← ArchiveSunday, January 1, 2017DateJanuary 1, 2017Speaker—TextIsaiah 9Passages in this sermonIsaiah 9:61:39Isaiah 94:37Isaiah 9:25:022 Corinthians 425:06TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Fall on your knees Oh hear the angel voices Oh love divine0:19Oh love when Christ was born Drawing through the Christmas season, Advent, which means the coming.0:48So Christmas is not simply about a child born, Christmas is about the coming king who is coming to redeem the world. So as you see, our Christmas decorations are still here. Some of you have already cleaned house. We have not at our house. We pull our Christmas decorations out in August and put them up in June. That's a somewhat exaggeration. We love Christmas because what it stands for.1:13And the deeper I grow in my faith, the more I love this time of celebration. The more it does something within my soul that Jesus has born of a virgin to die on a cross to redeem us from our sins. So welcome to the new year as we piggyback off of Jesus is our Redeemer. And the series that we've been walking through is He is out of Isaiah 9:6.1:39He is wonderful. He is counselor. He is mighty God. He is everlasting father. He is prince of peace. And we have already seen that Jesus Christ is the source of our joy. That Jesus Christ is the source of our peace. That Jesus Christ is the source where truth seekers go to find the truth.2:04Today, we will see that He is all of these things and more. This morning, as we finish our He is series, we will look at the prophetic writing of Isaiah, written over 700 years before the birth of Christ. You see, in Isaiah, we simply do not find the names of Jesus. So when we say that Jesus is something, Isaiah is not merely giving Him nicknames.2:34So you know Him as Jesus, but Isaiah calls Him wonderful. You know Him as Christ, Isaiah calls Him counselor. These are not additional names. In the ancient world, names represented the character and nature of a person. That's why often we see in the Bible that when someone comes to faith in Christ or has been touched by the Lord in a very special way, what happens to their name? You will no longer be Saul, you will be Paul, you will no longer be Jacob, the one who grabs at the hill and struggles in life.3:00Now that you have struggled with God, you are Israel, the man who has seen or struggled with the Lord. But God does the same thing with us. Revelation says that for those who believe, you will be given a name that no one else knows. How awesome is that? That you, if you put your faith in Christ, you will get to heaven. And someone is going to call your name and you are going to say, "Who is that?"3:28And Jesus is going to say, "It's you. I gave you that name because I died on the cross for you." So these are much more than names. They are the character and nature of our Savior. So I just say this treasure of these names in your heart today. That you may draw nearer the Savior. And as true as the nature of God in Isaiah, hundreds and thousands of years ago, because our God is unchanging, we know that the same truth that is revealed here in the Old Testament is the same about Jesus Christ today.3:56So in Isaiah, thousands of years ago says, "Your Savior is wonderful." We can say today and stand on the word of God and say, "Our Savior is wonderful." Treasure the nature of God in your heart. Embrace the character of your personal Savior, who was born in humble beginnings, died a criminal's death.4:20And as we have songs already today, rose again. Defeated death in the process, redeemed you from your sins. So with that, let's look at Isaiah chapter 9. Isaiah chapter 9, I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me today. And we will focus on verse 6. But I want to read the context of this verse and begin in verse 2 of Isaiah chapter 9.4:50But I want to read the context of this verse and begin in verse 2 of Isaiah chapter 9.5:02Isaiah 9:2, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." And we know that that light is Jesus Christ. "Those who have dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." It is no coincidence that God sent a star to show people where His Son was born. Why? Because the little star was pointing to the great light. Verse 3, "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy.5:32They rejoice before you, according to the joy of harvest. As men rejoice when they divide the spoil, for you have broken the yoke of His burden, and the staff of His shoulder, the rod of His oppressor, and in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel for fire."6:02Now, let me just pause there and say that's not normally the Christmas story we share around the tree, of a warrior king. Verse 6, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called." And so if you have your Bible with me, I want you just to read this as I read along.6:27"His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end." Let's pray. Father God, what a great Savior we worship. You are not a God made of stone.6:57You are a God who is our Everlasting Father, because we can have a personal relationship with You. You are not a God that is feeble or weak. You are the God that when Your Son returns, the battles are ended, fighting is stilled, and every knee will bow. Father, help us draw near to You. Reveal Yourself to us that You are wonderful,7:25that You are Counselor, that You are the Mighty God, not a God, but You are Mighty God. And Father, that You are the one who loves us as children. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. First, I want to remind you this morning that your Savior is wonderful. Your Savior is wonderful. Look at verse 6 again.7:54We've been walking through the He is of Jesus Christ. He is light. Those that have walked in the valley of the shadow of death have seen a great light. A light has shone upon them. So if you're here today and you just feel like you're walking in darkness, have you seen the light? If you know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then if you're walking in darkness, why is the light not shining there? We see that He is joy. So if you've come in here joyless, do you know where joy comes from?8:24And we see that He is peace. I know many of you have not had peace these holidays because it is a time of darkness and sadness. But I pray that even in that, the peace that only God can give will restore your heart and your soul. And we see today, we add to that He is, that He is wonderful. Why, of all things that God's Word would use about Jesus Christ, our Savior, why would it call Him wonderful?8:50The word in Hebrew is palah, which means wonderful, amazing, or marvelous. It can even mean difficult to understand. Why would Holy Scripture, why would the prophet Isaiah name the Son wonderful? You know, I see this because I believe that in Jesus Christ, we find our sense of wonder.9:16We find a sense of amazement. And why is this important? Because wonder is defined this way. It's a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful, unexpected, or unfamiliar, or inexplicable. That's grace, right? It's something that is admirable because we just can't explain it. G.K. Chesterton says it this way.9:46We are perishing for lack of wonder, not for lack of wonders. You know, we live in a moment where many of us get bored quickly. I would venture a guess that many of you are on, some of you are on Facebook right now. You've already tuned me out. Now, I'm not calling you, I don't know who you are. Maybe those in the balcony can see. But we just live in a time where we get bored. We live in a day where I went to a basketball game last week and I found myself struggling because10:15the women were playing basketball and I was looking at the video board, looking at the lights and everything because we just lose our sense of wonder quickly. And I believe that a loss of wonder is a tool of the enemy. He wants us to be bored with salvation. He wants us to be bored with salvation and beauty. We are quickly bored with the ordinary graces in our life.10:44And yet we find in Jesus Christ that he is called wonderful because in him we are full of wonder. Chesterton also says this. You say grace before meals, all right. He said, but I say grace before the concert and the opera and grace before the play with a pantomime and grace before I open a book and grace before sketching or painting or swimming or fencing or boxing or walking,11:02playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen and the ink. You see, I believe Chesterton is on to something. That as believers, our savior specializes in giving grace to the ordinary.11:28That we, if you have put your faith in Christ, our eyes should be open to the wonderful graces that he gives us daily. And how quickly do we not just take it for granted, but how quickly do we get bored with the grace that has given us? How quickly do we get bored with songs that we've heard more than once? Or how quickly do we get bored with, with going to worship?11:57Because you know what? I just don't feel like it today. Oh, that we would be like our daughter. We have a daughter that will be two in January. And we were at a wedding of my cousin this week. And at the rehearsal dinner, we gave her a cup with a straw. Right? Plastic cup, plastic lid, plastic straw. Following me there? Not, nothing. There's nothing mechanically significant about that. I know some of our engineers are going to email me later and give me all the ins and outs.12:26Straw cup lid. That's it. And she played with that straw for 10 minutes. Why? Because as a infant, she saw a sense of wonder in the simplistic functions of that cup. You know what I would have done with that cup? I'd have taken it, popped the straw in and drank it and said, I need a refill. And yet she had wonder in her life.12:54You say, well, pastor, why is that important? Because I think in Christ, we should be wonder-filled people. God does not get tired of waking me up every day and giving me breath. And when he does, I will not be here. God specializes in giving grace to the ordinary. And how often do we wake up and say, it's another year.13:22And God said, but don't you realize, I gave you breath this morning. Church, don't you realize that God commanded the sun to rise again? And what is he going to do tomorrow? He's going to say, son, do your duty, do your worship, that God specializes in what we call the ordinary, but the ordinary filled with grace is wonderful. So I ask you, have you lost your sense of wonder and amazement?13:50I believe that Christ followers should be the most wonder-filled people in the world. That we should be people that the world looks at and says, why do you enjoy your straw so much? Because we say, God gives me the strength to use it. And they say, well, why do you keep going to church? Because the grace of God compels me. And why do you stare at the trees?14:19Because I know that my Savior has intricately crafted the leaves and the colors. And why is that important? Because we should enjoy the creation that God has given us. But we should not idolize it. We should enjoy it and we should be filled with wonder. We should be strengthened and championed with the beauty that God has given us. So if you love football, I know some of you watched a game. I think there was a game yesterday.14:48Some of you watched Clemson play. It's okay to enjoy football. Let me say that. But when you enjoy it, do so for the glory of God. And remember, God, thank you that you give me eyes to see and you give me a mouth to scream. And God, I'm going to invite my neighbors to watch this football game that I may share the gospel with them. Because even in football, I can share the good news of Jesus Christ.15:18I can redeem this game for the glory of the Lord because I am filled with wonder. But God says, don't idolize it. Don't worship it. Don't worship the trees. Don't worship your bank account. Don't worship anything. But may you be filled with wonder. So if you have lost your wonder, if when you open God's word, if you say, you know what? These are just words. They're stale. If you've lost your wonder, I ask that you would pray today.15:47God, restore to me the joy and wonder of your salvation. Knowing that his word gives life. He is wonderful. So be filled with wonder. We also see this about Jesus Christ. Your Savior is wonderful. Your Savior, secondly, is this. He is counselor. He is counselor. The word in Hebrew means advise or counsel, purpose, plan, or determine.16:17This is who our Savior is. And you say, well, why are we filled with wonder? Because I still don't understand why God saves us. I don't understand why those living in rebellion, he died for. I'm talking about myself, not you. I don't understand why when Jesus died on the cross, he told those that would follow,16:44I will leave a counselor with you because I am the counselor. You see, God advises, he counsels, he purposes, and he plans. This is the nature of Christ. But this does not mean that Jesus is good advice. Because if we're not careful, we'll lump him into behavior modification. So the Bible does not say that Jesus is good advice.17:13So Jesus is not something to add extra to your life. Jesus radically changes our lives. So rather, are you seeking his counsel and wisdom? The word of God is the one that helps us, not modifies our behavior. It is Christ who restores us. If anyone is Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed and behold, new things have come.17:41You see, the word can mean more than counselor, it can mean plan. And often many of us struggle with knowing the plan of God. We pray constantly, Lord, if you just, well, if I just knew your plan for me. I mean, our youth sometimes struggle with that. Many of you are going to college soon. Some of you are going to college sooner and you're praying that prayer. Lord, just what is your plan for my life?18:09What is your plan? God, you give me the institution and I will go there and I will live for you. But God's word challenges us deeper than that. You see, the word counselor can mean plan. As if God's word is telling us that Jesus is the plan. It doesn't just have a plan, that he is the plan. That we know from the foundations of the world, Jesus Christ is the answer to our sin. And if, as Paul says, to live is Christ and to die is gain, that if Christ is in me, then I know the plan of God.18:38The plan is, Lord, let me draw near the counselor and then work in me and I will be living in your plan. So I just say, my heart goes for our youth. Sometimes we put so much pressure on them. Just pray, give me a school, give me a school, give me a school. But what if God says, you know what? Any school you go to, live for me and you'll be in my plan.19:04Right? Sometimes we struggle with that. And we let our allegiances, right? I bleed maroon and white or crimson or blue and orange. And so we struggle with that. Well, I want to go here or go there. How about, the Lord says, wherever you go, if you are living for Jesus Christ, the counselor is with you. And often we forget that, that he is the plan.19:30We say, Lord, give me your plans. He says, I am the plan. I believe that we should daily orient ourselves around the sun as the planets orient themselves around the little sun. See, scientists would tell you that the reason the world and the planets in our solar system circle the sun, because it's the strongest force. There's no other force greater than the sun. And for those of us who believe and follow Jesus Christ, if you orient yourself away around the sun, there is nothing that can draw you away.20:01That's what the beauty of the counselor is, that we may say, God, give me your counselor and my spirit, your spirit, that I may know that your son is my counsel. He plans, he plans, he determines your life. And so I ask you, are you willing to pray today, Lord, be my guide?20:28Lord, not give me your plan. Some of us want a map. I'm that way. God, if you give me the GPS coordinates, and you let Siri, step by step, direct my path, and even tell me when I'm going the wrong way, tell me when to redirect, then I will trust you. But the beauty of his word is this, his son is counselor that you may trust in him.20:56God says, if you trust my son, I already have the plan. It's him. It's Jesus Christ. And that we can now live in a way that we say, world, if you kill me or if I stumble or whatever happens, to live is Christ, to die is gain, I will live in Christ every day, knowing he is the one that counsels me and guides me. Are you willing to pray, Lord, guide my steps, not knowing where those steps might take you?21:25Think about that. Sometimes we pray, God, you show me the steps, I'll trust. And God says, no, I've given you the counselor. Trust me. I pray that you would take a moment and just say, Lord, guide my steps today. I don't know where, but I trust in you. You are wonderful. Fill me with awe. Fill me with trust in your guidance.21:54He is wonderful. He is counselor. That is your savior if you trust in him. Listen to his voice. We also see this, that God keeps unfolding his plan to us in the nature of his son. He is wonderful. He is counselor. He is... He is wonderful. Verse 6, he is counselor and he is mighty God. Sometimes we miss that.22:25The Bible didn't say he is a God. He doesn't have some might. What does the Bible say about the son? He is mighty. This is a word that designates the strength of God. It is also a word used for the mighty warrior in Scripture. We see this in the Bible. For the believer, for those of us who follow Christ, we should live a life of strength because our God is mighty. We worship the God of angel armies that comes from the Old Testament, where a prophet looked at his sidekick.22:55That's not the official Hebrew, by the way. That was scared of these impending armies. The prophet prayed, God opened his eyes and he opened the eyes and there were angels encamped around the enemy. As if God is saying, do you doubt my strength? And how often do we doubt the strength of God? How often do we say, Lord, I know you're strong.23:24We declare on Sunday morning, God, you are mighty. And tomorrow we face our sin and we just crumble to our knees as if we just can't help it. Instead, we should say, Lord, you are strong. You are mighty. You are not only mighty, you are mighty, God. So, remember this. In one moment, Jesus Christ defeated death, wiped away your sin, and he was raised to life because of his righteous might.23:47Hear that again. In one moment, Jesus Christ defeated death, conquered your sin, and in his righteous power rose again. If that is the might of God, what do we worry about? Do we worry about terrorists that could come in and end our life?24:16We say, thank you, because to die is gain, but to live is Christ. Do we terror at our sin where we say, Lord, you know I have these addictions and I don't have the power. And God says, hello, you don't, but I am mighty God. So, we should rest in his strength and not cower in our weaknesses. See, life in Christ is a life of strength.24:47And if you are born again in Christ, you are born into that strength. Now, you say, well, what does that look like? So, I'm going to go around boasting in myself, beating my chest. May it not be so. 2 Corinthians 4, 7 says it this way, for those of us who are quick to pride. 4, verse 7. But we have this treasure. And the treasure is the might and the power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.25:16We have this treasure. You know where Paul's going here. We have this treasure in jars of clay, a brittle, fragile vessel, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. So, guys, we're just, don't forget about the power of Christ. Just remember, it's not you. Right? Enjoy the power and might of God in your life.25:44Just remember, it is not your power. It is his in you. That we are hard-pressed on every side, but not yet crushed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, not forsaken. We are struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be manifest in our body.26:06And maybe you're here today and you say, well, I understand what God's Word says, but it's difficult. I'm not going to sugarcoat things and say, you know what? If you walk out here with your head held high and the songs proclaimed with a great voice, the might of God will carry you and you will never stumble.26:27That is not what the might of Christ says. But he says to you, like he said to the Apostle Paul, who three times the Apostle Paul prayed, Lord, take this thorn. And scholars have pontificated many books on what the thorn might be, and they never found it.26:52Probably because the thorn is not the subject. It's not the important issue. Three times he said, Lord, take this thorn. I believe there are people here today that are praying that same prayer. Lord, take this from me. God, I'm tired of being tired. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. And God's response to the Apostle, the Saint Paul, is this. My grace is sufficient for you.27:21My strength is made manifest when you are weak because he is a mighty God. So I ask you today, if you have put your faith in Christ, are you enjoying and living out in his strength? Strength doesn't say I'm not going to stumble. Strength says when I stumble, I know that Christ is there to pick me up. Strength is when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I have seen a great light.27:51That is the might of God in our life. So we need to pick ourselves up and quit groveling in this world like, whoa, it's me. And say, you know what? Bring it on. Because my Savior is wonderful. My Savior is counselor and my Savior is mighty God. And lastly, we see this. Your Savior is everlasting Father.28:18He is our eternal Father. Now, let me just remind you that this is an odd phrase. We say, well, of course, God is Father. But who is this talking about? Who is Isaiah predicting? Who is this prophecy written about? 700 years. Jesus Christ in verse 2 and following. What is Christ described as?28:48He is a what? Behold a great light and he is joy and he is peace. But also, what form did he take? He is a child. Behold a child. Behold a son given. Now, we gloss over that. But worldly, we should struggle with that. Because if my son walks in and says, Dad, from here on out, I want you to call me Father.29:15You know where that's going to end up. So how can we call this child Father? How can we call the son given Father? And why should we call him Father? What is God's word pressing upon us in that he is our Father? You see, God's word reminds us that in Christ, if you believe in the redemption through his blood,29:43that he makes you heirs of salvation. That he adopts you into a new family. And if he has adopted you into his family, that believing in this child, the Messiah, now makes you a son and daughter of God. And why do we need that? Because there are many here today that you did not grow up with a father.30:12And the one thing that touches your heart more than anything in God's word is to know that you have a heavenly father that will not let you down. Some of you grew up with a great father that loved you, that cherished you, that you were the apple of his eye. But even in that, your earthly father, as perfect as he might have tried to be, was not all powerful. And that God reminds us that we are adopted.30:41You see, we don't relate to God as an impersonal deity. We don't just come here and worship as if nothing changes in us. We can worship in a way that when we call upon God, who is holy, holy, holy, who is wonderful, who is counselor, who is mighty. He also says, but I give you the opportunity to call me dad, to call me eternal father, that you relate to him.31:05He is a God who loves you, who cherishes you. That is what we see in the Savior. And I ask you today, do not miss the joy of drawing near your heavenly father. What joy there is to say, father, listen to me. This poor man cried and you answered me and delivered me from all my fears, the psalmist is.31:33I believe he's also called eternal father because he has no limits. You see, he's not just father. He's what? He's everlasting father. Our father has no limits. And so if God has no limitations, why do we often try to limit what God does in our life? If God has no limitations, then why do we limit what he wants to do in us?32:01We say, God, I will trust you, but only to this point. God, I know you have power, but only on Sunday mornings. God, I know you love me, but you only love me when I'm doing good things. And God says, you don't do good things. I redeemed you that your filthy rags might be righteousness. But we can say you are our father without limits. So ask of him.32:30Remember that he is the one that is mighty and without limitations. I remember in elementary school, some of you are going to go back several years, some of you are going to go back several more years to elementary school. And this was back in the day when we still had recess. Some of you had brain break. But during recess, it was just a massive humanity in Lafayette County growing up. For recess, our teacher gave us one football for about 100 kids and said, go at it.32:57So we just throw the football and just jump on each other. And that was our recess, and we loved it. I turned out fine. But sometimes those massive human football games would turn in brawls. And, you know, you're young, so you're really wrestling. You're not boxing at that point. Hopefully, some of you maybe. And sometimes those fights would turn into fights about your family. So you would have all of your mama, you know, you start insulting.33:24You would start the your mamas. But there was always one trump card in those fights. When you were tired of fighting, you would always get to the point where you would say, you know what? And really, you don't want to back out. But you needed a way to back out. And so you'd say this, you know what? I bet you my father could beat up your father. Some of you said that, didn't you? My dad could beat up your dad.33:54But if in Jesus Christ we have an everlasting father, we can look at anything in our life and say, you know what? My dad can beat you up. Death, my dad beat you up. Sin, my father broke you. Addictions, my savior says that there is no limit to his love and his grace.34:21Reputations, in Christ can be restored. He can give you a new name. Remember that he is wonderful. Your savior is counselor. Don't worry about the plan as much as who the plan is. Trust him. Your savior is mighty God. Leave this place today in might, in his strength, not in yours, but in his.34:51And remember, your father is an everlasting God who says this. If you have turned away, if you are that wayward child, and you came here because you know what? It's the first Sunday of the new year, and why not? You have a father that says if you will humble yourself, that father will welcome you back into the family. If you cannot call him father, you can only call him father if he is and you are his son.35:19You can only call him father if you can only call him father if you have been adopted and put your faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You say, well, I want that. How can I have the redemption of sins that come in Jesus Christ? I would first say there's nothing you can do. It's not about you. It's about him. He died on the cross for your sins.35:46Colossians says that he took the handwriting of your debt, and he wiped it away and nailed it to the cross. And if you come to him and say, Father, I have sinned and I can do nothing about it. He will say, I forgive you because my son died for that forgiveness. And if he is not your eternal father, I pray that you would humble yourself today and proclaim him as Lord.36:14And make that public and that you would leave this place today with a new father, an eternal father, an everlasting father. If you're a believer and you have lost your wonder, you've lost your amazement in the beauty of God, I pray that you would spend some time on your knees and say, Lord, restore to me the wonder. I want to be filled with wonder about everything because I want to see your grace in everything in my life36:42because his ordinary grace is in everything in my life. And maybe you're here and you're struggling about the plan that God has for your life because you've been more worried about your plan than who the plan's about. Would you spend some time in prayer and say, Lord, I trust you because you are the counselor. You are the one that guides me. And Lord, I don't know where the steps take me, but I trust that you will guide me.37:08Would you reflect and treasure the nature of your Messiah today and Savior? Let's pray, Father.More sermons on Isaiah →
