Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The lessons in the Old Testament tell us about the
coming of the Saviour:
· When
· Where
· How and
· Why
were all recorded
somewhere in the Old Testament.
Bible students,
believers thousands of years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, knew what God
had promised and many of them lived with a watchful eye and a thankful heart
for the fulfillment of what we know to be Christmas.
Luke 2:25-32 (KJV)
And, behold, there was a
man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto
him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the
Lord's Christ.
And he came by the
Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do
for him after the custom of the law,
Then took he him up in
his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen
thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared
before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the
Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
This was a man who had
obviously celebrated Christmas many years before Jesus was born.
We are going to go back
seven hundred years before the birth of Christ this morning, to Isaiah chapter
9:6.
There was a theme
established in Isaiah 7:14 that continues through to this chapter;
Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)
Therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
That this “son” is Jesus
Christ, is pretty plain. But then, just as now, there were some who believed
that and some who would not.
During the course of
these chapters God had told them
· If you will believe it, you will be established
· If you will not believe it, you will be destroyed
That is the same message
we preach every Christmas season – as well as throughout the year:
John 3:18 (KJV)
He that believeth on him
is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
God promised to Ahaz and
the Jews of Isaiah’s day that:
· A virgin would conceive and
· Bear a Son and that
· He would be Immanuel – God with us.
God went on further and
said
… his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.
There are five names
there.
I want to explore just
one of them, Jesus is “Wonderful.”
I. HE IS
WONDERFUL FOR HIS PERSON
I’ll take you back to Isaiah
7:14 (KJV)
Therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:23 (KJV) draws
from Isaiah 7 and says,
Behold, a virgin shall
be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Maybe the most
significant message that we can get out of Christmas is this one – Jesus is God
with us.
· Jesus is not a great prophet
· Jesus is not a religious teacher
· Jesus is not a moral reformer
· Jesus is not spiritual leader
He may have done all of
those things, but His person is so much more wonderful than any of them that to
even use them in His description misses the point completely.
Jesus is God, with us.
This is such a
foundational Bible truth that if it isn’t true, nothing in the Bible is true.
If it isn’t true, you
have my permission to go home and watch football,
· stop coming to church
· stop telling people about Jesus and by all means
· stop giving any of your money here
But it is true.
· The Bible tells us it is true
· History demonstrates it is true and
· I believe the hearts of men assure them it is true
He is Wonderful because
He is God – with us.
· We can see Him with our eyes
· We can hear Him with our ears
· We can touch Him with our hands
1 John 1:1-2 (KJV)
That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
(For the life was
manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that
eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
I realize that you and I
have never literally
· Seen Him,
· Heard Him and
· Touched Him
But John did.
And we can happily
accept His witness concerning Christ.
Let me see if I can
illustrate like this –
· Is there anyone in this room who has never been shocked?
· Would you like for me to set up an opportunity for you to be
shocked?
A lot of us have been
shocked. And enough of us have described it as a negative experience that those
who haven’t been shocked accept our witness that they would be better off not
being shocked.
A lot of people:
· Saw Jesus
· Heard Jesus and
· Touched Jesus
There are enough of them
who did, that their witness is sufficient for us.
He is Wonderful because
He is God – with us.
II. HE IS
WONDERFUL FOR HIS PROPITIATION
Matthew 1:21 (KJV)
And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people
from their sins.
Indulge me for just a
second and notice the words “his people.”
Jesus is God with us and
that is Wonderful.
But He is also God as
us.
He is God and He is man.
· He is not God over us
· He is not God around us
· He is not God like us
He is God – one of us.
That is wonderful.
And notice what He came
to do; “he
shall save his people from their sins.”
He did that through the
Gospel – His
· death,
· burial and
· resurrection
The wages of sin is
death.
Our sin places the
burden of condemnation on every one of us.
· We can’t avoid it
· We can’t undo it and
· If we pay for it ourselves we will do so in eternal lake of
fire
Jesus came to save us
from that.
If you simply trust Him
the Bible says,
For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.[1]
Isn’t that wonderful?
III. HE IS
WONDERFUL FOR HIS PRESENCE
Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
Let your conversation be
without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath
said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Passages that promise
the Lord’s presence with us are many and comforting.
A. In times when we are overwhelmed
Isaiah 43:2 (KJV)
When thou passest
through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Sometimes the pressures
get the best of us. We can’t see a way through.
God promises to be with
us then.
B. In times when we are outnumbered
Acts 18:9-10 (KJV)
Then spake the Lord to
Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy
peace:
For I am with thee, and
no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Paul looked out at a
city filled with mean spirited unbelievers. How could he possibly make a
difference there?
God promised that He was
with Him.
C. At that time of our death
Psalms 23:4 (KJV)
Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art
with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Every one of us will
pass through this valley some day.
I am glad I will not
have to pass through it alone.
That is truly Wonderful.
IV. HE IS
WONDERFUL FOR HIS POWER
John 10:17-18 (KJV)
Therefore doth my Father
love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from
me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
The point I want to make
right here is Jesus’ power over death.
He not only promises to
be with us when we pass through the valley of the shadow of death, He promises
to give us victory over death and life after death.
The Wonderful thing is – he has the power to do it.
V. HE IS
WONDERFUL FOR HIS PROMISE
John 14:2-3 (KJV)
In my Father's house are
many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you.
And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I
am, there ye may be also.
If
· the virgin birth of
Christ is the foundational truth of the Bible,
then
· the gospel of salvation
is the foundational message of the Bible
and
· the second coming of
Christ is the foundational hope of the
Bible.
A. It is a blessed promise
Titus 2:12-13 (KJV)
Teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed
hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Christians look forward
to Jesus’ coming.
B. It is a rewarded promise
2 Timothy 4:8 (KJV)
Henceforth there is laid
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall
give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his
appearing.
Christians who look
forward to His coming, will be rewarded for it.
C. That makes it a Wonderful promise
Conclusion
I want to end the
message by reminding you of the context in which Isaiah preaches this message.
As wonderful as the
message is, it’s only a blessing to those who will believe and receive it. To
those who will not, it promises destruction.
Nothing has changed.
John 3:18 (KJV)
He that believeth on him
is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
If there has never been
a moment in your life when, convicted of your sin, you called upon the name of
the Lord and asked Him to save you,
I urge you to do that
today.
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