will be Christmas Eve, obviously, at 7 p.m. So, we look at the Scriptures, considering those in just a second, Isaiah chapter 9. We've already made several references to this morning. In our first week of Advent, I took some time to speak about the culture wars, especially how those culture wars have manifested themselves as being against Christmas. I looked at how Christmas has been subtly undermined, and I challenged us not to be swept away by the culture's redefinition and retooling of the idea of Christmas. The next two weeks of Advent, I tried to set out how the birth of Christ was consistent with the expectation of earlier portions of prophecy in the Old Testament that Matthew cites in what's commonly called the Christmas birth narrative. First, we look at Herod's slaughter of the innocent and the escape of the holy family. And we noted the ways that that event in the New Testament served as a kind of recapitulation of the narrative of Old Testament Israel in the life of Jesus. So that we said that what we see happening in the life of Jesus, what Matthew is doing is he's saying, Here is the life of Israel. What's happening in the life of Jesus is a kind of a recapitulation of Israel so that we're seeing that Jesus is the fulfillment of all that God intended for Israel to be. And then last week, we considered the prophecy of the virgin birth in the Old Testament and how that fit with the birth of Christ. And so we come to the fourth week of our Advent, and this week we want to look at the Scriptures that speak of the great glory of the King and the implied inevitable victory of the great King Jesus over all of His opponents. And what we're suggesting is that with the coming of Christ, God's triumph has arrived and His victory is inevitable. And we suggest this as an integral part of the Christmas season. God has come and the incarnation of Christ is the incarnation of the victory of God over sin and rebellion. Thus, during this Christmas season, we celebrate the inevitability and the certainty of victory. For years and for centuries, it had been a truism of Christianity. And unfortunately, in the 19th century, it was stolen from us by one of the greatest Christian heresies ever. And that's called Marxism. Indeed, Marx could write in his own writings, quote, the victory of the proletariat is equally inevitable. This idea of the inevitability of victory, Mark stole from Christianity because Christianity has taught for centuries that because Christ has conquered, Christ will conquer. When one believes then that their cause will inevitably be victorious, they live and move in terms of that inevitability and the certainty of that victory. Christians then need to regain, I propose, the sense of inevitable and certain victory that was characteristic of their faith for generations. And that inevitability and that certainty of victory is caught up in the celebration of Christmas. And I want you to consider with me just a few verses in Isaiah 9. The people who walked in great darkness have seen a great light. And those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder. The rod of his oppressor is in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Hamel's Messiah begins to soar through our heads, doesn't it? Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order and establishment with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Father, we ask now that we've read and broken Thy Word, that You'd give us wisdom and insight to understand how all this announces Your sure and certain inevitable victory. In Christ's name we pray, Amen. So this inevitable victory is spoken of here. There's speaking of thrones and rulers and crowns. There's the idea of joy because the battle has been won. And here we have a promised change coming for the burdened people of God. In this passage, we find the description of them as living under oppression of darkness to now living under the dawning of a great light there in verse 2. All this is metaphor for going from being downtrodden to being released. Then we have briefly described the people who are transitioning from oppression to liberty. The yoke of the enemy has been cast off and the rod of the oppressor has been broken by a deliverer. And here in this text in place of the enemy's yoke and the rod comes the kind of joy and gladness associated with a bountiful harvest and a great military victory. And all this is what we see in verses 2-7. And all this God has done something to make the tools of the enemy's warfare be abolished. And there is in the introduction in verse 2 here, the introduction of a child who will rule as a king. That child who will rule as a king, of course, is the one who was born in a manger. When we consider the mention of light here at the beginning of this passage, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. We're reminded of light, that light throughout the book of Isaiah, as well as Scripture, is a metaphor for God's blessing and God's presence and God's revelation. We could spend the time, if we had the time, to look at several passages where light is used that way in the book of Isaiah. So again, what is being promised here is the bursting of travail and oppression, and the promise of the very presence of God with this use of the word light. We must not miss the idea of this light, because when the utter fulfillment of this promise comes to pass, and when this child whose promise arrives, what we read of in Luke is, And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord did what? Shown. Which speaks of what? Light. Shown about them and they were so afraid. That glory. The presence of God. And John's Gospel speaks also of this way of the Lord Christ. John's Gospel says, and this is a judgment, that light has come into the world. And people loved darkness rather than the light because the works were evil. And our Lord Christ will even speak later in the book of John in one of His great I Am statements. He'll speak of Himself as I Am the what? The light of the world. We capture something of this idea of the promise coming when we sing during this season our carols. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. When we sing, O come, all ye faithful, we sing, true God of true God, light from light eternal. Lo, He shuns not the virgin's womb, Son of the Father, begotten, not created. Even when we sing, hark the herald angels sing, we sing of this light. Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace. Hail the Son of Righteousness. Light and life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings. Christ is that male child spoken of here in Isaiah when it says, for unto us a child is born. And He is the light that God has promised throughout the Scriptures. The Lord Christ is the One who is promissory of the great reversals in the fortunes of His downtrodden people. The Lord Christ is the One who occasions the great reversal in the circumstances of God's people. This whole passage in Isaiah then is in anticipation that we Christians continue to have, especially during this Advent season. We do believe the light has dawned upon us with the coming of Christ, but we also believe that we go from light unto light. This is why we confess that God's presence has come among us in Christ. We anticipate the presence of God to magnify itself in the affairs of men. Over the course of time, we take seriously the phrase in this passage that teaches us, quote, the increase of the government and of peace, there'll be no end. And so we anticipate that he who is now on David's throne and who is now ruling will continue to extend his dominion progressively over the whole earth, which he already rules now in principle. Men who are opposed to Christ and His kingdom will be conquered and will find themselves to be glad subjects of the great King, who upholds His kingdom with justice and righteousness, as Isaiah says here in chapter 9. This idea is captured in a verse of angels from the realm of glory. This idea of Christ conquering those who are opposed to Him. In angels from the realm of glory, we can sing one of the verses Sinners wrung with true repentance, doomed for guilt to endless pains, justice now revokes thy sentence. Mercy calls you. Break your chains. This all begins with the birth of the Promised Child spoken of here in Isaiah 2. Rush Duny picks up this thread in one of his books. He says, quote, The joyful news of the birth of Christ is the restoration of man to his original calling with the assurance of victory. This has long been celebrated in the Christmas carols, the cultural mandate and the Great Commission. And post-millennialism is either explicitly or implicit in these Christmas carols that we sing every season. So what we're saying is that every season, Isaiah 9, 2 through 7, and the idea of the inevitability of victory, in the idea of God's triumph. We sing in our Christmas carols. It's not only that this is a theme that we mention during the Christmas season. It's not only the idea that the great victor has come and he's going to conquer everything that stands in his way. It's also the idea that this gets in our Christmas carols, and we sing it. But sometimes we don't even notice it, because when we sing songs, we begin to glide over that which is familiar. Part of what we're trying to do is not only articulate where the certainty and inevitability of this victory is spoken of here in Isaiah, but also to note how it got into our Christmas meal, and how we sing it, and how this idea of triumph and victory is part of the Christian faith and part of what it means to celebrate during the Advent time. So with the birth of Christ, we expect that, in the words of Ken Gentry, The proclaiming of the Spirit-blessed gospel of Jesus Christ will win the vast majority of human beings to salvation in the present age. We expect increasing gospel success, which will gradually produce a time in history prior to Christ's second coming in which faith and righteousness and peace and prosperity will prevail in the ears of people and of nations. And after an extensive era of such conditions, the Lord will return visibly, bodily, and in great glory Ending history with a general resurrection and the great judgment of all humankind. And that expectation of Christ's triumph and this inevitability of victory. This idea of the inevitability of it that was stolen from us by the Marxists. It's contained here in Isaiah 9. And we sing of it every year in our songs. Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth... Just some small people? No, let earth... receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing. No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow." How far? In a tiny corner? No. As far as the curse is found. See the sense of inevitability? that we sing in joy to the world. Christ has come. The King has come. He rules over all. And He's going to reverse the curse. He's going to have victory and triumph. And inasmuch as we are united to Him, we are as well. It's one aspect of Christmas we celebrate. Christ's victory. The inevitability of triumph. It even goes on. This echoes here. Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9 talks about the increase of His government and peace. There will be no end. It talks about being upon the throne of David and ruling, and that's in joy of the world. He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love. So we see this sense of joy to the whole world. The whole earth receives your King. The effect of the arrival of the Lord Christ is the ending of thorns in the curse. And He makes all the nations the different nations prove. The birth of the Lord Christ is not some provincial affair that can be kept secret. The wise men coming with all a picture of the fact that Christ was going to be submitted to by all the kings of the world. The lands of Allah will surrender to Christ. The inroads of Marxism and humanism that have captured nature will totter and fall to be replaced by the already present Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Men who curse the thought of Christ, who are now in chains of their own spite and the shackles of their own sin, will be conquered and set free to gladly serve Christ. This is what Isaiah speaks of, and this is what our Western Christmas carols echo. Our Christianity is not something that's for some small little tribe or number. It's something that's expansive. It's something that's glorious. It's something that is going to rule the whole world because it already does now rule the whole world. And we need to have that kind of mindset as believers in Christ. Listen to the Christmas carols. Then peel the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail. The right prevail. With peace on earth, good will to men. The Christian religion is a faith of ultimate and total victory. And Christmas celebrates that. Ultimate and total victory where the gates of hell cannot prevail against Christ and His chosen people. The triumph of Christ should be celebrated annually during the Advent season. In the incarnation from birth to crucifixion, From resurrection to ascension, the Lord Christ's gain to victory is now being worked out in space and time. He is even now as He was upon His birth, wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government, the expansion of His government, there should be no end. This mighty God champions over men by His Gospel, which is not as if those who are prisoners to their sin and who are in hostility can sue for pardon and so be forgiven and released." Well, could Wesley then write, emphasizing this reconciliation that Christ brings to those who walk in darkness? And who even love the darkness they walk in, he can say, glory to the newborn King, peace on earth and mercy mild. What about God and sinners? Joyful all, ye nations, rise. Not a few of them. Join the triumph of the skies. So when we celebrate Advent, we celebrate Christmas. Not only do we celebrate the coming of a child who is lowly born, we celebrate the fact that this child is God with us, Emmanuel. And we celebrate the sure and certain victory of His life, death, resurrection and ascension and all that that guarantees. So Christmas is about the present and future triumph of God in space. and time history, against all those who would try to mute the voice of justice and righteousness, and who would think that they could forever successfully make war against the King of Heaven. God sits in Heaven. What does He do? He cracks up. Christmas is about the Prince of Peace bringing in that peace that He's already brought in. He brings peace. He brings peace as ordained by God, as God defines. We are so foolish about what we do with the idea of peace And now I'm going to show my age. Imagine all the people living life in peace. From John Lennon. Cat Stevens could sing, "'Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train. O peace train, take this country, come take me home again." The only way peace can come between man and man is when man's warfare of God has ended. when the Prince of Peace is recognized as the great King over all. And in the birth of Christ, the provision for that end of warfare has arrived. And the fact that the end of warfare has arrived, we sing in our Christmas carols a thrill of hope. A weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees. Oh, hear the angels' voices. Oh, night divine. O night when Christ was born. Here is this weary world without peace and constant conflict, and yet Christ is born. And what can it do according to the hymnist? It can rejoice. And none of this would be true save for the birth of He who remains, mighty God and Prince of Peace. So because of God's work in sending Christ, Christianity anticipates the definitive conquest of God and His people in the affairs of men precisely because of the incarnation and the redemptive work of Christ God already has conquered over His enemies. We are the ones who believe in the inevitability of victory. We Christians are confident of God's victory, and so are heralds of this gospel that God has gained in Christ. We command all men everywhere to repent. We don't beg them. Oh, please, please, please come to Jesus. Ask Him into your heart. We command all men everywhere to repent. This is not an invitation. This is a command. This is a summons. Repent, for the King is triumphed and conquered. Our Christian fathers who wrote and penned these carols so believe in the inevitability of victory that is set forth in Isaiah 9 and throughout the Scriptures, that they woe the triumph of Christ's victory in our Christmas songs. Again, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Joyful, all ye nations, rise. What are you to join? The triumph of the skies. And when it talks about all the faithful, and O come, all ye faithful, how are they coming? Joyful and triumphant. We can come joyful and triumphant because Christ has conquered. And because Christ has conquered, He will conquer. In principle, He rules over all. And the inevitability of that is going to find itself squeezed out in time and space history. So let the pagans put up their display at the Capitol lawn of Satan with a serpent selling knowledge. You know that's going to happen, right? In Lansing, they're putting up a Satanist display. It's only going to last a very short time. Christ has conquered. And even those will find themselves repenting in time. So those who are in Christ, and here I am concluding, are the happy, humble warriors We're happy because we know that the one promise has come. And so we know that our victory is certain, no matter the opposition. Because Scripture teaches of the increase of this government and of peace, there'll be no end. There's no reason for us to have to apologize for what we believe and why we believe it. There's no reason for us to have to back up into the shadows. We are the ones who are in the train of Him who conquered. And during this Advent season, that's one aspect that we celebrate. May God be pleased and may we live to see that triumph go forward. Let's stand for a closing word of prayer. Father, we thank You for faithful men and women who have gone before. We thank You, Father, for those faithful men and women who have written the carols that find us sometimes without us even knowing it because we just so lively pass by it, find us singing about this inevitability of victory, this triumph, this certainty that we have in Christ Jesus. We pray, Father, that we would not be of the shy and retiring variety when it comes to heralding the good news. We pray, Father, also that we'll find ourselves confident against those who would try to intimidate us into other wicked belief systems, remind us that Christ is conquered, and so we have no apologies to make. Yet, at the same time, we pray that You would give us a due humility that bespeaks to the fact that we're in You. Give us, Father, the right disposition, the right personality, the right character at different times in our conversations to proclaim this inevitable victory in Christ Jesus. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.