Well, we've been going through Genesis in our Gospel Project curriculum, but this morning we're shifting to Isaiah 9 as a special Christmas lesson this morning. So the children's classes as well, the Gospel Project has certain you know, lessons focused on Christmas and when we come to Easter. So for this morning, the lesson is the Prince of Peace from Isaiah chapter 9. So if you want to turn to Isaiah and I'll start by reading this introductory paragraph here. It says, in this session, we examine one of the more well-known Old Testament prophecies of the coming of Jesus Christ. In this passage from Isaiah, we will see that the Son of God would come to be the Prince of Peace, the one who would bring light, joy, freedom, justice, and righteousness. While God's people in Isaiah's day would have viewed these promises through their national struggles at the time, we see in these verses a greater hope, the hope of Christ rescuing us from sin and providing peace with God. So just to start with a little context of Isaiah, at the beginning of Isaiah, Isaiah the prophet gives us the historical context of what he's prophesying into the situation of Judah at this time. Verse 1 of Isaiah 1 says, The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. So he's prophesying to the southern kingdom of Judah. You remember that Israel had been one nation, but then there was a split, there was a divided kingdom of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah. And at this point, this is around 740 BC, And so shortly after the time that Isaiah began prophesying, the northern kingdom was going to fall to this rising power of Assyria in the east. And so Assyria in 722 BC defeated the northern kingdom of Israel. Isaiah is prophesying to the southern kingdom of Judah, but it's kind of dark times here because this national, this power, this foreign power of Assyria is looming there and is about to defeat Israel. And so Judah, I mean, this is kind of a scary time. When we get to, um, skip, skip over to chapter six, this is just kind of a brief introduction here to the historical context. But in chapter six, here's another famous chapter of Isaiah where Isaiah has this vision of the Lord. Verse one of chapter six says in the year that King Uzziah died. So back in chapter one there that I read, there were those four Kings. Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. So, in the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah has this amazing vision of the Lord and the Lord's holiness. When we move to chapter 7, and here's another famous prophecy having to do with Jesus coming into the world, Isaiah 7 has the prophecy about the virgin birth. And at this point in chapter 7, it's King Ahaz. who's now king of Judah. We're going to read a little bit of Isaiah 7 and then we'll skip over to chapter 9 where we'll focus most of our time this morning. But in chapter 7, let's read from verse 10 to verse 17. Okay, so Rob, will you start there in Isaiah 7 verse 10? And if we can just go down the table here, whoever's comfortable reading, read two or three verses. So Isaiah 7 verses 10 through 17. Okay, so again, like I was saying, the context here, there's fear of this Assyrian empire coming in and destroying them. And there's different political alliances that are being made and pressure being put on Judah and King Ahaz. And King Ahaz, what we're seeing here, he's scary. And the question is, is he going to trust in man or is he going to trust in God? Is he going to fear man or fear God? And that's what Isaiah in these prophecies is challenging him to consider. And the Lord is gracious here to King Ahaz to say, hey, ask for a sign. Verse 11, ask a sign of the Lord your God. Let it be deep as Sheol or as high as heaven. Basically, ask whatever you want. And Ahaz kind of cops out here and says, I'm not going to ask. will not put the Lord to the test. It kind of sounds spiritual, but really it's just saying, I think I'm going to do my own thing. And I'm going to make these alliances in these ways to try to protect ourselves. But I'm not really going to be trusting in the Lord in this situation. And so then the Lord himself will give you a sign. You're not going to ask for a sign? Well, the Lord will give you a sign. Verse 14, behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. And, you know, there's it's interesting in the Old Testament, some of these prophecies, there can be a near fulfillment and then a far fulfillment. And so it seems in the context here, there's a there's a near fulfillment of this in in chapter eight of the of Isaiah's own son. Maher Shalal Hashbaz, that's quite a name. But in the birth of Isaiah's son, and in some of the description there in chapter 7, you realize some of that prophecy is applying to just a mere human being. Before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. You know, so some of that's going to happen in the very near future, but then some of this is, is, is prophesying to the distant future to, uh, the Messiah, um, the Emmanuel. And, and in Matthew one, um, it refers back to this passage as, as, you know, Jesus as the fulfillment of this. Um, so we have that prophecy of the virgin birth, and then that now brings us to chapter nine. where we have this famous passage, to us a child is born, to us a son is given. So let's go ahead and read now chapter 9, verses 1 through 7. Brittany, will you pick it up there? Isaiah 9, 1. All right, thank you. So point number one here, the Prince of Peace brings light and joy to the world. Look at verses one through three again, especially verses two and three. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. So again, thinking of this period in Israel's history and Judah's history of just a darkness here, a fear of this foreign power looming there, threatening, and also the people themselves of how they've wandered from the Lord. And so there's discipline from the Lord coming upon them in different ways. But then also this hope. you know, and connecting still with chapter seven, this hope of a, um, a, uh, of Emmanuel coming who will be born of a virgin. And then the promises here of a child is born to us as son is given. So the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them has light shown. So just thinking about this theme of light and light coming into darkness, the question here, how has your relationship with Jesus brought you light and joy even in the midst of dark and difficult circumstances in life? Would anyone want to, anything come to mind of a story from your own life or someone else of, you know, where you think about just the darkness of a situation or of sin or of trials, but how your relationship with Jesus brings light and joy into that? Yeah. Right. Yeah, yeah, Laura. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, amen. Right, and going back to what Rich was saying, I mean, when times are very dark, you know, that's when a person clinging to Christ can, you know, there's such a stark contrast. Yeah, and for the world to see, you know, believers who are clinging to Christ even when things are difficult, that shines very brightly. And that joy is very noticeable. Yeah, any other comments on that? Let me read a couple passages from the New Testament. You don't have to turn here, but in Matthew 4, those verses from Isaiah 9 are quoted. So this is Jesus leaving Nazareth. He went and lived in Capernaum by the sea in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. And for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. So, you know, the New Testament often will quote from the Old Testament and show, you know, here's direct fulfillment of these things. And then another similar wording in Luke 1, in Zachariah's prophecy, at the very end of Zachariah's prophecy, He speaks of to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. So, you know, overlapping themes here from Isaiah of light in darkness and guiding us into peace. So I just wanted to read those verses in connection with Isaiah 9, 1 through 3. So let's move on now to point number two and verses four and five. The prince of peace brings freedom and peace to the world. And look in verse four, it says for the yoke of his burden and the staff, uh, 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." So we see freedom coming here, you know, breaking the bonds of the oppressor and peace coming here. This reference to Midian, this is from back in Judges 6 and 7. Does anybody recall any of the details from the story of Midian and Gideon? Gideon was the judge who God used to deliver the people from the oppression of Midian. This is in Judges 6 and 7. What's a key point from that account in Judges 6 and 7 that would inform our understanding here of verses 4 and 5 in Isaiah 9? You guys remember the story of Gideon? Yeah, Doug? Right. Yeah, yeah. Right. Yeah, so it's all of God. I mean, it's so counterintuitive in this battle against Midian. I'll just mention a couple things from the beginning of Judges 7. The Lord said to Gideon, The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, My own hand has saved me. Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead. Then 22,000 of the people returned, meaning they went home, and 10,000 remained. So who does this? Says, hey, the army's too big, we need a smaller army. And God's purpose here is to say, I'm not gonna let you have any of the glory here. You know, God's going to get all the glory in delivering his people. So then even from the 10,000, he reduces it down to 300, uh, 300 warriors. So, so yeah, here in Isaiah nine verse four, um, God is, you know, God is the one who's going to do this. He's the one powerful to deliver his people. And he'll get all the glory for it, and he will involve us however he sees fit, however he chooses to. But it's all his power that's going to bring this freedom and this peace. So an application question here, how should Christ's victory over sin and death frame how we understand sin's impact on us as believers? I'm thinking here verses 4 and 5 in reference to Midian and Gideon. Yeah, what responses do you have to that question? How should Christ's victory over sin and death frame how we understand sin's impact on us as believers? Any thoughts on that? Yeah, Doug? Yeah, right, right. Yeah, it's all of God. Yeah, yeah, amen. Yeah, and in thinking about the theme here of the Prince of Peace, I mean, just think of the peace that this can bring to us, knowing that God has won the battle. You know, Christ has won the battle for us. He has defeated sin and death for us. And so what a gift that is to us, and it's not something we need to be working to earn or fighting to win this battle on our own. I mean, there is a battle that we're involved in, but it's by God's grace and it's by the indwelling of his spirit that he's going to enable us to do these things that he calls us to do. But he has, I mean, the battle is won. He has done that. So we're living and we're fighting in victory in that sense already. And so the peace that that brings to us. This quote by Jerry Bridges here about the peace that we should have as believers. Peace should be a hallmark of the godly person. Peace should be part of our character also because God has promised us his peace because he has commanded us to let peace rule in our lives and relationships. And because peace is a fruit of the spirit and therefore an evidence of his working in our lives. And let me read this other quote that's not on your page, but John Oswald, he's an Old Testament scholar. And in his commentary on Isaiah, he says, how will God deliver from arrogance, war, oppression, and coercion by being more arrogant, more warlike, more oppressive, and more coercive? Surely the book of Isaiah indicates frequently that God was powerful enough to destroy his enemies in an instant. Yet again and again, when the prophet comes to the heart of the means of deliverance, a childlike face peers out at us. God is strong enough to overcome his enemies by becoming vulnerable, transparent, and humble. The only hope, in fact, for turning enmity into friendship. Did you track with what he's saying there? I mean, just the, you know, we think later in Isaiah of the prophecies about the suffering servant, all those servant songs, and the most famous of which, Isaiah 53, about the suffering servant. But, you know, we just think of, I mean, God is powerful enough to wipe out His enemies, and He does that in various ways. But from these prophecies in Isaiah 7 and 9 about a child being born, And then also the suffering servant. I mean, this is a different way of conquering. You know, God's redemptive plans is to conquer by sacrifice, by suffering, and in this humble way of this baby coming in to the world. And I like that last bit of that quote there. The only hope, in fact, for turning enmity into friendship I mean, this is, you know, God intends to conquer his enemies partly by turning many of his enemies into friends. I mean, that's the wonder of the gospel. Kathy? Yeah. Right, right. Let's see. Let's look up some of these verses here about different aspects of peace. Can I just get some volunteers? Will someone read Galatians 5, 22 and 23? Alisa? Let's just kind of go down here. And then Brian, can you do Colossians 3, 15? Steve, Matthew 5, 9. And Carrie, can you get Ephesians 2, 14 to 16? And then Stacey, Romans 5, 1. And Gary, 2 Corinthians 5, 17 to 21. So let's listen to these and just listen. I mean, the notes here have these categorized as first, Christ has given us peace within. Second, Christ has given us peace with others. And third, and most importantly, Christ has given us peace with God. So let's just listen to these passages and think about the peace that we have as believers. self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Yeah, thanks. Any observations or comments on these different texts? There are obviously many others that we could look at throughout the Bible about peace, but thinking about you know, peace as a fruit of the Spirit. So we have this peace within us. We also, we become peacemakers. And there's this reconciliation that happens among people and people groups between Jews and Gentiles, that passage in Ephesians 2. So there's reconciliation that happens there. There's peace that comes. And then, and most importantly, and this is all flowing out of our peace with God. There's enmity between us and God because of our sin. But because of Christ, there's reconciliation, there's peace. Any other thoughts from those passages about the peace we have? Yeah, yeah, that's good. Yeah, Laura and then Jeff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, let me read another, uh, verse from, uh, from the gospel of Matthew and see what you guys think of this. and how we fit this together with these other verses we've just heard about peace. But in Matthew 10, Matthew 10, 34, listen to what Jesus says here. Matthew 10, 34, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a person's enemies will be those of his own household." So how does that fit with these other verses we read about peace and about Jesus being the Prince of Peace and bringing peace, giving us peace within and peace with others and peace with God? And then Jesus says, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Yeah, Mark? What does it take for an equal man to succeed? There's everything you have to fight for. You have to fight for the right. You can't roll over and say, oh, at least he was equal. The oppression walks all over him. Sometimes our feelings don't fall in line with what we know to be true. our parents, our sisters, brothers, whatever, that aren't saved because of the hatred they see, not towards us, but towards how we are like Christ. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah, yeah. So within the within the body of Christ, there's peace even across all kinds of other things that in the world would cause enmity, you know, different ethnicities. All those who are in Christ come into this this peaceful community. But yeah, the distinction between those who belong to Christ and those who do not, there's going to be this ongoing enmity and separation because of how people respond to Christ, either in repentance and faith or by rejecting Him and walking away from Him. Mark? Right. Right. And I was, uh, this morning I'm going to be preaching on, um, Simeon in Luke two. And I was thinking about some of the comments there because Simeon, um, you know, Simeon's holding the baby Jesus there in the temple. And Simeon says, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace. So, so he, he refers to peace and the PC has there, but then he also goes on to, to prophesy and he's saying specifically to Mary. Behold this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed And and he says to Mary and a sword will pierce through your own soul Also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed So we kind of see the juxtaposition of those things there as well that there's you know, there's this piece that comes with the Messiah, but there's also a There's going to be opposition to him, and there's going to be those who reject him and end up hanging him on a cross. Right, right. Well, just in our last few minutes, let's look at these at verse 6 in Isaiah 9, verse 6. These well-known lines here that we read at Christmas time, a lot of years, or see them connected with Christmas things, but this famous prophecy, 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. So we've spent some time thinking about peace and the Messiah as the Prince of Peace. What are some other things we can draw from those titles there that help us to see things about Jesus, about Him coming into the world as Messiah, wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace? Any other things you see there? Yeah, Tim? Yeah, yeah I'm good. Mark? Well, yeah, let me just respond to that and then you can make your comment. But I see what you're saying, but I mean, I take it this verse is, all of it is referring to the Messiah, this child who's going to be born as, you know, the God-man. And that can be confusing there, you know, especially everlasting Father. I mean, that's not, that's not referring to Jesus, you know, in a Trinitarian sense as father, but I think each of these are describing different aspects of his care for us. And so he does, you know, in a fatherly way, he is caring for us, he's shepherding us, he's watching over us. And wonderful counselor, you know, he's gonna be guiding us and giving us the wise counsel of his word. Yeah, Jeremy. Yeah. Yeah. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So there's, you know, we talk about this like already not yet. And so the, you know, in Jesus coming as a baby, as a Messiah, there's, you know, these promises are already being fulfilled, but there's there's elements to them that are not yet fully fulfilled. And we look forward, you know, and the difference there is between Jesus first coming and his second coming. And we live in that the tension of the time in between Christ's first coming and second coming. Was there one more comment over here? Alright, well this is a great passage and hopefully this has given you some more to think about of this great Christmas passage here. So we'll conclude there and we'll head upstairs for our worship service.