A Closer Look at The Christ of Christmas

In December of 1903, after many failed attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting

their flying machine off the ground.

You can imagine what excitement they felt to actually fly for the first time.

Well, they, as quick as they could, shared that news with their sister in this telegraphed

message.

We have actually flown 120 feet.

We'll be home for Christmas.

Well, Catherine, their sister, she was excited and wanted to get that word out.

And so she hurried to the editor of her local newspaper and showed him that telegram, showed

him the message.

But he was busy and he just glanced at it and said, how nice, the boys will be home for Christmas.

He totally missed the big news that she was trying to communicate to him.

He missed that they had flown, that man had flown for the first time.

I wonder how many people will totally miss the big news of Christmas as they do all the

different good things they enjoy during this holiday season.

The big news of Christmas is that God sent his son into this world to save sinners like

us.

Hopefully, we will read something in the Bible related to this good news, this big news during

the Christmas season.

And if we will, we can't help but see it.

It comes through loud and clear.

I want you to look at two examples at the beginning of this time.

In Matthew's gospel, the angel of the Lord said this to Joseph, she will bear a son and

you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Then in Luke's gospel, the angel Gabriel explained to Mary who Jesus was.

He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High.

And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.

And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

And of his kingdom, there will be no end.

It's true that the Christmas story is found in just a small section of the Bible.

I mean, the true Christmas story, the events that took place in Bethlehem before and during

right after the birth of Jesus, they're only found in Matthew's gospel and in Luke's gospel.

But what we need to remember as God's people, the Christmas story in the Bible really began

hundreds of years earlier.

It begins in the Old Testament.

Old Testament prophets wrote about a coming Savior, the Messiah.

One of the best known prophecies is found in Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

And I'd like for you to turn with me to that chapter.

And what we're going to look at this morning is something that is very familiar to most Christians

because we sing about this every year at Christmas.

writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah described the power and glory of the coming Messiah,

the coming Savior.

In chapter 9, what we're going to look at is verses 6 and 7.

What I want us to see is the special names or titles that are used to describe this coming Savior.

Our children's choir did a great job in telling us about those special names when they sung last week.

How many of you children's choir kids are in here this morning?

Raise your hand high.

There's some scattered out through here.

Well, you did a great job last Sunday morning in singing about who Jesus is.

You better bundle up tonight because it's going to be cold.

But we're going to listen for you to sing and tell us about,

tell people maybe who've not heard this good news about Jesus.

You're going to sing that tonight.

And then again next Sunday morning.

Well, I want us to read from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7.

Isaiah 9:6

About who Jesus really is.

By these special names or titles that Isaiah assigns to Him.

Isaiah chapter 6, 9 rather, beginning in verse 6.

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

You know those names, don't you?

This is where they originate.

It says in verse 7,

Of the increase of His government and of 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 forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

This prophecy explains how the coming Messiah that we know,

as we read back into the New Testament,

is Jesus Christ.

This prophecy tells how He will reign in power, in glory.

It says the government shall be upon His shoulder,

and that it will be His government.

Now, that prophecy is only partially fulfilled at this time.

Think with me like this.

When Jesus came into the world as a baby,

in that stable in Bethlehem,

when Jesus came the first time like that,

grew up and taught and did the things that we read about

in the New Testament in the Gospels,

when He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins,

and rose triumphantly from death,

and then ascended into heaven,

and then sent His Holy Spirit to indwell all of His people,

that was Jesus coming in power,

in glory, in power, in glory,

to reign, to rule, listen to this,

in the lives of those who believe in Him,

in the lives of those in whom God has called to faith in Him.

This is like the first coming of Jesus.

It's sort of like a secret or invisible kingdom

that He has established, that God has established.

We, as Christians,

are citizens of that kingdom.

God is our God.

Christ is our Savior and our Lord.

But Christ rules

in our lives

us who believe in Him.

People outside the church,

the real church,

the people of God,

they don't acknowledge Jesus as King.

They don't acknowledge God's rule,

God's authority.

That's just for us right now.

But one day in the future,

Scripture promises

Jesus Christ will return to this world

and there will be nothing secret

or invisible about it.

When He comes back,

He will come back

and everyone will see Him.

They'll see Him coming

as the one who has ultimate authority

and power.

He'll come in great glory.

And then,

He will establish His kingdom

visibly in this world

and as Paul tells us

in Philippians chapter 2,

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

every knee will bow

and every tongue will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord.

That's what's going to happen

when Jesus comes the second time

and He will truly rule and reign

not just over His people,

not just over people who believe in Him,

but He will rule and reign

over the entire world.

The authority and rule of Jesus Christ

over our lives now

and over all lives in the future

far exceeds the authority and rule

of all earthly leaders.

and what Isaiah is doing

in these special names or titles

for this Messiah in verse 6,

what Isaiah is doing

is helping us to understand

the unique features,

power, and authority

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

these names help us to understand

why He can be trusted

to rule over our lives now

and for all eternity.

So as we go through this,

looking at wonderful counselor,

mighty God,

everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace,

I want you to think,

do I know Jesus

in this way

in my life?

Make it very personal.

Let's begin.

Jesus Christ rules with wisdom.

He is wonderful counselor.

The King James Version

separates the word wonderful

and counselor with a comma

as if they are two.

Well, most translations

keep them together

and that makes the most sense

because it makes this

a two-word description of Jesus

just like the other three.

As wonderful counselor,

the idea is that Jesus Christ

has supernatural wisdom.

And you know,

during His earthly ministry,

the way that He related to people,

the things that He taught,

He demonstrated

that He is wonderful counselor

by the wise teaching

and counsel He gave to people.

Jesus always knew exactly

what to say

and how to say it to people.

I mean,

if you stop and think about it,

most of you,

you've read the Gospels.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

You've read how Jesus

interacted with people.

For example,

when Jesus reached out

to genuine seekers,

I mean, people who came to Him

wanting sincerely

to learn about Him.

For example,

like the man Nicodemus.

It says in John chapter 3

John 3 · chapter mention

that Nicodemus

came to Jesus by night.

He was a religious leader.

It doesn't say why

He came by night.

Maybe He was afraid

of being seen.

We don't know.

Maybe it was just

the end of a long day.

But Nicodemus came

inquiring of Jesus,

trying to learn more about Him.

And Jesus got His attention

and responded to questions

like this.

Nicodemus,

unless a person is born again

or born from above,

he cannot enter into

the kingdom of God.

Now that was something

that intrigued Nicodemus.

He was confused.

He didn't understand.

Maybe He grinned

when He looked at Jesus

after Jesus said that.

He said,

Jesus,

you try and say

a person's got to

enter his mother's womb

and be born again.

You know,

something ridiculous.

And Jesus went on

just to explain

in a little bit

different words.

And the point

I'm trying to make is

Jesus knew how

to relate to Him

in a way that

got His attention,

held His interest,

made Him think.

And it worked.

Because at the end

of John's gospel,

when Jesus is crucified,

His body is taken down

from the cross,

Nicodemus joins

with Joseph of Arimathea

in preparing Jesus' body

for the tomb.

All the other disciples

had left.

Nicodemus,

at that time,

surfaces

as one who believes.

We know

how Jesus

demonstrated

His wisdom

and the way

that He dealt

with hurting people.

You know,

time and time again,

people who were

in great need,

blind people,

lame people,

all kinds of issues,

they came to Jesus

and they found

compassion in Him.

Someone who

looked,

not just their

physical issues

or physical problems,

but He looked deeper

at the spiritual issues.

That's why He would

say things like

to the person

He healed

who was crippled,

in addition to

rise,

take up your pallet

and walk,

He's talked about

having their sins

forgiven.

And then,

Jesus demonstrates

great wisdom.

He knew how to relate

to people

of all walks of life

when those religious

hypocrites came

and tried to trick Him,

tried to trip Him up,

tried to make Him

look bad.

Jesus always knew

their heart,

knew the lack

of sincerity,

knew their hypocrisy,

and a lot of times

He called them out.

He called them

just point-blank liars,

children of the devil,

people who weren't

concerned about

really the truth.

They were just concerned

about themselves,

about their position

and prominence.

Jesus taught

in such a way

that those who heard Him

said things like this

that you read about

in John 7,

no one ever spoke

like this man.

When people heard Jesus,

they heard someone

who was different,

someone who

embodied

the wisdom

of God.

Jesus

was able

to speak

and teach

like He did

because He is

the source

of all truth.

He embodies truth

as He said

in John 14,

6 of the familiar passage.

Jesus said,

I am the way

and the truth

and the life

and no one comes

to the Father

except through Me.

It's because Jesus

is the ultimate source

of truth

and wisdom

that you and I

need to turn

to Him

to find

ultimate answers

in our own lives.

That's the only way

we're going to be able

to make sense

out of the confusion

and chaos

and contradictions

that we find

all around us

in this world.

I want you to think

right now.

The Lord Jesus Christ

knows you.

He knows your

life situation

right now

that you're dealing

with.

No one else

may know

but He knows.

He knows

what you need

and He knows

the best way

to meet your needs.

And that may not

always be

the way you want

to meet.

Jesus always

gives wise

counsel to those

who will humbly

come to Him,

listen to Him,

and be willing

to obey Him.

that means you.

I hope that you

have already,

if not that you

will experience

this wonderful

counselor

who will help you

with His wisdom

in ways that

will make a difference

in your life.

Christ rules

with wisdom,

Isaiah is telling

us.

We also see

that Jesus Christ

rules with power.

He is mighty

God.

As a wonderful

counselor,

Jesus tells us

what to do.

As mighty God,

He supplies us

with the power

to be able

to do it.

You know,

human counsel

can only go

so far.

haven't you

talked to people

about various

problems in their

life?

And in many

of those situations

the solution

was obvious.

You see,

every one of us

in this room,

we are counselors

to some people.

There's some people

who would never

dream of talking

to a pastor

or actually going

to a licensed

real counselor.

But they talk

to you.

You are the

person that

some people

go to

to get help

with serious

issues in their

life.

And sometimes

when they go

to you,

sometimes you

just sort of

think to yourself,

I don't know

what to do.

Sometimes they

come to you

and they ask

questions

and you have

the answer.

The problem

is,

you have

an answer

but you

can't give

them the

power that

they need

to change.

Jesus Christ

has the power

to bring about

change in our

lives, in any

person's life

because He is

mighty God.

He is God

in the flesh.

That's a part

of what the

whole Christmas

story is.

Jesus Christ

has always existed

as the Son of God,

the second person

of the Trinity.

He came into

this world

as a man,

a baby born

in Bethlehem.

He is God

incarnate.

That means God

in the flesh.

John tells us

about that

in his first

chapter,

verses 1 and

14.

Look at it.

In the beginning

was the Word,

he's describing

Jesus.

And the Word

was with God

and the Word

was God.

And the Word

became flesh

and dwelt

among us.

Jesus, on one

occasion,

trying to clear up

some confusion

among His disciples,

in particular

with Thomas,

He just couldn't

grasp,

you know,

who is God?

Who are you

even, Jesus?

Jesus said to him,

whoever has seen

me has seen

the Father

because I'm God

in the flesh.

I've come

that you might

be able to see

what God

looks like

in terms of

Him coming

into the world

as a man

because Jesus

is mighty God.

I want you to

understand,

He has the power

to forgive sin.

guilt is a lot

of people's

real burden.

It could be

yours this morning.

It could be

that things

are not good

in your life

because

they're sin

and you're

weighted down

by guilt.

I want you

to understand

that that weight

can be lifted

if you're not

a Christian

by putting your

faith and trust

in Jesus

as you turn

from your sin,

as you admit

it,

forsake it.

God can forgive

you.

He will forgive

you.

It may be

that you are

a Christian

but you,

there's some

things in your

life or a

thing in your

life that

you've just

rebelled against

God about

and the result

is there's a lot

of guilt,

maybe some

anger and

frustration.

I want you

to understand

that Scripture

says if you

will confess

your sins,

God is

faithful and

just to

forgive you

and to

cleanse you

from all

unrighteousness.

Our Lord

has the power

to rebuild

a person's

life.

When I was

growing up

in the

community that

I lived in,

there was a

man who was

known by

everyone as

the community

drunk.

drunk.

Now, he was

such a guy,

lived such a

life, no one

thought of him

as an alcoholic

because that was

too good a word

for this guy.

He just

looked and

acted, treated

people as

just a drunk.

No one

respected him.

No one

thought anything

positive about

him because

of the way he

mistreated his

family, because

of the way he

couldn't be

trusted.

He did a lot

of funny as

well as foolish

things.

One of the

stories of the

community that

everyone knew,

on one occasion,

he was driving

drunk.

he was driving

real slow and

he went out,

it was on the

Clemson Highway.

He ran into a

highway patrolman.

It wasn't a

major wreck,

the patrolman

saw him coming,

just couldn't get

out of the way.

He was going

slow and he

hit the highway

patrolman's car.

The patrolman

got out of the

car and came up

to his window and

I can't tell you

to use all the

words that he

used, but he

basically looked

at the patrolman

and said,

you sure got

here in a hurry.

That was the

guy.

But somewhere

in his 60s,

after I'd grown

up and gone

away, my dad

told me about

him.

Sometime in

his 60s, he

was saved.

And my dad

said, his life

just totally

changed.

180 degree turn.

For years, all I

ever saw in him

was just somebody

who looked like

he'd lived a hard

life.

He looked it in

his face,

unkempt, bent

over, sort of.

Not just when he

was drinking, slurred

kind of speech.

But this is the

honest truth.

When God saved

him, he stood up

straight.

The countenance on

his face was

changed.

He became a more

articulate person.

And everybody

noticed it.

Everybody was just

taken back by it.

And after he

demonstrated the

reality of his

faith, of his

relationship with

the Lord, after

several years, his

church actually

elected him to be a

deacon in that

church.

And nobody

thought it was

funny.

Nobody thought it

was a joke.

He became in that

community a

testimony of God's

grace and God's

power.

power.

And what I want

you to hear in

this story is, the

Lord Jesus Christ,

mighty God, he has

the power to change

any person's life.

But you've got to

come to him on his

terms.

Confess your need

for a Savior.

Not just trust in

him, but submit to

his authority as the

mighty God over

your life.

Jesus Christ

rules with

wisdom, rules

with power.

But we also see

in these titles,

Jesus Christ rules

lovingly and

sovereignly.

He is

everlasting

father.

And don't be

confused by that

word father.

The everlasting

father title is

not intended to

cause us to

think that Jesus

Christ is the

same person as

God the father.

That he's God the

son and he's God

the father.

That wouldn't make

sense.

In the Old

Testament, what this

means is kings were

sometimes called

fathers of the

people that they

ruled.

God the

ESV study Bible

explains this, I

think, very

well.

It says that as

everlasting father,

he is a

benevolent

protector, which

is the task of the

ideal king and is

also the way God

himself cares for

his people.

It should be

comforting to every

one of us, we're

Christians, to know

that our Lord is

our benevolent

protector.

He's our loving,

sovereign Savior

who always works

for God's glory

and our good.

Now you know,

hopefully you know,

that doesn't mean

everything as God

works in our life,

that doesn't mean

everything will be

easy.

It doesn't mean that

everything will always

work out the way that

we want it to.

But our Lord can be

trusted to take care

of us.

He can be trusted to

never let anything

take us out of his

protecting hand,

just as Jesus

promised.

Look again at

John's gospel, this

time the 10th

chapter.

Jesus says, my

sheep, that's how

he's describing his

people, people who

believe in him.

My sheep hear my

voice, and I know

them, and they

follow me.

I give them

eternal life, and

they will never

perish, and no one

will snatch them out

of my hand.

My Father, who has

given them to me, is

greater than all, and

no one is able to

snatch them out of

the Father's hand.

I and the Father

are one.

The Lord's promising

us here that no

matter what, we

can count on him.

We can count on our

heavenly Father to

take care of us.

That is, we who are

his sheep.

We who follow him.

What that means is we

need to make sure we're

one of them.

Isaiah is telling us

that the Christ of

Christmas, he rules with

wisdom, he rules with

power, he rules with

loving protection.

And there's one more

way.

Jesus Christ rules in

peace.

He's the Prince of

Peace.

And I want to come

back to that, either on

Christmas Eve or

Christmas Day, and just

focus on him being the

Prince of Peace.

You know, we all have

our Christmas traditions.

Some of us have already

started them, and we're

going to be participating

in them throughout this

holiday season.

Some of you have put up

your Christmas tree

already, or you will,

because you always do it

on a certain day in a

certain way.

Some of you have already

or will enjoy going out

shopping with a certain

family member or a certain

friend.

You do it every year

together at Christmas.

Some of you, one of your

Christmas traditions is you

do things around the house

with a Christmas CD on.

Or maybe you like to watch

Christmas specials on TV,

hopefully that are more

edifying than something

like Christmas vacation.

Now, a lot of us, we like

to gather with family

members.

You know, you're going to

meet with certain, one set

of family, one side of the

family, maybe, on Christmas

Eve, another side of the

family on Christmas Day.

We all in this room, we have

some Christmas traditions that

really are big events to us.

And that's good.

Every family, every member of

every family should have

Christmas traditions that mean

something to them.

But let's be careful that we

do not miss the real big event

of Christmas.

The coming of God's Son,

Jesus Christ, into this world

to save His people from their

sins.

The names or titles of Jesus

that we see in Isaiah,

they help us to understand that

our Savior is able to meet our

deepest needs as He provides us

with wise counsel, power to

change, loving protection,

and perfect peace.

Two questions.

How have you responded to the

Christ of Christmas?

Jesus Christ?

If you're not a Christian, if

you've not experienced the

salvation that God freely gives

through faith in Jesus, I want

to invite you right now to turn to

Him.

That means you've got to admit that

you are a sinner separated from God

by your sin and be willing to

admit that, change your mind about

living that way, grieve over your

sin, turn from that and turn to

Christ, trusting that when He died

on the cross, He took your

punishment.

He paid the penalty for your sins.

Put your faith in Him.

Call upon Him to save you.

Surrender your life to Him now.

How have you responded to Christ,

the Christ of Christmas?

If you are a Christian, if you have

experienced His salvation, I want to

encourage you this day, this Sunday,

December the 11th, make sure you are

honoring Him as the Lord of your life.

not just during Christmas season, but

every day that you live.

Make sure that this Christ of

Christmas, that He's also the Lord of

your life.

Is He?

And if He's not, would you come back to

Him now?

Let's pray together.

Father, help us this morning to

understand just what a great, powerful,

loving, wise Savior Jesus is.

Show us, Father, how we should respond to

the Lord Jesus.

Give us the wisdom and the power, the

desire, the ability to respond the way

that we as individuals need to.

You just pray now.

You listen to the Lord.

You respond to Him as He speaks, as He

shows you what you need to do.

If I could pray with you or help you

here at the front, I will be here.

I would love to do that.

Let's just listen to the Lord and obey Him

now.