In December of 1903, after many failed attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting
their flying machine off the ground.
You can imagine what excitement they felt to actually fly for the first time.
Well, they, as quick as they could, shared that news with their sister in this telegraphed
message.
We have actually flown 120 feet.
We'll be home for Christmas.
Well, Catherine, their sister, she was excited and wanted to get that word out.
And so she hurried to the editor of her local newspaper and showed him that telegram, showed
him the message.
But he was busy and he just glanced at it and said, how nice, the boys will be home for Christmas.
He totally missed the big news that she was trying to communicate to him.
He missed that they had flown, that man had flown for the first time.
I wonder how many people will totally miss the big news of Christmas as they do all the
different good things they enjoy during this holiday season.
The big news of Christmas is that God sent his son into this world to save sinners like
us.
Hopefully, we will read something in the Bible related to this good news, this big news during
the Christmas season.
And if we will, we can't help but see it.
It comes through loud and clear.
I want you to look at two examples at the beginning of this time.
In Matthew's gospel, the angel of the Lord said this to Joseph, she will bear a son and
you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Then in Luke's gospel, the angel Gabriel explained to Mary who Jesus was.
He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.
And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
And of his kingdom, there will be no end.
It's true that the Christmas story is found in just a small section of the Bible.
I mean, the true Christmas story, the events that took place in Bethlehem before and during
right after the birth of Jesus, they're only found in Matthew's gospel and in Luke's gospel.
But what we need to remember as God's people, the Christmas story in the Bible really began
hundreds of years earlier.
It begins in the Old Testament.
Old Testament prophets wrote about a coming Savior, the Messiah.
One of the best known prophecies is found in Isaiah chapter 9.
And I'd like for you to turn with me to that chapter.
And what we're going to look at this morning is something that is very familiar to most Christians
because we sing about this every year at Christmas.
writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah described the power and glory of the coming Messiah,
the coming Savior.
In chapter 9, what we're going to look at is verses 6 and 7.
What I want us to see is the special names or titles that are used to describe this coming Savior.
Our children's choir did a great job in telling us about those special names when they sung last week.
How many of you children's choir kids are in here this morning?
Raise your hand high.
There's some scattered out through here.
Well, you did a great job last Sunday morning in singing about who Jesus is.
You better bundle up tonight because it's going to be cold.
But we're going to listen for you to sing and tell us about,
tell people maybe who've not heard this good news about Jesus.
You're going to sing that tonight.
And then again next Sunday morning.
Well, I want us to read from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7.
About who Jesus really is.
By these special names or titles that Isaiah assigns to Him.
Isaiah chapter 6, 9 rather, beginning in verse 6.
You know those names, don't you?
This is where they originate.
It says in verse 7,
Of the increase of His government and of peace, there will be no end.
On the throne of David and over His kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness,
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
This prophecy explains how the coming Messiah that we know,
as we read back into the New Testament,
is Jesus Christ.
This prophecy tells how He will reign in power, in glory.
It says the government shall be upon His shoulder,
and that it will be His government.
Now, that prophecy is only partially fulfilled at this time.
Think with me like this.
When Jesus came into the world as a baby,
in that stable in Bethlehem,
when Jesus came the first time like that,
grew up and taught and did the things that we read about
in the New Testament in the Gospels,
when He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins,
and rose triumphantly from death,
and then ascended into heaven,
and then sent His Holy Spirit to indwell all of His people,
that was Jesus coming in power,
in glory, in power, in glory,
to reign, to rule, listen to this,
in the lives of those who believe in Him,
in the lives of those in whom God has called to faith in Him.
This is like the first coming of Jesus.
It's sort of like a secret or invisible kingdom
that He has established, that God has established.
We, as Christians,
are citizens of that kingdom.
God is our God.
Christ is our Savior and our Lord.
But Christ rules
in our lives
us who believe in Him.
People outside the church,
the real church,
the people of God,
they don't acknowledge Jesus as King.
They don't acknowledge God's rule,
God's authority.
That's just for us right now.
But one day in the future,
Scripture promises
Jesus Christ will return to this world
and there will be nothing secret
or invisible about it.
When He comes back,
He will come back
and everyone will see Him.
They'll see Him coming
as the one who has ultimate authority
and power.
He'll come in great glory.
And then,
He will establish His kingdom
visibly in this world
and as Paul tells us
in Philippians chapter 2,
every knee will bow
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.
That's what's going to happen
when Jesus comes the second time
and He will truly rule and reign
not just over His people,
not just over people who believe in Him,
but He will rule and reign
over the entire world.
The authority and rule of Jesus Christ
over our lives now
and over all lives in the future
far exceeds the authority and rule
of all earthly leaders.
and what Isaiah is doing
in these special names or titles
for this Messiah in verse 6,
what Isaiah is doing
is helping us to understand
the unique features,
power, and authority
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
these names help us to understand
why He can be trusted
to rule over our lives now
and for all eternity.
So as we go through this,
looking at wonderful counselor,
mighty God,
everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace,
I want you to think,
do I know Jesus
in this way
in my life?
Make it very personal.
Let's begin.
Jesus Christ rules with wisdom.
He is wonderful counselor.
The King James Version
separates the word wonderful
and counselor with a comma
as if they are two.
Well, most translations
keep them together
and that makes the most sense
because it makes this
a two-word description of Jesus
just like the other three.
As wonderful counselor,
the idea is that Jesus Christ
has supernatural wisdom.
And you know,
during His earthly ministry,
the way that He related to people,
the things that He taught,
He demonstrated
that He is wonderful counselor
by the wise teaching
and counsel He gave to people.
Jesus always knew exactly
what to say
and how to say it to people.
I mean,
if you stop and think about it,
most of you,
you've read the Gospels.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
You've read how Jesus
interacted with people.
For example,
when Jesus reached out
to genuine seekers,
I mean, people who came to Him
wanting sincerely
to learn about Him.
For example,
like the man Nicodemus.
It says in John chapter 3
that Nicodemus
came to Jesus by night.
He was a religious leader.
It doesn't say why
He came by night.
Maybe He was afraid
of being seen.
We don't know.
Maybe it was just
the end of a long day.
But Nicodemus came
inquiring of Jesus,
trying to learn more about Him.
And Jesus got His attention
and responded to questions
like this.
Nicodemus,
unless a person is born again
or born from above,
he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God.
Now that was something
that intrigued Nicodemus.
He was confused.
He didn't understand.
Maybe He grinned
when He looked at Jesus
after Jesus said that.
He said,
Jesus,
you try and say
a person's got to
enter his mother's womb
and be born again.
You know,
something ridiculous.
And Jesus went on
just to explain
in a little bit
different words.
And the point
I'm trying to make is
Jesus knew how
to relate to Him
in a way that
got His attention,
held His interest,
made Him think.
And it worked.
Because at the end
of John's gospel,
when Jesus is crucified,
His body is taken down
from the cross,
Nicodemus joins
with Joseph of Arimathea
in preparing Jesus' body
for the tomb.
All the other disciples
had left.
Nicodemus,
at that time,
surfaces
as one who believes.
We know
how Jesus
demonstrated
His wisdom
and the way
that He dealt
with hurting people.
You know,
time and time again,
people who were
in great need,
blind people,
lame people,
all kinds of issues,
they came to Jesus
and they found
compassion in Him.
Someone who
looked,
not just their
physical issues
or physical problems,
but He looked deeper
at the spiritual issues.
That's why He would
say things like
to the person
He healed
who was crippled,
in addition to
rise,
take up your pallet
and walk,
He's talked about
having their sins
forgiven.
And then,
Jesus demonstrates
great wisdom.
He knew how to relate
to people
of all walks of life
when those religious
hypocrites came
and tried to trick Him,
tried to trip Him up,
tried to make Him
look bad.
Jesus always knew
their heart,
knew the lack
of sincerity,
knew their hypocrisy,
and a lot of times
He called them out.
He called them
just point-blank liars,
children of the devil,
people who weren't
concerned about
really the truth.
They were just concerned
about themselves,
about their position
and prominence.
Jesus taught
in such a way
that those who heard Him
said things like this
that you read about
in John 7,
no one ever spoke
like this man.
When people heard Jesus,
they heard someone
who was different,
someone who
embodied
the wisdom
of God.
Jesus
was able
to speak
and teach
like He did
because He is
the source
of all truth.
He embodies truth
as He said
in John 14,
6 of the familiar passage.
Jesus said,
I am the way
and the truth
and the life
and no one comes
to the Father
except through Me.
It's because Jesus
is the ultimate source
of truth
and wisdom
that you and I
need to turn
to Him
to find
ultimate answers
in our own lives.
That's the only way
we're going to be able
to make sense
out of the confusion
and chaos
and contradictions
that we find
all around us
in this world.
I want you to think
right now.
The Lord Jesus Christ
knows you.
He knows your
life situation
right now
that you're dealing
with.
No one else
may know
but He knows.
He knows
what you need
and He knows
the best way
to meet your needs.
And that may not
always be
the way you want
to meet.
Jesus always
gives wise
counsel to those
who will humbly
come to Him,
listen to Him,
and be willing
to obey Him.
that means you.
I hope that you
have already,
if not that you
will experience
this wonderful
counselor
who will help you
with His wisdom
in ways that
will make a difference
in your life.
Christ rules
with wisdom,
Isaiah is telling
us.
We also see
that Jesus Christ
rules with power.
He is mighty
God.
As a wonderful
counselor,
Jesus tells us
what to do.
As mighty God,
He supplies us
with the power
to be able
to do it.
You know,
human counsel
can only go
so far.
haven't you
talked to people
about various
problems in their
life?
And in many
of those situations
the solution
was obvious.
You see,
every one of us
in this room,
we are counselors
to some people.
There's some people
who would never
dream of talking
to a pastor
or actually going
to a licensed
real counselor.
But they talk
to you.
You are the
person that
some people
go to
to get help
with serious
issues in their
life.
And sometimes
when they go
to you,
sometimes you
just sort of
think to yourself,
I don't know
what to do.
Sometimes they
come to you
and they ask
questions
and you have
the answer.
The problem
is,
you have
an answer
but you
can't give
them the
power that
they need
to change.
Jesus Christ
has the power
to bring about
change in our
lives, in any
person's life
because He is
mighty God.
He is God
in the flesh.
That's a part
of what the
whole Christmas
story is.
Jesus Christ
has always existed
as the Son of God,
the second person
of the Trinity.
He came into
this world
as a man,
a baby born
in Bethlehem.
He is God
incarnate.
That means God
in the flesh.
John tells us
about that
in his first
chapter,
verses 1 and
14.
Look at it.
In the beginning
was the Word,
he's describing
Jesus.
And the Word
was with God
and the Word
was God.
And the Word
became flesh
and dwelt
among us.
Jesus, on one
occasion,
trying to clear up
some confusion
among His disciples,
in particular
with Thomas,
He just couldn't
grasp,
you know,
who is God?
Who are you
even, Jesus?
Jesus said to him,
whoever has seen
me has seen
the Father
because I'm God
in the flesh.
I've come
that you might
be able to see
what God
looks like
in terms of
Him coming
into the world
as a man
because Jesus
is mighty God.
I want you to
understand,
He has the power
to forgive sin.
guilt is a lot
of people's
real burden.
It could be
yours this morning.
It could be
that things
are not good
in your life
because
they're sin
and you're
weighted down
by guilt.
I want you
to understand
that that weight
can be lifted
if you're not
a Christian
by putting your
faith and trust
in Jesus
as you turn
from your sin,
as you admit
it,
forsake it.
God can forgive
you.
He will forgive
you.
It may be
that you are
a Christian
but you,
there's some
things in your
life or a
thing in your
life that
you've just
rebelled against
God about
and the result
is there's a lot
of guilt,
maybe some
anger and
frustration.
I want you
to understand
that Scripture
says if you
will confess
your sins,
God is
faithful and
just to
forgive you
and to
cleanse you
from all
unrighteousness.
Our Lord
has the power
to rebuild
a person's
life.
When I was
growing up
in the
community that
I lived in,
there was a
man who was
known by
everyone as
the community
drunk.
Now, he was
such a guy,
lived such a
life, no one
thought of him
as an alcoholic
because that was
too good a word
for this guy.
He just
looked and
acted, treated
people as
just a drunk.
No one
respected him.
No one
thought anything
positive about
him because
of the way he
mistreated his
family, because
of the way he
couldn't be
trusted.
He did a lot
of funny as
well as foolish
things.
One of the
stories of the
community that
everyone knew,
on one occasion,
he was driving
drunk.
he was driving
real slow and
he went out,
it was on the
Clemson Highway.
He ran into a
highway patrolman.
It wasn't a
major wreck,
the patrolman
saw him coming,
just couldn't get
out of the way.
He was going
slow and he
hit the highway
patrolman's car.
The patrolman
got out of the
car and came up
to his window and
I can't tell you
to use all the
words that he
used, but he
basically looked
at the patrolman
and said,
you sure got
here in a hurry.
That was the
guy.
But somewhere
in his 60s,
after I'd grown
up and gone
away, my dad
told me about
him.
Sometime in
his 60s, he
was saved.
And my dad
said, his life
just totally
changed.
180 degree turn.
For years, all I
ever saw in him
was just somebody
who looked like
he'd lived a hard
life.
He looked it in
his face,
unkempt, bent
over, sort of.
Not just when he
was drinking, slurred
kind of speech.
But this is the
honest truth.
When God saved
him, he stood up
straight.
The countenance on
his face was
changed.
He became a more
articulate person.
And everybody
noticed it.
Everybody was just
taken back by it.
And after he
demonstrated the
reality of his
faith, of his
relationship with
the Lord, after
several years, his
church actually
elected him to be a
deacon in that
church.
And nobody
thought it was
funny.
Nobody thought it
was a joke.
He became in that
community a
testimony of God's
grace and God's
power.
And what I want
you to hear in
this story is, the
Lord Jesus Christ,
mighty God, he has
the power to change
any person's life.
But you've got to
come to him on his
terms.
Confess your need
for a Savior.
Not just trust in
him, but submit to
his authority as the
mighty God over
your life.
Jesus Christ
rules with
wisdom, rules
with power.
But we also see
in these titles,
Jesus Christ rules
lovingly and
sovereignly.
He is
everlasting
father.
And don't be
confused by that
word father.
The everlasting
father title is
not intended to
cause us to
think that Jesus
Christ is the
same person as
God the father.
That he's God the
son and he's God
the father.
That wouldn't make
sense.
In the Old
Testament, what this
means is kings were
sometimes called
fathers of the
people that they
ruled.
God the
ESV study Bible
explains this, I
think, very
well.
It says that as
everlasting father,
he is a
benevolent
protector, which
is the task of the
ideal king and is
also the way God
himself cares for
his people.
It should be
comforting to every
one of us, we're
Christians, to know
that our Lord is
our benevolent
protector.
He's our loving,
sovereign Savior
who always works
for God's glory
and our good.
Now you know,
hopefully you know,
that doesn't mean
everything as God
works in our life,
that doesn't mean
everything will be
easy.
It doesn't mean that
everything will always
work out the way that
we want it to.
But our Lord can be
trusted to take care
of us.
He can be trusted to
never let anything
take us out of his
protecting hand,
just as Jesus
promised.
Look again at
John's gospel, this
time the 10th
chapter.
Jesus says, my
sheep, that's how
he's describing his
people, people who
believe in him.
My sheep hear my
voice, and I know
them, and they
follow me.
I give them
eternal life, and
they will never
perish, and no one
will snatch them out
of my hand.
My Father, who has
given them to me, is
greater than all, and
no one is able to
snatch them out of
the Father's hand.
I and the Father
are one.
The Lord's promising
us here that no
matter what, we
can count on him.
We can count on our
heavenly Father to
take care of us.
That is, we who are
his sheep.
We who follow him.
What that means is we
need to make sure we're
one of them.
Isaiah is telling us
that the Christ of
Christmas, he rules with
wisdom, he rules with
power, he rules with
loving protection.
And there's one more
way.
Jesus Christ rules in
peace.
He's the Prince of
Peace.
And I want to come
back to that, either on
Christmas Eve or
Christmas Day, and just
focus on him being the
Prince of Peace.
You know, we all have
our Christmas traditions.
Some of us have already
started them, and we're
going to be participating
in them throughout this
holiday season.
Some of you have put up
your Christmas tree
already, or you will,
because you always do it
on a certain day in a
certain way.
Some of you have already
or will enjoy going out
shopping with a certain
family member or a certain
friend.
You do it every year
together at Christmas.
Some of you, one of your
Christmas traditions is you
do things around the house
with a Christmas CD on.
Or maybe you like to watch
Christmas specials on TV,
hopefully that are more
edifying than something
like Christmas vacation.
Now, a lot of us, we like
to gather with family
members.
You know, you're going to
meet with certain, one set
of family, one side of the
family, maybe, on Christmas
Eve, another side of the
family on Christmas Day.
We all in this room, we have
some Christmas traditions that
really are big events to us.
And that's good.
Every family, every member of
every family should have
Christmas traditions that mean
something to them.
But let's be careful that we
do not miss the real big event
of Christmas.
The coming of God's Son,
Jesus Christ, into this world
to save His people from their
sins.
The names or titles of Jesus
that we see in Isaiah,
they help us to understand that
our Savior is able to meet our
deepest needs as He provides us
with wise counsel, power to
change, loving protection,
and perfect peace.
Two questions.
How have you responded to the
Christ of Christmas?
Jesus Christ?
If you're not a Christian, if
you've not experienced the
salvation that God freely gives
through faith in Jesus, I want
to invite you right now to turn to
Him.
That means you've got to admit that
you are a sinner separated from God
by your sin and be willing to
admit that, change your mind about
living that way, grieve over your
sin, turn from that and turn to
Christ, trusting that when He died
on the cross, He took your
punishment.
He paid the penalty for your sins.
Put your faith in Him.
Call upon Him to save you.
Surrender your life to Him now.
How have you responded to Christ,
the Christ of Christmas?
If you are a Christian, if you have
experienced His salvation, I want to
encourage you this day, this Sunday,
December the 11th, make sure you are
honoring Him as the Lord of your life.
not just during Christmas season, but
every day that you live.
Make sure that this Christ of
Christmas, that He's also the Lord of
your life.
Is He?
And if He's not, would you come back to
Him now?
Let's pray together.
Father, help us this morning to
understand just what a great, powerful,
loving, wise Savior Jesus is.
Show us, Father, how we should respond to
the Lord Jesus.
Give us the wisdom and the power, the
desire, the ability to respond the way
that we as individuals need to.
You just pray now.
You listen to the Lord.
You respond to Him as He speaks, as He
shows you what you need to do.
If I could pray with you or help you
here at the front, I will be here.
I would love to do that.
Let's just listen to the Lord and obey Him
now.