Hark The Glad Sound Isaiah 40 6 to 8

Gaudete, The Third Sunday in Advent                   15-December-2024
Sermon Text: Isaiah 40:6-8
Sermon Theme: Hark The Glad Sound! I. The Lord’s Word Is Preached! (Vs.6) II. His Word Breathes Us Alive! (Vs.7) III. The Father’s Enduring Word Fills Us With Joyful Hope! (Vs.8) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

I.N.R.I. “Rejoice!” Why? The grey dreary days of December are short. Darkness is winning. Rejoice? Seriously? ‘Merry Christmas!” I overheard a shopper greet her friend at the store the other day. “Merry? I wish Christmas was over,” her friend responded, “there’s so much I have to do, this time of year is exhausting.”
    “Rejoice!” the voice of a imprisoned preacher cries out in our introit this morning. “Rejoice?” isn’t this Advent? A time to be honest facing our sins and turning away from them in repentance. How can we rejoice as we struggle to free ourselves from the dungeon of our pet sins? We try. We fail. What joy is found in admitting that I am a failure...a poor miserable sinner...who has sinned by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. The imprisoned preacher might have joy in his cell, but my prison of self-indulgence is only filled with gloomy despair and sadness.
    Rejoice? Where are you Jesus? Are you really Emmanuel, or should we search for another Savior? The imprisoned preacher cries out from Herod’s dungeon sending two of his disciples to ask Jesus, Mat 11:3 ..."Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Death draws near for John the Preacher - the only way to silence his call to repentance is to chop off his head. Soon he will die for a dance, but he will die in joy - for Jesus sends His Word to comfort John. “The poor have the Gospel preached to them!” Isaiah prophecy is fulfilled by John the Preacher and Baptizer - Isa 40:9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" “Basar” or“Good Tidings” in the Hebrew is translated “Evangelium” in the Greek - or “Gospel” in English.
    “Rejoice, in the Lord always!” Imprisoned preacher the Apostle Paul writes a letter of joy to his congregation at Philippi. Soon preacher Paul will be silenced by Emperor Nero. The preacher’s head will be chopped off to stop him preaching the Gospel to the poor. “Again I will say rejoice!”
    The Joy of Advent. The Joy of Christmas! Is never in our preparations, rushing to buy, bake, wrap, and send. Never is it found in our perfectly repenting and walking away from the prison of our pet sins. Rejoice in the Lord always! Listen to the preachers John and Paul for their voice still echoes in Christ’s Church preaching: Hark The Glad Sound! I. The Lord’s Word Is Preached! (Vs.6) II. His Word Breathes Us Alive! (Vs.7) III. The Father’s Enduring Word Fills Us With Joyful Hope! (Vs.8)
I. We have been learning from the prophet Isaiah during our midweek Advent vespers under the theme “Savior of the Nations Come!” We have learned that Isaiah, of royal blood, was called to be a prophet in the year that Judah’s good King Uzziah died - 740B.C. . He will preach to the southern kingdom of Judah until 681B.C. when they silence the preacher by throwing rocks at him until he died during the reign of Judah’s wicked king Manasseh.
    The Lord’s glory appeared to Isaiah in the Temple, an angel purified his sinful lips with a coal from the altar. Isaiah records, Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." The Lord sends Isaiah to preach to the most stubborn congregation. Isa 6:9-10 And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' (10) "Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed." No public speaking techniques will break through their hard heartedness. How long was his call to last in Judah? Isa 6:11-12 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, (12) The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.   For the first 39 chapters the Lord places His Word of judgment upon Isaiah’s lips to preach. Still even in the darkness of the approaching exile of their nation to Babylon rays of hope break through. To wicked King Ahaz he preaches: Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. As the Assyrians destroy the northern kingdom of Israel through mass genocide - hope remains for the faithful remnant from those northern ten tribes: Isa 9:1-6 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,.... In Galilee of the Gentiles. (2) The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined..... (6) For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah preaches hope in the Branch that will grow from Jesse’s root in chapter 11, and then breaks forth in a hymn praising the salvation He brings sinners in chapter 12.
    Beginning with chapter 40, the preacher is given a new message full of Light and Hope to preach that the faithful among the exiles might be sustained during their upcoming 70 years of exile to Babylon. Isa 40:1-5 "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God. (2) "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD's hand Double for all her sins." (3) The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. (4) Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; (5) The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." During our midweek Advent vespers we’ve learned what these words mean.
      John the Baptist will by the Holy Spirit know that he is the “voice crying out in the wilderness.” The four gospelers testify this truth. Mark writes: Mar 1:1-5 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (2) As it is written in the Prophets: "BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU." (3) "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS: 'PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD; MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.'" (4) John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (5) Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” God the Holy Spirit teaches us that both Malachi’s and Isaiah’s prophecies of the Messenger and the Voice are fulfilled in John.
    So what? Listen! (Vs.6) John the preacher didn’t invent a new message to fit his time, gather the crowds, and please the people. He is called and commanded by the Triune God to preach - to “cry out!” proclaim out loud! The preacher asks, “What shall I cry?” John’s message was never his own - it was from the Lord God placing His Word upon His lips to preach. Paul’s Words were never his own - they were the Holy Spirit’s Word breathed through him preaching Jesus crucified. Jesus risen. Jesus ascended. Jesus present in His Church. Jesus ruling. Jesus coming again. Jesus crucified for our sins and raised again for our justification.
    What is a preacher to say out loud? “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.” The preacher’s appearance may be weak, his voice may be high squeaky, contemptible. He may not pause enough, or tell enough stories during his sermons, though he writes good letters. This is how Paul’s congregation at Corinth evaluated him. (2 Cor. 10:10). Don’t look at the flesh - it is grass. Flowers of the field today are lovely, tomorrow they drop their petals and die. Preachers are never free agents to do as they please, or the congregation pleases. God the Holy Spirit preaches through St. Paul: 1Co 4:1-2 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (2) Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
    Flesh is grass. If a preacher turns you away from Jesus to fix your eyes on his wonderful preaching - he leads you to hell’s fires. If a preacher turns your eyes to look at your own flowering loveliness and turns you away from the suffering bleeding despised and dying Jesus. He leads you to your destruction.
    A visitor attended a church of a well known preacher. Hearing him he complemented the congregation, “What a great preacher you have!” The next week he visited a small congregation whose pastors stammered and stumbled in his preaching. After church he commented on the sermon, “What a great Savior you have!” Never come to church to be entertained. Come to humbly listen to God’s Word placed upon your preacher’s lips to bring you joy through the cross of Jesus alone!
II. The Lord God sends forth His Word to accomplish His purpose. His Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword! Listen! (Vs.7) The grass withers, flowers fade because the breath of the Lord blows upon it. In Palestine, summer heat will suddenly blow onto a grassy flower field and within two days turn it into a dead dry brown fire hazard.
    Jesus preaches to Nicodemus, Joh 3:5-8 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' (8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." God the Holy Spirit breathes upon us through Christ’s Word preached to renew our live and reclaim us as the Father’s beloved children. You don’t choose to follow Jesus. God the Holy Spirit works faith when and where it pleases Him in those who hear the Gospel preached to them. We need to learn to confess: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit ‘In this Christian church He daily and richly’ calls me by the Gospel, ‘In this Christian church He daily and richly’ enlightens me with His gifts, ‘In this Christian church He daily and richly’ sanctifies and ‘In this Christian church He daily and richly’ keeps me with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. . Faith is never your doing - it is the Holy Spirit breathing you new every morning through Jesus’ Word preached out loud in your congregation and home.
    Two young men were trying to repair an older truck they had purchased. It wouldn’t run, so they tore apart and rebuilt the engine - still it wouldn’t run. Then one looked at the other and said, “Wait...did we put gas in the tank?’ Our tank of joy runs dry when we don’t listen to hear what the Holy Spirit longs to breathe into our hearts every Sunday.
III.   Rejoice in the Lord always! Prisoner Paul teaches us the fountain and source of lasting advent joy - Jesus! (Vs.8). All our scurrying around, works to make things perfect - wither and fade away. We grow exhausted and throw up our hands in despair. Jesus draws near to us blinded by sin, lame by our fallen flesh. He washes us clean of the leprosy of our sins by His holy precious blood. He opens our ears to hear Him preaching the loving Word of our heavenly Father. He preaches the good news to you!
    All else will fail you, but the Father’s Word spoken through His Son making you alive by the Holy Spirit endures - yesterday, today, forever. Rejoice! Amen.