Sermon Summary

Speaker: Andy

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7, Matthew 4:12, Judges 6-8

• The Context of Advent: The sermon opens by acknowledging the difficulty of looking past the commercial “tinsel and glitter” of Christmas to find the uncomfortable reality of a baby born in a manger.

• The Prophecy (Isaiah 9): Andy explores the prophecy written 700 years before Jesus, promising that “there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress”. He connects this Old Testament prophecy directly to Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (Zebulun and Naphtali) as recorded in Matthew 4.

• Historical Parallel (The Midianites): The sermon draws a parallel between the “gloom” of Isaiah’s time and the story of Gideon (Judges 6). Israel was oppressed by the Midianites, hiding in caves and starving. Andy notes that just as Gideon—a “nobody” with a tiny army of 300—defeated a massive army of 135,000, God uses the small to defeat the massive.

• Modern Application: Andy connects the historical “gloom” to the modern struggles of the council estate and inner-city life: mental health issues, abusive relationships, crippling debt, addiction, and fear. He acknowledges that life often feels like being “hemmed in” with no respite.

• The Paradox and Hope: The central message is that God breaks this massive oppression not with a giant army, but through a child. The “light dawning” is Jesus. Andy emphasizes that our confidence should not be in our own strength or government strategies, but in the “zeal of the Lord Almighty” and the child who is “Mighty God” and “Prince of Peace”.

Transcript

Speaker: Andy

(00:00) Thanks, Steve. Good morning, everybody. So we are at the second in our little Advent series. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it feels to me that, you know, with all the… what we’re trying to do here is get past all the tinsel and glitter and commercialization and busyness and all that stuff, and actually discover actually there’s a baby being born. There’s a baby that’s got a message behind all of that. And sometimes it just feels so uncomfortable and awkward. Just sat there looking at this angel, you know, and it feels like we’re just sat on a load of prickly things through the Christmas period, right? And it’s really uncomfortable. And it shouldn’t be like that, right? And it’s kind of strange.

(00:54) So this morning we’re going to be looking at a few verses in Isaiah chapter 9. If you’ve got a Bible, you might want to turn to that. If this is kind of new to you, then Isaiah is a book that’s kind of roughly in the middle. If this isn’t new to you, you’re going to tell me off now for what I’m about to say. But so if you open your Bible up, you probably land somewhere in the book of Psalms. If you go forwards a bit, you find the book of Isaiah.

(01:17) And Isaiah is one of those books in the Old Testament that we call one of the prophetic books. Because him and a number of other writers—in the same section of the Old Testament—are writing things that God has spoken to them about that are going to happen in the future. So Isaiah is one of these. And these verses that we’re going to read, he’s actually talking about something that’s going to happen 700 years in the future. So we’re going to read this… We’re dipping around a few other verses because I want to try and help us get the context of what he’s saying first of all.

(01:54) So Isaiah chapter 9, I’m going to start in verse 1.

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

If you take home nothing else from this morning, take home that sentence. Pray about it. Meditate on it. Ask God what does it mean in your life? What does it mean in the lives of those that you rub shoulders with? Just think about that. Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. Anybody want that? Yes. Absolutely. So take that home and pray about it. That doesn’t mean switch off for everything else I say! But if you take nothing else, take that home.

(02:45) And Isaiah goes on: “In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali…”

Now, Israel as a geographic area was carved up into the twelve tribes, and Zebulun and Naphtali are two of those tribes. And their land was actually on the border with the next country. And every time Israel got invaded, these two tribes were the first to cop it, right? And they took all of the onslaught of enemies invading them.

(03:13) So he says: “In the past he humbled those lands, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan. 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.”

(03:34) Now just bear with me for a minute, we’re going to flip forward into the New Testament. And I’m going to turn to Matthew chapter 4, and I’m going to read a few verses here. Matthew is one of those Gospel writers who’s telling us about the story of Jesus as he was on this earth. And as Jesus begins his ministry, begins to teach and preach about what the Kingdom of God is, Matthew says this in chapter 4, verse 12:

(04:02) “When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—aha—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

(04:47) So Matthew for us is straight away saying this passage in Isaiah is about Jesus. What Isaiah is talking about here 700 years earlier is a statement about Jesus coming into this world, and what that means for mankind, and what that means for you and for I.

(05:07) We carry on in verse 3 of Isaiah 9. “You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy.” So he’s talking about the change Jesus is going to bring to the nation and to people’s lives, “…but once were in distress. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat”—and we’ll come back to that—”you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 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. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. 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. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

(06:33) Amen, indeed. So let’s just go back to verse 4. Because Isaiah pulls right into the middle of this word about Jesus, he references something, he calls it “for as in the day of Midian’s defeat.” And he’s talking about an event that happened 400 years earlier. So he’s prophesying something that’s going to happen 700 years in the future, but in doing that, he calls on something that happened 400 years in his past. We get the idea… “with the Lord a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is one day,” right?

(07:09) So it’s a… and you can read about this event in Judges chapter 6 to chapter 8. That’s about the sixth book of the Bible… sixth, yeah I think that’s about right. So you can read about this event in Judges 6 to 8. We might better know it as the story of Gideon. Okay? But the… and actually what we’re going to do, I’m just going to read the opening verses because it sets the scene. And I just think this is really important because it ties into why Isaiah is… something powerful about the message of Isaiah about Jesus coming and what it means. And also for the first time ever, I thought Gideon has something to do with Christmas. So, here we go.

(07:54) So in Judges chapter 6, we read this. I’m just going to read six verses. “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, in caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels. They invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.”¹

(08:52) It was a desperate time for the nation of Israel. This powerful army overran them completely. They oppressed them as² a nation. You know, every… the men of Israel and the families of Israel had to go, leave their homes and hide in caves and in cleft³s in the rocks in order to escape the oppression of this enemy that was all over them. And, you know, when they went out and planted crops, then the Midianites would turn up and take those crops and kill the livestock. And at the end of that section I read, it says Israel was impoverished. It’s a strong word.

(09:37) And you get this sense of huge oppression on the nation at that time. It was desperate for them. They were reduced, as I say, to living in caves and fending for their lives. Their world had shrunk. They were hemmed in. They were struggling for food, not knowing where the next meal was coming from. Always watching their back because of this invader. No respite and no end in sight.

(10:07) And I just wonder this morning, for some of us, does it ever feel a little bit like that at all? The challenges of this life? I think for some of the people we rub shoulders with, does it feel like that in this life? You know, when we’re here on a Thursday morning with Edge and we’re chatting to people and just discovering some of the circumstances they’re going through. There’s elements of this. Sure, we’re not overrun by a foreign army in that sense, but there are other things that are hemming us in, making us feel oppressed. And no matter what we do, we always seem to be knocked back down. That life is a struggle. That you do feel hemmed in by life’s circumstances. And, you know, um, that we’re facing something beyond us, something too powerful.

(11:03) But the story is the story of God acting to change that. Because it is the story of Gideon and how he chose Gideon. And the interesting thing about Gideon is, because we haven’t got time to go into it, but Gideon was the least of the least, right? He was a nobody. In fact when God comes to him and says “I’ve called you to lead my nation and to conquer the Midianites,” he s⁴ays “Why me? I’m the least of my family. My family is the least of the clan that we’re in. I’m the last person you should be choosing. I’m just a nobody.” In fact what he actually says to God is: “If God is with us, why has all this happened?” Ever said th⁵at? Good bit of honesty, isn’t it? Absolutely. What a great prayer. “God, if you’re with us, why has all this ha⁶ppened?”⁷⁸

(11:51) But he is the least of the least. Not only is he a nobody who sees himself as the least of ⁹the least, when God tells him to get an army, God whittl¹⁰es his army down to just 300 people. And that’s it. So here you’ve got a man who regards himself as the least of the least with a tiny, tiny army. And yet when we get to Judges chapter 8 and the end of the story, what we see is this man with his 300 men defeats an army of 135,000 soldiers. And you think, what’s going on? He captures their kings. And he routs them. And he brings freedom to Israel. And he ends the oppression of the Midianites.

(12:35) And you think, how can something so small—this guy who was the least of the least with his tiny little force—how can something so small defeat something so huge? That is so daunting, that is so scary. To human eyes, you would need something bigger and stronger to throw off the oppressor. If you’ve got an army of 135,000, give me an army of 200,000 to at least have a chance, you would think, right?

(13:06) So the question is, why does Isaiah reference this story in the middle of this prophetic word about Jesus coming and being born into our world? Why does he pull in this event 400 years earlier? And it seems to me there’s probably several reasons, but two that I just pull out of this that I think help us understand and kind of earth what Isaiah is talking about.

(13:30) First of all, Isaiah says “You have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.” You can see just from the glimpse of that story and my summary of it, it is well understood how the Midianites had oppressed the Israelites and how God had broken that oppression. But when we read that, we need to think carefully about, okay, how does that apply to us today in 2025? How does that apply to me and my life? How does that apply to this community where we live, this culture that we’re in, this society that we’re in when we read this?

(14:09) Because like I say, there’s not an army invading this land. Although actually probably for some of us here that might have been an experience at one point in our lives. But there are other things that squeeze in. There are other forms of oppression that stop people flourishing and blooming into all that God has called them to be and wants them to be. You know, we are overrun with mental health challenges in society today. The number of abusive relationships and control and manipulation that takes place is awful. And the effect of that on people’s lives is like an oppression.

(14:48) The grip of addiction and addictive behaviors is something that is so controlling that people struggle to break free of it. People spiraling into debt—which again we see on a Thursday morning so often—and not knowing how to get out and struggling how to get out and feeling like they’re drowning in what is happening around them. A poverty not just of finance, but a poverty of hope and choice in people’s lives becomes something that is so destructive in them. And stuck thinking that just this is their lot.

(15:23) People full of fears and anxieties. You know, sure we’re not running off to hide in caves, but so many people not able to get out of their own homes simply because of fear or because of anxiety. And so there are many things around us that we can equate and connect with what Isaiah is talking about here and make that connection. And all of these lead to a sense of oppression, of there’s nowhere to go, of having to accept that this is our lot.

(15:58) But not only is this a story about how the oppression of the Midianites was broken, it’s a story of how that occurred. For as in Midian’s day, this Gideon who was the least of the least, who was a nobody with his tiny little force… it just makes no human sense. How can that defeat this huge thing? How can that make any difference to this that seems so massive and so unable to overcome? How can Gideon with his tiny group bring freedom for the whole of Israel? As we look at it with human eyes, we think, huh? How’s that gonna change? How is that ever gonna change?

(16:47) So Isaiah tells us this breaking of oppression, this light shining in the darkness, this dawning of a light, is this child being born in 700 years time. That is what is going to make the difference. That is what is going to bring about a change. But again, it makes no sense! If you look at it with human eyes, how can that event—how can a tiny baby that is just totally dependent on Mum and Dad for its food, for its clothes, for its protection, for a roof over its head—how can a tiny baby be the thing that is going to make such a difference that it will break oppression in people’s lives? That it will break the yoke on their shoulders and the rod of oppression on their backs?

(17:34) What are… what are the baby’s qualifications? You know, when we were doing… talking to builders about [Project] 146, that was a key question for us. What are the qualifications of this builder? So we interviewed five of them. You know, and we asked them questions like, “Have you done churches before? Do you work with charities?” Because that’s different from working with commercial organizations. We wanted to see pictures of their work. We wanted to talk to other clients they’d had and get a conversation about how they found them and understand and make sure we were clear about the qualifications of the builder before we said “Yeah, we’ll take you on and engage you.” We need to know what their qualifications were.

(18:16) When we look at Gideon, we see this man who is the least of the least with his tiny force. But what we also see is God said: “I will be with you.” And so it’s Gideon the nobody, tiny little force, but God with him. And that is what brought… broke the oppression for Israel. That’s what brought freedom to those men and women and enabled them to step out of those caves, enabled them to plant crops, enabled them to go and, as Isaiah says here, “enlarge their nation and increase their joy.”

(18:55) So with Gideon, it’s God is with him. But when we look at this child being born, this is God himself coming to this earth. This isn’t somebody with God, this is God himself being born. All authority and power is his. He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government and peace. He will be establishing and upholding his Kingdom of justice and righteousness.

(19:30) Paul, when he was writing to the church in Philippi, he put it this way. He says: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but he made himself nothing” …became a baby, totally dependent on Mum and Dad. “Made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore… Therefore God has exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

(20:25) See, that’s his qualifications. That’s why he is well able to bring about freedom from oppression. That’s why he is well able to tackle the things that we’ve just talked about that so grip society today and grip our culture and grip our own lives. That is his qualifications. That’s why he is the one able to shatter whatever yoke is on our lives, whatever bar is across our shoulders, and whatever type of oppression we are under. Our confidence is not in our abilities. It’s not in our self-control. It’s not in our self-discipline. Our confidence is not in government strategies. It’s not even in church programs. But our confidence is in Jesus Christ and him alone. And that’s why we can challenge the principalities and powers of this world—because of Him.

(21:20) And there’s two other things I just want to pull out quickly before we finish. In verse 6, Isaiah says to us: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” You see, what has been done to bring this light that Isaiah starts his message with… this great light, or to see that this light slowly dawning—what’s been done to bring that has been given to us.

(21:49) You see, when we read about Jesus in the Gospels, like in Matthew earlier, and we read about his three-year ministry, we don’t see a man who was going around just doing his own thing. We don’t see Jesus just doing what he wanted to do and that was it. No, we see him doing what the Father told him to do, but we see them doing that for us. He came to tell… teach us about the Kingdom of God. He came to teach us about what it is to repent and have our sins forgiven. He came to teach us what it is to live in a way that he calls us to. He came to… he demonstrated that with signs and wonders raising the dead, healing the sick, casting out demons, and bringing freedom to men and women’s lives.

(22:31) You see, when you were born, you were born into your family. You came to your family, in that sense. But this child has been given to us. That’s good news! This Jesus has been born to us, for us. He’s given to all of us. You see, God has reached down and come to us. That means he’s come to you. And he’s come to me. He has not remained distant. Nor has he sent somebody else in his place. You know, like if King Charles were going to write you a letter, it would be a postman that delivers it. He wouldn’t come personally and give it to you. Yeah? That’s not the way God works. He’s come to us personally through his son Jesus. He’s sent his one and only son Jesus to us that we may walk in light and that the hold of oppression on our lives may be broken.

(23:25) But in coming to us… it demands a response, right? If you come to us—literally to me and Ange to our house—and ring the doorbell, it demands a response from us. We might think, “Uhh…” Shut the curtains? No, no, no, we wouldn’t do that. We would open the door and welcome you in. But it demands a response; we have to respond. And in the same way, Jesus… [knocks on pulpit] …comes to us, right? And it demands a response. Every time.

(24:00) And we can reject him. And then we’ll remain under the yoke that Isaiah is talking about. We’ll remain seduced by the world around us and we’ll succumb to the oppression that that world puts in our lives. Or… we can embrace this child. We can embrace this son. And surrender all to him and bow the knee.

(24:26) And you might think, “Well does that matter?” Does that matter? Well Isaiah goes on in verse 7 and he says “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” In other words, it will grow, and grow, and grow. The government and peace of Jesus will grow and grow and grow. You see, Jesus did not remain a baby born in a stable. He did not remain even the man that walked this earth for three years preaching and teaching the Kingdom of God. He did not remain the man who laid down his life for you and for me on a cross. He did not even remain the man that God raised from the dead three days later and appeared to his disciples. But he is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. And all authority and all power has been given to him. And all things are under his feet. And countless millions have found that to be true ever since that day.

(25:27) This Jesus has come to you, and to me. What is our response? And finally, Isaiah finishes this passage by saying “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” And you know what it is when you want to change something in your own life? And in your own circumstances? And how we can try harder? And we want to do things better? And we want to be more careful? And we want to work smarter? And in just two or three weeks some of us will be duped into making resolutions… and all that kind of stuff, right? But we tire. And we get lazy. And we lose our way. Or something unexpected happens and comes from stage left and thwarts us with what we’re doing and we’re all of a tailspin again. And we thought we were making progress, but so often it can feel like one step forward, ten steps back.

(26:15) You see, this breaking of the oppression… this son coming… this increase of his government and peace and the growth of his justice and kingdom isn’t like that. This light of dawn breaking upon our lives isn’t like that. God isn’t going to start this and then decide it’s too hard. It’s not that he looks at you or he looks at me and thinks, “Can’t really help with that bit.” It’s not that he looks at you or I and thinks… and starts working in us but then gives up because he gets bored, like we might. Or because actually he’s busier with some more important people. Doesn’t do that.

(26:50) Why? Because the zeal, the passion of the Lord for you and for I will accomplish this. It’s not dependent on our efforts. It’s dependent on him. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The one who lives in unapproachable light. Who knew your name before you were born. And who ordained all the days of your life before one of them came to pass. His zeal, his passion for you will accomplish this in your life and in my life. His zeal will see it through.

(27:30) I’d like us just to spend a little bit more time in worship and just come before this Jesus. There’s a couple of things that strike me about this passage that are interesting in terms of, you know… we’re very keen to try and encourage engagement in terms of prayer and asking Jesus to bring about change in our lives, right? And apply that. But there’s a theme here that God seems to use what on the surface appears insignificant, possibly even weak. When we talk about Gideon and his little force. We talk about a child being born in a stable. And in fact if you take that further and you talk about a man willingly letting himself be crucified on a cross.

(28:20) There’s a theme that in God bringing freedom for you and me, he uses what seems weak and insignificant. And lays down their lives. And it seems to me that in responding to him, to know that freedom, there’s something about that that you and I need to do as well. We need to, in a sense, admit before Jesus that we are weak, actually. And that we want to lay down our lives. And that actually, before Jesus, we are insignificant.

(28:55) And let’s be honest, that’s quite hard because we like to think, you know… we’re not… we like to think we’ve got some strength and some oomph. But in responding to Jesus, it’s about laying down our own lives. And coming to him in full surrender. But the second thing about this passage Isaiah says is that this is about a light that is dawning. You see we can read a passage like this and there’s a danger of triumphalism. Of thinking “Yeah! Jesus is going to change everything! Right now! Boom, boom, boom!” And I know it’s not like that. Life is hard for a lot of people. Even in this room this morning, life is hard. But the promise that is here… the hope… is that there is light dawning. There’s not a promise of when the full day comes, right? But there is a promise of hope, of light dawning. And that is Jesus.

(30:04) And so we come to him. I wonder if we could have the worship band back please? And if we’re going to worship again… but I just want to encourage you to respond to Jesus. You know, he’s knocking. You might have been a Christian for donkeys’ years. Guess what? He’s still knocking. He’s still looking and wanting to break things in our lives that we would know his freedom and walk in the goodness of all that he has for us. Thanks, Steve.