The Worth That Has Come and the Worth Yet to Come | Isaiah 9:1–7

You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone

podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone

Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan

Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message

strengthens your faith and draws you closer to

Christ. Let's dive in. Let me ask you guys a

question. How many of you have ever received

or given a baby announcement? Nobody. One person,

two people. Okay, all right. Now we're starting,

okay. So you've either received one, you've given

one, the Joyce's just had their baby. And so

we got, you know, told via email from the church

that, you know, they had it. And sometimes those

announcements have pictures, right? And how big

the baby was, the baby's name, all that good

stuff. Now let me ask you this. How many of you

sent out a baby announcement? I don't know. When

you were a kid, for a child that you were gonna

have 25, 30 years later. Anybody? No? No? Let

me ask you this. Is anybody gonna send out a,

go ahead and write a baby announcement and send

it out to family members for grandchildren, great

-grandchildren, and great -great -grandchildren

that are to come? Anybody gonna do that? Nah,

probably not. Well, Isaiah gives us a baby announcement

700 years before Jesus would arrive. Yes, praise

God! Preach! And so, in this announcement, we

see a lot going on that we're going to unpack.

We're going to get titles for who he would be,

what he would be like, but... He starts out the

entire thing talking about darkness and light.

Now, the big idea that we're gonna kind of drive

home, so the title of my sermon today is The

Worth That Has Come and The Worth That Is Yet

To Come because what we will see here in Isaiah

chapter nine is that he speaks to the things

that have already come now for us, they hadn't

come yet for him. And then the things that we

will cling to, that we cling to now for the not

yet. And that's a lot of what Christianity is.

It's the now and the not yet. And so, my big

idea where we're gonna be kind of driving the

train today is in Christ, the worth that has

come dispels the darkness of our present reality

whilst... The worth yet to come assures us of

the hope and restoration awaiting believers.

So let's go ahead and let's read through verse

one through verse seven. Nevertheless, now he's

pointing back about prophecies that are things

that are going to happen, which he's prophesying

about the children of Israel going into exile.

We talked a little bit actually about that exile

in Habakkuk. And so he's been really kind of

setting up all the bad news. He says, nevertheless,

the gloom of the distressed land will not be

like that of the former times when we humbled

the land of Zebulun and the land of Natali. But

in the future, he will bring honor to the way

of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and

to Galilee of the nations. Verse two. The people

walking in darkness have seen great light. A

light has dawned on those living in the land

of darkness. You have enlarged the nation and

increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before

you as they rejoiced at harvest time, as they

rejoice when dividing spoils. Verse four, for

you have shattered their oppressive yoke and

the rod on their shoulders and the staff of their

oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian.

For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied

garments of war will be burned as fuel for the

fire. Verse six, the most probably one of the

most famous passages in all scripture for unto

us will be born. A son for us is given, and the

government will be on his shoulders. He will

be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal

Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be

vast and his prosperity will never end. And he

will reign on the throne of David over his kingdom

to establish and sustain it. With justice and

righteousness from now on and forever the zeal

of the Lord of armies will accomplish this Let's

pray father. Thank you For the opportunity to

be here this morning, thank you Lord that Where

we have breath in our lungs and eyes to see and

ears to hear with which to receive and read your

word Lord, thank you for babies in this room,

and thank you for babies that have come, and

thank you for the one baby who would come and

die for us. Lord, we pray that your word would

go forth. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so

my first point is darkness destroyed by light.

When we look at verses one and two, he is talking

about this distressed land. He's talking about

darkness. He's talking about specifically the

northern region of Israel has fallen under pagan

paganism in a deep way It is very very dark northern

northern Israel and they have come under exile.

There's been a lot of, because of the different

times that they've gone into exile, out of exile,

there's been a lot of intermarriage. There's

been a lot of taking of spouses from other religions.

There's been rulers of other religions. And essentially

you've now got a lot of Israelites who have,

they've kind of, they have God and then they

have other gods that they've tried to intermarry.

And so when he speaks about darkness, he is specifically

speaking to the spiritual darkness and yes, the

exile of it. But what you have to know as we

go in, you're gonna see something or I'm gonna

refer to something that's a pretty famous line

and hopefully you'll see why they used to say

that because of the way Israel used to be. And

so Isaiah begins this prophecy with a stunning

reversal. This note will be up here if you want

to take it down. The very places covered in the

deepest darkness will be the first to see the

light. And so it talked about Galilee, right?

In verse one. At the end it says, but in the

future he will bring honor to the way of the

sea, to the land east of Jordan and to Galilee

of the nations. Galilee of the nations is this.

Galilee had once been conquered, it was humiliated

and repopulated with pagans after the Assyrian

invasion. You can read about that, by the way,

in 2 Kings 17 verse 24. Because of this mixture

2 Kings 17:24

and spiritual compromise, the Jews in the south

viewed Galilee as inferior. religiously impure,

theologically shallow, and culturally tainted.

And so, when you hear things like, when Jesus

was walking the earth, do you guys remember what

Nathan said about Jesus? You guys remember? When

Nathan hears about Jesus, he has this response.

Can anything good come from Nazareth? That's

why he says that because they would look upon

Galilee they looked upon that entire area as

dark as pagan as completely For us it would look

a lot like just completely nominalist Okay, and

So you would have Pharisees that would say no

prophet arises from Galilee It wasn't considered

pure Yet Isaiah announces that God will begin

His redemption right in Galilee. That's the goodness

of God. Instead of starting in the holy city

of Jerusalem and sending Jesus to be born there

and to do His ministry there, no, He is born

in Galilee. And He is from Galilee, the place

of darkness, the place of complete paganism,

a place that has been dismissed and just the

darkest region. would first receive the first

dawn. And when Jesus came, that's exactly what

happened. He did not begin His ministry, like

I said, in the holy city of Jerusalem, where

everyone expected the Messiah to rise. He began

in the place no one respected. He preached, He

healed, and He called disciples in Galilee. Why?

Why would He call disciples in Galilee? What

do you think? Because the Savior doesn't step

into polished sanctuaries. He steps into places

that they know need Him. So when we talk about

worth, the whole thing of what this Advent series,

when I talk about worth that has come, it appears

like this. A Christ who moves towards the lowly,

the overlooked, the spiritually mixed and messy.

A Christ who reveals that God restores worth,

not on the basis of status or purity, but grace.

What does James say about what we should be careful

of? Think about that for a moment. The book of

James talks about how we are to act out our faith,

right? And he says, be careful not to show favoritism.

Because it's very easy. And I see this a lot

in ministry and it's actually really, it's a

really easy thing to move into as a pastor. When

you find out someone is wealthy, it's really

easy to want to move in and really focus on the

wealthy people of the church because they're

your biggest tithers. And so then you tend to

run and rule the church and do things in favor

of the special while completely ignoring those

who are in need in your church. And we do that

as a people. We're naturally drawn to people

who look like us, maybe even a little bit farther

ahead of us, and we tend to stay away from those

who are in need or who are lowly. There was a

19th century preacher, his name was William Booth.

You guys know who William Booth is? He founded

a ministry that's pretty famous. Maybe you've

heard of it. It's called the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army, its sole purpose was reaching

out to the poorest and most lost individuals

of society. He emphasized that God's love does

not wait for us to clean ourselves up. Like Christ,

who befriended outcasts, Booth brought hope and

worth to those in society that society had discarded.

This reflects the core message that grace restores

worth, making the lowly and marginalized feel

valued in the eyes of God. Rhonda just talked

about how the wise men came later, right? By

the way, I don't know if you guys have ever heard

this. This is something that's pretty neat to

think about. The wise men came from Babylon.

Who was in Babylon that was considered wise men

in the Old Testament? Daniel. So the wise men,

who are not here right now, but the wise men

that would come were of what Daniel began. Is

that not neat? Now, she talked about shepherds

who did come. Shepherds were outcasts of society.

They were considered gross and nasty. And so

I don't want you to miss everything that Isaiah

is saying and everything that... that Jesus did

and the way God did it. He does everything. There

is not a single detail, no matter how small it

may seem, God is really good at all of the details.

He's the best wedding planner, birth announcer,

whatever it is, he's the best at it. And so every

single thing that he did in order to prepare

Israel for the birth of his son, He did not let

a single detail go unnoticed, and specifically

where he was born and how it was done. Isaiah

frames it as an image of a dawning light, a light

that shatters shadows, chases away despair, and

breaks open a new horizon of hope. Emmanuel,

what does Emmanuel mean? God with us is the great

shadow slayer. When darkness once ruled he drives

it back or where darkness once ruled he drives

it back in the shadowy places Remember I keep

talking about shadows because that's where we

want to constantly go in our sin in our brokenness

We want to go to the shadows and here is the

one who breaks forth the shadowy places where

you hide. He breaks in with a brilliance that

cannot be resisted. He floods the corners of

your soul with light, forgiveness, mercy, love,

and peace, unlike anything you have ever known.

This week, so there's a pastor, his name is John

Burke, and he's written a lot of books, but he

specifically has done a lot of research and interviewed

a lot of people on near death experiences. and

he wrote a book about heaven. And then he's now

updated that book and it's called God in Heaven.

And he was being interviewed on a podcast that

I like to listen to. And I read the book on heaven

years ago, probably about 10 years ago. And now

that it's been updated, I wanna go get the new

updated version and read it. But the cool thing

about this is, I know that there are a lot of

people that have tried to make money off of near

-death experiences and claiming to have seen

heaven or been to hell. The cool thing about

what John has done is he has interviewed people

across every continent except Antarctica and

from all different faith backgrounds and not

a single one of them have, he had to seek out

and the way he sought them out was going and

talking to doctors. But what's really interesting

is he's talked to people who are like wealthy,

like wealthy beyond measure, who don't need money

and they don't want fame. And so that's what

I find really interesting. So the reason why

I'm telling you this is one, when I was listening

to him talk, just telling stories, I came home

because I was driving back on Wednesday listening

to it. It's a two -hour podcast. And he's sharing

about the things that are similar about the 3

,000 people he has interviewed across the world,

the things that they've all experienced that

are similar. And by the way, these people don't

know each other. He doesn't share any other body's

experiences with other people. He just interviews

them. And so he's like all the things that are

similar and then how they're different. But one

of the things that I love was just how they all

talk about God and Jesus and how they try to

put into words the Trinity. And one of the things

that I love too, by the way, is John Burke says

this, he says, I want you to imagine that we

are on a two dimensional painting. We ourselves

are on a two -dimensional painting and then I

want you to imagine trying to describe if you

are on a two -dimensional painting Trying to

describe a 4d world or a 5d world You couldn't

put it into words, right? You're flat and everything

else around you is different and So he said that's

what a lot of what the people that are trying

to explain things, but he interviewed a Muslim

man Who was actually a Muslim apologist he would

debate Christians and He gets a blood cancer

and he dies and when he dies he goes to hell

and He's telling John about hell and he says

it's the darkest place He said it's the strangest

thing because he says there's fire But it's like

the fire, it's so dark, the fire can't actually

illuminate anything. He said it's an oppressive

darkness. But he said that these maniacal beings,

he said they weren't demons, he said they were

people, were getting ready to torture him. And

he said, and all of a sudden, this man appeared

in a great light. And he said that the oppressive

darkness was completely gone. And these people

had fled when he came on the scene. And he said,

and the man, he described him. He said his name

was Jesus. And he told him all these different

things as far as like, hey, it's time to either

I'm gonna give you a chance, essentially. And

the guy is ultimately, he's given himself to

Christ and all those things. But the thing that

I loved about how John described the story, whether

you wanna believe it or not, that's not the point

of the story. The point of the story is for me,

is how he's in an oppressive darkness. And when

Jesus comes, that oppressive darkness is gone.

That's who Jesus is. And it's that same light.

That same light is not only the worth that has

come, it's the worth that is still coming. It

points us forward to the day when every remaining

darkness, suffering, confusion, grief, sin, decay

will be permanently undone by fullness of His

reign. So as you enter this text, you should

hear... Isaiah's invitation, there should be

this up here, do not despise your darkness. See

it as the very place where God loves to shine.

So if you are in a dark place at the moment,

that's where Jesus likes to shine the brightest.

Let your struggles become anticipations of God's

promise. Let your pain remind you that the dawn

has already broken and that a brighter day is

still on the way. Because Advent declares this

double truth. I want you to write this down.

Christ has come to give your soul worth now and

Christ will come again to complete it forever.

Amen. Point number two. Delight delivered by

Christ. Let's look at Isaiah 3, 4. You have enlarged

the nation and increased its, what does it say?

Joy. And then the people have. rejoiced before

you, and as they rejoice at harvest time, and

as they rejoice when dividing spoils. So what's,

you guys have heard me say it when you hear a

repeating word, what is he trying to say? This

is the point. So Christ brings joy now because

he brings freedom now. Isaiah moves from light,

breaking into delight, breaking forth. So verse

three says, you have multiplied the nation. You

have increased its joy. This isn't a polite joy.

It's not a faint smile of polite religion. It's

the joy of harvest. The shout of a people who

have suddenly received what they could never

have before. We talked about what joy is, right?

When we talked about the book of Philippians.

It's more than just happiness. It's an internal

thing. It's a rebar. Isaiah tells us why this

joy erupts because God Himself intervenes. That's

the beautiful part. Isaiah is saying, they will

never be able to fill the joy without God intervening

themselves. Verse four says, for you have broken

the yoke of his burden, the rod of his oppressor.

This is liberation. This is chain snapping. This

is bondage breaking, oppression being lifted.

This is not a self -inflicted conjuring of joy

because we can't conjure joy. This is joy being

delivered, delight delivered by Christ. Isaiah

wants us to see that joy is not a fragile emotion,

but it is a fruit of divine rescue. Where God

breaks the yoke, joy fills the gap. And this

is exactly what Jesus brings in His first coming.

He brings joy. Why do we sing joy to the world?

You didn't know what I was going to preach on

and you chose joy to the world, which is what

I thought was so funny. Whenever you text me

like, I felt like this is, you know, like, yeah,

that's exactly where I'm going. The Holy Spirit

knows what he's doing. He does not merely brighten

our mood. He breaks our bondage. He does not

simply come and cheer us up. He set us free.

He's freeing you from shame, from fear, from

tyranny of sin, free from the crushing weight

of trying to prove your worth. Micah, this should

be right here. Delight is the emotional overflow

of a soul finally unburdened. I'm going to say

that again. Delight is the emotional overflow

of a soul finally unburdened. I learned of a

story this week when I was preparing for this.

There's a man by the name of Shaka Senghor. Shaka

Senghor. And it's actually a true story. This

man, he went from murderer to mentor, was the

title of this article I was reading. It says,

a true story of a man crushed by guilt, transformed

by grace, and liberated from inner bondage. Listen

to this story closely. In 1991, a young man named

Shaka Sigour shot and killed another man in a

drug deal gone wrong. He was angry, he was hardened,

and he was numb. The moment the cuffs went on,

the weight of guilt began to crush him. But he

didn't know how to face it. He entered prison,

bitter, violent, and spiritually dead. Inside

prison life got darker. He spent seven straight

years in solitary confinement. Seven years in

solitary confinement. Seven years alone with

nothing but silence and his own shame. He later

said, those years felt like being buried alive

with my mistakes. But God often meets people

in the lowest Galilees of their lives. In the

middle of that isolation, Shaka received a letter

from his family that ended with four impossible

words. We still love you. Those words cracked

something open. Then a fellow inmate gave him

a Bible. For the first time Shaka confronted

the horror of what he'd done. The wound of his

soul and the possibility, just the possibility

that he could receive forgiveness, completely

changed him. He began to read. He began to repent.

And he began to feel hope. Slowly the darkness

lifted. He said, I found freedom long before

I saw the prison gates open. Now, what a quote.

The chain snapped inside me first. Over the next

year, Shaka became a mentor, a writer, and a

peacemaker, even inside prison. When he was released

after 19 years, he emerged not as an angry, violent

man who entered, but as a man reborn, dedicated

to helping others find redemption and purpose.

Today, he speaks across the world about healing,

transformation, and the power of forgiveness.

He works with young men in Detroit, helping them

break free from the cycle that once enslaved

them. A criminal walked into prison full of darkness,

and a son walked out carrying light. Because

just like Isaiah 9, a yoke was broken, a heart

was liberated, and joy came where there once

was only despair. Christ, the worth that has

come delivers a present freedom that births a

present joy. What is one of the days of Advent's

focus? Joy. What is our focus today? Joy. Not

a vague optimism, but a deep soul level liberation

that begins now. So Isaiah presses us towards

a response. Don't wait for heaven to enjoy what

Christ has already given. Don't postpone joy

until life smooths out. Don't treat spiritual

freedom as a doctrine to study instead of a reality

to live. If Christ has broken the yoke, then

walk like someone who is free. The joy of Christ

is not a future luxury. It is a current inheritance.

Do you hear me? The joy of Christ is not something

that is to be enjoyed in heaven. It is something

to be enjoyed now. It is a current inheritance

that you have received and should hold on to.

It is a joy meant to be enjoyed, embodied and

shared. And this matters because joy flows from

worth. When you realize Christ has restored your

worth, when His gaze defines you more than your

failures or your fear, joy begins to rise. Not

because life is easy, but because your soul is

free. So the delight that Isaiah, this is the

delight that Isaiah foresaw and this is the delight

that Jesus delivers. Point number three. Divine

titles that define worth. Isaiah 9, 5, and 6.

For every trampling boot of battle and bloodied

garments of war will be burned as fuel for the

fire. What a beautiful verse. Why? Why will they

be able to burn the bloodied garments of war?

Because a child is being born and a son is being

given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

and He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty

God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah

doesn't simply tell us that a child will be born.

He tells us who this child truly is. In a world

that constantly mislabels, misjudges, and misunderstands

worth, God steps in and defines the worth of

Christ with four divine titles that pull back

the curtain of His character. If you have been

daydreaming this entire time, I would ask you

to just hone in for a moment so you can hear

this because it's important. We see that he is

a wonderful counselor. This is just my crazy

imagination, but whenever I hear wonderful counselor

forever, I mean, just until I was preparing for

this this week, did the Holy Spirit really begin

to hit me, but I always imagined Mr. Rogers.

And as I was preparing and I'm reading and I'm

looking and I'm like, man, I've completely missed

what a wonderful counselor is. Christ isn't Mr.

Rogers with his red cardigan and neatly placed

comb over handing out kind little sayings. No,

this is hard truth wrapped in precious grace,

the right word at the right time, the wisdom

that pierces the soul and heals it at the same

time. This is divine. This is wonderful. This

is sovereign wisdom made flesh, the kind that

only God himself could give and that transforms

both heart and life. This is why I get frustrated

when I hear people say, this is just who I am.

Because the wonderful counselor does not just

say, it's okay. You can stay how you are because

I died for you. Sure. He died. but He died to

transform you, to be a new creature and a new

creation, right? And so I cannot stand when I

hear people self -justify that this is just the

way I am. I was born this way. I hate when as

a Reformed guy, I'm a part of that Reformed guy

tribe, I hate when we really hone in on the whole

thing of being sinners. Yes, we are sinners.

But more than anything, we have been transformed

in Christ. How long am I going to continue to

stay in this idea that I'm a sinner? And when

am I going to actually start to believe in the

thing that he came and died for and transformation

of? Does that make sense? So when I read wonderful

counselor, this is Jesus with a woman at the

well, when she's like, I'm not, this is not my

husband. And he says, I know this is your fifth

husband. Right? Let me ask you guys this, how

many pastors do you know that are going to speak

truth, and let me ask you this too for yourselves,

how many of you, if you were sitting with a woman

like the woman at the well, who you know her

past and you know that she's currently living

in sin, and she says she gives you an opportunity

to speak truth to her, how many of you are actually

gonna take it and say it the way Jesus did? He

wasn't just covering over it, right? He speaks

to her straight there. Yeah, I know. Now, it's

time to go home and change that, right? That's

the wonderful counselor. Not one that gives us

these padded little answers that sound really

good and really ... comforting like Mr. Rogers.

No, it is something that comforts you in a way

that a scalpel cuts out infection. It brings

healing. It speaks truth. It's a two -sided,

that's why I said it pierces our soul and it

heals it at the same time. That's what it is

to have a wonderful counselor. This is more than

good advice or inspiring words. The Hebrew pictures

a wisdom so far above human counsel that it borders

on the miraculous. Christ is the one whose guidance

pierces confusion, untangles fears, and steadies

us when we feel like life is unsolvable. Like

it's a maze that we're just like running through.

His worth is seen in His perfect wisdom and our

deepest needs. And then He goes on. He doesn't

just stay there. Isaiah doesn't say He's just

a wonderful counselor. He moves on. He says He's

a mighty God. This child is no mere prophet.

He's no mere teacher. He's not a moral reformer.

He is God Himself clothed in strength. Jesus

doesn't just comfort us. He conquers for us.

That's why He has to be mighty. He has the power

to break chains we cannot break and He has the

power to defeat enemies that we cannot defeat.

His worth is measured in the divine strength

exercised on behalf of His people. The same might

that flung the planets into orbit and spoke the

sun into being. and holds all things in His hand.

This is the God who quietly came in the dead

of night into a land steeped in pagan darkness,

into a tumbled down stable surrounded by animals

and their excrement. The fullness of the Mighty

One was pleased to dwell in that moment among

us, among the least of these. The Mighty God

came not in power displayed for spectacle, but

in humility displayed for salvation. Everlasting

Father. I love the way in which Isaiah, of course

the Holy Spirit is the one speaking through him,

but Isaiah lists them. He says, wonderful counselor.

He's going to come and he's going to speak truth.

He's going to be the mighty God who conquers

the darkness. And then if he just stays there,

it kind of feels like, oh man. He's going to

be maybe a little hard. And he says, no, he's

an everlasting father. Not that Jesus is the

father, but that he carries the fatherly heart

of God towards his children. It's eternal in

care, unwavering in compassion, persistent in

pursuit. His worth is shown in his commitment

to shepherd, to sustain, and secure his people

forever. But I want to be careful. for just a

moment, because I know that the word father can

stir up different emotions in all of us. Right

here, right now, all of us, when we hear the

word father, get a different image in our mind.

It all depends on who our father was or wasn't.

So what I want you to hear is, no matter what

your image is of a father, whether it's One who

was a great father or one who was flawed either

way both and This father the ever everlasting

father is the one who our hearts truly long for

Our earthly fathers may have been great and they

may have been bad, but either way they don't

add up to who he is Just as we need the might

of God to conquer the darkness and the wisdom

of the counselor to guide us, we need a Father

who binds up our wounds when we are weak and

suffering. A Father who speaks life to our souls

when all we see is death. The Father we can stand

behind when the enemy hurls stones. And more

importantly, this one right here that I want

you to hear, the Father who silences the accuser

when he attacks our identity and tries to drag

us back into the shadow of shame. This is the

Father who never leaves, he never fails, and

whose worth restores ours. And then the last

one, Prince of Peace. He alone has the authority

to declare peace between God and man. and then

extend that peace into the internal worlds of

our troubled hearts. His peace is not the fragile

calm of circumstances. It is the settled wholeness

of salvation. Again, we go back to joy. It's

not about circumstance. It's about salvation.

All four titles work together to tell us one

thing. This child is worthy because he is everything

we lack and everything we long for. And because

this is who Christ is, it changes more than our

theology, it shapes our lives. When you know

Him as wonderful counselor, you don't have to

rely on your own understanding. When you trust

Him as mighty God, fear no longer rules you.

When you trust in the everlasting Father, insecurity

loses its grip. And when you walk, With the Prince

of Peace, division, despair, and chaos do not

have the last word. This will be up here if you

want to write it down. Christ's titles teach

us His worth, and His worth transforms our walk.

It's not about you. You can't bring worth and

value to yourself. He brings worth and value.

It's His titles. It's His identity that transforms

who you are. Point number four. Destiny determined

by God. Isaiah 9 -7. The dominion will be vast

and its prosperity will never end. He will reign

on the throne of David and over his kingdom to

establish and sustain it. with justice and righteousness

from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord

of armies will accomplish this." So this is why

I say this is the not yet. Is he ruling? Yes.

But has the enemy completely been shut away?

No. So Isaiah concludes this prophecy with a

vision of a kingdom that grows and will never

end. Of the increase of his government and peace,

there will be no end. This is not a fleeting

temporary rule. It is an eternal unstoppable

divinely ordained thing The same Christ whose

light pierces our darkness whose joy breaks forth

in our bondage whose titles reveal his worth

and his wisdom His might and his fatherly care.

He also is the one who determines the destiny

of all creation And so I've got some sub points

here that I want to share with you One, the kingdom

already begins. Even now, His kingdom is advancing.

Every act of mercy, every life transformed, every

soul set free reflects the unstoppable growth

of His reign. The worth of Christ is not just

a theological concept, it is practical, visible,

and present. When lives are healed, families

are restored, and hearts are renewed, and the

kingdom manifests here and now. Here's what I

want you to know. There's a reason why in the

Old Testament, God said everywhere your foot

treads, right? The whole thing is what the early

church understood, what the Mediterranean culture

before that was going, they all understood this

idea of geographic gods I'll give you a for instance

how how we know about geographic how they knew

about geographic gods one Daniel Okay, when Daniel

prays you guys remember what Gabriel says when

he arrives to Daniel You guys remember he says

Daniel I would have been here sooner, but the

prince of Persia right kept me so the archangel

Michael had to come and Set me free But also

there's this crazy story in the book of Numbers

where Balaam, you guys know the story of Balaam

and his donkey, right? And Balaam is a pagan

prophet, if you will. He claims to be an Israelite

prophet, but he's just a priest for hire. And

anyone who gives him the most money, he'll claim

God spoke this, right? So this is what's happening

is Balak, who is a who is the king of Midian,

Midia. He calls for Balaam and he says, look

at how massive the children of Israel are. There's

millions of them and they're going to overtake

us. So I need you to speak this prophecy of death

over them, speak a curse over them. And so the

whole reason why you have Balaam's donkey is

Balaam went when God told him, don't you dare

go with them. And then he's then God goes, OK,

fine, you're going to go. All right. And what

happens? There's Jesus. This is before Jesus

physically comes as the son of man comes. Right.

And he's standing there with the flaming sword

and he was going to literally kill Balaam. And

it took his donkey speaking and going, what have

I done to you that you're going to beat me like

this? Right. Anyway, this has nothing to do where

I'm going. But so we get to Balaam's like, oh,

my gosh, like he sees Jesus. And Jesus says,

you better not, you better not curse the people

of Israel. So he says, okay, I will only speak

what you tell me to. So what happens is, is Balaam

shows up before Balak and he goes, okay, I'm

here. And he goes, all right, curse the people.

And he's like, hey, I can't do that. So then

Balak goes, well, come over here. So they go

and so they, They sacrificed animals and built

an altar there. And then they go and they sacrifice

animals in an altar on another mountaintop. And

Balak says, what about now? And he's like, still

can't. So he's like, all right, hold on. So he's

like, third time's a charm. So they go and they

do another altar and they sacrifice more animals

on a different mountain. And Balak still says,

I can't do that. And Balak gets really mad. But

why do they go to three different mountains?

because they believed in geographical gods. And

so whenever, the whole reason why I'm talking

about this is this, when you and I, when we go

to Walmart, whatever neighborhood we live in,

which I realize most of you guys don't live in

neighborhoods, but wherever you go, the gas station

you stop at, the people around you, whatever

football, baseball, sports, extracurricular activities

that your kids do, everywhere you go is you extending

the kingdom and pushing back darkness. And if

you're not doing that, then you are essentially

not a part of the kingdom. You're not doing your

job. I'm not saying you're not saved. I'm saying

you're just not doing your job because everywhere

your foot treads, you are claiming and reclaiming

for God. That's why whenever he says Jesus sends

him out, he's like, hey, go. And he gives them

the gospel message. And the whole thing was is

they were then going back and they were reclaiming

where the enemy had taken. So the first thing

that you have to understand is this kingdom has

come and it's still coming and we are still pushing

back darkness and it continues to advance. It

does not retreat. Subpoint number two, the kingdom

yet to come. Isaiah points us forward, the kingdom

will ultimately come to its perfect fullness,

a reign without end. All brokenness, injustice,

all the shame and sorrow will all be corrected.

All the shadow, sin, and pain that we face now

will be swallowed up by the light of His eternal

rule. Christ's worth guarantees this. His life,

his death, and resurrection secure a destiny

for creation and for each believer that no enemy

can overturn. Point number three, living in hope.

Because the destiny of the world and your life

is in the hands of Christ, we can live differently

today. We can embrace joy, pursue peace, extend

grace, and love courageously, even in the shadow

of suffering. because our King's reign is sure.

Our present struggle is not meaningless. It is

part of an unfolding story of a God who restores,

redeems, and ultimately rules. And point number

four, a call to anticipation. So Advent is not

just a season of reflection, it is a season of

anticipation. We look back and see the worth

Christ brought in His birth. We see the worth

He delivers in our present lives, and we look

forward with unwavering hope to the day when

His kingdom will come in full, when every tear

will be wiped away, every wrong will be made

right, and every soul will experience perfect

everlasting peace. This is the destiny determined

by God, that the Savior, born in a humble stable,

the mighty God, the wonderful Counselor, the

everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace,

He reigns forever, and in Him our worth, our

hope, and our ultimate destiny are secured. So,

do you long for it? Do you long for that? Do

you long for what Isaiah spoke of? Do you long

for that kingdom? For all things to be made right?

Because that's Advent. Do you feel the ache of

Israel? Do you feel the ache of the outcast,

the one society deems unworthy or invaluable?

Because I do. And if your soul aches for the

wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the one

who conquered death, hell, sin, and the grave

for the everlasting Father, who never leaves

you in shame, but calls you by a name, son or

daughter. for the Prince of Peace who finally

brings your soul rest. And I have good news,

that gift you can unwrap this morning. Maybe

your soul aches for the not yet. If you're a

believer aware of the stain of sin weighed down

by darkness that seems to creep in more every

day, hear this, he has already won the battle.

Amen. His kingdom is coming and soon we will

see him face to face. So this, this Advent, the

promise is still the same for all of us. Christ's

worth is real. It is present, it is coming, and

it is enough to heal, restore, and redeem our

soul. Let's pray.