Isaiah 2:1-5
I have to admit to you today that I feel like I’m late. No, I wasn’t later for church this morning or even late getting up here to preach. I feel like I’m late for Christmas. Already for almost a month I’ve seen Christmas decorations on the store shelves. TV and radio advertisements have been hawking the latest gift ideas. Just the other night I saw the Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon on TV. As I drive around town I also notice that quite a number of people already have their houses and yards decorated.
I guess that brings up the question, When should you start getting ready for Christmas?” Or maybe I should ask, do we need to “get ready for Christmas?” Shouldn’t we always be ready for Christmas? Now I’m not suggesting that we should have a tree in our house year round or keep our yards decorated all year. Unfortunately, that is what it has come to mean when people talk about “getting ready for Christmas.” But as God’s children, we know there is much more to it than that.
For the next four weeks, we are going to be thinking about what it really means for God’s people to “get ready for Christmas.” Today we are going to go back some 700 years before the first Christmas to the time of Isaiah the prophet. God’s law had shown Isaiah why he needed to get ready for Christmas, and the gospel had assured him that God had a plan to help him get ready for the day he would stand before his Lord. Through Isaiah’s words today we will also see why and how we can get ready to meet our Savior. Today we will see how we can be sure to be ready
“When Jesus Comes to His People”
People Will Come to the Lord
People Will Work for the Lord
When Isaiah lived in Israel, he looked around and saw a nation that he described as “[a] sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evil doers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their back on him.” Isaiah saw a people that really were not prepared for Christmas. Hew saw a people that were not ready to meet their Savior. It must have been quite depressing for Isaiah as he walked through the towns and villages to see what was happening among God’s people.
But then the Lord gave Isaiah a vision of brighter days and better times to come. In our text Isaiah records what God showed him writing, “In those 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.” Isaiah explained that what he saw would take place “in the last days.” Hebrews 1:2 tells us that this period of time began when Jesus came into the world. Matthew further tells us that it will last until “the Son of Man comes in his glory.” (Mt. 25:31) In other words, Isaiah was writing about the times in which we are now living.
To some, these may not seem like such glorious times. At first glance we might wonder where the “nations” are who are supposed to be “streaming” to the “mountain of the Lord’s temple.” It seems as if nations are running away from the Lord. With all that is going on with the terrorists and the fighting around the world, it sure doesn’t seem like too many people are rushing to find out what all the talk about God is. How many of you had to push your way into the church this morning because there were too many people in the way? Later Isaiah would say, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of our dawn.” (60:3) How many of the world’s nations today are considered Christian? How many world leaders make following the Lord a high priority in the way that they rule their countries? The current moral climate of the world may make you wonder if Isaiah had it all wrong.
But Isaiah wrote confidently, inspired by God, of course, “Many people 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.” When you look around town, you will see that many people are “getting ready for Christmas.” But a closer look will show you people who are really getting ready for Christmas. You may not have been crowded out of the parking lot or had to squeeze your way into church this morning. But throughout the world there is a steady stream of God’s people from every nation on earth who are coming to the Lord. People in many different places have joined you today in spending time with the Lord in church. There is evidence in every believer that when God comes to his people with his grace, people do come to the Lord. Given an new life by his gospel message, they respond in faith to worship and praise him.
God’s kingdom is growing. Children are being baptized into his name this morning. Adults are studying his word. People are turning to him for guidance and protection. God’s name is being praised and people are truly getting ready for Christmas, ready to celebrate God’s great gift to them. And as God comes to them in his word, they do respond. Isaiah says that God will work through them to further spread his kingdom.
II. People Will Work for the Lord
Isaiah wrote, “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many people. 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.” It might be easy for us to read this verse and dispute it. The evening news is riddled with stories of wars, rumors of wars, murders, and other tragedies.
But Isaiah is not saying that there will be complete peace in the world because of Jesus. He is saying that there will be peace within God’s kingdom among his people who are a part of that kingdom. And that there is. As God’s kingdom grows, people from many different and varied backgrounds are brought together to work together for the Lord. People find common ground based on God’s word, and that common ground enables them to worship together and to serve the Lord together.
Isaiah issued a call for people to do just that. He said, “Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Jesus once told his disciples, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn. 8:12) The people who have been called into God’s kingdom do walk in the light of the Lord. We live our lives according to his will. We preach and teach and tell others about him. In our church, Child Care Center, and outreach programs, God’s people here are working for the Lord to carry out his will on earth. All that we do for the Lord is our response to what he has done for us.
There is no greater reminder for us of God’s love than the celebration of Christmas. Over the next 4 weeks it will be OK to bake cookies, decorate your houses, and buy and exchange gifts. But if that is all that we do, then we will have fallen very short of the true celebration of Christmas. We will really have missed the whole point of the holiday. Isaiah calls us to “Walk in the light of the Lord.” We will join with people around the world as they “stream” to the mountain of the Lord.
Preparing for Christmas doesn’t start on the Friday after Thanksgiving when the sales begin. It starts each time we take time to hear the Lord speaking to us in his word. It continues when we apply that word to our lives, living together in God’s peace with fellow believers from every nation and race. It will end when we meet our Savior King face to face when he comes to judge us on the last day.
And when he does, we will be ready. I know that because you and I have heard the call of the Lord. We have been brought to faith in Jesus as our Savior, and we do understand what the real meaning of Christmas is. In the joy that is ours because of God’s love for us, this can truly be a joyous holiday season. Just keep your eyes on the manger. Keep your thoughts on the gift God gave to us. Then pray that he would so fill your heart, that you will be able to celebrate God’s love for you every day. May your Christmas preparation be a blessing this year, and may you have a truly merry Christmas. Amen. “The peace of God.,…”
–Rev. Roger Rockhoff