Sermon Notes - Isaiah 9:1-7 - Looking to the Future Hope #1 - Littleby Baptist Church - December 1, 2024

 1.        We are continuing our break from Romans and will pick it up in the new year.

a.        As I was praying about what to do for Christmas I was going through a challenging time at work and have been most of the year, the city stuff was probably the worst it has been in the seven years since I have been serving, and Alexis was having surgery.

b.       I had a fair amount on my plate.

c.        It was a bit of a challenge.

d.       For many 2024 has been a challenge.

e.        For some the last several years has taken its toll.

2.        As we head into Christmas, it is my hope that while we do not want to forget the past.

a.        There is great stuff back there.

b.       We are going to spend the next several weeks looking at some events of the past.

c.        We actually spend every Sunday looking at words written in the past.

d.       We have treasured memories of the past with our loved ones.

e.        We have lessons we have learned that we don’t want to forget.

f.          The past is important.

3.        But as we head into Christmas, we want to Look to the Future Hope that we have.

a.        A hope that is not based on our emotions of the events going on in our lives.

b.       It is not based on whether we had a good week or a bad one.

c.        It is not dependent on if we think we are going to get a promotion or meet the right person.

d.       The future Hope that we are to be looking to is only found in Jesus.

e.        A Hope that was foretold well before He arrived in Bethlehem.

4.        Isaiah 9:1

a.        Here we see a comparison.

b.       The past is a time of gloom and distress.

c.        When God had humbled the land.

d.       The people had not followed God and judgement had come.

e.        Isaiah is being given a prophecy that is pointing to something different in the future.

f.          A time that will not be like the doom and gloom.

g.        A time that will bring honor to the sea and the lands mentioned here.

h.        The specific area listed is where the Messiah will come from.

5.        When this prophecy would have been given, the people would have been living that gloom and distress.

a.        Their emotions would have been tied to their circumstances.

b.       But they are being told there is a brighter future that is coming.

c.        A future that brings honor… brings Hope.

d.       Look to the future Hope.

6.        Isaiah 9:2

a.        They will go from seeing darkness to light.

b.       They will go from gloom and doom to happiness and joy.

c.        Their lives will be changed.

d.       Their futures will be changed.

e.        They will be looking to and seeing the future Hope.

7.        Isaiah 9:3

a.        The people are seeing God at work.

b.       They are rejoicing.

c.        They are realizing that the gloom and distress from verse one are over.

d.       The great light is the new way forward.

e.        The enlarged nation.

f.          The increased joy.

g.        Are signs of the future Hope.

8.        It is easy for us to focus on the here and now and even the past, expecting the future to be just as challenging.

a.        But we are to be looking forward to the future.

b.       If we are a child of God, a follower of Christ…

c.        Our hope is not found in this world.

d.       Our Joy is not limited to our surroundings.

e.        We need to remember that our God is at work in our lives at All Times!

f.          Our Hope is found in our future with Him.

9.        Isaiah 9:4-5

a.        Our God is going to conquer the oppressors.

b.       As a Christ follower, we know this happens through Jesus’s death and resurrection.

c.        He defeated sin so that it no longer has a hold over us.

d.       He shattered its oppressive yoke.

e.        Our Lord has set us free.

f.          That is true today.

g.        And it will be even more so when He sets up His forever kingdom.

h.        The Hope we have is not just that our sins are forgiven.

i.          It is that we will truly spend forever with Him.

j.          In a place that is beyond anything we can ever imagine.

10.   Isaiah 9:6

a.        Isaiah is prophesying about the coming Messiah, Jesus.

b.       This prophecy was given to the Israelite people.

c.        They are being told that a male child will be born from the nation of Israel.

d.       A child that will rule over God’s people, the government will be on His shoulders.

e.        Zechariah 14:9

f.          With Zechariah’s prophecy it adds that the Lord, if you notice it is in all caps, meaning God will rule over all of the earth.

g.        He will reign.

h.        The child born in Israel will rule over all of the earth.

i.          This child will be given several names.

j.          Wonderful – exceptional, distinguished, nothing like Him… there is no one like Jesus.

k.        Wonderful Counselor – Jesus was sought out. People wanted to hear His advice.

l.          He was sought as an authoritative figure.

m.     We are to seek His Truth in His Word today and one day we will rejoice to be in His presence.

n.        Mighty God – The Child, the ruler of the world, is God.

                                                                              i.        John 1:1-3

o.        Eternal Father – But Jesus is the Son, not the Father. Which is correct.

p.       What is being explained here is that Jesus is everlasting just as the Father is.

q.       There is no beginning or end to His existence, just like Father God.

r.          Prince of Peace – Jesus will bring peace when He establishes His millennial reign and permanently when He creates the new heaven and earth.

                                                                              i.        Jesus gives us peace today when we learn to trust in Him and not in our own abilities or our circumstances.

11.   Looking at this verse and to the future, there is Hope here.

a.        Christ will be the foundation for the future government… that would be a lot better than any government that we have seen in our lifetimes.

b.       There is none like Jesus for us to seek out.

c.        One who can hear us, understand us, and guide us.

d.       The only one whose truth can guide our future.

e.        He is God, where else should we place our Hope?

f.          He is eternal!

g.        He holds our Hope for all eternity.

h.        As the Prince of Peace our Lord helps us to see the Hope we need today as we trust in Him, which grants us the Hope we will need for all eternity.

12.   Isaiah 9:7

a.        The dominion, the sovereignty, the authority given to this child, the Wonderful Counselor will be vast.

b.       It will not be limited.

c.        Its prosperity will never end.

d.       Meaning the blessings that fall upon it, the peace, will have no end.

e.        They will be everlasting.

f.          Our Lord’s reign will last forever.

13.   When Christ returns…

a.        The little child that is being prophesied about.

b.       Will return as a King.

c.        And when He does.

d.       He will sit upon the throne of David.

e.        He will fulfill prophecy.

f.          He will fulfill God’s promises.

g.        He will rule from Jerusalem.

h.        Rule the Israeli people.

i.          And ultimately, He will rule all of us who have been grafted into the family of God.

j.          Our Lord will be a Just God.

k.        He will be a Righteous God.

14.   The last bit of this verse…

a.        The fulfillment of this prophecy is not dependent on the people of Israel.

b.       It is not dependent on today’s followers of Christ.

c.        It is not up to people at all.

d.       It will be accomplished by God.

e.        The coming of Christ’s 1,000 year reign is dependent on God.

f.          In His time by His power.

g.        Christ will rule, because God said so.

15.   Our Future Hope comes from knowing that our Faith in Jesus means we will spend forever with Him.

a.        He is triumphant.

b.       He will rule forever.

c.        And, if we have repented of our sins.

d.       And given our lives to Christ as our Lord and Savior.

e.        We will be with Him forever.

16.   Our Hope for today, comes from our Lord Jesus.

a.        Our Future Hope comes from knowing that Jesus is our forever, King.

17.   Who are you putting your current and future Hope in?

a.        Are you trying to work it out on your own?

b.       Or are you trusting in Jesus who died on the cross for you?

c.        Trust in Jesus.

d.       Trust Him as you step out in service to Him and others.

e.        I would love to talk to you about other areas to serve if you feel led to.

18.   If you have yet to repent and give your life to Jesus, please listen.

a.        We don’t know how much time we have left on this earth.

b.       But we do know that our God loves us.

c.        He loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us.

d.       Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice.

e.        To pay for our sins.

f.          He died to pay for your sins.

g.        All you have to do is repent and give your life to Him.

h.        If you would like to do that, I would love to talk and pray with you.