LIVE: YouTube LIVE
Speaker : Rev. Daniel Yaw
Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-2, Luke 1:77-79
Introduction
- The ancient Persians had a saying: "When it is dark enough you can see the stars."
Isaiah 9:1-2
But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.
A. THE DARKNESS - the heart of the matter
1. The Darkness in Isaiah’s days
- What kind of darkness is Isaiah talking about here?
- Religiously, idolatry was rampant in the days of Isaiah
- Politically as a nation, they were being oppressed by their enemies.
- Personally they are struggling to know their God – if God was present and if He still cares for them. They were in darkness.
2. The Darkness Today
- What is our darkness today?
B. THE LIGHT - the hope of man (9:1-2)
- That is what Christmas is all about as Isaiah prophesied.
- This must have been the greatest news to the people of Israel. It is against this background that the prophesies of Jesus Christ were spoken.
1. The light is God revealed
- The god in whom we were ignorant - Jesus said,
“He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
“I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me.”
2. The Forgiveness of God made available
- “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”
- “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- The coming of this light brought three things:
- Pardon of Sin
- Possibility of Seeing God
- Peace in our Pathway
Conclusion
- This is the hope of Christmas - light at the end of the tunnel of death, a bright shinning star in the dark sky, a way of peace with God.
