Isaiah 9:1-7 - Mighty God

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Whew.

That's a, no, no, don't do that.

That's a tough act to follow.

I'm really thankful for a committee and the session.

And definitely want you all to know of our love for this church, this city.

How excited we are about what God is doing here and the fact that we get to be a part of it.

We're really thrilled about that.

As hard as this seems to me right now, I'm going to preach this morning.

It's been recommended that I'm not.

Y'all would all go for that.

But this is actually really important because the reality is this, and I mean this with all my heart.

The big news this morning is not that the search committee has a pastor nominee.

It's not.

It's that the God of the universe wants to meet with you and bless you.

Isn't that amazing?

We're going to talk about the fact that Jesus, the baby in the manger that we're celebrating at Christmas,

has come to us to be the mighty God, come to his people to live on earth for us,

to die in our place, to set this table before us this morning and invite us to commune with him,

to be his friend.

Isn't that incredible?

And you get excited about a pastor nominee.

That's something to be excited about.

And that's what we get to look at in God's word.

I've been saying since early this year, back when I didn't know what was going to happen,

what God was going to do in my heart to call me to this position,

that what Southwood needed to be hoping in and relying on was not new programs

and was not a new pastor,

but the power of God at work through Jesus Christ in his church.

That has been our hope.

That remains our hope.

I'm convinced that is still true today.

We need to believe that now.

We continually need a renewed vision of God's love for us in Jesus Christ.

And that's what he gives us this morning.

That's what we need today.

We need to open God's word.

We need to hear from God's heart.

We need to come to God's table together.

So let's turn to Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

And hear from God's holy word.

Isaiah 9 at verse 1.

But there will 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 dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

You've multiplied the nation.

You have increased its joy.

They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest,

as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden,

and the staff for his shoulder,

the rod of his oppressor,

you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult,

and every garment rolled in blood,

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

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.

Thus far, God's holy word.

Will you pray with me?

Father, we are thankful for your word.

We're thankful for good news of great joy,

that a Savior is born.

And it is our prayer this morning

that we would have the joy that comes from knowing

that you have met our deepest needs for deliverance,

that our sin has been atoned for,

that a Savior has been born to us,

as we learn more of him in your word today.

Would Jesus indeed be the one in whom our hearts rejoice?

Would that be true for us today?

Would that be true for us always?

We ask it in his name.

Amen.

We are talking this Christmas season about the identity of Jesus.

What child is this?

Who is Jesus?

And we are using these four titles that Jesus is given here

in the sixth verse of Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

So last week we talked about Jesus as wonderful counselor,

as the one who unfolds God's wise plans for his people,

who gives direction to where life is truly found,

who shines light on the proper paths for us,

who in fact himself is that light

and is the way to the Father.

This morning we are going to talk about Jesus as mighty God.

The mighty God who can carry out his wise plans.

The one who is capable,

who is able to achieve the ends of his wonderful counsel.

Isaiah describes it this way in chapter 14.

He says,

This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth.

This is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

For the Lord of hosts has purposed and who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out and who will turn it back?

When he has purposes, when he has plans,

they cannot be changed.

He's able, he's strong and mighty to accomplish his purposes.

They will come to pass.

Jeremiah chapter 32.

Jeremiah 32 · chapter mention

Ah, Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth

by your great power and by your outstretched arm.

Nothing is too hard for you.

You show steadfast love to thousands,

but repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them.

Oh, great and mighty God,

whose name is the Lord of hosts,

great in counsel and mighty in deed.

Great in counsel with wisdom and plans,

and mighty in deed,

strong to see them accomplished.

This is what it means to be the mighty God.

That nothing is too hard for you.

When he's talked about as mighty God,

he talks about things like creating everything out of nothing.

Redeeming people out of slavery.

Judging all of mankind.

He is strong.

He's active and at work.

His plans cannot be thwarted.

He's the mighty God.

But this is much more than just a description of a child who's coming.

That this is what he's going to be like.

That he's going to be strong and mighty.

It is that.

But in particular,

in this verse,

it's a title of God himself,

given to the promised child.

In both of the passages we've just looked at,

those are speaking of the Lord of hosts,

of Yahweh himself,

God Almighty.

The one referred to as mighty God

was God himself.

El Gabor.

That's how you say it in Hebrew.

The mighty God.

You may have heard of many Hebrew titles like that for God.

A lot of them start with El.

El Shaddai.

The God who provides.

Who's all sufficient.

El Royi.

The God who sees me.

El Elyon.

God most high.

Names for God throughout the scriptures.

Over and over again.

And now in this verse,

El Gabor.

Mighty God.

It's one of his titles.

It's who God is.

And here, don't miss what's so obvious

that we could easily look over it.

Who gets the title?

Who in this passage is the mighty God?

It's the promised baby in the manger, isn't it?

It's Jesus.

The reality of the promised child being divine

is evident in all four of these titles.

We talked last week of Wonderful Counselor,

that Jesus was to be one with wisdom

that was supernatural beyond human comprehension.

But the divine nature of the promised child

is most clear in this title of God himself

given to Jesus.

Mighty God.

When we talk about that mystery

of Jesus being the mighty God,

we talk about it in terms of him being fully God

and fully man, right?

A reality that in some ways

defies our complete comprehension.

But what's happened in recent decades

is that there's been a move away

from appreciating that mystery

and towards trying to take it and say,

here's how we'll handle this mystery.

It's actually that Jesus was not divine at all.

In fact, he never claimed to be.

And so, many people,

particularly many scholars,

even those who would identify themselves

as Christians

and claim to follow the moral teachings of Jesus,

they've argued that being divine

was simply not on Jesus' radar at all.

It was something made up by his followers

after he was gone.

And that this is what he meant

and this is what he would have claimed.

And this is standard fare these days

in religious studies courses

on college campuses.

It's standard fare in many divinity schools.

And so, because those of us

who started hearing this

when we were in school

are getting older now,

it's standard fare among our friends

and our neighbors

and those we do life with.

That this is what we're supposed to believe.

And I say to you this morning,

the significance of Jesus' deity

is of such fundamental importance

to our faith.

It's foundational to all of the early church creeds

and confessions of the church.

That Jesus was fully God

and fully man

has been vital

to what it means to be a Christian.

It's worth talking about

for a few minutes this morning.

To be honest with you,

it astounds me

that scholars can look honestly

at the New Testament

and choose sometimes to ignore

the myriad ways

Jesus claims to be divine

and to concoct other explanations

for things that are more easily explained

by that single fact.

Where do we see Jesus as mighty God

in the Gospels?

There's a number of ways.

I'll mention just a couple of them this morning.

First, He forgives sins.

Look at Luke chapter 5.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

You know this story.

You've heard about the paralytic

whose friends loved Him so much

that when they couldn't get Him to Jesus,

what did they do?

They took Him around the side of the building,

climbed up on the roof,

cut a hole,

lowered Him down in front of Jesus,

and He gets there

and Jesus says what?

Verse 20,

Man, your sins are forgiven you.

And the scribes and Pharisees

began to question saying,

Who is this who speaks blasphemies?

Who can forgive sins but God alone?

They get it right.

The scribes and Pharisees,

you should know,

are good ones to follow on these.

They got a good radar

for people blaspheming.

They know when you're claiming to be God

and when Jesus forgives sins,

they said,

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Problem.

Only God can do that.

And they're right, aren't they?

To forgive sins as a whole

can only be done

by one against whom all sin is committed.

I can't forgive your sin

that you committed against somebody else,

can I?

Only the one against whom

the offense has been committed

can forgive the sin.

And they say,

Only God can do that in a general way

and forgive someone's sins.

What does Jesus say?

Why do you question in your hearts?

What's easier to say?

Your sins are forgiven you

or to say,

Rise and walk?

But that you may know

that the Son of Man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins

so that you can all be clear

that I really can do this.

I say to you,

Rise, pick up your bed

and go home.

And he does

and he goes home glorifying God

and they're all amazed

and they glorify God

and they say,

We've seen extraordinary things today.

Not just a man healed

but sins forgiven.

And so when Jesus is questioned,

Hey, you don't have that authority.

He says,

Let me actually not back down

but let me confirm to you

that the Son of Man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins.

I do have that authority

and he demonstrates it.

Another example,

Jesus receives worship

from many who fall or bow before him.

It happens several times.

One of the best ones

is during his triumphal entry

into Jerusalem.

His followers begin to praise him

saying,

Blessed is the King

who comes in the name of the Lord.

Peace in heaven.

Glory in the highest.

They're praising him.

They're worshiping him

as he comes into the city

on the donkey.

And again,

the Pharisees catch it.

They hear it.

Hey, teacher,

tell them they've gotten it

out of control.

They're getting run away

with this whole worship thing

that you would be God.

Teacher,

tell them to stop saying

such horrible things.

And Jesus says what?

No, it's not that

you misunderstand

what they're saying.

They don't really mean

that I'm God.

The Pharisees,

you misunderstand them.

No, he doesn't say that at all.

He says you misunderstand

who I am.

That I am worthy

of this worship

to the point

that if they stop,

the very stones

will cry out

and worship me.

Be clear about who I am.

I will receive such worship.

One last example.

One of the great demonstrations

of Jesus as mighty God

is his miracles, right?

The wonderful deeds

that he does

that demonstrate

his power and authority.

Things like turning water

into wine.

Like feeding more than

5,000 people

with five loaves of bread

and two fish.

Healing many, many people

of various diseases.

Many of his miracles.

Those miracles, remember,

were written about

in the lifetime

of many people

who witnessed them.

If they were made up later

by his followers,

they would have been

easily repudiated

by people in the towns

where they're recorded

to have taken place.

It would have been easy

to say,

that didn't happen.

He never said that.

That event never took place.

And instead,

they were widely affirmed

and therefore believed.

But the unique thing

about Jesus' miracles

is that he performs them

on his own authority.

Time and again,

he performs miracles

on his own authority.

Now that's strange

because before

and after Jesus,

prophets who performed

wonders and signs

always were quick

to point out

where their power came from.

To say,

oh, this wasn't me.

It was the authority of God

by which this happened.

And Jesus never

gives such explanations.

In fact,

he did quite to the contrary

in many of his miracles.

One example would be

Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

He heals a leper.

The leper comes to him

and says,

Lord, if you will,

you can make me clean.

And Jesus said,

don't be confused.

Not me,

but if God's okay with it.

No.

Jesus does what?

Jesus immediately

stretches out his hand

and says,

I will be clean.

And he is.

Jesus says,

it only requires

me willing it.

And the miracle occurs.

My authority is my own.

Because I will it,

you will be clean.

There are many,

many other such proofs

of Jesus' awareness

of his deity

in the Gospels.

He teaches on his own authority

as we saw last week.

He grants eternal life.

He judges mankind.

He applies Old Testament passages

about God to himself

over and over and over again.

He does that.

This is God incarnate.

Emmanuel,

God with us.

The one who has been promised.

The one we've been hoping for.

God is coming to save us.

Here He is.

This distinction

between Jesus being

yet another prophet

or good teacher

and being the eternal Son of God,

the mighty God Himself

is a vital one.

It distinguishes

between world religions

like Islam,

Mormonism,

and Christianity.

It's the distinction

that C.S. Lewis makes

when he gives his famous trilemma

in mere Christianity.

When he says,

Jesus is either liar,

lunatic,

or Lord.

This is the way Lewis says it.

I'm trying here

to prevent anyone

saying the really foolish thing

that people often say

about Jesus.

I'm ready to accept Jesus

as a great moral teacher,

but I don't accept

His claim to be God.

Lewis says,

that is the one thing

we must not say.

A man who was merely

a man

and said the sort of things

Jesus said

would not be

a great moral teacher.

He would either be

a lunatic

on the level

with the man

who says he is

a poached egg

or else he would be

the devil of hell.

You must make your choice.

Either this man was

and is the Son of God

or else a madman

or something worse.

You can shut him up

for a fool.

You can spit at him

and kill him as a demon

or you can fall at his feet

and call him Lord and God.

But let us not come

with any patronizing nonsense

about his being

a great human teacher.

He has not left

that open to us.

He did not intend to.

Lewis,

a long committed atheist himself

goes on to say this,

now it seems obvious to me

that he was neither

a lunatic nor a fiend

and consequently,

however strange

or terrifying

or unlikely it may seem,

I have to accept the view

that he was

and is God.

It's a famous argument,

an old one now

and people of course

don't like it anymore.

And the most popular response

right now to this

and this comes from

those who call themselves

Christians

and those who don't,

it's the one I mentioned earlier,

that Jesus never claimed

what the Gospels indicate

and so Lewis has left out

a fourth choice.

Liar, lunatic, Lord

or legend.

Legend, they would say.

He was completely,

it was made up

by his followers.

This guy existed.

There's too much evidence

to deny that

but he didn't really

claim these things.

So the fact that he's God

is a legend.

He can be a good teacher

as long as he never claimed it.

I've begun to show you

why I don't think

that line of thinking

holds any water.

There's much, much more there

we don't have time for

this morning.

But,

this important distinction

is one that we talk about

because it's been

on Jesus' heart.

It's one he wanted

to make clear.

It's been on his heart

since his earthly ministry.

In what may be called

the first public opinion poll,

Jesus asks his disciples,

what are you hearing out there?

Who do people say I am?

In Matthew 16,

they tell him

what they're hearing.

Some say John the Baptist.

Others say Elijah.

Others, Jeremiah,

one of the prophets.

Jesus said to them,

but who do you say

that I am?

Simon Peter replied,

you are the Christ,

the Son of the living God.

Some say John the Baptist,

a great teacher.

Kind of strange,

but a great teacher.

But then you do

all these wonderful deeds

and they've watched you

and they've seen them

and so they say,

oh, it's Elijah,

one of those prophets

that did great signs.

And Jesus turns the question

on them,

who do you say that I am?

And the answer

that Jesus praises

is neither of the ones

that have come from the crowds,

but Peter's declaration

that Jesus is indeed

the Son of the living God,

the anointed King

promised to God's people.

This grasp of His identity,

Jesus says,

is so foundational.

It's the basis of the church

that I'm going to build.

Yes, blessed are you

and I'm going to build my church

right there on you

knowing and understanding

who I am.

The thing I love most

about Jesus' question

to His disciples there

is that it moves us

from the merely theoretical

or theological

to the intensely personal,

doesn't it?

But what about you?

Who do you say that I am?

Not what do the polls say?

Not what do you hear out there?

Who do you say that I am?

And we said last week,

that's what we were going

to ask ourselves

during this series.

As we look at these

four titles of Jesus,

not just what's His identity,

who is Jesus,

but who is Jesus to me?

We want to ask

if we're merely identifying

a great chef

and knowing who He is

or if we're personally

experiencing Him,

actually tasting His food

and personally identifying

and being impacted

by that reality.

Not a mere identity

at arm's length,

but who is Jesus to me?

Isaiah has prophesied

that Jesus will be

the mighty God.

I've argued that Jesus

claimed to be

and is the mighty God,

but is He your mighty God?

Who do you say that He is

and perhaps even more importantly,

who do you experience Him

as in your life?

Let's apply that to our lives.

These first couple

may seem obvious,

but if He is your mighty God,

then He receives

all your worship,

doesn't He?

All of it.

Do you live as though

He's worthy of all honor

and praise?

Do you worship Him like that

when you are in this room?

Do you worship Him like that

when you leave this room?

Do you pray to Him

as though He actually is

strong to help you?

As though nothing is too hard for Him?

As though He really intervenes

in the world that He has created

and would do that in your life?

Do you pray to Him like that?

Is He actively and practically

your mighty God?

Do you seek to obey Him

in everything?

If He's just a good teacher

or an inspirational leader,

had some good things to say,

then you can follow

the things you like

and the places you don't understand

or don't like,

you can just leave Him out

like you would with anybody else, right?

If that's all He is,

then take what you like

and leave the rest.

But if He's God,

then I must follow all of it, right?

We say, sure, of course,

yeah, right,

but do we live like that?

Are there areas of your life

where you'd prefer

to stay on the throne,

where you've decided

you know best,

where you're committed

to doing it one way

regardless of what His Word says?

I'd ask you this morning,

are you regularly seeking

to know Him

and His heart for you more?

Do you hunger for this

in a way that you want to know

what Jesus would have

to say into my life

or only on the times

when you want to look good

or when you really feel confused?

Is He actively and practically

your mighty God?

Worship Him.

Obey Him.

And finally,

trust Him

in every situation.

John Calvin says

that's what Jesus being

the mighty God is about.

That the big takeaway from this

is that we may now

rely on Him with safety.

That He is strong for us

and for our salvation

in every circumstance.

We can trust that.

And we're going to get

to talk more about this

in the next couple of weeks.

But Isaiah here in chapter 9

sees God's people.

What He says is coming for them

is they're going to be oppressed.

He sees them as weak.

He sees them as failing.

And that's where God's people

are going to be,

Isaiah says,

when this prophecy comes true.

And it's going to be

to those oppressed,

weak, failing people

that to us,

a son is born.

To us, Isaiah says,

there's a child coming

and He's going to be given to us.

Do you see the glory

of what He's saying?

Do you see God's solution

to our problems

and our weakness and failing?

The mighty God

has come to us.

The point we noticed

at the beginning

that the title is given

to a baby in a manger,

come to earth

to walk among us,

to suffer with us.

He has given Himself

to us.

That's the child

Isaiah is speaking of.

Listen, friends,

God is indeed

strong

and mighty.

He is great

and powerful.

But He's not removed

and distant

from you.

He's not a theoretical

mighty God.

He has entered in.

He has come

to be

your mighty God

to rescue

you.

Every other religion

in the world

seeks to say,

how do we get to God?

Every idea

we come up with,

how do we get to God?

And biblical Christianity

says the story

is about this.

God came to you.

God came to you.

He came to give Himself

for you.

Isaiah says,

the baby you're going

to celebrate

this Christmas

who will enter your pain

and walk on this earth

is God Himself.

God is

the mighty

God.

The good news

of the gospel

again today.

You've heard it before.

It's the same

good news.

It's that the mighty God,

the creator

of the universe

has moved

towards you,

has been born

in a stable

for you,

has died

on a cross

for you,

is coming again

to take you

to be with Him

and has set

this table

before you

to invite you

to commune with Him

and be His friend.

That's the good news

of the gospel.

That's what it means

for Jesus

to be the mighty God

who created it all,

who reigns over

all of it today,

for whom nothing

is too hard.

He's come

to you.

Emmanuel,

Emmanuel,

God

with us.

that's what we celebrate

at this table.

That's what it reminds us

of.

That He is strong

for us.

We can trust Him.

He's come to be with you.

He's not waited for you

to get stronger,

to figure it out,

to clean yourself up.

He's come

to give Himself

for you

in your weakness,

in your sin,

in your refusal

to acknowledge Him

as God.

Jesus comes to you,

gives Himself

for you,

and invites you

to eat

with Him.

The

mighty God.

On the night

He was betrayed,

Jesus took bread

and broke it

and said,

this is My body

which is for you.

Do this

in remembrance

of Me.

In the same way

also He took the cup

after supper

saying,

this cup is the new covenant

in My blood.

Do this as often

as you drink it

in remembrance

of Me.

For as often

as you eat this bread

and drink this cup,

you proclaim

the Lord's death

until He comes.

Because He desired

so strongly

to have

a relationship

with you,

and because

you weren't strong enough

to get to Him,

the mighty God

came to you

and gave Himself

for you.

He came to meet with you.

He set the table

this morning.

He extended the invitation

and said,

come,

come eat with Me.

If you've known that,

if you've known Jesus

as the mighty God,

if you've known Him

as the only way

to have your relationship

with your heavenly Father

restored,

then come

and eat

with great joy

this morning.

If you hear

some of these things

and what Jesus claims

and what God's Word says

and you think,

I don't know about that.

That seems a little far-fetched.

If you're not sure

who Jesus is

or who He is

to you personally,

then I'd encourage you

not to come to this table

but to consider

the claims of Jesus.

It's a matter,

we believe,

of life and death,

of eternity

to take some time

to consider that

as something we should all do.

Who is Jesus?

What do I do

with someone

who walks on this earth

and claims to be

God Himself?

If He is indeed

the mighty God,

then when He says

no one comes to the Father

except by Me,

He's inviting you.

He's inviting you

to come

to know

the God

who made you,

to know the God

who loves you,

to know Him

through

Jesus Himself.

It would be a great honor

for any of us

to talk with you

about Him this morning.

Please grab one of us.

We'd love to talk with you

about Jesus.

Pray with me

and then we'll come

to the table together.

Lord Jesus,

You

are the reason

that we are able

to fellowship

with our Father.

You're the reason

that He has been able

to adopt us

into His family

because You

have paid

for our sins,

because You

have provided

our perfect righteousness.

We give You

thanks and praise

this morning.

Would You set

these elements aside

from a common use

to a sacred one

in our hearts

that would push us

to remember

what You've done for us

and to rejoice again

in a God

who would give Himself

for us.

We ask it in Your name.

Amen.

Jesus,

on the night

He was betrayed,

took bread

and He broke it

and gave it

to His disciples.

As I,

ministering in His name,

give this bread to you,

He said,

take, eat.

This is My body

broken for you.

Do this

in remembrance of Me.

In the same way,

after supper,

He took the cup

and said,

this cup is the new covenant

in My blood

shed for many

for the remission

of sins.

Drink from it,

all of you.

Our host team

will usher us

to the front

and to the back

and we will feast together.

Come,

taste and see

that the Lord is good

and has come to you.

For more information,

visit us online

at southwood.org.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You're all right.

You're right.

What to do on your mind,

pat for you?

You're right.

You're right.

Take care.

You're right.

You're right.

Pat.

Get ready to meet me,

vers constante,

and to the back

and see you,

in all you have to

need to read,

increase the swear

for the evil now.

해야 justice over you.

All right.

Take care.

See you.

Mayan city.