What a special, special treat
it is to have our brethren from Sarasota here with us this morning.
I didn't know y'all were going to be here. Tricia knew it, and
she kept it from me. I'm so, so happy to see you.
And they're actually all on their way to go on a cruise this next
week. And then two Sundays, two weeks
from today, Sunday after next, they're gonna come back and a
few of them would like to be baptized. And so we'll have a
special baptism service here two weeks from today. And I'm
so looking forward to that. Trust the Lord, give you all
a great time together this week. So there won't be anybody left
in Sarasota tonight. Actually, there is. I got a call
yesterday from a lady from Michigan that's been listening to our
services, and I've corresponded with her for a couple of years
now, actually. And she's vacationing in Sarasota
this weekend and is excited about coming to the services tonight.
So she'll be there, and we have some other folks in the group
that will be there tonight. So what a joy. All right, let's open our Bibles
together to Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 6. Two weeks from today, when they
come back for baptism, we'll plan to stay together for lunch
that Sunday. So if you plan to bring some
food from home, we'll have lunch together on that Sunday. Also,
Cody and Winna from Mexico, Groovers, are going to be here with us
the last Sunday of July and sure are looking forward to having
them here that weekend. And they'll be coming over to
Preachforce. Cody will Preachforce Sunday night in Sarasota. It's been good to have Nancy
Wells with us for the last month or so. And they're headed back
to Oregon tomorrow. So I know Norm is anxious for
you to get home. And we'll miss you. All right, you have your Bibles
open to Isaiah chapter 6. Isaiah chapter 6. And you know this is one of my
very favorite passages of scripture. And it begins with in the year
that King Uzziah died. You remember how King Uzziah
died. He, in pride, sought to make
a sacrifice in place of the priest. He thought he could approach
the presence of God without a priest. and went into the temple to do
that. God struck him with leprosy and
he died and Isaiah the prophet now fears that the Lord has completely
left Israel to themselves. And so he goes into the temple
to seek God's mercy for Israel. And the Lord was pleased to make
himself known. I saw also the Lord sitting upon
a throne. He saw the trouble, and he saw
the cure to that trouble. High and lifted up, his train
filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim,
each one had six wings, and with twain he covered his face, and
with twain he covered his feet, and with twain He did fly. He confessed the glory of the
Lord. He confessed his own creatureness
and he sought to be in service to his God. Those are the three
sets of wings. And one cried unto the other
and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole
earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. And then said I, Woe is me, for
I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the
king. The Lord of hosts then flew one of the seraphims unto
me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with
the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth,
and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips, and thine iniquity
is taken away, and thy sin is purged. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we're so
very thankful that there is a throne of grace that we can come before
and find mercy and help in our time of need. For like Isaiah
and like the children of Israel, Lord, we have sinned against
Thee. We're a people of unclean lips. Lord, we're in need of
Your mercy. We ask that You would send Your
Holy Spirit to take a hot coal from off the altar, to touch
our lips, and to assure us, based on the sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ upon that altar, that our sins have been forgiven,
our iniquity's been purged. Lord, that we are without condemnation before thee.
We pray that you would open the windows of heaven and be pleased
to bless your people this hour. We ask that you'd make your word
living and effectual to our hearts. We thank you for our brethren
and our friends from Sarasota, and we ask, Lord, that you'd
give them safe travels this week and pray that you'd bless their
fellowship together. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. You have your Bibles open to
Isaiah chapter 6. If you'll turn over one page
to the right, or two perhaps, you'll find in Isaiah chapter
9 a passage that we've been looking at now for a couple of weeks.
Isaiah chapter 9 at verse 6. We've been using this first hour
of worship and study to consider the names and the titles that
are given in the Word of God for the Lord Jesus Christ. And
in this verse, God says, for unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. The government shall be upon
his shoulder. He's going to reign sovereign. Notice that the child has to
be born, but the son has to be given. He was a son before He was born. And He was born of a woman, made
flesh after the likeness of sinful flesh in order that He might
redeem those who are cursed by the law. And His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor. I know that in your text you
have a comma between those two words, but there's some discussion over whether or not
they should be separated. In fact, he is wonderful in all
his attributes. And so when we say that he's
a wonderful counselor, we could also say that he is the wonderful
mighty God, the wonderful everlasting Father, the wonderful Prince
of Peace. We use that word wonderful very
loosely, don't we? We might eat a good meal and
say that was wonderful. We might seek to thank someone
for a good job and tell them that they did a wonderful job.
In fact, to wonder is to consider something that is beyond your
ability to comprehend. That's what it means to wonder.
And to be full of wonder means that every aspect of that which
you are considering is more than you can possibly take in. That's
worship. That's worship. It is to fall
at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in wonder of his glory,
in wonder of his accomplishments. Here he's spoken of as a wonderful
counselor. I wonder if you are in need of
a counselor this morning. One who is able to effectually
minister grace to your heart. One who is able to calm all your
fears. One who can truly comfort the
soul. One who is able and willing to
place the balm of peace in our minds. One who successfully silenced
the condemnation of the law. One who settles the heart. convinces you of his love and
assures you of his sovereign control over all your circumstances. This is the wonderful counselor
that we're speaking of. He's the one who answers the
prayers of faith. He's the one who gives discernment
to the truth in the midst of confusion. He's the one who makes
the Word of God relevant, effectual, alive, and powerful to the circumstances
and situations of our lives. He's the one who blesses with
a liberal amount of wisdom when we lack it. There's four things I want in
a counselor. And these four things are infinitely
true of this wonderful counselor. If you seek the counsel of another,
and the scripture says that we ought to do that, there's wisdom
in the counsel of many. Now that means those who have
the discernment of God's grace are able to give advice and counsel
from God's Word as to what we ought to do. When the Bible says that God
gives wisdom in the counsel of many, it doesn't mean that you
go around and survey a bunch of people and then take the advice
of the one that meets what you wanted to do to begin with. I've
had so many people over the years come to me for counsel, and it
became evident that they were looking for affirmation of a
decision that they had already made. No, the wisdom that comes from
the counsel of many means that when God's people give counsel,
they all give the same counsel. They all give the same counsel.
And the thing is confirmed by the testimony of two or three
witnesses. And one of the things that believers
are going to tell other believers in their counsel, the first thing
that they're gonna tell them is look to Christ. Seek his face. Seek him early. Seek him often. Seek him first. Ask the Lord. He's the wonderful
counselor. Four things that we need in a
counselor. We need a counselor that's close
to us. We need one who is confidential. We need a counselor that is compassionate,
and we need a counselor that is competent. Close, confidential, compassionate,
and confident. And those things are true, as
I said, most infinitely and eternally as they relate to the wonderful
counselor described here in our text. He's close. He's accessible. You don't have to make an appointment
to go see him. You don't have to get on a waiting
list or take off work and drive across town. He's right there. And I found that when I'm in
need of a counselor, I need one right now. The weight and the
burden of sin and circumstances have gotten to be such that I
need someone that I can open my heart out to and cry to right
now. And the scripture describes the
Lord Jesus Christ as that kind of counselor. How many times we read that the
Lord is at hand. He is as near to us as our hand. When Paul went to Athens and
preached to those philosophers on Mars Hill and told them about
the God that they ignorantly worshiped, that unknown God,
he said, though he be not far from any of you." And when the
Lord tells us in Romans chapter 10, turn with me there, if you
will, please. Romans chapter 10. When the Lord tells us about
how near He is Look what he says in verse 6, but the righteousness
which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Here's what God says. Here's what faith believes. Here's the righteousness that
is not as he described in the previous verses, of a religious
pursuit. Those who seek after righteousness,
but they are ignorant of the righteousness of God. They have
a zeal for God, but it's without knowledge. He's describing the
religious, the behavior of a religious person. who is seeking after
the things of God, but they're doing it ignorantly. They don't
know that the Lord Jesus Christ himself is all their righteousness. And so in verse 6 he says, the
righteousness which is of faith, speaketh on this wise, say not
in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven that is to bring
Christ down from above." Don't even let the thought enter into
your mind. What can I do? Where can I go
in order to make the Lord Jesus Christ come down from above and
meet my needs? Say not in your heart. What can
I do to make that happen? or who shall descend into the
deep, that is to bring Christ up from the dead. What can I
do to make the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ work for
me? Don't even think that. Don't go there. Don't let that
thought enter into your mind. God forbid such a thought. But what saith it? The Word is
nigh thee, even in thine heart, even in thy mouth and in thine
heart, that is, the Word of faith which we preach. For if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, you don't make
Him Lord, you confess Him to be Lord. And you declare Him
to have succeeded in putting away your sin. That's why His
name is Jesus. He shall save His people. And shalt believe in thine heart
that God has raised Him from the dead. God brought Him forth
from the dead. Why? Because God was satisfied
with what He had accomplished. and the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ is the positive proof that God gives to his children
that the work is done. Believe that. How near is that to you? Near
as your lips and near as your heart. Lord give me the faith
to confess the truth about who you are. That's how near he is. He's a close counselor. You don't
have to go find him. When they tell you that he's
out in the wilderness, don't go out there. When they tell
you to go here and you'll find the Messiah, don't do it. He's
not there. You see, wherever you are is
where he is. He's as close to you as your
lips and as your heart. Now that's a wonderful counselor. Do you remember when the Lord
rose from the dead and Mary went to the tomb? And she presumed
that the Lord was the gardener. And she asked him what they had
done with the Lord's body. And the Lord spoke to her and
said, Mary. And when he spoke her name, she
recognized his voice. And she said, Rabboni. And she
fled to him and clinged to him. She clung to, she fell at his
feet and grabbed him. And the Lord said to her, touch
me not, for I have not yet ascended unto my father. Now, the Lord
wasn't saying to Mary, Mary, don't defile me before I go to
see my Father. For He didn't ascend to the Father
until days later, and it invited the disciples to put their hands
into His wounds. And so what the Lord was saying
to Mary is, Mary was thinking, I lost you once, I'm not going
to lose you again. And she clung to Him like she
was never going to turn loose. And the Lord was saying to Mary,
Mary, when I ascend to the Father, I'm gonna send the Comforter,
the Holy Spirit, and it's going to be good for you. Because in
him, I'm going to be closer to you than I am right now. The
Lord Jesus Christ is closer to his children now than he was
to the disciples. The disciples had to, when they
were there in His physical presence, they had to share Him with other
men and other circumstances in the world. You don't have to
share Him with anybody. You've got Him all to yourself,
wherever you are, any time of the day or night. He's right
there. That's why He said, it's expedient
for you that I go away. And when the Comforter comes,
He will lead you into all truth. That's faith. You're not going
to see His physical presence. You're not going to hear an audible
voice. But through the faith that God
gives to His people in the heart, The Lord Jesus Christ, as the
wonderful Counselor, never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is as
near to you as your lips and as your heart. What other Counselor? You can't seek a man like that. Not only does he need to be close,
a wonderful counselor needs to be close, but a wonderful counselor
needs to be confidential. Confidential. Have you ever shared
with someone that you thought was in confidence only to find
out that they repeated it to someone else? Sure you have. And truth be known, you've done
it too. I had a friend that worked for
Lockheed Martin. some years ago, and he had some
security clearance because he worked on some military weapons
contract. And I asked him one time, I said,
David, what exactly do you do? And he said, well, I could tell
you, but I'd have to kill you. You know, that's the way we feel
sometimes. You know, I'd have to tell you,
but I'd have to kill you. It's difficult to know, even
with the most confidential friends what might
be repeated. Is there one to whom I can bear
my soul and know that it is completely confidential? He's the wonderful counselor. He's the one that I can trust
not to ever use it against me. is the one that's not going to
be shocked by anything that I tell him. When the Lord told the disciples,
I must need to go through Samaria, He knew there was a woman that
was going to be there in the middle of the day at that well,
who was working on her fifth husband. And He knew the shame
that she bore in that community. And he knew she's gonna be there
all by herself. And he made himself known to
her, didn't he? Ministered grace to her heart.
And the disciples came and the scripture says they wanted to
ask him what he was talking to this Samaritan woman about, but
they were afraid. And the Lord didn't divulge anything
to them. You know what he said, I have
meat to eat that you know not of. This is between me and her. That's a wonderful counselor.
You need a counselor like that. Job's friends weren't that way,
were they? Job calls them miserable comforters. They shamed him,
they talked about him, they accused him. When the Lord Finally made
himself known to Job, he took him aside and spoke to him privately. And then told Job, pray for your
friends. You see, what we uncover in prayer
before our wonderful counselor, he covers. He covers. Go to it. Uncover everything
to him. He already knows it. You're not
going to tell him anything he doesn't know. He knows more about
it than you do. He's close. He's confidential. He's compassionate. I don't need
a counselor that's going to condemn me. One that's going to criticize
me or patronize me. I need one that loves me. is
always compassionate towards me, that understands my weaknesses
and remembers that I'm made of dust. One who in fact weeps over
me. Shortest verse in the Bible is
found in John chapter 11 where Jesus wept. A lot of people have
tried to explain that away. They've Mary and Martha and Lazarus
were close, dear friends of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when the
Lord came there to that place, he felt their anguish. He sympathized with them. The scripture says that we have
not a high priest which cannot be touched with the weaknesses
of our infirmities, but was in all ways tempted even as we are,
yet without sin." Oh, he understands. He's compassionate towards us.
Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of
need. He's a compassionate counselor. He's close, he's confidential,
he is compassionate, he sympathizes with those who have a broken
heart. You know sinners were never threatened by the Lord
Jesus Christ, only the Pharisees were. Only the Pharisees were. And it's true today. It's only
the self-righteous Pharisee that's threatened by the gospel. Sinners
are attracted to grace. They're attracted to this counselor. They're made to feel welcome. They flee to him. He's a counselor that's close.
He's a counselor that's confidential. He's a counselor that's compassionate.
No one has ever loved you like he loves you. No one. And he's a counselor that's competent.
You know therapists have therapists. Who's the therapist of the therapist
of the therapist? You know, I don't know. I mean,
is there one guy that's kind of the guru of all the therapists
that knows everything that everybody goes to? Is there a counselor that doesn't
need a counselor? Yes. Yes. There he is. Turn with me in
your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 40. Look at verse 12. Who hath measured the waters
and the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span,
and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed
the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who has
directed the Spirit of the Lord, or, being his counselor, has
taught him? With whom took he counsel? And
who instructed him and taught him in the path of judgment and
taught him knowledge and showed to him the way of understanding?
These are rhetorical questions. They don't need an answer. We
know the answer. No one. He's a competent counselor. God
tells us in Colossians chapter 2 verse 3, in Him, in the Lord
Jesus Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Everything is to be found in
Him. I understand there's like a 400%
increase in antidepressant prescriptions and one in ten Americans over
the age of 12 are taking something to kind of calm themselves. And
I don't know about all that. I'm sure there's some legitimate
reasons for that, but the explosion of that in our culture I think
has to do with one thing, and that's the absence of the gospel. For in fact, the reason why men
seek a counselor, the number one reason, is because of a guilty
conscience. That's the number one reason.
A guilty conscience. The shame and the regret is too
much for them to handle. And so they go to a therapist
and the therapist says, it's not your fault. It's your environment. You've just been made to feel
guilty through some prudish puritanical standard that really isn't even
relevant in the 21st century of America. Or maybe your parents. potty
trained you wrong. I don't know. They come up with
all sorts of reasons to excuse men's behavior and all they do
is salve men's conscience by reinforcing what we've become
so efficient at. And it started with our father
Adam in the garden. It's called the blame game. Or they'll give you something
to do to redeem yourself. All of this is false security. It may raise the level of one's
ability to cope in this world. It may give them some sense of
sanity, but it's a false hope. It won't stand before the judge
of the world. The truth is that before the judge of the world,
we are guilty. We are guilty. It is your fault. You ought to be ashamed. We're
sinners. And anything that gives you a
false assurance of your innocence is not of God. Now herein is where the wonderful
counselor comes in. He takes away. all the guilt,
all the shame, all the condemnation. He imputes to us His perfect
righteousness. He makes us accepted and beloved
before God Almighty. He bore in His body upon that
tree all the sins of all of God's people, of all generations, and
satisfied the demands of God's justice once and for all. He
fulfilled the law. He's a wonderful counselor. He's
a competent counselor. He's not going to tell you it's
not your fault. He's not going to give you something
to do to redeem yourself. He's going to bear Himself all
the shame and all the guilt of all of our sins so that we can
be free. Free! What a competent counselor
He is. He's close. He's confidential. He's compassionate. Oh, and He is so competent. He's competent not only in taking
away our sin, imputing to us His righteousness. He's competent
in assuring our hearts that all the circumstances of our lives
are ordained of Him. and are under His sovereign control. And we can rest in that. Rest
in that. He's a wonderful counselor. There's
none like Him. There's none like Him. Seek Him. Let's pray together. Heavenly
Father, we're so thankful for the revelation that You've made
of Yourself in the person of Your dear Son, our wonderful
Counselor. We pray that You would keep us
at wonder at His feet, seeking Him often, closely, bearing our
deepest, darkest secrets with Him, and knowing that He is competent We ask it in His name. Amen.