Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
[0:00] Let us stand as we are able for the reading of this short passage here.
[0:17] ! Isaiah 9 verses 6 and 7. Isaiah 9 verses 6 and 7. And it says, Amen.
[1:06] Please be seated. For unto us a child is born. His name is the name above all names.
[1:21] It's been said that there are 256 names of our Lord Jesus in the Bible. We're looking at five here today. Really just five of those names.
[1:33] And in the context there it says, Unto us a child is born. It refers to his humanity. A child. That God could crystallize himself.
[1:45] That God could condescend. That God could compact himself into a human form. Into a human boy child. Unto us a son.
[1:55] A son. A son. Speaks of his humility. That he would deign to step down from heaven's glory. And to reduce himself to a form of flesh.
[2:08] His humility. Speaks of his deity. The son. The son. The almighty son of God. Speaks of his death. It says a son is given.
[2:20] It's got the sense of delivered up. Literally. A son is delivered up. A son is given. It's got a sense of Calvary there. Even in those words.
[2:32] And the government. The government. The rule. The reign. The kingship. One day shall be upon his shoulder. Upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful.
[2:44] Counselor. The mighty God. The everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. Let's look at these names together. One day.
[2:55] The government is going to be upon his shoulders. We think of shoulders. We think of burdens. Think of that which you carry things upon. And he has got broad shoulders today.
[3:05] To take whatever your load is. We can cast our burden upon the Lord. For he cares for us. We can cast our cares upon him. And place your burdens on his shoulders today.
[3:16] Reflect on his names. The names. It reflects his person. It reflects his character. It speaks to us of his nature. Of his qualities. Of the glorious person that he is.
[3:27] Firstly. Wonderful. Wonderful. The Wonderful One. Our Saviour. He's wonderful. Come let us adore him. Come let us adore him. Wonderful.
[3:38] He's full of wonder. In the German. Luther says. Wunderbar. He is wonderful. Isn't he? Wunderbar. Wonderful. The Wonderful One. The Marvelous One.
[3:50] The Glorious One. His name you could say. It means miraculous. Extraordinary. He is full of wonder. Beyond human ability. Supernatural.
[4:01] Beyond what we are able to do. We think of how wonderful he is. Wonderful. Wonderful in his birth. Wonderful in his character. Wonderful in his life.
[4:12] Wonderful in his teaching. It fills us with wonder. To think of it. Just to reflect. As we were referred to before. If we could just be transported back in time.
[4:23] And adore him. Adore that Wonderful One. As he's born. As he lives. As he dies. As he rises. As he ascends. As he's coming again.
[4:33] This Wonderful One. And he is the one. He puts our sin. Your sin. My sin. Upon his shoulder. He bears our sin. In his own body. On the tree.
[4:44] In that crucified form. In that flesh. That sinless flesh. Has become sin for us. That one who knew no sin. Became sin for us.
[4:55] He is that Wonderful One. He stoops down from heaven's height. And reaches down to earth's depths. Into the very miry clay. Into the very slime pit.
[5:06] Of our sin. And drags us out of it. And sets our feet on the rock. Christ Jesus. He is called Wonderful. Matthew Henry says justly. He is called Wonderful.
[5:19] For he is both God and man. His love is the wonder of angels. And glorified saints. In his birth. Life. Death. Resurrection.
[5:30] And ascension. He was wonderful. A constant series of wonders attended him. And without controversy. Great is the mystery. Of godliness.
[5:41] Concerning him. End of quote. When the angel of the Lord came. In Judges 13.17. He was asked. What is thy name?
[5:51] And Judges 13.18. He says. It is secret. And it's the very same word. Wonderful.
[6:02] The angel of the Lord says. That his name is. Secret. His name is. Wonderful. Wonderful. The same word. His name is secret.
[6:13] It's hidden. To us. It's revealed the wonder of Jesus. Jesus. Jehovah. Is our salvation. Yahweh. Is our salvation. The wonder of his name.
[6:24] The wonder of the wonderful one. The wonder of Calvary. We've heard of that. Think of that. Again. The wonder of Calvary. The wonder of his resurrection. The wonder of.
[6:36] His spitting. His beating. His bruising. His nailing. His rejecting. His hating. His abusing. His suffering for you.
[6:46] For your sin. Your sin. Your sin that day. My sin. It was there. On Calvary's hill. The wonder of it. The wonder of his victory.
[6:57] Over sin. The wonder. Of his grace. The wonder of his. Extending. Salvation's gift. The wonder. Of his forgiveness. The wonder of. His redeeming love.
[7:08] The wonder. Of the wonderful one. Truly. He is. Wonderful. Wonderful. And he is a wonderful saviour. Is he your wonderful saviour?
[7:19] Do you know him as saviour? Today. He offers that wonderful. Wonderful salvation. A wonderful saviour. Is Jesus my Lord. A wonderful saviour.
[7:30] To me. Wonderful. He's wonderful. Secondly. Counselor. Counselor. The old bishop's bible. Which predates the King James. Says. Of this word.
[7:40] Counselor. He's the giver. Of counsel. He's the giver. Of counsel. He's the counsellor. The giver of counsel. Do you need counsel? And we all need counsel. From time to time.
[7:52] And. He is the one who can give that counsel. That counsel. It's beyond compare. It's beyond. Human. Words. Isn't it? The wonder of his counsel.
[8:03] The wonder of this one. Colossians 2. 3. In whom are here. All. All. The treasures. All. The treasures. Of wisdom. And knowledge.
[8:13] This is that counsellor. That wonderful counsellor. To whom you can come. 24 by 7. You don't have to wait for an appointment. Or wait in a queue. Or wait on the phone.
[8:24] He's there. Just a breath away. Just a prayer away. You can come. To that giver of counsel. To that counsellor. His knowledge. His understanding. Is unlimited. His counsel.
[8:35] Is free. His counsel. Is ready. For you today. The comforter. The counsellor. Our saviour. He understands. He's full of compassion. Whatever your need.
[8:47] Whatever your hurt. Whatever your confusion. He is the one who can bring light. And understanding. He is full of compassion. And wisdom.
[8:58] He is. The sinner's advocate. 1 John 2. 1. You can come. You've got an advocate. An advocate. Who stands in your place. Who stands on your behalf.
[9:08] And speaks for you. He is the believer's mediator. The one mediator. Between God and men. The man Christ Jesus. He is. The high priest. Who can intervene.
[9:19] And take. That place. In your stead. Bearing his own blood. As both the high priest. And the lamb of God. That takes away the sin.
[9:30] Of the world. And we can consult him. We can consult him. Do we fail to? I'm sure we do. We neglect to pray. We neglect to pray. I neglect to pray.
[9:41] To neglect to seek his counsel. To neglect to seek his face. To neglect to seek his will. His direction. His guidance. How we fail. Brother and sister. Be challenged. Be urged today.
[9:53] As Solomon says. Where there is no counsellor. The people fall. Proverbs 11.14. When you have decisions to make. When you have guidance to seek. When there is direction.
[10:04] Required. Go to the counsellor. Go to the source. Go to the ultimate one. Not only does he have. The answers. He is the answer. He is the answer. Like the chorus goes.
[10:16] Jesus is the answer. For the world today. Psalm 16.7. The psalmist says. I will bless the Lord. Who counsels me. I will praise him.
[10:27] He counsels me. Psalm 16.7. Isaiah 28.29. Says he is wonderful in counsel. He is wonderful in counsel. Our great God.
[10:39] Wonderful. Counselor. Thirdly. The mighty God. The mighty God. Titus 2.13. Looking for that blessed hope. And the glorious appearing. Of our great God.
[10:50] And our saviour. Jesus Christ. Looking for that great God. Our blessed God. Our saviour. Our saviour. Jesus Christ. The mighty God. He is mighty.
[11:02] Mighty means strong. It means invincible. This is our God. Our God. He's mighty. He's powerful. He is strong today.
[11:13] And this word reminds us of our saviour's power. Of our saviour's power. We see that power unleashed in his life. As demons trembled.
[11:25] As sickness fled. As sin was forgiven. Our saviour's power. Think of his power today. The mighty God. God.
[11:35] This word God. In Isaiah 9. It's El. El. As we think of El. Shaddai. God almighty. And this word here.
[11:45] In Isaiah 9.6. It's El Gibor. It means. The mighty warrior. God. The mighty warrior. God. It's never used in the singular.
[11:57] This word El. Some would try to argue. Well he's the mighty God. He's not the almighty God. You know they try to denigrate him. As if there's two kind of gods. Or you know that there's some kind of.
[12:09] He's some lesser God. As the Jehovah's Witnesses would wrongly state. It's never used in the singular. Number.
[12:20] Of any other creature. But. Only of almighty God. He is God. In the beginning was the word. And the word was God.
[12:31] And the word was made flesh. And dwelt among us. Mighty warrior God. Think of a mighty warrior. You know. In different cultures. And history.
[12:42] And. In the movie world. You see all kinds of. Pictures painted of mighty warriors. He is the mighty warrior God. He is above and beyond. Anything of human compare.
[12:54] And he is the one. He fights your battles. He is your hero. He is your champion. This is the same sense of it here. Of hero. Of champion. The mighty God.
[13:04] The Lord Jesus Christ. Think of what he has done. He has conquered your enemies. Of death. Of hell. Of sin. The grave. He is the mighty God. The mighty warrior God.
[13:16] Our champion. What should our response be? Brother. Sister. It should be submission. Submission. I read this lately. Submission is your key. To personal strength.
[13:28] Submission is your key. To personal strength. We could think of that. In relationship with our God. That our relationship. Our response should be submission. To that mighty God.
[13:39] What else. Can be our response. But submission. But worship. But adoration. But trembling. Beneath his stead.
[13:52] That he is that mighty one. And your lack. Is met with his might. Your lack. Your need. Your failing. Your inadequacy. Is met with his supremacy.
[14:04] His sublime character. His absolute. Might and power. The mighty conqueror. Our champion. Our mighty warrior God.
[14:14] And if he is mighty. He is mighty to save. He is mighty. To bless. He is mighty. He is mighty to protect. To keep. To care. And we have no reason. Whatever.
[14:25] You have no reason. Whatever to face. Whatever may face you. In the days beyond. Whatever may face you. He is already there. He is the mighty God. He is the one.
[14:36] That we can trust. And rely upon. And of Revelation 1.8. It says. He is the almighty. The alpha. And omega. The beginning. And the end.
[14:46] The almighty. He is the almighty. He is the almighty. He is the almighty God. He is the one. Who is mighty. In his person. Mighty. In his ability. And sometimes we neglect.
[14:58] To realise that. To think of that. To grasp that. of how mighty He is and of how if we would just place our cares in His hand if we would just place our hearts in His care then we've got absolute assurance there absolute assurance that He is all powerful and He is wonderful He is Counselor He is the mighty God and He is the everlasting Father the everlasting Father He says I and my Father are one John 10.30 the everlasting Father it means He is the Father forever forever catch that everlasting everlasting eternal beyond time and space beyond our human thinking of measuring of time and dimension
[16:01] He is always there He is always there for you He is always there He stepped down into the world in the form of His Son but He was made of a woman He pre-existed He was from everlasting He is everlasting He was there before anything ever was there He is there and He will be there He is there and He's here now He's here with you by faith if you trust Him God incarnate incarn means the flesh He was incarn incarnate in flesh God manifest in the flesh and He is Father He is Father of course there's a sense where it's Father, Son and Holy Spirit we're not confusing that but there is a sense where the Lord Jesus is the Father Father in His giving of life Father means producer or generator in other words
[17:02] He is our source and truly Christ has given us life at least He's extending it offering it He offers life He says He that believeth in me hath present tense now everlasting everlasting life if you trust Him He gives you life He's the true life giver think of a Father He gives life He cares He sustains He provides and we think of the Lord Jesus He does all that doesn't He He gives His overshadowing watch think of a Father He brings government to the family He brings discipline where required He brings nurture faithfulness compassion authority Christ has all of that Spurgeon writes how complex is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ almost in the same breath the prophet calls Him a child and a counsellor and a son and the everlasting
[18:15] Father this is no contradiction but a mighty marvel that He who was an infant should at the same time be infinite He who was the man of sorrow should also be God over all blessed forever and that He who is in the divine trinity always called the Son should nevertheless be correctly called the everlasting Father how forcibly this should remind us of the necessity of carefully studying and rightly understanding the person of our Lord Jesus Christ we must not suppose that we shall understand Him at a glance a look will save the soul but patient meditation alone can fill the mind with the knowledge of the Saviour glorious mysteries are hidden in His person He speaks to us in plainest language and He manifests
[19:17] Himself openly in our midst but yet in His person itself there is a height and depth which human intellect fails to measure end of quote what a blessing to think that He would wrap Himself up in human flesh that He would come and visit our planet that He would take our place our very place on the cross there and He is called the everlasting Father because His love will never end here's the one who said to the Pharisees before Abraham was I am I am He is everlasting the great I am there never was a time when He was not and there can never be a better revelation of the Lord Jesus God the Father than Jesus the Son He is the brightness of God's glory and the express image of His person
[20:20] Hebrews 1 3 and He says to you he that hath seen me hath seen the Father John 14 9 and so we should honour Him with the same honour that we honour our loving heavenly Father John 5 23 He is wonderful He is counsellor He is the mighty God He is the everlasting Father and He is the Prince of Peace the Prince of Peace we can have access to the Father because He's made peace He's made an approachable opening for you to enter in the Father is approachable and available today because we have access it says Ephesians 2 18 we have access and He is the one the peacemaker the one who makes peace between God and man the one who breaks that enmity that hatred that opposition that defiance of our sin He breaks the grip of it He breaks the chains of it He breaks the bondage of it and He is the
[21:21] Prince of Peace He brings peace He is the Prince this word Prince is the same sense of the General of the Army He's the General of the Army He's that Supreme Commander He has the Supreme Leadership and Authority He is the Prince He's got the reign of peace as it says that His peace should rule in our hearts it should take ownership it should take the lead and here's the Prince of Peace in Ephesians 2 14 he says Paul writes He is our peace He is our peace and when he writes this it means He Himself is our peace He emphatically in the Greek He is our peace He Himself His very person is our peace it's not that He just brings peace peace but He is our peace our loving
[22:21] Saviour is the one who we can have that wonderful awe and trusting that we can have peace because of the blood of His cross He brings peace to us He brings peace to our souls He's not just the peacemaker He Himself is our peace and peace you could understand as having a wider context of welfare of prosperity of wholeness of completeness of soundness of fullness of well-being all of this is captured in this very word peace or shalom shalom it's one of His names in Genesis 49 10 shiloh it can also mean peace or tranquility and this is the one who can bring harmony he can bring completeness you know we hear all kinds of eastern mystics and transcendental meditation and all kinds of philosophies and thoughts and religions of man that people strive to find peace to strive to find or they might turn to the pipe or the needle to get their peace or whatever it might be yet in vain and yet they're missing the one who is peace himself the
[23:49] Lord Jesus Romans 5 1 Romans 5 1 therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and while we held captive to sin we lack the shalom we lack the peace sinful man has no shalom without God the Lord give you peace number 626 was a blessing that they used back then the Lord give you peace he's the one who gives you peace peace whilst whilst we might be torn and tested and tried and we know we have word from some that are in despair and overwhelmed by life or by their seeming loneliness or depression or whatever hurts they've borne or bear they're missing the point of that one that they need to trust in to lean upon to rest upon to trust their life to the peace who is a person and
[24:58] Luke 2 14 the angels announced his coming the good news they declared glory to God in the highest and on earth peace goodwill toward men peace came wasn't true the Nobel peace prize winner or winners of the day or whatever good or bad they may do this is the ultimate one isn't it he deserves the peace prize he's the only one deserving of such a prize the one who brings ultimate peace soul peace peace to her heart peace to her life peace to her home and to the woman whose faith had made her whole he says go in peace go in peace as he wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19 42 he beheld the!
[25:45] and he wept over it why? because she did not know the peace that she could have known those thousands that came for Passover the place was packed yet how few knew what was really happening he speaks peace still to the troubled hearts in John 14 27 he says peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth give I unto you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid my peace I give unto you a young soldier was off to fight in world war two against the Japanese his father put him on the!
[26:30] and waved goodbye and with bitter tears he said he snarled if my son is killed I hope every jack in the world is killed there was hatred there there was venom there was enmity there in his voice in his fibre of his soul a year later the son was killed $10,000 of life insurance money came to that man the father and he did a most surprising thing he sent the money to missions in japan he sent the money to the mission work in japan how could the father do this he got the peace he got the shalom he got the shalom he lost the hatred he lost the venom he lost the spite and he found the peace the peace of God perfect peace Isaiah 26 thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon thee because he trusts in thee
[27:32] Isaiah 26 3 it says the chastisement of our peace was upon him the very whipping and beating and bruising and bashing and hurting for our peace was upon him his wounding brings our wholeness our soul healing we can know peace through the blood of his cross do you know it yet have you got it yet have you found it yet have you put up that white flag of surrender have you put your hands up and say I surrender and make peace with God stop fighting him stop striving stop battling surrender vow the will the heart the soul the mind we can know peace through the blood of his cross he is wonderful stand in awe of him he is counsellor seek his counsel he is the mighty God bow your heart to him the everlasting father do you know his life he is the source of life not just earthly breath and life but spiritual born again life do you know his life his care the prince of peace the ruler the source the very person who is peace you can rest in his peace the saviour of the world do you know him people today be urged!
[29:01] pray to trust him Philippians 2 from 5 it says let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and was took upon in the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became and given him a name a name Jesus which is above every other name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father and it says in the word that there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved there is only one name one name not a religion not a philosophy not a mysticism or a latter day prophet the one the one
[30:12] Jesus his name his name is the source of salvation the hope of our hearts he unlocks the door of heaven he closes the gates of hell his name saves the vilest sinner he lifts the greatest burden he secures the saints!
[30:29] he your wonderful counsellor is he your mighty God is he your everlasting father is he your prince of peace let me close with a poem that well a quote that just pictures this adore him adore him as I read he's enduringly strong he's entirely sincere he's entirely internally steadfast he's immortally graceful he's imperially powerful he's impartially merciful he's God's son he's a sinner saviour he's the centre piece of civilisation he stands alone in himself he's unparalleled he's unprecedented he's supreme he's preeminent do you know him he's the loftiest idea in literature he's the highest idea in philosophy he's the fundamental truth in theology he's the miracle of the age he's the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously he supplies strength for the weak he's available for the tempted and tried he sympathises and he saves he guards and he guides he heals the sick he cleanses the lepers he forgives sinners he discharges debtors he delivers the captives he defends the feeble he blesses the young he serves the unfortunate he regards the aged he rewards the diligent he beautifies the meek do you know him well my king is the king of knowledge he's the wellspring of wisdom he's the doorway of deliverance he's the pathway of peace he's the roadway of righteousness he's the highway of holiness he's the gateway of glory he's the master of the mighty he's the captain of the conquerors he's the head of the heroes he's the overseer of the overcomers he's the governor of the governors he's the prince of princes he's the king of kings and the lord of lords do you know him his life is matchless his goodness is limitless his mercy is everlasting his love never changes his word is enough his grace is sufficient his reign is righteous his yoke is easy and his burden is light well i wish i could describe him to you but he's indescribable yes he's incomprehensible he's invincible he's irresistible i'm trying to tell you the heavens cannot contain him let alone a man explain him you can't get him out of your mind you can't get him off of your hands you can't outlive him and you can't live without him well the pharisees couldn't stand him but they found out they couldn't stop him pilot couldn't find any fault in him her couldn't kill him death couldn't handle him and the grave couldn't hold him that's my king he's always been and he always will be i'm talking about he he has no predecessor and he who has no successor there was nobody before him and there will be nobody after him you can't impeach him and he's not going to resign thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and ever and ever how long is that and ever and ever and ever and ever and when you get through with all of the forevers then amen oh i wish i could describe him to you we can't put it into words can we wonderful counsellor the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace let us pray lord we adore you today your name is the name above every name it's the name whereby we can be saved lord as we put our hearts trust in what you did at that rugged hill and cross where you bear our sin and penalty
[34:29] our shame lord we thank you for that gift of your great love to us bless each one we pray with that gift of salvation we pray lord that we might know what it is to trust that living saviour that you are to us that everlasting one lord help us to find that will that way for us as we seek your counsel as we follow in your footsteps help us to live lives of peace of blessing of wholeness lord of righteousness that you would be glorified in jesus name amen amen we'll close with a song together ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending