WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.500 Amen. 00:00:19.240 --> 00:00:21.699 Welcome to the second Sunday in Advent. 00:00:22.460 --> 00:00:27.260 Our reading for the sermon this morning is the book of Isaiah, chapter 9. 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:30.620 Reading the first seven verses. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:34.420 If you want to look in your pew Bible, it's page 536. 00:00:38.120 --> 00:00:41.000 If you will turn there with me, we will read it together. 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:47.719 Isaiah 9, verse 1. 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:53.260 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. 00:00:53.259 --> 00:00:59.659 In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. 00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:06.560 But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:08.439 Galilee of the nations. 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:13.900 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:21.180 Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:24.060 You have multiplied the nation. 00:01:24.240 --> 00:01:26.040 You have increased its joy. 00:01:26.960 --> 00:01:34.160 They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:41.580 For the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:44.700 you have broken as on the day of Midian. 00:01:44.700 --> 00:01:51.260 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood will be 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:53.100 burned as fuel for the fire. 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:56.859 For to us, a child is born. 00:01:57.460 --> 00:01:59.920 To us, a son is given. 00:02:00.579 --> 00:02:07.100 And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, 00:02:07.620 --> 00:02:12.680 Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:18.159 Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. 00:02:18.640 --> 00:02:24.659 On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:35.420 and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:37.879 Will you pray with me? 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:37.939 Amen. 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:49.520 Lord, this morning, as we come to your word, we are humbled, humbled by the power and the majesty 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:58.379 of the words that you give us, because they point us to you and your great power and your great majesty. 00:02:58.379 --> 00:03:11.299 Lord, I pray this morning that we would find comfort and joy, awe and wonder as we contemplate the coming of your son, Jesus, 00:03:12.019 --> 00:03:15.120 and the great things that you have done for us in him. 00:03:16.579 --> 00:03:19.639 Lord, I pray for your help that you would give me words. 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:28.399 Lord, I pray for all of us that our ears would be opened and our hearts would be ready to receive your word this morning. 00:03:30.079 --> 00:03:32.599 Lord, we pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:33.739 Amen. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:41.479 And they will be thrust into deep darkness. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:50.459 If you look just before the passage, the end of chapter 8, those are the words that set up the passage that we're looking at this morning. 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:54.639 This passage is a well-known prophecy. 00:03:54.919 --> 00:03:56.359 We hear it in Handel's Messiah. 00:03:56.839 --> 00:04:03.120 This is one of those passages that if you've been around Christians, if you've been around Christmas, you've heard these. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:12.259 But to think about the context, it's important to recognize that 700 years before the coming of Jesus, 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:22.920 the people of God were looking ahead for hope that they desperately needed because they had been thrust into deep darkness. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:28.079 And I wonder if this Christmas season you can relate. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:35.120 I wonder if you have felt like you have been thrust into deep darkness. 00:04:35.719 --> 00:04:40.800 Maybe you open up your browser or you get your feed, RSS feed on your phone, 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:46.740 and you see the news of the world where we see wars and rumors of wars, 00:04:47.599 --> 00:04:50.060 conflict and suffering from famine. 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:54.680 And we think the world is a dark place to live. 00:04:56.259 --> 00:04:58.039 You read the news of society. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:03.759 And you hear about sex trafficking and the suffering of immigrants. 00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:09.579 We read about misbehavior in every level of society, from governments to Hollywood, 00:05:09.979 --> 00:05:15.459 from church leaders to sports stars to everyday homes. 00:05:17.719 --> 00:05:20.959 The darkness seems great at times. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:28.759 Maybe the darkness has come into your home as well as you live with chronic illness, 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:33.659 as you struggle in a strained marriage, as you weep over broken friendships, 00:05:34.060 --> 00:05:39.959 as you face the fearsome reality of joblessness or homelessness, 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:45.439 as you walk in the quiet suffering of deep aloneness, 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:49.180 as you grieve the loss of ones you've loved. 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:57.579 Maybe the deep darkness that you know so deeply is the deep darkness of your own heart, 00:05:57.819 --> 00:06:00.740 where you've seen your own failures, 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:03.199 and the worst of you come out, 00:06:03.740 --> 00:06:06.860 where you think, 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:08.780 why can't I be better than that? 00:06:09.580 --> 00:06:12.720 Why do I always do that so poorly? 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:15.600 Why do I hurt those that I love? 00:06:18.960 --> 00:06:22.000 Deep darkness is around us in every place. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.500 And in Israel, 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:27.680 730 years before Christ, 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:30.740 they had been thrust into deep darkness, 00:06:31.259 --> 00:06:34.959 just as we today maybe feel the same way. 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:36.439 And like them, 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:38.680 we long for God to act decisively 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:41.600 and to show that the darkness will not win. 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:44.839 The darkness does not have the last word. 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:49.759 It's to this that our text points to this morning. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:50.719 And the darkness, 00:06:51.039 --> 00:06:53.039 as we've alluded to already, 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:54.639 but we want to unpack a little more. 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:57.860 The darkness in the 8th century BC 00:06:57.860 --> 00:06:59.379 had a particular shape. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:00.839 If you were here last week, 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:03.860 Pastor Greg gave a great explanation of the history. 00:07:03.939 --> 00:07:05.139 I'm going to try to summarize it. 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:07.459 King Ahaz, 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:10.379 sitting on the throne of the southern kingdom 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:12.719 of God's people in Jerusalem, 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:14.959 had shown himself to be fearful 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:17.079 and faithless before God. 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:19.259 And in trying to save his own skin, 00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:24.719 he had made terrible allegiances 00:07:24.719 --> 00:07:27.860 with the Assyrian nation, 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:29.759 the nation to the north of Israel 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:31.300 to try to save him. 00:07:33.699 --> 00:07:36.480 And what we've seen in chapter 8, 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:38.300 if you went back and you looked at the end, 00:07:38.939 --> 00:07:41.980 is that the prophet Isaiah came to Ahaz 00:07:41.980 --> 00:07:42.519 and said, 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:44.719 because you have abandoned God, 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:48.240 darkness will come to this land. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:50.740 The northern kingdom will be conquered 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:52.420 by this Assyria. 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.079 And you will be left wondering, 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:57.540 has God abandoned me? 00:07:59.280 --> 00:08:02.960 You will be left wearing a heavy yoke 00:08:02.960 --> 00:08:05.900 of oppression by the Assyrian rule. 00:08:05.899 --> 00:08:09.159 You will know that it has been your own sin 00:08:09.159 --> 00:08:10.979 and faithlessness that has ruined you. 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:13.779 And you will know the reality 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:17.539 that evil now has the power over your land. 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:20.079 Now this never came to Jerusalem. 00:08:20.219 --> 00:08:21.919 It only happened to the northern kingdom 00:08:21.919 --> 00:08:22.819 from Assyria. 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:25.679 And yet it is in this context 00:08:25.679 --> 00:08:28.719 that chapter 9 breaks into 00:08:28.719 --> 00:08:31.399 the narrative that Isaiah is giving 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:32.980 and the message that he is giving 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:34.419 to God's people. 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:36.980 A message of hope comes 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:38.939 that God has not abandoned his people, 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:41.559 but will send one who will deliver his people 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:44.240 and deliver them from the darkness. 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:47.959 Two questions 00:08:47.959 --> 00:08:51.539 that this text answers this morning. 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:53.259 One, whom will he send? 00:08:53.819 --> 00:08:56.980 And two, what will the one who he sends do? 00:08:57.759 --> 00:08:59.700 So that's what we're going to look at this morning 00:08:59.700 --> 00:09:01.340 in our next couple of minutes. 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:03.819 First of all, whom will he send? 00:09:04.019 --> 00:09:05.700 Well, verse 6 is the answer. 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:09.220 And you, if you've heard Handel's Messiah, 00:09:09.439 --> 00:09:10.960 I hope the little, you know, 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:12.720 soprano line is singing in your ears. 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:14.559 Unto us the child is born. 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:15.240 Unto us. 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:16.439 And so on and so forth. 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:17.539 It's a beautiful place. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:19.399 If you don't know Handel's Messiah, 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:21.319 if you're not familiar with classical music, 00:09:21.460 --> 00:09:22.360 this is your entree. 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:23.919 Go listen to Handel's Messiah. 00:09:24.060 --> 00:09:25.100 It's a beautiful piece of music. 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:26.919 Anyway, that's my aside. 00:09:27.700 --> 00:09:29.240 So verse 6, though, 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:31.600 is the core of this hope 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.080 in terms of who God will send. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:37.139 For to us, a child is born. 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:38.580 To us, a son is given. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.539 And the government shall be upon his shoulder 00:09:41.539 --> 00:09:43.019 and his name shall be called 00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:45.740 Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.680 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:52.259 God says that though right now 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:55.539 the darkness comes with this power 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:57.200 that is ruling over you, 00:09:57.360 --> 00:09:59.639 this government that is oppressing you, 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:01.700 this consequence for your own 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:03.240 faithlessness and sinfulness 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:05.319 where you are suffering, 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.080 there is going to be one 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.080 who will take a throne of government 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.360 that will break these powers, 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.000 that will lose the control that they have, 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:16.700 and will establish himself 00:10:16.700 --> 00:10:18.779 as the rightful ruler. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:22.580 This child is not going to be, 00:10:23.580 --> 00:10:25.879 as we saw earlier in chapter 7, 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:27.240 a human baby. 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:30.940 This is not the child of Isaiah 00:10:30.940 --> 00:10:31.679 and his wife, 00:10:31.779 --> 00:10:33.179 Mahar, Shalal, Hashbaz. 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:36.459 This is not even Hezekiah, 00:10:36.579 --> 00:10:37.819 the next king of Israel. 00:10:38.479 --> 00:10:39.679 The dates don't add up. 00:10:40.899 --> 00:10:41.819 You can do the math. 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:42.839 We'll figure it out later. 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:46.099 But what this is, 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.019 is the fulfillment of the idea 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:49.939 that God has begun to bring 00:10:49.939 --> 00:10:51.379 from chapter 7 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:52.779 that we looked at last week. 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:55.120 This promise that God 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.319 is going to use children as signs 00:10:57.319 --> 00:10:59.839 that He has not abandoned His people. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:02.899 That this Emmanuel isn't, 00:11:03.939 --> 00:11:05.059 in the Old Testament, 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:07.579 simply just one child or one person, 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.159 but it is a series of events 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:12.019 where God is reminding His people, 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:13.639 I will be with you. 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:14.519 And in the end, 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:16.279 it is pointing towards one 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:17.539 who will come 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:20.279 and fulfill all of these things. 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:23.139 But when you look at verse 6 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:24.159 and verse 7, 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:26.600 you know that no human being 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:31.279 will ever take this throne. 00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:33.379 No human being will be able 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:35.299 to fulfill this role 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:39.299 where the increase of His government 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:41.339 and the peace will have no end. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:44.000 Is there any human ruler 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:45.439 who has ever established that? 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:46.319 No. 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:48.139 And never will be. 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:52.679 But He will come 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:55.339 and He will establish a government. 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:57.259 This promised one will come 00:11:57.259 --> 00:11:59.159 and His established government 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:01.199 will bring the reign of God 00:12:01.199 --> 00:12:03.480 on earth. 00:12:04.939 --> 00:12:07.299 And He will be a mighty counselor, 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:09.539 one who is both 00:12:09.539 --> 00:12:11.579 the fount of all wisdom 00:12:11.579 --> 00:12:13.419 and also a great advocate 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:14.980 for His people 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:17.059 before a holy God. 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:20.259 He will be a mighty God 00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:22.459 whose power has no rival 00:12:22.459 --> 00:12:24.839 where there is no power 00:12:24.839 --> 00:12:25.899 on this earth, 00:12:26.219 --> 00:12:27.639 whether it be governmental 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:28.799 or societal, 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:30.839 whether it be personal. 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:34.579 No power 00:12:34.579 --> 00:12:36.879 that He cannot overcome 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:38.339 and that He will not overcome. 00:12:39.439 --> 00:12:41.359 He is the everlasting Father, 00:12:42.319 --> 00:12:44.759 the one who is from ages past 00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:46.740 and will live on to eternity 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:48.580 so His kingdom will never fail. 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:50.519 And as a father, 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:52.299 here is more of an image 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:53.939 that He will be one 00:12:53.939 --> 00:12:55.299 who will provide and protect 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:56.220 for His people 00:12:56.220 --> 00:12:59.340 like a perfect father ought to, 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:00.480 provide and protect 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:01.399 for His home, 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:02.740 for His family, 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:03.679 for His household, 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:04.939 so God will do that 00:13:04.939 --> 00:13:06.120 for His creation, 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:06.899 for His world. 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:08.500 And this one will come 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:09.519 and sit on that throne 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:10.720 and reign in that way. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:12.379 And He will be 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:13.420 the Prince of Peace. 00:13:14.920 --> 00:13:16.120 The threats, 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:17.700 the violence, 00:13:18.540 --> 00:13:19.259 the evil, 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:20.759 the destruction, 00:13:21.700 --> 00:13:22.420 the suffering, 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:24.320 they will end. 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:27.800 One commentator said, 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:29.220 there are no titles enough 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:31.879 to capture all that He is 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:33.180 and all that He will bring. 00:13:34.139 --> 00:13:35.700 This is just a taste 00:13:35.700 --> 00:13:37.019 of the greatness 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:37.860 of the one 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:39.560 that God will send. 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:42.679 And so God gives 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:44.339 to the nation of Israel 00:13:44.339 --> 00:13:45.979 this hope 00:13:45.979 --> 00:13:47.559 that though they are experiencing 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:49.299 now great darkness, 00:13:50.099 --> 00:13:51.299 God has not left them 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:51.939 or abandoned them, 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:53.359 but that He will send one 00:13:53.359 --> 00:13:55.159 who will establish a kingdom 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:57.179 whereby the darkness 00:13:57.179 --> 00:13:59.259 will never return. 00:14:00.599 --> 00:14:01.799 What will He do? 00:14:02.339 --> 00:14:03.939 What will this one do 00:14:03.939 --> 00:14:04.719 when He comes? 00:14:05.199 --> 00:14:06.039 This is what we're going 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:06.819 to look at now. 00:14:07.539 --> 00:14:08.639 We look at these promises 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.759 of as He comes 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:14.080 broken up into three different things. 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:14.879 That He will come 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:15.759 and He will deliver 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:17.419 God's people 00:14:17.419 --> 00:14:19.139 from contempt to glory. 00:14:21.059 --> 00:14:22.139 In verse 1, 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:23.860 He will deliver us 00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:25.620 from darkness to joy 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:26.939 in verses 2 and 3. 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:28.659 He will deliver us 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:29.360 from oppression 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:30.919 to righteousness 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.419 in 4 through 7. 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:35.779 So let's look at these 00:14:35.779 --> 00:14:37.139 briefly together. 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:37.740 First, 00:14:38.719 --> 00:14:39.979 the one who will come 00:14:39.979 --> 00:14:41.719 will deliver us 00:14:41.719 --> 00:14:43.399 from contempt to glory. 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:44.759 Now, 00:14:45.079 --> 00:14:46.620 you look at this first verse 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:47.240 and you think, 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:49.000 I'm not really sure 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.139 what He is saying here. 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:52.219 Right? 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:54.139 What you need to know 00:14:54.139 --> 00:14:54.579 is that 00:14:54.579 --> 00:14:56.519 Zebulun and Naphtali, 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:57.720 all right? 00:14:57.980 --> 00:14:58.939 Here's your map. 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:00.360 Here's the Mediterranean Sea 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:01.480 and here's 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:02.620 the nation of Israel 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:04.159 and at the northern end 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:05.659 of the nation of Israel 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:07.779 are Zebulun and Naphtali. 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:08.879 In fact, 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:10.159 they are on the route. 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:11.639 If you have a map 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:12.179 of the Middle East 00:15:12.179 --> 00:15:12.539 and you're on, 00:15:12.699 --> 00:15:13.860 there's a fertile crescent, 00:15:13.939 --> 00:15:14.079 right? 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:14.960 Out here is Devart. 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:16.519 There's a fertile crescent 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:17.539 that has to do with rivers 00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:18.779 and this is where 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:20.120 all the civilizations were 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:21.460 and up here is Assyria 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:22.939 and over here is Babylon. 00:15:22.940 --> 00:15:23.840 And so, 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:24.520 the route, 00:15:24.780 --> 00:15:25.520 the trade routes 00:15:25.520 --> 00:15:26.860 and the invasion routes 00:15:26.860 --> 00:15:28.300 all come down this road 00:15:28.300 --> 00:15:30.440 and Zebulun and Naphtali 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:31.940 were the entrance point 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:33.840 for all the attacks 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:35.500 from these great nations 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:36.540 onto Israel. 00:15:38.260 --> 00:15:39.560 They were also, 00:15:39.760 --> 00:15:40.820 because of that, 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:42.540 the great place 00:15:42.540 --> 00:15:43.480 of interaction 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:45.520 and in the view 00:15:45.520 --> 00:15:46.820 of Israel over time, 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:48.660 the place of loss 00:15:48.660 --> 00:15:49.380 of purity 00:15:49.380 --> 00:15:50.400 or clarity 00:15:50.400 --> 00:15:51.820 of the nation of Israel. 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:52.960 There was interaction 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:54.260 with these other nations 00:15:54.260 --> 00:15:55.680 in ways that God 00:15:55.680 --> 00:15:56.740 had wanted his people 00:15:56.740 --> 00:15:57.640 to be set apart. 00:16:00.400 --> 00:16:01.440 And so, 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.140 in this northern area, 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:07.020 this is where 00:16:07.020 --> 00:16:08.360 the nation of Israel 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:10.660 lost its identity 00:16:10.660 --> 00:16:12.460 and became a byword. 00:16:12.760 --> 00:16:14.760 It became a place of shame 00:16:14.760 --> 00:16:16.740 and a place of contempt. 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:19.800 Place of shame 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:20.879 because this is where 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:21.599 their nation 00:16:21.599 --> 00:16:22.759 had been conquered from 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:24.159 and contempt 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:25.139 because this is where 00:16:25.139 --> 00:16:25.899 they had lost 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:27.359 their identity. 00:16:30.579 --> 00:16:31.779 If you think about 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:33.799 how Jews treated 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:34.639 the Samaritans 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:35.620 in the first century, 00:16:36.179 --> 00:16:37.659 if you know that story, 00:16:38.459 --> 00:16:41.039 you're not worth anything. 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:42.000 You're a half-breed. 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:42.759 You're not really 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:43.879 a part of this nation. 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:46.139 You're soiled, 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:47.080 defaced, 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:48.559 disgraced, 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:49.700 rejected, 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:51.679 condemned, 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:53.659 hated. 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:56.879 This was the contempt 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.879 that fell upon 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:00.960 this northern part 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:02.419 because of their history. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:03.720 This was the way 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:04.720 that they were viewed. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:08.500 And God says 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:09.500 in the former time, 00:17:09.500 --> 00:17:12.759 that's right. 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:14.660 This is a place 00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:15.319 of contempt. 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:17.380 But look with me again 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:18.019 in verse 1. 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:20.000 But in the latter time, 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:21.519 he has made glorious 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:22.640 the way to the sea. 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:23.759 The way to the sea 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:25.059 is that same trade route, 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:26.259 that same invasion route, 00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:26.720 that same, 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:27.839 that comes right 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:28.839 through that place. 00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:32.660 God comes 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:33.779 and when this child 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:34.279 comes 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:35.380 and establishes 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:35.880 his government, 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:36.579 that place 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:37.420 that was known 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:38.299 as the place 00:17:38.299 --> 00:17:39.059 of contempt 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:40.500 and scorn, 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:43.720 he will make it 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:44.220 a place 00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:45.000 of glory. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:48.240 What does that mean? 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:49.319 What does that look like? 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:52.359 You know, 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:53.339 right down the street 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:55.799 from the place 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:56.279 where my kids 00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:56.940 go to school 00:17:56.940 --> 00:17:58.019 on Lenox Street 00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:58.940 over in Fairhaven, 00:17:59.099 --> 00:17:59.759 there's a house 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:00.259 on the corner 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:01.879 and I've been going 00:18:01.879 --> 00:18:02.240 there now 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:02.960 for four years 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:03.399 and you drive 00:18:03.399 --> 00:18:04.899 by this house 00:18:04.899 --> 00:18:05.839 and it's a fairly 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:06.399 nice neighborhood 00:18:06.399 --> 00:18:06.879 until you get 00:18:06.879 --> 00:18:07.200 to the end 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:07.579 of the street 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:08.000 and the street 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:08.759 on this house 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:09.659 on the right-hand side, 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:11.619 it was a disaster. 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:13.399 The windows 00:18:13.399 --> 00:18:14.059 were broken, 00:18:14.379 --> 00:18:14.919 the door 00:18:14.919 --> 00:18:16.460 was even open 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:17.339 half of the time, 00:18:17.419 --> 00:18:18.039 the foundation 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:19.019 had holes in it, 00:18:19.179 --> 00:18:19.759 the paint 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:20.419 was peeling, 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:21.059 the roof 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:23.480 was slowly decaying. 00:18:24.679 --> 00:18:26.079 It was a mess. 00:18:27.179 --> 00:18:28.559 It was a terrible, 00:18:28.879 --> 00:18:30.119 terrible blight 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:30.879 on the neighborhood. 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:32.059 The neighbors 00:18:32.059 --> 00:18:32.720 were worried 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:33.279 about it. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:33.379 It was a mess. 00:18:33.379 --> 00:18:33.879 It was a mess. 00:18:33.879 --> 00:18:33.980 It was a mess. 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:35.379 It was a mess. 00:18:35.379 --> 00:18:37.559 It was a mess. 00:18:38.139 --> 00:18:38.819 Last year, 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:40.039 Habitat for Humanity 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:42.159 took on this house 00:18:42.159 --> 00:18:42.759 as a project. 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:44.399 I get to see Antoine 00:18:44.399 --> 00:18:44.899 all the time 00:18:44.899 --> 00:18:45.699 as I'm picking my kids 00:18:45.699 --> 00:18:46.220 up from school. 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:46.899 I stop and wave 00:18:46.899 --> 00:18:47.299 at Antoine 00:18:47.299 --> 00:18:48.480 because he's there. 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:49.639 He's managing this project. 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:50.759 If you don't know Antoine, 00:18:50.879 --> 00:18:52.199 he works for Habitat for Humanity 00:18:52.199 --> 00:18:52.679 in the city. 00:18:53.980 --> 00:18:55.319 He's a part of our church 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:57.619 and that house 00:18:57.619 --> 00:19:01.059 has regained a glory. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:02.839 It has been renewed 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:04.839 in a beautiful way. 00:19:04.899 --> 00:19:06.480 It has new siding, 00:19:06.740 --> 00:19:07.539 new windows, 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:08.500 a new door. 00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:09.359 The last week, 00:19:09.399 --> 00:19:10.159 a new front porch 00:19:10.159 --> 00:19:11.179 went in with steps. 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:14.299 But not only did they 00:19:14.299 --> 00:19:15.500 fix the exterior, 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:16.240 but they fixed 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:17.339 the interior too. 00:19:17.439 --> 00:19:18.099 You watch them 00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:19.159 pull it down 00:19:19.159 --> 00:19:20.279 to its studs. 00:19:21.139 --> 00:19:21.759 They actually 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:24.480 raised the whole frame 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:25.439 and relayed 00:19:25.439 --> 00:19:26.159 the foundation 00:19:26.159 --> 00:19:27.000 of the house 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.220 so that the family 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:30.220 that will move in, 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:30.880 Lord willing, 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:32.680 at the end of this month 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:34.579 will move into a house 00:19:34.579 --> 00:19:36.380 that has a glory 00:19:36.380 --> 00:19:37.220 of a home 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:38.620 where they will be able 00:19:38.620 --> 00:19:39.500 to be a family 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:40.500 and to live. 00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:43.059 Friends, 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:44.299 this is what it looks like 00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:44.759 for God 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:46.500 to restore glory 00:19:46.500 --> 00:19:47.799 to something 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:50.360 that was contemptible 00:19:50.360 --> 00:19:52.079 and shameful. 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:54.680 And this is what God 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:55.500 is doing 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:57.339 at the northern parts 00:19:57.339 --> 00:19:58.680 of Israel. 00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:00.200 He's saying this place 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:00.840 of invasion 00:20:00.840 --> 00:20:01.539 is now 00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:02.900 something else. 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:05.059 No longer 00:20:05.059 --> 00:20:05.900 are you worthless, 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:07.140 but you are valued. 00:20:07.580 --> 00:20:08.340 No longer 00:20:08.340 --> 00:20:09.279 are you soiled 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:09.819 and defaced, 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:10.660 but you are cleaned 00:20:10.660 --> 00:20:11.259 and renewed. 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:11.779 No longer 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:12.559 are you rejected, 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:13.539 but you are welcomed. 00:20:14.259 --> 00:20:15.400 No longer hated 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:16.620 and condemned, 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:18.900 but loved 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:19.980 and exalted. 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:25.299 This is the pattern 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:25.759 of the one 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:26.380 who will come 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:27.340 and establish 00:20:27.340 --> 00:20:27.980 his government. 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:29.819 and not only 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:30.400 did he come 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:31.000 and do this 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:32.039 for the nation Israel, 00:20:32.180 --> 00:20:33.099 but he will do it 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:34.519 for us. 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:36.380 Christ has come 00:20:36.380 --> 00:20:37.079 for you 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:38.519 who feel 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:40.240 that you are the one 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:41.039 who is called 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:42.079 contemptible. 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:43.819 He has come 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:44.700 to do a work 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:45.240 of renovation 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:46.640 in your life 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:47.880 to restore 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:48.700 the glory 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:50.220 that God 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:51.000 gave you 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:51.920 in creation 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:53.279 that has been 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:53.799 marred 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:54.660 by sin 00:20:54.660 --> 00:20:55.700 and suffering. 00:20:55.700 --> 00:20:57.680 for those 00:20:57.680 --> 00:20:57.980 of you 00:20:57.980 --> 00:20:58.440 who feel 00:20:58.440 --> 00:20:59.180 outside, 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:00.319 who look 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:00.860 at the church 00:21:00.860 --> 00:21:01.299 and think, 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:01.539 well, 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:01.960 isn't that 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:03.340 a group 00:21:03.340 --> 00:21:03.819 of people 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:04.400 who look 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:04.680 good 00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:05.019 and have 00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:05.279 it all 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:05.700 together? 00:21:06.259 --> 00:21:07.420 I don't belong 00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:07.779 there. 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:08.819 Christ has come 00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:09.480 for you. 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:10.960 For those 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:11.240 of you 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:12.039 who felt 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:12.960 marginalized, 00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:14.600 well, 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:15.340 whoever those 00:21:15.340 --> 00:21:15.940 people are, 00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:16.460 I'm sure 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:17.180 I can't measure 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:17.779 up to their 00:21:17.779 --> 00:21:18.200 standards. 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:19.420 I'm not good 00:21:19.420 --> 00:21:19.779 enough. 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:21.180 Christ has come 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:21.759 for you 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:22.220 to say, 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:22.799 come in. 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.599 Christ, 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:26.680 when he came, 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:26.919 said, 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:27.440 I have not 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:28.480 come for the 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:28.819 healthy, 00:21:28.980 --> 00:21:29.500 but for the 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:29.819 sick. 00:21:30.399 --> 00:21:31.039 For those 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:31.339 of you 00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:31.899 who know 00:21:31.899 --> 00:21:32.480 you need 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:32.819 him, 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:33.779 but feel 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:34.379 like maybe 00:21:34.379 --> 00:21:34.980 you can't 00:21:34.980 --> 00:21:35.539 come in, 00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:36.500 know that 00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:37.119 Christ has 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:37.680 come for 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:38.200 you 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.220 to bring 00:21:41.220 --> 00:21:41.899 glory 00:21:41.899 --> 00:21:45.200 to the 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:45.619 contempt 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:46.539 of your 00:21:46.539 --> 00:21:46.960 life, 00:21:47.379 --> 00:21:48.460 to restore 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:49.059 you and 00:21:49.059 --> 00:21:49.539 to renew 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:49.899 you, 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:50.740 and to 00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:51.980 buy faith 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:52.720 in him 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:54.079 know the 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:55.519 hope of 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:56.200 Christ in 00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:56.559 you, 00:21:57.640 --> 00:21:58.559 the hope 00:21:58.559 --> 00:21:59.100 of glory. 00:22:01.860 --> 00:22:02.799 Not only 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:04.059 does this 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:04.720 one come 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:06.600 to deliver 00:22:06.600 --> 00:22:07.120 us from 00:22:07.120 --> 00:22:07.920 contempt to 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:08.259 glory, 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:08.880 but he also 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:09.319 in verses 00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:09.799 two and 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:11.000 three turns 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:11.420 us from 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:12.400 darkness to 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:12.660 joy. 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:13.079 Look with 00:22:13.079 --> 00:22:13.559 me again, 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:14.539 verses two 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:14.940 and three. 00:22:17.100 --> 00:22:18.000 The darkness 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:18.539 here is 00:22:18.539 --> 00:22:19.220 related to 00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:19.960 the exile. 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:21.880 It is 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:22.540 related to 00:22:22.540 --> 00:22:23.240 the loss 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:23.700 of the 00:22:23.700 --> 00:22:24.240 light of 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:25.020 their identity 00:22:25.020 --> 00:22:25.740 as God's 00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:26.460 special people 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:27.420 protected by 00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:27.840 God. 00:22:29.940 --> 00:22:31.060 It is not 00:22:31.060 --> 00:22:31.860 only darkness, 00:22:32.060 --> 00:22:32.640 but deep 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:33.080 darkness, 00:22:33.080 --> 00:22:33.720 if you see 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:34.120 in verse 00:22:34.120 --> 00:22:34.500 two. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:35.440 And if you 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:35.840 listened 00:22:35.840 --> 00:22:37.100 carefully earlier 00:22:37.100 --> 00:22:37.620 when John 00:22:37.620 --> 00:22:38.080 read from 00:22:38.080 --> 00:22:38.540 Matthew, 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:40.860 the deep 00:22:40.860 --> 00:22:41.480 darkness is 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:42.020 also the 00:22:42.020 --> 00:22:42.780 shadow of 00:22:42.780 --> 00:22:43.220 death. 00:22:44.820 --> 00:22:45.840 For in the 00:22:45.840 --> 00:22:46.140 Bible, 00:22:46.340 --> 00:22:47.020 darkness and 00:22:47.020 --> 00:22:47.500 death are 00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:48.579 often related 00:22:48.579 --> 00:22:50.759 thematically. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.160 In the 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:56.039 experience of 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:56.619 the exile, 00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:57.059 in the 00:22:57.059 --> 00:22:57.700 experience of 00:22:57.700 --> 00:22:58.240 the invasion 00:22:58.240 --> 00:22:58.559 of the 00:22:58.559 --> 00:22:58.859 series, 00:22:58.960 --> 00:22:59.160 in the 00:22:59.160 --> 00:22:59.920 experience of 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:00.339 God's 00:23:00.339 --> 00:23:00.720 judgment, 00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:02.759 the nation 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:03.339 of Israel 00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:04.779 felt that 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:05.240 what had 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:05.819 once been 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:06.680 fair and 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:07.220 flourishing, 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:07.900 the people 00:23:07.900 --> 00:23:08.440 of God 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:08.779 in the 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:09.259 place of 00:23:09.259 --> 00:23:09.640 God, 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:11.380 had now 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:13.079 become 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:13.720 ruined. 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:17.799 I have a 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:18.319 fascination 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.660 with natural 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:20.220 disasters. 00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:21.600 It goes way 00:23:21.600 --> 00:23:22.079 back to my 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:22.460 childhood. 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:23.019 When I was 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:23.620 10, I was 00:23:23.620 --> 00:23:24.220 reading about 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:25.600 tornadoes and 00:23:25.600 --> 00:23:26.759 hurricanes and 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:27.259 stuff like 00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:27.519 that. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:29.740 I don't know 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:30.100 if you saw 00:23:30.100 --> 00:23:30.700 the pictures 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:32.500 of the 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:33.700 Florida Panhandle 00:23:33.700 --> 00:23:34.400 after the 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:35.059 hurricane hit 00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:35.400 it. 00:23:37.339 --> 00:23:38.100 Places where 00:23:38.100 --> 00:23:38.740 once there was 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:39.319 a community 00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:39.980 and neighborhoods, 00:23:40.900 --> 00:23:41.579 there is now 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:43.539 simply concrete 00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:44.119 slabs. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:46.680 Where there 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:47.259 were trees 00:23:47.259 --> 00:23:48.099 and vegetation, 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:49.339 there were 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:50.019 at best 00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:51.240 sticks and 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:51.720 stumps. 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:55.180 And the 00:23:55.180 --> 00:23:55.659 power had 00:23:55.659 --> 00:23:56.240 gone out, 00:23:57.639 --> 00:23:58.480 like really 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.039 gone out. 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:01.019 There would 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:01.680 be no light 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:02.200 there for 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:02.899 weeks and 00:24:02.899 --> 00:24:03.279 weeks. 00:24:06.639 --> 00:24:07.259 This 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:07.899 natural 00:24:07.899 --> 00:24:09.339 devastation 00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:10.700 maybe gives 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:11.359 us a sense 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:12.159 of how the 00:24:12.159 --> 00:24:12.559 people of 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:13.319 Israel felt 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:15.279 the darkness 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:16.319 had descended 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:16.839 on their 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:17.519 land and 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:17.939 on their 00:24:17.939 --> 00:24:18.359 nation. 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:21.279 And into 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:22.099 this darkness, 00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:24.240 God sends 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:25.679 this one 00:24:25.679 --> 00:24:27.139 who will 00:24:27.139 --> 00:24:27.819 bring light. 00:24:28.619 --> 00:24:29.000 When you 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:29.539 look at two 00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:29.919 and three, 00:24:30.019 --> 00:24:30.319 it's this 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:31.079 picture of 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:32.559 establishing and 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:34.079 renewing the 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:34.539 land. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:35.599 The nation is 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:36.740 multiplying and 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:37.359 flourishing. 00:24:37.579 --> 00:24:38.439 Rather than it 00:24:38.439 --> 00:24:39.579 feeling like decay, 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:40.700 destruction, and 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:42.460 ruin, the nation is 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:43.900 now flourishing and 00:24:43.900 --> 00:24:44.600 growing and 00:24:44.600 --> 00:24:45.480 expanding. 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:47.600 And not only is it 00:24:47.600 --> 00:24:48.779 expanding seemingly 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:50.620 in size and in 00:24:50.620 --> 00:24:52.120 prosperity, but it's 00:24:52.120 --> 00:24:53.440 expanding in joy. 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:54.380 Look with me at 00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:55.019 verse three. 00:24:55.880 --> 00:24:56.960 They rejoice before 00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:58.259 you, that is, the 00:24:58.259 --> 00:24:59.259 people of God as 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:00.360 they see this one 00:25:00.360 --> 00:25:00.759 come. 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:02.019 They're rejoicing 00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:05.360 before God as with 00:25:05.360 --> 00:25:06.059 the joy of the 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:06.559 harvest. 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:08.519 As in, as they are 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:10.480 reaping the fruits of 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.480 God's abundant 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:12.319 goodness and 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:13.140 deliverance to 00:25:13.140 --> 00:25:13.500 them. 00:25:14.460 --> 00:25:15.799 As they are glad 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:16.819 when they divide the 00:25:16.819 --> 00:25:18.099 spoil, that is, as 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:19.079 they have experienced 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:20.420 victory over their 00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:21.259 enemies, as they 00:25:21.259 --> 00:25:23.279 have experienced the 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.380 establishment of 00:25:24.380 --> 00:25:26.900 peace, the gladness 00:25:26.900 --> 00:25:28.599 is that they get to 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:30.860 sit and be a part of 00:25:30.860 --> 00:25:32.140 the everlasting kingdom 00:25:32.140 --> 00:25:33.180 that will not end. 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:38.259 This joy is 00:25:38.259 --> 00:25:39.319 characteristic and 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:41.720 it's this joy that 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:43.619 is so different from 00:25:43.619 --> 00:25:44.379 the darkness. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:46.779 For the darkness is 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:47.960 often a deep darkness 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:49.640 of despair and fear. 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:54.500 But this joy is in the 00:25:54.500 --> 00:25:56.500 rejoicing that God has 00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:57.319 not abandoned his 00:25:57.319 --> 00:25:57.660 people. 00:25:57.980 --> 00:25:58.879 He has not forgotten 00:25:58.879 --> 00:26:00.500 them and he has not 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:01.319 failed them. 00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:04.779 But that he is sending 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:05.460 this one. 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:08.660 How about you? 00:26:08.879 --> 00:26:09.859 Has the hurricane come 00:26:09.859 --> 00:26:10.639 through your life? 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:13.839 Maybe you feel right 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:14.440 now like the 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:15.180 eye wall has just 00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:17.460 passed and it's 00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:18.299 looking pretty grim. 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:20.099 Maybe some of you 00:26:20.099 --> 00:26:20.639 have just had a 00:26:20.639 --> 00:26:21.399 glancing blow. 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:28.059 Maybe you've seen the 00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:29.299 darkness of sorrow or 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:30.899 depression, of 00:26:30.899 --> 00:26:31.759 abandonment or 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:32.279 failure. 00:26:32.279 --> 00:26:32.359 fear. 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:34.680 You feel like life is 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:35.019 over. 00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:36.099 You feel like the 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:37.059 darkness will never 00:26:37.059 --> 00:26:38.220 get better. 00:26:40.220 --> 00:26:41.559 God speaks a better 00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:41.899 word. 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:43.940 He has not abandoned 00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:45.639 his people but he has 00:26:45.639 --> 00:26:46.799 come for his people. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.200 The light shines most 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:50.940 brightly for those who 00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:51.619 have lived in the 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:51.980 darkness. 00:26:53.240 --> 00:26:55.079 The hope is sweetest to 00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:56.160 those who have tasted 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:57.259 despair. 00:26:57.859 --> 00:26:59.200 And the love is most 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:00.500 glorious for those who 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:01.440 have known rejection. 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:05.399 in the midst of the 00:27:05.399 --> 00:27:08.000 darkness then the 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.059 light has come. 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:13.720 If you're a believer and 00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:14.680 you are going through a 00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:15.940 period where darkness 00:27:15.940 --> 00:27:17.399 seems to be the thing 00:27:17.399 --> 00:27:20.399 that is winning, the 00:27:20.399 --> 00:27:21.779 word here is hold on. 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:28.859 because Christ has come and 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:30.440 he will be victorious over 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:31.119 that darkness. 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:33.200 Don't give up. 00:27:33.879 --> 00:27:35.000 Don't give in. 00:27:35.879 --> 00:27:37.879 Don't despair and allow 00:27:37.879 --> 00:27:39.619 that darkness to rule you 00:27:39.619 --> 00:27:42.119 for Christ has come. 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:46.079 If you're here this morning 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:47.559 exploring Christianity, you're 00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:48.539 here because it's Christmas 00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:53.179 season, maybe you've come to 00:27:53.179 --> 00:27:54.159 recognize that there's 00:27:54.159 --> 00:27:55.179 something missing in your 00:27:55.179 --> 00:27:55.579 life. 00:27:56.659 --> 00:27:58.559 Maybe there's a nagging sense 00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:00.719 that there's a darkness in 00:28:00.719 --> 00:28:03.299 your life, a yawning, aching, 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:05.519 longing for something, a 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:07.339 spiritual darkness, a 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:08.759 lostness in your life. 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:13.519 The reason why we celebrate 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:15.119 Christmas every year is to 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:16.579 remember that God has come 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:17.160 for us. 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:20.819 That this light of Jesus has 00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:23.279 come to save us and deliver 00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:24.619 us from the darkness and he 00:28:24.619 --> 00:28:25.660 invites you to come. 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:26.720 Come and know him. 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:29.039 Come and know him and all of 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:29.799 who he is. 00:28:30.339 --> 00:28:32.200 Come and find out more of what 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:34.980 this book says about who he 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:35.380 is. 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:40.160 And we pray that in him you 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:41.960 will find hope and by 00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:43.259 believing in him you will 00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:43.980 find life. 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:47.480 You will find him who is the 00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:48.740 real joy of Christmas. 00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:54.360 So not only from contempt to 00:28:54.360 --> 00:28:56.059 glory, not only from darkness 00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:58.680 to joy, but finally from 00:28:58.680 --> 00:29:00.019 oppression to righteousness. 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:02.019 Look with me at verses 4. 00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:02.680 4 through 7. 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:08.139 The images are striking, 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:08.759 aren't they? 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:11.700 The very tools and the 00:29:11.700 --> 00:29:13.440 weight of the Assyrian 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:15.259 invasion, the yoke of his 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:17.400 burden, the staff for his 00:29:17.400 --> 00:29:19.099 shoulder, the rod of his 00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:19.559 oppression. 00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:22.839 Those are talking about the 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:25.139 implements of war and the 00:29:25.139 --> 00:29:27.619 weight of a heavy government 00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:30.579 being brought upon God's 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:30.960 people. 00:29:32.019 --> 00:29:35.319 slavery and servitude. 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:39.579 Listen, if you haven't ever 00:29:39.579 --> 00:29:40.579 explored, I think Greg 00:29:40.579 --> 00:29:41.680 mentioned this last week, but 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:42.980 if you've never explored how 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:44.900 evil the Assyrian empire was, 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:47.319 Wikipedia, do something, look 00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:47.639 it up. 00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:51.200 It was a truly horrific rule. 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:54.759 It was not a society that you 00:29:54.759 --> 00:29:55.900 would have wanted to be a part 00:29:55.900 --> 00:29:56.160 of. 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:03.039 The boots of the soldiers 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:05.580 trampled over the ground and 00:30:05.580 --> 00:30:07.980 the land of Israel and the 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:09.840 garments of blood remind us that 00:30:09.840 --> 00:30:13.640 they came not as peaceful 00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:16.200 occupiers, but as warlike 00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:17.019 conquerors. 00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:18.940 And they came with death. 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:23.559 But the promise here is that all 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:25.039 of those tools will end. 00:30:26.900 --> 00:30:28.519 The yoke is removed. 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:31.319 The staff is broken. 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:32.480 The rod is broken. 00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:34.460 As on the day of Midian, which 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:36.279 reminds us of the story of Gideon 00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:38.980 in Judges 6 and 7, when Gideon, 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.160 with a very small army that God 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:44.079 made even smaller, intervened and 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:45.980 defeated the enemies of God's 00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:47.799 people in a miraculous way. 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:52.639 God did an unlooked for and 00:30:52.639 --> 00:30:54.799 surprising victory in ways that you 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:57.740 could never have seen because he 00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:00.579 did it without military might and 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:01.000 power. 00:31:05.379 --> 00:31:07.279 God is promising his people that 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:10.779 those implements of warfare are not 00:31:10.779 --> 00:31:13.000 the last word, but that he will 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:13.599 break them. 00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:15.599 God is promising his people that 00:31:16.399 --> 00:31:18.299 those implements of oppression will 00:31:18.299 --> 00:31:19.579 not continue forever. 00:31:22.959 --> 00:31:24.599 Now, we live in a world where 00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:26.059 oppression does continue, doesn't 00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:26.259 it? 00:31:27.699 --> 00:31:30.039 It happens on a global scale. 00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:34.359 Socioeconomic, the rich oppress the 00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:34.740 poor. 00:31:37.619 --> 00:31:41.240 Racial tribes oppress other racial 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:42.039 tribes. 00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:45.699 Even in more genteel societies, we 00:31:45.699 --> 00:31:47.859 see gender discrimination and power 00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:48.339 struggle. 00:31:49.919 --> 00:31:51.859 And in our personal lives, we see 00:31:51.859 --> 00:31:57.099 homes where oppressive abuse happens 00:31:57.099 --> 00:31:58.480 on a regular basis. 00:31:59.339 --> 00:32:01.519 Oppression does happen on a global and 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:04.480 on a personal level in these ways. 00:32:08.959 --> 00:32:12.159 We also recognize that the Bible says 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:14.820 that the greatest oppressing force in 00:32:14.820 --> 00:32:16.600 our lives is actually the power of 00:32:16.600 --> 00:32:16.900 sin. 00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:21.120 That the thing that we most are 00:32:21.120 --> 00:32:22.880 powerless over and the thing that 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:26.580 most drives and controls us is our own 00:32:26.580 --> 00:32:30.680 evil hearts and our intent to live 00:32:30.680 --> 00:32:33.300 apart from God and the destruction that 00:32:33.300 --> 00:32:34.820 it causes in our lives. 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:38.080 It is the weighty hand that rules over us 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:39.240 in our worst moments. 00:32:40.740 --> 00:32:43.159 And when we're honest, we recognize how 00:32:43.159 --> 00:32:47.139 often it still controls us and destroys us. 00:32:48.339 --> 00:32:50.919 Our life with God and our life with others. 00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:58.779 But verse 7 tells us that a new power has 00:32:58.779 --> 00:32:59.100 come. 00:33:00.300 --> 00:33:02.060 There will be a government that will 00:33:02.060 --> 00:33:04.700 increase and grow until there is no other 00:33:04.700 --> 00:33:06.160 government other than his. 00:33:07.180 --> 00:33:09.200 And he will establish a kingdom that will 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:11.120 never fail but will go on forever. 00:33:11.300 --> 00:33:14.360 And he will establish justice and 00:33:14.360 --> 00:33:15.019 righteousness. 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:15.259 righteousness. 00:33:16.299 --> 00:33:19.759 The wrongs that we face and the wrongs 00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:23.259 that we do and the wrongs, the evil that 00:33:23.259 --> 00:33:25.819 wells up in our hearts will no longer 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:26.559 control. 00:33:27.799 --> 00:33:29.900 That he will break their power. 00:33:30.859 --> 00:33:33.759 And he will establish instead justice and 00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:36.000 righteousness which is not merely vengeance 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:39.559 but it is a life-giving establishment of all that 00:33:39.559 --> 00:33:41.319 is right and true and good. 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:44.259 That we are right with God and right with one 00:33:44.259 --> 00:33:44.680 another. 00:33:45.140 --> 00:33:47.680 And we as human beings under his rule will 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:51.879 flourish and rejoice in one another. 00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:59.339 It is the very opposite of our fallen world 00:33:59.339 --> 00:34:03.700 and our fallen hearts when he comes to break 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:06.839 the oppression and to establish rightness 00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:11.099 in our world and in our hearts. 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:15.519 And friends, this is good news, isn't it? 00:34:16.380 --> 00:34:20.179 For we know how often we still face and 00:34:20.179 --> 00:34:21.559 experience the oppression. 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:28.319 We know that some of us are fighting today with 00:34:28.319 --> 00:34:29.019 addictions. 00:34:30.420 --> 00:34:32.440 Deep-seated patterns of sin. 00:34:33.239 --> 00:34:34.839 Long stretches of failure. 00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:39.260 Where we feel helpless before our sin. 00:34:42.120 --> 00:34:44.220 Jesus has come to break those bonds. 00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:46.940 And to set you free from them. 00:34:48.519 --> 00:34:51.380 For is this not the very gospel that we preach 00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:52.460 and that we proclaim? 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:55.840 That we are dead in our sins and trespasses. 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:58.340 That sin has a power over us that we cannot free 00:34:58.340 --> 00:34:59.280 ourselves from. 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:04.600 And the only hope and the only help we will find 00:35:04.600 --> 00:35:07.460 is not from improving ourselves but from looking 00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:08.620 outside of ourselves. 00:35:09.240 --> 00:35:12.940 And God has come in the person of Jesus Christ 00:35:12.940 --> 00:35:14.960 to be that help from the outside. 00:35:15.420 --> 00:35:19.160 And by his perfect life and by his death on the cross 00:35:19.160 --> 00:35:22.580 bearing the penalty for our sin and breaking the power 00:35:22.580 --> 00:35:23.600 of sin over us. 00:35:23.599 --> 00:35:28.519 By rising from the dead so that he might give new life. 00:35:29.659 --> 00:35:32.119 This is the great hope of the gospel for us. 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:37.900 And it's not just for us as individuals but it is for our 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:39.480 society as well. 00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:42.880 We must not pit the oppression that he breaks of personal 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:46.219 sin against the oppression of our society as if they're 00:35:46.219 --> 00:35:46.679 separate. 00:35:48.239 --> 00:35:52.119 But in fact they are a weave of the power of sin in our 00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:52.559 world. 00:35:53.039 --> 00:35:56.699 And we know that God has come to break those. 00:35:57.880 --> 00:36:00.179 And we know that he's not done doing those. 00:36:01.079 --> 00:36:06.679 And so it is right for us as his children to act for 00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:09.119 righteousness and justice in this world. 00:36:10.739 --> 00:36:16.099 We know that we know one who has the power and who wields 00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:18.500 the power to break those patterns. 00:36:18.500 --> 00:36:23.039 And we know that one day when his rule is fully established 00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:31.139 that those bonds of oppression, that that weight will be 00:36:31.139 --> 00:36:31.519 broken. 00:36:32.059 --> 00:36:38.179 That the kingdom will come for the flourishing of all and 00:36:38.179 --> 00:36:39.940 flourishing of each one of us. 00:36:39.940 --> 00:36:47.519 But recognize at the very end, verse 7, the last line, to 00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:52.079 recognize that though we may work towards this, in the end, what 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:53.200 will accomplish this? 00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:55.059 It will be the zeal of the Lord. 00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:58.780 It will be the hand of the Lord who will bring this deliverance. 00:36:59.200 --> 00:37:02.920 It will be the person that God will send who will bring this 00:37:02.920 --> 00:37:04.300 final victory. 00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:11.760 And friends, this is why in Matthew chapter 4, the passage that was read 00:37:11.760 --> 00:37:16.039 earlier this morning, the gospel writer refers to this passage. 00:37:17.940 --> 00:37:25.240 He says, Jesus is coming in the most unlikely way to bring a surprising 00:37:25.240 --> 00:37:31.440 redemption to remind you that God has not forgotten his promise. 00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:34.639 But in fact, he will fulfill his promise. 00:37:37.220 --> 00:37:43.099 Jesus comes out of Galilee in the north, a place of contempt in the first 00:37:43.099 --> 00:37:45.559 century, to redeem him. 00:37:47.559 --> 00:37:53.559 Jesus comes not as a conquering warlord on a white horse with an army at his 00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:55.940 back, but he comes to a stable. 00:37:55.940 --> 00:38:01.639 And in Matthew 4, he's just beginning his ministry. 00:38:01.780 --> 00:38:02.980 And what has he started with? 00:38:03.740 --> 00:38:05.920 Temptation and exile in the wilderness. 00:38:07.940 --> 00:38:09.679 And he comes out of that. 00:38:12.200 --> 00:38:14.320 And Matthew says, do you see this one? 00:38:15.539 --> 00:38:17.179 He's coming from the north. 00:38:17.380 --> 00:38:23.099 He's coming to redeem Zebulun and Naphtali, Galilee of the Gentiles. 00:38:23.099 --> 00:38:29.400 He's coming to bring the fulfillment of the promise that light will win over 00:38:29.400 --> 00:38:33.159 darkness because he is the child that will be born. 00:38:33.779 --> 00:38:37.339 He is the one upon whom the government will rest. 00:38:37.460 --> 00:38:44.559 He is the coming king who has come to rescue us and to save us and to deliver us. 00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:52.940 But he does that not by great overpowering might and by fighting with the weapons of this warfare, 00:38:52.940 --> 00:38:59.559 but he does it with the incredible grace of offering himself to die in our place. 00:38:59.619 --> 00:39:09.320 And he breaks the power of darkness and of contempt and of oppression by taking those things upon himself. 00:39:10.019 --> 00:39:10.940 He was scorned. 00:39:12.460 --> 00:39:14.940 He was abandoned to the darkness by his friends. 00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:20.639 He was oppressed in his crucifixion, in his death. 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:27.719 He took those things on himself to free us to come so that we might have life, 00:39:27.859 --> 00:39:34.179 so that we might have freedom, so that we might have glory and joy and righteousness in God. 00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:39.980 Friends, this is the good news of Christmas. 00:39:41.400 --> 00:39:43.239 This is the good news of the gospel. 00:39:43.239 --> 00:39:46.279 And this is why we sing, 00:39:47.279 --> 00:39:49.379 Joy to the world, the Lord has come. 00:39:50.779 --> 00:39:52.619 Let earth receive her king. 00:39:53.439 --> 00:39:55.619 Let every heart prepare him room. 00:39:56.379 --> 00:39:58.379 And heaven and nature sing. 00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:00.239 Let's pray together. 00:40:02.239 --> 00:40:04.079 Lord, we thank you for this word. 00:40:04.199 --> 00:40:07.199 We thank you for the word of hope that you bring us. 00:40:07.199 --> 00:40:12.539 Lord, that you have remembered your promises and you have remembered your people. 00:40:12.980 --> 00:40:14.619 And you have come to us in love. 00:40:15.939 --> 00:40:19.019 You have come to us in the person of Jesus. 00:40:21.339 --> 00:40:26.139 Who comes, Lord, as our savior, as our deliverer, as our king. 00:40:26.139 --> 00:40:32.879 Lord, we do pray that as we walk through this season, Lord, we would be renewed in hope. 00:40:34.359 --> 00:40:42.799 Lord, and that in hope we would be renewed in our devotion and our love for Christ who has come for us. 00:40:43.279 --> 00:40:44.739 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:40:45.500 --> 00:40:45.779 Amen.