Wonderful!

Christmas with Isaiah  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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They will call Him Wonderful!

Isaiah 9:1 HCSB
Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future He will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
Isaiah 9:2–3 HCSB
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.
Isaiah 9:4–5 HCSB
For You have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as You did on the day of Midian. For the trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire.
Isaiah 9:6 HCSB
For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:7 HCSB
The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.
How Wonderful the Darkness of Night
I remember as a little boy how wonderful I thought the darkness of night was living up north in the winter. How wonderful it was to hear the howl of the wolves and coyotes at the moon. The sound of the snow as you broke through it’s hard icy crust. The dance between the moon and the snow, dressed in it’s best dress of diamonds and lace. How your breath would hang in the air and your lashes embrace. Watching the lights dance in the sky…green, white, blue and red. How wonderful, how marvelous, how delightful. The best sight though was of the solitude, the quite, the calm, the still of the moon; especially lighting up the sea of snow of a farmers field. How wonderful, how majestic would the light and shadows play with one another on that snow. Darkness and light in a nightly dance. It was always there, and is always there…the dance between darkness and light.
What is Darkness? The Absence of Light.
In Israel…there was an absence of light. Darkness only became because the people refused the Light (Romans 1). Zebulun and Naphtali sat on the northern boarder of the promised land. As the people and their King, abandoned the Light, so they reaped the darkness of foreign invasions and desolation of their land. They were the first to be taken by the Assyrians. But upon their return to the Light, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali would be the first to enjoy the benefits of the Kingdom of Christ.
The place Jesus was born was Nazareth of Galilee. The first time Jesus taught in a synagogue, was in Galilee. His first miracle, was at wedding in Cana of Galilee (Jn. 2). Galilee is the ancient land of Zebulun and Naphtali. Isaiah prophesies, “In the future He (Jesus, the Messiah) will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.” (v.1). This is a predictive future…it will happen. The people walking in darkness, will see a great light; a Light will dawn in the land of Galilee of Naphtali and Zubulun. This Light will dance in the darkness; cast light into a land where light is absent. What once was, will once again be a place where the Light resides.
The people will be enlarged and their joy made greater. Their joy will be that of gloating, “Have you ever seen such a harvest!” or “Taken such riches!”
The bar of oppression will be shattered from their necks. The oppressor defeated.
Deliverance will not be by the boot and garmets of war…but by the birth and peace of a CHILD!
The CHILD is born for us, given to us to rule over us as a Wonderful Advisor, The Mighty God, Everlasting Head and Prince of Peace…absolute well-being in prosperity and security.
His rulership and success will have no end! He has the power, the authority, the strength to establish it, sustain it and rule it with divine action and truth, in all things, over all persons, forever!
ONLY He, the Light, has the fervor, passion and emotion to accomplish this, and none other!
What a wonderful future for a people gone astray. What a wonderful promise from the One who will be named Wonderul!
Luke 1:30–32 HCSB
Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
Luke 1:33–35 HCSB
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
His Name Shall be Called…Wonderful!
Wonderful [pele]: a wonder, a miracle, a marvel
to describe something unusual, seperated or distinguised
Jesus is the Miracle of miracles! The Marvel of marvels! The Wonder of wonders!
What constitutes “wonder” or a wonder in your world? Our world? What is wonderful? What do you marvel at? What is miraculous?
How is your wonder of the Savior?
John 3:16–18 HCSB
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.
How wonderful is Jesus to you today?
Isaiah 9:2 HCSB
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.
Luke 1:78–79 HCSB
Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the Dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The Wonderful Way of Jesus
To Give Light in darkness (v.79)
To Guide our feet into the way of peace (total well-being; v.79)
Four Things to Wonder About:
Why should God be so good to me?
Why I should be so ungrateful to Him?
Whatever our trials, Jesus is always made more wonderful by them.
“You would never know the wonders of Godif it were not that you find them out in the furnace…We must go into the deeps before we know how wonderful his power and his might to save.” -Charles Spurgeon
4. The world will marvel at the wonder of Christ when they see Him face-to-face with His reality at the end of this Age.
Will I cower or glory at His presense and coming?
All who behold Christ and reject Christ, will wonder and perish. All who behold Christ and accept Christ, will wonder and live eterally.
His name will be called Wonderful because He is who He said His is, and will do what He said He will do! How WONDERFUL us that!
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