It's Christmas

It’s Christmas for some it is a time of excitement. Good times, family, laughter and love.

. Some of us are excited because, well, there are sales, there's shopping, there are carols, there are presents, there's food. A lot to be excited about.

For others it is a time of fear and dread. No food in the cabinet, facing eviction, loss of jobs and failing health. Victims of gun violence right in time for the Holiday

It does not matter where you are in this time of life,

Its Christmas and it is a time of hope.

Hope because we have a Savior who is Jesus the Christ.

Today we are not celebrating the day, we are celebrating the birth of our Savior who is Christ the Lord.

There is hope.

The name Jesus give us hope because it means Salvation. To be saved.

and because we are saved we have hope.

“This is a time for me where I really am glad to be able to think about who Jesus Christ is, what he's done for me, what he's done in this world; it’s a good time for me.”

But others of us might be inwardly thinking that this whole story about Jesus, once again, is to be greeted with one big yawn. “Not this Jesus thing again.”

Some might be disappointed because you have heard and know the story. You have heard the same story from your youth. In fact you think you really could tell it yourself.

But the thing about this story it is always new. No matter how many times you have heard it, it is an old, old story with a new, new song.

I love to hear the story of Jesus because everytime I hear it I am reminded of something new He has done for me.

How we respond to this time of year might indicate our own spiritual temperature.

Because if we hear a text like Isaiah 9, which is a traditional text about the prediction of Jesus’ birth on that dark night in Bethlehem. Some of us may say “Tell it to me again,” where others of us might think “Oh, not that again.”

When we read this text I want you to ask yourself, How do I feel when I hear it read?

How do I feel when I hear it read for the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth time?

My hope is that everytime you hear it, you would be able to hear it again for the very first time.

This is a predictable story , about a baby born over 2000 years ago effecting our lives today.

The unpredictable part of this passage is that people need God. Anybody, everybody needs God.

In this text Isaiah is writing at a time where people have turned their backs on God; both the North and the South in terms of all of Israel.

They've turned their backs on God to worship false gods, to worship idols—They have turned to idolatry.

that nation, think that they could do it on their own; they don't need God.

But they need a little bit of a god, a god that can, well, give them a little bit of comfort, so they worship golden calves, all kinds of little idols.

This nation was under the cloud of great gloom because they had turned away from a great God and thought that they could do it themselves.

This is something that we share with people from the ancient world to now. We think that we can do it ourselves, we can make it on our own. We set up our own little idols of worship—of finances, of money. Worship of our own in our own ability. And what Isaiah is reminding the people of that time, and he reminds us even today, it’s not going to happen.

We think that for ourselves, too. What we are really saying is that We don't really need God; we can turn from gloom and doom on our own. We can work out this situation in our own strength

But Isaiah is making it absolutely clear that it is outside of their power to be able to get out of the dark spot, get out of the deepness of their own difficulty.

The only kind of hope that they have, the only kind of hope that they can enjoy is the hope given to them by God.

The God whom they had turned their backs from, that God. And it’s the same God that we often turn our backs from as well. And in the darkness, we bump, we fall, we harm ourselves, and harm our relationship with God.

The fact of the matter is That we are in desperate need of God.

God who is not one who is on the same level as those whom he created. But is above all gods. It is this God that Isaiah is talking about.

Assyria was growing stronger and threatening the other nations, so Israel and Syria joined forces to protect themselves.

They wanted Judah to line up with them, but she would not.

Actually, Ahaz the king of Judah was secretly bargaining with Assyria to protect him (2 Kings 16:1–9).

The nation was frightened because Syria and Israel were about to attack and there seemed to be no way of escape.

In verse one God sent the Prophet Isaiah to tell Judah that there will be no more gloom over the nation.

Assyria swept over Israel, but Israel would be the ones to see the light of Messiah.

In vv. 3–5, the prophet looks down the years to the time with hope, when Israel would rejoice, when burdens would be lifted, when the weapons of warfare would be burned as fuel—the time when Jesus Christ would reign as Prince of Peace.

In the conversation he's having here with these people, as he gives this prophecy, he is saying that there is a predictable birth of a son,, a lighted has dawned.

You’ve enlarged the nation and increased the joy.”but there is hope, hope in the joy of what God is going to do.

For as in the days of Midian's , when Gideon was victorious, God would shatter the yoke that burdens them.” God is the one who is going to take care of the situation.

Verse six says, gives more hope “For unto us.” It's not expected. Look at verse five: “Every warrior’s boot used in battle, every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.”

And then it switches and it says, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given.”

That the one who is promised is the one who is not the one that you would expect in the person of Hezekiah. It is the one who is ultimately going to be the King of kings and Lord and lords—the one who is going to be taking care of everything that we could ever imagine.

It is this Son. This Son who's predicted is the saving Son, is the Son who, well “to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”

? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders.”

He is the one who ultimately will shoulder all the rule. “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

This baby’s names are his titles and his titles are his names. These are names and titles given to a ruling king.

The Promised One, this child who is said to be the one who's going to come, and it is this one, this child, who is said to be the Wonderful Counselor, the one who has all wisdom

, the one who has all ability to give to his people the kind of guidance and rule that they need.

It is this kind of name that also says, what his title is: This King is a Wonderful Counselor, this King is Wonderful Counselor.

It’s a pretty heavy name to be given to this promised baby. Not only that, you see that this baby is also going to be called “Mighty God.” It can also be translated as “heroic God.”

It is the type of ability to be able to lead his people in battle. It is this one who has the might, the one who has the ability to lead in such a way, and it's given to a baby. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God.

Can you imagine? But the titles continue, the names build up. His names are his titles and his titles are his names. And you see not only is he a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, but he’s Everlasting Father.

Who would even imagine that a little baby would be given the name and the title Everlasting Father?

It’s incredible. That this babe that is promised in this prophecy, this predicted prophecy, would be given the title, the name, Everlasting Father.

Do you notice there, there's a combination here: Everlasting Father. We look to the father, a father figure; somebody who is able to lead, and love, and give advice, care for the people.

But there’s that other word that says “Everlasting Father.”

there's this sense of the desire of the people that the person who rules, that the rule would go on forever because they are submitted to, and subjected to the rule and reign of this king.

That is suggests here that the desire is on God's part, he is Everlasting Father.

But not only that, he is the Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

This king, this ruler, not only is the one who dispenses peace, but the one who sustains and maintains peace.

This ruler is the one who is over all, and the theme of his rule is peace.

In this prophecy, this little babe, this one who is promised is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.”

Only God could promise that. Only God who from above named this young one, is able to promise and deliver on his promise.

“And he will reign,” it says, “on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” And do you notice that this babe falls in line with the heredity of the king who was beloved, David? It is this Jesus, who in the beginning of the Book of Matthew, who has his genealogy described, and he is found to be a descendant of David.

There is one more thing we don't want to miss. That last part of verse seven says: “the Zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

That's the guarantee. It's as if the guarantee was written across this prophecy. It says this is what is going to happen. Yes, it took seven hundred years from Isaiah's prophecy to see it fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem’s manger.

But God still delivered on his promise, allowing the nation to go to the place of absolute desperateness so that it would embrace the Savior.

The good news is that Jesus took upon Himself our sin, went to the cross, died for our sin so that we might have a relationship with God.

He did it for the ancient Israelites in the doom and gloom in which they found themselves.

They had turned away from God, but through Jesus Christ He enables them to turn to God.

And through Jesus we, as Gentiles are able to come to him and to recognize that the predictable message of the birth of Christ shows us that a Wonderful, Mighty, Everlasting Prince, reigns now and forever. That’s exciting; that is thrilling, that's what Christmas is about.

This birth message never gets old. Jesus Christ has come to save sinners. And in the babe in this manger He took care of us by going to the cross.

That is why we have hope. That is beautiful, not boring. The message of the birth of Christ shows us that a Wonderful, Almighty, Everlasting Prince reigns now and forever.