“For Unto Us a Child is Born”
Isaiah 9:1-7
INTRODUCTION: It’s an unlovely tree in an unlikely place with an unmistakable message.
The tree sits along Interstate 30 just outside of Fort Worth, Texas. It is a mimosa tree that appears lifeless, except at Christmas. Each December, for the past ten years, the tree has been decorated, its scraggly limbs bearing a few ornaments and a garland.
The original decorator was a homeless woman whose health has prevented her from the task for several years. Other hands have carried on the work ever since. "Everyone sees it, but no one knows who does it," said one woman.
Sitting on an isolated hill absent of other vegetation, the existence of the tree itself is a bit of a mystery. When gardener Neil Sperry first spotted the tree, he was surprised because a mimosa tree should not be growing in such a place. "It’s just a God thing when a tree grows where it’s not supposed to grow," he said.
Passersby say they have never noticed a single leaf on the tree, but every December life blossoms in the form of a few Christmas decorations. Jodi Hodges, a member of the Texas Department of Transportation, acknowledges that the decorations are technically not permitted on state property. Hodges says, "We have motorists call in thanking us for the tree, and we have nothing to do with it. It’s just a mystery…. It’s just a tree mysterious people decorate. It gives us hope."
>>Last week’s text from Isaiah 7 was about faith—trusting God in the tight spots. This week’s text from Isaiah 9 is about hope. [READ 9:1-5]
I. While in darkness, we can hope for deliverance (1-3)
A. The context for Isaiah’s vision the devastation of the northern lands, about 733BC.
1. The land of Naphtali lay along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and extended northward; that of Zebulun was west and southwest of Naphtali, midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean.
2. These areas were the first to fall to Assyria. Under Tiglath-Pileser III, (sounds like a Klingon name, doesn’t it?) the Assyrians invaded, the people were deported, and their lands became Assyrian provinces.
B. In the first hurt of seeing homelands alienated and fellow-Israelites carried captive, people would have looked to the prophet Isaiah for a word from the Lord.
1. Like the aftermath of 9/11—people seek a word from God
2. Isaiah prophesied that where darkness had fallen light would shine Those walking in darkness can see the light ahead and are sustained by hope.
3. God’s people are a people of hope. For the present we know that God is with us. For the future we await the day when the hiding of His face is past and His promises are fulfilled.
4. This hope is sure. In Hebrew, these verses are couched in past tenses. Isaiah writes the future as something which has already happened, so confident is he in the mighty acts of God: “Look forward to it, it is certain, He has already done it!”
C. APPLICATION: God’s people see gloom and distress but affirm that, real though it is, it is not the final reality. As always, we must decide what reading of our experiences to will live by:
1. Are we to look at the darkness, the hopelessness, the dreams shattered and conclude that God has forgotten them?
2. Or are we to recall His past mercies, to remember His present promises and to make great affirmations of hope?
3. Isaiah insists that hope is a present reality, part of the constitution of the now. The darkness is true but it is not the whole truth and certainly not the fundamental truth.
D. ILLUSTRATION: There are many Christmas lights on our block, as there were in MN. One house in MN kept their Christmas lights burning long after the season was past. They burned through January. Even through the first of February those outside lights burned every night. Finally, about the middle of February neighbors became a bit critical and grumbled. But about the middle of March there was a sign outside that house that explained why they’d left the lights on. It said simply, "Welcome home, Bobby." That family had a son in Iraq, and they had left their Christmas lights on in anticipation of his return. Lights are a symbol of hope.
II. While under oppression, we can hope for deliverance (4-5)
A. Isaiah gives two historical references in v.4.
1. First, vocabulary is used which recalls the exodus from Egypt, which offers a background to the coming child.
2. Second, the defeat of Midian (Judges 6-8) is remembered. This is apt, for Gideon was in particular the deliverer of Naphtali and Zebulun, and the narrative labors to emphasize the victory as an act of God, excluding human glory.
3. In the coming day, there will be no burdens, no blows, no tyrants.
B. ILLUSTRATION: The Count of Monte Cristo tells the story of Dantes (James Caviezel) who is unjustly accused and sentenced to life in France’s most dreaded prison.
During his years in prison, Dantes’ makes friends with a priest, (Richard Harris) whose godly influence has a huge impact on Dantes’ spiritual understanding. Together they dig a tunnel to escape, but just before it’s completed, a cave-in injures the priest. As he lies dying on the stone floor of his cell, the priest gives Dantes a treasure map that he’d hidden all his years in prison, which ends up making Dantes wealthy. But it’s the priest’s final words that stick with Dantes forever.
"When they asked me about the treasure of Sparta, I lied," the priest confesses. "You lied?" Dantes asks. "I’m a priest, not a saint." [Then he tells Dantes how to use the map to find the treasure.]
"When you escape," the priest continues, "use the treasure for good. Only for good." "No," Dantes says angrily. "I will surely use it for my revenge."
"This is your final lesson. Do not commit the crime—[the priest struggles for a breath] Do not commit the crime for which you now serve the sentence. God said, ’Vengeance is mine.’" Dantes says, "But I don’t believe in God." "It doesn’t matter," the priest responds with a smile. "He believes in you." Moments later the priest dies, and Dantes escapes.
>>Whether under adversity or oppression, we can hope for deliverance. But why? Why is it that can we hope in deliverance? Do you know who George Zimmer is? He’s the founder of Men’s Wearhouse. And in a TV commercial in 1986, he declared: “You’re going to like the way you look. I guarantee it.” Look at what Isaiah says about our future hope [READ 9:6-7]
BIG IDEA: We can hope for deliverance, because God guarantees it (6-7)
I. God has guaranteed our deliverance through the baby Jesus (6)
A. The emphasis in v.6 falls not on what the child will do when grown up, but on the mere fact of his birth. In his coming, all that results from his coming is at once secured. The baby in the manger is God’s guarantee.
1. God has come to birth, bringing with Him the qualities that guarantee His people’s preservation and liberation.
2. ILLUSTRATION: David Peterson, former pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington, told about a time when he was preparing his sermon. His little daughter came in and said, "Daddy, can we play?" He answered, "I’m awfully sorry, Sweetheart, but I’m right in the middle of preparing this sermon. In about an hour I can play." She said, "Okay, when you’re finished, Daddy, I am going to give you a great big hug." He said, "Thank you very much." She went to the door and (these are his words) "Then she did a U-turn and came back and gave me a chiropractic, bone-breaking hug." David said to her, "Darling, you said you were going to give me a hug after I finished." She answered, "Daddy, I just wanted you to know what you have to look forward to!" One meaning of Christmas is that God wants us to know, through this First Coming, how much we have to look forward to.
B. QUOTE: Michael Card: “All we could ever imagine, could ever hope for, He is. ... He is the Prince of Peace whose first coming has already transformed society but whose second coming will forever establish justice and righteousness. All this, and infinitely more, alive in an impoverished baby in a barn. That is what Christmas means--to find in a place where you would least expect to find anything you want, everything you could ever want.”
II. God guarantees our deliverance through the King Jesus (7)
A. The submission of the world to the King is viewed as a conquest, but it is a conquest of peace.
1. His kingdom will increase and occupy progressively all space until he rules over all. The qualities that he perfectly embodies will not suffer loss or change by maladministration.
a. It is an empire without imperialism
b. It is a rule without exploitation.
2. Rather there is the endless sharing of his own perfect fulfillment in bringing those under his rule to perfection.
a. Wonderful Counselor—the people will gladly listen to him
b. Mighty God—doing what no mere person could do
c. Everlasting Father—emphasis on eternity and compassion
d. Prince of Peace—will usher in and maintain peaceful rule
3. APPLICATION: Second Coming of Christ is our hope … why don’t we hear more sermons about it?
B. In describing the power of accomplishment Isaiah abandons the perfect tense for the future tense. The zeal, the passionate commitment of the Lord will guarantee it. All this zealous determination is that of Yahweh, God of the Exodus, whose nature it is to save His people and overthrow His foes. It is backed by divine omnipotence and pledged to achieve this, the advent and kingdom of the Messiah.
C. APPLICATION: The fact remains that our world never comes as close to being in contact with its greatest hope as it does at Christmas.
1. The day is coming when the people of Iraq will be free of terror, violence, and fear. God guarantees it!
2. The day is coming when the world will be free of terror, violence, disease, and famine. God guarantees it!
3. The day is coming when you won’t have to worry about final exams, job demands, or paying your bills. God guarantees it!
4. The day is coming when you won’t be enslaved to your most shameful, hidden sin. God guarantees it!
5. The day is coming when you will no longer miss seeing the ones you’ve lost.
CONCLUSION: (BI) Hope for deliverance—God guarantees it!
James Dobson tells the story of an elderly woman named Stella Thornhope was struggling with her first Christmas alone. Her husband had died just a few months prior through a slow developing cancer. Now, several days before Christmas, she was almost snowed in by a brutal weather system. She felt terribly alone—so much so she decided she was not going to decorate for Christmas.
Late that afternoon the doorbell rang, and there was a delivery boy with a box. He said, "Mrs. Thornhope?" She nodded. He said, "Would you sign here?" She invited him to step inside and closed the door to get away from the cold. She signed the paper and said, "What’s in the box?" The young man laughed and opened up the flap, and inside was a little puppy, a golden Labrador Retriever. The delivery boy picked up the squirming pup and explained, "This is for you, Ma’am. He’s six weeks old, completely housebroken." The young puppy began to wiggle in happiness at being released from captivity.
"Who sent this?" Mrs. Thornhope asked.
The young man set the animal down and handed her an envelope and said, "It’s all explained here in this envelope, Ma’am. The dog was bought last July while its mother was still pregnant. It was meant to be a Christmas gift to you." The young man then handed her a book, How to Care for Your Labrador Retriever.
In desperation she again asked, "Who sent me this puppy?"
As the young man turned to leave, he said, "Your husband, Ma’am. Merry Christmas."
She opened up the letter from her husband. He had written it three weeks before he died and left it with the kennel owners to be delivered with the puppy as his last Christmas gift to her. The letter was full of love and encouragement and admonishments to be strong. He vowed that he was waiting for the day when she would join him. He had sent her this young animal to keep her company until then.
She wiped away the tears, put the letter down, and then remembering the puppy at her feet, she picked up that golden furry ball and held it to her neck. Then she looked out the window at the lights that outlined the neighbor’s house, and she heard from the radio in the kitchen the strains of "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come." Suddenly Stella felt the most amazing sensation of peace washing over her. Her heart felt a joy and a wonder greater than the grief and loneliness.
"Little fella," she said to the dog, "It’s just you and me. But you know what? There’s a box down in the basement I’ll bet you’d like. It’s got a little Christmas tree in it and some decorations and some lights that are going to impress you. And there’s a manger scene down there. Let’s go get it."
God has a way of sending a signal of light to remind us life is stronger than death. Light is more powerful than darkness. God is more powerful than Satan. Good will overcome evil.
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light," the prophet said. "On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:16). Hope for deliverance--God guarantees it!
