In his sermon 'People Who Have Walked in Darkness,' Scott Brown explores Isaiah 9:1-7, emphasizing the theme of light overcoming darkness. The sermon discusses the historical and spiritual context of the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, areas marked by distress and oppression, which were later honored as the places where Jesus began His ministry. Brown highlights how the prophetic message in Isaiah speaks of a coming light, embodied in Jesus Christ, who brings joy and salvation to those in darkness. The sermon outlines various functions of light, such as exposing evil deeds, providing healing, and bringing joy, using them as metaphors for Christ's transformative power in believers' lives. The message calls for trust in God rather than in worldly powers and alliances, urging believers to rejoice in the gospel's power and the salvation it brings, as promised in the prophecies of the Messiah.

Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 through 7 will be our text for this morning. Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy.

They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest. As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For you have broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. Let's pray. Lord your word points us to the light. Lord it divides as a sword.

Lord it is a bomb to our wounds. Lord we pray that the light would be revealed to each and every heart here. Lord that that your people will rejoice in your goodness towards them this morning. Lord may we may we rejoice together in the salvation that you afford to each of us. We pray this in your son's name.

Amen. Well it really is a joy to bring Isaiah 9 1 through 7 here this morning. We're going to focus this morning on verses 1 through 5. I will breeze over verses 6 and 7 this morning, but our concentration will be on 1 through 5. And then next Sunday, we'll come back and focus hard on verses 6 and 7.

But it really is a helpful place to be here, you know, in the midst of the Christmas season and to recognize the power of the Gospel in a person's life and really for us to consider as a church the impact of the light of Jesus Christ. In chapter eight, where we were last week, there were contrasts. There were the people of God who were like signs and wonders, children in the world who were shining lights of goodness in the world. At the same time, darkness, the people that were in deep darkness and anguish, and The language at the end of chapter 8 about this life in darkness is so devastating in verse 21. They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry and it shall happen that when they are hungry they will be enraged and curse their king and their god and look upward.

Then they will look to the earth and see trouble and darkness gloom of anguish and they will be driven into darkness." That's the picture in chapter 8. Signs and wonders in people in whom light has dawned, and yet anguish for those who still live in the darkness. But this passage here is about the gloom being taken away. The people who walk in darkness see a great light. And those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shined on them.

And why? Because of the zeal of the Lord, because God desires to rescue sinners. He causes light to shine because of His own zeal to rescue people. Think of that for a minute for us here, how He rescued you. Think of His zeal that He brought about in order to rescue you.

Think of the many things that He brought to you, the many passages of Scripture, the many people, events that took place in your life, how God and his zeal continued to work toward you and to make his light shine in you. John says that in him was life And the life was the light of men. So his life in us becomes light to us. And the light has much meaning. That is really going to be our focus today.

And I want it to be a number of things for us as a church. First of all, just a celebration of joy in the light. What the light has done when it came, and as we speak of it, we'll realize that the light maybe has done more than we thought it would do. You know, when you first became a Christian, you didn't realize there was so much darkness in you. And as years passed, the Lord would shine His light, and He showed you many unflattering things about you, things that you didn't even know when you were first converted, because the light has the way of continuing to shine in the heart of the human soul.

Now this passage of scripture exists in a context. It's in the context of the children of Judah and the children of Israel to the north in war. And the southern kingdom is at war with the northern kingdom and vice versa. And the children of Judah had put their hope in a political alliance with Assyria, with Tiglath-Peleser. And of course, the northern kingdom had put their hope in an alliance with Syria, with some other kings as well.

And Isaiah has been saying to them, stop trusting in kings, stop trusting in men. Trust only in me. Hallow me. Don't hallow all those threats. Don't hallow all the threats of those alliances and things going on.

Make me your holiness. Make me everything that you trust in and nothing else in the world. And that's where we've been. Now this passage here in chapter 9, 1-7 is one of the three great messianic prophecies that exist in this first part of Isaiah that goes from chapters 1-12. There was the prophecy of Immanuel in chapter 7, verse 14, and now there's another prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ in 9, 6 through 7.

And then when we get to chapter 11, we'll get to another, one of these wonderful messianic passages of Scripture. There are at least 48 distinctive prophecies of the Lord Jesus Christ delivered hundreds of years before Him. Here's one thing that we learn about the prophecies that I think are helpful for us to consider, and it's this. God gives you warning. God tells you what's going to happen before it happens.

And this prophecy here of the coming Messiah is no different. That He tells us about the future. Now we might not be able to determine every single year as the future unfolds. But we know that God is going to do particular things in history. And he prophesies the coming of the Messiah in these great passages.

But recognize now that we live in the days of the Messiah and the days of the new covenant, there's another thing that he's promised, and that is His second coming and final judgment. He has promised the world that He will do these things. God is so kind to unveil the future for us so that we don't need to live in darkness about the future. But this prophecy of the Messiah is of no lesser certainty than the prophecy of the coming judgment. And we've seen here how, You know, hundreds of years before the Messiah came, that He was prophesied to come.

And this prophecy, of course, is connected to chapter 8, which is a picture of all of this distress that has come upon the people. And as we come to Isaiah 9, we come again to another declaration of the gospel. And to me it's such a testimony of why The apostle Paul said, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God unto salvation. And what we see here in chapter 9, 1 through 7, is the power of God unto salvation. The beauty of the gospel, the various contours of the gospel, how God takes disobedient people and He has patience with them and He saves them.

How He takes the people for whom He says, The whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint. There's no soundness in them. People who are so hard that all of the calamities and judgments that have come to them have not even turned them around. And he says, why should I strike you again? You'll revolt more and more.

How God takes the people and He continues in patience with them even throughout the centuries so that He would save them and how God in He comes to people in the midst of their darkness, their ignorance and their anguish of sin. It's really a picture of the mercy of God. So it's such a blessing to be here. One thing I'd like to just mention about this before we jump into verse 1. You'll notice the past tenses.

And while it is written in the past tense, the events have not taken place. It's called the, this is language of scripture, it's called the prophetic perfect. Things spoken of as if they have already happened. So what Isaiah is doing is he speaks of the future. And Isaiah is transporting himself into the future and he's looking back.

So he is in his own day looking forward but in the perspective of actually being in the future and then looking back as to what has happened with the Messiah. So that's the prophetic language that we see here and there are a number of places in scripture that this takes place. But the focus here this morning is how the light shines in the darkness. That's his message. So verse one, we find here that there are a number of things that the Lord Jesus Christ has done.

And as you can see in your outline, I've got it divided into what has happened to those in darkness. That will be the focus of our time, particularly verses 1 through 3, and then how it happened that those who were in darkness had been delivered by the light by the Lord Jesus Christ. So the first thing that we see that Christ has accomplished is that he has ended gloom. Verse 1, Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles." So this verse begins with a word, a really important word in the text, the word nevertheless. And so it looks back, nevertheless, it looks back and I hope, you know, as we're together in this passage that somehow we could have, you know, kind of a nevertheless perspective, looking back, looking back at what has been, looking back at the darkness, looking back at the anguish, looking back at the confusion and the emptiness that happens to the soul, the fears, the wonderings that happen to the human soul when the light of the Lord Jesus Christ does not shine there.

But to look back and to consider how great this light is. And we see here that what was going on was gloom. There were troubles on the people of God. They were lost. They were distressed.

And their gloom is going to be revealed. I mean, the gloom is going to be relieved, not revealed. And he speaks of how this gloom was being experienced. He says, she will be distressed. This is the invasion of Assyria and all the darkness and gloom that took place there.

And where would it happen? It would happen in Zebulun and Naphtali. These would be the locations of the deepest darkness that God would bring upon that land. And it says here that she may be lightly esteemed, insignificant, dishonored, despised. This is what had happened to the people.

And that she may be afterward more heavily oppressed. So there are these two conditions being lightly esteemed and then afterward more heavily oppressed. And there are these two afflictions, one lighter than the other. And People who read their Bibles often wonder exactly what these are. I'll present a possibility.

But really, whether it's exactly these or not, the truth is we know that there is this distress. These two afflictions had to do with what the Assyrians had done to this region. The first was light affliction compared to what had come later. And I think you see this in 2 Kings chapter 15 in 734 BC, this time when at first he lightly esteemed her. In 2 Kings 15, 29, in those days, Pekah, king of Israel, and Tiglath-Pelis, the king of Assyria, came to look upon, and he mentions these different kings, and they struck and killed the king so that he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham, the son of Uzziah.

And then the second harsher judgment in 722 BC, which really was the complete subjugation of Israel by Assyria in 2 Kings 17, where Solomon Eser, king of Assyria, came up against him. This is in verse 3. And Hosea became his vassal and paid him tribute money. And then in verse 5, how the king of Assyria went throughout the land and went up and besieged it for three years. And how they were afflicted and plundered.

And verse 20 says they were cast off from his sight. And then something very interesting happened that is referred to in other places. In verse 23 in 2 Kings 17 it says this, until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight and had said by all his servants, the prophets, so Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria as it is this day. So it's a picture of the people being carried away. But it wasn't that they were only carried away, because something else happened.

And then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthath, Ava, Hamath, and from Sephar-varim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in the cities. So this was a harsh judgment where the people were actually deported out of the land, but then pagans were populated into the land. This is what Sennacherib did in 722. He sent foreigners and pagans into the land to paganize it.

And that has tremendous significance because this is what happened to Zebulon and Naphtali. Not only were they devastated physically, but they were also defiled morally by the pagans that moved into the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. And that's why it's so significant that when you open up to Matthew chapter four, this is mentioned, I'd like you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter four, because this notation of zebulun and naphtali is important for us to understand that this is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when you get to Matthew chapter 4 and let your eyes fall on verse 13, what you find is that John the Baptist has been arrested, And we're now at the very beginning of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's been tempted by the devil.

And this is the opening of His public ministry. And what does He do? He goes to Zebulun and Naphtali. He goes to the most defiled and dishonored places. And he says that he does it for one reason, that the words of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled.

And so we read this, and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, light has dawned. From that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." So he comes into this dark place that had been really filled up with the ways of the Gentiles In the same way that Isaiah said to his people, you're filled with Eastern ways. So the same thing had happened to Zebulun and Naphtali. They had become paganized in the same way that nations of the world become paganized when wrong ideas take hold in their societies. We're a society like that now, where pagan ways are taking root in almost every sector of society.

I don't believe we're that much different compared to Zebulon and Naphtali, where the ways of the Gentiles have overtaken us. And where is the hope? There is really only one hope, and that is the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And here he says that the light shines. Now when the light shines, what does that mean?

Well it means that somebody stands up and says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Light has to do with the exposure of sin and the response of the heart to repent and to turn from the sin. So that's why when the Lord Jesus went into Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, it says the light shined there. But What does it mean when light shines? And this is what we as a church really need to understand.

That when the light shines, there's a voice that says, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. You know, there are so many marvelous qualities of light. We'll get to that later. But the most marvelous quality of light is that it exposes sin and it causes a voice to be heard, to repent for the kingdom of heaven is hand. And then right after that, Jesus in verse 23 in Matthew 4, he went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, because their synagogues had also been filled with Eastern ways.

And then he was preaching the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them. Great multitudes followed him from Galilee and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan." And so It's a picture of the relief of the people. Not only are their hearts being healed, not only is light coming to relieve them of the troubles that came from the darkness in their hearts, but even their bodies are being refreshed by the Lord Jesus Christ. You know Jesus healed so many people it's a picture of what he will finally do to your body when he finally delivers you.

You know it wasn't just very long ago I was at the funeral of Bill Henderson. And there was a prayer that he prayed in the hospital just before he died that I was listening to this morning. And his knowledge that His body was just getting ready to be made new in His prayer. It's the most beautiful prayer. And it's this picture of God healing not just the body, but also the soul.

It's complete healing. There's healing in His wings. And this is what the light of the Lord Jesus Christ does. It comes and reveals sin, and then it heals. It's like Isaiah, when he says, I'm a man of unclean lips, and then Nicole touches his lips and says, be healed.

You're healed. And so that's what this whole thing of Galilee, of the Gentiles, is all about. And so with this influx of Gentiles, the land has been really defiled, or the people of the land had been defiled. And we know exactly where all those Gentiles came from. They came in 722 when Shalom and Yisur came against the people of Judah and Israel and deported them and only sent pagans into the land.

So it seems like there were only 10% of the people in the land were the people of God. You know, that's why Galilee was known for its rough culture. You know, Matthew Henry says, they were not a refined and exalted people. They were looked on with contempt as rude and boorish, stout men, fit for soldiers, but not polite men or fit for scholars. So they were a profane, rough people.

They were rough because they'd been roughened by the ways of the Gentiles. There is no love in them. They did not have the kindnesses of the kingdom of heaven in them. They didn't have the discretion that God brings to His people that makes them well again. They had a rough culture.

But what's remarkable to me about this is that it's here in Galilee that Jesus chooses to launch His ministry. He takes the most despised place in the land of the people of God. He takes the rudest people that there are. He takes the most unrefined. He takes the ones who have been more paganized than the rest.

And he chooses those people to launch his ministry. I think there's a lot we can learn from that. And this is the kindness of God. You know, Nathaniel said, Can anything good come from Nazareth? You know, later on there was a great man who was snarkingly asked this question, are you from Galilee too?

Because there's really nothing good from there at all. And this is where the light dawns, in the place where the darkness had broken, the darkest. And there's so much I think we can say about that, but one thing I think we should say is that God comes to the most broken people and He binds them up and He receives us as lightly esteemed and He gives us a new name and a new heart and He puts a crown upon our head. This is salvation. And the Lord Jesus Christ has designed that He would launch His ministry in the darkest place.

And with all of you refined and kind, nice people here today, well dressed, and really with so much as having changed, remember that God only saves those who are in darkness. And what a blessing it is to reflect. This is why the word nevertheless is so important. Nevertheless, Think about that for a minute for yourself. Nevertheless, remember back.

Remember what it was like to have no light in you at all. Nevertheless, nevertheless, there'll be no more gloom for those who are in such darkness. He did not come to call the righteous, but the sinners. And so right here in the very first verse, in the very first word, in the word nevertheless, in the locations that are mentioned, there's so much hope for the helpless of this world, and help for the hopeless as well. That Christ has come to save sinners, as Paul said, of whom I am chief.

The Apostle Paul, the murderer of the people of the Church, of the Lord Jesus Christ, says no, Christ came to save sinners. It's so wonderful to know that there's no sin greater than the grace of God, that the light of the gospel, when it breaks upon your heart, can overcome all darkness in your life. Nevertheless, nevertheless, remember that. That's you, that's me. I remember the darkness.

I remember the darkness. I remember the darkness. The last verse in our text that we'll really explain next week is this all happens because of the zeal of the Lord. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. It's His zeal to deliver you from gloom, from the gloom that has come upon you.

So the first thing that He has done is that He has ended gloom. That's the first thing. This is what light does. And then secondly, the second thing that Christ accomplishes is He takes you from darkness to light. That's verse 2.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. So here we see the zeal of the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue from darkness. His zeal to do that and how he brings so many things to bear to deal with your darkness. Now he speaks of people who are walking. To walk means to live out your life.

It's really a metaphor of your whole life. That every part of your life somehow has had this darkness. And the Lord Jesus Christ comes into the darkness, which is why really light is summarized by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is light. In Hebrews chapter 1, we learn that He is the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.

That He is light. He is the embodiment of light. So when Jesus Christ enters your heart, then it's light that has entered your heart Because He is the light. Remember, the life of Christ is the light of men. That's the connection.

But He is light. Now, I want to talk about this whole matter of light. And I want to ask about the different ways that light saves from darkness. Because there are many functions of light. I'm going to give you nine functions of light.

There are many more. I'm just going to stop at nine, you know, since I keep the list really short for everybody. So the first function of light is life, life and light. And we opened our service with reading John 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him. And without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, his name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him.

He came into his own and his own did not receive him." So the first thing that we learn about light is that light is Christ. Light is Christ. The Bible says that Christ is in you, the hope of glory. And when Christ is in you, then His light is in you. And This is the greatest asset that we will ever have.

Christ and His light in us. That He dwells in His light in the human soul. Imagine that for a minute. Think of the darkness that is in your mind and in your life, and yet the light of Jesus Christ is there, continuing to shine ever brighter as time goes on. That's progressive sanctification.

He comes and he lights up a little part here, and He shows you the poison there, and you see it, and you repent. And the poison dissipates. And then later on, He shows you something else. He shows you another wound in your life. And he shines his light on it.

He says, do you see that? Do you see that darkness? And then you confess your sin. And his light, His light overtakes it because the darkness does not comprehend it. The darkness does not overwhelm it.

And then he shows you, he shows you something else. He shows you your bitterness or your independence or your rage or your rebellion or your immorality. And he shows you these things Because His life is light in you. And as healing of the body always takes place slowly, it doesn't happen overnight, does it? Unless the Lord Jesus Christ comes and heals you instantaneously as He sometimes does.

But healing normally takes time, right? Takes time. And that's who the people of God are. They are in a time of healing, in a healing process. That's why we should always be patient with one another in the Church, because there's time in the healing.

I hope that as a Church that we're a patient people. And on the one hand, we do recognize that sin must have light shined upon it, at the same time that we also recognize that we are a healing people, and that we have mercy on one another in the process of our healing. You know, you can look across this room, and you can look at your brothers and sisters, and you can see some of the unhealed wounds that are there. You can see them. I know you've seen them in me.

You've seen some of my darkness, and I've seen some of yours. But how important it is to recognize that Jesus Christ is alive in the soul, and He is light. So the first thing about light is that light is Jesus Christ. The second way that he saves from darkness is he exposes evil deeds. The light exposes evil deeds.

You know, I've been reading a book to my family this Christmas season. It's a book on the incarnation that Joel Beeke and another author has written called Why Christ Came. And there's a chapter in there about the light. And I'm just going to read you a sentence, two sentences that are in this book. Bright light is a mixed blessing.

While it frees us from the oppression of darkness, it also reveals the ugly flaws and imperfections that previously lay hidden in the shadows. As the light of the world, Christ reveals the rottenness of sin. And so the goodness of the light is also something that can be very hard for us. It reveals the unflattering parts of our lives. There are so many unflattering things about us.

We like to flatter ourselves. One thing that I found is I flatter. I think I have more flattery toward myself than other people do toward me in their own hearts. I think better of myself, I think, is what I'm trying to say. But light sort of contradicts the self-flattery, because it shows us who we really are.

Now think of how unflattering it might have been to walk with Jesus. I mean, you think maybe sometimes, oh, if only I could have walked with Jesus. Wouldn't that have been wonderful? Well, wonderful pretty much, except for this one thing. He was perfect.

You're walking with a perfect man. You know, when you walk with a perfect man, what does that mean for you? Even if you walk with someone who's just a little bit better than you in a certain area, it's unflattering. But think about walking with someone who's perfect. You know, it's nice enough to be able to walk with other imperfect people.

That might be a little bit better than us in a certain way. But think about walking with someone who never sinned. Someone who never spoke a wrong word. Someone who never had a wrong thought. How many wrong thoughts do you verbalize in the course of a day?

He never verbalized one thought that was wrong, and you are with him. You're stuck with him. He chose you. You're one of his 12 disciples and you have to walk with him. Think of how unflattering that was.

And of course the Lord Jesus was unflattering from time to time to his disciples, you know, verbally that we have recorded in scripture. But he was perfect. And so the light exposes evil deeds. It's one thing to adore the light. It's another thing though to recognize what that means.

And that means that we have to be people of the light. And that there is exposure of sin. You know, one of the greatest dangers to a church is when it desires to hide sin. Because Jesus Christ wants to reveal sin, so that His healing can come upon those who are enlightened. And you know, it's a great danger to a church when people are afraid to reveal sin, even in elders.

1 Timothy 5.20 says that if an elder has been verified to have been caught in a sin by two or three witnesses, that that elder should be rebuked in the presence of all. And it's really hard to do that, because nobody wants to do so much harm, especially for someone who might have a position of authority or might be beloved. But God says, no, no, it's better, it's better to rebuke. It's better not to hide it. There are ways that we cover over one another's sins, and we must do that.

We're not here to expose every single sin and every person's life here. That's not really what is being spoken of here. But light exposes evil deeds. In that sense, it is true that light is a mixed blessing. Because not only does it show us the poisons and relieve it, but it also brings us to that unflattering place of having to realize who we really are.

So the second thing is that light exposes. The third thing is that the light condemns the world. The light condemns the world. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night in John chapter 3, and Jesus explains that His light was actually powerful and that it condemns the world. He says in verse 20 in John chapter 3, for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

But he who does the truth comes to the light, and that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." And so, Light has to do with the condemning of sin, and also light shows you that truth has come when you respond to it properly. The fourth thing that light does is it shows you what you love. In John chapter 3 verse 19 he says, and this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light, but does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light." It shows you that you love the truth.

If you love the light, it means that you love the truth. And it shows why people do not turn to the light often, because the devil has blinded the eyes of those who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should shine on them. The light is also for healing in Malachi 4, 2. But to you who fear My name, the Son of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves." Light is for healing, because as the Son of righteousness dawns upon your soul, then there's healing. There's healing in that light.

Another way that light saves you from darkness is it's relief from fear. That's what David meant when he said in Psalm 27, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? It's His light that rescues you from fear. If you're fearful, then you have to ask yourself this question, am I filling my soul with light?

Because when your soul is filled with light, it has an effect on your fear. Are you a fearful person? Then maybe you've not let so much light in your soul to drive out the fear. Light is also strength to keep from stumbling. In John chapter 11, Jesus said, Are there not twelve hours in the day?

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. Light makes you strong so that you don't stumble. Another way that light saves from darkness is found in Isaiah chapter 60, verses 18 through 22. Because light that you see in your soul today is foretaste of eternal light.

We read in Isaiah 60, violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders, but you shall call your walls salvation and your gates praise. The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you, but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light. And your God, your glory, Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself. For the Lord will be your everlasting light, and all the days of your morning shall be ended, and your people shall be righteous, and they shall inherit the land forever." This is a picture of heaven where the light of the Lord is your light. It's not a physical light anymore.

It's something of great brightness that's heavenly. And then finally, how does the light say from darkness? Well, the light comes upon you. It does not arise from you. Isaiah 60 says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you and His glory will be seen upon you. Light comes upon you because God determines to make it break upon you. He brings the light. He brings His Son. He calls you by name.

And the light comes upon you. It does not arise within you because you're dead and your trespasses and sins. It doesn't arise within you because of the darkness that exists before the Lord Jesus Christ comes in. So light comes upon you. In your outline, the third thing, not only is it the end of gloom, not only do you go from darkness to light, but you go from the shadow of death to light.

Verse 2. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has dawned. This has to do with dwelling, dwelling in the shadow of death, inhabiting or remaining or staying. It's language that has to do with the state of being, the state of being in darkness, where the light of Jesus Christ has not come. And what he's speaking of here is that there's this medium of darkness that people live within.

And this is why we must open our mouths to share the light of the gospel, because people are living in the realm of darkness. They're dwelling there. You know, it's like being surrounded by darkness and light is their only hope. And then The fourth thing that Christ accomplished is joy. Verse 3.

You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoils." So not only is there an end of gloom, not only is their darkness replaced with light, not only is the shadow of death actually existing in darkness is replaced with light, but also joy is increased. This is the power of the gospel. You have multiplied the nation. So there are several aspects of this joy.

There are four of them I'm just going to outline. The first is multiplication. You have multiplied the nation. This focuses on the inclusion of the Gentiles, how the church is multiplied, how the gospel spreads throughout the ends of the earth. So this is really a prophecy of the expansion of the church.

You have multiplied the nation. This is a prophecy of the days of Jesus Christ, where God pours His Spirit out upon all flesh, and the gospel spreads throughout the whole earth. It's multiplication. The Kingdom of Heaven is expanding. It's like leaven.

It's like a mustard seed. And it continues to expand. You may not be able to see how it's expanding. And we are so often like the prophet who says, Lord, I'm the only one alone. And he says, no, there are 7, 000 who haven't bowed their knee to Baal.

But the Bible makes it very clear that the kingdom of heaven is expanding. And this is the multiplication that's taking place. The second aspect of this joy is in an increase of joy. It says, and increased its joy. This is the people.

The people of God are rejoicing. They're rejoicing before God. They have joy in their hearts and they rejoice before Him. They rejoice before Him when they arise in the morning. They rejoice before Him in the midday and in the night.

They rejoice before God in the gatherings of the church. They come and they rejoice in Him. It's the purpose of our gathering together, is to drink in the joy of the Lord. In fact, the celebration of the love feast, of the meal of the Lord Jesus Christ, is the cup of blessing. And because we're rejoicing as we gather together, but there's this joy increasing.

And then the third aspect has to do with reaping of abundance. There's this language of the harvest. It says, according to the joy of harvest, when you start bringing in the abundance, the life in Jesus is bringing in abundance. There's more. There's always more to come in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus says that He's the one that brings the best wine out last. There's always more. It's always better. You know, I've really found that to be true. The older I get, the better it gets.

And I look back and the things that I thought were just so glorious in my earlier days as a Christian are nothing compared to now. Because God increases the joy of His people. He makes the days sweeter still. It's like the joy of harvest. And then the fourth aspect of this is really in the realm of the multiplication of wealth.

And I want to suggest it's the spiritual wealth. As men rejoice when they divide, the spoil. The spoil, the spoil of the grace of God, the riches of His grace. Ephesians in the first three chapters speak of the riches of His grace. And He's speaking of this dividing of the spoil, as the people of God, as they gather together and they divide the spoil, the wealth of the Kingdom of Heaven.

They love it. They glory in it. This is all about the multiplication of joy. It means that the people of God should be marked by this one thing, joy. How do people know us?

Is it because of the joy that sprung from the love of God in our hearts? You know, that's what churches should be known for, for their happiness and their king, because they have such a happy shepherd. They follow Him and they become like that shepherd. You know, Hebrews 1, 9 says that Jesus Christ was full of the oil of gladness above all His companions. He was the happiest one in the room because, because he loved righteousness and Because he hated lawlessness and when you have a church that's like that When they love righteousness and they hate lawlessness you end up with a happy church I so pray that we're a happy church, that our times together, particularly even on Sundays we gather, they're times of happiness.

That anyone who could come among us to say, these people are rejoicing, they're feasting, They're loving one another. They rejoice in the Lord, and they rejoice in one another because of their wealth. They're like dividing the spoil. You know, what's so amazing is that even in the harshest times, the church can be happy. If you go to Acts chapter 8 and you read the story of the martyrdom of Stephen, how he was stoned, and the Apostle Paul was there watching the close.

And they were scattered everywhere. The church was right after that. And they were a harried people. They were being chased around. But they were preaching the word of God.

And we read there in Acts chapter 8 that Philip went down to Samaria and he preached Christ to them, and multitudes came to the Lord and they were crying out to God. And then in Acts 8 verse 8 we read, And there was great joy in that city. Well how could that be? Their leaders are being murdered. They were being dishonored in the community.

They were being hounded. They were being rounded up. And yet, there was great joy in that city. Well, why in the city? I just want to suggest this because the people of God were happy in that city.

And it had an effect on the city. The effect of joy in the city. We just might think of that in terms of our own church. What effect could we have on the city? To be a people full of light, full of joy, the joy of the Lord, and to make a city a happier city than it was when we showed up.

Did you ever think perhaps that might be one of the reasons that God brought you here? Was to make this a happy city, a city of joy, where the joyful people who've heard the joyful sound and they walk in the light of the Lord, as the psalmist says, and they glory in His light, and they are the happiest people in town. And yet so often, you know, Christians are not known for their happiness. They're known for their sourness and their meanness, you know. And yet here, it's very, very different.

You remember what happened to the shepherds when they were watching over their flocks by night. And the angel of the Lord came, and the King James says, they were sore afraid. They were just extremely terrified by that. And the angel said, I bring you good tidings of great joy. Why?

Remember why? Well, it's for all the people. The joy was for the people. So that there would be a happy people in the world. Did you ever think that one of your functions in the world was to spread the happiness of the kingdom of heaven?

Maybe to be the happiest person in your company? Maybe to be the happiest person in the store that you're walking through, the happiest person wherever it might be. This is the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven come down. This is the light of the Gospel. When you ask, what's light all about, really?

What is it? Well, it is about the exposure of sin, but what happens when sin is exposed? There's repentance, there's refreshment, there's truth, there's reality, there's freedom, there's a recognition that He's set your sins as far as the East is from the West. And you can hold your head up. You really can.

Yes, you do have sin, but you have a Savior whose grace is really greater than all of your sin. And so the shepherds are experiencing this great joy. But it didn't just stop there. There was joy in a baby in a mother's womb, where John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother's womb. Why?

There's something about the Messiah. There's something about light that can even make a baby happy in the womb. You know, there's several babies in mother's wombs here in this room right now. Isn't that amazing? And think about that for a minute.

How there can be joy in the womb, in the heart of a baby, when Jesus Christ and His knowledge is somehow present. Hey, pretty nice, huh? The joy of a baby. The joy of a baby from the joy of the people outside of that womb who walk in the light. You know, when you walk in darkness, do you think You diminish the joy of a baby?

I don't know. It's possible. But I do know this. Where there's the light of the Lord, there's joy. And when the light of the world came in to the world, It caused a baby to leap with joy in his mother's womb.

Which just shows us the breadth of the intentions of God for His people to be a happy people. Oh, that we'd be a happy people. Are we a happy people? Oh, we've got to ask that question. Let's not go any farther in our life as a church to ask, oh, are we a happy people?

Are we the happiest people in our companies? Are we the happiest people in the places that we go? Are we spreading the joy of Jesus Christ. That's what the light of the world is. The shepherds experiencing joy, the babies experiencing joy.

When you get to the end of the Gospel of John, John says in John 15-11, these things I have spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that my joy may remain, remain, not be dampened, but it would remain in you. And that's why Isaiah says, nevertheless, the gloom will not be on her who is distressed. The people who walked in darkness shall see a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them A light has shined. The zeal of the Lord shall accomplish this." What a wonderful thing.

Well, we've seen what happened. What happened to those who are in darkness? Well, there was the end of the gloom. Well, there was darkness to light. The shadow of death was replaced with light, and their joy increased.

That's what happened. That's what happens with the gospel. What a wonderful gospel. Well, that's why they call it Good News, Right? So after this, beginning in the next verse, in verse 4, there are three successive fours.

I want you to see that. Do you see that? There are four, and then this, four, and then that, four, and then something else. So what we've seen is not just what has happened, but how it happened. It has happened for a particular reason.

So that's what we see here. It happened, All this gloom and being replaced by light has happened for a reason. For in verse 4, for you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder. Well, it happened because a yoke was broken, that's why. The rod of his oppressor, as in the Day of Nidion, for every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and the garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel for fire." So a yoke is broken, the rod on the back that was obtrusive and heavy and difficult to bear.

And so the deliverance of the Messiah is pictured by a ra, a yoke that's broken. You know, Jesus knows the yoke of the world and how hard it is to carry that yoke. It's an abusive, harsh, abrasive yoke of the world. You just try walking in the world for a while, you'll know what it's like. But Jesus says, no, take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And you'll find rest for your souls. Remember, there was no rest by that yoke that they were carrying? But Jesus has such a better yoke. He breaks this yoke here.

And he compares it with the deliverance from the Midianites. And of course, this takes you back to Judges, chapter 6. What was going on in the days of Midian? Well, God calls Gideon a mighty warrior. And he's not really a mighty warrior at all, at least not in his own mind.

He's from the, he's really the least of his family. He was kind of the runt family of Israel. And he starts with an army of 32, 000. And God wants to glorify himself. And so he says, in order for me to properly be glorified, we really can't have so many warriors around.

We need to get rid of some of these warriors so that everyone will know that I am the one who wins the battles. I am the mighty one of Israel. I am the holy one of Israel, this term that appears over and over again in Isaiah. And so Gideon is raised up as a deliverer. And where was he a deliverer?

Do you remember where Gideon was a deliverer? Oh, of Zebulun and Naphtali and Asher. That's where he did his work. Right there where the Lord Jesus Christ began his public ministry. Gideon is a picture of Jesus Christ who goes to the place of defilement And he has impossible odds.

You know, Gideon teaches us that when you think there's no way, there is really a way. The way, the truth, and the life. You know, it's a privilege to be in a church where there's a boy by the name of Gideon, isn't it? Yes, indeed it is. Such an inspiring remembrance of how God uses the little ones and how God is mighty and how he takes an army of 32, 000 and cuts it down to 300 in order to glorify himself.

I hope that this Gideon remembers this all the days of his life. You know, what was happening in the days of Gideon in Midian is that Israel was doing evil on the side of the Lord. So says Judges, chapter 6, verse 1. And things were so bad, the Midianites were actually so bad that the children of Israel were hiding in dens and in caves. They were hiding away, running through the mountains trying to find a place to hide from the Midianites.

And the Midianites would come down and they would destroy their crops. And then they would come down and they would kill their livestock or steal it. And so the children of Israel were impoverished as a result of what the Midianites were doing. And then God raises up this prophet named Gideon to make a deliverance. And the deliverance of Gideon is compared in Judges chapter 6 as the deliverance from Egypt.

So you have all these pictures, really, of the power of God. And In the gospel, particularly, Egypt is really all about deliverance from the bondage of sin, deliverance from that abusive taskmaster who destroys you, who gives you no rest, who puts a big burden on your back. That's sin. Your children really need to understand who the devil really is. He's bad.

He actually stinks. And he will destroy you and your family and everything you've ever done. He absolutely stinks. Children need to know that sin stinks. And that God is so good to evacuate everything that stinks from your house.

Well, the devil is the picture of the abusive taskmaster in Egypt. But the Midianites are the picture of the abusive taskmaster in the days of the judges. And so Gideon is raised up to deliver from the taskmaster. And an angel appears to him and he breaks down his father's idols. Gideon, I love Gideon.

He tears down his father's idols. He does it at night because he knows everybody's going to chase him down. He tears down his father's idol and he high tails it out of town. And then, and then, times are rough. And he's chased down.

And then there's this burst of light in the days of Gideon when the torches were in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands. And they said, the sword of the Lord and to Gideon. And so it's a picture of deliverance. And it happened because of the broken yoke. How does the light break forth?

How is it that people are set free? The yoke is broken. The yoke of sin is broken. That's the whole idea. This is the power of the Gospel in a person's life.

He breaks the power of sin. And new doors are opened up as a result. The unconverted cannot, they do not have any defenses against sin. But God's people do. And sin is destroyed.

And He puts your sin as far as the east is from the west. The yoke is broken. And this picture of the Midianites is an illustration to show you how bad sin is and how helpful it is to have the yoke be broken. The question is, has the yoke been broken in you? Do you have the yoke of Jesus?

That's the most important question. And then a child is born, a Savior. And this really takes us into what we'll be speaking of next week. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. Upon the throne of David over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward and forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Well, we've seen just a few things so far that The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this well We've seen just a few things so far that the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish next week. We'll finish this up But think of Think of the zeal of the Lord to end your gloom, to take you from darkness to light, to take you out of the realm of a shadow of death, and to increase your joy to make you the happiest people in the area. You know, is it possible that you might be the happiest person in your family, the happiest person in your church, the happiest person in your town, because the yoke has been broken.

Only Jesus Christ can break the yoke. Only Jesus Christ can soften your heart to say, Have mercy on me, O Lord, a sinner. Only Jesus Christ can shine the light on your infirmities and heal them. Only Jesus Christ in Him was life. And the life was the light of men.

And that changed everything, didn't it? Would you pray with me? Lord, thank you. Thank you for These marvelous words of life for us that our light in our souls. I pray that you would You would so shine your light upon us that all these things will be fulfilled in us.

Amen