Unto Us a Child Is Born

Father, we thank You so much, Lord, that You have called us into Your presence to stand in awe of You. We ask, Lord, that as we take some time tonight to look into Your Word, You would guide us through Your Word by Your Spirit. You promised that You would give us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of all truth, who would guide us in all things, teach us all things, and bring to remembrance whatever things You had said. Lord, do that as we sit in Your presence, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

You can be seated. If you would, open your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 9. As we were singing tonight, one of the songs that Matt led us in was "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness." This was written by the prophet Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations in about the 6th century B.C.

When he wrote that, some of you may know and somewhat understand the historical context of the book of Lamentations. It was during one of the darkest times in all of the land of Israel. The nation of Israel had been divided by a civil war into two different nations after the reign of King Solomon. There was a group of people from the nation of Israel called the Northern Ten Tribes, and then there were the Southern Tribes called Judah.

During the time that Jeremiah wrote those words, the nation of Judah was about to come under siege by the Babylonians. The Northern Ten Tribes had already been carried away into exile by the Assyrians, and they had become what are now called the Lost Tribes of Israel. We don't even know who they are anymore.

But these Southern Two Tribes, Judah and Benjamin, and the region in the south that surrounded the city of Jerusalem, called Judah, had come to be known as Judea during the time of Christ. As the Babylonians were getting ready to come and lay siege to Jerusalem,

They would ultimately overthrow the city under King Nebuchadnezzar. It was a dark time, and the people were concerned and worried. Imagine for a moment that you were in that position, with the land already fairly wasted by the wars that had come against them. Just a few years before the Babylonians arrived, King Sennacherib, the leader of the nation of Assyria, had come all the way down to Jerusalem, surrounded it, and almost completely consumed it.

However, God had promised His people through the prophet Isaiah that they would not overthrow the city of Jerusalem and that a remnant would return. The land was completely desolate when the Babylonians came, around 586 BC. In the midst of the darkness, we find the words of the prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations chapter 3, starting in verse 22. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions do not fail. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Verse 23 says, "They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness."

Imagine that you are in the midst of that, as Jeremiah, looking at all this. When the Babylonians besieged the city of Jerusalem, Jeremiah watched it with his own eyes. He sat on the Mount of Olives and wept over the city as he witnessed its destruction. Yet, in the darkness, God spoke to him and said, "My mercies are new every morning. My steadfast love never ends. It never ceases. I am faithful."

I would think that those would be, in all honesty, somewhat difficult words to hear if you were witnessing those events. Now, turn back to Isaiah chapter 6. Some years prior to Lamentations chapter 3, in the book of Isaiah, the situation was basically the same. There was a leader in the land of Judah named Ahaz. Some of you may have heard that name, King Ahaz, before. Ahaz was a wicked king. He refused to submit himself to God and refused to trust in the Lord. At this point in Israel's history, in Isaiah chapter 9, there was a war going on. The southern two tribes of Judah had been engaged in a civil war.

The northern ten tribes were significant in the historical context of the scriptures. I hope I can explain this in a way that you will be able to follow it well. This is historical; it actually happened. When we read the scriptures, it's important to realize this fact.

In Isaiah chapter 7, King Ahaz was met by the prophet Isaiah. I want you to note one thing quickly. In Isaiah chapter 7, verse 3, the Lord says to Isaiah, "Go forth now." He instructs Isaiah to meet Ahaz and take his son with him. His son's name was Sher-Jashub. Isaiah was to go to the end of the conduit of the upper pool, to the highway to the fuller's field.

When we read this passage, we might wonder what it is all about. The instruction to meet at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, the highway to the fuller's field, may seem obscure. However, it provides proof that these events really happened. It would be like God saying to Isaiah, "Hey, go down to that 7-11 on Mission and meet with Ahaz." It’s a specific location outside of Jerusalem.

Sometimes, when we read through the Old Testament, we might think these are just great stories. But they are not just stories; they are factual events that actually occurred. At this point in time, Ahaz was the king over the nation of Judah, which consisted of the southern two tribes. The ten tribes to the north were coming to lay siege to the southern two tribes. They had formed a confederacy, an alliance with Syria, the nation of Syria.

These names are still recognized today. They sought to destroy King Ahaz. However, God spoke to Isaiah, telling him to meet Ahaz and inform him that the plan from the northern king would not come to pass. God assured Isaiah that He would defend His city.

And God says, "I'm going to prove it to you. I'm going to prove to you that I'm going to defend my city by giving you a sign." The sign that He spoke of was Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14, a verse that many of you have heard before: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call His name Immanuel." God with us, you shall call His name Immanuel.

God said to Isaiah, "Speak to Ahaz and tell him I'm going to give you a sign." But Ahaz wouldn't listen. Instead, he put his trust in other armies to try and help him. God said, "Trust me, and I'm going to bring about a victory for you," but he wouldn't believe. God said, "If you believe My word, you will be established, Ahaz," but he wouldn't believe, and ultimately, he wouldn't be established.

Just a couple of chapters later, as we come to chapter 9, this prophecy continues to be spoken to the southern two tribes, to Judah. God is speaking to His people, saying, "Judgment is coming." Over and over again in the book of Isaiah, we read this very small word, just three letters: the word "woe." How many of you have seen that in your Bibles before? Woe means certain judgment or that judgment is on the way. Isaiah spoke this to the people of Judah, saying, "Woe unto you. Judgment is certain."

Why? Because you put all evil for good and good for evil; you put darkness for light and light for darkness. God would speak to His people and say, "Judgment is going to come upon you because you've departed from Me; you've turned away from Me." Throughout chapters 7 and 8, God speaks about this judgment that was going to come upon Judah and Jerusalem.

When we get to Isaiah chapter 8, verse 19, right near the end of the chapter, we read, "And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards that peep, that mutter, should not this people seek unto their Lord for the living and the dead?" God says, "Listen, Isaiah, they're going to come to you. The people are going to come to you and say, 'We're going to seek after people who have familiar spirits. We're going to seek after spiritists, after psychics, after palm readers. We don't trust that you're really hearing from God, so we're going to go seek after these other people because we think that they may have a better word for us.'"

And God says, should not a people seek their God? Yet these people, the nation of Judah, had turned away from God. They wouldn't seek after the Lord, and because of that, God says judgment is certain. They were turning to the dead to try and find out information for the living. You know what that's called? It's called a séance. That's what the people during Isaiah's time were doing, even their king, King Ahaz, this wicked king.

But God says to Isaiah, tell the people to, in verse 20, look to the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word, the word of God, it is because there is no light in them. The counsel of God to the people of Israel was to look to Him, to look to His word. He will speak to them if they look to His word. But they wouldn't, because there was no light in them; they were full of darkness. They would much rather turn to these false prophets and to these spiritists.

There was a judgment that would come as a result of that, as stated in verse 20. They shall pass through the land heartily beset with hunger. God says, because they won't turn to Him, there is going to be famine, and they are going to be hungry in the land. It shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, curse their king and their God, and look upward. God says, I am going to remove My presence from them. I am going to remove My provision from My people because they are full of darkness. They do not want to follow Me. When I remove My provision, they will go through times where they are hungry, and they will be anxious because they have nothing to eat.

In the midst of it, they will cry out against Me and say, look what God has done to us. As so often is the case, this is typically what we see many times when people depart from the Lord. He removes His presence from them and His provision, and then they turn and cry out against the Lord. Instead of looking to the Lord humbly, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and seek Me, I will hear them and I will heal their land. But these people wouldn't do that.

Instead, we read in verse 22 of Isaiah chapter 8, they shall look unto the earth. They do not look to God, but they look to their false gods of this earth, trying to find some sort of provision or protection. Behold, instead of finding that, they will find trouble and darkness, dimness and anguish, and they shall be driven to darkness. It sounds like a pretty depressing situation, doesn't it?

How many of you have seen those posters? They're kind of the hip thing for the last several years. You see them in different businesses and offices. They feature a really beautiful picture with an inspirational quote underneath, which may say something like "endurance." Have you seen those before?

There's another company out there that you can find on the internet. They make signs with similar pictures, but they have sayings like "despair." One particular picture says "despair." It depicts a scene where the sun has gone down, it's dusk, and it's about to become nighttime. The quote reads, "It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black." They play on the idea of giving an inspirational quote, but instead, they provide these despairing quotes.

When I think of this passage in Isaiah chapter 8, particularly at the end, that’s what comes to my mind: it’s dark and getting darker for Israel. Their own brothers from the north were coming against them in battle—the northern ten tribes. Ultimately, God prophesies in the next chapters that the Assyrians are going to come and destroy the northern ten tribes. Then, war will come against Jerusalem again through the Assyrians.

Later in the book of Isaiah, in the latter chapters after chapter 39, God starts to say that Assyria has already come, and now Babylon is coming. It’s just wave after wave of depression. The sad part is that all of it could have been stopped in an instant. If the people had heeded the word of God and His prophet Isaiah, if they had repented and turned to the Lord, God would have heard from heaven and healed their land.

But no, they wouldn’t. They looked to the earth and to other kings. When the northern ten tribes came against them, they called out to Assyria and said, "We’ll pay you, come help us." Then Assyria would take the money and, a few years later, turn around and attack Israel. When they were being attacked by the Assyrians, they called out to the Egyptians, "Egypt, come help us." But never once did they turn to the Lord and say, "God, we need your help."

It was dark in Israel and getting darker. Nevertheless, in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 1, we read this beautiful word.

Of really grace, mercy, and compassion on the part of our God, it is as if God says, "Wait a minute, nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation." When at first He lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, afterward He more grievously afflicted her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the nations.

Now, you may read that and think, "Boy, what's all that about?" Especially when I read it to you in the King James Bible. You might wonder, "Couldn't you have chosen something a little easier to understand?" But as we read this in the midst of great darkness, God speaks to His prophet and says, "Nevertheless, there is coming a day when things are going to change."

You see, the Assyrians were on the move, and they were about to come and destroy the northern ten tribes. When we read in verse 1 about Zebulun and Naphtali, those names refer to tribes of Israel that were in the north. Those tribes were going to be completely consumed; they were going to be completely destroyed by the Assyrians that were coming. They would go through great distress. Yet God says, in the midst of that darkness that is going to come upon you, "Nevertheless, behold, there is a light that is coming." A light that will shine in that region of Galilee of the Gentiles.

We read in verse 2, "To the people that walked in darkness, they have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has light shined." Now, I want you to take just a moment, if you have a pencil or a pen tonight and you don't mind writing in your Bible, and underline these words in that verse, in verse 2. The people that walked—underline that in your Bibles. They walked in darkness, but they have seen—underline seen—they have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them light has shone—underline shone.

All three of those words are in what tense? What is it? The past tense. You see, this was the group of people, Zebulun, Naphtali, the nations to the north, the tribes of Israel to the north that were consumed by the Assyrians there in the 600s BC. They were completely devastated by the Assyrian army, and yet God says, "There is coming a..."

The day when those who walked in darkness will see a great light is a significant moment. We look back at this as already accomplished, as God spoke it through the prophet Isaiah as something that would come to pass. Those who were in darkness would see a great light, and this light would shine upon them. It would not only shine upon the children of Israel living in that area, but also, as noted at the end of verse one, in Galilee of the Gentiles, or Galilee of the nations. God was going to bring His great light to this region, not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles.

How many Gentiles are there here tonight? I would say most of us are. I don't really know if any of you have Jewish heritage, but I'm guessing that the greater majority of us in this room tonight are Gentiles. There was a great light that was going to come to that region, to Galilee of the Gentiles—those people who had walked in darkness in the past but now have seen a great light, and this light has shone upon them.

God says, "I am going to bring a great light upon these people in this region who have experienced great devastation, who have experienced great darkness and depression. I'm going to shine My light upon them. And when My light comes, great joy will come with it." This great joy shall be likened to the time when you bring in the harvest.

Has anybody here been a farmer in past years? We have a couple of people who have done farming. When I was a younger kid, I used to work at a farm stand down the street from my parents' house. My job there, when I was about 12 years old, was to plant a big garden and tend to it. They had a big plot of ground, a few acres, and it was really more of a public relations thing so that people driving by would see this big garden and think, "Oh, wow, a farm stand! Let's stop there."

An older gentleman, a great guy who had owned this farmland and farm stand for years—going back a couple of generations in his family—took me out there and explained the whole thing to me. He showed me how to do everything, and I started planting these fields with beans, tomatoes, okra, and all these different things.

That I planted out there was hard work that year. It was a tough job, probably one of the tougher jobs that I've had. There were times when looking at it, I thought, "Oh, this is horrible." Weeding was particularly challenging, and that year we had a real problem with bullweed—those little things with the stickers on them. You had to go out and pick them by hand, and it was not easy work. I respect those who have done that for a living or continue to do so.

However, there was great joy when it started to produce fruitfulness, when the harvest would begin to come in. The people that Isaiah was speaking to knew all about that because they were a society centered around farming. He says the joy that this is going to bring, when this great light shines in the area of Galilee of the Gentiles, will be like bringing in the harvest. But not only will it be like bringing in the harvest, it will also be like bringing in the spoil after a battle. If you're the one bringing in the spoil after the battle, that means you won.

If you've just been fighting this great battle and now you're taking in the spoil, you're joyful for a few reasons. First, you lived and you're still there; you won. Second, you're joyful because now you get to bring in the spoil of war. If Isaiah were to write this in the year 2007, he would probably characterize it as the locker room after the winning team wins the World Series or the joy experienced in the locker room after a Super Bowl victory. This is abundant joy.

He continues to build upon this idea. The Hebrew language, in which this was originally written, is interesting. When you say something more than once and in different ways, you're amplifying its meaning. You're trying to convey that you can't explain it with just one illustration. So, he keeps going.

In verse 4, he writes, "For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, and the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian." He emphasizes that the joy is not just like bringing in the harvest or the spoil, but like winning the battle, as in the days of Midian. This speaks about the victory of Gideon.

The judge spoken of in Judges chapter 6 and Judges chapter 7 is a significant figure. In Judges chapter 7, 300 men faced an army of over 125,000 men and emerged victorious. What kind of joy would you experience if that were you? Isaiah continues to build on this idea, emphasizing that when this light comes to a place that has been in such dark depression for so long, it will be a joyful event.

For every battle of the warrior is with confusion, noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. He says, "Listen, you know what it's like to go through a battle, Israel. You know how difficult it is." At the end of the battle, when you start to clear the battlefield of all the remnants, it's like fuel for the fire. You take it and throw it into the fire, celebrating the great victory of the day.

He speaks of joy—great joy—because of this coming light. This light will shine in a dark place, not only for the Jew but also for the Gentile, in the region called Galilee of the Gentiles. But what is this light all about? What is this joy he speaks of? These glad tidings of great joy? He begins to explain it more fully in verse 6.

Isaiah 9, verse 6, is a verse that I am sure you have heard before: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David he shall sit, and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform it."

He speaks about the darkness in chapter 8, a darkness that surrounded and filled the land. It was oppressive, causing everyone to flee to the mountains, in a sense, to hide because the Assyrian was coming and would lay waste to the land.

Everything is going to be left in shambles. But there is coming a day, he says, when great light will shine in that dark place, and great joy is going to come—joy that I can't even begin to express with words. He amplifies it and amplifies it to try and express to these people who are going through dark depression that there is coming a day when a Deliverer is coming.

And who is that Deliverer? For unto us a child is born, he says, and unto us a son is given. Unto us a child is born. Who might this be? Well, I already mentioned there was a passage just a couple of chapters before that spoke of a child coming, of a child being born. Over in Isaiah chapter 7, God spoke through Isaiah to the king that ruled at this time. In verse 14, he says, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel," which is to be translated "God with us."

There is coming this child who is going to be God with us. He is going to bring great joy and a great light to a dark place, to a dark world. He shall come. For unto us a child is born. Looking at these two verses, Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, we begin to see a prophecy given about the coming of who? Jesus, the Messiah.

Now you may say, how do we know that? Well, the gospel writers tell us that in the book of Matthew. We read the fulfillment of this passage when we consider that Jesus came to that same region, Galilee of the Gentiles—an area that had sat in darkness for so long, an area that had been cut down by so many different battles and armies that had come through. Yet there would come one to that place: Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth.

The bulk of Jesus' ministry would take place in this region called Galilee of the Gentiles. It was, in my opinion, a strategic place for God—a strategic place for God to perform many miracles and preach the message of the gospel. If you can kind of see in your mind's eye a picture of that region, if you were to look at a map of Israel, many of you have seen a map of that region. There is the Sea of Galilee, and on the west side would be mostly Jewish cities during the time of Christ. Jesus would base his ministry from one of those cities, a city by the name of Capernaum.

Many of you know that name. He would move about those cities in the Jewish region of Galilee. From time to time, as we've been studying through the Gospels on Sunday morning, we see that Jesus would take a boat with his disciples and go to the other side, to a region that was not predominantly Jewish. In fact, it was mostly Gentiles, a place called Decapolis, or the Ten Cities. Ten Gentile cities. The message and the miracles of the Messiah would be focused in that region, a place that had sat in darkness. But now it was going to see a great light when this child would be born.

What is significant about this, "a child shall be born"? One important aspect to consider is the humanity of Jesus. When we think about the one we call Christ, the one who is our Lord, the Bible tells us that he was a man. He came as a man, fully human, and yet at the same time, he was fully God. God became a man, as the Scriptures tell us. We see it proclaimed for us in Philippians chapter 2. It's spoken of by Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. This is the incarnation of our God; he became a man, laying aside for a time his position on the throne in heaven. He came to the earth for a purpose, and his purpose was to die for sinful man.

For unto us a child is born, and this speaks of his humanity. This is important because in the early church, within the first 50 years after Jesus ascended into heaven, there arose a heresy. Heresy is just a theological term for false teaching. The very first false teaching that we see in the Scriptures, not long after Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, was a heresy that claimed Jesus was not a man.

Now, why do you think the people during the time of Christ would think that he was not a man? Consider for a moment that twelve of his disciples saw him walk on water. Countless people witnessed him risen from the dead. Many people ate food that he provided from nowhere.

He fed the multitudes. He raised the dead. He healed the sick. He cast out demons. The people who were eyewitnesses of these things started to spread a heresy, claiming that he couldn't be human. They reasoned that no man could do these things. Since they couldn't do these things, they concluded that he must not be human. This heresy was called Docetism, which suggested that he only seemed like a man; he was God. We have no problem with that, but they insisted he wasn't a man.

However, the Scriptures tell us otherwise. The prophecy, given 700 years before he came, states, "Unto us a child is born." But not only is a child born; we read right after that, "Unto us a son is given." He is not only fully man but also fully God. Unto us a son is given—God's only son. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Here we stand, 2,000 years after that first heresy in the church. Now we've swung to the complete other side of the heresy pendulum, so to speak. In the first century, the heresy was that Jesus was not a man. But here in our day, people claim that Jesus was not God. In fact, just this week, you've likely seen the news stories claiming that we have found the bones of Jesus. How many of you have seen that on the news?

Even the Jewish scholars in Jerusalem are writing articles stating that this is completely false. Why would they do that? One might think they would love this news, as they do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Surely, they would want to find the bones of Jesus. Yet, even the Jewish scholars are saying these are not the bones of Jesus. Meanwhile, Hollywood is pushing this narrative. Why do you think that is?

Last year, it was "The Da Vinci Code." What did that do? It diminished the deity of Christ. In our day, people do not want to believe that Jesus is God. They have no problem saying, "Yeah, Jesus was a good teacher. He was maybe a healer. He had all kinds of great things to say." However, those who claim that Jesus had a lot of great things to say haven't truly read what he has to say. They would really stumble at his teachings.

So, in our day, people say Jesus was just a good man. Right after Jesus' ascension into heaven, people would say, "He can't be man; he must be God."

But the Scriptures proclaim, 700 years before He came, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." Further amplifying upon this one that would come, we read, "And the government shall be upon His shoulder."

The book of Hebrews is clear in Hebrews 2, verses 8 and 9, that all things have been put under the power, authority, and subjection of Jesus Christ. He is over all things, the Scriptures tell us. However, the writer of the book of Hebrews goes on to say, "We do not yet see all things put in subjection under Him," as stated in Hebrews 2, verse 8.

Looking around this world today—at the violence, the wars, the famines, and the death—many might start to wonder, is God really in control? Sometimes, you may ask yourself those questions. How could He be in control of all this? It seems like everything is falling apart. If God is in control, He doesn't appear to be a very good manager.

So, while we do not see all things put in subjection under Jesus, there is coming a day, and the Scriptures declare that this day shall come to pass. There is an interesting aspect of prophecy: it often has an early and a latter fulfillment. In this prophecy, in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, we read, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." Has that happened yet? Yes, it has. Jesus was incarnate 2,000 years ago. He came in the flesh to live a perfect life and die a sinless death for you and me, taking our sin upon Himself.

But when we move to this part of the verse that says, "The government shall be upon His shoulder," have we seen this yet? Not practically. We have not practically seen it, but positionally, Jesus is on the throne. There is a throne in heaven, and it is not vacant. Jesus is on the throne. Isaiah chapter 6 saw Jesus high and lifted up on the throne in heaven. Stephen, the first martyr of the church, looked and beheld that Jesus was standing at the throne of God in heaven.

There is a throne in heaven, and it is an occupied throne. Our Lord is seated upon that throne right now. Positionally, He is on the throne.

Practically, here on earth, we do not yet see it fully come to pass, but there is coming a time. In the future, the prophecies of the Bible speak about this time when Jesus will rule and reign on the earth. It is a coming day, and it is a foregone conclusion. How can I say for certain that it will happen? The fact that the first portion of this verse has already happened proves to me that the second will also. There is coming a day when Jesus shall rule and reign. The government shall be upon His shoulder.

What will this government look like? I want to read to you something from Gaylor, whom many of you know. We all love Gaylor around here. He wrote something about this passage. He asked, what would such a government look like? First of all, it would look like its King. Politicians of this day look for what they can get from you. Jesus looks for what He can do for you. Leaders of this day surround themselves with servants, while Jesus surrounds us with His servanthood. Leaders of this day use their power to build their empire, but Jesus uses His power to wash our feet and make us clean.

Leaders of this day trade their influence for money. God so loved the world that He gave. Generals of this day need regular wars to keep their weapons and skills up to date and to ensure their own advancement. Jesus brings peace and rest to the hearts. The higher the plane of importance one reaches in this world, the more inaccessible he becomes. Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us. Leaders of this day are desperate to be seen and to be heard, while Jesus sought anonymity so He could be useful.

Obviously, Jesus is not in charge of the halls of Washington, London, Moscow, Baghdad, Paris, or Bonn. So how can we ever believe this government will be upon His shoulders? Actually, His government shows its workings in wonderful ways. Whenever I see someone who miraculously leaves a life of drugs or alcohol and is restored to his family and work, I can see that he is now governed by God. Whenever I see loving Christians gently caring for orphans and those rejected by their family, I know I am watching people who are governed by God. Whenever I see people eagerly learning the Bible, I recognize the influence of His governance in their lives.

And joyously praising, I know who their governor is. Whenever I see people giving up lucrative careers simply to go and share the good news of Jesus, I know they are governed by God. When I see pastors carefully teaching and leading the flock of God that He has given to them, I know that they are getting signals from their great King. When I see people leave family to live and teach in distant lands because they love the people who have not heard the Word, I know they are governed by God.

So indeed, the government is alive and working. Often silently, mostly unseen, we can be and are, by choice, governed by God. Hope, joy, peace, and rest cover its subjects. Justice, mercy, and grace amazingly coexist. I like this kingdom. The borders are open. Come in.

You see, practically speaking, here in this world right now, we don't see the kingdom of God here on earth. But we pray, "Thy will be done, Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven." And see, we, as the Scriptures tell us in Philippians, are citizens of heaven. As a believer, you experience this kind of kingdom right now. But there is coming a day when that kingdom will come to earth, and He will rule and reign with power.

Going on in verse 6, we read, "His name shall be called." It is important to realize that a name in the Bible is synonymous with the character and nature of the one that bears that name. You see in Isaiah 7, verse 14, it said that there would be one born of a virgin, and his name would be called Emmanuel. Is the Messiah, who was born of a virgin, named Emmanuel? No, when He came, He bore the name Jesus. But Emmanuel means "God with us." It speaks of His character. It speaks of His nature, not specifically His title.

And so now, in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, we read about the name of our Lord. This one who will bring this government, this one who was born a child, this one who was a son who was given, the one who will bring great light and joy to this world. His name shall be called Wonderful.

Who do you turn to for advice? Who's the first person that you turn to? Is Jesus in your top five? When you're going through difficult things, is He number one?

Is He the first one you run to? His name, His nature, is that He is the Wonderful Counselor. He is the Wonderful Counselor. He's the one who can give good advice, pure advice, right advice. Many times in my life, I've been uncertain about things. Have any of you ever been uncertain about stuff? When I'm uncertain, when I'm unsure, I want a counselor who's unbiased. I want a counselor who is unblemished by the things of this world, one who's uncompromised, unemotional, and unattached. I want one who's unbound by the things of this world. I want one who's unchanging. Undoubtedly, there's only one who fits that description. There's only one who can unfold understanding to you and me, and He is the Counselor, Jesus Christ.

But not only is He a Counselor, He's Wonderful, as we read. His name shall be called Wonderful. He is Extraordinary. He is Marvelous. At the same time, have you ever noticed that He can sometimes be a little hard to understand? There is an aspect of our Lord that is wonderful in the sense that He causes us to wonder. When we look at Him, when we behold Him, when we think about how great He is and the things that He's able to do, He truly causes us to wonder.

Do you realize that the wonder, the amazement that is in our Lord, that is our Lord, is what makes Him able to be worshipped? I believe that something must have an aspect of the mysterious for it to be worshipped. If we completely understand it, then how is it worthy of our worship? It's lower than us if we can completely understand it. But our God is wonderful, and He's beyond our comprehension. We will spend eternity trying to get to know how great He is. He's the Wonderful Counselor. He's also the Mighty God. The Bible establishes for you and me that Jesus is the Mighty God.

And if you've ever doubted the fact that Jesus is God, did you realize that the Bible shows us that God the Father called Him God? In Hebrews 1, verse 8, God the Father says, "Unto the Son He says, Thy throne, O God," a quote from Psalm 45, verse 6. See, God the Father even called Jesus God. Jesus is the Mighty God. He is strong and abounding in strength, far more than anything you and I could ever begin to understand.

But not only is He the Mighty God, He is the Everlasting Father. Now, some people have a hard time with this because we're speaking about Jesus, aren't we? We're speaking about this Child that would be born, this Son that is given. And now, all of a sudden, the writer of Isaiah says, "Unto us will come the Everlasting Father."

We believe in a triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So, how could Jesus be called the Father? I submit to you that this has nothing to do with the triune nature of God and who Jesus is. Remember, the book of Colossians tells us that by Him all things were created. He is the Father of creation. Without Him, nothing was made that was made. He is everlasting and before all things, as the Scripture tells us. Our Jesus is eternal.

Not only is He the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Wonderful Counselor, but He is also the Prince of Peace. Maybe more than anything, this world, communally and corporately, is looking for peace. Have you noticed? Independently or individually, I would say that most people are looking for love. But the world corporately is looking for peace. Year after year, we sign peace treaties and establish different agreements throughout the world. Yet, year after year, they are broken. Man is constantly looking for peace and trying to find ways to bring it.

This precious commodity is only found in Jesus. There will be no peace upon this earth until the Prince of Peace is enthroned in Jerusalem. But that day is coming. He is the Prince of Peace, the one who brings it—the ruler, the leader, the official, the captain, the general, the commander, the head, the overseer, the elder.

He's the only one who's able to bring true peace, especially, number one, between God and man. He's the Prince of Peace in bringing peace between you and the Father. But there's coming a day when ultimately He will be bringing peace upon this earth. That will be a lasting peace because we read in verse 7, "Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end." When Jesus comes to establish peace on this earth, there will be no end to that peace.

Now, for those of you who have maybe studied a little bit of prophecy and understand a little bit of end-time events, when we're talking about the rule and reign of Jesus Christ, what period is that called in the history of the earth? The millennium. There's going to come a period of time for a thousand years where Jesus will rule and reign upon this earth. It will have a distinct beginning and it will have a distinct end. But know for certain that the rulership and government of Jesus will not end when that millennial reign is over. Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end. And upon the throne of David, He shall sit.

Who is David? The great King of Israel. The great King to whom God said, "There will not depart one upon your throne forever." In 2 Samuel 7, verse 13, God said, "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever." Then down in verse 16 of 2 Samuel 7, God again said, "And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall be established forever." God gave an everlasting covenant to David there in 2 Samuel 7. David desired to build a temple for God. David was a man after God's own heart. Because of that, God said, "There shall not ever be removed a king from your throne, David, forever."

But today, positionally and practically, here on this earth, is there a king on David's throne in Jerusalem? No, but his throne is occupied in heaven. Because Jesus, when He came, came in the line of David.

Both through His mother and His father, earthly speaking, when you look at the lineage and genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3, you see that His line is right through David. Jesus is the Son of David, a messianic title applied to Him. When Jesus comes and orders His throne here upon the earth, we are told that upon the throne of David He shall sit and He shall order that throne and kingdom, establishing it with judgment and justice.

Jesus will order the throne and the kingdom with judgment and justice. We are constantly looking for judges who rule righteously and justly. We look around our nation today and see many judges who, sadly, are not always just in their judgment. However, our Lord, our King, when He sits upon the throne, will be just in His judgment. He will establish His kingdom with judgment and justice.

This is exactly what God was looking for from His people. He sought judgment and justice among them. In fact, just a few chapters before this, in Isaiah chapter 5, God speaks about His people and shares a story to illustrate His message. We know that Jesus often spoke with stories, didn't He? God spoke through a story about a vineyard. He talked about how He built this vineyard and then said in Isaiah chapter 5, verse 7, "This vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel." This vineyard that I’m telling you about is the house of Israel and the men of Judah, His pleasant plant.

God looked for judgment, but behold, He found oppression. He looked for justice or righteousness, but instead, He found a cry. As God looked upon His people and His kingdom here on earth, the nation of Israel at that time, He said, "I am looking for justice. I’m looking for judgment." But it would not be found and will not be found until Jesus comes and orders His kingdom here upon the earth with justice and judgment. We read at the very end of verse 7 that that kingdom will reign from henceforth and forevermore.

There will be no end to that kingdom. Jesus is on the throne of that kingdom in heaven. When He taught His disciples to pray, He said, "Pray your kingdom come." We do pray that His kingdom will come from heaven to earth, and it will come. God will answer that prayer. That kingdom will have no end, not because you and I pray for it to be so or because we try to make it happen.

About 20 years ago, there was a group of people who split off from true Orthodox Christianity. They started a group called the Manifested Sons of God, believing they would establish God's kingdom on earth. They thought that as soon as they set it up, then He would come and inhabit it. Boy, is that a bummer. We are not going to establish His kingdom for Him. We are not here to try to make it happen so that He can come and fill the throne once we establish it and build it. No, He will order and establish it. Why? The very end of the verse reads, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

God is passionate about His word, and He will passionately perform that which He has promised to do. There is coming a day when He will accomplish this. The very first words of this prophecy have come to pass: "For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given." From then on, we read about things that are true in heaven but not true here on earth. However, there is coming a day. So we would say, "Come, Lord Jesus, come." The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Even so, Lord Jesus, come. We look forward to the day that this will be fulfilled.

Let's stand and pray. God, Your word is truth. We pray that You would order and establish Your kingdom in our hearts and in our lives. As we read that quote from Gale Irwin, Your kingdom is alive and well in the midst of the hearts of Your church. But Lord, we pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We know You will answer that prayer. We thank You in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you need prayer this evening, if you have not become a part of that kingdom yet, Jesus would say in Matthew chapter 4, verse 17, when He began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The kingdom of heaven is right there for your taking.

All you have to do is turn from your sin, let go of what you've been holding onto, and grab ahold of that kingdom. It's open. Just as Gale Irwin said, it's open. The borders are open; come in.

If you haven't come into that kingdom tonight, all that awaits you is darkness and dimness, depression and death. But the kingdom of light has been ordered and established by our Lord. May the Lord richly bless you for the rest of this week.

If you have any questions or prayer requests, some of the pastors will be available for you after the service. You are dismissed.