Isaiah 9:1-7 (The Dawning of the Light of Christ, Jeff Kliewer)

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the children, for each one of them. We pray blessing on them, Lord. We pray that you would fill them with the joy of the Lord, that they could celebrate now that you have used them and you delight in them.

We pray that they would delight in you. We pray also now as we open your word that you would speak to each one of us. Your word would come forth with power and accomplish the work for which it was sent.

Lord, we know that you're able to let light shine into our hearts and our hearts need it because our hearts are shrouded in darkness. So let your light burst forth into our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Henry Longfellow, Christmas Bells, and the Hope of Light in Darkness

Henry Longfellow was a man, a poet, who had six children. And after the birth of his sixth child, tragically, his wife died in a kitchen fire where he tried to rescue her. He was awakened from a nap to find that she had been caught on fire and tried to snuff out the flames but could not do it and she passed away.

So he knew the depths of darkness, the pain. So as a widower raising six children, when his oldest turned 18 years old, he left home not telling his father where he was going. He boarded a train and went to Washington, D .C. and signed up to fight for the North in 1863 in the Civil War.

He fought in the Civil War. And one day, news came to his father that his son had been shot in battle. However, he did survive. The bullet entered one shoulder blade and went out the other, just nicking the spinal cord but not paralyzing him.

So as his father traveled to Washington, D .C., it was almost Christmas time. He arrived and he saw his son who had survived this gunshot wound and he heard the sound of Christmas bells. It was Christmas morning, 1863, when he heard the sounding of Christmas bells.

And he began to think about peace on earth, goodwill to men, Luke 2 .14. And there seemed to be a cognitive dissonance in him to sing peace on earth in the middle of a Civil War. In the darkness of that pain and loss.

But as he began to think about that, he wrote the song, which some of you will know, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. This dear Christian man wrote these words. I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play.

And wild and sweet, the words repeat of peace on earth, goodwill to men. Then from each black accursed mouth, the cannon thundered from the south. And with the sound, the carols drowned of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent the hearth stones of a continent and made forlorn the households born of peace on earth, goodwill to men. And in despair, I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said, for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Then peeled the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth, goodwill to men. Henry Longfellow knew the depths of darkness, and yet he saw the light that overcomes the darkest night.

All of us are going to face dark nights. We will all face trials and pain and private wars that we have to fight. How long must we wrestle with our thoughts inside of ourselves, some of us wonder. How long will this dark night persist?

This morning, we look to the scriptures and we hear good news. The sound of these bells are good news, the ringing forth of the gospel. Marvelous light, joyful, peaceful, free, marvelous light bursts forth into the world and overwhelm the darkness when a child was born.

That's the message this morning, marvelous light. Turn with me, if you will, to Isaiah chapter nine. This morning, we will read from seven verses of scripture. These words written 700 years before the child was born.

Isaiah chapter nine, verse one to seven. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the later time, the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of his peace, there will be no end.

On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this, amen.

The Historical Context of Isaiah 9 and the Assyrian Threat

So as we come now to break down this text and to take it section by section and to understand the meaning of it, to explain the meaning of it, we need to understand the context of Isaiah and what was happening at this point in time.

We have a map here that shows the 12 tribes of Israel. In the south was Judah along with Benjamin, and in the north, for the most part, were the other 10 tribes of Israel. There was at this time in Israel's history in the 700s BC, so hundreds of years before Christ came, there was civil war.

Civil war between the north and the south. The north had allied itself, with their capital being Samaria, with Syria beyond them, with Damascus, the king of Syria. Joining in league with the north, you see Zebulun and Naphtali, the farthermost tribes to the north.

Capernaum would be the major city along the Sea of Galilee. These tribes to the north were attacking Judah. But Judah has not put their hope in God. Instead, they have begun to trust yet another king, the king of Assyria, to come to their rescue.

And in Isaiah chapter eight, an interesting thing happens. Isaiah tells the people to take note of this, that he will have a son, and the name of that son will be Maher Shalal Hashbaz. So parents, if anybody's here considering having another child, husbands, that's a candidate for the name, Maher Shalal Hashbaz, and if your wife isn't buying it, just tell her the meaning of it.

Swift to the spoil, quick to the plunder. That sounds pretty awesome, right? So maybe you can convince her that this is a great name to name your boy. But the meaning of this is that before the child is old enough to say mommy and daddy, the kings of the north, allied with Syria, will be conquered because Assyria, coming from the Euphrates River, will come like a flood, but not only swallow up the northern tribes, they will come right to the gates of Jerusalem, to Judah, and they will be neck deep in Assyrian occupation.

And but for the grace of God, they would have swallowed them up. We learn about the prayers of Hezekiah later in the book. The Assyrians are coming. So what's the message to Israel? You have trusted in man, in Assyria to come to your rescue rather than trusting in the rock, the Christ who is coming.

They should have put their trust in the rock, the stone of stumbling, the rock of offense. But there is a remnant, Isaiah and the children that he has given. They will trust the testimony. They will trust the writings.

And when all of the rest of the people who have turned to nothing but idolatry in the north, when all of them are going to necromancers and mediums and listening to the chirping and muttering of false teachers, the remnant will say to the testimony, and if anyone disagrees, it is because they have no dawn.

They have no light. So at the end of Isaiah chapter eight, we find that Jacob, the northern tribes, are in deep distress, in great darkness,.

The gloom of anguish.

Doesn't that sound about the bottom? The gloom of anguish, the deepest darkness. An apostate people, tribes allied against Judah and against Jerusalem, rock bottom, rock bottom. Maybe some of you have come to a point in your life where you've hit rock bottom.

The gloom of anguish, depression, sadness, lack of joy, no freedom, no purpose, no peace in the depths of your heart. This was the state of the northern tribes of Jacob. And so you say, well, God would do well to completely wipe them out and be done with them.

But no, we turn to a surprising place in the text. That first word in chapter nine, verse one. And I've often said the word, but God, in Ephesians 2 .4. And this phrase, but God, or but now, very well encapsulates the good news of the Bible.

This is the darkened state of our hearts, but God. He is merciful to sinners like us. Let's see it in chapter nine, verse one. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, those northern lands, those northern tribes.

But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness. These people were darkened in their hearts, in their minds, cut off from God.

Isaiah 59 says, your sin has separated you from God. Sin separates us from the life of God. And when we have no life in God, we are in the dark. Our hearts are dark. We're shrouded in darkness. Romans chapter three, verse 23, says something that all of us need to hear.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There's no exception in this room, saints. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It's not that one of us can point to another and feel superior.

We can't point to the failures of the northern tribes of Israel. We must look to ourselves and recognize all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the good news here is that those who walk in darkness, chapter nine, verse two, have seen a great light.

Those who dwell in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shown. God burst forth with light into the darkest situation, into the deepest darkness. And what does that look like? Three things. Chapter nine, verse three, four, and five.

The Light of Christ Brings Joy, Freedom, and Peace

Number one, the dawning of light floods souls with ever-increasing joy. When light comes into a sinful heart, the change is the difference between meaninglessness and a sense of purposelessness in your life to joy, joy.

You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. Picture a farmer who works all year, sowing the ground and tilling the soil and waiting expectantly.

And when that harvest comes in bountiful, that is a good day for the harvester. There's joy in the heart. And the Christian who comes to see the light, who Christ is, is flooded with ever-increasing joy.

Didn't Jesus say that? He said in John 15, 11, these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Psalm 16, 11 says, you make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy.

And at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. When the angel came to announce the birth of Messiah, what did he say? Fear not. Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that shall be for all the people.

My grandfather was a preacher. And if there's one word that would describe how I knew him in the years that I did,.

The word would be joy.

He seemed to move from joy to ever-increasing joy, laughing all the time. In his dying days in the hospital, he was flooded with joy. My mom came to visit him and he says, before she came in, he was visited by some strange man that he thought was an angel.

But what was most amazing about that experience is after seeing this person who reminded him of the years on the mission field in Guatemala and the years of war in World War II and talked to him at length about these things, my grandfather was convinced that God had sent that angel to encourage him.

He wept and wept like a baby, but not with tears of sadness. Tears of joy, unspeakable joy. And he passed into the presence of the Lord with joy in his heart. It's not the experience of every Christian.

There's a man named William Cowper or William Cooper who wrote a song called God Moves in Mysterious Ways. From his new birth until his dying day, he struggled with deep depression, multiple suicide attempts, kept in an asylum for a period of time.

And yet Cowper would tell you and did say, it was the joy of the Lord that was his strength. He suffered immensely as a child. As a six-year-old, his mother died. He saw siblings die and one tragedy to another had reduced him to an emotional problem.

But God, but God, when the gospel came to him in that asylum, joy rescued his life. And he wrote these words that some of you will recognize. God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.

Deep and unfathomable minds of never failing skill, he fashions up his bright designs and works his sovereign will.

Now listen to this.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and will break with blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter and he will make it plain.

I'll tell you this, there's two Williams in my story, William Wagner, my grandfather, and William Cooper. But at the right hand of God, in the presence of God are pleasures forevermore. The benefit, the benefit of salvation is joy, an eternal joy that now in heaven is ever increasing.

Ever increasing joy.

Verse four, a second benefit, freedom.

For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. The tribes to the north were under a yoke, they were under a burden, weighed down with the staff on their shoulder.

I picture Christian from the Pilgrim's Progress with that burden on his back and it finally releases when he comes to the cross.

A burden.

These burdens have been lifted. The weight of sin, the guilt of sin. All of us who sin are guilty because of that. The stain of our own sin is on our conscience. But that sin, that guilt can be lifted like the heaviest backpack lifted from your back.

It no longer weighs you down when this light comes to you. And finally a third benefit, peace. Some of you have trouble sleeping at night, there is no peace. But look at verse five, for every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

The wars of this life, the struggles and the pain, the soldier whose wounds douse the shirt with blood these rolled up will be thrown into the fire because there is no more war.

The war will end.

But the war which man fights, North versus South, country versus country, kingdom versus kingdom and the wars that we see raging all the time, even ideologically, the wars of this life will come to an end one day.

There is a war. More intense and more important than any of those. And that is the war between God and sinful men. Men made in the image of God, made to worship him, set our minds on our own intentions, our own will and we are at war, rebellious to the king of kings and so there is enmity between God and man.

God, the righteous and holy one, because he is so good, because he is so holy, has wrath against a sinner and a worm like me who rebels and spits in his face and pushes crowns of thorns on his head. I am a rebel and he is holy and there is no peace between a holy God and a sinner like you and I.

But God, when light comes, it reconciles, it turns the wrath of God against a sinner like me away and there is peace. If you are justified by faith in Jesus Christ,.

You have peace with God.

The war is over. The war is over. Every garment rolled in blood and every tramping boot of the warrior is thrown into the fire, it is burned.

The war is done.

There is peace with God. These benefits are unspeakably good. Don't you want this, to have joy when you wake up in the morning? To have freedom from that guilt that weighed you down for so long? Things in the past that you cannot erase, it's written in the book.

To have peace with God, to have peace in the depth of your heart. These benefits are available to you. From whence does it come? Look with me at verse six. This is the Christmas story, amazing story. For to us, a child is born.

How can that be? Brothers and sisters, a child born into this dark world makes all the difference. Do you see how alarming this verse is? Nobody would expect that would be the answer to these warring kingdoms and Assyria, the great superpower sweeping down across Israel.

How could the answer be a child, a mere baby? Before I go on, I want to make a point to the intellectual among us, which is probably not many of us, right? Certainly not me. We have a lot of intellectual objections to this gospel of Jesus Christ.

How can God be three in one? How can God empty himself and become a mere human? How can his dying erase my sin? Could it really be that a man could rise from the dead? This seems like foolishness to the world.

But I want to tell you, everything that God did in this gospel, he foretold hundreds of years before he did it. Remember what we talked about earlier. These words that we are reading right now were written more than 700 years before Christ came.

There are extant manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the entire 66 chapters of the book of Isaiah, the Great Isaiah Scroll, still existing today that predate the time of Christ. So this verse that we are reading, pure gospel, was foretold.

How are we to know that the gospel that Christians preach is not just the tradition of men, not just what preachers say year after year, Christmas after Christmas? You know it because it is according to the scripture.

God spoke, and many times and in various ways, through the mouths of prophets. And in these last days, he's spoken to us by his son. But here we have prophecy. And these verses six and seven are overwhelming intellectually.

How can any man deny that this speaks of the coming Christ and that our Savior, Jesus Christ, fulfills them perfectly? So our gospel is according to the scriptures. What the prophets have spoken, thus God has done.

He said what he would do, and then he did it. Only God can tell the future. And 700 years before he steps into time, he tells what he intends to do. He comes born of a virgin, born under the law, to reconcile sinners like us.

In other words, what I'm telling you is not mere opinion.

It's true.

Not true in the sense that you have your truth and I have mine. No, true in the sense that it is true, God says. The prophets have said. And so in verse six, two things I want us to notice. Who he is and what he's done.

First, who he is. For to us, a child is born. Seven descriptions of who he is. One, he's born a child. In other words, fully human. He is a man like us. A human like us. A real living child. Number two, to us, a son is given.

Notice the distinction there. It carries through in the Hebrew just as it would in the English. To be born implies time. Coming into time with a starting point. So it is with the humanity of Jesus. He was not always human flesh, but he was always the son of God.

The son of God adding humanity to his deity in a point of time was born. And so he is human. But the son is given. Or as Jesus would say, it was his father that sent him. And in John 17, verse five, he had glory with his father before the world was created.

The son was given into the world. He existed before time. So Jesus is fully human, but fully God. Existing before time. Number three, he is the king of kings. The government shall be upon his shoulder.

This prophecy tells us that all government, which temporarily is entrusted to men in various places and in various times, all government ultimately rests on the shoulders of King Jesus. He is king. Number four, he is wonderful counselor.

Isn't it great to have a counselor that can teach you and help you? But in this Hebraic culture, this counselor refers more to the role of a lawyer as if when you go to court, you have counsel there to help you.

Here is a counselor who's so wonderful that when you get to the day of judgment, he has already made every provision for your innocence. He's a wonderful counselor. He's a mighty God. And men have struggled in vain for many years to deny the meaning of these words, to look for some way around it, but there is none.

Jesus is more than a prophet, more than a mere man representing God or setting an example. He is, what does our text say?

Mighty God.

God in flesh. He is everlasting father. He's the one that you can run to again and again and again. Now this picture is the relationship between us and him. In a sense, he's like a brother to us because he stands beside us and represents us and cares for us that way.

But we can also look to Jesus as a father. He's the provider. We can pray to him. We can trust him. We can run to him again and again and again. As that song says. He is the Prince of Peace. The Prince of Peace.

There'll be an end to war. He makes peace between God and man. And so what has he done? The Prince of Peace. Reconciled sinners like us to a holy God. He made peace with his blood. Blood ordinarily stains clothes, doesn't it?

But his blood washes our robes white. His blood cleanses and makes peace. We're no longer at enmity between God and man. Now, because of the Prince of Peace, we're forgiven, redemption through his blood.

The last verse, chapter nine, verse seven. This reminds us that we must each make a decision to come to him. It says, of the increase of his government and of his peace, there will be no end. When it says will be, it's a certainty.

Don't doubt it. His government will be established. Christ came the first time as a priest to atone for sin. He came in weakness and humility. But he's coming a second time to reign in glory in great power as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

He's coming. It will happen. There will be no end to the government that he will establish on the throne of David and over his kingdom. To establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

So recognize there is a certain kingdom coming. When Christ comes and he sets up his kingdom in Jerusalem and reigns here on earth for a thousand years and then creates an eternal state, having done away with Satan and all things evil, his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

The light will bring peace to earth. But listen, now is the day of salvation for us. Remember how we began this sermon up in Capernaum? Zebulun and Naphtali, a great light was shown to them. Well, in the ministry of Jesus in Matthew chapter 11, we hear the words of Christ.

He calls out judgment on Capernaum.

Judgment.

He says, Capernaum, by the sea, if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon along the Mediterranean Sea, they would have repented. And if those miracles had been performed in Sodom and Gomorrah, it would remain to this day.

You see, Capernaum, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, they saw a great light. The Bible records for us that Jesus went to Capernaum. That's when the light was shown to them. What did he do there? He healed the centurion's servant from afar.

He raised the noble man's son. He resurrected a dead person. The synagogue ruler's son was resurrected in the power of a miracle that only Christ could do. Remember the story when the house was so full of people listening to Jesus, the light of the world, it was overrun with people, and a paralytic could not be brought to him because of the crowd?

And his four friends climbed up on the roof of that house and pulled back the thatch of the roof and lowered the paralytic into the midst of the crowd, and Jesus healed there and declared that the greater healing, forgiveness of sin, is proven by his ability to heal physical paralysis.

There's the light. They saw the light. Capernaum saw the light, and they were responsible to believe. But sadly, most of them rejected. There were a remnant. You've probably heard of Peter, Andrew, James, and John, all from Capernaum.

The disciples heeded the testimony. They ran to the light. But this is the last point of this gospel presentation. If it's true that Jesus is the light of the world, if he did the miracles that he did, and he did,.

It is true,.

Then all men are responsible to come to him in faith, to repent of sin and to turn to him for forgiveness of sin. Now is this day of salvation. Now is the time to come. The light of the world came into the world to save sinners, but men love sin more than the light, and they refuse to come into the light for fear that their deeds would be exposed.

This is what Jesus said it would be. But to as many as did receive him, he gave the right to become children of God, to be transferred from a kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the beloved son. There is a spiritual darkness over the world, and this darkness is run by the prince of the powers of the air, the devil.

He blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. But we don't preach ourselves. The only thing I preach about myself is that I'm a jar of clay. I bring nothing to the table, no righteousness, nothing.

I preach Jesus Christ and the God who said, let light shine out of the darkness, who spoke words and light flooded the universe. He lets light shine in our hearts to give us the knowledge of the light of God, the glory of Christ, the glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4, four to six. And so we're left here awaiting his coming. And this is the gospel of light. In closing, recognize the world is shrouded in darkness. We are all in the dark, but there is this whole world of light and life where there's joy and peace and freedom.

This place is true.

It's revealed.

The scriptures tell us the truth. The testimony is true. The light has come. The light is Jesus and he has overcome the darkness. Jesus is the light of the world. He overcame the darkness by taking that darkness upon himself and the world became dark for three hours from 12 o 'clock noon until 3 p .m. as he hung on a cross.

And he said, now is the hour of darkness. The prince of the air will be defeated. And in his dying on the cross, he kills death. He conquers darkness and light bursts forth as he rises from the dead.

He is alive.

So now we must come. Come to the light. Don't be afraid of your deeds being exposed. He already sees and he knows. Come and believe. Henry Longfellow, he knew darkness, but he came to the light. God is not dead.

He does not sleep. He is alive. Come to him, he says. Leave your sin behind. Turn from sin and trust in him. Do not be afraid of being embarrassed. When you make this public and you're baptized in water, as a public testimony in the light that you belong to the light, you're a child of light, do not be ashamed of him or his gospel.

If you're ashamed of him, he would be ashamed of you. Means you're not in the light. Come to him and be saved. If you haven't yet put your faith in Jesus, this morning, December 22nd, as we're celebrating Christmas, maybe you saw light in the faces of the children.

Would you see the light that is in the face of Jesus, the Christ, the child born in Bethlehem, who dwelt among us, was crucified in weakness and raised in power? Would you put your faith in him this morning?

You'll need to repent of sin, trust him. Come into the light. We're gonna give you an opportunity to do that. I'm gonna ask one of the adults to run back and get the kids, because they're gonna close this in song.

Thank you.

Close your eyes, everybody. If you believe this message about the Christ, if you say he is the light of the world, as he claims of himself, then pray these words to him. You're not just talking to yourself.

You're not just in your own head. He hears every thought. He's the God who made you. He wants to make peace with you right now. So in the quietness of your own heart, in your own mind, say these words.

You don't have to say them out loud. You can if you want. Say, I am a sinner. I'm separated from you, God, because of my sin. I deserve deep darkness, gloom, the gloom of anguish,.

Punishment, but I believe in Jesus.

Jesus is the light of the world. He came to save sinners like me. Jesus died on a cross for my sin. Jesus rose from the dead.

Jesus is Lord, light of the world.

Jesus Christ, come into my life. Flood my soul with joy, freedom, peace. Save me, the sinner.

Jesus' name, amen, amen.

Okay, at this moment, just to do things in the light, is there anybody that just prayed that prayer? Just slip your hand up so I can see. Anybody just prayed that? Awesome, awesome. And if you've already done this, you're already saved.

You don't have to keep praying that. Is there any others that have prayed that prayer? If that's you, guys, I wanna give you a Bible. I wanna talk to you about what it means to walk in the light and to continue in the light.

So see me afterwards if you prayed that prayer, okay? And kids, you are welcome to come in.

Okay.