Turning this evening to Isaiah chapter 9 and the words of verse 6 and so I've indicated already we're going to break down these names of our Saviour and quite simply look at the first that we are given this evening in verse 6. Unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful. His name shall be called Wonderful. Let's turn to the Lord in prayer this evening. So Father, this evening we ask for our hearts to be ready and enabled to receive the Word of God, to believe on this Saviour, to know Him. Lord, how easy it is to hear about Christ and not know Him. How easy to hear the way of life and not enter in. So Lord, knock on our hearts by the grace of God. Strive with souls this evening and show us the way of life in Christ and in Christ alone. I'm asking Father for help. I stand in need of thee. I pray for the unction of God. I pray for the enablement of the Spirit's power. And I ask that all of us this evening will sense, as we come to an end of this meeting, that God has given us a word in season. We ask all in the Saviour's precious name. Amen. As we come to our Christmas season, the time of year that we cherish, and we love and we enjoy so much, we often have to lament that there are so many names that we try to remember that we often get to a stage where we start to forget who these names are when it comes to greetings, it comes to cards, which has always been my weakness, by the way, in terms of remembering these things, and gifts as well. It can sometimes happen, it's not always the case, it can sometimes happen that names or individuals can easily be overlooked. However, we must remind ourselves this evening that the focus of the Christian and the focus of the Christian church is always to be upon the one name that always matters, the name which truly, in the terms of Holy Scripture, is above all other names, the name that charms the sinner's heart, the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Here in Isaiah 9 and verse 6, we're not just given one name. No, we're given a cluster of names, aren't we? We are given a list of names, all designed and all intended to describe the promised Messiah and the Saviour for all that He is and all that He shall accomplish and He shall do. Now, what is often forgotten or maybe overlooked at this particular stage, is that when the Lord gave this name in Isaiah 9 in verse 6, the intention and the design was not to give people a nice few words to place upon a Christmas card. I know we can do that, and that's perfectly fine, but the whole design and intention of what we have in Isaiah 9 in verse 6 is because man stood in great need. The nation stood in great need. You see, the promise that was given in verse 6 was timely because the nation was a nation that sat in the darkness of sin and disobedience. If you are familiar with any parts of Isaiah, you'll know this. And if you're not, let me just remind you of this. There was Assyrian oppression and there was great darkness. there was on the one hand the rebellion and the disobedience and the sin of the people and there was on the other hand the oppression and the captivity of this mighty Assyrian empire and without going into great detail this evening that is basically what we have here in chapter 9 but in the midst of all of this despair and darkness and gloom and desperation and great need there was a ray of light that shone And my dear friends, what a bright light it was. What a ray of hope and salvation was given at such a time of need. And the glorious message all revolved around this astonishing truth that God would give a child. He would give a son who would become the Savior of all who believed. And there in verse 6, as it begins to reach something of a crescendo and a high note, we discover that here is the one that shall be given to mankind. God will give a child, God will give a son, God would lead a government and all the powers upon his shoulders. And it's as if people cry out, well, who is this? What's his name? How shall we know who he is? And dear friends, the answer is given to you word after word, name after name, truth after truth, in these glorious terms and expressions that come to us in verse 6. Now it's when you compare Matthew 4 in verses 12 to 16 that it's crystal clear that everything Isaiah prophesied is going to have its fulfillment only in the first advent of our great Savior, Jesus Christ. There's no mistake here. What we're dealing here in verse six, we don't have to make this up or imagine that we've got some connection to the Savior here. Matthew makes it clear that everything Isaiah is prophesying here is fulfilled only in Jesus Christ himself. And this is the proclamation of good news. One Bible commentator Edward Young, who has a lovely commentary on the book of Isaiah, he says this, and I love this quote, he says, these names, and he's referring to all of them here in verse six, these names are a healing balm, a healing balm in which the Christian soul will comfort and find strength in time and all throughout eternity. And maybe I speak to a Christian this evening, first of all. And you are in need of healing balm. You are in need of comfort. You're in need of strength. You're in need of fortitude. You're in need of a word to your soul. Well, I cannot think of anything better for any believer this evening, whether it's for one reason or another, than to remind yourself of all that is found in Christ. A dear Christian friend, when you come to verse 6 and you break down these names and you list them all one by one, God has truth to feed your soul with. Words that you possibly have read for many years, but have you given time and thoughts and consideration to what they mean and who this is? Well, there's comfort for the Christian and there is without any question most powerful challenge to the unsaved because every name that is given to us in verse 6 is We might say a glimpse and a reminder of what the gospel is Reminders of Christ and all that he became for the believing sinner So that's why it's a perfect series to consider as we come to Christmas because there's something for everyone in that sense And I trust that the Lord will encourage you greatly as we think about them Well, this evening we come to think about the first of these several names, and we want to think very simply about this name, Wonderful. His name shall be called Wonderful. So what do we think about as we think of this name Wonderful? Well, I believe we should think first of all about his wonderful existence, his wonderful existence. I've said to others in the past, and I've said this to colleagues, I've said this to people, I remember going through college and we used to have discussions about this when Preachers would preach, or we would preach, and you'd hear others preaching. One of the classes, of course, that we had in Bible College was homiletics, that was, in other words, criticizing each other when you come to preach. It wasn't meant to be criticizing each other. It was meant to be critiquing but it would often turn into grudge matches or something along those lines. I'm only jesting to a certain extent this evening. It depends who you ask and what person was preaching. But I remember often hearing people preach and then hearing myself do it, and I probably still do it to this day, that one of the preacher's greatest mistakes, and feel free to pull me up when I do this, and I can see you all pulling me up now in the next number of days, is to keep using the same word when it comes to describing certain things. That's why it's always good to read, and read books, and make sure you read broadly, and make sure you've got a good vocabulary, because it's easy to keep referring to something as being wonderful. Now that I've said that, you're going to hear lots of preachers say this all the time. Something is wonderful. This is wonderful. That is wonderful. And sometimes I sit and listen. There are more words in the English vocabulary than the word wonderful. Well, this evening I put that exception to one side, or that criticism I have to one side, because what we discover here in verse 6 is that God chooses to use this word. I believe it was Spurgeon who said that God the Father never gave his son a name which he did not deserve. Every name that the Father chooses to give to his son he deserves. There is no exaggeration. There's no way in which there is an overstating of truth. So every time we think of our great Redeemer, and we say His name is wonderful in the fullest sense of what that word means, and we're going to dig deep and explore all that that means in the gospel this evening, there is no exaggeration difference. And so when the Saviour says, or our Father says, that He's the counsellor and the mighty God, and He's the everlasting Father, and He's the Prince of Peace, There are no lies being stated. These are not half-truths. These are not exaggerations. Our great Redeemer deserves every name. He's fully worthy of each and every one. You know, sometimes children ask their parents, why did you call me this name? What does this name mean? And we've all gone through those occasions where we've gone to shops and you've got all sorts of weird souvenir that cost the earth and you find your name and you think it's so special because you see your name, don't you? Dangling for five pounds from a chain, you turn it around and you're a wonderful person that gives you all the meanings of what your name is. Some of you have got lovely names in the church, biblical names, good names. I think the best I can muster is noble. I think that's the idea behind the name which I have. Children are named for all sorts of different reasons. It could be family connections. It could be the name of a father, a mother, a grandfather, a grandmother. It may well be, in many Christian circles, because of biblical meanings. Or maybe the name is just liked. But when God gives us these clusters of names regarding His Son, all of which are worthy of our time and attention, it's because He desires every single person to know who He is. Who is this Saviour? And why do you need Him? And what is it that Christ does for that guilty soul? And the Lord says, my friend, you're going to meet with people in everyday life that will discourage you and disappoint you and disappoint you, and you'll meet with those existences, but you'll never find such disappointments in Christ. His existence is wonderful. It truly is. Now some will point out that the words wonderful and counsellor in Isaiah 9 and verse 6 belong together and you'll get sometimes versions reading along those lines and much like what you find in the rest of the verse, you notice that there are really pairings in verse 6. You've got the mighty God, you've got the everlasting Father, you've got the Prince of Peace. So some suggest it should be the wonderful counsellor. I don't think there's any point really arguing one way or another this evening, but for us we're going to stick with what we have in our authorized version. And there is good reason to do so, because there is a sense in which when you read these individual words in their original, there is an emphasis upon what the Lord is saying here. His name is Wonderful, and the whole idea is that the word Wonderful, it undergirds and it leads our thoughts into how we consider everything else that He is. He is the Wonderful Counselor. There's no problem saying that. but at the same time he's the wonderful mighty God, he's the wonderful everlasting Father, he's the wonderful Prince of Peace. What I'm saying this evening is that, dear friends, God captivates the attention of men and women and he says you have to think about him this year, every day, because he is that wonder of all wonders. And where we begin to see everything is by marveling at His existence. I mention that word marvel for a reason because behind the meaning of this name is the word marvellous. That's one of the thoughts of wonderful, it's marvellous. Take for example Psalm 78 in verse 12. The psalmist said this, marvellous things did He, that is God, in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zohar. And he was looking back and thinking about marvellous things, wonderful things God did for Israel. You know what they are, don't you? Dividing the Red Sea, water from a rock, manna from heaven, so many of them. Wonderful acts, marvellous things. We know what is being said here. And that's the same idea of the word wonderful. So his name is a wonder, it's a marvel. It's an astonishment to us. Remember at the announcement of Samson's birth, Manoah didn't fully recognize that the angel of the Lord, who is the Lord, was speaking to him. And Manoah asked the angel, what's your name? What's your name? And the angel of the Lord responds in Judges 13 verse 18, why askest thou after my name, seeing it is secret? I remember many years ago, hearing a sermon by Dr. Douglas, I think it was on, when it was, we had tapes, so that was the Ministry of Tapes and so on and so forth. And this is one of his messages and it always struck with me because he was, only he could go into the great, depth and the teaching of the Hebrew language, and he was making it so clear that when the angel of the Lord asks this question and says, why are you asking after my name, seeing it is secret? He wasn't saying along these lines that here is something that can never be disclosed or made known, but the angel of the Lord, who is the Lord on this occasion, is saying, my name is wonderful. In other words, there is a sense of that which is incomprehensible. And we stand in awe of wonder how lightly the Savior's name is used. Maybe you use the Savior's name carelessly. I'm not saying that you do, but maybe many do. You think little of Him. Maybe you're not saved this evening and the name of Jesus Christ means nothing to you. When the Lord says His name shall be wonderful, it's to captivate you to say there is no name like His. He is the incomprehensible Savior. And yet at the same time, we can know Him by saving faith. And in particular, we want to think about this existence. What is it that's a wonder? What is it that's a marvel unto us? Well, think about what we are dealing with here. A child is born and a son is given unto us. And we're asking the question, but who is the child and who is the son? And in the words of a hymn that we love so well, we answer the question, Who is he in yonder stall at whose feet the shepherds fall? Tis the Lord, the King of glory. His wonderful existence, here he is, the creator, adopts the cradle in order to embrace the cross, to save a people for himself. And the first glimpse of his name takes us into the realms of wonderment and amazement. A child is designated to be the wonder of all wonders. God manifest in the flesh. What a wonderful existence this is. But you know, my friends, there's something else this evening. We can think about His wonderful ministry. His wonderful ministry. Now when you look at Isaiah 9 and verse 6, it's part of what some would call an Immanuel trilogy. And you go, well what does that even mean, an Immanuel trilogy? Well, just let's think about it very simply this evening. You've got Isaiah 7 verse 14. What's Isaiah 7 verse 14? A virgin shall conceive and shall bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel, which we know is God with us. And then you've got Isaiah chapter 11, and that's all about the active ministry of who this Messiah, this Emmanuel is going to be. And in the middle of it you've got Isaiah 9 and verse 6, the names which are given that give us the characteristics of who He is. That's why it's called a trilogy. Because there in chapter 7, chapter 9, chapter 11, it's all about the Christ, it's all about the Saviour. And my friend, do you realise what the Lord is doing here? He's drawing us in wonder. And He's saying that the wonder and the marvel and the amazement is not what man does, not what you do. No, no, it's what God is going to do in salvation. That's the emphasis this year at Christmas, as throughout all the course of the year. So often this time of year, and we do enjoy it and it's a special time for for us as the people of God, but we see a lot of misbalance, we saw a lot of false emphasis in many ways. At this time of year, there is often a focus upon the good works of people, and that's the world in which we live. It's increasingly the case. Humanitarian efforts, people have moved a saviour to one side, and what have they done? They've put man into the middle, and all of the deeds, all of the good efforts, all the kind gestures, the Christian church can actually be guilty of the same in the process. People are applauded. And charities are commended and individuals are honored. And we lose sight of the wonder of all wonders. The wonder who is Christ himself. It is the work of saving poor and needy souls. I was thinking about that yesterday in the market when we were giving out the tracts. I'm not naive. I know people are there because it's time with family, time with friends. They're busy about doing what they want to do. That's fine because we would do the same. But every now and then you'll get individuals that won't want to respond, or maybe there's just a disdain. You can see it in their faces. And there's an irony to this, isn't there? There's a tragic irony in the midst of celebrations of Christmas, but not wanting to read anything to do about Christ. And that's where we are. And I ask you the question, is that where you are this evening? You love the themes of His time of year. You love the idea of coming together. You love the festivities and the celebrations. And you enjoy all of these things. But you have no knowledge of Christ. He means absolutely nothing to you. You could quite happily wake up on the 25th and have no thought of the Saviour's dying love. And our Lord wants us to be taken up with Him. Not with things and self and time. And Isaiah 9 and verse 6 brings us all back to where we need to be. And have you noticed there's something so special about verse 6? Unto us. Unto us. I believe the more literal rendering of those words is along these lines. For us. And when you think about that, my friend, you realize what the Lord is saying here. It's not just simply that unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given, but the Lord is saying, dear friend, if you're not saved, it is for your saving benefit. It is for your needy soul that the great God gives His Son to the shame of the cross and the reproach of the cross and all that we shall think about in the weeks to come so that He might bring us to Himself. Unto us, for me. Was it for me? Yes, it was for me. And I want you to think about that this evening. I want you to challenge yourself with that. I want even that little phrase to just be hidden in your heart. It was for me. And you've got to come to believe that and know that with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. So what is this wonderful ministry? We can break it down quite easily, can't we? the wonderful ministry in his birth. Throughout the Bible, there are notable occasions, you know, there are miracles and events that just make you stop and think and go, wow, that's what God did on any given occasion. Well, I want to say this, none, and I can say this confidently, none compare to what happened in Bethlehem. It is the ministry of condescension for the Son of God to become the Son of Man. Remember when the shepherds, we know all these narratives so well, so it's familiar to us. When the shepherds found the babe lying in a manger, and when they see him there, you notice something very important. They don't just linger there and stay there and go, you know, we're happy to remain. Do you know what they do? They go out telling the news. That's why I'm trying to encourage you with those little tracks. There is a real sense of missing the point if as a Christian church and believers, and I talk to Christians particularly at this moment, if we spend the whole month looking forward to this occasion and never going out attempting in just some way to pass on Christ to someone. We can't live like this as a Christian church. The shepherds are there and they bow down and worship and they've made their way there, they're seeing what God has done, but they don't stay there, they go and tell others. Now what happens in Luke 2 and verse 18? It says, and all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. Well, do you ever ask the question, what's they wonder at? Well, they were wondering at this straight truth. The news that they said was this, a child is born who is the savior of the world, it is Christ the Lord. And the people wondered, they're amazed. What I'm asking you this evening, does that news grip your whole heart and soul? That the almighty God should condescend to be born in a stable, in a manger. You see, the expectation was that he'll be born in the palaces of royalty and dignitary and splendor and majesty. But no, no, he takes the lowest station of life. Oh, what wonder. What marvel. His wonderful ministry, not just in birth, but life. What else is a marvel and a wonder to us? Is it not his sinlessness? All these things that you know, and look, I'm not going to attempt to tell you anything you don't know, but what I will say this evening is that I believe, I believe with all of my heart, I know because I'm challenged by this, that all these things that we say this time of year, we say every year, but we've got to think about them. You've got to think about them. The wonder and the marvel of one who could not sin and did not sin. I mean, that is astonishing. When you know yourself, and I know myself. when you know your own nature. You're someone who has sinned again and again and again, haven't we? What have we done? We've racked up our sins. They're mountain high, the books if they're to be written against us. What a shame, what a shame upon us, what sins we have done. But the Scripture says that there was no guile found in his mouth, that he did no sin. And he did not speak sin, he did not think sin, he did not desire sin. He did not know it. And even those that hated him, and that didn't want him, and that would be regarded as the enemies of our Savior, they had to confess. No one has ever spoken like him. No one has ever spoken like him. None spake like this man. And you say, well, why is that so important? Because that's the base of your salvation, my friend. You cannot be saved if there is not a sinless Savior who can become the sacrifice for sin. And that's the whole point of the Lamb without spot and blemish. And so there's wonder in His life and there's wonder in His death. Darkness hides his lovely face, the hymn writer says. Shame marks out the ignominy of the cross of Jesus Christ. But still we wonder. We wonder at the cross, don't we? That he put himself to the open shame. We wonder because it's the demonstration of the love of God like nothing else. And so the hymn writer says, I will sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me and how he left the realms of glory for the cross of Calvary. And I ask you the simple question, my friend, do you wonder at the birth and life and death of Christ? And I close very simply with this, his wonderful impact. provided this prophetic glimpse of the coming Saviour. He spoke about the difference that it was going to have upon the people in their day and in their age. Those that sat in darkness were going to see a great light. I love that statement. I pray with all my heart that we would live as a nation in the world in which we live to see such days as this. Because we are a world in darkness and we are a town in darkness and we are those who have families that maybe some of them sit in darkness, and hear this gospel like Isaiah 9 goes forth to a needy nation, and they're given this wonderful glimpse of who the Savior is going to be. Verse 7, of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end and justice and judgment will characterize His reign. In other words, friend, you can trust Him. You can depend your whole soul and life and eternity upon Him. And there the Lord gives us the cluster of names. It's all about the impact. He's going to have a wonderful marvellous, astonishing impact. And that's what our Saviour did. You know, think of the Gospel accounts, think of the one that we often turn to, the demoniac of Gadara. No one could tame him, no one could change him, no one could bind him, no one could control him. You could throw him over to society, you could put him in every program, he could go to all sorts of anonymous societies and do all of these things to try to iron out the problems and deal the difficulties and address the worries and counsel him. You couldn't do it. You just couldn't do it. There was a man that could not be changed by human endeavour and efforts. And there are people in our society just like this. And maybe to our own shame, we cross over the road because we think, can't do anything for that man, that woman. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ can, and he does again and again, again and again and again. People that walk in darkness have seen a great light. And the wonder of the gospel is that our Christ, our Savior, He alone changes people. He changes them by putting within them a new heart, saving them from all of their sin, That's what the great testimony is. Maybe that's you this evening. You've tried every way, haven't you? You've explored every method. None of them have worked, and I'm gonna say this evening, none of them ever will. And that's because what you need is not what, but who. It is Him. His name is wonderful. And what a wonderful change. in my heart has been wrought, the Hymn of the Hittites says. And that's what we're dealing with here. A psalmist marveled about this, and with this I finish. A psalmist marveled over this when he was referring to the goodness of God in Psalm 107. Remember Psalm 107, you've got all these little pictures of the wonderful works of God to the children of men. You've got these little glimpses, little sort of summaries of gospel truth. And in Psalm 107 verse 14 we read these words, He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and break their bands or their chains in sunder. And that's what the Saviour does. And only He can do it. And this alone is the work of our great Saviour. His name shall be called wonderful. And I urge you. appeal to you with all of my heart this evening, that you go to this Savior and this Savior alone and find in Him all that you need. And Christian, keep going to Him. Maybe you're here in the house of God and you know this, you're dim in your Christian life, your light isn't burning as it needs to be, your heart is cold, you're at a distance, and truth be told, you've left your first love. You're like the church at Laodicea, you've left the first love. He's not a wonder to you anymore. Maybe you've not realised this, it's just dawning on you this evening. I've lost sight of my Saviour. His name is wonderful. And I'm asking to go back to Him and renew that first love. May God bless His precious Word to our hearts. Let's close in prayer. Our Father this evening, we thank Thee for every reminder of the Saviour And Lord, we can never, we can never go wrong by thinking about Him who is altogether lovely. And so, Lord, save the lost this evening. There are multitudes around us, Lord, and they do not care, and they have no desire for their Savior. So, Father, make us to be like the shepherds in the days of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, that having seen Him for ourself, that we go to others, and we make known a living Christ to a dying world. I pray, Father, that you'll bless our fellowship together just as we would pass conversation one with the other. Take us to our homes safely, and then may the love of God our Father, the grace of our Lord Jesus, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.