For Unto Us A Child Is Born

Music

🎶O Holy Night

🎶Away in the Manger

Introduction

Christmas Eve. What a wonderful and special time. A time in which we gather, because Tomorrow is the day we have chosen to celebrate the birth of the King. The king of Hope.

Isaiah 9:1–7 CSB

1 Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations. 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. 4 For you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian. 5 For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

Nevertheless There is Hope

Isaiah 1-8 full of gloom and darkness over the earth. But with the word “Nevertheless, ” Isaiah Erases all of that. With all that darkness a great light will shine to bring Hope to those who live in the land of the Shadow of death.

Isaiahs message is one of warning, God is going to turn the people of Israel over to their choices that will lead to their destruction by the Assyrians.

But it is a word of Hope. The Lord gives him the privilege of seeing His purpose for bringing the light of joy, the peace of nations, and the hope of salvation to every corner of the earth, including the “Galilee of the Gentiles” (v. 1). This is the other side of the promise of His presence as “Immanuel.” In 8:9–10, Isaiah had extended the devastation of war to every nation on earth because evil flares and spreads in the anger of His presence. By the same token, the light of redemptive hope brightens and spreads to every corner of the earth from the glory of His presence.

In its context this passage speaks to a king that will follow the way of YHWH and lead the people away from Destruction. But as we see the promise of God. We see that the only one who can really claim these titles and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end is Jesus.

Jesus the Christ who we celebrate and who gives us Hope. The kind of Hope that saves lives in the darkest of situations. And the darkest of nights.

At the 1989 World Congress on Evangelism, or Lausanne II, in Manila, testimonies from Christians around the world were highlighted by the witness of a Chinese believer who had been imprisoned for his faith. Demeaned as a human being and isolated from human contact, his cell was in a dark dungeon and his work assignment was to clean the sewers deep in the underground darkness. He told of standing up to his knees in human waste going about his repulsive work. But against the stench and pollution of the sewer, he began to sing,

I come to the garden alone,

While the dew is still on the roses,

And the voice I hear

Falling on my ear,

The Son of God discloses,

And He walks with me

And He talks with me

And He tells me I am His own

And the joy we share

As we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

When his captors realized that they could neither break his spirit nor put out the brightness of his song, they released him to tell his story far and wide. Needless to say, wherever he went, revival followed and village after village came to Christ.

Light The Candle

As we light the candle we remember the Hope of Jesus Christ. Hope that is all about no matter what may come: Good or bad, trials and temptations, challenges and rest. God is with us, because our Hope is in Jesus Christ. The Hope that lights up the dark sky. The light in the world of darkness. Hope in a world that has no Hope.

Music

🎶Silent Night

Bibliography

McKenna, David, and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. Isaiah 1–39. Vol. 17. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1993.