Well, it's my privilege to be
able to address you this afternoon on a few words from the Word
of God and, of course, relevance to the birth of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We read already together some
of the words of prophecy in the Old Testament, and it's very
wonderful for us to know that there are many words in the Old
Testament which refer to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. not only born as a baby, as a
child, but also where and everything else and who his mother would
be. There's great detail really on
the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course it's very important
that it should be so, because Jesus is none other than the
Son of God, the one who was sent to save the Church of God from
their sins. So it's obviously very relevant
that Jesus is mentioned very times in the Old Testament, not
by name, of course, but by indications of him coming as the savior. So this afternoon, I thought
I would speak to you, just a few words on a very wonderful text,
which we've already read together this afternoon, and that's in
the prophecy of Isaiah chapter six and verse nine. And it really
is a great description of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's very
enlightening, it's very comprehensive, and it's good to read it. It's
probably a familiar text to many people, but it doesn't hurt to
meditate upon it. So Isaiah chapter nine and verse
six, and this is what it reads. 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, Councillor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. So we have, in a few words there,
a wonderful description of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a promise,
a promise which we are very thankful for was fulfilled. Indeed all
the promises relevant to the Saviour have been fulfilled so
far. They're asked all those to be
fulfilled when the Lord of course returns in all his glory. And so the word tells us, for
unto us a child is born. And it's wonderful to think that
this states for unto us. and that really refers to every
true believer. So a great blessing for us this
afternoon if we are a true believer. That means one that is born by
the Spirit of God, one that has come from darkness to the glorious
light of the Gospel. And the great truth is that Jesus
was born in Bethlehem as a baby and as a child. And we must be
very thankful, therefore, for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because, as I've already said,
without the birth of Christ, there would be no death. Without
the death, there would be no resurrection. Without the resurrection
no intercession for us today and indeed without the birth
no glory for us to follow. So we can see therefore it is
very relevant and important for us to recognize this word which
is a great and glorious truth for unto us a child is born and
it's a mercy if you and I can take it personally to ourselves
and that will surely produce great thanksgiving and praise
in our heart to this great and glorious God who condescended
to come into this sinful world and to be born in that humble
circumstance of that manger and then to live that perfect life
and to die that sinatonian death. So we can be thankful that we
have this important statement for unto us a child is born And
then it goes on and says, and unto us a son is given. So of course is none other than
the son of God. And he was given by the father. And we're told of that in the
very familiar verse in the third chapter of John and verse 16. And this is what we read, for
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. Probably the most familiar verse
in the Bible. And a very glorious truth it
is. And to think that God, Almighty
God the Father, loved the world so much that he gave, he gave
his only begotten son. How valuable that was. We have
a little insight into that when Abraham was told to offer up
his son. He only had that son of the promise,
Isaac. And yet he was told to go and
offer him up. And of course he willingly did
so. But the Lord God stopped him
just about as he was to slay his son, Isaac. And the picture
we have there was that Isaac was the one who was to be offered
up. And we know that we have a great
and glorious Savior, the Son of God, who was given that he
might be offered up to bear our sins, to bear the sins of many. And what a great truth and a
wonderful consideration that is. And to think that God the
Father so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. That's a grand and glorious invitation
in the gospel here. Whosoever believeth in him should
not perish. It's vital. that we all receive
grace, that wonderful grace of God to come and to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we shall not want to believe
or need to believe unless we realise that we stand before
a holy God as a guilty and perishing sinner. And that's why these
words are here. Whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, If there's no believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we
shall perish. And we shall not be found in
glory with the Savior, but we shall be found in that terrible
place of hell. And as it says, but have everlasting
life. You and I will spend eternity,
everlasting life, either with Jesus or in hell. So we have this great statement,
unto us a son is given and then the government shall be upon
his shoulder. People seem to fail to realise
that Jesus was a king and he is the King of kings and the
Lord of lords. Our God reigns. Jesus does reign. Mankind for the most part belittle
such a great and glorious truth but surely to the Church of God
that is a wonderful comfort to know that Jesus does reign and
that nothing occurs in this world without His divine permission
and that which was ordained from time before time in eternity
past And to realise then this is a
wonderful thing. We have a great and glorious
King and this is a statement. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder. And then we have a list of names
for this great and wonderful Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he shall be called Wonderful,
counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. It's interesting that we have
this word, wonderful, and then a comma, which makes it a distinctive
and separate word. Many people in some of the versions
omit the comma, as though he is a wonderful counsellor. Well,
he is a wonderful counsellor, but the great blessing is the
Word of God tells us that he was wonderful. And truly God
is wonderful when we think of what he's done. How willing was
Jesus to die that we, fellow sinners, might live the life
they could not take away. How willing was Jesus to give. His name is wonderful. And what
a blessing it is that you and I can come to our God through
the Lord Jesus Christ as the wonderful intercessor The one
who stands between us and the Holy Father, as the hymn writer
says, in garments dyed in blood. What a mercy that is. What a
blessing it is that we therefore have a wonderful Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the wonderful Son of God. Let us never lose
sight of it. It's a big word describing those
things which are really beyond our comprehension, wonderful.
And then we're told, counsellor. The psalmist tells us in Psalm
73, thou shalt guide me with thy counsel. and afterward receive
me to glory. What a blessing that is for us
today to realize that the church of God is guided by the counsel
of God. That means we're not left. We're
not forsaken. God is mindful of us. He knows
about us. He knows what he's doing with
us. He knows how we're being led and how we're being directed. And so the psalmist tells us
so clearly thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and then he
looks ahead and afterward when we finished our life on this
earth receive me to glory.' That should be a wonderful prospect
to every true believer, to recognise that on this earth we have no
continuing city but we seek one to come. Thou shalt, again a
very positive statement, thou shalt guide me with thy counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory. And so that his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor and then the Mighty God. The Mighty
God. He is the Mighty God. He's above
every God. He is the Mighty God. He is able
to do all that is needful. He controls everything. He is
so great and powerful. And what a blessing it is if
you and I today bow down before this God, recognising that He
is the One who rules and reigns in our life, and He is the Mighty
God. Nothing is too difficult for
our God to perform. Nothing is too hard. We can bring
every difficulty in our little life to our God, believing He
is the Mighty God. who is able to do for us far
more and exceeding abundantly than we can ask or even think. And so the mighty God. And then he comes and says the
everlasting Father from the beginning. There was no real beginning because
he was everlasting. He always has been again a mystery
which is beyond our natural comprehension. You must remember we are of the
earth and we are finite we're not infinite and therefore we're
not able to really work out in our little minds the greatness
of this statement but it's a blessing when God gives us faith, faith,
living faith to believe that we do have the everlasting Father
And we can read about that when Moses wrote the book of the Deuteronomy. And in the 33rd chapter and 27th
verse, he says, the eternal God, the eternal God, everlasting,
excuse me, everlasting is thy refuge and underneath are the
everlasting arms. And he shall thrust out the enemy
from before thee and shall say, destroy them. Well, that's the
everlasting father. You begin to see, I hope, the
greatness of this God. Remember, we've already said
he's wonderful. He's a counselor. He's a mighty
God. He's the everlasting father.
And then finally, in this little verse, it says the prince of
peace. What a blessing to have such
a God in this restless world in which we live with so little
peace really and not very much peace in our own hearts and minds.
But he is the Prince of Peace. And the Apostle Paul wrote and
spoke in the Colossians and also in the Ephesians about this wonderful
peace. And in Colossians, the first
chapter in verse 20, we read, And having made peace, how? Through the blood of his cross,
when Jesus was crucified upon that cross at Calvary, He satisfied
the requirements of His Holy Father, satisfied that which
was needed to redeem our souls from all our sins. And having
made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him, to reconcile
all things unto Himself, by Him, I say, whether they be things
in earth or things in heaven. Well, peace by His cross. And then in Ephesians chapter
2 verse 14 to 15, For He is our peace, who hath made both one
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.
having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace. No saviour, no peace. So we have this wonderful verse
before us for unto us Remember that a child is born the Lord
Jesus Unto us you and me a son is given by the father and the
government King of Kings shall be upon his shoulder and his
name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty God the
everlasting father the prince of peace and when I was meditating
on this I was looking at a few places and I came across a very
comprehensive statement by John Kelvin and I thought I'd just
read it to you in conclusion and he says now to apply this
and this is the whole verse now to apply this for our own instruction
whenever any distrust arises and all means of escape are taken
away from us Whenever, in short, it appears to us that everything
is in a ruinous condition, let us recall to our remembrance
that Christ is called Wonderful, because He has inconceivable
methods of assisting us, and because His power is far beyond
what we are able to conceive. When we need counsel, let us
remember that he is the counsellor. When we need strength, let us
remember that he is mighty and strong. When new terrors spring
up suddenly, every instant, and when many deaths threaten us
from various quarters, let us rely on that eternity of which
he is, with good reason, called the Father. And by the same comfort,
let us learn to soothe all temporal distresses. when we are inwardly
tossed by various tempests, and when Satan attempts to disturb
our conscience, then I shall remember that Christ is the Prince
of Peace, and that it is easy for him quickly to allay all
our uneasy feelings. Thus will these titles confirm
us more and more in the faith of Christ and fortify us against
Satan and against hell itself. Well may God enable us to meditate
on this wonderful verse and we'll find it truly