Christmas; 6 Gifts from the Father

I love Christmas for so many reasons and I could cite probably hundreds as you could but for me it's a special time.

As I told the church a few weeks ago, being Jewish, i never heard the gospel until I heard it from the lips of my older brother, who had been a drug addict.

My parents had removed me from Philadelphia and took me to Miami to get me away from drugs.

The first person I ever heard the gospel was my Jewish brother, who had the privilege of spending a few days with this week in Philadelphia, who came, who called me and told me that Jesus was the Messiah.

But actually, as I reminded the church a few weeks ago, i remembered an event in Philadelphia when I was maybe eight or nine, maybe ten, that I had forgotten It was.

I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, but all my friends were Italian.

I tell people we used to dip our calzone in chicken soup And I remember at that young age Christmas day or Christmas Eve I can't remember when, but I was walking down the Italian part of our neighborhood and from one of my friend's homes I heard for the first time or maybe the first time I really noticed it.

I heard Noelle, noelle born as the king of Israel And, being Italian, i thought Noelle was Leon spelled backwards.

But I remember being stopped in my tracks and, for the first time in my life, really hearing the words of that song Noelle, noelle, born as the king of Israel, and being confused, as a young Jewish kid, how Jesus of Nazareth would be exalted as the king of Israel.

Well tonight, many years later, i stand among you.

There is no Jew or Gentile, and I with you.

I'm here for one reason to proclaim and glorify the name of the Lord and to declare Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

He's alive.

The words that Hilton read to us from Isaiah have meant so much to me over the years of all the Christmas texts, and I'm sure everybody received a card this year with those words planted on it.

If you haven't, maybe you listen to Handel's Messiah, where those words are so prominently featured.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.

If you read the context of those words, he took us right to the main point, which is the child that was born and the son be given.

But if you look at the context in Isaiah, things are really bad.

When God spoke that word, the backdrop as Israel's reached its lowest point.

They have turned from the Lord.

The nation is so backslidden that they're worshiping other gods and consulting mediums in order to consult the dead, because there was no direction in Israel.

And suddenly, in the midst of that kind of depression and darkness, god chimes in with this incredible prophetic word of hope Unto us a child is born.

Unto us a son is given.

Undoubtedly.

Tonight there are some in our midst, statistically, who have a bad case of holiday blues.

Christmas is not, as we know in our culture, always a time of great joy and great hope.

There may not be enough money to go around.

Maybe this has been a difficult Christmas for you, as it has for many families that I've spoken to, because there isn't a lot in the till for extra gifts.

I was at a department store in Philadelphia last night with my niece and my brother who was buying a gift for his grandson, and I watched as the mall was filled with thousands of worshipers who were grieved because they were out getting last-minute gifts shopping done.

They looked so grieved I was glad I was broke.

Some of us have difficulty at this season.

Maybe you're spending time with family and that might not be the greatest time.

Maybe you deal with strife and difficulty, but there is reason to rejoice tonight, and Isaiah's text gives us six incredible reasons.

Or should we say Isaiah was careful.

I want to take a few moments tonight and unpack, like a Christmas gift, this incredible description which Isaiah gives us of the babe of Bethlehem.

I want you to think tonight we don't have them on stage, but I want you to think tonight of six gifts neatly wrapped in beautiful boxes with wrapping paper and bows.

We're going to unpack them tonight, but what Isaiah tells us is far better than any gift anyone in this room has ever received.

They're all wrapped up, though, in one person, the person of the Lord Jesus.

When Isaiah says his name shall be called, he's not telling us that that will actually be his name, but rather that this person the child born, the son given, embodies these realities in his character and person.

Isaiah is telling us this is the kind of person that Jesus of Nazareth really is, and these aren't just sentiments for a Christmas card or making nice plaques over your kitchen sink.

These are concrete realities that any man or woman in this room, as a true believer, knows personally and powerfully.

I want to warn you at the end of this meeting, you might have a chance be given to you tonight to make these six gifts your own as well.

Let's unpack them for a moment.

They all start with the letter S conveniently.

The first one is sympathy.

Unto us a child is born.

Unto us, a son is given sympathy.

Jesus, the Savior, the Lord, comes as a child, as a baby, as a human being, and Hebrews says he did so for one reason not only to redeem us by his death, but so that he could be a sympathetic and understanding Savior.

Very familiar personally with the plight of being human.

This is for me Maybe it's because I'm Jewish, maybe it's just that I've studied it so much, but for me this doctrine that sets apart the Christian faith from any other religion, the doctrine of the incarnation, god becoming a baby And he didn't just become a human being for 33 years.

Get rid of being human and go back to being God.

He is tonight, 2,000 years later, as he sits at the right hand of his father.

He is forever The God-man.

But think with me of the amazing implications that God became a baby.

I think author Max Lakuto caught it best when he said quote the omnipotent in one instant made himself breakable, he who had been spirit became piercable.

He who was larger than the universe became an embryo.

He who sustains the universe with a word shows to become dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.

God as a fetus, holiness sleeping in a womb, the creator of life being created, god was given eyes, eyebrows, two kidneys and a spleen.

In a word, god became a fertilized egg.

How is that possible?

As we unpack the second gift unto us, a child is born.

Unto us, a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

I don't know what comes to mind when you hear the word government in America in 2011, but that's probably not a term of endearment.

And in our government, in our nation, there are checks and balances, so that one branch of government supposedly have heard this, so that one branch of government cannot overextend itself.

But that is not the case.

Isaiah tells us in the moral universe, in the moral universe, there's government and it rests completely on one's shoulders, the shoulders of the Son of God.

Unto us, a child is born.

Unto us, a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

He rules, he reigns.

In the moral government, there is one King of King, president of president, jesus Christ sits alone unchallenged, and His name shall be called as we come to this third gift to unwrap.

His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, and this is, without a doubt, my favorite term for the lovely Lord Jesus Wonderful Counselor.

You might have a Bible that has that term, wonderful, followed by a comma, making it two terms, but actually the two terms in Hebrew are joined together He's the Wonderful Counselor, and the Hebrew word Wonderful is really the word for that which is out of the ordinary, that which is supernatural, that which cannot be accounted for by human beings.

It is the Old Testament word for miraculous.

It was used throughout the Old Testament for miracles that only God could do, and men and women would stand in awe and know this is the hand of God.

And He did that in Scripture.

He still does miracles today.

But this child, isaiah says there's only one way to account for Him.

You can't.

No wonder, and Israel was well acquainted with wonders.

But Isaiah comes on the scene and says this child is a wonder beyond all wonders, of all that God ever did.

The bringing forth of this child and the giving of this son is a true wonder.

How do we account for Jesus Christ?

It is impossible to do so by human terms.

I mean.

What Isaiah is saying is he's not just the greatest thing the world can produce, he is actually beyond this world because he comes from another realm.

One author said if you really translate this word properly, you would have to read it this way.

But it doesn't sound good, but I love it.

His name shall be called Surprise.

You could take that Hebrew word and translate it that way.

And how many of you know that?

if you know Jesus, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

It's sort of like imagine getting a gift tomorrow and you already see the box and you know it's a pair of cheap gloves.

You have 30 pairs from previous Christmases you've never worn.

But what would happen tomorrow if you rip open the box, take off the wrapping, open the box expecting to find cheap gloves and instead you find five $100 bills?

You would probably say wonderful.

And by saying it that way, you are saying I'm utterly surprised.

I didn't expect that.

If you take that idea, that's exactly what Isaiah is saying about the Christ of God.

He is the surprising counselor.

There's the moment you think you know him.

He opens up and unwraps himself in a new way and you are blown away and all you can say is wonderful.

But he's not just wonderful.

Isaiah says he's the wonderful counselor.

Wonderful is an adjective describing his real nature.

He is the ultimate counselor.

If there's anything Isaiah says that describes who Jesus is to his people, he is a supernatural counselor, a surprising counselor.

It saddens my heart to think.

There are probably men and women in this room right now, if not expressing it verbally or thinking if I only had someone to help me.

I'm so lonely, i'm so depressed, i'm so out of sorts.

I've left a trail of broken relationships.

I need help And, like the man at the pool of Bethesda, their testimony is I have no man, but I'm here this afternoon to tell you you don't need a man or a woman when you can have the wonderful counselor.

How many times in my own life, to my shame, did I determine to throw in the towel and say following Jesus is too difficult or ministry is too rough a vocation?

I'm going to go do something else.

And one moment, in the presence of the surprising counselor, one word from the gospels, one word in my ear from the Holy Spirit of Jesus, and everything changed in a moment.

He's the surprising counselor.

And not only did I not quit.

I loved him more.

We feel bad at times for those who go through life feeling like no one understands them, no one loves them, no one cares for them.

But this afternoon I plead with you come to the wonderful counselor.

He will supply you with friends, encouragement.

He does that.

But you don't need anything but the wonderful counselor to really make it.

He is enough.

How many that know him would say that's your testimony.

And then, fourthly, sovereignty.

His name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, there is one thing that I cannot do for you tonight, and you can't even do it for yourself, though the word hasn't apparently gotten out.

I cannot climb into your body tonight.

I wish I could And somehow mystically change your heart.

But Jesus, isaiah tells us, is not only the babe from Bethlehem, he's the mighty God, the sovereign one, and we struggle with this.

The babe at Bethlehem we like because he's tucked away in a manger.

He's manageable.

I know what to expect, but I have news for you tonight the babe of Bethlehem is no longer in Bethlehem's major manger.

He is the sovereign, mighty God whose word upholds the universe.

And he alone is sovereign and can move into your space and change your heart.

40 years ago.

Last month, i went to a Christian meeting to humor my brother with no interest in the Gospel.

I tell people I walked in having never thought of Jesus Christ in God once, and I've walked out and I haven't thought of anything else since.

I didn't take a seminar, i didn't decide to clean up my life, but I encountered the mighty God, the Lord Jesus, who reached in, took out a stony heart and gave me a heart of flesh.

What we need today is a mighty God, a sovereign God, a God we can't control, a God who's so mighty that we fall in our faces day and night and acknowledge his sovereignty.

The number five gift that we unpack tonight in Isaiah's description of the Lord Jesus is the word sensitivity.

His name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father.

How is it that Isaiah tells us that the Son is the everlasting Father?

Well, isaiah is not saying literally that Jesus is the Father.

He doesn't have the persons of the Godhead confused.

Rather, he wants us to understand that this one, who is Bethlehem's babe, is Fatherly.

We are to think of Jesus as the everlasting Father in that he will do and say and speak and do nothing except express to human beings the heart of a Father.

And what does a Father do?

It's in the Psalms that we are told that as a Father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Those of us who are Christians in this room know powerfully what happened when the compassion of the Father through the Son, entered our lives And we encountered a God we weren't told about in religious circles.

We were told in religious circles that he's constantly looking for a reason to blot you out and punish you.

And instead Jesus revealed to us a God who loves passionately, who delights in mercy, who forgives freely, and when he does, he doesn't put you on probation and say, okay, i'll forgive you, but you're on probation, let me see how you walk Your life.

If you're a believer is bounded within the perimeters of the mercy and love of God.

And as a Father disciplines his children, we're also to understand in this title of Jesus, eternal or everlasting Father, that he also will discipline his children when necessary.

But the overwhelming reality of this box, as we unpack it, is his heart of compassion.

And finally, tonight, the sixth box, serenity.

His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of Peace, think tonight with me.

Think tonight of a nation that spends more money on barbiturates and sleeping aids than the gross national product of many lower countries.

Think of what people will do tonight and are doing for a moment's peace.

Isaiah concludes his description of the Christ child by saying he's the author of incredible tranquility and peace.

Some of us tonight are undoubtedly and I think of our own congregation tonight and many of the needs that I'm aware of The chaos, the confusion, the suffering.

But Jesus is the author of incredible peace, and those of us who are disciples of Jesus have discovered this amazing reality that, no matter what you go through, when the Prince of Peace gives his presence, it's not only bearable but you can enjoy it.

I remember one of my favorite Christian albums.

I can't remember the singer's name, and that's one of my favorite albums.

It's not mine, but the first song.

I used to dance to it and it went like this in the middle of this madness, i am dancing.

There's no rhyme or reason.

I shouldn't be dancing.

It's like I ran into somebody in the church.

I said how are you doing?

He said well, under the circumstances.

I said what are you doing under there?

What often happens to us, though, even for Christians is we want life to be amazingly easy And without pain and confusion.

How many Christians are there?

When will I, when is my Christian life going to pan out the way the evangelists told me?

when all the problems are going to dissipate and I'll be problem free?

Well, i've got good news and bad news.

The bad news is never for.

Jesus says in the world, you will have trouble.

How many have discovered that?

But don't leave it there, but be of good cheer, be of static.

I have overcome the world.

The Prince of Peace's way is not to remove us from trouble and difficulty and pain and confusion.

He doesn't come and say I come to make life easy, but he tells you I will give you my peace and it passes under standing.

It will keep you through whatever.

I would rather be in the presence of Jesus in hell for a moment than in earth, in the most palatial surroundings, without it.

Listen to his words.

In the world, you will have trouble.

Take heart, i have overcome the world.

Peace.

The Savior said when He burst into the upper room after His resurrection, an 11 fearful, trembling disciples who weren't sure if they were about to be crucified with their master.

He passed through the door and spoke those words Shalom, peace be unto you and all was well.

Those of us who are Christians have learned that the first moment that peace entered our hearts and minds is that moment when we believed upon the Son and, as Romans 5 says, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.

Before we even have the peace of God, we are assured that, because of faith, we have peace with God.

These six gifts, and these six gifts alone sympathy, supremacy, sagacity, sovereignty, sensitivity and serenity.

No matter who you are tonight, no matter what you're going through, no matter what gifts you'll receive tomorrow or gifts you won't receive, these gifts are all yours.

But here's the deal They're not distributed individually, they are a package deal.

You see, all of them are descriptions of a person, and if you want these six blessings which we've unpacked tonight, you must take Christ, let Jesus Christ walk in your life and surrender your life to Him.

We all did it at a moment in time and said Jesus, you are Lord.

I believe that You are the ultimate, supreme one, the sovereign one, the one who has all wisdom, the one who reveals the Father, the one who has peace for my life, and you surrender yourself to a person And the rest of your life.

He unpacks these six gifts forever and ever.

For those of us who are Christians know you don't get peace once and then you're on your own.

You can have it daily.

Yes, you can have it moment by moment.

Would you stand with me tonight?

Think about what Christmas Eve might be for you tonight, if you are here tonight and you've never turned your life over to the Son of God, i want to give you an opportunity to pray with me tonight as we come to the end of this service.

You may not understand all that I've said.

You may not understand how does this work, and I don't know that I could ever explain it to you.

But simplifying it, you come and take God's gift, for the Bible says the wages are sin, are death, but the gift, the free, unmerited gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

It's a gift and it's Christmas.

Why not take Him up on it?

So I'm going to ask every head to bell and I want to do this while I pray, if you want to pray tonight, if you've never turned your life over to Jesus I'm not talking about you've gone to church and maybe you've veered from church.

But I'm saying you know tonight that you're not a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You're really not following Jesus.

Maybe you even prayed a prayer when you were eight or 10 or 12, or walked an aisle, but the truth is there was no change in your life and you've been in control of your life.

Tonight will you receive God's free gift of eternal life.

And here's what you do.

The Bible says receive the gift.

So if I hand you a gift tonight, you have to reach out, you take it, you make it your own.

And what we are calling upon you to do in a moment is to do that very thing To reach out by faith.

And the Bible says whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

We want to pray with you.

If you're serious tonight about calling on the name of the Lord, let's pray, bow your heads with me.

Father, i ask your spirit tonight in this room to draw many men and women to the Son of God.

I pray, lord, that the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord, as you offer it now, activate people's hearts to respond to the gospel of God, while every head is bowed and eyes closed.

I'm going to ask you to do something?

if you would tonight, people ask why do we do this publicly?

Well, jesus called people publicly.

We want to pray with you, we want to counsel with you.

Maybe you don't have a full understanding of what it means to come to Jesus.

Whatever your condition is, would you do me a favor right now, while every head is bowed and eyes closed?

if you came with people, we won't keep you long.

They will wait for you.

We're in no hurry.

We're going to segment into the end of our service and Paul will be coming and giving you some instruction.

We'll be taking up our offering, but right now, in the presence of God.

If you are willing, this Christmas Eve, to say I want Jesus to come into my life, i want to turn my life over to the Son of God.

This isn't just praying a prayer, this is a decision that I want to follow Jesus Christ, i want you to lift your hand and by lifting your hand, saying that's me, pray for me.

I want to do that tonight.

Would you do that right now, in God's presence?

If there's anyone here, please don't be afraid.

Okay, someone, i'd like a woman.

Would you keep your hand raised?

ma'am, over here, in this section, a woman over there.

Would you please pray with her?

Yeah, i'm not going to call her forth, anyone else.

We're going to close in a moment, but let's sing before Paul comes.

As we're standing in God's presence, i want to make one more.

I just want to close this service.

The strong sense tonight that there's a lot of storm tossed people here tonight who really need the Prince of Peace to speak a word to your troubled soul.

I'm going to ask you right now if you would get out of your seat and just stand in the front here.

If you are in that condition, if your soul's in turmoil, you have confusion, you just lack peace.

Tonight We're going to gather at the altar.

We're not going to lay hands on anybody.

We're going to sing and we're going to ask God's peace to come.

So as we close in song, i want you to right now begin to move out of your aisle and just come to the front if you need the Lord to be unto you This Christmas Eve.

The Prince of Peace, come now.

Let's sing to you Peace out.