The Promise pt 2.

Introduction

Good morning LaFayette Baptist Family. It is so good to be here with you all today and celebrate this Lord’s day with you all, singing hymns to Him, learning of Him, and reading His Word, and praying together. Our passage today will be from Isaiah 9, Isaiah 9:1-7, please go ahead and turn there in your bible’s. In a few moments it will be on the screen for us to read from the screen together as well. Isaiah 9, that’s a little over halfway through the bible and after the song of Solomon and before Jeremiah.

During this Christmas season, do you notice that all around (and everywhere you go) that there tends to be a lot more singing? These extra tunes tend to be, more often than not, some kind of Christmas song or old hymn that almost everyone knows and are usually all to often happy to join in on because (oh man, I know this one!) and it conjures warm feelings of past times. One such hymn is one that I’m sure we all know well and will sing together (if not more) this coming Wednesday at the children’s program. This hymn is “Joy to the World.” It begins with a powerful message, one that Isaiah would have been looking forward to, with those familiar and warming lyrics, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let Earth receive her king, Let every Heart prepare Him room (join in with me!) “And Heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, and Heaven, and heaven, and nature sing!” I could just imagine the Faithful of old grinning and shouting with true joy if they got to sing this song with us today. Why would they do that though? This was the far away future for them that we sing about today, that Jesus the Messiah had come. Well, this would have been because of what our sermon is about today, The Promise. The Promise that God would send the redeemer to mankind to save us from sin, death, and our separation from God.

Scripture

If you will all please rise for the reading of God’s word today, which is Isaiah 9:1-7. As usual the scripture will be on the screens for us all, so please read along out loud as I read along. When I’m done reading I will say “This is the Word of the Lord” after that please respond with “thanks be to God.” Before we do that tough, let’s pray. Father God, we thank you for the chance to come together today as brothers and sisters in Christ where know, grow, and listen and mediate on You and Your word. Your word is truth, and we thank you for this truth. Father, we ask today that you would show each and every one of us, something about Yourself. Remove any distractions from us. In this, may our hearts grow in fondness for You and Your great name. May we take these truths, and apply them to all parts of our lives that You would glorified not just in this place and our hearts/minds but also in the places we go and the people we see. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen. 9 [a] 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 latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.[b] 2 [c] 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder, and his name shall be called[e]Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of 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.

Context

Today, we begin our third installment of our advent/Christmas mini-series. This series will take us through to the end of the year. Our Scripture next week will be from Matthew 1, so please go ahead and read this chapter some time during your personal devotional time this week. Matthew 1.

We began this series week before last, starting with the fall of mankind in Genesis 3, looking especially at the promises made even then about God redeeming mankind through sending someone (We know today this someone to be Jesus Christ) who would once and for all crush the head of the serpent and end the curse of sin. Last week, we looked one of the great Prophecies of the coming Christ. Micah 5, this was in fact a prophecy that the Chief Priests and Scribes quoted to king Herod in Matthew 2 about where the Messiah would be born. In this section last week, we looked at the Peril that Israel and mankind are in without the savior. We also spoke of The Ruler, the ruler who was coming then (and has come now) who was from the ancient days would rightly rule Israel. We then looked at the return, that mankind could return to a perfect relationship with God through Jesus. Following that we spoke of the messiah, who would redeem the world and pastor the people. Finally, we thought on peace, that from God and this gift comes great Peace.

This week, our scripture comes from of the great (if not the greatest) prophets of Israel, Isaiah. Now, Isaiah’s and Micah’s ministry began at roughly the same time, Isaiah having begun around 740BC, Almost 2760 years ago now. So, Micah and Isaiah would have seen and ministered to much of the same people, who despite having a long history of seeing and witnessing what God had done for and through them, had by in large turned their back on God and left themselves (through many years of disobedience) in a place where they would receive God’s just and righteous judgement. Despite this opposition, God still loved mankind and was committed to His promises to mankind, the people of Israel, and the Household of King David, that he was still working towards the coming of the redeemer, the messiah, Jesus Christ, God the Son.

Much like Micah, this book of prophecy is filled with both judgement and restoration messages from God, this particular passage being one of great hope and restoration. One very good description of this book from a commentor is, “The purpose of Isaiah then is to declare the good news that God will glorify himself through the renewed and increased glory of his people, which will attract the nations. The book of Isaiah is a vision of hope for sinners through the coming Messiah, promising for the ransomed people of God a new world where sin and sorrow will be forgiven forever.” [1] Som in the whole bible, the main character is always God, notice the things that God is doing and use that perspective as we delve deep into this week’s text.

Message

Our first point, The anguish

9 [a] 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 latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.[b]

You may be thinking to yourself, Pastor Jacob, that word anguish, it’s a very difficult word, what does that mean? Here it means being extremely distressed….. This is not a feeling that anyone would ever want to be in, think of the deepest, hardest, and darkest time you’ve ever had. This was what the Israelite people were going through here. It says though, even though there is anguish, there is no gloom….., which is something you would expect in anguish. So, why wouldn’t there be gloom in this serious situation (that was filled with people being frequently unsafe and afraid because of frequent war and even capture/captivity and exile)? Because there was a great a hope on the horizon, and Isaiah is telling us about it.

Isaiah then beckons us to remember a bad time for the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, these were tribes on the north of Israel. This account is recorded in 2 Kings 15, where the people are carried away into captivity to Assyria and the king of the southern kingdom of Israel (at the time, the nation was divided into two kingdoms) was plotted against and murdered. God through, shares through the prophet, despite this time of anguish, he will (in times to come for them and time now past for us) make Israel great again. He will bring them back home, and better yet they will play their part as God’s people to bring the Messiah (Jesus) into the world, in the region of Galilee (which would be the region that Jesus would call His home). Trough this tragic time of hopelessness, despair, and anguish, God was brining something, great, beautiful, and glorious to work. God was working all things for their good, as He does for us. This is the same for them as it was for us, no matter the anguish no matter the place you are, God is calling and inviting you into a new or deeper relationship with Him. Will you answer?

A second point, The light

2 [c] 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. 3 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.

Here, the prophet described the effect of the Messiah on this northern part of Israel. “The people were in darkness (cf. 8:22) and in the shadow of death. Then they saw a great light and light … dawned on them. Matthew applied this passage to Jesus, who began His preaching and healing ministry in that region.”[2]This quote came at the beginning of Jesus’s Ministry. Let me read that for you from Matthew 4:12-17. 12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a]

Have you ever been in a very dark place and then later the light shown? Do you remember thinking to yourself with the light, “Ahhh, that’s much better.” That same feeling of relief, realizing, clarity, understanding, calmness, and peace is being described here. The people were separated from God by their own choice and despite God’s patient correction. Now with the coming of the light, things are much better. The great theologian Matthew Henry almost 500 years ago said something relevant to this section that, “Those that want (meaning do not have) the gospel, walk in darkness, and in the utmost danger. But when the gospel comes to any place, to any soul, light comes. Let us earnestly pray that it may shine into our hearts, and make us wise unto salvation.”[3] What is this gospel and this light then? The gospel is the good news, that Jesus Christ came to this earth and provided payment for the penalty of the sins of all of mankind who turn to Him in honesty and in faith….. The light has very much to do with Him. In 1st John, John says of the light that, “5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Why then would we not turn towards God if in Him is only goodness (light) and no badness (darkness)?

Another point, The New

4 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. 5 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 yoke, the staff, and the rod here would have been much like you would think they are. Yokes were and are used to place working loads on larger farm animals and staffs and rods would have been used to control and strike (if need be). The analogy here is that the people of Israel are under control and oppression. We know this ultimately for them (and the same is true for us) is because of unrepented sin in our life. God through the prophet says though, that there is great hope coming, just like there was for the Israelites almost 500 years before this prophecy was given. In this example, Isaiah speaks of when the nation was conquered by Midian (meaning the people referred to as the medianites). We read of this account in Judges 6-7, where the people couldn’t do anything without being attacked or raided. God, though, called a man named Gideon to lead them through and out of this difficult time. Little did Gideon know that at His most decisive battle, God would send someone to lead the armies of God. This mysterious and unexpected person many theologians believe to be a foreshadowing of Jesus Himself. This was unexpected and welcomed by the nation, who cried out to God to save them. Ohhh if only we as a people would do this in the same heart today, to turn honestly to God in all things, holding nothing back, casting every care towards Him and knowing that He can and will act.

Onto the interesting and new part, 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. I think we can all agree, that throughout all of mankind, it has been a relative and unfortunate norm for some sort of large war or conflict to be happening between nations. In fact, in 2003 the New York times and other sources reported that in the past 3400 years, there has only been relative peace for about 268 of those years. That’s a little less than 8% of the time. So, a world without war is relatively unheard of and new in idea. Isaiah though predicts this here, that instruments and garments for war will one day be useless and are better severed as fuel for fire. This was touched on in Isaiah 2:4 which reads, He (God) shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Interestingly enough, the prophet Micah also gave this exact same prophecy in his book. This exact day is still to come for us. We know it will happen though, because God has promised this new day in the new heaven and Earth where He dwells with us once again and will reign on earth just has He does in heaven. Satan, Sin and Death will be defeated all because of the life-giving work of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.

The next point, The Child

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder, and his name shall be called[e]Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of 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.

Remember how at the beginning of this week’s passage and last week that there was an emphasis on bad, horrible, terrible, woeful times? This was Israel’s life during the time of these two prophecies. This is our lives when we live without salivation from Jesus Christ. This is also the believer’s life when we walk in unrepented sin. No matter your situation, God provides the way to make a turn around by turning to Jesus for help with whatever your story may be. For the analogy (and actuality, because a child was truly born who would do these things) a child beings born means new hope and something to be excited about.

In this passage we see five things about the coming messiah (who has come for us). Here we see that, He was be born as a child (meaning he would be flesh and blood just like us). He would rule over God’s people, He would be given special names and titles that are befitting Him (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace). This Child, in one of the Persons of God rightly deserves these names and titles. The other things were that He would be seated on David’s throne (meaning that He had to be of the linage of David and stood in accordance to the promise that God made to David) and that He would accomplish these things (and more) in the zeal of the Lord of Hosts, one of the names of God. So, we know that this child that was coming would be God Himself. God was restoring His rule on Earth and relationship with us as only He can. Mankind my try, and more times than we can ever count (even in our own lives, let alone the history of mankind) try to restore us to God, but we cannot and will never be able to do this without Him. Thankfully for us, God loves His creation so much that He did and does this work for us, and everyone who repents (meaning turns away from, stops, and changes their mind) from sin and turns towards Jesus in spirit and truth will receive this most precious and special gift.

Conclusion

Beloved, isn’t funny how this message sounds so much like our own lives when we turn to Christ. Do you recall when you first became a believer, The anguish knowing now the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth (that God loves you and paid your debt and nothing else matters) or even The anguish when we forget to turn to Him? Do you see The light that was shed when knew this truth and started our first steps out of the anguish? Do you recall once things started to make since to you, The New feeling you had, realizing that you were a new person? All of this was because of The Child, Jesus Christ the righteous who came on earth as a child and lead the perfect life (a feat no one else ever did or will ever do again) and pleased the Father, according to The Promise made to mankind. He provided the way to be redeemed and made whole through the final and perfect sacrifice that was made by Jesus Christ on the cross. Think on these things this advent season and remember the waiting and anticipation of mankind leading up to our availability of salvation.

To the person who is not yet a believer in Jesus Christ. Friend, let me share something with you, I urge you hear it and accept it. God created everything in a good estate, however through the deception of Satan and mankind’s own free will we desired to be greater than we have the ability too. As such, mankind rebelled against God, and only found themselves under the curse of sin that we all have today. God though, loved us so much that he provided the way to have this rebellion forgiven by all who wish to be. This is by accepting the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay for your sins. Accept this in heart and truth and you will be forgiven, made a new person. This is true and God is calling you to this new relationship with Him.

Let’s conclude. I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer or to talk about anything else, I will be here and would love to talk to you. After our last song we will also have our business meeting together, after taking about 5 minutes to stretch your legs, grab a drink, or run to the restroom (whatever you may need). Let’s Pray. Father God, thank you. Thank you for your wonderful messiah, the wonderful Savior Jesus Christ the righteous. I pray that during this Christmas season you attune our hearts to more fondness of Christ and the same for all of those around us. Help us keep our eyes open and prepared for own and that in those around us, that we may be your workers of ministry in their lives that You would be glorified in one more person’s heart and your kingdom furthered. Help us with these things Father and we look expectantly towards what you are going to do. We also ask for your hand being on everything in our following business meeting. It’s in these things I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen.

[1]ESV Study Bible [2]Martin, John A. “Isaiah.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1, Victor Books, 1985, pp. 1052–53. [3]Henry, Matthew, and Thomas Scott. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary. Logos Research Systems, 1997, p. Is 9:1.