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Dec 05, 2021

Wonderful Counselor

Wonderful Counselor

Passage: Isaiah 9:1-7

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: And He Will Be Called

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: christmas, sermon, bible study, knowing god, names of jesus, wonderful counselor, how to know god, miracles of jesus, isiah, listening to god, faith journey, online church, burnt hickory baptist church, online worship, separated from god, burnt hickory worship, how to have faith, christmas story of jesus, who is jesus christ

Christmas is such a beautiful time for Christians, because we celebrate the birth of Jesus, Immanuel who is God with Us. As we make our way through the Christmas season, we are going to explore each of the names of Jesus as His birth was foretold in Isaiah. This week, we start with Wonderful Counselor. The root of all our problems is our separation from God. Since Adam and Eve, we have been separated from Him through sin, and the solution comes in knowing God and knowing Him rightly. A wonderful counselor is one who is beyond understanding but advises, too wonderful for words, but makes things known. Begin your faith journey of getting to know Him rightly by being honest with Him, ask for healing, listen to His guidance, and do whatever He says to do. Do you know Jesus as your savior? Have you trusted Him as your wonderful counselor? If not, please reach out, we’d love to pray with you and share the hope of Jesus with you this Christmas season. Burnthickory.com/next

Well, good morning, church, and happy December. Happy December to everybody. I think this is officially when we can say Merry Christmas and not get in a fight with anybody. I mean, think about it, really? Have you guys notice what a controversial topic it is of when to start Christmas? Have you all been watching some of these debates in social media land? I mean, there is all kinds of thoughts on this, and so this morning I feel like I can say, Merry Christmas, some of you. You think Christmas starts immediately after Thanksgiving dinner. That is when you have officially given thanks. And now you can start the celebration. So, we were like, No, no, no, no. The whole day is thanks, right? You have to give thanks for the whole day. And then tomorrow on Friday in the craziness of smashing people in Black Friday. Then I can celebrate Christmas. Some of you were like, no, can't do it like that. It has to be the first Sunday of December or the first day of December. And then there's the others of you that rolled right out of Labor Day, right? You put that tree up. I mean, you just passed over Halloween and said, Forget it. We're going straight for Christmas this year. There are those of you. People will, regardless of where you fall in the Christmas tradition in celebrating Christmas.


I think it is fair to say that we can officially say Merry Christmas to everybody. We can all be friends. We're not offending anyone. And with the coming of Christmas, the coming of December, obviously in the church world comes a Christmas series and comes the idea that we pause every year, and we look at the idea of the coming of Christ, the idea of the Messiah and the idea of what he has done for us. So, we're going to start our Christmas series this morning. But before we do that, though, I think we just kind of need to feel where everyone is in the Christmas spirit for a couple of minutes. All right, so I'm going to need you to participate, all right. Just for a second. We need you to lift your hand if this describes you. Here it is. Number one How many of you are 100% done with your Christmas shopping right now? How many of you are 100% done? All right. All right, I get you. How many of you hate those people right now? I'm not kidding. Don’t hate, we just don't like those people. Number two, how many? This one's good. How many of you have ever regifted at Christmas? How many have you ever regifted at Christmas? Loud and proud right there yet? How about this? How many of you have regifted it in the same season at Christmas? Now that's a double move right there. Yeah. My favorite regifting story ever is someone who really wanted to give me a book. one time they gave me this book, it was a church member. I'm not going to tell you who it is because it would embarrass them. They gave me this book and they're like, hey, Matt, I really think that you would enjoy this book. Well, they gave me this book. It was sealed up; it was nicely wrapped, and all this stuff and I opened it up and it was a personalized book for them. Someone had taken notes all the way through it in their name to encourage them, and they read, gifted it to me to say they really wanted me to read it, and they never even looked at it. I love it. They still go here, and we love them. Number three. Number three How many of you by show of hands are nervous about having the extended family over for Christmas? You're just nervous about it. All right. You can be honest about it. I got it. How many of you feel like your extended family could be the next hit sitcom, right? How many of you? That's your family? It's just crazy. There are crazy things that happen. Have you ever thought about this one? They think the same thing about you. They really do. They do. You're not there. All right. Here's number four. How many of you will spend more online shopping this year than in actual stores? How many of you? All right. So goes the small business. Bye bye. Just kidding. There's no judgment.

How about this? How many of you started your shopping on Black Friday, maybe Cyber Monday, but you ended up buying more for yourself than other people? Anybody? Yes, my people. There it is. Here's the last one. How many of you just love giving gifts? We love it in a call. All right. Well, how about the rest of us just love receiving gifts? There it is. It takes both of us. There's no judgment, right? Some of us have the gift of giving. Some have the gift of receiving. It's OK. We need all of it in our lives. Melissa, my wife, she loves to give gifts and I don't even know some of the people she gives gifts to. I mean, it's just part of who she is. People will come over and all of a sudden, a gift just poof appears. And I'm like, do you have like a secret closet of like gifts that all of a sudden somebody can walk in? You like, oh, hey, I got you this. And she's like, yes, I do. I'm like, OK, that works.

Well, listen. Christmas is the time of gift giving. It's the time of gifts. And there's a really big reason for that. And the reason is that Christmas is where we pause, and we celebrate this season of really and truly the ultimate gift of the Messiah Jesus being given to us. And this year, as we walk into this season of the birth of Christ and as we walk into this message series. Well, here's what we're going to do. We're going to base these next four weeks. This one included in the idea of the Jesus is the ultimate gift for us, for salvation. But not only is he the ultimate salvation gift to us, there is lots of other blessings.

There's lots of other ways and there's lots of other things that are attached to who Jesus is. So, for the next four weeks, we're going to dove into the book of Isaiah, specifically Chapter nine, Isaiah, Chapter nine, and we're going to launch every single week out of probably one of the most famous prophecies about the coming of Jesus, the coming of the Messiah that not only describes that he is coming, but what exactly his coming does for us. Even on top of our salvation. So, we're going to launch out of Isaiah nine, but I'm just going to warn you every week we're not going to stay in Isaiah nine, we're going to end up in the birth story of the Gospels. We're going to end up all over the letters of the Gospels. We're going to be in the New Testament, the Old Testament. We're going to be everywhere watching exactly what this gift of Immanuel is.

So, let's dive into Isaiah Chapter nine this morning. I want to give us some context here because this prophecy that is giving about the coming of Jesus is given some seven centuries before Jesus is actually born. I want to start in Isaiah seven, but I want you to stay Isaiah nine. He's going to read one verse. Then we're going to jump over to Isaiah seven. Isaiah, seven verse 14 says this says. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign and the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. And we'll call him Immanuel. Immanuel, quite simply, is a churchy word that means that God is not just out there, but God is now with us. And this is not a foreign concept to us because we're post Jesus, right? We are post the resurrection. But for these people, this was a novel thing that God was not only just a transcendent God, but now somehow Isaiah is saying that God is going to be with us. Fast forward to Isaiah nine verse two. Says the people walking in darkness, and that could describe a lot of us right now. People walking in darkness, they have seen a great light. Why? Because of the birth of this child. Watch what it says. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of deep darkness. A light has dawned. You, God, watch this, you have enlarged the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you. As people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors, they rejoice when dividing the plunder. Verse four, for as in the day of Midian's defeat. Watch what God does for us through Jesus. You have shattered the yoke of the burdens.

That burdens them the bar that is across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, what is God saying? It is God is going to deliver, it's God. It's going to come, it's going to give, it's going to grow, there's going to give them success. And watch how it happens in verse six. You know, this one for unto us, a child is born. To us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of Peace. And if the greatness of his government and peace watch this, there will be no end and he will reign on David's throne over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with what? With justice and righteousness. From that time on and forever.

Now let me give you a couple of things about this prophecy just to bring it into context for us and to show us what exactly is happening. I want you to think about this prophecy in the fact that number one, this prophecy was not given at Christmas time. In fact, there was no Christmas time. There was no Christmas to speak of. This prophecy was given 700 years before the birth of Christ. This prophecy was given, if you think about this 2700 years ago from right now. And it was also a message there. It was a glimmer of hope, you could say, in a world that was absolutely being uprooted by evil. This prophecy was given by a guy named Isaiah. He was a prophet of God. He was a mouthpiece of God, and he was speaking it into a king named Ahaz. In 730 B.C., Ahaz was wondering what he was going to do for the southern kingdom. His kingdom included the city of Jerusalem and included the Temple of God. And he was in trouble because the Assyrians that had already overtaken the northern land were beginning to turn their faces towards him. And they were about to take all of God's people captive. They were about to smash all of God's people.

And King Ahab's knew he was in trouble. He was in a dire situation. He knew that if he did not form some kind of alliance with somebody around him, the king Ahaz would never make it and his people would be destroyed. He didn't know what to do. So, God sends the prophet Isaiah to speak the truth into his life, to speak some hope into his life in a couple of chapters earlier. Isaiah looks at Ahaz and says, Ahaz listen, God said, don’t worry about forming alliances. Don't worry about it because God will protect you. God will deliver you. And then really, if you think about the context of the story that should have been enough, right, it should be enough when we read things like God is for us who can be against us? It should be enough to know that the maker of the universe is speaking into our lives, saying, I've got you in my hands. But just like us, Ahaz even though he got this message from Isaiah, Ahaz did not quite grasp it as wondered Why in the world are you speaking about a messiah that's going to come one day when I've got a real problem on my hands right now? God said it again to him, Ahaz, don't worry. I'm going to give you a miraculous sign and it will prove to you that I am God. Just trust me. And these two verses that we just read are that message that God gave them Isiah 7:14. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and call him Immanuel.

The second message was for this child is born to us. A son is given. All of this when you read it is easy for us to understand, is it not because isn't it easy when you look back at a problem years later, it's easy to see how God moves in the problem. But when you're in the middle of the problem, sometimes you just don't get it. You see Ahaz has a real problem right now needing a deliverance. But what does God do? Notice what God does? God tells him of a savior that is going to come one day. Now, why does God do this? That's the question I want to answer real fast this morning, because God does this to teach Ahaz and to teach us an incredible lesson of life, and I want you to see it. It's a couple of principles we pull from this. Here's the first one, number one, God does this to prove that number one the root of all of our problems is in our separation from God. The root of every problem that we have is in our separation because of sin in our lives, from God.

When you think about it, God showed right here through Isaiah speaking into a temporal situation with an eternal problem that Jesus's God's chief concern in dealing with my problems and dealing with your problems and dealing with Ahaz's his problems is not in my temporary problem, but it's in my eternal foundation. That's what he's shown us right here. In other words, Ahaz problems and our problems are way bigger than the physical problems that we have there, way bigger than the emotional problem. I have the health problem; I have the relationship problem. I have the economic or the money problem or the family problem. The root of all of our problems on this Earth, catch me is sin. It's the root. The rest of the stuff is secondary. The rest of the stuff looking at people coming against us. People hating on us army's marching against us. People hating on us all the time. No, don't get me wrong, those are real problems. But those problems are secondary to the problem of what sin has done in our lives, how it has separated us from God.

Now, I'm not saying that all of your problems are some kinds of punishment from God, but I am saying, is this. Go with me here. If God right now was to solve every single one of your temporary problems at one time without looking at the root problem of sin, do you know what would happen in your life? You would just create new problems. Don't we do this in humanity? Watch humanity, go watch. We are so good at creating new sin. We are so good at taking the root of what sin is and spinning it off in new directions. What every generation has one problem, and the problem is sin. Martin Luther said it like this. He said that the problem with the human heart is that it is in fact curved. Inwardly, it's curved inwardly, and that means this that we, instead of focusing on God instead of focusing on outward and blessing and loving other people, we collapse on our desires, our want and our message in order to stamp out everything else in our lives. And we're so radically self-absorbed that we can barely grasp the fact that we are creating new darkness every day. This is the message to Ahaz. The message to Ahaz was, listen, there's horrific stuff, there's stuff going on, there's stuff all over the place, but the root of your problem Ahaz, and the root of our problem. Is that God is not in the center of our lives. That God is not in the forefront of our lives. You see in this promise of the Messiah that we just read, is this promise that yes, there's problems going on. But ultimately, the Messiah one day and this is speaking of Jesus will come and transform your heart.

Now, don't get me wrong. God cares 100% about your temporary problems. He cares about we're going to talk about that in a minute. But I can tell you this he cares 100% more about your eternal problems and your eternal situation. That's why the root of this is in eternity. So, yes, listen close. We should cry out to be delivered from bad health and bad situations, but God ultimately wants to cure us from the cause of death and shame. Yes, we should cry out to be delivered from injustice and broken relationships, but God wants to deliver us from the sin and the selfishness that gets into those things. Yes, God wants to give you victory in your battles, but God wants to deliver you and me from the pride that caused me to go up against other people. That's the message here. I love what God does. I love how God sends this eternal message to this temporary problem. And he looks at Ahaz, when Ahaz is begging God for a warrior that comes riding in on a horse to save him.

God says No, no, no, no, no, it's a baby in a manger that's going to save you. You get this. How many times do we ask God for a warrior in our life when God says, No, no, no, no, no, it's the Messiah? That's the baby in the cross. It's going to save, you see, ultimate salvation, doesn’t come from a warrior, but it comes from a baby that that would be born like us, that would grow up like us, that would live the life that I was supposed to live, die the death that I was charged to die, that I deserve to die. And now I can be released from the power of sin. Why? Because of the Messiah. That's how it addresses the problem. That's how we look at it and go. Yes. Number one, the root of the problem is in sin and separation, but number two.

Here's how also it addresses the problem is that the solution for our problems catch this comes in knowing God. Rightly, the solution for all of our problems on this Earth comes from knowing God in the right way. Watch what Isaiah does. Isaiah gives us and this text for things that the Messiah for things that Jesus would become to us and would be for them. And listen to me. This is specifically what the birth of Christ gives us. Yes, he offers us salvation, but I want you to see these four incredible, incredible thematic approaches to who Jesus is. Isaiah 9:6. And he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father and prince of peace. These are four names of the Messiah for signposts in the darkness, for profound attributes of who God is. And this is exactly what Jesus has left for us and who he is to step into our lives. He is our wonderful counselor. He is our mighty God. He is our everlasting father. He is our prince of peace. There is so much in this one verse. Here's what we're going to do, including this week. In the next weeks, we're going to look at one specifically of those phrases every single week and watch how the incarnation brings that into our lives. This morning, we're going to focus on the phrase wonderful counselor, wonderful counselor. And here's what I want you to understand about wonderful counselor. Some of your Bibles have a comma in between those. You need to knock that thing out because this is one phrase wonderful counselor.

It's not wonderful comma counselor. It is. He is the wonderful counselor in Hebrew. It is two words that you can smash together, Pele Yoez That is, the two words pele literally means that Jesus will be and is beyond all of our understanding. He is beyond any word that we can put on to them. And he is bigger than any thought that I can even have about who he is. Do you realize that when you even try to describe Jesus in our earthly suit that we have on that you are limiting who Jesus is? Do you realize that when you try to picture him in your mind, when you try to give him as much glory as you can, you are not even coming close to the level of glory and received by him? He is awesomer than any word that we can describe him to be awesome. He is wonderful. He is glorious. He is majestic. He is awesome. Well, Isaiah, here he comes across and he says that he is the Pele.

He is the one that is beyond anything that I can describe. But then he uses the word Yoez. Yoez is incredibly practical, and it translates as the counselor, translates as the counselor and the one in whom advises. The one in whom Advises. Now this is a very specific word. And here's what it means. It means that not only is he wonderful, not only is he the one that advises, but Jesus is the one who advises from a position of authority and from a position of having the means to make what happens in our lives that he requests out of us. Now, don't get me wrong, there's a lot of counselors in our lives, but this is not the counselor that you call up late at night when you've had a rough day and you tell them your problems and that person on the other side of the phone goes, oh yeah, girl, I know what you're saying. I hate her too. That is not what I'm talking about here. When I say that he is the counselor, I literally mean that he is the one that can bring divine wisdom, divine power, divine strength and a means to an end for any situation in your life. Any this word Yoez is also used of King Solomon in the Old Testament. If you remember King Solomon, the wisest man that ever walked on the Earth. He doesn't get wonderful attached to his name.

He only gets the second part because King Solomon was wise. He offered counsel to people. People brought him their problems. He gave them a solution. But he didn't just give them the solution. He would give them a means to make out the solution, and he had the authority to do it. That's who Jesus is to us. one day, Isaiah says, one day a son is going to be given a child is going to be born, and we're going to give him the name Pele Yoez. He is the wonderful counselor. The wonderful counselor. I love this. Love what the writer of Hebrews says about this, of why he can be such a help to us because not only is he God? Watch this, Hebrews four says Therefore, since we have a great high priest, this is talking about Jesus.

This the same person we're talking about here who has ascended into heaven. Jesus, the son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith that we possess or profess for. We do not have a high priest, hear this, who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. Yet he didn't sin. Let us approach God's throne of Grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. What did the writer of Hebrews say? He just said the Pele Yoez. It's the wonderful counselor. He's not just a king that rules transcendental over us. He is a brother that has lived among us. So, catch this Jesus has walked the walk you've walked. He has talked the talk. You have been asked to talk. He has lived under the power of sin coming at him just like you do. People coming at him, just like you do sickness all around him. Despair all around him. There is nothing that you can ever experience that the wonderful counselor has not only just experienced, but he has also beaten. He's also not fallen to. So, when you hear the Christmas story, do you realize what's going on? What's going on is that a heavenly God has been put into an earthly body so that it can walk where we walk to give us counsel one day because he knows exactly where you are and what you're doing. And you see this in the Christmas story, especially in a couple of different ways, I think first we see it in this way of poverty. How Jesus was born into extreme poverty. He was also born into extreme oppression. The Jews were underneath this extreme oppression by the Roman government, and they were basically just looked at as second-class citizens who had nothing to offer anybody, but Jesus was born exactly into that situation. Matt, how do you know?

I mean, first of all, we look at the birth story of Jesus Where is Jesus born? He's born in a manger for goodness’ sake in a cave, somewhere in a barn for animals. Why? Basically, because his parents didn't have any money. Here's the deal, I know we catch this whole idea there was no room in the end. But listen, there's always room in the end when you got the cash. Always Jesus was born in the poorest of poor situations. He was born in the manger. I'm not talking about that one that sits on your dining room table that smells like cinnamon and nutmeg. This was a nasty place, nasty place. Also secondly, when Jesus was presented at the temple, do you remember this right after his birth? His parents could not even give the sacrificial gift of the lamb at the birth of their firstborn. Why? Because they were too poor. They were too poor. They had to give the pigeon. Do you realize the pigeon was reserved for only the poorest of poor people that were out there?

Now, catch this in Jesus's life. Jesus was the one who laid down that law for the Jews, but his parents couldn't even do it. He was poor. He was oppressed. He was beat down. And when you look at this idea, you go, Matt, what does that matter? It matters a lot because Jesus is establishing a theme to show you and show me. He knows exactly where we are as the counselor. Do you realize that Jesus is burnt the innkeeper said there was no room but at his death, the crowd said, give us Barabbas and get us out of here? Do you realize that at Jesus's birth, he was wrapped in rags, but as death he was stripped of every bit of dignity and left for shame? Do you realize that his birth, he was ignored by the world, but at his death he was ignored by the father? Why? Why did he do all this? Why? Because in living in the rejection and living in the shame, now, Jesus in his glorified state can look at you and look at me and say, I've got you. I'm not disconnected from you. I'm with you and listen to this. Now there is no judgment to bring your stuff to me. None. Isaiah, 53, right? It's the Christmas, the Easter verse, just in case you're not got the wrong holiday.

Here it is. Listen. Surely, he took up our pain and he bore are suffering, but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquity. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds we are healed. Can I just tell you when you come to the wonderful counselor, you don't get the poverty and judgment that you deserve? Because that poverty and judgment has already been put on him and he has conquered it. He has destroyed it. And now get this when you come to the wonderful counselor and when you ask him for wisdom, what is James 1:5 says it says if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God. Watch this Who gives it generously, watch what he does now, without finding fault and it will be given to you. My favorite part of that verse is not that he gives wisdom. My favorite part is that when we ask God for wisdom, when we ask the wonderful counselor for wisdom, he looks at us and he gives it to us without chastising, without condemnation. He gives it to us without finding fault. So many of us do not come to the wonderful counselor because we think that God is the god of the universe that looks at you and looks at me as like, Oh, there's Matt again. He's blown it again and he's back. No. He looks at me through the eyes and the blood of Jesus, and the wonderful counselor says, Here I am, cast it on me. You know, God promises never to leave you, never to chastise you.

Jesus has already taken that blame. If you are a child of his, it's already taken it. Literally. I think that there are so many of us in just absolute bondage situations right now because we have never brought our stuff to the wonderful counselor. The Pele Yoez. Can tell you something? Jesus came for people with problems. He did one of the most profound things I've ever learned about the Bible is this principle number three. Shows us in this tax, it's that every miracle Jesus started with a problem. It started with the problem, and I know that sounds so simple. But it's so true, every miracle started with a problem. Do you realize Jesus is miracles? They weren't magic tricks or just cool displays. They were like, Hey Peter, boys, watch this! No. They dealt around people's needs, people's problems and validating who Jesus was so that he would be their king. That's what I was for, to meet a need that were wrapped around hunger and poverty and disease and help and relationship and family and money. And Jesus, the wonderful counselor, says this if you have a problem this morning. You're a candidate for a miracle from the wonderful counselor. That's the meat of the story of the birth of Jesus. Mark two, right? It's not the healthy who need a doctor. But it's the sick. Have not come, Jesus says, to call the righteous, but I've come to call the sinners. So, some of you. Really, a lot of us, to be honest, we got problems this weekend, and we need the wonderful counselor to step into our lives in so many ways.

But here's the leading question. How? How does the wonderful counselor move? How does he start this work and our lives? Here's what I want to do. I want to give you four quick steps just practical steps this morning that can help you in the invitation of the guidance of the holy wonderful counselor. You can call them ground rules and calm principles. Whatever they are, we find them all in Jesus dealing with other people. I'm going to mention some references. There can be some homework. We don't have time to flesh all of it out unless you got nothing to do till about six tonight. All right. So, I just want to give to you really quick. Number one, if you want the mighty counselor to move in your life, number one, you got to be totally honest with him. You got to be totally honest with him.

You know, every councilor that you ever meet will tell you that until you are completely honest about your problems, you can't really get help. You can't. And there's a tendency for someone to put me in this because this is all of us. We don't like to admit it. There's a tendency for all of us to shield our problems, to hide our problems, to put on the face that we have no problems in. This even works in our own lives. We even fool ourselves sometimes in this. We want to look just a little bit better than those people around us. So, no one will expose us that we have issues. But the mighty counselor will never step into our lives until we are honest with ourselves and go, Listen, I've got problems. I've got something. And until you're fully open and honest about those problems, Jesus, the wonderful councilor, the Pele Yoez, he's not going to help you, John. Chapter four John Chapter four. The woman at the well, she walks up to Jesus. Jesus has addressed her. She has been in a string of broken marriages. She's in the midst of an adulterous relationship. Her life is in deep despair, and she keeps trying to ask Jesus all of these theological questions. Throw him off the game. And finally, Jesus looks at her and goes, Listen, I know who you are. I know where you been. And I ran after you anyway. And I love that. Do you realize that, that he knows you? He knows you better than, you know, you and you're not fooling him. So, let's just be honest before the wonderful counselor go ahead. I got some stuff. I got some issues in. The wonderful counselor has promised us that when we bring our stuff to him, there is nothing that is too big for him. There is nothing that will separate us from him. There is nothing that will turn him away and there's nothing that's going to surprise him. He already knows it. The question is, will we just say, God, I, I'm just being honest, I'm struggling.

The second step is this. We got to want him to heal us. We got to want Jesus to heal us. You say Matt, I want Jesus to heal us. Well, do you? Because in the wanting, there's action. In the one thing, there's some leaving of the things that may have put us into that situation, that's what I mean by wanting to Helios, you might want to write the word completely out from that because I think some of us want partial healing only from the consequences and not from what's got us there. There's an incredible question in John Chapter five Jesus steps into the life of a guy who has been basically, he's been handicapped his whole life. 38 years he's been sitting beside this pool and Jesus looks in the eyes of this guy and asks one of the most piercing questions on all the New Testament. He looks at him and says this do you want to be healed? It's been stumping Bible people for years and years and years, why Jesus? But I think it's really simple. I think it's not until we look into the face of Jesus and say I want to be healed, that the mighty counselor will step into our lives and say, OK, now we can work. Now we can move, now we can go so many times, we want God to clean up the mess of our lives, but yet we don't want to have the honesty to release from what got us into the mess.

Number two, we've got to want him to heal. Number three, we've got to listen for his guidance. We got to listen for his guidance. We spent a whole week last week, if you were here talking about how God speaks to us. You can go back and listen to the podcast. It's not that great, but you can get a couple of things from it. But the reality is this. God speaks, the wonderful counselor speaks, and we got to listen to his guidance, Mark, 9:7, says a voice came from the cloud. And listen to what the Lord said. He said, this is my son in whom I love. Listen to him. John, 10:27, my sheep. Jesus says they listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me.

Listen, the wonderful counselor can only step into your life as much as you allow him to, any counselor will tell you that I can speak all I want to speak. But unless you go, Yeah, I got that, I hear that. It's never going to go anywhere. So, we just pause this week and listen to the mighty counselor and hear his voice guiding you out of a situation that you have given to him, you've confessed to him, and you've begged him to heal. Here's number four, it's the last one. Do whatever he says. That's profound, right? Do whatever he says. Here's the thing you are never going to experience the work of the wonderful counselor in your life. Until you act. Until you move, until you take a step. Want a story? Matthew, Chapter 19, the rich young ruler. Remember this guy? He said he had it all together, said he'd done everything, said he knew the law, said he knew who Jesus was, and you said, OK, we'll go do this. And what did you do? Nothing. He wouldn't do it, therefore he walked away. one of the saddest stories in the whole Bible. And he rejected the love of Jesus over his life. How many of us that's the position we put ourselves in with the Holy Spirit in the Pele Yoez, the wonderful counselor? Where we've looked at and we've heard his voice. We know what we need to do. He is guiding us. He's given us wisdom. He has the authority to do it. But yet we're like, No. I'm out. Can I just tell you, the only deal that Jesus makes with us is that he will give you all of himself, all of heaven, all of eternity, all of God and all of the council. We have to submit to him. Have to submit to him. Let me close with this this morning. There's one other thing about this word wonderful that I think we need to point out. To clear some things up, you see, I want you to see that Isaiah gives the name wonderful to Jesus. Catch this, this is important. You see, some of us think the name is being given to his ex, what he does, how he moves, what he is doing in our lives, and that is a true statement. It is wonderful, but primarily in this story. What Jesus is Jesus is wonderful. You see, most of us base our perception of Jesus over the things that we can perceive him doing and not over the fact that we should just be happy with him being in our lives.

Do you know how this makes sense? This makes sense that the wonderful presence of Jesus in our life. Is way more valuable than any small little thing that he is going to do in this temporary world that we're living in. Do you get the fact that he is the wonderful counselor and that he is going to deliver us one day from this earthly suit that I have on and I'm going to look back at this world and go, why was I even upset? And all that stuff was going on. How can he do that because he's wonderful. He's beyond description. He's Pele. We can't even describe it. And he's offering himself to us, yes, God can help you with your problems, and he does, but he gives you something far more greater than your problems being situated. Gives you, here's the Christmas season, himself. He gives you Immanuel. In us. And now I can live in the assurance that no matter what's going on, no matter how crazy my family is, no matter how the people around me are destroying me every day, no matter how the people at my work, at my school, in my family, whatever's happening. Psalm, 23, that the Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want. He leads me beside the still waters. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul. Watch this Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For he is with me. See if this sounds familiar. His rod and his staff. They comfort me and my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. For I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. How is he the wonderful counselor? Yes, he meets my needs right now. But ultimately, I will stand with him in eternity. Why? Because of the incarnation, the birth, the life, the death. of Jesus. The Pele Yoez.

Do you know this wonderful counselor? That's the question. You know what? You got guilt your life, he can heal it. Unsure about eternity, he can handle that. Broken relationships? He can handle it. Marriage being destroyed. Handled. Health problems? He can handle it. Financial problems? He can fix it. But ultimately, he wants you to see him as wonderful. And when that happens, the things of this Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Lord Jesus. Today, you bring light to the darkness, you bring an eternal trust and hope. And you, Jesus, are the wonderful counselor that busts into our life, no matter what is happening with us. And your blood has covered it and you have the power to fix it. But God, the question is, will we surrender to you? God, there are people in this room that need to give their heart to you this morning. They need to turn from their sin, you need to invite you into their life, to be their savior and Lord God, you want to be the wonderful counselor, but God, they can't have the counselor until they realize what Jesus is to them and invite you in. God, there's people that have walked away from you for a long time. They have not allowed you to step into the role of Pele Yoez. God may today be the day they say here I am Lord.

With your heads bowed and your eyes closed. I'm just going to give you a challenge this morning. We're going to spend just a moment in prayer, a moment in worship and contemplation. And here's what this is for. This is not for everybody to beat traffic out of the parking lot. It is. It's for people to really deal with where the Lord is in their life. So, this morning, if you need prayer. You need somebody to speak over, you pray over you this morning, man, we got people available. If you need to give your heart to Jesus today. Oh, you got to do from wherever you're at is either walk down to the front of whichever service you're in and look at whoever's down there go, hey, I need Jesus today. We'll walk you through it or just fire up the app on the next step app and let us know where you are, and somebody will contact you today. Maybe today you just need to in your seat, sit in the presence of God and invite him. To be able to live out the fact that he is the wonderful counselor. Regardless of where you are used this time.

Lord Jesus, we are yours and this time is yours, Jesus. It's in your name, we pray.

Amen. Amen.

Let's stand and sing.

 

Follow Along with the Message

Wonderful Counselor

December 5, 2021

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:2–4
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor...
Isaiah 9:6–7
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever…
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

PRINCIPLE: The of all our problems is separation from God.

PRINCIPLE: The for our problems comes in knowing God rightly.

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

“Wonderful Counselor” - 2 words in Hebrew

pele’: understanding, too wonderful for words

ya’ats: Counselor, and one who

Hebrews 4:15–16
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need./main>
Isaiah 53:4–5
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,… 5 SBut he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

PRINCIPLE: Every miracle of Jesus, started with a .

Mark 2:17
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
4 Steps that Invite the Guidance & Healing of the Wonderful Counselor

1. Be totally with Him.

2. Want Him to .

3. Listen for His .

Mark 9:7
...a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
John 10:27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

4. Do He says do.

Additional Notes

 

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