Introduction
Darkness is a word that is rich with imagery. In the Star Wars movies, the term "dark side" is used to speak of the evil in the world. John 3:19 says, "men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." Darkness speaks of the preference for evil instead of the truth.
Darkness is also associated with hopelessness and mental oppression. The term gloom, which is darkness associated, speaks of a darkness of the soul which indicates a loss of hope and an oppression of the inner self. Some speak of the dark night of the soul.
We live in the darkness of our sins. Some live in the darkness of depression. Many live in the darkness of oppression by Satan or some other foe. Last week, we talked about the darkness in our world and in our lives when we looked at our need for God. We looked at our separation from God, the guilt that plagues every sinner, the fact that creation is cursed, that reproduction is cursed and that human relationships are broken. We examined how even our work is cursed and the fact that the ultimate separation from God is death.
Isaiah 9:2 speaks about the “people walking in darkness” but then promises that those same people who are walking in darkness “have seen a great light…” When this was written, it was written to a people who were experiencing political oppression from enemies. But the darkness refers to things that are much deeper than the darkness of war and the light, is much brighter than the light of political peace in the land. In Isaiah 9:6, the coming of the light is centred around the birth of a child. This verse is a birth announcement giving the announcement of the birth, the naming of the child and the explanation of the meaning of His name. The promise is given that “to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” The light and hope that God promised is fulfilled in the birth of a child.
Today we celebrate the birth of that child who is Jesus. Last week we looked at our need for God and today we celebrate that God has fulfilled that need. Through the birth of the child, God has come into this world. What a wonderful thing that God has come and has shone His light into our dark world and into the darkness of our lives!
The name that was to be given to the child explains how the coming of God, in the person of Jesus, is light. The names given do not refer to the actual name by which he would be called by people who knew Him, but rather to the person He would be. This morning I would like to look at the name of Jesus as given in Isaiah 9:6. As we look at the meaning of this name, we will see how He is light in our lives and how He fulfills our need for God. On this Christmas Day, may this reflection cause us to worship Him.
Wonderful Counsellor
The first part of the name is “Wonderful Counsellor.” Although some translations separate these and make them two names – wonderful and counsellor - I think there is good reason to keep them as one name - “Wonderful Counsellor.”
Last week when we examined our need of God, we talked about some of the brokenness which is in our world and in our lives such as relational and sexual brokenness and even the difficulty of work. Many people go to marriage counsellors or employment counsellors to get help, but is that adequate?
The Bible acknowledges that we need God’s help to really live. To the church in Laodicea John writes in Revelation 3:17, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” To that need, Jesus has come into this world as a Wonderful Counsellor.
There are two things we expect of a counsellor – compassion and wisdom.
We expect that when we go to one who will help us that they will care about us. Jesus has that compassion. We see it in Matthew 11:28 – 30 where Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus demonstrated such compassion and gentleness in His life’s ministry. When the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery, he did not condemn her, but invited her to choose a life apart from sin. When he talked with the woman at the well, he did not condemn her lifestyle, but drew her along to discover the life He could give. Many times when the burden has become too much for me, I love to go into my prayer room and just sit in the presence of God. When I sit there and lay my burden before Jesus, it isn’t very long before he restores my soul and encourages my heart.
The other thing we expect of a counsellor is that they will guide us by the understanding they possess. Colossians 2:2,3 points out the wisdom which is in Christ when it says, “…in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Discovering the wisdom of Christ does not come from figuring things out on our own, but in prayer, in discovering the way of Jesus from the Word of God and in depending on Him to guide us. When we learn this kind of dependence, we will discover a wisdom that is beyond our natural abilities.
These are some of the things which make Jesus a “wonderful counselor.” What else makes Jesus such a wonderful counselor?
Jesus is a wonderful counselor because He is always available. I called a counseling office earlier this year on behalf of someone and got an answering machine which told me that it would take several days before they would even have time to talk to us. When you are in the midst of a crisis, it is not very good news to find out that you won’t get help for a few days. Jesus is always available.
One of the things that frustrates me most in some of the counseling which I have done is that I never know the whole story. People will tell a counselor what they want them to hear and so it is hard to deal with the real issue when you only know part of the story. Jesus knows us right to the depths of our heart. He begins by dealing with our basic problem – sin - and then draws us along to reveal and heal many other areas of our life.
I love Jesus because He is a wonderful counselor. What about you?
Mighty God
One of the first problems which came to us when we chose to sin was separation from God. As we saw last week, we still live with the challenge of being separated from God in our doubts and in not being able to see how God has been at work. When the child born who is to be born is named “Mighty God” we know that this separation has been bridged.
One of the greatest problems the Jewish people have with Christianity is accepting that Jesus is God. Their problem is that they can’t understand how Jesus could be God when God is in heaven. They think that if Jesus is God then there are two Gods and the Bible is quite clear that there is only one God. It is a difficult logical conundrum, but this passage puts it quite clearly – the child born is “Mighty God.”
Many people have a difficult time seeing Jesus as God. They see him as a great teacher or as a prophet. When people don’t even believe in God, it is difficult to believe that God Himself has come to earth.
I don’t want to take time this morning to explain these things theologically, but simply to establish that Jesus is the fulfillment of our need to bridge the separation we have with God. He has done so because He is God. In spite of the objections of Jews and secularists, The Old Testament and the New Testament affirm that Jesus is God come into this world. Our text identifies Him as “Mighty God.” In Hebrews 1:8 we read, “But about the Son he says, “‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.’” In I John 5:20 it says, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
As God, He is “Mighty God.” This refers to the divine power Jesus has. Where do we see the power of Jesus demonstrated?
He is mighty God because He was raised from the dead and has power over death.
He is mighty God because He has power over all the nations on earth. When on trial for his life, Jesus pointed out to Pilate, in John 19:11, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above..."
He is mighty God because He has defeated the enemy, as it says in Luke 19:10, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
One of the things I have discovered about myself, and many others, is that we like to fix things ourselves. When the snow blower I bought at the MCC auction in September didn’t work the first time I used it, I took it apart in order to see if I could fix it. I didn’t fix it, and in fact I probably made things worse before I finally realized I was in over my head and got professional help. It has been working well ever since. We do the same thing with our lives. We think that we can fix our sinful tendencies, our poor habits, our hurtful ways, but we need help. Going to counselors, pastors and professionals is good and often provides us with good tools to help us with these needs, but ultimately, we need the help of Jesus who is “mighty God.” He is “God with us” to bring light and life into the darkness and death of our world. He is “Mighty” God who has the power to help.
I love Jesus because He is God, mighty God! How about you?
Everlasting Father
Fathers have gotten a lot of bad press lately. They are sometimes portrayed as abusers, insensitive, bungling, absent and careless. But the figure of a father who is caring, supportive, interested and a leader in the family is a wonderful picture. Many such fathers exist and they are the image behind the picture of Jesus as Everlasting Father.
He is a Father who has the interests of his children at heart and has the ability to care for his children. A child looks to a father as the one who can fix it and cares to do so. That is the image we should have in our minds of Jesus. It speaks of personal loving attention. We often criticize governments because they are not personal. They treat the individual as a group. Jesus is a Father who sees each individual in the group.
We see the father care of Jesus when he was hanging on the cross. Although suffering terrible physical and spiritual anguish, yet his focus was on those he cared for. We see a beautiful picture of such care in John 19:26,27, "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son, and to the disciple, "Here is your mother."
One writer says, “What tenderness, love and comfort are here!”
My father’s birth day is December 1, so often, about that time of year, I think about him. I have a lot of good memories of my dad, but I also think about what I have missed since he passed away when I was 19 years old. We were just beginning an adult relationship which was more of a peer relationship in which we could talk and really enjoy each others company. He has been gone for 35 years now.
On the other hand, Jesus is “Everlasting Father.” The tenderness and caring that we hope for and desire from a father will never be taken away from us. His light overcomes darkness and will never be extinguished. The wonderful counselling which we have from Him will always be available to us and solves our issues not only for this life, but into all eternity. Sometimes eternity is the solution to our issues and in our “Everlasting Father” we can be assured in the eternal solution to every problem. The power of mighty God is available not only to us in this life, but also to all eternity.
I love Jesus because He is a caring Father and will be for all eternity. What about you?
Prince of Peace.
Can you imagine the difficulty of life in Palestine today? They have been at war with Israel for many years and now the conflict is made worse by a war with each other. I can’t imagine life so unstable and uncertain that every time you take a bus to work or school you know that at any time a suicide bomber could sit down beside you on the bench.
That turmoil is not the only one in life. Although our lives, here in Canada, may not be physically threatened in the same way, there is plenty of war in our lives. We experience the war arising out of our separation from God, the war we wage with the physical world, the war we wage in our relationships. Life is full of conflict and challenge.
How wonderful to hear that the child born is the Prince of Peace.
This week Stephen Harper was quite adamant in defending the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. This week a major offensive was also launched again in Afghanistan. I am saddened that our country continues to take an aggressive military stance instead of being what we have traditionally been, a peace making, peace keeping nation. Prime Minister Harper is the leader of our nation, but is choosing to lead by war.
In contrast, Jesus is a “Prince of Peace.” The word “peace” is the word “Shalom.” It means more than just the absence of war. It means the presence of wholeness. It refers to things being the way they should be.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace because, first of all, He has made peace between us and God. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Young says, “When the peace of God is in the human heart, then there will be manifest in the world peace among men.”
We also know that he makes peace between people. In Ephesians 2:14-17 we have a passage that speaks about how Jesus has made peace between Jews and Gentiles. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.”
Jesus way of peace is different than the world and it answers the warring in our souls. Jesus says in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
I love Jesus because He is the Prince of Peace. Do you?
Conclusion
Many people in the world are celebrating Santa or self or family today. But we have come together because we want to celebrate that God has come to this world in the person of Jesus.
Look to Jesus today! He is Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Whatever the hopelessness, darkness or death in your life, Jesus can meet your needs. He fulfills what is lacking, He heals what is broken, He supports what is weak.
Look for Jesus today! He is Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. He has come into our world and is at work in our world and in your life. Do you see Him at work in you and around you?
Look at Jesus today! He is Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. As you look at Him, I invite you to admire Him, to worship Him, to thank Him and to glorify Him.
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