The Dawn of Hope // Isa 9:1-2,6 // Advent

Pastor Evan Bialk begins the Advent series by emphasizing that while many love the festive aspects of Christmas, the true essence of the season is the coming of Christ. He highlights that Jesus is the source of hope, reflecting on the significance of the Incarnation as a promise of light breaking through the darkness and despair of the world. Utilizing Isaiah 9, Pastor encourages believers to recognize Jesus as their Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, framing Him as the ultimate answer to personal struggles and societal hopelessness. He challenges the congregation to reflect this light in their lives, urging men in particular to take the lead in sharing the hope of Jesus with others.

Transcript

We are starting our Advent series this morning. This is the beginning of Advent today. And if you're like me, you love Christmas. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. And I mean, who wouldn't love Christmas, right?

We all know Christmas to be the most wonderful time of the year. I love the decorating. If you get the chance later on in the month. It's been slow going, but I love to decorate outside. And about 10 years ago, me and Kelly came to this agreement that every year I could go and purchase one thing for the outside of our house.

And so I've been purchasing one thing, maybe two or three for the outside of our house. It first started with lights for the house that we were living at at the time. And it's progressed to more and more stuff. And so it takes me a while to get it all out. But I started that this last week and I'm excited about setting all that.

But decorating, decorating the house inside and outside, I love it the season. I love the weather. I mean, it was great snowing yesterday. I was like, so excited. I was like, yes, this is the Christmas season.

This is great. Getting together with family, the fun, the love that's just all in. Well, I should say for most of us, probably the love that's involved in that hot chocolate, the sense of joy and anticipation. You know, most people have this love of Christmas, but Christmas isn't about any of that. Christmas isn't about any of the decorations or the gift giving or the hot chocolate or the snow on the ground or the family getting together.

Advent is a season reminding us of the coming of Christ. Advent means the coming of Christ. The coming of Jesus and the Christmas season is both a reminder of the incarnation of Jesus, the first coming of Jesus, and a hope for the future coming of Jesus, the second advent of Jesus, the looking forward to his second coming. And so this morning, as we, as we walk through this Advent series, we're going to be tackling hope, joy, peace, love. We're going to be looking at those themes that are found in our incarnation of Jesus.

And as we walk up to Christmas Day, I hope, I mean, I want you to enjoy all that is Christmas. As I'm going to enjoy all that is Christmas, I want you to enjoy that. But I also want you to remember we have the saying, remember the reason for the season, right? But we've been saying that so long, a lot of times it can just become a saying. I want you to enjoy Christmas, but I also want you to remember that during this Advent season, we are celebrating the Incarnation, the birth of our Savior, and what all that means for us.

So this morning we're going to be tackling and looking at the theme of hope. Hope in the Incarnation and hope. The theme of hope in the incarnation translates to trust and expectation that we can trust Jesus, that there's an expectation for the Second Coming and the hope that's found there. This morning we're going to be in Isaiah 9. If you're with us, if you have a Bible.

This morning we're going to be in Isaiah 9. We're going to be looking at a couple of verses there, Isaiah 9, 1, 2. And then we'll be down in chap. In verse 6 as well. And as we jump into as we jump into scripture, the world needs hope.

And Jesus is that hope. Okay? The world needs hope, and we all know that. We feel that. But I want to share with you a poem that I came across a couple years ago by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

If you don't know who he was, he was author and writer and poet in the 1800s. And he wrote this in 1863. He wrote this poem, this Christmas poem, this Advent poem in 1963, after learning of his son being wounded in a battle during the Civil War. He had just lost his second wife in a fire, having lost his first wife a few years earlier after a miscarriage. And so he was without hope.

He was feeling that hopelessness that we oftentimes feel in our world. And so he wrote this poem. And it goes. I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play and wild and sweet the worlds repeat of peace on earth, goodwill to men. And thought how as the day had come, the belfries of all Christendom had rolled along the unbroken song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way, the world revolved from night to day A voice, a chime, a chance sublime of peace on earth, goodwill to men. Then from each black accursed mouth the cannon thundered in the south, and with the sound the carols drowned of peace on earth, goodwill to men. It was as if an earthquake rent the heart the hearthstones of the continent, and made forlorn the households born of peace on earth, goodwill to men. And in despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said, for hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Then pealed the bells more loudly and deep. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep Wrong shall fail, and right prevail with Peace on earth and goodwill to mention. The world is in a state of hopelessness. And as we open our bibles to verses 1 and 2 in Isaiah 9, we see that where it says but there will be no. But there will be no gloom for her who is in anguish.

In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali. But in the latter time he made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them the light has shone.

I say that the world is in need and without hope. Because in Isaiah 9:1:2, when it says that there is gloom and darkness, it supposes, Scripture supposes that that is the state of the world and it is a metaphor for the despair and hopelessness we see in human life. And the coming of Jesus is the manifestation of this great light that we see in verses one and two, offering a new hope and a new beginning.

The birth. Saint Ephraim of Assyrian. He was a theologian who lived in Turkey in the early 300 ads 4th century. And he was known as a fierce defender against false doctrine of the faith. And he has this to say that in the birth of the sun, light dawned and darkness fled from the world and the earth was enlightened.

Then let it give glory to the brightness of the Father who has enlightened it. The thing is, we recognize that from the moment Adam sinned, the world entered into a period of darkness and hopelessness and despair because sin entered into the world and that hopelessness and darkness and despair continues on. Because we each struggle with sin. We are born sinners, we are born in despair.

And each of us need, we are looking for salvation from that despair.

And Isaiah 9:1:2 is very clear to us that Jesus is. Jesus is that light, the light that overcomes the gloom in the darkness.

He is the dawn. So you think about this. The whole Old Testament, the whole Old Testament, the world lived in darkness and despair and gloom.

I mean, how awesome is it that we don't live in that time, right? We, we see the light. We, we have the light. They had, they only had a promise that there was going to be light.

The world was in darkness and despair. And then Christ, the incarnation of Christ, is that dawn, the dawn on the horizon when Christ was born, hope was brought into the world. Light was brought into the world. And the reason why I'm talking about this this morning is because we are sinners. We were born sinners.

And each one of us has struggles that we deal with. Each one of us has struggles internally that we daily fight with. Some we might have confessed already, some we may never want to confess, but we're called to.

Some of us in the room might not be believers right now or might be struggling with some of those, the grips of darkness from our previous life before knowing Christ. But Jesus is that light. He shines the light in the darkness. And so if your marriage is struggling, if. If you're.

If you're on the ropes in your marriage and you're not really sure if you're going to make. Make it to tomorrow or next week, Jesus is that light and that hope for your marriage. If you're struggling with an addiction like, like pornography or alcohol or drugs or gambling or gossip, if you're struggling with those areas, Jesus is that light. He is that hope that we can look for to overcome that darkness.

So I want you to be thinking about the things, the struggles of your everyday life that you're dealing with and how Jesus is the answer to those struggles.

Because, and I want you to listen to this. There is no Easter without Advent.

Jesus came to this world. His. The Incarnation brings us hope because of his death and resurrection. Jesus is the answer and hope for us in the dark times, in our darkness, in our sin. He is the light that shines on those areas because of his death and resurrection and the hope that we have of being able to have a relationship with God again because of his death and resurrection.

And so Advent and Easter are linked because there is no Easter without the Incarnation. There is no death and resurrection without the Advent, the coming of Christ. And so Advent is a celebration of. Of the hope that we have in Christ, the Incarnation, the birth of Christ.

When we celebrate on Christmas Day, we are celebrating all of the hope that came in the form of a baby who would grow up, live a perfect life, be wrongly accused, taken to a cross, tortured, beaten, hung on a cross to death, buried, then three days later rose again. And so when we look at that, we see the hope. We see the hope of Jesus of restoring our relationship with God, of overcoming sin, of overcoming the darkness that we feel in our life, life, the depression that we have, the anxiety that we have, the addictions that we have, we can turn to him because he did come.

The Advent did happen. The Incarnation did happen. The resurrection did happen.

Isaiah 9, 6 shows us the gift of this glorious king when it says, for unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

There is no Easter without Advent and the advent of Christ being born into this world. He has given to the world and he has given names. He's given names, those names. And we see in verse six, wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Principes. Those mean something to us.

They speak to the roles of Jesus in our lives. Wonderful Counselor. When we see that in Scripture, what does it mean that Jesus is our wonderful counselor. How does Jesus play Wonderful Counselor in our lives? Wonderful means incomprehensible in the Hebrew.

It's directly translated as incomprehensible.

Wonderful in a mind boggling way.

Jesus is a wonderful in a mind boggling way. We oftentimes throw the wonder man. That was wonderful. That play was wonderful. That movie was wonderful.

You're wonderful. We throw that word out and a lot of we throw it around lightly. But this in Scripture, this is heavy. He is wonderful in an incomprehensible, mind boggling way.

And it means that he offers his perfect counsel.

He offers his perfect counsel. He guides us as believers in our life and our faith. And this is because Jesus knew. He both experienced. He both experienced our life.

But even when he was experiencing and living life as man, he knew what was in man. So when he was here, he was already a wonderful Counselor. In John 2:25, it tells us that no one needed to bear witness about man to him because he, he himself knew what was in man, and he knew what was in man, so he could offer perfect counsel and perfect guidance. And if he could do that, then he can do that now for us. And in Colossians 2, 3, it tells us that as we seek him, as we seek him, and we seek the hope that we find in him that in Christ is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and that as we seek him, he opens those treasures of wisdom and knowledge to us.

And so, as a wonderful counselor, it means that in our lives that we can trust God. We can trust him with our problems because he can guide us. He guides us in the right direction. We can trust him with our problems. The next we see here is a description of a name that is given to Jesus as the Messiah is Mighty God.

As a mighty God, Jesus rose from the dead and now sits at God's right hand in heaven, high above every other authority of power and leader. The Bible says God granted Jesus authority over all people to give eternal life to those given him by the Father. See that in John 17:2, at the end of the age, Jesus will come again to the earth with great power and great might and great glory. And when Jesus steps on the world the next time, the second adventure, at the end of the age, he will step on the world stage. And the vision that Isaiah had of the mighty God and king will come to full fruition.

The hope that we have for the future that we see in Christ will come to fruition. Jesus will hand over the kingdom to his heavenly Father after He has destroyed every enemy of God, including death.

As a mighty God, Jesus will judge all the peoples of the earth. The first advent he came to seek and save those who are lost. And the second advent, he will come to judge all the people of the earth.

Then he will sit on his eternal throne and reign in great power and authority. And we see this in Revelation 11 and 12. Every creature in heaven on earth will bow down to him and worship Him. Heaven will ring with shouting, Hallelujah. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for He was slain and he alone is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise forever and ever.

Jesus is a mighty God that we can trust in, that we can look forward to in our hope. A lot of times we can put God in a box. We have oftentimes a small God.

And this is an accusation against the church, that the church as a whole, especially the American church, has a small God. And what I mean by that is that when we view God, knowledge in our knowledge, we know that God can do everything and anything he wants. But our hearts, in the way we live our lives, we don't trust that, we don't believe that. Because the way we live our lives, we demonstrate that we believe in a limited God who loves us in a limited amount.

And we see this in. Because in our lives we don't turn to God.

The church doesn't turn to God first.

We turn other places. We look for other solutions.

We look for small goals.

I served the first church I served at. We had a building program. We were going to build a building and we needed to raise $6 million to build the building. And we met with a consultant and the consultant sat down and told us that your six million dollar goal, while it's great, get ready to take on about 4 to 5 million dollars in debt. Because on an average 98% of churches, so not even an average like 98% of churches, when they do a building fund, they miss their mark 98% of the time.

Usually by millions. And so we went into this and we weren't really sure how this was going to work out. We knew that we needed $6 million to build this building and our time was coming up. We were a church plant, so we were meeting at a conference center and that time is coming to an end. They had given us a two year window.

They said at the end of these two years we're going to go a different direction and so you can't be here. So we had a limited window. I mean, they were super gracious in giving us that long of a window, but we knew that we had to go somewhere. And so we launched a building campaign. It was time for the church to do that.

But it was super discouraging to hear that, that most churches don't hit their goal.

And in light of that, a lot of churches, the consultant said a lot of churches will lower their goal. So they might achieve it or it might look bigger. So they might need $6 million, but they'll say, hey, we only need to raise a million or 2 million to get into a building. And then they'll borrow the rest. Okay?

And they'll, so they're lower, they will lower their goal so it looks better. And we're like, nope, we're not going to do that. We believe in a big God who can supply our needs, and this is our need now.

We prayed for two years and ran a, a campaign for two years of giving. And God was super gracious because we believed in a big God who could answer big prayers and a big goal. And at that end of that two years, we raised $14 million.

So not only were we able to build the building that we wanted to, we were actually able to execute phase two and three in the building plan. And so we were able to walk into a 66,000 square foot building. God had brought growth to that church where we were sitting at like 4 or 500, 400 or 500 people when we started the goal. When we ended, we were about 1400 people. So God knew what we needed and we prayed for what we needed.

And we trusted that he could do that. We weren't going to reduce it. We were going to ask and pray that God would, would do that. But so often I mentioned this because so often, even as churches, as churches, we, we look at that and say, maybe that is too big of a goal, maybe we shouldn't hope for that. And we say we'll, we'll do something smaller.

But in reality, risk for the gospel is a right thing. Risk For God is a right thing, because guess what? We serve a mighty God. We serve a mighty God who can do great and mighty things.

And that's true in our own lives. I mean, I gave you an example of an incredible thing that God did in the church's life. But he can do that in your life as well. He can do that in your life as well, with the issues and problems and struggles that you're having right now. He can perform great miracles in your life right now.

And we're called to trust and believe that he can do that, pray for those things, seek those things. We're not called to be a shy people believing in a small God. We're called to believe in this mighty God that came to earth through the incarnation, the next one, that the next name that Jesus has given is Everlasting Father. And in Hebrew, everlasting has the idea of in perpetuity or without end, but also without beginning. When we think of eternal or everlasting, oftentimes we think to the end.

But Jesus is also everlasting. Without beginning.

There is no beginning and no end for the Messiah, for Jesus Christ. He is the Everlasting Father, and we can call him that. Some people get confused because we believe in the Trinity, the God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And so why are we confusing Jesus with God the Son? But Jesus is a father as well, because.

And he will be a father, and his fatherhood will be without end. Because in ancient times, in ancient times, the Father of a nation was viewed in much the same way as a father of a family. It was the Father who was to protect and provide for his children in the same way. And this child Jesus had been born and will become king. And he will be a father to the children of Israel, but he will also be a father of the children of God.

And he will protect and provide for them. And his role as protector and provider will not be limited by aging or death, because his role as father and protector and provider will continue in perpetuity.

And so Jesus will be an everlasting father for us as the Church. He will protect and provide for his children. And that should bring us hope and joy and peace, that we have a God who loves and protects and provides for us.

The next name that he's given is Prince of Peace. And this is strange for many people when we call Jesus the Prince of Peace, because we live in a world that is filled with war and violence, in struggle and pain and torment.

And it's difficult oftentimes to see How Jesus can be an all powerful God. How Jesus is an all powerful God who acts in human history and also is the embodiment of peace.

But physical safety and political harmony is not what is reflecting the kind of peace that Isaiah is talking about here. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, and it's often used in reference to an appearance of calm and tranquility of individuals, groups and nations. The Greek word irene means unity and accord and Paul uses irene to describe the objective of the New Testament church. But the deeper, more foundational meaning of peace is the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual's restoration with God.

The fact is that that before the incarnation we were enemies of God. Romans 5, 10 tells us that that we were enemies before God and that Christ sacrifice. In Christ's sacrifice we are restored to a relationship of peace with God. More than that that that sacrifice brings unity and purpose to our lives.

It also brings the ability to have joy in the midst of the darkness and despair of this world.

The ability to have joy in the midst of our struggles and temptations and pain and suffering. Because peace does not mean easy.

Jesus isn't the prince of easiness. He is the Prince of peace.

And peace does not mean easy. Peace means calm and tranquility. If you think back in Mark, the peace that, that that we talked about that Jesus had laying in the boat in the midst of a storm, being able to sleep, the calm, the tranquility that he had because of his trust in God the Father and the purpose that he had on his life.

Jesus is the prince of peace. And this suggests that as we seek him and as we lean into him, that calm, that tranquility, that peace and that joy in the times of struggle is available to us because it is found in the hope and the light of Jesus Christ. And it is available to us because of the incarnation.

Isaiah 9:6 suggests to us that Jesus birth is not only a historic event for us to marvel at and celebrate, but it is also a continuously active event that is delivering wisdom and strength to those who believe in Jesus at the beginning of Jesus ministry. Matthew references Isaiah this passage in Isaiah 9 to describe Jesus ministry and it gives us a guide to glorious living this morning. Matthew 4, 15:16 says, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, of the Galilee, of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. And for those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. And that light is Jesus.

That's Jesus is this, is this comes in Matthew 4, which is Jesus's beginning ministry.

He had just come out from of the temptation, from being tempted, and he is about to begin his ministry.

And Matthew is wanting to describe to the Jewish people who are reading Matthew. He is wanting them to see that Jesus is the embodiment of the prophecy that happened 700 years earlier from Isaiah, that Jesus is the light. He is the dawn in the darkness.

He is showing that Jesus is in it, shows that Jesus is in action as fulfilling the prophecy. Jesus actively embodied the light promised. Since Isaiah, he impacted real lives. His presence transformed the land of shadow into avenues of hope and acceptance. In the last several months, we've been preaching and going through Mark, and we have seen this over and over again.

Active in his ministry of Jesus, healing the blind and the sick, exercising demons from people, setting them free from demons. He is the act. He is actively fulfilling this prophecy that is found in Isaiah. He is impacting real lives and he wants to do that for us today.

Every day his mercies are renewed for us, and he wants us to see him clearly. He wants us to look for the light.

More than that, his followers are invited to participate in reflecting that light into the world. Just as. Just as Jesus impacted real lives, bringing light to the world, we are called to do that as well.

Now, A.W. tozer says this about that call, that the only safe light for our path is the light which is reflected from Christ, the light of the world. The only safe light for our path is the light which is reflected from Christ, the light of the world. And so as we, as we move forward in our lives and as we reflect, as we shine light into the world, into the darkness of the world, the only safe light that can be reflected is the. Is the light that comes from Christ.

And so we should seek to become disciples and be in the Word. You can't be a disciple if you have no idea what Jesus taught, who God is, what his character is. So we should seek to be the light by reflecting the light. And the only way we reflect the light is to learn more about the light and to begin to look more like the light. And we do that through study, through being in community with one another, through being in fellowship, through surrendering ourselves over to God.

And surrendering means when you're approached with something in scripture that doesn't align with what you have in your mind. God tells us that his ways are not our way, that our ways are not his ways, that his understanding is greater than our understanding. And so we should seek his understanding and so our lives should reflect his, him and God's character. Again, not putting God in our box.

It is our responsibility. Jesus, when he, he left, when he went up to heaven, he gave us the Great Commission that, that we become a part of his mission, the continuation of his mission on earth to spread the gospel, to call people, to repentance, to let people know that the kingdom of God is here and at hand. That in that incarnation, the hope of the world has arrived, the light of the world has arrived.

John MacArthur says that a secret Christian is as incongruous as a hidden light. Lights are to illuminate, not to be hidden, to be displayed, not to be covered. Christians are both to be subtle salt and conspicuous. Man, I'm not talking this morning.

Christians are to be both subtle light or subtle salt and light to this world.

And we need to be a light to this world because there is a lot of darkness. You look around just in the United States, the darkness that is found. We live in a first world country and so we oftentimes think that our, our nation is great and our lives are great because we have a lot of comfort. And I've talked about this before. I think that the devil uses comfort to kill and squash the church because in our comfort, our light diminishes.

We like to keep our hidden, our light hidden because we're afraid if our light shines bright, our comfort might disappear.

And Amen. Listen to me. I want all the attention of the men in this room. Men, it is your responsibility to lead out in this.

It is your responsibility to lead out on this.

It is your responsibility to show and to demonstrate to your family and to the world what it looks like to shine the light of Christ into the world.

Plato has a quote that says, we can forgive a child who's afraid of the dark. But the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light, when men are afraid to shine the light of Jesus Christ to the world. Nations fall because families fall and communities fall. Cities fall. States fall because men are not taking up the mantle of leadership.

Men are not leading their families. Men are not showing the world and standing up for what is right.

Men are not taking a stand and saying, no, I will not allow this to happen because that is wrong.

Men are not going out and sharing the gospel with other men.

The meme is right. You go on a fishing trip, you go on a hunting trip, and two words are said, right?

And it's hey and goodbye, right? Men need to be leading out in sharing the gospel, men should be encouraging their wives to share the gospel, to live a gospel centered life. Men should be, should be leading out in their children, leading their children to share the gospel and live gospel centered lives. Men should be pointing the world to the hope of Jesus Christ.

Men should be standing up and saying that Jesus Christ is the only hope and the only light of this world.

As men, we need to look to Jesus as our example in our marriage, in our life, in parenting, in our work life, in our hobbies, every aspect of our life. We should be looking to Jesus as our example, as our example. And Jesus, Jesus did this. He lived his life, he got his bride, he came for his bride, he died for his bride. And then in Ephesians, what does he tell men now go do the same thing I did.

And that's, that's the level of commitment that men should have for sharing the gospel and leading their families and leading their communities.

Men should hold the line against darkness.

And we can do this because of Jesus, because of the, in, because the, of the incarnation, because of the hope that we have because of the incarnation. Men can do this, women can do this, kids can do this. But men can lead out.

In John 1, in John 1, 4 and 5 we see that Jesus is described in this way. That in that in him Jesus was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

The glory of the eternal light that is Jesus is that every part of human existence is contingent upon the light that is in Christ, the light that is Christ, that darkness continually fails to quench it. This approach should remind us that Jesus is the inheritance, the inherent source of life and revelation. It should encourage us to spread the life giving light confidently.

It should encourage us to overcome personal shadows and personal struggles. It should encourage us to actively participate in God's unyielding light and mission that conquers chaos. Assurance is found in Christ as the light, invincible against whatever darkness challenges us as believers today.

To summarize this, Jesus is our hope, he is our light. And his birth marked the dawn breaking the darkness.

And we should celebrate that. We should look for that, that we live, we don't live where darkness is encompassing. We have hope. And that hope is the light of Jesus.

So as I close, I opened with a poem and I want to close with a poem.

This poem was written in 1877 by Marie Radcliffe Butler. It's titled When Shiloh Came.

This is a light in the darkness, a wonderful thing, a babe in the manger, the heir of a king. From the palace of God came a guest in the night to a manger and darkness and sorrow and blight, the seed of a woman, the brightest and best, the blossom of ages, the promise of rest.

We should seek to rest and find peace in the hope of Jesus.

And if you're here this morning and you haven't found that hope and rest and peace and you're struggling, maybe, maybe you already know Christ, maybe you are already a believer, but you're discouraged, I want to encourage you that Jesus is your hope. He is a light in the dark times.

If you don't need, if you don't know Jesus and you feel like you have been living in darkness and you cannot overcome it, Jesus is that answer. Jesus is the answer because he is the light and he is the light that darkness cannot overcome. Let's pray.