Wonderful Counselor
Pastor Chad Gilligan
Part of Waiting for Christmas—December 2024
December 1, 2024

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

WONDERFUL COUNSELOR

1. Our Wonderful Counselor Offers Healing From The Past

John 4:16-18 (NIV)
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

Jesus knows your past.

Psalms 147:3 (NIV)
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

John 4:28-29 (NIV) Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”

Jesus heals your past.

You can leave your past in the past.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

You can have restoration with people.

2. Our Wonderful Counselor Provides Counsel For The Present

Isaiah 7:2 (NIV) Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

Isaiah 7:4 (NIV) Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

Proverbs 18:2 (NLT)
2 Fools have no interest in understanding;
they only want to air their own opinions.

2 Kings 16:7-9 (NIV) Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death.

Do not trade long-term blessings for short-term benefits.

Proverbs 12:15 (NIV)
15 The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.

If you do not follow wise counsel, you are a fool.

2 Kings 16:18 (NIV) He took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the LORD, in deference to the king of Assyria.

Do not allow the fear of man to be greater than the fear of God.

Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Isaiah 7:9 (NIV)
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’”

If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

Supernatural counsel comes to us through the teachings of Jesus.

Supernatural counsel is more than human wisdom.

Supernatural counsel comes to us through the person of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26 (NIV) But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 16:13 (NIV) But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

3. Our Wonderful Counselor Gives Direction For The Future

Matthew 1:19 (NIV) Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV) But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:22-23 (NIV) All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Jesus is the source of wonderful counsel.

Colossians 2:2-3 (NIV) My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Jesus wants to help us.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

James 1:2-4 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:5 (NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor.


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