Christmas Day 2018

This is, we've been going through a series in John, but today it's Christmas Day, so we're taking a break from our series and I'll be looking at Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

So if you have your Bibles or your phone apps, open it up to that and we'll be looking at that passage.

If you don't have a Bible or a phone app, there are some Bibles at the back, by all means grab one.

If you don't have a Bible at all, then take that as our Christmas gift to you.

Alrighty, as we go into this Christmas Day, I think it's really important just to point out something that's significant, but that we live with like it's not really true, not really there.

And that is that we live day by day with the truth we choose not to believe in, alongside the lies we choose to believe in.

I know Donald Trump has said there's truth and there's alternate truth, but that's not true.

There is truth and there is lies.

And I think it's amazing how easily and how regularly we choose to live with lies.

We know what the truth is, but we choose to live with lies.

I find it particularly amazing on days like today, now if your kids don't know this, then I apologise,

but a Christmas Day, we have this day where we either celebrate the birth of Jesus or the arrival of Santa.

I won't go any further than that, just for your kids' sake, but go home and tell them the truth, parents, please.

You know, we have this thing, and it's amazing because as a Christian who actually believes what I believe on the basis of evidence,

I'm told not to actually present that.

I mean, I'm discouraged from presenting what I believe to be true and what I can actually see from evidence.

At the same time, I'm not allowed to crush the dreams of people who have chosen to believe an alternate truth or a lie in this area.

It happens in a lot of different areas.

We've had the last couple of years, one of the big issues in our society has been the issue of gender and how we understand that to work.

Shifted mightily away from the truth we know to the lie we would choose to believe.

There are a whole bunch of other different areas like this.

I mean, I think your comment, Beth, this morning about how in a talk about not realizing there were going to be so many kids there because at 9 o'clock there weren't.

I mean, that might be another truth or lie.

Is that too close to the bone to say, you know, when church starts is actually versus when people arrive?

No?

Maybe that is too close to the truth.

It's a bit uncomfortable, isn't it?

But, you know, I do welcoming regularly, and my record for people who have arrived after the church has started is 71.

I count.

I count.

Yes, I count.

Now I'm going to shame you.

No, I'm not.

I'm not going to shame you.

No, but it's, you know, there are a whole bunch of ways that we approach this, and we just go with it.

We actually have the truth that we can actually choose to believe in, but we so often choose not to believe in it, versus the lie we actually choose to believe in.

And this passage in Isaiah is a point at which Israel, on our behalf in a sense, because they're the first, the forerunners of us actually realizing something about ourselves.

But this group of people actually chose to live and believe a lie about themselves when something was blatantly true.

And so what we have in this passage is an account of how God is actually so fed up with Israel that he actually says, that Isaiah actually says in verse 17 of chapter 8,

The Lord is hiding his face from Jacob.

This is a nation who is described as being in the darkness of gloom, distress and darkness.

They're fearing the attacks of Assyria from the north.

They're scared for their lives of Assyria.

And so what do they do?

Well, God actually points out to Isaiah what they're going to do instead of actually coming to God himself.

What they're going to do is this.

In verse 19, God says to Isaiah,

And when they say to you, inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter.

People who actually inquire of spirits, or actually the spirits of, specifically the spirits of dead people, the necromancers.

Bit of an old-fashioned word, but that's what it's about.

That's what people will choose to do.

There's a truth that they could actually believe in and trust in if they were willing to.

The truth that God has always shown himself to be faithful.

Or there's the lie they choose to believe, and they run to it.

I've got to say that this issue of going to mediums is a huge thing.

One of the last jobs I had as a physio, I used to work in a nursing home.

And there were a whole bunch of people that used to come together for lunch around midday.

And we'd sit in the lunchroom and just chat about various different things.

And I can tell you now that I was the only person in that room of more than a dozen people regularly.

I was the only person in that room who hadn't actually been to see a medium.

And a number of them saw mediums regularly.

So when we're talking about this stuff, the truth and the lie, I've got to tell you, this is ingrained into us.

It is there.

And God is pointing it out to Isaiah 700 years before Christ.

We're talking 2,700 years ago.

This is what people like.

And this is how he sums it up.

God sums it up to Isaiah in verse 22 of chapter 8.

And they will look to the earth.

That's their choice.

They will look to the earth.

Not to him.

They will look to the earth.

But behold, this is what they'll find.

Distress and darkness.

The gloom of anguish.

As these people of Israel are faced with the crisis of Assyria coming to invade them,

they look to everything and everyone but the one who can rescue them.

The truth we choose not to believe versus the lies we choose to believe.

They actually have an end point.

They lead somewhere.

God is hiding his face from these people.

Why?

Because they are people who look to the earth instead of heaven.

A people who look to the earth instead of heaven in a world that looks to the earth instead of heaven.

And this anguish that these people are heading into is not the fact that they're caught up in this global conflict scenario where now Assyria is on the rise.

The anguish in the world is directly a consequence of rejecting God.

This is the gloom that we find ourselves in in this world.

But as Assyria is given this message by God, it does not end there.

You see, he gives this image of the anguish of gloom and darkness.

This kind of darkness, gloom, depressing sort of bad newsy sort of thing going on.

But then he actually breaks into that image with a kind of almost a sunrise type theme.

And we read in verse 2 of chapter 9.

I'm into chapter 9 now.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Darkness and gloom.

And suddenly light is dawning.

Isaiah's prophecy, as he begins to prophesy to the people, the message to the people, projects himself forward into the future.

It's described as a new dawn.

And he does it, if you notice that, he actually does it in past tense.

Now this isn't meant to mean that it's already happened.

What it's meant to mean in terms of prophecy, in the language of prophecy and how the kind of the code they used to do it is,

past tense means this is such a certainty that Isaiah can declare it as though it has already happened.

In verse 2, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

This is what is definitely coming for them.

Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Something is going to happen that will turn darkness to light, that will turn anguish to joy.

And there are three reasons given in this passage for it.

You'll see the three fours in beginning verses 4, 5 and 6.

For the yoke of the burden is lifted.

The burden is lifted.

Now if we're looking in an earthly direction, then we'd see this perhaps reading in this context as Israel's return from exile.

But historically we know that this didn't actually solve the problem of the darkness.

Even though they did return from exile after 70 odd years, it still didn't resolve the issue.

They still lived in an oppressed state.

So the people of God saw this prophecy and they looked beyond their return.

They anticipated something else, something bigger.

Something perhaps, or something definitely, I can say, to do with their relationship with God.

The reason that they went into exile wasn't because Assyria just happened to be mighty at the time and God was on holiday.

It was because God raised Assyria up to punish Israel, to remind them of who he was.

They were living in a state where the burden was on them to maintain their relationship with God and they could not do it.

They kept failing.

They anticipated something else as they saw this prophecy, something bigger.

And Jesus said,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

When we think about this prophecy and we start to see a resonance in the life of Jesus,

the one who said, yet that burden of the law is too heavy for you to bear.

You cannot bear it up.

So I have come to take it from you.

The burden is lifted, is the first four.

The second one is the fighting is over.

Again, if we were looking in an earthly direction,

then the end of conflict would be our expectation that Assyria would either be conquered

or by another power, or actually God would actually intervene in some significant way.

The passing of war, violence, and the fear and instability they bring into our lives.

But again, historically we know this didn't come to pass.

Israel remained a tumultuous place right up until the arrival of Jesus.

And we know that even during the arrival of Jesus, Israel was occupied by the Romans.

And still, even now, in that area, let alone the rest of the world,

war, oppression, threats of violence are very real.

So what's going on here?

I think we're going to see a little bit more in the name of Jesus,

one of the names that Jesus is given in this passage.

What's going on here?

What kind of peace is this child going to bring?

Well, in John 14, 27, Jesus said these words to his disciples,

Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them not be afraid.

Let them be afraid.

Jesus breaks in and says, I'm actually the peace bringer.

And I'm going to bring a peace, but it's not a peace that you're thinking about.

It's not actually a removal of the Romans,

but it's actually a peace between you or me and God.

And how does this come about?

Well, we find out.

The third four is a child will be born.

The child.

Again, these prophecies had some bearing on the immediate circumstances of God's people.

And in some way, Cyrus was actually the deliverer,

who was later named in Isaiah,

who will actually bring them out of exile.

But he's not the man who can fulfill these promises.

They're too big for him.

They're too far reaching.

They're actually eternal in scope.

So there was always a hope for something better.

Always an expectation for something more in the hearts and minds of God's people.

The hope of a saviour.

And here Isaiah is saying, keep hoping.

He's coming.

At that point when he comes,

the reality of anguish in all its forms

will be seen to have a conclusion.

And because it has a conclusion,

this gloom will be replaced with joy.

And this saviour will do it.

Man, Israel must have felt they were caught up in the tides of forces

way beyond their control.

Will powers rising and falling and sweeping them up in their wake.

But this saviour,

regardless of what is going on in the world around us,

regardless of what we fear,

what we struggle with,

this saviour will have the power to do it.

And we know because God named him before his birth.

Gave him four names.

That's pretty good going.

I don't know about you guys,

but Joe and I struggled to name our first child.

Our first child he called Tom.

Did you have arguments?

No, we had discussions.

No arguments.

But I think it was like five days in the hospital.

He only got his name on the last day as we left.

Is that right?

So he was called Baby Patterson for five days in this hospital.

And you imagine every time the nurse comes in and reminds you,

because they're doing obs like multiple times a day,

and they just keep reminding you, Baby Patterson.

Has the baby got a name yet?

No.

And you know the way that names work now?

It seems like we name our kids more as a reflection of ourselves

and as a reflection of the character of the children,

not like things were done in these days.

There was an expectation that a name would impart character

or at least reflect the character of someone.

So we called Tom, you know, Tom.

That means twin.

You know Joe's a twin.

We called Hannah, Hannah,

because Joe's a bit dyslexic,

and it doesn't matter which way you spell it.

It works out the same.

You just, you know,

and then there's all these hybrid names that people are using now,

and you don't know how to spell them at all.

It doesn't matter which way you spell it.

I don't know.

But, you know,

so names are a little bit different, aren't they?

But when we look at this passage,

the names are significant.

There were three reasons for joy,

and there are four names for this joy giver,

and the four names speak to the character of this saviour,

what he is going to be like,

what he is going to do.

They tell us who he is.

They tell us what he'll accomplish.

And the first one is wonderful counsellor.

Wonderful is a specific word.

It means amazing.

I mean, I call Joe this all the time.

I say she's wonderful all the time,

and she is.

She's an amazing woman, beautiful.

I used to call her precious,

but then the Lord of the Rings came out

and kind of made that a bit creepy.

So I switched to wonderful and beautiful,

and it's better.

And, you know,

wonderful still has this meaning of amazing.

It's someone or something you deeply admire,

that you delight in,

but it's more than that.

This particular word means beyond the power,

so wonderful,

that it's beyond the power of man to accomplish.

It's almost exclusively used of God's work,

God's handiwork in the Bible.

So wonderful,

as in beyond the power of man to accomplish.

And counsellor,

a wonderful counsellor,

a planner,

a schemer,

someone who is renowned for wisdom

and who can use that wisdom

to bring about great change.

That's the sense of that word in the Hebrew.

Linked with wonderful,

it's meant to give us confidence.

This saviour can solve the problem.

And for them,

the problem,

the Israelites,

the problem was right in front of them.

For us,

it is too.

To be God's people

and yet to be exiled

because they can't keep the law.

They were a holy nation,

a holy nation

of a holy God,

but they couldn't live up to be holy.

It's the same for us.

If you are not yet in relationship with God,

he is a holy God

and no matter how good you think you are

and how good you strive to be,

this is not the way to get there

because it is just too far.

The bar is too high.

A holy nation of a holy God,

but they couldn't live up to being holy.

But there was more.

You see,

this God has two characteristics in equal measure

and these are the two characteristics

that we find ourselves just bashing up against.

That is this.

God is a God of justice

and covenant faithfulness.

He's a God of justice

and faithfulness,

which means

God does not look over

any fault or flaw

on the one hand.

But God is faithful

to his promises

to his people

on the other.

The Israelites had a law

they cannot keep.

We have an expectation on us.

We inherit it,

which is the same.

We fall far too short

of God's character

to be able to live

and survive in his presence.

We face a God

who is a God of justice

and we are a part of a world

that cannot reach God.

So,

this is the dilemma

that this wonderful counsellor

resolves for us.

This saviour would be

a wonderful counsellor.

He would be able to solve

the problem

that we have no solution for.

The saviour had a plan

that couldn't be undone

by anyone

but God.

I don't know

if you're aware of

1 John 1, 8 and 9.

I was brought up

in the Anglican church

and so we had this

green prayer book

which we go through

every week

and it was great

for just like

pounding scripture

into you.

and one of the passages

that was irregular

was 1 John 1, 8 and 9.

If we say we have no sin

we deceive ourselves

and the truth is not in us.

But if we confess our sin

God is what?

Faithful

and just.

Those words come up again.

To forgive us our sins

and cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

This is the plan

of our wonderful counsellor

to deliver us

from a dilemma

that we cannot get out of.

The Israelites before us

couldn't.

We can't.

We need Jesus.

We need this child

to rescue us.

The saviour had a plan

that couldn't be done

by anyone but God.

And so

that's who this child

would be we read

the next title is

Mighty God.

This is who God sends

himself.

This saviour

would be called

Mighty God.

And this is a huge thing

because we're talking

about a child being born.

So the people of Israel

would have got this

and I think

if we think about it too

it's a huge thing.

Not only is he wise

but he's powerful.

He doesn't rely on

others to bring

his plans to fruition.

He has the power

to see it done himself.

And it's unlimited power

because he is

the mighty God.

Isaiah's already alluded

to this in 7.14

and I think in chapter 8

as well

by calling him

this saviour

Emmanuel

God with us.

But that could just

be a name

because Joshua

shared the name

that's the same

as Jesus.

Yahweh saves.

But here

it moves beyond

the sense of

oh this is just a name

to this is

who he is.

So therefore

the Lord

will give you a sign

behold the virgin

shall conceive

and bear a son

and shall call his name

Emmanuel

in 7.14

is actually saying

more than just

give the kid the name

this

but this is God.

Emmanuel

God with us.

God in human form.

This is an unbelievable claim.

The creator of the universe

becoming a creature.

The one who is

becoming who

the one who wills

everything into existence.

But as incomprehensible

as that is

it's immensely comforting

because God

in all his power

has come to save us.

And this is both

significant

but necessary.

God is perfectly pure.

He's holy.

We are not.

We can't be

no matter how hard we try.

There may as well be

a concrete wall

between us.

No matter how hard we try

we cannot get through it.

It's impregnable to us.

So God

breaks it down

from his sight.

This promised saviour

our mighty God

doesn't wait for us

to do the impossible.

He breaks through

this wall

from his sight.

It's the only way

that wall could come down.

Wonderful counsellor

mighty God

everlasting father.

I love this.

The expression

of that leadership

of our saviour

is described

in terms of fatherhood.

Now I know

for some of you

that this concept

may not be

a pleasant

and welcome thought.

But let me just say

that as painful

as it may be

to remember

an abusive father

or a father

who has failed you

in so many ways

every one of those

jabs of pain

should remind you

that fatherhood

should be

something better.

It should be

something greater

than that.

The nature of God

in human form

is to be our father.

Father in the sense

that he is our

ultimate safe space.

A father in the sense

that he provides us

with existence

identity

family.

Think about this.

Father is integral

to giving life

to his children

and then he nurtures

them by protecting

and providing for them.

That's existence.

He gives us identity.

We are made in his image.

With our own

earthly fathers

we share DNA.

Unfortunately

it goes beyond that

because nature

and nurture are at work

and unfortunately

our kids pick up

our habits as well.

You'll know this.

What a good thing

to have a holy father

then, a perfect father

one whose habits

are not actually

going to alter

your life to the negative.

A father who we are

made in the image of

and we are being

remade in the image of

and a father gives us

connection into family.

He connects us

into his family.

We become brothers

and sisters.

We're not adrift

in the world.

We're never alone.

Never alone

at least because

God is always with us.

that we're never

dissociated

or cut off

from community

because as God's

children

we are part

of his family.

This Savior

provides us

with a connection

deeper than we've

ever known before

and we know

connections that we

love and cherish.

This is the relationship

we were made for.

The family that goes

deeper than even

our DNA.

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father

and Prince of Peace.

Peace in Hebrew

means more than

simply the absence

of hostility.

It's actually the

presence of harmony.

It's a relational term.

You ever been in

that conflict where

you're in a conflict

with someone

you just can't get out of?

You just kind of

keep missing each other

and everything you say

just seems to

dig the hole deeper?

No one else is married

here?

Come on guys,

let's be serious,

yeah?

I find myself

in conflicts at times

and you just feel like

everything I do

is just like

putting petrol

on the flames.

Conflict just spirals

out of control.

Friends,

this child

doesn't just come

with wise words.

Wise words

may resolve

the dispute

but they don't

resolve the conflict

at the heart level,

do they?

He doesn't resolve

the problem

by force of might

pushing us together

to resolve things.

This only changes

the circumstances

but not the reality

of what's causing

us to conflict

in the first place.

His fatherly concern

will mean that

he will not

ignore the problem.

He reaches

beyond the problem,

beyond the surface

and he deals

with our hearts.

The problem

that holds us

apart from each

other and us

from him

is our iniquity.

Each of us

has turned

to his own way.

We're all planets

that demand

that every other

planet revolve

around us.

God becomes

the new centre

to our life,

reorders everything

and shows us

how things should

work.

God,

the new centre

with Father

and Son

and Holy Spirit

infinitely

and permanently

committed to each

other,

giving themselves

to each other,

showing us the

example of how

we too

should live.

There's no peace

with everyone

turned in on

themselves.

Father

but man,

the peace

that Jesus

brings

by transforming

our hearts,

teaching us

how to give

out

instead of

demanding

and drawing

in,

that's a

prince of

peace.

Now in all

of this,

we've gone

through all the

four names

now,

the three

fours

and the

four names,

there's only

one thing

to say

and that's

the one

driving force

behind all

of this

and let

me say

this driving

force gives

us great

encouragement,

it's right

at the end

there,

the zeal

of the

Lord of

hosts

will do

this.

The zeal

of the

Lord of

hosts

is what's

at work

in all

of this.

Now zeal

is kind

of a word

that we

don't use

that much

do we?

But it

actually

means

passion.

If you

look into

it,

the way

that's

actually

applied,

it means

passion.

So the

kind of

passion that

a husband

and a

wife will

have for

each other,

the kind

of

that

romantic

passion.

You know

what that's

like?

It gets

you doing

all kinds

of things.

It got

me vacuuming

the house

and cleaning

the bathroom

whenever Joe

came over

when we

were dating.

It gets

you doing

crazy

things.

Because they

don't need

cleaning or

vacuuming,

normally,

really.

You know

what I

mean?

Passion is

one of

those forces

that causes

us to do

all kinds

of things.

things.

The

arrival of

this child

is God's

plan for

our

salvation.

It's an

act of

love,

an act

of passion,

the kind

of love

that will

let nothing

get in

the way,

the kind

of love

that will

apply all

his creativity

to,

the kind

of love

that will

produce a

mighty act

of courage,

the kind

of love

that will

be expressed

in tenderness,

the kind

of love

that will

bring peace.

That's

God's

love for

you.

And

that's

the truth

we celebrate

at Christmas

rather than

the lies

that we

could choose

to believe.

Let me

pray.

Father God,

we thank

you for

your

saviour.

We thank

you that

this child

became a

man and

lived the

life that

we could

never live,

died the

death that

we deserved

and brought

peace between

us.

It's an

unfathomable

plan for

us,

Lord.

It's a

plan we

could never

have accomplished

ourselves

under our

own strength.

It's a

plan that

shows your

tenderness and

kindness toward

us.

And it's the

only plan that

brings peace

between us

and you.

So we

thank you

this day,

Lord.

We thank

you for

giving us

your son.

Amen.

Amen.