The Gift that Is Wonderful

Good morning – I hope everyone is beginning to come out of their Turkey comas and have settled back down from the Black Friday frenzy…

And now that we have reached this point, I know that I am not the first, but let me begin by wishing you all a Merry Christmas, and I hope that that will be a continuous echo in our hearts this month in a way that helps us to keep our eyes and our heart fixed on Christ’s coming in a way that brings us to praise every time we gather…

This morning, I would like to start by asking you to think about the gift you have received at some point in your life that you would describe as “wonderful.”

Maybe it was something that you never expected to get…

Perhaps it was exactly what you needed or wanted and you hadn’t told anyone…

Or could it have been something that simply exceeded every expectation…

If you are struggling to visualize what it might be in the past…what would you think of as wonderful to receive this year?

One of those gifts that I remember as wonderful, well it wasn’t big at all…in fact it was simply a show box full of stuff. You see, that was 2002 when the Navy had me deployed across Christmas. Kathy would have to celebrate alone that year…but come Christmas time on the boat, we pulled out these gift boxes, each one filled with items specifically for each Sailor. Mine was filled pictures of the kids, little toys so I would have something new, some Twizzlers…it was wonderful…why, because it connected me back to Kathy and the kids

Sometimes gifts are given that just keep on giving…and as a church, with the many ways we have been blessed, we have to be very careful not to become too used to the wonderful…

Today in 2023, it would be easy to take for granted that ministries like Restoration Men’s ministry and Vision of Hope have just always been there…

But it was 2005 when a family outside of our Church approached Faith because they had a “tax problem”

The solution to their problem was gift giving. Well, that gift included a house, 100 acres of land, a barn dating back to the 1800’s that had been partially restored, and some cash…

[insert an aerial pic of Bethany Farms]…

It took some time and planning, then in 2016 it became the home of our Men’s Restoration Ministries…that is why I say that it was a gift that keeps on giving, as a blessing to the men, and families, whose lives have been transformed…and it is also a gift that keeps on growing as we have doubled the number of men who area being served and expanded the nursery and sawmill

Consider, all of that started, humanly speaking, because someone chose to give us a gift…and it was wonderful…

A similar thing happened several years ago when the 90 acres adjacent to our FE campus became available…

As our church and school have grown over the years, based on the original land the church owned, we would be limited in how we could serve our families and serve the community…but then came another gift.

Seeing the potential growth of our ministries, a family chose the buy the 90 acres next to us. They could have held on to the land and waited for us to need the land and sell for a profit, but instead, they gave it to us…

Think about the impact of that gift…When you think about how our school is busting at the seams today, consider the limits we would have if we did not have land to grow…consider the impact of telling a parent who wants their kids to have a quality Christian education, “no your child cannot come to Faith because we just don’t have the room.” This gift is wonderfully impacting people we do not even know yet.

And These gifts of land will be a blessing not just to us but to our children and grandchildren…and even with gifts that have only been promised…Think about the Skatepark…because the City and County have promised gifts that will help fund the park, or the private family that has promised to give the gift that will pay for a new Track and Football Field

All of these gifts, received and promised have just been wonderful provisions from the Lord…

The reason I’m asking bringing these pictures to mind this morning is because 2700 years ago, God made several very specific prophecies, promises, about a gift that He was going to be delivering to the human race...

and He described this gift in such a way that was intended to build great anticipation in the lives of people...because the prophecies occurred 700 years before the gift was given...

- but there was also the potential delight not just in receiving it, but also in the joy of sharing it with somebody else.

- with that in mind, I’d like to invite you to open your Bible this morning to Isaiah chapter 9...that will be on page 492 in the front section of the Bible under the chair in front of you....

This morning we’re beginning a new series for Christmas entitled Light of the World…

Lord willing, we will study the four phrases in Isaiah 9:6 that highlight various aspects of the Promised Messiah…

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Just pause there for a moment – consider that statement – the promised Messiah

The coming Messiah was prophesied over 300 times in the Old Testament…

Consider what that means in regard to the gift that God offers each of us

- what do you do with a gift that perfectly fulfills promises that were written down hundreds and in some cases thousands of years before they occurred?

I know that I have promised things to my girls that I can forget in the matter of a few hours

- What do I do with the messianic promises - the answer is...you can either harden your heart and ignore the obvious implications and avoid the decisions that ought to be made...or you bow your heart, and bow your name to a Savior who is...wonderful...

- a few weeks ago we studied a very important verse in the NT where Peter explained that the Holy Spirit moved the writers of Scripture to record words that were inspired of God...

- here’s what Peter said in that same passage:

- 2 Peter 1:16-21 - For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

- in these verses Peter is referring to the transfiguration...where Jesus gave some of His disciples of glimpse of what He would look like in His heavenly glory - you can read about that in Matthew 17...

- but one phrase and particularly the word order in the original text of 2 Peter is very important to how we think about today’s passage…

- verse 1:19 - ”and we have more sure the prophetic word...”

- in other words, Peter’s point was...the experience of the transfiguration was fantastic...but it proves why we have confidence in God’s revealed Word…

- because these prophesies (including Isa. 9:6) were not cleverly devised tales...they are worthy of our trust...

- and what we are suggesting in this this Christmas season is...when you look at the prophecies, and then you look at the objective facts regarding the birth, the life, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ...it takes your breathe away...

The Wonderful gift of the gospel

I would echo the words of the apostle Paul as he give thanks for the churches in Colossae and Philippi for their participation in the gospel…I give thanks for our church as well…I hope you were able to be at the Stewardships Celebration…it was a night to see God at work and to see His people committed Him

I realize that we have been stretching, and pushing, and working very aggressively in this first year of our Free to Dream SMP

- and many of you have been keeping commitments to Christ, and commitments to our church this past year – and made fresh commitments for this coming year that are stretching us – in some cases, like never before….

- and it’s good for us to agree with Peter...we’re not committing ourselves to cleverly devised fables...

- and one of the reasons we know that is because of the miracle and the beauty of fulfilled prophecy...and that is why today, we will talk about…

The Gift that is Wonderful.

- read Isaiah 9:1-7

- this morning we’re thinking about the gift that is Wonderful and from these verses, we want to think especially about Three reasons Jesus Christ is a treasured gift.

- our messages today and throughout this season are exegetical studies of the second half of Isaiah 9:6...the names that were predicted to describe the person and work of Christ...

- for our purposes today, you saw that one of the keywords in the verse in the word “wonderful...”

- Now that is a word we might use in a variety of contexts, but today, I’d like us to think about it for a moment in the way it is used in the Bible and then we’ll bring that back to our key verse...

So before we unpack the meaning of “Wonderful Counselor”

Let’s start by identifying the…

- Meaning of the word “wonderful” in the Bible.

There are three characteristics to consider…first, something wonderful is something…

1. Unusual.

Isaiah 25:1 - O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

That would be a great verse to commit to memory, by the way...especially right after Thanksgiving...

- I’ll give thanks to your name because you have worked wonders...

- what does that mean?...

- Lord, the way you work is so unusual....it captures our attention and delights our hearts...

When you work wonders...it is not predictable, mundane or forgettable...your work causes us to be surprised, captured, and enthralled...

- whenever I have the privilege of telling someone about how I became a pastor…when I see again His work to take me from selfish and self-centered and He changed me…when I get asked about my years in the Navy, I often get asked if I miss it…now don’t get me wrong, I loved my time in the Navy, but I don’t miss it…to me that is unusual, and it is only by God’s marvelous grace that he would change my heart, for me…to me, that is wonderful

- I hope all of us could say this same thing to the Lord, and about Him - O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

- or another way of saying that is that God and His ways are....

2. Extraordinary.

Take a look at how the Psalmist describes this in Psalm 77

Psalm 77:11-15 - I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

When we use a word like, wonderful, amazing or awesome- so often that it loses its meaning,

but in Scripture you get the sense of one of God’s children standing there with wide eyes and an open mouth saying...look at what God is like...look at what he has done...look at what He is doing now...this is unusual...this is extraordinary...this is not what I would have expected...this is not what I would have anticipated or predicted...He’s wonderful...

- then a third emphasis is the aspect of being...

3. Unique.

Exodus 15:11 - Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?

- I’m not saying these are distinct concepts because you see some of the same themes running through all these verses...

- the point is...I don’t want us to think small when we think Wonderful…we need to sharpen our thinking about the word wonderful in order to really benefit from this prophecy...when the Bible talks about something or someone being wonderful, its directing our minds to thoughts of being unusual, or extraordinary, or unique...it causes us to respond with...wonder...

- now, let’s take all of that back to our passage that we might find...Three reasons Jesus Christ is a treasured gift.

Christ is

I. Wonderful Because of His Completeness.

- Just from verse 6 alone, think about the things that we are promised...a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders...that is promising an awful lot…

When I think about the commercials for toys at Christmas time, they certainly seem wonderful, they promise everything, and then when finally open the box, how often are we disappointed…

-

Not so when we unwrap this gift…we’re talking about the complete package...this is a gift that has it all...that’s part of what makes Him so wonderful...

- let’s break it down...

A. Child who will be born.

- Jesus is the Son of Man...

- that emphasizes His humanity...

- That goes along with a Christmas verse 2 chapters earlier in the book of Isaiah...

- Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Somehow God has to become a man...but it has to occur without the normal process of human procreation so there is no question about the transmission of the sin nature...how is the world is that going to happen?...

- the answer is...a virgin conception...

- there’s something unusual, extraordinary, and unique...

- but the real point is what that means...if that can occur, then we can have God with us...Immanuel...

- the apostles never got over that...look how they described it…

- John 1:14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

- Colossians 1:27 - to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

A child who will be born and also

B. Son who will be given.

- Jesus is also the Son of God...

- and it is interesting that this time the word “born” is not repeated...

- the emphasis there is on His preexistence...

- Yes we celebrate Christ’s birth AND we know that he is eternal

- the theological balance in this statement is incredible...

- Then on top of that He is also...

C. A king who will rule well.

- the government will be on His shoulders...

- we believe this will ultimately be fulfilled when Christ returns to the earth after the 7 year tribulation and establishes His millennial kingdom, his 1000 year rule and reign on this earth, ruling and leading from the throne of David...that’s what the book of Revelation is about....as well as with all the prophecies in the OT that have yet to be fulfilled...

- but for every person who has chosen to trust Christ as Savior and Lord, those kingdom conditions are to be lived out now in one’s heart, and life and certainly in the church...

- so when you put all of that together, you have a prophecy about a Messiah who will possess attributes of humanity, and attributes of deity, and attributes of Lordship...

- He is personal [a child will be born], He is perfect [a Son will be given], and He is powerful [the government will be upon His shoulders...]

- the complete package

- and I realize you might say...Rod, this is pretty heavy doctrinally....I hope you are hungry for that...

- this is a time of year filled with activity, busyness, and even sentimentality and that is fine in its place...

- and the busyness and excitement and activity will last till about December 28th...

- but the wonder of the theological aspects of the gift can last far longer...that’s where we want our primary focus to lie...

- can I ask you pause a moment and reflect on how wonderful it is that God has given us a Savior who is complete?...

- we needed someone who was personal...so a child was born...

- we needed someone who could pay for our sin...so a Son was given...

- we needed someone who could lead our lives...so a ruler was provided...

- its like the hymnwriter said....Christ is all I need...we marvel at His sufficiency...

- and it is in that context that Isaiah gives this first name for the Messiah...

- Jesus is wonderful because of His completeness...

- He is also wonderful...

II. Because of His Counsel.

A quick side note if you will allow me…

If you were raised in a church that used the King James Version, did you ever notice that there is a comma between wonderful and counselor…and that causes us to look at this verse differently, but

- that’s probably not best...verse 6 includes a series of 4 2-word names...

- just like it is mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace...it is wonderful counselor...

- why does that matter, well God is telling us He is not just any counselor

- 700 years before the birth of Christ...God wanted us to know that one of the greatest attributes of this great gift He was giving was that His words [His counsel] would be...wonderful.

- ten considering what we said earlier about this word “wonderful”...and let’s plug it into what this verse to answer the question...how is His counsel...wonderful?...

A. Wonderful in that His words are often so unexpected.

- how many times have you found yourself studying the life of Christ, the very words of Christ and thought...I would have never expected Jesus to say that...

- If it were me, I would have said just the opposite...

- let’s take something as simple as can be...

- John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

- we would have expected just the opposite...

- If I were to decide how we would get to heaven…I would have established some high standards and then laid out some tests to prove that we could all live up to those standards…because those would be the godly people…

But Jesus said – Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…

- now, the fact that this is the case begs the question...

- do you want a God who is telling you things you would have already expected, or who is surprising you at every turn?...

- because our natural tendency when we hear something we don’t expect...we want to reject it...

- because we wrongly assume...

- if it’s different than what I expected...if it’s different than what I would have said...it must be incorrect...

- being given a wonderful counselor means we are going to read things in His Word that are often going to surprise us and challenge our thinking...

- but then, there is a blessing in here as well...

- because you get to share a message that is wonderful...

- Many of you have signed up to serve in the Living Nativity in the next couple of weeks...

- why are you doing that?...because you want to proclaim news that is wonderful...

- and there will be men and women coming through the Living Nativity fully believing that they have to work their way to heaven...that they have to clean themselves up and get their life straight before they can approach Jesus...

- others will think God isn’t really interested in them, or there would be no place for them in a church. Maybe they see their own lives as just too far from God, that what they have done is too much to be forgiven

- but what is unexpected from Jesus is that neither of those thoughts are true…no, He says that whoever believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life…

- We ought to delight in being ambassadors of the counsel that is wonderful...it will surprise and delight the hearts of some who hear...

Sounds like a great prayer for our Christmas ministries, that many men and women would receive the wonderful counsel and choose to follow Christ...

Next we can see that His counsel is…

B. Wonderful in that His words are worthy of remembering.

- many times when you see this word “wonderful” in the Bible, there is an emphasis of consciously choosing to remember it is describing...

- Earlier we saw in Psalm 77...

- Psalm 77:11-I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

- the principle is...the more you consider something to be wonderful, the more likely you are to want to commit it to memory...

There are a lot of things we can quote for one reason or another, TV or Movies…many times just because we find it funny or iconic…not sure that is what we would call good counsel…

- I hope you would say that you would want to say that you work harder at memorizing the words of Christ, and the words of Scripture...more than any other document...because you consider its message to be wonderful...

- and you agree with statements like...that it is Christ…

- Colossians 2:3 - in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

and that you are asking

- Ephesians 1:17 - that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

So that…

- 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 - but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Then as we agree with these statements, we need to also acknowledge the caution that comes when we do not receive His wonderful counsel

Take a look ahead to Isaiah 29 for another use of this word “wonderful”...

“Because this people draw near with their words

And honor Me with their lip service,

But they remove their hearts far from Me,

And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;

And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,

And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

- do you see our word wonderful?... “wonderfully marvelous”...as He describes how He will deal with those who ignore his counsel and look to find their way on their own…

normally we would think about something wonderful in a good way...but in this case...it is exactly the opposite...yet it is still wonderful and we could say it like this...

C. Wonderful in that there are consequences to disobeying His counsel – Isa. 29:13-14

It is wonderful because…

- every person has the freedom to decide...are you going see his words as wonderful and choose to obey the words of Christ?

- because while you can choose to disobey, you do not get to choose the consequences of that choice...

- when you choose to do what God says to do...there are great blessings...more than you could ever believe [and many of us could give testimony to that...]

- but if you choose to disobey...be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows...[and many of us could give testimony to that as well...]

Our third reason that Jesus is a treasured gift…

He is…

III. Wonderful Because of His Ability to Change People.

- this prophecy was given to help God’s people live in anticipation of what a great gift the heavenly Father would be giving...

- but we live on the other side of the prophecy being fulfilled...

And we have the truths that tell us the fullness of what His names mean…

Because of this, we can point to the wonderful counselor, knowing that He alone has the ability to

A. To draw people to Himself.

Take a look at how he do this…he does not force us and he does not manipulate us, but rather based on the very nature of his heart, he invites us…with a gentle call to…

- Matthew 11:28 - Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Are you here today, looking at the Christmas season and all that you see is craziness and chaos? Are you already weary for the burdens of broken relationships…are you tired from the heavy load of just trying to make all things right…

I pray today that you would hear the wonderful counsel of the Lord, where he invites you to come, especially because you are weary, even while you are still heavy laden, because He wants to be the one to give you rest.

He does not ask us to clean ourselves up and put on a happy face…He does not ask us to complete the work first and clean ourselves up before we step into His home…

Come…that is all He asks…just come…for whoever believes in Him will never perish, but will have eternal life…

The Wonderful counselor is the only one able to draw people to our Savior, to draw people to himself.

Jesus is wonderful also because He is the only one able…

B. To fill our hearts with hope.

Conventional wisdom would say that those who are weak would need to work to build up their strength, that those who are lost would need to find their own way…

But then…who are you depending on if you follow the conventional wisdom?...it’s all about me…my strength, my power and even my wisdom…and those all come with my weakness, my shortfalls and my foolishness, none of which is wonderful and none of it will ever be enough…

But Jesus’ words are wonderful because he tells us that…

- 2 Corinthians 12:9 - And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Ask yourself, what are you looking for?

When we see Jesus as wonderful – We can know that He is enough?

Maybe you can say with me…If it takes weakness to reveal the power in Christ? If it takes weakness to see His counsel as Wonderful….bring on the weakness!

Then, with my heart filled with hope, I can have hope even for the most difficult relationships in my life…because Jesus is wonderful in that He alone gives us the ability…

C. To know how to relate to one another.

Again – the world’s conventional wisdom would tell us we should consider every relationship, knowing that the others…well they are all sinners and they will fail us, so we should choose to protect ourselves, watch out for #1…again, not wonderful counsel…

Jesus is a treasured gift because he gives us the ability to relate differently…

- Matthew 22:37–39 - And He said to him, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

When I choose the Love the Lord with all my being and be obedient to Him by loving others, my neighbors, as myself, His counsel helps me to consider that I do not need to consider how others treat me or how other think about me, because none of that changes how my Lord love me and is changing me

And I can see Christ as Wonderful because He is able to change me and call me…

D. To call us to a sacrificial and purposeful life.

Though I might have ideas about what I would call the good life, the successful life, my wonderful counselor is calling me to something far more just as he challenged his disciples saying….

- Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

When Jesus fulfilled the prophecies that a child would be born to us, a son given to us and that He would be the Lord upon whom the government would rest upon his shoulders, His purpose was far greater than just to be born and to live, rather the Wonderful Counselor was sent to live a sacrificial and purposeful from which He calls us to follow because

Jesus is our treasured gift, unusual, extraordinary and unique.

He is Wonderfully complete,

wonderful in His counsel

and wonderful in His ability to change us…

that we too might be Alive in Christ and sharing the Gift that is Wonderful

** Pray**