Scripture: Isaiah 8:11—9:7
I. As a Christian of faith, you live with a distinct trust.
A. King Ahaz of Judah gets some bad news in Isaiah 7:2: “Syria is in league with Ephraim.” The heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. But Ahaz would not trust God for help with these 2 nations. He would trust Assyria for help. When we get to Isaiah 8:11 then we read God warn Isaiah, “not to walk in the way of this people.” Don’t be afraid like King Ahaz is afraid. Be distinct. Be different. Trust God.
B. Isaiah reminds God’s people, “The only thing we have to fear is God himself.” If we all have fears, what makes Christians different? We live with an unanxious peace because we fear God above everything else. Isaiah gives us a good picture of what trust in God looks like in Isaiah 8:17: “I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.” Trust looks like patient waiting on God and confidence that our trust will be rewarded.
II. As a Christian of faith, you live with a distinct guide.
A. During this time of fear and insecurity, who were the people of Judah looking to for guidance? “And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isaiah 8:19).
B. Our biggest threat is death. And dead people have already lost that battle with death. Dead people are not the ones you want to seek guidance from about how to make it through life! You should seek guidance from someone who came back from the dead – from someone who defeated death: Jesus. When the Bible is your guide for life, you have light along your path (vs. 19-20).
III. As a Christian of faith, you live with a distinct Savior, who is both God and man.
A. In Isaiah 9, we learn more about the child Immanuel who was to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). The child, Jesus, would bring light and remove gloom to Galilee (vs. 1). Luke 1:26-27: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.” Matthew 4:13: “And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Jesus combines God and man in one person (vs. 6) as our Savior.
Application:
Trust your Savior Jesus and you can live without fear and in peace.
Sources:
The book of Isaiah
Commentaries by J.A. Motyer, Tim Chester, Bob Fyall and David Jackman.
Sermon Discussion Questions
- How do you react when your world seems dark? Are you full of fear like Ahaz? Or do you have trust like Isaiah?
- How do the pairs of words in Isaiah 9:6 show in each pair that Jesus is God and man in one person? Since Jesus is God, does He have the power to save you today?
- Do you have both the patience and hope that mark people of faith (Isaiah 8:17)? How does prayer help you to wait on God and to have confidence that He will reward your faith?