1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360 Welcome to the Islands Christian Church podcast. 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,040 Subscribe to hear a new episode every week. 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:10,200 Thanks for joining us. OK, so if you can get your your 4 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,680 phone out and turn your flashlight on, who uses that 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,080 feature regularly on their phone, right, man, you're like 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,640 quickly, like, and you're like, you could get it on fast, right? 7 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:18,840 Brad's over here going, he's practicing. 8 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:19,760 He's like, I think I could do this. 9 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,280 I think I could have won. I didn't know there was a gift 10 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,000 card, but but you know, like you could pretty quick. 11 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:27,680 You can get that phone on, get that light on. 12 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,160 How many of you like you use it regularly? 13 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,240 Let me see again. OK, how many of you just learned 14 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:35,360 that your phone will do that? OK, good. 15 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,680 I did this in 2016 and about 1/3 of the room raised their hand. 16 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,120 They just learned that their phone will do that. 17 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,840 So we are advancing as a people. This is good to hear. 18 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:51,200 Why are we so quick at getting our flashlight on on our on our 19 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:53,480 why are we so quick at that? I'm not even quick. 20 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:56,080 I'm like, I turned my camera on. What am I, 50? 21 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:59,720 I still, I really cannot do it anyway. 22 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,560 My cameras are like, I'm going to put this away anyway. 23 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,280 So The thing is, it's like, why are we so quick at being able to 24 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,040 get our flashlight on? Why, why does that? 25 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,360 Why does that happen? Why are we able to do that? 26 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,240 Because we know how to do it and we need it. 27 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,320 We use it like if you're in a situation where you're like, and 28 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:23,680 you know, I don't even, I can't even tell you where flashlights 29 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:25,280 are in my house. Like just hey, go get a 30 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,280 flashlight. Be like, bro here, it's in my 31 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:28,760 phone. Like you need a flashlight. 32 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,840 Like I bet the flashlight sales numbers have just collapsed over 33 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,600 the last 10 years, you know? And so the reason that we are 34 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,080 all good at getting our flashlight out on our phone is 35 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,640 because light is better than darkness. 36 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,680 It's just very simple. Light is better than darkness. 37 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:49,280 Light dispels darkness. It makes it where you can see 38 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,360 things, you can solve problems, you can accomplish tasks, all 39 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:55,120 because of a little light on the back of your phone. 40 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,800 Here's the thing. This is true for our lives as 41 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:05,600 well. You and I need light for our 42 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:11,039 lives. No matter how much I encourage 43 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,680 you or inspire you or challenge you, no matter how many 44 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,200 encouraging books you read or self help books you read, no 45 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,120 matter how much you try to muster up the courage to face 46 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,760 your life. The fact of the matter is, is 47 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,760 you and I, to move in life and to function in life, we need 48 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,800 light. We need light and the word 49 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,400 light. Words are going to see today in 50 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,120 our text. It stands in for things like 51 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,520 hope, for peace, for a belief in the future. 52 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:41,640 You need to believe that you have light. 53 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:47,960 And Christmas is the celebration of a God who ushered in light 54 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,840 for us, for you, a God who ushered in light powerful enough 55 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,320 to dispel the darkness, the darkness in our world. 56 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:00,480 Now follow me, The darkness in our world and the darkness 57 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,440 inside of our hearts. This is hard because we don't 58 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,520 want to believe there's darkness inside of our hearts. 59 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,120 We want to believe that other people have darkness inside of 60 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:10,880 their hearts. But when you look at my heart, 61 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:16,360 mine is good. I was texting with a friend this 62 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:22,880 week and we were talking about particular case, something that 63 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,000 happened in culture. And she was somehow she wanted 64 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,080 to hurt this person who had done this terrible thing. 65 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,760 And she said, I don't know if that makes me a bad person or 66 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,000 not, but I I would hurt them. And I wrote them back and I 67 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,560 said, you are a bad person and so am I. 68 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,800 Like you didn't know that like I am a bad person. 69 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,320 My heart is dark. Jeremiah says the heart is 70 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,440 deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? 71 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:48,640 Jesus said, if you being evil know how to give good gifts to 72 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:50,360 your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give 73 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:53,640 you? In other words, like there's 74 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,280 there's evil in our world, there's darkness in our world, 75 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:58,840 but there's also darkness in my heart. 76 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,160 And God at Christmas time, what we're focusing on is that God, 77 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,800 in his infinite wisdom and his kindness and grace, he sent the 78 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:06,800 light to dispel both those darknesses. 79 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,600 And we're going to use a text this morning. 80 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,200 Maybe you know what? Isaiah Chapter 9 verses one 81 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,560 through 7, Isaiah 9, one through 7. 82 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,880 Now this is written by a guy named Isaiah. 83 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:18,600 It's a major prophet in the Old Testament. 84 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:23,160 And Isaiah is writing these words to a nation, the nation of 85 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,520 Judah, and primarily to the city of Jerusalem. 86 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,240 And this city is has compromised faith. 87 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,920 It's surrounded in fear. It's surrounded in darkness and 88 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,520 moral failure. It's uncertain about its future, 89 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,160 as it should be because it will be dominated by another nation 90 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,040 here very soon. It is in the darkness. 91 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,720 And to this darkness Isaiah speaks, this nation in darkness. 92 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:49,680 And Isaiah doesn't give them instructions. 93 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,000 He doesn't tell them what they need to do to make it better. 94 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:57,080 He doesn't do any of that. He actually gives them news of 95 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,560 something that's going to happen, news about a child that 96 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,840 will make everything different for this nation and for you and 97 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:07,840 I. Now, this is the character of 98 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:08,840 God. What we're going to read in 99 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:10,680 Isaiah Chapter 9. As we read this, I want you to 100 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:12,840 think about this is the character of God. 101 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:19,200 We choose darkness. I choose darkness, but God does 102 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,480 not abandon me in my choice of darkness. 103 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,080 In other words, he doesn't do to me what I'm prone to do to my 104 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,160 children. And what you, I think is good 105 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,360 parenting, right? You make stupid choices. 106 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,400 You lay in stupid beds. Anybody want that's good, right? 107 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:34,840 That's a good lesson to teach your children. 108 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:40,280 It's a good thing, you know, you want your children to feel the 109 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:45,680 weight of their dumb decisions. God, we choose darkness, we 110 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,240 choose rebellion. And God doesn't abandoned us in 111 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,560 those places. He actually comes and rescues us 112 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,560 with the light of his Son Jesus. That's what we're going to see. 113 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,240 He comes into the darkness as the light. 114 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,480 So Isaiah Chapter 9 verses one through 7. 115 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:06,120 This is what the text says. You ready Isaiah writing? 116 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:11,280 He says, nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those 117 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:14,120 who were in distress in the past. 118 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,360 He humbled the land of Zebulun, the land of Nephili, but in the 119 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:23,640 future he will honor Galilee of the nations by way of the sea 120 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,080 beyond the Jordan. Now isn't it interesting that 121 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,640 it's Galilee of the nations that will be honored? 122 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,520 Jesus is a Galilean. Remember that this is this is a 123 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,200 prophetic text. Isaiah's talking about the 124 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:42,040 coming future, the coming hope for Judah, for the city of 125 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,200 Jerusalem, Verse 2. Now this is a poem, right? 126 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,440 So he starts. It's poetry, verse 2. 127 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,240 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those 128 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:54,960 living in the land of deep darkness. 129 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,200 A light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and 130 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,640 increased their joy. They rejoice before you as 131 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,360 people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when 132 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,400 dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's 133 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,560 defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar 134 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,440 across their shoulders and the rod of their oppressor. 135 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,160 Every warriors boot used in battle and every garment rolled 136 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,240 in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the 137 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,080 fire. And this is all like what he's 138 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,160 done up through verse 5 so far is like, this is how things are 139 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:32,560 going to be different. This is how things are going to 140 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,960 change. Oppression is going to end, 141 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,720 burdens are going to be removed, and then verse 5, war will come 142 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,080 to an end. He says that basically the 143 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:44,600 garments that are rolled in blood and the boots that are 144 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,600 used in battle, they will no longer be useful. 145 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,840 They will be burned. In other words, the world is the 146 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,880 world is going to completely and totally be different because a 147 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:57,040 light has now dawned on people living in the darkness. 148 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:04,080 Well, how has this light dawned? Verse 64 To us a child is born, 149 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:07,600 to us a son is given, and the government will be on his 150 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,600 shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, 151 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:12,280 everlasting Father and Prince of peace. 152 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:14,680 Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will 153 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,440 be no end. And he will reign on David's 154 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:22,640 throne and over his Kingdom, establishing and upholding it 155 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,600 with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever 156 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,240 the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. 157 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,039 Now if you're a note taker, this is called a messianic prophecy. 158 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:38,600 This is a prophecy thousands of years before Jesus birth saying 159 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,840 hey, this is going to happen, Jesus will come and he will be 160 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:47,080 the light. So to this Dark World, to this 161 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,480 dark nation, Isaiah promises that God is not going to leave 162 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,360 them where they are. He's going to send a light. 163 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:56,280 He's going to rescue them. Now, our world is not completely 164 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,680 all that different than Judah and Jerusalem's world. 165 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:00,680 Now we are more technologically advanced. 166 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:02,600 I mean, we have cell phones with flashlights on them. 167 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,480 That's pretty cool. I don't think they could have 168 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,600 imagined even such a thing, much less electricity. 169 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:10,560 But even though we're technologically more advanced, 170 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:13,400 we are similar to the city of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of 171 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:15,840 Judah. We're very, very similar to the 172 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,680 people in that time. So today, here's the main idea. 173 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:23,880 I want you to know as we start this message as the thing I want 174 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,560 you to get as we, as we are here today. 175 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:28,120 I, I want you to write this down. 176 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:29,960 If you're a rope taker, This is the main idea. 177 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,800 Hope does not rise from inside us. 178 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,320 Hope does not rise from inside us. 179 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:43,560 Hope dawns upon us. Hope does not rise from inside 180 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:46,360 of us. Hope dawns upon us. 181 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,200 Hope, And this text is like a stand in for hope and for 182 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,080 promises of a future. And here's the thing about hope 183 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,240 that you need to know. You cannot generate your own 184 00:09:57,240 --> 00:09:58,680 hope. You cannot stand in the mirror 185 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:00,440 long enough. You cannot lay in the bed long 186 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,120 enough in the mornings. You cannot get up early enough 187 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,120 and go for a run long enough. You cannot generate your own 188 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:06,640 hope. You cannot convince yourself to 189 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:08,640 be hopeful. If you were going to be a person 190 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,680 with hope, that hope must come to you from outside of you. 191 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:13,360 This is what this text is teaching. 192 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:15,480 Hope comes to us from outside of us. 193 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,320 It dawns on us. It is not self generated. 194 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,200 And there are two implications from this text for you, note 195 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:22,400 takers, there's two implications. 196 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,000 I'm going to walk through #1 the world is darker than we like to 197 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:27,000 admit. We're going to walk through 198 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:28,480 that. The world is darker than we like 199 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,880 to admit #1 #2 hope comes from outside of us. 200 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,280 Hope comes from outside of us. We're going to walk through that 201 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,320 implication, what that means. So the world is darker than we 202 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:42,160 like to admit, and hope comes from outside of us. 203 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,280 Now let's talk about this idea of the world being darker than 204 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:48,840 we like to admit #1 the world is darker than we like to admit. 205 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,640 The Bible uses darkness as a metaphorical motif throughout 206 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:56,720 the Scriptures, and it uses it to describe two types of 207 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,000 darkness dark. One type of darkness is the 208 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,760 darkness of evil. There's evil actions and evil 209 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,760 things, evil people. And then it uses another, 210 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:07,800 another idea of darkness as ignorance. 211 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,440 Their minds are darkened. So you have two ways that the 212 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,280 Bible uses darkness, evil or evil actions, and then minds 213 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:16,800 that are darkened, ignorance, minds that do not understand. 214 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,440 So let's unpack this idea of #1 of what we would call the 215 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:22,960 external darkness. You know, the evil, the idea of 216 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:24,480 darkness being an external darkness. 217 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,600 So let's let's unpack that. So the world is darker than we 218 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,120 like to admit. And underneath that we have an 219 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:32,680 external darkness. And the fact that there's an 220 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:35,840 external darkness in our world is obvious to most people. 221 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:40,200 Our world is a dark place. People do evil things to each 222 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,400 other. Did you guys hear about the 223 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:47,360 horrific attack in Forsyth Park this week of a woman walking in 224 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,880 the park and having a corrosive acid poured over her body, over 225 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,080 the top of her head? And this is mind boggling to me 226 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,640 that another human being would do this to another human being. 227 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:00,440 It blows my mind. Well, why does it blow my mind? 228 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,400 Because I have a sense in me that such things are evil. 229 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,520 And it's not that crazy to think that someone else would look at 230 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,840 such a an act and think, well, I'm just going to do it because 231 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,480 I want to because it makes me happy. 232 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:19,120 Or for whatever reason, the the reality is, is that the world is 233 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:23,640 full of evil and evil actions. Darkness is all around us. 234 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,280 It's terrible and nothing. Another thing that's happening 235 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,320 in our culture is more and more, especially among younger people, 236 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,800 Gen. Z and younger millennials, 237 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:38,000 whenever and whenever violence happens, instead of them quickly 238 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,480 condemning violence, younger people more and more, not all of 239 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,120 them, not even the majority, but more and more younger people, 240 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,840 instead of condemning the violence, are asking, well, why 241 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:49,600 did the violence happen in the first place? 242 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,160 Now, my generation, we're never taught that. 243 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,240 We were never taught to ask why the violence is happening. 244 00:12:57,600 --> 00:12:59,120 We were taught to condemn the violence. 245 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:00,960 The violence is to be condemned no matter what. 246 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,360 But there is a younger generation coming behind us that 247 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,360 before the condemnation of violence, they want to get the 248 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:13,080 the why behind the violence because maybe the why, if they 249 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,760 hear it, will justify the violence that's happening. 250 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,880 That's, that's, that's that storm is brewing in our culture. 251 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,200 It, it's not so much that these younger people are, you know, 252 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,440 the Chinese Red Guard running around and and killing people or 253 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,800 taking over cities. That's not the case at all yet. 254 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:40,360 But the storm is brewing to where, well, violence might be 255 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,520 justified. Let me hear the reason that this 256 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,760 person poured acid over this young lady. 257 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,080 Now that that seems crazy to us, but that's the evidence of the 258 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,720 fact that there is darkness in our world. 259 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,640 Now here's the thing about dark, the external darkness of our 260 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:00,640 world. Most people who are not even 261 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,640 believers in Jesus Christ, they don't believe in God even they 262 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,840 might even be atheistic, they will agree that the world is a 263 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,520 dark and evil place. Even if they're not believers in 264 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,120 God, they will believe that. Like maybe you're sitting here 265 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:15,040 right now, you're listening to this podcast and you're like, I 266 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,440 don't even believe in God. Somebody's making me do this, 267 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,080 making me cum today. Well, here's the thing. 268 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,360 You, even though you don't believe in God, you will still 269 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,560 use terms like that was evil or that was bad or this, this 270 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,720 world's a dark place. Even if you're not a believer, 271 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:33,080 you will use terms like that. This past spring, my son and I 272 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,000 Aller we went offshore fishing. A friend of ours paid for us to 273 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,920 go out in the the Gulf. We were down in the Keys and he 274 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:40,640 paid for us to go out in the Gulf and go fishing. 275 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,960 And Adler got brutally sick. It was, I laugh about it, but it 276 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:46,640 wasn't funny. It was a little funny. 277 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,480 And when we're out in the Gulf and this, this man we're with is 278 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,520 a very interesting man. He's retired Marine intelligence 279 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,800 officer, so he knows things that he cannot share with me. 280 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:03,800 Do you know what I mean? Like, and it's and it's from 281 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,400 like, you know, he's about 20 years older me. 282 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,080 So it was like from my maybe I'm 15 years older me. 283 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,200 So it's kind of like the Cold War era. 284 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,080 He was active in the Cold War era, which I just so badly 285 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,400 wanted to just sit down and be like, man, can I ask you all 286 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,040 these questions? And but as we, as we talked and 287 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,040 we had some conversation, you know, just sitting fishing in 288 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,680 the boat, I discovered that number 1, he was not a believer. 289 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:29,760 He didn't believe in God. And so that that that helps, you 290 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:31,760 know, that creates a lot of conversation for me when 291 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:33,560 somebody tells me they don't believe in God, they're atheist. 292 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:35,800 So I'm like, my wheels are turning. 293 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:40,000 We're having conversation. And at some point of the 294 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:46,080 conversation, he says to me, I asked him, like, do you do you 295 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:49,440 believe there's a don't you want there to be an ultimate judge? 296 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:54,160 Like, don't you want there to be like, like an ultimate say at 297 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,120 the end? That's that there's judgement. 298 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,800 I said, otherwise if there's not judgement, then we got to get 299 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:00,760 even. Like we have to continuously get 300 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:04,240 even. And he said he goes, I don't 301 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,200 know, man. There sure is a lot of evil in 302 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,920 the world. After what I've seen. 303 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:11,480 This is what he said. So interesting, he said. 304 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:17,640 After what I've seen governments do to their own people, and then 305 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:19,880 that stuck on me. What what what I've seen 306 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,200 governments do to their own people. 307 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,080 I said, but you don't believe he goes. 308 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,400 It's hard for me to believe there's a God with this kind of 309 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:37,240 evil happening in the world. Now, can you see the cognitive 310 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:43,200 dissonance that he has going on? OK, this is this is like a 311 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,280 little, you guys hang with me. We're going, we're going to step 312 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:50,320 down a little bit. To say you believe in evil is a 313 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:54,320 faith claim. Do I not tell you this all the 314 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,960 time? Isn't it exhausting to hear me 315 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:02,440 say it all the time? It's because my, this guy who 316 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:06,400 took us fishing, he can hold that cognitive dissonance in his 317 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,440 hand quite easily. He can believe in something like 318 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,040 evil governments do evil things to their people. 319 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:16,200 He can believe in that and not acknowledge that's a faith claim 320 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,760 while at the same time denying there's a God. 321 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,319 To believe that is such thing as evil exists and that governments 322 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:31,160 do evil things to their people is to believe that right exist 323 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,800 and righteous exist. It's in other words, to believe 324 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,440 that there is a moral standard that's a faith claim. 325 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,440 All right. And so here's a guy and so many 326 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,840 people like this are, oh man, I'm telling you, this is this is 327 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:50,480 prevalent. There is this movement now to 328 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:56,440 where the culture at large knows there's a moral right and that 329 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,520 you need to be morally right. But there's no standard 330 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,360 underneath their claim to what's morally right. 331 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,120 There's no, there's no foundation to it, there's no 332 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:06,760 basis to it. There's nothing underneath it. 333 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:11,160 It's just, it's just you have to be morally right according to 334 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:19,280 their definition. The problem with this is that 335 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:24,360 humans are not good at generating our own light. 336 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:32,320 Whenever humans have tried to morally purify their own 337 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:37,320 societies, they bring way more destruction to those societies 338 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,520 than anything good. And here's the reality. 339 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,120 If you believe that there's an evil, that means you believe 340 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:50,120 there's a good. That means that you're grasping 341 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:51,800 for this good. You want to find it. 342 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,440 You want to know what it is you're trying to figure it out. 343 00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:01,240 And what I'm telling you is that in this Dark World, the light 344 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,800 cannot come from within yourself, no matter how hard you 345 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,240 try, no matter how determined you are. 346 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:13,440 So there is an external darkness, number one. 347 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,360 And then under how our dark, our world is number 2, there is an 348 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:19,760 internal darkness. So we have an external darkness 349 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,280 like those people are evil. That's easy to say. 350 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,960 Here's the hard part. This, this heart is dark. 351 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:31,400 This heart is prone to evil. Now the internal darkness can be 352 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,720 a lot less obvious, but no less nefarious. 353 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:37,920 You see? Have you ever wanted to change 354 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:39,960 and be more loving and be more kind? 355 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:42,520 But then that person showed up at work again. 356 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:46,880 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 357 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:48,680 Am I preaching too close to some of you? 358 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,000 Right? Have you ever wanted to forgive 359 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,560 and offer restoration, but you just could not let go of the 360 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:58,080 resentment for what they did to you? 361 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,920 Like you knew that the resentment and the lack of 362 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:06,720 forgiveness was a prison that you were locking yourself in. 363 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,400 You knew that and you want to change. 364 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,080 You wanted to change so badly, but you just could not let go. 365 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,280 Have you ever wanted to feel peace in your life but you just 366 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:21,000 continuously feel anxious? You ever want to be selfless? 367 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,200 This is me all the time. You ever want to be selfless, 368 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,080 but you end up protecting yourself in an effort to be 369 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,800 selfless. It takes some self-awareness to 370 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,080 realize this, but sometimes our our attempts to be selfless are 371 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,280 actually just backdoor ways to protect ourselves. 372 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,920 The reality is, is that the darkness of our world that is 373 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,080 more prevalent than we realize is not just external, it's 374 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:53,800 internal. And what this means is that you 375 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:58,280 and I, because the world is dark, but also I'm prone to 376 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:03,080 darkness, what that means is I cannot produce my own light. 377 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:08,000 I cannot make up my own hope. I can't come up with my own 378 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,400 solutions. So going back to the point I 379 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,160 just made, whenever societies have tried to say, well, let's 380 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,840 all get together and let's improve the condition of human 381 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,240 beings and let's make the nature of man different. 382 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,360 Whenever societies have attempted to do that, it's like 383 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:26,600 putting a lot of darkness into one room and saying, well, if 384 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,480 all of us try really hard, all of our darkness could generate a 385 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,000 light. And what has happened 386 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,880 historically when humans have tried to do this? 387 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:37,080 I mean, it's the Chinese revolution, it's the Russian 388 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:41,280 Revolution, it's the Cambodian Revolution, right over and over 389 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,640 and over again. When you see, if you don't know 390 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:45,840 what I'm talking about, Google those things over and over and 391 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,320 over again. When you see humans decide what 392 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,800 we're going to. The world's dark. 393 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,480 There's darkness out there. You know, whatever the evil is, 394 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,880 whether it's, you know, capitalism or, you know, you 395 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,560 know, socialism, whatever the evil is out there, we're going 396 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:01,400 to get together. We're going to solve it, and 397 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:02,720 then we're going to go fix it out there. 398 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,600 Those people in the circle try to come up with the solutions. 399 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,240 They are just as dark as the world it is. 400 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:09,280 They're trying to go out and solve. 401 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:18,440 So what happens is millions, 10s of millions of people die 402 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,400 because a group of people think they have the light within them 403 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,480 to take into The Dark World. No, it's bad. 404 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:33,680 And I, I don't want to, I'm not trying to like be this 405 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:40,480 doomsdayer, but it's bad. It's easy for us to sit and go. 406 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,120 Those terrible people, they do those things. 407 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:48,880 You know what's that you know we we might be 3 mils away from 408 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,760 doing some of those same terrible things ourselves. 409 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:53,480 You missed 3-4 meals, you can't get food. 410 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,800 You may realize how evil you are as well. 411 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:06,440 Like it's in me as well. That's the that's the hard thing 412 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:12,640 to be honest about. You see, if the problem, if the 413 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:16,920 problem were only ignorance, and this is what society tells us, 414 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:20,280 if the problem were only ignorance, then education would 415 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:26,880 fix it. But the problem runs deeper than 416 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:30,840 than that. It isn't just that I need more 417 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:32,760 education or I need more training. 418 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:34,880 Now. It's a hard issue. 419 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,200 It's a spiritual issue. Darkness is inside of us, and 420 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,240 that's why salvation has to come to us from outside of us. 421 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,040 And this is what Isaiah says. He says to the people living in 422 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,720 darkness, to the people walking in darkness, that's you and me. 423 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,360 A light has dawned. That's what he says. 424 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,560 See, hope does not rise from inside of us. 425 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,880 Hope dawns upon us. The light must come from outside 426 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:02,800 of us. Listen to verse. 427 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:08,000 Look at verse 2 again. Look at what verse 2 again says, 428 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:11,640 if I can find it here. Verse 2 says the people walking 429 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,280 in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the 430 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:18,320 land of deep darkness. A light has dawned. 431 00:24:25,450 --> 00:24:28,410 So how does the light come to us? 432 00:24:30,250 --> 00:24:32,650 So the light dawns on us, How does it come to us? 433 00:24:32,650 --> 00:24:38,490 Verse 6 says for to us a child is born, to us a son is given. 434 00:24:41,290 --> 00:24:46,400 Isaiah is saying that all of us need light both internally and 435 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,120 externally. And then he says a child is 436 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:55,920 born, a son is given. John chapter 8 verse 12 records 437 00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:02,520 Jesus's words for us. When Jesus says this, I am the 438 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:07,240 light of the world. Whoever follows me will never 439 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:11,240 walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. 440 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,560 Now think, put, put it together. You don't have to be a Bible 441 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,320 scholar to put this together right now, Isaiah said to the 442 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:26,600 people walking in darkness, Light has dawned now light has 443 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,480 changed everything. It's from outside of us. 444 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:34,200 And then Jesus said in John eight, I am that light. 445 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,440 Jesus is appropriating the Isaiah text to himself. 446 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,600 Jesus is saying I am that child that was born. 447 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,480 I am that baby that came. So Jesus is the light that has 448 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,440 come to dispel the darkness, Not only the darkness that's 449 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,560 external, but the darkness that's internal. 450 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,240 Jesus has come to dispel all the darkness. 451 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,040 Now here's the deal. Well, Steven, the darkness, the 452 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,080 external darkness is still very much here. 453 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,720 You even mentioned it like these things are still happening all 454 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,680 since the the time of Christ. You're right, the darkness of 455 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,240 this world has not been ultimately dispelled. 456 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,800 It has not been ultimately dispelled. 457 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:14,320 It has not happened, but you and I, the Bible says, are light 458 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:16,320 bearers. We bear the light of Christ. 459 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,560 Jesus not only claimed to be the light of the world, then he said 460 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,560 about us what he said you are the light of the world. 461 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:23,680 In other words, Jesus said he's the light of the world and then 462 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:24,800 he said we're the light of the world. 463 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,120 Like how is that both both. How are both of those things 464 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:28,520 true? Well, in the Gospel 465 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,040 understanding is that when I come to know Christ, I surrender 466 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,000 my life to him. I'm taking on the Christ King 467 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,040 inside of me. Now Christ leads my life. 468 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,120 If Christ is the light of the world, then I'm the light of the 469 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:38,760 world. Now follow me. 470 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,760 OK, Well, Stephen, how, how are we dispelling darkness in the 471 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,040 world? Well, little ways, the people of 472 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,960 God, the people of of Jesus followers are dispelling the 473 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:49,280 darkness. Think about this. 474 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,560 When you gathered up those Christmas presents, did y'all 475 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,640 see the lobby? Just crazy. 476 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,160 Did you see our post this week on Facebook or us taking? 477 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:58,080 Yeah, you can clap. It's good. 478 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,760 It's good. So you, you take you take those 479 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:06,080 you we took those presents over to the Salvation Army and there 480 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:10,160 was a huge gym full of presents. And the lady said to me, she 481 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:14,080 goes, yeah, we just had a truck come from some company, I won't 482 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,160 say the company. And they had they brought 300 483 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:17,640 angels. And this is a massive company. 484 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:19,240 It's the second biggest employer in Savannah. 485 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:21,480 And and they, they had 300 angels. 486 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:24,200 And I was like, bro, that big company only had 300 angels. 487 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,080 Our little church over in Savannah has 75 like like we 488 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,720 just brought like we had 75. Like my goodness, like we 489 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,720 probably could have done, you know, another 50 because easily 490 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:34,880 people came to I didn't get an Angel. 491 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:36,920 Can I get an Angel? I was like, bro, I don't want to 492 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:38,480 tell you move quicker. Everybody here is super 493 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:39,840 generous. Like you got to you want an 494 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:42,800 Angel, get 1. And so the point is, is that 495 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,160 that you when you when you put together those gifts and you 496 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:51,120 delivered those gifts, you were bringing some light into some 497 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:52,480 darkness. Do you see how that works? 498 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,400 It was like a pin of light into some darkness. 499 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,480 Every child that will open one of your gifts from that Angel 500 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:03,600 tree will experience the light of Christ that now here's here's 501 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:05,280 nothing. Please hear me. 502 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:06,720 I don't have enough. I don't have enough time to 503 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:11,080 completely unpack this. But if you believe that you did 504 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,840 that, like you bought gifts for an Angel for the Angel tree 505 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,680 because you're somehow good, then you're missing the gospel. 506 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,680 You need to go back to what Mallory said, start preaching 507 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,440 the gospel more regularly to yourself. 508 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,960 But if you know the only reason I'm prone to be generous, the 509 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,480 only reason I'm prone to not look out for myself is because 510 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:34,720 Jesus Christ surrendered himself for me. 511 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,680 He is the light that is pushing the darkness out of my life. 512 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:41,440 If you know that, then you realize, OK, the only reason I'm 513 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,880 doing anything good for anyone or ever trying to do good deeds 514 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,720 is because life, The light of Christ is inside of me, 515 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:49,760 dispelling the darkness of my heart. 516 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,360 And then I'm dispelling the darkness. 517 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,240 Christ through me is dispelling the darkness of this world. 518 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,840 Christ offers us hope and light today. 519 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,840 And if you're someone who follows Jesus, you can stand up 520 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:06,400 and say, Stephen, I know how much Christ has changed my life. 521 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:08,280 He's dramatically changed things for me. 522 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:10,080 You could stand up and and share that. 523 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:12,880 And this is how he changes things for us. 524 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:20,080 Isaiah 4 lists out four names of this, this baby, this child, and 525 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,320 this is how this baby changes your life. 526 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,160 This is in verse 6. It says that number one, he's a 527 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,440 wonderful counselor. In other words, Jesus knows what 528 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,160 to do when you don't. Anybody ever felt like they 529 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,400 don't know what to do. He knows what to do when you 530 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,120 don't. He understands your suffering 531 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:41,200 because he himself has suffered. He's he, you come to see me. 532 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:44,840 I've counseled many people that were walking through something 533 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,960 I've never walked through. I'm not a wonderful counselor, 534 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,640 capable counselor, but I'm not wonderful. 535 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,240 What makes Christ wonderful is there's nothing you haven't 536 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,920 walked through that He himself has not experienced and 537 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,400 understand. He's a wonderful counselor. 538 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:01,040 He knows what to do when you don't. 539 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,040 He changes your life because He's a wonderful counselor #2 He 540 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,240 changes your life because Jesus is the mighty God. 541 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,120 He has power when you don't. He has the power to sustain you, 542 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,120 to help you through whatever you're facing. 543 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:14,760 You are not saved because you're strong enough. 544 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,920 This is a very anti American I know. 545 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:18,800 You're not saved because you're strong enough. 546 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:20,520 You're not right with God, because you're determined 547 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,560 enough. You are right and saved and 548 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,160 correct with God. Everything's good between you 549 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,920 and God because God himself and his power did it on your behalf. 550 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:32,080 Mighty God #3 Isaiah tells us he's called the everlasting 551 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,000 Father and this is beautiful to me. 552 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:36,600 This baby born is our everlasting Father. 553 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:40,520 You belong to Him, even we even when you feel alone. 554 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:43,360 His care for you does not ever expire. 555 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,640 And the number four, he calls him the Prince of peace. 556 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,960 This is important ready. Write this down if you write 557 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:53,760 stuff down. Jesus does not offer peace to 558 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:57,840 the world. He establishes peace in the 559 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:01,960 world. There's a difference. 560 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:06,800 In other words, Jesus is not a helpless king going, well, I 561 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:08,520 hope we can have peace in this world. 562 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,480 No, he's established that there is and there will be peace. 563 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,280 Peace has been established. Peace is not calm feelings like 564 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,440 everything's OK. Peace is an awareness that 565 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:25,520 wholeness has been restored. So here's the deal. 566 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,440 If Jesus is who Isaiah says he is, he cannot just be your 567 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:34,600 religious mascot. He must either be bowed down to 568 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:38,160 or completely rejected. He doesn't really allow any 569 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:47,400 indifference. And today that's why you need to 570 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:51,480 know that your hope is not dependent upon your effort to 571 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,600 self improve or your effort to be better. 572 00:31:55,480 --> 00:32:02,240 Your hope depends on Jesus Christ, knowing Him, being 573 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,880 connected to Him. Hope does not rise inside of us. 574 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,600 Hope dawns on us. And think about the dawn as we 575 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,960 wrap up today. The literal dawn. 576 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:15,280 When the sun comes up, the dawn does not happen with a lot of 577 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:18,120 fanfare, does it? The sun does not come up and say 578 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,080 I'm here, I want everybody to know I'm here. 579 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:25,880 Slowly but surely, the sun rises and it takes over the land. 580 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,480 And slowly but surely, the darkness is pushed back and the 581 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:35,000 shadows are eradicated. And slowly the sun rises and 582 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,800 more and more the darkness is removed. 583 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,040 The same is true for you and your heart. 584 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,480 And the word that you need to know is the word surrender. 585 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,120 We sang about it today. I'm surrendered to you, 586 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:54,960 abandoned this idea of surrender. 587 00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:00,000 This is how the dawn takes over your heart slowly but surely. 588 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:02,720 You say, Jesus, I'm surrender to you this day. 589 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:04,920 So you wake up tomorrow morning and you say, Jesus, I'm 590 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:08,600 surrender to you this day. Let the dawn rise in my life. 591 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,200 Whatever difficulty you're facing, a challenging thing 592 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,480 you're walking through, Jesus, I'm surrender to you this day. 593 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,280 Some of you feel like you're fumbling with your phone in your 594 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:18,920 life, right? You're just trying to get your 595 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:22,920 flashlight on to live your life. And what I'm telling you is a 596 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:28,040 little time with Jesus, a little time with Jesus. 597 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:32,960 I mean, just a little. There's like a massive spotlight 598 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:38,480 in your heart begins to push the darkness away and it changes 599 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,640 your life. And there's people you're 600 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,120 surrounded by right now who could testify and tell you that 601 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,680 that just believing in Jesus, just trusting that Jesus is real 602 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:50,560 and listening for his voice has radically changed your life. 603 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:57,720 So let me challenge you. If you've never been a person 604 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:02,640 who prays, let me just challenge you to put an alarm on your 605 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:03,960 phone. You know that thing that's a 606 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:07,720 flashlight. Put an alarm on your phone that 607 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,280 says pray. Pick a time that you're most 608 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:14,199 likely to do it. And then let your prayer be this 609 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:19,159 Jesus, I need your light. I surrender to you. 610 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:24,040 Is that a big fancy religious prayer? 611 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,400 Jesus, I need your light. I'm acknowledging I have dark 612 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:30,120 heart. I need your light. 613 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:32,760 I surrender to you. Super simple, right? 614 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:42,719 Christmas is the story that we are a people walking in 615 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,800 darkness. This is hard who have dark 616 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:50,159 hearts. But God did not leave us in that 617 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:54,800 place. He sent his Son Jesus as the 618 00:34:54,800 --> 00:35:00,600 light of the world to dispel the darkness, to dispel it in our 619 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:06,520 hearts. 1st and ultimately, friend, a new day is coming, or 620 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:09,640 there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and all the 621 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:15,880 darkness of this earth and all the darkness of the world will 622 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:19,760 be dispelled for good. Christmas is that promise. 623 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,080 Will you stand with me? So we pray together. 624 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:33,400 God, thank you that you did not tell us to try harder to get it 625 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:36,320 together to, you know, figure it out. 626 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,720 Thank you that you had said, call us to surrender, to 627 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:48,800 surrender to the King, to surrender to you, to daily 628 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,360 invite you in to be the light of our lives. 629 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,240 Dispel the darkness of our own hearts, the darkness of our 630 00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:57,360 greed, the darkness of our fear, the darkness of our anxiety, the 631 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,840 darkness of our despondency, the darkness of our resentment. 632 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:07,000 And then, Lord, as you do that work inside of us, then we in 633 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,160 turn become a light to this world. 634 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:13,920 As we surrender to you, your light shots through us. 635 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:18,120 What a gift. We cannot generate our own 636 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:20,640 light, we cannot generate our own hope, we cannot generate our 637 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:23,400 own belief in the future You. It is a gift from you. 638 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:29,240 And thank you for the ultimate future, Father, that one day the 639 00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:32,920 darkness of this world will be dispelled completely and death 640 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:35,000 will be no more. Grave shall be conquered, 641 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:44,280 illness, sickness be gone through and we shall be as we 642 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:49,720 were always intended. Thank you for the promise this 643 00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:54,080 Christmas season. The light is dawn on us. 644 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:58,520 Christ name we pray, Amen. Love you friends, have a blessed 645 00:36:58,520 --> 00:36:59,560 week and a wonderful day.