Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. We have called this series
of Advent Peace on Earth because Jesus, when
his birth was announced and when he was born,
the angel said, Peace on Earth. They use this
phrase because Jesus came to establish everything
as a new beginning for the creation that he had
already created and to put everything in order
to bring the restoration of the shalom that he
only created. And each Sunday we're going to
hear about the different themes of Advent. Hope,
peace, joy, love, light, and then the expectation
of the return. And we will get to share the pulpit
with different people that will share with us
about these themes of Advent. So we are looking
forward to this season together. And today I
get to share about the topic of hope. In this
study, we will take a look at two prophecies
that took place in the Old Testament that were
fulfilled in the life of Jesus. And all of these
things connect so beautifully and they bring
to the surface what hope really is about. But
before we start digging into the scriptures and
studying more, I want to show you a couple of
pictures. Now, I know I showed you my camera
last week. I did not take these pictures. These
are not mine. But the first one is this, is the
picture of a tree that is in the middle of the
storm being bent and pushed to the limits for
these. Time of uncertainty. Oh, we are having
a little space here with the... Let's just pause
for a second. There it is. Now look at that tree.
And you are that tree. Shaken by the wind. The
storm. And it keeps going on and on and on. And
you feel like, I'm not sure I could do this any
longer. What does it feel like to be this tree?
And when the storm is over, will you remain standing?
Or will you collapse? Shaken by the wind. Now
let me show you this other picture. This is a
stump. Cut off. Everything that you're used to
and what was becoming suddenly gone. Abruptly
so. And in that space of being shocked by the
drastic change of life, is this the end? Or is
this a new beginning? Do you feel that this was
unfair? You didn't see it coming? What does it
feel like to be a stump? It was a Canadian woman.
Her name is Dorothy. She survived a car accident.
But her parents didn't. And she was just a little
child. So she had to grow up in the foster care
system, going from home to home. And it was during
that time of childhood, going from home to home,
she was under the care of a foster care family
that ended up sexually molesting her. Therefore,
as she grew older, she learned to simply hate.
Her life had been shaken. She had become a stump.
And not only that, but it kept coming against
her as if God was against her. So for 50 years
of her life, she hated God. To be a shaken tree,
to be a stump, is not easy. But it's exactly
in that season of life. That our understanding
of hope kicks in and makes the entire difference
of how we go through it. And that is something
that we are going to learn in this study today.
I want to introduce you to a king called Ahaz.
Ahaz was not a king that loved God. In fact,
he worshipped all these other deities and he
was a person who... whose heart had turned from
God completely. And he lived in a time in which
you have to rewind history and go to the 700s
before Jesus. This was the time also of prophet
Isaiah. So we are going to learn and read something
that took place almost 3 ,000 years ago. And
as we look at Ahaz and what was happening in
his life, you discover that he was being like
a tree shaken. So many things that were going
on in his life. And to understand what Prophet
Isaiah writes and to understand what was going
on during this period of history, You go to the
Old Testament and you look at 2 Kings, and 2
Kings tells you the story of everything that
is happening. And what we understand is that
the context of the surrounding nations, of everything
that was happening during the time of Ahaz, was
difficult. It was a time of war. It was a time
of expansion. There was a nation called the Assyrians.
Assyria is the region that is known today as
Iraq. And in that time, the kingdom of Assyria
was expanding. And as it was expanding, they
were conquering different areas in their surrounding.
But then, the nation of Syria and the nation
of Israel on the north, together forming an alliance
to attack the Assyrians and defend themselves
from them. Now you notice that the map has two
highlighted sections in two different colors
because it was a time in the nation of Israel
in which they were a divided kingdom. The kingdom
of the north had the capital in Samaria and the
kingdom of the south was Judah. And had the capital
in Jerusalem. And Ahaz was the kingdom of Judah
in the south. And he was living right there in
Jerusalem. So it so happens that the nation of
Syria and the north of Israel. They come together
and they decide that they are going to attack
Judah. And what is amazing about all of these
things and all of this time, even though it's
so ancient, we actually have archaeological elements
from that time. And what I love about archaeology
is how it always corroborates the historicity
of the Bible and the truthfulness of it. We have
discovered what is known as the seal of King
Ahaz. This was something that was used for legal
documents. And we also have the seal of prophet
Isaiah. Isn't that amazing? The same Isaiah that
you get to read in the Bible from. So Ahaz is
going through this time of turmoil in his life.
And when he hears that the neighbors in the north
are coming to invade them, he becomes very fearful.
Now, he had already been worshiping lots of the
different idols and he had brought so many idols
in Jerusalem and even in the temple. And he was
so pagan that he had even adopted some of the
practices of child sacrifice. He had himself
sacrificed some of his sons to the fire in the
worship of Moloch. So he was not a God that loved
God and that was seeking him. But it was a guy
that God was reaching to because he was a king
in the nation. So as he is hearing about this
news, God sends Isaiah with a message for him.
And we are told in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 2,
So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were what?
Shaken. As the trees of the forest are shaken
by the wind. He was that shaken tree. The tempest
was growing stronger. And he was freaking out.
And he was thinking. That he was going to find
rescue from the situation. But turning to the
king of Assyria. Pay him a lot of money. And
say you come and help us. And you fight for us
against these guys in the north. So he was trying
to control things so that he could control the
outcome, but he is completely driven by fear.
And God sends Isaiah to say, you know what? You
need to turn to me. Trust in me, not in pagans.
Trust in me, not in political powers. Trust in
me. So he tells Isaiah, Isaiah, I want you to
meet the king. Take your son with you. Go and
meet him in this location. And gives him the
exact GPS description of the location where he
needed to meet the king. So he goes to meet the
king. And as he meets him, God says, say this
to the king. Ahaz, be careful. Keep calm. Don't
be afraid. Don't let anxiety take over your heart.
And don't start making decisions that are rushed
and not driven by the right foundation. Be careful.
And then, it says, look. If you do not stand
firm in your faith right now, you will not stand
at all. If you are wanting to survive this storm,
you need to remain standing in the foundation
which is me. I am with you and I'm going to take
you through this. But you have to stand in this
foundation. Otherwise, you will become a casualty
of fear. And as a pagan person, he was just not
trusting, and he was doubting, and he wanted
to worship instead and seek the help from every
other possible deity to get his best luck possible.
And at that moment, God says to Isaiah, you know,
this guy is hard, but I really want him to get
it that I'm here with him and I'm going to lead,
not to turn to the king of the Assyrians. So
go to him and tell him, look, ask me for a sign,
any sign, just to confirm that I'm serious, I'm
here and I'm going to help you. So at that moment,
He goes, and it says, again, the Lord spoke to
Ahaz, ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether
in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.
God is here for you. But Ahaz's heart was not
for God. And he goes, I don't want to hear anything.
I don't want anything. And at that moment, God
is going the extra mile to meet him in his despair,
and he acts with that arrogance. He says, really?
Isaiah says, oh, you're really something else,
you know? Let me tell you what. God is going
to give you a sign anyway. And here he says,
therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a
son and will call him Emmanuel. For before the
boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose
the right, the land of the two kings you dread
will be laid waste. They are planning the attack,
but I'm here to tell you, it's not going to happen.
And this child will be born. And this child will
be the sign that I am with you. And you will
know it by his name. So you will be reminded
that I am with you. And Isaiah turned to the
nations. And proclaimed this. Devise your strategy.
But it will be thwarted. Propose your plan. But
it will not. Stand, for God is with us. But Ahaz
did not listen. Instead, he went to the temple
in Jerusalem. He took all the gold and all the
silver and all the things that were consecrated
to the worship of the one true God. He took all
of that. Send it to the pagan king of the Assyrians
as a payment. So that that king could fight for
them. And that king came and fought against the
north. But then later he came back and attacked
some sections of Judah. And he turned the kingdom
of Judah. into a state that now was subjugated
by the Assyrians that they have to pay taxes
all the time. And the hope that Ahaz sought was
not God himself. And instead of the time of crisis
turning to God, he rejected God altogether and
he tried to do it on his own. And that brought
consequences because God, through Isaiah and
all the prophets later, like Prophet Jeremiah,
he told the nation, look, guys, you have become
so corrupted. You don't care about truth anymore.
You don't care about seeking me anymore. And
therefore, there's going to be more storms that
are going to come down the road. And from there,
we know from this initial conversation with Ahaz,
That there's this prophecy given based on this
name that is right here on the screen for you.
This is what the name looks like in Hebrew. Emmanuel.
With us, God. God with us. And as God... Tries
to remind Ahaz. That he can indeed turn to him.
That he can rely on him. In the midst of the
crisis. Now he moves forward. To chapter 11.
And from being in a position. Of being a tree.
That is being shaken by the storm. Now the picture
changes. To being a stump. Because what is going
to happen. With his line. What is going to happen
when the kingdom is destroyed and there will
be no more king? What is going to happen with
my children and great -grandchildren? And at
that moment, the hopelessness takes over completely.
In fact, Ahaz died young. He started being a
king at age 20. Any 20 -year -olds here? In this
room? Imagine being the king at age 20. And he
died in his mid -30s, not with an honorable death.
But as the season of feeling like a stump comes
in, God sends Isaiah with another message. And
he's going to address this, and he will say in
chapter 11, verse 1, Out of the stump of David's
family will grow a shoot. Yes, a new branch bearing
fruit from the old root. I know this sounds like
this is the end of it, but it is not. Because
I have a plan. Yes, I had the plan of cutting
the tree down because it needed to be cut. But
it is not the end. This is the beginning of a
new stage. And this shoot is going to be a person.
And the spirit of the Lord will rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
and the fear of the Lord. He will wear righteousness
like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In
that day, the heir to David's throne will be
a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations
will rally to him and the land where he lives
will be a glorious place. If you have never read
the entire chapter 11 of Isaiah, go home and
read it. Because it's a prophecy about the king
that was going to come. The promised Messiah
that was going to come and bring to righteousness.
and establish the kingdom that was never going
to end, the little shoot was going to become
a whole new tree that will never be caught again.
From a stump to a shoot. I do not know if you've
ever gone through a season where things are like
cut off completely, drastically. It's very disorienting,
very disorienting. But in this space, God speaks
hope. But hope, as it turns out, is... and is
a person. In both cases, when it felt like a
shaken tree, the hope was a name, a person that
was coming. When life felt like a stump, hope
was a person, one who was coming. And that person
is revealed in the New Testament at the beginning.
With the very first gospel, the gospel of Matthew,
his name is Jesus. And as you fast forward now
from 700 before Christ to the time of Jesus,
right before his birth, the book of Matthew begins
telling us how these prophecies that Isaiah had
given now will be fulfilled. The book of Matthew
begins with the genealogy of Jesus, the family
line of Jesus. And then when it gets to verse
18, it tells us how the birth of Jesus came about.
And it says, this is how the birth of Jesus,
the Messiah, came about. His mother Mary... Was
pledged to be married to Joseph. But before they
came together. She was found to be pregnant through
the Holy Spirit. Now. In the Jewish cultural
context, the way marriage worked was that the
moment the agreement was made between these families
for the guy and the woman to get married, they
will sign these documents, there was payment
that was made, and now that was officially that
they were going to get married, they will consider
now officially a couple. But not yet. Because
they would wait a year before the actual wedding
and celebration and the consummation of their
marriage. During that period of time, they were
not yet living as a married couple. They were
not yet sexually involved with each other. However,
if there was any infidelity that would take place
during that year, it was as serious as adultery
because they were already technically committed.
For marriage. So now you see that Mary is engaged
to Joseph. Everything has been signed. Everything
has been paid. And now oops. She is found to
be pregnant. But the text says she was pregnant.
Not by a person that was just a human person.
This was the Holy Spirit himself. And this. Child
that was within her now was conceived by God
through her. And Joseph hears about it. Of course,
he doesn't believe it. He's like, what? You want
to take me for a fool? What am I going to do
now? So he has a hard time. He's become a tree
shaken in the storm. He didn't see this coming.
This was not supposed to happen. And now he's
having a hard time going to sleep. But one of
those nights as he goes to sleep, he finally
falls asleep. And the verse tells us that Joseph,
to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man.
I did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he
decided to break the engagement quietly. I'm
just going to sign the papers, going to keep
it quiet, because otherwise my honor, the honor
of my family, her honor, the honor of her family,
let's keep it low. So he had made the decision
in his heart and goes to bed and as he falls
asleep, after he had considered this, an angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take
Mary home as your wife because what is conceived
in her It's truly from the Holy Spirit. So don't
be afraid. You will go ahead. You will make your
head as you were planning. And now you are going
to take care of this child. She will give birth
to a son. And you are to give him the name Jesus.
Because he will save his people. From their sins.
Jesus in Hebrew is the name Yeshua. And he means
God saves. You are going to name this child God
saves. And as he is growing up in your home,
every time you name, you call his name, you're
going to say, God saves, come here. God saves,
it's time to eat. God saves. Every time the name
of this child is pronounced, you are pronouncing
this meaning. Because this child, Is the king
that was supposed to come to save their people
from their sins. And the passage in Matthew continues.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord
had said through the prophet. Prophet Isaiah.
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a
son. And they will call him. Emmanuel, which
means God with us. God with us. This Jesus, not
symbolically, but literally, is God with us.
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the
Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife, but
he did not have sexual relations with her until
her son was born. And here you have the two shaken
trees. Ahaz, when the prophecy was given, and
Joseph, when the prophecy is being fulfilled,
both being shaken by the storm in their lives,
both being in a place of... Fear. Where they
are in the verge of anxiety attack. And God reaches
both of them. And he tells them. Do not be afraid.
Follow me. I have a plan for this. But Ahaz decided
not to follow God. But Joseph decided to follow
God. And obey him. And that. is the story and
the beginning and the fulfillment of these two
prophecies. And now Joseph goes, marries Mary,
and when Jesus is born, he takes the child and
says, and Joseph named him, God saves. To the
very end, acted in obedience, not in fear. God
with us, Emmanuel. Yeshua, God saves. In Greek,
Yesu. God saves. In English, Jesus. The Savior
who came so that we can be with him. God with
us so we can be. With him. God with us. In the
midst of the storm. So that we will be shaken.
But not uprooted. God with us. So even though
we are a stump. Is not the end of our story.
Because God is with us. And God is the God of
new beginnings. And what is amazing about this
promise, about this fulfillment of who Jesus
is, is just as the book of Matthew begins with
these words saying God is with us, is being fulfilled
in this person. The very last words of the gospel
of Matthew is this person, the fulfillment of
Isaiah speaking. He has already died for our
sins. He has already paid for your shame. He
has already resurrected. He has already overcome
Satan. He has already overcome the power of death.
He has already overcome the power of sin. And
he is now ready to begin the fulfillment of the
promises of the new kingdom. But before... He
gathers the apostles and he says to them, I want
you to go to the world and start telling people
about me, God with us. I want you to go to the
world and start telling people that God saves
and I'm here to save them from their sins. You
will go and tell the world about me. And as soon
as he gives them the command, Jesus. Pronounced
as the very last words of the book of Matthew.
And I want you to read them with me. And be sure
of this. I am with you always. Even to the end
of the age. I am with you for how long? Until
when? Do you believe that? There's a reason why
Matthew began by telling us, God is with us.
If you are following Jesus, God is with us. There's
a reason why Matthew finished this book with
the words of assurance. You can be sure of this.
I am with you always. Because when we are shaken
by the storm. When it feels like it's the end.
And there's no hope for a new beginning. Because
this is impossible. In that moment. It's very
easy to feel. And then to believe. That God is
not with us. That he has abandoned us. That he's
playing tricks against us. And that is why Dorothy
spent 50 years of her life hating God. Because
she felt like a stump. As if God had completely
given her just the wrong treatment altogether.
Unfair. Not just. Why me? But the problem is
that 50 years of hating God. Did not bring any
more healing to her heart or any more peace.
Instead, it took the peace away. So as she became
an adult and she became older, she decided to
take a trip to Greece. You know, sometimes changing
environments helps you breathe differently. But
as a God -hater, she took that trip. And it so
happened that in that tour, there were people
that were gathering to read the Bible in a circle
together. And they invited her, stand here, you
know, we're going to read this because this happened
here in Greece. And they were reading from the
book of Acts. It was the story of these two guys
that had arrived to that town where they were
visiting in Greece. But they had been tortured.
And treated unjustly. And they had become imprisoned.
And as these two guys become imprisoned. As she
is reading and hearing the story being read.
It's like these two guys started praising God
with hymns. And at that moment Dorothy said.
What? How can you sing? Praises to God when you
have been tortured. Betrayed. Treated so badly.
And now you are chained in prison. At that moment
as one who had turned against God. Because of
her own suffering. She started asking questions
about that. Who is this people? Paul and Silas.
And can you really. Praise God in the midst of
suffering like that? Yes, you can. And yes, they
did. And at that moment, Dorothy says, well,
I want to know more about that God. Because 50
years of hating God is heavy. It's 50 years of
no peace. It's heavy. And now she realizes that
there's a God that can meet you in your own prison
and give you peace. And that is how Dorothy started
learning more about this God. Emmanuel got with
us. And soon she became a follower of Jesus.
Shaken tree. A stump. Not anymore. As she started
following Jesus, there was a friend that was
working in a shelter for women who had been abused,
abandoned. And said to Dorothy, Dorothy, would
you come and help me a little bit? It's becoming
very hard. I need extra help. Would you please
come and help me? And Dorothy says, you know,
I don't speak Spanish. What am I doing in Mexico?
Just come, help me. So she went. And at that
moment, when she met a 13 -year -old girl that
had been abused, completely hopeless, as a follower
of Jesus, now she realized that she could not
stand there and do nothing. And God started calling
her with the understanding of her own pain and
journey to now minister to the people that did
not know the hope. They knew the pain, but they
did not know God with us. So eventually Dorothy,
beyond her own imagination and planning, becomes
the founder of a ministry. That is a shelter
for women who have been abused and abandoned.
And as she serves his story, she says, you know,
I still do not understand why God would use me.
But I realize that God is not looking for experts.
He's looking for people who are willing. And
no matter how old you are and how old you have
become, you have to understand that God loves
you, he is with you, and he has a plan for you
even in your old age. How do you turn a stump
into a fruitful tree? Well, that takes a person
and his name is Jesus. And I'm here to tell you,
you are not a stump. If Jesus is your savior,
he has the power to redeem your story and bring
new beginnings, new callings, new impact. So
this prophecy and the fulfillment of Jesus as
being the very hope in which we stand. Has a
few implications. The first one of these implications.
Is that Jesus is indeed our living hope. So you
do not know hope. Unless you know Jesus. Therefore
if you are here. And you are listening to this
study. And Jesus is not your savior. The very
first thing that God wants you to do is to encounter
him as your savior. He came to save you from
your sins. You can choose to do like Ahaz did.
Go and keep worshiping all the other pagan deities.
But they have no power to forgive your sins and
to give you the peace that your soul needs. Only
Jesus can do that because only Jesus is God with
us. Only Jesus is the God who saves. If God is
drawing you to him, let this be the day in which
you turn to Jesus and you say, Jesus, I want
to follow you. Please forgive me for my sins.
I turn away from them and I'm going to follow
you the rest of my life. Would you make me one?
Of your people. That is something that you can
do. Anytime. Anywhere. And here right now. Today.
Experience Jesus. As your living hope. And you
will see. That even 50 years of hating God. Can
turn now in the rest of your life. Loving him.
It's amazing what God can do. If you just let
him. The second implication for us. Is that if
you are a follower of Jesus. The Bible says that
the moment you believed in Jesus. And you heard
the gospel of truth. That at that moment of believing.
You were given the Holy Spirit to live in you.
As a seal until the day of redemption. Which
means that if you are a follower of Jesus, God
is with you, in you, and for you. There's never
a second, there's never a minute of your life
in which God is not with you. It's impossible.
Because He is in you, you are sealed with the
Spirit until the day of redemption. So if you
have been shaken like a tree in the wind and
the storm. And you have been doubting whether
God is with you or not. If you are in a place
in which you have become discouraged. Because
you have been believing that God is against you.
That God has forgotten you. That he does not
see you. I'm here to tell you. Those are lies
from your true enemy. And your true enemy is
not God. Your true enemy is the devil. He's a
master liar. And he wants to deceive you so that
you will walk away from God rather than to him.
So today is the day for you to realize that you
have been duped by the enemy. And that's why
you have no peace. Don't point your finger to
God. Instead let him point the finger at the
path ahead and you follow him. So today as we
pray, tell the Lord, Lord I renounce the fear
that you have abandoned me. I renounce the lie
that you are not with me, that you don't care
about my future. I renounce that in your presence
because you are God with us. And the last implication
for us is that there's only one way of facing
this storm. And you must stand firm in your faith.
There's no other solid ground, only Jesus. And
once you are in the midst of this storm, when
things become so hard, where you are in that
space of thinking, there's no way I can go through
this one more day. I don't think I can do this.
When you are in that space. What are you going
to do? Are you going to abandon the faith? For
what? There's no hope in any other name under
heaven. But in Jesus alone. You will not find
what your soul needs. Stand firm in your faith.
And that's exactly what Isaiah told Ahaz. If
you do not stand firm in your faith now. You
will not end up standing at the end. You will
be uprooted. A fallen tree. Only with regrets
for the rest of your life. Because at the crucial
moment of trusting God with your doubts and your
pain. You chose not to remain strong in your
faith. Remain strong in your faith. The storm.
Will pass. The storm will end. And not only you
will remain standing. But God will bring you
a season of fruit. Fruitfulness that will bring
glory and impact for his kingdom like never before.
Father. Why do you love us so much? Us to do
so much. So that we could be saved from our sins.
So that the storm will not uproot us. So that
being a stump will not be the end of our story.
I don't know why you love us so much. But thank
you for loving us that much. And today in this
moment. In this place. Remind us that you never
left us. Remind us that you are not the enemy.
Remind us that you are with us. In Jesus' name
we pray, amen. Thank you for tuning in to the
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