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Sermon Notes for December 12, 1999
“God’s Most Perfect Gift”
Isaiah 9:6-7
“Wrap It Up”
Our Christmas - “There’s nothing more OVER than Christmas.”
Introduction
A. Our View Of Jesus In The MANGER
1. What a confusing time we all experience as we view the baby Jesus in the manger.
a. Small, defenseless, innocent
b. and THIS IS OUR SAVIOR!
2. How can anyone possibly understand “how this all works?”
a. A girl of ten years went with a group of family and friends to see the Christmas light displays at various locations throughout the city. At one church, they stopped and got out to look more closely at a beautifully done nativity scene. “Isn’t that beautiful?” said the little girl’s grandmother. “Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus.” “Yes, Grandma,” replied the granddaughter. “It is really nice. But there is only one thing that bothers me. Isn’t baby Jesus every going to grow up . . . he’s the same size he was last year.”
b. How can we ever understand?
B. Their View Of Jesus In Their MIND
1. YOU think that you have a hard time understanding who Jesus is, look at the prophets of the Old Testament.
2. Look PARTICULARLY at Isaiah:
a. Isaiah was a prophet of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
b. Who prophesied during a very dark time in Israel’s history.
1. Although he had served during the time of good King Uzziah,
2. he also served during the reign of wicked King Ahaz.
a. Ahaz was not only an ungodly king over Israel
b. He made deals with neighboring pagan nations.
1. Eventually Isaiah would prophesy that the Assryians would overcome the people of Israel.
2. There seemed to be no hope at all.
3. Isaiah’s prophesy would tell of the hope of a Savior.
a. A Savior that would rescue Israel.
b. Let’s look at the KIND of Savior that was to come.
I. The HUMILIATION Of Our Savior
A. Theologians Speak Of Two States Of Christ
1. His HUMILIATION
a. We must realize that in coming to this imperfect earth, the Lord Jesus Christ HUMILIATED Himself to come.
1. After all, He left glory and dominion and power.
2. He left a place so glorious that the streets are paved with gold.
b. The text described His coming.
1. Vs. 6 - “For to us a child is born.”
a. This verse tells us that the Savior is going to be BORN.
b. And that He will come AS A CHILD.
2. Vs. 6b - “to us a Son is given.”
a. But verse 6 ALSO says that this child is a Son.
b. And that that Son would be given
2. As if to say the SON OF GOD would be fully bestowed on the world.
3. Thus meaning . . .
a. The METHOD that would introduce the Savior to the world would be through a physical BIRTH.
b. But the MESSAGE was that what was really going on was that God’s own Son was given.
1. sent
2. offered
3. provided by God the Father Himself
2. His EXHALTATION
a. However, the story DOES NOT end at the manger.
1. We MUST NOT be too enamored with the manger scene,
2. because the manger describes only His ENTRANCE into this world, which He had to do.
3. Births at 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant births. For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to become one of England’s finest statesman. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was born to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day greatly affect the literary world in a marked manner. On the American continent, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And not far away in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life. It was also in that same year that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles Robert. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby’s name? Abraham Lincoln.
B. We Will Now Look At His Glorious EXHALTATION.
II. The EXHALTATION Of Our Savior
A. Our Savior Will Be KNOWN
1. Vs. 6b says that He will be “called” by certain titles.
a. Hebrew meaning:
1. called out; cried; proclaimed
2. preached
b. Hebrew tense
1. Although these names will be given to Him in the past,
2. they will continue to be REPEATED all through ETERNITY!
2. This is not a passive list of titles but an active DECLARATION OF WHO
THIS SAVIOR IS!
a. There are 256 names given in the Bible for Jesus,
b. but these are the ones that God places before us today.
B. Our Savior Will Be KNOWN AS:
1. Our CONTACT with our Savior - WONDER
a. Too many Bibles put wonderful and counselor together
1. As if wonder is an adjective to describe counselor.
2. No doubt, Jesus is a wonderful counselor,
b. but wonder is a NOUN! HE IS A WONDER!
1. The Wonder of His PAST.
a. Jesus was never born. John 3:16 says that He is the only begotten; the one sent.
1. Isaiah 9:6 says that He is GIVEN to us - suggesting that He existed BEFORE He was born.
2. Jesus has forever been.
b. In fact, Jesus was not only at the creation, ALL CREATION was made for and through Him - Colossians 1:15-17 - “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
1. That is why Jesus could ride the foal of a donkey with no problem.
2. THAT is why Jesus could command a fish to put a coin its mouth to show His disciples.
3. Jesus is LORD OVER ALL CREATION!
c. But what is EQUALLY WONDROUS is that this creator - God - Savior - deals with my personal life!
2. The Wonder of His PRESENT.
a. He enters OUR WORLD
1. This Creator was introduced into the world in the form of a baby so that He could take on the skin of man.
a. Swindoll - “The incredible reached zenith proportion in a feeding trough in lowly Bethlehem . . . and the cry from that infant’s throat broke the centuries of silence. For the first time in time, God’s voice could actually be heard coming from human vocal chords.”
b. So that He could walk this earth in our shoes.
c. So that He could walk in our shoes to the cross and die on that cross for each of us.
2. But there is more -
b. He enters OUR LIVES
1. Perhaps the BIGGEST wonder of all is that THIS JESUS has dealt PERSONALLY with my life -
a. It would not be so hard to understand that God visited our planet in the form of Jesus,
b. but Jesus has made Himself PERSONALLY KNOWN to me!
1. He saved me from death at age 4 when a huge tree fell EXACTLY where I was standing the minute before.
2. He put up with all of my disobedience and confusion while growing up.
3. Then He proceeded to call me unto Himself.
4. And even AFTER conversion, He CONTINUES to make Himself known to me!
2. THAT IS A WONDER!
2. Our COMMUNICATION with our Savior - COUNSELOR
a. Hebrew
1. Definition
a. It means to give advice
b. To give counsel
2. Verb
a. A continuous giving of counsel
b. Day to day
b. Our need!
1. NOTICE THE FIRST TWO WORDS used to describe our coming Savior:
a. Wonder
b. Counselor
2. Is this saying something about Jesus?
a. Yes, He is the Mighty God,
b. but why does Isaiah use these other two words, FIRST?
3. Ask yourself why JESUS CAME IN THE FIRST PLACE.
a. Did Jesus come to make sure that we knew He was the Mighty God?
1. As if that would change anything!
2. He is the Mighty God whether we know it or not!
b. Jesus came to us BECAUSE WE HAD A NEED!
1. We are to be in ABSOLUTE SHOCK that He came.
2. But He came to be OUR COUNSELOR - AND WE ALL NEED A COUNSELOR! If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
3. Look at some Biblical truths in counseling:
a. David in Psalm 139
b. Jesus in John 6:64 - “‘Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.”
c. The track record for many counselors is not very good -
3. People have wondered if it is possible to minister to mental-emotional-behavioral problems without resorting to psychological models and methods or to psychological gimmicks and devices. The evidence suggests that it is. Three researchers found in a national survey conducted for the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health that “of those persons who actively sought help for personal problems, the vast majority contacted persons other than mental health professionals, and that generally they were more satisfied with the help received than were those who chose psychiatrists and psychologists.”
4. Hans Isnik did a study and found that if you have emotional problems, the probability that you will be well in 1 year if you go to see a psychoanalyst is 44%; psychotherapist is 53%; psychiatrist is 61%; no one at all is 73%.
5. Our CONFIDENCE in our Savior - MIGHTY GOD
a. Lest we get too familiar with Jesus, let us not forget just WHO HE IS.
b. He is:
1. The Mighty
a. strong, valiant
b. the mightiest of all, the strongest
2. God
a. The word for God here is the Hebrew word EL.
1. This is where we get the word Immanuel - God with us.
2. John 1:1 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
3. John 1:14 - “The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
c. We must NOT forget who it is that we are dealing with!
d. But the REAL meaning here is that the title Mighty God MEANS - HE IS ABLE!
1. And why is the term Mighty God AFTER Wonderful Counselor?
a. It would SEEM that Mighty God would be the FIRST term used.
b. Shouldn’t we worship HIM first?
2. The term Mighty God follows Wonderful Counselor BECAUSE OF OUR NEED.
a. The Westminster Confession of Faith says that God derives no glory from us.
1. Because He already IS glory.
2. We don’t “add to” His glory when we acknowledge that He is God.
a. “Boy, that’s a car!”
b. “Wow, that’s a big house.”
b. What we NEED to hear is that:
1. He is a Wonderful Counselor
2. But that He IS ABLE TO HELP US WITH OUR NEEDS!
4. Our CONSTANCY with our Savior - EVERLASTING FATHER.
a. Isaiah turns to two interesting terms:
1. A term of endearment - FATHER.
a. As if WHEN we come to the Savior:
1. We are brought to our knees in wonderment.
2. To tell Him our needs.
3. KNOWING that He is able to take care of our needs.
4. LIKE A FATHER would.
a. “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God.”
b. Hebrews 4:15-16 - “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
b. Perhaps unlike our earthly fathers, HE LOVES US AND
WELCOMES US.
2. A term of eternity - He is EVERLASTING.
a. Unlike our earthly fathers who may:
1. desert us; abandon us
2. be taken from us in death.
b. He will be the EVERLASTING Father.
1. He will ALWAYS be there for us.
2. Me in airplane.
5. Our COMFORT with our Savior - PRINCE OF PEACE.
a. The RESULT of our trust and relationship with our Savior is PEACE.
1. And He is the PRINCE of Peace.
a. The head over all
b. The Master
c. The Instigator
d. The owner and giver of all peace
b. Where He reigns, peace will always be present.
III. Are We EXPERIENCING Our Savior?
A. Why ELSE Did Isaiah Use SUCH TERMS AS HE DID? AND IN SUCH AN ORDER.
1. Do we come to Jesus in wonder?
a. At the God/man who entered our world.
b. The Creator Himself decided to enter our world - WOW!
2. Are we SO overwhelmed that we don’t feel safe in going to Him?
a. C.S. Lewis - Aslan - Is He safe? Oh no, He’s not safe . . . but He’s good.
b. This SECOND term INVITES us to the Savior - He WANTS us to know that this is His heart - to help us - THAT IS WHY HE CAME.
3. Do you doubt WHETHER He can help you? DON’T DO IT. Because He is the Mighty God.
a. Mighty tells us that He is ABLE!
b. This term is not about impressing you with who He is, but WHAT HE CAN DO!
4. And if you wonder what KIND of Savior He is - He is the eternal, everlasting Father.
a. Now if you had a difficult earthly father, don’t mistrust Jesus.
b. But to test it out, go to Him yourself.
c. S. Brown Stoy - Well, you’ve finally talked to me.
5. And notice that He came to give you peace.
a. Peace thus becomes the INDICATOR that you have been to meet this Christ-child.
b. If you do not experience peace, you have missed the reason Jesus came.
1. Peace with God
2. Peace with your fellow man
3. And peace with self
Let me close with this. If you doubt Jesus love for you; look at the words in verse 6;
For to us a child was born
to us a Son was given.
That is what Christmas is all about -
God sent us a gift. Will we take it?
In a remote Swiss village stood a beautiful church. It was so beautiful, in fact, that it was known as the Mountain Valley Cathedral. The Cathedral was not only beautiful to look at—with its high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows—but was beautiful to hear. You see, this church had the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region. People would come from miles away—from far off lands—to hear the lovely tones of this organ. But that’s what the problem was. The columns were still there—the windows still dazzled with the sunlight—but there was an eerie silence. The mountain valley no longer echoed the glorious fine-tuned music of the pipe organ. In fact, the valley was either totally silent or worse yet filled with unbelievably horrible sounds. Something had gone wrong with the pipe organ. Musicians and experts from around the world had tried to repair it. Every time a new person would try to fix it the villagers were subjected to sounds of disharmony—awful penetrating noises which polluted the air. One day an old man appeared at the church door. He spoke with the sexton and after a time the sexton reluctantly agreed to let the old man try his hand at repairing the organ. For two days the old man worked in almost total silence. The sexton was, in fact, getting a bit nervous. Then on the third day—at high noon—the mountain valley was filled with the most glorious music you would ever want to hear. Farmers dropped their plows, merchants closed their stores—everyone in town stopped what they were doing and headed for the church. Even the bushes and trees of the mountain tops seemed to respond as the glorious music echoed from ridge to ridge. After the old man finished his playing, a brave soul asked him how he could have fixed the organ, how could he restore music and harmony when even the world’s experts could not? The old man merely said it was an inside job, “It was I who built this organ 50 years ago. I created it—and now I have restored it.” That is what God is like. It is He who created the universe and it is He who can, and will, and is in the process of restoring it.