Amen. In your Bibles this morning, Isaiah chapter number 9. It's a book in the Old Testament that was written long before Jesus was born, long before the very first Christmas. But God has had a plan since the beginning to redeem His people from the penalty of sin. And Jesus Christ is not a character in history who found His beginning in Bethlehem's manger. Jesus Christ is God. He's eternal and equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God sent from heaven to become a man to pay the price for our sins on the cross of Calvary. I love this verse of scripture, Isaiah chapter 9 and verse number 6. A really fun thing has happened this morning. Just so you know, a really fun thing has happened this morning. I didn't teach my Sunday school class this morning. I asked Tim Jane if he'd teach it for me. I kind of wanted a break. And he said, sure, I'll be glad to teach Sunday school for you this morning. And this morning, in the early service, I preached this message on Isaiah 9-6. And then I introduced Tim to preach, and I said, God's put something on Tim's heart to share with the church. And on Wednesday night, to share, I said, I ended up having Jamie preach, because I had to be gone last second. And I said, so I asked Tim to come teach Sunday school and just share what God's put on his heart. And Tim began our Sunday school class, he said, I'd like for you to open your Bibles and turn to Isaiah chapter nine and verse number six. And half the Sunday school class was hearing the early service, they just laughed, it was great. And so we're getting hammered with Isaiah nine, six this morning, but I want you to know something, you can't wear it out. You're gonna love what God has given us. I want you to see what the Bible says in Isaiah nine, verse six. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." What a beautiful passage of Scripture. Long before Jesus was born, God spoke to the heart of the prophet Isaiah and said, Isaiah, write this down because I want you to tell people about the coming of the Messiah, the coming of the Christ, and here's what I want you to say about him. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. There's a phrase in this beginning part of verse number six that has really jumped off the page and encouraged me as I've prepared this message. The Bible says, unto us a child is born. And then it says again, unto us a son is given. I've been so encouraged by those two little words, unto us. Unto us. I want you to understand that Jesus Christ came to Bethlehem's manger and God wants us to know that He came Unto us. Jesus came for Cody. That's great news. And Jesus came for you. Unto us. I'm so thankful to know that Jesus is not a God that we worship from a distance. That Jesus is not a personality that we would hope someday maybe if we got lucky enough we could meet him in passing and get an autograph. Jesus is the God-man who was sent unto us so that we can all have a personal relationship with God, forgiveness of sin, the promise of eternal life, and God, Emmanuel, with us. And the prophet Isaiah said, I want you to know something. There's coming to you, unto us, there's coming a Savior. Oh, how sweet it is. When God sent Jesus unto us, He sent unto us, mankind, all people, the greatest gift that's ever been given. Make no mistake about it. Unto us. I thought about this phrase. I thought about things that have come unto us. As a general rule, most of humanity has had the privilege of enjoying it. And unto us some wonderful things have happened. I was just thinking about how much progress has been made as far as technology goes in the last 125 years. It's quite amazing, is it not? I'm thinking about things that have come unto us that I'm really thankful came unto us. One thing that I'm really thankful, especially in light of how cold it was last week, that's come unto us, I really am thankful for indoor plumbing. How many of you are thankful for indoor plumbing? Now I ask this question, don't be shy, but who here remembers a time in their life where their home did not have indoor plumbing? Anybody left like that in the room? I see those hands. And I made a joke in the early service about there are still some old people out here. And it didn't go over well, so I'm not going to say it this time. Indoor plumbing, I'm telling you, I've not had the great privilege of living in a home without a bathroom inside of it, and I'm thankful for that, but aren't you glad unto us came some indoor plumbing? Praise the Lord for that, that's good. How about this, unto us came electricity. It's a fascinating thing that you go without electricity for a day or two, and you realize, my, Lance, how much do I love having electricity. How many of you know somebody that just falls to pieces if the electricity goes off? And you're raising your hand for yourself or somebody else, I understand that. But I'm thankful for electricity. It's an amazing thing that's happened. And this recent hurricane activity has been terrible. And folks are really struggling, and there's still folks who are really struggling. But I'll tell you one thing that it's done is folks have gone without electricity for two or three days, and there's a great push and rush on buying generators. I won't ask you to raise your hand, but a lot of folks have bought generators since this last hurricane has come through, and I understand why, because we're really thankful that unto us came some electricity. Here's something I've written down that I'm really thankful came unto us, automobiles. Isn't it great I don't want to take for granted how wonderful it is to be able to hop in a car and go somewhere, and that's wonderful I'm traveling on the interstate is really a great blessing. Can you imagine trying to drive to Florida or Ian's gonna be driving home from Florida? Can you imagine driving a long distance and having to go through every town between here and there? You do that for just a minute and you thank God for the interstate And we were thinking about it. Telephones. The jury's out whether this was a good thing or not, but unto us has come the telephone. Unto us has come the internet. Unto us has come air conditioning. You don't think about it a lot at this moment, but I'm telling you, aren't you glad for air conditioning? And we could begin and continue this list, but unto us, unto mankind has come some pretty great things through the years, but I'm going to tell you something. They all pale in comparison. to what came unto us when Jesus was born in Bethlehem's manger. There's never been a benefit offered to man that comes even close than the opportunity to put your trust in somebody who's conquered death, hell and the grave and the sins of the whole world and will be your Savior and love you and provide a way for you to have everlasting life. Unto us A child is born, unto us a son is given. Aren't you glad Jesus has come unto us? Let's take a minute and let's consider some things that have come unto us through Christ and some things that are important in this verse. The Bible wants us to know some very specific details about who Jesus is. The Bible says in verse 6, I know it sounds like a broken record, but we're going to begin to understand this text better. The Bible says, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. At first glance you think, is that not the same thing? And the answer to the question is no, it's not the same thing. They're completely different, but they both represent Jesus perfectly. So the first thing the scripture says, unto us a child is born. Let's think about this for a minute. Under us, a child is born. And right here this Christmas season, we're thinking a whole lot about the child that was born. It fascinates me. It's fun to watch the little girls in the church. They love to come, and they love to check out baby Jesus. And occasionally, they want to hold baby Jesus. And some of them want to get up there and hold baby Jesus, but they've none fallen in the baptistry yet that I know of. But it's sweet, because under us, A child was born. I'm going to tell you, the day that Jesus was born, he was born to Mary and Mary was his mother. He was born and when he was born, she took him in her arms and she began to nurse him and care for him and raise him like a child. Unto us, a child is born and it's a fact that Jesus Christ is a man. It's a fact that Jesus Christ came to earth and he was all Man. He was the man. Christ Jesus. He grew, the Bible says, in stature. He grew in favor with God and man. He grew up and he was a man. A real live man. For unto us a child was born. And the scripture wants us to know that Jesus was a man. The Bible says of Jesus that he was in all points tempted like as we are. Something wonderful about having a Savior who was all man, a child born, is that he understands He knows what it's like to live in a sin-cursed world. He knows what it's like to face temptations and trials and troubles. He understands what it's like to be deceived. He understands what a broken heart feels like. The Bible says that Jesus is full of love and compassion for us, his people. I'm thankful for a Savior. I'm thankful for a God who's been touched with the feelings of our infirmities. who in all points was tempted like as we are, yet without sin. The Bible says, unto us a child is born. I want you to know Jesus was a man. He was all man. But that's not all. Jesus was not only all man, Jesus was all God. And the scripture says in Isaiah, I can't help but think about Isaiah and some of these prophets. Isaiah the prophet in the Old Testament, God's moving his heart, and God tells him specifically what words to write. And Isaiah's writing it down. He's like, I don't understand, Lord, why you want me to write it exactly like this, but okay. He says, God spoke to my heart and he told me to write down, unto us a child is born. That's wonderful. But then God very specifically made sure that I write down, and unto us a son is given. Is that not the same thing, Lord? And God says, nope. Big difference. You see, a child born, that makes sense because that points us to the manhood of Jesus. He was born. He was carried in Mary's womb and born. A physical birth. a manger in Bethlehem. But the Bible says, unto us a son is given. This takes our thoughts away from the manhood of Christ. It takes us to the deity of Christ because a son was given. The Bible says in John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. If you were to open your Bibles to John 3.16 and you have a red letter edition of the Bible, you'd see that John 3.16 is written in red. And Jesus, the very child that was born, the very Son that was given, said of Himself that God gave His only begotten Son. Where do we get this gift? He's a son born. He's a child born. He's a son given. He's the God-man, Jesus. I'm going to pound on this point for a few minutes because I think it's important that we remember and know that Jesus was a man and Jesus was all God. The Bible says it like this in John 1. Just go ahead and turn there in your Bibles. Take a minute. I want you to see it. I rarely make you turn many places, but I'll give you a second to find it. In John 1, the beginning of the book of John, the first few verses, we're introduced to Jesus. Jesus' name in John 1 is called the Word. You can see the word Word is capitalized with a capital W. Word is another name for Jesus. He is the Word. The Bible says in John 1.1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." Now, what does the Bible say that the Word did? Let's just see how the Word is described. The Bible says that in the beginning was the Word. What does that mean? That means From the very beginning of time, if there is such a thing, for all of eternity, the Word was present. Folks, I want you to know something. Jesus is eternal God. He didn't start in Bethlehem's manger. In the beginning was the Word. Look what else it says. And the Word was with God. Now, that's something fascinating. The Bible just tells us that Jesus was with God in the beginning. Jesus has always been. and always will be, and Jesus was with God in the beginning. But it doesn't stop there. The Bible says, the Word was with God. And the Bible says, and the Word was God. What does that mean? Jesus was not only with God, but Jesus was God. We have the beginning and the understanding of the Trinity, and the understanding that we have God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all of them combined into one. The word Jesus was God. Jesus was God. Don't forget it. Jesus not only was God, but Jesus is God. Now look what the Bible says in verse 2. The same was in the beginning with God. You see that? Verse 3, talking about Jesus. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. According to John chapter 1 verse number 3, who created everything that is? Jesus. Jesus is the Word. Jesus is the Word. Jesus is God. Look at verse number 14, John chapter 1. In case there's any doubt, who in the world is the Word? Are you sure a preacher Jesus is the Word? You tell me, John 1 verse 14. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And the world was made flesh and dwelt among us. Who was made flesh and dwelt among us? None other than Jesus Christ. I want you to know, unto us a child was born. Unto us a son was given. Jesus is the God-man. Don't forget it. Jesus and God are equal, co-equal, eternally existent. Oh, it's so wonderful. is our great Christmas gift and Jesus is the God-man. I want to share with you one more verse. Will you turn with me? Revelation chapter 22. This is a theme that God wants us to know and God wants us to emphasize. Jesus Christ is the God-man. If you look in Revelation 22 and verse 16, Jesus is going to speak and give testimony of Himself. We're bringing the book of Revelation to a conclusion. Revelation 22 and verse 16, Jesus specifically is speaking here. In Revelation 22 verse 16, the Bible says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the church. He says, all that's been written in the book of Revelation, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you about it. And then this is what Jesus says of himself. Look at it. You need to see it. I am the root and the offspring of David. and the bright and morning star. Jesus says something very interesting. He says, I'm the root of David and I am the offspring of David. Now let me just tell you something. By common logic, you can't do both. I've got to explain this to you. It'd be like Ian, my son. Ian saying, I'm both my daddy's daddy and my daddy's son. You'd have to look at Ian and say, you've lost your mind. I'm my daddy's daddy and my daddy's son. But I'll have you notice that Jesus had every right to say, I'm David's father and I'm David's son. Jesus said, I'm the root of David and I am the offspring of David. Well, how in the world do you do that? Well, I'm glad you asked. I can tell you. Jesus Christ was a son given all through the Old Testament. God prophesies and promises that out of the line, the seed, the family of David would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And in fact, Jesus' lineage is traced back to David and Jesus for sure, through his mother Mary, is of the sons of David. But Jesus far preceded and came before his own father. And Jesus as God is both the root and offspring of David. There's another place in Scripture, and I'll read it to you. Jesus is having a conversation with the Pharisees. You know the Pharisees, they're royal pains. And the Pharisees are questioning and talking with Jesus. And Jesus, He punches them right in the nose. Not literally, but with His argument and with His logic, He questions them about something David said in his prophecies. In Matthew chapter 22, you may write these verses down and read them later for yourself. Matthew 22 verse 41 through 46. The Bible says, While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Jesus asked the Pharisees. He said, What do you think about Jesus? He says, Whose son is Jesus? And they said unto him, and let's ask the question, if you're asked, whose son is Jesus? If you're thinking, who's Jesus going to come from? Who's going to be in Jesus' lineage? And who's going to be one of Jesus' fathers? And we're going to say David. And so the Pharisees do. They say the son of David. And Jesus says, He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou in my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. So Jesus asks this question, He says, Why does David as father refer to the Messiah, Christ, as Lord. Now, at this time, it would have been a terrible thing for a father to refer to a son as Lord. It would be kind of awkward today, too. Can you imagine me walking into the house and saying, Lord Hudson, what can I do for you today? They said, Jesus says to, he says, why does David, if David's going to be the father of the Messiah, why would David refer to his son as Lord? as Lord. The Bible says that no man was able to answer Him a word, neither does any man ask from that day forward any more questions. I can give you the answer. Why was David able to call his son that was yet to be born, Lord? Because his son that was yet to be born was not only his offspring but was also his root. Jesus is eternal God and Jesus didn't just begin in Bethlehem's manger. Why is that so important? Because we're not putting our faith in some man that did great things. We're putting our faith in the Messiah that is God, that's always been and always will be, and was capable and able to pay the price for our sins, and is capable and able to forgive our sins and give us everlasting life. It's important that we know who came unto us. It was Jesus, the Christ, the God-man. May we never forget it. May we never take it for granted. Unto us a child is born. He was a man, but unto us a son was given. Lots of folks have taken time to kind of think through what it was like to be both God and man. There's a little song that takes us to that moment in Jesus' life where, as a 12-year-old boy in the temple, He's asking questions and being asked questions and giving amazing answers. This little song was a song that some folks in our church at Bowling Springs sang for years and I love it. They did it better because they had a mandolin and a guitar. But I want to share this song with you because it puts in perspective what it's like to be the God man, Jesus. It goes like this. Just a young boy in the temple one day, He shared with the doctors and they were so amazed. Never had they seen one so young speak so swift. They asked him many questions. The conversation went like this. What's your name? On my mother's side, my name is Jesus But on my father's side, they call me Emmanuel How old are you? On my mother's side, now I'm 12 years But on my father's side, I've just always been Where are you from? On my mother's side I'll be crucified, but on my father's side in three days I'll arise and I'll sit at my father's side. And Jesus is the God-man. On his mama's side he was thirsty. On his father's side he was the water of life. On his mother's side, he was hungry. But on his father's side, he had the ability to take and feed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. On his mother's side, he was homeless. But on his father's side, he owns the cattle and 1,000 hills and the wealth in every mine. On his mother's side, he wept at Lazarus' grave. And on his father's side, he stood outside that grave and said, Lazarus, come forth. And that's the same Jesus. who humbled himself and became a man and died on the cross so that I could experience the forgiveness and peace with God and a relationship with God. That's what we got when He came unto us. Unto us. child was born. He's the God-man. Unto us a son was given. The Bible continues and says about this great Christmas gift in verse 6, the Bible says the government shall be upon his shoulder. What does that look like? Now I want you to know that At this moment in which we live, the Bible says that Satan is the prince of the power of the air. How many of you can think you can look and contribute some things to the work of the devil around us and in this world? There's no doubt about it. Let me remind you of something. Greater is he that is in you than he is in the world. And you just remember That anything the devil tries to do to harm and hurt us is something that God has the ability. When we bear our burdens in the Spirit of Christ, He has the ability to take all things and work them together for good. Don't you forget it. Jesus is speaking and we're looking at the Christ. There's coming a day that all the government will be right on his shoulder. He'll have complete control. But until then, I want you to know something. God is on the throne and God is in control and we can rest in him. You trust him and you'll see him do and do his mighty works. The Bible says the government shall be on his shoulder. He has dominion. He has power. He has authority. He said of himself in Matthew 28, all power is given to me in heaven and in earth. I can't help but think about. the government being on his shoulder. And the thing that comes to my mind is when the boys were little, carrying him around on my shoulder. I used to love to do that. I'd throw him around my neck and haul him around. But I was not the kind of dad who wanted to take it easy on him. So I would make sure I bent way over here. They felt like they was falling way back. And then I would jump off of stuff. So it shocked them. And we had a great time. I can't do it anymore. They're way too big. But I'm thinking about the government being on his shoulder. Let me just tell you something. If my kids had their legs wrapped around my neck and my hands clasped to their ankles, them boys wouldn't go nowhere. And I'm so thankful that I serve a God who has a firm grip on the future. He has a firm grip on the burdens that we bear. He has a firm grip on the things that are happening around us and we just must trust Him. He says, The government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful. Folks, can I tell you something? Jesus is wonderful. Jesus is wonderful. Tim mentioned he's not dull. He's not. He's wonderful. Some folks have the idea that if I become a Christian that life's going to be boring and empty. I'll tell you that's not true. If you'll follow Christ, you'll find out that He who came unto us is wonderful. His name should be called Wonderful Counselor. We think about a counselor, we know we need wisdom, and Jesus is the perfect place to go for wisdom. You better be careful where you go to get your counsel. You better be careful where you go to get your advice. You better be careful when you need to make a decision who you get counsel from. I'll tell you, there's no better place than Jesus. He's the wonderful counselor. What else? His name should be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God. I'm so thankful. The same Jesus who according to John chapter 1 created everything is the same Jesus that I have the privilege of talking to anytime I want. It's the same Jesus who loves me. It's the same Jesus who protects me. That Jesus, mighty God, is in my heart. Oh, what a Savior. When He came unto us, He provided for us. He's our wonderful Counselor, the mighty God. The next one, the everlasting Father. You can't stop and think about Jesus without stopping and thinking about eternity. When was the last time you thought about eternity? I mean, really thought about eternity. How long does eternity last? Forever. That's kind of fascinating, isn't it? How does eternity compare to life? It's pretty small, isn't it? Just imagine you live 70 years. How does 70 years compare to eternity? I mean, it's tiny. It's tiny. If I ask you, I've got a million dollars and I'll trade you $70 for $1,000,000. How many of you think, hmm, I'd like one of those deals? I'll trade you $70 for $1,000,000. That's a sweet deal. That's a great return. I like those odds. Let me just tell you something. Every day of our lives, God says, If you'll give me the days of your life, I will bless you for all of eternity. Don't get the wrong idea. If you live for eternity today, you're not going to hate life. I'm going to tell you, living for eternity today makes life much more pleasant for living. But God says, hey, I am the everlasting Father. When you start thinking about eternity, you start putting things in a different priority and a different order because we're going to live here short. We're going to live there forever. May God help us to live each day with eternity in view. God is our everlasting Father. Finally, he says this, the Prince of Peace. How many of you have thought to yourself, I'd just like to have some peace? God's promised He'll provide it for today and forever. Keep going to the Prince of Peace. The Bible says, unto us, we've been provided this great Savior. So what do you do with Him? I'll tell you, you receive Him. Are you here today and you say, I don't know for sure if I were to die today, I'd spend eternity in heaven. I don't know that I'm saved. I don't know that I'm a Christian. I don't know that I have a personal relationship with Jesus. I want you to know something. Jesus came. He said it like this. He says, I've come that they might have life and they might have it more abundantly. Why did Jesus come? Why did Jesus leave heaven? Why did Jesus leave the presence of God the Father and come and take on the form of a man? Why did He come? He came to offer you eternal life. You see, God loves you. All men are sinners. Your sin separates you from God. Do you know that you're a sinner? Perhaps you're here this morning and God's beginning to already work in your heart and show you that you have sin. You know what God wants you to do? God's telling you in your heart, He wants you to acknowledge that you are a sinner. He wants you to personally pray and receive Him by faith. The scripture says it like this, Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. This Christmas season, you know what you should do? You should receive Christ. Oh, what a great Christmas gift has been given unto us. I'm so glad He came for me and you. Oh, what a Savior.