Isa 9:2-7, The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. Thou shalt multiply the nation, Thou shalt increase their gladness; They will be glad in Thy presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For Thou shalt break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. 
	This is a very familiar passage that is often read at Christmas time as the Prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah. This is the Christ, the One Who would bring salvation to the people, all the people who will see the light. God’s Savior will shine forth into the darkness and reveal all that is necessary for the people to come into the freely given salvation of the Lord God, Almighty. 
	As we want to consider this morning, the light of Jesus Christ, as declared by the prophet, is now risen upon everyone who will but call upon His Name. He is the light of the world, the Son of God Who came to earth, born of a virgin over two thousand years ago in order to shine God’s light into the darkness of our hearts.
	Again, we have this foretold by Isaiah in Isa 60:1-5, if you would follow along as we read it together. Isa 60:1-5, "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. "For behold, darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. "And nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. "Lift up your eyes round about, and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms. "Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. 
	In this passage, we have the detailed manifestation of the fact that God will shine forth His light into our lives and we will become those radiant bearers of the light of Jesus Christ. It will never be our light; it will always be the light of Christ to the glory of God. He will shine through our lives to give all those in our spheres of influence the illumination of how God, through the death and resurrection of His Only Begotten Son, is now working mightily in such as you and me. He is the light and His is the glory and the power and the majesty and the awesome splendor that is revealed as we live in the light that we have been given. 
	The Prophet so continues in verses 19-21 of this 60th Chapter. "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. "Your sun will set no more, Neither will your moon wane; For you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be finished. "Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified. 
	The emphasis continues to be on the fact that this is all the Lord’s provision and the Lord’s working might. It is and His light that is shining in the darkness of humanity, lost in the blackened and gloomy blindness of sin and shame and death. He has brought forth light and sight to those who were so pathetically, deplorably, and pitifully gone astray and wandering aimlessly in the shadowed morass of hopelessness. This is all to His glory and His praise as He has become the light of our salvation.
	The Apostle John highlights the light of Christ as he proclaims the truth of how everything came into being in John 1:1-4. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 
	Rather than concentrating on the details of the birth of the Son of God to Mary, John detailed what was the reality from the very beginning in the fact that the light of life was and is and always will be in Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father. The Word spoke and life and light were manifested unto us.
	This theme carries forward throughout the Apostle’s gospel as we hear the recorded words proclaimed by our Lord on many occasions. He highlights the fact that in Him is light and life for all who will believe the Word spoken into our hearts and spirits by God Almighty. 
	John 8:12, Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." As we walk in the light of Jesus Christ, so will our lives reflect that pure salvation light which continues to create life today. The Word of God is manifestly operating to make life abound to all who hear and choose to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, sent from the Father to take our sins upon Himself to the death of the cross. He was raised from the dead that third day and is now glorified forever at the right hand of the Father. When we see Him in all that glory, we are no longer blinded to the truth, but have the sight of the light that shined into the darkness and with it, life forevermore. 
	As He so encouraged His followers to walk in accordance with the light that He gave them in John 12:35+36a. Jesus therefore said to them, "For a little while longer the light is among you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. "While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light."…
	We are given the very light of creation in Jesus Christ. This does not mean that we are able to create anything on our own, but rather that The One Who created all, is now living His life forth from us. He brings His life to others who are dead in their sins and trespasses. By the living witness that we are of being the very sons of light in Jesus Christ, we are now shown as those who have become the adopted sons of light, the light of Him by Whom we are saved. 
	This points us back to the Father, as Jesus always did. He is the One Who sent forth the Son to be born of a virgin in order to manifest His so great love unto those whom He had created. Again, reading in the Gospel of John, Chapter 12, verses 44-50. Please follow along with me, John 12:44-50. And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me. "And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me. "I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak. "And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." 
	Our entire consideration of God changes as the light of Christ illumines what is true of our relationship, our living and vital relationship with our Creator. We no longer envision Him as a deity throwing lightning bolts and looking for any reason to strike us from the face of the earth. Rather, in the Son, we are shown our Heavenly Father, Who loves us as His very own children. We are nurtured and nourished by His hand of grace and mercy and love working wonderfully and mightily in the every manner of our being brought into the placement as His children in Jesus Christ.
	This brings forth the reality of which the Apostle Paul writes in Eph 5:6-14. Please turn to it. Eph 5:6-14. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." Amen.
	The entire focal point of how and why we live on this earth is highlighted in the fact that we live to please our Heavenly Father. In the living light of Jesus Christ, all our thoughts and deeds and dealings and mannerisms are being brought to light in order to reveal who we are now by God’s grace and God’s mercy. All that is no longer true of us, because we are a completely new and vibrant and glorious creation in Jesus, is being exposed and cleansed from us. It is because the radiance of God’s love reveals the fact that we are, indeed, now, sons of light!  
	As so declared by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2:9+10, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Amen.
	Because of Jesus Christ, because of the love of the Father, because of the working power of the Holy Spirit, we are now the people who walk in light in the midst of a dark and defiled world. Our light, our source and our essence is the Lord God, Himself. In this, we are not promoting ourselves as having some special or unique trait or personality that made us worthy to be so loved. No, we are all sinners, and we all fall far short of the glory of God. It is God, for some reason known only to Himself, who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. There was nothing that we did or earned or deserved in any measure. It is all by His grace and His grace alone! 
As so detailed in 1 John 1:5-7, And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 
It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us to make Him light to shine in the darkest recesses of our hearts. This is evidenced as our walk on this earth is characterized, not by our will or our power or our best intentions, but by the light of Christ showing us the path. We walk that path in utter and humble obedience in fellowship with Him and with each other in Him. 
As so reiterated from the Prophet Isaiah, we read the following concerning how the light of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, the Son born on that first Christmas has completely manifested the glory of God to us and in us. Rev 22:1-5, And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever. 
We will be gathering with many loved ones this week in celebration of the birth of Our Lord and Savior. There will be a myriad of opportunities to allow the light of the One Who now indwells us to shine forth for the sake of His glory and His grace to illumine and to create His life in the hearts of those stumbling about in blindness and darkness. Let every one of us ask the Lord to cause His light to shine forth in the brilliant display of the life of Jesus Christ, showing the matchless beauty and majesty of His grace and His mercy and His splendor for His glory to be revealed. So be it!
	The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Isa 60:1. "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Amen.