WEBVTT 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:06.559 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:09.380 podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:12.099 Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan 00:00:12.099 --> 00:00:14.160 Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.519 strengthens your faith and draws you closer to 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.600 Christ. Let's dive in. Let me ask you guys a 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:22.679 question. How many of you have ever received 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:28.199 or given a baby announcement? Nobody. One person, 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:30.440 two people. Okay, all right. Now we're starting, 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:34.679 okay. So you've either received one, you've given 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:39.200 one, the Joyce's just had their baby. And so 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:43.520 we got, you know, told via email from the church 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.399 that, you know, they had it. And sometimes those 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:50.740 announcements have pictures, right? And how big 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:53.079 the baby was, the baby's name, all that good 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:59.979 stuff. Now let me ask you this. How many of you 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:04.900 sent out a baby announcement? I don't know. When 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:07.260 you were a kid, for a child that you were gonna 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:15.040 have 25, 30 years later. Anybody? No? No? Let 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.159 me ask you this. Is anybody gonna send out a, 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:19.719 go ahead and write a baby announcement and send 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:23.200 it out to family members for grandchildren, great 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:24.980 -grandchildren, and great -great -grandchildren 00:01:24.980 --> 00:01:27.900 that are to come? Anybody gonna do that? Nah, 00:01:28.219 --> 00:01:33.000 probably not. Well, Isaiah gives us a baby announcement 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.859 700 years before Jesus would arrive. Yes, praise 00:01:37.859 --> 00:01:48.299 God! Preach! And so, in this announcement, we 00:01:48.299 --> 00:01:51.879 see a lot going on that we're going to unpack. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:53.659 We're going to get titles for who he would be, 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:57.969 what he would be like, but... He starts out the 00:01:57.969 --> 00:02:03.609 entire thing talking about darkness and light. 00:02:04.209 --> 00:02:07.269 Now, the big idea that we're gonna kind of drive 00:02:07.269 --> 00:02:09.229 home, so the title of my sermon today is The 00:02:09.229 --> 00:02:12.509 Worth That Has Come and The Worth That Is Yet 00:02:12.509 --> 00:02:18.050 To Come because what we will see here in Isaiah 00:02:18.050 --> 00:02:22.449 chapter nine is that he speaks to the things 00:02:22.449 --> 00:02:26.090 that have already come now for us, they hadn't 00:02:26.090 --> 00:02:28.889 come yet for him. And then the things that we 00:02:28.889 --> 00:02:31.349 will cling to, that we cling to now for the not 00:02:31.349 --> 00:02:34.090 yet. And that's a lot of what Christianity is. 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:39.050 It's the now and the not yet. And so, my big 00:02:39.050 --> 00:02:40.990 idea where we're gonna be kind of driving the 00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:44.289 train today is in Christ, the worth that has 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:47.889 come dispels the darkness of our present reality 00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:52.159 whilst... The worth yet to come assures us of 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.439 the hope and restoration awaiting believers. 00:02:55.639 --> 00:03:01.020 So let's go ahead and let's read through verse 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:06.719 one through verse seven. Nevertheless, now he's 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:09.620 pointing back about prophecies that are things 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:12.280 that are going to happen, which he's prophesying 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:16.139 about the children of Israel going into exile. 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:18.939 We talked a little bit actually about that exile 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:23.840 in Habakkuk. And so he's been really kind of 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:27.860 setting up all the bad news. He says, nevertheless, 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:31.539 the gloom of the distressed land will not be 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.300 like that of the former times when we humbled 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:40.039 the land of Zebulun and the land of Natali. But 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:43.159 in the future, he will bring honor to the way 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:47.180 of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and 00:03:47.180 --> 00:03:52.639 to Galilee of the nations. Verse two. The people 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:55.939 walking in darkness have seen great light. A 00:03:55.939 --> 00:03:58.139 light has dawned on those living in the land 00:03:58.139 --> 00:04:01.319 of darkness. You have enlarged the nation and 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.039 increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.580 you as they rejoiced at harvest time, as they 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:12.889 rejoice when dividing spoils. Verse four, for 00:04:12.889 --> 00:04:15.310 you have shattered their oppressive yoke and 00:04:15.310 --> 00:04:17.889 the rod on their shoulders and the staff of their 00:04:17.889 --> 00:04:21.209 oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian. 00:04:22.269 --> 00:04:25.290 For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:29.410 garments of war will be burned as fuel for the 00:04:29.410 --> 00:04:35.250 fire. Verse six, the most probably one of the 00:04:35.250 --> 00:04:37.569 most famous passages in all scripture for unto 00:04:37.569 --> 00:04:43.620 us will be born. A son for us is given, and the 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:45.759 government will be on his shoulders. He will 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:49.300 be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal 00:04:49.300 --> 00:04:53.879 Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:58.720 vast and his prosperity will never end. And he 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:02.360 will reign on the throne of David over his kingdom 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:07.240 to establish and sustain it. With justice and 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:10.699 righteousness from now on and forever the zeal 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:15.019 of the Lord of armies will accomplish this Let's 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:21.699 pray father. Thank you For the opportunity to 00:05:21.699 --> 00:05:26.379 be here this morning, thank you Lord that Where 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.879 we have breath in our lungs and eyes to see and 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:32.220 ears to hear with which to receive and read your 00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:36.680 word Lord, thank you for babies in this room, 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:38.779 and thank you for babies that have come, and 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:41.639 thank you for the one baby who would come and 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:46.939 die for us. Lord, we pray that your word would 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:52.019 go forth. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:55.939 my first point is darkness destroyed by light. 00:05:56.579 --> 00:05:59.480 When we look at verses one and two, he is talking 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:02.860 about this distressed land. He's talking about 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:08.480 darkness. He's talking about specifically the 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:14.519 northern region of Israel has fallen under pagan 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:21.459 paganism in a deep way It is very very dark northern 00:06:21.459 --> 00:06:24.560 northern Israel and they have come under exile. 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.180 There's been a lot of, because of the different 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:29.060 times that they've gone into exile, out of exile, 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:30.360 there's been a lot of intermarriage. There's 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:36.540 been a lot of taking of spouses from other religions. 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:40.959 There's been rulers of other religions. And essentially 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:45.759 you've now got a lot of Israelites who have, 00:06:46.220 --> 00:06:49.779 they've kind of, they have God and then they 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:52.279 have other gods that they've tried to intermarry. 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:59.459 And so when he speaks about darkness, he is specifically 00:06:59.459 --> 00:07:02.720 speaking to the spiritual darkness and yes, the 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:05.959 exile of it. But what you have to know as we 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.500 go in, you're gonna see something or I'm gonna 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:11.899 refer to something that's a pretty famous line 00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:15.300 and hopefully you'll see why they used to say 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:20.600 that because of the way Israel used to be. And 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:23.259 so Isaiah begins this prophecy with a stunning 00:07:23.259 --> 00:07:26.480 reversal. This note will be up here if you want 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.360 to take it down. The very places covered in the 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:32.399 deepest darkness will be the first to see the 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:36.300 light. And so it talked about Galilee, right? 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:40.579 In verse one. At the end it says, but in the 00:07:40.579 --> 00:07:42.959 future he will bring honor to the way of the 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:46.040 sea, to the land east of Jordan and to Galilee 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:50.860 of the nations. Galilee of the nations is this. 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:54.420 Galilee had once been conquered, it was humiliated 00:07:54.420 --> 00:07:58.360 and repopulated with pagans after the Assyrian 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:00.199 invasion. You can read about that, by the way, 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:05.399 in 2 Kings 17 verse 24. Because of this mixture 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:09.019 and spiritual compromise, the Jews in the south 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:14.629 viewed Galilee as inferior. religiously impure, 00:08:14.870 --> 00:08:17.529 theologically shallow, and culturally tainted. 00:08:18.910 --> 00:08:23.250 And so, when you hear things like, when Jesus 00:08:23.250 --> 00:08:25.790 was walking the earth, do you guys remember what 00:08:25.790 --> 00:08:32.370 Nathan said about Jesus? You guys remember? When 00:08:32.370 --> 00:08:38.409 Nathan hears about Jesus, he has this response. 00:08:38.929 --> 00:08:43.299 Can anything good come from Nazareth? That's 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:47.259 why he says that because they would look upon 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:51.759 Galilee they looked upon that entire area as 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:58.259 dark as pagan as completely For us it would look 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:05.340 a lot like just completely nominalist Okay, and 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:08.019 So you would have Pharisees that would say no 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:11.480 prophet arises from Galilee It wasn't considered 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:16.360 pure Yet Isaiah announces that God will begin 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:21.299 His redemption right in Galilee. That's the goodness 00:09:21.299 --> 00:09:24.559 of God. Instead of starting in the holy city 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:27.820 of Jerusalem and sending Jesus to be born there 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:31.220 and to do His ministry there, no, He is born 00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:34.779 in Galilee. And He is from Galilee, the place 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:38.639 of darkness, the place of complete paganism, 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:41.399 a place that has been dismissed and just the 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:45.629 darkest region. would first receive the first 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:49.389 dawn. And when Jesus came, that's exactly what 00:09:49.389 --> 00:09:51.269 happened. He did not begin His ministry, like 00:09:51.269 --> 00:09:53.610 I said, in the holy city of Jerusalem, where 00:09:53.610 --> 00:09:57.210 everyone expected the Messiah to rise. He began 00:09:57.210 --> 00:10:00.830 in the place no one respected. He preached, He 00:10:00.830 --> 00:10:04.690 healed, and He called disciples in Galilee. Why? 00:10:06.090 --> 00:10:11.490 Why would He call disciples in Galilee? What 00:10:11.490 --> 00:10:18.350 do you think? Because the Savior doesn't step 00:10:18.350 --> 00:10:23.750 into polished sanctuaries. He steps into places 00:10:23.750 --> 00:10:29.230 that they know need Him. So when we talk about 00:10:29.230 --> 00:10:32.350 worth, the whole thing of what this Advent series, 00:10:32.850 --> 00:10:35.129 when I talk about worth that has come, it appears 00:10:35.129 --> 00:10:38.789 like this. A Christ who moves towards the lowly, 00:10:39.350 --> 00:10:42.789 the overlooked, the spiritually mixed and messy. 00:10:43.629 --> 00:10:46.610 A Christ who reveals that God restores worth, 00:10:47.289 --> 00:10:50.889 not on the basis of status or purity, but grace. 00:10:51.429 --> 00:10:54.710 What does James say about what we should be careful 00:10:54.710 --> 00:11:00.710 of? Think about that for a moment. The book of 00:11:00.710 --> 00:11:04.230 James talks about how we are to act out our faith, 00:11:04.350 --> 00:11:08.570 right? And he says, be careful not to show favoritism. 00:11:09.690 --> 00:11:14.029 Because it's very easy. And I see this a lot 00:11:14.029 --> 00:11:17.049 in ministry and it's actually really, it's a 00:11:17.049 --> 00:11:20.429 really easy thing to move into as a pastor. When 00:11:20.429 --> 00:11:26.009 you find out someone is wealthy, it's really 00:11:26.009 --> 00:11:28.889 easy to want to move in and really focus on the 00:11:28.889 --> 00:11:31.309 wealthy people of the church because they're 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:35.200 your biggest tithers. And so then you tend to 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:38.139 run and rule the church and do things in favor 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:42.039 of the special while completely ignoring those 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:45.220 who are in need in your church. And we do that 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:48.620 as a people. We're naturally drawn to people 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:51.840 who look like us, maybe even a little bit farther 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:55.139 ahead of us, and we tend to stay away from those 00:11:55.139 --> 00:12:01.279 who are in need or who are lowly. There was a 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.240 19th century preacher, his name was William Booth. 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:06.539 You guys know who William Booth is? He founded 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:08.840 a ministry that's pretty famous. Maybe you've 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:10.259 heard of it. It's called the Salvation Army. 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:15.700 The Salvation Army, its sole purpose was reaching 00:12:15.700 --> 00:12:17.940 out to the poorest and most lost individuals 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:21.460 of society. He emphasized that God's love does 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:25.320 not wait for us to clean ourselves up. Like Christ, 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:28.919 who befriended outcasts, Booth brought hope and 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:33.090 worth to those in society that society had discarded. 00:12:34.009 --> 00:12:36.610 This reflects the core message that grace restores 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:39.429 worth, making the lowly and marginalized feel 00:12:39.429 --> 00:12:43.509 valued in the eyes of God. Rhonda just talked 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:51.730 about how the wise men came later, right? By 00:12:51.730 --> 00:12:54.029 the way, I don't know if you guys have ever heard 00:12:54.029 --> 00:12:56.190 this. This is something that's pretty neat to 00:12:56.190 --> 00:13:02.470 think about. The wise men came from Babylon. 00:13:06.649 --> 00:13:09.769 Who was in Babylon that was considered wise men 00:13:09.769 --> 00:13:16.730 in the Old Testament? Daniel. So the wise men, 00:13:16.950 --> 00:13:21.269 who are not here right now, but the wise men 00:13:21.269 --> 00:13:26.909 that would come were of what Daniel began. Is 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:34.220 that not neat? Now, she talked about shepherds 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:38.639 who did come. Shepherds were outcasts of society. 00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:44.240 They were considered gross and nasty. And so 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.899 I don't want you to miss everything that Isaiah 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:49.779 is saying and everything that... that Jesus did 00:13:49.779 --> 00:13:53.100 and the way God did it. He does everything. There 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:56.220 is not a single detail, no matter how small it 00:13:56.220 --> 00:13:59.940 may seem, God is really good at all of the details. 00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:04.320 He's the best wedding planner, birth announcer, 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:08.139 whatever it is, he's the best at it. And so every 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:11.399 single thing that he did in order to prepare 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:17.360 Israel for the birth of his son, He did not let 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:20.440 a single detail go unnoticed, and specifically 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:23.960 where he was born and how it was done. Isaiah 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:27.759 frames it as an image of a dawning light, a light 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:33.220 that shatters shadows, chases away despair, and 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:37.740 breaks open a new horizon of hope. Emmanuel, 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:43.559 what does Emmanuel mean? God with us is the great 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:47.960 shadow slayer. When darkness once ruled he drives 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:50.500 it back or where darkness once ruled he drives 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:54.120 it back in the shadowy places Remember I keep 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:56.440 talking about shadows because that's where we 00:14:56.440 --> 00:15:01.139 want to constantly go in our sin in our brokenness 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:04.779 We want to go to the shadows and here is the 00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:08.299 one who breaks forth the shadowy places where 00:15:08.299 --> 00:15:11.200 you hide. He breaks in with a brilliance that 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.139 cannot be resisted. He floods the corners of 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:16.759 your soul with light, forgiveness, mercy, love, 00:15:16.820 --> 00:15:19.519 and peace, unlike anything you have ever known. 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:25.399 This week, so there's a pastor, his name is John 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:27.820 Burke, and he's written a lot of books, but he 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:31.379 specifically has done a lot of research and interviewed 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:35.570 a lot of people on near death experiences. and 00:15:35.570 --> 00:15:39.269 he wrote a book about heaven. And then he's now 00:15:39.269 --> 00:15:41.950 updated that book and it's called God in Heaven. 00:15:42.549 --> 00:15:44.830 And he was being interviewed on a podcast that 00:15:44.830 --> 00:15:48.450 I like to listen to. And I read the book on heaven 00:15:48.450 --> 00:15:52.370 years ago, probably about 10 years ago. And now 00:15:52.370 --> 00:15:54.470 that it's been updated, I wanna go get the new 00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:56.889 updated version and read it. But the cool thing 00:15:56.889 --> 00:16:00.460 about this is, I know that there are a lot of 00:16:00.460 --> 00:16:02.419 people that have tried to make money off of near 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:04.200 -death experiences and claiming to have seen 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:07.379 heaven or been to hell. The cool thing about 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:10.419 what John has done is he has interviewed people 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:14.940 across every continent except Antarctica and 00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:18.960 from all different faith backgrounds and not 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:22.899 a single one of them have, he had to seek out 00:16:22.899 --> 00:16:24.679 and the way he sought them out was going and 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:28.190 talking to doctors. But what's really interesting 00:16:28.190 --> 00:16:36.009 is he's talked to people who are like wealthy, 00:16:36.590 --> 00:16:40.809 like wealthy beyond measure, who don't need money 00:16:40.809 --> 00:16:43.750 and they don't want fame. And so that's what 00:16:43.750 --> 00:16:46.210 I find really interesting. So the reason why 00:16:46.210 --> 00:16:49.730 I'm telling you this is one, when I was listening 00:16:49.730 --> 00:16:56.259 to him talk, just telling stories, I came home 00:16:56.259 --> 00:16:59.059 because I was driving back on Wednesday listening 00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:03.960 to it. It's a two -hour podcast. And he's sharing 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:08.420 about the things that are similar about the 3 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:11.019 ,000 people he has interviewed across the world, 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:12.960 the things that they've all experienced that 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:14.380 are similar. And by the way, these people don't 00:17:14.380 --> 00:17:17.720 know each other. He doesn't share any other body's 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:19.940 experiences with other people. He just interviews 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:22.339 them. And so he's like all the things that are 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:24.039 similar and then how they're different. But one 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:27.519 of the things that I love was just how they all 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:31.500 talk about God and Jesus and how they try to 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:36.539 put into words the Trinity. And one of the things 00:17:36.539 --> 00:17:38.720 that I love too, by the way, is John Burke says 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.359 this, he says, I want you to imagine that we 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:47.690 are on a two dimensional painting. We ourselves 00:17:47.690 --> 00:17:49.349 are on a two -dimensional painting and then I 00:17:49.349 --> 00:17:51.869 want you to imagine trying to describe if you 00:17:51.869 --> 00:17:54.150 are on a two -dimensional painting Trying to 00:17:54.150 --> 00:17:59.309 describe a 4d world or a 5d world You couldn't 00:17:59.309 --> 00:18:03.569 put it into words, right? You're flat and everything 00:18:03.569 --> 00:18:08.349 else around you is different and So he said that's 00:18:08.349 --> 00:18:10.890 what a lot of what the people that are trying 00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:13.730 to explain things, but he interviewed a Muslim 00:18:13.730 --> 00:18:17.849 man Who was actually a Muslim apologist he would 00:18:17.849 --> 00:18:22.630 debate Christians and He gets a blood cancer 00:18:22.630 --> 00:18:28.450 and he dies and when he dies he goes to hell 00:18:28.450 --> 00:18:36.069 and He's telling John about hell and he says 00:18:36.069 --> 00:18:40.430 it's the darkest place He said it's the strangest 00:18:40.430 --> 00:18:44.750 thing because he says there's fire But it's like 00:18:44.750 --> 00:18:49.230 the fire, it's so dark, the fire can't actually 00:18:49.230 --> 00:18:52.009 illuminate anything. He said it's an oppressive 00:18:52.009 --> 00:19:00.269 darkness. But he said that these maniacal beings, 00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:03.069 he said they weren't demons, he said they were 00:19:03.069 --> 00:19:08.269 people, were getting ready to torture him. And 00:19:08.269 --> 00:19:13.460 he said, and all of a sudden, this man appeared 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:16.700 in a great light. And he said that the oppressive 00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:22.740 darkness was completely gone. And these people 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:30.000 had fled when he came on the scene. And he said, 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:32.940 and the man, he described him. He said his name 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:36.920 was Jesus. And he told him all these different 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:41.359 things as far as like, hey, it's time to either 00:19:42.199 --> 00:19:45.099 I'm gonna give you a chance, essentially. And 00:19:45.099 --> 00:19:47.160 the guy is ultimately, he's given himself to 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:48.819 Christ and all those things. But the thing that 00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:52.519 I loved about how John described the story, whether 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:55.259 you wanna believe it or not, that's not the point 00:19:55.259 --> 00:19:57.660 of the story. The point of the story is for me, 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.000 is how he's in an oppressive darkness. And when 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.440 Jesus comes, that oppressive darkness is gone. 00:20:07.859 --> 00:20:11.799 That's who Jesus is. And it's that same light. 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:17.319 That same light is not only the worth that has 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:19.440 come, it's the worth that is still coming. It 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.500 points us forward to the day when every remaining 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:25.900 darkness, suffering, confusion, grief, sin, decay 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:30.299 will be permanently undone by fullness of His 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:34.880 reign. So as you enter this text, you should 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:38.440 hear... Isaiah's invitation, there should be 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.480 this up here, do not despise your darkness. See 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:43.559 it as the very place where God loves to shine. 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:46.259 So if you are in a dark place at the moment, 00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:49.559 that's where Jesus likes to shine the brightest. 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.480 Let your struggles become anticipations of God's 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.940 promise. Let your pain remind you that the dawn 00:20:56.940 --> 00:20:59.940 has already broken and that a brighter day is 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:04.059 still on the way. Because Advent declares this 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:07.220 double truth. I want you to write this down. 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:10.380 Christ has come to give your soul worth now and 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:12.359 Christ will come again to complete it forever. 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:23.339 Amen. Point number two. Delight delivered by 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:27.980 Christ. Let's look at Isaiah 3, 4. You have enlarged 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:30.259 the nation and increased its, what does it say? 00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:36.769 Joy. And then the people have. rejoiced before 00:21:36.769 --> 00:21:40.349 you, and as they rejoice at harvest time, and 00:21:40.349 --> 00:21:44.349 as they rejoice when dividing spoils. So what's, 00:21:44.509 --> 00:21:46.049 you guys have heard me say it when you hear a 00:21:46.049 --> 00:21:49.109 repeating word, what is he trying to say? This 00:21:49.109 --> 00:21:53.730 is the point. So Christ brings joy now because 00:21:53.730 --> 00:21:58.069 he brings freedom now. Isaiah moves from light, 00:21:58.190 --> 00:22:01.920 breaking into delight, breaking forth. So verse 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:04.400 three says, you have multiplied the nation. You 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:07.640 have increased its joy. This isn't a polite joy. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:13.440 It's not a faint smile of polite religion. It's 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:16.480 the joy of harvest. The shout of a people who 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:19.259 have suddenly received what they could never 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:23.319 have before. We talked about what joy is, right? 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:25.579 When we talked about the book of Philippians. 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:29.500 It's more than just happiness. It's an internal 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:35.359 thing. It's a rebar. Isaiah tells us why this 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:38.960 joy erupts because God Himself intervenes. That's 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:42.539 the beautiful part. Isaiah is saying, they will 00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:46.240 never be able to fill the joy without God intervening 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.740 themselves. Verse four says, for you have broken 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:52.079 the yoke of his burden, the rod of his oppressor. 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:54.900 This is liberation. This is chain snapping. This 00:22:54.900 --> 00:22:57.880 is bondage breaking, oppression being lifted. 00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:02.519 This is not a self -inflicted conjuring of joy 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:07.299 because we can't conjure joy. This is joy being 00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:11.380 delivered, delight delivered by Christ. Isaiah 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:14.480 wants us to see that joy is not a fragile emotion, 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:18.660 but it is a fruit of divine rescue. Where God 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:23.680 breaks the yoke, joy fills the gap. And this 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:26.319 is exactly what Jesus brings in His first coming. 00:23:26.889 --> 00:23:30.910 He brings joy. Why do we sing joy to the world? 00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:36.009 You didn't know what I was going to preach on 00:23:36.009 --> 00:23:37.690 and you chose joy to the world, which is what 00:23:37.690 --> 00:23:39.349 I thought was so funny. Whenever you text me 00:23:39.349 --> 00:23:41.730 like, I felt like this is, you know, like, yeah, 00:23:42.150 --> 00:23:44.029 that's exactly where I'm going. The Holy Spirit 00:23:44.029 --> 00:23:47.950 knows what he's doing. He does not merely brighten 00:23:47.950 --> 00:23:53.130 our mood. He breaks our bondage. He does not 00:23:53.130 --> 00:23:56.640 simply come and cheer us up. He set us free. 00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:01.240 He's freeing you from shame, from fear, from 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:04.559 tyranny of sin, free from the crushing weight 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:07.700 of trying to prove your worth. Micah, this should 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:11.460 be right here. Delight is the emotional overflow 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:14.480 of a soul finally unburdened. I'm going to say 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:18.380 that again. Delight is the emotional overflow 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:24.000 of a soul finally unburdened. I learned of a 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:28.299 story this week when I was preparing for this. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:35.119 There's a man by the name of Shaka Senghor. Shaka 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:39.779 Senghor. And it's actually a true story. This 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:42.619 man, he went from murderer to mentor, was the 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:44.200 title of this article I was reading. It says, 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:47.420 a true story of a man crushed by guilt, transformed 00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:51.180 by grace, and liberated from inner bondage. Listen 00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:55.650 to this story closely. In 1991, a young man named 00:24:55.650 --> 00:24:59.309 Shaka Sigour shot and killed another man in a 00:24:59.309 --> 00:25:03.569 drug deal gone wrong. He was angry, he was hardened, 00:25:03.609 --> 00:25:06.490 and he was numb. The moment the cuffs went on, 00:25:06.650 --> 00:25:09.750 the weight of guilt began to crush him. But he 00:25:09.750 --> 00:25:12.869 didn't know how to face it. He entered prison, 00:25:13.250 --> 00:25:18.099 bitter, violent, and spiritually dead. Inside 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:21.099 prison life got darker. He spent seven straight 00:25:21.099 --> 00:25:27.339 years in solitary confinement. Seven years in 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:31.039 solitary confinement. Seven years alone with 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:35.640 nothing but silence and his own shame. He later 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:37.980 said, those years felt like being buried alive 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:42.099 with my mistakes. But God often meets people 00:25:42.099 --> 00:25:45.809 in the lowest Galilees of their lives. In the 00:25:45.809 --> 00:25:49.069 middle of that isolation, Shaka received a letter 00:25:49.069 --> 00:25:52.250 from his family that ended with four impossible 00:25:52.250 --> 00:25:58.289 words. We still love you. Those words cracked 00:25:58.289 --> 00:26:01.430 something open. Then a fellow inmate gave him 00:26:01.430 --> 00:26:03.589 a Bible. For the first time Shaka confronted 00:26:03.589 --> 00:26:06.430 the horror of what he'd done. The wound of his 00:26:06.430 --> 00:26:09.450 soul and the possibility, just the possibility 00:26:09.450 --> 00:26:12.950 that he could receive forgiveness, completely 00:26:12.950 --> 00:26:17.579 changed him. He began to read. He began to repent. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.640 And he began to feel hope. Slowly the darkness 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:24.680 lifted. He said, I found freedom long before 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:28.980 I saw the prison gates open. Now, what a quote. 00:26:30.619 --> 00:26:35.240 The chain snapped inside me first. Over the next 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.140 year, Shaka became a mentor, a writer, and a 00:26:38.140 --> 00:26:41.670 peacemaker, even inside prison. When he was released 00:26:41.670 --> 00:26:44.650 after 19 years, he emerged not as an angry, violent 00:26:44.650 --> 00:26:47.690 man who entered, but as a man reborn, dedicated 00:26:47.690 --> 00:26:50.089 to helping others find redemption and purpose. 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:53.809 Today, he speaks across the world about healing, 00:26:54.130 --> 00:26:56.789 transformation, and the power of forgiveness. 00:26:57.529 --> 00:27:00.170 He works with young men in Detroit, helping them 00:27:00.170 --> 00:27:02.430 break free from the cycle that once enslaved 00:27:02.430 --> 00:27:07.210 them. A criminal walked into prison full of darkness, 00:27:07.769 --> 00:27:11.730 and a son walked out carrying light. Because 00:27:11.730 --> 00:27:14.970 just like Isaiah 9, a yoke was broken, a heart 00:27:14.970 --> 00:27:18.730 was liberated, and joy came where there once 00:27:18.730 --> 00:27:25.490 was only despair. Christ, the worth that has 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:29.450 come delivers a present freedom that births a 00:27:29.450 --> 00:27:34.230 present joy. What is one of the days of Advent's 00:27:34.230 --> 00:27:40.150 focus? Joy. What is our focus today? Joy. Not 00:27:40.150 --> 00:27:43.670 a vague optimism, but a deep soul level liberation 00:27:43.670 --> 00:27:47.470 that begins now. So Isaiah presses us towards 00:27:47.470 --> 00:27:50.589 a response. Don't wait for heaven to enjoy what 00:27:50.589 --> 00:27:54.250 Christ has already given. Don't postpone joy 00:27:54.250 --> 00:27:56.769 until life smooths out. Don't treat spiritual 00:27:56.769 --> 00:28:00.269 freedom as a doctrine to study instead of a reality 00:28:00.269 --> 00:28:05.109 to live. If Christ has broken the yoke, then 00:28:05.109 --> 00:28:10.109 walk like someone who is free. The joy of Christ 00:28:10.109 --> 00:28:13.170 is not a future luxury. It is a current inheritance. 00:28:14.150 --> 00:28:18.509 Do you hear me? The joy of Christ is not something 00:28:18.509 --> 00:28:22.049 that is to be enjoyed in heaven. It is something 00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:25.369 to be enjoyed now. It is a current inheritance 00:28:25.369 --> 00:28:28.109 that you have received and should hold on to. 00:28:29.130 --> 00:28:32.170 It is a joy meant to be enjoyed, embodied and 00:28:32.170 --> 00:28:35.910 shared. And this matters because joy flows from 00:28:35.910 --> 00:28:39.240 worth. When you realize Christ has restored your 00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:42.400 worth, when His gaze defines you more than your 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:45.640 failures or your fear, joy begins to rise. Not 00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:48.180 because life is easy, but because your soul is 00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:53.599 free. So the delight that Isaiah, this is the 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:56.099 delight that Isaiah foresaw and this is the delight 00:28:56.099 --> 00:29:01.579 that Jesus delivers. Point number three. Divine 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:13.299 titles that define worth. Isaiah 9, 5, and 6. 00:29:17.819 --> 00:29:21.279 For every trampling boot of battle and bloodied 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:23.720 garments of war will be burned as fuel for the 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:29.500 fire. What a beautiful verse. Why? Why will they 00:29:29.500 --> 00:29:32.839 be able to burn the bloodied garments of war? 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:35.920 Because a child is being born and a son is being 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:37.960 given and the government shall be upon his shoulders. 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:40.880 and He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:44.859 God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 00:29:44.859 --> 00:29:47.440 doesn't simply tell us that a child will be born. 00:29:47.859 --> 00:29:51.559 He tells us who this child truly is. In a world 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:55.119 that constantly mislabels, misjudges, and misunderstands 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:58.140 worth, God steps in and defines the worth of 00:29:58.140 --> 00:30:00.380 Christ with four divine titles that pull back 00:30:00.380 --> 00:30:02.960 the curtain of His character. If you have been 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:07.720 daydreaming this entire time, I would ask you 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:11.940 to just hone in for a moment so you can hear 00:30:11.940 --> 00:30:16.039 this because it's important. We see that he is 00:30:16.039 --> 00:30:22.500 a wonderful counselor. This is just my crazy 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:26.220 imagination, but whenever I hear wonderful counselor 00:30:26.220 --> 00:30:29.640 forever, I mean, just until I was preparing for 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:32.079 this this week, did the Holy Spirit really begin 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:34.619 to hit me, but I always imagined Mr. Rogers. 00:30:38.539 --> 00:30:41.299 And as I was preparing and I'm reading and I'm 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:44.240 looking and I'm like, man, I've completely missed 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:47.839 what a wonderful counselor is. Christ isn't Mr. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.059 Rogers with his red cardigan and neatly placed 00:30:50.059 --> 00:30:55.339 comb over handing out kind little sayings. No, 00:30:55.339 --> 00:30:58.200 this is hard truth wrapped in precious grace, 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:01.000 the right word at the right time, the wisdom 00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:03.519 that pierces the soul and heals it at the same 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:10.059 time. This is divine. This is wonderful. This 00:31:10.059 --> 00:31:12.740 is sovereign wisdom made flesh, the kind that 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:15.519 only God himself could give and that transforms 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:18.519 both heart and life. This is why I get frustrated 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:22.460 when I hear people say, this is just who I am. 00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:27.440 Because the wonderful counselor does not just 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:31.019 say, it's okay. You can stay how you are because 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:35.500 I died for you. Sure. He died. but He died to 00:31:35.500 --> 00:31:39.160 transform you, to be a new creature and a new 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:43.019 creation, right? And so I cannot stand when I 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:46.440 hear people self -justify that this is just the 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:52.619 way I am. I was born this way. I hate when as 00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:54.880 a Reformed guy, I'm a part of that Reformed guy 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:58.099 tribe, I hate when we really hone in on the whole 00:31:58.099 --> 00:32:01.420 thing of being sinners. Yes, we are sinners. 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:04.279 But more than anything, we have been transformed 00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:07.740 in Christ. How long am I going to continue to 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:09.960 stay in this idea that I'm a sinner? And when 00:32:09.960 --> 00:32:11.960 am I going to actually start to believe in the 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:14.640 thing that he came and died for and transformation 00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:19.599 of? Does that make sense? So when I read wonderful 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:22.619 counselor, this is Jesus with a woman at the 00:32:22.619 --> 00:32:26.460 well, when she's like, I'm not, this is not my 00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:28.500 husband. And he says, I know this is your fifth 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:35.079 husband. Right? Let me ask you guys this, how 00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:39.640 many pastors do you know that are going to speak 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:41.660 truth, and let me ask you this too for yourselves, 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:44.400 how many of you, if you were sitting with a woman 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:47.640 like the woman at the well, who you know her 00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:50.000 past and you know that she's currently living 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.819 in sin, and she says she gives you an opportunity 00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:56.640 to speak truth to her, how many of you are actually 00:32:56.640 --> 00:33:02.620 gonna take it and say it the way Jesus did? He 00:33:02.620 --> 00:33:09.000 wasn't just covering over it, right? He speaks 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:15.440 to her straight there. Yeah, I know. Now, it's 00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:19.920 time to go home and change that, right? That's 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:23.059 the wonderful counselor. Not one that gives us 00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:25.519 these padded little answers that sound really 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:29.650 good and really ... comforting like Mr. Rogers. 00:33:29.869 --> 00:33:32.950 No, it is something that comforts you in a way 00:33:32.950 --> 00:33:38.329 that a scalpel cuts out infection. It brings 00:33:38.329 --> 00:33:43.660 healing. It speaks truth. It's a two -sided, 00:33:43.720 --> 00:33:46.339 that's why I said it pierces our soul and it 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:48.839 heals it at the same time. That's what it is 00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:51.279 to have a wonderful counselor. This is more than 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:54.900 good advice or inspiring words. The Hebrew pictures 00:33:54.900 --> 00:33:58.299 a wisdom so far above human counsel that it borders 00:33:58.299 --> 00:34:02.319 on the miraculous. Christ is the one whose guidance 00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:05.759 pierces confusion, untangles fears, and steadies 00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:09.880 us when we feel like life is unsolvable. Like 00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:12.260 it's a maze that we're just like running through. 00:34:13.300 --> 00:34:16.320 His worth is seen in His perfect wisdom and our 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:20.099 deepest needs. And then He goes on. He doesn't 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:22.239 just stay there. Isaiah doesn't say He's just 00:34:22.239 --> 00:34:24.000 a wonderful counselor. He moves on. He says He's 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:28.539 a mighty God. This child is no mere prophet. 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:31.400 He's no mere teacher. He's not a moral reformer. 00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:36.500 He is God Himself clothed in strength. Jesus 00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:40.090 doesn't just comfort us. He conquers for us. 00:34:40.969 --> 00:34:46.909 That's why He has to be mighty. He has the power 00:34:46.909 --> 00:34:50.050 to break chains we cannot break and He has the 00:34:50.050 --> 00:34:52.610 power to defeat enemies that we cannot defeat. 00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:56.869 His worth is measured in the divine strength 00:34:56.869 --> 00:35:01.989 exercised on behalf of His people. The same might 00:35:01.989 --> 00:35:04.590 that flung the planets into orbit and spoke the 00:35:04.590 --> 00:35:08.159 sun into being. and holds all things in His hand. 00:35:09.139 --> 00:35:11.579 This is the God who quietly came in the dead 00:35:11.579 --> 00:35:14.780 of night into a land steeped in pagan darkness, 00:35:15.139 --> 00:35:17.699 into a tumbled down stable surrounded by animals 00:35:17.699 --> 00:35:21.139 and their excrement. The fullness of the Mighty 00:35:21.139 --> 00:35:23.860 One was pleased to dwell in that moment among 00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:27.679 us, among the least of these. The Mighty God 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:30.679 came not in power displayed for spectacle, but 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:39.380 in humility displayed for salvation. Everlasting 00:35:39.380 --> 00:35:47.800 Father. I love the way in which Isaiah, of course 00:35:47.800 --> 00:35:49.800 the Holy Spirit is the one speaking through him, 00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:53.619 but Isaiah lists them. He says, wonderful counselor. 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:55.960 He's going to come and he's going to speak truth. 00:35:56.420 --> 00:36:00.219 He's going to be the mighty God who conquers 00:36:00.219 --> 00:36:03.659 the darkness. And then if he just stays there, 00:36:03.739 --> 00:36:07.789 it kind of feels like, oh man. He's going to 00:36:07.789 --> 00:36:10.989 be maybe a little hard. And he says, no, he's 00:36:10.989 --> 00:36:15.250 an everlasting father. Not that Jesus is the 00:36:15.250 --> 00:36:17.510 father, but that he carries the fatherly heart 00:36:17.510 --> 00:36:20.809 of God towards his children. It's eternal in 00:36:20.809 --> 00:36:23.849 care, unwavering in compassion, persistent in 00:36:23.849 --> 00:36:26.949 pursuit. His worth is shown in his commitment 00:36:26.949 --> 00:36:30.610 to shepherd, to sustain, and secure his people 00:36:30.610 --> 00:36:36.739 forever. But I want to be careful. for just a 00:36:36.739 --> 00:36:39.760 moment, because I know that the word father can 00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:42.880 stir up different emotions in all of us. Right 00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:44.860 here, right now, all of us, when we hear the 00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:47.199 word father, get a different image in our mind. 00:36:48.780 --> 00:36:53.519 It all depends on who our father was or wasn't. 00:36:56.579 --> 00:36:59.460 So what I want you to hear is, no matter what 00:36:59.460 --> 00:37:05.690 your image is of a father, whether it's One who 00:37:05.690 --> 00:37:09.110 was a great father or one who was flawed either 00:37:09.110 --> 00:37:15.190 way both and This father the ever everlasting 00:37:15.190 --> 00:37:19.090 father is the one who our hearts truly long for 00:37:19.090 --> 00:37:22.230 Our earthly fathers may have been great and they 00:37:22.230 --> 00:37:24.550 may have been bad, but either way they don't 00:37:24.550 --> 00:37:28.400 add up to who he is Just as we need the might 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:30.559 of God to conquer the darkness and the wisdom 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:33.099 of the counselor to guide us, we need a Father 00:37:33.099 --> 00:37:35.820 who binds up our wounds when we are weak and 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:39.840 suffering. A Father who speaks life to our souls 00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:44.179 when all we see is death. The Father we can stand 00:37:44.179 --> 00:37:47.750 behind when the enemy hurls stones. And more 00:37:47.750 --> 00:37:49.329 importantly, this one right here that I want 00:37:49.329 --> 00:37:52.070 you to hear, the Father who silences the accuser 00:37:52.070 --> 00:37:54.130 when he attacks our identity and tries to drag 00:37:54.130 --> 00:37:58.610 us back into the shadow of shame. This is the 00:37:58.610 --> 00:38:01.829 Father who never leaves, he never fails, and 00:38:01.829 --> 00:38:06.170 whose worth restores ours. And then the last 00:38:06.170 --> 00:38:11.449 one, Prince of Peace. He alone has the authority 00:38:11.449 --> 00:38:15.260 to declare peace between God and man. and then 00:38:15.260 --> 00:38:18.579 extend that peace into the internal worlds of 00:38:18.579 --> 00:38:22.539 our troubled hearts. His peace is not the fragile 00:38:22.539 --> 00:38:26.219 calm of circumstances. It is the settled wholeness 00:38:26.219 --> 00:38:29.920 of salvation. Again, we go back to joy. It's 00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:32.940 not about circumstance. It's about salvation. 00:38:34.039 --> 00:38:37.099 All four titles work together to tell us one 00:38:37.099 --> 00:38:40.440 thing. This child is worthy because he is everything 00:38:40.440 --> 00:38:46.030 we lack and everything we long for. And because 00:38:46.030 --> 00:38:49.670 this is who Christ is, it changes more than our 00:38:49.670 --> 00:38:55.349 theology, it shapes our lives. When you know 00:38:55.349 --> 00:38:57.489 Him as wonderful counselor, you don't have to 00:38:57.489 --> 00:39:00.469 rely on your own understanding. When you trust 00:39:00.469 --> 00:39:03.030 Him as mighty God, fear no longer rules you. 00:39:04.030 --> 00:39:06.849 When you trust in the everlasting Father, insecurity 00:39:06.849 --> 00:39:11.090 loses its grip. And when you walk, With the Prince 00:39:11.090 --> 00:39:13.750 of Peace, division, despair, and chaos do not 00:39:13.750 --> 00:39:17.130 have the last word. This will be up here if you 00:39:17.130 --> 00:39:20.630 want to write it down. Christ's titles teach 00:39:20.630 --> 00:39:25.769 us His worth, and His worth transforms our walk. 00:39:28.909 --> 00:39:33.050 It's not about you. You can't bring worth and 00:39:33.050 --> 00:39:36.110 value to yourself. He brings worth and value. 00:39:36.409 --> 00:39:40.230 It's His titles. It's His identity that transforms 00:39:40.230 --> 00:39:46.710 who you are. Point number four. Destiny determined 00:39:46.710 --> 00:39:55.050 by God. Isaiah 9 -7. The dominion will be vast 00:39:55.050 --> 00:39:58.590 and its prosperity will never end. He will reign 00:39:58.590 --> 00:40:01.530 on the throne of David and over his kingdom to 00:40:01.530 --> 00:40:05.199 establish and sustain it. with justice and righteousness 00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:07.920 from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord 00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:10.739 of armies will accomplish this." So this is why 00:40:10.739 --> 00:40:15.659 I say this is the not yet. Is he ruling? Yes. 00:40:16.420 --> 00:40:19.280 But has the enemy completely been shut away? 00:40:19.860 --> 00:40:24.139 No. So Isaiah concludes this prophecy with a 00:40:24.139 --> 00:40:26.199 vision of a kingdom that grows and will never 00:40:26.199 --> 00:40:30.659 end. Of the increase of his government and peace, 00:40:30.659 --> 00:40:34.679 there will be no end. This is not a fleeting 00:40:34.679 --> 00:40:37.739 temporary rule. It is an eternal unstoppable 00:40:37.739 --> 00:40:43.300 divinely ordained thing The same Christ whose 00:40:43.300 --> 00:40:46.039 light pierces our darkness whose joy breaks forth 00:40:46.039 --> 00:40:49.059 in our bondage whose titles reveal his worth 00:40:49.059 --> 00:40:52.920 and his wisdom His might and his fatherly care. 00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:56.159 He also is the one who determines the destiny 00:40:56.159 --> 00:40:59.719 of all creation And so I've got some sub points 00:40:59.719 --> 00:41:05.250 here that I want to share with you One, the kingdom 00:41:05.250 --> 00:41:09.829 already begins. Even now, His kingdom is advancing. 00:41:10.710 --> 00:41:14.650 Every act of mercy, every life transformed, every 00:41:14.650 --> 00:41:17.349 soul set free reflects the unstoppable growth 00:41:17.349 --> 00:41:20.329 of His reign. The worth of Christ is not just 00:41:20.329 --> 00:41:23.650 a theological concept, it is practical, visible, 00:41:24.070 --> 00:41:28.170 and present. When lives are healed, families 00:41:28.170 --> 00:41:30.510 are restored, and hearts are renewed, and the 00:41:30.510 --> 00:41:33.159 kingdom manifests here and now. Here's what I 00:41:33.159 --> 00:41:36.800 want you to know. There's a reason why in the 00:41:36.800 --> 00:41:41.280 Old Testament, God said everywhere your foot 00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:46.320 treads, right? The whole thing is what the early 00:41:46.320 --> 00:41:55.380 church understood, what the Mediterranean culture 00:41:55.380 --> 00:41:59.280 before that was going, they all understood this 00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:05.269 idea of geographic gods I'll give you a for instance 00:42:05.269 --> 00:42:08.110 how how we know about geographic how they knew 00:42:08.110 --> 00:42:12.949 about geographic gods one Daniel Okay, when Daniel 00:42:12.949 --> 00:42:15.050 prays you guys remember what Gabriel says when 00:42:15.050 --> 00:42:19.849 he arrives to Daniel You guys remember he says 00:42:19.849 --> 00:42:22.070 Daniel I would have been here sooner, but the 00:42:22.070 --> 00:42:27.130 prince of Persia right kept me so the archangel 00:42:27.130 --> 00:42:31.530 Michael had to come and Set me free But also 00:42:31.530 --> 00:42:34.650 there's this crazy story in the book of Numbers 00:42:34.650 --> 00:42:38.369 where Balaam, you guys know the story of Balaam 00:42:38.369 --> 00:42:44.170 and his donkey, right? And Balaam is a pagan 00:42:44.170 --> 00:42:47.469 prophet, if you will. He claims to be an Israelite 00:42:47.469 --> 00:42:51.909 prophet, but he's just a priest for hire. And 00:42:51.909 --> 00:42:53.449 anyone who gives him the most money, he'll claim 00:42:53.449 --> 00:42:56.289 God spoke this, right? So this is what's happening 00:42:56.289 --> 00:43:00.260 is Balak, who is a who is the king of Midian, 00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:03.920 Midia. He calls for Balaam and he says, look 00:43:03.920 --> 00:43:07.420 at how massive the children of Israel are. There's 00:43:07.420 --> 00:43:09.280 millions of them and they're going to overtake 00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:14.579 us. So I need you to speak this prophecy of death 00:43:14.579 --> 00:43:19.219 over them, speak a curse over them. And so the 00:43:19.219 --> 00:43:22.099 whole reason why you have Balaam's donkey is 00:43:22.099 --> 00:43:25.579 Balaam went when God told him, don't you dare 00:43:25.579 --> 00:43:28.179 go with them. And then he's then God goes, OK, 00:43:28.199 --> 00:43:30.699 fine, you're going to go. All right. And what 00:43:30.699 --> 00:43:34.139 happens? There's Jesus. This is before Jesus 00:43:34.139 --> 00:43:37.039 physically comes as the son of man comes. Right. 00:43:37.360 --> 00:43:39.139 And he's standing there with the flaming sword 00:43:39.139 --> 00:43:42.739 and he was going to literally kill Balaam. And 00:43:42.739 --> 00:43:46.099 it took his donkey speaking and going, what have 00:43:46.099 --> 00:43:47.840 I done to you that you're going to beat me like 00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:49.559 this? Right. Anyway, this has nothing to do where 00:43:49.559 --> 00:43:52.960 I'm going. But so we get to Balaam's like, oh, 00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:58.039 my gosh, like he sees Jesus. And Jesus says, 00:43:58.280 --> 00:44:02.000 you better not, you better not curse the people 00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:06.219 of Israel. So he says, okay, I will only speak 00:44:06.219 --> 00:44:08.880 what you tell me to. So what happens is, is Balaam 00:44:08.880 --> 00:44:12.360 shows up before Balak and he goes, okay, I'm 00:44:12.360 --> 00:44:14.420 here. And he goes, all right, curse the people. 00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:18.199 And he's like, hey, I can't do that. So then 00:44:18.199 --> 00:44:22.139 Balak goes, well, come over here. So they go 00:44:22.139 --> 00:44:24.679 and so they, They sacrificed animals and built 00:44:24.679 --> 00:44:27.179 an altar there. And then they go and they sacrifice 00:44:27.179 --> 00:44:31.159 animals in an altar on another mountaintop. And 00:44:31.159 --> 00:44:33.179 Balak says, what about now? And he's like, still 00:44:33.179 --> 00:44:35.500 can't. So he's like, all right, hold on. So he's 00:44:35.500 --> 00:44:37.679 like, third time's a charm. So they go and they 00:44:37.679 --> 00:44:40.840 do another altar and they sacrifice more animals 00:44:40.840 --> 00:44:44.119 on a different mountain. And Balak still says, 00:44:44.199 --> 00:44:47.039 I can't do that. And Balak gets really mad. But 00:44:47.039 --> 00:44:49.300 why do they go to three different mountains? 00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:54.559 because they believed in geographical gods. And 00:44:54.559 --> 00:44:57.860 so whenever, the whole reason why I'm talking 00:44:57.860 --> 00:45:01.119 about this is this, when you and I, when we go 00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:04.019 to Walmart, whatever neighborhood we live in, 00:45:04.019 --> 00:45:05.440 which I realize most of you guys don't live in 00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:09.420 neighborhoods, but wherever you go, the gas station 00:45:09.420 --> 00:45:13.400 you stop at, the people around you, whatever 00:45:13.400 --> 00:45:18.519 football, baseball, sports, extracurricular activities 00:45:18.519 --> 00:45:22.940 that your kids do, everywhere you go is you extending 00:45:22.940 --> 00:45:27.179 the kingdom and pushing back darkness. And if 00:45:27.179 --> 00:45:30.280 you're not doing that, then you are essentially 00:45:30.280 --> 00:45:33.239 not a part of the kingdom. You're not doing your 00:45:33.239 --> 00:45:34.920 job. I'm not saying you're not saved. I'm saying 00:45:34.920 --> 00:45:38.219 you're just not doing your job because everywhere 00:45:38.219 --> 00:45:41.599 your foot treads, you are claiming and reclaiming 00:45:41.599 --> 00:45:46.349 for God. That's why whenever he says Jesus sends 00:45:46.349 --> 00:45:50.190 him out, he's like, hey, go. And he gives them 00:45:50.190 --> 00:45:53.210 the gospel message. And the whole thing was is 00:45:53.210 --> 00:45:57.170 they were then going back and they were reclaiming 00:45:57.170 --> 00:46:02.010 where the enemy had taken. So the first thing 00:46:02.010 --> 00:46:04.429 that you have to understand is this kingdom has 00:46:04.429 --> 00:46:07.250 come and it's still coming and we are still pushing 00:46:07.250 --> 00:46:09.630 back darkness and it continues to advance. It 00:46:09.630 --> 00:46:13.550 does not retreat. Subpoint number two, the kingdom 00:46:13.550 --> 00:46:17.269 yet to come. Isaiah points us forward, the kingdom 00:46:17.269 --> 00:46:19.570 will ultimately come to its perfect fullness, 00:46:20.369 --> 00:46:23.869 a reign without end. All brokenness, injustice, 00:46:24.670 --> 00:46:26.889 all the shame and sorrow will all be corrected. 00:46:27.909 --> 00:46:31.849 All the shadow, sin, and pain that we face now 00:46:31.849 --> 00:46:34.889 will be swallowed up by the light of His eternal 00:46:34.889 --> 00:46:39.769 rule. Christ's worth guarantees this. His life, 00:46:39.869 --> 00:46:42.010 his death, and resurrection secure a destiny 00:46:42.010 --> 00:46:45.429 for creation and for each believer that no enemy 00:46:45.429 --> 00:46:50.389 can overturn. Point number three, living in hope. 00:46:51.789 --> 00:46:54.610 Because the destiny of the world and your life 00:46:54.610 --> 00:46:56.969 is in the hands of Christ, we can live differently 00:46:56.969 --> 00:47:02.829 today. We can embrace joy, pursue peace, extend 00:47:02.829 --> 00:47:07.309 grace, and love courageously, even in the shadow 00:47:07.309 --> 00:47:10.579 of suffering. because our King's reign is sure. 00:47:11.519 --> 00:47:14.960 Our present struggle is not meaningless. It is 00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:17.900 part of an unfolding story of a God who restores, 00:47:18.199 --> 00:47:21.260 redeems, and ultimately rules. And point number 00:47:21.260 --> 00:47:27.239 four, a call to anticipation. So Advent is not 00:47:27.239 --> 00:47:29.539 just a season of reflection, it is a season of 00:47:29.539 --> 00:47:33.820 anticipation. We look back and see the worth 00:47:33.820 --> 00:47:37.110 Christ brought in His birth. We see the worth 00:47:37.110 --> 00:47:40.110 He delivers in our present lives, and we look 00:47:40.110 --> 00:47:43.429 forward with unwavering hope to the day when 00:47:43.429 --> 00:47:46.230 His kingdom will come in full, when every tear 00:47:46.230 --> 00:47:49.289 will be wiped away, every wrong will be made 00:47:49.289 --> 00:47:52.230 right, and every soul will experience perfect 00:47:52.230 --> 00:47:56.530 everlasting peace. This is the destiny determined 00:47:56.530 --> 00:47:59.889 by God, that the Savior, born in a humble stable, 00:48:00.030 --> 00:48:02.090 the mighty God, the wonderful Counselor, the 00:48:02.090 --> 00:48:04.050 everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace, 00:48:04.380 --> 00:48:07.280 He reigns forever, and in Him our worth, our 00:48:07.280 --> 00:48:11.840 hope, and our ultimate destiny are secured. So, 00:48:16.039 --> 00:48:22.420 do you long for it? Do you long for that? Do 00:48:22.420 --> 00:48:29.579 you long for what Isaiah spoke of? Do you long 00:48:29.579 --> 00:48:33.380 for that kingdom? For all things to be made right? 00:48:34.670 --> 00:48:41.809 Because that's Advent. Do you feel the ache of 00:48:41.809 --> 00:48:44.829 Israel? Do you feel the ache of the outcast, 00:48:44.949 --> 00:48:47.610 the one society deems unworthy or invaluable? 00:48:47.610 --> 00:48:52.429 Because I do. And if your soul aches for the 00:48:52.429 --> 00:48:54.570 wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the one 00:48:54.570 --> 00:48:56.409 who conquered death, hell, sin, and the grave 00:48:56.409 --> 00:48:59.150 for the everlasting Father, who never leaves 00:48:59.150 --> 00:49:02.929 you in shame, but calls you by a name, son or 00:49:02.929 --> 00:49:06.460 daughter. for the Prince of Peace who finally 00:49:06.460 --> 00:49:09.460 brings your soul rest. And I have good news, 00:49:09.500 --> 00:49:16.199 that gift you can unwrap this morning. Maybe 00:49:16.199 --> 00:49:20.659 your soul aches for the not yet. If you're a 00:49:20.659 --> 00:49:23.199 believer aware of the stain of sin weighed down 00:49:23.199 --> 00:49:26.440 by darkness that seems to creep in more every 00:49:26.440 --> 00:49:30.139 day, hear this, he has already won the battle. 00:49:31.619 --> 00:49:35.500 Amen. His kingdom is coming and soon we will 00:49:35.500 --> 00:49:42.280 see him face to face. So this, this Advent, the 00:49:42.280 --> 00:49:44.800 promise is still the same for all of us. Christ's 00:49:44.800 --> 00:49:50.300 worth is real. It is present, it is coming, and 00:49:50.300 --> 00:49:53.599 it is enough to heal, restore, and redeem our 00:49:53.599 --> 00:49:55.139 soul. Let's pray.