WCF Motto Text 2013

Jesus Given For Us!

Isaiah 9v6. MOTTO TEXT 2013

'Jesus Born for Us!’.

I read of a Pastor who rang his parents to wish them a happy New Year.

He describes how his dad answered the phone. "Well, Dad, what’s your New Year’s resolution?" "To make your mother as happy as I can all year," he answered proudly. Then mom got on, and I said, "What’s your resolution, Mom?" "To see that your dad keeps his resolution for the whole year!”

A motto text serves like a resolution - it is a good way to focus on some Biblical promise or description that will inspire and increase our resolve to serve the Lord in the coming year. Like all resolutions it will be difficult to keep but that does not mean to say we should not try!

How many of you here this morning, “would like to have a fresh start in your Christian life? ”

Many of us here have made mistakes in our lives. We have experienced many setbacks and failures throughout our lives.

Sometimes we allow these mistakes, these setbacks and failures to enslave us to the point that we never enjoy the full Christian life that God has given us to enjoy.

However Jesus says to us in John 10:10 “ I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

The Bible does remind us however, that we have an adversary, called the Devil, that seeks to kill and destroy that life. The Devil will remind us of our past in order to keep us from enjoying the life that God gave us to live. The Devil does not want you to have a fresh start in life.

The GOOD NEWS however is that God says, “I want you to have a fresh start in life, I want you to have a new beginning, I want to do something new in your life. ”

As Sandy and Ian reminded us last week – “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isa 43:18,19).

So today as we look at our Motto text lets remember that God is always the God of TODAY – The God who offers us a new start and let us resolve to lie in the strength of our motto text this Year…

"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".

The amazing thing about the Nativity story is the implications for us!

Why is this “good news of great joy for all people”? Because it tells us that when God gave Jesus to the world he called Him the name Immanuel which means “God with us”!

What the Christmas story tells us as mind-blowing as it is that we can live our lives, right here, right now with God! – God is with us!

The child Isaiah promises to us here has got 4 wonderful names!

We give names to our children for all kinds of reasons - ornamental reasons – we just like the sound of the name or its trendy; family reasons - in honour of our parents or individual members of the family.

We may give names because of their meaning – Bible names which express our faith or our desire for the child to live up to its name!

In the case of Jesus, His 4 names were given to boost our faith and remind us that whatever it is we need in this life, it is adequately provided for in Him. The with God life is a fulfilling life if we allow it to fill us with its goodness.

Before we get into the names of Jesus let us see why He has been given to us!

Jesus has been given to us to lift the gloom from our lives! (v1).

The people Isaiah was speaking to people who walked in darkness(8v22). The nation was threatened by the hordes of the Assyrian armies to the North.

The darkness was caused by political instability. It led to economic hardship and emotional gloom and despondency.

The future was uncertain. They felt that their very existence was at stake.

They therefore looked forward to a day when those in 'darkness' would see 'a great light'(v2).

When desolate places like upper Galilee would have their desolation turned to joy.

When great deliverance would take place and the burden of slavery would be lifted.

When the soldier's military hardware would be fuel for the fire (v5,6).

It is vital to have hope when life is enshrouded with “darkness”

Those who lived through the war-years may have experienced such uncertainty when invasion and occupation loomed large!

THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAT UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE! What will I do if what I dread occurs? How will I cope? What will come of my husband? Wife? Children? How will we survive?'

And when overshadowed with 'The Shadow of death' people have every reason to fear. The elderly particularly so but even among the young : tempted to think that it will not come near them - "Death goes dogging everywhere" (W.E. Henley. 1849-1903) - Illness strikes - some dreaded disease. Violence robs - like the young Kercher girl in Italy! Accidents happen. Death is but a hairs-breath away. Its shadow looms large over all our homes : "Anyone can stop a man's life, but no one his death; a thousand doors open on to it" (Seneca 4 BC).

2. God provides hope for people in darkness!

I want you to notice that all the activity is on God's side:

(i). 'He humbled' BUT 'He will honour'(v1).

(ii). The people are in 'darkness' because of their rebellion against God BUT they shall see 'a great light' only because of the grace and mercy of God (v2).

(iii). God desolated the nation BUT He shall 'enlarge' it (v3).

(iv). God by His judgment brought great 'distress' upon the nation BUT He shall 'increase' its 'joy'(v3), ans shatter all Israel's oppressors to lift the burden of their slavery (v4,5 c/f Dt 13v6).

(vi). And all shall come about because of the gift of a 'child'(v6 see 7v14).

God is the great deliverer of His people!

At the end of the Second World War in Europe our then King wrote in his diary (May 8, 1945): "We look back with thankfulness to God that our tribulation is over".

Parliament decreed that its Members should: "attend at the Church of St Margaret's to give humble and reverent thanks to Almighty God for our deliverance".

John of the Cross said: “Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul. Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you. Do not think that He is leaving you alone, for that would be to wrong Him.”

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. (Isa 50:10)

Sir Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary in Labrador, found himself adrift on an ice flow, headed out to sea. He mercifully killed his dogs, made a coat out of their hides, put up a distress flag, and lay down and slept. Later he said, "There was nothing to fear. I had done all I could, the rest lay in God's hands."

3. God provides hope for his people in a “child”!

Surprisingly (at least for Isaiah's original readers), this great deliverer who would bring light and liberty is a 'child', not a mature hero.

He is 'a son', expressing His maleness. He is to be 'born' as from human parentage BUT he is to be 'given' as a gift from God.

Hence we have in this child with four names the fulfilment of Isaiah 7v14. This child is the Immanuel-child, born of a virgin, given as the Lord's 'sign' to Judah!

This child, occupying a unique position of great dignity, will be the means by which 'the Lord of hosts' will perform this great deliverance.

He is invested with authority, having the golden chains of office 'upon His shoulders'(v6).

He will be famous throughout all the world and His dominion will know no bounds(v7).

Through Him justice and righteousness shall be implemented and preserved throughout time and into eternity.

It will happen! God will see to it! This child will dispel our darkness! This child will destroy death! It is certain – “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this”(Isa 9:7).

Just over a hundred years ago John Paton, from Scotland, took the gospel to the New Hebrides in the South Pacific, today's Vanuatu. Within months his wife and son died. But Paton spent the rest of his life, until he was an old man, planting the church on the Islands. Once he was surrounded by a mob seeking his life. He hid in a tree above them and spent a terrifying night there. He wrote later, “Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the arms of Jesus. Never, in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul . . . as I told all my heart to Jesus. . . . I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Savior's spiritual presence, to enjoy His consoling fellowship”. He quoted Jesus' words, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age," then said, "Precious promise! How often I adore Jesus for it, and rejoice in it! Blessed be his name"

Jesus has been given to us to provide us with everything we need!

On his deathbed, the missionary Charles Simeon smiled brightly and asked the people gathered in his room, "What do you think especially gives me comfort at this time?" When they all remained silent, he exclaimed, "The creation! I ask myself, 'Did Jehovah create the world or did I?' He did! Now if He made the world and all the rolling spheres of the universe, He certainly can take care of me. Into Jesus' hands I can safely commit my spirit!"

When people are in darkness and in fear of death they desperately need hope and deliverance. Jesus has been given to us to provide us with everything we need! This is told us implicitly when the child is given four names!

Four because it is impossible to cover the unique dignity of this deliverer by a single name. Four because each convey some aspect of the amazing, manifold blessings which He brings - “There are two hundred and fifty-six names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ, and I suppose this was because He was infinitely beyond all that any one name could express”. (Billy Sunday, in a sermon, "Wonderful”).

He is....

1. Wonderful Counselor.

When people are in dififculties and threatened they need wise advice.

Counselling is big business today whether it comes from a Pschiatrist; Minister or people like the celebrity doctors; relationship councellors or even Oprah Winfrey!

There is of course nothing wrong with seeking advice and counselling when we have a particular need in our life but it is important to go to one well-qualified to give it.

In the same way when it comes to our eternal well-being we must go to Jesus who alone is qualified to secure our souls for eternity!

The word 'wonderful' is often used to convey the idea of 'supernatural'(c/f Jdg 13v18 'Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful'). 'The Lord Almighty..wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom'(Is 28v29).

He is a “wonderful counselor”, the one who shows us the Father and lead us to the truth about ourselves and about life.  

The Scripture says of Him - Isaiah 11:2, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.”

His words are true and they are life! Whoever heres His word and believes in Him who sent Him has “eternal life”

When it comes to our eternal well-being we must go to Jesus who alone is qualified to secure our souls for eternity!

He UNDERSTANDS & CARES for us in our struggles – When you go through a difficult time and you really believe that no one understood what you were going through, Jesus knows! Whether it is a personal conflict or temptation or deepest sorrow, Jesus knows! – Heb 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”. 1 Peter 5:18 “Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you”!

2. Mighty God.

When people are going through darkness they feel they have no power to deliver themselves. This is when they need a deliverer strong enough to get them through it!

The 'child' to be 'born' is called 'God' (c/f 10v21). Jesus is the God-man(c/f Jn 1v1,14).

As “mighty God” He has the power to carry out all that His wonderful plan requires and to accomplish all that His wonderful plan intended!

Literally He is 'God-hero', the 'strong One'. 'He has nothing less than the full omnipotence of God at His command'(Leupold).

Not only does Christ plan our salvation, He has the power to accomplish it.

As God, He secures our redemption and becomes the Saviour of all who believe in Him.

He can do this because He is God. No mere man can save us. We cannot trust in man (Jer 17v5 'cursed is the man who trusts in man').

Christmas is about 'Immanuel, God with us', to save us from our sins!

If you havre trusted Jesus and are resting in Him then realize afresh that He is “mighty God” – your “mighty God”

He is your “mighty God” so why not rest in His strong hands

He is the Mighty God so let us worship and serve Him and make time to adore Him and honor Him this Christmas.   

3. Everlasting Father.

When people are delivered by a strong ally they need reassurance that their ally will not one day turn on them or tire of them That his favour towards them will last. So it is with Jesus. He is “everlasting father” His love for us does not fail!

Charles Spurgeon writes, “How complex is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ! Almost in the same breath the prophet calls him a "child," and a "counsellor," a "son," and "the everlasting Father." This is no contradiction, and to us scarcely a paradox, but it is a mighty marvel that he who was an infant should at the same time be infinite, he who was the Man of Sorrows should also be God over all, blessed for ever; and that he who is in the Divine Trinity always called the Son, should nevertheless be correctly called "the everlasting Father." How forcibly this should remind us of the necessity of carefully studying and rightly understanding the person of our Lord Jesus Christ! We must not suppose that we shall understand him at a glance. A look will save the soul, but patient meditation alone can fill the mind with the knowledge of the Savior. Glorious mysteries are hidden in his person. He speaks to us in plainest language, and he manifests himself openly in our midst, but yet in his person itself there is a height and depth which human intellect fails to measure. (Metropolitan Pulpit Vol. 12 p. 838)

The paradox here is that the 'child' to be born and the 'son' to be 'given' is from 'everlasting': "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times"(Mic 5v2).

He is from 'everlasting' and is to 'everlasting'. He has no beginning and no end: "I am the Alpha and the Omega..who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty"(Rev 1v8).

Those who are the recipients of His blessing will find in Him 'everlasting life': "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life"(1 Jn 5v11).

Also those who are the recipients of His blessing will find in Him an intimate companion, a "loving, paternal concern..for those who have been committed to His charge"(Leupold): "As a Father pities His children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him"(Ps 103v13).

For Christians Christmas is not just a celebration of Saviour who came in the past, it is worshipping the Saviour who lives in the present.

Unlike Christmas, Jesus doesn't stop on the stroke of midnight of the 25th. The One who came and dwelt in a stable, now dwells in our hearts by His Spirit and is our constant companion - 'Surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age'(Mtt 28v20):

And in Jesus we have the promise of the presence of our “Everlasting father” - As a Good Father He is with us always :

He provides the comfort we need in times of heartbreak

He provides the clothing, food, and support we need

He provides opportunities for us to make a real difference in life

He provides people who will stand alongside us and teach us

He answers our prayers and provides healing for our diseases

He opens our minds to spiritual truth

He gives us strength when we feel we can't go on

4. Prince of Peace.

When people are delivered from darkness they need to know that their peace is not fleeting or temporary but permanent. Our Jesus gives us “peace” no, He is “our peace” for all eternity!

One of the amazing images of the Nativity is the scene where our Lord is born in a manger, in a stable in Bethlehem.

A crude and apparently inappropriate beginning for a 'Prince'.

Yet with God nothing is accidental. The place He was born, 'Bethlehem' means 'house of bread'; how appropriate that the 'Bread of Life'(Jn 6v35), should be born their!

The stable likewise is better suited than a palace for He though He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor that you through His poverty might become rich"(2 Cor 8v9)!

Mark Twain wrote a classic work called 'The Prince and the Pauper' where he tells a story about Tom Canty, born in a poor home in London and Prince Edward born in a palace.

These boys looked alike and when Tom was older he went to the palace to see the King and mannaged to get admission to the palace where he met Prince Edward.

To find out how the other half lived they agreed to exchange clothes. Unfortunately for the prince the guards mistook him for Tom and he is thrown out of the palace.

He is mocked and beaten and has to live as a fugitive on the earth while Tom is treated in princely style and finds himself heir to the throne.

Soon Tom is called to the King's presence and protests : 'I am but a poor boy from the poorest part of the city. My name is Tom Canty. Your son is somewhere else in this fair city!".

That story provides a good illustration of what Christmas is all about. Jesus, the 'Prince of peace' came into this world and exchanged His royal 'clothes' for that of a 'paupers'(man).

John reminds us that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"(1v14). God's Son came "in the likeness of sinful flesh"(Rom 8v4); "being found in appearence as a man, He humbled Himself"(Phil 2v8).

But of course, because God's Son looked like any other man and because of this people failed to recognise Him. But worse was to follow, once He revealed Himself to them, they deliberately rejected Him – “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him”(Jn 1:12)

But that was not the end of the exchange. Jesus came not "to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many"(Mk 10v45).

He came to exchange His life so that sinners might be saved - "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"(1 Tim 1v15)!

Christ came to the world on a peace mission: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests"(Lk 2v14).

He came to make "peace through the blood of His cross"(Col 1v20). "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"(Rom 5v1).

Those who look to and trust in the crucified Christ have 'peace with God'. They are part of God's family and are under the rule of the resurrected Christ as 'Prince'!

Because He is 'Prince of Peace' we ought to note that the methods by which He achieves His plan are 'peaceful'.

He does not draw men violently, or take men unwillingly. He draws them gently and brings them in willingly: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"(Mtt 11v28-30).

That 'child' is Jesus who brings to His people 'one blessing after another'(Jn 1v16).

"How silently, how silently,

The wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts,

The blessings of His Heaven.

No ear may hear His coming;

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still

The dear Christ enters in."

(Philips Brooks).

The concept of a 'peaceful' Christmas still exists even in an increasingly secular world.

People make efforts to reconcile family squables because 'its Christmas'.

Christ is 'the Prince of peace'. Are you at peace with Him? Is your conscience at 'peace'? It can be. All your sins can be forgiven. You can know Christ and be at peace with Him. Make peace this Christmas:

"Hail the Heaven born Prince of Peace,

Hail the sun of righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Risen with healing in His wings.

Mild he lays His glory by,

Born that men no more may die,

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing

Glory to the new-born King!"

(C. Wesley).

In closing let us heed the words of that great Reformer John Calvin:

"Now to apply this for our own instruction, whenever..it appears to us that everything is in a ruinous condition, let us recall to our rememberance that Christ is called wonderful because He has inconceivable methods of assisting us, and because His power is far beyond what we are able to conceive. When we need counsel let us remember that He is the Counsellor. When we need strength, let us remember that He is mighty and strong. When new terrors spring up suddenly every instant, and when many deaths threaten us from various quarters, let us rely on that eternity of which He is with good reason called the Father, and by the same comfort let us learn to soothe all temporal distresses. When we are inwardly tossed by various tempests, and when Satan attempts to disturb our consciences, let us remember that Christ is 'the Prince of peace' and that it is easy for Him, quickly to allay all our uneasy feelings. Thus will these titles confirm us more and more in the faith of Christ, and fortify us against Satan and against hell itself".

And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace".

He is so titled to assure his people that He would, by virtue of His personal qualities and power, have all that is needed to meet their need:

a. A 'Wonderful Counsellor' to guide and direct our lives in the way they should be lived.

b. A 'Mighty God' to secure for us the deliverance from darkness that we need.

c. An 'everlasting Father' to assure us of God's paternal love for us forever.

d. 'Prince of Peace' to quiet our hearts and give us rest in the knowledge that our 'darkness' has been dispelled and we are now safe and secure in God's love.

Have you believed in Jesus? Have you asked Him to dispel your darkness - the darkness that causes you such distress; the darkness of sin and death. Have you asked Him to be your Saviour. Come into the Light today:

O Holy Child of Bethlehem.

Descend to us we pray.

Cast out our sin and enter i;

Be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels,

The great, glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us,

Our Lord, Immanuel"

(Phillips Brooks).

Notes:

1. The army of Tiglath-pileser of Assyria had destroyed the armies of Syria and Ephraim in 734-32 BC. This was an uncertain time in Israel's history. God promises that 'the first part of Israel to succumb would be the first to see the glory"(Kidner) c/f Mtt 4v12-17.