Our God in his infinite wisdom
and indescribable sovereignty frequently makes use of unbelieving
skeptics and blasphemers to proclaim his name and his truth as clearly
as any prophet. I'll give you some examples.
You'll recall in the scriptures how the Caiaphas, the high priest,
though he did not know God, In John chapter 11 spoke plainly
that one man should die for the people, that the nation perish
not, and thus proclaim the substitutionary work of Christ. As our Lord hung
upon the cross, his taunters said he saved others, himself
he cannot save, and thus declared the necessity of his redemptive
work as the substitute for his people. And that centurion who
stood by and watched as he died, Proclaimed truly this man was
the Son of God. Well, two weeks ago in Orlando,
Florida, where Brother Greg Elmquist and the folks there meet at the
Harley Hotel, they rent a room there in a small section of the
hotel, very big, fancy hotel there in Orlando. There was a
meeting of New Agers. Now, you may not know what these
folks are. They're leftover hippies. Frog
kissing, tree huggers, you know, the fellows who worship the sun
and the moon and the lakes and the ponds and the frogs and the
toads and such as that. Well, they were meeting in Orlando,
hundreds of them, walking around the Harley Hotel. And when I
spoke to Greg, he said, he said, you wouldn't believe what they
had on their T-shirts. These folks walking around look
like they need a bath two weeks ago when they got these t-shirts
on, said, I am in big letters. And in smaller letters underneath,
that's all that matters. And their arrogance and pride,
they proclaim truth as boldly and plainly as I could possibly
tell it to you. The Lord God Almighty, whom all
men by nature despise, Jesus Christ our Savior and our Redeemer
is he whose name is I am. And that's all that matters.
He is, nothing else is significant. Not you, not me, not anything
else. Now I want this evening by the
grace of God to proclaim him to you once more. I'll take up
right where I left off this morning in Isaiah chapter nine, verse
six. In the first five verses of this
chapter, the prophet of God speaks concerning the blessings of Christ's
coming. And oh, what blessings await
those to whom the Lord Jesus Christ comes in his grace. He will give light to those who
sit in darkness. He will give liberty to the captives. He will grant victory to all
those who are oppressed and ultimately bring us at last into his glory
in heaven's eternal life. Here in Isaiah 9 and verse 6,
the prophet now describes for us the blessed character of our
Savior himself. For unto us a child is born and
unto us a son is given. and the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end. upon the throne of David and
upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment,
that is, with wisdom and with justice from henceforth even
forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. Now these words describe him
whose name is I Am. This is my Savior, my God, my
Redeemer, on whom I rest the weight of my immortal soul. This
is He whom I want you to know, trust, love, and worship, Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. In these verses, Isaiah tells
us how it is that the Lord God will accomplish his promised
grace for his people. He will do it through the coming
of a glorious substitute, Jesus Christ our Savior, that one who
is himself God and man in one person. that one who shall have
accomplished the will and purpose of God, and thereby be exalted
to a place of highest dominion, where that men and women everywhere
in the world may look to him and be saved. Now let's look
at these two verses together, and let me show you what the
Spirit of God here teaches us about the blessed character of
our Savior. First, the prophet describes
for us the astonishing condescension of our Lord Jesus Christ. unto
us a child is born, a son is given, and the government shall
be upon his shoulder. Now here the prophet is dealing
with the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord Jesus. Without
question, he is expanding and elaborating on that which he
had spoken just a few pages earlier back in chapter 7 and verse 14.
There the prophet was led of God's Spirit to write, therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall
conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Here he is telling us that in
order to save us, in order to accomplish his promised grace
in us, God himself would come into the world assuming human
flesh. God would take on himself manhood. He would not cease to be God.
He would not in any way diminish his divinity, but rather he would
take into perfect indissolvable union with himself, our nature
altogether without sin. First Isaiah speaks of the humanity
of Christ. Now notice the language that
is given here by the Spirit of God. Unto us a child is born. Now Bob, that's talking about
his humanity, not his deity. The papists like to refer to
Mary as the mother of God. And please, when you pick out
your Christmas cards, make sure you don't have one say she's
the mother of God. She ain't. Mary is the creature of God. She's the mother of the humanity
of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the son of God, he was not
born, he was given. And that's what Isaiah says,
unto us a son is given. but he was born as a man from
the womb of the Virgin Mary. This is great humiliation indeed. Though our Lord Jesus comes to
reign as king forever, he comes into this world as a little child. And in this state of condescension
and humiliation, our Redeemer was as helpless and needy as
any other baby in that same state. He had to have the nourishment
and sustenance of his mother's breast, just like any other child.
He had to be cared for by her hands, just like any other child.
He had to have the warmth of the blankets with which she wrapped
him, just like any other child. He came as a man in this world
as any other man would, altogether as any other man, with one great
exception. He knew no sin, and he had no
sin. Our Savior then is a man like
us, and being a man like us, he is touched with the feeling
of our infirmities. Now that means, Bobby, that whatever
it is that touches you and affects you, touches him and affects
him. That's what it means when it
says he's touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Whatever
it is that you have been through and you think, nobody in the
world knows what I'm going through, he does. He'd been there. Nobody
in the world has felt what I feel. Nobody has experienced what I've
experienced. Oh yeah, he does. He has. He's touched with the feeling
of our infirmities. As a man, because he came to
suffer the wrath of God and to die in our stead, the Son of
God assumed a nature that was capable of suffering and death.
And because he came to redeem and save chosen men, not fallen
angels, but chosen men, not all men, but chosen men, he took
on him the seed of Abraham. Turn to Hebrews chapter 2. I
want you to see this. Hebrews chapter 2. This is one of the clearest declarations
of our Lord's personal, particular, substitutionary redemption of
God's elect. Here in Hebrews 2 and verse 16,
the apostle is describing for us the condescension of Christ
and how that he humbled himself and how that he became the captain
of our salvation by his obedience unto the Father. Here in verse
16 he says, for verily he took not on him the nature of angels,
but he took on him the seed of Adam. That's not what it says,
is it? Oh no, he did not take on him
the seed of Adam. He did not die for Adam's sons. He did not die for Adam's race. He took on him the seed of Abraham. He died for Abraham's sons, for
Abraham's race. That is, he died for, he came
here to redeem and save those who are God's covenant people,
children of promise, children promised by God to him as a seed
to live forever. The Lord Jesus Christ then came
here and assumed our nature, taking on him the seed of Abraham
that he might save all the seed of Abraham. More than that, God's
prophet tells us here of the eternal deity of this child born
at Bethlehem. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. As the son of man, Christ was
born of the virgin's womb. As the son of God, he was never
born. There's some controversy raging
today. Of course, it has throughout the ages. Theologians like to
wrangle and fuss about things, but there's some controversy
raging today among popular men as to whether or not there was
a time when Jesus Christ, being the son of God, must not have
been the son of God. Such silly nonsense is ludicrous. The Lord Jesus Christ is not
the Son of God by natural generation like you and I are the sons of
our fathers. Jesus Christ is the Son of God by eternal generation. That means that he is the eternally
begotten Son of the eternally begetting Father. He is God the
Son everlastingly. There is no change in Him, no
change in the Godhead. He is God Almighty with whom
is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He is God who declares,
I am the Lord, I change not. If there is possibility of change
in Him from eternity to eternity, then there's possibility that
everything in this book can be thrown aside. There is no change
in him. He is God the Son. As the Son
of God, he was given in human flesh. He came into this world
through the Virgin's womb, but not born, rather given as the
Son of God. This little child born of Mary's
womb is himself God the eternal son. God who made Mary's womb. God who sustained the fluids
of life in her womb. God who is the second person
of the blessed Trinity. He is Emmanuel, God in our nature. The writer of the Hebrews in
chapter 10 speaks of the Holy Spirit forming in the womb of
the Virgin. That holy thing that would be
a proper and suitable sacrifice unto God. And that holy thing
formed in the Virgin's womb, that body prepared for our Savior,
the Son of God, is Jesus Christ's physical human body. His body
and soul as a man. but He came into this world in
union with that humanity as the Son of God given. He came here
in human flesh because man broke God's law, and man must obey
it. Otherwise, there could be no
salvation. And yet, if a mere man obeyed it, that wouldn't
do anybody any good. Even if he were a perfect man, that wouldn't
do anybody any good. If an angel from heaven came
down and obeyed the law for us, that wouldn't do any good. The
one who obeys the law as our substitute must himself be God
Almighty, and it is his divinity that gives infinite merit and
efficacy to his humanity and to his work as the Son of God.
Man sinned. Man must die. But if merely a
man dies, If only a man dies for our sins, though he were
a perfect man, it would do us no good. That one who dies must
himself be God Almighty, otherwise his blood has no infinite merit
and no infinite efficacy. Oh, but when the Apostle Paul
describes the Church of God as that which Christ God has purchased
with his own blood, now we're talking about infinite merit.
We're talking about infinite efficacy. That man who died at
Calvary is himself God. Therefore, what he paid for,
he shall have. What atonement he made must be
of infinite merit and satisfaction in the nostrils of God Almighty.
This man who is God, Christ Jesus our Savior, is the gift of God's
love. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that
one who is spoken of in John chapter 3. When we read that
often quoted passage of scripture, for God so loved the world. and don't let anyone take it
from you. He's not talking here about some indiscriminate, meaningless
passion. Oh, no, no, no. He's talking
about God's specific love for his elect scattered in all the
world, of whom Isaiah spoke in the early part of this chapter.
For God so loved the world of his elect that he gave his only
begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. And this was manifested, the
love of God for us. Because God sent his only begotten
son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love,
not that we loved God, but he loved us and sent his son to
be the propitiation for our sins. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
son given. given in the covenant of grace,
given in the incarnation when he is brought into this world,
given in the new birth, given to us as we are made to be heirs
of God. He is that which is given to
us so that we are made partakers of the divine nature. He is that
which is given to us as the hope of glory. Christ in you, the
hope of glory. Jesus Christ is the son given
by whom God is revealed and known. I read a good illustration of
this yesterday. There is a place in London, England called Trafalgar
Square. And in that square, there is
a colossal column which stretches upward. Just keep stretching
upward and upward and upward. And at the top of the column,
at the top of this huge thing, a sculptor has fixed a statue
of Lord Nelson, the famous British admiral. But the sculpture in
his attempts to lift the Admiral to the highest possible exaltation
has lifted him out of sight. Nobody can see what it looks
like. Nobody can make out his features unless you've got binoculars
and look up at him. Well, in 1948, at the ideal home
exhibition in Olympia, someone got the idea of making an exact
replica of Lord Nelson's statue, fixed it up in plaster, and set
it just right down at eye level on a balcony. And for the first
time, for the first time, people could look and see the image
and the characteristics of the image of that great statue of
Lord Nelson. His exaltation had precluded
the possibility of revelation and knowing him. Now this is
exactly what Jesus Christ did with God. He came into this world
and brought the great almighty God down to our level. so you
can see Him and know Him and understand Him. He put God in
human flesh so you can touch Him and feel Him and speak to
Him and be spoken to by Him. Now, God Most High is in Jesus
Christ, God Most Nigh. Then Isaiah proclaims for us
the exaltation of our dear Savior. And the government shall be upon
His shoulder. Remember, Isaiah is talking about
Christ as the God-man, our mediator and redeemer. I always remind
you of that when we talk about his exaltation, because there's
a special, precious characteristic here that you'll miss if you
understand it only of his sovereign deity. Jesus Christ has the government
placed on his shoulder, Ron, as our representative, as our
redeemer and mediator. That means he rules the world
for us. He rules the world for our benefit. He rules the world out of his
heart of love for those people whom he redeemed with his precious
blood. On his shoulder rests the government. Now, when I looked
at that, I thought, what government? Well, I didn't really. Because
I understood the government to mean all government, all rule. everywhere of every kind. He
doesn't say a government, but the government shall be upon
his shoulder. That means the government of
all creation, the government of all providence, The government
of all nations, the government of all thoughts, the government
of all passions, the government of all deeds is on his shoulder. The government of grace is on
his shoulder. The government of his church
and kingdom is on his shoulder. This one who is God the Son come
in human flesh is that one who today sits on the throne of glory
and everything is in his hands. Everything. Everything. The government. Rex, a little bit involved in
politics and government. And it's frustrating. It's frustrating
to read about it. I can't imagine getting involved
in it. It's frustrating just thinking about it. But listen
to me. This will take away the frustration.
The government's on his shoulder. It's on his shoulder. Doesn't
matter whether Democrats or Republicans are in office. Ain't a flip of
a nickel's difference worth a flip of a nickel difference in the
two of them. Doesn't matter whether they're liberal or conservative.
They all serve their own cause. There's exceptions, I know, but
I'm speaking in the general terms. It doesn't matter whether they're
in there serving the causes of those whom we think are proper
or those whom we think are improper. The government is on his shoulder. He rules everything, everybody. The king's heart is in his hand.
Like rivers of water, like canals or irrigation ditches on a farm,
he turns it quithersoever he will, exactly according to his
will. The lot is cast into the lap,
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. The government
is on his shoulder. Now then, look at the next line
in our text. Isaiah has described for us the
astonishing condescension of our Savior. Here he describes
the amazing character of our Savior. And his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Now, we don't pay much attention
to names anymore. You know, Faith and Doug are
thinking about what to name their baby, if it's a boy or if it's a girl.
They don't really want to know which it is, but they're thinking
about names, and they, you know, they want to know what sounds
pretty. If it's a girl, let's not name her Delilah. Let's find
something a little less demeaning than Delilah. Let's not give
her a name like Rufus. That just wouldn't go for her.
Let's call her something pretty. If it's a boy, let's call him
something masculine. Don't give me any kind of sissy name. But
in these days, when the scriptures were written, when men gave a
name, it meant something. It had a meaning behind it. The
name represented what that person was or what he was expected to
be. Now, when the Lord Jesus Christ
is given these names, these names represent his true character. They represent what he is. Jesus
Christ is here described under this name, wonderful. Oh, he is. Wonderful in his glorious
person. Wonderful no matter how you look
at him. You take the scriptures and you open them. And you look
at him in the types and pictures of the Old Testament. Or you
look at him as he comes into this world in humiliation. You
look at him as he walks the streets of Jerusalem and walks the shores
of Galilee. You look at him every way you
can. And respect him every way you can. And if you have eyes
with which to behold his glorious person. You sit down in astonishment
and say indeed his name is wonderful. Wonderful in all his works. Everything he does. I look at
it and it has the stamp of wonder on it. By him were all things
made. Without him was not anything
made that was made. Everything in the universe. Everything
in the universe. It just has the stamp of astonishment
on it. Because He's wonderful who made
it. His great work of redemption. Oh, how wonderful that is. The
Son of God assumed my nature and took on Him my sin and died
in my place and satisfied thereby the justice of God for me. I
look at Him and I say, indeed, His name is wonderful. Wonderful
is Jesus Christ, my Savior and His providence. Oh. It's no less wonderful than his
creation or his redemption. Providence, the marvelous outworking
of God's purpose. Providence is the rule of Jesus
Christ, exercising loving kindness, accomplishing his purpose everywhere
and in all things for his people. The Lord Jesus Christ is wonderful
and his name is describing what he is in all of his works and
all of his person, describing him in the accomplishments of
his grace, describing him in his love. Oh, where can an angel
find a tongue with which to describe the wonders of his love? I have the privilege of being
a man loved by many and of loving many. I had the privilege of
having a wife who loves and honors me dearly. Delightful as that
is, and astonished as I am at the perseverance of her love. It's nothing compared to his. He loves me freely, without a
cause, unconditionally. He loves me not because of anything
in me, but because of everything he would do for me. He loves
me not because I have something that he needs or something that
will somehow be more beneficial to him. Oh no, he loves me because
he has something I need and he's determined to give it to me.
His love is wonderful beyond description. His name is Counselor. counselor. We live in this age
when everybody's a little bit nuts, and everybody's got to
have a counselor. You know, if you stump your toe,
you need to go to a psychiatrist and make sure you don't have
lasting repercussions as a result of it. If you see a dog run over
in the fields by a tractor and the dog dies, oh, the poor child
may grow up to be a mass murderer to see something like that, unless
he gets a counselor. Well, I have little use, as I hope you can
tell, for the counselors of this age. But let me tell you something.
Here is a counselor I need, and you need. And he's the only one
I need. He's the only one I need. If
I need another one, I expect it's because I don't have this
one. Jesus Christ is the counselor who stood before God Almighty
in the covenant of grace before the world began and took counsel
with the infinite God as our representative, took counsel
together with the Father as to how he would save and redeem
his people. More than that, he is that one who comes to his
people and gives us wise counsel day by day. Wise counsel. I am admittedly too weak, too
sinful, too stupid to know what's best for me. You too. You too. I don't know what's
best. And I sure don't know what's
best for you. But he does. And this is what it says. Trust
in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways, acknowledge
him and lean not into your own understanding. And he'll direct
your paths. He'll give you counsel. For I
want to know God's will. Seek it. You'll find it. Just
that simple. Find it in his word. You find
it by his spirit. You find it as he instructs you
through the word. I want to know what's best. Seek
to do what's best for his glory. He'll show you. When you're in
trouble, he told his disciples, when you called before magistrates
and they would hail you to prison, Don't take any thought what you
shall say. Don't worry about that. Don't worry about that.
He said, I'll put the words in your mouth you need to speak.
Now that's not talking about preaching. A preacher better
take thought what he's going to say. The preacher who stands
up and says, well, I'm going to open my mouth and God will
fill it, I wouldn't blame what comes out on God. But when he's
talking about trouble and trial and testing, times of stress
and emergency, he says when the trial comes, Don't you worry,
I'll tell you what to say. I'll put the words in your mouth
that need to be spoken. Boy, I wish I had something else
to say. He didn't want to say it. You understand that? He said, I will guide you every
step of your way. And the Lord Jesus is our counselor
before the bar of God, making intercession for the saints according
to the will of God. I sometimes try to imagine what
that is. And I just can't fathom what
it is. The scriptures never really tell
us what it is. The Lord Jesus does not have
to get God in a notion of being gracious to us. And God Almighty
loved us with an everlasting love. He doesn't have to persuade
God to do something good for us. So I know those things are
out of the question. But the Lord Jesus constantly,
perpetually stands before God and seeks from our Father that
which law and justice would never allow us to have. And he seeks
it on the grounds of law and justice because he's satisfied
both. He seeks from God every blessing
of grace, every promise of the covenant and gives them to us
upon his own merit. and then he is called the mighty
God. Quite literally, this name means
God, the mighty one. Sometimes in the scriptures,
angels and civil magistrates are called gods, and they're
called gods because of the God-given authority they have, so that
they stand in certain places and positions with a God-given
authority, and so they're referred to as gods. But our Lord Jesus
Christ is not called God like that, as many would have you
to believe. He is called God because he is God, the mighty
one. Though he assumed our nature,
he never ceased to be God. I mean, stuff I can't begin to
explain now, but I know it's so. The Lord Jesus veiled his
glory as God. while he walked upon this earth
in human flesh, but he did not cease to be God. In his mother's
womb, he was God supplying life to his mother in whose womb he
depended for life. Understand that? I don't, but
I know it's so. He's God Almighty. While He hung
upon the cursed tree. Our Lord Jesus Christ hanging
on that tree is Himself God. As He dies as a man. God cannot
die, I know that. But the God-man died. And thus Jesus Christ accomplished
redemption for us. Seated now on the throne of God
in heaven. I have no idea what, where, when,
or how. There is a place, there is a
place, a physical, I'm scratching for words now, physical, I don't
know. There is a place, though, a place where Jesus Christ in
human flesh sits on the throne as King forever. And that man
sitting on that throne is God, just like Paul Wendler, or is
man, just like Paul Wendler, and God in that man. God Almighty. Because He is God the Mighty
One, He is able to accomplish everything He undertook to accomplish
as our mediator. He came here to fulfill all righteousness. He did. He's God the Mighty One. He came here to put away the
sins of His people. He did it. He's God the mighty
one. He came here to save unto the
uttermost all that come unto God by him. Will you hear me?
He has, he does, and he will. He saves to the uttermost, brings
the fallen sons of Adam from the corruption of fallen depraved
humanity and sets them among the sons of God forevermore. His name is the everlasting father,
the father of eternity, the father of the ages. I can't spend a
lot of time developing this, but in the Old Testament among
the Jews, as with us today, it was customary whenever a man
invented something, he was called the father of it. Whenever he
was the original founder of something, he was called the father of it.
For example, in Genesis chapter 4 and verse 20, Jabal is called
the father of those that dwell in tents. That doesn't mean he
sired all of them. That means he's the first fellow
who did it. Jubal is called the father of all those who play
the harp and flute. Again, that doesn't mean he sired
all of them. That means he's the first one who did it. He's
the original player of the harp and of the flute. Here our Lord
Jesus Christ is called the everlasting father in exactly the same sense. He is the father of his spiritual
seed and family. He is that one of whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is named. That's what Paul said
in Ephesians 3 15. He is the father of the world
to come, the father of eternity. We are born of his spirit. We've
been given his nature. We wear his name. We're under
his care, live upon his provision. We're the sons of his house and
we shall be possessors of his inheritance. And then our savior
is called here, the prince of peace. Now turn to Ephesians
2, Ephesians chapter 2. The Apostle Paul is describing
God's works of grace in us, and he describes for us in verse
14 how that Jesus Christ is our peace. He is our peace who hath
made both one, that is made both Jew and Gentile, particularly
that's what he's talking about here, but it includes all the
rest, black and white, male and female, bond and free, learned
and unlearned. He's made both one, having 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 two one new man, so
making peace, so that those who are brought into Jesus Christ
are brought into a blessed union of peace one with another, and
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to
you which were afar off. and to them that were nigh. That
is, he came and preached peace to the Gentile and to the Jew.
Came and preached peace to those who were far off from God and
to those who had been all their lifetime given the ordinances
and ceremonies and word of God. For through him, we both have
access by one spirit unto the Father. Jesus Christ is the prince,
the king of peace, by whom, in whom, and through whom peace
comes to men. He purchased peace for us with
God. So that by his blood, God's anger,
wrath, and justice are fully satisfied. And the psalmist says,
thou has turned away all thine anger. God has now, because Christ
has died, no reason to be angry with his people. No cause for
wrath, no cause for anger. Christ has purchased our peace,
and he promised peace to us. He said, in the world you shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world.
My peace give I unto you. Peace. The Spirit of God will
come and He will keep your hearts and He will keep you in peace,
peace. And He comes by His grace and
works peace in us. So that He gives us, when a man
is born of God, when a woman is born of God's Spirit, when
He gives you life and faith in Him, first thing you have is
peace toward God. You're no longer angry with God
being God. You're delighted that he is.
You're no longer upset with the character of God. You delight
in God being what he is and who he is. And you're no longer terrified
by it. He's taken away his terror for
he speaks peace to your soul. More than that, as you grow in
the grace and knowledge of him, he works peace in you, believe
in him so that you live in this world of turmoil and strife and
peace. I don't mean Absolute perfect peace. No man
has that in this world. But I do mean dominant peace.
I do mean peace of God that rules the heart and life of his children. Jesus Christ comes prince of
peace. He works peace. He works peace so that we're
at peace with God's providence. We're at peace with God's will.
We're at peace with God's works. And he works peace in his people
so that they live as much as within them, as much as depends
upon them, at peace with all men. So that they are peacemakers. They work for peace. They strive
to bring peace wherever they are. And wherever the Prince
of Peace rules, there's peace. There's peace. I've said it many,
many times. Wherever Jesus Christ rules,
in the heart of a man, in the home of a man, in the church
on this earth, wherever he rules, there's peace. And if there's
not peace, it's because Christ doesn't rule. That's just as
simple as it can be. Man and woman live together just
constant fussing and fighting and carrying on. I know the problem.
Somebody doesn't know the Prince of Peace. There's just no question
about that. You live in a congregation of
folks constantly bickering and fussing and everything's just
not easy. Somebody doesn't know the Prince of Peace. There's
no question about that. You live in your own little world
and you're just constantly in turmoil, constantly tossed to
and fro, constantly uneasy. I know the problem. You've never
yet met the Prince of Peace. When Christ comes, he gives peace. Our Savior's character is amazing. Astonishing! His name is Wonderful,
Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. Now look at the absolute coronation
of our Savior. It was hinted at earlier, here
it's more fully explained. Verse 7, of the increase of His
government and peace, there shall be no end. upon the throne of
David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it
with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. Now the prophet is here describing
the sovereign rule of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the
Prince of Peace, the governor of the universe, the governor
of his church and kingdom. And the scriptures tell us plainly
exactly what he's talking about. And we're, boy, what is this,
the kingdom and throne of David? What's that talking about? Well,
Peter gives us the answer. Don't look at it, Acts chapter
two. Peter gives us the answer. You don't have to guess about
this. When's he going to do this? When's he going to establish
his kingdom? When's he going to sit on David's throne? He
does now. He does now. This is what Peter
says. He said, David's still in the
grave, but not this man Christ. Verse 32, Acts chapter 2, This
Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted, having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this
which you now see and hear. For David is not ascended into
the heavens, No, not David. David was only a type of Christ.
But he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on
my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Of his kingdom, there shall be
no end. It is a constantly Increasing
kingdom. Constantly increasing. We don't
see much increase here day by day, but that doesn't mean it's
not increasing. Because we don't see what God's
doing, doesn't mean God's not working. Oh no, he constantly
adds to his kingdom. Here little, there little, but
he constantly gathers his elect from the four corners of the
earth. His government is a blessedly peaceful rule. He rules in the
hearts of men, not by the force and power of arms, but by the
force and power of love. Not by the force and power of
law, but by the force and power of the gospel. Christ's rule
is established in the hearts of men by divine wisdom, that
is by divine judgment and justice. He makes us to see the wisdom
of God in the way of grace and redemption. He causes us to understand
something of the justice of God in accomplishing his gracious
purpose. And thus he establishes his rule in our hearts, making
chosen sinners to rejoice and bow before him. Can you do that? Can you? Can you delight? to bow to him,
delight to surrender all to him, delight to acknowledge that he's
Lord and it's right for him to do as he will, when he will,
where he will, with whom he will. Our great Savior's kingdom is
an everlasting eternal kingdom. This is not talking about some
thousand year millennial reign is going to come and go and disappear
in a thousand years. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's
not his kingdom. Our Lord's kingdom is a perpetual,
everlasting kingdom. The thousands of years simply
describe the indescribable eternity of his kingdom. And then look
at this last line. Here's the infallible security
of God's purpose. Oh, Pastor, how can you be so
sure of things? How can you speak with such confidence
and such certainty concerning things about which you can see
nothing? How can you speak with such confidence and certainty
about tomorrow and about eternity? How can you say these things?
The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. That means
Merle Hart, Nothing spoken of in all the book of God's purpose
and promise depends on you and me. Nothing. Nothing. Well, boy, if Merle gets out
of sorts, everything's going to collapse. No, it won't. Don
gets out of sorts, everything's going to collapse. No, it won't.
No, it won't. Oh, what's going to happen now?
The right arm is gone. Nothing's going to happen. No.
The zeal of the Lord our host is going to perform death. His
zeal for His own name and His own glory will perform His work. His zeal for His people and their
everlasting salvation will perform His work. If preachers could
ever get hold of this, man alive, what boldness they'd get. Just
to the degree that I understand that God's purpose and God's
work depends on nothing but God. Just to that degree, I can preach
with boldness. Bow and scrape before men. Well,
that's lunacy for a servant of the Most High God. The zeal of
the Lord of hosts will perform His word. It's going to be done. Nothing going to stand in His
way. And this is what I'm telling you. Our great God and Savior,
is such a one as you can trust. His name is Wonderful, Counselor,
the Body God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. I don't know whether you'll ever
trust him or not, but I know he's trustworthy. He's trustworthy. How we ought to admire and adore
him who is wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. How grateful we ought to be as
redeemed sinners to have such a Redeemer as Christ is. How devoted we should be. How
devoted. You remember the story I told
you a long time ago, preaching a businessman traveling together
on an airplane. Preacher sat down there coming
back from a meeting. Businessman got on, sat down
beside him and wanted to talk a little bit. They chatted a
little bit and the businessman looked over at him. He said,
he said, I'm in business, been on a business trip. And the preacher
said, well, me too. Didn't want to make too much
conversation, try to get over this quickly as possible. And
this fellow said, but I'm in business with my father. Preacher
said, I am too. And that businessman, he said,
but my father and I, we're in the jewelry business. Preacher
said, I've been seeking the Lord's jewels. He said to himself, he
said, my father and I are in the jewelry business too. This
businessman looked at him a little bit, Funny, and he said, but
we deal only in the rarest and best of jewels. And the preacher
smiled and said, us too. And the businessman looked at
him and he said, I'm on my way home now to give a report to
my father. I sure hope he'll be pleased
with what I've done. And the preacher paused a long time.
He said, me too, me too. Oh, we ought to be devoted to
him. whose name is Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, whose zeal, whose zeal,
whose zeal is set for our salvation. Amen. Benji, you come lead us
in a hymn, please, and the deacons will serve the Lord's table.