WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:02.350 We're starting a new series this morning called 00:00:02.350 --> 00:00:06.650 Christmas Lights. If you're like me, you love 00:00:06.650 --> 00:00:10.210 this time of year. And I know some people don't 00:00:10.210 --> 00:00:12.990 like the time change where it starts to get dark 00:00:12.990 --> 00:00:15.509 and making sure that my mic is on. Are we on? 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:18.079 Some of you don't like the time change. They 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.359 don't like when it gets dark at 5 o 'clock. I 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.199 personally love it, and I always have. I love 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:26.519 that it gets dark early because the earlier the 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:29.500 darkness comes, the earlier the Christmas lights 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:32.479 come on. I hate in the morning when I wake up, 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:34.859 I have to turn the lights off and unplug them 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:37.219 because we're trying to save power, right? And 00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:39.920 so you turn them off, and then as soon as it 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:43.219 gets dark outside, plug them back in. Because 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:45.509 we love... Christmas lights. It's a beautiful 00:00:45.509 --> 00:00:48.369 season. Every December, sometimes November, and 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:51.270 for some psychopaths, October. We string lights 00:00:51.270 --> 00:00:55.130 up on our homes. We put them on our trees. We 00:00:55.130 --> 00:00:58.450 put them on everything that we can put them on. 00:00:58.490 --> 00:01:00.329 The streets are lined with lights. We wrap them 00:01:00.329 --> 00:01:02.770 around everything, and sometimes we synchronize 00:01:02.770 --> 00:01:04.709 them to music. We had a neighborhood in my hometown 00:01:04.709 --> 00:01:07.730 that if you switched to a certain radio station, 00:01:07.989 --> 00:01:09.930 you could drive through the neighborhood, and 00:01:09.930 --> 00:01:12.469 as the radio played Christmas songs, the lights 00:01:12.469 --> 00:01:15.530 would dance and do everything with the music. 00:01:15.629 --> 00:01:18.349 And it's an awesome thing. And when the Christmas 00:01:18.349 --> 00:01:20.829 lights aren't here, we miss them. We start thinking 00:01:20.829 --> 00:01:25.849 about next Christmas. I can remember when I was 00:01:25.849 --> 00:01:28.689 a kid, my favorite time of year, obviously, was 00:01:28.689 --> 00:01:32.450 Christmas. It was the decorations that my mom 00:01:32.450 --> 00:01:34.989 or my grandma or whoever would put up because 00:01:34.989 --> 00:01:38.269 it's Christmas time. And the lights would brighten 00:01:38.269 --> 00:01:40.310 up the nighttime. And I'm somebody who's scared 00:01:40.310 --> 00:01:43.650 of the dark. I don't have any shame in saying 00:01:43.650 --> 00:01:46.349 that. I'm afraid of the dark. But when Christmas 00:01:46.349 --> 00:01:50.129 season comes around and the glow of the red and 00:01:50.129 --> 00:01:53.469 blue and green lights outside, or in the living 00:01:53.469 --> 00:01:56.129 room on the Christmas tree, peeks into my room, 00:01:56.269 --> 00:01:59.730 my room is no longer dark. And I can sleep well. 00:02:00.530 --> 00:02:04.950 I love Christmas lights. And so our whole series 00:02:04.950 --> 00:02:07.930 for the next couple of weeks is going to be about 00:02:07.930 --> 00:02:12.710 Christmas lights. Not the lights that are on 00:02:12.710 --> 00:02:16.590 our trees and that are on our homes, but the 00:02:16.590 --> 00:02:20.469 light that beats the darkness. The light that... 00:02:20.830 --> 00:02:24.629 2 ,000 or so years ago came into this dark world 00:02:24.629 --> 00:02:29.590 and defeated the darkness. Because light always 00:02:29.590 --> 00:02:34.430 beats darkness, does it not? Light tells us that 00:02:34.430 --> 00:02:37.729 even the coldest, the darkest nights, and the 00:02:37.729 --> 00:02:43.490 worst wintry times, there is something bright 00:02:43.490 --> 00:02:46.919 to look for. Our whole series is built around 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:49.400 one truth, and that is this. Just like the lights 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.819 we hang to brighten the season, Jesus came to 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:55.500 brighten this dark world that we find ourselves 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:59.099 living in. And so today we start with the foundation 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:02.259 of it all, and this is the first what light brings 00:03:02.259 --> 00:03:06.419 message, and that is the light brings hope. It 00:03:06.419 --> 00:03:09.099 brings a hope. I want you to imagine wandering 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:12.180 through a really dark and dense forest at night. 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:14.849 You don't have a flashlight. There's no moon 00:03:14.849 --> 00:03:17.909 because of the density of the canopy above you. 00:03:17.969 --> 00:03:20.550 You can't see any clearly marked paths. It's 00:03:20.550 --> 00:03:23.150 a dark forest you're wandering through. But you 00:03:23.150 --> 00:03:25.909 know that if you can get to the other side of 00:03:25.909 --> 00:03:28.909 the forest, there is something really beautiful 00:03:28.909 --> 00:03:31.409 on the other side. There's something special. 00:03:31.610 --> 00:03:34.990 Not only is it dark, but you have no idea how 00:03:34.990 --> 00:03:37.409 to get to the other side. You don't know these 00:03:37.409 --> 00:03:40.150 woods. You're not familiar with your surroundings. 00:03:40.169 --> 00:03:44.250 You don't know this path. So you just have to 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:46.729 keep going. You don't know the direction. You 00:03:46.729 --> 00:03:49.310 don't know the dangers that are in the woods. 00:03:49.330 --> 00:03:51.650 Again, I'm scared of the dark. Don't like the 00:03:51.650 --> 00:03:54.310 dark. So there's some dangers out there. And 00:03:54.310 --> 00:03:58.030 you don't know if you'll make it. You have this 00:03:58.030 --> 00:04:01.229 feeling of uncertainty. This crippling anxiety. 00:04:02.650 --> 00:04:05.909 There's a hopelessness there. And that's what 00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:09.110 the darkness, when we're facing spiritual darkness, 00:04:09.150 --> 00:04:11.110 where we don't know where our hope comes from, 00:04:11.169 --> 00:04:13.870 we don't know what life is going to be like on 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:16.329 the other side of these moments, when we don't 00:04:16.329 --> 00:04:19.110 know if there will be an other side of these 00:04:19.110 --> 00:04:23.550 moments, it's hopelessness. Because without light, 00:04:23.709 --> 00:04:29.850 nothing makes sense. Nothing feels right. But 00:04:29.850 --> 00:04:34.199 with the light, everything becomes visible. The 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:36.740 text that we're going to be looking at in Scripture 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.779 for the next couple of weeks is all in Isaiah. 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:43.680 It's an Old Testament book. Isaiah 9, verses 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:48.199 1 -7. To give you a little background, we're 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:50.199 dealing with Israelite people. These are God's 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:53.680 chosen people. Now, if you know anything about 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:57.279 the Bible, you know Genesis. God creates man. 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.160 Man sins. Man gets kicked out of the perfect 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.519 home that God created for man and God to live 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:05.610 together in. That was his plan. And so man gets 00:05:05.610 --> 00:05:08.689 kicked out. Now man is wandering in darkness. 00:05:08.870 --> 00:05:12.089 God chooses a people that he's going to bring 00:05:12.089 --> 00:05:14.430 redemption to, so that he can bring redemption 00:05:14.430 --> 00:05:17.209 to the whole world. That's the Israelite people. 00:05:17.470 --> 00:05:20.389 The Israelite people, though, they struggle to 00:05:20.389 --> 00:05:24.310 obey and to follow God's plan. They sometimes 00:05:24.310 --> 00:05:28.610 get out of God's line of redemption, and so God 00:05:28.610 --> 00:05:30.850 has to kind of steer them back. And God has to 00:05:30.850 --> 00:05:32.829 help them out. One of the things that happens 00:05:32.829 --> 00:05:35.370 to the Israelite people, they get enslaved. So 00:05:35.370 --> 00:05:38.250 they're in Egypt, they're slaves. Well, God frees 00:05:38.250 --> 00:05:40.850 them. He rescues them because God's a rescuing 00:05:40.850 --> 00:05:43.589 God. And so the Israelite people, they're free 00:05:43.589 --> 00:05:46.769 from slavery, but they sometimes get themselves 00:05:46.769 --> 00:05:48.870 back in trouble. And so they have this history 00:05:48.870 --> 00:05:50.490 of getting in trouble, getting out of trouble 00:05:50.490 --> 00:05:52.709 because of God, getting in trouble, and so on 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:56.550 and so forth. They struggle with darkness. They 00:05:56.550 --> 00:06:01.939 struggle with being outside of God's will. And 00:06:01.939 --> 00:06:05.199 because of that, because of being outside of 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:07.939 God's will, there is some suffering that happens. 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:11.399 There is some darkness that comes. There is some 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:14.079 hopelessness that comes. But here's what God 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:18.740 says through the prophet Isaiah. But there will 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:23.009 be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the 00:06:23.009 --> 00:06:25.209 former time, he brought into contempt the land 00:06:25.209 --> 00:06:27.889 of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:30.610 latter time, he has made glorious the way of 00:06:30.610 --> 00:06:33.649 the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:37.029 of the nations. The people who walk in darkness 00:06:37.029 --> 00:06:40.889 have seen a great light. Those who dwell to the 00:06:40.889 --> 00:06:43.430 land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 00:06:43.509 --> 00:06:45.990 You have multiplied the nation. You have increased 00:06:45.990 --> 00:06:48.930 its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy 00:06:48.930 --> 00:06:52.170 at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide 00:06:52.170 --> 00:06:56.990 the spoil. For the yoke of this burden and the 00:06:56.990 --> 00:07:00.790 staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:05.019 you have broken as on the day of Midian. Every 00:07:05.019 --> 00:07:07.720 boot of the tramping warrior in battle to molt. 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:10.540 And every garment rolled in blood will be burned 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:14.720 as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born. 00:07:14.939 --> 00:07:18.100 To us a son is given. And the government shall 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:20.980 be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called 00:07:20.980 --> 00:07:25.300 Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:30.259 Father. Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:33.180 government and of peace there will be no end. 00:07:33.610 --> 00:07:35.990 on the throne of David and over his kingdom, 00:07:36.170 --> 00:07:39.550 to establish it and to uphold it with justice 00:07:39.550 --> 00:07:42.550 and with righteousness. From this time forth 00:07:42.550 --> 00:07:46.189 and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts 00:07:46.189 --> 00:07:50.769 will do this. That's a pretty powerful scripture 00:07:50.769 --> 00:07:54.100 there. Now maybe you've heard the, for to us 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.560 a child is born verse, but you don't really know 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:59.500 what that whole passage is. We don't talk about 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:01.800 that one, right? We talk about for to us a child 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:03.439 is born because it's Christmas time and we're 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:05.699 talking about the birth of the Savior. But to 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:09.199 me, the best verse in that whole passage is verse 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.339 2. The people walking in darkness have seen a 00:08:13.339 --> 00:08:19.170 great light. It's a dark world. It's a dark time. 00:08:19.389 --> 00:08:21.970 Sometimes we find ourselves in dark seasons. 00:08:22.050 --> 00:08:25.730 Maybe it's a lost job or maybe it's a lost loved 00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:28.449 one. Maybe it's sickness. Maybe it's family trouble. 00:08:28.649 --> 00:08:30.769 Maybe it's uncertainty about what you're going 00:08:30.769 --> 00:08:33.149 to eat or where you're going to live. We find 00:08:33.149 --> 00:08:36.669 ourselves in darkness. But what God says is the 00:08:36.669 --> 00:08:39.509 people walking in darkness have seen a great 00:08:39.509 --> 00:08:43.389 light. Isaiah wrote these words to a people, 00:08:43.529 --> 00:08:46.389 the Israelite people, who were no strangers to 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:49.519 fear. They were no strangers to oppression. They 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.539 knew very much what it felt like to be wandering, 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:56.960 to be spiritually lost. These are a people who 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:00.960 were very politically vulnerable. This is a people 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.120 who struggled with morality. This is a people 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:07.419 who were very unsure of their future. That sounds 00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:11.299 like us. That sounds like some people we can 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:16.659 relate to, right? They were in darkness. But 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:23.679 God saw fit to bring a light. See, darkness isn't 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:28.039 just a metaphor. It's reality. For the Israelite 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.539 people, darkness was not just a metaphor. It 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:33.379 was a reality to them. They knew what darkness 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:36.159 felt like. They knew what it was like to be lost, 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:39.480 just like the forest we talked about. The Israelite 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:41.720 people, they can't see their way forward. They 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:44.779 don't know which way to go. They don't know how 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:47.340 to escape their circumstances. They don't know 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:50.159 how to reach the promised land that God has told 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:54.220 them about. They don't know about God's peace 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:58.700 and presence until God brings the light. And 00:09:58.700 --> 00:10:02.000 Isaiah says the light's coming. He tells them 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.299 hope is coming. You don't have to stay in the 00:10:04.299 --> 00:10:06.820 dark. It's not going to be dark forever. It will 00:10:06.820 --> 00:10:10.120 not be this way for long. The light, the hope 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:13.120 of God is coming. And I want to just turn back 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:15.299 the clock here from what Isaiah is writing again. 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:19.080 This is the Israelite people. And so after the 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:21.940 Israelite people, God's chosen people, the Jews, 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:26.879 after they escaped slavery in Egypt, they entered 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:30.700 the wilderness. They entered this place of wandering. 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:34.700 And so now they're free. They're no longer in 00:10:34.700 --> 00:10:37.600 slavery. They're no longer in chains. But they 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:39.879 may feel a little directionless. Have you ever 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:42.299 walked around in the desert? I haven't, but I 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:45.340 can imagine it's terrifying because you don't 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:48.200 know where you're going. You don't know unless 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:50.379 you have a compass, unless you have a map. You 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:52.820 don't know where you're supposed to head. And 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:55.440 so the Israelites, they're free, but there's 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:59.389 some directionlessness. They've been saved, but 00:10:59.389 --> 00:11:04.450 they're not quite sure how to get home. So God 00:11:04.450 --> 00:11:07.289 does what God always does in times of darkness. 00:11:08.110 --> 00:11:15.809 He provides a light. So we're in Exodus. This 00:11:15.809 --> 00:11:20.149 is the Israelites wandering. And they're in the 00:11:20.149 --> 00:11:24.309 desert. Again, who knows where to go. They know 00:11:24.309 --> 00:11:26.870 they've been promised this home, this land flowing 00:11:26.870 --> 00:11:29.250 with milk and honey. They know they've been promised 00:11:29.250 --> 00:11:31.750 a place that's going to be peaceful. They've 00:11:31.750 --> 00:11:34.110 been promised a place where they can call home 00:11:34.110 --> 00:11:37.009 because for so long, their only home has been 00:11:37.009 --> 00:11:40.169 chains. And so God is offering them a place that 00:11:40.169 --> 00:11:42.570 they can be comfortable in, but they don't quite 00:11:42.570 --> 00:11:45.129 know how to get there. So God provides a light 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:47.490 to lead them. It says, by night, the Lord went 00:11:47.490 --> 00:11:50.269 ahead of them in a pillar of fire to give them 00:11:50.269 --> 00:11:51.809 light. If you're familiar with this passage. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:55.600 God also provided a cloud that would go before 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:57.539 them in the daytime, but that doesn't align with 00:11:57.539 --> 00:11:59.200 the Christmas lights theme. So we're going with 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:02.419 the fire at night, right? He provides them a 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:07.860 light so that they can have direction, so that 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:10.620 they can have warmth, so that they can have vision. 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:13.899 And if you have those things, you have a chance 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:18.799 at survival. And not just survival, but rescue. 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:22.740 You see, this wasn't... Just a flashlight for 00:12:22.740 --> 00:12:25.379 the Israelite people wandering through the wilderness. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.399 This was God providing guidance. It was God providing 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:31.240 protection. God giving them reassurance, giving 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:34.360 them direction. It was hope in the darkness of 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:39.059 the journey to home. So Israel could go on this 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:44.120 major adventure because God lit the path. And 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:47.419 for us, we don't necessarily walk through literal 00:12:47.419 --> 00:12:51.659 physical wildernesses. we do walk through hard 00:12:51.659 --> 00:12:55.200 to handle places like grief. We walk through 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.330 difficult places like uncertainty. Like broken 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:01.629 relationships, like anxiety, like temptation, 00:13:02.049 --> 00:13:05.230 like addiction. These dark places of confusion. 00:13:05.269 --> 00:13:08.490 We walk through these dark seasons where we don't 00:13:08.490 --> 00:13:11.149 know what our next step is or should be. And 00:13:11.149 --> 00:13:14.710 so God steps in to the dark forest, the dark 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:17.230 wilderness that we have been in or maybe we are 00:13:17.230 --> 00:13:20.269 in. And he provides light. I want to encourage 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:23.230 you with this truth. Although the world is full 00:13:23.230 --> 00:13:27.000 of darkness. And the human existence is full 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.899 of tragedy and it's full of wickedness. We are 00:13:29.899 --> 00:13:33.740 not ever left alone. Our God never leaves us 00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:39.259 alone. The true light has come. The Christmas 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:43.480 season is not about the pillar of fire that the 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:47.039 Israelites were led by. It's about the light 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:50.539 of Christ that has come. This is what John chapter 00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:54.509 8 verse 12 says. Jesus says, actually, I am the 00:13:54.509 --> 00:13:57.509 light of the world. Whoever follows me will never 00:13:57.509 --> 00:14:01.309 walk in darkness, but will have the light of 00:14:01.309 --> 00:14:05.049 life. If you are in Christ this morning, if you 00:14:05.049 --> 00:14:07.850 have given your life to Jesus and have said, 00:14:07.870 --> 00:14:10.690 I'm going to live for him. If you have been filled 00:14:10.690 --> 00:14:14.289 with the Holy Spirit through your. commitment 00:14:14.289 --> 00:14:17.169 to Christ, you have the light of life. So darkness 00:14:17.169 --> 00:14:20.129 does not have to be your reality. You've got 00:14:20.129 --> 00:14:22.750 more than a flashlight. You have the light of 00:14:22.750 --> 00:14:26.789 Christ living inside you. He doesn't just show 00:14:26.789 --> 00:14:31.470 us the way. He is the way. He doesn't just reveal 00:14:31.470 --> 00:14:34.549 what's in front of us, what is before us, but 00:14:34.549 --> 00:14:36.870 he is what's in front of us. He doesn't just 00:14:36.870 --> 00:14:40.429 give us life. He is the provider of life. He 00:14:40.429 --> 00:14:45.019 is our substance. See, Jesus is so much more 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:50.480 than just the bringer of eternal life. We talk 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.019 so much in the church and we try to tell people, 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:54.899 if you want to live forever, you will come to 00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:56.679 Christ. Well, first of all, we're going to live 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.320 forever. One way or another, it's going to be 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:02.100 good or bad. But he's so much more than just 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:04.700 the bringer of eternal life. He is the power 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:09.480 supply for abundant and eternal life. Because 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:12.799 of Christ. We can live in this world today, not 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:15.679 just forever, but we can live today in the darkness 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.820 and the uncertainty and the fear of this life 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:23.320 with a lot to tell us and to show us how to get 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:28.059 home. See, when Jesus came as a baby in a manger, 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.899 he didn't just illuminate the night sky with 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:34.419 this North Star that showed people how to get 00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:37.159 to the baby. He illuminated the world with hope 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:42.960 because now the light is here. So what is this 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:47.720 hope? What hope does the light bring? Because 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:51.600 you may be wandering in darkness and you may 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:56.759 be struggling with fear and pain and uncertainty. 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:00.960 Well, the light gives us a sense of where we 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:05.440 are. It allows you to see clearly the situation 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:08.960 you're in. Because if I'm in darkness, I may 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:11.019 not know that. I've always wondered, and if there's 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:13.259 any blind people in the room, I'm going to ask 00:16:13.259 --> 00:16:16.700 you one day. But I've always wondered, what a 00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:21.399 blind person thinks about? You know, like, they 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:24.679 don't know what they're missing, if they've always 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:26.279 been blind. They don't know what they're missing, 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:32.720 as far as visually. But they see something, right? 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:38.500 Maybe it's just darkness. But they don't know. 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:42.679 Well, when you bring light into it, now you can 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:46.100 see what you've been missing. I love watching 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:47.919 the videos. If you've seen them before, I should 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:50.620 have put a clip on the screen. But have you ever 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:52.620 seen the videos of the little babies that are 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.279 blind and they get glasses for the first time? 00:16:55.340 --> 00:16:57.580 Now, the babies can see, but they can't see well. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.620 So they get glasses for the first time and they 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:02.480 can see their parents' face. And it's a really 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:05.359 like a cute emotional thing. And I'd have all 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:07.480 of you crying if I showed videos. Go look them 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:09.559 up. It's a great way to spend your day. So you 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:11.880 watch these children get glasses for the first 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:15.900 time. And they can see their mom's face. And 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:19.599 you see the excitement but also like the sadness. 00:17:20.339 --> 00:17:23.059 It's an overwhelming feeling because now they 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:25.759 see what they've been missing. And so when you've 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.759 been wandering in darkness. And now it's illuminated. 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:31.279 You can see not only the good stuff, but you 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:33.759 can see the bad stuff. And so it brings awareness 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:36.799 to where you're at. And the first step to getting 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:40.640 out of a scary place is realizing you're in a 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:43.480 scary place. And you need some light for that. 00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:49.240 The light also reveals the truth. It allows us 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:54.170 to know what's a lie and what's real. It allows 00:17:54.170 --> 00:17:57.410 us to know what dangers are really there and 00:17:57.410 --> 00:17:59.609 what dangers are just in our heads. Because, 00:17:59.670 --> 00:18:01.829 again, I'm scared of the dark. And I'm fully 00:18:01.829 --> 00:18:04.170 aware that my fear of the dark is probably very 00:18:04.170 --> 00:18:08.289 irrational. I know that. You know that. I'm just 00:18:08.289 --> 00:18:11.250 a big baby. But when you bring light into the 00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:14.150 picture, now I can see there was nothing really 00:18:14.150 --> 00:18:17.109 to be afraid of. Now, if you turn the light on 00:18:17.109 --> 00:18:19.930 and there's like a murderer sitting there with 00:18:19.930 --> 00:18:22.089 a knife over me, yeah, there was something to 00:18:22.089 --> 00:18:25.730 be afraid of. But I don't know any different 00:18:25.730 --> 00:18:29.410 if there's no light here. And so when Jesus comes 00:18:29.410 --> 00:18:33.390 in and he brings this light, he exposes the darkness 00:18:33.390 --> 00:18:36.210 and shows us what there is to be afraid of and 00:18:36.210 --> 00:18:40.450 what there isn't. It helps us to see the reality 00:18:40.450 --> 00:18:44.910 around us. Again, I've always been scared of 00:18:44.910 --> 00:18:48.470 the dark. Irrationally scared. But as a kid, 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:53.210 I always loved Christmas time. Because again, 00:18:53.869 --> 00:18:57.490 The light outside, the light from the tree, would 00:18:57.490 --> 00:19:00.049 peek through the window. And I didn't have to 00:19:00.049 --> 00:19:03.970 sleep in the dark. I knew, no matter what, for 00:19:03.970 --> 00:19:05.950 one month of the year, I didn't have to sleep 00:19:05.950 --> 00:19:08.450 in the dark. I didn't have to sleep with my head 00:19:08.450 --> 00:19:12.930 tucked under my blanket. But I could just sleep 00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:16.049 peacefully. Because there's nothing to be afraid 00:19:16.049 --> 00:19:20.970 of when the light is shining. The light of Christ. 00:19:21.869 --> 00:19:25.190 not only reveals the reality around us and shows 00:19:25.190 --> 00:19:27.910 us the truth and shows us what there is to be 00:19:27.910 --> 00:19:29.970 scared of and what there isn't, the light shows 00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:35.650 us where we're going. See, hope, hope's not wishful 00:19:35.650 --> 00:19:40.630 thinking. Hope is something informed. It's a 00:19:40.630 --> 00:19:43.650 confidence, it's an expectation of what God has 00:19:43.650 --> 00:19:46.769 promised because God himself is faithful. If 00:19:46.769 --> 00:19:48.890 you've read the Old Testament and if you've read 00:19:48.890 --> 00:19:51.119 the New Testament, you know one thing is true. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:55.420 God fulfills his promises every time. God is 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:58.440 faithful. And so we have a hope knowing that 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:02.940 our faithful God is at work and that he has brought 00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:08.220 light onto the scene. So what has God promised 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:11.750 that we need to have hope for? Well, to the Israelites, 00:20:11.950 --> 00:20:14.049 he promised them a home and a promised land. 00:20:14.190 --> 00:20:15.970 You know, that land flowing with milk and honey. 00:20:16.029 --> 00:20:18.450 He promised them that. A land where they didn't 00:20:18.450 --> 00:20:20.410 have to live in chains. A land where they didn't 00:20:20.410 --> 00:20:22.869 have to be in fear. A land where they could call 00:20:22.869 --> 00:20:27.109 it home. And to the Christian, to the follower 00:20:27.109 --> 00:20:30.650 of Christ, he has promised a home far greater. 00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:35.089 It's not a home flowing with milk and honey. 00:20:35.170 --> 00:20:37.349 I don't actually know why that sounds enticing. 00:20:37.410 --> 00:20:41.559 Maybe if you like milk, it does. A land of abundance 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:46.349 is what that is. God has promised a land where 00:20:46.349 --> 00:20:49.529 we can call home for eternity and not have to 00:20:49.529 --> 00:20:52.569 worry about chains, not have to worry about darkness, 00:20:52.690 --> 00:20:55.589 not have to worry about sorrow and fear and pain. 00:20:55.710 --> 00:20:59.509 It is a home of abundance and eternal life. Here's 00:20:59.509 --> 00:21:02.430 what we have been promised. Look at 1 Peter 1 00:21:02.430 --> 00:21:15.650 -2 -5. here's the word, hope through the resurrection 00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:20.210 of Christ from the dead to an inheritance that 00:21:20.210 --> 00:21:26.809 is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept 00:21:26.809 --> 00:21:31.009 in heaven for you, who by God's power are being 00:21:31.009 --> 00:21:34.369 guarded through faith for a salvation ready to 00:21:34.369 --> 00:21:36.890 be revealed in the last time. That's the promise. 00:21:38.210 --> 00:21:41.869 It's a home. I love the way Peter says that, 00:21:41.950 --> 00:21:46.309 imperishable. It can't be broken down. It can't 00:21:46.309 --> 00:21:49.990 expire. It can't fade. It is imperishable. It's 00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:52.789 undefiled. You can't stain it. You can't mess 00:21:52.789 --> 00:21:57.250 it up. It is unfading. That light of glory is 00:21:57.250 --> 00:22:01.130 going to shine bright for eternity. And it's 00:22:01.130 --> 00:22:05.930 in heaven waiting for us. And what's it going 00:22:05.930 --> 00:22:08.170 to be like? We're going to have an entire series 00:22:08.170 --> 00:22:12.710 on heaven soon, I promise. But I want to give 00:22:12.710 --> 00:22:15.750 you a little bit of a sneak peek that John gives 00:22:15.750 --> 00:22:18.990 us in Revelation 21. He says, Then I saw a new 00:22:18.990 --> 00:22:22.529 heaven, for the former things had passed away. 00:22:23.329 --> 00:22:26.849 Like a bride. I've used this analogy before, 00:22:27.069 --> 00:22:28.990 but I'm going to use it again because I love 00:22:28.990 --> 00:22:32.849 to talk about it. When I'm standing at the front 00:22:32.849 --> 00:22:35.519 of a church, And I see the doors open and my 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:39.799 beautiful wife is walking down the aisle. Waterworks. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:45.900 Because it's a beautiful thing. It's an amazing 00:22:45.900 --> 00:22:48.599 thing that someone is promising their life to 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:51.680 you. It's an amazing thing that this beautiful 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:55.599 person inside and out has committed to being 00:22:55.599 --> 00:23:00.019 with you. And you get to have her or him forever. 00:23:01.259 --> 00:23:04.930 You get to have them. In your life, blessing 00:23:04.930 --> 00:23:07.869 you, loving you, being there with you through 00:23:07.869 --> 00:23:12.170 every struggle forever. And that's what heaven's 00:23:12.170 --> 00:23:14.910 going to be like. It is God bringing this home 00:23:14.910 --> 00:23:19.890 to us to be with us forever. Despite all of our 00:23:19.890 --> 00:23:23.789 flaws, despite all of our inadequacies, God promises 00:23:23.789 --> 00:23:30.349 himself and a beautiful home to us forever. That's 00:23:30.349 --> 00:23:32.380 what heaven's going to be like. It's a place 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:35.720 where there's no sorrow. There's no crying. There's 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:38.640 no death. There is no loss. There is no pain. 00:23:38.859 --> 00:23:41.799 There is no fear. That is where we're going. 00:23:42.539 --> 00:23:45.259 If you are in Christ, that's the home that has 00:23:45.259 --> 00:23:49.079 been promised to you by God. And again, God keeps 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:53.079 his promises every time. He is faithful. And 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:55.599 so today, you may be struggling with pain. You 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:57.920 may be struggling with sorrow. I know there are 00:23:57.920 --> 00:23:59.799 some in this room that are hurting because they 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:03.160 are losing loved ones. And to them I say, I hope. 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:07.519 Because this is not forever. This darkness does 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.259 not last forever. In fact, it does not have to 00:24:10.259 --> 00:24:13.000 feel like darkness to us because we know who 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:17.720 our promise keeper is. We know our destination. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:23.220 We know where our hope comes from. The light 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:28.000 has come. We've been promised something amazing. 00:24:28.910 --> 00:24:32.130 And the light shows us exactly how to get there. 00:24:33.009 --> 00:24:38.890 Jesus modeled the path to home. Jesus sent us 00:24:38.890 --> 00:24:42.369 the spirit to guide us home, to guard us until 00:24:42.369 --> 00:24:46.430 we get home. Jesus gave us the word to teach 00:24:46.430 --> 00:24:49.329 us how to get home and how to bring other people 00:24:49.329 --> 00:24:52.710 home. And Jesus established the church. And this 00:24:52.710 --> 00:24:54.509 is an important one that we like to discount. 00:24:54.769 --> 00:24:58.359 Jesus established. the church to walk with us 00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:04.019 through this world on our journey home. Jesus 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:07.980 Christ, the reason for the season, has given 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:11.859 us everything we need to get through the darkness 00:25:11.859 --> 00:25:17.019 and to get home to that promised land. So we 00:25:17.019 --> 00:25:23.799 follow Jesus. We follow him. Even if the world 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:27.359 around us seems scary, Even if it seems dark, 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:31.400 even if it seems painful, even if this world 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:35.559 around us leads us to death, we follow Jesus. 00:25:36.619 --> 00:25:41.359 We follow the light. I got to imagine the Israelites 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:43.000 when they were walking through the wilderness, 00:25:43.099 --> 00:25:46.420 saw some crazy things at night. You know there's 00:25:46.420 --> 00:25:52.960 wolves out there? And like scary animals that 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:57.839 want to eat you? You know, there were times where 00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:59.359 they were worried about what they were going 00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:02.000 to eat and what they were going to drink. But 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:06.779 every time, in all of it, God provided light. 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:13.319 He provided protection. God provided. If I told 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:15.279 you there's a million dollars waiting for you 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.400 in a foreign country, and all you've got to do 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:21.900 is get there. You've just got to get there. You 00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:24.339 may know the general direction to that country. 00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:27.369 Let's just call it Peru. I don't know why. Peru 00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:29.430 sounds fun. There's a million dollars waiting 00:26:29.430 --> 00:26:31.450 for you in Peru. You just got to get there. But 00:26:31.450 --> 00:26:34.029 you don't know how to get there. You don't know 00:26:34.029 --> 00:26:37.289 the route. You can't just like Google Maps Peru. 00:26:37.450 --> 00:26:40.289 I guess you could. But there's some places you 00:26:40.289 --> 00:26:45.650 got to go through to get there. You need some 00:26:45.650 --> 00:26:50.210 guidance. You need direction. You need somebody 00:26:50.210 --> 00:26:53.329 pointing you on the way. You need someone maybe 00:26:53.329 --> 00:26:56.180 to just take you there. Hope without guidance 00:26:56.180 --> 00:27:00.119 is just wishful thinking. If I just tell you, 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.900 hey, there's a promised land that God, he's guaranteed 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:06.180 it in his book, but you don't know how to get 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:08.240 there. You have no guidance. You have no direction. 00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:10.759 It's just wishful thinking. You're just banking 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:13.240 on somebody else doing something and then you'll 00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:16.160 just magically get it. That's not how this promise 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:18.859 works. Jesus doesn't just promise us heaven. 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:22.000 He shows us the way there. We don't have to guess. 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:26.380 We don't have to. Well, we don't have to hope. 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:32.640 But we know for certain how to get there. It's 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:36.440 written down. He modeled it for us. He told us 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:40.380 plainly. We have an assurance that if we follow 00:27:40.380 --> 00:27:45.500 Christ, if we follow the light, we will find 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:49.619 the promised land. Here's the truth. Since Genesis 00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:52.519 chapter 3, when Adam and Eve sinned and they 00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:54.119 kicked out of the garden, we have been wandering. 00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:57.339 The human race has been wandering in darkness. 00:27:57.660 --> 00:28:01.660 We've been suffering. We've been scared. Everyone's 00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:03.420 scared of death. Everyone's scared of what's 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:06.730 going to get them. We've been... worried. We've 00:28:06.730 --> 00:28:09.029 been hurting. We've been suffering ever since 00:28:09.029 --> 00:28:12.029 we messed up. But ever since then, God has been 00:28:12.029 --> 00:28:14.769 working to restore his people. It's the gospel 00:28:14.769 --> 00:28:17.930 message. He's been working to redeem and restore 00:28:17.930 --> 00:28:20.150 his people and bring his people home. He has 00:28:20.150 --> 00:28:22.410 been trying to bring us out of the darkness into 00:28:22.410 --> 00:28:24.430 the light. He's been trying to bring us into 00:28:24.430 --> 00:28:27.509 that new perfect creation to a better promised 00:28:27.509 --> 00:28:30.369 land. Just like the Israelites, our journey involves 00:28:30.369 --> 00:28:33.410 wilderness seasons. Our journey involves dark 00:28:33.410 --> 00:28:37.160 seasons. It involves cold, and scary seasons. 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:41.380 It involves some scary traps through dark wildernesses. 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:46.859 But just like God did for the Israelites, God 00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:53.619 provides light. And light brings hope. After 00:28:53.619 --> 00:28:55.859 saying all this, I want to ask you this question. 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:00.420 Are you following the light? Because the light 00:29:00.420 --> 00:29:02.000 being there does no good if you're just going 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:07.359 to ignore it. Are you following it? Because hope 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:10.079 is not a passive thing. It's not something that 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:12.640 we can just say, yeah, I hope, and just let it 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:15.819 go. Again, that's wishful thinking. Hope is directional. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:19.420 Hope involves some action steps, some things 00:29:19.420 --> 00:29:21.059 that we have to do, some things that we have 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:24.660 to do to show that we trust, that we follow. 00:29:26.859 --> 00:29:29.359 So are you following the light? Are you following 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:31.759 the teachings of Christ? Are you trusting in 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:33.960 his guidance? Are you surrendering the parts 00:29:33.960 --> 00:29:35.799 of your life that are still in darkness? Maybe 00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:37.839 your whole life is still in darkness. Have you 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:40.519 surrendered that? Are you allowing God to show 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:44.240 you the path home? Because the light is shining. 00:29:44.359 --> 00:29:48.099 You just have to walk in it. We just have to 00:29:48.099 --> 00:29:55.819 walk in it. Are you following the light? I told 00:29:55.819 --> 00:30:00.420 you I love Isaiah 9, verse 2. But you notice, 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:04.799 it doesn't say that the people found a light. 00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:10.640 It says they saw it. The people didn't make it 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:15.200 happen. God did. They didn't conjure up this 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:17.519 light. They didn't rub some sticks together and 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:23.339 get fired. God made it happen. And just like 00:30:23.339 --> 00:30:28.660 for them, The same is true for us. God provided 00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:31.740 light. He brought the light into our darkness. 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:37.180 Jesus, the light of the world, has come into 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:41.460 our darkness and provided a path home. So as 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:44.019 we begin the Christmas season, as we begin this 00:30:44.019 --> 00:30:46.440 Christmas light series, here's your encouragement 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:49.220 and your challenge today. No matter how dark 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:52.339 your world feels, no matter how dark your world 00:30:52.339 --> 00:30:57.839 is, Light has come. And light brings hope. You 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:01.779 just have to follow it. It's already there. You 00:31:01.779 --> 00:31:03.440 don't have to flip a switch. You don't have to 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:05.099 rub some sticks together. You don't have to lie 00:31:05.099 --> 00:31:07.980 to match. The light is there. You just have to 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:09.640 follow it. If you've been walking in darkness, 00:31:09.980 --> 00:31:12.680 if you've been walking in the cold in this terrifying 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:17.359 world, and you want to follow the light, we would 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:21.579 love to help you access it. If you've been wandering, 00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:24.059 And you've already seen the light, but you've 00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:26.519 just kind of strayed from the path. We'd love 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:28.619 to help get you back there. I know there's some 00:31:28.619 --> 00:31:30.259 people in this room that are hurting right now, 00:31:30.359 --> 00:31:36.059 that are worried, that are fearful. We want to 00:31:36.059 --> 00:31:38.599 pray for you. We want to be there for you as 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:40.220 you go through this time because, again, the 00:31:40.220 --> 00:31:44.680 church was established to walk with us through 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:47.539 the dark times. We were never meant to walk it 00:31:47.539 --> 00:31:50.700 alone. God has provided the light in so many 00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:54.829 ways. And they all stem from Jesus. And I hope 00:31:54.829 --> 00:31:56.710 this morning you know that he's available for 00:31:56.710 --> 00:31:56.890 you.