A Light Has Dawned!
A Light Has Dawned!
Series: Together ... In The Light
Sermon Summary:
In this powerful message, we’re reminded of God’s enduring promise of light in the midst of darkness. The prophecy from Isaiah 9 takes center stage, foretelling the coming of a child who would bring hope to a nation in distress. This prophecy, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, reminds us that even in our darkest moments, God’s light is dawning. The historical context of ancient Israel’s struggles with Assyria parallels our own battles with fear and uncertainty. Just as God provided unexpected deliverance through a child, we too can find hope in the seemingly small and insignificant. The titles given to this promised child – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – reveal the multifaceted nature of Christ and His ability to meet our deepest needs. As we navigate our own periods of darkness, let’s remember that the light of Christ has dawned and continues to shine, offering guidance, strength, and peace in our lives.
Sermon Points:
CONTEXT: Ahaz was King in Judah. He was a wicked king who chose to distrust God and decided to forge an alliance with Assyria. He also desecrated the land through his willingness to allow pagan worship practices to exist in Judah. His reign was marked by darkness across Judah. And—Judah faced the reality of both the threat of Israel and the tragic defeat of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians. The people of Judah were fearful for their very existence.
CHILD: What was God’s answer to Judah’s dilemma? A child! Already mentioned in Isaiah 7:14, God promised a child would be born, a son would be given—and God’s reign would be established forever!
CONTEXT: We now live in a new era. The light has dawned! The Messiah has come. He is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!
CHRISTMAS: Christmas is the season when we re-visit the great truth that God has kept His promise! We also celebrate the truth that the future holds great promise for His people!
Key Takeaways:
- Isaiah’s prophecy of a child born to bring light in darkness
- The historical context of Isaiah’s time, including the divided kingdoms and Assyrian threat
- The partial fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah’s day and its greater fulfillment in Jesus
- Matthew’s interpretation of Isaiah’s prophecy in relation to Jesus’ birth and ministry
- The significance of Jesus as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace
- The establishment of God’s eternal kingdom through Christ
- The relevance of Christ’s light for believers facing darkness in their lives
Scripture References:
- Isaiah 9:1-7
- Matthew 1:18-25
- Matthew 4:12-16
Stories:
- The story of King Ahaz and his refusal to trust God, leading to darkness in Judah
- The account of Gideon’s victory over the Midianites as an example of God’s deliverance
- The narrative of Jesus’ birth and early ministry in Galilee, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy
- The discovery of multiple galaxies through the Hubble telescope, illustrating God’s power to bring light to darkness
Transcript
We have worshiped today in this place, and so thank you, Michael and worship team, for leading us today. Thank you for Jeff and Karen, also, as they’ve led us today. And in the first worship service, our classic worship team led us incredibly well, and we’re grateful that we’re doing this all together. And it’s a beautiful thing to be together during this holiday season. And speaking of that, that’s our theme for our church this year. We have spent the entire year, 2024, learning what it means to be together. And during each liturgical season, we have focused on a different facet of togetherness. As you know, and we find ourselves now in the Advent season, and our theme is together in the light. And you’ve seen illustrations, if you will. Of light all over our campus during this season. You’ll notice that we’re using the symbol of the steeple of our church. You’ll see it in various places across our campus. Well, that steeple is an iconic symbol in downtown Arlington. It’s been there since 1945, when our church built the original sanctuary here on Center Street. Of course, our church has been here since 1871, but that building was built in 1945. And ever since then. That steeple has shed light on downtown Arlington. It has reminded this community that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of light and hope. And so I would say to you parents of the preschoolers and children, you need to make your way to the preschool children’s building, because there’s a display of the steeple there in the preschool children’s lobby area. And you can actually punch a button, and it will play the steeple bells, which we’re accustomed to hearing here in downtown Arlington. Every day, but the children can help them to play in the children’s building. And we have been preparing for this season. All the decorations, as I said, the symbolism. We have put together all kinds of materials for you. I hope that you were able to get a copy of the devotional guide together in the light. And it has a guide for you every week. It has our together in word readings. It has our together. Indeed, application of those readings, and very well done by our staff. Also, you heard Ryan Chandler. Ryan did the offertory for us. Ryan is the author of our curriculum this semester, When the Savior Comes. And he has put together the biblical material for all of our teachers, and also for our students. And so I’m grateful for that. And not only that, we’re getting ready for you tonight. I’ve been baking cookies for I don’t know how long it’s taken. And they came. They came out like this. They actually are very decorative, and they have Illuminate written on them. So, thank you. You’re welcome. And come tonight, and you can have, when the Illuminate service is over, you can get one of these cookies for your family. And there’s going to be refreshments in the welcome centers after the worship service. I think we’re having, I’m not sure what we’re having, homemade ice cream. No, that’s not right. No, I’m sorry, Michael. Cider. Cider and cocoa, that’s what I meant to say, and cookies, okay? But we’re going to come together at 5 o’clock for a time of worship here in this room. And it will be a special Christmas worship experience, and I hope you’ll be able to be here tonight. And then the rest of this season as it unfolds with adventure next weekend on Sunday afternoon at our Christmas Eve worship services. And then as we make our way into 2025, I want you to mark your calendars. I want you to mark your calendar for January 24th, 25th, and 26th. We are going to have a church-wide retreat here on our campus that weekend. And our church has become a part of a study, and actually a huge research project sponsored by Baylor University and Harvard University. And when I was finishing my term on the Board of Regents at Baylor, Baylor entered into this agreement with Harvard and received this grant to study human flourishing. And so there’s a huge research project called the Global Flourishing Study that Harvard and Baylor are overseeing, and our church is going to be a part of that. And one of the non-resident scholars from Baylor who’s a part of that research will be here that weekend of January 24th and 25th and 26th. His name is Scott Hare. And we’re really looking forward to launching this journey with you for the next three years. We’re going to study together. What does it mean to flourish as a human being? And what are the things? What are the things that need to be in your life that contribute to human flourishing? What does it mean to flourish as a Christian? What does it mean for a church to flourish? What does it mean for that flourishing to spill out into the community? That’s what these next three years are going to be about, and we launched that in January. So I’m looking forward to that journey with you. With that said, let’s continue our Advent journey. We started last Sunday, and you know that we’re using the book of Isaiah to guide us. On Sunday mornings during the Advent season, and last Sunday we began with a message from the very first page of Isaiah. Well, this morning I want us to look at the ninth page, a little more familiar passage of Scripture than last Sunday morning. Isaiah 9, where Isaiah shares a very powerful prophecy of entitled the message of light is dawned. And that actually comes straight out of the text. So if you look with me at Isaiah 9, and let’s hear the words,
Here’s the prophet. As warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle, and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he’ll be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. And the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. You know, in the fall of this year, we studied together the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah. And I’m going to read you a little bit of that. And I heard several comments from some of you who said it’s been a while since you had actually studied those two books. It’s actually one book in Hebrew. And I get that. It might be the case that it’s been a while since you’ve studied Isaiah and the context of Isaiah. So let me just remind you, when Solomon died, he was David’s son. He was king over all of Israel, all 12 tribes. Solomon’s son, however, had… He had difficulty in uniting the nation. As a matter of fact, Rehoboam struggled particularly with the tribes to the north. There were 10 of them, if you will. And those northern tribes had issues with the southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin. And so they entered into a time of conflict. So if you can imagine, if you can stretch your imagination to imagine a time where in a country, the north and the south have a hard time getting along with each other. I know that’s far-fetched. I know that’s far-fetched to you as an American. But believe it or not, it happened in ancient Israel. So Jeroboam was the leader of the tribes from the north. And he petitioned Rehoboam to treat the northern people fairly. Rehoboam refused. So consequently, the nation of Israel divided into two countries, north and south. The northern kingdom took the name Israel. The southern kingdom was primarily comprised of just two tribes, Judah and Benjamin. A handful of Levites. And obviously, because they lived among the people. So you had a much larger nation to the north, a much smaller nation to the south. However, the southern nation, known as Judah, had Jerusalem as its capital. And so when you’re reading your Old Testament, when you’re reading particularly the book of Kings and Chronicles, what you discover is it’s a little bit confusing sometimes because you’ve got a king in Israel and a king in Judah. You have prophets. You have prophets in Israel and prophets in Judah. Sometimes the prophets in Judah will speak both about Judah and Israel. Sometimes the prophets in Israel will do the same. Sometimes both countries will just be referred to as Israel. So it can get really confusing. But just to put this in context, Isaiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom under four different kings. So he lives in Judah, in Jerusalem. He’s a part of the nation of Judah. The nation of Judah. The nation of Israel was to the north of Isaiah. And they had their own prophets and kings. Are y’all still with me? So we come to Isaiah 9. What is happening in Isaiah 9? Well, Ahaz is the king of Judah. And Isaiah is the prophet from God to Ahaz. Now, Ahaz was a wicked king. You can read his story in 2 Kings 16, 17, somewhere in there. He chose to be a prophet. He chose to distrust God. And he decided to forge an alliance with Assyria, the evil empire. He also desecrated the land through his willingness to allow pagan worship practices to exist in Judah. Consequently, his reign was marked by darkness across Judah. And Judah faced the reality of both the threat of Israel and the tragic defeat of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians. And consequently, the people of Judah were fearful for their very own people. So, let me see if I can unpack all that for you this morning so we can understand what Isaiah says in that moment. If you just have your Bibles open, look back at Isaiah 8. Isaiah 8 is full of hope and judgment. You read the judgment and you wonder, why is the judgment so harsh? What is going on? Well, when you read 2 Kings, let me tell you about Ahaz. According to 2 Kings 16, Ahaz was so evil, he sacrificed his own son to one of the pagan gods. So, he participated in child sacrifice himself. Then, he engaged in all kinds of pagan practices and worship. Well, Israel to the north and Syria, which was just to the west and north of Israel, they were afraid that Assyria was going to overwhelm them. So, the king of Israel, and the king of Syria, petitioned Ahaz and says, join us so we can fight the Assyrians to the north. Ahaz wouldn’t do it. So, the king of Israel and the king of Syria declared war on Judah and attacked Judah. Think about the Middle East today. Isn’t it amazing? Here we are in 2024, and Syria is still in the news as late as this morning, as well as Israel. So, the king of Syria, the king of Israel actually attacked Judah. And Isaiah receives a word from God, and God tells Ahaz, call on me, and I will answer you. Ahaz refused to do it, and Ahaz said, I would rather call on the king of Assyria. He’s the one that’s threatening everybody. So, instead of seeking the counsel of God and God’s prophet, Ahaz said, I’m going to go meet with the king of Assyria, and I’m going to forge an alliance with him. So, he went to the temple, and he unloaded, the silver and gold out of God’s temple, took it with him on a trip, and on his way to meet the king of Assyria, he stops in Syria at a pagan temple. And he sees a pagan altar, and he’s so enamored with it, he has a sketch of it made, and he sends it back to Jerusalem to Uriah the priest and says, make me an altar like this, and when I get home, I’m going to sacrifice on it. A pagan altar. He meets with the king of Assyria, he gives him gold and silver from the temple, of Israel, of Jerusalem, makes this alliance, bribes the king of Assyria, goes back to Jerusalem. When he gets back to Jerusalem, he makes sacrifices and offers up burnt offerings on a pagan altar that he has set up in the place of God’s altar in Jerusalem. And then he allows pagan worship to take place all over the nation of Judah.
Wow. The king of God’s people. So, how bad was it? Well, look at Isaiah 8. We just read Isaiah 9. Look at Isaiah 8. In verse 11, here’s what God tells Isaiah. This is what the Lord says to me with a strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the ways of these people. So God tells Isaiah, don’t you go with Ahaz and with the rest of the people of Judah and worship these pagan gods. Don’t do it. He says, as a matter of fact, here’s what’s happening. Look at verse 19 of Isaiah 8. When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, you should not do it. Why do a lot of people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land. When they’re famished, they’ll become enraged and looking upward will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
God communicates through Isaiah and says, all these pagan rituals, consulting these pagan spiritualists and mediums rather than asking God for help. He says, what Ahaz has done is he has taken the entire nation into darkness. Now, you know, y’all, Cindy and I, we used to pastor two country churches, Gemtown, Oklahoma and Mertens, Texas. And when you get out of the Metroplex, if y’all know what I mean, and it gets dark, it’s dark. In fact, it’s not just dark, it’s real dark. Isaiah says, it’s not just dark, it’s real dark. Ahaz, you have led Judah into a season of darkness. So Israel and Syria, they try to face Assyria and Assyria destroys them. Assyria conquers Syria and the Northern Kingdom. The armies of Assyria lay siege to the Northern Kingdom. They disperse the Jews in the Northern Kingdom, 721 BC. And then they turn their eyes to Judah and Judah is in a panic. They are no match for Assyria. What will Judah do? What is God going to do? Is God going to let Judah be destroyed by the Assyrians? Is God going to let Judah be destroyed by the Assyrians? As he’s allowed Israel to be destroyed by Assyrians in the North. What was God’s answer? Interesting. God was going to send a bully, some incredible warrior. No. You know what God told Isaiah? He’s going to send a child. Not much comfort to Ahaz. Ahaz needs an army. But what was God’s answer to Judah’s dilemma? A child. Already mentioned in Isaiah 7, 14. Here’s what God said. I’m going to send a child. A son. And God’s reign will be established forever. It’s fascinating, y’all. So if you still got your Bibles open, look at Isaiah 9, what we just read. Here’s what Isaiah says. End of chapter 8. We are in utter darkness. Assyria has marched on the North and is victorious. Look at chapter 9, verse 1. Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past, he has now humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. Now, if you were to get your Bible map out, you could find Zebulun and Naphtali. Those are two pieces of land named after two of the tribes of Israel. And it’s at the northern border of Israel, right where Assyria marched in. Zebulun and Naphtali are to the west of the Sea of Galilee, to the east, to the west, to the west of the Jordan River, the east of the Mediterranean. And that little area was known as the Way of the Sea. It was a major trade route from north to south down into Egypt, from east to west across the Mediterranean. The Assyrians wanted that part of Israel and they conquered it and the people were humbled. And so God says to Isaiah, in the past, that whole area has been humbled. And however, he says, look at the, look at the last part of verse one. But in the future, God casts a vision for that part of Israel and says he’s going to honor Galilee one day. And then he says in verse two, these people who are in utter darkness, walking in darkness, in rebellion against me, they now are going to receive a great light. And when this light comes, I’m going to expand this land beyond the realm of Judah. In other words, all the way across to northern Israel. Just like in the, look at verse four, just like in the days of Gideon, God tells Isaiah, tell him to look back. Remember when Gideon conquered the Midianites. But y’all remember how Gideon conquered the Midianites with a very small army. You remember that story? So that God would get the glory and the credit. Gideon was a great warrior and a great name for a little boy, don’t y’all think? But that’s my grandson’s name for those of you that don’t know. was a warrior, but God is the one who won the victory. And Israel told the story that way. They knew that there was no way for them to defeat the Midianites. Only God could do it. And God says, remember how I destroyed the Midianites? I’m going to do that again. As a matter of fact, by the time I’m done, he says, if we look at verse five, he says, all the warriors’ boots, all the materials that soldiers use, you don’t need that anymore. You might as well burn it in a fire. You know why? Because I’m going to give you a son. And this son is going to be different than any other child who’s ever lived. if y’all are still with me, a little history here, go back to chapter seven. He’s already talked about this son once. He’s going to mention him three times as a son, as a child. Chapter seven, here’s what the Lord told Ahaz. You want my help? I’m going to give you a sign. That’s what God said to Ahaz. You’re worried about the Assyrians? You’re afraid they’re going to conquer you? He says in verse 11 of chapter seven, ask me for a sign. You can go all the way up to heaven. You can reach all the way down into hell. Pick a sign. I’ll give it to you. Ahaz refused to ask for a sign. He said, I don’t need a sign. I don’t want a sign from you. So look at chapter seven, verse 14. And God said, I’m going to give you one anyway. Whenever you see the Lord himself, that’s the Hebrew way of saying, I’m going to do this whether you want it or not. I’m giving you a sign. And here’s the sign. He says, a virgin is going to conceive and give birth to a son, and you’ll call him Emmanuel. That word virgin, a young maiden, a young woman of marriageable age who is yet to be with a husband. And so, that prophecy was actually partially fulfilled because at the time, the woman that he was talking about in that text in Isaiah’s day was yet unmarried. Let me put a parentheses. A prophet in the Old Testament had two jobs.
Foretelling, that meant preaching, and foretelling, aimed at the future. So Isaiah sometimes is preaching. He’s foretelling. Sometimes he’s casting a vision for the future. Sometimes he does both of them at the same time. Here’s one of those. He says, this woman is going to have a baby, a special baby, and it’s a sign to you that I’m not done with Israel. It lets you know there’s life in the kingdom, and I’m going to bring that child to you. So if you just flip over to chapter 8, verses 1 through 4, that prophecy is fulfilled through Isaiah. It’s Isaiah’s son. And that’s a message to Ahaz. I’m not finished with Israel. I’m not finished with Judah. There’s life on the other side of this, and this son is a demonstration of that. However, that sign is further described in chapter 9, and here’s what we discover. There’s more to it than just that fulfillment in Isaiah’s day. There’s a day coming where there’s going to be greater fulfillment, and that greater fulfillment is going to take place in the birth of this special son. And when this son comes, he’s going to be born king, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he’s going to reveal me to the world. He is going to be a wonderful counselor. He’s going to be revealing the everlasting father, the mighty God. He’ll be the prince of peace, and his government, Assyria, will not topple this government. As a matter of fact, no earthly power is able to address this government. It will last forever, and just like God delivered Israel from the Midianites through his hand, the zeal of the Lord God Almighty will make all this happen.
So, think about that. It’s a powerful word from Isaiah. So, what happened? Ahaz was evil. Well, guess what? Ahaz died, and his son became king. His son was named Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a good king. And he, for a season, will turn Judah back to the Lord. And he was very friendly toward Isaiah and Isaiah’s prophecy. And Hezekiah… Hezekiah became a great king. You know, when I was a young preacher, I was in Mertens, and every Saturday night, me and the banker in town used to run the bulletins. So, for those of you who don’t know what that is, you can Google it. The rest of y’all will know. So, well, Cindy’s mother and daddy were visiting us, and I was young. Cindy’s mother was a real Bible scholar. Yesterday was 35 years since Cindy’s mama died. She died on Pearl Harbor Day in 1989. But we were remembering her. And Cindy reminded me, they were visiting us in Mertens, and I was running the bulletins that night, and I was preaching on Hezekiah. I inadvertently put the text for my sermon under my sermon title, and I listed it as Hezekiah. I meant Isaiah, but I put Hezekiah. Her mom, who was a Bible scholar, never let me hear the end of it, that there is no book in the Bible named Hezekiah. And she knew that, and I should know better, being a seminary-trained young man. But nevertheless, a whole other story. But nevertheless, Hezekiah becomes king. And guess what? Assyria decides to conquer Judah, and they camp on the border of Judah. Huge army. Judah is no match for Assyria. You go back and read it in 2 Kings 19. And what happened was, God sent the angel of the Lord to the camp of the Assyrians. And in one fell swoop, the angel of the Lord slayed the Assyrians. And he slayed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. The king of Assyria got up the next morning, and as we would say in Alabama, he tucked tail and ran home. Never to be heard from again. As a matter of fact, his sons killed him when he got home. And Assyria never attacked Judah again. So Judah was rescued. Well, all that to say, you and I don’t live in the 8th century B.C. We live in 2024. What does all this mean to us? Well, let me share. Let me share the context for me and you. We now live in a new era. And here’s the good news. A light has dawned. The Messiah has come. And he is wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah prophesied it would happen. Isaiah, as a matter of fact, even saw beyond what was happening in the life of Judah to an era beyond his lifetime. And he saw a time when Judah would be taken into exile. And he talked about it. But he also was given a vision by God that Israel would not live in exile, but that they would be returned home. And there would rise a king named Cyrus who would deliver them and allow them to return home. That’s exactly what happened. And so when the Jews came back from captivity in Babylon or Persia, they came back to Jerusalem and they resettled Israel and they waited for 400 years. And they waited on Isaiah’s prophecy, Micah’s prophecy, Zechariah’s prophecy. They waited. They were hoping. They believed that God was still up to something. 400 years later, God answered. And he delivered on his promise. There was a theologian who lived in the first century who has put all this together for us. And his name is Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector. And he became a disciple of Jesus. And Matthew decided he wanted to make sure under the inspiration of the Spirit of God that no one forgot about the story of Jesus. So he put together a book. We know it is the Gospel of Matthew. And you know what Matthew did? Matthew reached all the way back to Isaiah to help us all understand what really has happened when Jesus was born. Can I share that with y’all? Let me just tell you what happened. In Matthew chapter 1, Matthew says, here’s what happened on the very first Christmas. He says, this is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. Matthew 1, verse 18. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. But before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he’d considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She’ll give birth to a son and you’re to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. And then listen to what Matthew says next. Matthew reaches back over 700 years and says, all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call her Mary. They will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until after she gave birth to a son and he gave him the name Jesus. So that prophecy that had to do with the young maiden in Isaiah’s time has greater fulfillment in this incredible story of the virgin birth of Jesus. And Matthew is the one who saw it under the inspiration of the Spirit and wrote about it. Not only that, y’all. Look what else Matthew says. If you flip over to Matthew 4, verse 12. Matthew says, When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. Remember, he said he’s going to redeem Zebulun and Naphtali. He’s going to rescue that whole part of Israel. It says Jesus actually chose to live in Zebulun and Naphtali to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah. Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people living in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. Hallelujah. You wonder why Matthew is the first gospel. Mark was written first. Why Matthew? Because Matthew’s the bridge to the Old Testament. Matthew’s the one who reached back in time under the leadership of the Spirit. And Matthew says, here is what’s happened. That prophecy so long ago given to Isaiah has been fulfilled. Fulfilled in our life. And now that land has been redeemed. And Jesus will be known as a Nazarene from Galilee. A light has dawned. And once the Messiah came, guess who he was? He was a wonderful counselor. Now the word counselor in Hebrew doesn’t refer to like a therapist like we might think of today. The word counselor has to do with a guide. Someone who gives wisdom to a king. It’s a military advisor, a governmental authority. Someone who’s given you sound counsel. He is the counsel of wonder. He’s revealing the wisdom of God. He’s mighty God. In other words, as John says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. He’s God in the flesh. He reveals the everlasting Father to us. We know God is Father because Jesus is His Son. Sometimes people ask me, do Muslims and Christians pray to the same God? Is the God of the Bible and Allah the same? My answer to that is no. Because Muslims deny the Sonship of Jesus and you can’t have the Father. You can’t have the Son of God. You can’t have the Son of God without the Son. And then the Prince of Peace. Jesus says in John 14, 27, I give you my peace, not as the world gives you, but real peace. And Jesus, according to Matthew in the teaching of the New Testament, He was born King. He is the Son of David. He’s introduced on page one of Matthew’s Gospel as King. The wise men come and they ask Herod, where is the King of the Jews? And Herod says, I thought I was the King of the Jews. And they said, no. Where is He who’s been born King of the Jews? And then read Matthew’s Gospel. You get all the way to the end of Matthew’s Gospel and they take Jesus and they hang His body on a cross. And what do they put on the top of the cross? King of the Jews. Because Jesus is King. And the kingdom that Jesus establishes cannot be conquered by Assyria or by any other earthly power. It transcends geographical boundaries. It knows no ethnic allegiance. The kingdom of God has been established on earth by Jesus and He will reign forever. Now, you and I, yeah, amen, we believe that. We believe Jesus institutes what we call inaugurated eschatology. That means the last days have already begun. This present evil age. Jesus has come. He’s invaded this present evil age and He’s established the age to come. It’s already, in place, awaiting for its day to be consummated. And so, what do we say about the darkness of our world? A light has dawned. Praise God. So, it’s Christmas. Okay? So, what is Christmas for Christians? Well, Christmas is the season when we revisit this great truth that God has kept His promise. A son has been born. We also celebrate the truth, that the future holds great promise for His people. That’s what we’re celebrating. And you know, y’all, for many people in our society, they celebrate Christmas. They do. But for so many people, y’all, what is Christmas to them? You know, for some people, it’s traditions. It’s certain kinds of food. I’ve never figured out why the food that I love at Christmas you can only eat in December. Have y’all ever figured that out? Just a little note. For some people, it’s music. The sounds of the season. For some people, it’s movies. Like the best Christmas pageant ever that we went to see the other night as a church. And the all-time greatest Christmas movie.
Elf. Duh. Duh. For some people, it’s just their family traditions. It’s exchanging gifts. It’s, um, parties. It’s decorations and lights and all that. And I get all that. It’s all fun. And I’m grateful for it. And we enjoy it all. But in reality, y’all, all of that hinges on a deep truth. It all emerges from a real story that God Almighty has spoken into the darkness of this world and He has sent the light of the world. Isaiah saw it in outline. You and I see it in its greatest measure. And one day, the whole world will see Jesus as He is. You know, back in the early part of the 20th century, scientists were unsure about the universe. In fact, most scientists believed there was only one galaxy. And you may remember the story of Edwin Hubble. 1920s, he discovered Andromeda, if you will, and he realized it’s a whole other galaxy. So we went from one galaxy to two. And then as NASA progressed in science, and technology improved, we were able to actually put a telescope in orbit. And the scientists chose to name it after Edwin Hubble because he had been so monumental in the research of the universe. So the Hubble telescope was put in orbit and it began to focus its attention on one dark spot in the universe. And come to find out, a photo, a very famous photo, was produced in 1995. And what scientists discovered was within that photo, there were actually 3,000 more galaxies. So we went from one to two to 3,000. Guess what we know now? Astronomers tell us if you’ll take a sewing needle and hold it at arm’s length at night against the night sky and look through the eye of that needle, you actually will be able to capture about 10,000 more galaxies. And if you’ll just move a little bit to your right, you’ll get 10,000 more. And then if you keep moving, 10,000 more. And if you keep moving, 10,000 more. Are y’all with me? And guess what? Every one of those galaxies, every one of those galaxies, has millions and millions and millions of brightly glowing stars that are on fire. And here’s what I would tell you. If God Almighty can light up the expanse of the darkness of the universe, He can light up the darkness in your own life. So whatever it is, whatever it is that’s dark in your life right now, and I get it. We have all kinds of experiences to lead to darkness. Grief, loss, wayward living, challenges that we face, maybe intellectually, victimization, abuse. There’s so much that can lead to darkness. But here’s the good news. In the midst of your darkness, whatever it is, and no matter how dark it is, Isaiah’s prophecy has come true. A light has dawned. Hallelujah. Let’s pray together.
Father, today we bow in your presence.