Isaiah 9:1-7

There is no peace in darkness. There is no peace in the shadow. Stumbling around, tripping, falling on our faces is not a peaceful way to live. Tripping, stumbling, falling on our faces is unnerving, it’s frustrating, it’s tiring, and it hurts. Living in the dark strains our eyes, trying to get a glimpse of the light. Living in the shadow makes us wilt, craving the warmth and life of light. Falling and getting up, only to fall down again not only makes us weary, but it hurts. Falling down hurts. A life in the dark, a life in the shadow, is a life that craves peace.

A life in the dark is a life of broken relationships. A husband and a wife, living in the dark, will take words that were meant for good, and reinterpret them as words of attack and animosity. A church living in the dark will view other members with suspicion and scorn. A church in the dark will argue and accuse, using differences to divide. Parents and children will stop talking with each other. Friends and neighbors will spread rumors in this life in shadow and dark.

And life in the shadow, living in the dark is a fear-filled life. Danger is lurking around every corner. Difficulties and dilemmas that have no answers. Insurmountable obstacles as high as mountains keep us from going where we want to go. We want a life of freedom and joy, but memories and regrets stand in the way. We want to serve out of gratitude, in response to grace, but the burdens and demands seem heavy, and we feel inadequate, weak. We want to be fear-free, and absence of anxiety, but there’s too much to think about, too many questions, we’re too likely to mess things up, we’re too likely to fail.

This is life in the shadow. This is life in the dark. This is life without peace. For the past month, we have been finding peace. We found rock solid peace, unmovable peace, peace like Mount Zion, because the Lord surrounds us. We have found peace on the way, the way of wisdom, because the Person of Wisdom, Jesus, has entered our minds and our hearts. We have found peace in repentance, admitting our failures, finding forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And we have found peace, permanent peace, because it’s the Holy Spirit that continually reminds us what Jesus has told us.

We have wanted, we have needed, we have craved that unmovable, unshakeable peace, because we have walked in the darkness, and we don’t like it. We have lived in the shadow, and we want out. Verse 1:

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.

We think of Isaiah 9 as a Christmas text. It’s those words in verse 6, “to us a child is born, to us a son is given” that keeps Isaiah 9 stuck in the middle of winter. But we need the promise of Isaiah 9 year-round, because we need the peace that is promised in this text year round. Because in Isaiah 9, we get a glimpse of the light. Verse 2:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

I don’t know when the sun came up for you. I don’t know when the light came into your eyes. For some of us, it was very early, maybe even earlier than any of us can remember. Maybe we can’t remember a time when we didn’t know the source of light, when we didn’t love Jesus.

But maybe, maybe for some of us, life is still dark. We’re stumbling in the shadow. We find that we are angry much of time, we carry a heavy burden that seems so holy, but is really quite horrible. Now, I’m not saying that we who are angry or burdened or fearful or regretful most of the time, I’m not saying that we’re not saved. I’m just saying that a fearful, angry, burdened life is not a life in the light. This life of regrets is not a life of peace.

Living in the light is free and joyful and exciting. Verse 3:

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy… you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

If we live in the light, our boundaries are expanding. Life is the light is not a tight, narrow, constricted life. If we live in the light, we find God enlarging our world. He is continually entering new parts of our lives, bringing wonder and joy to areas that used to be dark. Not long ago, maybe, work was work. You showed up, put in the time, took home the paycheck. But now you’re finding that God is giving you meaning in your work. You’re understanding more deeply how what you do for a living is really done as service to God. Your job is filling with joy. The same thing happens in life at church. What used to be a weekly requirement, come and do your time, mouth the words of the songs, sit through the sermon, and finally escape. But lately, you’ve been finding yourself finding Jesus in the worship service. And it’s not about which songs we sing, and it’s not about the preacher preaching. It’s about your Lord, your Savior, your Jesus.

In jobs, in church, in marriage, in parenting, in recreation, in rest, in life, you are finding peace. Your life is coming to light. The darkness is being pushed out. The shadow is slipping away. You are finding peace. What has been happening? What made the change? What made the change? How can we walk in light and joy and peace? Verse 6:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And He will bring peace. Into a dark, pain-filled, broken world, a light has shone. The light came into the darkness when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And the light came into your darkness when you first knew Jesus. With His birth came our birth, our rebirth, we were born again. Out of darkness, we were born into light, through the light of the world. Out of confusion, we were born into wisdom, through our Wonderful counselor. Out of weakness we were born into strength, through our Mighty God. Out of loneliness and separation, we were born into eternal family, into never-ending intimacy with our Everlasting Father. Out of fear and guilt and shame and judgment, we were born into freedom and forgiveness, hope and holiness, peace, through the Prince of Peace.

Life before the light, living in the darkness, life without peace was unbearable, but then Jesus was born, born into our lives. Have you seen a difference? Has there been a change? Are you becoming more aware of His wisdom in your life? Confusion doesn’t knock you around so much anymore. Somehow, you either have a sense of direction that you didn’t have before, or just a sense of peace that things will be okay, no matter what happens. Confusions and questions and uncertainty don’t rule your days, because your Wonderful Counselor is leading you. You don’t feel as weak anymore. You don’t feel frail. Instead, there is a strength of spirit, a strength of mind, a strength that is given to you by your Mighty God, a peace given by your Prince of peace. Are you seeing the changes? Are you finding the peace? Is your peace becoming more and more unshakeable, more and more unmovable?

If not, it’s time to check in. First, the most important question that anyone can ever ask you: Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? Have you given your life to Him? Maybe you know that Jesus died and that He came back to life. You heard about that somewhere, sometime. Maybe you’ve heard this all your life. But do you know that He died for you? Do you know that He died instead of you? And do you know that He rose again, WITH you? Do you know that He raised you, when He was raised? As we begin a new time of ministry, there are always things that I wish we could do more of together. More ministry in our community, more ministry within our church. That’s okay. But as we leave, if there is someone who has heard about Jesus, but doesn’t know Jesus, and still doesn’t know Jesus as we go, this is what sets heavy on my mind. So if you don’t know Him, as your Savior, as your Lord, as your Friend, as your Brother, let’s talk. Before the fellowship dinner this noon, let’s talk.

And if you do know Jesus, if you know He died for you and raised you, but you’re still feeling weak and confused, there is no peace, then the question we have to ask ourselves is, are we spending enough time with Him? Is our life too filled with us, ourselves. Our jobs are on our mind, our families fill our thoughts. Our recreation and play, even our church takes us so much of our lives that we don’t time to spend with the Prince of Peace. Is it a huge surprise that we don’t have peace in our lives, when we don’t spend time with the Prince of Peace?

Draw apart, let the other stuff go, go alone with the Prince of Peace, and the strength and the wisdom and the assurance, the peace will start to grow. And, verse 7:

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.

There is more wisdom, there is more strength, there is more peace available, right now, more than what we are experiencing. In whatever situation we find ourselves, Jesus will take more control. For us parents, who aren’t always sure how to handle every situation, how to handle temper tantrums, how to support our teenager, how to let go of our adult children, our Prince of Peace, more and more, takes control of our thoughts and actions, causing us to parent more peacefully. As the council begins a new season, as Pete and Matt and Conley begin their terms as elder and deacons, as our church begins a new season, Jesus, more and more, leads and guides our leaders, leads and guides our church, increasing His ministry, increasing His kingdom in this community. As our family makes changes, as our church enters a new time, we’re all curious about the future, we’re sad as God moves us apart, but we all know, each one of us, that Jesus’ headship of this church and government over our lives is only increasing. And that only means more peace. Verse 7:

He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

From that time on, and forever. Already now, without end. From His birth and death and resurrection, and forever. He reigns on the throne and over His kingdom. He reigns over our families, He reigns over our children, He reigns over our work, He reigns over our church, He reigns over our community, He reigns over our nation, He reigns over our world, upholding it with justice and righteousness, now and for forever.

And the more we know this, the more peace we’ll find. The quicker we remember that the Prince of Peace is reigning, the more peace will fill our lives. We will know this Prince of Peace, and so we will experience more peace, when we spend more time with Him. Spend some time in the light. Spend some time with Jesus. You know, if we spend too much time in-doors, if we live to much in shadows and darkness, our skin begins to look pale and pasty. Our attitudes grow dark. Our hope grows dim.

But time with Jesus brightens the day. Stepping out of the darkness into moments and hours with Him puts a sparkle in our lives. If you don’t spend time with Jesus, it’s time to start. Pick a time, any time, and make that His time. When you first wake up, at coffee time, during a break at work, start right now to make that light time, time in the light. If you already spend time with Jesus, then pick another time. If you spend time with Him in the morning, then start to spend some time with Him in the evening, or vice versa. If the whole afternoon usually goes by without much thought for Him, the day can grow dark. Right now, set aside 2:30 as His time.

And the wisdom of our Wonderful Counselor will begin to grow. And the strength of our Mighty God will swell. And the assurance of our Everlasting Father will surround you. And the reign of the Prince of Peace will become more real. Light will drive away the shadows. Brilliance will chase away the dark. You will find peace, increasing peace, peace beyond understanding. Peace will fill your life. Verse 7:

The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.