Untitled Sermon (2)

Training

Croire

Believe

Training

Avent 2: Esaïe 40.1-11

Advent 3:

Advent 2:

Advent 3:

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been trying to see how the season of Advent isn’t just about getting ready to celebrate Christmas. It is that, but it’s a lot more than that.

J’ai un cauchemar récurrent (j’ai déjà raconté mon cauchemar à certains d’entre vous). C’est un des pires cauchemars de ma vie, et il vient au moins une fois par an.

Welcome to Eglise Connexion. We’re in the second week of our annual Advent series.

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been trying to see how the season of Advent isn’t just about getting ready to celebrate Christmas. It is that, but it’s a lot more than that.

Remember, we saw that in the Bible, God’s people live through repeated cycles of waiting and fulfillment: they wait in Egypt before being rescued from slavery; they wait in the desert before God gives them the promised land; they wait in exile before returning to Jerusalem; and they wait for four hundred years before God sends the Messiah, the Savior he had promised them—which of course is what we celebrate at Christmas.

Dans mon rêve, je fais la queue à la Poste…et c’est tout.

I have a recurring nightmare (some of you know this).

Je n’ai rien à écouter, je n’ai rien à lire… J’attends. Toute la nuit. C’est horrible. Je me réveille stressé et énervé, à chaque fois.

And we’ve seen that we, Christians in the 21st century, are waiting too. We are waiting for the return of Christ, at which time he will make all things new.

In the dream, I’m in line at the post office…and that’s it. I have nothing to listen to, nothing to read… I’m just waiting. All night long. And it’s miserable. I wake up stressed and annoyed, every single time.

So over the last two weeks, we’ve talked about how we wait in times of crisis, and how God encourages us in our wait.

Pour les gens comme moi, qui n’aiment pas attendre, l’Avent est une des saisons les plus importantes de l’année.

So for guys like me, who hate waiting, Advent one of the most important seasons of the year.

So over the last two weeks, we’ve talked about how we wait in times of crisis, and how God encourages us in our wait.

But we haven’t yet talked about how we wait, on a day-by-day basis—what life in exile actually looks like.

Comme j’ai dit la semaine dernière, je n’ai pas grandi avec l’Avent, alors comme beaucoup de gens, je pensais que l’Avent était simplement le temps avant Noël. C’est ce par quoi on doit passer pour arriver au sapin et aux cadeaux (et oui, d’accord, le bébé Jésus).

As I said last week, I didn’t grow up with Advent, so I, like many people, simply thought that Advent was the time before Christmas. It’s what we have to get through to get to the tree and the presents (and okay, sure, baby Jesus).

But we haven’t yet talked about how we wait, on a day-by-day basis—what life in exile actually looks like.

But as we saw last week, Advent is not just what you have to get through to get to Christmas. Advent is a particular season of the year in which the church intentionally slows down and learns what it is to wait.

In our minds, waiting is almost always a passive affair. You sit by the phone and wait for it to ring. You stand in line and wait for your turn. You sit at home and you wait for your guests to arrive.

Mais comme on a vu la semaine dernière, la saison de l’Avent n’est pas simplement ce qu’on fait pour se préparer à fêter Noël. L’Avent est une saison particulière de l’année où l’église se ralentit, et apprend ce que c’est que d’attendre.

But in the Bible we see that these periods of waiting for the people of God are never meant to be periods in which we just get to sit around and do nothing, saying “Where is God? I don’t know. I wonder when he’ll show up.”

L’histoire de la Bible est une histoire d’attente et d’accomplissement. A plusieurs reprises, le peuple d’Israël se trouve dans des situations où ils attendaient quelque chose qu’ils n’avaient pas encore : notamment, dans la période entre l’Ancien et le Nouveau Testaments.

Because the story of the Bible is a story of waiting and fulfillment. On multiple occasions, the people of Israel found themselves in situations in which they were waiting for something they didn’t yet have: most notably, in the period between the Old and New Testaments, when they were waiting for the coming of the Messiah.

But in the Bible we see that these periods of waiting for the people of God are never meant to be periods in which we just get to sit around and do nothing, saying “Where is God? I don’t know. I wonder when he’ll show up.”

And we too, now, are waiting: waiting for the return of Jesus Christ, when he will come and renew us and renew this earth and bring us home in the new heavens and the new earth. The story we see in the Bible is actually the story we’re living now. So we have very good reasons to learn to live it well.

At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, we see two really great examples of people who are waiting well.

Dieu avait promis d’envoyer le Messie, qui allait sauver le peuple de Dieu…et pendant cette période de silence, ils attendaient sa venue.

At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, we see two really great examples of people who are waiting well.

After Jesus’s birth, Joseph and Mary bring him to the temple for the ritual of purification that all Jewish boys had to go through. And in the temple at that time we see two people—a man and a woman—who are both present.

Et maintenant, nous aussi, nous attendons : depuis plus de deux mille ans maintenant, nous attendons le retour de Jésus-Christ, où il reviendra et renouvellera la terre et nous ramènera chez nous, dans les nouveaux cieux et la nouvelle terre. L’histoire qu’on voit dans la Bible, c’est encore l’histoire qu’on est en train de vivre. Alors nous avons de bonnes raisons pour apprendre à bien la vivre.

That’s what we saw last week. Now, for the rest of the month, we’re going to look at a series of actions, a series of verbs, that God gives us to help us do that. Last week’s verb was “Wait”. This week’s is “Believe.”

After Jesus’s birth, Joseph and Mary bring him to the temple for the ritual of purification that all Jewish boys had to go through. And in the temple at that time we see two people—a man and a woman—who are both present.

Turn with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter 40; we’re going to be reading verses 1 through 11.

Pendant le mois de décembre, on va regarder à une série d’actions, une série de verbes, que Dieu nous donne pour nous aider à faire cela. Le mot de la semaine dernière était « Attendre. » Celui de cette semaine, c’est « Croire. »

The first is Simeon. :

As you turn there, let's remember where we’ve been so far. Last week we were in , which was a pretty serious lament from the people concerning a desperate situation they were in. It was painful, and sorrowful, and at the end of the psalm, the psalmist prays for God to act…and then it’s just over. We never get to see God’s response to the psalmist’s plea.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Allez avec moi au livre d’Esaïe, au chapitre 40 ; on va lire les versets 1 à 11.

And that’s why we’ve come to . Because in this chapter, we see God respond to that kind of desperation, clearly showing the people that he is not indifferent to it.

Pendant que vous y allez, souvenons-nous de ce qu’on a vu jusqu’ici. La semaine dernière on était dans le Psaume 44, qui était une lamentation sérieuse du peuple concernant une situation désespérée qu’ils vivaient. C’était douloureux, et triste, et à la fin du psaume, le psalmiste prie que Dieu agisse…et puis c’est fini. On ne voit jamais la réponse de Dieu à la prière du psalmiste.

So Luke says that while Simeon waited for “the consolation of Israel” (the fulfillment of God’s promises of the Messiah), he was righteous and devout. That means that he had given himself over to knowing Scripture and to obedience to God’s Word in worship. He knew the Word, and he lived the Word.

The second example is an old woman—Luke says she was “advanced in years”, v. 36—named Anna. And in Anna’s case, Luke is even more explicit. He says (v. 37):

Et c’est pour cela que nous sommes dans Esaïe 40 aujourd’hui. Dans ce chapitre, nous voyons Dieu répondre—non pas à la situation exacte du Psaume 44, mais à ce type de désespoir.

The situation in which he responds is similar to what we saw last week.

The second example is an old woman—Luke says she was “advanced in years”, v. 36—named Anna. And in Anna’s case, Luke is even more explicit. He says (v. 37):

When Isaiah writes this, he has just warned the people that because of their the faithlessness of King Hezekiah, the people will be exiled to Babylon (). Jerusalem would be almost completely destroyed, its people carried off to live as prisoners in a foreign land.

La situation dans laquelle il répond est similaire à ce qu’on a vu la semaine dernière.

She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

Quand Esaïe écrit ce chapitre, il vient tout juste d’avertir le peuple qu’à cause de l’infidélité du Roi Ezéchias (qui n’était que la dernière d’une série d’infidélités de la part du peuple), le peuple sera exilé en Babylone (Esaïe 39.5-7). Jérusalem serait presque totalement détruit, son peuple déporté pour vivre en prisonniers dans un pays étranger.

Here’s the point. Both Simeon and Anna were waiting for the Messiah to come. They were waiting for the consolation of Israel. And, like everyone else, they were in a kind of holding pattern: they didn’t know when the Messiah would come.

So chapter 40, although it was written before the Babylonian exile, was meant to be an encouragement for the people during the Babylonian exile.

Here’s the point. Both Simeon and Anna were waiting for the Messiah to come. They were waiting for the consolation of Israel. And, like everyone else, they were in a kind of holding pattern: they didn’t know when the Messiah would come.

Put yourselves in their place for a moment.

Alors le chapitre 40, même s’il a été écrit avant l’exil en Babylone, était destiné à être un encouragement pour le peuple pendant l’exil.

But they weren’t waiting around doing nothing—they were waiting actively. They had trained themselves in what it means to wait faithfully. Simeon was righteous and devout (which doesn’t just happen on its own); and Anna spent all of her time worshiping the Lord, fasting and praying. They were waiting, but their waiting was anything but passive.

So that’s what we’ll be looking at today—what we are called to learn to do while we wait for Christ to return. And to do that, we’re going to go to .

Mettez-vous dans leur peau juste un instant.

So that’s what we’ll be looking at today—what we are called to learn to do while we wait for Christ to return. And to do that, we’re going to go to .

God’s chosen people, who live in Jerusalem and its surrounding cities, have been occupied and exiled to Babylon.

Before we actually get into the text, let me explain really quickly why we’re coming here to talk about Advent. We’ve spent the last two weeks talking about how Advent is meant to help us learn to wait in hope for the return of Christ, as the people of Israel waited for the Messiah to come prior to Jesus’s birth.

Le peuple choisi de Dieu, qui vivait à Jérusalem et dans les villes autour, a été occupé et exilé loin de chez eux.

The exile has devastated the people. They have lost everything: their home, their culture, their religion, their identity (we see in the book of Daniel that they often received new names upon arriving in Babylon)… They are far from the temple in Jerusalem, which has been sacked and desecrated.

If ever there was a situation which would call for the kind of lament we saw in last week’s text, this was it. The question on everyone’s lips would have been, So this is life now? How long will this last? When will God return? WILL he return?

We’re going to come back to this later, but in v. 10 (the last verse of our passage this morning), Paul says:

L’exil a dévasté le peuple. Ils ont tout perdu : leur pays, leur culture, leur religion, leur identité (on voit dans le livre de Daniel qu’ils recevaient souvent de nouveaux noms à leur arrivée en Babylone)… Ils étaient loin du temple à Jérusalem, qui a été saccagé et détruit.

10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Si jamais il y avait une situation qui pourrait provoquer le genre de lamentation qu’on a vu dans le texte de dimanche dernier, c’est bien celle-ci. La question que tout le monde se pose aurait été : Jusqu’à quand cela va durer ? Quand est-ce que Dieu reviendra nous sauver ? VA-T-IL nous sauver ?

And in God’s word given through the prophet Isaiah, God responds to their desperation. And through the prophet, the people are given the strength they need to believe that they will not be waiting forever.

So he’s going to give Timothy a series of things to do, and he says that all of this work—all this toil and strife—is done for one reason: because we have our hope set on the living God.

The Wait Is Almost Over (v. 2-5).

Et dans la parole que Dieu donne par son prophète Esaïe, Dieu répond à leur désespoir. Par le prophète, le peuple reçoit la force dont ils ont besoin pour croire qu’ils n’attendront pas toujours.

So he’s going to give Timothy a series of things to do, and he says that all of this work—all this toil and strife—is done for one reason: because we have our hope set on the living God.

He says (v. 1):

That is an eschatological sentence. The Savior hasn’t yet returned to earth, he hasn’t yet renewed the earth and completely done away with sin, but one day he will. And we are living in the hope of that day.

L’attente est presque terminée (v. 1-5).

So because we are waiting for that day, because we have our hope set on the living God, here’s is what we must do.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Il dit (v. 1):

So because we are waiting for that day, because we have our hope set on the living God, here’s is what we must do.

We must train ourselves in godliness.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem...

Consolez, consolez mon peuple, dit votre Dieu. 2Parlez au cœur de Jérusalem…

We must train ourselves in godliness.

Training for Life (v. 6-7)

Alors arrêtez là un instant ; essayez de ressentir le ton de ce qu’il dit.

Now just stop here for a moment to try and feel where he’s going with this.

Training for Life (v. 6-7)

Let’s remember what’s going on in this text. (It shouldn’t be too hard; we were in 2 Timothy just a few weeks ago, and the context here is similar.)

Si tu es quelqu’un qui ressent facilement l’empathie, tu comprendras surement ; mais même si vous n’êtes pas naturellement compatissant, devenir parent vous fera comprendre.

Let’s remember what’s going on in this text. (It shouldn’t be too hard; we were in 2 Timothy just a few weeks ago, and the context here is similar.)

If you’re a naturally empathetic person, you’ll probably understand this; but even if you’re not, becoming a parent will probably do it for you.

There are some wounds you see your kids suffer—it’s part of the territory. At the beginning their suffering is almost always physical. They cry when they get a shot. They cry when they fall down. It’s never fun to watch it happen, but you know what’s going on—you know the scale of the pain—so even if it’s not fun, you know they’re okay.

Il y a des blessures que nos enfants souffrent—c’est la vie. Au début, leur souffrance est presque toujours physique. Ils pleurent quand ils ont une piqure chez le médecin. Ils pleurent quand ils tombent. Ce n’est jamais marrant, mais au moins on sait ce qui se passe—on connaît l’échelle de la douleur—alors on sait qu’ils vont bien quand même.

Paul is writing to his young protégé Timothy, who is now the pastor of the church in Ephesus, a church Paul himself planted. He wrote this first letter because there were some issues cropping up in the church in Ephesus which Timothy was having to deal with (namely some false teachers who were trying to sneak their way in and preach a false gospel), so Paul is responding to these issues with counsel for Timothy on how to deal with them.

Mais quand ils grandissent un peu, on commence à les voir blessés par des choses qu’on ne mesure pas aussi facilement. Ils sont font harceler à l’école. Où ils sont blessés par des paroles dures qu’on dit sans réfléchir.

But as always, Paul can’t just give advice; he’s also going to speak to Timothy about Timothy’s faith, and how to care for his own soul in this contentious context.

But when they get a little older, you start to see them getting hurt by things that aren’t so easily measured. They get bullied at school. Or they get hurt by harsh words you said without thinking.

It’s hard to watch your child endure physical pain; but watching them cry because their heart is hurting… That’s almost unbearable. All you want to do in those moments is pick them up, and wrap them tight in your arms, and will them to know, It’s going to be okay. I love you. I’m here. It’s going to be okay.

He begins chapter 4 by talking about the false teachers cropping up in Timothy’s church, who impose weird rules of asceticism that the Bible never does, and he reminds Timothy of why the gospel should free us from those ideas. As Christians we have a great deal of freedom to take pleasure in the things God has created, as long as we do it appropriately, as God intended, because Christ died to fulfill the law for his people, so we are not saved through works of the law, but by grace, through faith, alone.

C’est difficile de voir votre enfant souffrir une douleur physique ; mais les voir pleurer parce que leur cœur est blessé… C’est presque insoutenable. Tout ce qu’on veut dans ces moments, c’est les prendre dans nos bras, les serrer bien fort, et leur dire : Ça va aller. Je t’aime. Je suis là. Ça va aller.

He begins chapter 4 by talking about the false teachers cropping up in Timothy’s church, who impose weird rules of asceticism that the Bible never does, and he reminds Timothy of why the gospel should free us from those ideas. As Christians we have a great deal of freedom to take pleasure in the things God has created, as long as we do it appropriately, as God intended, because Christ died to fulfill the law for his people, so we are not saved through works of the law, but by grace, through faith, alone.

So Paul says (v. 6):

Il faut qu’on voie que depuis le tout début de ce passage, c’est ça que Dieu ressent envers son peuple. Il voit leur douleur ; il voit leur désespoir. Et même si c’est leur propre péché qui les ont amenés jusqu’ici, il a de la compassion pour eux, et il veut les réconforter.

We have to see that from the very beginning of this passage, this is what God feels toward his people. He sees their pain; he sees their longing and their desperation. And even if it is their own sin that brought them there, his heart goes out to them, and he wants to comfort them.

6 If you put these things [the truths of the gospel] before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

So he doesn’t just send Isaiah to do it for him; he commissions multiple voices (the word “comfort” here is plural) to announce his comfort to the people.

Alors il n’envoie pas seulement Esaïe le faire pour lui ; il ordonne à de multiples voix d’annoncer sa consolation au peuple.

Le Saint-Esprit inspire Esaïe à écrire ces mots, pour que le peuple sache que Dieu vous console. Il parle à votre cœur. Il vous rassure—tout ira bien.

The Holy Spirit inspires Isaiah to write this down, so that the people know that God is comforting you. He is speaking tenderly to you. He is reassuring you that everything will be alright.

Now in v. 6 we have our first big point.

C’est ça, le ton de ce passage ; c’est un cadeau merveilleux.

Timothy has been trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine. He knows his Bible well. And he knows it so well that he can communicate it to others—he can “put these things before the brothers.”

That is the tone of this passage; it is a wonderful gift.

I’m going to say something that may be shocking to some of you: learning takes time.

Et le réconfort qu’il envoie à son peuple s’enracine dans la réalité que leur douleur va bientôt prendre fin.

And the comfort he is sending to his people is rooted in the fact that their pain is coming to an end.

I’m going to say something that may be shocking to some of you: learning takes time.

Hearing doesn’t take time; understanding doesn’t necessarily take time. But learning—being trained in something—takes time. And the more complex the subject is, the longer it will take to learn it.

V. 2 again:

Hearing doesn’t take time; understanding doesn’t necessarily take time. But learning—being trained in something—takes time. And the more complex the subject is, the longer it will take to learn it.

V. 2 encore :

We saw a few weeks ago in that Timothy had been trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine from childhood (). At this time Timothy was a young man—probably close to my age, maybe a little younger—but he had been learning these things since he was a little boy. Which means that, at minimum, he had twenty or thirty years of learning the faith under his belt.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

2Parlez au cœur de Jérusalem, criez-lui que sa période de combat est terminée, que sa faute est expiée, qu’elle a reçu de l’Eternel le salaire de tous ses péchés.»

Alors le peuple se trouve dans cette situation horrible, exilé en Babylone, loin de chez eux et du temple de leur Dieu…mais Dieu dit à Esaïe d’annoncer leur consolation. Pourquoi ? Parce que sa discipline divine est terminée ; il les a pardonnés.

If you haven’t been a Christian for very long, and you’re feeling a bit frustrated that you’re not progressing as quickly as you think you should, please let me reassure you—everyone feels that way. We all want to move more quickly than we do.

and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

And that’s exactly why we’re talking about this during Advent: this isn’t going to happen in a day. Or in a year. Or in ten years. This is a day-in, day-out, minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, year-by year discipline which will over time form and shape us into the people God calls us to be. This is our life while we wait.

Remarquez bien qu’il parle au passe : le combat est terminé ; leur faute est expiée. On dirait pas que ce soit le cas, parce qu’ils sont encore dans leur combat ; ils sont encore en train de se faire punir pour leur infidélité.

And that’s exactly why we’re talking about this during Advent: this isn’t going to happen in a day. Or in a year. Or in ten years. This is the day-in, day-out, minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, year-by year discipline which will over time form and shape us into the people God calls us to be. This is our life while we wait.

So what does this life consist of?

that her iniquity is pardoned,

Ça peut être difficile à comprendre pour nous qui vivons en Occident au 21e siècle, mais les gens qui ont lu cette parole au début aurait compris. C’était une pratique commune dans les écrits de l’Ancien Testament (et parfois même dans le Nouveau) de parler au temps passé de quelque chose qui se passerait au futur.

Paul gives both a negative and a positive command. Let’s look at the negative command first, v. 7:

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

Et ils parlaient ainsi pour montrer à quel point leur assurance que ces choses se passerait était solide. La fin de leur combat, la fin de leur punition, était absolument certaine—tellement certaine que Dieu pourrait en parler comme si c’était déjà arrivé.

Paul gives both a negative and a positive command. Let’s look at the negative command first, v. 7:

double for all her sins.

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.

Le peuple se trouvait dans un désert qu’eux-mêmes avaient fabriqués—un désert dans lequel leur identité nationale et leur santé et leur provision étaient absentes. Et c’est dans ce désert que Dieu envoie cette voix pour dire au peuple qu’il arrive—Dieu est en route, et il vous délivrera.

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.

Literally, this command says, “Stay away from profane old wives’ tales.” He’s talking about ideas which might sound reasonable, but which have no basis in reality.

V. 3 :

So Judah is in this horrible situation, exiled in Babylon, far from their home and the temple of their God…and yet God tells Isaiah to comfort them. Why? Because his divine discipline is finished; he has forgiven them.

A while back on Facebook I saw someone post an article that said you should cook onions twenty minutes (maximum) after you cut them, because otherwise they suck in all the bacteria in your house and can make you sick.

3Une voix crie dans le désert: «Préparez le chemin de l’Eternel, faites une route bien droite pour notre Dieu dans les endroits arides! 4Toute vallée sera comblée, toute montagne et toute colline abaissées. Ce qui est tortueux sera redressé et les endroits rocailleux aplanis.

Notice that he speaks in the past: the people’s warfare is ended, their iniquity is pardoned. It sure doesn’t seem that way, because they’re still in the warfare, they’re still being punished, it seems, for their unfaithfulness. (And in fact, these words were written before their pain ever even began.)

That’s an old wives’ tale. People eat raw onions all the time and they don’t get sick.

This can be confusing for us, who live in the West in the 21st century, but the people who first heard this word would have understood. It was common practice in the writings of the Old Testament (and even sometimes in the New) to speak in the past tense about things that will happen in the future.

Alors c’est une image. D’un côté on a Dieu, qui vient au secours de son peuple ; de l’autre côté on a le peuple, qui l’attend. Et entre les deux, on a le chemin le plus difficile qu’on peux imaginer : plein de trous et de bosses et de déviations.

Most of the times old wives’ tales are harmless. But when you take these kinds of ideas and apply them to spiritual things, they become irreverent, because they have no basis in the truth God has revealed to us; and the damage can be huge, because you’re not just talking about cooking advice, but about how to care for your soul, how to honor and glorify God.

They spoke this way to show just how solid their assurance was that these things would happen. The end of their warfare, the end of their punishment, was absolutely certain—so certain, in fact, that God could speak of it as if it had already happened.

Most of the times old wives’ tales are harmless. But when you take these kinds of ideas and apply them to spiritual things, they become irreverent, because they have no basis in the truth God has revealed to us; and the damage can be huge, because you’re not just talking about cooking advice, but about how to care for your soul, how to honor and glorify God.

Et l’image qu’il donne ici est celle de Dieu qui dit à cette route de s’aplatir pour lui. Chaque trou sera rempli ; chaque bosse sera enlevée. C’est la différence entre faire du VTT dans la forêt et conduire sur une route qui vient d’être pavée.

And unfortunately, there are thousands of these irreverent, silly myths floating around in Christian circles, all the time.

Ce qu’il dit, c’est : « Dieu vient, et il vient vite. Aucun obstacle ne l’arrêtera ou le retardera. »

And unfortunately, there are thousands of these irreverent, silly myths floating around in Christian circles, all the time.

The people found themselves in a desert which they themselves had made: a wilderness in which their national identity and their health and their provision were absent. And it is into that wilderness that God sends Isaiah to tell the people that he is coming—God is on his way to deliver you.

V. 3:

Et puis il dit ce qui se passera quand Dieu arrivera. V. 5 :

Just one example. Some people will think, “I don’t need to spend time in the Bible, I don’t need to study and learn and grow in the knowledge of doctrine, because I have the Holy Spirit, and he’ll give me everything I need.”

Now they might not say that out loud, but functionally, that’s how they operate.

Now they might not ever say it out loud, but functionally, that’s how they operate.

3 A voice cries:

5Alors la gloire de l’Eternel sera révélée, et au même instant tout homme la verra.

These people will sit and pray, and they’ll say, “Holy Spirit, speak to me.” And they’ll wait for the Spirit to start buffering, and the download to begin. They’ll flip randomly through their Bibles to see if a verse jumps out at them. If that doesn’t work, they’ll throw on some Christian rock worship and see if that helps. And once they start to feel something, they know the Spirit is doing his work in them.

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

These people will sit and pray, and they’ll say, “Holy Spirit, speak to me.” And they’ll wait for the Spirit to start buffering, and the download to begin. They’ll flip randomly through their Bibles to see if a verse jumps out at them. If that doesn’t work, they’ll throw on some Christian rock worship and see if that helps. And once they start to feel something, they know the Spirit is doing his work in them.

C’est ça qu’ils attendaient.

Ce terme « gloire » est parfois difficile à définir. Lorsque la Bible parle de la gloire de Dieu, elle parle de tout ce que Dieu est—tous ses attributs divins (sa puissance, son éternité, sa sagesse, sa connaissance, son amour, sa colère)—rendu visible.

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

That’s wrong. That’s not how it works. That’s just as wrong as those who say they don’t need to ask the Spirit to speak to them, because they have the Bible.

If you look at how the Bible describes growth in Christian maturity, it is almost never in terms of radical, extraordinary acts of the Holy Spirit in which he comes down and gives you a jolt of power, but rather in perfectly ordinary acts of obedience which, over time, make us more like him.

If you look at how the Bible describes growth in Christian maturity, it is almost never in terms of radical, extraordinary acts of the Holy Spirit in which he comes down and give you a jolt of power, but rather in perfectly ordinary acts of obedience which, over time, make us more like him.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up,

Et le peuple exilé en Babylone se souvenait des histoires de Dieu qui manifeste sa gloire dans le passé, de comment il a rendu ses attributs visibles à travers ses œuvres. Souvenons-nous de dimanche dernier—les histoires de la fidélité de Dieu étaient racontées de génération en génération. Ils se souvenaient de comment Dieu avait manifesté sa gloire par ses œuvres puissantes dans le passé, par sa protection et sa délivrance et sa provision.

We read the Bible—yes, we actually read all the words that are written there—and the Holy Spirit works through his Word to slowly and steadily change our hearts…and occasionally he breaks through and does something exceptional.

Alors quand ils entendent Esaïe dire que la gloire de l’Eternel sera révélée, et au même instant tout homme la verra, ils entendent la seule chose qu’ils désirent entendre depuis tout ce temps. Parce que voir la gloire de Dieu signifie voir ses attributs mis en œuvres pour accomplir ses promesses.

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

I heard someone give an example of this recently, and the day I heard him say it, the same thing had just happened to me. So I’m going to borrow it.

Voilà le secours qu’ils espéraient, pour lequel ils priaient, depuis si longtemps.

Here’s an example: a few weeks ago I was going through my reading plan, and I was in the book of Daniel. If you know the book, you know that the first half of Daniel is full of awesome stories we love—the lion’s den, the three friends in the fiery furnace.

A few weeks ago I was going through my reading plan, and I was in the book of Daniel. If you know the book, you know that the first half of Daniel is full of awesome stories we love—the lion’s den, the three friends in the fiery furnace.

Vous verrez sa gloire. Tout ce qui a été brisé dans votre exil sera restauré. Vous reviendrez chez vous, et je serai votre Dieu.

and the rough places a plain.

But the second half of the book gets really, really weird.

So this is a picture. At one end you have God, who is coming to his people; and on the other end, you have the people, waiting for him. And between them is the most treacherous road imaginable: full of holes and bumps and detours.

But the second half of the book gets really, really weird.

On this particular morning, I was in one of the weird parts. In , Daniel receives a vision of—I’m not even kidding—a unicorn. (It’s not called that, but that’s what it is.)

Et comment peuvent-ils être sûrs que cela arrivera ? V. 5c :

But it’s not a “normal” unicorn—you know, a horse with a horn coming out of its forehead. This was like that, but it was a goat instead of a horse. The goat-unicorn beats up a ram with its unicorn-horn, and later that horn breaks off and becomes four other horns, and out of one of these horns grows a tiny horn that eventually becomes really big.

On this particular morning, I was in one of the weird parts. In , Daniel receives a vision of—I’m not even kidding—a unicorn. (It’s not called that, but that’s what it is.)

Oui, c’est l’Eternel qui l’affirme.

And the picture he gives here is of God literally telling this road to make itself flat for him. Every hole will be filled; every bump will be flattened. It’s the difference between off-roading in the forest and driving on a newly paved road.

What he’s saying is, “God is coming, and he’s coming fast: no obstacle will stop him or make him late in arriving.”

I think we can agree: that’s weird. That’s a weird story. And that was my time in the Word that day.

Quand Dieu dit quelque chose, il le fait.

But it’s not a “normal” unicorn—you know, a horse with a horn coming out of its forehead. This was like that, but it was a goat instead of a horse. The goat-unicorn beats up a ram with its unicorn-horn, and later that horn breaks off and becomes four other horns, and out of one of these horns grows a tiny horn that eventually becomes really big.

I think we can agree: that’s weird. That’s a weird story. And that was my time in the Word that day.

And then he says what will happen God arrives. V. 5:

La Parole de Dieu subsistera (v. 6-8).

I’ll just be honest with you: that particular chapter didn’t do a lot to “feed my soul.” I did not get a Holy Spirit download that morning. Of course, there is meaning behind that vision—all the Word of God is profitable to us, and we should try to understand why that text is there.

Et c’est là qu’Esaïe se tourne ensuite. Dieu veut rappeler le peuple de la fidélité durable de sa parole.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

But that morning, as I read, I didn’t feel much.

I’ll just be honest with you: that particular chapter didn’t do a lot to “feed my soul.” I did not get a Holy Spirit download that morning. Of course, there is meaning behind that vision—all the Word of God is profitable to us, and we should try to understand why that text is there.

The next day I was in chapter 9. Daniel’s coming hot off the heels of this really weird vision, and he’s freaking out. He prays that God would help him understand the vision he had received.

and all flesh shall see it together...

V. 6 :

But that morning, as I read, I didn’t feel much.

The next day I was in chapter 9. Daniel’s coming hot off the heels of this really weird vision, and he’s freaking out. He prays that God would help him understand the vision he had received.

And at the end of chapter 9, the angel Gabriel appears to him to help him understand, and he says (v. 23):

This is what they have been waiting for.

6Une voix a dit: «Proclame un message!» Et j’ai répondu: «Que dois-je proclamer?» «Toute créature est comme l’herbe, et toute sa beauté comme la fleur des champs. 7L’herbe sèche et la fleur tombe quand le vent de l’Eternel souffle dessus. Vraiment, le peuple est pareil à l’herbe: 8l’herbe sèche et la fleur tombe, mais la parole de notre Dieu subsiste éternellement.»

Quand on souffre, le temps semble toujours se prolonger.

At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.

This term “glory” is sometimes hard to define. When the Bible talks about God’s glory, it’s talking about everything God is—all of his divine attributes (his power, his eternity, his wisdom, his knowledge, his love and his wrath)—made visible.

And at the end of chapter 9, the angel Gabriel appears to him to help him understand, and he says (v. 23):

At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.

And the people exiled in Babylon remember the stories of how God had manifested his glory in the past, how he had made his attributes visible through his works. Remember what we saw last week—the stories of God’s faithfulness to his people were told from generation to generation. They remembered how God has manifested his glory through mighty works in the past, through protection and deliverance and care.

Vous vous êtes déjà faits dévitaliser une dent ? Ça ne prend pas longtemps—trois-quarts d’heures grand maxi. Mais bon sang, ces trois-quarts d’heures semblent interminables.

And when I read that verse, something occurred to me. I realized that God gave this word to Daniel—he gave Daniel this vision and the explanation of the vision—so that Daniel would write it down, and transmit it to his people (us included). And he gave us this word—this weird vision and its explanation—because we too are greatly loved.

So when they hear Isaiah say that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, they hear the only thing they’ve been wanting to hear all this time. Because seeing God’s glory would mean seeing all of his attributes put to work to fulfill his promises.

Ou vous attendez un appel téléphonique vraiment important. Le temps que vous passez à attendre que le téléphone sonne, pour savoir si vous avez décroché l’emploi pour lequel vous avez postulé… On dirait que ça ne sonnera jamais.

And when I read that verse, something occurred to me. I realized that God gave this word to Daniel—he gave Daniel this vision and the explanation of the vision—so that Daniel would write it down, and transmit it to his people (us included). And he gave us this word—this weird vision and its explanation—because we too are greatly loved.

Because God loves us, he doesn’t leave us in the dark. He tells us what he’s doing and what he’s thinking, no matter how strange it may seem to us at first.

Alors il est facile d’oublier dans ces moments que peu importe combien vous avez l’impression d’attendre longtemps, par rapport à l’éternité, c’est un instant. Ce n’est rien.

And I found myself comforted and moved by the love of my God who would faithfully preserve and transmit his Word, and speak to someone like me, because I don’t deserve that kind of love from an infinite God.

Because God loves us, he doesn’t leave us in the dark. He tells us what he’s doing and what he’s thinking, no matter how strange it may seem to us at first.

This is the rescue they have been hoping and praying and desperately searching for, for so many years now.

And I found myself comforted and moved by the love of my God who would faithfully preserve and transmit his Word, and speak to someone like me, because I don’t deserve that kind of love from an infinite God.

You will see his glory. Everything broken in your exile will be restored. You will come back home, and I will be your God.

Les êtres humains, il dit, sont comme l’herbe. Toute la beauté de l’humanité, même si elle dure des millénaires, ne dure qu’un instant. Les êtres humains, par définition, sont finis. Temporaires. On est de peu de conséquence.

But listen—to get to that point of comfort and encouragement, I had to go through the frankly laborious reading of the goat-unicorn.

And how can they be sure it will happen? Because he said he would. V. 5c:

Brothers and sisters, this is spiritual discipline. It is laborious, repetitive, and sometimes boring…but God uses it to shape our minds and hearts to love him, and occasionally, he breaks through and meets us in his Word, giving us exactly what we need at that moment.

Le peuple en exil aurait ressenti cela de manière aiguë—en exil, ou en route, la durée de vie devenait souvent très courte.

But listen—to get to that point of comfort and encouragement, I had to go through the frankly laborious reading of the goat-unicorn.

…for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Et en comparaison à la breveté de notre vie, Esaïe nous montre la parole de notre Dieu. Quand il dit cela, il ne parle pas de la Bible en tant que telle, mais plutôt du plan de Dieu—ses décrets, sa volonté.

And that is why Paul follows up his negative command to have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths with his positive command (v. 7 again): Rather train yourself for godliness.

Brothers and sisters, this is what we call spiritual discipline. It is laborious, repetitive, and sometimes even boring…but God uses it to shape our minds and hearts to love and trust him, and occasionally, he breaks through and meets us in his Word in a particular way, giving us exactly what we need at that moment.

Et la parole de Dieu subsistera toujours. Elle est permanente, alors que nous sommes temporaires. Elle est consistante, alors que nous sommes futiles.

When God promises something, he will do it.

This word “godliness” (also “piety” in some translations) can sometimes throw us off—it means more than acts of worship, or observance of religious rituals. Godliness is being like God. It is sharing God’s loves, God’s hates, God’s desires, God’s character.

And that is why Paul follows up his negative command to have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths with his positive command (v. 7 again): Rather train yourself for godliness.

This word “godliness” (also “piety” in some translations) can sometimes throw us off—it means more than acts of worship, or observance of religious rituals. Godliness is being like God. It is sharing God’s loves, God’s hates, God’s desires, God’s character.

The Word of the Lord Will Stand (v. 6-8).

Des millénaires après que vous soyez tous partis, desséchés et dispersés comme l’herbe de l’été dernier, ces paroles et ces promesses s’appliqueront toujours.

Now of course it can seem presumptuous of us to think we know what God is like, but it’s not—he has told us what he is like.

Of course it can seem presumptuous of us to think we know what God is like, but it’s not—he has told us what he is like.

In theology we talk about the incommunicable attributes of God, and the communicable attributes of God. God’s incommunicable attributes are those things that are only true of God—he is all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipresent, eternal, sovereign.

And that is where Isaiah turns next. God wants to remind the people of the long-term faithfulness of his word.

Encore une fois, quel réconfort pour ces Israélites qui étaient exilés loin de chez eux. Quand on a tout perdu, ce n’est pas seulement à nous-mêmes que nous pensons, mais à nos enfants, et à leurs enfants, et à leurs enfants. Qu’est-ce que cette situation produira pour eux, quand nous serons partis ?

But God also has a number of attributes that he shares with human beings, and which we can grow in.

Et bien, ce que Dieu a promis à son peuple, il continuera d’accomplir pour son peuple. La gloire qu’il a montrée à son peuple dans le passé, il montrera encore à son peuple dans l’avenir.

In theology we talk about the incommunicable attributes of God, and the communicable attributes of God. God’s incommunicable attributes are those things that are only true of God—he is all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipresent, eternal, sovereign.

V. 6:

He is wise—and we, too, can grow to be wise.

But God also has a number of attributes that he shares with human beings, and which we can grow in.

C’est une magnifique source d’assurance…mais seulement si on sait précisément quelles sont les promesses que Dieu accomplira. Quel est le contenu de cette parole qui subsistera éternellement ?

6 A voice says, “Cry!”

Dans ce contexte, la promesse, c’est que le Grand Berger vient.

He is wise—and we, too, can grow to be wise.

He is loving—we too can grow to be loving.

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

He is loving—we too can grow to be loving.

Le Berger viendra (v. 9-11).

He is holy—we too can grow to be holy.

All flesh is grass,

Je pense que ce qui se passe dans le v. 9 est absolument fascinant.

So Paul tells Timothy that while he should avoid irreverent, silly myths, he should train himself in becoming like God—train himself in growing in godly character, and in obeying God’s commandments, which are a reflection of that character.

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

He is holy—we too can grow to be holy.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades

So Paul tells Timothy that while he should avoid irreverent, silly myths, he should train himself in becoming like God—train himself in growing in godly character, and in obeying God’s commandments, which are a reflection of that character.

Au v. 1, Dieu vient à Esaïe et l’envoie au peuple exilé en Babylone, lui disant de leur déclarer que leur Dieu vient les sauver.

Let me put it simply: Paul’s telling Timothy to train himself in knowing God as he has revealed himself in Scripture, and in living according to what he learns.

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

Et au v. 9, Esaïe fait de même. Il parle à ce peuple exilé, et il leur dit d’aller déclarer la même chose à leur peuple.

Let me put it simply: Paul’s telling Timothy to train himself in knowing God as he has revealed himself in Scripture, and in living according to what he learns.

So let me get super practical for a minute and give you just a small idea of what this looks like for me. There are lots of faithful ways to do this, and I’ll surely refine my routine over time, but this is how it works for me today.

Most mornings, I typically get up at 5:30 a.m. (Since Zadie was born, because she’s still not sleeping through the night, often that veers closer to 6:00, but it’s almost never later than that.)

surely the people are grass.

And like any training, it’s a process. It takes time; it takes work; and it takes discipline. There are a lot of elements that can come into play here—Donald Whitney lists Bible reading, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, stewardship, fasting, silence, journaling and learning as all being spiritual disciplines. But since Paul has talked about how Timothy has been trained in the words of the faith and the good doctrine, we’ll stick to that for now.

9Monte sur une haute montagne, Sion [« Sion » est un surnom pour Jérusalem], pour annoncer la bonne nouvelle! Elève avec force ta voix, Jérusalem, pour proclamer la bonne nouvelle! Elève ta voix, n’aie pas peur! Dis aux villes de Juda: «Voici votre Dieu!»

If that sounds early, it is. I am not a morning person. My natural rhythm is, go to sleep at four a.m., wake up at eleven, and work until nine or ten at night. I get up so early because I know myself, and I know that if I don’t do it then, it probably won’t get done. I’ll get distracted.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

Let me get super practical for a minute and give you just a small idea of what this kind of training looks like for me. There are lots of faithful ways to do this, and I’ll surely refine my routine over time, but this is how it works for me today. And let me just give you an honest disclaimer: I don’t always do this well. I’m not where I want to be yet in my discipline. But this is what I shoot for.

Alors le peuple qui attend leur délivrance reçoit un message. Et ce message est tellement rempli de force et d’assurance que eux, ils peuvent aller le déclarer aux autres.

But that early in the morning, there’s nothing to distract me. The wifi is off (we cut it off at night), my computer’s asleep, my phone is off. So I’ll get up, I’ll get a cup of coffee, and I’ll sit down with my Bible. I’ll read my Bible (and yes, sometimes it is a struggle because I’m still sleepy), and then I’ll go back and pray in response to what I read. After that, I’ll run through the day ahead of me and pray for that day—whatever meetings I might have, or sermon prep, or family time.

Quelle est cette assurance ? V. 10 :

but the word of our God will stand forever.

Most mornings, I typically get up at 5:30 a.m. (Since Zadie was born, often that veers closer to 6:00, but it’s almost never later than that.)

If that sounds early, it is. I am not a morning person. My natural rhythm is, go to sleep at four a.m., wake up at eleven, and work until nine or ten at night. I get up so early because I have a family now, so I can’t keep up that rhythm; but also because I know myself, and I know that if I don’t do it then, it probably won’t get done. I’ll get distracted.

IN EXILE (OR ON THE WAY), THE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE FELT THE BREVITY OF THEIR LIVES ACUTELY...

10Le Seigneur, l’Eternel vient avec puissance, et son bras lui assure la souveraineté. Il a son salaire avec lui et sa récompense est devant lui.

By the time I’m done with all of that, it’ll be time to get dressed and ready so that I can go wake up the kids.

But that early in the morning, there’s nothing to distract me. The wifi is off (we cut it off at night), my computer’s asleep, my phone is off.

When we are suffering, time always seems to stretch.

And once I get them up, we’re off and running. The day begins, and during the day, I’ll have hundreds of opportunities to obey God, or to disobey God.

La première assurance qu’ils ont est la puissance souveraine de Dieu. Le Dieu en qui vous espérez, le Roi qui vient, n’est pas impuissant. Il n’est pas faible. Il ne lui manque rien. Il est le tout-puissant Dieu de l’univers, et il vient pour vous, peuple de Juda. Pourquoi ?

Parce que vous êtes son peuple. Vous êtes le peuple par qui son royaume vient.

So I’ll get up, I’ll get a cup of coffee, and I’ll sit down with my Bible. I’ll read my Bible (and yes, sometimes it is a struggle because I’m still sleepy), and then I’ll go back and pray in response to what I read. (Even if it’s Daniel’s goat-unicorn vision.)

Have you ever had a root canal? Root canals don’t take a long time—forty-five minutes at the most. But good grief, do those forty-five minutes feel like an eternity.

There will be moments when people annoy me, so I can choose to speak to them with patience and gentleness, or to be harsh with them.

Or think of how it feels to wait for a really important phone call. The time you spend waiting for the phone to ring, to find out whether or not you got the job you applied for feels interminable.

After that, I’ll run through the day ahead of me and pray for the day—whatever meetings I might have, or sermon prep, or family time.

There will be moments when I’m tired at work, so I can choose to press through and work to the best of my ability, or go on YouTube for four hours and watch people fall down. (Yes, that is what I like watching on YouTube.)

Autrement dit : la récompense, le salaire, que Dieu reçoit pour sa victoire contre ses ennemis, c’est le peuple délivré eux-mêmes. On l’a vu la semaine dernière, dans le Psaume 44 : Dieu aime son peuple. Son peuple, délivré de l’esclavage par sa puissance et par sa force, ce peuple est son trésor.

So it’s easy to forget in those moments that no matter how long you feel you’ve been waiting, in comparison with eternity, it’s a blink. It’s nothing.

There will be moments when I have the opportunity to be generous, or to be selfish. To dwell on sinful things, or to turn my mind to the things of God.

Alors Dieu arrive, avec toute la force de sa souveraineté derrière lui, déterminé à agir, parce que son peuple est en esclavage, et il compte les libérer.

By the time I’m done with all of that, it’ll be time to get dressed and ready so that I can go wake up the kids. Sometimes Zadie wakes up early and interrupts that time, so I have to work around that.

Once the kids are up, we’re off and running. The day begins, and during the day, I’ll have hundreds of opportunities to obey God, or to disobey God.

Comment peuvent-ils encore être effrayés après avoir reçu une telle assurance de la bouche de Dieu ?

Human beings, he says, are like grass. All the beauty of humanity lives only as long as they are still standing. Human beings, by their nature, are finite. They are temporary. They are of little consequence.

And during those moments, it’s discipline. It’s making the effort to obey God’s commandments in the most practical of situations.

Il viendra, et il viendra avec force. Et quand il viendra, il dit (v. 11) :

And in comparison to that temporariness, Isaiah holds up the word of our God. When he says that, he’s not talking about the Bible as such, but rather God’s plan, his decrees, his revealed will.

When I’m done with work, I’ll head home, and on the way home I’ll pray for the evening ahead of me—because I honestly don’t know what’s going to meet me when I open the door. Will I find two adorable children who are obedient to their parents and happy to see me? Or will I find depraved little monsters who only think of themselves?

There will be moments when people annoy me, so I can choose to speak to them with patience and gentleness, or to be harsh with them.

And God’s word will always stand. It is permanent, while we are temporary. It is consistent, while we are futile.

11Pareil à un berger, il s’occupera de son troupeau, il prendra les agneaux dans ses bras et les portera contre sa poitrine; il conduira les brebis qui allaitent.

Will I find a wife who is happy to see me, or a wife who is ready to pull her hair out because she’s just spent all day with the little monsters?

There will be moments when I’m tired at work, so I can choose to press through and work to the best of my ability, or go on YouTube for four hours and watch people fall down. (Yes, that’s the kind of thing I like watching on YouTube.)

I never know. So I’ll pray that God helps me to love them well, to love Loanne well.

Voilà leur deuxième assurance—le Dieu libérateur et fort…agit envers eux avec tendresse.

There will be moments when I have the opportunity to be generous, or to be selfish. To dwell on sinful things, or to turn my mind to the things of God.

Millenia after you all are gone, dried up and dispersed like last summer’s grass, these words and these promises will still apply. They always have, and they always will.

Cette image du berger peut nous sembler étrange aujourd’hui—il n’y a pas beaucoup de brebis à Paris—mais c’est une image fréquente dans la Bible. Les agneaux ne peuvent pas faire grand-chose pour eux-mêmes—ils sont petits, pas particulièrement puissants. Ils ont besoin de la supervision constante de leur berger.

Again, what a comfort for those Israelites who have been exiled far from their homes! What God has promised to his people, he will continue to accomplish for his people. The glory he willed to show his people in the past, he will show his people again in the future.

And during those moments, it’s all discipline. It’s making the effort to obey God’s commandments to the best of my abilities, in the most practical of situations.

I open the door, and my second shift begins.

Et une des marques du berger qu’on voit dans la Bible, c’est sa tendresse. Puisque les agneaux sont petits, puisqu’ils sont faibles, le berger vient comme une force de protection. Il porte ces faibles créatures dans ses bras quand ils ne peuvent pas aller plus loin, il les guide avec son baton quand ils sont perdus.

When I’m done with work, I’ll head home, and on the way home I’ll pray for the evening ahead of me—because I honestly don’t know what’s going to meet me when I open the door. Will I find two adorable children who are obedient to their parents and happy to see me? Or will I find depraved little monsters who only think of themselves?

Now in the context of this chapter, what is the particular word of the Lord which will stand forever?

I’ll be honest with you—all of this often feels like work. There’s nothing extraordinary about it; when I read my Bible in the morning, I don’t usually get up from my chair wiping my eyes and trembling from my incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit.

The promise that the Great Shepherd is coming.

Will I find a wife who is happy to see me, or a wife who is ready to pull her hair out because she’s just spent all day with the little monsters?

When I resist temptation, I don’t feel like a knight defeating a dragon; I feel like a weak man trying to fight off an enemy way stronger than I am. And I fail far more often than I want to admit to anyone.

Le message ici, c’est que le réconfort que Dieu dit à Esaïe de proclamer à son peuple, Dieu lui-même donnera à son peuple. La consolation qu’il a promise par la bouche du prophète, il leur donnera.

Il est important de voir la complexité de l’image que ce passage nous donne de Dieu, et comment sa complexité est rassurante.

I never know. So I’ll pray that God helps me to love them well, to love Loanne well.

It’s not always fun. It’s not always exciting. It’s not always emotionally stirring.

The Shepherd Will Come (v. 9-11).

I think what happens in v. 9 is absolutely fascinating.

Dieu vient à son peuple comme un tendre berger…mais aussi comme un roi conquérant, qui vient les secourir de leurs ennemis.

I open the door, and my second shift begins.

It’s discipline.

C’est un tendre berger et un roi conquérant…mais aussi un roi qui pourvoit à leurs besoins, leur donnant la chose qu’ils attendent depuis tout ce temps : une vision de sa gloire, et l’accomplissement de ses promesses.

I’ll be honest with you—all of this often feels like work. There’s nothing extraordinary about it; when I read my Bible in the morning, I don’t usually get up from my chair wiping my eyes and trembling from my incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit.

In v. 1, God comes to Isaiah and sends him to the people of Judah exiled in Babylon, telling him to declare to them that their God is coming to save them.

But I can tell you without any qualifications that I love God far more today than I did when I met him seventeen years ago. And I am more obedient to God’s commands during the day than I was seventeen years ago. And I’m able to love other people, and be more generous, and be more self-sacrificing, than I was seventeen years ago.

Alors il faut se souvenir : à ce moment dans l’histoire, il n’est pas encore venu. Le peuple est toujours en exil en Babylone. Leur situation n’a pas changé.

We train ourselves in godliness—we work at it, we toil at it—because that is how we grow while we wait for Christ’s return. It’s often tedious; it’s not always fun.

And it’s far from perfect. If you’re carrying around this idea that a pastor doesn’t struggle with the same things you do, you need to get rid of that idea. When I resist temptation, I don’t feel like a knight defeating a dragon; I feel like a weak man trying to fight off an enemy way stronger than I am. And I fail far more often than I want to admit to anyone.

And in v. 9, Isaiah does the same thing. He speaks to these exiled people, and tells them to tell the exact same thing to their people.

9 Go on up to a high mountain,

Mais savoir que Dieu vient leur donnerait la force qu’il leur fallait pour l’attendre.

But you do it—day in and day out, year after year.

It’s not always fun. It’s not always exciting. It’s not always emotionally stirring.

O Zion, herald of good news;

Notre fille Zadie a dix-huit mois. Elle ne dort pas bien. Presque chaque nuit, soit elle fait un cauchemar, soit elle se réveille dans sa chambre, elle réalise qu’on n’est pas là, et elle a peur.

And then one day ten years from now, you’ll wake up and realize that you are mature in your faith, and wonder how you got there.

It’s discipline.

You’ll find yourself able to counsel others with the words of Scripture, and you’ll surprise yourself—“I didn’t even know I knew that!”

Alors qu’est-ce qu’elle fait ? Elle pleure. Elle hurle pour attirer notre attention.

But I can tell you without any qualifications that I love God far more today than I did when I met him seventeen years ago. And I am more obedient to God’s commands during the day than I was seventeen years ago. And I’m better able to love other people, and be more generous, and be more self-sacrificing, than I was seventeen years ago. It’s not perfect, but it is better.

lift up your voice with strength,

You’ll find yourself able to think back over the entire story of the Bible and suddenly appreciate why the New Testament authors are constantly referencing the Old Testament.

We train ourselves in godliness—we work at it, we toil at it—because that is how we grow while we wait for Christ’s return. It’s often tedious; it’s not always fun.

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

Et parce que j’ai le sommeil léger, et que Loanne fait des insomnies si elle se réveille assez pour sortir du lit, la plupart du temps c’est moi qui me lève. Zadie pleure, je me lève, et le moment où j’entre dans notre salon, presque à chaque fois elle arrête de pleurer. Parce que le parquet dans notre salon grince beaucoup.

But you do it—day in and day out, year after year.

Alors elle entend le parquet grincer, et elle sait que j’arrive.

You’ll find yourself reacting patiently to something that would have thrown you into a rage ten years ago.

lift it up, fear not;

And then one day ten years from now, you’ll wake up and realize that you’re actually mature in your faith, and you’ll wonder how you got there.

Je ne suis pas là encore. Je ne suis pas dans la chambre avec elle, je ne l’ai pas dans mes bras. Mais elle sait que je suis juste à l’extérieur ; que je suis presque à la porte. Et le simple fait de savoir que je suis presque là, suffit pour la réconforter.

You’ll find yourself comforted and restful in the middle of a situation that would have sent you into a spiral of anxiety and fear ten years ago.

say to the cities of Judah,

You’ll find yourself able to counsel others with the words of Scripture, and you’ll surprise yourself—“I didn’t even know I knew that!”

C’est ce que Dieu fait ici.

One day, you’ll wake up and realize that you are more like God now than you were ten years ago, and it happened without you even noticing it was happening.

“Behold your God!”

Il envoie cette parole par le prophète Esaïe, pour dire à son peuple : J’arrive. N’ayez pas peur. Je suis en route. J’y suis presque. Alors le peuple peut être consolé et fortifié pendant qu’ils attendent.

You’ll find yourself able to think back over the entire story of the Bible and suddenly appreciate why the New Testament authors are constantly referencing the Old Testament.

So the people who are waiting for their deliverance are given a message. And this message is so full of strength, so full of assurance, that they can go out and declare it to others.

That, brothers and sisters, is the Christian life. That is training for godliness.

You’ll find yourself reacting patiently to something that would have thrown you into a rage ten years ago.

Application

But here’s the question: if it really is that much work, if it really takes this much effort, why is it worth it?

What is that assurance? V. 10:

You’ll find yourself comforted and restful in the middle of a situation that would have sent you into a spiral of anxiety and fear ten years ago.

Training for Eternity (v. 8-10)

Les paroles d’Esaïe dans ce passage aurait été d’un réconfort immense, d’abord pour les exilés en Babylone. Dieu les avait-il abandonnés en exil ? Est-ce qu’ils attendraient pour toujours ?

10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

One day, you’ll wake up and realize that you are more like God now than you were ten years ago, and it happened without you even noticing it was happening.

La réponse très claire de ce texte est : Non. L’attente sera bientôt terminée. La parole de Dieu subsistera éternellement. Le berger viendra.

We talked about Simeon and Anna at the beginning—these two people who were actively waiting to see the Messiah. There is a beautiful moment in when Simeon, this devout and righteous man who had been waiting for the Messiah, finally sees him. Luke tells us that the Spirit had told Simeon he would not die before seeing the Messiah with his own eyes.

That, brothers and sisters, is training for godliness. That is what the Christian life looks like.

And then Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus into the temple, and he knows. He knows that this baby is the Messiah God had promised.

behold, his reward is with him,

Et il est venu. Le Seigneur a souverainement œuvré pour qu’ils soient libérés de l’exil, comme nous voyons dans les livres d’Esdras et de Néhémie. Ils sont retournés à Jérusalem, ils ont rebâti la ville, et ils ont rebâti le temple. Dieu a accompli ses promesses.

But here’s the question: if it really is that much work, if it really takes this much effort, why is it worth it?

Mais ce passage serait aussi lu par ceux qui sont venu après.

and his recompense before him.

So we see here this beautiful picture of a man who had run his race well, who had arrived at the end of his life…and he knew it. You would think that knowing you would soon be dying would be a depressing idea—but we don’t see any depression in Simeon at this moment.

He takes the baby in his arms, and he blesses God, and says ():

Après le livre de Malachie (le dernier livre de l’Ancien Testament), les prophètes ont arrêté de parler de la part de Dieu. Dans vos Bibles, entre la fin de l’Ancien Testament et le début du Nouveau Testament, il n’y a qu’une seule page. Mais pour le peuple, quatre cents ans sont passés.

Training for Eternity (v. 8-10)

The first assurance they have is the ruling power of the Lord. The God in whom you hope, the Lord who is coming, is not incapable. He is not weak. He is lacking nothing. He is the all-powerful God of the universe, and he is coming for you, people of Judah. Why?

We talked about Simeon and Anna at the beginning—these two people who were actively waiting to see the Messiah. There is a beautiful moment in when Simeon, this devout and righteous man who had been waiting for the Messiah, finally sees him. Luke tells us that the Spirit had told Simeon he would not die before seeing the Messiah with his own eyes.

Because you are his people. You are the people through whom his kingdom will come.

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

Cette période a vu le règne d’Alexandre et l’ascendance de l’hellénisme—l’intégration de la langue et de la culture grecques—à travers tout l’empire. Elle a vu la révolte des Maccabées. Elle a vu le début de l’empire romain.

In other words, God’s reward, his recompense, for his victory against his enemies is the delivered people themselves. We saw this last week, in : God delights in his people. His people, delivered from bondage by his power and might, are his treasure.

And then Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus into the temple, and he knows. He knows that this baby is the Messiah God had promised.

according to your word;

Et encore une fois, il semblait que Dieu les avait abandonnés. Les prophètes étaient silencieux. Dieu avait promis d’envoyer un Messie—un Sauveur—pour délivrer son peuple. Mais maintenant ils attendaient depuis des siècles. Rome était venu en puissance et avait occupé Israël…et toujours, pas de Messie. Pas de prophète.

Dieu n’avait-il vraiment plus rien à dire à son peuple ? Les avait-il abandonné à leur péché après les avoir ramenés de l’exil ?

And he is coming with all of the force of his rule behind him, determined to act, because his people are in bondage, and he plans to take them back.

30 for my eyes have seen your salvation

So we see here this beautiful picture of a man who had run his race well, who had arrived at the end of his life…and he knew it. You would think that knowing you would soon be dying would be a depressing idea—but we don’t see any depression in Simeon at this moment.

How can they still be afraid after receiving such assurance from the mouth of God?

He takes the baby in his arms, and he blesses God, and says ():

Et pour ceux qui lisaient ce passage d’Esaïe à cette époque, encore une fois, la réponse était : Non. L’attente sera bientôt terminée. La parole de Dieu subsistera éternellement. Le berger viendra.

31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

Et il est venu.

He will come, and he will come in force. And when he comes, he says (v. 11):

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

and for glory to your people Israel.”

Au début de l’évangile de Jean, on voit Jean-Baptiste prêcher dans le désert, se servant de ces paroles que nous voyons dans Esaïe 40. Quand les prêtres et les Lévites sont venu l’interroger, lui demandant qui il était, il leur a dit (Jean 1.23) :

according to your word;

All his years of learning and discipline and waiting, all his years in training himself in devout righteousness, had brought him to this moment—when he was finally able to enjoy what he had been waiting for.

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

30 for my eyes have seen your salvation

«Moi, dit-il, je suis la voix de celui qui crie dans le désert: ‘Rendez le chemin du Seigneur droit’, comme l’a dit le prophète Esaïe.»

Jean a préparé le peuple pour la venue de Jésus-Christ, et quand il est venu, il s’est identifié comme le Dieu dont Esaïe a parlé. Dans Jean 10.10-11, il dit :

31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

he will carry them in his bosom,

That is what Paul is trying to express to Timothy in v. 8-10. We’ll read starting at v. 7 again:

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

and gently lead those that are with young.

10Le voleur ne vient que pour voler, égorger et détruire; moi, je suis venu afin que les brebis aient la vie et qu’elles l’aient en abondance. 11»Je suis le bon berger. Le bon berger donne sa vie pour ses brebis.

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.”

This image of a shepherd can seem strange to us today—we don’t get to see many shepherds in Paris—but it is a frequent image in the Bible. Lambs can’t do much on their own—they are small; they’re not terribly powerful; they need constant supervision and guidance from their shepherd.

Nous voyons ce cycle d’attente et d’accomplissement partout dans la Bible.

Brothers and sisters, if all of this sounds like a lot of work, it is. But it is work with a purpose. There is a goal in view.

And one of the constant marks of the shepherd we see in the Bible is his tenderness. Because lambs are small, because lambs are weak, the shepherd comes as a protecting force, carrying the weak in his arms when they can go no further, guiding them with his staff when they are lost.

All his years of learning and discipline and waiting, all his years in training himself in devout righteousness, had brought him to this moment—when he was finally able to enjoy what he had been waiting for.

Et aujourd’hui, nous nous trouvons encore dans un cycle. Dans le dernier cycle.

And if you want to know how important that goal is, look at Paul’s example of bodily training.

The point is that the comfort God tells Isaiah to proclaim to his people, he himself will give to his people. The care he promised through the mouth of the prophet, he will give them.

That is what Paul is trying to express to Timothy in v. 8-10. We’ll read starting at v. 7 again:

Christ a vécu ; il est mort ; il est ressuscité. Grâce à son œuvre accomplie, le réconfort que Dieu donne à Israël dans ce passage nous a déjà été donné—nos fautes sont expiées en Christ ; Christ a reçu de la main de Dieu toute la punition de nos péchés.

No matter how much I hate to say it, I can’t dispute that physical exercise, and eating right, is good for your body. You’ll feel better, you’ll be stronger, your overall quality of life will improve.

It’s important to see the complexity of the picture this passage gives us of God, and how its complexity is reassuring.

But no matter how much you exercise, you’re still going to get old. Your body will still wear out. You’ll get wrinkles. The muscles you pride yourselves in will get spongy. You’ll come to the point where even sleeping will start to hurt. You’ll wake up in the morning feeling like you’ve just finished running a marathon, when you’ve just been laying there.

Après sa résurrection, il est monté à la droite du Père, et il a promis qu’un jour il reviendrait.

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Le Seigneur va venir avec puissance, et la récompense de sa souffrance, c’est son peuple, racheté par son sang.

God comes to his people as a tender shepherd…but also as a conquering king, coming to rescue them from their enemies.

Brothers and sisters, if all of this sounds like a lot of work, it is. But it is work with a purpose. There is a goal in view.

Bodily training is useful, but its usefulness is limited.

And if you want to know how important that goal is, look at Paul’s example of bodily training.

Tous les hommes—pas seulement les Israélites, mais toute l’humanité—verra la gloire de Dieu.

He is a tender shepherd and a conquering king…but also a gracious provider, giving them the one thing they have been waiting for all this time: a vision of his glory, and the fulfillment of his promises.

That’s not the case for training in godliness. Paul says, while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Or to put it another way: while we are living on this earth, the Christian life is practice for heaven.

C’est ce jour-là que nous attendons. C’est ce jour-là que nous désirons. Parce que si on n’est pas spécifique concernant ce qu’on attend, on peut sans faire exprès adopter une mentalité qui dit qu’on n’a pas quelque chose que Dieu dit qu’on a.

Now remember: at this point, he hasn’t come yet. The people are still in exile in Babylon. Their situation has not changed.

No matter how much I hate to say it, I can’t dispute that physical exercise, and eating right, is good for your body. You’ll feel better, you’ll be stronger, your overall quality of life will improve.

But knowing that God is COMING would give them the strength they needed to wait for him.

Training in godliness holds promise because in the life to come, in heaven, godly is all we will be. Christ will return, and renew this earth, and glorify us; he will eradicate sin and its effects. So we will be, through his power, like him. We will be godly, down to our DNA.

Par exemple, quand on parle du retour de Christ, et comment Christ pourrait revenir à n’importe quel instant, ça rend des gens un peu nerveux. On comprend que son retour est une bonne chose, mais en même temps il y a beaucoup de choses qu’on veut faire dans nos vies chrétiennes avant que Jésus revienne. On ne pense pas qu’on est là où on devrait être ; on n’a pas encore progressé dans la sainteté comme on aimerait ; on ne peut pas encore dire que Christ est tout pour nous.

But no matter how much you exercise, you’re still going to get old. Your body will still wear out. You’ll get wrinkles. The muscles you pride yourselves in will get spongy. You’ll come to the point where even sleeping will start to hurt. You’ll wake up in the morning feeling like you’ve just finished running a marathon, when you’ve just been laying there.

That’s really important, because it is only through godliness that we are able to enjoy God.

Our daughter Zadie is eighteen months old. She doesn’t sleep well. Almost every night, she either has a nightmare, or she wakes up in her room, realizes she’s alone in the dark, and gets scared.

Bodily training is useful, but its usefulness is limited.

Et on veut pouvoir dire ces choses avant qu’il revienne. On veut « réaliser notre destinée » avant que Jésus revienne. On veut être que Dieu soit fier de nous quand il nous accueille au paradis.

C.S. Lewis famously said, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” What he means is that our nature, as beings created in the image of God, longs to be united to the place in which God is everything. And as we grow in godliness, we feel that longing—we feel that desire for heaven—more and more.

Ce désir, aussi naturel soit-il, trahit un manque de confiance en la puissance et en l’œuvre de Dieu dans son église. C’est la même chose qui motive, par exemple, la peur d’être dans un accident de voiture et d’être incapables de travailler pour le corps de Christ et de bien servir son royaume.

So what does she do? She cries. She screams to get our attention.

That’s not the case for training in godliness. Paul says, while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

When Christ returns and renews us, we will finally be able to enjoy that which we have desired for so long, maybe without even realizing it: namely, God’s glory. And we will enjoy his glory because we were made for it—only godly people love God’s glory, and we were made to be godly.

Je peux vous encourager, s’il y a une partie de vous qui pense ainsi ?

And because I’m a light sleeper, and Loanne has insomnia if she wakes up enough to actually get out of bed, most nights I’m the one who gets up. She cries, I get up, and the second I walk into our living room, Zadie stops crying. Because the floor in our living room creaks really loudly.

Or to put it another way: while we are living on this earth, the Christian life is practice for heaven.

Ce que vous faites dans votre vie chrétienne—entre le moment de votre conversion et le moment où vous verrez Christ face à face au paradis—ne fait strictement rien pour changer le sentiment de Dieu vous concernant. Vous pourriez être le ministre de l’évangile le plus puissant de l’histoire du christianisme—cela ne fera pas que Dieu vous aime plus. Et vous pourriez être le chrétien le plus oublieux, le plus faible, de tous les temps—cela ne fera pas que Dieu vous aime moins.

So Paul is saying that training for godliness gives us the ability to enjoy God forever, and to start enjoying God now, while we wait. We can start to experience a foretaste of the joys of heaven, as we grow to be more and more like God.

So Zadie hears the floor creaking, and she knows I’m coming.

Training in godliness holds promise because in the life to come, in heaven, godly is all we will be. Christ will return, and renew this earth, and glorify us; he will eradicate sin and its effects. So we will be, through his power, like him. We will be godly, down to our DNA.

La seule chose que vous apportez à cette table, c’est la foi que Dieu vous a donné. Quand Dieu vous regarde, il voit l’image de lui-même qu’il a placé en vous quand il vous a créé, et il voit la foi en Christ qu’il vous a donné.

And if you think about it, it makes total sense.

That’s really important, because it is only through godliness that we are able to enjoy God.

I’m not there yet. I’m not in the room with her, I’m not holding her. But she knows I’m right outside, that I’m almost at her door. And that alone—simply knowing that I’m coming—is enough to give her comfort.

Our nature, as beings created in the image of God, longs to be in the place where God is everything. And as we grow in godliness, we feel that longing—we feel that desire for heaven—more and more.

Alors oui, on doit le servir, et oui, on doit grandir dans notre sainteté…mais pas pour cette raison-là. En termes de ce qui doit se passer dans votre vie avant que Christ revienne…vous êtes là. Ce qui doit se passer dans votre vie avant que vous voyiez Christ face à face s’est déjà passé. Il vous aime déjà d’un amour infini. Il prend déjà un plaisir infini en vous.

Think of the kid who wants more than anything to become an astronaut. He dreams of being in space. Most kids move onto more realistic dreams as they get older, but some of them stick with it. And eventually, those kids will grow up, and they’ll train, and they’ll get to visit NASA. They’ll get to experience flight simulators and zero-gravity machines.

That’s what God is doing here.

He sends this word through Isaiah to tell his people, I’m coming. Don’t be afraid. I’m on my way. I’m almost there. So that they might be comforted and strengthened while they wait.

Quand on parle d’attendre, ce n’est pas ça qu’on attend, parce que ça s’est déjà passé.

And I guarantee you, on those days, when they get a little foretaste of what it will be like in space, they will be happier than just about any other time in their lives. Because even if they’re not there yet, they get to experience a little taste of what it will be like.

When Christ returns and renews us, we will finally be able to enjoy that which we have desired for so long, maybe without even realizing it: namely, God’s glory. And we will enjoy his glory because we were made for it—only godly people love God’s glory, and we were made to be godly.

Application

The Christian life is practice for heaven. The joys we’ll spend eternity experiencing start now.

And so while we wait for that day of Christ’s return, we discipline ourselves to grow in godliness—why? Ultimately, we do it because we have our hope set on the living God.

De même, nous n’attendons pas qu’il change nos circonstances présentes.

But ultimately, that joy isn’t found in any one thing we find in heaven—renewed bodies or a renewed earth or a lack of pain or sickness or death, as good as those things are. Ultimately, our hope is not in any of these things, but in God himself.

The words of Isaiah in this passage would have been an immense comfort, first for the exiles in Babylon. Had God abandoned them in the exile? Would they be waiting forever? Was there any end in sight?

Les gens lisent souvent certaines promesses des Écritures et les appliquent immédiatement à leur situation actuelle, alors que les promesses en question étaient des promesses précises données à des gens précis à des moments précis.

And you can’t hope in what you don’t know or can’t imagine.

You can’t look forward to a holiday at the beach if you have no idea what that would look like. You can maybe have a vague anticipation of something good that’s coming, but you can’t experience any full pleasure in that anticipation. You can’t get ready for it if you have no idea what it is.

V. 10:

The resounding answer of this text is, No. The wait will be over soon. God’s word will stand forever. The shepherd will come.

Il y a zéro promesses dans la Bible que Dieu changera les situations dans lesquelles nous nous trouvons. La promesse de la Bible, c’est qu’il nous changera, et nous donnera ce qu’il faut pour persévérer et pour trouver notre joie en lui, quelle que soit la situation.

We learn to know God, and to be like God, because he is our hope. He is the end goal. God himself is the great promise of heaven. And if we don’t know who he is, or what he is like, we can’t find any pleasure in him today, and we can’t get ready for the day that we will see him and be like him.

10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

And he did come. The Lord sovereignly worked for their release from exile, as we see in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. They returned to Jerusalem, they rebuilt the city, and they rebuilt the temple. God fulfilled his promises.

Alors là aussi—ce qui doit changer dans votre vie avant que Christ revienne s’est déjà passé. Vous avez déjà tout ce qu’il vous faut avant son retour.

And so we train ourselves in godliness. The better you’re able to swim, the more you can enjoy the water. The better you know God, the more like God you are; and the more like God you are, the more you can enjoy the God you know.

Everything we do—all of our work, all of our toil and strife, all of our training in godliness—we do because we have our hope set on the living God.

Encore, ce n’est pas que ces choses ne sont pas importantes. C’est juste que ce n’est pas pour ces choses-là que nous attendons.

But this passage would continue to be read by those who came after.

After the book of Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament), the prophets stopped speaking on God’s behalf. Between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament, some four hundred years passed. This period saw the reign of Alexander the Great and the rise of Hellenism—the integration of Greek language and culture—throughout the empire. It saw the Maccabean revolt. It saw the rise of the Roman empire.

The better you’re able to swim, the more you can enjoy the water. The more like God you are, the more you can enjoy who God is.

One day Christ will return. One day he will make all things new. One day he will make us new.

Nous attendons le jour du retour de Christ, quand il reviendra et rendra toute chose nouvelle.

But he hasn’t come back yet. We are still here—exiles in this fallen world, waiting for our Savior to return.

And enjoying God is what we were created for. God himself is the great promise of heaven. He is the standard of our godliness, and he is the goal of our godliness.

Et attendre ce jour-là changera la manière dont nous voyons nos circonstances actuelles, la manière dont nous vivons notre progression dans la foi.

And once again, it seemed that God had abandoned them. The prophets had fallen silent. God had promised to send a Messiah—a Savior—to deliver his people… But now they had been waiting for centuries. Rome had risen to power and taken up occupation in Israel...and still, no Messiah had come. No prophet had arrived.

Did God really have nothing more to say to his people? Had he simply abandoned them to their sin after bringing them back from exile?

And the good news is we don’t have to wait for his return to begin living our eternal life. As we grow to know him today, we begin to enjoy him today. Someone (I think it was Brian Davis) put it this way: “God is the tall, refreshing glass of water on a hot day; the spiritual disciplines are the straw.” We are thirsty for God, we want more of God…and we learn to enjoy him through the ordinary discipline of reading his Word, praying his Word and living his Word.

Cette semaine a été très dure pour plus d’un dans l’église. Nous avons tous des moments, et même de longues périodes, de souffrance, et je peux vous dire que pendant une semaine comme celle qu’on a eu cette semaine, ce que la Bible décrit quand elle décrit le retour de Christ est inimaginable, combien c’est beau. Quand on a mal, rien ne semble meilleur qu’un endroit où il n’y a plus de mal, où il n’y a plus de mort, ou de pleure ou de deuil ou de douleur—où les larmes de tristesse n’existe que dans les souvenirs. Quand on souffre, lire des textes comme nous semble comme un rêve trop bon pour être vrai.

One day Christ will return. One day he will make all things new. One day he will make us new.

Parce que c’est tout ce qu’on veut…mais on n’y est pas encore.

And to those reading this passage from Isaiah at that time, again, the answer would have been, No. The wait will be over soon. God’s word will stand forever. The shepherd will come.

But he hasn’t come back yet. We are still here—exiles in this fallen world, waiting for our Savior to return.

So brothers and sisters, have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Reject those ideas of the Christian life which seem logical at first but which have no basis in Scripture.

And the good news is we don’t have to wait for his return to begin living our eternal life.

Voici notre exil. Voici le monde dans lequel nous vivons en attendant le retour de Christ.

Rather, train yourself in godliness. The only way you can reject irreverent, silly myths is if you have been trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine. So learn to know your Bible well—all of it. Don’t worry if it takes time. Don’t worry if it’s hard. Be patient. Keep at it. Do it together.

And he did come.

So brothers and sisters, have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Reject those ideas of the Christian life which seem logical at first but which have no basis in Scripture.

At the beginning of the gospel of John, we see John the Baptist preaching in the desert, using the same words we see here in . When the priests and Levites came to question him, asking him who he was, he told them ():

And live what you learn. Be obedient to the Word.

Et ce jour glorieux, quand nous arriverons enfin dans les nouveaux cieux et la nouvelle terre, où Dieu essuiera toute larme de nos yeux… Ce jour nous semble tellement loin.

Grow in godliness. Grow to know God as he has revealed himself in Scripture, and to live according to what you know. Grow to be more and more like Christ, more and more foreign to this broken world.

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Mais dans cette horrible attente—dans notre exil—Dieu dit : Non. L’attente sera bientôt terminée. La parole de Dieu subsistera éternellement. Le berger viendra.

Rather, train yourself in godliness. The only way you can reject irreverent, silly myths is if you have been trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine. So learn to know your Bible well—all of it. Don’t worry if it takes time. Don’t worry if it’s hard. Be patient. Keep at it. Do it together.

Alors j’aimerais juste vous encourager ce matin—si vous souffrez, sachez que la providence de Dieu n’a pas cessé, et qu’il veut vous consoler dans votre souffrance. Il a envoyé son Esprit, le Consolateur, vivre en vous, et il veut vous rappeler que ces choses que vous souffrez ne dureront pas. Un jour Christ reviendra, et réparera tout ce qui est brisé.

And do it all in order to enjoy God more here and now…

And live what you learn. Be obedient to the Word.

John prepared the people for the coming of Jesus Christ, and when he came, he identified himself as the God of whom Isaiah spoke here. In , he said,

Si vous luttez contre le péché, et vous êtes frustrés de voir combien votre progrès dans la sainteté est lent, Dieu veut que vous sachiez que ses promesses sont bien plus fortes que le péché avec lequel vous luttez. Esaïe parle de la nature temporaire de l’homme—Toute créature est comme l’herbe, et toute sa beauté comme la fleur des champs. La bonne nouvelle là est que notre péché est tout aussi inconsistent, tout aussi temporaire, que nous. Notre péché est totalement impuissant contre les promesses de Dieu—comme l’herbe, comme la fleure des champs, il sèche et il tombe quand le vent de l’Eternel souffle dessus.

Grow in godliness. Grow to know God as he has revealed himself in Scripture, and to live according to what you know. Grow to be more and more like Christ, more and more foreign to this broken world.

Toil, and strive, because you have your hope set on the living God.

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

And do it all in order to enjoy God more here and now…

We see this cycle of waiting and fulfillment over and over again in the Bible.

And as you grow in godliness, in this broken world which is the place of our exile, hold on to the promise that our living God, our Savior, is coming.

Vos péchés ne sont pas une menace au plan de Dieu ; peu importe combien vos luttes vous semblent énormes, elle ne dureront pas. L’herbe sèche et la fleur tombe, mais la parole de notre Dieu subsiste éternellement.

We wait, and we groan in our sufferings, and we lament over the state of this broken world.

Toil, and strive, because you have your hope set on the living God.

And today, we find ourselves smack in the middle of another cycle. The last cycle.

Alors vous pouvez luttez, parce que vous avez la force de toute ses promesses qui travaille avec vous pour mettre votre péché à mort.

Si vous attendez une réponse à la prière, je serai honnête avec vous—je ne sais pas comment Dieu va répondre à cette prière. Mais je sais que Dieu sait ce dont vous avez besoin, et il ne tardera pas à vous le donner. Peu importe combien cet obstacle semble grand, combien il vous semble que tout votre bonheur dépend de Dieu qui vous donne ce pour quoi vous avez demandé, vous avez bien plus besoin de ce qu’il a déjà promis de vous donner.

Christ lived, died, was raised. Because of his finished work, the comfort God extends to Israel here has already been given to us—our iniquity is pardoned in Christ; Christ has received from the Lord’s hand all of the punishment for our sins.

But we wait actively, as those who have a sure and solid hope—that our waiting will soon be over, and we will be like him, and we will see him and know him as he is.

And as you grow in godliness, in this broken world which is the place of our exile, hold on to the promise that our living God, our Savior, is coming.

4Toute vallée sera comblée, toute montagne et toute colline abaissées. Ce qui est tortueux sera redressé et les endroits rocailleux aplanis. 5Alors la gloire de l’Eternel sera révélée, et au même instant tout homme la verra. Oui, c’est l’Eternel qui l’affirme.»…

We wait, and we groan in our sufferings, and we lament over the state of this broken world.

After being raised, he ascended to the right hand of the Father, and he promised that one day he will return again.

But we wait actively, as those who have a sure and solid hope—that our waiting will soon be over, and we will be like him, and we will see him and know him as he is.

10Le Seigneur, l’Eternel vient avec puissance, et son bras lui assure la souveraineté. Il a son salaire avec lui et sa récompense est devant lui. 11Pareil à un berger, il s’occupera de son troupeau, il prendra les agneaux dans ses bras et les portera contre sa poitrine; il conduira les brebis qui allaitent.

The Lord will come with might, and his reward is his people, redeemed by the blood of his Son.

All flesh—not just the Israelites, but all of humanity—will see God’s glory.

Frères et sœurs, apprenez à attendre avec persévérance. Parce que l’attente sera bientôt terminée. La parole de Dieu subsistera éternellement. Et le Berger arrive.

That day is what we are waiting for. That day is what we are longing for. And it is for that day that we have these sure and certain promises.

And it’s really important to say that; it’s important to be specific about what we’re waiting for. Because if you’re not specific about what you’re waiting for, you could unwittingly adopt a mentality that says you don’t have something that God says you do.

For example, sometimes when we talk about the return of Christ, and how Christ could come back at any moment, people get nervous. We understand that his return is a good thing, but at the same time there’s a lot we want to do in our Christian lives before that happens. We don’t feel like we are where we should be; we haven’t yet grown in holiness as we’d like to; we can’t yet say that Christ is our all. We want to be able to say those things before he comes back. We want to “fulfill our destiny” before Christ comes back. We want to be “useful for the kingdom” before Christ comes back.

This desire, as natural as it is, actually betrays a lack of confidence in God’s power and work in his church. It’s the same thing that motivates the fear of, for example, being in a horrible car accident and becoming unable to work for the body of Christ or serve the kingdom well.

Can I just encourage you, if there’s a part of you feel this way? I’ll encourage you with a loving reproach: that’s pride. It’s subtle, but it’s pride. Because whatever you do in your Christian life—between the moment of your conversion to the moment you will see Christ face to face in heaven—does absolutely nothing to change the way God feels about you.

The only thing you bring to the table is the faith that God gives you. When God looks at you, he sees the image of himself he put in you when he created you, and he sees the faith in Christ that he has given you.

So in terms of where you need to be in your life before Christ returns, you’re there. What needs to happen in your life before you see Christ face to face has already happened. He already loves you with an infinite love. He is already infinitely pleased with you.

When we talk about waiting, that’s not what we’re waiting for, because that’s already happened.

In the same way, we’re not waiting for him to change our present circumstances.

People often read certain promises of Scripture and immediately apply them to their current situation, when the promises in question were specific promises given to specific people at specific times.

There are zero promises in the Bible that God will actually change the present situations in which we find ourselves. The promise of the Bible is that he will change us, and give us what we need to endure and have joy in him regardless of our present situation.

That’s not that these things—our progression in holiness, or our current circumstances—aren’t important. It’s just that these things are not what we are waiting for.

We are waiting for Christ to return, and make all things new.

And waiting for that day will actually change the way we see our current circumstances, the way we see our progression in holiness.

This week Loanne and I got some pretty hard personal news; and I’ll be honest with you, it was only the latest in a series of hard news. It’s been a difficult couple of years for us as a family. And we’re not the only ones; Ludovic lost his stepfather this week; the funeral was this past Friday. Many people here are suffering and struggling to varying degrees.

We all have moments, and even long seasons, of suffering, and I can tell you that on a week like the one we’ve had this week, what the Bible describes when it talks about Christ’s return is almost unimaginably beautiful. When you’re hurting, nothing sounds better than a place where there is no more hurting; where there is no more death; where there is no more crying or mourning or pain—where tears of sadness only exist in memory. On a week like this one, reading texts like this make us ache.

Because it is everything all of us want…but we’re not there yet.

We’re still living in exile in this sinful world. We occasionally suffer the effects of sin all around us, and we always struggle with sin inside ourselves. We know we are new creatures in Christ, with new desires, able to not sin, and yet we still struggle with the reality that sometimes we still want to sin.

Growth in holiness, becoming like Christ in our character and our attitudes and our reactions and our desires, can feel maddeningly slow. We get discouraged. We feel like even if we managed to get it all together, the people around us would hurt and disappoint us because they’re not progressing. Or we feel like everyone around us is progressing so quickly—they’re all entering the All-Star Holiness Olympic Team—and we are impostors by comparison.

This is our exile. This is the world we live in while we wait for Christ’s return.

And that glorious day, when we will finally arrive at the new heavens and the new earth in which God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, feels so far away.

But in this horrible wait—in our exile—God says: No. The wait will be over soon. God’s word will stand forever. The Shepherd is coming.

So I’d just like to encourage you this morning—if you’re suffering, know that God’s providence has not stopped, and that he wants to comfort you in your suffering. He sent his Spirit, the great Consoler, to live in you, and he wants to comfort you and speak tenderly to you, and remind you that these things you’re suffering will not last. One day Christ will return, and right ever wrong, and fix everything that is broken.

If you’re struggling with sin, and you’re frustrated by how slowly your own holiness is progressing, God wants you to know that his promises to you are far stronger than the sin you’re struggling with. Isaiah spoke of the temporary nature of man—All flesh is like grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The good news there is that the sin of our flesh is just as inconsistent, and just as temporary, as we are. Our sin is powerless against the promises of God—like the grass, like the flower, it withers and fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it.

Your sin is no threat to God’s plan; no matter how great your struggles seem to you, they will not last. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

If you are waiting for an answer to prayer, I’ll be honest with you—I don’t know how God is going to respond to that prayer. But I do know that God knows what you need, and he will not be late in giving it to you. No matter how great this obstacle seems, how much it seems like your happiness depends on God giving you what you asked for, you don’t need it as much as what God has already promised to give you.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”...

10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young.

Remember that you are not alone. God is with you, and he has given you his Word, and he has given you one another, to train one another in his Word.

So remind one another of these things. Take the time to put down your phone, to turn off your screens, and to pray to believe these things.

Together, learn to wait with perseverance. Because the wait will be over soon. God’s word will stand forever. And the Shepherd is coming.