The Promise of Hope - Isaiah 9:2-7

Every year, as winter settles in, the days get shorter, the sun sets earlier, cold mornings, long nights, you probably begin to hear on the news or in other avenues, the idea of the sads, the seasonal effective disorder. How many of you have heard of the sads or serotonin levels drop? We weren't created to live in darkness. And so in the winter months, we can feel kind of a gloom. settle in. Maybe a despair, a lack of hope settles in and they've labeled this sad or seasonal, effective disorder. place where we can lose hope. And it's ironic that in this time of year where it's darkness is more prevalent, we celebrate Christmas in the darkest time of the year, early sunsets, long nights. But it's fitting because Christmas isn't about lights on a tree, although I'm a fan of those things. It's not about presence under a tree, although I'm a fan of those things. Christmas is God speaking into the darkness, saying, it's not going to be like this forever. That this isn't the end of the story. I won't leave you here. That in many ways, what happens to us physically, in the wintertime, when we experience seasonal effectiveness order, mirrors what's happening in the spiritual realm, and this time that we live in with sin has come into the world. What I want to call the sinfulness effective disorder. that has come on the earth when Adam and Eve said, when we contributed to that, the time that we're living in this long, cold season. Where guilt waste heavy, where hope often feels very thin and the world often looks more gray than bright. And we've all felt this gloom. We've all felt this despair to one degree or another. We all carry with us into the Christmas season, hurt and loss in some sense greater or less of hopelessness. And it's into that feeling that Isaiah the prophet speaks, and he says, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. In other words, the gloom doesn't get the final say. The darkness doesn't get the final say. There is a sunrise coming. And that sunrise is, in fact, a child, a son, and his name shows up in Isaiah 9, the passage we're going to look at as wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace, a name that we learn in the New Testament, is Jesus. The one who gives hope to us in the midst of a world that often seems hopeless, that gives light in the darkness. Christmas is about the light that has come into the world, that the long night of sin is ending, in Isaiah 9 verses one to 7 written 700 plus years before Jesus ever came on the earth, gave this great hope to us. That the way the world is now is not the way that it will always be. It's not the way that it was intended to be. If you have your Bibles, you can turn to Isaiah chapter 9. It's about midway through the Bible. If you're using one of our house Bibles under the seat in front of you. It's page 573. As you're turning there, And we begin to look at Isaiah's passage, what I want you to take away is that in Jesus, there is hope that since darkness will not last forever. In Jesus, there's hope that sends darkness will not last forever. Now Isaiah, again, was a prophet, a man who spoke for God. He lived about 700 years before Jesus, so about 2700 years ago, when Isaiah was on the scene, the nation of Israel, God's people were in turmoil. They were spiritually drifting from God. There were geopolitical concerns to the north of them from the Assyrian Empire. There was worries about being invaded. So just a very difficult time that Isaiah was living in. And he writes a book that offers a lot of God's judgment on the people, saying, change what you're doing or this destruction from the north, from the Assyrian Empire is going to come to wipe us out as God's judgment. But turn, and in the midst of all that, he also offers great hope of a light that is coming. If you have your Bibles, you can look with me in Isaiah 9, starting in verse one. We see in verses one to 3 that God's light gives us hope. Here's what it says, but there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought him to contempt the land of Zebulon, in the land of Naptali. But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. There's some names in here. You probably going, I don't know what those places are. It would be like if someone just moved to Kansas City and you started talking about Olatha. Or, or, you know, Smithville. I don't know what you're talking about. So let me put a map up here, just to help orient you, to where Zebulon and not Thali. So this is the land of Israel. To the south of this map would be Egypt, to the north would be modern day Turkey at the time of Isaiah's writing. It would have been the Assyrian Empire that would have kind of controlled all of that land all the way into Iraq, with modern day Iraq. At the very top of the map. On the far right, you'll see Manasseh. The tribe of Manasseh, right next to them in purple and yellow, is Naphtali, and Zebulon. They're right next to the sea of Galilee, that blue dot right in the middle at the top. That's where Zebulon and not Pali where. They were the northern part of the nation. So it'd be like North Dakota for us. Just way up there at the north. Where the Assyrian Empire was massing. And Isaiah writes, there'll be no gloom for this land. Well, if you'll just back up 2 verses into chapter 8. Look at verse 21 and 22. Isaiah's been giving a prophecy to the northern kingdom saying, hey, God's going to judge you for your unfaithfulness. And it says this, they will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God. And turn their faces upward. And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness. Isaiah is here prophesying, this coming Assyrian invasion, a geopolitical invasion into the land of Israel to punish them for their unfaithfulness to God. And they were amassing on the northern border, right there north of Zebulon and Nepali. He says, you're going to be thrust into darkness. The darkness of an invasion, the darkness of being conquered, the darkness of having your way of life ripped away from you, says you're going to be thrust into darkness. But then he says in the very next chapter, which is a bad chapter break. sometimes in the Bible, you know, you're reading along and you stop reading into the chapter, but the very next verse is really part of the previous chapter. This is one of those places. It says there's going to be deep gloom. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time. Now, when Isaiah wrote this letter, he was writing as these problems, Assyria was starting to happen, and he calls it the former times. In Isaiah's time, it was still a bit future for him. But he's already writing like in the past, there was darkness. He says, but in the latter times, now, Isaiah didn't know how long the latter times were away. He just knew that God's going to fix things eventually. And he says, in the latter times, he has made glorious the way of the sea, that was just a name that was part of that region. This area on the map, as it went by the Mediterranean, was a major trade route, and it was called the way of the sea. It was another name they called, it was Galilee of the Nations. And so he's just saying, God's going to make this place glorious. The place that he had put into contempt, where the invasion 1st started. So when the Assyrians invaded, this was in the time around of Isaiah. It was beginning, and he's seeing it. And he says, this land is going to be plunged into darkness. So that's the former times. In the latter times, there's going to be this light. And then in verse 2, it says that people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light, those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them, a light has shown. I imagine all of you at some time or another have found yourself in like pitch dark. Not like kind of dark, not like a little dark, like, it's completely dark. Maybe you're at home, and the power went out and you woke up, and you're just trying to find your way around, or it's out, you're way out from the city, and there's no stars. The moon's not out, and it's just pitch dark. And you go, I can't see where I'm going. In those moments, you're getting very cautious, but you're still going to stub your toe. You know you're going to do it. You know, if you're at home, you're going to step on that toy that you left laying around. Something's been put out of place. You're just stumbling in darkness, hoping for a light to come on, looking for the flashlight, trying to find a light switch. Here it says those who had walked in darkness. Moving around trying to find where they were, having no hope of finding it because they were in darkness. They have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them, a light has shown. Isaiah in his time is giving hope for a future time. He's writing to those in Zebulon enough, Tali, saying, look, you're going to be conquered, and darkness is going to descend on the land. But there will come a time when a bright light will shine. A great light will shine. And we see this fulfilled, some 700 years later, when Jesus comes on the scene. We read this earlier during our worship time as we sung, Matthew chapter 4, verses 12 to 17. Jesus retired back to the land of Galilee to the region of Zebulon and Apali, and that's where he began his ministry. And it says, in Matthew, that he moved there. He went there to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah. The place where darkness 1st fell through this invasion by Assyria is the place that Jesus gives the light, the 1st time. He says, here is where I'm going to begin my ministry. And he went around preaching, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus showed up. And it wasn't just that his message, that he had a good word to say, that he had the best advice on how to live a good life, how to invest properly in the stock market at the time, how to do things well so that you could be successful, so you would have a nice house, and you would raise a good family. He wasn't just giving a good message. When he showed up and he said, a light has shown. It wasn't just the light of good advice. In fact, what we see is the light is God himself. John, one of Jesus' disciples wrote this in the 1st letter that he wrote in 1st John chapter one, verse five. This is a message we have heard from him. Him is Jesus. And declare to you, God is light. In him, there is no darkness at all. We picked this up from the very beginning of scripture. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, the Bible says, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, and God said, let there be light. John is saying, through Jesus, Jesus are like, God's light, and in him there is no darkness. But Jesus, when he was on the earth in John chapter 8, the same man who wrote this letter, also says these words that Jesus spoke, 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. Jesus isn't just showing up to say, hey, I got good advice for you. I know how we can rebuild things. He's showing up saying, I am the light itself. Not just that I have good advice. He does have good advice. Jesus does tell us how to live a life that would be pleasing to God. But he's saying, I am God himself. Come into human form. Jesus, the Son of God became human, to live among us. And he says, I am here, and in Zebulon, and Napali, the place 700 years before Isaiah had given hope, that a light would shine, a light shines forth. That light is more than just good advice, so it's Jesus himself. God himself, incarnated. And this light has shown up. And we know from the gospels that many people were attracted to this light. And they follow Jesus. There were some, though, when the light came on, it hurt their eyes. We've all experienced that, right? If you've been in deep darkness for a long time, and the light comes on. Your initial reaction is to squint your eyes and try to block the light out because it hurts. Often when we hear about Jesus for the 1st time, we get convicted of our sin. We could have a reaction. I need to squint my eyes. I don't want to deal with this. I don't want to confront this. But I want to encourage you to open your eyes and let the light of God settle in on you to see the truth of who he is. Because here's what happens after this light is given. It says, you have multiplied the nation in verse 3. This people that have been devastated by this invasion. He says, We're going to grow. We're going to flourish again. You have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. We don't get, I don't get at least, um, I grew up in foreign country, but I never farmed. I don't get this idea of joy at the harvest. Because harvest happens about once a week. My wife sends me down to Walmart, and I harvest all the food we need, and I bring it back, and I put it in the pantry where there's already food. And so I've never experienced once in my whole life, the idea of we planted some things. And then we waited, and waited, and waited. And we saw him start to grow. And then they grew up, and then we harvested those things, and we said, you know what? We won't starve and die this year. We have food to eat. Could you imagine? that joy? I get excited just bringing food home from Walmart. Because you imagine the joy of saying, actually, we have had a harvest this year. We're not going to starve. We're not going to scrimp by. It's the joy of dividing the spoil. The spoil is what happens when you conquer someone and you take their stuff. They had had their stuff taken. They had lost, they had been defeated. It says, you've given them great joy. We see this in Luke chapter 2 verses 10 and 12, right? But the angel said to them, these are the shepherds who are out in the field. Do not be afraid I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah of the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find the babe wrapped in clothes and lying in a major. Good news of great joy. God's light gives us hope. gave his people hope when Isaiah prophesied it. Still giving us hope, but we also see that God's peace gives us hope. Look at Isaiah 9, 4, and 5. It says, for the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor. You have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult in every garment rolled in blood, where we burned. As fuel for the fire. The language here is written to Zebulon and Aptali, who had had the Assyrians who had invaded them and had placed on them this heavy yoke of being an occupied people. And and the Assyrians were using their staff. And their rod. These would have been kind of agricultural analogies. The yoke was this device they had put around cattle around their necks, and with that, they could then have them pull a plow. They could lead them wherever they wanted to, this great burden that would be on this animal. They would have a staff that they could use to direct the animal wherever they wanted them to go. They had a rod they could beat the animal with. And he says, all of these things. God is going to break as on the day of Midian. Now who's Midian? If you go back to the book of Judges, several 100 years before Isaiah. Midian was a nation that had invaded the Jewish people, had conquered them, had made them basically go live in caves, and they were just taking all their food. Every time they would plant stuff, they would show up and kind of say, thank you for that harvest. We'll take that from you. And God raised up a man named Gideon. And he said, Gideon, you're gonna set my people free. You're going to bring them back to me. And so Gideon was raised up and Gideon raised an army of 32,000 men. And God said, I like that. But here's what we're going to do. We're going to change that number, and through a series of events, go read the story, judges 6 and seven, he went from 32,000 warriors to 300. And then God said, that's the right number. Now when you win, everyone will know that I'm the one that did it and not you, Gideon. And Isaiah saying the same thing. You're going to break the oppression as on the day of Midian. And he says you're going to burn every instrument of war. Isaiah 2. Chapter 2, verse 4 says it this way. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. As a nation, we've experienced war on occasion, Pearl Harbor. We've never experienced kind of like the whole country. engulfed in war. Right now in our world, as wars going on, in nations, and the people living in those nations feel that war, like every day, every day, it's a reality. It's on their mind. their homes are in danger. And this language of there's gonna come a day. We were gonna burn all the instruments of war. We're going to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears and the printing goes. We're going to practice war, no more, this deep desire that humanity has for peace. Isaiah saying that God's peace gives us hope. And not just fleeting hope that they're going to burn every boot that is used in battle, every garment that's been rolled in the blood of war will be burnt as fuel for the fire. When we meet Jesus, We see that he calls us to take not the yoke of sin and oppression on ourselves. He's going to break that yoke. But he does tell us to take his yoke upon himself. And Matthew 11, 28 to 30. He said this way. Come to me, all you who are weary and burned, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul, so my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. There's a famous psalm, Psalm 23 that we often read in time of death. And in that psalm, it says this in verse four, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for you are with me, not you is God. For your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Yoke rod and staff, the Assyrians had oppressed the Jewish people with those things. Sin has oppressed humanity, with a yoke of sin and death, with the rod and staff of the devil. Jesus shows up and he says, I'll take that yoke off of you and put on you my yoke. Now just know this, people. You're gonna be yoked to something. Whether that's sin and death, or light and life in Christ. We don't get to kind of be our own yoke. As soon as you say, I'll be my own God. I'll run things myself. I'll make sure I get it done right. You have yoked yourself to sin and death. And it is a burdensome yoke. Jesus says, take my yoke upon you. Let my rod and my staff not oppress you, not torment you, but comfort you. God's peace gives us hope. And all of this is possible. God's light that gives us hope, God's peace that gives us hope, when we look at verses 6 and 7, that God's son gives us hope. Look what it says, for to us, a child is born, to us, a son is given. Now, if you've ever watched football games. Especially in the past, someone was always holding up John 316 sign, right? John 316, probably the most famous verse in scripture says this. For God so loved the world that he gave. His one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish. But have eternal life. 700 years before, Isaiah says, how can we have light and peace and hope? For to us a child is born. To us, a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. Matthew 28, 18, Jesus said this, after having died on a cross and come back from the dead, having defeated the greatest enemy of all, he's with his followers. He's about to go back to the Father, to wait to receive his kingdom. And he says this. Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. He's been given all authority. Now we understand. In our governmental structure here in the United States, when we built our tripartite government structure. So we have the congressional branch, the legislative branch, the executive branch, the judicial branch. If you go read why we did it this way, it's because our founding fathers understood that humans are rotten. And they understood that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And if we kind of gather up all power into one person, we're in for bad times. That's historically been true. And so we said, let's break power up into small groups. We can diversify our rottenness into smaller groups, so our rottenness won't be as rotten as it could be. And yet here, Isaiah saying, there's going to be someone, a child, a son, and the government's going to be on his shoulder. Well, the only way this is gonna work and be any good is if that son is also God, perfectly holy, perfectly righteous, perfectly wise. And Jesus says, I've been given all authority on heaven and in earth. And then Isaiah names him. And his name shall be wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace, wonderful counselor, is someone who has wisdom. It was someone who was advising the king often in the Old Testament, a counselor would be, not someone who's trying to just solve our problems. We hear counseling, we often think, I need to have a problem, I need to go get it dealt with, which is true, but you could also think in government work, someone who is a counselor to the leader, giving them wise advice. In Colossians, we learn that Jesus is a source of all wisdom and knowledge. And so this one who's coming, that Isaiah's prophesying is going to be a wonderful counselor. His advice is going to be beyond just average. It's going to be wonderful. He's gonna be also the mighty God. This is a title that Isaiah is writing, and he's talking about a human being, but he's giving him a title that is applied to God in other parts of the Old Testament. This idea of mighty God. Isaiah is moving beyond just saying a human's going to fix things. He's saying there's going to be a human, but he's starting to hint at what Christmas is about, that God himself becomes human. And then he says he's everlasting father. And if you know your kind of Christian doctor, you may go, how can the son be the father? And then there's a spirit, there's 3 and one, there's a Trinity. When Isaiah is talking about the son being everlasting Father, he's not talking about the Trinity, Father, Son, Spirit. The idea of father in the Old Testament. We see this even in Isaiah chapter 22, where Eliakim, it said, you're going to be a father to the nation. It's one who's a benefactor. It's one who's taking care of things. It's one who's protecting. He says, Eliakim, you're going to be a father to the nation and take care of them. And in the same way, Isaiah is saying, there's coming this one, who is going to be an everlasting father. He's gonna take care of us forever, not just temporarily, not just for a short reign, but forever, and he'll be the prince of peace, the one who brings in peace. And then in verse seven. And of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. That should hit us a little differently, right? The older I get, the more I I'm in tune with people who say, I remember the good old days. Um, you know? And at some point, all of you, all you young folks be like, oh, I remember the good old days. Maybe, hopefully, you know, the future will be the better days. But you can look back and at some point we get nostalgic for the good old days when we think, oh, things were better back then. Things were just, it was a better time. And we all look back to this good old days. But here's what Isaiah says, that this son who's going to be given to us, who's going to have the government upon his shoulder, his kingdom is never going to end. And of the increase of his government, and of peace, there will be no end. When Jesus returns and his followers have been with him on the new heavens and new earth, but let's say, you know, a 1000 years. We're not going to look back and go, man, I remember the good old days 500 years ago when Jesus was getting it done when he was really leading, well, things have kind of fallen apart. It'll get better and better and better. There is no end to it. We've all experienced something where it was growing and it was healthy, and it was wonderful, and over time, it just kind of falls apart, and we look back, say, I remember the good old days when things were better. There is no decrease to his government. And he's going to sit on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. He doesn't establish his kingdom by oppression. By lying, but with righteousness and justice. The very things humans long for, that we all long for, but can ever seem to achieve. We can never make happen. Jesus shows up and he's going to make it happen and there'll be no end to it. And he'll sit on the throne of David. 300 years before Isaiah prophesied this. God had told David, who was king at the time, you'll always have a son on the throne. And then David died, and then his son Solomon died, and then the nation split apart. And then the kings after them died and died and died. So how are you going to have someone who will be an everlasting father? You have to have someone who's not going to die. Or at least not stay dead, and that's Jesus. Luke chapter one, verses 3rd to 33 in the Christmas story says this, but the angel said to her, this is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great. He will be called the son of the most high, the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. And he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end, directly showing that Isaiah's prophecy, 700 years earlier has come true in Jesus. And at the end of this passage, Isaiah writes the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. The reason this is going to happen is because God says he's going to do it. It's his passion. It's his jealousy for his people that will accomplish this. So it's not, Isaiah didn't write, and work really hard, people, and hopefully will achieve this. Let's all put our heads together and come up with a great plan. If we just, you know, put our shoulder into it, it'll work. It's God's zeal will do it. It's not something we do. It's not something I do, or you do, to gain our salvation. It's Jesus. It's God the Father who sent the Son to die on a cross for our sins. so that we can have hope for the future. We are living. Still, and the lingering effects of sin. And the sinfulness, effective disorder, the sads of this creation. But we do so differently than they did in Isaiah's time. They were looking forward to a great light. The great light has been given to Zebulon, and Napali, in Jesus, but to the whole world, through the mission that he has sent his people out on, to tell everyone about the good news of Jesus Christ. And that's why in Jesus, there was hope that the darkness of sin will not last forever. And so I want to give you 2 things to take with you today from our message. The 1st is this, the hope of Christmas is found in Jesus who broke the yoke of sin and death. The hope of Christmas is not presence under the tree, although I hope you get all the presents you want. And I hope you give all the presents you want. You should be saying like, what's the best gift that you gave this year? That's a good question to ask people. Now, what's the best gift you got? What's the best gift you gave? That's not the hope of Christmas, waking up on Christmas morning and opening your gifts. The hope of Christmas isn't family coming into town. Sons and daughters coming back to visit or going to see parents and grandparents. That's a wonderful thing. You should do it. I can't wait for my kids to get back. That's not the hope of Christmas, though. The hope of Christmas is Jesus Christ who was born so that he could die so that he could rise again to defeat sin and death and break the yoke of the sinful oppression the devil put on the world. That's the hope of Christmas. If you're here, and you've never accepted Jesus as your savior. And maybe as you're listening to this. Your eyes are being opened a bit, and it's a little painful. You're squinting at this light. Don't close your eyes, keep them open. Keep asking, God, give me light, give me more light. Let me see. If you want to talk about what it means to follow Christ, what it means to give your life to him, to put your trust in him. In a little bit when the band comes up, I'm going to go to the back corner over here. You can come talk to me. You can grab the connect card that's in the seat in front of you and just write on the, hey, I want to talk to one of the pastors. I'll reach out this week. We'll set up a time. We can talk about what it means to give up the yoke of sin and death and find the yoke of Christ that gives us hope. If that's you, just know the hope of Christmases in Christ. And second, I want to encourage us. The place your hope in God's promise and the lingering darkness. If you're hearing you're a believer, Even if you're not, but if you're not a believer and you haven't placed your hope in Christ, it's hard to place your hope in Christ just for life situations. But if you're a believer, We recognize the world still dark. Sinfulness effective disorder is still real. Just last night, I got a text of one of our church members, dad passed away, who had been in hospice. I visited another member in the hospital who had fallen outside. Fizzled another member who had had a seizure. Yesterday was a fun day. A lot of darkness in the world still. And many of you here, as you head into the Christmas season, it's not full of joy, or at least as not as much as it has been. You're dealing with grief and loss. We've had members whose children have passed away this year. And we know we step into this season that we're supposed to be happy. We're supposed to be joyful. Joy to the world. And it's true, there is a joy even in the midst of sadness, but we don't want to deny the lingering darkness because it's real. When Isaiah gave his prophecy. He didn't say, oh, and by the way, this is over now. It was, there will be a ladder time when light will shine. And there's hope because there will be a sunrise. And if you're here and you're hurting at Christmas. And you're suffering through the effects of sin and death, just know that there's hope in Christ, the same God, who 700 years before Jesus showed up, promised he would send his son, who sent his son, to this earth 2000 years ago, who died on a cross, who rose again, the same God who did that, who kept that promise, said, his son will return, and wipe every tear from our eyes. And yes, the world is still in winter in many ways. But Jesus will return. The zeal of the Lord. will do this. It's not on us. We don't have to work hard enough to make him come back. He will come back when the Father is ready for him to return, and of the increase of his government, and of peace. There will be no end. So I want to encourage you. And this season you're heading into if you're suffering, and you feel hopeless. To see the light that is Christ, cling to him, and find hope in him. And my encouragement to you is that this Christmas, may Jesus give you hope and peace. Will you join me in prayer? Father, we thank you for your son, that you keep your word. Father, that your passion, your zeal, accomplishes these things. Father, that you loved us so much that you sent your son to die for us so that we could live, that you give us hope in the midst of darkness, in the midst of our gloom and despair, that there is a light that is shining, that leads us right back to you, and his name is Jesus, our wonderful counselor, our mighty God, our everlasting Father, our prince of peace. We praise you for that. Father, I pray that in this season, you would give strength to those who are hurting. Open their eyes to see the truth of who you are. Let your spirit comfort them. And Father, if there are those that don't know you, that they would be overwhelmed by your light, and your love, and experience the peace and the hope that you give us. So in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.