Everlasting Father

It would be great if you could keep that passage open in front of you as we look at it this morning,

but before we do that, let us pray together.

Father, as we turn now to your word, we ask that the words of my mouth

and the meditations of all of our hearts would be pleasing to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Now to say that 2020 has been a difficult year is probably the biggest understatement in the world.

We've all had tough times. Many of us have felt lonely.

It has been hard for every single person for different reasons.

And speaking with many people in our church, the physical darkness of our lovely Scottish winters doesn't seem to help much either.

As the days get darker and darker, the difficulties of 2020 seem to get harder and harder.

But celebrating Christmas in the middle of this darkness is actually incredibly fitting

because it is in the context of darkness that this wonderful prophecy of Isaiah was first heard.

This prophecy that is read out in churches across all of our world in the run up to Christmas.

Isaiah was a prophet, a man sent by God with a message to his people.

And Isaiah was speaking in one of the darkest times in Israel's history.

That's why it begins in verse 2 with the people were walking in darkness.

Because as Isaiah spoke these words,

there was a looming army en route to destroy the nation of Israel

and to carry them off into exile.

Imagine the darkness that they felt in their hearts,

knowing that in just a few months, weeks, maybe even days,

their lives would never be the same again.

Torn from their homes and scattered across the known world.

This passage isn't about doom and gloom,

but it is in this context of utter darkness and despair

that a wonderful message of hope is proclaimed.

Continue reading with me in verse 2.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.

On those living in a land of deep darkness,

a light has dawned.

So it is in this moment of darkness that a great light can be seen.

And as we read on to verse 6,

we see that this wonderful light,

this wonderful message of hope,

comes in the form of a baby.

So put yourself in Israel's position at this point in history,

hearing this.

Enemies crouching at the door.

An army on a destruction path

that will cut through the heart of your home.

And your promise of deliverance and hope is a baby.

Now we have had

eight babies born into the church family this year.

And if you speak to every single one of those parents,

I guarantee you,

they will testify to the fact

that their babies are utterly dependent on them for everything.

A baby can do nothing for itself or by itself.

So what on earth can this baby do for us?

Maybe that's what they were thinking.

How can this baby be a source of great light and hope

to a nation that is plunged in darkness?

Well, the key is found in the four descriptions

that we read in verse 6.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given

and the government will be on his shoulders.

He will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

and Prince of Peace.

Now as we look back,

we know this baby is Jesus.

And this prophecy was written

some 700 years before his birth.

And yet these four descriptions are just as powerful now

to us in our times of darkness

as they were to the nation of Israel back then.

So let's take a look at each of these descriptions

of this little baby that we gather to celebrate

at Christmas time.

The first description we see

is that Jesus is a wonderful counselor.

So the majority of people in our world today

understand the idea of a counselor.

Someone who helps you think through

and work through some of the good

and some of the bad experiences

that you've been through in life.

And they use a bunch of different methods

all with the purpose in mind

of helping you be as healthy as you can be.

But often the focus in counseling sessions

can be that you have the power

within yourself to be well.

That you are able in and of yourself

to be fixed.

But Jesus is not a counselor

who comes alongside us

and tells us to try harder,

to do better.

He isn't a counselor who tells us

that we have the power within ourselves

to be sorted.

No.

Jesus comes alongside us

and he guides us

to the way that we should live.

And he draws alongside us in our pain

and kneels with us in it.

Often people can think of

Jesus like some mean fitness instructor

who shouts from the sidelines

that you need to do more,

be better, work harder,

and stop complaining.

But that is warped.

The message of Jesus

is completely the opposite.

Jesus draws alongside us

in our times of darkness.

He draws near.

He literally takes on flesh

to dwell with a sinful humanity

to guide us to the truth

that hope is not found in ourselves,

but true hope is only found in him.

Friends, in your darkest times,

in those moments where you feel like

breaking down and crying,

in those moments when you are

at your wit's end,

Jesus is the wonderful counselor

who draws near,

who comes alongside

and sympathizes with us.

Why?

Because he knows pain.

He knows suffering.

He knows what it means

to walk in darkness.

But even more than that,

he draws alongside

and he points us

to the place

of deliverance.

He doesn't pat us on the back

and say it will all be fine.

But he comes and gives us truths

that will carry us

through the storms

of life.

He comes and gives us

deliverance from our sins.

He offers light

in our darkness.

He offers life

to the spiritually dead.

Jesus is a wonderful counselor

who will walk with us

through the storms of life.

And friends,

from my own experience

of the few years

that I've had

on this earth,

I can tell you

that there is no better place

to be than in the arms

of a wonderful counselor

in whom

deliverance

can be found.

So Jesus,

this baby

that we celebrate

at Christmas

is described

as a wonderful counselor.

But secondly,

he's described

as mighty God.

Now we might be tempted

to look at the typical

nativity scene

and see a defenseless baby,

a crying infant

with no power,

a child who's done nothing

and can do nothing

by themselves.

But oh how wrong

we would be.

Because as we look

at the person

of Jesus Christ,

we are seeing

the very image

of the invisible God.

Here's what Colossians 1

has to say

about Jesus.

The Son

is the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn

over all creation.

For in Him

all things

were created,

things in heaven

and on earth,

visible and invisible.

Whether thrones

or powers

or rulers

or authorities,

all things

have been created

through Him

and for Him.

He is before

all things

and in Him

all things

hold together.

But God was pleased

to have all His fullness

dwell in Him.

This little baby

is the one

who flung the stars

in their place.

This little baby

is the eternal Son

through whom

and for whom

all things

were created.

And this is

the eternal Son

who has supremacy

over everything.

Meaning that Jesus

is the Son of God.

The one who rules

and reigns

over the entire universe.

The one who is

in absolute control.

And the one whose power

is beyond comprehension.

The one whose glory,

majesty

and wonderful nature

could not be described

even with every single word

in every single language

on this world.

His glory

is unfathomable.

Friends,

if you want to know

what God is like

you only need to look

at Jesus Christ.

The person

of Jesus.

The one

in whom

the fullness

of God

dwells.

Now what a wonderful

message of hope

and light

in the darkness

that is.

As the darkness

looms,

as times of despair

and pain

come your way,

look to Jesus.

The eternal

Son of the Father,

God in the flesh,

the mighty God

who humbled himself,

took on flesh,

left his place

of glory

and came into

a sinful world.

Why?

So that those

who walk in darkness

can say that they

have seen a great light

and that they

can have deliverance

from their darkness

and walk

in his light

because he is

mighty God.

Wonderful

counselor,

mighty God.

And the third

description we see

is that Jesus

is everlasting

father.

Now maybe it's

strange to think

of a baby

as being our

everlasting father.

It's a bit of

an odd phrase

that maybe takes

us a while

to get our

heads around.

But it means

that Jesus

is our father

forever.

And this

conveys two

wonderful truths.

Firstly,

Jesus

is everlasting.

He has no

beginning.

He has

no end.

The life

of Jesus Christ

did not begin

at that first

Christmas

about 2,000

years ago.

but there

has never

been a time

where Jesus

did not exist.

That's where

what we read

about in John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

that wonderful

passage that

teaches us so

much about

the Godhead.

John 1

says this,

in the beginning

was the Word

and the Word

was with God

and the Word

was God.

He was with

God in the

beginning

and the Word

became flesh

and made

his dwelling

among us.

So Jesus

is everlasting

but secondly

he is described

as our

Father.

And the

Bible

normally speaks

about God

the Father

when it

uses the

word Father.

So why

is Isaiah

using the

description here

of Jesus?

Well the

overarching

feeling that

a good

father has

towards his

children

is love,

isn't it?

Sadly we

live in a

sinful world

where that

isn't always

the case.

but fathers

are called

and are

supposed to

love their

children.

And there

are countless

stories out

there of

fathers doing

wonderful

things out

of a

sacrificial

love for

their

children.

Just one

that I

read about

yesterday.

In 2019

Rick Buckley

from Michigan

underwent

surgery to

give his

eight-year-old

daughter

Charlie

his kidney.

And if he

wouldn't have

gone through

that surgery

she would

have died.

And when

he was

asked about

it he

said that

he was a

match.

So he

didn't have

to even

think about

it.

It was the

easiest decision

he's ever

made in

his life

because he

loves his

daughter.

And any

parent would

do that

for a

child.

Good

fathers

love their

children.

And as we

look at the

life of

Jesus there

can be no

doubt in

our minds

that he

loved people.

He sat

with those

on the

fringes

of society.

He went

towards those

who were

deemed unfit

and called

broken.

He healed

those who

were sick.

He taught

people about

their need

to be made

right with

God and

ultimately

he laid

down his

life in

the greatest

act of

love known

to mankind

so that

sinners like

you and

me can be

reconciled to

God, brought

into his

family.

There is

no greater

love than

the love

of God

for his

people.

That's why

Jesus is

described as

our everlasting

father because

he has always

been and he

will always

be and his

love has no

end.

Is it not an

immense privilege

to be counted

as sons and

daughters of the

living God?

To have Jesus

described as our

heavenly father

whose love goes

beyond words and

beyond boundaries.

it is a love

that we cannot

escape and

it is a love

that never

runs out.

So this baby

that we celebrate

at Christmas is

a wonderful

counselor,

mighty God,

everlasting

father and

the fourth

description is

that Jesus is

the prince of

peace.

Think back to

the nation of

Israel.

Sitting in one

of their darkest

periods in

history,

spiritually

nowhere,

rejecting God

and living as

they please,

refusing to

acknowledge the

God who has

saved them

countless times

from their

enemies,

refusing the

God who out

of love calls

them to repent

and to come

back to him.

What do you

think they would

want as they

look over the

hills and see

an army coming

to attack them?

They want

peace.

peace.

Well, what

wonderful and

comforting news

it is to hear

that Jesus is

described as the

prince of

peace.

Friends, this is

the message of

hope that should

carry us through

our times of

darkness.

As we walk

through the

valleys, as we

feel abandoned

and alone, as we

feel the pain and

darkness creeping in

at every second,

remember, Jesus is

your prince of

peace.

Peace in two

ways.

First of all, it

means peace with

God because Jesus

is the perfect

lamb of God who

takes away the

sins of the

world.

He lived the

life that we

never could in

complete obedience

to the Father's

will and yet he

died the death

that each and

every single one

of us deserves.

Bearing all the

weight of sin and

all the wrath of

God in our

place, he took

our punishment.

He took our

sin so that we

could be gifted

his righteousness,

his right standing

with God so that

we could be

forgiven.

Or as Romans 5

Romans 5:1

verse 1 puts it,

therefore, since

you have been

justified by faith,

we have peace

with God through

our Lord Jesus

Christ.

Friends, if you

are a Christian

this morning, you

are no longer a

stranger to God.

You are no longer

an object of his

wrath, but peace

has been made

between you and

the Almighty God

through the death

and resurrection of

his Son, Jesus

Christ.

And if you're not a

Christian this

morning, come to

this Prince of

Peace.

Come to the only

one who can give

you peace with God

and the only one

who can forgive you

and give you hope

and light in your

darkness.

So it means, first

of all, that we have

peace with God, but

secondly, it points

to a future day

where God and man

will dwell together

in perfect harmony

in the new creation.

That wonderful place

where there will be

no more pain,

where there will be

no more suffering,

no more tears,

and no more death,

for the old order of

things has gone

and the new has

come.

God's dwelling place

will be with his

people.

Now that is true

peace.

That is a peace

that will endure

forever and it has

been bought and

secured through the

blood of our Lord

and Saviour Jesus

Christ shed on the

cross.

And as verse 7

goes on to say,

there is no end

to this kingdom.

His reign, the reign

of this prince of

peace will last

forever.

He will rule with

justice and

righteousness and

that is a promise

that is not wishful

thinking because

this peace has been

bought with the

blood of Jesus.

Friends, this is the

wonderful person that

we remember this time

of year.

Not a defenseless

baby, but Jesus,

wonderful counselor,

mighty God,

everlasting father

and prince of peace.

This is our king

Jesus, the God

and God is the one

who accomplished

all of this.

So if you are in

darkness, friends,

remember that you

have seen a great

light.

He has revealed

himself to you in

the person of Jesus

Christ this Christmas.

Remember that hope

that can only be found

in him and run to

him.

Hope can be found

nowhere else.

Do not stay in

your darkness

because the light

has been revealed

to you.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we

thank you so much

that you sent your

son Jesus Christ

to reveal you to

us.

Jesus, we thank you

so much that you

willingly left your

place of glory and

came into our

sinful world to be

light in our

darkness.

But not only that,

Father, we thank you

that you sent your

son Jesus Christ to

be the solution to

our greatest problem.

That through his

death and resurrection

we are now counted

or can be counted as

children of you, the

great, awesome,

almighty, wonderful

Father.

What a privilege

that is.

And Father, would

you, would that be

the focus of our

Christmas this year?

Would we remember

that Jesus is the

reason for the

season?

In his name we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.