Let's open our Bibles today to
the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter nine. I'm going
to read two verses from Isaiah chapter nine. Isaiah chapter
nine, verse six. 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. Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and
upon his kingdom to offer it and to establish with judgment
and with justice. From henceforth, even forever,
the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Now, no one
knows more than I the difficulty of the task that I'm undertaking
today, and that is to speak publicly of the mysteries of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm going to talk tonight, this
afternoon, about the mysteries of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
the prophet said, oh, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom
and knowledge of Jesus Christ. How unsearchable are his judgments
and his ways. past finding out. The word mystery
is used in reference to Christ numbers of times in the scripture. I'm going to give you just three.
Don't look them up. I'm going to quote them for you.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians, we speak the wisdom of God in a
mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world. Paul said in Ephesians 5, this
is a great mystery. I speak concerning Christ and
His church. In Ephesians 6, Paul said again,
pray for me. And that's what I ask you this
morning. Pray for me. Pray for me. That utterance may be given unto
me to open my mouth boldly to make known to you the mysteries
of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul said. Pray for
me. Pray for me. That utterance might be given
to me to open my mouth boldly to make known the mysteries of
the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's take the scripture,
Isaiah 9. Look at it. Verse 6. and talk
about it just phrase after phrase. It says first of all, listen
now, verse 6 Isaiah 9, For unto us a child is born, and a son
is given. In the same breath that Isaiah
calls him a child, he calls him the counselor. In the same breath
that he calls him the son, he calls him the everlasting There's no contradiction here,
but there's a great mystery here. The infant is infinite. The infant, born to Mary, is
infinite. He's a man of sorrows, yet he's
the mighty God. He's despised of men, but he's
the glory of God. Think about that. His garments
are rolled in blood, and yet He's called the Prince of Peace.
Now that's a mystery. That's a mystery. In the same
breath, He calls Him an infant. He said He's infinite. In the
same breath, He's called a man of sorrows. He's called a mighty
God. In the same breath, where men
despise him and turn thumbs down on him, he's called the very
glory of God. I tell you this, all of this
scripture that I've just read ought to remind every one of
us of the necessity of carefully studying the scriptures regarding
this man. The personal work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I warn everybody Let's read
before we write. Told somebody one time, don't
write a book till you're past fifty years old, because you'll
have to take most of it back. Let us study before we speak. We are indeed saved by look. Look unto me, and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth. I'm
God. We're saved by look. but will never on this earth,
no matter how long we live, understand and enter into the wisdom and
mystery and knowledge hidden in this person. He's not discovered by reason.
He's not discovered by research. He's discovered by revelation. He revealed his son in me. No man has seen God at any time. The blessed Son of God reveals,
not by research, not by reason, by revelation. And one great
old poet said this, I've listened to the preacher
and truth by him has been shown, but I need a greater teacher
from the everlasting throne because Revelation is the work of God
alone. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to
the disciples one day, Whom do men, whom do you say that I am? Whom do you say that I am? And
Peter said, Thou art the Christ. Thou art the Son of the living
God. And our Lord said, Blessed are
you, Simon Barjona. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you. You didn't learn that by research
and reason. Flesh and blood hadn't revealed
that to you, but my Father which is in heaven. Blessed art thou. My Father has
revealed unto you who I am. Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Let us look at it. Under us, here it is. Under us,
a child is born. A child is born. And a son is
given. Now, there's no repetition here. Somebody might say, well, that's
saying the same thing. A child is born, a son is given.
Oh, no, it's not. Not by any means. There's no
repetition here. A child is born. Doris and I
just had our fourth great grandchild. Isabella. She's one month old. She's a child. She's never lived
here before. And a child, Jesus Christ, was
born back yonder 2,000 years ago. A child made of a woman
just like my granddaughter. My great-granddaughter was made
of a woman. A child who lay in the room for
nine months. Jesus Christ laid in the room
womb of his mother, nine months. A child who came forth, as all
children do, and got his nourishment from his mama's breast. A tender
branch, a root out of dry ground, but he's bone of my bone and
flesh of my flesh. Can you understand that? A child
is born, that's right. A child is born. Bone of our
bone, flesh of our flesh, fashioned and formed in the womb just like
any other child, and he was born of Mary. And you know what it
says about him? I don't understand this at all.
He increased. Jesus Christ increased. He grew up in a carpentry shop
working side by side with his father, with his dad. How do
you call him? He's not the father of Christ.
Who is he then? But he works side by side with
Joseph. That's the name I'll give him.
Joseph. And the scripture says he increased
in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. You understand
that? I don't. But I know he's a child. I know he's a man. in all points
as we are, yet without sin. He was born of a woman. A child
is born. But now watch this now. A son
is given. He wasn't born. Jesus Christ
himself was not born. That person who inhabited that
body, that Mary's body presented to him, that he wasn't born. He was sent from heaven. He came
down and inhabited that body. That's exactly right. He was
sent from heaven to occupy the body, the Son of Man, called
now the God-Man. There's so much one, you just
have to say them together, the God-Man. The God-Man. Therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. A virgin shall be with child.
And you'll call His name, Emmanuel. Emmanuel, God. God with us. Is Jesus Christ God? He's God. He called Himself, I Am. The same God who spoke to Moses
and Moses said, Whom shall I say sent me? You tell Him, I Am sent
you. And that's who Christ is. I Am. I Am. Turn with me to John chapter
1. Let's see if I can make good
on this. John chapter 1. Watch this now. Let me show you something. Arthur
Pink gave me this when I was reading his studies in John.
Look at verse 1 of John 1. Verse 1, John 1. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I look back down at verse 14. He said, In the beginning was
the Word. Verse 14 said, And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us. And back up at verse 1, And the
Word was with God, and He dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten,
full of grace and truth. The Word was God. In the beginning
was the Word. And the Word was with God. He
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Back
to my text, Isaiah 9. Alright, a child is born. A son
is given. And it says here, and the government
shall be upon his shoulders. We're not talking about the governments
of this world. We're not talking about the the
states and the countries and things of this world. We're talking
about the universe. Upon his shoulders is the universe. God Almighty. God Almighty's
eternal kingdom. Jesus Christ reigns over all
of it. I gotta go back to Colossians
again. Go with me to Colossians 1. Let's
look at it again. Colossians chapter 1. Listen
to this. Colossians 1 verse 12. Colossians
1 12. The government shall be on his
shoulders. Colossians 1 12. Giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us qualified, made us fit, meet, to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in life. God through Christ has
fixed us up, made us fit May us qualify to reign and glory
with Him. Read on. Who hath delivered us
from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom
of His dear Son. That's the government that's
on His shoulder. It's the kingdom of His dear
Son. Verse 14. In whom we have redemption
through His blood, even the forgiveness of sin. That's what I said. Jesus
Christ is the image The visible manifestation of the invisible
God. That's who He is. You want to
know who He is? He's the image of the invisible
God. He's the exact likeness, He's
the visible manifestation of God Almighty. The disciples said
to Him, show us the Father. Show us the Father, we'll be
satisfied. He said, you've seen me, you've seen my Father. I am the Father, That's right. I'm a father. He's the image
of the invisible God. He's the firstborn of every creature. For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible. I don't care whether they be
thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness,
spiritual wickedness in high places, all things created by
Him. For Him. and he before all things. That's who we're talking about.
I wish I had the ability, don't you Tom, to talk about this in
a way that every one of us could flat understand it. The government
should be on his shoulders. It's always been there. Now watch
verse 6 of my text, Isaiah 9, 6. Under us a child is born,
a son is given, He reigns, he rules over all things, the government
should be on his shoulders, and his name should be called Wonderful. Wonderful. Somebody said to me
one time, you know, I hesitate to use that word Wonderful, except
in reference to him, because that's his name. And you know,
we always, we carelessly call many things wonderful, wonderful,
that are unworthy of such a distinction. But he's worthy and his name
is wonderful. Let me give you two scriptures.
Isaiah said this, O God, thou art my God, I will exalt thee,
I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things,
wonderful things, for thy counsel is of old and is faithful, faithful
and true. Listen to David. Lord, thou hast
beset me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me, and such
knowledge is too wonderful for me. I cannot high attain unto
it, it is too high for me. His name is wonderful, wonderful. His name is wonderful. And His name is wonderful, His
name is counseling. I hear these people on TV, the
Paulians, you know, and they talk to people and they say,
now write us a letter and we'll give you counsel. Let me tell
you something. The world is full of people who
want to be counselors. The world is full of people who
want to be advisors. And I know they serve a certain
purpose, but there's only one counselor. There's only one counselor. And He's made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He's the Counselor.
Let me read you a scripture. Isaiah 40. Turn to Isaiah 40. His name is wonderful. His name
is Counselor. Look at Isaiah chapter 40. 40
verse 13. His name is Counselor. Isaiah
40 verse 13. Who hath directed the Spirit
of the Lord? Or being his Counselor hath taught
him? With whom took he counsel? Who
instructed him? Who taught him the path of judgment? Who taught him knowledge? Who
showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a
drop in the bucket. and they're counted as a small
dust to the balance. Behold, he taketh up the hours
as a very little thing. Lebanon is not sufficient to
burn, nor the beast thou sufficient for burn offering. All nations
before him are as nothing. They're counted to him less than
nothing. To whom then will you liken my
counselor? To whom then will you liken my
God? Or what likeness Will you compare
unto Him? You want counsel? Turn to the
Word of God. He is wonderful, and He is our
counselor, and He is, look back at my text, and He is the mighty
God. I would like for you to open
your Bibles to John chapter 14. John 14. He is the mighty God. He's the everlasting Father. That's who He is. I quoted this
a moment ago, but I want you to turn and read it. John chapter
14, beginning with verse 6. John 14, verse 6. Jesus said
unto them, unto His disciples, I am the way, I am the truth,
I am the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by me. Now,
if you had known me, you should have known my Father also. Unto
us a child is born, a son is given, the Father, the everlasting
Father, the mighty God. And from henceforth you know
him, and have seen him. And Philip said, Well, Lord,
show us the Father. It suffices us. And Jesus said
unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast
not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. How sayest thou then, Show us
the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? And the words that I speak
unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth
in me doeth the work. Believe me. Believe me. Oh, believe
me. I am in the Father, and the Father
in me. Or else believe me for the very
works sake. Believe me. Christ is the way. This is a great hymn. I don't
know whether Mike has this or anybody's put it on paper. with a tune, but here is the
way, the truth, and the life. Listen to this. Christ is the
way, to Him alone from sin and death we plead, and all that
would the Father seek must seek Him, Lord, indeed. Christ is
the truth, His word alone true wisdom must impart. Christ alone can open my mind
and purify my heart. Christ is the life. The open
tomb proclaims our conquering Lord. And those who rest their
hope in Him, nor death nor hell can harm. O Lord, Thou art the
way, Thou art the truth, Thou art the life. Grant me to know
that way. Grant me that truth to see, and
grant me that life to gain throughout God's eternal day. I see it in Christ Jesus, the
way, the truth, and the life. Now, I have three questions for
you. Three questions closing this message. Here are three
questions. Is this gospel of the God-man,
is it true? I've preached it almost 60 years,
since I was 24 years old. Is it true? Is it according to
the Word of God? Well, Abraham, Abraham says it
is. Abraham, the scripture says,
saw my day. Abraham saw my day. He saw it,
and he was glad. Moses believed it. Scripture
says, Moses wrote of me. The angels of God, they announced
his coming. They said to the shepherds on
the Judean hillside, Behold, we bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. Unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord. John, the forerunner of Christ,
he said one day, Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away
the sin of the world. Old Simeon, the Lord appeared
to Simeon and told him that he had not died till he had seen
the Lord's Christ. And when Mary bought, the Lord
Jesus Christ into the temple that day, old man Simeon took
him up in his arms and said, Now Lord, Let thy servant depart
in peace according to your word. I've seen your salvation." What
had he seen? A baby, an infant, the Son of
God, the God-man. That old man saw Christ. And
he said, now let me die. The Heavenly Father said, He
bore witness. He said, this is my beloved Son
in whom I'm well pleased. He said, this is my son. Hear
him. Hear him. Even the evil spirits. Let me read you this. The evil
spirits cried out when Christ Jesus walked up and they said,
what have we to do with thee? Jesus, our son of God, are you
come to torment us before the time? Abraham knew Him, Moses knew
Him, John the Baptist knew Him, Heavenly Father knew Him, Simeon
knew Him, even the evil spirits knew Him. And the Spirit of God
says, when the Spirit comes, He'll take the things of mine
and show them to you. And then the prophets and the
apostles and all the writers of Holy Scripture turned to Hebrews
chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1. I want you
to turn to this scripture. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1. Now listen to this. Hebrews 1 verse 1. Who is he? God, who at sundry times, Hebrews
1 verse 1, and in divers manners spake in time past unto our fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his
Son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom he made the words, and being the brightness
of God's glory, and the exact image of God's person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty
of God." That's who he is. Now here's my second question.
If all these things that I've preached and you've heard and
you've read for years, if all these things about Christ are
true, what does that mean to me and you? But I tell you, listen
to me. If these things are true, and
they are, then I have a mediator with the Heavenly Father who
is Jesus Christ the righteous. And there's one God, and there's
one mediator between God and me, and that's this man, Jesus
Christ. And that's what it means. If
these things are true, I've got a mediator. I've got an advocate. Number two, I have a ransom. You know what Job said? Deliver
him from going down into the pit. God's found a ransom. Who's God's ransom? Jesus Christ. He bore our sins in his body
on the tree and put them away, and their sins and iniquities
no more. I have a ransom. The price is
paid. I owed a debt I couldn't pay,
and he paid it. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owed. Sin left the creditor's face.
He washed his white as snow. Thirdly, I have a righteousness
before God. He was made sin for us, who knew
no sin, that we might be made in Him righteousness of God. He is my righteousness. He is
my righteousness. He Himself is our righteousness.
Christ is our righteousness. And then what's this? These things
being true, I have a hope. I'm 81 years old. And Ralph,
you're a little older than I am, just a slight bit. And we're
not going to be around here much longer, but I tell you, we're
going to be with Him. We have a blessed hope, a sure hope,
a certain hope, a living hope, and Christ is my hope. That's
absolutely true. Verily I say unto you, He that
heareth my word, and believes on Him that sent me, hath everlasting
life, and shall never come into condemnation. He's already passed
from death to life. He lives and we live in Him. All right, here's my third question. What about folks who don't believe
this? What about folks who don't believe
His Word? Who never have received Christ
as Lord and Savior? What about them? Well, they don't
have a mediator. They don't have an advocate with
God. They're going to die in their sins. And Christ says,
if you die in your sins, you can't come where I am. They have
no mediator. They have no advocate. Number
two, they don't have a ransom. They don't have a sin. Their
sin debts are too heavy to pay. He hasn't paid them like king
of old. They're going to wander through
eternity. My punishment is greater than
I can bear. And it is. It's not greater than
Hebas. He bore it all, all the dead
I spoke. Sin left a crimson stain. He
washed it white as snow. Now they have no mediator. They
have no ransom. They've got no robe of righteousness. They have no palms of victory. They have no new song. All they
got, filthy wrath. filthy rags. And when God sees
them at the marriage supper of the Lamb, He said, how did you
get in here without a wedding garment on? How did you get in
here without a wedding garment? Bind him hand and foot, cast
him out. That's sad. That's sad. And I'll tell you this, we preached
it. Our Lord Jesus Christ declared
it. The apostles and all these men that I've quoted have declared
it. Why don't you believe it? lay hold upon him. I was down
out in California preaching several years ago. And I preached this
message, this message right here, down to the very points that
I've called, I've given to you. I preached this message just
like I preached it out there years ago. And a man heard it,
I forget his name, don't know how he knew his name, but he
came up to me and he said, that's the truth. And he said, I believe
it. But he said, I've got a friend,
a man I've known a long time, and he doesn't believe this message.
He won't hear this message. He's in a rest home and he's
living his last days. He's got a good mind, but he
will not let anybody talk about religion to him. But I want him
to hear this message. Can you get me a copy of it?"
I said, well they're making tapes here, you can certainly have
a copy of it. He said, I want that message to take to that
man. And he said, he told me later
the next day, I took it to him. He's got it. And I told him,
I said to him, I said, my friend, I'm not going to talk religion
to you. He said, you've told me many times, you don't want
anybody coming here talking religion because nobody believes In the
real God. Nobody believes God. Well, this
man here, I want you to hear this message. That's what he
said to the man. I want you to hear this message.
Will you promise to hear this message? Okay. So he said, another
day or two passed and I went back. And this is what he said. This is what he said. Now, let
me quote it here. He said this is what he said
in reply to that message. The reason I ask that no one
talk to me about religion is because I've never heard anyone
that I thought knew the truth about God and religion. So I don't want them to talk
to me. But I heard this tape and I can believe in a God like
that. I can believe in a God like that. I would like to hear some more
about Him. That's what I've tried to do
this morning, talk about Him. Chris asked me the other day,
he said, did that guy come to the knowledge of the Lord? I
said, I never saw him again, nor the man that took the tape.
But he gave me a good picture for you to see. I can believe in a God like that.
I can believe in a God like that. I can believe in the God-man.
I can believe in Him who's wonderful, counselor, mighty God, the everlasting
Father. I can believe that. And brother,
I do. Thank you.