Arrival
Notes
Transcript
[LAUNCH VIDEO]
Announcements
Good evening. Merry Christmas Eve and welcome to Southern Hills Baptist Church. Thank you for joining us tonight for our special Christmas Eve Service.
If you are a first-time guest with us, you will find a Connection Card in the pew rack in front of you. We would appreciate it if you would fill that out and place it in the offering plate. That gives us a record of your visit and allows us the opportunity of reaching out to you this week to answer any questions that you might have.
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Sunday
Wednesday
Please stand as I read our Call to Worship.
Call To Worship
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Opening Hymn
Advent Reading & Prayer: Dave & Diana Kincaid
Song #1
Prayer: Pastor Atreju
Song #2
Pastoral Prayer
Introduction
We have reached the culmination of Advent. The waiting for the Messiah is over. This year, we entered this Advent time by Waiting with Isaiah for the Promised One to come. We have explored his prophecies to help us to properly anticipate the coming of the King. In doing so over the last month, Pastor Atreju and I led you through the four themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
First, we covered Hope, where we found that even in the midst of dark times—even when the line of David would falter—hope would remain in a coming anointed One. This Messiah would arise from the roots of Jesse as a shoot that grows out of a stump and would restore not only the throne of David, but creation as a whole.
Then, we spoke of Peace, where Isaiah shared the words of God to speak of One who would come and clear the way by building a highway for the loyal children of Yahweh to walk as they made their way to the Mountain of God. He said that the Messiah would bring revival to the people and restore all of creation to its proper ordered design.
We spoke of Joy, where we found that joy is not an emotion that is to be felt by God’s imagers. Rather, it is the proper response of thankfulness to God for all that He has done. That, ultimately, Joy is not found from a single drink from the fountain of forgiveness, but is built as we continually draw from the water of life that the Messiah offers. Hope and Peace through the Messiah lead us to a consistent response of Joy.
And yet, there is a greater force behind these three responses to the promise of redemption. This past Sunday, I made the case that Love is the greatest of all of the themes of Advent, and that Hope, Peace, and Joy cannot be found outside of God’s love. His love is encompassing of all good gifts because love is the foundation of God’s character. Anything that flows from Him comes out of His love for His creation.
And, so it is that we come to the arrival of the promise.
[TITLE SLIDE]
If you have your bibles, please turn with me to Isaiah chapter 9 as we close out our series.
Tonight, we are going to focus on God’s love being made manifest in the form of a promised child who would take on the roles of Savior, Redeemer, and Restorer. It was only through this Anointed One that God’s human creation would be able to be reconciled to their Holy Creator God.
Again, Isaiah 9, starting in verse 1. This is the prophecy of Isaiah:
[MAIN PASSAGE SLIDE x5]
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. (/)
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.
From the beginning of creation, God knew what would take place. He knew what would happen if He created human imagers and shared His character with them. He knew that they would abuse their free will and bring sin into the world that He created for them.
And not only that. Being omniscient—knowing all things—He knew not only what would happen, but all of the possible outcomes for every decision that His human imagers would not make. He was fully aware of the hold that sin would have on humankind and that they would never be able to repair what they would break. They would never be able to do enough to work their way back into the garden.
Their outlook would be lives devoid of hope and peace and joy. Left to their own devices, they would be able to do nothing good, create nothing of eternal worth, and they would waste away in eternal chaos. And yet, God’s love propelled Him forward. He desired communion with human imagers. And He knew, even before He gathered the dirt to form Adam—the father of all mankind—that He would step into His creation and restore it.
That He, God Himself, would take on flesh to repair the relationship between Himself and humankind. He would restore their ability to image Him well once again and would reconcile them in communion. All that so, one day, man would have the ability to once again walk in the cool of the garden in fellowship with their Creator God.
His great love for His creation would propel Him forward to bring His children hope, joy, and peace.
[POINT 1 SLIDE]
Hope (vv 1-2)
We have already seen Hope presented through God’s prophet Isaiah. He spoke the words of Yahweh God, prophesying that the line of David would falter, bringing even more chaos and destruction to God’s people in the promised land. And yet, God offered them hope through a coming anointed One. A Messiah, which means “anointed,” would come as a prophet and king in the line of David. He would appear from the ashes of the kingdom, growing from the roots of Jesse as a shoot grows out of a stump and He would restore not only the throne, but all creation.
Let’s jump into our passage and see the hope that Isaiah prophecy offers:
[PASSAGE SLIDE]
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.
The book of Joshua tells us about the territory that Zebulun and Naphtali settled in. Their portion was in Northern Israel to the West and Southwest of the Sea of Galilee. In the New Testament, you would recognize them only by their key cities. For Zebulun, it was the town of Nazareth. And for Naphtali, it was Capernaum.
Both tribes were ordered by Joshua—passing along God’s command—to completely drive out the Canaanites who lived in the land that they were given. But Judges chapter 1 tell us that Zebulun and Naphtali both failed to conquer and drive out two cities in their territories. And so, ultimately, both tribes disobeyed God and allowed the Canaanites to continue living among them.
God had warned the Israelites that failure to keep the covenant and fulfill their mission would bring great harm to them and to their generations. Their hearts would be swayed by other gods and their children would marry into and adopt foreign cultures. It wasn’t long before all of this came to pass. These tribes began to drift, even before the kingdom split into North and South, and the Northern people reverted to worshipping Yahweh in the form of a golden calf once again. To them, Yahweh became just another god in a land full of gods.
They forgot the covenant and they failed to teach their children well. Year after year, their generations wandered further into drift as they welcomed generational curses in exchange for chasing after their deceitful hearts. This is the gloom that Isaiah is referring to that hangs over Zebulun and Naphtali in the “former time.”
Their contempt came in the form of the kingdom of Assyria as God withdrew His hand of protection and allowed the Northern kingdom to be conquered. This had already begun unfolding as Isaiah spoke this prophecy.
But he prophesies that a “latter time” would come where God would make “glorious the way of the sea.” That hopelessness would give way to hope. Look at verse 2:
[PASSAGE SLIDE]
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.
The land around Galilee was covered in the darkness that comes with having no hope. The Assyrians had begun conquering and pillaging and kidnapping throughout the Northern kingdom. Zebulun and Naphtali will be decimated before all was said and done.
Many of the fighting men were slaughtered. And over half of the people that were left were taken to other parts of the Assyrian empire, replaced by Syrians, Elamites, Hittites, and other Mesopotamian people—all to force a loss of culture for every territory subject to Assyria.
The darkness in Israel was so thick that they could not see a way out. And Judah watched all of this unfold. And then Assyria turned and came for them. It seemed as though they were destined to be the last of their people—that God’s people would be extinguished from the living, exterminated once and for all.
But Isaiah said that a “great light” has shone on the land of Galilee. God’s love for His people is greater than the power of any earthly military force. He will shine light in the darkness and bring His people hope once again. Surely, they will be dealt with harshly for their unfaithfulness. They will suffer and dwindle. But hope will come once again.
[POINT 2 SLIDE]
Joy (vv 3-5)
And one day—when that hope comes—they will respond in joy again. This is the promise that the Almighty Creator God is making to His people in this prophecy: that hope remains in His promise—in His covenant—even though they failed to keep His commandments. They will not cease from existence, for He will raise them up when they are weak. Look with me to verse 3:
[PASSAGE SLIDE]
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, Isaiah speaks of God. As he prophesies of the future revival of God’s people, He says that God has “multiplied the nation.” The darkness has been removed and offspring loyal to Yahweh are multiplying.
And as the people grow into a full nation once again, they will respond to Him with joy. Thewe acts of mercy and grace given to an unfaithful people can only be properly responded to with thankfulness. And so the assembly of the people of God sing as though they have just gathered a bountiful harvest. Their hearts overflow with gladness as they share in the bounty of God’s goodness to them.
So, the remnant of faithful Israel have seen the light, or the hope of God’s future promise here in Isaiah’s prophecy. They hear him speak of their return to faithfulness and growth. Surely this is reason enough to rejoice! But Isaiah offers more. Look at verses 4 and 5:
[PASSAGE SLIDE]
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.
Isaiah gives them 3 specific reasons to be joyful. The first is that the people will rejoice because their God—who is always faithful and never fails to fulfill His covenants—will take away their burden by breaking the yoke and staff and rod of their enemy upon them. In the context of who Isaiah is speaking to in Judah, this means the Assyrians.
Judah has watched Assyria destroy and systematically export Israel from the Northern territory. And now they have marched on Judah to do the same. Town after town has been sacked as they continue to make their way to siege Jerusalem.
And now, God reminds them that though Judah should fail in their faithfulness to Him, He never fails. He will break Assyria, removing its yoke once and for all. That yoke was added to Judah during the time of King Ahaz in the 8th century BC, when He trusted in Assyria for protection instead of trusting God. At that moment, Judah became a vassal state for Assyria. This came with servitude to the king of Assyria as well as severe taxes that must be paid to the foreign kingdom.
But the promise is that God will break this yoke, as well as the staff and rod. They will no longer be ruled and oppressed by Assyria, for God will once again be their refuge. And, to remind the people of the strength of their God, Isaiah references a great battle that was won by God alone.
If you remember the story of Gideon in Judges 7, God uses Gideon to defeat a mighty army of Midianites. And He does so with only 300 men. This small group of men defeats a large army without even whetting their swords because they trusted in the Lord.
And Isaiah tells them to recall this story and bring it to the front of their minds, for God will do it again. The people won’t have to save themselves from the darkness. God will do it for them. He will destroy the enemy and bring joy to His people.
That brings us to the second reason for joy. Not only will the yoke of Assyria be thrown off of the remnant of God, but He will bring their armies to ruin. For over 300 years, the conquering hordes of Assyria captured and subjugated nation after nation. Their armies were seen as unstoppable and the gods were seen as the most powerful.
But God’s promise to His people in verse 5 is that they will be stripped of their battle gear and that it will be consumed as wood is consumed on a fire. That He, Himself—the Most High Almighty Warrior God—will bring the mightiest army on earth to its end. He will prove Assyria and their gods impotent once and for all time.
And finally, the third reason for them to respond in joy is that, in His promised salvation from darkness, shalom will finally come.
[POINT 3 SLIDE]
Peace (vv 6-7)
Peace, or shalom, in Hebrew is a major theme throughout the Old Testament and into the New. God has called His people to image Him well by seeking peace through establishing His justice in the assembly and on earth. This is part of bringing the chaos of sin to order. And the Judahites, just as we do, fully understand that the goal of peace has not yet been achieved.
God’s people, even those who are loyal to Him, do not have the capacity to deliver peace and image Him rightly because their sinful natures have distorted their ability to see truly and do good. Humankind will never be able to save themselves. God has put the law into place to help His people see their need for Him—their need for a Savior; that they cannot keep the law on their own.
They need help. There is no hope in human effort on its own. There must be someone better to step in and bring salvation to God’s people. Here, Isaiah brings the people God’s promise to do so. God will bring someone better to restore His creation and set up His kingdom on earth, of which the united kingdom of Israel—under King David—was only a shadow.
Look with me at verse 6:
[PASSAGE SLIDE]
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.
Isaiah prophesies that a child will be born, a son of the remnant of Israel, and that He will govern God’s people. The verbiage makes it clear that Isaiah is speaking of a male human child. What is not clear is how a human, similar in every way to the unfaithful Israelites, will be able to succeed where each has failed Before. But as Isaiah continues, we get some clues.
The boy will be called “Wonderful Counselor.” That is, that He will have access to the wisdom of God as He leads God’s people.
He will be called “Mighty God.” This is a combination of the word gibbor, which typically speaks of strong and powerful warriors, and a common name for God in the Ancient Near East, El. King David had his “mighty men,”—the gibborim—who fought along side him and slew thousands. To combine that word with God speaks of His powerful warrior-like qualities. Any God who can roll up Assyria as described in this passage must be a “Mighty God.” But how does the attribute of Yahweh as “Mighty God” get apportioned to this son of Israel? Surely, this promised child will have to be more than just a human.
He will also be called “Everlasting Father.” He will lead His people as a good father does, with love and mercy and kindness and discipline. But, again, the everlasting part leads us to this idea that the boy is more than human.
And, lastly, He will be called “Prince of Peace.” The word Prince, or sar in Hebrew, speaks of His royal nature. He will come from the kingly line of Israel. And it is He who will finally establish peace in the land. The Prince of the throne of Israel will bring shalom.
Verse 7:
[PASSAGE SLIDE]
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.
As this royal child takes up the throne of David and establishes peace in His kingdom, we should take note of two things. First, as He rules with true justice and righteousness—the exact opposite of every human kingdom, in which sinful men abuse systems to oppress others as they feed their greed and selfishness—His kingdom will continue to increase. It will grow continually.
And second, it will never end. This Promised Prince will set up a throne that will not be conquered and will stand through all of time.
This child is prophesied to inherit the kingdom of God, to establish it forever on earth, and to reign supremely as the kingdom envelops the earth. But, I want you to pay attention to the last line. “The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.” It is God who will accomplish this Himself.
Yahweh God, the Commander of the heavenly armies, will bring a Son of Man to His people and will revive David’s throne to establish a kingdom that will never end. Not the kingdom of David, but the kingdom of God on earth. And His Prince of Peace will rule in His place and in His throne for all of eternity.
Application
In the next two chapters, Isaiah will speak in greater detail of Assyria’s promised end, and the shoot of Jesse that will grow from the stump of the Davidic line.
Both of these prophecies came true.
In 701 BC, Assyria would lay siege to Jerusalem. Isaiah would lead King Hezekiah to seek God’s intervention. And God would supernaturally fulfill His promise. One night, the Angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrians as they slept. The Assyrian King Sennacherib would turn tail and run back to his home where he would be murdered by his own sons in the temple of one of his gods.
That was the beginning of the end for Assyria. They floundered as a world power for a century before being conquered by Babylon. And their downfall was so complete that they were nearly forgotten for almost 2000 years.
And for the people of God, they still had a dark road to walk. After God intervened with Assyria, King Hezekiah and his sons squandered the kingdom of Judah. The remnant of Israel was conquered and exiled to Babylon.
It was there—in Babylon—that the faithful remnant began compiling the law and the prophets. It was there that the priests and scribes began to understand God’s promise of a Messiah.
He had removed His hand of blessing and protection from them for their failure to keep the covenant. He had removed His presence because of their unfaithfulness. And all they could do not was repent—turn back to Him—and endure the consequences of their sin.
They couldn’t repair the chasm that sin had made between God and His human creation. But the prophets spoke of One that would come who would. This Anointed One would come as a child destined for the throne and He would establish God’s kingdom forever.
And so, the remnant of Israel—the remnant of Judah—waited for over 500 years for the Messiah to come. They sat in anticipation, dreaming of the day when the king would come; the day that He would ascend to the throne of David and throw off the Roman occupation just as God had with the Assyrians.
Then, one night, the infant arrived. That arrival is what we celebrate tonight.
Jesus of Nazareth was born in the town of His ancestors. Born of the line of David, He was the shoot of Jesse. He was the light of the nations who would bring God’s glory once more to the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali. He was God’s answer to offering His human imagers hope and joy and peace. He was the physical image of God and the human embodiment of His love.
And they didn’t recognize Him.
Jesus didn’t enter the world to trumpets and celebration. Instead, His birth was announced by unfaithful Magi from the Far East.
He came as the fulfillment of God’s firstborn. He was the good and better Adam and would achieve the mission that God had given to mankind. And He was the true Israel, wholly faithful to God and submitted to doing His will in all things.
Jesus, as the God-Man, began the restoration project of creation by living a sinless life, dying in the place of humanity in payment for that sin as the sacrificial lamb, and rising from the dead. He has healed the chasm between God and man, and provided a way for humankind to commune with God again.
He has defeated the enemies of God and set up a throne that will never end. God has given Him all authority over creation and He now rules as King over all things.
The wait is over. The first Advent has been fulfilled. And we—the church—are His people. We are the faithful assembly—citizens of the kingdom of heaven. But the kingdom is not yet here in its fullness. So, the question we must ask ourselves is how should we live now in light of the coming of King and kingdom?
Simply this: because of the arrival and coronation of King Jesus, we are now enabled by His Spirit to fulfill our roles as the children of God. We have been restored in relationship with Him and we are now subjects to His Prince of Peace. Our lives must be lived out in obedience to the king. He has given us the mission of making disciples and joining Him in increasing the tent—extending the borders of the garden—to the ends of the earth.
So, let us celebrate the coming of the King this Christmas! Let us be reinvigorated by His life and His service to Almighty God. And when tomorrow ends, let us carry hope, joy, peace, and love to the nations as we seek to make disciples.
Invitation
If you are here tonight and you don’t know Jesus as Savior and King, I invite you to know Him now.
If you are in need of hope, Jesus is the light for your darkness.
If you are in need of joy, Jesus will give you grace in your pain.
If you are in need of peace, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and will calm the chaos in your life.
And if you just need to be loved, Jesus is the image of God’s love. No human being can offer you the same quantity or quality of love. You can rest in His embrace forever.
Jesus has come and has given Himself so that you could be restored to the God who created you. Believe the truth of His good news and bow to Him as your king.
If you are interested in knowing more, we would love to speak with you after service.
[PREVIEW SLIDE]
Enjoy your Christmas with your family. And I encourage you to join us this Sunday as we speak about the state of the church and look forward to what 2026 has in store for us.
CLOSE IN PRAYER
CLOSING HYMN
CONGREGATIONAL BLESSING
