This is the Him We Proclaim podcast with Pastor John Fonville. In this powerful conclusion to the Advent series, Pastor John turns our attention to Jesus, the righteous King and Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. As we await His return, we're called to trust in His grace, live in His peace, and reflect His gentleness in a world filled with anxiety and fear. This message encourages believers to rest in the nearness of Christ and walk with confidence, joy, and assurance. Here's a message called The Advent of the Righteous King, the Lamb of God, trusting in His grace and rejoicing in His peace.
Powerful scriptures today, powerful lessons that are appointed for us for this fourth day of Advent. Uh uh Christmas is in a couple days we stand on the threshold of the incarnation. And because that, we have this. position this position of the fourth new advent. that we have poise between promise and fulfillment.
Promise and fulfillment. These poignant readings draw us. deeper into the mystery of Christ's first and second coming. Take a take away from the The scripture is your Bible look at Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 30 that you just heard. Isaiah chapter 30, powerful.
what the prophet says here. His prophecy begins with this call to repentance and trust. Verse 15, he says, It's not eternal And rest. You shall be Saved. In quietness and trust being or strength.
What is he talking about? You have to have some context here. Because And Isaiah prophesied this prophecy, the southern kingdom of Judah faced perils for survival from the Assyrian Empire. And the temptation Was this was to seek help for um Egypt. Because what had happened was the northern kingdom in 722 BC had been totally destroyed by the Assyrian Empire.
Wiped out. Never to return. And so oh, the uh southern kingdom of Judah. Was had this great temptation to seek help from Egypt. Why?
To trust in human Effort. Than trusting in God and His promises. And Isaiah 30 speaks of this folly. It speaks in folly verses one to three. God says He says, you have rebelled against me.
He says you have looked to Egypt for salvation. And he says, listen to what he says. He says, woe to the rebellious children. Who executes a plan? What?
We're about to die and we need salvation.
So, Egypt, yes, let's go to Egypt. That sounds like a good plan because they can defeat Assyria and they can defend us and save us. And he says, you've devised this plan, you execute this plan, but it's not mine to make an alliance with Egypt. He says, this is not of my spirit. And he says, you just add sin to sin.
You who proceed down to Egypt without consulting me, take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh. Versus taking refuge in the safety of the great king. He's saying. You seek to shelter in the shadow of Egypt. And he says, because of this self-righteousness, because of this self-effort at self-salvation.
He says, what does it result in? Therefore, he says, the safety of Pharaoh shall be your shame. And he says, the shelter in the shadow of Egypt will. Being more Humiliation. Self-salvation doesn't lead to justification.
It doesn't lead to righteousness. What does it lead to? Shame. Humiliation, condemnation, judgment. But look what, look in verse eighteen of chapter thirty.
even in their faithlessness. Take comfort in that. God says he waits to be gracious to them. Look at verse 18. He says, the Lord waits to be gracious to you.
And therefore, listen, he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord God is a God of justice. And blessed those who wait. For him. This pasta engine is rich.
written with great being Uh a maintenance. First we see God's patience and grace. It tells us, God says that he does not rush to judgment, but he waits patiently. Giving time for sinners to repent. And it tells us that he is waiting.
is not simply to punish, but to extend Grace. Do you see that? God is patient with faithless sinners who don't seek His salvation, who don't seek to trust Him, but turn to self-effort. And he says, even in the midst of your faithlessness, I'll wait. In patience to be gracious to you, and I'll exalt myself how in showing mercy.
Two sinners. What a statement. What a statement that he makes to Judah at this point where they have completely forsaken God at this point. And here we see what also do we see? God's.
Exaltation In mercy. God, listen, mercy, mercy is an aspect. of his glory. This is how he exalts himself by showing mercy to sinners. to faithless sinners.
He showcases his gracious nature to people who don't deserve it. That's how he exalts himself. But he also says in this passage that he's God of what? Justice. Justice and mercy together.
Grounded in God's character. And you see God's justice. is not at odds with his Mercy. Before he can show mercy. Justice must address sin.
He can't just overlook their sin. They have sinned. But he says though he's a God of justice, he'll exalt himself by showing mercy. And be gracious to them. And it was come to see it in the in the the gospel that We heard from John.
Justice and mercy meet in full and perfect harmony in Jesus, who is the sacrificial Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Lastly, look at what Isaiah says. He says, there is blessing for those who wait. for this God's salvation. God says to Judah, he says, don't turn to Egypt.
Don't turn to Pharaoh. They can't save you. Don't trust in your wisdom to save yourself. Why? Because that leads to shame.
That leads to humiliation and your sin. He says, But if you turn to me and wait for my salvation, what is waiting? Trust. Trust, faith. He says there is great.
more I've seen. Great. Blessing. How does this blessing come? Chapter 32, verse the first verse.
Chapter 32. Listen, what Isaiah does, he presents a vision of hope. of a righteous king who is going to come. And he says, behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule. injustice Verse 2, he says, This king, listen to the blessing.
This king who comes. will be like A hiding place from the wind. Safety. Right? Safety, security, comfort.
It will be a shelter from the storm. He'll be like streams of water. In a dry place. You're thirsting, thirsting. Thirsteen.
and it will quench your thirst. It'll be like the shade of a great Rock in a weary land where you're just Out in the desert, you have no shade. You're just getting baked in the sun. And this king comes. And he protects you.
And he gives you shade. He gives you comfort. He gives you security. He quenches your thirst. Jump ahead.
What does the Gospel of John say? What does Jesus about Jesus? Jesus says, he says this. He says, Out of his heart shall flow what? Rivers of living water.
Listen, most people think Wow, if I trust in Jesus, out of my heart will flow rivers of living water. That's not what Jesus is saying. He's saying, he who believes in me out of my heart, Jesus, will flow to you. Life-giving rivers and water. That's the fulfillment of Isaiah here.
People wallowing and lost in their sin. Like a dry and weary land, looking for something that satisfies, looking for something that can quench their thirst, because they're thirsty. They drink of this, they drink of that, they try to. Everything. Nothing can bring satisfaction to their life.
And Isaiah says, there is a king of righteousness coming, and he will be like a stream of water in a dry place, and he'll quench the thirst of your soul and fulfill you. With this righteous king, God's people are transformed. And so, what is Isaiah doing? He is inviting us to relinquish self-reliance. Self-salvation.
Self-righteousness. He's calling us to trust in this righteous king who is coming to satisfy all our thirsty desires that we have tried to satisfy but can't. Which is what Augustine says, his famous quote, our hearts are what? You know it, restless until they find their rest in thee. He has trust in this righteous king whose presence becomes life-giving.
He calls us to turn away from human solutions. Human thinking. And he said rest. In the promise of God's sovereign grace found in this coming king. who waits to be gracious to you.
Who waits to exalt himself to show mercy to you? What a powerful passage of prophecy. And so this brings us to the Gospel of John, turn to the Gospel of John, the first chapter. As when he heard this one there's some Um um morning. Listen, John, who is this righteous king that is prophesied by Isaiah?
John points us to Jesus. He says, Behold, look, the Lamb of God who takes away. The thin Of the world. Look to him. When John tells us, he says, when the priests and Levites, Stand by the Pharisees, question John about his identity.
Who are you? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. You know, this guy is eating locusts and wild honey and dressed weird and just out in the wilderness. Like, who are you? And he denied, he says, I'm not the Christ, I'm not the Messiah, I'm not Elijah.
I'm not the prophet that that That is like m Moses I'm not him. And they said, Who are you? And John says, I'm fulfilling Isaiah 40, verse 3. I'm just a voice crying out in the wilderness. preparing the way for the Messiah.
I'm ordered to come. That's all I am. I'm just a voice crying out in the wilderness. And when challenged about his authority to baptize, What does John do? He points them to Jesus.
John says, The one who they did not know. whose greatness far surpassed John's. In verse 9, here's the key: the next day, upon seeing Jesus, John proclaims. to everybody present. He goes like this.
It says behold, but it's not that. It's look. He points to Jesus. Who are you, John? He says, I'm a voice crying in the wilderness, look.
Right there, behold, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That's who I am. Look at him. Look right there. Here he comes.
Look at him. And John declares that Jesus is this righteous king prophesied by Isaiah who waits to be gracious to sinners. He has come to take away the sins of the world. He's come to take away your sin. That's how He's gracious to you.
That's how He exalts Himself with mercy to you as He takes away your sin. What could be more gracious than that? John proclaims that Jesus him. embodies this righteous, gracious king. Why?
Because he's the Lamb of God. What is he talking about? He's saying if Jesus It's the Passover. Lamb. He's the sacrificial lamb.
He's the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament pictures of lambs being sacrificed. Why? Because he is that sacrifice who takes away your sin. That's his grace. That's his mercy.
You cannot priests and Levites listen, but in your self-righteousness, you cannot take away your sin. Look to him who can take away your sin. Give up your self-righteousness. That is exactly what Isaiah said. That is exactly what John the Baptist is saying.
Give up your self-effort. Give up your self-righteousness. Give up your sin. Don't try by self-effort to save yourself. Look to him who takes away the sin in the world.
Look to him. This is the king who exalts himself to show mercy. to be gracious to you.
Well, Isaiah said that this God is also God of justice. How can God be a God of justice? Yet show grace and mercy at the same time without what? Violating his justice. He does it through Jesus, the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice who became the Lamb of God.
sacrificed on the cross for our sins. Jesus, by his sacrifice on the cross, he has made complete and full satisfaction of justice. He has accomplished true righteousness. And at the cross of Christ. Justice and mercy meet in full harmony together.
In the death of Jesus, justice is satisfied and mercy. Grace has full expression to sinful men. And so, just as Isaiah warned against trust in human strength. John warns the Levites and the priests, he says, don't trust in your self-righteousness. Both texts expose the futility of humans striving for salvation.
The folly of self-justification, the folly of self-righteousness, self-effort. Most texts redirect us to this righteous king. The king who is to come, Isaiah. The king who has come, John. Look at him.
There's the righteous king that Isaiah was speaking of. This righteous king brings justice and peace. Any waits to be gracious to us because of his sacrifice. Jesus is this righteous king. He's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Martin Luther says this: He says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin, the sin. I'm Um world. Believe in him. And if you believe in him, you'll be free from sin, free from death, free from hell. He's right.
This is the heart of Advent. This is what these four Sundays are pointing us to. Recognizing that human effort falls short, that salvation is found in the grace of God embodied. In Jesus, this righteous King who is coming, who has come, and who is coming again. Look to him.
Look to him. What does the event tell us? Human effort always, always falls short. Pharaoh. cannot save you, Judah.
You Levites and priests who don't know Jesus who's standing in front of you. Your self-righteous acts to the Mosaic covenant. It can't save you, Levites and priests. Give up your self-effort. Give up your self-righteousness.
It's folly. It leads to humiliation and shame. But look to Jesus. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, that leads to salvation. As we think about both of these passages, As it calls us, he says, trust.
Trust in this righteous king. Waits to show mercy to us. John says Jesus is this righteous king, who's a Lamb of God, who takes away our sin. An effort falls short. Divine grace is sufficient.
Now, as you hear these two messages... Here's the question. How do we respond? How do we live? Paul, writing to the Philippians, gives us clear instructions how to who Live.
enlighten of Christ return. Look what he says. It's very simple. He says, rejoice. Be gentle and have peace through prayer and thanksgiving.
Look at this. He says, rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice.
I think sometimes it's hard for us to do that, isn't it? I don't feel too comfortable.
Well, I don't want to look too excited to people, what people might think I'm... little bit crazy or something or whatever. But listen, listen very carefully. This is this this this exhortation is written to the corporate church, not to the Just individual Christian. This is a corporate exhortation.
When the church is gathered together, the apostle says to the church corporately, rejoice. The context of this joy is crucial. Which becomes very convicting to me as you think about it. Listen to the context where Paul says, Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, in case you missed it, and again I say, rejoice.
The context is this. Philippi was. Occupied by what? Rome. It was a Roman colony.
The proclamation Jesus is Lord. was directly opposed to the Roman Declaration. Caesar is Lord. That's what they proclaimed in Rome. Caesar is Korios.
Caesar is the Lord. This was not just a theological statement, but a political one. Reorienting the the the loyalty from the temporal power of Caesar to the eternal lordship of Christ was just revolutionary. Because these people were suffering. Being crushed by Roman persecution.
Paul calls them to rejoice in Jesus, and he's calling them to say, Call Jesus Koreas and rejoice in him. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in Koreas. And if you heard that in Philippi, People would go, well, that's Caesar. No.
Paul is being quite revolutionary here. He's saying. Don't rejoice in the temporal power of Caesar. Rejoice in the eternal lordship, kingship, power of Christ. Christ.
This righteous king who longs to be gracious to you. Affirming that your allegiance is to Christ. How can you do this in the midst of suffering, in the midst of very difficult circumstances? Here's how here's how here's how. Because he says, look what he says in Philippians.
He says, the Lord... is near. That has You can take that away, so I'm going to come back to it. But he says his airness brings hope. Vindication in the midst of suffering and the pressures of living under Rome.
occupation. This call to rejoice. is not just for the season of Advent, but it's for Every moment rejoice. Always. Always.
Why? Because he says the Lord is near. What is he talking about? Philippians chapter 3, verses 20 and 21. He's talking about Christ's return.
He says, the Lord Jesus Choreos. His return is soon. And when he returns, listen to what makes you rejoice. Our citizenship is in heaven, from whom we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to being like his glorious body. Have you ever stopped just to think about that?
When Jesus rose from the dead, He can eat fish. He can drink. He could go to Camp Arzad in Galilee. And he could walk through doors, and he could appear, and he could disappear. He was different, but the same, but he was different.
That is exactly like what will be. Exactly like that. Do you understand? That is the hope of the gospel. That is the focused message and hope of Advent.
All the suffering, all the weakness, all the pain. All the limitations that we experience now will forever be gone and will be transformed like his glorious body. That is your destination. Jesus is the first human who has been resurrected. And you go, well, wait a minute.
Other people came back from the dead. That's not. That's not resurrection. Nickinaemus. Right?
What happened to no excuse me? Lazarus. What happened to Lazarus? He died. And God walked up to us to him and he said, Lazarus, come forth.
And he did. And then he went forth again. where he is still waiting. He was not resurrected. He was resuscitated.
When you get resurrected, you can't die ever again. Exactly. Why? Because Jesus has destroyed death forever. We await that.
We wait for that. We look for that. To be transformed, our lowly body, to be like his glorious body. How does that happen? By the power That enables him even to subject all things to himself.
By his omnipotent power, he'll do this. And you say, well, what about the people who got But A war. And they disintegrated, right? They just disappeared. They got Hiroshima, right?
They got nuked. And they just disappeared. How do they come back? Last week we heard from Isaiah. This week we hear from Paul.
The power of God affects new creation. And he speaks into existence things that do not exist, and he brings it to life, and he gives resurrection. That's how it happens. That's what Isaiah says. Isaiah last week in our passage in Isaiah, God says, awake.
Yeah. You dry bones in the dust, awake. By the power of God, He effects this glorious transformation. And when God speaks, what he speaks happens. You see, God's speech is creative.
Our speech is just descriptive. But his speech is creative. This promise anchors our joy.
So when we come to church each week, I think it would be. Good for us to practice rejoicing. Yeah. I think it's good for me because I tend to not be like that a lot. I think it is a good practice for our church corporately to hear the Apostle Paul, which is actually Jesus speaking through the vocation of an apostle.
Saying, listen, church, listen, church. This is God speaking. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. That's God speaking.
Rejoice. Why? Because we have a glorious future coming. We have a great hope coming. And then Paul says, don't just rejoice.
Because You're not like pagans who see this body as a prison. You see this body as you're good. It's going to be glorified like Jesus. That's something to rejoice and sing about, isn't it? But Paul says next, he says, let your gentleness be evident to all.
This is huge. This is a fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Let your gentleness be evident to all. Oh, this is huge.
How? He says, Because the Lord is near. He's near by his spirit now. But his return is very soon. And that encourages us to embody Christ-like patience and humility, like John the Baptist.
John the Baptist said in our passage today, I'm not even worthy to untie his sandals. Look to him. Don't look to me. That's humility. Patience in challenging times, this gentleness, this forbearing spirit.
It reflects Christ in our daily interactions, and this is where I felt completely convicted this week, especially at Christmastime where you are around a lot of family. Because family, especially extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins, all kinds of people, right? Second cousins, third cousins. They can get under your skin quickly. Huh?
And they can do things and they can say things that just make you gosh. And I was thinking about this where Paul says, unless your gentleness, listen to this. Let your gentleness be evident to all. And I thought, where are some places that we could probably show some forbearance? Here's a couple in traffic.
Road rage. Road rage is a real bad problem in our society, and it leads sometimes to murder. And it's selfish if you think about it because you're thinking that person in front of me shouldn't be there because I have my right to get where I'm supposed to go without any hindrance as fast as I can possibly get there. Me, me, me, me, me, right? Get out of the way!
Let's work on responding with some patience. and some forbearance in traffic. All right, we're all guilty. How about relationships? Listen first, aim for peace, and show some respect.
Ah! Yeah. Why? The Lord is near. What if Jesus came back while you're cutting somebody off on JTV and flipping them off because you're mad?
And Jesus came back right then. You're going to be a fine. You're not going to be condemned. But I mean... You know, you might not want to be found in that position.
How about this one? Here's what I was thinking about. What about with family during the holidays? We experienced that in our household this past week. And I was going, I gotta preach this Sunday.
And I really need to exercise some patience towards some folks at this point. And John, the ward is near. How about now? Here's the last one. This is a big one.
How about social media? Online. We have keyboard warriors. If you post something that's just theologically not quite right, you can just see all the keyboard warriors. Oh, I got him.
Yeah. I just, well, I got off Twitter. We have a church Twitter account. I kept it. Because nobody attacks churches.
I've discovered that on social media, just wipe that part out of the sermon so people don't hear it. They go, okay, well, let's attack the church. But when I had my personal social Twitter account, now X account. I would post something, and it would just light up like a Christmas tree. Just mean, nasty, awful.
Cutting, harsh things coming. And I told Catherine one day I walked in the kitchen, I said, that's it. I'm done with Twitter. At that time, it was Twitter.
Now, X, I'm done with it. Not going back. Don't need social media. I don't need Instagram. I don't need Facebook.
So, Kathy, I share a Facebook account. I go onto her Instagram account because it is the funniest social media account I have ever seen. Because I can see everything that she looks at, and it's like here's a monkey video, here's a little kitty cat video, here's a baking video. I mean, it's just hilarious what pops up in her feed. But I was like, I'm done.
But can't we just exercise some grace? Oh no social media. And not have to just Fight. In debate. Every single time we see something posted on social media.
All right.
So When you have traffic When you have relationships, when you have family holidays, when you have social media. Remember what the Apostle Paul said. The Lord. is near. And here's the last one.
Peace through prayer and thanksgiving. Peace, prayer, and thanksgiving. Do not be anxious about anything. Yeah. but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving.
Present your request to God. Just tell him what you need, what you want. Yeah. Right? And he says, and the peace in God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
What is he saying? The practice of prayer, the practice of giving thanks replaces anxiety. You can't be fit with anxiety and give thanks. You can't The peace of God comes when you pray and give thanks. It does.
Paul says the peace of God transcends all human understanding. What is he talking about? There are limitations to people who are not Christians about how they think about and perceive. Um the own world. The unbelieving mind cannot think beyond present circumstances.
Why? Because they don't have a glorious future.
So what happens? They're filled with fear. Anxiety. Depression. Because they cannot think beyond their present circumstances.
And so this human perspective. is marked by uncertainty. Distress. Lack of peace, no comfort, because there's no future. They don't have the hope of a glorified body that Paul just spoke about.
They have nothing that's helping them get through the present because they don't have a future. They can't think beyond their present circumstances. And God's peace offers this divine assurance that surpasses this human way of thinking. Uh of of perceiving the world. And the peace that God guards our hearts and It guards our hearts, it guards our minds, it shields a certain anxiety that dominates this just human outlook.
And so Paul invites us, he says, we can live differently. Why? Because we have the hope. Of the second coming of Christ. We have the hope of new creation.
We have the hope of his return, which is imminent. And so it encourages us. The Lord is near, it encourages us to have joy. It helps us to be gentle. God is in the air, He's coming, He's going to take care of everything.
He'll make every right. That's what Isaiah said. He'll rule with justice and righteousness. He's going to make it all right. The Lord is near.
And because of that, we can have peace and contrast in this world that is filled with sorrow, harshness. Not gentleness, fear. Anxiety. Not peace. And so Isaiah and John both tell us Turn from self-righteousness.
Look to Jesus, the righteous King, the Lamb of God, who is gracious to us, who takes away our sin. Look to him. And Paul says, how does that change us? He has rejoiced in God's presence. He's near.
Rejoice in his presence. He's coming soon. And Paul says, as we wait his return. May our lives show forbearance. Gentleness.
Peace and joy. We can be different, and why? Because our sins have been taken away by a God. who is gracious. to us.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this great hope. It is just amazing. Your truth is amazing. And we're grateful for it.
Drive this home to our hearts and comfort us.
Now as we come to partake of your table, And take this message. A fucking God who waits to be gracious to us. and press it upon our hearts. And give us comfort and assurance we pray. In Jesus' name.
And John Fawnville sends his thanks for listening today. And before we wrap up, can I tell you about an encouraging book you might want to get soon? It's called Hope and Holiness: How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity. You're not alone if you've tried to conquer sexual temptations and tried all the methods available, only to find yourself feeling defeated again. This book may be just what you're looking for.
With his shepherding heart, John shows that the gospel, not practical steps or more self-discipline, is God's provision for the power to live a life of sexual purity. and it's available to every Christian. What I like is the book is available in three convenient ways, paperback, audiobook, or Kindle. The links are in our podcast descriptions, or just search for Hope and Holiness by John Fawnville on Amazon to get a copy for you, and it's a wonderful book to go through with a small group. Him we proclaim is a ministry of Paramount Church in Jacksonville, Florida.
You can find us at paramountchurch.com. We'll talk again soon.
