Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Good morning, Westgate. How's everybody doing?
Yeah. Let's stand and worship together. Amen.
Hark, the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn king Peace on earth and mercy mercy mild God and sinners reconcile Joyful all ye nations rise Join the triumph of the skies with angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark. The herald angels sing Glory to the newborn king.
Christ by highest heaven adored Christ the everlasting Lord Late in time behold him come Offspring of the virgin's womb who failed in flesh the God hand see Hail the incarnate deity Please as men with men to dwell Jesus, I remain you well Hark. The herald angels sing Glory to the newborn king Hear the angels they sing and the heavens they ring Won't you raise Raise up your voice Join the song of the king Singing Glory to God and peace on the earth Sing it out now the song of the king.
Hail the heaven born Prince of peace Hail the son of righteousness Light and light life to all he brings Risen with healing in his wings While he lays his glory by Born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons of earth Born to give them second birth Harm the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn king yeah the angels they sing in the heavens they ring Won't you raise up your voice Join the song of the king Singing Glory to God and peace on the earth Sing it out now the song of the king we're all together now.
La.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: Good morning.
Oh, man. Y' all are almost as bad as first service, guys. Let's try it one more time. Ready?
[00:04:08] Speaker A: Good morning.
[00:04:10] Speaker B: Okay, you guys are a little bit more away. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Marlena, and I'm the director of Kids Ministry here at Westgate Chapel. And I am so glad that each of you are here today. So way to be here. It is cold outside, so you bridge the cold. It's cold, right?
Yes.
Yes. Very cold.
And good morning to those of you on Live Stream. We are glad that you are watching in and worshiping with us this morning. If you are a guest today or maybe it's your first time and you're new here, we would love for you to look in the pew in front of you and there's a card that says, thank you. You guys are getting it. Connect. It says connect. So if you pick up that card, you can fill that out. You can go right out these doors. And there is a welcome center there that we have some awesome people who are excited to talk to you about what it means to get connected at Westgate, we have a lot of things going on. As you can tell, it is the season of what?
Christmas. We have the season of Christmas coming up. And I am like all about Christmas. I've been telling you guys for months already, I think since November. And so I'm really pumped about Christmas. And before, right around Christmas, we do two days of Christmas Eve services.
So mark your calendars first. We have the 23rd, which we call Christmas Adam.
Thank you. I got a few sympathy laughs. Thank you for that. And a boo. Who booed me? That's rude.
We have Christmas Adam, which is the 23rd, and we have a 7:00pm service on the 23rd. And on the 24th, which is Christmas Eve, we have a 4:00 clock service and a 7:00 clock service. So make sure mark your calendars. There's invitations out there if you would like to invite a friend. Neighbors. I know some people love to give out cookies and really invite their neighbors to that. So make sure you join us for that. And after Christmas, we have called winter at Westgate. And Winter at Westgate basically means we have all these awesome things that are still happening even though it's cold outside. And one of them is, everybody, if you look in your bulletin today, we have a whole different section of Bible studies. Everybody pull that out. Let me see it. Can you hold it up?
Bible studies. Thank you, David.
So we have Bible studies in here. There is a whole slew of different Bible studies that are happening in January and February. They're starting off and launching. And also there's a whole section, if you go onto westgatechapel.org events or go onto the app, there's a ton of classes that we also are offering. So make sure you check out that.
One of my favorite classes that we are going to be offering, which I'm a little biased because I'm teaching, it is called the Formational Home. So if you also got this in your bulletin, this little postcard, can you pull that out? Everybody look at it.
Did it, did you get it? Oh, one. I see one.
Oh, okay. There's a couple. Okay, great. You're hiding them. So we have a new class, brand new this year, called the Formational Home. And I'm really excited about this class because it addresses a very important thing in the church body, which is the discipleship of our next generation.
And so today I brought a backpack.
This is actually your backpack.
So this is my son's backpack. And as you parents, grandparents, you know that these backpacks, they get well loved, right? They get taken on sleepovers to grandma and grandpa's house, they get taken on trips to Disney, they get taken to school. And if I were to probably unzip this and dump it out, lots of little crumbs would probably fall out of all the goldfish and the crackers that have been eaten.
But the important thing about this backpack is not just that it's a backpack, it's that when we pack a backpack for our kids or grandkids, that we put important stuff that we think they're going to need inside. Maybe someday you put like, oh, I don't know if any of you are like me, where it's like, just in case, here's an extra jacket, here's an extra sweatshirt just in case you get cold.
Because we know that what we pack for our kids is important.
What's packed inside is what they'll carry with them.
Here's the question though, that stopped me one day.
What are our kids carrying on the inside? Not just in their backpacks, but spiritually.
Because long after this backpack is set down and they don't need a backpack anymore, and maybe they don't really need you as much anymore, which I have an 8 year old, so that already makes me kind of tear up. But someday they're not going to need us much.
But after that backpack has set down, they're still going to carry what we've given them with us, what we value, what we prioritize and what we turn to when life is hard.
Those are the things that they're going to carry with them.
The truth is, our homes are packing something into our kids every day. Not just through Bible talks, but through dinner conversations, bedtime routines, and how we respond when things don't go our way or fall apart.
An empty backpack doesn't stay empty.
Something will fill it. In the same way, if we don't intentionally form our kids faith at home, somebody else or something else will.
So this class, the formational home, is not supposed to just add one more thing to your to do list. You're like, I already know this is really hard. I don't know how to disciple. It's actually going to take what you're already doing and help you turn it into faith, forming things that they can pack in their lives that they will carry with them. Their formational home exists to help parents pack their kids with truth, identity and a lived out faith in Christ, using the moment that you already have.
And so everything that we do every single day, whether we have toddlers, whether maybe you say, I don't have kids. If you're a grandparent, if you're an aunt and uncle and you have say into the discipleship of your kids, come join this class. It starts January 11th. It's a four week class and it is limited based on the room size. So if you want to be a part of it, if you go to the back of this, there's a QR code, or you can go onto the website and sign up. Because we really, really, really want guys to know how and why that we want you guys to disciple your kids. Everybody got it?
[00:11:01] Speaker A: Got it.
[00:11:04] Speaker B: You got it? Awesome. Just make sure you're listening. Okay, now it is time for you guys to stand up and tell someone the worst Christmas song you've ever heard.
So find someone and tell already.
Anson, what's your worst Christmas song?
[00:11:22] Speaker A: Be honest. Everybody knows the worst song is Last Christmas.
Even if you say you like it, you don't really like it. You say you like it just to bother me. But that's the.
Amen. Well, let me pray for us real quick. We continue worshiping together. God, thank you so much for bringing us here this morning. Thank you for allowing us to worship you, God. We know you are here with us now in this moment. And we thank you for that. It's in your name we pray. Amen. It.
Glory in the highest.
The hope of all creation Resting in his mother arms.
A song on the horizon Ringing through the heavens the long awaited Savior.
We come to set the captives free.
We come to set the captives free.
We come to set us free. Hope has a hope, has a name.
Emmanuel.
The light of the world who broke through the darkness. O hail the King Emmanuel.
The light of the world, the glory of heaven.
We didn't see coming.
The story of redemption what started in manger ended in an empty grave.
Oh, I know that hope has a name.
Emmanuel, the light of the world who broke through the darkness all hell King Amen you will the light of the world, the glory of heaven.
Come if you're broken.
Come if you're searching.
And if you need healing.
You see where you find it.
Lay down your burdens and breathe in forgiveness.
Yes, if you need freedom. Oh, here's where you find it.
Oh, if you need freedom.
Yeah, he's where you find it.
Yeah, he's where you find it.
Oh, I know Old passing made Emmanuel the light of the world who grows through the darkness.
The light of the world, the glory of heaven.
Oh, has a name.
Emmanuel.
The light of the world who broke through the darkness all hell. The King Emmanuel the light of the world, the glory of heaven.
Amen.
Hallelujah.
Amen as we get.
[00:15:50] Speaker C: We're gonna. We're gonna do a new song here.
[00:15:51] Speaker A: In just a second. And just. Isn't it great that the name Emmanuel isn't just something we're supposed to celebrate one time of the year?
Because it means God with us.
And is there ever a season where God is not with us?
No, he is always with us.
Time after time, he tells us that in his word. He even tells us when he's. The irony is he's telling the disciples that when he is leaving, he's giving him the great commission.
He's leaving, yet he's saying, I'm still with you in verse 20 in Matthew, chapter 28, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.
That's kind of amazing to think about. He's leaving, yet he's saying, I'm always going to be here.
And as we do this new song, I want you to think about just everybody bow your heads and close your.
[00:16:47] Speaker C: Eyes for a moment.
[00:16:50] Speaker A: Maybe you're coming and you're hurting.
Maybe you're coming and you're broken.
You're having a hard time finding the joy in this season. And I get it. I get it.
It's really hard for some people. But I want you to think right now, this is something that is true for everybody in here.
I want you to think of the times where you have felt God present God's presence, where you have felt him with you.
And just give him thanks for that times in your life where you felt God in your life.
Let me encourage you. Give him thanks out loud.
In the beginning you spoke. There was light.
Your word formed creation.
Your breath gave us life.
We walked in the garden.
It brought you delight.
How you love to be with us.
We were fully alive.
You have always been.
You will always be.
[00:18:27] Speaker C: Amen.
You are.
[00:18:39] Speaker A: As we were deceived.
The joy of the God was now out of reach.
But you chose to pursue us.
You longed for us still.
You did not forsake us.
And you never will.
You have always been.
You will always be.
A pillar of fire that led through the night.
A cloud of your Glo.
No one could deny.
He built you a temple.
But you wanted more.
You long for a people that could be called yours.
You have always been.
You will always be.
Amen.
You will.
And in the silence, the word became flesh.
Our God dwelt among us.
You gave us your best.
You offered communion.
You gave up your life.
You rose up in victory and heal the divine.
You have always been, you will always be.
Amen.
You will.
He met you well.
Amen.
You are.
The day is soon coming.
You will be revealed.
Your dream of communion is finally fulfilled.
We'll see a new heaven.
We'll walk a new yes. You will be our SM and we will be yours. You have all.
The way his feet.
He made you well.
Ra.
You love to be near, filled with your spirit.
A promise of love.
A blessed assurance of what is to come.
You have always, always been, you will always be.
Amen.
You will.
[00:23:39] Speaker C: Amen.
You may be seated.
Before we come to our time of offering together, I wanted to just share with you a quick update. Many of you know, a few months ago we announced the start of a new church plant here within our own building, Arabic church plant. And they have named themselves Jesus Light of the World. And that is their church name. And yesterday I had the privilege of getting to attend their Christmas party that took place in our atrium. You'll see some of the pictures that are up here on the screen. But again, this church plant is reaching Arabic speaking people all throughout our community. And it was a wonderful time of getting together and worshiping, listening to messages that I did not understand a word they said, but it was beautiful. As Pastor Fawad shared the good news of Christmas, about 55 to 60 people came and joined us on.
They're having around 20 people on Saturday mornings that are coming to their services.
But God is doing a really cool new thing and work with this community. And so I'm just excited to share with you what God is doing and ask you to continue to pray for them as they are reaching Arabic speaking people all throughout our community.
And I want to thank you as well. Because of your support of Westgate Chapel, you enable us to have ministries like this taking place in our building and reaching segments of our community that quite honestly we could not reach on our own. And so thank you for your faithfulness and generosity in how you give to this church. This is one of the ways in which we are seeking to reach deeper into our community so that people that don't know Jesus can find and follow him.
We're going to take a moment and take up our offering together. So I'm just going to invite you to join me in prayer.
God, we, we love you and we thank you so much, much for just all the blessing that you pour out in our lives.
Father, as we come to this Christmas season, we're reminded of the beautiful gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, Lord. And as we've been going and begun to go through scripture together to have a deeper look at the meaning and significance of this season, we are reminded of this gift, but that it is a gift, a beautiful gift that has not just been given for us, but it's meant to be given all.
And so I thank you, Father, for ministries like Jesus Light of the World Church that is reaching Arabic speaking people in our community.
I ask God for your hand of blessing to be upon that fellowship. I pray God that you would continue to increase their influence in our community, that they would reach Muslims and people who don't know you, Lord. And that we would see a flood of people coming to know your son as their savior. I pray your blessing upon Pastor Fawad and his entire leadership team and ask God that you would sustain them, provide for all of their needs, but again, give them incredible influence for your kingdom.
Father, we thank you for how you allow us to participate in these types of works here in our own church building, in our community and throughout the world. And so as we give of our tithes and our offerings this morning, we do so joyfully, God giving you thanks for the opportunity to participate in your work. We pray that you would multiply it, God, so that more people would know your son. We love you and we give you thanks together. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Again, our offering buckets are here on the center aisle. You can grab those. We're going to pass them out to the sides. If you're sitting in the balcony, they're in the corners and I think you're already grabbing those. You pass those in and we'll just continue to worship the Lord in this moment in our giving of tithes and offering.
Well, I want to thank you again for joining us this morning. We began last week jumping into our Christmas series. And hopefully as you were walking in this morning, you were able to grab some sermon notes that you can use to follow along as we go through our message this morning. But the series is entitled the Perfect Gift and we've been taking a look at the gift of hope.
Last week we dove into the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.
This morning we're gonna be talking about the perfect gift of peace that God gives to us. And I wanna ask you a quick question this morning. Where do you find your greatest peace?
It might be in an experience, it might be certain location, it might have like certain qualities around it. But as you think about that question, where do you find your greatest peace? Turn to somebody next to you. And share that answer for just about 30 seconds. Go.
All right, so where do you find your greatest piece? A couple people shout and answer for, for me in God. Thank you for giving the church answer first.
[00:29:32] Speaker A: We love it.
[00:29:33] Speaker C: It's the right answer too. But where else? Where do you find your piece, your craft room, Where?
Church?
Okay. Somebody here sitting in the front row, first service said, laying in my bed on a Saturday afternoon, I said, hey, that sounds pretty good, by the way. He was like 6 years old.
I was like, man, you're starting early. That's great.
We might find our greatest places of peace in a number of different areas. You know, some people go, hey, if I want to find peace, I might go to the beach or maybe I'll go for a long walk down by the river. Or maybe they find their peace in any different sort of activities that they might do. Some people find peace in a stress free day, like they don't have anything significant that they need to, to do. Some people would say they can't find peace without the absence of war, conflict. Some people might say that they find their peace in serenity or in a gorgeous sunrise. For other people, they might find it in a vacation to an isolated location where no one can get ahold of them. Can I get an amen?
For me, that has been. Typically when I talk about the times that have been the most peaceful in my life, I think back to the first time Rochelle and I went on a cruise together. It was our second anniversary being married, and we went on a cruise together to the Caribbean. And back then, like, cell phones didn't really work out on the ship as you were going through the ocean. And so nobody from work could get ahold of me. It was phenomenal. Most peaceful thing I had ever, ever done. And so I have loved when we've occasionally gotten to go on a cruise together. I remember one in particular was in May of 2009. Rochelle's family invited us to go with them on a cruise and we went out of Puerto Rico. So we FL to Puerto Rico together. There's a picture of me, I think Chris Parker said, were you 17? No, I wasn't 17, but man, was I skinny. Okay, so, but we, we went on this cruise with her family. And again, it was beautiful. Like, it's so restful and peaceful. And I didn't. Yeah, like, you know, I was gonna create a vacation out of that picture, like a vacation business. But it was so peaceful. Not a single thing that I had to worry about love going on a cruise for that reason.
[00:31:53] Speaker A: Reason.
[00:31:55] Speaker C: But about two weeks after we returned from that cruise, I lost my job.
I lost my job in California.
And within a few months time we had gone through the painful process of me losing my job in California, moving to Ohio, where it is ungodly cold, especially on days like today.
And soon thereafter, after our very, very good friend's daughter died suddenly in her sleep.
And I remember looking back on that season because I remember being on that cruise and thinking to myself, man, everything's just in its right place. Everything in life feels good.
Everything is so peaceful.
In very short order, it felt like everything was falling apart.
But isn't that the way that it seems our world work?
You know exactly what I'm talking about.
Moments where it feels like you're in a season where everything is clipping and everything is in its rightful place. We have complete peace in our life. And suddenly, without warning from any number of factors, it's gone.
You know, the thing is, if you're following along with me in your notes, you can fill this in. A world without peace definitely is not a new thing.
And we saw this as we dove into Genesis chapter three last week, looking at what I say is the very beginning of the Christmas story.
As we looked in Genesis chapter three at the fall of Adam and Eve, we saw how Adam and Eve had that perfectly peaceful world. They walked literally with God.
An intimate fellowship in the garden, in the cool of the day day, experiencing being with their Creator with no brokenness, no sin, no shame, no fear of bad health, nothing. Everything was perfect, perfect peace.
But the choice to reject God's plan for their life sent a shockwave of brokenness throughout the whole of creation. And it would rob them of any peace that they could possibly have. But it also robbed of us of the peace that we so long for and desire. And as we looked, its effects across creation were far sweeping. Letter A in your notes, if you're following along. One of the things that we see is because of sins entering into the world, we lack peace ultimately with God. Adam and Eve, as I said, walked in perfect relationship with them. They had everything they could have ever wanted.
But because of their spirit sin and their decision that maybe they could find a better life outside of God's plan for them. No longer would they run to God as their source of joy, but they would hide from him.
You see, when we sin against God, you know this, our initial response is not to run to him, but to hide.
Paul said it in Colossians chapter one, I think really clear. He said we are alienated from God and enemies of him in our minds because of sin. Sin because of sin, the sin that resides in us. The sin of Adam and Eve. One of three things often takes place. We either reject God completely, or because of our sin against him, we feel shame and a sense of being unworthy. Or we feel as though God could never accept us because we've gone too far. And so any thought of having peace with God is gone. We either feel hostility towards him or we lack any peace because of the distance that's been created by our choices and our sin.
You see, sin not only robbed us of our peace with God, but letter be we talked about the fact that it also causes us to lack peace in our relationships with each other.
Sin in the Garden of Eden resulted in brokenness between man and woman, but also in every human relationship. Because now, as human beings who thought that we could be wise outside of God and find a better, better life for ourselves, we naturally are selfish. And it's those selfish desires that look for self fulfillment as the height of happiness.
But it comes often at the expense of other people. It's one of the reasons the Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter two said these words. He said, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more important than yourselves. He understood that our most natural, basic human instinct is to look out for ourselves no matter what the kind cost. And not only have we all experienced the shame of wounding other people in our own lives, but many of us, maybe even this morning, continue to experience wounds from others that rob us of our peace in our relationships.
Maybe that's with our spouses, with our children, with someone who once was a close friend, or any litany of people.
We continue to experience those wounds that rob us of peace and they tempt to push us towards even greater conflict.
But not only do we lack peace with God and lack peace in our relationships, but because of sin literacy, we also lack peace on a global scale. The effects of sin was far reaching. And if you don't understand this, all you have to do is turn on the news. I googled this last week. What were the Top headlines of 2025? I remember, like when I was a kid and I used to watch the news like you, and it felt like there were actually good stories, you know, that you could see, like people doing kind things for one another. Like there were segments that were good. I feel like all we get today is lists like this that I found.
The first one that I saw was the Russia Ukraine war. That's One of the top headlines of the fighting that is going, the lives that are, that are being taken. There's constant talk of peace, but no action.
I think of this other headline, the Hurricane Melissa that came through that caused widespread devastation in the Caribbean, one of the largest and most powerful hurricanes to hit that region and to go literally over Jamaica causing such devastation.
The California wildfires were another one this last year where there were wildfires that took out the entire area of Pacific Palisades along the coast and other segments further inland, causing widespread devastation and bringing people's material lives literally to ruin.
None of us will forget seeing the headline of US bombing Iranian nuclear facilities and the lack of peace that I think that creates in each of us. While on one hand you may go yay. At the same time we go, that is something that could put our world on end and it causes this amount of peace to be taken away from us. I think of the Texas flooding that killed over 135 people, children and adults.
Or I think of the people that were killed in Nigeria. In one day, over 150 Christians were killed in a church.
Headline after headline after headline, the largest ones of this year are all pictures of how our peace has been robbed from us.
And it doesn't even come close to the economic concerns that we face or the deeply divided political climate that we sit in or all of the wars that are surrounding us in our world. Not just happening with Russia and Ukraine or Israel and Iran or other nations, but places like Cambodia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Sudan, Myanmar, and the list could go on and on. You know, even historians have said as they look back at the history of our world, they say that in reality there have been zero days of complete global peace in all of recorded human history. And this is the effects of, of sin and the brokenness of our relationship with God. And because of our lack of peace with God, our lack of peace in relationships, a lack of peace on a global scale. Letter D. There is a lack of peace that exists every single day in our hearts because of what we face in instability and stress, trauma, loneliness, grief, guilt, sickness, loss.
It results in fear of fear, anxiety, anger, despair, emotional drain, depression, and any number of mental or emotional disorders.
It was Reverend Billy Graham who said it this way and used these words. He said, the world doesn't give peace for it doesn't have any peace to give.
It fights for peace, it negotiates for peace, it maneuvers for peace, but there is no ultimate peace in the world.
And this morning we're going to take a look at a Passage together. If you have your Bibles, you can turn there with me. It's found in Isaiah, chapter nine. It's one of the most famous prophecies that is told during the Christmas season, often recited.
But as we dive into this passage together this morning, what we're going to see is that in the same way that we long for peace in our world today, God's people at the time of the writing of this passage were also in the same way, longing and needing peace in their lives and peace in the world.
You'll see if you're following along in your notes that God's people were in desperate need of peace. I want to give you a little bit of background to Isaiah 9 before we jump into it together. I think the first and most important thing for us to remember letter A is this, is that during the time of this writing, the kingdom of Israel was divided.
It was divided into two parts. You had Judah, which was in the south, and you had the kingdom of Israel that was in the north. You'll see this if you look at the map that is on the screen. You'll remember that during the reigns of King Saul, when Israel first became a nation, when they had Saul, David and Solomon, those purple and reddish pink areas were one area. It was the united kingdom of Israel. But following Solomon's reign as king, it became a divided kingdom, largely because Solomon put a very heavy tax burden on the people. Solomon loved building elaborate palaces, and so he had to tax the people heavy in order to do the things he wanted to do. He put people under. Under forced labor. But not only that, the northern kingdom hated those, or the northern peoples hated that so much, but also they hated the fact that Solomon himself had left the worship of the one true God and began worshiping many other gods from the peoples of other nations. He had many other wives from other nations and worshiped their gods. And because of this, the 10 tribes that were in the northern part part of the nation broke away under Jeroboam, forming the kingdom of Israel in the north in that reddish section.
But as well, at the same time, Judah and Benjamin, those two tribes, formed the kingdom of Judah in the south, with Rehoboam as their king. A couple things to note. The kings of the northern kingdom of Israel were basically, when you read Scripture, considered to be some of the worst, worst, most bad, most evil kings that you could possibly imagine. They constantly led the. Led the people away from God, were worshiping other gods. Even though they hated that about Solomon, they themselves got caught up in that. But as well, when we think about the southern kingdom of Judah, there were many, many really good kings, good kings that got rid of idol worship and set up worship of the one true God, led the people and their hearts back to God.
But then there were also others who led them back to idol worship. Then you had those that were kind of a mixed bag, where they started out good but ended horrible.
And so what we see is this. This is kind of the context of what's happening in this time. Letter B. The northern kingdom of Israel was actually in the process of being overthrown by the Assyrian empire. When Isaiah writes these words, you'll see this map of the Assyrian invasion. But you have Assyria there in that green section up in the north. And if you follow that red line from Media all the way down, it goes down to Samaria in Israel.
And Assyria at that time was a very, very powerful empire that God was going to use to punish his rebellious people.
And essentially what happened during the time of Isaiah is that Assyria made the northern kingdom of Israel, what you might call isra, a vassal state.
They had to pay heavy tributes to the king of Assyria in order to kind of maintain the status quo. Not taxes, but a tribute. It had more of like a military or a political component to it in order to be protected from being completely overthrown. But at the same time they were doing this, the kings of Israel were also seeking alliances with Egypt and other regional powers in order to try to fight against and push back Assyria. Well, obviously, Assyria, in all of their might, did not like this. And so they continually were taking more and more land away from the northern kingdom of Israel. Ultimately, they would completely destroy them and take and deport their people off and send them throughout the land of Assyria.
But while this is happening in the northern kingdom, letter C. Judah was also being led by an evil king. And this evil king's name, name was Ahaz.
Ahaz himself also paid tribute to Assyria, thinking that somehow this would protect them. But he was also known for not turning to God for help, but turning to other nations.
And because of this, the Bible says that Ahaz was known for walking in the ways of the kings of Israel. So he was a king of Judah in this other kingdom, but he was exactly like the evil kings that were in Israel, not only because of how he trusted in alliances and other people other than God, but he also led the people in idol worship. But even more, he practiced and reintroduced the sacrifice of children to foreign gods as a form of worship. He blended worship of the one true God with worship of foreign gods and their worship practices. And this was a stain on not only his kingship, but on the southern portion of Judah.
This is the context of what God's people were going through. It doesn't sound too peaceful in letter D. What we see is that the people of Judah, who Isaiah is writing to, were in a state of panic over what they saw coming down the pipe.
Now, how many of you have ever been in a moment of panic? You know that feeling where your heart begins to race and you're, like, worried about something that's going to happen? It wasn't that long ago, I think it was about six, seven weeks ago, that I had a meeting that I had scheduled with someone here at church at 6 in the morning. And I scheduled this meeting like I often do, but I woke up at about 7 o'.
[00:47:26] Speaker A: Clock.
[00:47:26] Speaker C: I had forgot to set my alarm, and I felt terrible. I called them, I apologized profusely and said, hey, I'm sorry, let's get this meeting rescheduled. So we rescheduled it for like a week.
And then one morning I woke up again and I looked at my clock and it was seven o'. Clock. And I'm like, no.
And Rochelle's, like, laying in bed. What is wrong with you? And I just kept going, no, no. And I jumped up and I grabbed my phone and I ran downstairs and just in a complete panic. My heart's racing. I'm, like, profusely sweating. You know, that's not good when you just woke up, by the way. You know, your whole body begins to shake and tremor. And I'm, like, sitting there and I'm, like, dialing my friend's number, and I'm like, I am so sorry it happened again.
He says, rob, it's Sunday.
Our meeting's tomorrow.
You mustn't be preaching today, right?
I was like, oh, yeah, yeah, I'm not preaching today. My schedule was totally thrown off, but I was so worried. But I went through this state of panic because I'm like, oh, goodness, I did this again. And everything was out of kilter.
Now, maybe you've been through something maybe trivial like that in your own life, where you felt that moment of panic. But could you imagine what it would have been like for Judah?
Assyria was a mercilessly cruel and brutal nation in their tactics when they were overtaking foreign nations.
Often what they would do is they would surround cities and lay siege to them.
Nothing could come in, nothing could go out, and they would starve the people Even then burning the cities to the ground.
They would go in and they would publicly execute nobles and large scores of people in some of the most horrific ways that you could ever possibly imagine. And their whole strategy behind this type of warfare was to strike fear into people in such a way that they would not even consider rebelling. And then they would take whoever was left and they would depart them throughout their own kingdom of Assyria and force them to assimilate into that culture and into their religious practices, thereby completely destroying a nation.
All of this was sitting on Judah's doorstep, as Isaiah writes.
Can you imagine what it was like for the people of Judah?
Not only was the Assyrian military juggernaut sitting there waiting for them, but their own king was rejecting God and rejecting God's favor.
And the people in the land were divided in their own hearts about what should be done.
And it's in this moment where there was no peace in the land, that Isaiah writes these words to God's people in Judah, letter E. Isaiah prophesies that a time is going to come when their internal and their external conflict will be brought to an end.
In other words, all of the external things that are robbing them of their peace and that is causing inner turmoil, there will come a day where there will be perfect peace.
If you have your Bibles, you can read this with me in Isaiah, chapter 9, verse verses 1 through 5.
It'll be here on the screen as well, he says, but there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the later time he had made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Those who dwell in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone.
You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest as they are glad when they divide the spoil for the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
As Isaiah begins this prophecy, he prophesies by beginning with a promise that the season of suffering that Judah is experiencing, the season of suffering and conflict, will one day face a complete and total reversal of fortune.
He says that those who have lived in spiritual Trouble, darkness, or those who have had their nation ripped from them, their lives plunged to a place of complete despair, they will experience God's direct intervention and complete victory over all of their enemies. And he says, and he continues, this will happen because God has promised that he would send another king, and not just a king, but a Savior.
If you look with me at Isaiah, chapter nine, the very first beginning of verse six, he says, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given.
In other words, this Savior that is going to come to you will come as a child. It was reminiscent back to Isaiah's words in chapter seven, when he said, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel will, which means God with us.
The promise was that God would send his son, a Savior, into the world, literally, God with us. And what's notable about what is said here is that this child that is going to be born is a son that is given.
In other words, this isn't random coincidence that this is going to happen, but this son, this King, the Savior, would be given by God for his people.
And that's significant because letter A. It was an incredible act of grace and mercy on the part of God.
God's people were not deserving of this type of gift of a Savior who would come to restore their peace. And they weren't. They didn't deserve it because of the. Their rejection of God, because of their worship of false gods, their participation in child sacrifice.
And yet, in the midst of their brokenness, before their repentance, Isaiah prophesied that God has said in his love he would graciously save his people one day, giving them, and even more importantly, giving to us something, something and someone that we don't deserve.
He says to you, a child is born. To us a son is given. Isaiah 9, 6, continuing. And it says, the government will be upon his shoulders, letter B. He will be a Davidic ruler, the Messiah that is sent by God.
And what follows from this point in the passage for us is a pure description of, of this individual's character, this king, this Savior, his character, and what he will come to do.
And this was a promise not only for Israel, but a promise for the entire world, where we are a people that are lost in deep darkness.
Jesus has come not just to solve our momentary physical, material problems, but to provide for us the answer to our greatest problem, which is our separation from God. And ultimately, this is what Israel missed. Throughout their entire history.
The promise of a Savior wasn't just about removing their worldly problems and lack of peace. You see, their problems, our worldly problems, are merely a symptom of a much deeper problem. And that deeper problem is sin, a problem that dates all the way back to the very Garden of Eden. Do we recognize that were it not for our sin against God, none of this turmoil that we experience, none of this conflict, none of this lack of peace in our relationships with God or with each other in the world on a grand scale, none of it would exist except for sin.
Thus, the character of Jesus the Messiah reminds us in this moment of the depth of God's love for us in spite of our sin against him.
And I want us to see how the King is defined as we continue in this passage. In Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 7, it says that his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, of the increase of his government and of peace. There will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness, from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Let's look at how this King, our Savior, who is been promised to us. Let's look at how he is defined together. It begins letter A by saying that he will be a wonderful counselor. In other words, he guides with perfect wisdom in the moments of our lives where we feel alone and we carry the heavy burdens of life and we aren't sure what to do or where to turn and often turn to the wrong place, places that God is sending to us. One who will be our perfect and wonderful counselor.
If I were to be honest with you, over the last couple weeks of my own life, it has been a pretty hard few weeks.
It started out with walking through some pretty hard and painful things with some families in our church that to be quite honest, were pretty gripping.
And then quietly by myself, I've been working through some hurt in my own life that I have felt in some very deeply personal ways.
Then I was carrying the burden. On top of that, that my mom was put into the hospital.
Many of you know she struggles with Parkinson's. And out in Texas she was put in the hospital unable to walk, severely dehydrated and struggled.
I know she's watching this morning. Hi Mom. She's doing better.
And then on top of that, my sister was on a business trip in California and fell and broke her arm severely and had surgery just a couple days ago. And like as I was walking through these last couple Weeks, I felt like it was just one thing after another after another that was sitting on my shoulders. Couple that with the pressure of Christmas season and all the things that need to get done before the end of the year. I've got two staff members out, and I just was carrying this weight.
And if there's anything about me that you need to know, like, I trust God deeply with the things in my life, but sometimes that goes to a place where when I start to feel pressure that's too heavy, I just kind of hunker down and stuff those feelings down. And I keep forging ahead and I try not to pay attention to it.
But when that happens, inevitably I hit a breaking point.
A point where, emotionally, I begin to become a little bit of a wreck. Maybe you've felt this way before.
I become irritable. I get overwhelmed, and it feels like peace in my life is nowhere to be found.
That's where I sat.
And then God sent me a really, really stark reminder.
I was walking through the cafe one morning, and I was carrying all of that weight and feeling like I was at a tipping point.
And I came across someone here at church who just came walking up to me, saw me, and made a beeline for me. And they had no idea what was going on.
I'm really good, as most people are, of stuffing things down and just putting on that shiny face right after. Everything's good, everything's great.
But they had no idea what was actually going on in my heart and head. And they said to me, hey, I have been needing to tell you, but I want you to know that I have been feeling this need from God to pray for you and specifically to be praying for your family.
And I feel like you need to know that.
Our conversation continued a little bit, and I kept that nice glossy face together.
But honestly, when I turned around, tears began to roll down my cheek.
Because in that moment, God stopped me in the midst of my pushing through and my carrying this burden and feeling like things were falling apart.
And I heard him say, rob, I see you and I'm with you.
There weren't answers to the problems.
But can I tell you that in that moment, there was such incredible peace that came over me as he reminded me that he was with me, guiding me, walking with me.
In that moment, I knew that God, in His infinite wisdom was carrying me.
There is nothing, my friends, that happens in our daily lives that wasn't first of all determined and devised in eternal and counseled by Jesus.
That is what we understand when we talk about him as Our wonderful counselor.
He holds all of life in his hands and he guides us with perfect wisdom.
The Apostle Paul says it this way in Romans chapter 8. He says, we know that in all things God works for the good of those that love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
[01:01:56] Speaker A: Purpose.
[01:01:57] Speaker C: Thus, there is nothing in my life or in your life that catches God by surprise.
He knows the beginning from the end.
He knows the things that you're wrestling with in your heart right now that are robbing you of your peace.
And he promises us that not only does he know it, but he is working out all things in this life for us, for our good and for his glory. For the purposes of eternity.
And even when we can't see it, we are called to remember his perfect wisdom in sending His Son for our salvation.
And as we understand that, and we remember that, it is more than enough for us to trust his wisdom as we navigate the unsteadiness of a broken world, a sinful nature, and all of the things that we face in this life.
This is the Savior that was sent to you that we celebrate at Christmas season.
He is our wonderful counselor, the One who guides us with perfect wisdom. But he is also our mighty God. And when we see that he is our mighty God, it helps us to understand that he had authority and control and has authority and control over all things.
It is a clear this statement in Scripture is the most clear and absolute pronouncement of the the Deity of Jesus that you will find. The words that are used there are gabor el in the Hebrew meaning mighty God. They are the same exact words that Isaiah uses in chapter 10, verse 21 when speaking of Yahweh himself, Jesus the Savior. He Himself is God and has authority and control over all things. This is who is being sent to us, the person who where there is nothing that happens outside of his hand and divine directing allows. He has power over the spiritual forces of evil in this world and even more, he has power over life, over death, and over all of eternity. And this stands in stark contrast as a reminder to God's people, not only in the day of Isaiah, but today for us as well, that when we put our hope the powers of this world, rulers, authorities, kings, kingdoms, presidents, political leaders and political parties, none of them have the absolute authority and power of Almighty God.
None of them can come to our rescue in the way that he can. Thus, in the midst of our times of trouble, when our peace seems fleeting and the world feels like it's falling apart, we are reminded in the same way that Isaiah is reminding us, the people of Judah, do not turn to the nations around you or turn to your own devices. Turn to the one true God, who is the answer for everything that you need.
This is the message that is given to us. We are prone, like the people of Israel and the people of Judah, to turn to other places.
And yet God, in his mercy and grace, continues to call out to us and say, I am here, your wonderful counselor who has established every moment of your life and who will guide you through every moment of your life. I am the one who is the mighty God who has authority over all things and is in control of all things. Will you trust me in your times of trouble?
The psalmist says it this way. In Psalm 121, he says, I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will never slumber.
But not only is he our wonderful counselor and our mighty God, but letter C, he is described as our everlasting and father. In other words, his reign will never end. And what an incredible hope that must have been for the people of Judah. Judah, to hear a people who had been through so many kings. They would have a good king leading them in righteous ways, and everything would seem to be in its right place. And then they would die, or somebody would assassinate them, or something would happen and another king would rise up, and all of a sudden it was a bad king, and bad things would start happening in the nation, and people would begin worshiping foreign gods and God's judgment would come on the people, and kings were constantly changing back and forth. It was like being in a pinball machine, bouncing from back and forth, back and forth.
But the promise. Can you imagine when he says that this king, the Savior that will come, will be an everlasting father. His reign will never end. Can you imagine how beautiful that must have sounded? And I would ask you, how beautiful does it sound to you, the people of Israel, all their good and bad kings? You never knew what you were going to get.
Just like today. Political leaders change constantly.
In one moment we think things are going great, and the next minute it feels like things are going in the wrong direction. And two different people sitting in church together can feel exactly the opposite way.
And yet we were reminded in Scripture that one day our Savior will come and he will reign as king. With no expiration date. He will reign forever.
And it is because he is our wonderful counselor and that he is our mighty God and that he is our everlasting Father, that he has described letter D as our prince of peace.
The word that is used here for peace in the Hebrew is shalom, and it refers to peacefulness. It can refer to the absence of war, the absence of conflict. Conflict. But it also points to the presence of something better in its place.
The word can also mean wholeness, completeness, or to restore.
Has anybody here ever played the game Jenga? You guys ever played Jenga? You like playing that? You know, you get the tower of blocks together and you start going through and you're poking holes in it and trying to pull pieces out without making the tower fall down. I love playing games like this. I love playing any game because I just love to beat people at games, to be honest with you. But I'll get really intense when I'm playing, playing a game like Jenga. But you notice, like, once you start getting a few blocks out and you see that tower start to move, there's like this uneasiness that takes place in your soul, this lack of peace, right? Because things feel like if you push just the wrong way, it's all going to fall apart, you know, the core idea behind shalom is that life is complex and it's full of moving parts and situations and relationships. Relationships. And when any of these are out of alignment or missing your shalom or your peace breaks down, life is no longer whole and it desperately needs to be restored.
The great news that is given to us in this passage and that Isaiah shares, is that Jesus is the one who has come to restore all that is broken and to bring wholeness to our lives once again. The way that it was intended to be in.
When we read and we understand that Jesus is our prince of peace, we understand this truth, number one, that it means that he will bring again peace with God.
That where our peace with God has been removed, that peace will be returned. And truly, it is the answer to all of our problems, all of the conflict in this world, the conflict in our relationships, the things that unsettle our heart.
It's a result of our rebellion against God, Believing that we could do life without his hand of provision guiding us and leading us. We in our wisdom thought we could do it.
But when that relationship with God is restored to its rightful place and we come again to a place of peace with God, it begins to answer all of the issues that we have experienced for our entire lifetime that rob us of our peace.
You see, the promise also, number two is this, is that not only do we come to peace with God, but we will experience peace on earth.
And when we read that, we understand that this is a future promise of restoration, that this, this king, this Messiah, this Savior that is going to come that Isaiah prophesies about, says that one day he will restore peace in the world, that all of the sickness and the brokenness and the conflict, all of it will be gone. It will be restored back to the way that it was intended to be. And that can give us incredible hope and even peace now.
But that's the part that when we come to peace with God and understand this future promise of restoration of peace on earth, number three. We can experience peace now in our hearts, even in the midst of a broken world. Shalom can be yours now in spite of the brokenness that is all around you.
But the question is, will you turn your heart to God and place your faith and your trust in him and allow him to be your peace, knowing that he holds all things in his hands, that there is nothing that catches him by surprise, and that if you will trust in him, he is working out all things for your good and for his glory, for the purposes of eternity.
In that, in the midst of a broken world, in our broken relationships, with a chaos that, that we see and the hurt and the pain that we feel, we can experience his peace even in the midst of that conflict.
And that's this last point here, this statement. True peace is not found in the absence of conflict, but only through Jesus for those who put their faith and trust in Him.
Maybe this morning you're sitting here and you have been feeling that lack of peace from something in your life.
Maybe it's in one of your relationships with a spouse, with your kids, a sibling, a close friend.
Maybe it's a situation that's come into your life where you've gotten a bad health diagnosis, a loss of a job.
The list could go on and on and on. Maybe it's just watching the news too much and seeing the brokenness of our world and it robs you of your peace.
The message of Christmas that we hear through the prophecy of Isaiah is that God has come to give you peace now in the midst of the brokenness. Because when you put your faith and your trust in him, you know that he will work out all things for your good and for his glory.
And the beauty of this is that he tells us, letter E, that the peace of Jesus will be all consuming.
Just look at those last few words, if you will, of verse 7 of the increase of his government and of Peace, there will be no end. It will never stop increasing on the throne of David and over his kingdom to a step and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. In other words, when Jesus is born into this world, which we celebrate at the Christmas season in a tiny little manger, the government, the Kingdom of God, was established in this world. And from that time forward, it will continue to grow and take more and more territory for all of eternity until all things are made right. And he is seeking to transform our hearts and our lives as we put our trust in him and for him to be our peace.
And I believe that today that is a peace we all desperately need.
Would you pray with me?
I just want to say that this morning, as your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed, that there are some of you that have been wrestling with, searching for peace in your life, and you've been looking at it for it in a number of different places, whether it's a broken relationship or maybe it's your broken relationship with God, maybe it's, like I said, a health diagnosis or something like that. And you have been struggling to find that peace. My question to you this morning is, are you willing to turn your heart to God and not to trust in your own devices or in the things of this world, but to turn to him and to trust him and to allow him to be your peace?
That's my prayer for you this morning.
That in the same way as I was just walking through this building the other day, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders, that reminder that he is and that he sees me and that he loves me and that he is guiding me and walking me was all the peace that I needed.
Because I know that I am his for eternity.
May that be your peace in whatever it is that you are wrestling with today.
But I also recognize you might be here this morning, and you've never placed your faith and trust in Jesus. And you don't know that peace.
You know that the world robs you of peace, but you've never experienced that peace that comes from knowing that you have a God that loves you so much that he sent his son, Jesus into the world to live and then to die on a cross to pay the penalty for your sin so that you could be reconciled to God, so that one day, when this mess of a world is over with all of its brokenness, that you will be with him forever, once again, in that perfect relationship he intended for you.
And if you've never made that decision to give your heart and your life to Jesus today. And you want to do so. I want to give you an opportunity just to pray a short prayer in the quietness of your heart with me.
If you would make that decision today. Just pray and say, God, thank you for sending your son Jesus into this world.
I believe in Jesus.
I believe that he died for my sin so that I could be reconciled to you.
And today I ask you to forgive me of my sin and to come into my life today. God, I choose to follow you and surrender my heart and my life to you.
I ask God that you would fill my life with your peace. Peace with the knowledge that one day I will live with you forever.
And I give you glory. And I thank you for this perfect gift of peace.
If you prayed that prayer this morning, I want to celebrate that with you and what God is doing in your heart and in your life. Last week at the end of our service, we had one person come up and indicate, we've got those cards that are in the pews that say, I said yes to Jesus. I'd ask you if you prayed that prayer this morning, just to quickly put your name there, mark the box. And at the close of our service, you can come to the front where our prayer team is. You can give them a card. We've got a Bible and materials that we would love to give you as we walk with you in this new journey of faith in Jesus. But last week at the close of our service, one person came forward and said, I made that decision today to say yes to Jesus. And we celebrate the work that God is doing in their life, and we want to celebrate what God is doing in yours as well. So as we close, I invite you to come.
But church, family, remember, if you've made that decision when you chose to follow Jesus, it was the knowledge and the belief that he is the one who is your wonderful counselor, your mighty God, your everlasting Father, and your Prince of peace. So when you're wrestling with the turmoil that this world creates, don't turn to yourself or to others.
Turn to him and let him be your peace. Let's worship together.
[01:18:46] Speaker A: The world waits for a miracle the heart longs for a little bit of hope oh come oh come Emmanuel.
A child prays for peace on earth and she's calling out from a sea of hurt oh, come oh come Im.
And can you hear the angels singing Glory.
To the light of the world Glory, The light of the world is here.
The drought breaks with the tears of the mother A baby's Cry is the sound of love Come down come down Im.
Here's the song for the suffering he is Messiah the Prince of peace has come he has, has come he made.
To the light of the world Glory.
To the light of the world Glory to the light of the world.
For all who wait for all who.
[01:21:12] Speaker C: Love Pray.
[01:21:15] Speaker A: For all who wonder Behold your king Behold Messiah.
Glory.
To the light of the world Glory.
To the light of the world Glory.
To the light of the world the world Behold your king Behold Messiah.
The world waits for a miracle the heart longs for a little bit of hope O come, oh come Emmanuel.
[01:22:51] Speaker C: We have this beautiful gift that we have been given in him and God has been so gracious to give us this church family as a place to worship but to be encouraged and one of my favorite parts each week is to just give you the opportunity to pray with our prayer team that is here at the front this morning.
Whatever burdens you are carrying, whatever needs you may have, whether it's prayer for healing or you're just wrestling with God, our team is here weekly and would just love the opportunity to minister to you and to pray with with you today. And so at the close of our service, I'd invite you to come if you would like prayer today.
If you made that decision to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior, they would love the opportunity to talk with you again, give you a Bible and some materials that we have for you as well on church family as we prepare to go. I just want to remind you quick details that as we continue into this Christmas season in about a week and a half, we've got our Christmas Eve service services coming up.
We have three services this year. We've got one on the 23rd at 7pm, two on the 24th at 4pm and 7pm not only would we love you to come, but we as we always do, want to challenge you to be thinking about who are the people that God has put in your circles that near need to hear about the hope and the peace and the joy and the love that only Christ can bring and invite them this year to come with you to hear about that great news and so be thinking about that, asking God who it is that he would have you to bring. And as well as you go out from here today, go out and live in light of the hope and the peace that we have in Jesus Christ.
And as you put your faith and your trust in him, not just in that initial decision, but every, every single day as you walk and you deal with the brokenness of this world. Allow your faith in him to be the light that shines brightest to this world, that needs to know Him. God bless you. We'll see you next Sunday.
