Advent with Zeal

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

Zeal: eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something.

Isaiah 9 is such a great passage about Jesus and Advent. It looks to the future about when a people walking in darkness will see the Light (Remember, Jesus is the light! John 8:12). And this light will remove the gloom as a child will lead us – a child with such amazing names as “Wonderful Counselor”, “Mighty God”, “Everlasting Father”, and “Prince of Peace”.

There is great news in Isaiah 9:1-7. I think we would do well to study this passage closely.

But this morning I want to focus on just the last sentence: “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

This is an amazing passage of victory and peace and a vision for the future. And it will all come about because of God’s zeal. GOD’S zeal! God has “eagerness and ardent interest” in giving his people a leader that will lead to eternal peace. That leader is the baby in the stable: Jesus.

What do I have zeal for? Outside my religious interest I’d have to say I have a zeal for really well made pizza. People today seem to like the cheap, ready made bargain pizza. I like pizza with flavor. When a new pizza place opens I desire to go there and try their pizza. When I arrive in the pizza place I smell the air. Pizza that is made on the premise (as opposed to the dough being made elsewhere and trucked to the location) should give a wonderful “yeast” aroma to the building. When the pizza arrives at my table the first thing I do is taste the crust. Good pizza must have a good crust. Then I take a bite but I don’t just chew, I focus on tasting the sauce – it’s the second most important part of the pizza. I actually have other steps but this gives you an idea of my crazy zeal for pizza.

In Christmas God has this kind of crazy zeal for mankind! When the first Christmas finally came God smelled the air. God watched with ardent interest. The angels sang. The heavens rejoice. People marveled and God “zealously” watched it all. He was more excited about Christmas than a razorback fan at the LSU game. God cheered while Christmas unfolded!

I pray we all will have that kind of zeal at the birth of Jesus.