"Your Light HAs Come"

Good morning. It's good to see you all here. We're glad you have braved the cold to join us this

morning. Thank you to Chi-Sing for making sure that our sanctuary is warm. We are thankful for that. Amen.

Glory seeking is something that is common in our culture today. Whether it be the desire to take

your photo with a famous celebrity, whether it be a movie star or an athletic star or

a politician, we love to have those photos on our walls to bask in the famousness of others.

The things in our pockets are filled with TikToks and Instagrams, phones, and the desire to be an

influencer is somehow now a career in our world as people are hungry for followers and to be known.

I would even say that glory seeking is under our obsession in our culture with sports teams.

Glory by association. We won. You sat on a couch. You didn't do anything, but we won.

We like to find glory in various places because it's a fundamental human desire.

It reflects the fact that we were made in the image of a glorious God

and that we were made for a kind of glory. But in the fall, our search for this glory

has been twisted and lost. Rather than receiving glory from God, we so often seek to manufacture

glory on our own. And as we do this, there are one of two outcomes. We either succeed

and in doing so find ourselves consumed with pride that we have actually gotten glory,

an insecurity that knowing how easily we might lose it. Or we fail. And then we live lives of despair

or of envy of those who seem to have glory in this world.

Glory seeking is at the heart of humanity. And you know, it's interesting to think about the fact

that the church as an institution, as a people, has not been immune to this either. There have been

times when the church has been ascendant or dominant in a culture. It has felt glorious in that position,

but how often has it allowed pride to rise up? And the glory has not been received from God,

but built by our own efforts and by our own performances, creating the same kind of insecurities.

And then there are also times where the church doesn't feel glorious at all. I think of my two years

in China and how difficult it was to feel like the church, talking to my brothers and sisters there,

how do we make an impact on this culture that just has no understanding and no idea,

and the church seems so small and so insignificant,

wondering how would we gain the kind of glory that we think we ought to have?

This is not a new feeling for the people of God.

When you go back to 700 B.C. and the prophet Isaiah, which is our text for this morning,

you'll see that they too felt very insignificant, stuck between the great superpowers of Assyria

and Egypt, assailed and manipulated by their local neighbors, Syria and Ephraim.

They wondered, where is the glory of David and Solomon?

And interestingly enough too, in the first century, when Jesus came to this world,

the church, the people of God at that time also wondered, where is the glory of Israel?

As they lived under the domination of Rome, as Israel was just a small protectorate in a huge empire,

ruled by Gentile rulers.

In the human desire for glory,

so often God's people have felt small and insignificant.

But God speaks to us.

God tells us to lift up our eyes.

As His people, God speaks to us and says,

Look to me.

Though you feel small and insignificant,

there is a greater glory that is yours and will be yours for all of eternity.

It will not be a glory of your own making,

but it will be a glory that I will bring you into.

And this is what our passage about this morning.

We're in Isaiah 60.

I forgot to look up the page number.

Someone want to give me a page number on that?

Isaiah 60.

We're going to be looking at the whole chapter.

What's that?

6.19.

Thank you, Susie.

If you're using a pew Bible,

6.19.

Isaiah 60.

We're going to be looking at this passage together.

And just to remember,

our Advent preaching series,

the theme has been light in the darkness.

And we've been looking through the ways that the prophet Isaiah long ago

predicted the coming of Jesus

and how His coming was light in the darkness.

And we saw that imagery in different places.

We saw it particularly in Isaiah 9.

But this promise was,

God sees the world in darkness,

and He has not forgotten it,

but He is going to act to bring light.

And that light would not be a force,

but a person,

the person of Jesus.

And so, in Isaiah 7.14,

remember,

we saw,

a virgin will conceive and bear a son,

and He will be called Emmanuel,

God with us.

Or if you remember,

in Isaiah 9.6,

verse 6,

where it says,

for to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government shall be on His shoulder,

and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

And then last week,

Pastor Nick talked about Isaiah 11.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots

shall bear fruit.

And then further on,

it says,

in that day,

the root of Jesse,

who shall stand as a signal for the peoples,

of him shall the nation shall acquire,

and his resting place shall be glorious.

So, Isaiah is preparing us for this passage.

Now, Isaiah is a big book.

The ESV Study Bible has this great story,

or great summary that says,

the whole book of Isaiah portrays God's plan for Judah

as a story that is headed somewhere,

namely the coming of a final heir of David

who will bring light to the Gentiles.

And Israel was created for this purpose,

that from Israel might come this one

who would bring glory to the whole world.

And friends,

this is what we see in Isaiah 60,

a promise,

a prediction

that there is a greater glory for God's people

that He invites us into.

So, let's read together and look at it.

Isaiah 60,

starting in verse 1.

Arise,

Arise,

shine,

for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold,

darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples,

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and His glory will be seen upon you,

and nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Lift up your eyes all around and see.

They all gather together.

They come to you.

Your sons shall come from far,

and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.

Then you shall see and be radiant,

and your heart shall thrill and exult,

because the abundance of the sea

shall be turned to you.

The wealth of the nations shall come to you.

A multitude of camels shall cover you,

the young camels of Midian and Ephah.

All those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

and shall bring good news,

the praises of the Lord.

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you.

The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you.

They shall come up with acceptance on my altar,

and I will beautify my beautiful house.

Who are these that fly like a cloud,

and like doves to their windows?

For the coastland shall hope for me,

the ships of Tarshish first,

to bring your children from afar,

their silver and gold with them.

For the name of the Lord your God,

and for the Holy One of Israel,

because He has made you beautiful.

Foreigners shall build up your walls,

and their kings shall minister to you.

For in my wrath I struck you,

but in my favor I have had mercy on you.

Your gates shall be opened continually day and night.

They shall not be shut.

That the people may bring to you

the wealth of the nations

with their kings led in procession.

For the nation and kingdom

that will not serve you shall perish.

Those nations shall be utterly laid waste.

The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,

the Cyprus, the plain, and the pine,

to beautify the place of my sanctuary,

and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

The sons of those who afflicted you

shall come bending low to you,

and all who despise you

shall bow down at your feet.

They shall call you the city of the Lord,

the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated

with no one passing through,

I will make you majestic forever,

a joy from age to age.

You shall suck the milk of nations.

You shall nourish the breasts of kings.

You shall know that I, the Lord,

am your Savior and your Redeemer,

the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze, I will bring gold,

and instead of iron, I will bring silver.

Instead of wood, bronze.

Instead of stones, iron.

I will make your overseers peace

and your taskmasters righteousness.

Violence shall no more be heard in your land.

Devastation or destruction within your borders.

You shall call your walls salvation,

and your gates praise.

And the sun shall be no more,

your light by day.

Nor for the brightness shall the moon give you light.

But the Lord will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

Your sun shall no more go down,

nor your moon withdraw itself.

For the Lord will be your everlasting light,

and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Your people shall all be righteous,

and they shall possess the land forever,

the branch of my planting,

the work of my hands,

that I might be glorified.

The least one shall become a clan,

the smallest one a mighty nation.

I am the Lord.

In its time, I will hasten it.

This is God's good word to us this morning.

Let's pray together.

Oh, Lord, we thank you for your word.

And, Lord, with all the richness of imagery,

we pray that we might,

Lord, by your Spirit,

have understanding this morning.

Lord, I pray that you would help me to speak as I ought.

I pray for all of us,

that we would receive your word.

And, Lord, that by it,

you would minister to our hearts,

that we would submit and obey,

and know, Lord,

the joy of your glory.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Friends, the big idea for us this morning

is that there is a greater glory for us,

a greater glory in the kingdom of Jesus.

And Isaiah predicts this,

and he points us to it,

and he helps us to see it.

I've broken down our passage into three sections.

Each one shows a particular aspect

of the glory of what Jesus has brought for us.

So, let's look at those together.

The first one is a large section,

verses 1 through 14.

And in it, we see that there is a glory

of a promised kingdom

greater than the nations.

In the beginning of this chapter,

as you see, there is this call.

Arise, shine,

for your light has come,

for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

And it's this call.

Church, though you feel small and insignificant,

look, God has not forgotten you,

but He has come with glory.

Remember how small Israel felt

at the time of Isaiah's prophecy.

Assyria had invaded the northern kingdom.

Ten tribes of the twelve tribes of Israel

had been conquered and scattered,

never to be gathered again in the same way.

They were not a major player

on the sociopolitical world,

but a football for nations to pass around

but God says,

my glory will come upon you.

And when that comes,

the nations of the world

that seem so great right now,

they will respond by coming to you.

They will come in honor and worship to you.

Look at some of the ways

that Isaiah draws this out, right?

In verse 3,

the nations shall come to your light.

They will come from their darkness

to the people of God

because there is light there.

Verses 4 and verse 9

will talk about the gathering of people,

that there are people spread all over the world,

and your sons and daughters

will come from afar

to be gathered in to the people of Israel.

In verses 5 through 7,

it's a striking picture,

if you look at it,

that the wealth of nations will be brought

and laid at the feet

of the people of God

and His King

and their kingdom, right?

It's this,

when we look around,

we just think there's so much power

and so much wealth

and so much military might,

and we think,

what is the people of God?

But one of the promises

is that we are caught up

into something that's so much greater.

The nations will come

and bow their knee one day to Jesus,

and not only will they no longer be enemies,

but they will serve you.

You look at verses 10 and 11,

it's saying,

these nations will come

and they will be building your gates.

They will be contributing

to the glory of the kingdom

that is to come.

The best of the world's riches

will come and serve God and His people,

the cedars of Lebanon.

That's what that means.

This symbol is there.

This is the richest thing out there,

and it's being brought

to serve the kingdom of God.

There's also a callback

to the temple of Solomon

that was built with cedars of Lebanon,

and then this is saying,

it's going to come back.

It's going to be renewed.

It's going to be restored,

and even greater than that,

God gives this tapestry of imagery

to say that the glory of the kingdom

that Jesus brings

is that it will come ultimately in triumph,

and it will be the center

of all human existence

and all of life on this earth,

and the riches and the wealth

of the world

will be given to it to serve.

And Jesus comes

to bring this fulfillment,

and we'll keep talking about

what that looks like

as we go on through this,

but do you remember Matthew 2?

What happens in the beginning

of Matthew 2?

Matthew 2,

there are wise men

from the east

who look up and see

a light that has come

into the darkness of the sky,

and they think,

and they see it as important.

And so these wise men,

kings, rulers,

whoever they,

from lands far away,

come,

and they bring their richest gifts

to lay at the feet of a baby,

or maybe a toddler at that point.

We can talk about the timeline

another day.

But they come

and lay down their wealth

before this child

because a light led them to this.

Don't miss the fact

that Matthew's read Isaiah,

and he knows where this is going.

So there's this little clue,

even with the,

we three kings of Orient are,

those ones are brought in

to this partial fulfillment.

And then as we see

throughout the rest

of the New Testament,

as Jesus comes

and he lives his life

and his death

and his resurrection,

and as the church begins,

right,

in Acts 2,

the church begins

not just with the Jewish people,

but with other people.

There are other languages

that the gospel is preached to,

and people from other lands

respond and begin to come.

And what had been

a national plan

in the Old Testament

that God would lift up Israel

as one nation

to be a light to all people

so that all people could know God

now becomes the church,

this transnational,

international being

that no nation can claim

as its own.

But this church then becomes this

reaching the ends of the earth

so that God is drawing people

from everywhere

through the preaching

of the gospel.

And we know this is true

because when you look

at the vision in Revelation,

when we see Jesus

in his throne room

in all of his glory,

John writes this,

after this I look

and behold a multitude

that no one could number

from every nation,

from all tribes

and peoples

and languages

standing before the throne

and before the Lamb

clothed in white robes

with palm branches

in their hands

and crying out

with a loud voice,

salvation belongs

to our God

who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb.

Friends,

in light of all the glories

that we might see

in this world,

God says there is

a greater glory

among the nations,

a glory that reaches

and draws

all nations

better than any nationalism,

a glory that reveals

a triumph greater

than any political

or social victory,

a triumph that brings

riches and wealth

beyond our imagination,

a glory in the fulfillment

of what God is doing now

in building a global church

of people from every tribe

and tongue and nation.

And though you might

feel small now,

though you might feel

like the culture

is this big hairy beast

and we can't stand

among it

and it feels like

the darkness

may be encroaching

over us,

God says,

no,

that's not the end

of the story.

There is a different

end of the story

and it's already begun.

Jesus has already come

as light in the darkness

and right now

He's doing this work

and one day

we will see

the fullness

and the fulfillment

of it

and its glory

will be so great.

Be encouraged,

be strengthened,

press on,

arise,

shine

for your glory

has come.

Your glory will be

a greater glory

among the nations

than you can even imagine.

That's the first point.

Then in verses 15 through 18,

there's another kind

of glory that's pictured here.

This is the glory

of a Redeemer

in His renewed kingdom.

Look with me

in verses 16

and following.

You see this,

you see it

in verse 15,

right?

Sorry,

I meant verse 15.

That's where I wanted to go.

Let's go to verse 15.

It says,

this is the great reversal

that the Redeemer brings.

You who were forsaken

and hated

with no one

passing through,

that means that you were

off the beaten track.

In fact,

you were just

a nobody

in the wilderness.

I will make you

majestic forever,

a joy to the age.

So,

God comes

as a Redeemer

to take people

from insignificance

to something

much greater.

And the images

are forsaken

and hated

to majesty

and joy,

right?

Verse 17,

it's an upgrade

to a greater treasure.

If you look

at the Hebrew parallelism,

what He's really saying

is wood

will be turned

to bronze,

will be turned

to gold,

and stones

will be turned

to iron,

will be turned

to silver.

What is common,

what seems mundane

and very simple

and not very glorious,

will be transformed

into something

that has all wealth

and glory.

It's transformed

into something precious.

And this is what

God is doing.

And when the nations

that threatened them,

that were their overseers

and taskmasters

that brought oppression

and suffering

and evil,

they will be turned

into peace

and righteousness.

And the walls

and gates

are no longer

for protection,

but they are places

of welcome

and praise.

The glory of God,

our Redeemer,

has this theme

of this great transformation

from nothing

to something,

from things

that are not good

to things

that are glorious.

of course,

this is what

Jesus comes

to do.

He comes

into darkness

to bring light.

He comes

to those

who are angry

and rebellious

and He brings peace.

He comes

to those

who are wandering

and wondering

and lost

and brings truth.

He comes

to those

who are unloving,

unlovable,

I'm sorry,

unlovely

and feel unlovable.

And He loves them.

This is what we see

when Jesus interacts

with people

throughout the Gospels.

This is what we see

as the calling

of the church

to care

for the poor

and the widows,

for the outsiders,

for the needy,

for those

who are

on the margins

of society

as a special care,

as a part

of our loving

the whole world.

But of course,

the greatest thing

of all that Jesus

does in this

role of a

great reversal

redeemer

is that He deals

with our sin

because all of us

in our sin

have a great need

for a redeemer.

and Jesus

comes

as the light

of the world

to do this

great exchange

for us.

He

takes

our sin

upon Himself

as He goes

to the cross.

He

imparts

to us

through faith

in Him

a righteousness

that is not

our own

that allows us

to stand

before a holy God

and know

acceptance

and embrace

and love.

His death

for us

as He went

to the cross

brings life

to all

who are in Him.

He was despised

and rejected

so that we could

be loved

and embraced.

He went

into the darkness

of death

so that we could

know Him

to be the light

of life.

friends,

I do want

to say

this morning

there is one hint

in this grand

picture of glory

in this chapter

there is one hint

of warning in it.

Verse 12

look with me

at it

for the nation

and the kingdom

that will not

serve you

shall perish

and the nation

shall be utterly

laid

to waste.

friends,

our rejection

and our rebellion

against God

will exclude us

from this glory

that this chapter

portrays.

It tells us

that not all

will receive

not all

will come

not all

will bow down

before Him

but God

will not share

His glory

and for those

who say

no thanks God

I want to do

this on my own

I'll take my own

glory over yours

He will say

you can have

the glory

that you

choose

but you will

find it to be

empty

you will find

it to be

vacuous

you will find

it to be

unstable

and ultimately

you will find

yourself

excluded

cut off

from this

glorious kingdom

and so there is

in this great

reversal

and invitation

and a call

come to

Jesus

come and find

in Him

the forgiveness

of sin

and eternal life

come and believe

in Him

so that this

greater glory

that He holds

out

this is what

He wants to do

for you

to bring you

from darkness

to light

to bring you

from insignificance

to glory

this is the

good news

of the gospel

Apostle Paul

writes in 2nd

Corinthians 4

6

says for God

who said

let light

shine out

of darkness

has shown

in our hearts

to give

the light

of the knowledge

of the glory

of God

in the face

of Christ

and this is

His invitation

for us

to remember

that

so the second

glory

if the first

glory is the

glory of the

kingdom among

the nations

the second one

is the glory

of this redemption

that brings a

great reversal

that turns

things

to

unimaginable

glory

and invites us

to know

that that's

what we

get to be

a part of

that's what

He has

invited us

into

the final

verses in

this chapter

seem to

almost fly

off the pages

of reality

don't they

there is a

final

picture of

glory here

a glory

of the

presence

of God

that is

almost

unbelievable

right

verse 19

in this

day

when the

glory of

God

comes

and light

shines

upon you

it says

the sun

shall be

no more

your light

by day

nor for

brightness

shall the

moon

give you

light

but the

Lord

will be

your

everlasting

light

and the

Lord

will be

your

glory

now I

want you

to stop

for a minute

and think

about what

the sun

what role

the sun

plays

in our

world

and in

our

universe

it is

the source

of life

for all

of creation

that's why

God started

let there

be light

and he

put light

into the

world

because it

is the

source

of life

without it

what do

we not

have

we have

no heat

rumor

has it

that space

is really

really cold

and when

you don't

have a

sun

to warm

yourself

you will

die

right

we have

no

photosynthesis

this is

kind of

exciting

to think

about

your

plants

will

all

die

if

there

is

no

sun

if

there

is

no

sun

it

also

destroys

human

life

you know

in

Antarctica

right

people

who

go

and live

in the

research

stations

they

have

what

four

months

a year

of

no

sun

because

the sun

is tilted

the world

is tilted

away

so they

had

so

they've

had

to

they've

realized

that

a lack

of sunlight

is really

damaging

to people

it causes

depression

it causes

weight gain

it causes

lack of

appetite

in fact

there's even

a study

that showed

that children

who grew

up with

a lack

of sunlight

tended

to develop

myopia

their eyesight

was actually

affected

by lack

of

normal

exposure

to

so

we were

meant

to live

with

the sun

and without

it

we are

in

big

trouble

so

in

Antarctica

they take

extreme

measures

to try

to

recreate

what

the sun

does

whether

it be

by

sun

lamps

or

keeping

the

stations

warm

or

they

even

recreate

the

schedule

of a

day

and

night

with

sleep

and rest

and food

and

time

together

as human

beings

that

are normally

regulated

by the

rising

and setting

of the

sun

they

replace

these

things

artificially

because

they

realize

how

important

it

is

and

isn't

it

amazing

that

our

creation

points

to

our

creator

our

redeemer

and our

God

because

the

Lord

will be

our

everlasting

light

and

he

will

be

our

glory

there

will

be

no

more

death

there

will

be

no

more

mourning

because

the

life

that

comes

from

the

light

of

God

will

rule

over

there

won't

be

day

or

night

anymore

there

will

be

only

day

because

we

will

be

in

the

presence

of

God

God

and

friends

what did

Jesus

say

about

himself

when

he

came

he

said

I

am

the

light

of

the

world

whoever

follows

me

shall

not

walk

in

darkness

but

shall

have

the

light

of

life

this

is

the

beginning

of

the

fulfillment

of

this

promise

because

when

Jesus

came

what

we

celebrate

at

Christmas

is

the

coming

of

this

light

into

the

world

to

be

the

light

of

life

and

he

then

calls

his

church

and

we

saw

this

in

the

sermon

on

the

mountain

as

we

preached

through

it

in

the

fall

he

then

calls

his

church

and

he

says

you

are

the

light

of

the

world

why

Jesus

is

the

light

of

the

world

he

then

calls

his

people

to

be

a

reflection

of

that

light

we're

not

the

same

kind

of

light

that

he

is

but

we're

meant

to

reflect

his

light

to

the

world

so

that

others

might

know

and

there

is

in

this

age

this

growing

spreading

of

the

light

and

I

know

that

some

of

you

have

experienced

this

we're

in

the

darkness

of

despair

and

loss

of

wondering

where am

I

going

Jesus

has

stepped

into

your

life

and

been

light

that

has

brought

life

to

you

and

we

get

caught

up

in

this

now

and

Isaiah

says

and

that's

just

a

foretaste

this

is

just

the

beginning

because

one

day

it

will

the

world

will

be

remade

one

day

all

will

be

made

new

and

there

will

be

no

more

sun

or

moon

listen

now

to

the

words

in

the

book

of

revelation

as

John

portrays

this

picture

of

the

future

new

heavens

and

new

earth

he

says

and

I

saw

no

temple

in

the

city

for

the

temple

is

the

Lord

God

Almighty

and

the

Lamb

and

the

city

has

no

need

of

sun

or

moon

to

shine

on

it

for

the

glory

of

God

gives

it

light

and

its

lamp

is

the

Lamb

by

its

light

will

the

nations

walk

and

the

kings

of

the

earth

will

bring

their

glory

into

it

and

its

gates

will

never

be

shut

by

day

and

there

will

be

no

night

there

they

will

bring

into

it

the

glory

and

the

honor

of

the

nations

friends

this

is

where

we're

headed

an

unbelievable

kingdom

where

God

himself

dwells

in

our

midst

in

a

tangible

physical

way

Jesus

is

the

foretaste

of

that

in

his

incarnation

but

one

day

we

will

see

him

fully

and

truly

as

he

is

friends

this

is

the

glory

that

God

has

for

his

people

it

is

not

a

glory

that

we

have

ever

earned

it

is

not

a

glory

that

we

can

achieve

it

is

not

a

glory

that

we

can

manufacture

but

it

is

a

glory

that

God

bestows

upon

us

that

God

calls

us

to

receive

and

to

reflect

in

ways

that

reflect

him

in

every

way

and

how

are

we

to

respond

to

this

invitation

to

the

light

who

is

the

glory

of

God

well

let

me

close

by

reading

from

the

prologue

in

the

gospel

of

John

says

the

true

light

which

gives

light

to

everyone

was

coming

into

the

world

he

was

in

the

world

and

the

world

was

made

through

him

yet

the

world

did

not

know

him

he

came

to

his

own

and

his

own

people

did

not

receive

him

but

to

all

who

did

receive

him

who

believed

in

his

name

he

gave

the

right

to

become

children

of

God

who

were

born

not

of

the

blood

nor

of

the

will

of

flesh

nor

of

the

will

of

man

but

of

God

and

the

word

became

flesh

and

dwelt

among

us

and

we

have

seen

his

glory

glory

as

of

the

only

son

from

the

father

full

of

grace

and

truth

let's

pray

together

Lord

we

thank

you

this

morning

for

your

word

Lord

encourage

our

hearts

humble

us

before

the

awesome

vision

of

your

glory

Lord

refine

our

hearts

show

us

where

we

may

be

seeking

lesser

glories

rather

than

knowing

the

greater

glory

that

you

hold

forth

for

us

and

invite

us

into

you

thank

you

Lord

we

pray

in

Jesus

name

amen