Please turn to Isaiah chapter 9. We will be reading the first seven verses. And please follow the reading of the Scripture, either in the Bibles provided for you or in your own personal Bible. One of the more familiar passages of the Old Testament, a messianic prophecy. This, friends, is the very Word of God. Let us listen with attentiveness and respond with obedience. Isaiah chapter 9. Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in darkness. In the past, He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future, he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles by the way of the sea along the Jordan. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy. They rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest. as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. And may God's Holy Spirit help us understand and respond in faith and joy to the truth contained in this passage. Verse 6 of this passage is probably, well, one of the more, certainly one of the more familiar passages in the Bible. And maybe the most frequently quoted passage from Isaiah during the Christmas season. That has certainly been the case among us this weekend. We didn't consult with each other, but the sixth verse of Isaiah chapter 9 has been brought to our attention repeatedly. It was, for instance, on the very front of the Christmas Day worship bulletin, verse 6 of Isaiah chapter 9. It was quoted in Pastor Voss' Christmas Day message. The choir sang it, at least part of their anthem included this verse from Isaiah. And now it's the text for our message this morning. Perhaps Handel's Messiah, the anthem which is based upon this text, has been very responsible for making it one of the favorites among God's people in the Christmas season. Perhaps the Hallelujah Chorus is a little more popular, but I'm sure Genesis 9, verse 6 is a close second place. But before we concentrate on verse 6, I would like to remind you that verse 6 isn't the only verse in this passage. And if we lift a text out of the Bible, we sometimes miss the wonder of God's grace that is revealed in the totality of the context. And I think that's the case here. I wonder, I wonder if you wondered, when we read this scripture, and if you follow the reading in the Bible provided, Or, better still, if you follow the reading in your own Bible, so you could take some notes to continue to refer to them. I wonder if you were surprised about a reference to two tribes of Israel named Naphtali and Zebulun. What are they doing in there? Why is Isaiah focusing his attention on two specific tribal units in a passage which is going to speak about the coming Savior? And what about this reference to Galilee of the Gentiles? I thought this promise was for God's people, Israel. And still further, what about Gideon's experience? No, Gideon's name doesn't appear in here. But there is a reference in verse 4 to Midian's defeat. And that has reference to that great time, about 400 years before Isaiah's prophecy, when the Midianite hordes challenged Israel and brought them, at least threatened slavery among them. And Gideon's faithful band scattered them in a bloody retreat. You see, the Israelites like to refer to some great events in their past history. Certainly the freeing from the slavery in Egypt. That comes up again and again. But Gideon's victory over the Midianites is one of these too. What's that doing in this text? Well, I'm going to tell you. Zebulun and Nathali were the far north provincial territories in the land of Israel. You remember when Joshua conquered the land of Canaan, the entire land was divided among twelve tribal units. Ten sons of Jacob plus two sons of Joseph made up the twelve tribes of Israel. And Zebulun and Athali were given these territories way in the far north. And from that time on, they were treated as somewhat less important. We don't know what the historical reasons for that were, But we can speculate just a bit. For one thing, well, they were on the fringe of things. They were a long distance from Jerusalem, from the power center, from the religious center. And it was a long way to go to the festivals in Jerusalem. Not only that, but they were close to some non-Jewish territory and may have been influenced a bit by these foreigners among them. But for whatever reason, Zebulun and Naphtali were sort of despised. They were no account people. They were living in that territory that no one took very seriously. And the reputation came among the people of Israel that nothing important happened there. And nobody important came from there. So, We see that repeatedly in the Old Testament history. 700 years later, remember, when Jesus was calling his disciples to be his assistants, he called Philip. And Philip was rather impressed and said, I will follow you, Lord. And then Philip went to find Nathanael and said, Nathanael, we have discovered the one of whom Moses and the prophets speak. And Nathanael said, who could that be? And the response, of course, was Jesus of Nazareth. But you recall Nathanael's answer, his response. He said, Nazareth? Whatever good can come from that area? Because Nazareth was part of Zebulun, part of the territory which was known as Galilee. Galilee was the more district, the more encompassing territory. So, you see, that kind of reputation came. As a matter of fact, on one occasion the Pharisees gave proof that Jesus was not the Messiah because He came from Galilee. And they said, nothing good ever comes from Galilee. So, it was a sort of a despised area. Now, here is a prophecy from Isaiah, 700 years before Jesus was born. That the light of the kingdom of God would first be presented in Zebulun and Naphtali and Galilee of the Gentiles. That despised area. Those Gentiles, remember, they were pork eaters. And no self-respecting Jew would ever eat pork. And even that comes through later in the Gospel of Mark. Remember, when Jesus cast out a demon from the soul of a man. And the demon's request of Jesus that they be allowed to infiltrate the hogs. And we read that a herd of 2,000 pigs ran down a steep place into the Sea of Galilee. So it was a territory, you see, that had those evil Gentile influences in it. And now here's a prophecy that the light would first dawn in this despised northern territory of Israel. And then you go to the Gospels. I happen to be reading in my personal devotions in Mark currently. And I was impressed once more that Mark who begins his gospel with the ministry of Jesus, not the birth of Jesus, has it concentrated almost entirely, at least the first seven or eight chapters, in Galilee. And where there are Pharisees and teachers of the law, we read in chapter 7, they came all the way up from Jerusalem to see what was happening in Galilee in Jesus' ministry. And of course, Gideon's great success against the Midianite hordes, though it was part of the great history of Israel, now Isaiah tells us that what happened among Gideon's victory over the Midianites can't be compared with what's going to happen when a child is born and a son is given. So you see, this despised territory was the first to hear the gospel of the kingdom from the lips of Jesus himself. And this gospel of the kingdom, of course, is the center point of all history. I wonder if you've ever been impressed with the fact that every calendar and everybody's wall is a testimony to the central fact of the birth of Jesus in history. Even those who deny Him, when they look at their cell phones, they see a date. And the date is determined by reference to the event of the birth of Jesus. Jesus is the center point of all of history. And of course, He is certainly the center point of the history of the Christian religion. Everything changes with the birth of Jesus. And that's why we speak of that which is before Christ and after Christ because we know He is the fulcrum point. He is the center point of all human beings. We like to quote John 3.16, don't we? For God so loved the world. But if we quote John chapter 3, verse 16, we read that he that believeth on him is not condemned. But then it goes on to say, but he who believeth not is condemned already. So you see, that's the point of reference to all men in all history. Christmas, that momentous event that we just concluded celebrating or are about to conclude, anticipates throughout the whole Old Testament time the birth of Jesus. And this is one of them. There are many anticipations of births in the Bible. In the Old Testament, we have a whole series of them. Remember Isaiah? Isaac was a promised child. Even though his parents didn't believe at first, his birth was anticipated. And so was Samson. Manoah, his father, didn't believe at first. But his birth was anticipated. John the Baptist. Jeremiah. But none is so clearly defined as the coming of Jesus. In the Thompson Reference Bible, there are 46 listed separate messianic promises. And several of them are for the birth and then the life and teaching of Jesus and his death. And I think there are really very many more than that. Well, here is the anticipation of the birth of one who would be an everlasting king. And he is described in specific terms in answer to the question, who is this heavenly child? What we have before us in verse 6 of Isaiah chapter 9 are four names or four descriptions or four identifications of the coming Messiah Savior. The first is Wonderful Counselor. I know some translations divide that into two names. And Handel's Messiah does that, doesn't it? His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, then the Mighty God, then the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, which is five names. But really there are just four. As a matter of fact, if Handel had consulted John Calvin, he would have known that there were really four. Because John Calvin observes that in the Hebrew manner of a neat little system, we have two Hebrew words for each of the four names of the coming Savior. The first of which is, of course, Counselor. So what we have here are names Counselor, God, Father, and Prince. And in each case, there's a descriptive adjective which modifies and therefore qualifies the noun of each of the names. And we're going to look at each of these. First of all, this coming son, this one born of promise is a wonderful counselor. If you were to ask me what a counselor is, I would have to tell you that a counselor is someone with a special wisdom, a special expertise, something that can be shared with others by way of instruction. The President of the United States has counselors. We hope they have political wisdom. If you need legal advice, you go to a lawyer. And he provides legal counsel because, presumably, he or she has some legal wisdom. If you're ill, you go to a doctor because he becomes your medical counselor because he has medical wisdom. And if you need a pastor, he becomes a counselor too. He provides pastoral wisdom. But none of these are wonderful counselors. Now we have a bit of a problem that language often provides. Words change in their meanings, don't they? And the way we use the word wonderful is not anything like what is meant in this scripture when it says, this child born, this son given, shall be called a wonderful counselor. We use the word wonderful for almost everything. We say it's wonderful weather. Well, lately we haven't said that, but occasionally we do. Wonderful weather. Or we had a wonderful time. Or the youth of yesterday meeting the summary in the Sharon Care said that we had a wonderful lunch. Well, I was there and it was a wonderful lunch in the common use of the term. But this word used as it is used in the original is not a casual term to describe something that's sort of nice and pleasant. This word means full of wonder, amazement, rapt glory, beyond human wisdom. Something so transcendent that we can't... It's indescribable. It's incomprehensible. It's something like Isaiah the prophet says, In another place, 55 verses 3 and 9. As the heavens are high above the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways than your ways. You see, the wisdom of the counselor who is described here as the child born, the son given, is beyond human comprehension. We can just stand aside and not even describe it because of its wonder. Stand in rapt amazement. You see, what we are told here is that we simply can't fathom the wisdom of God that's revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can sing about it and rejoice in it and thank God for it, for the wisdom of God, but we'll never really comprehend it because it is full of wonder, full of amazement. There's another place in the Old Testament where the word wonderful is used. And perhaps that's the origin of the songs we sing, His name is wonderful, His name is wonderful, or wonderful is Jesus, some of these popular hymns. And the Messiah, His name shall be called Wonderful. It's a story of Samson once again. We referred to that a little earlier. Samson a little earlier. An angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah and told him that he was going to have a son. And that son would be a leader of the people of Israel. Manoah was so frightened that when he reported this event to his wife, he said, We shall surely die because we have seen the Lord. And so apparently this revelation to Manoah was from the Son of God Himself. We call that a pre-incarnational presence of the second person of the Holy Trinity. But Noah says to the angel of the Lord, What is your name? To which the angel of the Lord replies, Don't ask me my name because it is wonderful. Full of wonder. If I told you my name, you wouldn't be able to handle it. It's beyond human comprehensive. That's the wisdom of God in Jesus Christ, the Counselor, the wonderful Counselor who introduces us to the great hope of salvation that He provides. The wisdom of God is revealed in creation, isn't it? Certainly in John chapter 1, And in the beginning was the Word. All things were made by Him. Wonderful. The wisdom of God in creation. And of course, the wisdom of God in redemption is even more wonderful. You'll notice how the Apostle Paul relates wisdom to Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 24, he says, We preach Christ crucified to the Jewish stumbling block. to the Greek foolishness but to those who are called Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God He is the counselor with total wisdom to lead us into life everlasting the Christ of Bethlehem is the wonderful counselor for as we stand before the revelation of God in Christ we are full of wonder Awe struck because it is awe full, full of awe. But we must move on. This heavenly child that is anticipated is also the mighty God. This name stresses the power and divinity of the Messiah. He is not only the counselor who in wisdom plans. He is the mighty God who can execute His plan and bring it to fulfillment. You know, it's one thing to have a good idea and a good plan. We have building plans, expansion plans, don't we? But it's quite another to have the resources and the power and the strength to see those plans fulfilled. Well, Isaiah assures us by the Holy Spirit that the child who is born and the son who is given is not only a counselor who has the wisdom to plan God's will for His people and for His world, but he also has the power and grace to fulfill that plan. to refer once more to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 24, you see that not only wisdom is associated with the preaching of Christ, but also power. For Paul says, we preach Christ crucified, stumbling block to the Jew, foolishness to the philosophical Greek, but unto those who are called Christ, the power of God And the wisdom of God. And Isaiah says he shall be a wonderful counselor and a mighty God. Reflecting so many years before the truth that the Apostle Paul through the Holy Spirit would reveal so many years later. Now that's a wonderful assurance, isn't it? Because it's one thing to know Jesus, at least the story of Christ, and the promise of salvation in Him. But you can be sure He has the power to make it effective in your life too. And there isn't anybody here who has gone to the point where Christ's grace and power is not sufficient to bring you back. He saves to the uttermost those who trust in Him. and uttermost is way out there that none of you have crossed. Your very presence here shows that God wants you to hear once more Him who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. The third name is Everlasting Father. Jesus revealed God as our Father. You see, we like to speak of God, the Creator revealed in the marvel of the universe, the created order. And that's, of course, true. And the prophets often speak of the sovereign God reflecting His providence and grace and power in creation in general. The heavens declare the glory of God. But in Christ, we learn to know Him as a loving Father. We learn to know the fatherliness of His person. And fatherhood suggests concern and love and compassion and care and defense. Yes, the child born and the son given is an everlasting father. This name refers to the eternity of Christ's person. You know, way back in Moses' time, Moses met God at a burning bush and God identified him as the I Am. The present tense. There really is no past and future with God. Everything stands before Him as an eternal now. Oh, we speak of a year about to close and a new year about to begin. And we know we get older and the evidences of age is all around us. And the older we get, the more conscious we are of it. But for God, there is no beginning and end. There's an eternal now. He is the I am. Not the I was or the I will be. He is the I am. And Jesus, when He came, said, I before Abraham was, I am. Yes, He is the revelation of the everlasting Father. And the book of Revelation tells us In John's vision of glory, when he sees Jesus, Jesus identifies himself as the Alpha and the Omega. That's the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, which meant the very beginning and the end. He is also the everlasting Father. He created time and is the Father of time. Jesus, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, know only an eternal presence, an eternal now. I know people had difficulty understanding this in Jesus' day. Even the disciples wondered how Jesus could be a revelation of the Heavenly Father. In John chapter 14, Jesus says, In my Father's house are many rooms. And I'm about to tell you about that. And if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And Philip had problems with that. He said, Lord, we don't really understand what you're saying. Show us the Father so we can get some understanding to which Jesus replied, He who has seen Me has seen the Father. He is the fullest revelation of the Father's will to redeem a lost world. In Christ, the Father of eternity has entered human time-bound existence to redeem us. And there's one more name. And the bulletin secretary had a little trouble with that and wondered if I had made a mistake and had peace prince as the last name instead of prince of peace. And I thought that was very sharp of her to make that observation. But I assured her that was no typographical error. no, Jesus, the son born, is a prince. And he's a peace prince. It's just two words in the original Hebrew. And I've tried to stay as close as I could with them. Jesus is the one prince who dies for his subjects. Now that's rare. Human princes expect other people to die for them. Tens of thousands died for Napoleon. Napoleon died for nobody. Back in Tinley Park, we have a military channel. We don't get that in our dish here in Champagne Village. And I like to watch this because I lived a piece of it. I especially like to see the war in the Pacific because I had some relationship to that, to that agency in that era. But one of the programs not many days ago said that two and a half million German soldiers died for Hitler. Plus, a million and a half German soldiers died in Russian prison camps. Four million. Nearly 10% of the population, fully 10% if you include all the civilian deaths, died for Hitler. Hitler died for nobody. That's the way it is, folks. Human princes expect people to die for them to promote their causes. Jesus is the one prince who dies for his subjects. Scoffers ridicule the Christian faith by saying that since Jesus there's been nothing but war, but they miss the point entirely because Jesus came to provide peace. The peace of God which passes understanding. Reconciliation between a distorted humanity and the God who reveals His grace in Christ Jesus. this is our heavenly child the son born the child given unto us could it really be true that he left the majesty of glory to live among sinful human beings and then to suffer the abuse and the rejection and the final crucifixion that he was afforded all year long we should rejoice in God's grace but especially at Christmas time to thank God for this unspeakable gift this wonderful counselor this mighty God this father of eternity this peace prince oh I hope you all know him and rejoice and if you don't There's a few days left in calendar year 2010 to repent and believe and trust Him. Let us pray. Father, we thank You for Jesus and the promise that He would reveal completely and fully, at least to the extent that we could understand who You are and what our relationship to You ought to be. And our Father, we pray that the Prince of Peace may rule supreme in the hearts of all to the glory of Your grace for Your unspeakable gift. And then help us to live such a life of gratitude that is fitting for those who have been redeemed with such wisdom and such great price. Thank you, Lord, for Jesus' sake. Amen.