Preaching Already-Not Yet Prophetic Material

Isaiah 30:18-26 records an encouraging report about our Lord waiting to give us His best gifts.  It proved to be very applicable for a Christmas Day message.  The preaching portion included not only what God will do, but also how His people will respond.  It is this future look that contains information on how genuine Christians respond to God now.  In Isaiah, this type of response guarantees that God's people will escape destruction and be completely delivered in the Day of the Lord.  Verses 20-21, for instance, describe a new capacity to see and hear.  Spirit-controlled Christians have this capacity now.  That leads to an inevitable change of lifestyle (v. 22) as genuine Christians do away with their idolatry.  Contrast this response of the godly with Revelation 9:20-21 where we read of those who "did not...give up worshiping...idols..."  The ethical sections of prophetic material instruct the Church by showing how genuine Believers live life now while they wait for their Lord's return.