Advent Series: Jesus Is...

Wonderful Counselor

Isaiah 9:6

PSBC 12/3/00

In a nutshell: The person of Jesus must be the focus of our faith. Wonderful Counselor reflects the miraculous, kingly-leadership nature that Jesus wants to have in our lives. This is the plan God set in place in the Garden of Eden. And it's far more reliable than anything else the world might offer.

I. Introduction to the Series:

A. If Christmas were left to the lawyers

About this time of year begins the traditional time of sending out Christmas card greetings to friends and loved ones. And the typical greeting on those cards is Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well, in our increasing litigious society, even this greeting could be the grounds for a possible lawsuit. So, a lawyer came up with this variation...

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit our best
wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low
stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter
solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of
the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of
your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions
and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice
religious or secular traditions at all . . .

. . and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and
medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally
accepted calendar year 2001, but not without due respect for the
calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society
have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is
necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA"
in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed,
color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer
platform, or sexual preference of the wish-ee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This
greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely
transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies
no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for
her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is
revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is
warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of
good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a
subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is
limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the
sole discretion of the wisher.).

B. Transition

I'm glad God isn't a lawyer! Aren't you? When God sent a Christmas greeting, even before Christmas first took place, this is how He stated it (front of bulletin)...

Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

During each of the next four Sundays leading up to Christmas–the time of year that the church has traditionally called the Advent season–we'll be looking at the incredible truths surrounding these four statements from Isaiah, about that child–God's son, Jesus–who took on human flesh and was born in Bethlehem's manger about 2000 years ago.

II. Introduction about Names in the Bible

But before we look at the first name, I think it would be good to make sure we understand the whole concept of names in the Bible.

A. Humanly Speaking, It Sets a Person Apart

In the Hebrew tradition, in which the Bible was written, a person's name was a label or designation that set that person apart from any other person. Therefore, the people of Bible times were very conscious of the meaning of names. They believed there was a vital connection between the name and the person it identified. A name somehow represented the nature of the person.

1. Naming a Baby

So, as you can imagine, naming a baby was very important in the Bible. In choosing their child's name, the parents might reflect on the circumstances of the child's birth, or their own feelings about that child, or their gratitude to God, or their hopes and prayers for the child, or their desire to commit that child to God.

For instance,
-the name Isaac meant "laughter" and it reflected first of all, the "laughter of disdain" that his mother exhibited at the announcement of his birth, and then the "laughter of joy" that his mother exhibited at his birth.
-Esau's name meant "hairy one" because he had a so much hair on his body at birth that it looked like he was wearing a coat.
-Jacob's name meant "he deceives" because he grasped his brother Esau's heel when he came out of the womb, basically letting Esau do all the work, and letting Jacob take all the credit.
-Moses' name meant, "drawn out" because he was "pulled out" of the water by Pharaoh's daughter.

2. Specialized names

Sometimes very specialized names, directly related to circumstances of the parents, were given to children.
-The prophet Isaiah was directed to name one of his children Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, meaning "speed the spoil, hasten the prey." (This name alluded to the Assyrian invasion of the nation of Judah that was going to take place in the near future.)
-Hosea was instructed to name a daughter Lo-Ruhamah, which meant "no mercy," and a son Lo-Ammi, which meant "not my people." Both these names referred to God's displeasure with the nation of Israel.

3. Name changes

Sometimes, in the Bible, people's names were changed because of events or promises or turning points they experienced.
-Abram's name was changed to Abraham in connection with his new calling to be "a father of many nations".
-God gave Jacob the new name Israel which meant, "one who fought with God" because he "struggled with God and with men, and prevailed", according to Genesis 32.
-Simon was given the name Peter because, as the first confessing apostle, his confession was the "rock" upon which the church would be built.
-Saul was renamed Paul, which was a Greek name, rather than a Jewish name because he was destined to become the apostle to the Gentiles.

B. The Names of God

1. Old Testament

However, the most important thing we can know about names in the Bible, is that they reveal the nature and character of God.

When Moses stood before the burning bush in the desert, God revealed to him a new name for God that had never been used of God before–" I AM WHO I AM". This conveyed something new about God's character that had not been known by the Israelites before.

I AM WHO I AM is a compound idea. First, I AM, means "I am everything you need, at every juncture of your life, at every time of your life." Then, WHO I AM means "The Becoming One"–Putting them together you get the idea that it is part of God's character to BECOME EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING THAT HIS PEOPLE NEED HIM TO BE. This name reflected a new revelation about God to the people of Israel, that they had not experienced as a nation before this time. This spoke volumes to the Israelites, of God's love for them as a nation.

2. New Testament

The New Testament writers also emphasized the importance of God's name and the close relationship between God's name and His character. I think the most striking illustration of this is in...

Acts 4:12
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

In this instance the name is interchangeable with the reality it represents. In other words, it is only through the person, or name of Jesus, that anyone can be saved from the consequences of his or her sin.

Now, I give you all that background to help you understand the very important thing Isaiah is communicating to us regarding the baby, God's Son, Jesus, who was born in the manger in Bethlehem.

Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called (in other words, his names will be)
-Wonderful Counselor,
-Mighty God,
-Everlasting Father,
-Prince of Peace.

Each one of these four names communicates something of the character and nature and work of Jesus. And for the rest of our time this morning, we'll look at that first name in this great verse–WONDERFUL COUNSELOR!

III. Wonderful Counselor

This name literally translates, "a wonder of a counselor." But what does that mean? Well, to understand the meaning, you have to understand that this is two thoughts put together into one. Let's examine each of these parts separately, then put them together for application.

A. Wonderful

The first word, Wonderful, is the Hebrew word pala.
-Literally translated it speaks of "something uncommon or out of the ordinary."
-So, it reflects "a phenomenon lying outside the realm of human explanation";
-In other words, it means something that is "separated from the normal course of events; or something that cannot be explained."

The same Hebrew word is used in

Psalm 139:6
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

When the Bible speaks of something as Wonderful, it is speaking about something that is miraculous!

But we've so overused that word, miraculous, today, that I think we have a low view of the miracles, and therefore a limited sense of wonder that miracles should produce.

Think of some of the ways we routinely use the word miracle.

1. In 1980, when the US Hockey Team won gold in the Winter Olympic games, sports announcer, Al Michaels uttered his now famous cry, "Do you believe in miracles?"

2. Do you remember the Xerox ad of a few years ago, when a monk was able to get productive work out of his photocopier, and all the monks in the monastery exclaim, "It's a miracle."

3. Or maybe when you were in school, you came out of a class with an "A" on a paper and you said to a friend, "This is a miracle! I didn't think I was ready for that test."

But you know and I know, that in reality, those things aren't miracles. They can all be explained through human means.

But a question I have for you this morning is, do you have a sense of wonder about Christmas and the Christ child that goes beyond all human, and rational explanation?

Or have the successes of human science and technology robbed you of your ability to worship a God of miracles? Do you honestly believe that the greatest "miracles" are not come-from-behind victories by our favorite sports team, or the latest in technological wizardry, or the wonder drug that cured our cold in three days? All of those things can be explained.

A real wonder is something that is beyond human explanation. And the prophet Isaiah declared that the coming Child, God's Son, would be a wonder. This not only describes what He does, it describes who He is. Do you see Him that way? Jesus, Himself, is the wonder!

B. Counselor

The second part of this compound description of the coming Messiah is Counselor. In its historical Hebrew usage, the word is used to picture a king giving counsel and direction to his people during times of trouble. In other words, it pictures a king who has a plan to deliver his people from trouble.

The prophet, Micah, referred to this kingly function when he wrote about the dilemma of the captive Israelites in Babylon in

Micah 4:9
9 Why do you now cry aloud– have you no king? Has your counselor perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

There was no leader to give the Israelite nation a plan to get out of captivity. Without a plan, they were doomed to a life of living in captivity.

But Isaiah tells us that Jesus is our counselor. That simply means that Jesus has a plan. The plan involves releasing captives from the power and consequences of sin. The plan was first revealed in the Garden of Eden, right after sin entered into the human equation. God is speaking...

Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
The plan involved someone, that we now know as Jesus, crushing Satan's power of sin over people.

IV. Putting the Name together

Now, let's put wonderful and counselor together, so we can appreciate what Isaiah is telling us.

Long before the Christ Child was ever born, long before God's Son was given, Isaiah foretells that God had put together a miraculous plan. This plan was to crush the power that sin held over human beings' lives, and release them from that bondage. And Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 9:6 that God's miraculous plan was Jesus.

A. Starts with Forgiveness

God's plan starts with the forgiveness of sin. Sin is the one thing that separates us from the love that God wants to show every man, woman and child. But the plan provides a way for each person to receive forgiveness from their sin–wiping the record books clean. So, one of the things this miraculous plan does is it gives us hope for eternal life with the eternal God, when our spirit leaves this earth..., because God has provided a way to take care of our sin problem.

But this plan, that is wrapped up in the person of Jesus, is so wonderful, that it isn't just for the future. It's also for the here and now!

B. Here and now

Jesus made this statement,

John 10:10b
10b I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In other words, "I've come so you might have life and that life will be the fullest life possible for any human being to experience."

The Wonderful Counselor promises people who enter into His plan, a life filled with meaning, purpose, joy and fulfillment–not just in the future, but right now!

C. Entering into the plan

We are beneficiaries of the plan when we enter into it by faith in Jesus' redeeming work on Calvary that paid the debt of our sin.

We live fully day to day by listening and applying things like the...
–wise counsel in the Sermon on the Mount.
–the practical wisdom in Jesus' conversations with Peter, James, and John.
–the teachings in the letters of the apostle Paul.
–and heeding the warnings in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation. (Which we will look at in depth, starting in February.)

Our Wonderful Counselor wants us to follow His plan. He knows how to bring every man, woman and child to the experience of having a relationship with God the Father, personally and intimately on a daily basis, and forever.

Friends, listen, Jesus isn't just blowing smoke when He says...

Matthew 6:31-33
31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When we put the Wonderful Counselor–Jesus Christ–as the leader of our lives and follow His teachings and directions, everything you and I need will be added to our lives as we need it!

V. Conclusion

Where are you looking for your needs to be filled? AND What are you placing your hope for the future in?

God says...

Ps. 32:8
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you (give you a plan) and watch over you.

Our Wonderful Counselor's ability to help us find abundance in our living goes far beyond the limits of human wisdom.

Illustration: When I was a teenager, I drove a truck for my dad, and delivered things like corn to the grain elevators along Chicago's Calumet harbor. I delivered pickling onions to a plant in the next town. And I drove loads of tomatoes to Campbell soup's canning plant downtown in Chicago.

I remember the first time I took a load of tomatoes to the canning plant. After I had unloaded, I tried to take a short cut to get back home, and became hopelessly lost. I wound up in a section of Chicago I had never seen, nor experienced before. I became desperate, and I did something few men have ever done–I stopped and asked for directions.

The fellow I asked gladly started telling me one way out of that section of town, pointing this way and that, then changed his mind. Then he started telling me another way, where I had to back track a few blocks and turn right, but there was construction there. NO that wouldn't work. Then he started telling me a third way out, and realized that wouldn't work. And he finally turned to me in frustration and said, "I guess you can't get there from here!"

That man wasn't equipped to give me the guidance I needed. He didn't know the way out either. He was just guessing. And that's just what we'll find in mere human wisdom and reasoning, if that's what we use to give us guidance regarding our sin condition. Mere mortals are not miraculous–only God is.

But friends, let me tell you, Jesus Christ is able to give us the needed direction for life. Because He is the only one, who at the core of His being, is named, "Wonderful Counselor."

This should give you a new angle, I hope, in expressing the "true meaning of Christmas" to someone else this year. One of the incredible truths of Christmas is wrapped up in the name, Wonderful Counselor. God has devised a truly miraculous plan designed to give meaning to life right now, and a sure hope for eternal life in the future.

It's one of the pillars that is the reason for the season!

Amen!