Good morning. It's good to see you all here. We're glad you have braved the cold to join us this
morning. Thank you to Chi-Sing for making sure that our sanctuary is warm. We are thankful for that. Amen.
Glory seeking is something that is common in our culture today. Whether it be the desire to take
your photo with a famous celebrity, whether it be a movie star or an athletic star or
a politician, we love to have those photos on our walls to bask in the famousness of others.
The things in our pockets are filled with TikToks and Instagrams, phones, and the desire to be an
influencer is somehow now a career in our world as people are hungry for followers and to be known.
I would even say that glory seeking is under our obsession in our culture with sports teams.
Glory by association. We won. You sat on a couch. You didn't do anything, but we won.
We like to find glory in various places because it's a fundamental human desire.
It reflects the fact that we were made in the image of a glorious God
and that we were made for a kind of glory. But in the fall, our search for this glory
has been twisted and lost. Rather than receiving glory from God, we so often seek to manufacture
glory on our own. And as we do this, there are one of two outcomes. We either succeed
and in doing so find ourselves consumed with pride that we have actually gotten glory,
an insecurity that knowing how easily we might lose it. Or we fail. And then we live lives of despair
or of envy of those who seem to have glory in this world.
Glory seeking is at the heart of humanity. And you know, it's interesting to think about the fact
that the church as an institution, as a people, has not been immune to this either. There have been
times when the church has been ascendant or dominant in a culture. It has felt glorious in that position,
but how often has it allowed pride to rise up? And the glory has not been received from God,
but built by our own efforts and by our own performances, creating the same kind of insecurities.
And then there are also times where the church doesn't feel glorious at all. I think of my two years
in China and how difficult it was to feel like the church, talking to my brothers and sisters there,
how do we make an impact on this culture that just has no understanding and no idea,
and the church seems so small and so insignificant,
wondering how would we gain the kind of glory that we think we ought to have?
This is not a new feeling for the people of God.
When you go back to 700 B.C. and the prophet Isaiah, which is our text for this morning,
you'll see that they too felt very insignificant, stuck between the great superpowers of Assyria
and Egypt, assailed and manipulated by their local neighbors, Syria and Ephraim.
They wondered, where is the glory of David and Solomon?
And interestingly enough too, in the first century, when Jesus came to this world,
the church, the people of God at that time also wondered, where is the glory of Israel?
As they lived under the domination of Rome, as Israel was just a small protectorate in a huge empire,
ruled by Gentile rulers.
In the human desire for glory,
so often God's people have felt small and insignificant.
But God speaks to us.
God tells us to lift up our eyes.
As His people, God speaks to us and says,
Look to me.
Though you feel small and insignificant,
there is a greater glory that is yours and will be yours for all of eternity.
It will not be a glory of your own making,
but it will be a glory that I will bring you into.
And this is what our passage about this morning.
We're in Isaiah 60.
I forgot to look up the page number.
Someone want to give me a page number on that?
Isaiah 60.
We're going to be looking at the whole chapter.
What's that?
6.19.
Thank you, Susie.
If you're using a pew Bible,
6.19.
Isaiah 60.
We're going to be looking at this passage together.
And just to remember,
our Advent preaching series,
the theme has been light in the darkness.
And we've been looking through the ways that the prophet Isaiah long ago
predicted the coming of Jesus
and how His coming was light in the darkness.
And we saw that imagery in different places.
We saw it particularly in Isaiah 9.
But this promise was,
God sees the world in darkness,
and He has not forgotten it,
but He is going to act to bring light.
And that light would not be a force,
but a person,
the person of Jesus.
And so, in Isaiah 7.14,
remember,
we saw,
a virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and He will be called Emmanuel,
God with us.
Or if you remember,
in Isaiah 9.6,
verse 6,
where it says,
for to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government shall be on His shoulder,
and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
And then last week,
Pastor Nick talked about Isaiah 11.
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots
shall bear fruit.
And then further on,
it says,
in that day,
the root of Jesse,
who shall stand as a signal for the peoples,
of him shall the nation shall acquire,
and his resting place shall be glorious.
So, Isaiah is preparing us for this passage.
Now, Isaiah is a big book.
The ESV Study Bible has this great story,
or great summary that says,
the whole book of Isaiah portrays God's plan for Judah
as a story that is headed somewhere,
namely the coming of a final heir of David
who will bring light to the Gentiles.
And Israel was created for this purpose,
that from Israel might come this one
who would bring glory to the whole world.
And friends,
this is what we see in Isaiah 60,
a promise,
a prediction
that there is a greater glory for God's people
that He invites us into.
So, let's read together and look at it.
Isaiah 60,
starting in verse 1.
Arise,
shine,
for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold,
darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples,
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and His glory will be seen upon you,
and nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes all around and see.
They all gather together.
They come to you.
Your sons shall come from far,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
Then you shall see and be radiant,
and your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea
shall be turned to you.
The wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah.
All those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news,
the praises of the Lord.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you.
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you.
They shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
and I will beautify my beautiful house.
Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
For the coastland shall hope for me,
the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them.
For the name of the Lord your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because He has made you beautiful.
Foreigners shall build up your walls,
and their kings shall minister to you.
For in my wrath I struck you,
but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
Your gates shall be opened continually day and night.
They shall not be shut.
That the people may bring to you
the wealth of the nations
with their kings led in procession.
For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish.
Those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the Cyprus, the plain, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
The sons of those who afflicted you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despise you
shall bow down at your feet.
They shall call you the city of the Lord,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and hated
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
You shall suck the milk of nations.
You shall nourish the breasts of kings.
You shall know that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze, I will bring gold,
and instead of iron, I will bring silver.
Instead of wood, bronze.
Instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
and your taskmasters righteousness.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land.
Devastation or destruction within your borders.
You shall call your walls salvation,
and your gates praise.
And the sun shall be no more,
your light by day.
Nor for the brightness shall the moon give you light.
But the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
Your people shall all be righteous,
and they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting,
the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.
The least one shall become a clan,
the smallest one a mighty nation.
I am the Lord.
In its time, I will hasten it.
This is God's good word to us this morning.
Let's pray together.
Oh, Lord, we thank you for your word.
And, Lord, with all the richness of imagery,
we pray that we might,
Lord, by your Spirit,
have understanding this morning.
Lord, I pray that you would help me to speak as I ought.
I pray for all of us,
that we would receive your word.
And, Lord, that by it,
you would minister to our hearts,
that we would submit and obey,
and know, Lord,
the joy of your glory.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Friends, the big idea for us this morning
is that there is a greater glory for us,
a greater glory in the kingdom of Jesus.
And Isaiah predicts this,
and he points us to it,
and he helps us to see it.
I've broken down our passage into three sections.
Each one shows a particular aspect
of the glory of what Jesus has brought for us.
So, let's look at those together.
The first one is a large section,
verses 1 through 14.
And in it, we see that there is a glory
of a promised kingdom
greater than the nations.
In the beginning of this chapter,
as you see, there is this call.
Arise, shine,
for your light has come,
for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
And it's this call.
Church, though you feel small and insignificant,
look, God has not forgotten you,
but He has come with glory.
Remember how small Israel felt
at the time of Isaiah's prophecy.
Assyria had invaded the northern kingdom.
Ten tribes of the twelve tribes of Israel
had been conquered and scattered,
never to be gathered again in the same way.
They were not a major player
on the sociopolitical world,
but a football for nations to pass around
but God says,
my glory will come upon you.
And when that comes,
the nations of the world
that seem so great right now,
they will respond by coming to you.
They will come in honor and worship to you.
Look at some of the ways
that Isaiah draws this out, right?
In verse 3,
the nations shall come to your light.
They will come from their darkness
to the people of God
because there is light there.
Verses 4 and verse 9
will talk about the gathering of people,
that there are people spread all over the world,
and your sons and daughters
will come from afar
to be gathered in to the people of Israel.
In verses 5 through 7,
it's a striking picture,
if you look at it,
that the wealth of nations will be brought
and laid at the feet
of the people of God
and His King
and their kingdom, right?
It's this,
when we look around,
we just think there's so much power
and so much wealth
and so much military might,
and we think,
what is the people of God?
But one of the promises
is that we are caught up
into something that's so much greater.
The nations will come
and bow their knee one day to Jesus,
and not only will they no longer be enemies,
but they will serve you.
You look at verses 10 and 11,
it's saying,
these nations will come
and they will be building your gates.
They will be contributing
to the glory of the kingdom
that is to come.
The best of the world's riches
will come and serve God and His people,
the cedars of Lebanon.
That's what that means.
This symbol is there.
This is the richest thing out there,
and it's being brought
to serve the kingdom of God.
There's also a callback
to the temple of Solomon
that was built with cedars of Lebanon,
and then this is saying,
it's going to come back.
It's going to be renewed.
It's going to be restored,
and even greater than that,
God gives this tapestry of imagery
to say that the glory of the kingdom
that Jesus brings
is that it will come ultimately in triumph,
and it will be the center
of all human existence
and all of life on this earth,
and the riches and the wealth
of the world
will be given to it to serve.
And Jesus comes
to bring this fulfillment,
and we'll keep talking about
what that looks like
as we go on through this,
but do you remember Matthew 2?
What happens in the beginning
of Matthew 2?
Matthew 2,
there are wise men
from the east
who look up and see
a light that has come
into the darkness of the sky,
and they think,
and they see it as important.
And so these wise men,
kings, rulers,
whoever they,
from lands far away,
come,
and they bring their richest gifts
to lay at the feet of a baby,
or maybe a toddler at that point.
We can talk about the timeline
another day.
But they come
and lay down their wealth
before this child
because a light led them to this.
Don't miss the fact
that Matthew's read Isaiah,
and he knows where this is going.
So there's this little clue,
even with the,
we three kings of Orient are,
those ones are brought in
to this partial fulfillment.
And then as we see
throughout the rest
of the New Testament,
as Jesus comes
and he lives his life
and his death
and his resurrection,
and as the church begins,
right,
in Acts 2,
the church begins
not just with the Jewish people,
but with other people.
There are other languages
that the gospel is preached to,
and people from other lands
respond and begin to come.
And what had been
a national plan
in the Old Testament
that God would lift up Israel
as one nation
to be a light to all people
so that all people could know God
now becomes the church,
this transnational,
international being
that no nation can claim
as its own.
But this church then becomes this
reaching the ends of the earth
so that God is drawing people
from everywhere
through the preaching
of the gospel.
And we know this is true
because when you look
at the vision in Revelation,
when we see Jesus
in his throne room
in all of his glory,
John writes this,
after this I look
and behold a multitude
that no one could number
from every nation,
from all tribes
and peoples
and languages
standing before the throne
and before the Lamb
clothed in white robes
with palm branches
in their hands
and crying out
with a loud voice,
salvation belongs
to our God
who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb.
Friends,
in light of all the glories
that we might see
in this world,
God says there is
a greater glory
among the nations,
a glory that reaches
and draws
all nations
better than any nationalism,
a glory that reveals
a triumph greater
than any political
or social victory,
a triumph that brings
riches and wealth
beyond our imagination,
a glory in the fulfillment
of what God is doing now
in building a global church
of people from every tribe
and tongue and nation.
And though you might
feel small now,
though you might feel
like the culture
is this big hairy beast
and we can't stand
among it
and it feels like
the darkness
may be encroaching
over us,
God says,
no,
that's not the end
of the story.
There is a different
end of the story
and it's already begun.
Jesus has already come
as light in the darkness
and right now
He's doing this work
and one day
we will see
the fullness
and the fulfillment
of it
and its glory
will be so great.
Be encouraged,
be strengthened,
press on,
arise,
shine
for your glory
has come.
Your glory will be
a greater glory
among the nations
than you can even imagine.
That's the first point.
Then in verses 15 through 18,
there's another kind
of glory that's pictured here.
This is the glory
of a Redeemer
in His renewed kingdom.
Look with me
in verses 16
and following.
You see this,
you see it
in verse 15,
right?
Sorry,
I meant verse 15.
That's where I wanted to go.
Let's go to verse 15.
It says,
this is the great reversal
that the Redeemer brings.
You who were forsaken
and hated
with no one
passing through,
that means that you were
off the beaten track.
In fact,
you were just
a nobody
in the wilderness.
I will make you
majestic forever,
a joy to the age.
So,
God comes
as a Redeemer
to take people
from insignificance
to something
much greater.
And the images
are forsaken
and hated
to majesty
and joy,
right?
Verse 17,
it's an upgrade
to a greater treasure.
If you look
at the Hebrew parallelism,
what He's really saying
is wood
will be turned
to bronze,
will be turned
to gold,
and stones
will be turned
to iron,
will be turned
to silver.
What is common,
what seems mundane
and very simple
and not very glorious,
will be transformed
into something
that has all wealth
and glory.
It's transformed
into something precious.
And this is what
God is doing.
And when the nations
that threatened them,
that were their overseers
and taskmasters
that brought oppression
and suffering
and evil,
they will be turned
into peace
and righteousness.
And the walls
and gates
are no longer
for protection,
but they are places
of welcome
and praise.
The glory of God,
our Redeemer,
has this theme
of this great transformation
from nothing
to something,
from things
that are not good
to things
that are glorious.
of course,
this is what
Jesus comes
to do.
He comes
into darkness
to bring light.
He comes
to those
who are angry
and rebellious
and He brings peace.
He comes
to those
who are wandering
and wondering
and lost
and brings truth.
He comes
to those
who are unloving,
unlovable,
I'm sorry,
unlovely
and feel unlovable.
And He loves them.
This is what we see
when Jesus interacts
with people
throughout the Gospels.
This is what we see
as the calling
of the church
to care
for the poor
and the widows,
for the outsiders,
for the needy,
for those
who are
on the margins
of society
as a special care,
as a part
of our loving
the whole world.
But of course,
the greatest thing
of all that Jesus
does in this
role of a
great reversal
redeemer
is that He deals
with our sin
because all of us
in our sin
have a great need
for a redeemer.
and Jesus
comes
as the light
of the world
to do this
great exchange
for us.
He
takes
our sin
upon Himself
as He goes
to the cross.
He
imparts
to us
through faith
in Him
a righteousness
that is not
our own
that allows us
to stand
before a holy God
and know
acceptance
and embrace
and love.
His death
for us
as He went
to the cross
brings life
to all
who are in Him.
He was despised
and rejected
so that we could
be loved
and embraced.
He went
into the darkness
of death
so that we could
know Him
to be the light
of life.
friends,
I do want
to say
this morning
there is one hint
in this grand
picture of glory
in this chapter
there is one hint
of warning in it.
Verse 12
look with me
at it
for the nation
and the kingdom
that will not
serve you
shall perish
and the nation
shall be utterly
laid
to waste.
friends,
our rejection
and our rebellion
against God
will exclude us
from this glory
that this chapter
portrays.
It tells us
that not all
will receive
not all
will come
not all
will bow down
before Him
but God
will not share
His glory
and for those
who say
no thanks God
I want to do
this on my own
I'll take my own
glory over yours
He will say
you can have
the glory
that you
choose
but you will
find it to be
empty
you will find
it to be
vacuous
you will find
it to be
unstable
and ultimately
you will find
yourself
excluded
cut off
from this
glorious kingdom
and so there is
in this great
reversal
and invitation
and a call
come to
Jesus
come and find
in Him
the forgiveness
of sin
and eternal life
come and believe
in Him
so that this
greater glory
that He holds
out
this is what
He wants to do
for you
to bring you
from darkness
to light
to bring you
from insignificance
to glory
this is the
good news
of the gospel
Apostle Paul
writes in 2nd
Corinthians 4
6
says for God
who said
let light
shine out
of darkness
has shown
in our hearts
to give
the light
of the knowledge
of the glory
of God
in the face
of Christ
and this is
His invitation
for us
to remember
that
so the second
glory
if the first
glory is the
glory of the
kingdom among
the nations
the second one
is the glory
of this redemption
that brings a
great reversal
that turns
things
to
unimaginable
glory
and invites us
to know
that that's
what we
get to be
a part of
that's what
He has
invited us
into
the final
verses in
this chapter
seem to
almost fly
off the pages
of reality
don't they
there is a
final
picture of
glory here
a glory
of the
presence
of God
that is
almost
unbelievable
right
verse 19
in this
day
when the
glory of
God
comes
and light
shines
upon you
it says
the sun
shall be
no more
your light
by day
nor for
brightness
shall the
moon
give you
light
but the
Lord
will be
your
everlasting
light
and the
Lord
will be
your
glory
now I
want you
to stop
for a minute
and think
about what
the sun
what role
the sun
plays
in our
world
and in
our
universe
it is
the source
of life
for all
of creation
that's why
God started
let there
be light
and he
put light
into the
world
because it
is the
source
of life
without it
what do
we not
have
we have
no heat
rumor
has it
that space
is really
really cold
and when
you don't
have a
sun
to warm
yourself
you will
die
right
we have
no
photosynthesis
this is
kind of
exciting
to think
about
your
plants
will
all
die
if
there
is
no
sun
if
there
is
no
sun
it
also
destroys
human
life
you know
in
Antarctica
right
people
who
go
and live
in the
research
stations
they
have
what
four
months
a year
of
no
sun
because
the sun
is tilted
the world
is tilted
away
so they
had
so
they've
had
to
they've
realized
that
a lack
of sunlight
is really
damaging
to people
it causes
depression
it causes
weight gain
it causes
lack of
appetite
in fact
there's even
a study
that showed
that children
who grew
up with
a lack
of sunlight
tended
to develop
myopia
their eyesight
was actually
affected
by lack
of
normal
exposure
to
so
we were
meant
to live
with
the sun
and without
it
we are
in
big
trouble
so
in
Antarctica
they take
extreme
measures
to try
to
recreate
what
the sun
does
whether
it be
by
sun
lamps
or
keeping
the
stations
warm
or
they
even
recreate
the
schedule
of a
day
and
night
with
sleep
and rest
and food
and
time
together
as human
beings
that
are normally
regulated
by the
rising
and setting
of the
sun
they
replace
these
things
artificially
because
they
realize
how
important
it
is
and
isn't
it
amazing
that
our
creation
points
to
our
creator
our
redeemer
and our
God
because
the
Lord
will be
our
everlasting
light
and
he
will
be
our
glory
there
will
be
no
more
death
there
will
be
no
more
mourning
because
the
life
that
comes
from
the
light
of
God
will
rule
over
there
won't
be
day
or
night
anymore
there
will
be
only
day
because
we
will
be
in
the
presence
of
God
and
friends
what did
Jesus
say
about
himself
when
he
came
he
said
I
am
the
light
of
the
world
whoever
follows
me
shall
not
walk
in
darkness
but
shall
have
the
light
of
life
this
is
the
beginning
of
the
fulfillment
of
this
promise
because
when
Jesus
came
what
we
celebrate
at
Christmas
is
the
coming
of
this
light
into
the
world
to
be
the
light
of
life
and
he
then
calls
his
church
and
we
saw
this
in
the
sermon
on
the
mountain
as
we
preached
through
it
in
the
fall
he
then
calls
his
church
and
he
says
you
are
the
light
of
the
world
why
Jesus
is
the
light
of
the
world
he
then
calls
his
people
to
be
a
reflection
of
that
light
we're
not
the
same
kind
of
light
that
he
is
but
we're
meant
to
reflect
his
light
to
the
world
so
that
others
might
know
and
there
is
in
this
age
this
growing
spreading
of
the
light
and
I
know
that
some
of
you
have
experienced
this
we're
in
the
darkness
of
despair
and
loss
of
wondering
where am
I
going
Jesus
has
stepped
into
your
life
and
been
light
that
has
brought
life
to
you
and
we
get
caught
up
in
this
now
and
Isaiah
says
and
that's
just
a
foretaste
this
is
just
the
beginning
because
one
day
it
will
the
world
will
be
remade
one
day
all
will
be
made
new
and
there
will
be
no
more
sun
or
moon
listen
now
to
the
words
in
the
book
of
revelation
as
John
portrays
this
picture
of
the
future
new
heavens
and
new
earth
he
says
and
I
saw
no
temple
in
the
city
for
the
temple
is
the
Lord
God
Almighty
and
the
Lamb
and
the
city
has
no
need
of
sun
or
moon
to
shine
on
it
for
the
glory
of
God
gives
it
light
and
its
lamp
is
the
Lamb
by
its
light
will
the
nations
walk
and
the
kings
of
the
earth
will
bring
their
glory
into
it
and
its
gates
will
never
be
shut
by
day
and
there
will
be
no
night
there
they
will
bring
into
it
the
glory
and
the
honor
of
the
nations
friends
this
is
where
we're
headed
an
unbelievable
kingdom
where
God
himself
dwells
in
our
midst
in
a
tangible
physical
way
Jesus
is
the
foretaste
of
that
in
his
incarnation
but
one
day
we
will
see
him
fully
and
truly
as
he
is
friends
this
is
the
glory
that
God
has
for
his
people
it
is
not
a
glory
that
we
have
ever
earned
it
is
not
a
glory
that
we
can
achieve
it
is
not
a
glory
that
we
can
manufacture
but
it
is
a
glory
that
God
bestows
upon
us
that
God
calls
us
to
receive
and
to
reflect
in
ways
that
reflect
him
in
every
way
and
how
are
we
to
respond
to
this
invitation
to
the
light
who
is
the
glory
of
God
well
let
me
close
by
reading
from
the
prologue
in
the
gospel
of
John
says
the
true
light
which
gives
light
to
everyone
was
coming
into
the
world
he
was
in
the
world
and
the
world
was
made
through
him
yet
the
world
did
not
know
him
he
came
to
his
own
and
his
own
people
did
not
receive
him
but
to
all
who
did
receive
him
who
believed
in
his
name
he
gave
the
right
to
become
children
of
God
who
were
born
not
of
the
blood
nor
of
the
will
of
flesh
nor
of
the
will
of
man
but
of
God
and
the
word
became
flesh
and
dwelt
among
us
and
we
have
seen
his
glory
as
of
the
only
son
from
the
father
full
of
grace
and
truth
let's
pray
together
Lord
we
thank
you
this
morning
for
your
word
Lord
encourage
our
hearts
humble
us
before
the
awesome
vision
of
your
glory
Lord
refine
our
hearts
show
us
where
we
may
be
seeking
lesser
glories
rather
than
knowing
the
greater
glory
that
you
hold
forth
for
us
and
invite
us
into
you
thank
you
Lord
we
pray
in
Jesus
name
amen