Advent Week 2 Mighty God Video

He is The Mighty God Isaiah 9:2-7 (ESV) The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 3You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. Introduction Christmas has an often-unexpected way of exposing our vulnerabilities. We work so very hard to make all our days merry and bright, however the inconvenient limitations of our natures keep showing up, sometimes all the more starkly against the mandatory cheerfulness of the season. There is Hope The prophet Isaiah tells us that Light is coming that is going to dispel the darkness. Joy will chase sorrow away. Freedom will overwhelm bondage. And it will all come about, verse 6, because of the birth of a child; a baby boy. "For unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders." Everything changes with the birth of this child. God Jesus is God; He is born. Mary's child grew in her womb in the same way as any other child. Were an obstetrician present from the Bethlehem Delivery Ward to assist in the birth, he would have seen nothing remarkable whatsoever. This was an entirely ordinary human birth. Jesus is a king of the most unparalleled clemency and grace. Never was any kingdom ruled by a government so mild and gentle and gracious. He is exceedingly gracious in the manner of his ruling his people by sweetly and powerfully influencing their hearts by his grace: not governing them against their wills, but powerfully inclining their wills.7 The Godman The baby born that first Christmas is God become flesh, dwelling among us; deity joined to humanity forever in the person of Jesus Christ. So that now upon the throne of God sits glorified Man. Mighty * His name signifies His ability to embody the Lord, Jehovah's power and thus defeat enemies through His power. * He is called Mighty God for the same reason that in Isaiah 7:14 he was called "Immanuel." If in Christ we find nothing but human flesh and nature, our glorying will be foolish and vain, and our hope will rest on an uncertain and insecure foundation. But if he shows himself to be to us God, even the Mighty God, we may rely on him with safety.1 * It is good for us that he is called strong or Mighty because our contest is with the devil, death, and sin, enemies too powerful and strong, by whom we would be vanquished immediately if Christ's strength had not made us invincible. Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." * There is in Christ an abundance of protection for defending our salvation, so that we desire nothing beyond him. * Because He is The Mighty God, the Messiah's kingdom is singularly free from chaos. He is the One who in creation brought order out of chaos. a. "God is not a God of confusion but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33). Chaos is antithetical to who He is. He is a God of order. In other words, He not only tells His subjects what to do as a Wonderful Counselor, but since He is the Mighty God, He can also energize them to do it. b. When Jesus Christ comes to rule this earth, He'll display His divine power by bringing order to the chaos. Those who do not submit to His leadership from the heart, He'll subjugate with a rod of iron (cf. Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Those who humble themselves from the heart, bowing to Him as Lord and Savior, will find the power of the Mighty God unleashed in their lives to help them obey.2 c. Because He is the Mighty God o He can forgive sin o defeat Satan o liberate us from the power of evil o redeem us o answer our prayers o restore our broken souls o and reign as Lord- "Mighty God"-over their newly ordered lives. * Jesus Proved Himself to be the Mighty God Christ proved himself to be the "mighty God" when all the sins of all his people were gathered upon his shoulders, and "he bore them in his own body on the tree." The heart of Christ became like a reservoir in the midst of mountains. All the tributary streams of iniquity, and every drop of the sins of his people, ran down and gathered into one vast lake, deep as hell, and shoreless as eternity. All these met, as it were, in Christ's heart, and yet he endured them all.3 He Came for You Here's the message of Christmas. Only this can speak peace to troubled hearts. Your God came for you. He didn't send someone else. He came Himself in pursuit of you to seek and save the lost in Jesus Christ. And that means that He loves you. Conclusion Ask God the Spirit to help you, come and put your trust in Jesus Christ; he is "the mighty God." Believe him more than ever; cast your troubles constantly on him. He is "the mighty God;" go to him in all your dilemmas. When the enemy comes in like a flood, this mighty God shall make a way for your deliverance; take to him your griefs, this mighty God can alleviate them all; tell him all your sins, this mighty God by His death on the cross and His resurrection will remove all of them. 7 Kenneth P. Minkema, ed., Jonathan Edwards: Sermons and Discourses, 1723-1729 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997), pp. 465, 466. 1 House, P. R. (2018). Isaiah: A Mentor Commentary (Vol. 1, p. 272). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor. 2 Calvin, J. (2000). Isaiah (p. 93). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. 3 Spurgeon, C. H. (1859). His Name-The Mighty God. In The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 5, pp. 271-272). 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