Please rise for the scripture reading for tonight's sermon. This is taken from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 2 to 7. Hear now the word of the Lord. 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 and 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. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Let's pray together. Father, I thank you once again for gathering your people here together this evening for corporate worship. I pray that you speak through your words to your people here tonight. I pray that you convict us of our sin and reassure us of our salvation. And above all, I pray that you are glorified in all of it. In your son's name we pray. Amen. Well, good evening. It is wonderful to be here before you in worship and opening the scriptures here tonight. As you just heard, tonight's passage is Isaiah 9, verses 2 to 7. I'd like to give a little context around the passage first before we begin going through it. The prophet Isaiah labored in the time between the death of King Uzziah in 739 BC and the death of King Hezekiah in 686 BC. Now both of these men were kings of the southern kingdom of Judah. You may remember from other sermons or Sunday school classes or your own reading, even, that the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians around 722 BC, which was right in the middle of Isaiah's time of ministry. This book of Isaiah was written during this time period as the prophet was warning the southern kingdom of Judah of the conquest and exile, which would eventually come to them about 140 years later by way of the Babylonian Empire. In the first half of the book of Isaiah, chapters 1 to 39, the prophet delivers an arraignment to the nation of Israel for their continuing sin. And he announces that God will use Assyria to deliver judgment upon them. Most of you here know that I'm a police officer in my worldly vocation. And in this career, I've testified in many arraignment hearings over the years. These arraignment hearings are legal proceedings where a state's attorney provides evidence to the court of a crime, the defendant hears the charges read to him, and he's then given option to seek counsel. This is similar to what God is doing to Israel here in the first half of Isaiah. He's reading aloud a list of their sins in warning of coming judgment. But in the second half of the book of Isaiah, chapters 40 to 66, the prophet goes on to give hope to Israel in their future captivity in Babylon. Throughout the book of Isaiah, there are themes of God's sovereignty, his redemption, salvation of his people, his grace, his mercy, and his terrible judgment. Isaiah 9, our chapter here tonight, falls right in the middle of a section of the book which is filled with prophecies about the coming Messiah. And this is one of the key prophecies about the coming Savior. The prophet Isaiah finishes chapter 8 by warning Judah of a coming conquest, and this leads right into chapter 9, which we are studying tonight. And the main point for tonight's sermon is this. God does not leave his people in exile. Rather, he has delivered his people by sending the Messiah as king and savior. I'll say that again. God does not leave his people in exile, but rather he has delivered his people by sending the Messiah as king and savior. So let's look at the first section of our passage tonight. God delivers his people and we see this in verses two through five. Verse two opens our passage with a statement. 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 apostle Matthew later interprets this part of the passage as dealing with the coming of Christ. You can read about that in Matthew chapter four. As we look at this, I'd like to examine a few of the Hebrew, excuse me, Hebrew words here to help flesh this out a bit. This word translated as darkness here in verse two is the Hebrew word Hosek, and it's perhaps most commonly known from the creation account in Genesis one. The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. It's also used in Exodus 10 during the plague of darkness that fell on Egypt. It's also used several times throughout the book of Job talking about deep darkness. As you can see, this word for darkness certainly does mean a literal physical darkness, like in the creation account. There is darkness over the face of the deep. But there is also a strong figurative sense for this word being associated with death and sin and distress and terror. Anyone here who has suffered from depression or perhaps spent time mired in deep sin knows this feeling well. Now the Hebrew word used at the end of verse two for deep darkness is a different word entirely. In this word, you can translate it as shade of death, the grave, or the shadow of death. So we contrast these meanings we see of darkness and deep darkness with the Hebrew word used for light here in verse two. This Hebrew word can also be translated as break of day or bright, clear morning sun. This contrast between darkness and light is not as simple as it may initially appear. This is a contrast of people moving from death to life, from the land of death and darkness and sin to the land of life, from being enveloped in darkness and finally seeing the rising of the morning sun, the daybreak, as the all-encompassing light of Christ is revealed to them. In Isaiah 10, 17, we read, the light of Israel will become a fire, and his holy one a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briars in one day. This Hebrew word for light is also used in Psalm 27, 27 verse 1, which says, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? We also see it in Psalm 119, 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Have you ever been in a period of time where you were mired in deep sin? It often feels like a crushing darkness, bottomless depression, or a soul-crushing despair. Or perhaps before you became a believer, maybe you felt this heavy weight on your shoulders as the Holy Spirit began to convict you of your sin and convince you of the truth of Christ and bring you into the light. Many of you also know I served some time in the Marine Corps. I remember one time we were training in Quantico, and we were dug into reconnaissance positions along a road to notionally scout for a notional enemy force. And that weekend it was below zero, and the cold was just absolutely brutal. And it was everything our Navy corpsman could do to keep the frostbite away from my Marines. That night just felt like it would never end. I mean, that cold and darkness felt suffocating and crushing. But when the sun came up over the horizon the next morning, we felt completely reborn and invigorated. If the sun after a cold night can feel so overwhelmingly comforting, how much more comforting is the light of Christ after the cold, dark night of sin? If you're a Christian here, you no longer dwell in this darkness, the sin and death, because you have been brought into the light. This light which dawns on the people of God is not just the sun rising on the dark earth, it's the light of Israel, the holy one of Judah, the king, an all-consuming flame which will establish his kingdom forever and devour the wicked. If you are here today and you're a Christian, take hope in this. This is the hope of the gospel which Christ has given to you. You will face hardship in this life. Everyone in this church knows that well. But Christ gives you light like a lantern in the darkness and hope like a life raft in the flood. Christian, remember your Savior this day and remember the salvation and hope which he alone offers. If you are here today and you're not a believer, I call you to repent and place your faith in Christ. Nothing in this world will satisfy you. No matter what you think. Not your career. Not your house. Not sex. Not recognition at work. Not your children's travel sports on Sunday. None of it. All of it is worthless. Turn from your idols and the trappings of this heathen age and turn to Christ, the only path to life, the only Savior. In Christ alone and in the church alone will you find true satisfaction and salvation and life. In Christ alone will you find light in the midst of darkness. I'll only touch on verse three briefly by saying that it furthers the promise here as it goes on to say, you have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy, they rejoice before you as with joy the harvest as they are glad when they divide the spoil. This is the promise of God prospering his people after bringing them out of death and into life. God promises to multiply his people, And he promises to cause them to rejoice as they do during the harvest. Imagine for a moment a farmer and his family celebrating the end of a successful farming season. The farmer and his family know the harvest is successful. They know they'll make money. They know they'll have food in their household for the coming winter. God is promising to bring this joy, this type of joy to his people. Verses four and five go on to form the bulk of this first section. They read, for the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor you have broken is on the day of Midian. For every boot of the trampling warrior and battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for fire. This talk of blood and battle and oppressors doesn't sound like the typical Christmas language now, does it? But this is what God promises to his people. He has promised to throw off the yoke of your burden. He has promised to prevent the staff and the rod from striking your shoulder. He has promised that the boots and the garments used in battle will be burned in fire. God is promising here that he'll bring peace to his people, the end of war and violence and death. Certainly, there is a sense in which this peace is already present with God's people, with us as the church. We already experience some level of peace through the crucifixion and the resurrection and the eventual return of Christ. We take hope in that and find peace no matter our circumstances. However, this peace is not yet perfectly fulfilled. We still experience sin. We still experience strife and war. We still experience persecution. But God promises that one day, none of these things will exist. No longer will the people of God struggle in this world. No longer will the people of God bear the burden of sin. No longer will the people of God cry out, come Lord Jesus, come quickly, in the midst of their despair. God promises to bring an everlasting peace to his people, and this will be perfectly consummated in the coming of Christ for the second time. This brings us to the second section and last point for our passage tonight. The Messiah has come as King and Savior. We see this in verses six and seven. These two verses form the crux or the main section of this prophecy. Verse six is that portion of the passage which is most commonly read in worship around Christmas time, or perhaps you see it in Christmas cards this time of year. It reads, 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. This is the introduction in this passage to the coming king. A king who does not simply conquer and rule, but a king who counsels and brings peace to the nations. The beginning of this verse emphasizes the humanity of Christ. He will be a child and a son. But a few lines down, it mentions that Christ is also mighty God. Christ is both fully man and fully God. This beginning of the verse also emphasizes the gracious gift that Christ is to man. Unto us a son is given. Christ given to mankind as Redeemer and King is a most gracious gift. We do nothing to earn it or deserve it. The next part of the verse goes on to further describe the Christ. The government shall be upon his shoulder. This Messiah, Jesus, will have the weight of the government resting upon him. This is reminiscent of the Great Commission that we see at the end of Matthew 28 when Jesus says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Christian, you have a king who is more powerful, more gracious, more merciful, and more just than all the kings and leaders of the earth combined. Christ has supreme authority, unchallenged authority over all creation, and the government of such is placed upon his shoulders alone. The last part of verse six goes on to list several names for the Messiah. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Let's look at this list briefly. This list of names for Christ tells us more of the work which he accomplishes. As Christ is our comforting advisor and guide, he is called wonderful counselor. As Christ is all powerful deity, he is called mighty God. As Christ is a loving parent who holds us in his hands and does not let us go, he is called everlasting father. As Christ is supreme king who brings an everlasting era of peace to the world, he is called Prince of Peace. Christ has not only come to rule, but to rule well and to rule supremely. Think of the comparison here. Christ is not only a wonderful personal counselor, he is also a mighty God. Christ is not only an everlasting father who watches over his sons and daughters, but he's a great prince who ushers in the era of peace. This brings us into the last verse for our passage tonight. Verse seven. 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. This is yet another example or explanation of the work of Christ, and it may remind you of the covenant God makes with David in the Old Testament. You can see that in 2 Samuel 7 or 1 Chronicles 17. 2 Samuel 7.12 says, and this is God speaking to David in the Old Testament, when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. God is promising to raise up a king from the line of David and through that king to establish his line and throne forever. I would like you to think for a moment on the work which this verse is describing. Christ's government and peace will increase without end. Christ will reign on the throne of David and over the kingdom of David. Christ will establish and uphold this kingdom with righteousness and justice, and Christ will establish this kingdom for eternity. Think of the pattern of the kings of Israel and Judah in the Old Testament. As a whole, did they obey God or disobey God? Overwhelmingly, they disobeyed God and refused to follow his law. They caved to the pagan gods of the foreign lands, and they caused the nations of Israel and Judah to fall. They failed to uphold the kingdom with justice and with righteousness. They did what was right in their own eyes rather than what was right in the eyes of God. But this prophecy in Isaiah 9 speaks of another king, one who will reign with justice for the oppressed, with mercy for the sinner, and with strength and judgment for his enemies. Brothers and sisters, this king is Jesus Christ, the child born to us, the child born to Mary in a manger in Bethlehem, the child announced to the shepherds by his own heavenly army of angels. This Jesus is the king prophesied about in our passage tonight. The last line of our passage gives you the guarantee which will accomplish this promise the zeal of the Lord. This is a closing message of assurance because it is not an empty promise it is a promise backed up by the word of God the father himself. By way of application I'd like to bring us to a close this evening. I would like to leave you with one message of exhortation and one message of encouragement. We just heard this passage is about the ending of darkness and the coming of the king. However, for you as a Christian, this darkness has already ended and the king has already come. This darkness still exists in many forms. Sin still runs rampant through the world wreaking havoc on creation. But Christ tells Peter in Matthew 16, that he will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Brothers and sisters, your politicians are not your king. Christ alone is your king. Likewise, your nation is not your kingdom. The kingdom of God alone is your kingdom. Certainly, we still belong to this earthly kingdom in some sense. Pay unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Pay unto Christ what belongs to Christ. You should still pay your taxes and carry out your civic duties and obey the laws of the land only insofar as they do not violate the law of God. The nation, the government can have your money and your possessions because they're meaningless. Those things can be taken away. They're temporary, they're passing away anyway. However, what your king has given you can never be taken away. Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and render unto the true king what belongs to the true king. So by way of exhortation tonight, I implore you to place your faith in Christ as the only means to be saved from sin and death. Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ did not only come to be your king and ruler, but to also be your salvation and your hope. Through Christ alone do you find salvation and freedom from sin. Through Christ alone do you find hope while living in the sinful world. If you're here tonight and you're not a Christian, I call you to confess your sin, turn to Christ. That is the only way to live. Place your faith in Christ as the only means of salvation from eternal death. Nothing else in this world will ever save you. Lastly, by way of encouragement, I implore you to take heart in the midst of trial. Christ, your King, knows your hardship. Christ, your King, knows your temptations. Christ, your King, knows your sufferings. Later in the book of Isaiah in chapter 53, the prophet tells us that the Messiah will be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Christ not only knows your grief and sorrows, but he has shared in them. Christ not only walks with you in your miseries, but he gives you unshakable hope in the midst of them. That hope is that one day, heaven and earth will pass away, Your sinful, damaged bodies will pass away. Death shall be no more, and all things will be made new again. The Apostle John tells us in Revelation 21, 4 that Christ will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Brothers and sisters, this earthly world in this earthly kingdom is passing away. But your heavenly kingdom is eternal and unshakable. This earthly kingdom goes through many kings and rulers throughout the centuries, but the one true king remains the same. My brothers and sisters rejoice for the kingdom of God is at hand. The king has come and he is coming again soon. Amen. Let's pray. Lord father, thank you for delivering us your word and both written form and in the person and the work of your son, Jesus Christ. We pray that you give us a renewed sense of hope and peace and encouragement as we go forth through the end of this year and into the new year. And we pray that for any who are in this room who are not yours as of now, we pray that you use this evening and your word to call them to yourself. In your son's holy name we pray, amen.