Epiphany of the Lord

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1–6 (NIV)

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth

and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the Lord rises upon you

and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you:

All assemble and come to you;

your sons come from afar,

and your daughters are carried on the hip.

Then you will look and be radiant,

your heart will throb and swell with joy;

the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,

to you the riches of the nations will come.

Herds of camels will cover your land,

young camels of Midian and Ephah.

And all from Sheba will come,

bearing gold and incense

and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.

Sermon

Sometimes I think we make the mistake of dividing our Bible between the Old and New Testaments too literally. What I mean is sometimes we think the Old Testament is God’s message to His people, “the Israelites,” and the New Testament is God’s message to His people, “the church.” And we talk about some of the stories we find in the Old Testament and how exciting they are but almost as if, “that was for then,” but this is now. And now we have the New Testament with the gospels and the story of Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and the letters to the churches that were formed after Christ, and this is where the heart is for us today.

But God’s story is woven from Genesis to Revelation. Every part matters because together they reveal His plan, His character, and His promises for His people—us. This morning, I want you to put your Bible back together with both parts. The Old and the New Testaments because all 66 books are the Word of God for us. And we are “His people.” Over the next three weeks, we are going to do a series entitled, “The Promises of God,” and all of these promises come to us through the Old Testament book of Isaiah.

Because Isaiah isn’t just a prophet for ancient Israel—he’s often called the ‘Gospel prophet’ because his words point to Christ and speak of God’s eternal promises. It is my desire that as we look at these passages, you will see that God’s promises, even though found in the Old Testament, are still relevant for us today.

Now our passage begins with these two mandates: “Rise and shine.” This is a call to do something. And while this message comes through Isaiah, it is a message from God. God is calling His people to “rise and shine.” Now, I don’t know about you but I usually only tell someone to do something when I see they aren’t doing it. But what is it God wants us to do? Rise or “wake up” to what God is doing. Do you know that even today, God is actively working in our world? We are not subject to coincidences, luck or happenstance.

And as His people, not only do we get to look at the things God is doing but we get to share them with those around us. We get to shine with the message of God’s grace. We get to be the light that points to Jesus. One time when Hannah was about 3 or 4, she came into our bedroom really early one morning and woke me up. I told her to go back to bed because it was so early, and she said, “I can’t. Someone turned the lights on outside.”

Through Isaiah, God tells His people there is a great darkness that covers the people. Those who aren’t with God live in darkness. But God’s people are to be the light. And when that happens, Isaiah says, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Furthermore he says, “All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip.”

And this is who you are, church. Or who you are supposed to be. To rise to the reality of God at work in the world and to shine with the light with which He fills you. So that when people see Christ in you they long for what you have. Do you know why churches are so discouraged today? Do you know why Christians are so disheartened today? It’s because they have accepted the lie that this is the best life can be. It’s because they have accepted the lie that people aren’t really interested in Christ.

A church that understands God is at work, and shines with His light is described by Isaiah in this way, “Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy;” This morning, as we enter a new year, we need to ask ourselves, are we a people who truly believe God is still at work in this world. Do we reflect the transformational work of Christ in our lives? Do we shine for Jesus? Let’s reflect on these questions as we receive the Lord’s Supper today.