A Brighter Day Is On The Way!’ Series

Sermon: A Brighter Day is on the Way!’

Isaiah 9:2-7 “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. 3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. 4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. 5 The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Introduction: Isaiah encourages us with the idea that darkness can never put out the light. That’s the way light is. The darker the darkness gets, the brighter the light becomes. It was a dark time living in a land occupied by a foreign power, a power which made a kind of demands on God’s people. This has been a dark time for our world as well. We need some light in view of a relentless pandemic, destructive wildfires, typhoons, hurricanes, constant protests and riots and civil unrest. As I have reflected, so often the darkness has seemed inescapable. And yet, the darker the darkness gets, the brighter the light becomes.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Dickens was describing the mood of the world around him, but these words are describing our times as well as those times in which Isaiah lived.

Israel had been carried away into Assyria and scattered throughout their empire. Judah and Jerusalem were doomed to be carried away into Babylon. The prophet comes with a word of hope, God would send His Messiah into this dark world bringing light and life. God will often visited the most hardhearted, arrogant, ignorant, and despised people with wonderful opportunities to change. The offer of salvation is so precious! Many ignore God’s call to salvation, yet He call them. The gloom, despair and oppression so vivid in Isaiah’s day is overshadowed by a new light the prophet sees. This prophet moves from walking in darkness to walking in the light; from oppression to justice; from war to peace. The prophet sees God’s world becoming what God has originally intended. He sees light and life, joy and peace, liberty, and freedom. The messiah will come and bring all these things to fruition. The messiah come from the heart of God and knows that God is a lover of justice and peace. Isaiah sees and believes the Messiah is God’s answer for the world’s ills. Isaiah’s world’s view and hopes are in the coming messiah who could save the world, uphold life, establish justice and peace, turning the hearts of man to God.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Have you caught the prophet’s vision? Do you perceive it? Does the world you imagine look like the world Isaiah foretold? The good news is, It will come! Why, The zeal of the Lord of Host will do it. Isaiah described the present condition as the people walking in darkness, stumbling, falling and in constant danger. In Matthew’s gospel, he describes them as people sitting in darkness, paralyzed by fear, afraid to stand, or move, afraid to forward. Darkness expresses confusion, calamity, ignorance and hopelessness. The good news is a brighter day is coming!

1.God’s Light will Outshine the Present Darkness! “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”

Jesus Christ came a bright light from God, so bright, the darkness cannot overcome it. The darkness has no power to extinguish God’s light.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:1-5