What's in a name? Names make it different. But why else would people change their name if they were given it at the first? Has anybody ever changed their name other than when you got married? Any of you that are not happy with the name that you have? Nobody's willing to admit it, huh? You are, okay. I don't like the name Herb. I guess that's why we're going to put this in over there, don't we? There we go. That's my name. My name is Herb. The reason they called me Herb, because that was my father's name. And that is okay, except that when they tried to distinguish me from my father, they called me Herbie. And that didn't set well at all. But I didn't change my name. I still have it. But it's a particular struggle for parents when they go to choose a name for their child very often. And God came the first man, Adam. Because the name means dust of the ground. The name Adam means earth. God changed Abram's name to Abraham, which means the father of many nations, which is the perfect description of him. Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter. The word Peter means a rock. So you see, names made a difference in the Bible. And we don't name our kids because of the definition of the name. Every name has a definition, do you know that? And sometimes that is good, sometimes it's bad, is what your name is, but all names have definitions. And it meant a lot in the Bible world that the parent that was having a child would name that child by a name that hopefully foretold what that child was going to be like. There are hundreds of names of Jesus in the Bible. Did you know that? And each name has a dual revelation to it. First of all, it reveals something about himself. And secondly, it reveals what he wants to do for us. There are literally hundreds of names. He's the bright morning star. He's the beginning and the end. His name is Jesus. His name is Christ. He has all kinds of names. In 700 years before Jesus was born, we read this as to what the prophet Isaiah declared of him. In verse 6 it says, 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. Isaiah saw this child as unique and he said he was both born and he was given. That he was born shows that he is human because God cannot be born. God always was. There never was a time when God was not. And so God, the word of God tells us that Jesus is both God and man in one person. That's very hard to comprehend And none of us fully understand it, but it's true. That's why he's called Jesus Christ, because Jesus is his human name, and Christ is his divine name. And so here in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6, it says, unto us a child is born. You see, God was never a child. Jesus was a child. So Jesus tells us that our Savior was human. But then it goes on to tell us that a son was given. John 3.16 declares, for God so loved the world that he did what? He gave his only begotten son. And so Jesus Christ is man and he is God and we find that by these statements that are spoken of here. But then we go on to find that he's given a lot of other names in this same verse. Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. His name is Wonderful. That takes care of the dullness of life. No longer do we have to live in the cheap substitutes of the world, but we can have Him, and He's wonderful. And when we're rightly related to Him, He makes everything wonderful. Because He is wonderful, we can have a wonderful life. And so therefore, it could be our daily experience to have that. Then notice next, He's called Counselor. That takes care of the disciplines of life. He provides the wisdom that we need and the guidance that we need through his words in order to live our lives in a happy sort of a fashion. And so you see, these names describe who he is. You see, he's wonderful, isn't he? But because he is wonderful, it gives us the potential of having a wonderful life. Then it says he's counselor. I mean, where can you possibly, in all of the universe, find better counsel, or guidance, or information that will help us to lead lives that will be happy and fulfilling? And so, because He is the greatest of all counsels, He knows the beginnings and the end, and everything in between. He knows everything that ever has happened, everything that ever will happen. And while I may set my path on a certain direction, I want to do this or that or the other thing, that may be the worst thing in the world for me. But if I seek His guidance and His counsel, then I will have guidance, and that is what that's about. Notice when he says here that His name is the Mighty God. That takes care of the demands of life. You see, He provides the strength we need to do what he wants us to do. Thus, through him, we conquer life's problems. Then it says his name is Everlasting Father, and that's to take care of the dimensions of life. That new dimension is the eternal, the Everlasting Father he's called. We live not just for the now, but we live for the eternal. And all that's made possible because now, through Him, we have eternal life. And so therefore, all of our plans and all of our ambitions, all of our desires, should be looking forward to that which is eternal, to that which we will have once we depart from this world. And so, therefore, you see, we have this wonderful Lord with all of these wonderful names, but then there's another one that says he's the Prince of Peace. And I'll tell you what, that takes care of all of the disturbances of life. No matter how tough the going is, no matter who's against you, no matter how many things go wrong, no matter what troubles you suffer, physically or relation-wise or in any other way, shape or form, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. And that's why he was able in the storms of life to have peace within. When you allow him to control your life, the Bible says he gives you a peace that passes all understanding. So I want you to see this morning that every time that you see a name that is given to Jesus, it describes some attribute about him. But it also describes something that He wants to do for you or give to you. He's all of these things. Indeed He is. He's wonderful. He's Counselor. He's the Mighty God. He's the Everlasting Father. He's the Prince of Peace. He's all of that. But in all of those things, there are specific things that relate to what He wants to do for, to, or through you and me. And every time you see a name of Jesus in God's Word, therefore, you should understand what that name is and what it means to you. Now, this morning I want to go through these names, if it's all right with you. But I've tried to figure out, because there's too much that I would have to say about each of the names, for one message. So I'm going to preach to you a very brief series of messages, one this morning and one this evening. And the one this evening, we're going to take these first two names wonderful and counselor. We're going to put them together and share with you what God's Word says about them. But this morning, I want to give you the other names because that is a longer and tonight we have a shorter time in God's Word together. So I want to give you these last names after the first two. But first, let's look to the Lord in prayer. Father God, we thank you now for the truth of your Word, the truth of His name. revealed to us, and we pray that we might be able to learn from them those things that will encourage and help us in our own individual lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. The story of man is the discovering and harassing various forms of power. We started with manpower. then horse power, then steam power, now we have atomic power and all other kinds of powers in between them. But the power that we as believers need more than anything else is spiritual power. And the source of that power is Jesus Christ. For Isaiah tells us that he is the mighty God. You know that's a big problem to a lot of people. They believe that Jesus lived, that he was. They believe that he was born, they think, on Christmas Day. They believe he was resurrected from the dead and all the rest of it. But they just can't come to grips with the idea that the man Jesus was also the mighty God. Scripture is filled with evidences of that. And keep your place in Isaiah chapter 9, if you will, but go on over to John, if you will, and chapter 5. Throughout His ministry here on earth, Jesus Christ claimed over and over again to be God. In John 5.23 it says that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who has sent Him. So He is declaring here that whatever the father has he should have they are equal and then in John chapter 10 verse 30 he says I and the father are one the people present understood that this was a claim to deity and they did not believe him and therefore they took up stones to stone him furthermore in John chapter 12 verses 44 and 45 we have this then Jesus cried out and said he who believes in me believes not in me, but in him who sent me. And he who sees me sees him who has sent me. Jesus said to him, Have I not been with you so long, and you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, Show me the Father? So you see, in plain terms, Jesus claimed that he was God. Those who knew him affirmed him to be God. For example, in John chapter 20 and verse 28, Thomas cried out, My Lord and by what? My God. If anyone ever denied that Jesus was God, it was Saul of Tarsus before his conversion. But after he was saved, he had this to say in Romans chapter 9 and verse 5. Listen as I read it. Of whom are the fathers, and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God." Even more clear than that is what he said of Jesus in Titus 2.13, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. And the scripture is very clear. We are told, in no uncertain terms, in all different sorts of ways, all different ways of communicating the truth, we are told that Jesus is God. And so thousands of years before he was born, the prophet Isaiah said, his name shall be called the mighty God. Not just God. but the mighty God, the almighty God. There are many gods among people, but none are mighty, none are almighty. In Matthew 1.23, the announcement of the birth of Jesus came, where it says, Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bearer son, and shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us. So you see, even in the name, this mighty God's name, we are told in the New Testament as we speak about what was said in Isaiah, we are told in the New Testament that as God, Jesus is with us. You remember what he told his disciples just before he ascended and went into heaven? He said, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth. And we need to recognize that. In this passage, you know, it's very personal. I read once of, we have a Chinese church, it's just meeting across the courtyard there. And I read once about a Chinese guy that said, boy, God is really with me. And somebody said, well, how do you know that? Well, he said, well, it says right here in the book of I forget what book it is, but anyway, it says in the Bible, Lo, that was his name, his name was Lo. Lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the earth. Hey, I'll tell you what, the Bible is very personal and he doesn't have to use my name in order to convince me how personal it is. John 3.16 is personal. For God so loved the world. I am a part of the world. I am a human being, and Jesus Christ died for me. When I was working with young people in Flint, Michigan, my wife got a phone call one day, and on the other end of the line, she was told that her husband, meaning me, was injured in a serious accident at the Coca-Cola, I believe it was, bodily company. And she was wondering, well, what was I doing in the Coca-Cola bottling company? And it turned out to be that there was some other guy in Flint, Michigan by the name of Herb Rogers who worked there and he was injured and they looked up the name in the phone book and wound up calling her. Hey, I'm glad that the name Herb is not in the Bible. I'm glad that everything in this book applies to me. Because when God says, His name is Emmanuel, which means God is with us, that means that God in the person of Jesus Christ, God in the person of the Holy Spirit, God in the person of the Father, all three of the members of the Godhead are with me, guiding me, helping me, giving me strength that I need to do whatever it is that I can do. As such, you see, we have power. spiritual power that enables us to do things that in our flesh in a normal self ability would be unable to do. That's why Paul could say in Philippians 4.23, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It's because he is the mighty God. And when we relate ourselves properly to him, that name becomes a reality in our life as He takes His power and shares it and gives it to us so that we might be able to do what otherwise we could not do. So what does all of this mean to you and to me today? It means this, His mighty power is available to us, giving us the ability and the strength to do anything we need to do. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 9 says, For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, Do not cease to pray for you, and to ask you that you may be filled with the knowledge of Him in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with His might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy." Notice in that verse in Colossians how universal it all is. all patience, every good work, all might. You see, Christ to us is all that we need that enables us to do all we need to do. Then in as much as he is God, he has promised us this, listen to the Philippians 4.19, and my God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. And it's the grace of God that puts power into our lives. As Paul confessed in 1 Corinthians 15.10 when he said, by the grace of God I am what I am. You see, we need to be rightly related to Him. And when we are, then we have an access to things that we not even as Christians we wouldn't have access to unless we were walking right with our Lord and with our Savior. And so the reason many do not experience God's power is because they're too strong in themselves. God wants, He waits until we admit they were weak, then He comes and shows His power to us. As long as we can think we can do it by ourselves, He'll let us give it a try, but it's not going to work out. And so that's a fantastic thing, whatever your burden or concern or battle today, God has power for you to meet it, to handle it, and use it for your good and for His glory. And so, therefore, we don't have to worry. A very nervous airline passenger began pacing the terminal in bad weather when it delayed his flight. During his walk, he ran across one of those insurance machines and it offered $100,000 if his life meant an untimely death aboard his flight. Well, he was real worried as he looked out and saw the threatening clouds, the thunder, the lightning, the rain, and all the rest of it. And he was worried that that might be a problem and that his plane might go down. And he was almost getting convinced that that was going to happen. And so the policy was just $3. So he looked out the window at the threatening clouds and thought of his family at home. And for that price, he thought it would be foolish not to buy it. So he went over and he took out the coverage. He didn't look for a place to eat. Airports nowadays carry a good many varieties of eateries, and his favorite was Chinese. So it was a relaxing meal until he opened his fortune cookie. His fortune cookie read, your recent investment will pay big dividends. And so you see that to him confirmed that this accident was going to happen. You see, when we walk about worry filled, God says, don't be anxious about today, because it's going to work itself out according to God's will. And people worry, worry, worry. And the more they worry, the more different things they see to confirm their worries. I used to own one of these Sunbird, what kind of a car, Pontiac was it? Anyway, the Sunbird variety of car. And I mean, I didn't have that car out of the brand new car I didn't have it out of the shop for more than a day or two and this was breaking down that was breaking down and I looked around and oh there's a guy with a sunbird right over there's another sunbird I never noticed sunbirds before but now all of a sudden I'm noticing all of these sunbirds I guess I was thinking that because I didn't want myself to think I was crazy for buying it to begin with and so we do that when we worry Everything that happens, we interpret it as something bad. And that's exactly what happens with our problems. We worry that things happen that confirms that we've got a problem or trouble. You see, Jesus Christ is a mighty God. And His power is available to you. That's why Ephesians 3.20 declares, Now unto him that is worriable to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to his power that works in us. So then the key to finding the application of his name in your experience is to yield to him by faith. Then you will experience his power, but not before that. But notice furthermore in Isaiah 9.6 it says that his name is the everlasting father. Have you ever read this passage and it's trying to confuse you? Well if he's the son, how can he be the father in the Godhead? That the son should be called the everlasting father seems to be like some kind of a mystery, doesn't it? If he is the son, he cannot be the father. The reason for that is that each person in the Godhead is separate from the other person. Then what do we have here? Well, the answer lies in the Jewish usage of the word father. In Old Testament, a Jew in the Old Testament reading Isaiah's prophecy, reading the word father would mean to him author or originator. Jesus called Satan the father of lies in John 8.44, didn't he? According to Genesis 4.20, Jubal was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. So in calling Jesus the everlasting father, the prophet is saying that he is the father of that which is everlasting. He is, for example, the father and originator of eternal life. That's what it means. All men have always believed that there is something beyond time, that thus does not end at all. All men of all philosophies, religions and so forth are in a sense experiencing an unquenchable thirst for the eternal. How many people have died yearly and yearning for another lifetime? We were all made for eternity and we cannot be truly happy and satisfied so we are sharing in eternity. How you resolve the problem of time and eternity will determine what you do while you're here on earth. Some people mainly do away with God and eternity and live over for the moment, but they leave all depth and inspiration. God made us for eternity, and when we move into his plan and allow his will to form our lives, we get purpose and definition to life, thus we are able to live life to the fullest. Thus, because of our eternal purpose, Christ becomes the controller of our time. David had this to say in Psalm 31.15, My times are in his hands. Jesus lived that way himself when he was on earth. He lived according to the divine timetable. Repeatedly he said, My time has not yet come. Not only does he control time, he conquers time. For the unbelievers, time is an enemy. But for the believers, time is an ally. You see, the child wants time to go rapidly. But when you get older, you want it to slow down. Have you ever noticed how as you get older, time seems to go faster? I don't know why that is, but I've experienced that. But the child always wants it to go... You ask a child, how old are you? You ask a young lady, a teenage girl, how old are you? She'll tell you, seventeen and a half. Have you ever met anybody who was 65 and they told you my age is 65 and a half? No, as a matter of fact, most women 65 years of age, they kind of forget what their birth year was. They tell you I'm 63, 62, 64, but they always, somehow they're always a bit younger than what they are. Some people are like Peter Pan. They want to stop time and remain in the innocent joys of childhood forever. The reason we shouldn't worry about time is because time is in his hand and in his plan he allows delays because whatever he knows what we need is what he's going to give to us. Time's ultimate weapon is death, but we do not even need fear that for 1 Corinthians 15, verse 55 says, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? It's gone because we're in Christ. Jesus Christ made us for eternity. And if we would look upon our lives as that's what we were really made for, that whatever is going on now is just a passing thing that's going to be gone soon. And if we would live for eternity and set our treasure on heart for eternity, you see, He has a plan for our life. And not to enter into that plan to the fullest is to deny ourselves of the purpose and the joys of this life. We need to live in time, but as we're living in time, we need to focus on eternity, and that will make all the difference in the problems and the difficulties that bring to us in life. The trouble is when you live like Christ, a lot of Christian people even don't like it because it makes them feel guilty because they're not living like that. Did you know if you lived the normal Christian life today, according to God's word, that people would look upon you as abnormal? They think you're weird. When we're in God's will, No matter what we experience in life, it's an investment in eternity. That's the way we need to look at life. Jesus is the Father of the eternal. Let Him give birth to the eternal purpose that He has in mind for you in your life, and that is achieved only through obedience and following Him. Some teenage girls who loved the Lord formed what they called a do without club and they did that in order to raise money for missions they determined to add to their fund by sacrificial giving and the majority of the girls were from well to do homes and found no difficulty in coming up with money but there was one poor girl named Margie and she was poor and that would be a difficult task for her as she prayed about how she could get some money to contribute to fund Her pet dog, Bright, licked her hand. And suddenly she remembered that the family doctor had offered to buy the dog. And so she said to the dog, she said, oh Bright, I can't imagine being without you, but I'll do it. And so she went over to the doctor's house and she got $50 for the dog, which she gave to the mission fund. And she was pleased to be able to do that, even though it meant parting with the dog. It was a sacrifice to her. But then as time went on, the doctor began to wonder, and he was in deep thought, why she would do that, because she loved the dog so. And so he went over to her house and talked to her parents and found out why she did what she did. And when he heard her story, he went home in deep thought. In his life of abundance, he had never denied himself of anything. The next morning, Margie heard a scratching at her door. Opened the door, and there was Bright. And there was a handwritten note attached to Bright's collar. And this note said, Your practical Christianity has taught me more than any sermon I've ever heard. Last night I offered what's left of my life to God, and I'd like to join your Do Without Club by beginning by doing without price. You see, do we do like Peter who said, Lord, I have left all to follow you? You know, it's an amazing thing, how when we give ourselves to God, and no matter what we give to God, Somehow He always blesses us in such a way that He returns to us, in some way or another, a bigger blessing than what we ever gave to Him. So as you yield to God, and allow His will to rule your life, you will experience the truth of His name, being what you will experience, and no matter what the price of your sacrifice, your reward will be greater than your sacrifice. Then there's one other name in this list. It says here in Isaiah 9.6 that He is the Prince of peace. Like most important words, peace has become all things to all people. The mother watching her child sleep thinks of peace. The people walking through the graveyard think of peace. Yet who would change the potential of a growing infinite with a body in a graveyard? You see, peace means much more than the absence of war or difficulty or whatever. In the Bible sense, peace doesn't have much to do with the situation outside. It has to do with what's going on on the inside. You see, all of your homes have what's called a thermostat. You know what that is? That little thing on the wall that you turn up or down and that controls the heat. It doesn't matter if it's 100 below zero outside or 100 above zero outside. The temperature in the house by that little dial is always kept in control. So that the temperature in the house is always 70 or whatever you want it to be. That's a thermostat. You have a thermometer, don't you? A thermometer tells you what the temperature outside is, or inside, but it tells you what the temperature is. I want to tell you this morning there are some thermostat Christians and there are some thermometer Christians. The thermometer Christians their temperature is taken by what's going on on the outside of them. And they get all shook up about it. But the thermostat Christians, no matter what's going on on the outside, they are always the same on the inside. That's because Jesus is the Prince of Peace. And He gives peace in the most difficult and trying of circumstances that you ever thought of. When I think of Jesus Christ As the Prince of Peace, I immediately think of his character. He is able to fall asleep in a storm at sea, even with the hardened fishermen here feared. He faced five thousand hungry people one day with quiet confidence that he knew what it was that he was going to do about that situation. The trail that led to his crucifixion was a diversity of justice. Yet he calmly moves from judge to judge in pilot marvels at his silence. While the other prisoners curse their executioners, Jesus says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. No matter what his situation, he was at peace. Why? He's the Prince of Peace. But his name not only describes what he is, who he is, and what he's like, but it describes something that he wants to do for me. He's the Prince of Peace, and because He's the Prince of Peace, and because He loves me, because I am His child, He wants to give to me this peace that passes all understanding. But it comes through my following Him, and being with Him in that way. So He brings us peace, because He is the Prince of Peace. The more like Him we become, the more we will experience his peace. What does this fact that he is the Prince of Peace mean to me today? Simply this, he is peace, you are his child, you can become like him, therefore you can have peace just like he had, that no matter what's going on, you can be at peace inside. You're all familiar with John 14.1 which says, let not your hearts be troubled. And how does it come in verse 27 of John 14, it says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not of the world giveth I to you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Where does real peace come from? It comes from Him. Why? Because He's the Prince of Peace. And when you accept Him as your Savior, you're adapted into and become a part of His family. As a part of his family, he wants you to be like him. And one of the things that he is, he is the Prince of Peace. And as you have the right relationship with him, his peace begins to take over your entire thinking. Peace is a gift. Peace is a person. Who is a gift? His companionship brings peace. Therefore, to the Christian, peace is not a shallow emotion. based on feelings or circumstances. It's a deep confidence and joy that's based on fellowship with Jesus Christ. That's what peace is. He has told us ways in which we can get this peace. For example, through His Word. Listen, will you, in John 16.33, These things have I spoken unto you, His Word. These things have I spoken unto you, that you may have peace. You go home and think about John 16.33. His peace is not something that you try to manufacture. It's something that you get by believing and practicing and applying the word of God. His will speaks through His word. And as He speaks, we find His peace filling our hearts. Listen to Psalm 85 and verse 8, which says, I will hear what the Lord will speak. For He will speak peace to His people and His saints. But let them not turn back to folly. It must be remembered that God does not give us peace so that we can sit back and enjoy it, but so that we might be able to share it with others. The Apostle Paul found this peace going through a rough time at Corinth. He had this to say in Acts 18.9. Now the Lord spoke to Paul on the night by a vision. Don't be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent. Hey, he was going through some trials. His life was on the line. I said, don't be afraid. It gave Paul peace and he was able to speak it. When he was arrested in Jerusalem and it looked like his ministry was all over, we read in Acts 23, 11, but the following night the Lord stood by him and said unto him, be of good cheer, Paul, for you have testified of me in Jerusalem and so you must you bear witness of me in Rome. When Paul came to the end of his journey and faced death, he wrote to young Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, 15, 16, and 17. At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all Gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. Do you see it? Paul found peace in the companionship of Jesus Christ, and so may you. So may I. But friend, companionship must be developed. Jesus Christ did not want to be a divine lifeguard. He stumbled only in times of trouble. He walked with Abraham and Enoch. And He wants to walk with you and walk with me. He was in the fiery furnace. Did you know that? With Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego. And so I want every fiery trial that you go through to be conscious and aware of His presence. He wants us to say what he says in 2 Corinthians 6 where it says, And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye were the temple of the living God. And God hath said, I will dwell with them, and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come up from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean things, and I will receive them. In other words, God wants all of us. And in the having of all of us, We have peace. You can have that right now. That's when we discovered what a name is. And that name is all of the potential of what you can become. Many believers, who in the midst of their troubles, are crawling about like ants, when they ought to be flying like eagles. What we need to face our troubles is the realization that he is the everlasting father who gives us peace and purpose and his own will in troubled circumstances. Yes, life is full of disturbances, tears. A dozen doors open up to beckon us and tell us that we have peace through it. Escape, entertainment, alcohol, drugs, hard work, or whatever. We find ourselves running from one door to another and never finding peace. But here we're told that Jesus is the Prince of Peace and that we can have His peace if we will allow Him to give it to us. That's why Isaiah 26 verse 3 says, You shall keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is set upon you because he trusts in you. That's how you get peace. You become occupied with Christ. You give him your life. You give him all of you. And when you do, he does things through you and to you that are absolutely astounding. So let the government of your life be on his shoulders. And when you do, you will discover who he is. Wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And what he is, he will share with you. Is he in the government? Does he own the government of your life? Is it on his shoulders? If not, then make it so now. And you will be amazed at the changes that will come into your life. Let's bow for prayer. Father God, we want to thank you that we have this, your word is so true, it's so reliable, it's so comforting, so strengthening. And Lord God, we just pray tonight that you would help us to this morning, I should say, as to who you are and what you are, that we may apply all of these things to our lives, so that we will leave here today determined that we're going to understand why you are a wonderful counselor, a mighty God, the everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace, and apply all of these attributes to our own lives, so that we may be revolutionized and changed because of that relationship that we ought to have with you by your grace. and we'll thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen.