For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father. And the increase of his government and his peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David, And upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. I can imagine Isaiah and the other prophets. When God laid on their hearts, the words to describe the coming Christ, how they must have wondered what they meant. Peter says that in the New Testament that they often searched the things they had written themselves. This morning, the morning message, we mentioned the name of Jesus was given before his birth means he is a savior. He is called Emmanuel, God with us. The joy of every heart, the one who is with us in all times, the one who dwells with us, Emmanuel. He's also called, although we didn't mention this morning, the Christ, which simply means the Messiah, the chosen one, the one sent from God. We endeavor as believers to understand who he is. There are words that describe attributes of his deity, an attribute of just something that is part of his nature. It is who he is and what he is. And Isaiah, hundreds of years before the Christ was born, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, called him a child and a son. Obviously, he knew that the Savior was coming. The Alpha and the Omega, the everlasting God, took upon him the form of a babe. What an amazing story that is. A babe in a manger, I thought that, Mixed trio number was especially thought-provoking about his cries his garments and Yet he was there in that manger God of very God Alpha and the Omega He came not as a warrior king or a royal king, but came as the Son of God Who would be crowned first of all in our hearts and then crowned in heaven It says of him And the government shall be upon his shoulder. I couldn't help but think of how different it is today. Government is not held in high regard, not only here, but around the world. If you think about it, government has degenerated, I think, into a special interest and whatever part of this, the political spectrum you're on there, you can realize that. There's little agreement as to what government should be, or the direction it should have, or what power it should have. There's disagreement all over the world on that subject, but it simply says that the government shall be upon his shoulder. It's easy, I suppose, in this Christmas season to be caught up in Jesus the babe, and certainly he was that, but to forget that while he was a babe in a manger, he is now the king. And the government is on his shoulders there, you know, there's so much of this we believe by faith It says in the last verse verse 7 an increase of his kingdom and peace There should be no end upon the throne of david and upon his kingdom To order to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even forever I was in israel Oh, I think three years ago four years ago and in part of our I was a guest of the Department of Tourism from the State of Israel and what that meant was we got lectured propaganda every night and it was interesting. But one of the men made an interesting statement as we... he was talking to us about Israel and of course the part of the purpose was to talk to pastors and to gain our support for Israel and the protection of Israel. But he made a statement that captured my attention. He said, my daughters, as I recall the numbers, they were 22 and 20. And he said, did you know, did you realize that my daughters have never known one day of peace since they've been born? Never thought about that. That all their life for 22 years or 20 years, they have known war and known threats and violence and all these things that are part of their Culture in Israel We visited a mall for lunch one day and there were young men there Who were soldiers in the army? They were not in uniform, but they had over their shoulder an automatic rifle And I'm told I was told this we were there that they every place they go as a soldier they must carry that weapon with them and That if they ever are without it They can be thrown into prison because that's part of their duty to carry that weapon everywhere they go. And yet it says that upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order and to establish it with justice, judgment and justice from henceforth, even forever. What that says to us is it's not over yet. The things that we see are not the way that things are going to be. Or even the things that we see are not the way things are for. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 28, as he was giving that last great commission to his own disciples about their own ministry going forward, he said, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. That is an absolute statement. All power. The Greek word there means authority. He has all authority in heaven and in earth. So while it does not appear that he does, it is not obvious that he will one day build his kingdom and that he will establish Israel once again as a place of his throne as the scriptures was promised. Yet the Bible reminds us that the government should be upon his shoulder. When he came forth from the tomb after his crucifixion has coming back to, to life, to win victory over sin and death, he was given all power and all authority. And Paul in Philippians chapter two says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being the form of God thought not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likes of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God hath highly exalted him, and hath given him a name, which is above every name, that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth and things under the earth. And every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God, the father and the government will be upon his shoulder and he will rule this earth with a rod of iron, but his name should be called wonderful. We use that term loosely, don't we? We say many things are awesome or they're wonderful, but he really is wonderful, full of wonder. When you go to Revelation chapter one, can you imagine John, a man like me and you suddenly finding himself in heaven? He says, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. It was in the Isle of Patmos. And he simply said, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and Jesus appeared. And he begins to describe in terms that he understood what Jesus looked like. He had eyes as a flame of fire. His feet burned as brass. His clothing was white as snow. This was not the humble Galilean. This was not the Christ who walked the streets of Jerusalem or the one who was nailed to the cross. This is the one who has the government on his shoulder to whom all authority is given. And he is truly wonderful. He is the joy of all nations. He is the hope of every contrite heart. He alone can hang a rainbow of hope over the darkness of our despair. He is the one who offers hope. He is called Wonderful Counselor. I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if Jesus himself could visit Watertown, Connecticut and talk about the truth? Could share with those hurting people the truth. Could tell them how things are and what things are going to be. And explain all the things that no one has words to explain. When Jesus had ended the sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. That's at the end of the sermon on the mount. When Jesus talked about the way life is and the way life is to be lived and the way things are, the way they really are in the eyes of God. And the people when they heard him said that's amazing. That's not the way we think that is that's so different He's not talking to us like our teachers talk to us He talks to us like he knows what he's talking about And can I say to you that he is the counselor His declarations eternally conformed to reality Everything he says is true Every pronouncement he makes every observation. He makes every measurement that he gives Is absolutely accurate He is the counselor 2nd Peter chapter 1 in verse 3 says according as his divine power Hath given unto us listen to this all things That pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him He's a counselor All things that pertain to life and to godliness through the knowledge of him. The study of Job has had a remarkable impact on me. I hope it has on you. Many of you are here Wednesday night for our Bible study of Job. To look at that situation in which Job finds himself and to try to put ourselves in his position and to see things through his eyes. Thankfully we have the scriptures and his words. and the words of his counselors. And we begin to realize how difficult it would be or how difficult it is for us to see life as it really is. To understand, I mean, Job was suffering in a way that probably no one had suffered and yet God never told him why. And there was no reason for it. There was no way to cipher a reason. You couldn't come out with any, any great understanding. And yet he is the one, God is the one. And by the way, if you skip to the end of Job, you'll find out how God answers Job's need. But the answer to Job's questions, the answer to Job's perspective of life was simply to know who God is. Once we understand him, we spend a great deal of time in the first two chapters of Job because it paints there a picture of God and how he does things and what his thoughts are and we can try to understand him and by understanding him, we get a glimpse at ourselves and then we begin to have a lens through which we can see the world and see life and see our own lives and the difficulties we face. So he becomes Our counselor, this Jesus, we must not forget, is the mighty God. Mark chapter four says, what manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Lord willing, beginning in January, I'm gonna preach a Sunday morning series on the great I am revealed, Christ revealed in the gospel of John. this babe in a manger was the mighty God the word in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and say with me and the word was God the great I am revealed in the gospel John here he is stepping up to the bow the ship and speaking only words And the sea laid down at his feet. And the people standing by said, who is this? But even the sea and the waves obey him. John 11, Jesus said to his friend Lazarus, who had been dead four days, Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot. with grave clothes. What manner of man is this that can speak in graves open and dead people walk? The brother springs back to life again, and Jesus says to those two grieving sisters and to the crowd standing by, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? He says. Is it possible that he can speak in life? Isn't that a prerogative of deity? That he alone can give life? That he alone can speak and the dead come forth? He is the mighty God. Only God can do that. Once Jesus told a man, who was crippled, he said, your sins be forgiven, they take up your bed and walk. And oh, that made him mad. They couldn't understand that. Only God can forgive sin, they said, and that's true, that's true. He's the everlasting father. All these words help us to understand more about him, a father. Just last week in the Sunday morning message, we read this verse, for you have not received the spirit of bondage again into fear, but you receive the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. In this day, this wicked, twisted, perverted day, I've had men say to me more than once, more than one man say, Pastor, I don't know how to be a Christian dad. I've never had one. I've never seen one. I don't know how to be a man, how to stand for God. I've never seen a man stand for God before. Well, we have a perfect example, don't we? I was watching tonight. I love being at church. It's just a great place to be. If I weren't the pastor, I'd probably enjoy being here. I was watching these little boys like this walk around, and they dress nice. You dress them nice to come to church. And they're walking around with their hands in their pockets. I love watching them walk. And they're walking like you walk. They're walking like they see you walk. And these guys are growing up and they're finding out what it is to be a man and they're walking like you walk. Well, there is a father that we have that is perfect. And if you don't know what unconditional love is, You don't know what tenderness in a man is. You don't know someone who cares for you in spite of yourself is. There is one who you can know about, who can show you what that means. In Psalm 27, the Bible says, when my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. It is not unusual for A person from an unsaved background to say that my family is in the church. Not my blood family, but those who really care for me and those for whom I really care, they're here. The Lord puts us in families. And the Lord takes us up. In Psalm 103 it says, as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that love him. He is the everlasting father. And he is the Prince of Peace. Again, that seems like a strange thing to say, certainly in this day, doesn't it? Wars and rumors of wars, as Matthew 24 says, of wars all over the world, more wars to come. A young man, one of our young men is in the ocean somewhere in the Middle East on a ship at war along with many, many others. And some of you men have been there too. And yet Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who died in 1882, penned these words. I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, goodwill to men. And in despair, I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men. Then peel the boughs more loud and sweet. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep. For wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men. We think of peace as external things, peace as no physical wars, But Jesus, when he went back to heaven, told his disciples, my peace give I unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. The peace that God gives cannot be taken away. It's not peace that is conditional, peace that is based on circumstances. Psalm 119 says, great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. The word offend just means to cause to stumble. If we love God and his law, there's nothing that can offend us. We have great peace. Isaiah 26, three says, thou will keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on thee. I remember Peter was the one who got out of the boat. And walked on the water. He was the only one who had this courage to do that with sometimes he gets criticized for sinking But he was the only one who got out of the boat But it was when he began to look around at the waves the bible describes that the waves were boisterous and he looked around and saw the conditions And suddenly he began to sink And of course he cried out to the lord and the lord saved him But sometimes our peace is broken by looking around, looking around us and seeing what's there, uh, trying to figure out how we're going to make it through this troubled world in the storm. And we forget that we serve the one who is in fact, the Prince of peace, the one who can speak peace to the waves, the one who can calm our hearts. Maybe we'll be in the storm, but there's peace spoken to us. These words in Isaiah chapter nine are an amazing picture of a beautiful Lord. So I encourage you not just to think of him this Christmas season as a babe in a manger, although that's a marvelous thing, to not just think of him as a little child or in a manger setting, but to remember who he is, wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, of the increase of his kingdom, There'll be no end. And then he says this way, and the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. This is God's business, and God will bring it to the right conclusion. Father, thank you for this wonderful day, for the beautiful music that's warmed our hearts, for this fellowship that's joyful to us. Lord, as we approach this Christmas season once again, that you would give us a real sense of your presence with us, with our families. May we remind our children Our grandchildren are the real meaning and understand ourselves that we're looking at descriptions of that savior that we call Jesus. And Lord, would you take this, these blessings and make our Christmas special this year? Because we remember he for whom this holiday is named and may our celebrations honor him who is Jesus, that name, which is above every name. that the name of Jesus every knee should bow things in heaven and things on earth things under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father in that name we pray and ask your benediction. Amen. Amen. God bless you. We'll see you Wednesday night or next Sunday morning.