We take a break from our study of 1 Samuel to focus our attention on the Christmas season. Some may know it as Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word that means arrival or coming. And Advent, you know, you'll have traditions that say that this is a time of Advent and you need to do this and do that. There's no scriptural precedent, there's no scriptural commandment that says you thou shall, you know, acknowledge and participate in Advent. However, it is a good discipline because it focuses our hearts on what is important. And to that end, that's why we sent you the devotionals, we sent you that email, because we want you focused on what so easily can be missed, which is the Christ of Christmas. There are many distractions, and if you're not careful, you'll miss out on Christmas. Along that way, imagine, speaking of Christmas, suppose for a moment there is life out there. you know, in another planet, yet a different galaxy. And suppose that for a moment an alien showed up in our place and here at planet Earth, and he would visit us during this time of the year. What do you think that alien would think about or would figure, draw conclusions that Christmas is about here on planet Earth? on the screen there. Do you think he, you know, this alien, and that's a picture of the alien that visited. If you believe that, I have some land in the Everglades for you, too. Okay? Santa or Savior? Is it Rudolph the Reindeers or a Redeemer? Is it Jingle Bells or Jesus? Is it Christmas lights? Or are we celebrating the light of the world? Our culture and our community will send mixed messages. We'll send the wrong ones, actually. The Scriptures do not. The Scriptures are crystal clear when it comes to Christmas. Even the Old Testament gives us great information regarding the reality of the Messiah to come, the Incarnation. From Genesis running through Malachi, God paints a picture and gives us these glimpses of what's coming down the pike. Let me just give you a sampling on that, it will be on the screen. In Genesis 3.15, Messiah is announced as the seed of the woman. Genesis 12.3, He's the offspring of Abraham. Genesis 49.10, He is from the tribe of Judah. Numbers 24, 17, he is the star come out of Jacob. Deuteronomy 18, 15, he is the prophet greater than Moses. 2 Samuel 7, verse 12, he is the son of David who will reign forever. Psalm 2, he is the Lord's anointed. Psalm 22, he is the righteous sufferer. Psalm 110, he is the king priest after the order of Melchizedek. Isaiah 7, 14, He is the virgin conceived Emmanuel. Isaiah 53, He is the suffering servant of the Lord. Daniel 7, 13 and 14, He is the coming Son of Man. Micah 5, 2, He is the babe born in Bethlehem. The Scriptures don't stutter. Christmas is about God's Messiah, the Incarnation, Emmanuel, God with us. And there's one more reference that's going to be our focus for this Sunday and the next three. And to that reference, I want you to open your Bible 2 or your Bible app, Isaiah chapter 9, the first seven verses. Isaiah chapter 9. I'm going to read it, you're going to follow along. This is going to be our study for the next few Sundays. Isaiah 9, 1 through 7. Isaiah chapter 9, 1 through 7, I read. You're going to follow along. If your Bible doesn't have Isaiah, it's time for a new Bible. OK? Now, if your Bible says Isaiah, we're good. We're good. Because that's just the heavenly language. OK? Isaiah 9, 1 through 7, I read, you follow along. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest. as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace, there will be no end. On the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it, with justice and with uprightness, from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Stop there. The year 725 before Christ, 725 BC. The Northern Kingdom Israel, we're dealing now not with the Golden Age of Israel under Solomon and David, we now have the Divided Kingdom. To the north is Northern Kingdom, known as Israel, or sometimes in our Bible reading it will be referred to as Ephraim. The Southern Kingdom, those are the 10 of the 12 tribes. The Southern Kingdom is Judah and it encompasses the smallest tribe of Benjamin. Well, the northern tribe is facing extinction, or it's facing at least what we know today when we hear about an existential threat. And the threat is real. There is an empire on the move, growing, fast, vicious, bloody. It's the Assyrian Empire, modern-day Iran. And out of there, they're coming and they have their eyes set on this little piece of property called Israel, the promised land. And Israel is morally bankrupt, is weak militarily, and is just ripe, ready for invasion and for conquest, to be conquered. And in fact, three years later, in 722 BC, Israel would be sacked, overrun and crushed in a humiliating defeat. Now, we can say that and we lose sight that this defeat meant that loved ones would be brutally killed. That's what happened. The Assyrians were notorious. They were nasty. Families would be broken up and destroyed. The land would be devastated. Economic havoc would be rampant. The once proud nation would be brought to its knees. And the danger that they had, just like you and I have, when the shadow of pain, the shadow of uncertainty looms over us, is that we tend to lose sight of the God that's behind it and above it. And God was gracious to the nation of Israel, even through the prophet Isaiah. He tells them, He warns them, don't give in, don't compromise. The king is Ahaz at the time. And He tells them, listen, you don't need to compromise. I will care for you. Ahaz chooses not to listen to the Lord. He overlooks it. He's arrogant. He's self-destructive. And by not paying attention, and by disobeying the Lord, it is a hostile act toward the Lord. But God is so gracious that to Him the word grace is not just a word or an idea. He truly is the God who is gracious forevermore. And in the midst of this, He starts announcing it in 7, He talks about it in chapter 8, and now in 9 He lets them know, but even within what we read, there's grace and hope. Look at it, it will be on the screen. The gloom of verse 1 would turn to the rejoicing of verse 3. The distress of verse 1 would turn to the joy of verse 3. The oppression of verse 1 would turn to a broken yoke in verse 4. The darkness of verse 2 would turn to the light of verse 2. The shadow of death of verse 2 would be overcome in verse 6. So there's favor instead of contempt. Light instead of darkness. There's joy instead of sorrow. Freedom instead of oppression. That's what He's promising them. And that's because He's a gracious God. All to them because God's provision of grace. We have the what is going to be sent. The what He promises His people. The question is, who's going to do it? How's He going to do it? Who's behind this? Who will establish such magnificent realities? Who will have what it takes to accomplish what these verses describe? Who is worthy? Who is worthy? Well, one Bible commentator puts it this way. It's beautiful. It's right there on the screen. God's answer to everything that has ever terrorized us is a child. The power of God is so far superior to the Assyrians and all the big shots of this world that He can defeat them by coming as a mere child. His answer to the bullies swaggering through history is not to become an even bigger bully. His answer is Jesus. And that's what we begin to look at this morning. Isaiah tells us about a child, a baby, a son born into our world. A life is a gift from God, but this son is a special gift. And we know it's a special gift because look at it in verse 6, the latter part says, And the government shall be right in the middle, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Verse 7, Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. This is a special child that when he enters, He's gonna be a king, but he's also a special king because he presents it to us It'll be on the screen as the king with four names And that's the focus those four names now listen Nowadays we name kids like like whatever you know sometimes. There's a lot of thought to it sometimes we just want to be a We find new ways to say things and to name kids and all that stuff. But listen, these names go beyond just naming a child, like Luis. Okay, well, that's great. Next, it'll be Jose. And after that, it'll be Miguel. And after that, whatever, you know? No, these names describe the quality and the character of the person. that when he is born, he encompasses each and every name here. We know that person, we celebrate the birth, the traditional birth at Christmas. And these are just not titles of the incarnate Christ, but the roles he fills in the life of every child that belongs to him. So the first name we're gonna take a look at this morning is, you shall call him Wonderful Counselor. And let me tell you, there's one thing we all need is wise counsel in our lives. We sometimes make the dumbest mistakes, whether it's marriage, your family, your relationships, your work, your play, decisions. We make some really dumb, dumb decisions sometimes. But Isaiah 9 tells us that we have at our disposal in Jesus Christ a wonderful counselor. Some of the translations will put a comma between wonderful and counselor. And they'll say, his name is wonderful, Counselor the better text the better manuscripts keep it as a compound name just like the other ones. So it's a wonderful counselor And the first word there you need you and I need to look at is wonderful It's not just he's wonderful because he's great He's wonderful because the word means miraculous Astonishing beyond understanding something that only God can do and we know this by the usage that this word gets throughout the Old Testament For example, it will be on the screen there, Job 9.10, who does, talking about God, does great things beyond searching out and marvelous things beyond number. Marvelous is not just great, it is miraculous, it is astonishing, beyond understanding. Psalm 78.12, in the sight of their fathers, He, God, performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. Judges chapter 13 verse 18 the Samson's parents asked the angel of the Lord his name and the angel replies Why do you ask my name seeing it is? Wonderful it is it is astonishing it is beyond Comprehension so that's a wonderful. It is something supernatural something miraculous counselor Melanie I'm gonna pick on you when you hear the word counselor what comes to mind I? I can't hear you. I am old. You see all this white hair right here? I can't, oh, I can't hear you. But at least I got hair, okay? But, go ahead. You know we have a high school counselor right over here, Mrs. Bellamy, okay? She's, okay? All right, so you think of a high school counselor. All right, that's because you're young, okay? If I pick on older folk, they're gonna tell me a different thing, all right? Let me see. Isaac, what comes to mind when you think about counselor? A lawyer? Oh, counsel? Nice, I like that. How about you, Cynthia? Guidance? All right, enough of this side. The girls got lucky, all right? Yeah, I was about to pick them. Oh, somebody raised their hand here? Yeah, go ahead. An advisor? Okay, we're getting close there. Yeah, yeah. Okay, on this side. Josh, when you hear a counselor, what do you think? Huh? Me? Thanks, man. You're kind, bro. You're kind. Lunch is on me next time, all right, bro? Next time, next time. Just don't hurry to do that, to redeem that one. Go ahead. All right, fantastic. See, most of us, those are great for some, let's say. Counselor means we're sitting in an office, in a chair, or lying on a couch, and we're hearing the famous words, tell me about your childhood. All right, and how do you feel? about that childhood. That's not the word counselor here. You guys really got on it because the idea here is more of an advisor or a guide. You think about the kings in the Old Testament, how they had a group of advisors that helped them and provided the counsel they needed as they went to war, as they faced this situation in the kingdom or another. So that's the kind, it's more of a high school counselor, I guess, a guidance counselor. We're not saying that Jesus is going to be that supreme psychiatrist. No, no. The good thing about this is that this child is the wonderful counselor. He doesn't need counselors. He is the wonderful, miraculous, beyond understanding, astonishing counselor. He will not need some of us with our well-intentioned ignorance to surround him with and tell him, hey, this is how you should act, big boy. No. He is the wonderful counselor. He's the one thing who's also the wonderful counselor. full of wisdom, full of truth. So how does this apply to you and me, the fact that he's a wonderful counselor? Let me just flesh that out a little bit. Number one, as the wonderful counselor, Jesus is approachable. Listen, if he wasn't approachable, what good is he? What good is, I'm going to pick on Mrs. Bellamy, if she's the high school counselor at Western. Is it Western? OK. Is there one particular? West Broward. West Broward. One particular grade or all grades? All grades. All grades. Lucky you. Lucky you. All right. All right. Can you imagine if they say, listen, go see your counselor. Every time you buzz her, I'm busy. Or forget about that availability. When you come see her, Mrs. Bellamy is kind of tall. Kind of tall. She's taller than I am. I have to wear heels to get to her, you know what I mean? But can you imagine if you're imposing, okay? And all of a sudden, she just doesn't... Have you met people who are just not approachable? Yeah, you know, somebody just came to mind. You may have them in your family, you may have them in your web of relationships. Listen, Jesus is approachable. If you don't feel comfortable, you'll never go to them with problems. You'll never seek advice. And we're grateful that the Lord Jesus is approachable because He's done for us what was needed first and foremost. Number one, He bridges the gap between us and God. Let me tell you as a wonderful counselor. He provides the basis. He provides what you and I need especially be reminded of during this Christmas season 1st Timothy 2 to 5 for there's one God and one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus Why do we need a mediator? Because God is God and you are you and I am who I am He is holy and we are not God is spirit. We are flesh. God's in heaven. We live on earth and The Apostle Paul describes God this way 1st Timothy chapter 6 God the blessed and only ruler the king of kings and the Lord of lords who alone is Immortal and who lives in unapproachable light who no one has seen or can see so how do you approach the unapproachable God you need a go-between and That go-between is the Lord Jesus the wonderful counselor and Jesus is that mediator not a man I don't mediate I The head of the Roman Catholic Church is not your mediator. No one is. Jesus Christ, the Theanthropos, the Theogodman, He's the mediator. And that's what you and I... And for Him to be anything and to Him as a wonderful counselor, He's approachable because He's done for you and me what we need. He's bridged that gap. He took on flesh so that He might die in the flesh and provide the mediation that you and I need. 1 Peter chapter 3, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God. Keep that in mind. Wonderful counselor he he bridges the gap Why do go why go to him when we have issues that have to deal with the weightiness of life? the eternity the future the Heavy stuff because Jesus is the only one as God. Yeah, he's here. He can approach God and as man we can approach him So he's done that for you and me, but secondly he understands our struggles and He understands our struggles. The Scriptures declare, since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who is in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. That's what you and I... He understands you and me. To borrow a phrase that was, you know, I wasn't too cool with, but it was a whole thing on TV during the Super Bowl. It's, he gets us. He gets, why? Because he understands it. He understands this is what Christmas is about. God becomes a man to face what you and I face, to walk in our shoes. He understood the desire to strike back, to give up, to despair. The only difference is he didn't let it get the best of him. He takes it to a point that you and I will never take it. We give in. Our pride gives in. Our flesh gives in. He didn't. He took it. Now, because He's without sin doesn't mean that He wasn't without struggle. Please don't read into that, into the text. Just because He wasn't without sin doesn't mean, Oh, but pastor, how can I be sure? Well, Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22, He's at the Garden of Gethsemane. He's wrestling he tells his he brings his loyal father says hey stay here, and I'm gonna go pray right What do they do they do they pray with him? No, no, they fall asleep and And Luke who's the the medic he says because it's not that they were just cheap people they were over overtaken by grief I don't know about you, but when life gets really serious We tend to do one or two things or one of three things. You know we eat we sleep or Medicaid Right well they slept They slept but he goes and what does he tell God? Hey, I am so happy to be here at the Garden of Gethsemane Father I am listen. I've been looking forward to this day No, he says Lord There's another way If you can pass this cup, maybe but not my will but you that struggle. Oh, there wasn't a struggle at all Really? He goes back and but the second time he comes God has to send to the father sends him an angel to minister to him in his flesh He's Jesus in flesh And he says that the struggles so much that what was he sweating? Yeah, next time you think that because he's without sin. He's without struggle strike that from your mind Jesus understands That's why he's a wonderful counselor. He can meet you in the deepest of valleys because he's been in the deepest of valleys and He's a wonderful counselor because he's approachable. He's approachable. He's done for us. He's brought God set paths that God, you know, heaven came down. Yes. And he understands us. Number two, as the wonderful counselor, Jesus is reliable. Let me tell you, you might find someone who's approachable, but they ain't reliable. Hey, listen, I'll meet you here. You know, meet with me this day at this time. And they just don't show up. It's not reliable. Or what? You know, listen, every family has the crazy uncle. Sometimes I think I'm it in mind We have that crazy fun-loving Man, it is great when you see him. You just start giggling. You're like, oh my gosh, this is gonna be great It's gonna be wonderful. But sometimes that fun uncle is not the best guy to go to for advice Okay, he's not he's not and that's what you have to he's not reliable because his life choices haven't been the best well when it comes to Jesus the wonderful counselor he is reliable why number one his counsel is wise and Isaiah 11 to the spirit of the Lord will rest on him the spirit of wisdom and of understanding the spirit of counsel and of power the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord and what Isaiah prophesies in the old Jesus fulfills in the new Luke in Luke chapter 2 it says that Jesus after he's born into our world He said that he grew and became strong He was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him Luke chapter 2 verse 40 a few years later We find him at the age of 12. Luke chapter 2 again in the temple court sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. Luke chapter 2, 46 and 47. Comes to his hometown and in Matthew 13, coming to his hometown, he began teaching to the people in the synagogue. And they were amazed. Where did this man get this wisdom and those miraculous powers? They asked. How does this guy know? Because he's the wonderful counselor. because His counsel is wise. This is why in Colossians 2, 3 it says that of Him, Christ, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Jesus alone has the wisdom. Jesus alone. Now, you and I may not like the wisdom that He has for you and me, but He has it. He has it. His counsel is wise and His guidance is sure. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd. Which again, that's why I put there Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leaves me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His namesake. His care is a good care. Not only are His words good, His actions are good. He cares. Listen, are you in need? He promises to meet the need. Not necessarily your wants. I got a lot of wants in my life. I want to get to... I want to. I really do. And I probably won't in this lifetime, and that's okay. But I have a want. I love, I want to be 6'3". Ain't gonna happen. I might be 3'6", okay, but... Alright, but 6'3", ain't gonna happen. It ain't gonna happen. But the needs, yes, you're tired, He'll give you rest. You're anxious, He leads you beside still waters. He'll restore your soul. You're unsure of what path to take. He leads you on paths of righteousness for His own namesake. He's not going to steer you wrong. He's not going to set you up to fail. Because He's the wonderful counselor. There's a lot of people offering guidance for every area, aspect of your life. And they'll do it. And some people are good. You should listen to them. Others, you shouldn't. You should be careful I'm reminded of those commercials. They're not so much Happening nowadays, but you remember those that at the end they had the fast-talking guy And it would just read the read out example shown are for demonstration purposes only results are not typical and not guaranteed consult your physician before taking side effects can include dizziness blindness or extreme circumstances death You know what keep your aspirin, bro Keep your aspirin See with Jesus. You don't need you don't you don't have to worry about a fast-talking guy. I The hidden disclaimers, you know now they don't speak them now they put them like yes big And you have to stop it on and read You know, no, you don't need to worry about that Jesus reliable for all of life. He guides you he provides truth in word and truth indeed And lastly as the wonderful counselor Jesus is available Again, you can have the best But if they're not available It doesn't matter. They're of no good to you. And the wonderful Counselor is available to you. He's available to us at all times. How? You'll see there on the screen. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, He is always with us. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, John chapter 14. Jesus says, And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper. to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." Another helper. By the way, the word there, helper, advocate, mediator, intercessor, encourager, one call to one's aid, a counselor. The word there, another, is not another of a different type, it's another of the same. So here's the kicker, the Holy Spirit will never lead you where the Bible doesn't lead you. The Spirit of God will never contradict the Word of God. It can't, because God is bound to His Word. So you can't tell me that the Holy Spirit told you that you should act in a way that's not Christ-like. Because the Spirit of Christ would not lead you to defame Christ. You understand what I'm saying? So if you run into people who say, oh no, no, no, because God told me. How? Because if He didn't tell you through there, we got a problem. Because this is what guides. And the Spirit is given us as the Spirit of truth, one that does not contradict the other members of the Trinity. Can you imagine that? So God the Father says something, God the Son says something, and God the Spirit says, yeah, I'm too cool for that. I'm just going to do it my way. We're going to freestyle it from here on. No. The Triune God works completely. That's why you have Him with you at all times. You see, while Jesus was here on earth, His availability was limited to those near Him. But He goes and He sends the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And by returning to heaven and sending the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes Himself available to all believers in all places at all times. That's why all of us here who know Jesus can leave this building and go into a week's worth of who knows what and the same Jesus that resides in me resides in you. And the same spirit that enables me enables you. The same spirit that protects you protects me. The same spirit that leads you leads me. And that's the beauty of it. With Jesus, the doctor is always in. Through the Holy Spirit, you're able And number two, He will never leave you nor forsake you. See Matthew 28 says, And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Jesus is available to you through His Spirit today, tomorrow, and always. That's the beauty of this wonderful counselor. This special person that is a gift from God. Yes, starts as a babe, but doesn't stay there. We don't worship baby Jesus. Maybe Jesus grew up, lived the perfect life, died the perfect death. Resurrected, ascended, and is coming back. That's the Jesus we worship. The wonderful counselor. The one who provides all that you and I need. He will never leave you nor forsake you. And let me tell you, the days are coming in this part of the world where we're going to need His ever-present, always with you availability. There's places in this world already that they need them like that. Places where our brothers and sisters are persecuted. But it's coming here, sooner or later, or maybe in your corporate world even now, where your Christian witness is being scrutinized. You can't say this. You can't behave that. You got to recognize pronouns. You got to do this. You got to do that. Let me tell you, child of God, You're going to need wise counsel. You're going to need that wonderful counselor more than you think in the coming days, in the coming years. Your kids, your grandkids, your nephews, your nieces, they're going to need you to be filled with the Spirit, filled with the Word, and to give them the right advice that they need. And always pointing them to Jesus Christ. And that Jesus Christ is always with us. It's not a special limited offer. There's no just, you know, Black Friday special or Cyber Monday special with Jesus. He's with you always. So if He is that wonderful counselor, what can we take with us? What does this mean for you and me? Number one, come to Jesus with all your struggles and all your sin. If He is who He says He is, Then bring him to struggles, bring him to sin. See, there's no need to hide and no reason to pretend. Stop fronting. He knows you. He knows you. He knows you. So stop it. Stop the game. Don't carry the burden by yourself. He's the wonderful counselor. He's approachable. He's reliable. He's available. Avail yourself of Jesus. My friend, if you haven't availed yourself of a Savior, then listen, shame on you. You need to realize that. The minute you understand you're a sinner, you need a Savior. That's like saying, oh, I'm going to go under. I'm drowning. And then rejecting all the help that I get to get sent my way. My friend, one day that'll cease, and you will have to face a holy God by yourself. And then what? What are you going to give Him? Excuses? Because He knows you. He knows you. Child of God, why are you looking to other places, other sources of wisdom, when you have the Word of God right before you? Child of God, why do you make excuses not to live under the authority of God's Word? Oh, you love to stand on the promises. But listen, we stand on the promises, but we also live under the authority. So why are we making so many excuses? It's time to stop and come to Jesus with the struggles, with the sin. Listen, you're not going to embarrass Him. He's not going to blush. He knows your sin. He knows your life. Number two, listen to Jesus through the Word of God. Through the Word of God. Again, get to know the God of the Word. Get to know the God who has gone out of His way to make Himself known, not only through creation, not only through your conscience, but through the written Word that points you to the living Word. You want to know God's take on something? Read it. He's not leaving you to say, oh, try to figure it out. He knows it. Get to know this. Get to know the God that has revealed Himself. And listen, people have died, people paid price with their own lives so you and I can have this Bible here. Oh, nowadays we have a Bible app. But there's parts of this world where folks don't have this. Avail yourself of the Word of God. It's a treasure trove of wisdom and guidance. And lastly, number three, walk with Jesus. Thanks to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Don't just look to Jesus on Sundays. Jesus is not just for Sundays. Jesus is for every day. Every day. If the day ends on Y, Jesus is for that day. That's Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, in case you're from Hialeah. Okay, just checking, just checking. Where's Gladys today? There's Gladys back there. Hialeah, and Robbie, and yeah, yeah. There's a picture of Floyd making a round. It's gonna make its rounds soon, I hear ya. All right, you'll have the last laugh. But don't look to Jesus on Sundays. Jesus is the wonderful counselor, because he's available. Listen, because of the Holy Spirit. He's not a force, He's a person that enables you to carry out that which the Lord calls you to do. He doesn't set up His children to fail. Avail yourself of the Word of God, so as you're filled with this Word, you fill with the Spirit, and then you're producing the fruit of the Spirit. I end with this wonderful quote from a Bible commentator. It'll be on the screen. He's looking at the big picture. So he says, look at Jesus. As a wonderful counselor, he has the best ideas and strategies. Let's follow him. As the mighty God, he defeats his enemies easily. Let's hide behind him. As the everlasting father, he loves endlessly. Let's enjoy him. As the prince of peace, he reconciles us while we are still his enemies. Let's welcome his dominion. I think he nails it. Child is born a son is given. We'll talk a little bit more about that phrase right there next time Because it's not a child is born and a son is born a child is born a son is given You shall call his name Wonderful counselor mighty God everlasting father prince of peace. Amen Let's pray If you bow your heads for just a moment, I just want to minimize distractions In a few minutes, we're just going to be singing, Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King. We're going to be singing unto the Lord. For right now, would you focus on what has the Lord impressed upon your mind now as we've studied His Word? As the Spirit of Truth has made His way throughout here, through this place. My friend, again, if you haven't trusted in Christ, I urge you, I urge you, I plead with you to trust in Him today, in the Savior that was born to take away your sin. Child of God, if you're playing games, stop. Stop. May this Christmas season help you to grow in Christ. to pursue holiness, to stop making excuses for sin. May the Lord enable you to make adjustments unto righteousness and holiness and obedience. So Lord God, as we just stand here and we're before You, we just ask for You to be with us and help us and guide us. And as we sing that You would have Your way with us, Thank you. Thank you for that wonderful counselor. And to you alone be the glory. We love you. In Jesus name and God's people said.