In this opening sermon of our Advent series “The Long-Awaited King,” we explore how the Old Testament prophets sustained hope through centuries of waiting—and what their promises mean for our darkness today.
When Isaiah wrote to God’s people around 732 BC, they were living under the shadow of the Assyrian Empire. The northern kingdom had collapsed. Fear was pervasive. Into that literal darkness, Isaiah spoke a stunning promise: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). Not “will see” but “have seen”—the prophetic perfect tense, speaking of future events with such certainty that they’re as good as already accomplished.
This sermon unpacks the famous messianic prophecies of Isaiah 9:2-7 and Micah 5:2-5a, examining how these promises pointed forward to Christ’s first advent and how they sustain us as we await His second coming. We explore the four divine titles given to the coming child—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace—and what they reveal about the nature of the Messiah. We also discover why God chose the forgotten regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, and the insignificant town of Bethlehem, to reveal His greatest glory.
The sermon illustrates the power of promise through the true story of the Chilean miners trapped underground in 2010. After seventeen days of silence, a note came up: “We are well in the shelter, the 33.” Their circumstances hadn’t improved—they were still in darkness, still waiting. But the promise made their fifty-two-day wait bearable. That’s where we live as Christians: between the “already” of Christ’s first coming and the “not yet” of His return.
The message concludes with three practical applications for living faithfully in the tension: let God’s promises reframe your darkness, surrender your control reflexes to the King’s government, and embody the Shepherd’s care by showing up for others in their waiting. God kept His 700-year-old promises about the first advent. He will keep His 2,000-year-old promise about the second advent. Waiting is bearable when the promise is guaranteed.
This is Week 1 of our seven-week Advent series examining the theme of faithful waiting from the prophetic promises through Christ’s birth to our ongoing expectation of His return.
Scripture References: Isaiah 9:2-7; Micah 5:2-5a; Judges 7; Ezekiel 34; John 10:11; Revelation 22:20
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