Hope For Dark Times

Introduction

Hopefully, over the past few weeks, you’ve caught on to my theme for this advent season. This year we have focused on Hope. Hope can get us through the darkest of times. And tonight, we are going to recognize that God gives us hope in the darkest of times to lead us into his glorious light.

Let’s read together a selection from the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 9:2–7 (ESV)

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 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.

God’s word is good. It brings light to us. Tonight I want to speak to you about how the first Christmas, the birth of Jesus, came at a really dark time in history. Prior to the birth of Jesus, our hope of salvation was in a temple system. Animals were sacrificed daily for the sins of the people. Purification took place by the shedding of blood.

And had I lived during that time, I’m afraid at how many animals would have died because of my sins. Not only was it dark because sin was reigning over the world, but it was also dark because the Lord had went silent for hundreds of years. Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, lived around 400 years before Jesus was born. That’s 400 years of silence from God. People lived and died without hearing a fresh word from God.

Dark times indeed. Isaiah starts by saying that the people who have walked in darkness, or lived their lives in darkness, have seen a great light. The light actually shines on them, he says. So this brings me to my first point.

Dark Times Lead To A Great Light

You may have heard preachers say things like in order to really understand the Good News or the gospel, you have to first hear the bad news. The bad news is we were living in darkness. And I’m not talking about a cloudy day, this was darkness so deep you could see your hand in front of your face.

This darkness led to the greatest light the world has ever seen. Jesus is born in the midst of this darkness. His arrival is the light shining on the people. Dark times lead to a great light. This was true then and I believe its true now.

There are many who would say that we live in dark times right now. If you look around you can see school shootings, rampant infidelity and grotesque sexuality. You can see homeless people and starving people. You can see immorality at an all time high. Our government is corrupt. Businesses have been taken by greed. The world is a dark place.

But this is where hope comes alive. You don’t need hope when times are great. You need hope during the dark times and man do we need hope right now! We need hope that God will move in this generation. We need hope that our children will grow up in a better world than we did. We need hope that God will save the people of this country, that he will renew a movement of prayer and worship. That His name would be exalted in this place.

Dark times show us our need for the light. It causes us to respect the light and honor the light. If we’ve never experienced darkness, then we would take the light for granted. God let’s us walk through a place of darkness so we will embrace the light.

Dark Times Lead To Increased Joy

Dark times also lead to increased joy. Verse 3 says you have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest as they are glad when they divide the spoil. Here Isaiah is saying that even though they have been living in dark times, have hope! Joy is coming.

This theme runs throughout scripture, but especially in the Psalms. The Psalmist says, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning! (psalm 30:5)”. I know I’ve gotten confused before and thought, hey I’m a Christian, there will never be another dark day. That’s simply not true. Darkness is all around us. What is true though is that even though I may experience dark times, God never leaves me!

He never leaves me or forsakes me and this thought brings me great joy! He is with me. He doesn’t leave me. Even when I can’t feel his presence, I know that he is there! This brings me joy. Joy is happiness anchored in the right place. True Joy comes from the Lord. He’s the one that gives that to us.

Look at how Isaiah frames this. He says YOU have multiplied (the Lord), YOU have increased. This is the Lord. Its his job to do these things. He brings the blessing with him. We may be in dark times, but he is the light of the world! Rejoice, he is here! Your king is here and he reigns.

This leads us to the third place dark times lead us to…

Dark Times Lead To Jesus

Some people say that religion is a crutch. The only reason you turned to Jesus was because you had no other place to go. And to that, I say fine! I’m glad I had someone to turn to, I’m glad I had someone to take me in when no one else would! Jesus is the one who loved me when you wouldn’t. He is the one who loves me in my darkest of places. He is the one who Isaiah is speaking of.

Isaiah proclaims to US a child is born, to US a son is given. Jesus is literally the best Christmas present you will ever receive! He is the greatest gift to mankind. The darkest times of my life led me to Jesus. He was the destination at the end of that road. And I’m so glad that he was.

And notice that the people or Isaiah or anyone else in this passage did this. This peace that comes with no end, this king who rules on the throne of David, it wasn’t us who brought it about. It was the zeal of the Lord that did this. God did this because of his great zeal. What is he zealous over? Two things in particular. The first is his glory. God is zealous for his glory. His goal was that Jesus would be glorified in all the earth. That his name would be exalted far above every other name. He is zealous for this. He yearns for it. He wants Jesus to magnified in such a way that nothing else will compare.

This happens with Christmas. Christmas has almost become a worldwide holiday. Atheists and unbelievers celebrate, even though they may not understand why, they still celebrate. God receives praise from that. Even though they may curse him with their mouth, he still receives glory from them.

The second thing God is zealous over is his love for you. He loves the world. He loves the people of this world. He is love. Love is who he is and what he does. So when we look at his desire to send Jesus on this rescue mission to save the world, we can’t forget the reason behind it. He loves us. He leaves the 99 to find the one. I am the one, you are that one. He went searching for you. His heart burns for you.

Even if you feel unlovable this Christmas, let me tell you this with no reservation, you are lovable, the God of the universe loves you and so desires to be with you that he sent for his son, while we were still sinners, and Christ died on that cross to cover your sin and bring your back into relationship with the God of the universe. That is something to celebrate!

So tonight, let’s remember that darkness does lead to light and that light is Jesus as we light our candles and sing together.