Wonderful Counselor
Advent 2023 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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As most of you know, the first time I went to college, it didn’t really take. And by that, I mean that I did just about everything within my power to ensure that those four years were a colossal waste of time and money.
There were a number of reasons for my poor record at Virginia Tech — as it turns out, for instance, you can’t really expect to do well at the university level if you don’t go to classes.
But one of the biggest reasons I did so poorly at Virginia Tech was that I probably never should have been there in the first place. And I certainly shouldn’t have gone in pursuit of an engineering degree.
Let me ask you: What subject would you expect an engineering student to excel at? Math!
OK, so what subject do you think I struggled with for years before I started attending Virginia Tech? That’s right! Math!
So, when I sat through the first day of honors calculus at Virginia Tech, perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised at how hard it was. But I WAS surprised. And by the end of the first week, I was ALSO absolutely and completely lost.
And things weren’t much better in my honors chemistry class.
The truth is that I probably wouldn’t have passed chemistry in high school if it weren’t for the fact I’d always been able to charm Mrs. Mauck into giving me the answers to any test questions I had a hard time answering. Unfortunately, however, Mrs. Mauck didn’t come with me to Virginia Tech.
So, I had two core-curriculum classes in which I was completely lost. And my engineering fundamentals course, which was so simple for most of my classmates, called on a talent I’ve still not developed: neat handwriting.
Within two weeks of the beginning of my first semester at Virginia Tech, I was lost. I hated nearly every class I had, and I was depressed. So, I simply stopped trying.
I’m not suggesting that was a smart plan of action. Look, most of the time I tell you these stories about myself in hopes that SOMEBODY will avoid some of the mistakes I’VE made in life.
But the thing about the situation I faced at Virginia Tech all those years ago was that it was one I could’ve avoided if I’d just listened to good counsel.
Nearly every adult in my life tried to talk me out of pursuing an engineering degree. My parents. My grandmother. My high school guidance counselor.
They all knew that engineering required skills that I would struggle to learn. They all encouraged me to pursue a degree that would build on my writing talent.
But I was 17 years old, and I knew everything. And so, by the end of September 1982, I hated school, and by Christmas break that year, I was already on academic probation.
I’d love to tell you things improved from there. But they really only got worse.
And it all could have been different if I’d only listened to good counsel.
Today, as we begin our celebration of Advent, we’re going to look at what the Bible says about good and reliable counsel.
And then we’re going to see the dangers of heeding UNreliable counsel. And finally, we’ll see how Jesus Christ is the Wonderful Counselor promised in the Book of Isaiah.
The topics of our four Advent messages all come from Isa 9:6:
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Eternal Father. Prince of Peace.
We’ll be looking at each of those familiar titles of Jesus during the next few weeks to understand their significance and the reason these titles are included in Isaiah’s prophecy about the birth of Jesus.
And today, we’re going to see what the Bible says about good and bad counsel in Isaiah, chapter 8.
But before we look at this passage, we need to understand why this lesson was so important to the people of Israel during Isaiah’s time and why the promise of a Wonderful Counselor was so significant.
Isaiah lived from about 740 to 681 B.C. in the Southern Kingdom of Judah and had one of the longest prophetic careers of any of the Old Testament prophets.
He was on hand to see some of the most significant events of the last part of Israel’s history before both the northern and southern kingdoms were conquered. And he served as a prophet of God under four different Judean kings.
During Isaiah’s time as a prophet to Judah, the Assyrians invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel, conquering it and taking many of its citizens into exile.
But this wasn’t a quick invasion, and as the people of Judah heard the news of what was taking place among their kinsmen to the north, there was great fear that the war would spill over into their own nation.
Indeed, after conquering Israel in 722 B.C., Sennacherib, the Assyrian king and leader of that nation’s mighty army, sent word to Judah’s King Hezekiah that Judah was next.
Now, the southern kingdom of divided Israel had never had the military might of the northern kingdom. And there were many who believed that Judah would never be able to hold out against the Assyrians on their own.
So, there were counselors advising King Hezekiah to make a treaty with the Egyptians. Others were advising him to surrender to the Assyrians. Hezekiah needed reliable counselors, and Isaiah certainly WAS one.
But the kings of Israel and Judah had a poor record of listening to the advice of their prophets. And they had an even WORSE record of finding other men who would give them reliable counsel.
King David’s chief counselor, Ahithophel, for example, betrayed him by aligning himself with Absolom as Absolom tried to take his father’s throne in a coup.
And throughout the Old Testament, we see that the advisors to Israel’s kings tended to cause more problems than they solved.
So, God’s promise of a Wonderful Counselor was a big deal.
But the birth of Jesus, foretold in the verse we read a few minutes ago, was still more than 700 years off. And the Assyrians were pounding on Judah’s door. So, Hezekiah needed to know how to discern good counsel from bad.
And so, in chapter 8, God sends Isaiah with both a word of comfort to the Judeans and a master class on how to discern good counsel.
Let’s pick up in verse 9 of chapter 8.
9 “Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered; And give ear, all remote places of the earth. Gird yourselves, yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered. 10 “Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.”
Here, we have a warning from God, through His prophet Isaiah, to the Assyrians. We know this warning isn’t for the people of Judah, because it’s addressed to the peoples of “all remote places of the earth.”
And the warning is this: Go ahead and plan whatever you plan to do, but your plans will fail, because God is with us. Emmanuel!
This had been the message of many of Israel’s prophets: Trust God! And Hezekiah listened to this message. He trusted God, instead of trusting his unreliable counselors.
And if you read the account in 2 Kings, chapters 18 and 19, you’ll see that God did just what He said He’d do.
One night, as the Assyrians were camped outside of Jerusalem, the angel of the Lord came into their camp and struck down 185,000 from the Assyrian army. And then, Sennacherib left for Nineveh, where he was assassinated.
So, trust God. That might be the end of the matter for them and for us, because that’s one of the basic themes of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
But there’s a complication, because God normally works through people. And if we’re going to trust God, then we need to know which of the people who are speaking into our lives come from Him and which do not.
And so, beginning in verse 11, Isaiah offers godly advice for finding godly advisors. We’ll see three characteristics of reliable counsel in this passage.
11 For thus the Lord spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
Verse 11 gives us the first characteristic of reliable counsel: A reliable counselor listens carefully to God.
Do you see it there? God spoke to Isaiah “with mighty power.” This was a powerful warning from God.
And let me tell you this: God STILL speaks with mighty power today. But we no longer have — or need — prophets of the Old Testament type to relay His word to us, because we have it right here.
You should be in the Word of God on a regular basis. I hope that goes without saying.
But when you’re looking for reliable counsel on important life matters, you should be looking for someone who is ALSO in God’s word on a regular basis.
You need to find someone who is LISTENING to God, both in Bible study and in prayer. And you need to find someone who has a good record of not just listening, but also following God’s instructions, just as Isaiah did.
So, the first characteristic of a reliable counselor is that he or she makes it a habit to listen carefully to God in prayer and Bible study.
The second characteristic appears in verse 12. A reliable counselor isn’t quick to look for conspiracies.
If cable news had been a thing in the 8th century, B.C., the people of Judah would have been glued to their television sets.
They’d have watched eminent talking heads discussing the latest rumors out of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Maybe there’d have been two competing cable networks with different sets of talking heads ratcheting up the fears of people on both sides of whatever political divide existed there.
The news of their day would have been unsettling, at best. It is for us today, as well.
There were actual conspiracies and unholy alliances at work in Judah and Israel at this time. And there are probably actual conspiracies and unholy alliances at work in our own society and politics today.
But if we believe in the promise of Emmanuel — God with us — these things shouldn’t cause us to live in fear or dread.
If we believe in the promise of Emmanuel — if we believe that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose — then even the prospect of having the enemy at our gates should not cause us to lose hope.
Indeed, I think the very act of displaying hope in the midst of desperate circumstances is one of the most powerful testimonies of faith that we who follow Jesus can give.
So, look for counsel from someone who listens to God. Avoid those who live in fear and dread because of the state of the world.
Now, look at verse 13.
13 “It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.
When you’re looking for reliable counsel, find someone whose fear and dread have the right object. Find someone who fears God and acknowledges His sovereign and righteous judgment.
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 10:28:
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The immediate problem for the people of Judah was the vast and brutal Assyrian army camped outside the gates of Jerusalem.
But the real, underlying problem was that the nation lacked a proper respect for God. They didn’t trust Him, and they didn’t honor Him.
And, although He would rescue them from the Assyrians, God would bring His judgment against the people of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 B.C.
And He did so, because Judah, much like Israel, failed to treat Him with obedient faith. They failed to regard Him as holy.
There’s a bumper sticker I’ve seen around that I just love. It says, “No matter what, trust God.”
I don’t know what situation in your life is causing fear and anxiety. I don’t know how it’ll turn out in the short-term.
But I do know this: God still sits on His throne. He is still sovereign. He is still in control.
And He has promised that He will use even the worst of your circumstances to bring something good if you’re a follower of Jesus. He’ll use every heartbreak, every failure, every tragedy to conform you to the image of His perfect Son.
So, look for counselors who listen to God, who don’t allow their circumstances to drain their hope, and who approach God with the proper fear and respect and faith.
We’ve seen what to look for in a reliable counselor. But Isaiah also gives us a warning about what happens when we choose UNreliable counselors. Skip down to verse 19.
19 When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
Listen, if you’re a follower of Jesus, then there’s no room in your life for the occult or for superstition. There’s no room for horoscopes or “spiritualists” or mediums. As Isaiah puts it here, why would you ever consult the dead on behalf of the living?
In the case of the people of Judah, many had lost their faith in God, and they became superstitious, seeking answers from the occult, instead of from God.
And maybe your modern sensibilities keep you from trusting superstition over God. But do they keep you from trusting in science over God? Do they keep you from trusting in politics over God? Do they keep you from trusting in your stock portfolio over God?
“To the law and to the testimony!” God says through His prophet. In other words, get back to the Bible. That’s where you’ll find your answers. That’s where you’ll find the light of dawn and comfort in the midst of your troubles.
So, unreliable counsel ignores God’s revealed word. Now, look at verse 21.
21 They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward.
Unreliable counsel is quick to anger, and that anger destroys their ability to provide WISE counsel. Look at the excessive response the people in this verse have to being hungry. They curse their king, and they curse God.
Look, it shouldn’t be hard to see how anger has poisoned the well of public discourse in recent years. And it creates a vicious cycle. Anger produces bad decisions, and bad decisions result in suffering that brings yet more anger, and so on.
The danger of unreliable counsel is that ungodly advisors seem to have anger on speed dial. Avoid such people. They’re dangerous.
So, unreliable counselors ignore God’s word. And they’re easily angered, which makes their advice even worse than it might’ve been.
Now, look at verse 22.
22 Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.
Why is it so important to seek godly, reliable counsel? Because ungodly, unreliable counsel leads to trouble and anguish.
This sounds like it ought to be self-evident. Sadly, though, we often live as if we don’t understand this point at all.
We make life-changing decisions based on what we’ve read in the latest self-help book or see on Oprah or Dr. Phil.
We base financial decisions on what we see on the business news networks. We take marriage advice from people who don’t even acknowledge the biblical view of marriage.
And then we wonder why everything falls apart.
Let me give you an alternative: Trust God. No matter what. Listen to HIS counsel, and then follow it.
He promised a Wonderful Counselor, and nearly 2000 years ago, that Wonderful Counselor, Jesus, came to us as a baby born to a virgin in Bethlehem.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that He fits Isaiah’s description of a reliable counselor. First, He listens to God the Father. Indeed, He said in John, chapter 12:
49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
Second, Jesus didn’t allow His circumstances to drive him to fear. Even as He knew He would soon be arrested and crucified, He prayed, “Not my will, but yours.”
And finally, Jesus had the proper attitude of fear and respect and faith in His Father. We see this, among other places at the end of the High Priestly Prayer Jesus prayed at the end of the Last Supper.
25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus truly is the Wonderful Counselor.
But are you listening to Him? Or have you allowed His voice to be drowned out by all the other voices promising solutions to your problems?
There’s nothing worse than receiving reliable counsel and ignoring it. And there is no counsel more reliable than that of Jesus.
But do you know Him? I don’t mean, do you know ABOUT Him. I mean, do you KNOW Him?
He sits at the right hand of God in heaven today, but He’s not remote and unreachable. In fact, He said He stands at the door of your heart, knocking and waiting to be let in. Indeed, He seeks a personal relationship with every person here.
Not because He needs us. Because He loves us.
But the only way to have that personal relationship with this Wonderful Counselor is to turn to Him in repentance and faith.
Repentance for the sins you have committed against God. And faith that Jesus’ sacrificial death and supernatural resurrection are the only way your sin-debt with God can be paid.
Jesus died on the cross, bearing your sins and mine, taking upon Himself the punishment WE deserve for our sins, so that we who place our faith in Him can have LIFE.
And His resurrection proves that God has accepted His sacrifice as sufficient payment for our sins and that He can and will keep His promise of eternal life for all who follow Jesus in faith.
Do you hear Jesus knocking at the door to your heart today? He IS the Wonderful Counselor. But His reliable counsel is available only to those who follow Him.
Won’t you open that door to Him today?