God's Greatest Gift

It never ceases to amaze me how talented so many of our people in this church are so grateful for the privilege of being in a place where music just comes front and center and we get to enjoy.

Quality music week after week after week. Thank you, John. Thank you, praise team. Thank you, orchestra. Thank you for playing the organ. I can't remember. I guess the last time was maybe a year ago.

So, and then going back to childhood, we had organ every single week. So, it's just such a refreshment to come into the Lord's house and to be encouraged by good music that has deep, rich theology.

And leads us to Christ. Leads us to scriptural principles that are transcendent. So, praise the Lord for that. Thank you for your ministry to us this morning through the word.

Jeff, thank you for your testimony this morning. I don't know what your experience is, but there may be times where we tend to think that some people have really great testimonies because God has saved them out of really terrible, sinful, ungodly, and wicked circumstances.

But truth be told, in our heart of hearts, we all come from that place.

Jeff talked about Ephesians chapter 5. Here is your condition and my condition this morning.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

It says,

For while we were still weak, at just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

So, if you're here this morning and you have experienced the benefits of Christ's death,

then this verse is talking about you.

And he describes you in not so sparkling terms.

He speaks of you as one who is ungodly.

One who is weak.

One who is in desperate need for Christ.

That's how he talks about all of us in this room.

But fortunately, the story doesn't stop there.

It says,

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person,

although perhaps for a good person one would even dare to die.

But God shows his love for us in this,

that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We were all enemies.

We were all ungodly.

We were all sinners.

We were all rebels to the core.

Whether you expressed it in a way that drew attention to yourself or not,

you are, and I am, this morning,

saved out of rebellion.

Saved out of ungodliness.

Our situation was as desperate as it could have been.

It could not have been worse.

And yet, there is hope in the midst of despair.

There's hope in the midst of darkness.

That hope is only found in the person of Jesus Christ.

And that, this morning, is God's greatest gift.

In a nutshell, that's our message for today.

My guess is, hey, great, let's pray and go home.

But what I'd like to do is I'd like to elaborate on that great gift

so that we can begin to understand the fullness

of how wonderful that gift is.

We just sang about it.

Thanks, John.

What a great song.

The wonderful counselor, the mighty God,

the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

And what is so phenomenal, what is so spectacular about that promise

is when that promise is made

and how that promise comes to be

and who that promise is given to.

Because as we begin to recognize the context of the promise,

we begin to appreciate that there is hope for me.

There is a divine intervention that can happen in my life

where God can take me from the darkness of despair,

from the gloominess and hopelessness of my situation,

and God can create light,

and God can create joy,

and God can transform my circumstances,

not by rearranging the situation per se,

but rearranging my focus in the midst of that situation.

So I want to talk this morning about the great gift that God's given to us.

And I want to look back at Isaiah,

probably the two most prominent passages in Isaiah,

and perhaps the two most prominent Christmas passages

in all of the Old Testament

that points forward to this promise of God's greatest gift,

the promise of Jesus Christ,

the promise of the Messiah.

So if you would,

I would ask if you would please to turn with me.

We'll begin in Isaiah chapter 7,

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

and we'll look at this together.

Isaiah chapter 7.

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

If you're a guest with us this morning,

you can find Isaiah on page 571.

That's where we're going to be,

at least for the first part of this message.

The promise of God's gift.

It's found in Isaiah chapter 7.

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

I said verse 1,

but it's actually verses 10 through 14.

Okay?

So just make that correction.

It begins this way.

It says,

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz.

This is in verse 10,

now in verse 11.

Ask a sign of the Lord your God.

Let it be as deep as Sheol,

or as high as the heavens.

But Ahaz said,

I will not ask,

and I will not put the Lord to the test.

And he said,

Hear then,

O house of David,

is it too little for you to weary men

that you weary my God also?

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive,

and bear a son,

and shall call his name Emmanuel.

Of course, we understand Emmanuel meaning God with us.

Now turn over to chapter 9.

There we're going to begin in verse 1,

and 2, and 3,

and then the promise of a son in verses 6 and 7.

It says this,

But there shall be no gloom for her who was in anguish.

In the former time he brought into contempt

the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.

But in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea,

the land beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who dwell in the land of deep darkness,

on them a light is shown.

You have multiplied the nations.

You have increased its joy.

They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest,

as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

Verse 6,

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government shall be upon his shoulder.

In his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government,

and of the peace there will be no end.

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it with justice

and with righteousness,

from this time forth and forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Now, right at the start,

there should be some things that just jump out at your attention.

Things about this promise that stand out as being absolutely mind-boggling.

First is,

I want you to understand that hope comes from God,

and this is just a part of this first point.

I want you to understand,

as we are moving through this entire passage of Scripture,

that if you are looking for hope,

you can only find it in one place.

There is only one source of hope,

and that is God himself.

The God of hope is the one who can give hope to you this morning.

God himself, it says,

the Lord himself will give you a sign.

King Ahaz, if you want to know hope,

if you want to enjoy the benefits

and the blessings of hope

and a future of anticipating what God can do,

look to God.

Hope exists with him.

The next is that hope is undeserved.

Hope is undeserved.

When we look at Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

and then we look at this passage before us this morning,

we recognize that we don't deserve hope.

We'll see that a little bit more

as we dig into the passage some more.

But notice in verse 2,

it is a people of darkness.

Light is coming to a people of darkness,

which means it's a people who do not deserve hope.

Because they have rebelled,

because they have distanced themselves from God.

But hope comes in spite of what they deserve.

Next is that hope is bound up in God's ability to deliver.

Notice the end of verse 7.

It says,

the zeal of the Lord has done it.

Now it's still coming.

It is yet future.

But in God's mind,

it has been accomplished already.

And God is the one.

He is not just the force,

but the power and the strength

to bring hope to his people.

Not only the source of hope,

but the strength by which hope will come.

So I don't know your situation this morning.

I don't know the crisis

that may be looming on you

as an individual or as a family.

I don't know the decisions

that you're trying to make.

I don't know the turmoil

that you are experiencing right now.

But what I do know is that there is an answer.

There is an answer,

and there is hope,

and that hope can be found in Christ alone.

The Lord himself can and will do it.

The zeal of the Lord is for you

if you align yourself with him.

That's the start of this morning's message.

That kind of becomes

kind of the overarching theme

as we walk through this passage today.

As we look at the promise of God's gift,

I want to point out just a couple of things

to just mark your attention

and make some observations

about the timing of this promise.

I want you to notice

the surprising timing of this promise.

If you turn back to chapter 7,

just flip a page,

and this time we will go to verse 1.

What does it say there?

In the days of Ahaz,

the son of Jotham,

son of Uzziah,

king of Judah.

Now,

for most of us,

King Ahaz is

some anonymous individual

we have very little familiarity with.

We can talk about King Saul.

We can talk about King David.

We can talk about Solomon

and maybe some others

like Josiah and Hezekiah

and some others

kind of sprinkled in there.

For sure we know Ahab

because he was that wicked king in Israel.

But Ahaz,

who was a king in Judah,

was very similar to Ahab

who was in the northern ten tribes.

This is not the time to give a promise.

This is not the time for God to show up

and give favor

and the promise of blessing to his people.

In this kingdom,

at this particular point in time,

was about 730 years

before Jesus Christ came.

And if you remember

a little bit about the chronology

and the history

of the children of Israel,

you'll remember that

the light of the world

was resident within

the nation of Israel itself.

Israel alone had the law.

Israel alone had the temple.

Israel alone had the priests.

Israel alone had the revelation from God.

And now 10-12ths

of the nation of Israel

had abandoned their roots

and had rejected the God of Israel.

It's around 83%.

Darkness covered a people.

The light of the world

was beginning to dim.

The hope for the nations

was beginning to fade

as now 10-12ths

of the light of the world

had been obliterated,

essentially obscured

by the rebellion of a people.

And to make matters worse,

the southern two tribes

now under the leadership

of King Ahaz

was also closing the door

on the light

that God had given to them.

A commentary

on King Ahaz's leadership

is found in 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28.

It says this,

Ahaz was 20 years old

when he began to reign.

He reigned 16 years

in Jerusalem

and he did not do

what was right

in the eyes of the Lord

as his father David

had done,

but he walked in the ways

of the kings of Israel.

He made metal images

for the Baals

and he made offerings

in the valley

of the son of Hinnom

and burned his sons

as an offering

according to the abominations

of the nation

whom the Lord drove out

before the people of Israel

and he sacrificed

and made offerings

on the high places,

on the hills

and under every green tree.

And if that wasn't bad enough

for him as a king,

he led the people

of Judah and Benjamin

into the very same abominations.

So that it says

of the people

that all of them

followed after

the wickedness

of King Ahaz.

The light

for the nations

was being extinguished.

So that now

the other two twelfths,

the remaining

fraction

of the light

was beginning

to be obscured.

Isaiah is writing

in a dark day

where only

a hint

of light

remained

with Isaiah

and those

who were faithful

to Yahweh.

It is safe

to say

that the nations

and the light

to the nations,

the hope

that they were

to experience

through the revelation

of God,

through his people,

was almost

virtually destroyed.

But this,

by the mercy

of God,

it was this

dark day

that hope

begins to dawn.

It was in this day,

this hopeless day,

that God

sends his prophet Isaiah

to send a messenger

to this wicked king,

Ahaz,

to say,

although you have

rebelled against

my commands,

although you have

led the people

into wickedness,

it will not

get in the way,

it will not obscure

my plan

to bring light

to this people.

Which is to say

that God

is the author

of light

and nothing

can shatter

his light

giving purposes.

God is the author

of light

and nothing

can shatter

his light

giving purposes.

I don't know

about you,

but that gives me

special encouragement

this morning.

As I look around

and I see

the darkness

of the day

in which we live.

And I think about

the darkness

that seems to be

pressing in

to every context,

pressing into

our school systems,

pressing into

our workplaces,

pressing into

our government

and all of the things

that surround

the major decisions

of this world.

I think,

is there hope

anymore

for the church

and is there hope

for his people?

And the answer is

just look back

to the hopelessness

of King Ahaz's day.

And you can see

where that hope comes.

It comes

not from people,

it comes

from Jesus

himself.

Light can come

because of the author

of light

who desires

to shine in

to this world.

Will you give him

entrance into your home?

Will you give him

entrance into your life?

Will you let

the king of light

shine in your heart

today?

But not only

do we see

the surprising

timing of the promise,

I want us

just to take note

of the unlikely

origins

of this promise.

The unlikely

origins

of this promise.

For that,

I want to

point our attention

to chapter 9,

verse 1.

There will be no

more gloom

for her

who was in

anguish.

In the former

time he brought

into contempt

the land of

Zebulun

and the land

of Naphtali.

But in

the latter

time he made

glorious

the way

of the sea

and the land

beyond Jordan,

Galilee

of the nations.

Now,

I don't know

if that strikes

you

as it

strikes me.

But I want

you to take

note of this

amazing promise.

Who is

Naphtali?

Who is

Zebulun?

Who are

these anonymous

individuals?

Where are

these

random

places?

If you can

remember back

to the book

of Genesis,

if you can

remember back

to the sons

of Jacob,

perhaps you

might recall

a few of the

names of

his 12 sons.

Certainly you

could remember

the name

Levi,

or the name

Judah,

or the name

Benjamin.

You might be

hard pressed

to remember

the name

Reuben,

or the name

Gad,

or the name

Dan,

but at least

they're somewhat

familiar.

But Naphtali?

And Zebulun?

Who are

these people?

They're sons

of Abraham.

They're sons

of Jacob.

Sons of Israel.

And so the

promise is

coming to

the people

who are

part of the

children of

God.

But people

who you

wouldn't expect

the least

likely

individuals.

The darkness

that had

surrounded this

group of

individuals,

the light

would dawn,

the epicenter

of light

would come

on the

least

likely

group

of

individuals.

And what's

also quite

surprising

is the

epicenter

of light

would come

in the

least

likely

place.

Because if

you remember,

where is

Judah and

Benjamin?

We talk

about the

northern ten

tribes,

we talk

about the

southern two

tribes.

This was

enemy

territory.

Naphtali

and Zebulun

was not

in Judah.

It was

not Jerusalem.

The promise

to King

Ahaz was

not going

to be

centered

in Jerusalem,

but centered

in the

furthest

regions

away

from the

center

of Jerusalem.

In a

place,

as a matter

of fact,

that was

first to

fall to

Assyria.

And perhaps

by the time

of the writing

of this

prophecy,

those two

tribes in

the regions

surrounding

their location

had already

been absorbed,

had already

been obliterated

by Assyria.

And God

says,

okay,

maybe

obliterated

by human

standards,

but preserved

by my

power,

light would

dawn to

a people

who were

least to

be expected.

A region

and a

territory

least to

be expected.

Again,

to emphasize

that God

is the

author of

light

and nothing

can get in

the way

of God's

ability to

make

his promises

complete.

And then,

a promise

of a baby?

Unto us a

child is born?

Is that what

they're looking

for?

If you're in the

middle of a

military

conflict,

you're looking

for a

hero,

not a

baby.

If you're

in the

middle of

a religious

crisis,

you're looking

for a

priest,

you're looking

for a

spiritual

leader,

you're not

looking for

a baby.

And if

you're looking

to join

two nations

that have

been divided,

if you're

looking for

a leader

who can

help unite

those two

regions together,

you're looking

for a king,

you're not

looking for

a baby.

And yet,

the promise

of this

son,

as we will

see in

just a

few moments,

the promise

of a son

would deliver

on all

of those

expectations,

would provide

a counselor

to help

them understand

and know

the direction

that God

wanted for

them,

a king

who would

come and

who would

lead the

people as

God had

promised to

lead,

one who

would unite

the nations

and would

lead them

into peace,

that they

had all

so desperately

longed for.

The first

message this

morning is

this,

your situation

might be

bad,

but it's

not as bad

as it was

in Judah.

Your crisis

may be

overwhelming

to you

this morning,

but it

doesn't even

begin to

compare

with the

crisis

in Jerusalem,

the darkness

that existed

there.

the message

for us

this morning,

the message

of hope

is that

light can

dawn for

you today.

In the

midst of

hardship

and suffering

and struggle,

there is

hope for

all of us

this morning

through his

son,

Jesus Christ.

Next,

we turn to

the purpose,

the purpose

of the gift.

That was the

promise of the

gift,

now the

purpose of

the gift.

Why does

God send

his gift

to us

in the

first place?

What is it

meant to

accomplish for

us?

We see

there in

verses 2

and 3,

notice this,

the people

who walked

in darkness

have seen

a great

light.

Those who

dwell in

the land

of darkness,

on them

a light

has dawned.

sorry,

lost my

plate.

You have

multiplied

the nations,

you have

increased

its joy,

they rejoice

before you

as with

the joy

at the

harvest,

as they

are glad

when they

divide

the spoil.

Now,

I made a

major blunder

here.

I forgot

my phone

so that I

know what

time it

is.

Thank you.

This is

very important

for me

and for

you,

especially

for you.

I want to

keep check

on that.

Actually,

I'll just

put it

right here

so I

can see

what the

time is.

Good.

Did you

see the

two-fold

purpose there?

It's

already up

there on

the screen

for you.

The purpose

that God

is giving

you to

send

his

special

gift

is a

purpose

of light

and joy.

Is that

what you

would expect?

Because

that's not

what the

world would

say.

What

would the

world say

is the

reason

that God

gave his

son?

Why

would the

world say

that you

should be

a Christian?

What is

their perception

of what it

means to

be a

follower of

God?

Well,

I'm not

sure I

want to

be a

Christian

because,

man,

you've

got to

give up

all your

fun.

Who wants

to do

that?

I mean,

come on!

There's so

many rules

and regulations,

there's so

many boundaries,

and, man,

you've got to

give up your

Sunday mornings,

and you've

got to give

up your

lifestyle,

and all of

these things.

Who wants

to be a

Christian?

Christian,

it's

certainly

not for

me.

Maybe

for those

who are

believers,

our response

might be a

little bit

better,

but still

not aligned

with the

purpose that

God gives.

We might

say so

that God

can create

a people

for himself,

a people

who learn

to love,

a people

who learn

to follow

after God,

a people

who want

to know

him more,

a people

who do

order their

life,

but are

ambassadors

for Christ.

And all

of those

are good

answers,

but at

the heart

of all

of those

things,

the core

motivation

for God

and the

core motivation

that keeps

us moving

into those

things is

that God

wants to

give you

light,

and God

wants to

give you

joy.

God

desires

his best

for you.

God

desires

revelation

for you.

He desires

you to

be able

to think

clearly

and to

be able

to work

through life

and to

make good

decisions

about how

to parent

and how

to love

your spouse

and how

to respond

effectively

and appropriately

in the

work context.

He wants

you to know

how to make

the big

decisions

of life,

where to

go and

what to

do.

He wants

you to be

governed by

his light

in every

interaction

that you

have with

people.

He came

to give

you

light.

He came

to give

you his

best.

Now,

just the

other day,

and I

keep picking

on one

of my

kids.

I'll keep

doing it.

He makes

for good

illustrations.

But you

know when

you go

shopping

with your

kids?

My mom

and dad

are here

and their

tradition

is to

give gifts,

to give

money to

all their

grandkids so

that the

kids can go

out and do

some shopping.

So we did

that yesterday

and we did

that the day

before.

And the

money is

burning a

hole in his

pocket.

So we walk

in and no

sooner do we

get into the

store, but he

finds exactly

what he wants.

Right?

And then we

walk down a

couple more

aisles and we

find another

thing that's

exactly what

he wants.

And we go a

step further

and it just

goes on this

way, store

after store

after store,

aisle after

aisle after

aisle, and

everything that

he puts his

eyes on is

exactly what's

going to meet

and fill his

need for the

moment.

Well, finally

we found

something,

didn't we?

What did we

find?

We found

some nerf

swords, which

were great.

You can put

them together

and they

light up.

It's really

tremendous.

And we

found some

other cool

toys.

But isn't

that indicative

of us?

Whatever we

seem to set

our eyes on is

what we think

we need, but

we find after a

period of time

that that

relationship isn't

actually

accomplishing or

satisfying me the

way we thought

it should.

that hobby or

that job that

was supposed to

fill the void in

your life, that

was supposed to

leave you with

a sense of

purpose and a

sense of

accomplishment.

You find that

in actuality it

is drudgery to

go to work day

by day.

It is not

filling the

vacuum of your

heart.

That's why

light has come.

The light of the

world has come to

shine into your

heart, to shine

into your heart

what you truly

need, to give

you an awareness

of what truly

matters, and to

awaken your heart

to the joy that

only God can

give.

Joy that we

find here in

verse 3.

You have

multiplied the

nations.

You have

increased its

joy.

God is the

divine mover who

is moving you

into joy.

It is passive

on our part.

We get to

experience the

benefits of joy.

It is God's

heart and passion

to lead you into

joy, but joy that

can only be found

in him.

And that leads us

to this final,

this final gift,

the presence of

God himself.

That is the gift.

God looked and

thought, how can I

give them the

best?

How can I give them

the greatest?

How can I give them

the most supreme

gift in the

universe?

And in order to

accomplish that

objective, he gave

himself.

himself.

He gave himself

to you.

We find this

description of

himself here in

the end of verse

6.

We find those four

descriptions, the

wonderful counselor,

the mighty God, the

everlasting father, the

prince of peace.

And we find in those

descriptions everything

that we need at the

very heart of our

being.

everything we

desire at the

core of who we

are, are contained

in Jesus Christ, are

contained in this

greatest gift, the

gift of Emmanuel.

The wonderful

counselor.

Let me just touch

on these briefly.

Wonderful counselor.

This passage leaves

us with the

question, well, who

is this wonderful

counselor?

Who is this child?

It says a child is

born, but it

doesn't really

give us a

description of who

he is beyond just

a description of his

person and what he

will do.

But in Isaiah

Isaiah 28:29

chapter 28, verse

29, it uses these

same two words,

wonderful and

counselor, and it

connects them

directly to the

person of God.

Listen to this.

It says, this also

comes from the

Lord of hosts.

He is wonderful

in counsel and

excellent in wisdom.

Speaking of God,

wonderful.

You know, when we

say wonderful, we

think, oh, that's

good, or that's

beautiful, or that's

really pleasant, that's

really nice, that's

wonderful.

But when the Hebrew

speaks of wonderful,

it means something

more like supernatural,

something more like

miraculous, something

more like spectacular.

It's the kind of term

you would use as a

Hebrew to say, it

takes your breath

away.

That is the kind of

counselor we have.

The kind of counselor,

we don't even have

words to describe, it's

just, wow, wonderful.

Look at this counselor.

Look at who he is and

the kind of instruction

that he gives for those

who are his people.

And immediately when

this term was used, it

would have conjured up

in the minds of the

listeners a Solomon-like

figure, one who had

that kind of wisdom, one

who had that kind of

prowess.

Under Solomon's rule,

the kingdom flourished.

There was unimaginable

prosperity.

The reach and expanse

of his kingdom reached

its greatest extent

during the time of

Solomon.

An unprecedented peace.

Nations who were

paying tribute.

People who were

governed with justice.

A time of unrivaled

spiritual enthusiasm.

The engineering

accomplishments and

military prowess during

Solomon's reign was

unprecedented.

because of the wisdom

from God that he had

given to King Solomon.

But compared with

Solomon's counsel, this

new counselor would

embody wisdom.

It would be his name.

It would so, it would

so characterize him as

an individual that when

you thought about wisdom,

you would think about

this individual, this

son, this child,

this Emmanuel.

The wonderful

counselor.

Not just like a

Solomon, but he

embodied everything

that we would come to

enjoy and know

as wisdom.

The women at the well

noticed this about

Jesus.

She runs back into

town.

She says, come see a

man who told me

everything that I ever

did.

His wisdom to see

inside my heart and

to know exactly my

situation and to

orchestrate the

conversation to lead

me to God.

That was the wisdom

that Jesus demonstrated.

And Peter, in John

John 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6, as all the

other followers were

abandoning Jesus, Jesus

turns to Peter and

says, Peter, will you

go as well?

And Peter says, no,

you alone have the

words of eternal life.

How can I go?

You are true wisdom.

Couldn't imagine

leaving you, Jesus.

The question for us

this morning is not,

does wisdom exist?

The question for us

this morning is, is

Jesus enough for you?

Is his wisdom sufficient

for you this morning?

Well, he is not only

the wonderful counselor,

he is also the mighty

God.

The mighty God.

The king will have

God's true might

about him.

Power so great that it

can absorb all the

evil which can be

hurled at it until

none is left.

I love that statement.

Every great king and

every human leader is

limited by power, but

this king will not be

limited in any way.

He will overcome

the obstacles.

He will overcome

the adversaries.

He will institute the

help and the

deliverance and the

salvation that his

people so desperately

need.

But rather than a

military conqueror,

rather than one who

would free them from

the oppressor,

this mighty God would

be one who would free

them from their

greatest adversary.

The adversary of sin

and death.

The adversary that

confronts and ruins

every person that has

ever walked this

planet, including Adam

and Eve.

This mighty king,

this mighty God,

would vanquish the

greatest enemy of

humanity, the enemy

of sin.

The enemy that

destroys us to the

very core.

It ruins our

thinking, ruins our

relationships, ruins our

joy, ruins God's

design for our life,

and inevitably ruins

our future.

Only Jesus, only in

Jesus can we experience

the mighty God and

his mighty strength.

He's also the

everlasting father.

The title has always

confused me as I

think about Jesus

as the everlasting

father.

What does it mean for

somebody who has a

New Testament

perspective?

How can he be God

the Son and God

the Father?

What is going on

here?

The Old Testament

doesn't see things

that way.

It may be more

helpful as we look at

the person of Jesus

Christ to think about

what this title really

suggests.

Christ.

It might be better

for us to think about

him as more of the

father of eternity,

which is also another

translation of this

phrase, this word,

the father of eternity.

And in this respect,

what it would mean is

kind of what Paul says

to the church.

He says, you know,

you have many

counselors, you have

many leaders, but you

don't have many

fathers.

I have been your

father.

I have been the one

who has been used by

God to lead you into

spiritual life.

And in this way,

Jesus is the

everlasting father.

One who leads us

into everlasting life

through his person,

his death and

resurrection.

He ushers us into

being children of God

and in that way,

he becomes our father.

And only through

Jesus, only through

him as the

everlasting father,

can we experience

him as the

prince of peace.

The one who comes

to make all things

new.

It's a familiar word

in the Old Testament.

It's the word shalom.

It's the word that

talks about wholeness.

The word that

deals with the

entire person,

the body,

the soul,

the spirit,

the mind,

the emotions,

everything about us

that God desires

to bring peace

into our life.

And of course,

the greatest peace

that we need

is peace with God

through our Lord

Jesus Christ.

And so I close

the message

with this question.

Do you know

the greatest gift?

Are you enjoying

today

the greatest gift

that God could ever

bring to us?

The gift of his

son, Jesus Christ,

who is the

wonderful counselor,

the mighty God,

the everlasting

father,

and the prince

of peace?

Let's pray.

Let's pray.