Bible Study - Prophecies (2) - The Light in the Darkness - Isaiah 9:1-3; John1:1-9 - December 12, 2021

 Bible Study – Prophecies (2) – The Light in the Darkness – December 12, 2021

This lesson two (2) in our series entitled, “Irrefutable: Prophecies That Point Us to JESUS.”

Our focus scripture is Isaiah 9:1-3; John 1:1-9.

JESUS shines HIS light into a dark world.

What made the world we live in dark? It is sin. What can change the world we live in from darkness to light? Believing that JESUS came to earth in the flesh; giving HIS sinless life to atone for sin; believing that JESUS atoned for our sin; Asking JESUS to come into our hearts and accepting that HIS shed blood paid in full for all our sin; by doing so the Spirit of GOD becomes one with our human spirit; we become Spiritually born into GOD’S Family never to be Spiritually unborn.

What a gift that is from GOD, but it cost the human life of JESUS, which HE willingly gave.

Why was HE willing to give HIS sinless life? It is because of HIS endless love for every person who has or will ever exist.

HIS calling has been before the beginning of time and made clear when sin entered the world.

Adam is the first Adam and JESUS is the second Adam as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:45:

⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”^[a]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit (JESUS - eternal life-giving.)

All humans are the off-spring of the first Adam, but thanks be to GOD all humans have a choice – eternal death by rejecting JESUS as their Savior or eternal life by accepting JESUS as their Savior. But it is a choice. How do you choose? GOD made us all with the freedom to choose – choose wisely my friends, choose wisely – Heaven or Hell.

The Old Testament gives us a picture of our coming redeemer from sin. The book of Isaiah gives us a glimpse of the promised Messiah. It is believed that Isaiah was written by several authors, but it is agreed that the first part of Isaiah was written by Isaiah some 700 years before the events he wrote about came true. Let’s explore!

I have read that there are over 900 prophecies that point to JESUS as the promised Messiah.

Let’s read Isaiah 9:1-3:

Birth of the Prince of Peace

9 Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future, he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.

In this scripture, Isaiah was pointing to the geographical area of the ministry of JESUS.

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.
³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.^[a]
The people have rejoiced before you
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.

As we learned in our first lesson, Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 7:14:

¹⁴ Therefore, the Lord himself will give you^[c] a sign: See, the virgin will conceive,^[d] have a son, and name him Immanuel.^[e]

Some of the rulers of Isaiah’s day thought that this virgin birth would come through them but that was not to be GOD’S plan. JESUS came at exactly the moment to earth time that GOD chose, some 700 years later.

The people at the time of JESUS birth were walking in darkness. They were looking for GOD’S promised Messiah to establish his earthly kingdom and deliver them from the darkness of Roman rule. The people saw their need as physical, but their true need was Spiritual. They were walking in the darkness of sin and needed the Spiritual light from GOD to shine the true light of GOD upon those living in the darkness of sin. Are we still walking in darkness today?

The Prophet Isaiah was led to compare the people’s Spiritual need to their physical needs. We depend upon physical food to sustain our physical lives. There are times when our harvest does not meet our physical needs, therefore when we have times of a good harvest, we rejoice, and we thank GOD.

When we are experiencing Spiritual hunger, we rejoice when we experience Spiritual light and hope. Isaiah compared it to a bountiful harvest following times the land was not meeting the physical needs of the people. We realize our dependance upon GOD to supply our needs.

There was a Spiritual drought and at the exact time, GOD sent HIS only Son, JESUS, to earth, to be born of a virgin, Mary. GOD’S Holy Spirit, the Divine Sperm, energized Mary’s human egg and conception took place. This is no mystery because when we ask JESUS to forgive us for our sins and for HIM to come into our lives, HIS Divine Spirit/Sperm joins our human spirit and conception takes place. We are born-again or born Spiritually into GOD’S Family.

How can that happen? JESUS removed the barrier of sin by HIS shed blood. When HE gave HIS sinless life upon the cross, by the shedding of HIS blood, HE opened the path between GOD and mankind.

In essence, when JESUS died, all who place their faith in JESUS, died with HIM. When GOD raised HIM from the physically dead, we who place our faith in JESUS were raised with HIM. Our eternal destination is Heaven but for the moment we will remain upon earth to tell others about the true light that has come into the world, JESUS.

We read in Romans 6:5-14:

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸ But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. ¹³ No longer present your members to sin as instruments^[a] of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments^[b] of righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

We are GOD’S Ambassadors as written in 2 Corinthians 5:19-21:

¹⁹ That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.

²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” ²¹ He (GOD) made the one who did not know sin to be sin^[e] for us (JESUS), so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Truth is truth and truth never changes.

Let’s fast forward 700 plus years to the light of the world shining into the darkness of sin ------

Let’s begin by identifying the two John’s. There is John, the disciple of JESUS and there is John, the Baptizer or Baptist. John the disciple of JESUS wrote the book of John and John the Baptizer was the herald or the person who announced that the Light of the world had arrived. That promised light was, and forever is JESUS.

Let’s read John 1:1-4:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. ⁴ In him was life,^[a] and that life was the light of men. 

John, the disciple of JESUS, walked with JESUS and witnessed the interaction of JESUS and GOD, JESUS’ FATHER. After JESUS’ death and resurrection, John was with JESUS for 40 days upon earth before HIS ascension. He also experienced the return of the Holy Spirit. Because of this John could assemble the true facts revealed in the scripture, what he witnessed and was told.

What did John, JESUS’ disciple, assemble with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the book written entitled John?

“The WORD’ is JESUS. JESUS has always been and always will be the WORD. What are my favorite verses? It is Ephesians 1:3-6:

·      ³ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.^[c] 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

Where do you think the Apostle John got this information? From JESUS Himself, the scripture, walking with JESUS and The Holy Spirit. Th veil had been removed from John’s Spiritual eyes and he could see clearly. FATHER, we ask YOU to remove the veil from our minds and Spiritual eyes so we can see the truth in YOUR written Word and JESUS as The WORD.

Notice, it is NOT, Words but WORD. Why “WORD?” It is because there will be no other. JESUS is the only ONE WHO is our redeemer from sin and its consequence, eternal death. This is foundational and has been the WORD before the world was created and Satan does not want any person to see that truth. JESUS was with GOD before the world was created.

Satan brings darkness into the lives of people and blinds them Spiritually.

We must keep our eyes focused upon HIM when we walk through life because HE is the light. Why? Let’s read on---

Let’s read John 1:5-9:

⁵ That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome^[b] it.

Have you ever been spelunking? That is cave exploring. Years ago, our young son and I had the opportunity, along with his Scout troop, to explore a near wild cave with a guide. It was most memorable. The guide warned that since it was winter, we could encounter copperheads or other snakes hibernating close to the entrance to the cave. Just leave them alone. We entered the cave and encountered a makeshift ladder made from pine trees someone had chopped down and nailed cross pieces to create a ladder that allowed us to descend into the cave. The guide told us that this cave was as close to a wild cave as we could find. Fortunately, our guide had helped map this cave with other cave explorers before we went into that cave. Later, we went to another cave and spent the night.

It is wonderful when you have a guide that knows the way through life and shines the light into the darkness. Our cave guide had several sources of light in case some failed. One, I recall, was a carbide lamp used by miners years ago and could be trusted. He said, it was activated by water and there is always water in a cave and ignited using flint.

John the Baptizer/Baptist was the herald for JESUS. When earthly Kings were approaching an area, they would have a herald to run before them to alert the people ahead that the king was coming so they could be properly dressed and prepared for the king’s arrival.

JESUS is the King of King’s and Lord of Lord’s, and John the Baptist announced HIS coming. John the Baptist was the forerunner of JESUS.

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.^[c] 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. ⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.^[d]

John 1:12-13:

¹² But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be^[e] children of God, to those who believe in his name, ¹³ who were born, not of natural descent,^[f] or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man,^[g] but of God.

JESUS’ disciple, John, made it clear that John the Baptist was not the light, but John the Baptist testified that the true light was coming, and that true light is JESUS. John the Baptist had a function/purpose called by GOD and so do we as GOD’S Children.

John 1:29: ²⁹ The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Who is JESUS to you? Was he deranged and a self-appointed Messiah? Or was HE the true only SON of GOD? The Savior of the world?

The choice is one all persons must make if they desire to be Spiritually born into GOD’S Family through faith in JESUS.

I ask you to ask JESUS to forgive you for your sins and for JESUS to come into your heart believing that HE paid for all your sins by living a sinless life and shedding HIS sinless blood for you.

If you prayed this prayer, then welcome to GOD’S Family. If you are not already involved in a truth teaching church or group, then ask JESUS to lead you to the place where HE desires for you to go to grow Spiritually.

If you live in Spartanburg, we invite you and your family to visit us at Morningside Baptist Church – 897 South Pine Street. Blessings!!!