TO US A CHILD IS BORN: PART THREE – EVERLASTING FATHER

TO US A CHILD IS BORN: PART THREE – EVERLASTING FATHER Isaiah 9:6 December 16, 2007 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Have you noticed the names that celebrities have been giving their children lately? How about the recent birth to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt—they named their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. The terminally weird Paula Yates and her equally imbalanced husband at the time, Bob Geldoff, named their three daughters Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lilly, Fifi Trixibelle, and Peaches Honey- blossom. Scott Lee’s son was named Pilot Inspektor and, of course, Frank Zappa’s four kids ended up with these monikers: Moon Unit, Ahmet Emuukha Roden, Diva and Dreezil. It’s as if it has become chic in these circles to outdo the last guy in coming up with a far-out name for your child. Poor kids – they’re the ones who get to grow up with such names. If they turn out as freaky as their parents I suppose the might like the names. If they don’t, they either change their name or live the rest of their lives explaining “Well, you see, my parents did a lot of drugs, and when I came along…” Fortunately for them, though, most people don’t think a lot about the meaning of names these days when they name their babies—or, apparently they don’t. In earlier days names meant a lot. The selection of the name Jesus (Yshua) for Mary’s baby was well thought out in advance, as the angel announced it at the moment of his miraculous conception. But the Bible records a host of titles and additional names applied to Jesus. He was called Messiah, Son of the living God, Emmanuel (God with us), Savior, Lord, Lord of all, Lord God, heir of all things, Alpha and Omega. Jesus spoke of himself with terms like Good Shepherd, Resurrection and Life, the Door, Bread of Life, I Am, the Way, Truth and Life. An Unusual Title In text we’ve been studying these three Sundays, Isaiah 9:6, it is prophetically spoken of him that he would be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace (next Sunday) and, oddly enough, the title we are considering this morning, “Everlasting Father”. The irony of calling a baby the everlasting father might even be unusual enough to earn a star in Hollywood! But there it is in Isaiah 9:6, in the passage that, as we’ve already discovered, speaks directly, prophetically and inarguably of the coming Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth: 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 Child will be called …Father In what sense is Jesus, who is the Son of God, to be called the father? Is there some sort of strange mixture in the Trinity in which the Father is really the Son and the Son is really also the Father? If that is so, then, is the Spirit also the Son and the Father the Spirit? No. While each of the persons of the Godhead share in all the divine qualities, I don’t think we are permitted by scripture to blend them together and interchange their names. Then how is it that Jesus could be called “everlasting father”? The Bible used “father” in this sense. In the list of descendants in Genesis 4, it says of Jabal, one of the sons of Lamech, “he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock.” Jubal, his brother, is called “the father of all who play the harp and flute.” It doesn’t mean that all their children were nomads or played instruments, nor that only their children did these things. We use the term “father” in similar fashion when we speak of Galileo as the “father of modern science” or Hippocrates as the “father of medicine” or Einstein as the “father of relativity.” We call George Washington “the father of our country.” He Gives Life In this metaphorical sense, “father” means one who is a progenitor, originator. Jesus is the source of the whole covenant of grace. It is He who, according to 2 Timothy 1:10, …destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. He is, in this sense, the Father of all Christians, the Father of Christianity, the Father of the entire system under which grace reigns through righteousness. Jesus is the Mediator and source of the new covenant (Hebrews 12:23). He Provides There is another sense in which Jesus is “father” of believers. He is our provider. He who is Lord of all things for the church, gifts and cares for the church. Adam was the father of all living beings. But Romans 5 (and 1 Corinthians 15) declares that Jesus, as the second Adam, is the provider of reconciliation and life for all who live in Him through faith. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17) Jesus is like a father, because He provides all that we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him. (2 Peter 1:3) Through his grace we continue to be showered not only with reconciliation through his death and salvation through his resurrection, he always lives to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25). In fact, we are being blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Golden-breasted swallows spend their summers in the eaves of the old mission located in San Juan Capistrano, California. They always arrive on March 19 and leave on Oct. 23, never missing those dates. Not once have they varied over the years. Even leap year doesn’t affect their coming and going. And the swallows invariably start out before daylight on their southern flight. How do you explain this most unusual phenomenon? Nature's guidance? Coincidence? Luck? Of course not! The swallow's Creator has put within those little creatures an instinct that tells them with uncanny accuracy when to head south and when to return. Their survival depends on this innate sense of timing. What meticulous care the Lord Jesus, whose word holds all creation together and sustains everything, exercises to guide the swallow and all the birds of the air! Now, as Jesus explains in Matthew 6, consider how much greater value we are to God than these tiny birds. The One who has so beautifully and tenderly provided for our feathered friends will certainly provide for those who are His through faith in the gospel. Never forget, He provides for us all we need like a father. "Late one night, a man in Slim Cornett's church was showing Slim around a county airport in rural Mississippi. 'This switch lights up the runway,' the man said as he flipped it. 'Then, let's say there is a plane in distress up there. I would throw this switch and turn on the search lights.' "As the night skies lit up, a small plane materialized out of the darkness and landed. Slim and his friend watched in amazement as Franklin Graham, son of the famous evangelist, stepped off the plane. The pilot had been flying Franklin back to school in Texas when the electrical system in his plane shut down, stranding them in the Mississippi night air without lights or radio or any means of guidance. From out of nowhere, the search beam had come on and guided them to the landing strip. "As Franklin's mother, Ruth, tells the story, earlier that evening before they left home, Billy Graham had prayed for the Father to protect and guide his son and the pilot." He Cares Related to His providence of grace, there is the biblical picture of the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep and meets their needs. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” (John 10:14). The apostle Peter wrote to the church, Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) Our great high priest has been exalted higher than the heavens, but he still receives sinners and cares for his own. Turn to him in your time of need and you will never be disappointed. He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. In His care for us, Jesus identifies with our suffering. His grace is beyond wonderful. He not only forgives, but He has agreed to enter our very lives and live in us by His Spirit. Imagine that! The father we offended reconciles us and makes His home in us! Many years ago a woman in a small German town advertised a piano recital she was going to give on a certain day. Her posters falsely identified her as a student of the famous Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt. To her dismay, Liszt visited her little village at the very time of her performance. Knowing she would be found out as a liar and have her budding career ruined by the scandal, she went to the place where Liszt was staying and asked to speak with him. Through tears of embarrassment and humiliation she made her confession to the great man. Liszt responded to her penitence and tears in an unanticipated manner. "You have certainly done a terribly wrong thing," he said, "but we all make mistakes. The only thing to do now is to be sorry, and I think you are truly sorry. Now will you let me hear you play?" As surprised as she was embarrassed at that point, the girl began to play the piano, making several errors at first. She played better as she gained more confidence. Liszt corrected her at certain points and made suggestions at others. When she had finished, the famous musician said, "My dear, you are now a pupil of Franz Liszt. I have given you instruction this afternoon. Tomorrow you may go on with your concert as advertised. And the last number on the program will be played not by the pupil, but by the teacher." The Child will be called Everlasting The Messiah is "Everlasting Father." The Bible says that Jesus in his priesthood is like Melchizedek, who had neither beginning of days nor end of life. Think of what this means. Always and forever we can look to Him to provide our needs. Always and forever we can expect care and compassion from Him. Always and forever we can come to Him for mercy and love and forgiveness. He promised us, I will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5, quoting Deuteronomy 31:6) This is the gist of the qualifying term “everlasting.” Others can love you sincerely with all the earthly love they can muster, but it will always be temporal. The most faithful of human loves is fragile in sinful human hearts. But, listen: Jesus is eternal, and so is his love and care for you. He can be called everlasting because he is everlasting. He is the Lord God and not at all limited by space and time. "Eternity belongs to Jesus, not Jesus to eternity." And the salvation that he gives to us defined as eternal life. 1 John 5:20 says, …he has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. This is eternal life, Jesus prayed, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3) Jesus always was. The child who would be born in Bethlehem seven centuries after this prophecy of his coming was in the beginning, and it was by him all things were made. When the risen, glorified Jesus appeared to John in his vision on Patmos, here is how he identified himself: I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8) He appeared to John with head and hair as white as snow and his eyes were like blazing fire—betokening his identity as the Ancient of Days from Daniel 7. Because the Messiah is "Everlasting Father" we can know he is always there and that we can confidently depend on Him. Eternally He is a Father to His children. What tenderness, love, and comfort we have here! The Messiah is "Everlasting Father." Romans 8 teaches us the reassuring truth that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Child will be called Everlasting Father Let me draw this teaching to a close with an important observation based on the great truth that Jesus can be called the everlasting father. Because he holds eternity in his hands, because he loves the people of his flock with undying care, and because he purposes to get his will done through us, we can live with the confidence that God is for us, and nothing that comes against us can succeed. That’s right out of Romans 8:31. There is nothing—no circumstance, no trouble, no testing—that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past Christ for approval. If it has made it past my everlasting father, then it has come for a great purpose. I may not understand that purpose, but I can be confident God is going to use it to his glory and my good. As a Christian I need never become panicky, because I can lift my eyes to Jesus and accept anything that has cleared his desk, confident he will work everything out for the good. Therefore, no sorrow need ever crush me, no trial need ever disarm me, and no circumstance need ever make me anxious, because I am resting in the grip of the everlasting father. The nuclear submarine Thresher had heavy steel bulkheads and heavy steel armor, so it could dive deep and withstand the pressure of the ocean. On a test run in 1963, the Thresher's nuclear engine quit, and it could not get back to the surface. It sank deeper and deeper into the ocean. The pressure became immense. The heavy steel bulkheads buckled; the Thresher was crushed with 129 people inside. The Navy searched for the Thresher with a research craft that was much stronger than submarines. It was shaped like a steel ball and was lowered into the ocean on a cable. They finally located the Thresher at a depth of 8,400 feet: one and a half miles down. It was crushed like an eggshell. That was not a surprise—the pressure at that depth is tremendous—3,600 pounds per square inch. What was surprising to the crew was that they saw fish at that great depth. And these fish did not have inches of steel to protect them. They appeared to have normal skin, a fraction of an inch thick. How could those fish survive under all that pressure? Why weren’t they crushed by the weight of the water? They have a secret. Their secret is that they have the same pressure inside them as that on the outside. Survival under pressure. John assures us, The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) We will be victorious in our battle against sin, Satan and circumstances, because Jesus is called the everlasting father, and he has put his Spirit into our hearts. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.       [Back to Top]