Lesson Five • Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7
Pastor Ryan Story
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9:7
Did you experience a person who had a hard time waiting for Christmas to arrive? This could have been your young child, a teenager hopeful for a new electronic device, or maybe even a loved one who was eager to give a gift to another. Christmas always brings about a fun and joyful expectation. While we looked at all the names that Jesus would be called, we read the next verse in Isaiah and God’s Word tells us the exact peace that Jesus will bring. There will be governmental peace, that has no end, that is upheld by the justice and righteousness of Jesus for all time. While this verse will be perfectly fulfilled in the coming Millennium (if you would like to dig more into the Millennium and all things the book of Revelation, we did just finish a summer-long study), we ought to be comforted to know that in His time, we will all be under the rule of Jesus in a real place where there is no sin competing in our hearts to honor Him.
What about today? We wait like small children for Jesus’ return. We really do not have another choice. We cannot speed up time, we cannot force the rapture, and we cannot get a DeLorean, acquire some plutonium, and go forward in time. I will be the first to say waiting is difficult. Waiting becomes even more difficult when you start seeing circumstances around you. For Christmas, we see the wonderment of all that this holiday brings and we get more and more excited the closer we get to the 25th. Sadly, living in a world that is ruled by sin, living in a world that has hurt, pain, brokenness, and heartache, our circumstances are bleak; thus, making our wait exceedingly more difficult.
Have you ever looked at the fallenness of the world and thought, “Is Jesus really in charge?” While Jesus’ rule will be perfected in the Millennium, we still are in a place where sinful men rule, and pain is ever present. However, we also live in a world where you see addicts give their life to Christ and rely on His strength to stay clean. We live in a world that sees churches take joy to the unfortunate, not in the name of, “it was nice,” but in the name of Jesus Christ. We live in a world where Pastors are about to finish another faithful year serving Jesus and ensuring those who God has placed in their care have grown closer to God.
We live in a world that is broken and the effects of sin are still ever visible. We also live in a world that gives small glimpses of what we are waiting for. We see glimpses of the greatness of Jesus. We see glimpses of peace and justice. While we still must wait for the absolute rule of Christ to come, God gives us our Christmas gift early by showing us exactly what is in store for those who are awaiting His return.
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20