
Introduction - A Child is Born
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). —Isaiah 7:14 NLT
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. 3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. 4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders… —Isaiah 9:2–4a (NLT)
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. 7 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! —Isaiah 9:6–7 NLT
The year was 730 B.C. and King Ahaz was nervous because Assyria was forming an army to attack Jerusalem.
And so, God sends the prophet Isaiah to him and tells King Ahaz, “Don’t worry about alliances. I will protect you.”
Into a very real, dire, felt-need, situation (an impending attack), God gives a promise about a Messiah who won’t be born for 700 years!
“We’ve got a real army sitting out there who really wants to destroy us. What does the promise of a future Messiah do for us?”
The birth of Jesus addressed their problem in two ways:
- First, in sending Jesus, God was dealing with our problem at its root.
- The second way this promise spoke to their situation was in the four relational names that God gave to them in the Messiah.
And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)
Wonderful Counselor
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. —Hebrews 4:15–16 NLT
He’s not just a king who rules over us; he’s a brother who lived among us, who has walked through everything we have walked through.
When I come to Him, I don’t get the poverty and judgment I deserve because it was poured out on Jesus.
The other thing the author of Hebrews tells us is that when I am in pain, or I’m tempted… Jesus listen sympathetically because their is no suffering / pain / confusion I go through, that He Himself has not gone through.
Therefore, He can guide me with expert advice.
Approaching the Wonderful Counselor
- We have to be completely honest with Him
- We have to want to be healed
- We have to do whatever He says
How Wonderful He Is
Maybe the most important thing to notice about this name is that Isaiah uses the word “wonderful” to describe Jesus, not the solutions He gives us to our problems.
What is most wonderful are not the way He fixes our problems, but His presence with us in those problems.
Life’s greatest discovery is knowing Him; knowing He loves you and promises to be ever-present in your life.