Everlasting Father

December 4th, 2022

Series: God with us!

Sermon Title: Everlasting Father

Topic: Christmas series.

Key Passages: Colossians 1:19, Isaiah 9: 2-7

Sermon Blurb: What does it mean that Jesus is an Eternal Father? In this message we will discover the depth of what this means for our lives on earth, and for all of eternity!

Sermon:

Family Moment

Well, it is officially here!

The Christmas Season has begun at Family Church!!!!!

For the newer families around here…..

While Pastor Matt puts his tree up in September….we as a church family always decorate and start our Christmas series the Sunday after Thanksgiving!

But I am curious today…raise your hand if you had your tree up before Thanksgiving?

Raise your hand if you put your tree up this weekend!

Now for everyone else…raise your hand because you are a Grinch!

LOL

PAUSE

If you are like me…..

You are finalizing all your Christmas plans!

You are getting excited about those special Christmas traditions!

Thank goodness Black Friday is behind us….but Cyber Monday is ahead if you missed it…

Christmas music is playing everywhere you go

And if you’re like most of our pastoral staff your looking forward to that Vintage Christmas Blend at Starbucks!!!

PAUSE

Today we kick off a Christmas Series that we’ve entitled, “God is With Us.”

The next 4 Sundays we will be looking at a well-known passage from the Old Testament and emphasizing 4 Promises that are specific to Christmas!

PAUSE

Before we jump into things deeper let me remind of something we said last week….

How we approach all holidays at Family Church because I know we have a lot of newer people here.

We are a FAMILY-focused church.

That means we actively try to NOT compete with family-related holidays but instead all you to have margin during busy family times of the year.

That means whenever a major holiday, like Christmas this year, lands on a Sunday….we do NOT have services.

I know that might sound crazy to some of you.

But the reality is we do not want to add more complications to a time in your life that is already to busy.

So, we choose to give margin back to you.

That being said I know there are some of you who REALLY want service on Christmas day or Christmas eve.

So, if you are newer let me elaborate.

Our Christmas service is always the week BEFORE Christmas.

So that means on Thursday, December 15, and Sunday, December 18th at all services we will have a traditional Christmas service

We will sing Christmas Carols!

We will share the Christmas story!

We will end with candle lighting!

We will give everyone a great present!

And I promise you will all love it!

PAUSE

And I am REALLY excited about what we are putting together to serve all of you on Christmas Sunday since we will NOT be open that Sunday.

We are putting together a service you will all be able to access anytime around Christmas when your family is together…..

And it will be awesome!!!

What we are going to do it.

We are going to have each pastor share what Christmas looks like from a different perspective.

I will talk about from a father’s perspective, like Jacob what Christmas morning is about.

Pastor Steve will look at Christmas morning from a teenager’s perspective like Mary since she was a teenager.

Pastor John will look at it from a Grandparents perspective and talk about Zachariah and Anna.

Bob will look at it from the shepherds and the mission they were given.

Matt will look at it from the wise men who came to worship.

Erik will look at the JOY it brought children like John who lept in his mother’s womb.

And Pastor Keith will look at it from the perspective of the unexpectant world.

We will have a great Christmas Carol set for you to sing as well.

And our hope Is that you will all lead your family in a worship service at home…..

PAUSE

So, let’s shift now and get into the foundation of the best news ever.

That God sent his son to earth!

That God’s son Jesus came to set us free from our sins!

PAUSE

Today we are continuing a Christmas series entitled God is With Us.

We are studying a passage of Scripture found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah.

PAUSE

And if you are new or newer to Family Church we are SO GLAD you are here!

Let me catch you up to where we are today in this series…..

So far, we have noted that the Messiah, who is Jesus, that Jesus came as a King Who would establish His Kingdom…….

And with any kingdom…..

There are certain things that define each kingdom or country.

And this whole series is about the kind of things that mark Jesus’ Kingdom and reign….

The unique characteristics…

Promises…..

And guarantees towards us through Jesus……

The last two weeks we looked at 2 of these qualities….

In week one of this series we say Jesus rules as a Wonder of Counselor…..

Meaning Jesus provides us supernatural perspective and wisdom…

In week #2 we learned that Jesus rules as a Mighty God…..

That Jesus possesses the ability,

The authority,

The wisdom to rule His Kingdom perfectly.

PAUSE

Today, we’re going to move forward into the 3rd distinguishing name or quality of Jesus’ Kingdom.

And when I was thinking about this……

It got me to thinking about names over time.

Today, names are important in distinguishing one person from another and that is about it……

But if we rewind in human history…..for so many cultures….and in so many places….name were much more than just a name as we think about it today….

If we go back to Jesus time……

For the Hebrew people names were much more significant than just something to tell Adam from Bob.

Back then names were given to define a person’s character or future life.

We see through the Bible when God names a person….it has even DEEPER meaning for them and the future generations that will come after the person God names!

See when God names a person write this down…..

God names us by His character lived out through us.

Repeat

God sees names like “a sign” or a “distinctive mark.”

PAUSE

For the Greco Romans that lived in Jesus’ time the word name means “to know.”

So to any Roman…….a name indicated not only a person but also a person’s identity.

Let’s phrase this another way that might help you follow me….

Write this down,

A biblical name describes the person and indicates the essential character of the person.

Repeat

We see this throughout the Bible beginning with Adam…

Which by the way Adam means man of the Earth if you are not aware….

We also see in Genesis, the first book of our Bibles, Adam naming the animals according to their nature.

That’s why names in the OT always have a specific meaning

Noah means relief and comfort.

Abraham means father of many.

David means cherished or beloved.

In the New Testament we see God change people’s name quite often.

Simon had his name changed to Peter which means the rock.

Saul has his name changed to Paul which means small or humble....with if you look at what Saul thought of himself....he needed to be lesser and more humble!!!!

Do you see it church????

Names describing the person and character which defined that individual.

And we did this with our kids some (adjust based on you or use a similar example)

My youngest sweet little angel is Belle Elizabeth.

The meaning of her name is beautiful anointing of God.

Names can be powerful…….

PAUSE

And this Christmas seasons….

As we learn these names of our God.

Our Lord.

Our Savior….

Understand that these names of God are actually points of God’s Self-disclosure!

This is God revealing of Himself to us.

These names were not man’s way of trying to understand an infinite God.

Or man’s attempt to invent or conjure up some sort of idea of whom God was.

NO

This was God Himself telling us who He is.

God accurately, progressively, and precisely revealing Himself one Name at a time.

One characteristic at a time.

PAUSE

Colossians 1:19 says this….and let me show you two different translations from the one most of you have in your lap right now.

They NET version says it this way.

Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son

International Standard Version says it this way:

Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all of his divine essence inhabit him.

So, when we talk about or sing about the Name of the Lord, or when we pray in the Name of Jesus… understand what this means…..

It means we are acknowledging the total person of God and affirming the qualities of God.

PAUSE

So let’s circle back to Isaiah…..

And here is what I want you to see today…

The particular Name that we’ll study today provides insight to how Jesus relates to the people in His Kingdom.

We’ll look at Jesus our Everlasting Father.

Isaiah 9: 2-7 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.

4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

NOW…we need to clarify on something here

You may be asking yourself…

Isn’t this prophecy about Jesus?

And isn’t Jesus the Son of God?

How then, can the Son of God be called Everlasting Father?

Or if you have been in church for a while you might think there is some confusion in the Trinity?

Are God the Son and God the Father the same person?

To answer that, we have to look at context.

This passage is a political prophesy related to Jesus’ Kingship.

The passage is primarily dealing with Jesus’ government type.

And how Jesus will run his Kingdom.

So, this statement, in context, is NOT a contradiction to those things because it isn’t dealing with that subject at all.

We absolutely believe that God is One in being with three distinct essences!

God is Father.

God is Spirit.

God is Son.

Somehow three and somehow one.

PAUSE

Here is the point….write this down….’

Isaiah is NOT calling Jesus the Everlasting paternal Father.

Repeat

Isiah IS calling Jesus the Everlasting political Father.

Repeat

Remember, this is a prophecy of a specific event, specific person, with a specific purpose…

PAUSE

Let me approach this in a slightly different way…just to make sure I’m being clear that Isaiah isn’t calling Jesus the Heavenly Father.

How many fathers in the room today?

Raise your hand proudly!

If I were to ask you, “who are you fathering?”

What would you say?

Most of us would list off the names our kids, or grandkids, or great grandkids, and so forth.

Some of you might even talk about your furry, four legged, kids.

ALL of us would answer that way because we are thinking in a parental or paternal sense.

PAUSE

We all know a lot of famous fathers!

For example, do a little test here to see if you’re feeling sharp today:

Let’s start with an easy one.

Who is the father of

George Bush Jr? Bush Sr.

Opie Griffith? Sheriff Andy!

Bart Simpson? Homer Simpson

Luke Skywalker? Darth Vadar

See you all know more than you think about father figures!

PAUSE

SO…….Let me ask you about some other famous fathers…and try to guide your thinking to a different idea of what fathering means.

Who is the…

Father of basketball? James Naismith

Father of electricity? Benjamin Franklin

Who do we call the Father of our country? George Washington

Father of the Constitution?  James Madison

Father of Western medicine? Hippocrates

Father of evolution?  Charles Darwin

Father of modern astronomy?  Copernicus

SEE, when we call someone a Father, we aren’t always referring to their parental or paternal role.

Father can mean founder, author, or originator.

Or think about it this way….write this down….

A Father is a person who gives identity to something new.

Each of those names we just listed founded or originated something new……..

Something was created, discovered, pioneered…

In fact, we even use this terminology when referring to Satan…we call him the father of what?

Lies.

PAUSE

So using this same approach, Isaiah refers to the Son of God as the Everlasting Father… and what he is saying is that…

Jesus is the Founder, Author, and the Originator of a new way of life.

Repeat

Jesus is creating a way for eternal life for all his subjects.

And at the same time a NEW path for life while on earth.

Jesus gave identify to something new.

Something better.

Jesus gave identity to the restored Kingdom of God.

Jesus took what was broken by sin in the Garden of Eden and Jesus found the only way to restore and enhance it!

PAUSE

Some of you that are new or newer to church might wonder…..

What was broken?

What did Jesus need to fix?

Well, part of being a Christian is believing God created everything.

And then one of God’s angels led a ton of the other angels astray, and we call him Satan.

And Satan not only led angels astray he led mankind astray.

And when mankind listened to Satan instead of God……

That is when sin entered our world…

That is when our world began to break….

And man’s relationship and intimacy with God was broken.

PAUSE

And Jesus came to restore the broken relationship that sin caused!

Jesus is the originator.

The founder of His New Kingdom…

And it is an everlasting Kingdom.

Jesus’ kingdom will never end!!!!!

And this Christmas King invites you and I to His eternal Kingdom.

What an incredible gift!

What an incredible offer!

It does NOT matter how much you, or I, have sinned in our life.

It does NOT matter how many times you have messed up.

It does NOT matter how many times you have told God, “I will never do that again” and then you do!

Jesus….if he is YOUR PERSONAL King…

He will always forgive you!

What a great God we serve!!

PAUSE

Let me close out with a few thoughts.

Jesus is the initiator of the Christian Faith.

Jesus is the offers us freedom through his life and sacrifice.

When we accept that FREE offer from Jesus we can be saved from our sin and invited into an eternal life and His eternal Kingdom!

Jesus is the Author and Perfector of our faith.

Jesus truly is the reason for this season…

Jesus is the only reason we pause for Christmas

Even if you are here today and you do not YET believe in Jesus….

Understand our world revolves around Him anyway.

The calendar year revolves around Him…and his birth moment!

Jesus “God With Us” or birth moment was 2022 years ago.

Every time you look at a date…you are acknowledging Jesus!

PAUSE

So, if Jesus entered the world for you and me….

If Jesus set up a Everlasting Kingdom where you and I are invited

The only question this Christmas season is……have you accepted the invitation?

Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Will you admit your brokenness and sin and ask Jesus to forgive you?

Will you ask Jesus to send you His eternal Spirit to live inside you and help you change the course and direction of your life?

Will you start today changing your life’s orientation to revolve around Jesus?

Will you stop compartmentalizing your life and let Jesus be the ruler over ALL of your life?

Will you strive to align with Jesus’ mission and values?

His rule?

His reign?

His authority?

His purpose?

His commandments?

His movement?

His calling?

His will?

His way?

His best for your life?

PAUSE

Understand, if we’re serving an Eternal Father but we only get 80 or so years on earth…….

Wouldn’t it be best for us to start serving Him now?

Wouldn’t it be smart to start investing into the eternal things rather than the temporal things?

Why waste our time on earth for temporal thrills when you know eternity is the ultimate destiny?

PAUSE

This Christmas, the Eternal Father is calling you (and me) to align to His perspective in our lives…..

Are you in alignment with God’s Kingdom in your life?

Are you willing to abandon certain aspirations that you’ve been pursuing that aren’t His ultimate will for your life?

Will you deny things that actually aren’t good for you or your future?

Will you walk away from certain activities that are not helping your faith grow?

PAUSE

Jesus Himself, is calling us to deny the attractions of the world’s system and to attach ourselves to the activity of God’s Kingdom.

PAUSE

Here is the life application for this message.

If you are new, or newer, to Family Church. We love to give you something to do with each message to take it home and apply it to your life to become more like Jesus…..

Life Application: Our Eternal Father desires for us to live with an ETERNAL focus. Seek to do that by committing today to be more _________________ this Christmas season.

That blank can be different for every person in this room.

What do you need to be more committed to doing this Christmas?

This Christmas, I’m committed to be more __________.

More…

-joyful

-loving

-caring

-generous

-forgiving

-peaceful

-faithful

-influential

-thankful

-patient

-kind

-bold

What is the characteristic of God you are inviting Him to help you walk in?

An Everlasting Father wants you and I to invest into an everlasting life with him…..

Let’s Pray…..

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Offering!