse the crisp blueness with a drab, gray ceiling and block the vision of the mountaintop -- on those days the climb became arduous -- eyes were downward and thoughts inward -- the goal was forgotten
-- "as long as we can see our dream, as long as our goal is within eyesight, there is no mountain we can't climb or summit we can't scale -- but take away our vision -- block our view of the trail's end -- and the result is as discouraging as the journey"

-- when you wait, you need to know what you are waiting for -- and when you know what you are waiting for -- when you can see the mountain peak you are headed for -- then you are filled with strength and endurance and patience, no matter what you are going through at the time -- it is for that reason that God gave the nation of Israel a glimpse of the future -- it was to give them strength for the journey until the first coming of Christ

-- vs. 2 -- 2. In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
3. Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

--"the last days" refers to the time when Christ returns to set up His kingdom here on earth -- in a sense, the last days began with the first coming of Christ but it will not be fulfilled until His second coming -- the Bible tells us that this is what all creation has been longing and waiting for since the fall in the Garden of Eden -- it is what the nation of Israel was looking for during the days of Isaiah and what we are looking for at this time

-- during this time, the kingdom of the Lord will be set up on Mount Zion -- the mountain where the temple was built -- it will be a time of peace and prosperity -- a time when all the people of the world -- both Jew and Gentile -- will recognize Jesus as their Lord -- as it says in the Bible, "at the name of Christ every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"
-- in the last days, all authority and teaching will come from the kingdom of Christ -- we will spend time learning from Christ more about Himself and His ways -- and we will be able to walk more fully in His path because the future world will be a world free from sin and evil
-- there will not be any more war, because nations will all serve Christ -- swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks -- it will be a time of everlasting peace -- truly, heaven on earth

-- vs. 5 -- 5. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD

-- here we see the final exhortation from Isaiah to the people of God in his time -- he was telling them not to give up hope -- but to continue to wait and to continue to walk in the light of the Lord -- because no matter what they went through -- no matter the trials and ordeals they would face -- the Messiah would come and His kingdom would be established -- this was a promise from God
-- this vision from Isaiah is also a promise to us as we start our Advent season this year -- despite what we may be going through in our world -- crime and violence and war and strife -- discord in our homes and our churches -- we still have hope because we have the promise of the return of Christ
-- even though the top of our mountain may be clouded over with overcast skies -- God has revealed to us the summit we are headed towards -- we have seen our ultimate goal and should continue on our journey with renewed strength and endurance and commitment -- our command is to continue to walk in the light of the Lord as we wait with anxious expectation for the soon return of Christ
-- so, as we stand on the cusp of another Christmas season, I would encourage you to take a moment and to recapture the joy of waiting -- take a moment and slow down and experience again the excitement of Christmas morning as we wait with all creation for the coming of our Lord and Savior