As Advent begins, Open Arms Community Church enters a season designed to awaken our hearts, stir our longing, and remind us that we live in a sacred tension. In the opening message of Journey to Salvation, Pastor Zoe Hatcher guides us into Isaiah’s ancient prophecies—words spoken 700 years before Christ came in the flesh, yet words that still shape our waiting today.

Advent does not simply look back at a manger; it looks forward to a King. We prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth, but we also prepare our lives for His return. And in that preparation, Isaiah offers a vision big enough to steady weary hearts, bold enough to realign our priorities, and beautiful enough to rekindle hope.

Watch the Full Message: Journey to Salvation, Part 1: A Pending Invitation

Isaiah’s Vision: A Kingdom Worth Longing For

Isaiah ministered in a time of spiritual wandering, political tension, and moral drift. His message was often rejected because he called people to repent—a word no one wanted to hear then and few want to hear now. Yet woven into his warnings were breathtaking promises of a future shaped not by human power but by God’s coming salvation.

Isaiah saw a future where the world is reordered around the presence of God:

Isaiah 2:1–5 (NLT)

This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

3 People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.

4 The Lord will mediate between nations
and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation
nor train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Imagine it:
A world where nations no longer train for war.
A world where tools meant for harm become tools meant for life.
A world where every nation is drawn—not by politics or power—but by the sheer beauty of God’s presence.

This is not myth or metaphor.
It is the future reality the people of God are heading toward.

Living in the Tension of the “Already and Not Yet”

Jesus has already come as Messiah. He has already died, risen, and offered salvation. But the full restoration Isaiah describes? We haven’t seen it yet. We still see war. We still see division. We still see the ache of unfulfilled promises and the deep groaning of creation.

This tension—the already and the not yet—is where Christians live. It’s where faith is forged. It’s where hope becomes an anchor rather than a concept.

Pastor Zoe described this as the ache of Advent:
We have experienced the light of Christ, yet we still long for the day when His kingdom is fully revealed.

That longing aligns us with God’s people across generations—Israel waiting for the first coming, and the Church waiting for the second.

Revelation echoes Isaiah’s promise with vivid imagery:

Revelation 21:10–11, 22–27 (NIV)

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24 The nations will walk by its light…
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it… but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

What Isaiah saw in shadow, John saw in glory.
What Isaiah longed for, we are promised.
What Isaiah proclaimed, Jesus will fulfill.

And yet—we’re not there yet.

We live between the promise given and the promise completed.

A Vision Given, A Community Called

Pastor Zoe shared how God pulled back the curtain for a moment in 2020 and showed her a vision of unity and worship in Bradford: families, children, and believers from different places gathering on a hill, worshipping the Lord together. She didn’t know how or when, and she still doesn’t know all the details—but she knows what she saw.

And she knows God has already begun fulfilling pieces of it.

Community worship nights.
Prayer walks.
Churches partnering instead of competing.
Lives being restored.
Walls coming down.
Hope rising.

This is Advent in real time:
We acknowledge the pain of the now, but we cling to the promise of what will be.

God’s faithfulness in the past gives us confidence for the future.

Wake Up — The Time Is Short

But Isaiah’s invitation is paired with urgency—and the New Testament intensifies it.

Paul writes with Holy Spirit clarity:

Romans 13:11–14 (NLT)

11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.
13 Because we belong to the day…
14 Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is not metaphorical language.
This is a spiritual alarm clock.

Time is running out.
Salvation is nearer now than ever before.
The Lord is coming.

Paul calls believers to drop whatever belongs to darkness—old habits, secret compromises, toxic patterns, shame, addictions, quarrels, jealousy—and put on Christ like armor.

It is not fear-driven.
It is love-driven.
Because the One who loves us most is drawing near.

Are We Ready for His Return?

Jesus spoke plainly about His second coming:

Matthew 24:36–44 (NIV)

36 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
42 Therefore keep watch…
44 You also must be ready…

No one knows the hour. Not even Jesus Himself.

If we would prepare our homes when guests are coming, we must prepare our hearts when the King is coming.

This is the heart of Advent.
Preparation.
Anticipation.
Readiness.
Surrender.

Walking in the Light Today

The invitation is simple:
“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

Wherever the people of God go, His light goes with them.
Every step becomes sacred.
Every moment becomes an opportunity to shine the kingdom.
Every act of obedience becomes preparation for the world to come.

Salvation is not just a moment—it is a journey.
And Advent reminds us to keep walking, keep watching, keep hoping, and keep stepping into the light.

The Savior has come.
The Savior is coming again.
And today, the invitation is open:

Wake up.
Step into the light.
Walk with Him.

Take Your Next Step

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