The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone.

You have multiplied the nation;

you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

as with joy at the harvest,

as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden,

and the staff for his shoulder,

the rod of his oppressor,

you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult

and every garment rolled in blood

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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 9:2–7 (ESV)

Advent. Such a mystical word, full of intrigue, allure, mystery, and hope.

Discovery family, you don’t really know me yet. My name is Bobby Higginbotham and I’ve just joined your family (surprise!), along with 30 or so of my closest brother’s and sister’s in Christ in The Pathway. We’re excited to be here! I’m excited to serve you as a pastor, brother, friend, and fellow human figuring out how to follow Jesus as a citizen of his Kingdom while living in this broken but beautiful world.

The first week of advent is built on the biblical concept of hope. That’s appropriate, because advent simply refers to the arrival of something, or in our situation, someone— Jesus.

Allow me to unpack for you 2 words that will serve as the foundation for 4 titles given to Jesus, from the prophet Isaiah, in anticipation of Jesus’ first arrival.

Hope.
We’ve already used this word several times and it’s the theme of our week. But what does it mean? The definition depends on the object. If I hope that the Seattle Seahawks will make the playoffs this year, that’s really just flimsy wishful thinking. It’s a hope without a foundation and has little chance of coming to pass. However, the object of our hope at advent is no floundering football team, the object of our hope is Jesus Christ, the 2nd person of the Trinity, our crucified, risen Savior and Lord! Hope is a humble confidence in a guaranteed reality. If we repent of our sin and trust into Jesus, we have HOPE—the reality that Jesus will not only save us from our sin, but he will come again— the 2nd advent!

Zeal.
In the Scripture above, the prophet Isaiah talks about the hope of a great darkness being invaded by an incredible, world-wide, joy-filled, light. But which type of hope is this? Is it wishful thinking or a confident guarantee? Isaiah goes on to tell us that this light will come as a baby, that this baby will sit on the throne of his forefather— shepherd turned King— David. Isaiah tells us that this light, ushered in by this baby turned King, will establish a government— an unshakable Kingdom— that will have NO END!

Sign me up for this full of light, full of justice, full of peace, never-ending government. But how is this possible? That’s where our second word comes in. Zeal. For most of us, zeal a strongly held passion or desire to see something accomplished. But zeal is somewhat meaningless when its source is incapable of accomplishing the task. But here’s the good news! Isaiah made it clear it wasn’t he, nor us, who would fulfill this promise. No! Isaiah said clearly in vs. 7… The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. This kind of zeal is a passion to fulfill a promise and the power to make it happen.

That means the God of the universe, the one who created everything— seen and unseen, you and me— that God has a passion, a holy zeal, to see a King in a manger not only save a people, but rule the world with justice and righteousness (v. 7). And when the all-powerful God is zealous for something, we can place our hope in HIM who fulfills all His promises.

Hope. A humble confidence in a guaranteed reality.

Zeal. A passion to fulfill a promise and the power to make it happen.

This week, as you recover from the “rest” of Thanksgiving and prepare for the JOY of Christmas, will you call up a close friend or gather your family together. Slow down for 10 minutes— and talk out loud, together.

What does it mean to HOPE in Jesus?

What does it mean, biblically, for Jesus to be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?

When you’re finished, take a few moments to pray:

God,

We thank you for the first advent; The arrival of Jesus. An arrival that led to the cross and resurrection opening the door for us to be justified by faith. Thank you for the hope we have in knowing— with humble confidence in a guaranteed reality— that Jesus is coming again!

Amen.