Wonderful Counselor
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As we tell everyone every week it is our practice to follow a pattern of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.
However, for this Christmas season we are going to preach a topical series on the Birth of Jesus. In keeping with who we are we are going to tailor this series while trying to follow this pattern.
About a month ago Michelle came to me and said she felt that this Christmas was supposed to be about Jesus Being given the name above all names.
This was just as Pastor Rustan and I were brain storming over what the Christmas series for this year should be.
So I started looking for a Title Slide and we Found this Title.
Above Every Name
So Here we are with a Title, a Chunk of Scripture, and Another Christmas Season upon us.
Over the next 5 weeks we are going to be studying Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
To really dive into this we need a little of back story.
Isaiah was a Hebrew prophet who lived approximately 700 years before the Birth of Jesus.
Isaiah was given a vision that God’s Judgement was coming to Israel due to the peoples persistent sin and departure from God’s Law. He was sent with a message that God was going to allow Isreal to be destroyed and taken into captivity by the Assyrian Army.
The Assyrians would eventually become the Babylon.
So after Two Centuries of Disobedience God removed His Protection and allowed Israel to be taken Captive.
Israel is not a nation, it is not a country, It is a People.
So Isaiah brings this message of warning yet in it God also sends a message of Hope.
1 Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
As we have studied Matthew this last year I want to remind you where Jesus spent the majority of his Ministry.
The land of Galilee. That is where people were flocking in Jesus’ time due to a message of Hope.
So over these next few weeks we are Going to Look at Hope Through the Names that Isaiah Says the Messiah will be known for.
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
He Will Be Named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
He Will Be Named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Today we are going to dive into the name Wonderful Counselor.
Wonderful Counselor
Wonderful Counselor
But before we do I want to show you that this Message is more that Just a Message for Christmas.
It is a Message about God in the Past, God in the Present, and God in the Future.
Isaiah 9:6 (CSB)
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders.
Jesus came and lived as Prophet and Teacher.
He died on the Cross as the Lamb of God that transformed Limited Atonement into Unlimited Atonement.
12 he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
So as of right Now Christ is currently sitting at the right hand of the Father as High Priest.
So these are the Positions that Jesus has already Fulfilled.
Prophet, Teacher, Sacrificial Lamb, and High Priest.
Prophet, Teacher, Sacrificial Lamb, and High Priest.
Therefore, we can conclude that part of Isaiah 9:6 has not yet been fullfilled.
Isaiah 9:6a(CSB)
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders.
You see he has been Born and He has been Given, but He has not yet taken over the Government.
That is what is yet to come.
This is known as the:
The Blessed Hope
The Blessed Hope
The Second Coming of the Christ
The Second Coming of the Christ
12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,
13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
3 He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time.
The Thousand Year Reign of Christ
The Thousand Year Reign of Christ
What will that look like.
2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it,
3 and many peoples will come and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about his ways so that we may walk in his paths.” For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will never again train for war.
7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
There is coming a day when the Governments will Rest Upon His Shoulders.
But While we Wait. Let’s look at
How He Has Been, How He Is, and How He will Be a Wonderful Counselor.
How He Has Been, How He Is, and How He will Be a Wonderful Counselor.
So let’s first look at the Word Wonderful.
In Terms of the Wonderfulness of God not as we use it today.
Wonderful = Incomprehensible
When we think of Jesus is should cause us to be Full of Wonder.
I am not looking for answers, I am looking for the next question I did not know I should ask.
These questions Fill me with Wonder.
Jesus’ Wonderfulness is Mind Boggling.
When Manoah the Father of Samson ask the Lord His Name.
18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”
18 “Why do you ask my name,” the angel of the Lord asked him, “since it is beyond understanding?”
Though out our study of Matthew we have seen Jesus’ Wonderfulness as he walked this Earth.
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
It is mind Boggling the God could be with us!
23 Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
It is Incomprehensible His Authority over the Word of God and His ability to Heal every disease and sickness.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
It should leave us in awe when we think of how He lived Sinless in spite of temptation.
Now the second part of this Messianic Title is Counselor.
When we think of Counselor here we should look back at Solomon the wisest man to walk the earth.
34 Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.
Jesus is the Better Solomon!
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
Jesus is all knowing.
24 Jesus, however, would not entrust himself to them, since he knew them all
25 and because he did not need anyone to testify about man; for he himself knew what was in man.
3 In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
So therefore we should approach the Wonderful Counselor in this way.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away.
Why?
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
We can look to him now for Counsel but how Great is it going to be when We can Go to Him for all Counsel.
7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
So right now we can trust His Wonderful Counsel.
6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.
We can pray to him about our Worries.
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.
But let’s be Honest:
That does not fit in our world of
Individual Rationalization
Where We
Self Authenticate
Self Secure
and are Self Judicial
So how do we go from looking like The Worlds Image to looking like the Image of God.
We Make Jesus’ Words our Words
We Make Jesus’ Words our Words
We Make Jesus’ Ways our Ways
We Make Jesus’ Ways our Ways
We allow the Holy Spirit to Transform our Minds
We allow the Holy Spirit to Transform our Minds
We Choose to Follow the Child which was Given.
We Choose to Follow the Child which was Given.
The Wonderful Counselor
The Wonderful Counselor
