On Beyond Zebra

Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Eve 12/24/00

In a nutshell: Christmas is beyond anything we've can imagine–Wonderful Counselor; The Mighty God; The Everlasting Father; the Prince of Peace.

I. Introduction

A. On Beyond Zebra

This evening, I want to launch us into the message with a reading from one of the great minds in theology–Dr. Seuss. Several years ago, he wrote a book called On Beyond Zebra, I think I should make this required reading for Pastor Darrin and Pastor Greg as they pursue ordination in the near future. I want to read a portion of it, and be sure to listen closely, because this is the key to everything I want to say tonight.

Said Conrad Cornelius O'Donnell O'Dell, my very young friend who was learning to spell, "The A is for Ape, the B is for Bear, the C is for Camel, the H is for Hair, the M is for Mouse, the R is for Rat ... I know all twenty-six letters like that. Through to Z is for Zebra, I know them all well," said Conrad Cornelius O'Donnell O'Dell. "Now I know everything anyone knows from beginning to end, from the start to the close, because Z is as far as the alphabet goes."

Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor when I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more. A letter he had never dreamed of before. And I said, "You can stop if you want with the Z, and most people stop with the Z, but not me. In the places I go, there are things that I see that I never could spell if I stopped with a Z.

"I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends, my alphabet starts where your alphabet ends. My alphabet starts with this letter called yezz, it's the letter I use to spell yezzametezz. You'll be sort of surprised what there is to be found, once you go beyond Z and start poking around. So on beyond zebra explore like Columbus, discover new letters like wum, which is for wumbus, my high-spouting whale who lives high on a hill and who never comes down till it's time to refill. So on beyond Z, it's high time you were shown that you really don't know all there is to be known."

This entire Advent season has been a journey for many of us. It's been a journey on beyond zebra–because it's only when you go beyond the realm of human understanding, human religion, and human thought, do you find Christmas. You see, friends, on the first Christmas, God added four new letters to our alphabet when he sent his son.

The reason He added those new letters was because we need those four letters to spell Emmanuel, which means God with us.

Isa 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.

II. The Four Letters

A. Wonderful Counselor

The first new letter is Wonderful Counselor.

1. Wonderful

Wonderful means miraculous. Miraculous is something that is beyond the scope of human ability. In other words, it's something only God can do.

2. Counselor

And the thing that only God could do is wrapped up in that word Counselor. In Isaiah's day, the term Counselor was reserved for kings. And kings became Counselors for their people when they came with a plan to rescue their subjects from danger or harm or captivity.

Well, friends human beings have been held captive by their sins. Our sinfulness keeps us captive to selfishness, pride, immorality, arrogance and hatred. And the consequences of that sin is death, according to Romans 6:23.

And here's where the plan comes into play. God loves people more than anything else in the universe. But not only is God a loving God, but He is also a holy and a just God. So, because of His holiness and justice He had to deal with the sin issue in human beings. And this is the miraculous way He did it. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be born a human. To live a human life. Live through human temptations to sin. And come out at the end of His life, without sin. He became, as the Bible says, a lamb without blemish.

Then that blemish-free, sinless person, God's son, was sacrificed–put to death–and He had to go to that death willingly, even though he didn't deserve it. That's what happened on the cross.

Then three days after being put to death on the cross, that willing, blemish-free, sinless sacrifice, named Jesus, proved that not only was He human, but He was also God. He rose from that tomb, alive. And He ascended back to His home in heaven, where He intercedes at the right hand of God, day and night, for those that trust in Him for salvation from their sin. And you enter into this plan through grace–not anything you do on your own, but trusting in everything that Jesus did was enough to purchase your salvation from sin, give you eternal life someday, and an abundant life, right now. That's summed up in my favorite verse in the Bible...

John 3:16

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

That's the first new letter, revealed in Christmas, that takes us beyond zebra.

B. Mighty God

The second new letter is The Mighty God.

Illustration: Several years ago, there was a movie out called, My Body Guard. The premise of the movie was that this weak and bullied young teenager, hired an older, larger and stronger tough guy to be his body guard and protect him at school. When the body guard was around, no one messed with the young man. But at the same time, this body guard teaches the weaker teenager how to have confidence in himself and do the right thing in different situations.

Well, that reminds me a lot of this term Mighty God.

Jesus, is not only our Savior, but He's the God, whose on our side–He's our body guard. That term Mighty means several things all at once.

It means that Jesus is our Hero –one whom we can pattern our lives after. We will never go wrong is we follow His example as outlined in the Bible.

He's our warrior, which means He fought for us: He fought to win our redemption from sin; He fought to extend grace to us through salvation; He fought injustice, religiosity and hypocrisy; He fought to resist temptation and preserve God's plan of salvation for you and me.

And , He's our champion. In other words, He took our place. None of us has to atone for our sin. None of us have to pay righteousness to a Holy God in order to appease His justice. None of us has to be perfect. Jesus, as our champion, did all that for us. He represents us before a just and holy God.

That's unique in the world of faith. No other faith, no other religion, no other system of belief talks about a God like that. The Mighty God takes us beyond zebra.

C. Everlasting Father

The third new letter is the Everlasting Father.

What's wrapped up in this term is simply this–In Jesus we have a love that will not let us go. Just like the Prodigal Son's father wouldn't let go of the hope of his son's return, or wouldn't judge Him or scold Him when he returned, that's the love our Everlasting Father has for each one of us.
George Matheson wrote about this love in a hymn we have in our hymnals...

O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee.
I give Thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Joy that seekest me thru pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee
I trace the rainbow thru the rain, and feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.

The Everlasting Father takes us way beyond zebra.

D. Prince of Peace

The final new letter needed to understand Christmas is Prince of Peace. Peace is not the absence of conflict from life, but it's the ability to cope with that conflict.

The term, when's it's applied to Jesus, means that Jesus is the exclusive owner of peace.

It was Dwight Moody, that great evangelist of several generations ago, who said, "A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do is to enter into it."

That's the essence of the term Prince of Peace. The exclusive owner of peace–Jesus, offers peace to human beings through faith in Him. We don't have to try to make it, or manufacture it, or chase after it. We simply need to enter into it. Peace is available to us because of Christmas.

The chaplain of our United States Senate, Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie once said, "Peace is the result of grace. It literally means, "To bind together." In other words, the peace which comes form unmerited, unearned love can weave and bind our fragmented lives into wholeness."

"And the civil war of divergent drives, which makes us feel like rubber bands stretched in all directions, is ended. The Lord is in control. He has forgiven the past, He is in charge of now, and shows the way for each new day."

Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

III. Conclusion

Friends, don't forget what we celebrate tonight and tomorrow is way beyond Zebra. It leaves ordinary in the dust. Christianity is not a religion. Christmas is not another holiday. The birth of Jesus isn't just a point in history.

Christmas is Emmanuel–God with us. And that's spelled:
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace.
May that incredible God be the center of your celebration. Blessed Christmas to each of you!