What Child Is This?

As I was praying this week about where the Lord wanted to take us, I felt like the Lord said something very clearly.

He said, Talk about me.

I thought, well, okay, Lord, that doesn't help me too much.

That's kind of the goal every time.

And he said, No, Preston, I don't want you to talk about where they are this Christmas season.

I want you to teach them about who I am in every season.

And if you have a Bible, I want you to turn to two places.

Luke chapter 2 and Isaiah chapter 9.

Luke 2 · chapter mention Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 2 and Isaiah chapter 9.

Luke 2 · chapter mention Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

We're going to start there in Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

And rather than read you Luke 2, I've actually enlisted the help of one of my friends to quote it for you.

So if you would, please turn your attention to the screen.

And they were in the same time, the birds abiding in the field, keeping watch, oh to walk by night.

And whoa, the angel only came upon him.

And the glory of the witch still no longer bought them.

And they were stored right in there.

And the angel said, Unto them, you got I'll be good toys to good, I'll be good tidings to good joy.

Which would be to all people.

Unto you and Pointed City and the City of David, which is quite the wood.

And this should be a time until you should find a big weapon close my major.

And do it will be angel of the heavy twin dungeon.

And I'll peace the little toy man.

That's pretty impressive right there.

I'm pretty sure not one of us in this room or at any of our campuses was doing that at three and a half years old.

That was not one of my sons.

That was actually Gus Blunt, the son of one of our children's pastors here on staff, actually, our children's pastor at our Frisco campus, Pastor Josh and Sarah.

And as you can plainly see, Gus is not only the man, he is going to be the next great communicator of the gospel.

So be praying for him over the next 50 years of his life.

Now I want you to flip over to Isaiah chapter 9, and I'm gonna read this one to you.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

And with this little head cold that I've got, I'm kind of a hybrid between Kermit the Frog and Barry White, so just deal with it.

Isaiah chapter 9, starting in verse 6.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

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

The government will rest on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of heaven's armies will make this happen.

Today we're going to be looking at the four descriptors here in Isaiah chapter 9 of the king sent by God as a baby in a manger, named Jesus.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

And the four points are very simple.

They follow along with Isaiah 9, verse 6.

Isaiah 9:6

Here's the first one.

He is our wonderful counselor.

He is our wonderful counselor.

I don't know about you, but it's getting harder and harder to find good counsel.

I'm grateful for some incredible counselors in my life.

But have you ever tried to get outside of your inner circle for counsel?

Try it sometime.

It's kind of entertaining.

And it will really make you grateful for the counsel you do have that's godly in your life.

But have you ever tried to work up the courage to go to someone and maybe you're struggling with something or you're frustrated with something and you become vulnerable with them and you share your frustration with them, and here's their response to you.

Stop being so frustrated about it.

That's all you got?

Nothing else.

That's all you got.

Yeah, you need to stop thinking about it so much.

I am not talking about that kind of counsel.

That is not wonderful counsel, that is God-awful counsel.

Wonderful counsel is perfect.

And many of us know how perfect his counsel is because we often run to him after we've made a mess of things.

But let me speak to the strategy for a moment.

Our wonderful counselor is so wonderful that his counsel is not just good enough to fix our problems.

It is perfect enough to prevent our problems.

See, we leverage the wisdom of our wonderful counselor by running to him before the fire starts rather than after the blaze has burned the house down.

His counsel is perfect.

We should be seeking him for it.

This perfect counsel, let me explain to you what that is.

Perfect counsel is this the right word in the right area at the right time with the right tone.

Man, you know how important this issue of tonality is.

Have you ever tried to ask your wife to do something that was the right thing in the right area at the right time, but use the wrong tone.

What does she say?

I don't think I like your tone.

To which I usually respond, I don't think I like you.

I get in a lot of trouble at home.

His counsel is perfect.

The right word, the right time, the right area, with the right tone.

About a year and a half ago, when all of the Scottsdale stuff really started picking up steam, I was praying about what the name of the church was to be.

I didn't know, I didn't want to assume it was going to be Gateway.

I just wanted whatever God wanted.

And so I after praying for, I don't know how long it had been, at least a couple of months.

Uh one night, in the middle of the night, the Lord told me to go into my living room, grab my Bible, and open to Hosea chapter 2, and he was going to speak to me about the name of the church.

Hosea 2 · chapter mention

So I flip open to Hosea chapter 2 and start reading the first 13 verses.

Hosea 2 · chapter mention

And I don't know when the last time you read Hosea chapter 2 or any of Hosea was, but Hosea 2, 1 through 13 is just plain nasty.

Hosea 2 · chapter mention

God's talking about how he's going to strip Israel down and parade her in front of the whole earth because of her unfaithfulness to him.

And I'm about to get the name of my church out of this thing.

But then in verse 14, Hosea chapter 2 takes an interesting turn.

Hosea 2 · chapter mention

And listen what it says.

God says, But then I will win her back once again.

I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.

I will return her vineyards to her and transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope.

I'm not the smartest guy in the room, but I'm not that dumb.

I started sobbing because I knew God had spoken.

But here's something interesting about that story.

I didn't realize it at the time, but at the time God had already spoken to me that the first service was to be the first weekend, the first Sunday after Labor Day 2012.

But at the time I got this word, we weren't calendaring, so I didn't even pay attention to what the actual date was.

Several months later, I was reading through Hosea again, and I noticed the date.

And I want you to read this.

I don't know if they can zoom in on this.

Can you get that?

See right up here?

It says Gateway Church Scottsdale, 12 56 a.m.

9 9, 2010.

Wanna guess what the very first service of Gateway Church Scottsdale is?

September the 9th, 2012.

Two years to the day before our first service, God gave us the name for our church, and I believe confirm the start of our very first services.

He gives the right word in the right area at the right time with the right tone.

Some of you might be saying, well, he doesn't speak to me with the right tone.

He gets firm with me.

And to be honest, I can't stand it.

His tone is perfect.

And when he speaks firmly with us, it's called discipline.

A couple of months ago, I was just talking with the Lord about who might go to Scottsdale.

People had been asking me for months and months, you know, who on staff is gonna go with you?

So I was just telling the Lord.

I hadn't really thought about it much, but I just said, Lord, here's if I could take anybody, here's who I'd take.

Here's the first one.

Here's what he said.

No.

I said, okay, well, here's the second one.

He said, uh-uh.

I said, okay, well, there's really only one more.

Here's the third one.

He said, not a chance.

Well I got frustrated.

I started griping.

I said, wait, Lord, you mean you're gonna send me all by myself?

Poor little me is going all by himself?

This is not fair, God.

And for the next 24 hours, he let me just flush it out.

And then he came with his firm voice.

The next day he told me to grab my Bible and go to Exodus 33 and listen to the firmness here.

One day Moses said to the Lord, You've been telling me to take these people up to the promised land, but you haven't told me whom you will send with me.

Moses was griping just like me.

That makes me feel better.

You have told me I know you by name and I look favorably on you.

If it's true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor.

And just in case you forgot, God, remember that this nation is your very own people.

The Lord replied, I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest.

Everything will be fine for you.

And here's what the Lord said to me.

Preston, stop looking at the people here in Southlake that apparently you've turned into security blankets.

Do they have to go with you for you to feel good about going to Scottsdale, or is it okay if I'm the one that goes with you?

They won't give you rest?

I will.

They won't make sure everything goes fine for you?

I will.

Preston, I need to know now.

Do you need them to go with you, or can I be the one that goes with you?

Ladies and gentlemen, that's called a spanking.

And if you don't think God still spanks, follow me around for a week.

I'll prove to you that He does.

Most of us don't consult our wonderful counselor because of the conviction that can come with his counsel.

But personally, I would rather have the conviction that occasionally comes with his counsel than the catastrophe that constantly comes with mine.

You're frustrated and you don't know what to do?

Consult the counsel of our wonderful counselor.

Here's the second thing.

He is our mighty God.

The language here in Isaiah 9 is thoroughly military in tone.

Mighty in battle.

Psalm 24, verse 8 says, Who is the King of glory?

Psalms 24:8

The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord invincible in battle.

Jesus, as he walked the face of the earth, was fully aware of the power that he possessed.

And in Luke chapter 11, he gives one of my favorite responses in all of Scripture.

Luke 11 · chapter mention

He's being challenged by the Pharisees.

They're saying that he is demonic because he's casting out demons.

And he responds saying this in verse 21 For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe.

Now, if we were to stop there, I'd be freaking out.

But Jesus didn't stop there.

He says, until.

And I think he started pointing at himself.

Until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.

Mighty is not simply being strong.

Strong is what you see at the gym when you're next to me and I'm benching 400 pounds.

Strength can be strong, but mighty is always more than enough.

You want to know how you're you know you're really mighty?

When your voice is stronger than the strongest army.

Listen to this in Psalm 29, verses 7 through 9.

Psalms 29:7–9

The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning.

The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake.

The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.

He is the Lord God Almighty.

Now, growing up, I don't know why I believed this.

I don't know if it was I was taught it in Sunday school or if I learned it watching Carmen perform the champion hundreds of times in the 80s.

But I grew up believing that there would be some Jackie Chan type battle at the end of the age between Jesus and the Antichrist.

That is not at all scriptural.

You want to know how mighty the Lord is?

Listen in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 8.

2 Thessalonians 2:8

Then the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

Understand something.

His breath was enough to breathe life into us, his children.

And his breath is enough to kill every single one of your enemies.

He is the Lord God Almighty.

2 Chronicles 20, there's an incredible story, and I don't have time to read it all to you, but it's one of my favorite Old Testament stories.

And King Jehoshaphat, and the people are outnumbered by their enemies.

And they lower themselves before the Lord and they don't know what to do, and the odds are staring them in the face, saying they're about to be destroyed.

As they lower themselves before the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon a man named Jehaziel.

And Jehaziel begins to speak to King Jehoshaphat and the people, and he says, Do not worry, do not be discouraged.

For the battle is not yours.

It belongs to the Lord.

Stand still and watch the Lord's victory.

And watch what happens right after this in 2 Chronicles 20.

After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor.

This is what they sang Give thanks to the Lord, his faithful love endures forever.

At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.

The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them.

After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking, attacking each other.

So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see.

Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.

He fights for your victory.

It doesn't matter to me if you have a teenager in your home that is running so quickly away from God, the battle does not belong to you, it belongs to the Lord.

It doesn't matter to me if you got a bad report from the doctor, the battle does not belong to you, it belongs to the Lord.

He is the Lord God Almighty.

Here's the third thing.

He is our everlasting Father.

He's our everlasting Father.

Now the emphasis here is not on his place in the Trinity.

The focus here is on his nature.

That he bears just like his father.

The nature that deals with us gently and compassionately.

But many of us struggle to see our Heavenly Father as gentle and compassionate.

One of the reasons we compare our earthly father to our heavenly father.

Now I try to be a great father to my children.

But I do not want my children growing up comparing me to their heavenly father.

There's a good reason for that.

Between the two of us, there's only one of us that's perfect.

It doesn't make any sense to compare our earthly father to our heavenly father.

And if you're here today and you're saying, My father abandoned me when I was a child, and I've struggled to see God as a faithful God ever since.

Stop comparing an earthly man to a perfect being.

It makes as much sense to compare our earthly fathers to our heavenly father as it does to compare the resources of our heavenly father to the richest man on earth.

Last time I checked, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

The richest man on earth owns a blade of grass on but one of those hills.

It doesn't make sense to compare me as a father to the Heavenly Father.

I try to be gentle, I try to be compassionate, but I am not perfect.

But this everlasting Father is and always will be.

Everlasting speaks to his consistency.

Father speaks to his nature.

Look here in Romans, I'm sorry, Hebrews chapter 12, talking about our earthly fathers.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

It says, For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how.

But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.

Now, another reason that people struggle to see God, our heavenly Father, as the Father He really is, is we read through the Old Testament especially and we see his might, we see his strength, his power, but we see his anger with it.

And some of us look at God and we've begun to believe that he is an angry God, that our Heavenly Father is an angry father.

I want to read you something out of Zephaniah 3, verse 17, that speaks to the fact that yes, he is mighty to save you, but he does deal with you with more than just the power of his might.

Zephaniah 3:17

It says this the Lord your God is with you.

He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Do you realize this?

He doesn't kill us in his anger with his.

And do you realize that I stand over you every morning of your life?

Interceding for you?

Staring at you?

Simply waiting for you to open your eyes and tell me, good morning, that you love me.

Do you realize God stands over your bed every morning of your life?

Do you realize that he's walking around heaven right now, showing pictures of you in kindergarten, going, check this out?

This is one of my favorite pictures of her life.

He is a perfect father.

He is an everlasting father.

Here's the fourth thing.

He is the Prince of Peace.

He is our Prince of Peace.

Here's how Jesus took peace.

He took it very seriously.

And in John chapter 14, he's talking about the fact that he's going to be leaving the earth and returning to his father.

John 14 · chapter mention

And he's talking about how he's going to leave a gift behind.

This is what he says: I am leaving you with a gift.

And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.

So don't be troubled or afraid.

This Hebrew word for peace is shalom.

And it does not mean what our English word means.

Our English word for peace has come to describe a period without warfare or strife.

This word shalom speaks to a prosperity and tranquility.

Many of us don't have nearly enough tranquility in our lives.

Want me to prove it?

We go on vacation.

We travel thousands of miles to remote locations all over the world with no cell phones, no computers, no televisions, because we've become convinced that's the only way to find tranquility.

Can I give you a news flash?

Tranquility, peace, and rest were never meant to be destinations on your vacation.

You were created to live there.

Here's how I know God sent his son to be the prince of peace.

And his desire is that you'd be able to live in peace every moment of your life.

Isaiah chapter 26, verse 3 says, You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.

Isaiah 26:3

Youngest son, Preston, has struggled with nightmares from time to time.

And some nights in the middle of the night we'll hear him crying and screaming.

And within seconds of the screaming, we hear the pitter-patter of footsteps heading our way.

What's weird is Preston will get in bed right between Holly and me, and in less than five minutes go from screaming to snoring.

And this last time that he woke up, he woke up in the morning and Holly and I were waking up at the same time, and he said, Mommy, Daddy, I have good dreams in your bed.

Wanna know why Preston sleeps so peacefully?

It's because he's sleeping in Daddy's bed.

And to four-year-old Preston, Daddy is bigger than every single one of his problems.

Let me tell you something.

If you don't have peace right now, let me give you a piece of advice.

Stop lying in the bed you have made and go jump in daddy's bed.

He is the Prince of Peace.

No matter what.

No matter what.

Peace is not dictated by circumstances.

Peace is dictated by the presence of the Prince of Peace.

Christmas time, unfortunately, for some has come to be synonymous with sitting on a bearded man's lap, presenting a wish list.

One season out of every year.

God took a different approach.

He sent his son.

Not for one season, but for every season.

And he didn't send him so you could sit in his lap and give him your wish list.

He sent him to walk with you every day of your life.

We started this message.

Answering a question.

What child is this?

And now God wants to ask you a question.

Who do you need this child to be?

Because I sent him to be your everything.

Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes.

For every person here in this room, every campus, and everyone watching online, I want to ask you a question directly from the Lord.

So many people this time of year are asking, What child is this?

Who is this God?

Who is this King of Kings?

Here's the question God's asking you.

Who do you need him to be?

I sent him to be your everything.

Are you in need of wisdom?

Are you in a situation where you don't know what to do?

Do you need him to be your wonderful counselor?

Or are you in a situation where every morning of your life you wake up and you feel like you're losing terribly?

You're staring at the odds and it seems absolutely impossible.

Do you need him to be your mighty God?

Or this Christmas, do you find yourself being more lonely than any Christmas yet?

You simply need him to be an everlasting Father.

Or do you find yourself in a situation where there is no peace?

You're miserable.

You're trying to find anything you can to fill that hole in your heart.

Do you need him to be the Prince of Peace?

This isn't about wants or wishes.

This is about your needs.

God sent his son not to remain as a baby in a manger, but to walk the face of the earth.

And throughout all eternity as the King of kings, the Lord of Lords.

What do you need from that king today?

In a moment, I'm going to pray, and when I do, we're going to have our altar ministry team come forward, whatever you need him to be.

Whatever it is.

If you need him to be one of these four things, I'm going to ask you when our altar ministry team comes forward, as soon as I'm done praying, to come with them, to pray with one of them, and to receive exactly what you need.

Holy Spirit, I pray right now that you'd minister to every person at every campus and every person watching online.

Whatever it is they need, I pray that today they'd be reminded that you've sent your son to be the fulfillment of every one of those needs.

And rather than hear the voice of the enemy, I pray they'd hear the voice of their God saying, Come to me.

Come to me.

I will meet your every need.

Give everyone who needs ministry this weekend, Lord, the boldness and the courage to come forward and receive that ministry.

In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.