The Promise - Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
MS Word Document
Introduction: Christmas Rats
A Sunday School Teacher was very nervous about her first Christmas pageant, so she had everything written down on cards which the children would turn over when she called out the item in the story. She had one group of boys which just couldn’t be trusted so she gave them the easiest word STAR. All they had to do was march out on the podium turn over their signs and all would e well. The big night came, and the teacher narrated the story of the first Christmas. All was going well the children were turning over their cards like clockwork. Now came those four little rowdy boys marching out on stage. The teacher speaks, “And as the wise men looked that night for the baby Jesus, they were led by the wondrous Christmas… and she motioned for the boys to turn over their signs. There was a gasp from the audience and then several stated to laugh, the teacher looked at the four boys and then almost fainted from embarrassment. For you see the four little boys had gotten mixed up and marched out in reverse order. So, when they turned over their cards, the wise men that day followed the wondrous Christmas RATS.
There are
many things about Christmas that are mixed up even backward just like those
four boys. I’m not destroying anyone’s
myth by telling you that Jesus was not born on December 25th, am I? Nor that there was no Christmas tree,
mistletoe, Yule log. Even the wise men didn’t make it on the night he was born.
That took place up to 2 years later when the baby was now a young child and
Joseph and Mary were in a house no longer the stable. But when you sift through
all the myths and legends and mix ups from the last 2000 years what do you
have? You have the fulfilled promise of
God. A promise of One who would come
into this world, into the nation of Israel and into the lives of those who
believe. This morning lets go to Isaiah 9:6 and look at that promise and the
person of Isaiah 9:6.
The book of Isaiah was written by Isaiah the Prophet, who
served God as a prophet to the southern kingdom for over 40 years. Isaiah’s
name means “salvation of the Lord,” and salvation and deliverance are the themes
of the book he wrote. The book consists of several sermons detailing those acts
of deliverance that God would do for His nation Israel.
Chapters 11-12 the future deliverance of the Jews from worldwide
dispersion among the Gentiles
36-37 the deliverance of Judah from Assyrian invasion
40 the deliverance of the nation from Babylonian captivity
60, 66 the final deliverance of creation from the bondage of
sin when the kingdom is established
53 the deliverance of lost sinners from judgment.
Isaiah begins with a series of sermons condemning sin in the
lives of the people of Judah in 1-6 and the sins of the nation as a whole
through its leaders in chaps. 7—12. He warns of judgment and pleads for the people
and the nation to repent. The prophet Micah was preaching the same message to
the same people at the same time, while the prophets Amos and Hosea were
preaching to the northern kingdom. All these servants of God warning Israel and
Judah that time was running out.
The people’s sin and God’s judgment meant that the days were
dark. Dark in sin, dark in hopelessness. The King during the early part of
Isaiah’s ministry was Ahaz, a weak and wicked King influenced and in fear of
the pagan nations around him. It was during this time that Isaiah was
instructed by God to name his son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which meant the enemy
is coming fast. (You know things are bad when you start naming kids things like,
Maher-shalal-hash-baz.) In this time of political sin and coming judgment Isaiah
wrote the passage we are studying today, 8:21-22 gives us the sense of the
blackness and gloom of the nation and its people.
Isaiah 8:21-22 - And they shall pass through it, hardly
bestead (greatly distressed) and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when
they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and
their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold
trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to
darkness.
Then in Chapter 9, God speaking through Isaiah gives His
people hope in the midst of the darkness.
Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a
great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined.
In verse 6 Isaiah gives us the reason for this hope, he
gives the hope of the light that has shined.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace.
I have a translation of the Bible written with emphasis on
the Hebrew and especially the names of the Old Testament, in the Jerusalem Publication
Society Translation this verse reads like this, Isaiah 9:6 JPS - “For a child
is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his
shoulder; and his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom; {That
is, Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty, the everlasting Father, the Ruler
of peace.}
Let’s take the titles of Jesus the Messiah given in this powerful verse of hop and savor them this morning. Let’s meditate on just how the Messiah was described and how much each one of those names, offices and descriptions means to us, especially during the dark times when we need like the people of Israel, to see a great light and have that light shines on us.
Wonderful Counselor - Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.
Jesus The Wonderful Counselor
There is a minor debate about whether or not this first name of Jesus the Christ is one title, his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor or if it is two, his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor. The ancient languages did not use commas and there is nothing in the word itself that definitely tells us that wonderful is an adjective that is describing counselor, but if your read the other titles, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace then wonderful counselor would seem to fit the pattern. It doesn’t change the meaning of the message of hope that Isaiah was giving which ever way you read it.
Isaiah was describing the Messiah who would be to the people, a counselor like no other, a miraculous counselor, who would be able to understand them no other could.
Later we would understand why this was true, because Jesus would come into this world and take on human flesh and become man. He would understand us, he could comfort, console and counsel us because he was both creator and creature. He not only knew us from above but become one of us. He was born of Mary, he grew, he lived, he suffered, and he even died as a man.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
This is the miracle, the wonder of their Messiah as their counselor
Jesus, My Wonderful Counselor
The only one who can or ever will ever completely understood you and I is Jesus. Jesus understands me as no other person possibly can. He knows me as my Creator but also as the creature that I am. He sees me in my fear and doubts, he sees me in my sin and shame, He see not only what I am but also what I can be in Him.
When Jesus calls out in Matthew 11:28-30 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” That is the invitation of my wonderful counselor, someone who truly knows what I am struggling with, how dark my world may be and how much I need someone to bear the burdens I can’t carry. Jesus is that someone.
Illustration: Writing of the Song, "No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus"
Charles Weigel was an itinerant evangelist, drumming up meetings, preaching one week at this church and another week at a church a hundred or a thousand miles away. He often traveled by himself, leaving his wife and son at home. One day after finishing a gospel crusade, he came back home to find it dark and empty, there was a note from his wife that said she was taking their son and leaving him, being a lonely evangelists wife was not the life she wanted.
The next few years were a time of terrible despair and sorrow for Weigel. He questioned his calling; he questioned the purpose of his life and wondered there was any who cared what he was going through. After a time, his faith was again restored, and he wrote a song about how Jesus had always been with him. He wrote the words and the tune for the hymn that he is famous for, "No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus."
No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus.
I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how He changed my life completely
He did something that no other friend could do.
chorus:
No one ever cared for me like Jesus;
There's no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me
O how much He cared for me!
All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me;
All my heart was full of misery and woe;
Jesus placed His strong and loving arms around me,
And He led me in the way I ought to go.
Every day He comes to me with new assurance,
More and more I understand His words of love;
But I'll never know just why He came to save me,
Till someday I see His blessed face above
Transition:
Brother Weigel understood that truly Jesus was a wonderful Counselor and yet He is much more than just someone who listens passively listen to our problems and pains. He is also one who will act on our behalf. Isaiah goes on to say that He is, “The Mighty God.”
Mighty God – Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
Jesus Is The Mighty God
Next Isaiah says that the Messiah would be called, “The Mighty God.” Some would try and deny the godhood the deity of Jesus Christ. The Jewish leaders during his first advent accused him of blasphemy when he flatly said, “I and my father are one.” And yet here way back over 750 years before Jesus came, Isaiah plainly says that the Messiah would be called The Mighty God.
There is not doubting as to what the prophet is saying in Deuteronomy 10:17, Moses called God mighty, because He would fight for His people. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
The Messiah in His rightful title as the Mighty God would lead Israel to victory in battle over her enemies. Indeed, this great champion was the type of Messiah expected by the Jewish Pharisees and scribes, but they wanted Him to fight against Rome and the heathen nations and so they missed their mighty God. Missed Him because before He could win the battle against the oppressing nations, he had to win the battle against their possessing sin.
"What a Night"
That night when in the Judean skies
The mystic star dispensed its light,
A blind man moved in his sleep
And dreamed that he had sight.
That night when shepherds heard
The song of hosts angelic choiring near,
A deaf man stirred in slumber's spell
And dreamed that he could hear.
That night when o'er the new-born babe
The tender Mary rose to lean,
A loathsome leper smiled in sleep,
And dreamed that he was clean.
That night when in the manger lay
The Sanctified who came to save,
A man moved in the sleep of death,
And dreamed there was no grave.
Only Jesus The Mighty God, only Jesus as both God of this
world and Champion in every battle could be the messiah Israel needed and only
Jesus as mighty God and victor over sin can be the savior we needed.
Jesus, My God and Champion
As we face the darkness and difficulties of our present days. These days, weeks and not months of uncertainty, struggle, sickness and political turmoil, you know what we need? That’s right we need a might God, we need Jesus to be our champion. And He is the Mighty God as scripture tells us over and over again.
In John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Or in John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. (Claiming the personal name of God as it was given to Moses at the burning bush)
In John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
In Titus 2:13 Paul tells his son in the faith that we are, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
In 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
He is God but if I am to know him in my life as mighty, as champion in the battles I face then I must not make the same mistake the Jewish leader made when Jesus first came. Jesus fights for me when I am following Him and fighting in His cause. Jesus is not my paladin, my representative sent to fight my personal battles. No, Jesus is my Mighty God and I am in His army. I will know victory in my struggles and hope in my darkness if I have my eyes on the Captain of the Lord’s host and I am marching to His orders.
Too many times I feel defeated because am looking for Jesus to fight my own personal, petty battles, instead of understanding I am to fight in the battles where He leads. Jesus looks for soldiers in the battle for the souls of men, but some look for Jesus to put dollars in bank accounts. Jesus looks for warriors to carry the Gospel as a banner into the battlefields where sin is powerful, but I think He should fight for me to have a better job, a nicer car, or a bigger house. Too many so called Christians today aren’t looking to Jesus as the mighty God, they are look to Jesus as the Genie with three wishes to grant. Its no wonder we are losing the battles of our life.
Do you need to see Jesus as Mighty God? Then join Him on the battlefronts He has called us to as the Church of God and then we will see what a champion He truly is.
Illustration: Another night of lights, Gideon fights the battle God sent him to fight.
A battle planned only in a way only God could plan, fought in a way only God could sustain, and won as only God could win. That's the mighty God of Isaiah 9:6, that’s the mighty God of December the 20th 2020.
Transition: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty god and then Isaiah
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says, He is the Everlasting Father.
Everlasting Father
Jesus, The Everlasting Father
Jesus, My Eternity
Can I share with you one more song that describes this truth?
Beulah Land
Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling;
Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand;
Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are calling;
None of these shall move me from Beulah Land.
Refrain:
I’m living on the mountain, underneath a cloudless sky,
I’m drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;
Oh, yes! I’m feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.
Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating,
Sons of men in battle long the enemy withstand;
Safe am I within the castle of God’s Word retreating;
Nothing then can reach me—’tis Beulah Land.
Let the stormy breezes blow, their cry cannot alarm me;
I am safely sheltered here, protected by God’s hand;
Here the sun is always shining, here there’s naught can harm me;
I am safe forever in Beulah Land.
Viewing here the works of God, I sink in contemplation;
Hearing now His blessed voice, I see the way He planned;
Dwelling in the Spirit, here I learn of full salvation;
Gladly I will tarry in Beulah Land.
Transition:
Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, and then Isaiah gives us the final description, the final title, He is
the Prince of Peace.
Prince of Peace- Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jesus, Prince of Peace
Isaiah tells the Jewish people that their coming Messiah would be The Prince of Peace. He is promised here as though He had already come, because God’s promise was eternal and the hope that the promise gave was theirs, right now, despite the surrounding darkness.
The Messiah would be the ruler who was peaceful, but He would also be the ruler who would bring peace. To the Jews of Isaiah time it was the assurance that their enemies would not overwhelm them, but it superseded just the promise of a short term peace for them as a nation. Just as the Messiah was mighty God and everlasting Father this peace meant much more than relief from the threat of an invading Syrian army.
The nation of Israel that had been taken from the slavery of Egypt was in so many ways at war with their God. They still worshipped idols, they had wicked kings, they allayed themselves with idolatrous, pagan nations, but when Messiah would come their internal war with God would cease. They would have an eternal lasting peace with the One who had called them and blessed them and led them as a nation.
In Jeremiah 31:31-34, the Lord speaking through his prophet
promised a new covenant, a covenant of peace. 31 Behold, the days come,
saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and
with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto
them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law
in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and
they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Jesus, Messiah, Prince of Peace would rule the nations and rule the hearts of mankind in peace.
Jesus, My Prince of Peace
That new covenant promised in the book of Jeremiah was established not between Israel and God but between God the Father and God the Son. Israel would enter into the blessings but its keeping was not up to them. We also enter into that same covenant and in the same way by trusting in the one who is the Prince of Peace.
Scripture:
Hebrews 7:22 … Jesus made a surety of a better testament (covenant).
Hebrews 8:6 …he (Jesus) is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Jesus is the Prince of Peace because Jesus shed his blood to pay the price of peace, to cover our sin and to reconcile us with God. Israel could not do it, no matter how many laws they were given or how many they made up themselves. We can’t do it, we can’t find peace in ourselves, in our families, in our nation or in this world unless it comes through Jesus the Prince of Peace.
Illustration: United Nations Peace
At the United Nations in New York City you will find an impressive statue with this scripture from Isaiah 2:4 and Mica 4:3. Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
That is a great verse and it give great hope and yet we
don’t have peace. Do you know what is missing from the scripture in New York?
The first part of the verse. They leave out, “An He shall judge the nations and
rebuke many people.” The United Nations, like all the nations that meet there,
have left out God, they leave out the Messiah and therefore they also leave out
peace, because without Jesus as Lord and Ruler, Without the true Prince of
Peace, there can be no peace. No peace between nations but much more immediate,
no peace in my life and no peace with God.
Conclusion
The Promise of Isaiah 9:6 was not fulfilled until Jesus was
born in Bethlehem, in fact the promise won’t fully be fulfilled until Jesus
comes back leading that host of heaven, returning through the heavens and
ruling and reigning for a thousand years as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
And yet the promise of Isaiah 9:6 is spoken in the present tense. Not unto us a
child will be given, but unto us a child is given. Do you understand why? The reason the language
was in the present was because the promise could begin in the heart of anyone
who would believe. If you heard Isaiah message and believe in the Word of God
that came from him, then the Messiah in the moment would be in your heart, the
wonderful counselor, the might God, the everlasting Father and the prince of
Peace.
Back then, the people of Jerusalem needed that promise and the hope it brought to them. And we need that some promise and hope today. If you listen, you can still hear the words of Isaiah. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” It is the Promise of God’s Gift, the promise of the Messiah, the promise of eternal life and the promise of Peace. I pray that you believe it and that it is your promise today.
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