to live without Him, aren't you? I'm glad I know Him. But even better than that, He knows me. And I like that, don't you? I may forget I know Him one day. I may forget I'm in the world. I may not have any mind or memory, but I'm telling you, there's one that will always know who I am, and He'll see me to glory. Isn't that a blessing? What an encouragement that is. Turn your Bibles, if you would, to Isaiah, the prophet, the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter number 9. Isaiah chapter number 9. We've been trying to squeeze all of the sweet juices out of Isaiah chapter 9 in verse number 6. And today we're back there this Sunday and next Sunday. I can't wait to get there. I've already been there all week in the next name, alright? So I'm going to share this name with you. We've already got the other one ready to go. We're going to sort of marinate in it in the coming week as we get ready to deliver that part of the the final name of the Lord Jesus. Well, you know, we've been talking about what's in a name and the importance of names. And you know there's an entire science to the study of names. Now, it's a pretty hard word, so I'm not going to try to pronounce it, okay? I couldn't find... I should have looked it up on that little dictionary app I've got, and it tells me how to say it, and I didn't do that, and I should have, so I'm not even going to try, but just know that there's an entire science that goes into names. And really, what I've learned is you can boil the purpose of names down to about three different reasons or things, and I'm going to give them to you. First of all, His names identify us. They identify us. God named the first man and the first woman. Adam, his wife Eve, God named them. He gave them identity. When your parents named you, it gave you identity. It identifies who you are. But then not only does it identify us, but it distinguishes us. It sets us apart, so a name distinguishes us from other people. And so identity, and then it distinguishes us, and then it represents us. See, that name stands for who you are, so that your name, when it's mentioned, whether you're present or not, It means something. It reflects who you are, your character, how you live your life. Listen, there's a message in itself. And just when your name is mentioned, what comes to people's minds? Is it positive? Does it honor the Lord? Is it praiseworthy? I mean, how important that our testimony is, and so it represents things. It's real interesting, I found that up until about the 1300s, most people in Europe and England, which is the countries that the majority of us have come from, those two countries here in America, had only one name. And it was estimated that in medieval England, that's 14th century England, about three out of five men bore about five names. So three out of every guys you're going to meet, you're not really going to miss it if you use one of these five names like Henry or Robert or William. John or Richard. About three out of every five men had one of those five names. And so there got to be so many Henrys and Roberts and Williams and Richards, they couldn't tell them apart. It's sort of like in our church, we may have multiple people with the same name. And I'm glad we have a church of that size that we've got more than one of just about any and every name. Now there's a few unique ones out there. that we only have their name in one scenario. But, you know, I thought about the name Lori. There's probably about five or six Loris in our church, and probably three or four different spelling renderings. So when somebody says, you know, Lori, I've got to say, okay, wait, stop. Which one? Are you talking about my wife, Lori? Are you talking about this Lori, that Lori? So give me something. I need a little better identifying marker here to help us out. And then we can begin to identify who they are. And so as populations grew, it became harder to do that, so a second name was added. We call that the last name or the surname. And so it would help us to know which Henry, Robert, John or William you were talking about. And so those surnames, so the second name, your last name, your surname, now they began to identify people with two names rather than just one name. So your first name is your given name. Now I'm going somewhere, so stay with me, is your given name. That's the name that your parents gave you when you were born. It's your personal name. It identifies you. The second name is a permanent family name. It further distinguishes who we are. It's interesting in the study of names that surnames or last names originated about four different ways. The first one would be paternal. What I mean by that, there's really a different name, but paternal is a good way of putting it. The father's name, they take the father's name like Peter, and they would add son to it. So suddenly, you have Peter's son. So that's John Peterson. Or maybe John's son, John's son. Or William's son, William's son. And so you would come up with that name. paternally, so to speak, and so you would recognize, oh yeah, that's John's son. That's Jim who's John's son. That's Jim Johnson. And so that's how you get there. Other ways with geographical locations, they would say, oh yeah, that's James that lives in the woods. So they'd call him James Woods. And then they'd mention John that lived over across the hill from James who lived in the woods. And so James Woods was neighbors to John Hill because he lived over the hill. You see how that worked? And so they would... John Hill and James Woods. And then another way would be occupations like this is... John Farmer because he's the farmer, or maybe this person's a baker, and so that's Sam Baker because he's the town baker, or maybe the person was a smith. They worked there in the fire and worked and built farming implements or whatever, and so maybe his name was William Smith. And so you would have that last name based on occupation. Another one was characteristics. Now, I know you can't tell by looking, but I'm a little vertically challenged. And so I'm a little short. So, sometimes, based on physical characteristics, somebody would say, oh yeah, that's John Small. Or that's Henry Long. But as Dan and I were talking, and we won't go back there, Dan, on that first conversation on that one part of it, but anyway, we were noticing that sometimes that gets reversed. Because, see, it may be that this Henry was tall, but he had a son genetically that was short, and so now you have a Henry Long who's really short. or a John Small, OK, and he's really tall. You ever notice sometimes they just don't fit? And I'm going to come back to that in the next message, and I can't wait to share it. And so you would have that maybe Bill Short, John Small, or Henry Long, and so you'd have some kind of characteristic that would give them that last name. The third name that some people have, some people have this, and that's a nickname. You don't have to say, how many have a nickname? Oh boy, hands went up all over the building. How many of you like your nickname? You know, only a few hands went up that time. Most of them were like, you know, I really don't care for it. But anyway, you'll go visit somebody and they'll go, oh, this is Tootsie and this is Rootsie and this is whatever. And I'm like, wait a minute, stop, okay? Give me a name. I can't remember Tootsie and Rootsie and whatever. I can't remember all that. And so they had those names sometimes. But you know what? All of those names together, listen to me, they identify. They distinguish you from everybody else in the world, and they represent who you are. You know, sometimes names don't fit. You know, you're thinking, you hear a voice on the radio and a name, and you have some vision in your mind of what they look like, and I'm sure, I am sure, that when people hear me on the five radio stations that we're on, I think, or maybe it's three, I can't remember how many it is, I think it's five, but anyway, the radio stations we're on, I'm sure that they imagine me six foot two, 210 pounds, flowing brown hair with no gray. Y'all are laughing at me. And then they meet me and they're so disappointed. Because it just didn't fit what was in their minds. Can I tell you, when it comes to Jesus, every name fits. It does. And see, in our text, you're going to find that Isaiah is prophesying of a coming king. So often we relate these names to the nativity of Jesus, His birth. But in reality, they're names of nobility. They're names of royalty. They have to do with His reign, His rulership, His kingship. And Isaiah is prophesying about a child that's going to be born and a son's going to be given. One day the governments of the world are going to be up on His shoulder. He's going to reign. He's going to rule. He's not just king for in, He's king of kings. And he said, if you want to know what kind of king he is, let me share with you who he is. Let's look at it. Isaiah 9, verse 6, 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 names? Every one of them fit. And we over the last several weeks have been unwrapping the names of Jesus. And today we're going to look at the fourth name. This fourth name. And He shall be called the everlasting Father. I'm glad He's wonderful, aren't you? And I'm glad He's my counselor. Hey listen, I have a wonderful God and I don't have to navigate life alone. And I'm glad that He's the mighty God, but He's also the everlasting Father. You see, kings come on the scene and kings come and kings go. Kings will come on to the scene and they'll leave the scene, but I'm telling you, there's coming a day, there's going to be a king come on the scene and, friend, he's never going to leave because he's the everlasting Father. We're going to unwrap that name together this morning. Let's pray. Father, we love You. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You for the names, the over 300 names and descriptive titles You've given to Your Son. Lord, we've been looking already at three of them. Today we're going to look at the fourth one. God, teach us Your truth today. I pray that we would learn something of who Your Son is and how He relates in our lives. Lord, I pray that we would worship You today and make much of You. Lord, guide my lips, my thoughts. Help me to say that that pleases You, that that Your people need to hear. Bring to my mind those things, Lord, that need to be said, and I'll thank You for it. Work in every heart and life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, when we come to this passage, we've been unwrapping the names of Jesus, and we learn that the name Wonderful takes care of the dullness of life. Can I tell you that knowing and loving and living for Jesus Christ is anything but dull. It's the greatest life anybody can ever live. Hey, listen, I'm just going to tell you, it doesn't mean that there's not rough patches. It doesn't mean that we don't go through difficult times and hard times, but I've got good news for you today. I have a Savior, and He is wonderful, and it is a wonderful thing to know Him. And then we've learned that name counselor takes care of the decisions of life. I don't have to make decisions on my own. I don't have all the answers and I'm glad I know one who does, aren't you? And he's my heavenly counselor who has all wisdom. I find that he's the mighty God and that takes care of the demands of life. Can I tell you, not any person, there's not a person in this building that is up to every demand in life. Listen, the reality of it is, is life is bigger than anybody in this room, But I am glad that I have someone in my life that's bigger than anything that will ever come into my life. And then we learn this name Everlasting Father takes care of the dimensions of life. Because every one of us are going to live on two dimensions. And I want to talk about that this morning as we look at this name Everlasting Father. We're going to understand what this name has to do with the Lord. What does it say to us about the Lord Jesus? And then how does this name relate to us? How does it relate to you personally? That's what we want to learn. So number one, as I begin to look at this name and we begin to unwrap it, we find that it's going to say something to us about Jesus and eternity. Jesus and eternity. Notice the Bible says in this fourth listing of names, His name shall be called the Everlasting Father. Well, let me begin by telling you what that doesn't mean. When Isaiah, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, designates Messiah, the Lord Jesus, as the Everlasting Father, he does not mean that Jesus, God the Son, second person of the Trinity, and God the Father, first person of the Trinity, are the same persons. because they're not. No, the God we worship exists as a triune being. He is a trinity. That means God, as He's revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures, eternally exists as three distinct persons. Father, Son, and Spirit. We call that the Godhead. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Father. The Spirit is not the Father and the Son. And the Son and the Father are not the Spirit. They're three distinct persons, yet they're one matchless, marvelous God. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Friend, we don't worship three gods. No. You say, well, 1 plus 1 plus 1 equals 3. No, it's wrong math. 1 times 1 times 1 equals 1. One God who eternally exists in three marvelous Persons. And so, Isaiah's designation of Messiah as the everlasting Father does not imply the second Person of the Trinity and the first Person of the Trinity are the same Person. That's not what he's saying. So, preacher, what does he mean? Well, in Middle Eastern thought, people understood the designation or title of father to mean originator or author of something or someone. You remember, you go back into the book of Genesis or any place in the Bible where there are the begets. And you know, we sometimes get bogged down in the begets with names we don't know how to pronounce and all of that. But there are some of them that are fairly easy. You just go to the genealogy of the Lord Jesus and it will say that Abraham begat Isaac who begat Jacob, who then begins to mention the twelve sons of Israel, or the twelve tribes that make up the twelve tribes. So they sprang from. It had to do with generation. It has to do with origin. And so, in calling Jesus the everlasting Father, the prophet was saying that He is the author, He is the originator, He is the fountainhead, He is the source of all that is eternal. He's the Creator of eternity and time. It's no wonder that Isaiah calls Him the Everlasting Father, or simply put, the Father, the Author, the Originator of eternity. That's what He's saying. Let me take it a step further and remind us that Jesus as God is Himself eternal. He didn't begin in Bethlehem's manger. That wasn't the beginning of His existence. We celebrate the fact that Jesus came. We talk about a babe, and many people have nativity scenes, and people put them in their yards, they have them in their home. Some people collect nativity scenes, and they'll have the shepherds, the wise men, some animals, they'll have Mary, Joseph, a manger, a baby in that manger, that baby depicting Jesus Christ who we celebrate His birth, whether He was born on December 25th, is irrelevant so far as what we understand is concern that He came to the earth. The fact is that we've chosen that date for whatever reason. I'm sure we can go there and know why because of different, not only pagan, but Christian culture and all of that, that designates that day. Whatever it might be, we've just chosen that this is the day we celebrate the fact that He came. But a reminder, that's not when He came into existence. No, He existed before Bethlehem's manger. That was simply the beginning of the Lord's earthly existence as a man. He has existed from all eternity as God. Let me give you some verses. You can jot them down. Micah 5, verse 2. But thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee, this is another prophecy of royalty and nobility of the coming King, the Messiah, Out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel." There's going to become a king out of you, out of Bethlehem. He's going to come to me. He's a Messiah. I'm going to tell you about Him whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. Listen, there's going to be one come out of Bethlehem, but He's existed from all eternity. That's what He's saying. Oh, He's the Ancient of Days. Psalm 90 verse 2, I believe we could apply that. The psalm that Moses wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He says this, from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Psalm 90 verse 2. From vanishing point to vanishing point. Go with me all the way back till everything vanishes. Let's go back to a little over 6,000 years of human history, and let's go back there, and then we're going to go back to where there's nothing. Vanishing point. Nothing exists, but I'm telling you, Jesus is there. Oh, propel us into the future as we go out into the future till everything is gone. And friend, I'm here to tell you, the one that is back there is still there. Jesus is there. From vanishing point to vanishing point, everlasting to everlasting. Thou art God. There's never been a time when Jesus Christ was not God. Hey, there was a time He wasn't a man, but there's never been a time He wasn't God. Can we look at some New Testament truth together? Turn to Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter number 1. The whole premise of Hebrews is Jesus is greater. What's the book of Hebrews about, preacher? He's greater. He sets forth in the very first chapter that He's greater than the angels because He's God. And he begins to talk about his neutrality, his royalty, all of these things about the Lord. And that's where we're going to pick up in verse number 10. And He says in Hebrews 1, verse 10, And thou, Lord, He's talking about the second person of the Trinity, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of thine hands. Aren't you glad we're not a cosmic accident? Aren't you glad that we're the special creation of an all-wise, all-powerful, almighty God? Isn't that wonderful? His name is the mighty God. There it is. Look at verse 11. They shall perish. Do you realize that everything you see around you today will one day cease to exist? But thou remainest. It'll be gone, but you'll be here. And they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture, a suit of clothes, thou shalt fold them up. The God that spread forth creation is one day going to take it like an old suit of clothes, and He's going to pack it away. It's going to be gone, so to speak. and they shall be changed. But watch this, but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Isn't that amazing? I'm glad, friend, that my God, my Savior is an eternal God. Look with me if you would. Just several chapters over. As a matter of fact, we're going to go twelve chapters to the right. We're going to come to chapter 13. He's going to talk about heaven in chapter 12. He's going to move into chapter 13 and give some parting remarks. And he's going to have a little nugget of gold in verse number 8. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse number 8. And He says, Jesus Christ the same. For not only is He eternal, He's unchanging. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today at this moment and forever. I just want to stop and say, wow, what a Savior. In the book of the Revelation, Jesus describes Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the Alpha being the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega being the last letter. You know, when He says, I'm Alpha and Omega, I'm the beginning and the ending and everything in between. He said, I am the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, meaning there was nothing before me and there'll never be anything after me. Robert Morgan in his book On the Names of Jesus states this, as the Father of eternity, Jesus is unlimited in His being. He's eternal in His years and boundless in His person. Do you realize when we think about Jesus in eternity that He actually lives in eternity? Listen to Isaiah 57 verse 15. You don't have to turn there. Just jot it down. Isaiah 57 verse 15. For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity. Where does God live, preacher? Eternity. You're putting that in your mind and it's going to smoke after a while because the cogs are going to stick and the engine's going to try to turn and the smoke's going to come out the ears because our little finite pea-brained minds can't wrap ourselves around that. Somebody talked about Albert Einstein and said he wasn't going to believe anything that didn't fit in his mind. Well, I'm glad I know somebody that's bigger than Albert Einstein's mind and his name is Jesus. I'm glad that he won't fit in my little pea brain, mine or anybody else's mind for that matter. God's greater. He said, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Dear child of God, spiritually speaking, you live in eternity with God. Because I'm seated with Him in heavenly places. We could just close up right now and say, You realize the glory of Christmas that we celebrated yesterday is He who inhabited eternity invaded time. He who inhabited eternity invaded time. And time and eternity meet together in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Creator of eternity because He Himself is eternal. He is the everlasting Father. That is Jesus and eternity. That's how it designates Him. We understand something of who He is. That's how that name relates to the Lord. But now, let's unwrap it further. How does that name relate to you and me? Because every one of God's names not only relate to Him and helps us to understand and identify and distinguish who He is, and represents Him, but it also says something about how He relates back to us. Alright? So now, secondly, we want to see eternity and you. Or us. Eternity, the concept of it, is so vast and so deep that our minds can't grasp it. Not long after I saved, I was laying in bed one night as a teenager and I was trying to imagine living forever. It scared me. You say, why is it scary? Because I can't comprehend forever. I was excited about it, but it was scary. Because can you imagine living on and on and on and on and on And the alm never stops. And it didn't scare me in the sense I was afraid. It was like, you know, I can't wrap my arms around that. That's bigger than I am. It's possible for our finite minds to conceive the infinite. That which is eternal, now think about this with me, that which is eternal has no beginning and it has no ending. So it's always been, always will be. God alone is eternal. We've established that. But now here's what I want you to get as it relates to you. Man was made for eternity. Man, you were made for eternity. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and verse number 11, the preacher Solomon said this, "...he hath made everything beautiful in his time." We could stop and say amen. But he didn't stop there. He went on and he said, "...also he has set the world in their heart." Many define that word world, not translate, but define that word world as eternity. God has set eternity, the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. And here's what He's saying, that God has set eternity in our heart, and therefore nothing in this temporal world can fill the eternal part of man. Can't do it. It's impossible. So, stay with me. I know this is getting a little bit, maybe a little more technical, but stay with me. Man has a beginning, but no ending. So once a person exists, that means they're born into this world, they never go out of existence. So there's a temporal dimension and there's an eternal dimension according to the Scriptures. And there is a longing in man's heart for that which is eternal. That longing for the eternal, that which lasts, because nothing around us lasts, creates sin because we were made for God, we were made for eternity. Sin separated us from God. It created an emptiness, a void, a desire for that that lasts, a desire for the eternal within a person's soul, and that man is forever seeking to fill it. They try to fill it with things, what they get, stuff. Stations in life they can attain. Pleasures they might can encounter. We just put that under a great big name called stuff and remind ourselves the stuff of this life will only satisfy us for a fleeting moment and then we're empty all over again. That's why a new car gets old. Or a new house becomes old. Or a new suit becomes old. Some people think that they can feel the emptiness at the bottom of a bottle. Other people believe it's a powder they snort into their nose. Other people believe it's a needle that they put something in their arm, or a pill that they will take, or maybe it's some pleasure that they can reach out to. It's a person that they can have. Whatever it might be that they think that it is that's going to fill that inside of them as they're reaching for the eternal, always, always, always leaves them empty all over again. And that's why they're always forever searching. And it's no wonder the preacher Solomon, when he talked about life under the sun, he said vanity of vanities, all is vanity. It's fleeting, it's empty, it's profitless. Only Jesus who is eternal can forever satisfy the empty longings of your heart and my heart. Only He can do that. I'm going to illustrate that with you and then I'm going to give you some thoughts, okay? There was a day that Jesus was in a place called Samaria. He sat down on a well. Unbeknownst to her, there was a woman that was going to come to the well in the middle part of the day. There was a reason why she did that. She was a prostitute. She had lived a life of prostituting her body. Her life was broken. Yet Jesus, isn't it amazing? He didn't have appointments with kings. He didn't have appointments with rulers. He didn't always have appointments with wealthy people. But He always had appointments with needy people because everybody's needy and this woman was needy. She came in the middle of the day and the reason she did is because this particular woman was shunned. by the city that she lived in. You see, women went to the well and they gathered water early in the morning and late in the evening before it got warm. They would have the day's water and the night's water for their family. But she would go in the middle of the day. That way she wouldn't come in contact with any other woman. That way she wouldn't get a look. That way she wouldn't get a sneer. That way she wouldn't feel shunned and ostracized and looked down upon and belittled. And she came there and thank God there was one there that in spite of all of her colored past, he loved her. And she started to get some water and he looked at her and he said, if you drink of that water, you're going to get thirsty again. Boy, that's going to pique some interest, isn't it? Yeah, I've been here many times. I can say it in her mind. Yeah, he's right. I'm going to come back and get some more. You know what he's doing? He's taking the stuff, the temporal, and he's going to move her to the eternal. He's letting her know because He's going to deal with her life and her sin and her need of Him a little bit later on. But He begins right there, letting her know that there's nothing in this world, nothing in her life, no man, no anything that will ever satisfy what she is searching for and the brokenness of her life. And if she keeps drinking out of the wells of the well, she's going to remain thirsty because God made her for eternity. And she's not living on the eternal level. She's only living on one dimension, the earthly level. And she's empty and she's broken and she's miserable. And Jesus said, let me tell you something, I've got a well you can drink out of and if you'll drink this water, you'll never thirst again. I'm going to satisfy what's in your heart. And He brought her to a saving knowledge of Himself. And I love what one preacher said, she exchanged a water pot for a well. I'm glad, friend, I don't have to fill up a water pot. I've got a well. And with joy we draw water out of the wells of salvation. I just want to stop and say hallelujah. He's going to say to a thousand standing on a hillside, sitting on a hillside. The day before had ate bread to the fill from five loaves and a few little fishes. It was on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus come over on a boat. They outran Him. Somehow or another they got to the other side before Jesus did. And they were waiting on Him when He got there. Thousands of them ready to ready for another bite of bread and another bite of fish from the hand of this teacher from Galilee. You know why? Because they ate yesterday, but they're hungry again today. Stuff just doesn't satisfy. And the Lord looks at that crowd and He said, you came and you're here, and He's basically saying, you're not here because of what I have to give you, you're here because He is hungry and I fed you and you want more because it doesn't satisfy. But I'm the bread of God that come down from heaven. I'm the bread of life that a man can eat thereof and not die. And he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. Christian, let me just tell you something. If you're not satisfied, it's because you're drinking out of the wells you used to drink out of. Because when you come to Him, you'll never hunger. You don't have to look anywhere else for satisfaction. You see, it all boils down to eternity in you. That the world offers stuff that's temporal. It'll pass away. It'll never satisfy. But Jesus, what He gives is eternal. It'll never pass away and it forever satisfies. Can I just tell you a few things that He's given you real quickly in the few minutes we have left? How about an eternal Word? See, an eternal God speaks eternal words. That means that I have a book that's going to last as long as God lasts. What kind of book do you have? I've got a whole lot of books in my library. I've got books that I've read that I'll never read again and really I don't want to read again. I've read about Dwight Eisenhower. I'm not going to read another book on Dwight Eisenhower. I've read about this guy, that guy. I've read about this general, that general. I love to read biographies and historical and historical fiction and I've got books and I've got a library full of them and I think, you know, I think I might go read that book and then I pick it up and I think, no, I've already read that. I put it back. But you know what I found? When I come to the eternal Word of God, it is a well so deep that I can go to the same verse again and again and again And I never exhausted. I never ran out. It always, it always satisfies me. I don't have to go anywhere else. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, Isaiah says, but the Word of our God shall stand forever. Peter quoting Isaiah comes back and says, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Jesus would look at His disciples right before He went to heaven, and He was talking about end time events and what was going to happen on the horizon. And He would say to them, Heaven and earth shall pass away, fellows, all that you see around you is going to pass away, but My Word shall not pass away. Jesus is saying, when all this is gone, this will remain. It's the rock. That's what Jesus called it, a rock on which we can rest our faith, stake our eternity, build our lives, raise our children, direct our future. Well, I want a good book on parenting. How about the Bible? I want a great book on marriage. Well, grab a Bible. I want to know how to live life. Grab a Bible. See, anything worth reading on any of those subjects must be rooted accurately in the pages, the eternal pages of the author of all of these things. Otherwise, it's just another man's ideas and opinions. But if it comes from the Bible, it's rooted in the eternal Word of God. It's that that I can build my life on that lasts. His eternal Word contains eternal promises. 2 Peter 1.4 calls them great and precious promises. I didn't count them up, but somebody estimated there's 3,000 different promises in the Bible. That means there's one for everybody in this room. Just go ahead and grab you one. It'll last forever. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad you can't steal my promise and I can't steal your promise because the promise is for all of us? The God who gave us an eternal Word has given us eternal life. You see, because Jesus is eternal, the life He gave me when I trusted Him was eternal. I love John 3.16, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that's the everlasting Father, the Father of eternity. He gave His Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus adds life to the years and years to the life. And I thought about this, you see, and I'll come back to it, but in reality, eternal perishing is still eternal. It's an eternal perishing. You never cease to exist. Everlasting life is eternal life. Eternal death, eternal life, but always existing. And the same God that gives us eternal word and eternal life is going to give us an eternal purpose. An eternal purpose. Can I tell you your life, Christian, is not without purpose and plan? There's no randomness to our lives from God's perspective. Now we might live a random life, but that's because we're not on His agenda, we're on ours. Jesus as the everlasting Father has an eternal purpose or plan for your life. The Bible says, "...for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Do you realize that God's purpose for my life is rooted in eternity? God didn't come up with it when I got saved. He already had it. Just me getting saved, let me in on it. And listen, friend, you can't live the eternal plan and purpose of God until you get saved. And then after you get saved, friend, God has an eternal plan for you no matter where you are in life or what age you are. By the way, I just want to say something to all of our young adults in our building. Can I tell you God's future is better than your future? It just is. See, only one who is eternal could say, Behold, I make all things new. You know, when He saved us, He made us a new you. He gave us a new life. He gave us a new purpose. He gave us a new Father. He gave us a new family. He gave us a new future. I want you to jot this little phrase down. We live in time. We live in time, but we live for eternity. Christian, if you want to understand life on the proper plane as a Christian, we live in time, but we live for eternity. That's the proper plane. I'm living in real time one dimension for another dimension. The eternal one. John puts it this way, He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. I have eternal word, I have eternal life, I have eternal purpose because the everlasting Father has given me eternal home. An eternal home. I thought about Psalm 23 verse 6. I'll probably use that in one of the four funerals that I'll be a part of this week. And David put it this way. He said, I will dwell. I will. He didn't say, I might, I may. He said, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. My wife loves HGTV. I don't. She watches it. I don't. Okay. You say, why? Because they give her ideas. And she would share it with me, so if I'm not there, maybe I won't get the idea. No, I'm kidding. Well, not completely. But anyway, HGTV. She loves it. Well, they've got these things they talk about. It's always funny hearing them talk. They talk about a forever home. Oh, we're going to help them find their forever home. Well, there's no such thing in this life. Because if the Lord doesn't come, somebody else is going to live in my home. right now. I'm only going to occupy it for a short period of time. You follow me? And here, let me just take it a step further. Every home that's, no matter how fancy, how extravagant, how big, whatever, it's going to burn up. There are no forever homes in this world. But I have a forever home. I do. Hallelujah! I have a forever home. It's a place called heaven. It's on the new heaven and the new earth. See, Abraham, God gave him an entire land mass. He said, it's yours, the whole thing. I mean, he didn't get a few acres. I mean, he got an entire country. He said, you just look as far as you can see, and whatever you walk on, I give it to you, God said. And He gave you some big boundaries and Israel's never lived and fulfilled and inhabited all the boundaries that God gave them. And you know what's interesting? Abraham never found a place where he said to Sarah, Hey, let's build a house right here. This is a great view. He never did that. He lived in a tent his entire life. And you go all the way to the book of Hebrews and you find out why. Because the Bible said he looked for a city which hath foundations." He realized that no matter where he went in this world, it wasn't going to last. And he said he was looking for a city who had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He said, listen, everything I've touched down here, it's going to go away. I'm looking for something that's going to stay. What are you living for? Can I just tell you, Christian, as we end this year and get ready to move into another one, don't drive your tent pegs down too deep in this world. You're just a pilgrim. You're just a wanderer. You're a nomad. You're just passing through. The world's not our home. I like that gospel song. This world's not my home. I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door. And I can't feel at home in this world anymore. Isn't that good? Let me give you one last one and I'm going to be done. An eternal hope. You see, I'm not home yet. And you're not either. And between here and there, the everlasting Father has given us an everlasting hope. Remember that father, whenever you think of a father, you think of nurture, you think of protection, you think of security, you think of care. It reminds us that my Savior, out of His loving concern and care, provides and protects and loves and shelters those who belong to Him. He's a compassionate, all-wise provider and protector and helper of His people. I'm going to give you a verse. Are you ready? Deuteronomy 33 verse 27. The eternal God is thy refuge. There are people over Christmas that found refuge in a pill. Some found refuge in a bottle. Some found refuge in immorality. They're looking for something to hide in. See, that's what a refuge is. It's a hiding place and they're hiding from life. You know why that young adult out there is going to begin continually to take a drug that can take their life and they know it and they want more and more of it because they're hiding from life. They're hiding. And I tell you, I've got a hiding place. And it's not a pill, and it's not a bottle, and it's not a place. It's a person. And His name is Jesus Christ, and I can go to Him anytime I want to. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Do you know what that tells me? That not only can I go to Him, but He's carrying me. Underneath are the everlasting arms. What do you do with a baby? You put your arms under it, and you lift it up, and you carry it. You know what God's telling me? He's telling me, I'm carrying you through life. You're going to make it. You're going to make it. Oh, we all hit rough patches, don't we? We all go through difficult times. But I have an everlasting Father. The Father of eternity tells me that underneath me are the everlasting arms. See, an everlasting God has everlasting arms, and He'll thrust out the enemy from before they think about it. The One who rules the vastness of eternity, whose life stretches from vanishing point to vanishing point, works in time to care for and carry you through the difficult times of life. Somebody put it this way, time is filled with swift transitions. Not of earthly things shall stand. Build your hopes on things eternal. Hold to God's unchanging hand. Can I flip that song just a little bit? I understand what he's saying. Hold to God's unchanging hand. There's times, I don't know, but my hand slips. Can I give you one better? I'm glad His unchanging hand has a hold of me. God talks about, though we fall and are utterly cast down, for He upholdeth us with His hand. I'm so thankful for an unseen, unchanging hand in my life, in your life, that's orchestrating our lives, that's working behind the scenes, that's guiding you, directing you, caring for you, carrying you, helping you. I'm just here to tell you, dear child of God, as you trudge through this world as God's pilgrim, as God's wanderer, as God's nomad, you have the everlasting arms carrying you and strengthening you and enabling you that will see you through. Thank God there's an eternal home because I have an eternal home. I close with this. Somebody wisely wrote, eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset. Eternity, the wicked, is a night that has no sunrise. We've looked as we've unwrapped this name, Jesus in eternity. He's the everlasting Father, the Father of eternity, and eternity in us. Thank God for an eternal Word, eternal life, an eternal purpose, an eternal home, and eternal hope. What a great, mighty, wonderful God that we have today. Let's stop a moment and praise Him. Amen. Let's bow our heads in prayer.