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November 27, 2005
1st Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1-9
Pastor Robert Raasch

The Prophet Asks for the Lord to Come

1. Come with Power
2. Come with Mercy

Let me start by asking, "How many of you hosted Thanksgiving dinner this year?" Raise your hand if you had people come to your house for the holiday. Really, there are only three choices: Celebrate thanksgiving by yourself; go to someone else's house, or have them come to yours. This year my family went with choice #3. We invited Sarah's side of the family to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house. We were excited to have Louis and Sharon, Chris and Steve here from Minnesota, Luke and Jenny up from Sun Prairie. Of course with that excitement, there is always a little anxiety. My wife is thinking, "18 people? Do we have that many chairs in the house?" I'm thinking, "Were serving them pheasant? Do I have that many birds in the freezer?" And my daughters are thinking, "Does that mean we have to clean our rooms?" Let's face it, having company over can be both an exciting time and a stressful time.

Why do I bring up the idea of having company over? Because today marks the beginning of the season of Advent, the season that literally means, "the coming." It's a season when we prepare for the coming of some very special company. We prepare for the coming of the Savior. We prepare for the anniversary of his first coming as the Babe of Bethlehem and we prepare for the reality of his second coming as the Judge of the universe. And while this is an exciting season as we eagerly anticipate the birth of the Christ child, it also brings with it a certain amount of stress. Not just the stress of long lines at the mall or a stack of Christmas cards to write. No, I mean that inner stress that comes from knowing that one day Jesus will return to judge every thought and attitude of your heart and mine. And it's that fact that may leave us feeling a little anxious. We may have some mixed feelings about the Lord's return. One the one hand, we may be saying, "Yes, come Lord Jesus. And on the other hand, we may be saying, "I'm not so sure that's what I really want."

2600 years ago, there lived a man who had some of these same mixed emotions. He too prayed for the Lord to come. In fact, he prayed that the Lord would come with a display of power and justice. But after further review, he changed his tone a bit and instead prayed, "No Lord, just come with mercy." Today we want to take a little closer look at these words of the Prophet Isaiah and see especially how they apply to our lives today. Today we turn to Isaiah chapter 64 and 65 where we see that:

The Prophet Asks for the Lord to Come

1. Come with Power
2. Come with Mercy

Now, for us to truly appreciate Isaiah's prayer, we have to understand a little bit about the times in which he lived. Isaiah was called by God to serve as a prophet to the southern two tribes of Israel, sometimes referred to as simply "Judah." While Judah was still economically strong, morally speaking, it was going downhill. The majority of the nation had stopped worshipping the true God and instead had begun to intermarry with people of other nationalities. This led to the spread of false religions in the land. Pagan altars were set up. Temple prostitution was condoned. Children were sacrificed to the pagan god Moloch.

And because the people were turning their backs on God, God in turn began to allow foreign armies to come in and ravage the land. The Assyrian armies had already carted off the ten northern tribes. Now the Babylonian armies were laying siege to the cities of the southern kingdom. Towns were being burned. People were being killed. Horrible atrocities were being committed. In light of all the terrible things happening to God's chosen nation, the prophet Isaiah cries out to the Lord for help. Isaiah prays, in effect: I. Lord, Come with Power

Listen how Isaiah puts it here in our text. "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down and make your name known to your enemies and cause nations to quake before you." In other words, Isaiah prays, "God, rip the heavens open and come down here and show these people your power! Show them who's the boss. Do something awesome, something unexpected, something that will have them shaking in their boots." Chances are, Isaiah was thinking of some of God's past displays of power. Maybe the 10 Plagues that God directed against the Egyptians or the time when he split the Red Sea and had the waters come crashing down on Pharaoh's army. Or you think of the fire that rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah or the giant hailstones that scattered the Canaanite armies. Time and time again, throughout the history of Israel, God had used his almighty power to bring punishment on the wrongdoer, to administer justice for God's people. And that's what Isaiah was calling for one more time.

Tell me, can you relate to Isaiah's request? Have you ever thought to yourself, "C'mon, God, how can you let this happen? These people are making a mockery of you and your Word. They are living in defiance of your commands. They are running roughshod over Christianity. Can't you do something about this? Where's the justice here?

Maybe I need to get a little more specific. Maybe you open the paper and every night you read about someone who was assaulted, often by someone who's already been convicted of a similar crime before. And you think, "God, where's the justice? Why don't you just wipe those creeps off the planet?!?" Or maybe you know someone who seems to take pleasure in your pain. Constantly giving you a hard time about something. Putting you down. Making fun of you. And you're thinking, "God, can you put that person in his place? I wish you would just nail him sometime." Or maybe you look at the amount of work you do around the house or the amount of homework you have to do or the responsibilities you have on the job-and then you compare them to what other people are doing, and you find yourself thinking, "God, this isn't fair. I'm working my tail off and nobody cares. Nobody appreciates how much I have to do. I wish you would come down here and make it right."

Whether we're asking for a show of God's power in the world or justice in our personal lives, chances are we've all offered a similar prayer to Isaiah's, namely, "Lord, come down here and make things right. Punish those who are hurting me."

And why do we think God would want to make things right for us? Well, because were trying hard to do the right things for God. The assumption is that God would want to help us because we're doing our best to walk in his path. Isaiah makes the same point when he says to the Lord, "You come to the help of those who gladly do what is right, who remember your ways."

The question is, "Would those words apply to the nation of Israel in Isaiah's day? Were they gladly doing what is right? Were they remembering God's ways? No. The majority of Israel had abandoned God's ways. And it's that fact that gets Isaiah to thinking, "Wait a minute. If I'm calling upon God to come down and administer some justice, if I'm asking God to come down and nail the disobedient, then what reason do I have to believe that God won't nail my own nation of Israel, because that's exactly what we've become-disobedient!" In fact, Isaiah takes it one step further. He goes from thinking about the heathen nations to the nation of Israel, and then to himself and really each one of us as well. What confession does Isaiah make? He admits, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. We all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

With those words, Isaiah is helping us all see what we really look like under the spotlight of God's law. We're all unclean. The Hebrew word for unclean describes something much worse than a dab of ketchup on a white shirt. It's more than just ring around the collar. No, that word describes someone who is totally infected with a disease like leprosy. He is thoroughly corrupt. That's what you and I are like by nature. Isaiah says that "all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags." In other words, even the good things we think we do are still stained by sin. The Hebrew word for rags is what we refer today as feminine napkins. That's what our sins make us look like to God.

Well, if that's true-if God sees the filth of every single sin we've ever committed in thought, word or deed-then do we really want to be asking God to come down and show his power by bringing justice on all wrongdoer? I mean, if God is going to put the hammer down on all the sinners of the world, where's that put you and me? It means we're all in big trouble, doesn't it? Before I ask God to come and deal with the sins of others, maybe I'd better ask him to graciously deal with mine. But not deal with them in power or justice, but rather, deal with them in mercy. And you know that's exactly the conclusion that prophet comes to. After asking the Lord to come with power, he then asks the Lord to: II. Come with Mercy.

Notice what the prophet says in verse 9. He goes from asking the Lord to rend the heavens to simply praying, "Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord; do not remember our sins forever." In other words, "O Lord, be merciful to me." And what reason does Isaiah have to make that request? Isaiah says, "O Lord, you are our Father. We are clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." In other words, "you formed us; you adopted us as your children. Isaiah is referring especially to the covenant that God had established with the nation of Israel. God had chosen the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not because they were such good people but purely because of his gracious mercy. It's that same mercy that Isaiah is appealing to here in this situation as well.

My friends, doesn't that very same prayer belong on our lips as well? Doesn't our #1 concern have to be how God is going to deal with us, rather than how he's going to deal with the people out there? Isn't it fitting that when we come to God in prayer it's, "God have mercy on me, a sinner" rather than "God take revenge on those who have mistreated me, or who seem to have it better than me"? Isaiah had it dead right. "Please father, "do not remember our sins forever."

Tell me, is there a message for us here in Isaiah's prayer? I think so. Even though there are times when we want to pray, "God show us your power" and even though there are times when it's proper to pray, "God, please don't let the people on Satan's side be victorious," still our number one concern has to be, "God how are you going to deal with me, a sinner? How fitting is for us to pray with the prophet of old, "Lord, come with your mercy." And you know something, in baby born in Bethlehem you and I have all the proof we need to know that God has done just that-he has come with mercy. Jesus did come to not to punish us. He came to redeem us, to forgive us, to make us his own. And that makes his return something we eagerly await.

Can having company come be a little stressful? Yes. But having Jesus come-well, that's not stressful at all. Why not? Because for Jesus' sake, God has had mercy and will continue to have mercy on you and me. Believe it and live as people who are thankful for it. Amen.