A Child Who Changes Everything

Introduction

I am so glad to be in a building where that the Lord has set aside for us to come worship Him, especially today.

We know Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. In fact, according to the Jewish and Hebrew calendars December is called Kislev and it occurs between November-December.

But what we do know for sure is Jesus was born as a Savior to us.

Jesus’ birth was prophesied many years, I believe it’s 700 years, before He was born.

Jesus’ birth changed the world and He is still changing the world today!

Please allow me to share two of those prophecies and how they connect to the day He was born.

The Prophecies

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 9:6 “For 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 Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

These prophecies came at a time of distress for the northern kingdom of Israel, Judah. The Assyrians were on the move against Israel because of their sin and rebellion against God.

Isaiah’s prophecies were for his time and a time to come. They were fulfilled for Isaiah’s present day and the day of Jesus’ birth.

Did you know God can bring good news in the middle of bad news?

The Connection

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Luke 1:31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.”

The Names

In Isaiah 9:6 we are given four names of the coming and now present Messiah. The government will be upon His shoulder. Before I start with the great and powerful names of Jesus I want to elaborate on one thing:

People today seem to rely on our government for justice, fairness, peace, provision, protection, a leader we can trust, a leader who is impartial. Well. After reading this passage several times over the years, it dawned on me that these leadership qualities won’t come until Jesus comes and brings His Kingdom to earth! Okay, back to the names:

1 - Wonderful Counselor

In some translations this name is supposed to be Wonderful and Counselor. But I’m in agreement with the names being as one name, Wonderful Counselor.

What is a counselor? When we think of our modern day counselors, we think of someone in position to help us with our problems such as a psychiatrist, marriage counselor, financial counselor. So a counselor is someone who leads people to a solution to betterment.

When we put the words wonderful and counselor together we have a counselor who is inspiring, extremely good and marvelous. Wonderful’s root word is wonder.

Jesus is a wonder in our souls. We should be in awe of Him! What He has done in our lives and the lives of others leaves us in awe, speechless!

Jesus is the counselor who reveals the deep and hidden things of God so we can spend an eternity with Him.

2 - Mighty God

This name lets us know that Jesus isn’t to be confused with earthly kings. True is the King of many things, but none can compare to Him.

Hannah declares in 1 Samuel 2:2 - “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”

We have a God on our side that cannot be defeated. We have a King on our side who will always be victorious and He was born so we can claim victory after victory.

He is an omnipotent and supreme ruler.

3 - Everlasting Father

He is our Father who will last forever! He is eternal! He inhabits and possess eternity.

He gives eternal life to those who believe in Him.

When you think of a loving natural father, you come up with a man who is tender, compassionate, a wise instructor, trainer and provider.

4 - Prince of Peace

He is the one who will bring peace, lasting peace to this world.

He will be the cause of every nation coming together as one.

He gives peace right now to those who believe in Him.

Conclusion

When a mother is expecting a child, her and her husband come together to name the child. Some parents try to give the child a name that means something.

It would probably be hard to find parents who received a name from an angel of God. Mary did and the unique thing about it is the name resonated for 700 years.

Immanuel - God with us! Jesus! Salvation!

He is our Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace!

Thank God for the birth of Jesus! Thank God for being able to celebrate His birth today!