Isaiah Chapter 64 “This Advent come into our Lives”
1. The gist of this reading is an appeal to God for help and mercy for a worshiping community that finds itself in dire circumstances.
• The Text Begins with the mighty works of God 63:7-14 Great acts in Egypt of God
• There is included a petition for Gods Compassion 12After all this, O LORD, will you hold yourself back?
will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?
• There are places found of confessional of sins vs 6All 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.
2. Our text renders a plea to Yahweh “To Do Something” come down" from heaven (v. 1) begins at 63:15, "Look down
from heaven and see." 63:17, "Why, O LORD, do you make us stray from your ways and harden our heart one
translation reads, "We have been steeped in them from of old, and can we be saved?"
• Israel’s desire is not so much reclaiming Gods absence but for God to “tear open the heavens and come down” and let us return or restore to relationship and partnership with Yahweh
3. This is first Sunday of Advent This is traditionally when we think of the coming of Jesus
• The coming of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem
• The coming of Jesus at the end time to judge the world
• The coming of Jesus to take His people away to an eternal dwelling
• The coming of Jesus to usher in a new world new kingdom
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4. This Advent we desire His coming in a different way
• WE are longing for Jesus to come into our nations Hearts
• We are longing for the coming of Jesus to ignite the world in revival
• WE long for Jesus to rend the heavens and shake the mountains
5. This Advent we are longing for our ears to hear from God who “Tears open the Heavens and shakes the mountains”. John Wesley heard from this God “He felt his heart strangely warmed”
• Wesley Felt God who tears open the heavens and shakes mountains
• He preached outside shafts of mines, at the doors of factories, in meadows
• He preached not so much in the church but where the church was. And lives were changed
• Workers who took pay checks and squandered it, leaving nothing for their children and wives, put aside the bottle and turned to Jesus
• Families were reunited, literacy grew because people longed to read and learn about the bible, people were healed of disease, church attendance started growing, people were passionate about God
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6. This Advent God make Water Boil when we Pray2As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!
• Daniel prayed and water boiled so heated that it shut the mouths of lions
• Hannah prayed and water boiled to the point her water broke and a son was borne
• If my people will pray I will make water boil
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7. God will tear open the heavens and shake mountains when we become vulnerable
This Advent let us take the Risk of allowing God to Shape Us
Vs. 6 all our righteousness’s are as filthy rags ; and we all do fade as a leaf ; and our iniquities , like the wind , have taken us away . But now, O LORD , thou art our father ; we are the clay , and thou our potter ; and we all are the work of thy hand .
• Lord Jesus come open the heavens shake the mountains we are such a mess we are empty (desolation)we are uninhabited by your presence vs 10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness , Zion is a wilderness , Jerusalem a desolation .
Our holy and our beautiful house , where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire : and all our pleasant things are laid waste
