WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.540 Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain 00:00:08.540 --> 00:00:14.140 Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. A special welcome if 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:19.900 you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not 00:00:19.900 --> 00:00:26.820 because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're trying to follow Jesus together as one 00:00:26.820 --> 00:00:32.420 community, and as we follow Jesus, we become convinced there's no one so good. They don't 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:36.659 need God's grace, and no one's so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back 00:00:36.659 --> 00:00:43.480 week after week to hear what God has to say in His Word. We're continuing in the season of Advent. 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:50.620 You'll remember that Advent comes from a Latin word that means to come or to arrive, and so we do two 00:00:50.620 --> 00:00:56.480 things in this season. First of all, we look back and we celebrate Jesus' first coming. That's why we 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:03.199 sing songs like, Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come, and we also look forward and long for the future. 00:01:03.459 --> 00:01:08.819 That's why we sing songs like, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. And what we're doing in Advent is not 00:01:08.819 --> 00:01:12.579 separate from the rest of the year or the rest of the Christian life because that's what Christians 00:01:12.579 --> 00:01:19.060 are always doing. We're always looking back to what God has done in the past, and we look forward 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:24.179 to what He will do in the future so that we can live faithfully now in the present. 00:01:24.180 --> 00:01:30.880 We're continuing our series for Advent in the book of Isaiah. You'll remember that Isaiah was an 00:01:30.880 --> 00:01:38.320 8th century prophet to the southern kingdom, also known as Judah, and we looked last week at Isaiah 00:01:38.320 --> 00:01:44.719 chapter 7 when Isaiah told us about the fact that God is with us, and He's with us in this specific 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:49.760 sense. He's with us as He fights our enemies. He's with us as a warrior. He's with us as a military 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:55.520 champion. That's what he was trying to tell King Ahaz, who did not believe that God would deliver 00:01:55.520 --> 00:02:02.660 him from Israel and Assyria. And so you'll remember that King Ahaz trusted man when he should have 00:02:02.660 --> 00:02:09.120 trusted God, and he feared man when he should have feared God. And so that issue last week was one of 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:15.080 believing and trusting that God will fight for us, not relying on our own strength. We're moving from 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:21.580 the theme of trust from last week to this week, the theme of darkness. Advent is in many ways about 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:27.000 looking for light in the darkness, and we face a variety of temptations as we look at the darkness 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:33.160 around us in this world. One of them is just to turn away from it, to pretend that it doesn't exist, 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:40.260 just to ignore it, to find some way to numb or hide away from the world. Now the other temptation for us 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:48.479 would be to downplay darkness, to think that it's light enough that somehow human effort's going to 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:55.899 be able to fully overcome it. It's not so bad that we as mankind can't put an end to it once and for all. 00:02:56.079 --> 00:03:03.419 Now both of those are incorrect, but both of those temptations keep us away from what Christmas is 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:08.259 supposed to be about, which is a time filled with joy. So you'll notice in our passage, I'm getting ahead 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:13.299 of myself a little bit, but we're in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 3 says this, you have multiplied the 00:03:13.299 --> 00:03:22.159 nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:30.180 glad when they divide the spoil. And joy is actually a very hard and challenging emotion, so I'm curious 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:42.159 if you can remember the last time you felt joy. I feel like that too sometimes. 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:49.360 For some of you, it might be a recent memory. For some of you, I wouldn't be surprised if it's 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:55.460 a hard for you to think, when was the last time I really felt filled with joy? And so that's the 00:03:55.460 --> 00:04:01.260 question that's before us in this passage. How do we walk in the darkness and also have hope in this 00:04:01.260 --> 00:04:08.000 world? How do we look clearly at what's going on in this world and also take hold of joy, true joy, 00:04:08.060 --> 00:04:13.680 as we wait for Jesus' return? It's with that that I'm going to invite you to turn with me in God's word. 00:04:14.140 --> 00:04:19.759 We're going to be in Isaiah chapter 9, starting at verse 1. You can turn in your worship guide. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:24.240 You can turn on your phone. You can turn in your Bible. No matter where you turn, remember that 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:30.220 this is God's word. And God tells us that his word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, 00:04:30.400 --> 00:04:35.000 which means that God has not left us to stumble alone in the dark, but instead he's given us his 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.720 word to show us the way to go. And so that's why we read now, starting at verse 1. 00:04:40.780 --> 00:04:47.759 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:53.980 land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, 00:04:53.980 --> 00:05:01.660 the land beyond the Jordan, the Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:07.700 seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 00:05:08.640 --> 00:05:15.840 You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the 00:05:15.840 --> 00:05:23.140 harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:30.879 shoulder, the rod of his oppressor you have broken as on the day of Midian. Verse 5. For every boot of 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:36.519 the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:46.060 the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:54.079 In his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:01.620 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. On the throne of David and over his 00:06:01.620 --> 00:06:08.500 kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:17.180 and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Like in the darkness, that your word is a lamp 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:22.480 to our feet and a light to our path. And so we ask that you would do that very thing this morning that 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:30.379 you've promised, that as we face the suffering and brokenness and sin and trauma of this world, 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:37.120 that you would help us to be able to see that but to see you even more. That we would look to you and 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:43.579 the hope that you give us and the promises you've made to us and that that would be what sustains us 00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:50.699 and upholds us. We thank you that we're upheld and sustained not by our behavior or by our performance, 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:56.100 but instead we simply ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 00:06:56.100 --> 00:07:04.160 If you've been with us at Cheyenne Mountain for a while, you've probably been here on a Sunday when 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:10.240 Jonathan Clark has preached and Jonathan's the campus minister for our college ministry at UCCS. 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:16.080 Many of you know that I've known Jonathan for a long time. I met him in August of 2014, 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:23.920 so it's been over eight years, but it wasn't until this year that we lived in the same city since 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:29.660 2017. So 2017 is when I graduated from seminary. I moved out here. Jonathan was in New Mexico. 00:07:30.400 --> 00:07:34.699 Finally this year, he comes back to the spring. So I have this close friend who's joined me again, 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:39.259 but I knew that there was a problem, which was that Jonathan's busy and I'm busy, so 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:44.439 we might end up never seeing each other, even though we live in the same city and we go back. So we 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:51.540 started doing this thing together where every other Wednesday at 6 30, we take Jonathan's dog named 00:07:51.540 --> 00:07:57.240 Tuna for a walk in Monument Valley Park. And Tuna is a Weimaraner, which means Tuna has a tremendous 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:01.760 amount of energy. And so sometimes Jonathan and I just stand there and Jonathan throws a ball and 00:08:01.760 --> 00:08:06.820 lets his dog get all the wiggles out. And we talk about all sorts of things. Sometimes we run into 00:08:06.820 --> 00:08:15.320 Mark while he's running there. And recently Jonathan told me, he said this Advent, you know, typically he's 00:08:15.320 --> 00:08:19.860 a Scrooge, so he doesn't really get into the season of Advent. Christmas is not something he gets really 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:23.439 worked up about or excited about, but he said, this Advent's been really different for me. I'm actually 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:28.939 filled with this new sense of investment and joy and excitement and anticipation about it. Like this 00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:35.320 time around, this Christmas, I'm actually here for it. I'm in it for Advent. And so I asked him, I said, 00:08:35.379 --> 00:08:43.620 what is it that's different this time around? Why is it that you've turned away from your Scrooge ways? 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:48.879 And he said, well, this growing excitement, this investment is because of this. He has an increasing 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:58.220 awareness of the brokenness of the world. He has this joy because he's growing in his awareness also 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:03.019 of the darkness. He's able to see and celebrate the light more because he understands the heaviness. 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:08.419 And many of you know, Jonathan's mom died earlier this year after a long battle with cancer. 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:13.139 By the way, I asked Jonathan's permission to share all this. I don't just, if you share something with 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:17.960 me, it's not just going to randomly show up in the sermon. And Jonathan said, you can use anything as 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:21.780 a sermon illustration. And I was like, well, that's a pretty dangerous blank check. 00:09:26.180 --> 00:09:33.840 I say all this to say this, that in this world, light and dark go together. There is going to be a time 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.700 when it's only light, it's going to be a time when there's only joy. It's just not right now. So we have 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:43.580 both of those things. And you can hide from the darkness of this world during Christmas, and you can still 00:09:43.580 --> 00:09:51.060 experience warm and fuzzy feelings. You can hide from darkness and you can still have some sentimental 00:09:51.060 --> 00:09:59.580 moments. But I'm going to suggest you cannot hide from darkness and experience true and full joy. 00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:07.560 That those things actually go together. That's what we see here in Isaiah chapter nine. You remember 00:10:07.560 --> 00:10:12.840 last week or two weeks ago, we talked about Ahaz and the fact that he didn't trust God. He didn't trust 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:18.200 that he was going to be Emmanuel, God with us. And so he needed to turn to this treaty with Assyria in 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:23.980 the north. He decided that he was going to fear man rather than fear God, trust man rather than trust 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:28.820 God. And so Assyria says, yes, we're going to protect you from these invaders from the north. You don't need to 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:35.180 worry about Israel and Syria. And God says to this, what in the world are you doing? I'm the most powerful 00:10:35.180 --> 00:10:42.320 one. I'm the one who can actually protect you. And as sin always does, there are consequences. And the 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:49.800 consequences here fit the crime. Judah falls to Assyria. They become a vassal state to them. That's 00:10:49.800 --> 00:10:53.480 what happens in the parts that we've skipped from chapter seven and eight. And so God is saying this, 00:10:53.520 --> 00:10:59.560 you wanted Assyria to protect you. You trusted Assyria more than me. Well, you're going to get 00:10:59.560 --> 00:11:05.100 more than you bargained for. They're going to do more than protect you. They're going to dominate you. 00:11:05.100 --> 00:11:12.220 They're going to do more than rescue you. They're going to oppress you. And so there's going to be a 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:17.480 time of darkness for Judah as they face the reality of Assyria ruling them. And in the midst of that, 00:11:17.540 --> 00:11:21.860 there's going to be this small remnant that we're told about in chapter eight, this small group of 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:26.779 people who still continue to trust God and believe in him and hope in him. There's going to be a small 00:11:26.779 --> 00:11:32.519 number of people who actually do believe God is Emmanuel, God with us. So first we're told that 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:35.679 there's going to be this group of faithful people in the midst of Assyrian oppression, 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:42.500 and it's also going to be really dark. We get this very bleak picture in chapter seven and eight. 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:47.340 Vines are going to be replaced with briars and thorns. They're going to be people who are 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:51.539 desperately hungry, and they're going to just walk around cursing God, stumbling in the dark. 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:57.299 In fact, darkness becomes a major theme in Isaiah chapter eight. We're told that they have no dawn. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:02.360 We're told in another place, they're going to look to the earth, but distress and darkness and the 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:08.159 gloom of anguish is what they're going to face. And it's going, things are going to get so bad. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:14.980 In fact, they're going to start dabbling in the occult. It's with that background then, that darkness 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:20.220 that God's people are facing because of Ahaz's disobedience, his refusal to believe God and trust 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:26.100 in him, that gives us the background to chapter nine, verse one. We come here and say, okay, in the 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:30.460 midst of all of this, in the midst of a foreign power that's coming in and ruling and oppressing, 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:37.060 in the midst of food shortages and darkness and hopelessness, verse one, but there will 00:12:37.060 --> 00:12:44.000 be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.980 land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time, he has made glorious the 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:54.180 way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, verse two, the people 00:12:54.179 --> 00:13:03.779 who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Remember, this is written for people who are 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:09.979 living in chapter eight. It's written for those who are God's remnant, who are trying to hold 00:13:09.979 --> 00:13:17.719 on. Their reality, their current circumstances are filled with darkness. And God says, look, 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:24.779 here's what I want you to hang on to. Here's what I want you to hold on to. The people who walked in 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:32.960 darkness have seen a great light. The oppression you're facing will not last forever. The frustration 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:40.860 that you feel will come to an end. The anger that you're experiencing will have a resolution. 00:13:40.860 --> 00:13:51.139 Continue to hold on and be my people. Continue to see and face the darkness because you know 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:58.360 that the light is coming. And so we have this great statement in chapter eight where 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:04.279 Isaiah says, I will wait for the Lord and I will hope in him. And that's what these people are doing. 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:09.180 That's why they have this image in Isaiah chapter nine. Isaiah is giving them, he's speaking about it in 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:13.039 the past tense, but he's actually talking about something that's going to happen in the future. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:19.059 And prophets would frequently do this as a way of saying, in a sense, this is so real and so true 00:14:19.059 --> 00:14:26.359 that it's already happened. And yet you're still looking forward to it. And so this beautiful passage 00:14:26.359 --> 00:14:31.979 that we have that's read over and over again at Christmas that comes up every Advent is a passage 00:14:31.979 --> 00:14:39.159 that appears as light in the midst of darkness. It appears as a passage of hope when God's people 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:50.919 are tempted to despair. There is here sadness and joy, light and dark. And that's the hope that's 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:56.239 given to us in verses six and seven. Now, I'm not going to say everything about this passage 00:14:56.239 --> 00:15:00.339 this morning because it picks up on some themes that we're actually going to see next week in the 00:15:00.339 --> 00:15:06.099 week after. The week after, by the way, is Christmas, I think, in Isaiah chapter 11. But I do want us to focus 00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:11.620 on verses six and seven, and especially verse six. And we're just going to talk for a minute about 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:20.560 sadness and joy, darkness and light, because that's what we're meant to see here in Isaiah. 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:24.100 So first of all, I want you to think about the dark, the darkness. You look around, you see 00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:30.060 rulers in this world who are saying and doing foolish and stupid things. 00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:36.919 They are making decisions and enacting policies that you know, and you're not even that wise. 00:15:37.319 --> 00:15:41.799 You know those things aren't going to end well. They're making decisions that are going to 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:48.000 potentially throw away the future of a country or a people or a group or a family. They're choosing 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:54.000 the good of one group over another. And the question for us is, what are we going to do with that 00:15:54.000 --> 00:16:02.240 darkness? Are we going to numb the pain and turn away to a great distraction or addiction? 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:11.019 Are we going to give in to the lie that we're going to be able to turn back the tide of history all by 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:23.980 ourselves? Or are we going to look to the light? In the struggle of that situation, 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:32.240 we're told, verse 6, this child to be born is a wonderful counselor. 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:39.860 And that here is talking about this sort of supernatural wisdom and skill and ability that 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:44.539 this ruler is going to have. He's going to have wisdom even more than Solomon had. He's going to 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:50.120 understand how to resolve every situation and challenge that comes up against the nation. Is there 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:57.440 a crisis? When the wonderful counselor's in charge, the nation will leave the crisis better than they 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:04.160 entered it. Is there an enemy? That nation's going to be stronger then than they were before. 00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:10.779 Everything this wonderful counselor touches turns to gold. That's how wise he is. He's going to have 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:14.940 answers that no other man would be able to provide. 00:17:14.940 --> 00:17:22.700 He knows exactly what to do in every situation so that people can have life and flourishing. 00:17:23.860 --> 00:17:29.759 By the way, wonder and wonderful are words that are wildly overused in our current context. 00:17:30.340 --> 00:17:36.660 People say all the time, oh, that's wonderful. But wonderful is actually meant to be reserved for 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:43.019 something that's so incredible and overwhelming that you hardly know what to do with it. It actually goes 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:48.519 beyond what your mind can understand and comprehend. That's the kind of ruler that Jesus is going to 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:53.180 be. And so what Isaiah chapter nine is telling us is we look around at the darkness of this world and 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:58.980 we see foolish and stupid people in charge. What we're meant to do is not to numb. We're not meant to 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:03.740 decide that we're going to fix it all, but we look instead to the wonderful counselor. 00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:10.400 And we say, look, there is darkness now. There will not be darkness forever. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:16.339 There is darkness now, but there is hope. 00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:27.420 Maybe the darkness you look at is different than the darkness simply of those who are in charge in 00:18:27.420 --> 00:18:33.180 this world. Maybe you look at wars and oppression and injustice and you just see how powerful evil is. 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:40.860 It's frightening in the strength that it has. It seems like darkness has captured every position. 00:18:40.980 --> 00:18:45.320 It seems like the bad guys win most of the time, if not all of the time. 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:53.360 And you also don't know exactly how to respond to this. Do you hide? Do you run away? 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:58.180 Do you decide that it's your job to make everything right? 00:18:58.180 --> 00:19:07.900 Or, verse six again, do you not just look to the wonderful counselor, but the mighty God. 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:15.700 Mighty God here is a warrior term. It's saying this God is really powerful in battle. 00:19:16.820 --> 00:19:20.100 There is no enemy this God can't defeat. 00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:23.960 There is no power that this God is not stronger still. 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:28.279 There is no stronghold that this God cannot blow apart. 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:32.759 When you look around at the powers of evil in this world and you say, 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:36.579 I can't imagine anything being able to fix this. 00:19:37.819 --> 00:19:39.579 This God can. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.259 He is the mighty God. 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.920 And so we're seeing two sides of the same coin here. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:50.279 He's light in the sense that he's wise, 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:53.359 he's wiser than your mind is able to wrap around. 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:55.440 But it's not just that he has this wisdom. 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:57.000 He's not just a wonderful counselor. 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:00.339 He also has strength and power and dominion and authority. 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:03.099 He is also the mighty God. 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.720 And so as we live in darkness, 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:11.639 once again, he's telling us we can face it because we know the light. 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:16.220 We can look at what's most powerful in this world and say, 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:19.660 there is something still more powerful. 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:24.020 We look at things that are dangerous in this world and we can say, 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:27.540 our God is even more dangerous. 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:32.400 No matter what, he is the mighty God. 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:35.780 He's powerful enough to defeat any enemy. 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:40.619 And so wonderful counselor, mighty God are telling us, 00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:43.779 hey, we can turn off the part of our brains that worry about the future. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.180 Because we know how the story ends. 00:20:48.399 --> 00:20:50.740 We know what the future holds. 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:56.220 We can look at the dark because we know the light. 00:20:58.399 --> 00:21:03.160 Maybe your darkness is you're living in tension with friends and family members. 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:06.019 Maybe you're living in tension with people in this very church, 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:06.940 in this room right now. 00:21:08.320 --> 00:21:12.660 And you wonder what your hope is in the midst of that. 00:21:15.380 --> 00:21:18.160 Well, verse six, 00:21:19.620 --> 00:21:22.100 we're told he's not just the wonderful counselor or the mighty God. 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:26.360 We're told he's the everlasting father and the prince of peace. 00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:32.040 He is going to bring all tension and conflict to an end. 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:37.500 He's going to bring that in a global international scale in the sense that he's going to end all wars. 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:42.920 He's going to bring that in an interpersonal and community scale that we're going to have this ability 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:47.559 to understand and love and get along with each other that we could not have imagined before. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:51.019 Personality conflicts are going to become a thing of the past. 00:21:52.379 --> 00:21:54.639 And so again, as we look and live in the darkness, 00:21:54.639 --> 00:21:57.619 we can also grab onto and hope on the light. 00:21:57.619 --> 00:22:03.379 We know these things are not the end of the story. 00:22:03.459 --> 00:22:08.899 There's this quality to Jesus' kingdom that people are actually going to listen calmly to each other. 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:14.539 Everyone will always respond all the time and they'll never react. 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:18.979 Because Jesus is the prince of peace. 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:23.420 That's the light that we hold onto in the dark. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:31.319 That's the hope that we have in the midst of the mess and imperfection and sin of our families and communities in December 2022. 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:38.620 That's what we hold onto when things are awkward around the dinner table on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:42.480 This is not the end of the story. 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:44.839 The prince of peace is coming. 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:52.119 Maybe your darkness is that you feel confused like an orphan alone in a merciless universe. 00:22:55.720 --> 00:23:01.199 And we're told here, he's not just the prince of peace, but the everlasting father. 00:23:03.139 --> 00:23:04.839 He's a parent who will not die. 00:23:06.259 --> 00:23:07.399 And he will not leave. 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:12.000 You might wonder what it means for God to be a parent. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:15.320 Psalm 103 tells us a little bit about it. 00:23:15.360 --> 00:23:18.040 It says that as a father shows compassion to his children, 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:20.660 so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:22.680 For he knows our frame. 00:23:22.780 --> 00:23:25.259 He remembers that we are dust. 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:31.900 Are you stretched to your breaking point this holiday? 00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:31.920 Are you stretched to your breaking point this holiday? 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:41.780 We're told that God is the everlasting father, 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:46.880 which means he knows that you are only dust, 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.420 that you're fragile and faltering. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.600 And as a father has compassion on his children, 00:23:56.240 --> 00:24:00.140 the everlasting father has compassion on you. 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:11.620 Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. 00:24:17.320 --> 00:24:22.780 If you're a homeowner like me, you are well acquainted with the electric panel. 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:27.360 And in my house, the electric panel is in the garage. 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:28.300 I don't know where it is. 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:30.440 It's in your house. 00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:34.099 But you know in the electric panel, there's a bunch of circuit breakers. 00:24:34.180 --> 00:24:35.159 There's all these different switches. 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:37.759 So you can turn off different parts of the house 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:38.940 and the power that connects to them. 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:40.539 So I looked at mine this week. 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:42.839 I don't look at it very often unless something goes wrong. 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:47.599 But it turns out I have a specific switch just for the refrigerator. 00:24:48.639 --> 00:24:50.839 So my refrigerator is a bigger deal than I realized. 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:53.220 I have one just for the kitchen. 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:54.419 I have one just for the basement. 00:24:54.420 --> 00:24:58.740 But you know if you have a circuit board, your electric panel, 00:24:58.840 --> 00:25:02.259 you know it has one switch that's more important than all the other switches, right? 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:04.100 Which is the main switch, the master switch. 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:09.900 And the master switch turns everything off or it turns everything on. 00:25:09.900 --> 00:25:14.160 When we think about light in the darkness, 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:19.500 as humans, we're tempted to believe that our experience of this world 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:23.759 is sort of like an electric panel and we can just turn certain things off. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.200 I don't want to experience darkness. 00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:29.279 I'll turn off the darkness switch. 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:32.619 I don't want to turn off fear. 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:34.559 I'm going to turn off the fear switch. 00:25:35.339 --> 00:25:37.259 I don't want to be vulnerable or uncomfortable, 00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:38.440 so I'll turn off that switch. 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:42.879 But I'm going to leave on the happiness and the joy and the gladness switches. 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:46.379 So I'm only going to experience what's good. 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:53.800 The problem is that this side of heaven, there is only a main switch. 00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:00.600 Either you turn it all on or you turn it all off. 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:06.200 You cannot have light without darkness. 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:08.440 You cannot have joy without pain. 00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:13.760 If you numb yourself to one thing, you have numbed yourself to all things. 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:19.680 We have Jesus as our light in the darkness. 00:26:19.900 --> 00:26:23.780 We face the light and we face the darkness. 00:26:23.900 --> 00:26:27.460 All of us have different ways of trying to make life work apart from Jesus. 00:26:29.040 --> 00:26:33.360 All of us have ways of avoiding the uncomfortable emotions and memories 00:26:33.360 --> 00:26:34.400 that we don't want to face. 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:37.040 That's how addiction happens, by the way. 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:40.260 Isaiah 9 is saying this. 00:26:41.020 --> 00:26:43.240 Face the darkness with this strategy. 00:26:44.300 --> 00:26:45.300 Turn it all on. 00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:49.400 Because Jesus can be your joy and your light. 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:54.380 Face the darkness and look to him in the midst of it. 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:59.240 Face the violence in this world and then look to the Prince of Peace. 00:26:59.820 --> 00:27:04.480 Face the injustice in this world and the fact that those who are in charge are foolish 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:07.120 and look to the wonderful Counselor and the mighty God. 00:27:07.520 --> 00:27:10.500 Face what is happening that seems out of control 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:13.420 and remember that he is your everlasting Father. 00:27:13.420 --> 00:27:18.840 That's how you turn on the main switch. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:21.519 You can think about it like this way. 00:27:21.600 --> 00:27:26.000 Maybe you're a parent with a young child and you take them out to the beach and it's a sunny day 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:31.840 and they can't quite look up and open their eyes because the sun is so bright. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:34.659 And so what do you do as that parent? 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:38.599 Well, if you're in a great situation, you have sunglasses on hand. 00:27:38.639 --> 00:27:40.859 And so you can put those glasses on the child and say, 00:27:40.939 --> 00:27:43.759 look, now you're able to face what you have to face. 00:27:45.619 --> 00:27:54.859 Isaiah 9 gives us the hope and confidence that we need to be able to face the darkness of this world. 00:27:54.859 --> 00:28:03.839 God has given us his sunglasses so that we can open our eyes and move forward. 00:28:06.659 --> 00:28:08.539 That's the hope that we have here. 00:28:08.859 --> 00:28:18.039 Isaiah chapter 9 is not some sentimental reminder in the midst of a happy and warm existence, 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:24.759 but instead it's something for God's people to hold on to in the midst of darkness and suffering. 00:28:27.180 --> 00:28:31.200 Finally, I want you to notice not just what it says in chapter 9, 00:28:31.259 --> 00:28:33.379 but I also want you to notice what it doesn't say. 00:28:34.399 --> 00:28:36.319 Notice what it doesn't say in verse 2. 00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:37.339 It does not say, 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:47.539 Note, 00:28:47.539 --> 00:28:47.559 Note, 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:49.699 They have seen a great light. 00:28:50.179 --> 00:28:51.799 On them a light has shone. 00:28:53.699 --> 00:28:55.220 It does not say, 00:28:56.159 --> 00:29:01.000 The people walking in darkness read a great self-help book 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:05.179 so they were able to drown their negative thoughts and can finally experience joy. 00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:07.299 No, verse 3, it says, 00:29:07.339 --> 00:29:09.179 You have multiplied the nation. 00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:11.139 You have increased its joy. 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:16.259 They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest and are glad when they divide the spoil. 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:18.939 God is the one who's turning on the lights. 00:29:20.139 --> 00:29:23.539 God is the one providing his people with joy. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:27.139 And of course, that's the message of Christmas, 00:29:27.139 --> 00:29:30.459 that we are not powerful enough to save ourselves. 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:32.939 We are not competent enough to turn on the lights. 00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:37.539 We are not good enough to fill ourselves in this world with joy. 00:29:37.539 --> 00:29:40.480 We are people who are helpless in need. 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:44.880 We are in Isaiah, but I'll remind you of the gospel of Mark. 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:47.799 Need is the price of admission. 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:54.480 Of course, we see most of all in Jesus' death and resurrection, 00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:57.259 the way he comes and meets his people in the darkness, 00:29:57.399 --> 00:29:59.599 the way that he turns on the lights. 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:03.720 This hope that he provides them in Isaiah chapter 9 is possible 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:08.480 because this wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, and prince of peace 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:11.839 is going to become the prince of peace by laying down his life. 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:16.240 He is going to take the punishment that we deserve 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:19.500 so that it will come to an end once and for all 00:30:19.500 --> 00:30:22.640 and we can live in his kingdom with him forever. 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:26.700 And finally, we're told in verse 7, 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:28.940 in case we miss the point, 00:30:30.180 --> 00:30:32.320 the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 00:30:33.840 --> 00:30:38.560 Not the zeal of God's people being full of energy 00:30:38.560 --> 00:30:40.460 and whipping themselves up into a frenzy. 00:30:40.560 --> 00:30:44.200 Not the zeal of working harder, but the zeal of the Lord of hosts. 00:30:44.280 --> 00:30:46.420 It's God who's going to come and rescue his people. 00:30:46.560 --> 00:30:51.920 It's God who's going to give them hope in the dark light in despair. 00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:57.580 When we talked about Isaiah chapter 9, 00:30:57.640 --> 00:30:59.480 I ended by telling you about what had happened, 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:02.960 the two towers, the battle of Helm's Deep, 00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:05.900 which is near the end of the movie, but not the full end. 00:31:07.520 --> 00:31:10.240 After that's finished, we see Frodo and Sam 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:13.259 and they're thinking about the darkness that's behind them 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:14.500 and the darkness that's ahead. 00:31:14.620 --> 00:31:16.380 And of course, it feels and looks overwhelming, 00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:19.200 even in the movie itself, the light is low, 00:31:19.300 --> 00:31:22.000 so you can feel and sense the darkness that they're facing. 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:25.320 And Sam finally encourages Frodo with these words. 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:28.040 It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, 00:31:28.120 --> 00:31:29.340 the ones that really mattered, 00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:32.700 full of darkness and danger they were. 00:31:33.560 --> 00:31:35.620 And sometimes you didn't want to know the end 00:31:35.620 --> 00:31:37.920 because how could the end be happy? 00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:40.720 How could the world go back to the way it was 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:42.020 when so much bad had happened? 00:31:42.800 --> 00:31:46.060 But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. 00:31:46.059 --> 00:31:48.460 Even darkness must pass. 00:31:49.299 --> 00:31:50.419 A new day will come. 00:31:51.139 --> 00:31:53.519 And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. 00:31:54.579 --> 00:31:56.559 Those were the stories that stayed with you. 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:01.339 That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. 00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:04.639 But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:05.559 I know now. 00:32:06.379 --> 00:32:08.980 Folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:09.980 only they didn't. 00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:13.180 They kept going because they were holding on to something, 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:15.039 that there is some good in this world 00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:17.400 and it's worth fighting for. 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:23.039 Jesus tells us there's not some good in this world. 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:26.900 There's ultimate good in this world. 00:32:26.900 --> 00:32:32.200 There is a wonderful counselor, a mighty God, 00:32:32.840 --> 00:32:35.660 an everlasting father and a prince of peace. 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:38.759 Of the increase of his government and peace, 00:32:38.840 --> 00:32:39.780 there will be no end. 00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:42.480 On the throne of David and over his kingdom 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:44.380 to establish it and to uphold it 00:32:44.380 --> 00:32:46.720 with justice and with righteousness 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:48.980 from this time forth and forevermore, 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:53.640 the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:56.180 Let's pray. 00:32:57.800 --> 00:32:58.940 Our Father in heaven, 00:32:59.320 --> 00:33:01.640 we thank you that you are the God 00:33:01.640 --> 00:33:03.000 who does shine a light in the dark. 00:33:03.100 --> 00:33:06.000 We ask that you would do that for us this season, 00:33:06.080 --> 00:33:08.320 that you would show us the wonderful counselor, 00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:11.560 mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace, 00:33:11.580 --> 00:33:13.880 and that he would be our hope and our confidence 00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:16.500 as we walk in a world filled with darkness, 00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:18.019 that we would look to him as our light. 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:19.900 And we ask all of these things 00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:22.140 in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, amen. 00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:25.800 I invite you to stand for our closing hymn. 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:27.359 Amen. 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:32.159 Amen. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:34.480 Amen. 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:34.619 Amen.