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.
Isaiah 1:19 - …and we have more sure the prophetic word...
3 reasons Jesus Christ is a treasured gift
Meaning of the word “wonderful” in the Bible
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.
2. Extraordinary
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.
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. Wonderful Because of His Completeness
A. Child who will be born
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.
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.
B. Son who will be given
C. A king who will rule well
II. Wonderful Because of His Counsel
A. Wonderful in that His words are often so unexpected
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.
B. Wonderful in that His words are worthy of remembering
Psalm 77:11 - I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
Colossians 2:3 - …in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
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.
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.
C. Wonderful in that there are consequences to disobeying His counsel - Isa. 29:13-14
III. Wonderful Because of His Ability to Change People
A. To draw people to Himself
Matthew 11:28 - Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
B. To fill our hearts with hope
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.
C. To know how to relate to one another
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.
D. To call us to a sacrificial and purposeful life
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.
- this morning I’d like to begin our time by asking you to think about a gift you’ve received at some point in your life-time that you would say was just “wonderful”...
- maybe because it was totally unexpected...
- or perhaps because it was exactly what you wanted or needed...
- maybe it was much more than you expected or deserved...
- but for whatever reason you it stands out in your mind as being a wonderful gift...
- one of the pleasures of being a pastor is to watch the Lord through His people bless the church with all sorts of gifts...
- and because they are given to the church, there is the added benefit of not only receiving the gift, but then watching that gift in turn be a blessing to so many others...
- so it’s received, and then it’s shared...
1. For example, quite a few years ago a family gave our church a beautiful truck...
- you might say...trucks aren’t wonderful...this one was...
- it had heavy duty suspension, a diesel engine with plenty of power, a club cab for passengers...
- it was totally unexpected...but the great thing is---that truck was used to help all sorts of people move, plus haul things all over town for different ministry opportunities...
- it was wonderful when it was received, but also wonderful because we’ve been able to turn around and share it so often and be a blessing to others...
2. Back in 2005 a family from outside our church approached us because they had a “tax problem”…
- a house, 100 acres of ground, a barn that dated back to the 1800’s that had been partially restored, a house, some cash…
- now that’s the home of our Men’s Restoration Ministries…
- all of that started, humanly speaking, because someone chose to give us a gift…and it was wonderful…
3. The same thing happened several years ago when the 90 acres contiguous to our FE campus became available…
- had I been wiser, I would have encouraged our church family to work more aggressively to try to purchase the land…but honestly, I was concerned about the financial impact…
- so a family just bought it and gave it to us…
- and for our long-time church members, who remember how hard it was for our congregation to find any site when the church had outgrown our S.18th Street location…and then the challenge of getting water and sewer to our original 14 acres here so we could build any kind of building…
- and then quickly outgrowing our first building and practically begging the owner of the adjacent land to please sell us a strip 100 feet wide so we could add a few rows of parking…
- these gifts of land that will be a blessing not just to us but to our children and grandchildren…they’ve just been wonderful provisions from the Lord…
4. I’m a little hesitant to mention another category because I wouldn’t want anyone to think our family expects anyone to give us or any of the other pastors gifts…but the truth is that people sometimes like to do that…
- and sometimes they are just funny…
- so right after mentioning on a Sunday that I had dropped my Jeep keys in the airport because I was wearing warm-up pants on the plane that didn’t have pockets…
- on Tuesday evening we received an Amazon delivery
- it’s also very kind when anyone chooses to do something special for the bear…
- so, a few weeks ago when I was in Japan, I left with not just one but two bears wearing kimonos…of course they now have to come running with us…
- One of our favorite gifts was right after we had started the Living Nativity…and that year did involve a lot of extra organizational work by a number of people as we launched the new ministry…
- but one family recognized that and bought us a beautifully painted nativity set for our front yard…it was so thoughtful, and meaningful…it was a wonderful gift…
- the reason I’m asking you to think down this trail this morning is because 2700 years ago, God made several very specific prophecies 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...
- 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…
- we hope to study the four phrases in Isaiah 9:6 that highlight various aspects of the Promised Messiah…
- I’ve always believed that one of the strongest reasons to become a follower of Christ is the issue of fulfilled prophecy...
- 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?
- the answer is...you either harden your heart and ignore the obvious implications and attendant 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 the word order in the original text of 2 Peter is very important...
- 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 our faith is in God’s revealed Word…
- these prophesies (including Isa. 9:6) were not cleverly devised tales...they are worthy of our trust...
- and what we are suggesting in this mini-series this Christmas 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...
- and that is important, marvelous news for a thousand reasons...but one of the ways this fits into this entire year is...I fully 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 commitment 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...
- read Isaiah 9:1-7
- this morning we’re thinking about The Gift that is Wonderful.
- 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 treatments of the second half of Isaiah 9:6...these names that were predicted to describe the person and work of Christ...
- for our purposes today, you saw that one of the key words in the verse in the word “wonderful...”
- that is a very interesting concept in Scripture....and I’d like us to think about it for a moment in the way it is used in other places in the Bible and then we’ll bring that back to our key verse...
- Introduction
- Meaning of the word “wonderful” in the Bible.
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...
- worked wonders...i.e. the opposite of actions that are predictable or mundane or forgettable...they cause us to be surprised, and captured, and enthralled...
- whenever I have the privilege of telling someone about how I became a pastor…and start walking through some of the highlights of my childhood and what God did in my life in bringing me to Himself and then directing my paths...I often say about my situation...I am living my dream...and that is really the truth....and it is only by God’s marvelous grace...and the way He worked in very unusual ways...
- I hope all of us could say this same thing to the Lord, and about Him [repeat verse...]
- another way of saying that is that God and His ways are....
2. Extraordinary.
- 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.
- sometimes we use a word like wonderful 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...
- another 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...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 this passage... ...Three reasons Jesus Christ is a treasured gift.
I. Wonderful Because of His Completeness.
- please think with me about the first half of this verse...a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders...
- what’s the emphasis there?...what’s the point?...
- we’re talking about the complete package...this is a gift that has it all...that’s part of what makes Him so wonderful...
- now, let’s break it down...
A. Child who will be born.
- Jesus is the Son of Man...
- that emphasizes His humanity...
- now, 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...
- 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.
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...
- the theological balance in this statement is incredible...He’s 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....in concert 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 ones 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 be posses attributes of humanity, and attributes of deity, and attributes of Lordship...
- so He is personal [a child will be born], perfect [a Son will be given], and He’s powerful [the government will be upon His shoulders...]
- and I realize you might say...well, PV, this is pretty heavy doctrinally....here’s why...
- this is a time of year where all of the activity, and all the busyness, and maybe even all the sentimentality that is fine in its place...can actually take our focus away from what is truly wonderful about the gift...
- 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...call it the meat of the holiday...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...
- now, it is in that context that Isaiah gives this first name for the Messiah...
- and we could summarize it this way....Jesus is wonderful because of His completeness...He is also wonderful...
II. Because of His Counsel.
- I realize that some of you may have memorized this verse as a child, probably from the KJV, and had the words wonderful and counselor separate...
- that’s probably not best...this is a series of 4 2-word names...
- just like it is mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace...it is wonderful counselor...
- and here’s the thrust, and what I’d like us to especially focus our attention on...
- 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.
- now, please think about what we said earlier about this word “wonderful”...and let’s plug it into what this verse is telling us...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 and the words of Christ and thought...I would have never expected Jesus to say that...
- I assumed just the opposite would be the case...
- 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...
- now, the fact that this is the case provides a challenge?...
- do you want a God who is telling you things you would have already expected, or who is surprising you at every turn?...
- because sometimes when we hear something we didn’t expect...we want to reject it...
- because we wrongly assume...it can’t be correct unless I already thought of it...
- 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 reading things in His Word that are often going to surprise us, and challenge our thinking...
- the fact that this is the case also provides a blessing...
- 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 come through the Living Nativity fully believing that they have to work their way to heaven...[develop]...
- others will think God isn’t really interested in them, or there would be no place for them in a church [develop – treating our guests with grace...]
- I think we ought to delight in being ambassadors of counsel that is wonderful...it will surprise and delight the hearts of some who hear...[let’s be praying that a number of men and women come to Christ....]
- [develop the issue of being patient as we navigate the challenges of all the changes this year because of the construction projects]…
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...
- the principle is...the more you consider something to be wonderful, the more likely you are to want to commit it to memory...
- 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.
- I hope you would 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...
- Colossians 2:3 - in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- 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.
- 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.
- now, there is a negative aspect to this...you’re in Isaiah 9:6...please look ahead to chapter 29 for another use of this word “wonderful”...
- read Isaiah 29:13-14...
- do you see our word wonderful?...”wonderfully marvelous”....normally we would think about that in a good way...but in this case...it is exactly the opposite...we could say it like this...
C. Wonderful in that there are consequences to disobeying His counsel – Isa. 29:13-14
- every person has the freedom to decide...are you going to obey the words of Christ?
- what you don’t have the freedom to decide...are the consequences...
- 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...]
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...
- please think about the impact the Wonderful Counselor can have...
A. To draw people to Himself.
- Matthew 11:28 - Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
- [develop – gospel invitation – for some here today, that is exactly what the wonderful counselor would say to you]
B. To fill our hearts with hope.
- 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.
C. To know how to relate to one another.
- 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.
D. To call us to a sacrificial and purposeful life.
- 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.
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