Immanuel's Will Power

Will Power

I love the end of the year, more specifically, I love the beginning of a new year. It is filled with possibilities. We will make resolutions to better ourselves physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. It is a time for optimism, but can we be optimistic on the back side of 2020?

As I am just coming off of recovery from Covid, it is a powerful reminder of the difficulties that we have faced in 2020. Each of us probably have our own stories and testimonies. There has been a lot of sickness. There has been unemployment, breakdowns in educational advancement, and financial insecurities. We’ve just been through an election cycle that is still not completely certain and has torn longtime friends apart. We are emotionally spent.

We refer to will power as the energy that each of us have to change the behaviors in our lives. Can we change diets? Can we change spending patterns? Can we breakthrough barriers with which we have been struggling? [Insert advertisement for Breakthrough Series].

I believe that we can when we consider the object of Christmas – the person of Jesus Christ.

Immanuel’s Will Power

As we have celebrated Christmas, we have rejoiced in the coming of Jesus Christ as a baby. The shepherds, Magi, angels, stable, Mary, Zechariah, Simeon, and others all set the stage and are a part of the narrative. We have rehearsed the prophecies of the prophets that told of the coming of Jesus. Isaiah, Micah, and even, Moses; all point to the arrival of the Messiah. But there is something powerful embedded into those prophecies that I think deserves our attention this morning… the ‘will’ power of Immanuel. Notice these statements with me

Isaiah 9:6–7 NIV

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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Micah 5:2 NIV

“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.”

Micah 5:4–6 NIV

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders.

Revelation 21:4 NIV

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Everything around us is fickle, prone to change, with the exception of God. He is absolute truth. He is immutable. He is invincible.

These promises declare the certainty resting on the character of God. He will be God. He will do what He says He will. He has purposed, there is no changing His will.

Certainties of Immanuel

It is amazing how frequently we use the word will. We can try to bend things to our will. We can imagine something into existence by willing it into existence. It can be an end-of-life contract or it can be your personal hopes. However, here with Immanuel will expresses absolute certainty. Immanuel will be Immanuel. “I am that I am” carries the same implications. There is no uncertainty.

Immanuel Will Govern

6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

One month before the recent election, a study out of Harvard ranked the election integrity of the United States at the same level as that of Mexico and Panama. One of the reasons is the diversity of 50 different states, using different methods to, hopefully, arrive with a fair result. It is no wonder that only 63% of the country are confident with election outcomes and only 2 in 6 republican voters are confident.

However, in the best news ever, we can be confident that Immanuel will govern! Our American Constitution lays out the purpose of government - to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. Even the imperfection of a man-made government offers the promises of a more perfect Union, justice, peace, defense, welfare, and freedom. Imagine the heights and depths of a perfect government led by Jesus Christ who offers us union (corporate-ness), justice, peace, defense, welfare, and freedom. And, remember, the Word of God tells us that Immanuel will do these things. No questions. No ambiguity. No falsehoods – just solid promises.

Immanuel Will Be Called

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

Wonderful - In English wonderful means extraordinarily good or great, exciting a feeling of wonder; marvelous, extremely good, exciting or causing marvel, tending to excite wonder; surprising, extraordinary, surprisingly excellent; very admirable, extremely impressive.

I heard of a preacher who was on a train, and he noticed a man looking out the window. And, as they went past the landscape—and it was beautiful landscape—but that man kept saying, “Wonderful—wonderful.” He’d pause and look for a while, wipe the tears from his eyes, and would say, “Wonderful.” The preacher’s curiosity was aroused, and he went over and sat by this man. And, he said, “I’ve never seen someone enjoy a train ride quite so much. Can you tell me why it is so wonderful?” He said, “Sir, you don’t understand.” He said, “I’ve just had surgery,” and he said, “I have been without sight for years and years and years and years; and now, I am seeing things that I’d long since forgotten. I’d forgotten how blue the sky was, how green the grass was, how beautiful the trees, how bright the flowers.” He said, “It’s wonderful—it’s wonderful.”

He will be called…wonderful!

Counselor – Of course, a counselor is someone who offers wisdom and guidance. From time to time I have used financial counselors and negotiators. What a pleasure it is to have good counselors! They are able to see the elements of a situation and navigate wisely through it to a beneficial result. Sometimes the value of the counselor is simply helping me see a truth that I don’t really want to admit is there.

Proverbs 24:6 NIV

Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.

John 14:16–17 NIV

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

He will be [absolute truth] a wonderful Counselor! He offers His ear and His wisdom. He sees beyond the horizon. He understands your history and your influences. He is honest enough to correct you when you are wrong. Here is an opportunity to make a New Year’s Resolution that will pay off big, make the Lord your Counselor in 2021!

Immanuel Will Be Forever Great

He is “Mighty God”, “Everlasting”, and the “Prince of Peace.” These aren’t just pencil whipped bullets to make God feel good. These are eternal truths! Adrian Rodgers writes,

This little baby that was upon the straw is the Mighty God of Genesis 1. This little baby who held Mary’s hand as a toddler and learned to walk is the One from whose fingertip’s suns sprang and oceans dripped. He is the Mighty God. This little boy playing with the shavings in Joseph’s carpenter shop is the One who made every tree, and every hill, and every mountain. He is the Mighty God. We have some people today who’d like to take the deity from the Lord Jesus. I wonder what they’re going to do with Isaiah 9:6, where He is called “The mighty God.” (Isaiah 9:6) (The Christmas Story According to Isaiah)

When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, he looked at Pilate and said, ‘Everyone who is on the side of truth believes in me’. Pilate responded, ‘What is truth?’, before walking away.

What side of truth are you on? Can you believe the promises that we have been talking about today and accept them as absolute truth? What certainty can you have in 2021? Absolute certainty!

Immanuel Will Accomplish His Work

We live in a world of uncertainty. It is a broken world, a fallen world. We have learned from very early on that we cannot rely on the promises of others around us. Ravi Zacharias wrote,

As valuable a commodity as it is and as indispensable as it is to meaningful existence, truth is possibly the most violated concept in our world. This is more so now than ever before in history. The lies that punctuate business transactions; the lies by which trusted relationships have been destroyed-these we are aware of. The greater tragedy is not just that we live with a proliferation of lies, but that this is probably the first time, certainly in western civilization than society at large does not believe in the existence of absolute truth.[1]

It should come as no surprise then that we don’t trust the ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN’s, FoxNews, and on and on. Our world is calibrated to half-truths and lies. But, we have the promise of God. He will accomplish the work.

James 1:17 NIV

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

We could continue on looking at every one of the present imperative will statements of the Bible. My message is simple today. These statements are for us to choose to believe or not to believe. It is the truth, no mistaking it. He is who He says He is.

We Need a Champion - Immanuel

We need a champion!

Several decades ago, English journalist Malcolm Muggeridge warned of this spiritual plague coming upon the West, branding it her ultimate death wish. This is how he worded it: Yet even so, truth is very beautiful: more so I consider than justice-today's pursuit which easily puts on a false face. In the nearly seven decades I have lived through, the world has overflowed with bloodshed and explosions whose dust has never had time to settle before others have erupted. All in purportedly just causes....The lies on behalf of which our wars have been fought and our peace treaties concluded! The lies of revolution and of counter-revolution! The lies of advertising, of news, of salesman-ship, of politics! The lies of the priest in his pulpit, the professor at his podium, the journalist at his typewriter! The lie stuck like a fishbone in the throat of the micro-phone, the hand-held lies of the prowling cameraman! Ignazio Silone told me once how when he was a member of the Old Comintern, some stratagem was under discussion, and a delegate, a newcomer who had never attended before, made the extraordinary observation that if such and such a statement were to be made, it wouldn't be true. There was a moment of dazed silence, and then everyone began to laugh. They laughed and laughed till tears ran down their cheeks, and the Kremlin walls began to shake. The same laughter echoes in every Council chamber and cabinet room. Wherever two or more are gathered to exercise authority, it is truth that has died, not God. (Muggeridge, The Green Stick, p.19)

You and I can’t help but feel that this is the world in which we are living. In fact, this may be the case so much so that you have begun to live in an icy and cold world. “In his children’s classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis described a grim season in the land of Narnia: “always winter, but it never gets to Christmas.”

That’s exactly why we need to grasp the Will Power of Immanuel and stand in the power of the truth.

Isaiah 9:6–7 NIV

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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Micah 5:2 NIV

“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.”

Micah 5:4–6 NIV

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders.

Revelation 21:4 NIV

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

[1] Zacharias, Ravi. “The Inextinguishable Light”. Rzim.org. Accessed December 25, 2020.