Call to Worship Revelation 19:6
Lighting of the Advent Candle ~ Prayer
Hymn JBC # 149 Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Scripture Isaiah 52:7~11
Sermon “Your God reigns!”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 330 Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Doxology JBC # 671
Benediction
We are now within the advent period of waiting for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today is the second Sunday of advent.
At the beginning of the worship service, the second advent candle was lighted up. The light of the second advent candle signifies “peace”.
The light of the first advent candle signifies “hope”. The fact that Jesus Christ came to our world was an event that true “hope” was given to us.
That hope is a hope that God became man and lives with us. It is a hope that if we have believed it, nothing can take it away from us.
The hope to live for the present and hope for the future was given to us through Jesus Christ. It is a certain hope that God lives and walks with us every day.
By offering this worship service together as today as well, we can share the hope of Jesus Christ who lives with us at this season. Let us truly be thankful for that matter.
In today’s second Sunday of advent, let us listen to the herald about “peace” which is the significance of the light of the second advent candle from God’s Word of the bible.
I have chosen the Old Testament’s [book of Isaiah] chapter 52:7～10 as today’s scripture.
As written background, it is said that the book of Isaiah chapter 52 is the end of the “Babylonian captivity” period where the nation of Israel was overturned by the Babylonian Empire and many Jews spent their lives as captives in Babylon.
It is written in today’s scripture the condition of being announced to the people who spend a life of captivity the news of hope and joy that that life of captivity ends.
It is heartbreaking when we think particularly of the present time where many people’s daily living and life are threatened, and countless lives are lost amidst nations and regions that are under war condition.
Thinking that there are people and their families that are being hostage in captivity, we are enraged and ask, “why would such thing happen?!”
I am also in captivity by the feeling of incompetence [I am unable to do anything]. How about everyone? However, it is my desire that when we seem like being captured by incompetence, let us listen earnestly to the peace that the bible conveys and receive that peace personally.
And if each one of us is given hope and strength, our way of life and action is changed based on true peace that we receive through the bible, then it is well to believe that world peace will certainly be realized.
Let me read verse 7 once again.
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
In here, a news is told to the people by a messenger. What he proclaimed was a “Good News”.
In here is told a hope to the people in captivity that the news they have awaited will be given them.
The news that the Israelites awaited during the life of captivity was the news of freedom, that of victory.
The news of freedom and salvation that the people have long awaited was proclaimed to them through that man is what today’s passage teaches.
Let us also give attention to what is mentioned here, “how beautiful are the feet” of the one…
In here is pictured the “messenger” who was used to proclaim the news of the victory of war. He went a long way upon the mountains to proclaim that news.
If to this day, sending a message on smart phone is in an instant, and it’s conveyed no matter how distant it is. People directly carrying mails or news become lesser from now on.
It is difficult for us to imagine living in such an era, but for a messenger to go a long way, probably tens or hundreds of kilometers surpassing mountains and valleys should have needed a hard labor.
Today’s passage says, “beautiful” on the mountains are the feet of the messenger. In the reality, the feet of the messenger who went from mountain to mountain should be so dirty, nevertheless, it says his feet are beautiful.
That is, with the Lord God seeing the labor of the messenger running desperately to convey that news to the people and his inner thoughts, it must have been expressed his feet are “beautiful”.
It may also be likened to the figure of a believer who believes the Lord’s Good News and news of salvation and lives each day carrying that news hoping to convey it to other people.
It says that the figure of a person who believes Christ and strives to live each day is “beautiful”.
And so, a person who believes the gospel and lives is said to be beautiful because God’s gospel itself that he believes, and carries is eternally beautiful.
The bible says that we human beings are “jars of clay”. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 of the New Testament is written as follows.
2 Corinthians 4:7
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are “jars of clay”. People that are weak, fragile and sinful. However, in such a jar of clay, we carry the “light of the gospel”, “light that realizes the glory of God”.
Let us abundantly receive the light of the gospel that makes us jars of clay shine beautifully from the inside.
Let us offer thankfulness to the Lord God, the One who makes us jars of clay shine through the light of the gospel and who recognizes us “beautiful”.
What the messenger proclaimed was “Good News”, “peace” and “salvation”. It was a news of freedom that the people have eagerly awaited.
Christmas is an event where true peace was made known to us by God. It is an event where true peace was given to us from God as a present (gift).
The peace that God has given us has brought the fact that Jesus Christ the Son of God becomes our king.
The peace of God begins from believing Jesus Christ as our King, and to welcome Christ the King as our Lord.
When we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord our King and rules our heart, from there springs peace through God.
When we receive Christ into our heart, as exactly written in verse 9 of today’s passage, people’s cheers and joyful voice is lifted to Jerusalem the ruined city.
Isn’t Jerusalem the ruined city the state of each one’s heart that is filled with empty thoughts?
In my opinion, we seek for various things trying to satisfy our empty heart with something. However, there is nothing in this world that would completely satisfy the emptiness of our heart.
There is nothing that fills our emptiness, that our heart is filled with joy except the gospel of Jesus Christ.
However, when we believe Jesus Christ as King, live accepting that Christ rules over me (us), our heart will be filled with great joy.
In the latter half of verse 9 is written as follows.
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord Jesus Christ is not one that controls our heart by force and takes away freedom and dignity from us.
Rather, the Lord Jesus Christ draws us to decide by ourselves to welcome Him as King, moreover, He desires to give us true freedom and dignity by Himself.
We come to realize the fact that we are merely “jars of clay” through Christ. And we that are jars of clay are made to realize through Christ how much we are loved and are considered important by God.
In [the gospel of Matthew] of the New Testament, the Magi came to Jerusalem from the east and asked king Herod [Where is the one born as king of the Jews?]
Even those words of the Magi demonstrate the fact that [Christ is the True King, the King of kings]. King Herod who at that time governed Judea was just a human king.
However, Jesus Christ is God who was born to our world as the true King that should be obeyed and believed by all people.
Let us believe that “Christ is the King, the One who rules over us all people”, and let us walk the path of faith.
Let me read the last verse 10 of today’s passage.
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
When we believe Jesus Christ as Lord and as the King who rules over us, God’s almighty power will be proclaimed and evident even to the people of the world through us.
When Christ rules over us, God’s peace controls us, and that peace of God spreads out to the world through us.
If we are filled with the peace of God, we will surely accept each other and love one another. Mutual existence becomes irreplaceable to one another.
And before long, even the bright hope that [all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God] will be given us.
As we sincerely worship the God Jesus Christ, the God of hope, the Savior of peace, let us spend each day of the advent of being grateful of Christ’s birth.
2 Corinthians 4:7
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are “jars of clay”. People that are weak, fragile and sinful. However, in such a jar of clay, we carry the “light of the gospel”, “light that realizes the glory of God”.
Let us abundantly receive the light of the gospel that makes us jars of clay shine beautifully from the inside.
Let us offer thankfulness to the Lord God, the One who makes us jars of clay shine through the light of the gospel and who recognizes us “beautiful”.
What the messenger proclaimed was “Good News”, “peace” and “salvation”. It was a news of freedom that the people have eagerly awaited.
Christmas is an event where true peace was made known to us by God. It is an event where true peace was given to us from God as a present (gift).
The peace that God has given us has brought the fact that Jesus Christ the Son of God becomes our king.
The peace of God begins from believing Jesus Christ as our King, and to welcome Christ the King as our Lord.
When we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord our King and rules our heart, from there springs peace through God.
When we receive Christ into our heart, as exactly written in verse 9 of today’s passage, people’s cheers and joyful voice is lifted to Jerusalem the ruined city.
Isn’t Jerusalem the ruined city the state of each one’s heart that is filled with empty thoughts?
In my opinion, we seek for various things trying to satisfy our empty heart with something. However, there is nothing in this world that would completely satisfy the emptiness of our heart.
There is nothing that fills our emptiness, that our heart is filled with joy except the gospel of Jesus Christ.
However, when we believe Jesus Christ as King, live accepting that Christ rules over me (us), our heart will be filled with great joy.
In the latter half of verse 9 is written as follows.
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord Jesus Christ is not one that controls our heart by force and takes away freedom and dignity from us.
Rather, the Lord Jesus Christ draws us to decide by ourselves to welcome Him as King, moreover, He desires to give us true freedom and dignity by Himself.
We come to realize the fact that we are merely “jars of clay” through Christ. And we that are jars of clay are made to realize through Christ how much we are loved and are considered important by God.
In [the gospel of Matthew] of the New Testament, the Magi came to Jerusalem from the east and asked king Herod [Where is the one born as king of the Jews?]
Even those words of the Magi demonstrate the fact that [Christ is the True King, the King of kings]. King Herod who at that time governed Judea was just a human king.
However, Jesus Christ is God who was born to our world as the true King that should be obeyed and believed by all people.
Let us believe that “Christ is the King, the One who rules over us all people”, and let us walk the path of faith.
Let me read the last verse 10 of today’s passage.
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
When we believe Jesus Christ as Lord and as the King who rules over us, God’s almighty power will be proclaimed and evident even to the people of the world through us.
When Christ rules over us, God’s peace controls us, and that peace of God spreads out to the world through us.
If we are filled with the peace of God, we will surely accept each other and love one another. Mutual existence becomes irreplaceable to one another.
And before long, even the bright hope that [all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God] will be given us.
As we sincerely worship the God Jesus Christ, the God of hope, the Savior of peace, let us spend each day of the advent of being grateful of Christ’s birth.
