I forgot to announce this, the
bathrooms over here are frozen, so use the ones over here. I've entitled this message, The
Birth of the Christ. Some 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ,
the son of God, was conceived in a virgin's womb and spent
the nine month gestation period in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He who is God spent nine months
in a womb and he was born on a certain day. 700 years before his birth, the
prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14, Behold, a
virgin shall conceive and bear a son and thou shalt call his
name Immanuel, God with us. Not only are we told that he
would be born, we're told in the Old Testament 500 years before
it took place where he would be born. Micah chapter 5 verse
2, But thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me that is to be ruler of Israel, whose goings forth have been
from old, from everlasting. Not only are we told of his birth
and where he would be born, we're told in Daniel chapter nine,
verse 24, when he would be born. The 70 weeks times seven, 490
years from the time that he was writing. And then this passage I've just
read in Isaiah chapter nine, verses six and seven is the announcement
of his birth written 700 years before his birth. 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, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace. I'd like to read one passage
from the New Testament before we get back to Isaiah chapter
nine, turn to Luke chapter one. Luke chapter one, beginning in verse 26. And in the sixth month, the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth
to a virgin, a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the
house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in under her
and said, hail, thou art highly favored. much graced, the Lord
is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast
in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel
said unto her, fear not Mary, for thou has found favor, grace
with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name
Jesus. And he shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall
be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel,
How should this be, saying, I know not a man? And the angel answered
and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that Holy
thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son
of God. And behold, thy cousin, Elizabeth,
she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the
sixth month with her who was called barren, four. With God, nothing shall be impossible. How can a virgin have a baby? With God, nothing shall be impossible. The birth announcement of the
Lord Jesus in Isaiah chapter nine is such a glorious birth
announcement. Would you turn back to Isaiah
chapter nine? Now the reason it's pointed out
that Christ was born of a virgin, and it was pointed out in Isaiah
chapter seven, somebody says, why? Why would this be? Well, number one, And this is
the only reason needed. If he was not born of a virgin,
he would have the sinful nature that you and I have. He'd be
no different than me and you. He must be born of a virgin.
Somebody says that's impossible. With God, nothing shall be impossible. But if he were not born of a
virgin, he could not save me or you. He'd have the same sinful
nature that you and I do. Why is it that you don't have
to teach your children to lie? Why does it come natural? Why
do you not have to teach your children to be selfish? Because
they're born sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ was not
born a sinner, conceived of the Holy Ghost. Now, notice in Isaiah
chapter nine, verse six, for unto us, A child is born. And to us, a son is given. Now this passage of scripture
cannot be dealt with fairly or honestly unless we understand
who is meant by the us. Unto us, a child is born. Unto us, a son given. Who is the us referred to in
our text? Well it's the same us as Romans
8 31, if God be for us. Who can be against us? That's
the us that the child is born and the son is given to. Now if I would say the us refers
to the elect, I'd be telling the truth. If I would say the
us refers to those that Jesus Christ shed his precious blood
for, I'd be telling the truth. If I said the us are those who
have been born again by the spirit of God, I'd be telling the truth. If I said the us are those who
believe the gospel, faith toward Christ and repentance toward
God, I'd be telling the truth, wouldn't I? If I said the us
are those who receive him, I'd be telling the truth. But perhaps you cannot be sure
that you are any of those things. And could not tell for certain
whether you are. So let me make this simple. Who
the us is. Are you a sinner? That's all I'm asking you right
now. And you can determine whether you're in this blessed group
us. Are you a sinner? And I mean a sinner in the biblical
sense. Genesis chapter six, verse five, and God saw the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of
his, the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Would that describe you? Romans chapter 2 verse 1 says,
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that
judgest another. For if you judge, you condemn
yourself. For thou that judgest doest the
same things. Would that be you unfit to judge
anybody because of your own sinfulness? Listen to this, 1 John 1.8, if
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us. Verse 10 of the same chapter,
if we say we've not sinned and there, the word is a verb and
it's in the active tense present right now, right now, I don't
care what you're thinking, what you're doing right now. If we
say we've not sinned, we make him a liar. He says we have. I'm not that. With that, I can't
assure you that you're in this group, the us, that he's given
to. But if you are a sinner, a real
bona fide sinner, in the scriptural sense of the word, I can guarantee
you that you're included in the us. How? First Timothy 1.15 says,
for Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Not good people, not righteous
people, not religious people, sinners. Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners. Listen to me, the gospel is a
sinner's religion. Don't you love that? The gospel
is a sinner's religion. Unto us a child is born, and
unto us a son is given. Now, I love the way that's stated. Unto us a child is born. That's
talking about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was born
on a certain day. Now, was it December 25th? I
doubt it. There's no way of knowing what
day he was born, but he was born on a certain day. Unto us a child
is born. Unto us a son is given. You see,
that son was never born. That son is the eternal son of
God. The uncreated, eternal son of
God. Before he was conceived, he was. Before he was conceived, he wasn't
physical human being at that time, but he became flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. Now this child was born, but
the son was given. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son. Now, Isaiah tells us concerning
this child that was born and the son that was given. Look
in our text in verse six, for unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Now the government he is talking
about is not government as we know it, with a legislative, executive, and judicial
branch, a balance of powers with officials we elected. That's
not the government he's speaking of. He's not speaking of government
as a democracy or an authoritarian or an autocratic or a communist
or a socialist government. He's not talking about anything
like that. The word government means the rule, the dominion. The government, the absolute
rule, the absolute sovereignty, the absolute dominion of all
things is upon his shoulder. Now, what this is speaking of
is the absolute sovereignty of this child who was born and this
son who is given. Now, here's what that means. Please listen carefully. We're
speaking concerning that child that was born, the son who is
given. He has a will. He has the power to bring his
will to pass. You and I don't have that power. You know, people like to think
they have some control. That's the biggest illusion there
is. He has all control. We have none. I'm glad it's that
way. He has a will. He has the power
to bring his will to pass. He has the right to bring his
will to pass. He doesn't answer to anybody.
He's God. He has no law over his head.
He's the lawgiver. He has the right to make his
will come to pass. And he does make his will come
to pass all the time. Daniel said in Daniel 4.35, he
doeth according to his will. In the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? Give an account for yourself.
He doesn't answer to me. He doesn't answer to you. He's
God. His will is always done. Psalm 115.3 says our God is In the heavens he hath done,
he hath done whatsoever he pleased. You see, his will was done in
creation. When he spake the world into
existence, it was an act of his will. His will is done in providence
right now. That means everything that happens
in time, including the stuff going through your head right
now, he's in control of. He's Sovereign. Oh, His will
is done in salvation. If you're saved, it's because
He willed you to be saved. The government is upon His shoulders.
And look what Isaiah gives us as His name. He tells us His
possession, the government should be upon His shoulders and His
name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince Now, we've already read where
his name is called Jesus. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
Savior, for he shall save his people from their sins. We've
already heard Emmanuel. Isaiah 7, 14, Emmanuel, God with
us, not God against us, not God far away, but God with us. But here, Isaiah calls his name
Wonderful. Now we use that term far too
loosely, don't we? How you doing? Wonderful. Full
of wonder. Oh. How's that meal? Wonderful. Well,
as I said, we use that term far too loosely. His name is full
of wonder. Wonderful. He's wonderful in his person. He's God. He's man, fully God,
just as if he were not man at all. Fully man, the man Christ
Jesus, just as if he were not God at all. Wonderful in his
person, the God man. In him dwelleth, cautions 2-9,
for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead. Bodily, what
a wonderful God-man. All that God is, dwells, resides
in the physical body of the Lord Jesus Christ. You wanna talk
about wonderful. I mean, all we can, that's the
only response, bow, bow. He's wonderful in his person.
Wonderful in his work, his work of salvation. How wonderful,
how wonderful when he stood as the surety of his people before
time began and took full responsibility for their salvation. Able to
do it. How wonderful is his incarnation
when the word was made flesh and as a man, he kept God's law
perfectly. How wonderful he was in his death. In his death. Just the fact that
he died in the first place is amazing. He's the God-man. What
did he accomplish by his death? He put away my sin. He made full payment for my sin. How wonderful he is in his resurrection
when he was raised from my justification. How wonderful he is in his ascension
when he brings all of his people into the very presence of his
father, accepted. How wonderful he is in his intercession,
representing me right now. Oh, his name shall be called
Wonderful. Now he is the one who utterly
deserves that term. Wonderful. And look what it says
next in our text in verse six. His name shall be called Counselor. Counselor. Now this is not the
kind of counselor you and I think of. You see a counselor, he may
give you good advice, he may give you bad advice. I'm not
talking about that kind of counselor. This word, counselor, actually
is a verb, not a noun describing somebody. This is what he does.
He counsels. And this is not talking about
giving advice, giving you help in life, a life coach. This is
not what this is talking about at all when it calls him a counselor. He says, my counsel shall stand
and I will do My will. He works all things the scripture
says in Ephesians 1. He works all things after the
counsel, after the decree of his own will. When he is called a counselor,
that means his will is done. He counsels it. He purposes it. He decrees it. He's not just
one who gives good advice. He's one who purposes all things. He's the wonderful counselor. I love thinking about that. He's
Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord. He's the counselor. His counsel,
his decree always comes to pass because of who he is. I love the passage of scripture
in Zechariah chapter six, verse 13, when it speaks of the council
of peace. The council of peace that took place before the world
began. He is the counselor. Now look what it says next in
our text. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty
God. The mighty God. Jesus Christ is not like God.
Jesus Christ is God. The mighty God. He did what only God almighty
could do when he walked here for 33 years on this earth. He
became flesh. How mysterious is that? He never sinned. You know he
never told a lie. Isn't that wonderful to think?
He never told a lie. He controlled the weather. Look
at the way it's been the last few days. You know who controlled
that? He did. I love it the way they said,
what manner of man is this that even the winds and seas obey
him? I'll tell you what manner of
man he is, the God man. brought matter into the universe
that was not there before when he created food. He raised the dead. He satisfied
God at his death. I mean, you couldn't do it. He
did. He made it by his life and death
where God is completely satisfied with everybody he represented
by his life and death. Could any man do that? The God
man can. I love it when they came to arrest
him. And he said, whom seek ye? They
said, Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. Remember God calling
himself when Moses said, who am I supposed to say sent me?
I am that I am. Tell them I am has sent thee. Whom seek ye? Jesus of Nazareth. I am. What happened? They went
backwards. They fell back to the ground.
You know what the Lord was doing? The Lord was letting them know,
I'm not a victim. This is not your will being done.
This is my will being done. I'm not in your hands, you're
in mine. He is mighty God. Now, what it says next concerning
his name, his name should be called wonderful counselor, the
mighty God, the everlasting father. Now, how is he? the son of God
and yet here he's called the everlasting father. I don't know. That's the best
way I know how to answer that. I don't know. Scripture is mysterious,
isn't it? But I do know this. John 1.1 says, In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God as a distinct person,
and the Word was God. Philip said, Show us the Father,
and it sufficeth us. And he says, I've been so long
time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father. And I know this. All we'll ever
see of the Father is Jesus Christ, His Son. He's the express image
of the Father. He's the brightness of His glory,
the express image of His person, upholding all things by the word
of His power. He said, I and my Father are
one. Now, Jesus Christ is either God
or the greatest imposter to ever live. He's either the God of glory
or the biggest egomaniac to ever live. The claims he made of himself,
he said, I and my father are one. Mohammed never made that claim.
He said, there's one God and I'm his prophet. Jesus Christ
didn't say that. He said, I and my father are
one. He claimed equality to the father. Wonderful, counselor, the mighty
God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace. The Prince of Peace. Now what is meant by this word
Prince? Well, Joshua found out. He saw
this man before Jericho with a drawn sword. This is some kind
of vision. I don't understand this. But
he came up to this man with a drawn sword in this vision. He said,
Are you for us or for our adversaries? He said, neither. I don't take
sides. I'm not on one person's side.
I'm the captain of the Lord of hosts. That's the prince. That's
the prince. He said, take your shoes off
your feet. You're standing on holy ground.
And Joshua hit the dirt. What would you have your servant
do? That's the prince. But he's the prince of peace. of peace. Now there's the peace
of his rule. You know why I'm not worried
about anything right now at any rate? Because he reigns. What
is there to worry about? He's the cause of everything.
He's the first cause. He's incapable of making a mistake.
It's not possible for his will not to be done. What's to worry
about? The peace of his reign. But what
this is talking about more than anything else is Jehovah our
peace. Now here's the peace of his reign. Colossians 1.20 says, having
made peace through the blood of his cross. Now here's the
peace that he made. He put away all my sin as the
Prince of Peace and made it to where I stand before God sinless. Sinless. Without guilt. Justified
in His sight. And in His sight is how it really
is. Righteous in His sight. You know
what that makes me feel? Now, if I thought I had to stand
before God based on my own works in any way, I wouldn't have any
peace. But He is my peace. He is the Prince of Peace. And look what it says in verse
7. Of the increase. The word increase
means the ever-growing greatness or abundance. The increase of
his government and peace, there shall be no end, there is no
limit. Now what does that mean? With regard to his government, there's no checkmating him. There's no limit to his absolute
sovereignty. There's no ending point. Can't say checkmate to him. His government knows no end. It's ever increasing. Somebody
says, is the universe expanding or contracting? I don't know,
but I know this. His government is limitless. And it also means the increase
of his peace shall know no end. Now remember, he's the Prince
of Peace. Now, here's what this means. He said, when I see the
blood, I will pass over you. Everybody that Jesus Christ died
for, God says, I will pass over you. Now, is there any scenario
where that wouldn't be the case? Is there any limitations to that?
Let's say somebody's really evil, really bad. They've committed
horrible sins. Surely he won't pass over them. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. There is no limitation to that. If you're covered by the blood,
you stand before God without sin. No limitations. Peace by Jesus Christ, Peter
said. He is Lord of all. I love saying that. He's your
Lord. You say, no, he's not. Yeah,
he is. You might not know it, but he
is. He's Lord of all. And here's why this is all true. 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 justice. Now his kingdom is a just kingdom.
It's all righteous because it's his kingdom. And if I'm saved,
I'm saved in a way that the very justice of God demands my salvation. And here's why, the zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. This is why all this is gonna
take place, because he's gonna do it. Not up to me, not up to
you. He's gonna make sure it all takes
place. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
shall perform it. He's zealous for his own glory. And it's gonna take place. The
announcement of the Lord's birth. This is, it was told that he
would be conceived in Micah, I mean in Isaiah chapter 7, where
he would be born in Acts chapter 5, or not Acts chapter 5, but
Micah chapter 5, when he would be born in Daniel chapter 9.
But here is the announcement of his birth, for unto us a child
is born. Unto us a son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulder. 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,
with justice from henceforth, even forever, the zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. Merry Christmas. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
excellency and the glory of your son. How we thank you that his name
is Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
and the Prince of Peace. And how we thank you that there's
no limitation to his government or his salvation. Bless this
message for your glory. In Christ's name we pray, amen.