December 23, 2001

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

What’s in a Name?

1. Introduction

1. Illustration – A customer is really pleased with the pizza delivery guy. He asks, "What's your name, so the next time I call I'll tell your boss what a great job you're doing." The driver replied: "My name is Theodore Roosevelt." "That's quite a famous name," laughed the customer. "It should be," said the driver. "I've been delivering in this neighborhood for almost three years now."
2. Context – Just like the pizza driver we get confused about the importance of a name. In Bible times, your name meant everything – it was who you recognized as being. Isaiah 9:2,6-7 has some names we need to take a look at.

1. Scripture Passage

1. Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 – The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. 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. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
2. In this passage, God is using Isaiah to tell us some very significant names for Jesus. These names have a lot to say to us about Who He is and what He is able to do in us and for us.

1. What’s in a Name?

1. Verse two begins with a statement of reality – The people walking in darkness. Our lives are filled with people who are walking in spiritual darkness. Sin and darkness and despair and bondage crowd their lives. The people walking in darkness may even be us. Verse two begins by stating reality, but then God uses Isaiah’s words to give us hope. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Spiritual darkness and death may be prevalent, but a Light is cutting through the darkness. Jesus is that Light. He cuts through the darkness of sin and despair and bondage. It doesn’t matter how deep the darkness in your life may be, Jesus can cut through that darkness and meet you at your point of greatest need. Jesus is the Great Light.
2. In verse six we read, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. Last week we talked about differing beliefs about the humanity of Jesus. In today’s passage, God reinforces the truth that Jesus came to earth as a man. Jesus is the child that was born, the Son of God that was given to us. Jesus grew up just like us. He went through potty training and puberty and growing pains and loneliness and heartache and sorrow just like us. Because Jesus went through everything we went through but didn’t sin, He can help us go through all of our troubles and trials and keep us pure. That is great news! Jesus is the Great Light Who can relate to everything we go through!
3. And the government will be on his shoulders. Jesus didn’t just come to play a passive role in our lives. Jesus came as a Leader, One whom we can depend on to run our lives. You know, when we allow Him to take the burden of having to play God in our own lives and in our decision-making, there is freedom. There is the freedom of knowing that He is leading our lives, so we don’t have to worry about our futures. We often choose to worry, but we don’t have to. Jesus came to be our Leader, the Great Light who relates to us and won’t steer us wrong.
4. Then we come to four names for Jesus that, thanks to Handel’s oratorio The Messiah, are probably the most famous in western society. "Wonderful Counselor." What images come to your mind when you hear that name? Usually when I think of "counselor" I think of someone who helps people work through their problems. Jesus is more than just an advice person. He’s been hearing from His Father what’s been going on and what is going to happen since before the creation of the world. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor – He gives us the exact piece of God’s wisdom that we need exactly when we need it. When we hit a tough spot in life, the Wonderful Counselor, the Great Light Who relates to us and Who leads us, tells us exactly what we need to know to overcome while bringing glory to His name. God’s way of doing things is a lot better than our way, and we get to hear straight from Him His way. The Wonderful Counselor is exactly Who we need.
5. "Mighty God." This next name of Jesus can seem the most intimidating to us. I have had problems with thinking of the Mighty God as One whose going to use that power and might to blow me away when I mess up. Do you ever feel that way? You know what? That’s not true at all. Jesus the Mighty God is the One Who uses His power and might to help us overcome the power of sin in our lives. He is the One Who Satan can’t stand against. His power is what helps us make it through each day in loving relationship with our God. Jesus the Mighty God is powerful on our behalf. He doesn’t want to use His might to destroy us, but to rescue us from sin and darkness and despair and bondage. Jesus is the Great Light, the One who relates to us, the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God – in other words, He’s the perfect One to meet our greatest and deepest needs. But there’s more.
6. "Everlasting." Sounds kind of like a battery, doesn’t it? But when God calls Jesus "Everlasting Father" He’s telling us a couple of things. First, He’s telling us that Jesus is eternal – He will always be around no matter what. That’s exciting, because the struggles we face don’t work on a time schedule. They hit us when we least expect them, so we need Someone Who’s always with us. Jesus is always with us and will always be with us. And He’s more than Everlasting; He’s the Everlasting Father. In other words, He shares the divine nature of God the Father. Jesus is, like His Father, the Eternal Nurturer of our souls. A father is supposed to be someone who loves us and nurtures us and helps us through whatever we face. Combine that with the fact that Jesus is always around, and we get to have Someone constantly with us Who loves us and nurtures us. Someone Who is constantly working to heal our broken relationship with God and to draw us nearer to Himself. In one passage of Scripture God is referred to as the "Hound of Heaven," always pursuing us and never giving up on us. Jesus the Everlasting Father never stops seeking us, never stops staying with us, never stops loving and nurturing us. He is exactly Who we need.
7. He’s also the "Prince of Peace." It’s easy for us to look at the world around us and declare, "I guess that one’s not true." Jesus didn’t come to bring our concept of a peaceful world into being. He came to bring inner peace. When we’re not following and serving Him and looking to Him for everything we need, we don’t have peace in our hearts. I would imagine from all the Prilosec and Nexium commercials that there are lots of folks whose inner turmoil has given them ulcers. And yes, I know that there are other medical reasons for getting ulcers. But I also know what my gut feels like when I don’t have peace, how the acid in my stomach boils up and how that knot in the pit of my stomach hurts more and more. You know exactly what I mean. The only One who can bring a stop to all of our inner turmoil is Jesus. He not only is the Source of peace; He’s in charge of it. "Prince of Peace." We need the Great Light, the One Who relates to us, our Leader, our Source of wisdom, our Power and Might, our Eternal Nurturer, to give us peace. That is one of our greatest needs.
8. Illustration – I believe I may have used this illustration before, but it speaks so beautifully to this passage that I’m using it again today so please bear with me if you’ve heard it before. Tim Riter, in Deep Down, writes, An art competition awarded a prize for the best expression of peace. One painting depicted a deer and a fawn grazing at the skirt of a mountain meadow rimmed with pines and cedars stretching heavenward. Another showed a cat curled up in a basket, resting with all its being, as only cats can do. But the first prize went to the painting of a tumultuous waterfall. Torrents rushed downward, crashing on the rocks below, sending spray high above. A tree branch extended just above the mist, with a bird's nest in a fork. Safely within were the mother bird and two babies. That's tranquility. The ability to relax in the most rushed circumstances. Serene surroundings don't produce peace. The absence of animosity doesn't. If peace depended on the setting, many could never find serenity. Peace is being in harmony, allowing God to fit all the pieces of our lives together. As we cultivate the presence of the Holy Spirit deep down, he brings peace. Jesus is the Great Light, the One Who relates to us, our Leader, our Source of wisdom, our Power over sin, our Eternal Nurturer, and our Peace. We all need to allow Him to be all of these people to us, because He’s exactly Who we need. But He has more to offer, so let’s take a look at verse seven.

1. Presents Under the Tree

1. Verse seven tells us that Jesus has a kingdom, and gives us some beautiful descriptors of what that kingdom looks like. Jesus’ leadership and the peace He establishes will never end. Think about it – we’ve already seen that the loving, nurturing side of Jesus is always with us, but we also need to realize that He will never stop leading us and giving us His peace as long as we follow Him. That’s exciting! Our world lacks stability and dependability. Everything in our world seems to be constantly changing and in a constant state of turmoil. We desperately need an anchor for our lives, and that Anchor is Jesus. When we love Him and follow Him, He never stops leading us and He never stops giving us His peace. Eventually, when He comes again, He will lead and bring peace to the whole world. But even now He is available to lead our lives and bring us peace.
2. He will lead on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. God called David a man after His own heart. Jesus will lead Israel and the rest of the world in God’s way, using God’s standards. His kingdom on earth will be built and upheld with God’s justice and righteousness. That’s good stuff, but it’s even better, because Jesus will establish His kingdom in our hearts with justice and righteousness. With His justice in our hearts, we’ll treat others with the love and respect that He has for them. With His righteousness in our hearts, we’ll overcome sin and approach God to worship and adore Him. We all need Jesus to establish and uphold His justice and righteousness in our hearts. That possibility has been available to us for two thousand years. We need to allow Jesus to make that possibility a reality.
3. Okay, this is all great stuff, but how do we know it can and will happen when we choose to accept Jesus’ gifts to us? The last sentence of verse seven says it all – The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. It is God’s passion to bring all this into being in our own hearts. Think of it this way – last week we talked about three presents from Jesus under our tree, waiting for us to unwrap them. The first was Jesus’ gift of His life to save our lost and dying souls. To unwrap it, we have to ask Him into our hearts and lives, to forgive us of our sins, and to take control of our hearts and lives. The second package was Jesus’ gift of the power to overcome sin in our lives. To open it, we have to ask Jesus to cleanse the sin out of our hearts and rule our lives, and then allow Him to do it. The third package was Jesus’ gift of beginning the process of spiritual and emotional healing we so desperately need. To open it, all we have to do is to ask Him to begin that process, then allow Him to do it.
4. Think of the names of Jesus we’ve looked at this week as more presents under the tree. We all have parts of our understanding of Who Jesus is that don’t match up with reality. So which present do we need to unwrap and open up to allow those wrong perceptions to be changed? Do you need gift number one, wrapped in white and silver – the Great Light Who will cut through the darkness of sin and despair and bondage in your heart and life? Maybe it’s gift number two, that one with the red paper – the One Who relates to everything you ever go through and so can help you make it through your struggles. Perhaps it’s the royal blue present in the corner – Jesus as the uncontested Leader of your life. Could it be gift number four, the box wrapped in gold foil, the incomparable wisdom of God through Jesus to help you through the trials and troubles you’re facing? Or maybe gift number five, with the silver foil – the power of the Mighty God to keep you from the sin that separates you from loving relationship with God. Perhaps it’s gift number six, the one with the green wrap, the Nurturing Eternal Father Whose love heals your deepest wounds. Or maybe it’s the last box, the one with doves all over it, the peace that stills the inner turmoil that eats at your stomach and threatens to rip apart your soul. Whatever present you need most from under the tree, Jesus will give it to you if you only ask.
5. Illustration – James Harnish, in his sermon "An Explosion of Joy," told this story: A woman who was just released from Tampa General Hospital probably received the best Christmas present of anyone in the city. It came early, a week ago today to be exact. In August, she was diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy, a rare heart disorder which causes the muscles of the heart to become inflexible. It's generally terminal. The only medical cure is a heart transplant. Over the past five months, she has become progressively weaker. More and more of her active life has been taken from her as she waits for the possibility of a new heart. At 2:00 on a dark, cold morning, she was awakened and told that the new heart was on its way. By 4:00 the heart was in place, and by 10:00 the next morning, she was out of surgery and in the ICU. When I visited with her a couple of days later, we talked about the gift of this new heart. She said, "You know, this was the second time that someone died for me." All of us need a gift from Jesus. Which one are you willing to accept?

1. Conclusion

1. Which present do you need to take from under Jesus’ tree and unwrap and accept? Take a few moments of quiet time to ask Jesus for the present from under His tree that you need the most.
2. If the present you need to unwrap is the gift of salvation through Jesus’ death for us, and you want to receive Him, pray with me right now. Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name. Amen. If you just prayed that prayer, please come see me after the service and I will point you in the direction you need to go from here. Or come forward and be prayed for right now, and we’ll help you right now.
3. If you need help either praying or unwrapping the present you need from Jesus, please come forward now and some folks who love you will pray for you and with you.