Sermon Tone Analysis

Last Sunday we observed the 1st Sunday of Advent.

We celebrated it by lighting 1st candle of the Advent Wreath which commemorates Hope.

The 2nd candle of the Advent Wreath commemorates Promise.

As Baptists we have pretty much ignored one of the most important passages in the birth narratives.

It’s Mary’s Magnificat – or Mary’s Song.

It’s found in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, and it ends with a reminder that God, through the miracle wrought in her womb, is keeping his promise to Israel:

"And Mary said: /“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."/

(Luke 1:46-55, NIV)

I am struck every time I read this passage that a simple peasant girl from Nazareth rejoices in God’s fidelity of His promise to Abraham.

God promised to be faithful to Israel, to be Israel’s God, and to send them The Anointed One.

The New Testament writers are firm in their convictions that Jesus is The Anointed One spoken of by the Old Testament prophets.

!

I. THROUGH THE PROPHETS, GOD ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD BRING LIGHT TO A PEOPLE IN DARKNESS

* Isaiah 9:1 /"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.”/

#. when Isaiah wrote these words, Judah was about to be plunged into the shadow of captivity

#.

Ahaz, one of the most wicked kings that ever sat on the throne, was ruling the kingdom

#. under his leadership the Temple doors had been closed

#. the worship of the pagan god, Baal, was reintroduced

* ILLUS.

Baal worship was a hideous religion that involved the sacrifice of children to appease the god.

There are indications in the Scriptures that Ahaz, himself, may have sacrificed several of his infant sons to this pagan deity.

#. because of this, a spiritual darkness had settled upon the nation of Israel

#. you might call it /‘trickle-down morality’/ – as goes a nation’s leaders, so goes the nation’s people

#. there’s a lesson to be learned there!

#. to compound the issue, Ahaz made an alliance with the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III and depended upon that alliance for help against Israel’s enemies

#.

Isaiah vigorously opposed the alliance

#. there is always danger when the people of God place their trust in worldly powers and national alliances instead of the power of God

#.

Isaiah’s message to Judah is that of impending doom

* Isaiah 8:6-8 /“Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; “Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.

“Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”/

(NASB)

#. what is the point of this biblical history lesson?

#. 1st, whenever men place their confidence in things other than God, they will walk in darkness and distress

#. 2nd, whenever men place their confidence in things other than God they will eventually be held captive by forces beyond their control

#. let me ask you an important question this morning: /“What have you put your confidence in?”/

!! A. WITHOUT CHRIST, MEN LIVE IN DARKNESS AND DESPERATION

#. the bible tells us that men actually love darkness!

* John 3:19 /“And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; . .

.”/ (NASB)

#. why do men love darkness?

#. the last part of John 3:19 tells us: /“ . . .

for their deeds were evil.”/

#. darkness of soul brings distress in life

#. in the murkiness of spiritual gloom, lost men are anxious about the future

#. in the quiet moments of life they wonder, “Is there not more to life than this?

Is their life after death?

What happens when I die?

#. distress of life produces desperation

#. out of desperation they begin to seek answers to life’s issues

#. the world offers a host of counterfeit solutions to their problems and issues

#.

they can numb their problems with drugs and alcohol

#. they can ignore their problems through materialism and hedonism

#. they can rationalize their problems through psychoanalysis

#. they can sooth their problems with false spirituality and religion

#. or they can turn to the one true God

!! B. GOD GIVES MEN THE PROMISE OF HOPE AND LIGHT

* Isaiah 9:2 /"The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them."/

(NASB)

#. verse 2 begins a royal birth announcement

#. a child will be the hope of the nation of Israel

#. this child will grow up to be a king, and will bring light to a people whose lives are overshadowed by desperation and death

#.

Isaiah tells us that he will be a great light that will illuminate the lives of his people

* ILLUS.

One of my favorite stories is about the author Robert Louis Stevenson.

He grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland during the mid-nineteenth century.

As a boy, he was intrigued by the work of his neighborhood’s lamplighter.

He was an old man who went about with his ladder and a torch, setting the gas street lights ablaze each night.

One evening, as the young Stevenson stood watching the lamplighter through the front window in childish fascination, his parents heard him exclaim in wonderment, /“Look mother, look!.

There is a man out there punching holes in the darkness!”/

#. what a wonderful description of our Lord’s life and ministry

#.

Jesus came to punch holes in the darkness!

#.

Jesus is our hope because he is the light of the world

* John 8:12 /"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."/

(NIV)

#. people in distress need the light of Jesus in their life

* ILLUS.

J. C. Penney was a man of advanced years before he committed his life fully to Jesus Christ.

He had been a good man, honest, but primarily interested in becoming a success and making money.

In his biography, he writes: /"When I worked for six dollars a week at Joslin's Dry Goods Store back in Denver, it was my ambition to be worth one hundred thousand dollars.

When I reached that goal I felt a certain temporary satisfaction, but it soon wore off and my sights were set on becoming worth a million dollars.”/

After going into business for himself, Penney and his wife worked hard to expand the business.

Their business grew and prospered.

But one day Mrs. Penney caught cold and developed pneumonia.

She died a short time latter.

Her death devastated J.C.

It was then that J. C. Penney realized having money was a poor substitute for the real purposes in living.

Again, quoting from his biography, he writes: /"When she died, my world crashed about me.

To build a business, to make a success in the eyes of men, to accumulate money – what was the purpose of life?

What had money meant for my wife?

I felt mocked by life, even by God Himself"/ After several more severe trials, J. C. Penney was financially ruined and felt deeply distressed.

It was then that God began to deal with his self-righteous nature and his love for money.

After his spiritual conversion Penny testified of God's working in his life.

/"I had to pass through fiery ordeals before reaching glimmerings of conviction that it is not enough for men to be upright and moral.

When I was brought to humility and the knowledge of dependence on God, sincerely and earnestly seeking God's aid, it was forthcoming, and a light illumined my being.