What Are You Expecting for Christmas?

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Come on everybody. It's the most wonderful time of

the year with the kids Jingle belling, and it's the most

wonderful time of the year. Hey, good morning, good morning,

good morning. So we're ending our series

today. As we move on into Christmas, he

shall be called. And this morning's message

starts with the most joyous question of them all, which is

also the title of this message, which is what are you expecting

for Christmas? What are you expecting for

Christmas? As a kid, I loved being asked

that question. Hey, when your mom and your dad,

once you knew Father Christmas, OK, I won't spoil it.

Your mom and your dad came to you and said, hey, what do you

want for Christmas? What are you hoping for?

And your eyes just lit up like this.

Sparkly eyes are calling. And you had this joy, like what

can I ask for, what can I hope for?

It's like this mixture of joy, anticipation and you start to

negotiate. So my daughter Sophia learnt,

sorry for the illustration, my love, but she learnt a trick

very early on because her birthday is on the 16th of

January. So you know what's going to

happen? It's like, hey, mom and dad, you

know, I really want this, this, this thing for Christmas.

Can I have it? We're like, whoa, that's, that's

like way, way past the budget. Hey, can't, can't go for it.

Sorry. No, no, no.

But mom and dad, I'm going to make you a deal.

What happens if I combine my Christmas and my birthday

present into one big present? That's all I want, you know,

But, but so if you know, like when, when your birthday comes,

you're going to be a little bit like disappointed, there's going

to be nothing to open on your birthday.

No, no, no, no, I'm, I'm 100% convinced that this is what I

want. So we fall for it every year.

And guess what happens a week before the 16th?

Mom and dad look at each other and go, you know, a shame.

You can't, you can't. She can't not get something on

her birthday shows that would be wrong.

Hey, Clinton. And she ends up the little

negotiator ends up with a double present at Christmas every

single year. And I felt throughout the

series, as we've explored the names of the Messiah, as we've

explored wonderful Counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace, as we've explored that the Lord is my

shepherd and he longs to tend for us.

I felt God drop in my spirit and say if you knew who I truly was,

you too. Kai would be asking me for a

double present this year. You see, in scripture, a double

portion signifies a special inheritance or blessing, which

is often given to the first born as a symbol of the Father's

strength and favour. And in Romans 8, we're reminded

over and over and over again that we are all first born

heirs, that we are all children of the Most high God.

We are all children, and the Father longs to give us the

special inheritance. That means that we don't

approach Christmas like just another holiday or just another

time of the year, that we can just kind of collapse.

I finally got there. I've got 2, maybe 3 weeks before

I have to do it all over again. No, we approach Christmas with

the understanding that we are sons and daughters who share in

the Father's inheritance, the first born blessing, the double

portion. So we approach the season not

only with bold expectation, but with a correct expectation that

if we truly knew who our father was, that we would be asking

Father, what double gift of grace, of restoration, of

breakthrough are you going to place into my hands this year?

So as we conclude this series, we're going to look one more

time at that incredible prophecy that is Isaiah 9, one of the

most amazing scriptures about Jesus.

And we're going to look at three things.

One, the context of it, that it was spoken into a world that

looks a lot like ours. Secondly, we're going to spend

some time having a look at that promise of light, of joy, of

restoration and utter complete victory.

And lastly, which is the crux of our series, we're going to look

at the person on whom this incredible promise rests.

He shall be called. Are you with me?

All right, so first, the context.

Chad showed us last week that Isaiah's words were spoken into

one of the darkest moments in Israel's history.

Azayanan wasn't written into this world of warmth and of

candles and of it's the most wonderful time.

No, no, no. It was written into a time of

darkness and despair. Israel and Judah were divided.

Families had been torn apart. There was war, there was

corruption, there was spiritual decay.

And King Ahaz, who was the king of Judah at the time, was such a

weak and fearful leader that he decided to take the gold out of

God's temple and give it to the Assyrians and say, hey,

Assyrians, please don't attack us, please protect us.

The entire nation was caught up in their own strength and what

they could do in their own power, the differences they

could make in their own lives. Isaiah 822, the chapter before

puts it this way. They said they look towards the

earth. In other words, they look

towards themselves, their own strength, but they're found only

distress and darkness and gloom. And maybe you know that kind of

gloom, the darkness of disappointment, of betrayal, of

grief. I'm reminding you of this

context because for me and my family, this is an incredibly

tough time for my extended family.

We can't be together at Christmas.

My brother and my sister will not be in the same room as my

father. To them, he does not exist.

So when we approach this time, guess what's going through our

families minds? Where are we going to spend it?

Does Who are we going to spend it with?

If we spend it with these guys, they're going to be upset.

If we spend it with those, these will be upset.

We cannot win. Can't, can't we just can't we

just skip over Christmas? Can we just have the holidays

and not have Christmas? So we don't have the drama, We

don't have the mess, we don't have the the unforgiveness.

We don't have the hurt. We don't have the memory of all

the things that have gone wrong. I don't even know how to deal

with it, if I'm being honest. I just approached and go kind of

like Sam goes like, are you you got your zombie eyes on again?

Are you? Are you, are you with us?

And it's like, no, I actually don't know.

I actually don't know how to deal with it.

And we start listening to that song.

It's the most wonderful time. And I'm like, no, it's not.

It's not. And maybe your Christmas has its

own broken story of disappointment, A wound that

makes the season incredibly hard to face.

Maybe it's a season you're walking through a line nearly

separated, or facing the first year with our loved one.

Or maybe you're just over it. This entire year has been a

battle. This entire year battle to find

meaning. Where is this Tov that we spoke

about in Ecclesiastes? Where is this meaning?

Where is this beauty that I'm supposed to find in this world?

All I see is smoke. Heaven.

Meaningless, meaningless, meaningless.

I don't know what difficulty you face, but I do know that it's

into this exact same context, the same world, that Isaiah

begins to bring his word of hope.

As the Carol reminds us the thrill of hope.

The weary world rejoices for Yonder.

Yonder breaks a new and glorious dawn.

It's here that our bold expectation begins.

It's here that our correct expectation begins.

He says, lift up your eyes from the gloom.

Lift up your eyes from looking at yourself.

Can you see? Can you see?

Let me show you what I'm about to do.

Let me show you I'm about to bring to you the Messiah.

And the Messiah speaks into every single context that will

ever exist throughout human history, whether it's UPS or

whether it's downs, whether it's good, whether it's bad, every

context. I will come and I will bring the

Messiah and I'll bring his promise.

And as far as promises go, you do not get any better than this.

You do not get any better than this.

So if you have your Bibles, because as Wendy says, I want

you to believe me that it's really there, would you mind

opening up to Isaiah 9 verse one?

Because we're going to go through it very quickly, line by

line, and see this incredible promise that God has for us.

And Isaiah begins with Nevertheless, there will be no

more gloom for those who were in distress.

Nevertheless, despite your distress, there will be no more

gloom. It doesn't say there will be no

more distress. It doesn't say there will be no

more problems. It says there will be no more

gloom for those in distress. In other words, even though you

are in difficulty, even though you are in distress, there will

be hope. God doesn't always remove the

difficulty, but He does remove the despair.

He does remove the gloom because he gives us hope.

And then Isaiah goes and mentions 3 regions and you could

be fooled into thinking these are just ARB reasons.

Regions. They're not.

He mentions Zebulun, Naftali, and Galilee because these were

the border lands. They were right at the top of

Israel. They were the places that were

first invaded. There were the places that were

mixed with Gentiles. There were the places that

people would say those are the compromised lands.

And in our own lives, these are the broken areas.

These are the areas that we maybe have allowed the enemy to

grab a foothold in this year for his lies to come in and say,

hey, you're not good enough. Hey, you keep failing.

Hey, there is no meaning in this world.

And he says into those areas I'm going to shine my light.

He says the people walking in darkness have seen a great

light, not a flicker, not a candle.

We light candles at Christmas because we remind ourselves that

Jesus is the light of the world. But guess what?

Jesus is not a candle. He is a great light.

He is a brilliant light and he is a permanent light.

It says on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light

has dawned. A great light that marks the

start of a new day. A new day church.

A dawn that cannot be turned off.

When God's light rises, you can't switch it off.

The day has come in your life. Jesus is the great light that

has dawned over you. Isn't this just the most

incredible promise? Isn't this just the most

incredible Scripture? He God says.

I see your distress, but guess what?

There's no more gloom for you. I see your compromise.

Borderlands into those lands. I don't shy away from them.

I'm not afraid of them. I'm going to shine my light

right there. And when my light comes, I'm not

going to switch it off. It's like a new day.

You can't go back to the night. Isn't that incredible?

But there's more. There's more.

That's just the start. He says.

You have enlarged their nation and increased their joy as

people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when

dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's

defeat, God's saying, I'm going to enlarge your inheritance.

Remember the series of Romans where we took that piece of

paper and we said this is how we live.

We RIP out sections and God says, I'm going to restore that.

He says I'm not going to restore, only restore it, but

I'm going to enlarge it. We say to God, I'm living in

this Borderlands. God says I'm going to give you

more land. Are you ready for more land?

I'm going to give you more land. And in that land I'm going to

give you great joy. And this is not surface

happiness. This is not material happiness.

It's the deep joy that comes from seeing God's promises

fulfilled. It's the joy of restoration

after a loss. It's the type of joy that you

have when you get to taste and see the fruits of your labor.

It's like building a business for five years, you've never

made a profit, and then in year 6 you become profitable and you

can see the runway. It's going to work.

This thing's actually going to work and you're cashflow

positive and you get to pay bonuses to your staff for the

first time ever. It's that kind of joy.

It's the kind of joy that you have if you have this incredible

debt hanging over your head because of bad decisions, bad

deals that you made, and you pay off that debt year after year

after year, month after month. And then you make that final

payment, that relief, that gratitude that comes washing in.

It's like when the battle is done and you can divide the

plunder. And then Isaiah uses a very

familiar image. He says as in the day of

millions defeat and every person in Israel would have known the

story of Gideon from Judges six to seven, every person in Israel

would have known and heard the stories how the Midianites

oppressed Israel for seven years.

They plundered them from the north to the South.

That destroyed the crops, the animals, the houses from the

north to the South. And maybe 2025 has been a year

of you being plundered from the north to the South.

And God raises up Gideon, an insecure man.

An insecure man hiding in a wine press.

And he calls them out. Mighty warrior, mighty warrior

and getting a master gun. Who is God talking to?

And maybe you're sitting and going.

Who God? Who are you talking to?

God says mighty warrior. So Gideon raises up this army of

32,000 men and guess where they came from?

Zebulon, Naftali and Asher, which is in Galilee, the very

same places that Isaiah mentions, the Borderlands, the

mixed lands. And then God takes that army of

32,000 and he cuts it down to 300.

And these aren't the elite soldiers.

They're not the Navy Seals. They're not the best of the best

of the best. These are just the guys that

drank water in the weirdest possible way.

Do you remember? How did they drink it?

They lapped it. It says like dogs.

I'd challenge you to go and find meaning in that over this

Christmas time. But I guess we could be fooled

into thinking that God really chose these very strange

individuals. I mean, I think in the modern

context, if you had to guess who these guys were, they would be

like the guys that understand what blockchain is, Am I right?

Hey, or, or like maybe blockchain and AR those guys.

It's like the IT folk who call the IT folk, you know, the IT

folks, IT folks. So if the IT folks computer

breaks, these are the people that they go and call to go and

fix their computers, am I right? So we could be fooled into

thinking that since God has chosen these very tech savvy

people who who, who drink their water by lapping it with their

tongues, that potentially God's going to give them like some new

tech, like maybe like some drones or something like that to

take out this vast army of the Midianites or maybe even sharks

with lasers. Hey, can you get something?

I get. But he doesn't do that.

He says armed only with torches, with trumpets and jars of clay,

they defeated this vast army and we have this treasure in jars of

clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and

not from us. Will you take this jar of clay

and will you break it this season at Jesus feet?

Because as in the days of millions defeat, we cannot

imagine who God will use, how God will use him, or what God

will use to bring about his victory in our lives.

And then this last verse when I read it, I was completely

flawed. It says every warrior's boot

used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined

for burning, Will be fuel for the fire God.

Every warrior's boot, every garment used in battle will be

destined for burning. You see, the victory will be so

complete, the war is so over that you know all those clothes

this year that got muddied, that got bloodied in battle?

Do you know all that armor that you put on to fight your

battles? You know those weapons that you

use in your own strength? God says take all of those, take

them off and throw them into the fire.

You don't need them anymore. The battle is over, the war is

won. I have done it.

So as far as promises go, it does not get any better than

this. Hope in distress.

No more gloom, light and new dawn.

Joy in an increased inheritance. An utter and complete victory.

As promises go, this is the pinnacle.

This is the pinnacle of what? God has promised to give us

through Jesus the Messiah. And this is the last point and

really the crux of the series. Thing is, a promise is only as

trustworthy and secure as the one who gives it.

And we know that this promise is secure because of who gives it.

He shall be called. And we know this because we've

all had promises given to us that have been broken by a

company, by our family, by our spouse, by our children.

I promise I won't drink. I promise, I promise.

This is the last time. I promise, I promise I won't.

I won't get angry. I promise I won't hit you.

I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise,

I promise, I promise. And every time we hear that, I

promise. You just know you can't rely on

it. It's almost like anger wells up

in you because you know that they can't follow through.

We are the world, we are the people.

You know that song. We are the ones to make a

broader day. So let's start giving.

I don't know if you've seen, but that song was recorded 30 years

ago. All these fit about 30 or 35.

Amazing Top of the Top of the Pops artists got together to

record the song, which was going to be there to raise money for

famine, famine relief in Africa. And I think Michael Jackson

wrote some of it and other people.

And it was a whole collaboration that would come together.

And we often sing the song or hear the song at least through

Christmas because, and if you watch the video of it, you,

you'll see Bob Dylan in the background there and everybody's

going quite crazy. We are the world.

We are the people. And he's not going.

We're all the world. We are the people.

And he looks completely out of place, unsure, like he doesn't

want to be there. And one of the reporters picks

up on it. And when they're doing their

interviews afterwards, they they ask him, hey, Bob Dylan, hey,

man, what was up? Why did you look like you just

didn't want to be there? And he responds with this.

He says, yeah, I actually didn't want to be here.

I just didn't believe the words I was singing.

I don't think that people can save themselves.

You see, we have the best intentions at heart.

We really, really want to try. We want, we want to, we want to

save the world. But inevitably, as human beings,

we always fall flat. And if this promise, this

incredible promise we're made by anybody else but God, we too

could dismiss it. And to help us trust this

promise, God doesn't leave us guessing.

He says, you can rely on this promise.

Because let me show you exactly who I am.

For unto us a child is born. For unto us a son is given, and

the government will rest on the shoulders, and he shall be

called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father

and Prince of Peace. He says, let me show you my

character so that you can trust this promise.

Wonderful Counsellor, not just a good advisor, but a miracle

working wise ruler who knows exactly what to do.

He doesn't just give advice, he works wonders.

He leads us besides still waters.

Mighty God, the powerful warrior, the Lion of Judah, the

Creator who spoke the world into being.

The Lion who fights every single one of our battles.

He has both strength and sovereignty.

The everlasting Father, not distant, not absent, not

inconsistent, not in insecure, but the Father who never, ever

leaves us, who provides for us and who protects us.

The Prince of Peace, not the absence of conflict, but Shalom,

wholeness and healing and the restoration that of everything

that is broken within and around us.

This is why you can trust this incredible promise, because it's

spoken by the one whose character never, ever fails.

We can make promises and break them, even if we have the best

intentions. But when God makes an earth,

when God makes a promise, he swears by his own name, as he

did with Abraham, because there is no one higher that he can

swear by, and he knows that he is the only one who can fulfill

every single promise in every single detail.

So what am I expecting for Christmas?

Well, I'm expecting that the same God who spoke through

Isaiah into a world of war, division, and despair to speak

again into our world, into my world, into my family's world.

I'm expecting that double portion.

I'm expecting that double present.

I'm expecting the terrible to be met by the wonderful counselor.

I'm expecting the mighty God to fight every single one of my

battles. I'm expecting the abandoned to

be held by the everlasting Father.

And I'm expecting the wars within and around me to be

stilled by the Prince of Peace, because He is my great light in

this darkness, because he is my new dawn.

He is my unspeakable joy, and he is my complete and utter

victory. For unto us a child is born, and

unto us a son is given. And the government will rest on

his shoulders, and he shall be called wonderful counselor,

mighty God, my everlasting Father, and my Prince of Peace.

And I'm standing on his word, and I'm standing on his word

that he is true to his name and his character.

That's what I'm expecting for Christmas.

Now, if the band can come up quickly, we're almost done.

We are done. We can't leave it there.

So we're going to sing one more song of worship.

We're going to end on a high and we're going to trust God to

move. So in a moment, AQR Code will

come up and don't worry, we're not going to ask for a double

offering. If you click on it, Use your

camera app and click on it. And if you need some help, you

can ask someone sitting next to you to do that.

It's going to take you to a link where you can submit a prayer

request. There's already been a lot of

people that have done it over the week.

It's about 10 or 15 up there already.

And these prayer requests are going to come and we're going to

put them up on our website. And as a community, we are going

to pray through these through the season because a lot of us,

herself included, have got many difficult times that we're going

to have to face. And maybe there's things that

you're hoping for for next year. Put them up.

But I know the character of my father, and I know that he wants

to give us that double portion of Grace Restoration,

Breakthrough, whatever it is that we need.

So as we sing this next song, would you take a moment?

You can share them anonymously, or you can share it.

Put your name on it, but let's put them up and let's pray

through them as a community. And then when God answers

because He always does, When God answers because He always does,

please click on the praises QR code whenever it happens

throughout the week or even next year.

And let's build a wall of testimonies of what our great,

wonderful, loving, caring, Almighty, wonderful, omnipotent

God has done in our lives. You know, I wasn't going to

share this, but at the end of burning, burning the garments,

it says these will be used as fuel for the fire.

Our victories, our victories, our testimonies will be fuel for

the fire, for the fire of God to spread throughout the city in

our lives and our families. It's the praises and the prayers

of the Saints that rises up into heaven and he throws it back

down onto earth. It's never ending.

Let those testimonies be fuel for the fire that God is going

to put in each and every single one of us.

Can we do that? Can we take a moment?

Can we sing a song?