WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.160 So last Sunday night, Derek showed us the meaning of a great passage in Isaiah 6, where 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:13.120 Isaiah is in this wonderful vision in the throne room of God. 00:00:13.120 --> 00:00:20.679 And where he beholds God on the throne, or rather he beholds the wings of the seraphim, 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:26.600 that angelic being covering the face and the feet of the Lord. 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:34.120 And Isaiah was here commissioned to go preach, to go and prophesy to a people who would largely 00:00:34.120 --> 00:00:42.840 reject him, to refuse to hear the message that God had given to him. 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:51.200 Cities will be laid waste, people will be exiled, and it will seem as if all is lost. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:57.640 When the mighty oak is cut down and all that is left is this tiny stump. 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:00.640 But this stump is the holy seed. 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:07.400 It is the small remnant of those who believe in the Lord, who fear and who trust Him. 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.600 And if you've read through Isaiah recently, or if you're kind of reading it along with 00:01:11.600 --> 00:01:19.879 the series, you will have seen the sheer amounts of passages and verses of judgment and of 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:27.759 destruction, judgment that follows the sinful acts of Judah, of Israel, and of the rest 00:01:27.759 --> 00:01:30.239 of the nations. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:38.879 But surrounding these verses of judgment, we also find the mercy of God shining through. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:45.799 There's hope, or there's light and darkness, there is hope amid distress. 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:50.959 Now what is the situation facing God's people here in Isaiah 8 to 9? 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:55.280 It's a prophecy of an Assyrian invasion. 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:01.239 And I want you to put yourself in the situation of the people of God in this time. 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:06.039 Because the kingdom of God, or the kingdom has since the time of Solomon, the son of 00:02:06.039 --> 00:02:10.039 David, been divided into two. 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:13.240 Israel in the north and Judah in the south. 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:19.680 And the great nations of this time are also Assyria and Assyria. 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:23.400 You've got to really pronounce your A's there to make sure which one you're talking about. 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:27.760 Now Assyria is the greatest of these. 00:02:27.760 --> 00:02:34.240 It has already conquered large swaths of Israel in the north, conquering Galilee, the very 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:39.080 place where Naphthali and Zebulun are located. 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:45.640 And Israel and Syria have come together to fight against Assyria. 00:02:45.640 --> 00:02:51.280 And they say, Judah, come along, join us in this, join the alliance. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:53.800 But Judah says no. 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:59.400 So now Israel and Syria go ahead and attack Judah. 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:07.200 And amid this fear of suddenly being attacked by these two nations, the king of Judah, Ahas, 00:03:07.200 --> 00:03:08.200 takes gold. 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:16.079 He takes silver from the temple of God and sends it to the Assyrians and says, help us, 00:03:16.079 --> 00:03:19.919 be our deliverer. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:26.000 So God here in Isaiah is saying that the king of Syria, the king of Israel, they will be 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:27.000 defeated. 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:28.959 They will be done away with. 00:03:28.959 --> 00:03:33.919 God is actually going to use the Assyrians to accomplish that. 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:40.159 But not only will those two nations be overcome, but Assyria is going to come for Judah as 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:41.159 well. 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:47.919 So the kingdom that Judah had made into their deliverer is going to turn and become their 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.000 enemy, their oppressor. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:56.079 And you see the people of Judah are in terrible shape spiritually speaking. 00:03:56.079 --> 00:03:58.119 They're unbelieving, they're rebellious. 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:06.800 And the king here, king Ahas, he even sacrificed his own son, an act that only the Canaanites 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:08.520 would have done. 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:13.879 So we have a people here living in great darkness, spiritual darkness. 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:19.840 They don't know God, the Lord, the one who made them and who delivered them out of slavery 00:04:19.840 --> 00:04:25.000 in Egypt and brought them into the promised land. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:28.199 And judgment is coming. 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:34.560 Now what can we in Edinburgh in 2023 glean from this passage? 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:40.920 Well this passage centers on two themes that strike at the very heart of who we are, how 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:50.120 we see the world and how we live, which is fear and hope. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:56.240 Now what do you fear this evening and what do you hope in? 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:02.120 Because I want to see, want for you to see this evening from this passage the hope of 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:03.759 God. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:11.439 And we will consider this hope threefold as we see the hope of the light of God, the light 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:19.120 of God, the hope of the promise of God, the promise of God and thirdly the hope of the 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:22.120 gospel of God. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:25.240 So first the hope of the light of God. 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:30.399 And here we see the great contrast between darkness and light. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.840 So look with me at 822. 00:05:32.840 --> 00:05:40.240 And what we see here is a description of the state of those in Judah who have rejected 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.399 God, who rebel against him. 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:46.600 They don't acknowledge God as the one who made them. 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:51.000 God of His great mercy and goodness delivered them. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:57.920 They instead exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than 00:05:57.920 --> 00:05:59.800 the Creator. 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:05.760 Their greatest desires are the very things they have made for themselves. 00:06:05.760 --> 00:06:11.960 And as they look around, what is it that they behold, what is it that they see? 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:20.519 They see distress, darkness, gloom of anguish, of terrible affliction, terrible circumstances. 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:26.680 And all that they can do is curse the King and curse God himself. 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:33.839 They're totally set in their ways and they're unable to see the work of God that is at hand 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:34.839 here. 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:42.079 So the darkness that surrounds them is indicative of the darkness of their own hearts. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:48.079 They're spiritually blind, though hearing, they do not understand, though seeing, they 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.799 do not perceive. 00:06:50.799 --> 00:06:57.559 Their fear is the fear of man, the fear of the Assyrians and their hope. 00:06:57.559 --> 00:06:59.519 Well they have none. 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:05.839 There had been their hope, material prosperity, social status, reputation. 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:10.079 They're all empty and void at this time. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:17.519 And because they're continuing down in their disobedience, what awaits them is thick darkness. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.639 Now what is this word, thick darkness? 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:28.319 It's the very same word that we find in Exodus 10, speaking of the ninth plague, the darkness 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:36.639 that covered the land of Egypt for three days, which was a darkness to be felt. 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:42.959 It's a word of judgment that we see youth again in Deuteronomy 28, the great chapter 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:48.920 that lists all the many great blessings and benefits that people of God would enjoy if 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:54.920 they followed God, if they trusted Him, if they believed in Him. 00:07:54.920 --> 00:08:00.000 But that chapter also has a list of what would happen if they were disobedient, of the curses 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.640 that would follow. 00:08:02.640 --> 00:08:08.400 And it's said that if they turned from the Lord, they'll be defeated by their enemies. 00:08:08.400 --> 00:08:14.439 And like the blind, they'll be walking, groping in darkness. 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:20.080 And this is what you may call the bad news, the judgment that is reserved for the vast 00:08:20.080 --> 00:08:24.439 majority of Israelites who have rejected the Lord their God. 00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:33.639 And you may be here this evening, wondering thus far what this has to do with you. 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.000 For you are not these Israelites. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:44.120 But the bad news is that even though we are fearfully and wonderfully made as men and 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:51.600 women, boys and girls in the image of God Himself, we have chosen to love that which 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:53.879 is not God. 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:58.039 We have chosen to worship the creature rather than the Creator. 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:05.039 We have taken good things, gifts of God, and made them the ultimate thing, the ultimate 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.039 good in our lives. 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:12.399 The place which really only belongs to God Himself. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:19.840 See, in our action, in our words, in our thoughts, we have rejected Him. 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:29.080 We have like Adam and Eve put ourselves above God's commands of wanting to be not just like 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:33.240 God, but to be God ourselves. 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:39.639 And thus Paul and Roman says that we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:45.120 We are all sinners and not only sinners, but indeed the enemies of God. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:49.960 And what we deserve is judgment and judgment alone. 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:53.320 See, the story could have ended in Genesis 3. 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:56.200 It could have ended in the garden with the fall. 00:09:56.200 --> 00:10:01.240 And the book of Isaiah could have been full of nothing but judgment, and God would be 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:06.519 right, and God would be good. 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:14.399 But this takes us to the second part of the hope of the light of God, which is the light 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:15.399 of God Himself. 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:21.919 Look at verse 1 here with me of chapter 9. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:28.039 Now when you read this, just a quick note, and you see this past tense being used, even 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:33.279 though it's speaking of a future event, this is just a common prophetic way of speaking. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:39.559 See, Isaiah is so confident in this prophecy that he writes in the past, even though it's 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:41.720 a future event. 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:48.360 Now when in the darkness a great light is seen, when in deep darkness we see a light 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:58.240 has shown, see God does not leave His people to wander around groping in darkness. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.040 As he in Genesis 1.1 said, let there be light. 00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:10.960 He equally, miraculously and powerfully brings a great light to shine on His people. 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.000 But what is this light? 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:19.639 What is this light that can penetrate thick and deep darkness? 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:23.840 What is what John attests to in his prologue? 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:32.960 This light is the Word Himself in whom was life and who is the light of all humanity. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:34.840 It is the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:42.320 He is the light who shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:48.360 There's no darkness so deep or thick that the light of His nature cannot penetrate it. 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:54.040 And even though they walk in this deep darkness, which is actually the same Word used in Psalm 00:11:54.040 --> 00:12:02.800 23, when it speaks of being in the valley of the shadow of death. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:08.039 And that Psalm, it's the presence of God or shepherd that sustains us. 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:14.159 And here in Isaiah 9, it is the presence of Jesus that will bring us out of darkness 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.799 into His marvelous light. 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:20.719 Now do you see who is the one acting here? 00:12:20.719 --> 00:12:23.439 Who is the one who brings about a change? 00:12:23.439 --> 00:12:26.319 It is not Israel. 00:12:26.319 --> 00:12:27.319 It is not you. 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:33.120 It is God Himself who brings the light, who enlightens us. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:36.840 But what does this mean? 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:43.640 This means that once you are dead and your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, 00:12:43.640 --> 00:12:51.800 but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us has shown 00:12:51.800 --> 00:12:56.360 His light on you. 00:12:56.360 --> 00:12:58.879 And we are able to see this light. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:06.759 We are able to behold this beautiful ray of the Son Himself. 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:12.680 And this reality is what distinguishes walking by faith with walking by sight. 00:13:12.680 --> 00:13:16.720 For most of the Israelites are walking here by sight. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:21.519 They saw the Assyrians and they feared them. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:25.320 They saw the misery and they cursed God. 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:31.840 They looked to the earth and they beheld only darkness. 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:34.480 But what did the remnant do? 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.520 The true people of God. 00:13:36.520 --> 00:13:42.640 They saw the Assyrians, but instead they feared the Lord. 00:13:42.640 --> 00:13:47.120 They saw the misery and they prayed to God. 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:52.760 They looked to the Word of God and they beheld the promises of God. 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:55.480 Now what are the promises of God? 00:13:55.480 --> 00:14:01.240 And that leads us to the second point, the hope of the promise of God. 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:05.120 So look with me at verse three. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:09.879 The great fear that we see throughout the Old Testament is that the people of God will 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:16.600 be destroyed, in particular the end of the line of David, the kingly line, which is why 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:20.240 in the very end of 2 Kings. 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:26.720 We read about the final king of Judah being released from prison and every day of his 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:32.639 life he was dining regularly at the king's table. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:33.919 Why put that there? 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:37.759 But to show the line continues. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:43.480 Now with the Assyrians coming, the end of God's people is one of the great fears here. 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:46.519 What will happen to the people of God? 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:52.759 Will they be slaughtered, taken into captivity, slowly wiped off the earth? 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:59.639 But here we see the great promise that God will multiply the nation. 00:14:59.639 --> 00:15:05.840 Even though the Assyrians are coming with terrible strength and cruelty, God will multiply 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:08.000 his people. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.759 You see, God is faithful to his promises. 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:18.120 He promised Abraham that he will make him into a great nation, that his descendants will 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:25.000 be as numerous as the stars and God is true to his promises. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:26.799 God never changes. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:28.759 His promises are sure. 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:36.600 The nation will persevere through the assault of Assyria, through the exile under the Babylonians, 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:42.960 the role under the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, and the great nation of God, or 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:50.759 rather the great people of God, will multiply far beyond the borders of Israel. 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:59.200 Not only to be confined to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, but indeed to the ends of the earth. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:05.800 A people that is not even confined by the Old Testament chosen people, the Jews, but 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:08.519 expanded to all. 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:15.639 So on that final day, people for every tribe, tongue, and nation will be gathered together, 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:18.159 singing praises to our God. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:26.519 This is how John accounts the great and awesome day as he says, the voice of a great multitude 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:30.199 was heard crying out, Hallelujah. 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:39.480 Through the Lord our God, the almighty reigns, let us rejoice and exalt and give him glory. 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:45.720 You see on that day, at the fulfillment of all God's promises, there will be a great 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:47.879 rejoicing. 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:55.840 And that rejoicing is really the culmination of what we call the goodness, the gospel, 00:16:55.840 --> 00:17:01.040 which takes us to the third point, the hope of the gospel of God. 00:17:01.040 --> 00:17:07.360 And this gospel is really threefold here in Isaiah 9, because first of all, in verse 00:17:07.360 --> 00:17:11.360 4, we see the end of oppression. 00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:15.000 Because here, the suffering of God's people is described. 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:21.799 The yoke is heavy, the weight brings them down, the oppressor has his rod and his staff, the 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:26.559 instruments to beat them down and keep them low. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:31.639 Now where is his imagery taken from, but from Exodus as an account of the time when the 00:17:31.639 --> 00:17:38.919 people were enslaved in Egypt, where they were worked to death, literally, and beaten 00:17:38.919 --> 00:17:41.159 harshly. 00:17:41.159 --> 00:17:47.000 Isaiah here brings to mind the very state and the condition from which they had been 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:50.559 saved, from which they had been delivered. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:57.240 You'll remember that not soon after the Exodus, during the people's wanderings in the wilderness, 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:01.159 the people longed to return to Egypt. 00:18:01.159 --> 00:18:07.399 They were so miserable, wandering in the wilderness, which, as you remember, was due to their own 00:18:07.399 --> 00:18:12.440 sin, that they had this false sense of nostalgia. 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:18.960 The people said, would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:25.120 when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full? 00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:31.559 And we remember the fish that we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:36.680 the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:38.680 And of course, they had none of these. 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:43.480 See, we quickly forget the state from which God delivered us. 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:49.400 We forget the bondage that we used to live under, the bondage of sin and of the devil, 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:57.480 when we lived by the lust of the flesh by the heavy yoke and the oppressive rod. 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:04.799 So God, he recounts this state, and he promises that these all shall be shattered, as on the 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:06.960 day of Midian. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:13.680 The day of Midian from the book of Judges is when God called Gideon, and with only 300 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:20.200 men defeated an entire Midianite army who had oppressed the people of God for seven years. 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:29.160 A wonderful work, impossible for men, impossible only with God. 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:33.000 And next we see this end of war. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:35.799 So look with me at verse five. 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:41.680 Now here, in the midst of this prophecy that this terrible war is coming, God gives the 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:45.000 good news here of peace. 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:48.399 Now how will this peace come about? 00:19:48.399 --> 00:19:53.799 It will not be a peace that comes from being the greatest nation on the earth, so no one 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:56.720 dares attack it. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:01.240 It will not be a peace that comes from excellent diplomatic skills. 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:08.559 It will not be a peace like the Roman peace, like the Pax Romana, which was mostly peaceful, 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:12.480 but which still included the oppression of people in the nation. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:18.359 Rather, it will be a peace that comes about by the Lord Himself. 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:22.359 He is the one who will accomplish this peace. 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:28.000 And it's what we read of in Psalm 46, when it says, common, behold the works of God, 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:30.640 how He has brought desolations on the earth. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:33.680 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:39.920 He breaks the bow, He shatters the spear, He burns the chariots with fire, be still, 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:42.840 and know that I am God. 00:20:42.840 --> 00:20:48.600 We see here that the good news shows the end of oppression, it shows the end of war, and 00:20:48.600 --> 00:20:54.200 finally it shows the beginning of a new age. 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:57.600 So look at verses six and seven with me. 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:04.240 Now when I read this to my wife last week, we began singing the tune of Hondel's Messiah, 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:10.639 which to spare you, I will not do so, because I mean, these verses are familiar, especially 00:21:10.639 --> 00:21:11.839 come Christmas time. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:18.559 And what we see here is the promise of a child, one who will be a leader, who will be a king, 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:24.639 who will rule with justice and righteousness for all eternity. 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:29.880 And this here is at the heart of the gospel that we see here in Isaiah 9. 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:39.040 It is indeed a new age as a son to be given is not just a son of David, but the son of 00:21:39.040 --> 00:21:40.520 God Himself. 00:21:40.520 --> 00:21:44.040 So the people already had a son of David. 00:21:44.040 --> 00:21:49.960 They'd had Solomon, who had brought great prosperity to the people of God, but also because of 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:57.799 David's and his own sins, set the nation for a trajectory of division, of oppression, and 00:21:57.799 --> 00:21:59.299 war. 00:21:59.299 --> 00:22:01.840 But the sun prophesied here is different. 00:22:01.840 --> 00:22:05.960 There will be no end to his government. 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:10.519 The kingdom will be established and upheld forever. 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:14.160 And what are the things that will characterize this kingdom? 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:18.079 It is justice and it is righteousness. 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:24.839 It's the very opposite of the injustice and unrighteousness that led to the downfall of 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:27.119 Israel and Judah. 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:31.679 See injustice and unrighteousness were all over the place. 00:22:31.679 --> 00:22:39.119 That's why the prophet Micah says, what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:43.079 to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:49.879 See, these are the marks of the kingdom that God has brought, that he is bringing, one 00:22:49.879 --> 00:22:57.079 in which righteousness and justice like Amos says will roll down like an ever-flowing stream, 00:22:57.079 --> 00:23:02.480 one in which peace, true peace reigns forever. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:08.720 And that is the hope of the gospel here in Isaiah 9, that by the son of God, the king 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:17.200 of kings and the Lord of lords, righteousness, justice and peace will reign forever. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:23.319 And as we conclude, we may ask, what do we take away from this? 00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:28.680 We must acknowledge the state that we are in apart from the light of Christ. 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:35.039 We must also see the goodness and the mercy of God because there's no amount of thick 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:40.440 or deep darkness into which his light cannot shine. 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:49.200 His light can shine into the heart of a prostitute like Rahab, a thief like Zakeyus, a murderer 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:50.200 like Paul. 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:58.319 But my main caution is this, when you see the light, do not ignore it because this text 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:03.359 speaks of the light going out to Galilee of the nations. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:10.079 And we see this passage cited by Jesus when he begins his ministry in Matthew 4. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:18.279 He begins his ministry in Galilee as a demonstration, the light itself first shining in Galilee. 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:26.759 There in Capernaum, they were their very first ones to see the light shine, to hear the gospel 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:30.359 from Jesus himself. 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:38.959 Like that, Jesus in Matthew 11 says, and you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? 00:24:38.959 --> 00:24:44.599 You will be brought down to Hades for if the mighty works done in you had been done in 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:49.679 Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 00:24:49.679 --> 00:24:54.079 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable on a day of judgment for the land of Sodom than 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:55.879 for you. 00:24:55.880 --> 00:25:07.120 See, even though they were the first ones to see this great light, they ignored it. 00:25:07.120 --> 00:25:09.200 They rejected Jesus. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:16.880 They refused to repent and instead cling to their own loves and their own desires. 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:19.840 So may we not ignore the light. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:27.799 May we not say, maybe tomorrow I will confess my sins and come to Jesus. 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:34.199 Because in Hebrews, we get the warning, you know, today, if you hear his voice, do not 00:25:34.199 --> 00:25:36.959 harden your hearts. 00:25:36.959 --> 00:25:43.759 So come to Christ because there's no one like him who pardons iniquity, who passes over 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:52.480 transgression, who delights in steadfast love, who is full of compassion, who has cast indeed 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:57.960 all of your sins into the depths of the sea. 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:07.279 So why would you endure the yoke of your oppressor when Christ says, come to me, all who labor 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:11.839 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest? 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:18.720 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:26.799 And you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:35.039 Now, why would you fear the rod and the staff of the oppressor when God is our shepherd? 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:40.839 And even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:47.799 For his rod and his staff are with us and they comfort us. 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:56.039 Now why would you continue as an enemy of God when you can be a child of God? 00:26:56.039 --> 00:27:04.039 For to us a child is given so that through him many more may become children of God. 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:12.720 Or even though the light came and was rejected by many to all who did receive Christ, for 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:19.240 all who will receive Christ, who believe in his name, he will give the right to become 00:27:19.240 --> 00:27:22.119 children of God. 00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:24.960 And how is it that God does this? 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:29.759 Why is it that he shines the light into the darkness to keep his promise, to break the 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:34.000 oppressors, to stop the war and give us his Son? 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:40.720 Well, the very last line, verse 7, gives us the answer. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:43.480 It is by his zeal. 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:45.400 It is by his great desire. 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:51.480 It is by the love for his people that he will accomplish this. 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:56.680 He is the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies, the one who has all the might, has all the 00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:00.160 power who can accomplish all things. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:04.680 There's nothing that can stop him from making these things come true. 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:06.640 It will surely happen. 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:12.440 See, we don't put our hope in the greatest earthly hope that there is. 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:20.080 Like Judah putting their trust in the Assuriance, the greatest military power at the time. 00:28:20.080 --> 00:28:26.560 We don't put our hope in the greatest whatever of our time, the greatest politician, nation. 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:34.679 We don't put it in our abilities, in our career, in our wealth, but we put it only in the Lord. 00:28:34.679 --> 00:28:42.799 So we are then able to hold on to this hope in God because as written in the Scriptures, 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:51.399 let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering because he who promised 00:28:51.399 --> 00:28:52.799 is faithful. 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:55.519 Amen and amen. 00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:59.759 Let us pray. 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:07.879 Father God, we come humbly. 00:29:07.879 --> 00:29:22.000 We come as ones who are awestruck at the message, at the truth, that you love people like us, 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:27.240 that you want and that you seek after people like us. 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:33.680 We thank you that you've given us your Scriptures so that we can read through the Old Testament 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:45.720 and see you dealing with people who constantly turn away from you and yet you continue to 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:50.079 pursue them. 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:53.279 Father may we be comforted by these things. 00:29:53.279 --> 00:30:04.079 May we be comforted as we know that if one of your sheep wanders off and yet you have 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:10.679 the 99 that you will go and you will find that one who has wandered off. 00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:20.480 Oh Father, may we see your lights, may it shine brightly into the darkness. 00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:24.960 And Lord, even in the dark times, Lord, give us hope. 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:26.460 Give us joy. 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:34.039 Give us a vision of the day that is to come, the day in which we get to see the Lord Jesus 00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:36.039 face to face. 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:41.039 And we pray this in His name. 00:30:41.039 --> 00:31:09.039 Amen.