Isaiah’s prophecy called for the people to
a person who would come and bring about foundational hope for the world.
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
3 You have 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.
4 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.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 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
, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 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. —Isaiah 9:2-7
Isaiah shows us that God has
heard the cry of his people.
The heart of Isaiah’s promise is that God will send a king who will lead Israel and the entire world. The attributes of this king will be a source of
and
for all people.
“The perfection of this King is seen in his qualification for ruling (Wonderful Counsellor), his person and power (Mighty God), his relationship to his subjects (Everlasting Father) and the society his rule creates (Prince of Peace). —J Alec Motyer
26 And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. —Isaiah 1:26
THIS wonderful counselor that Isaiah speaks of is the
of all these types of counselors combined.
14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. —Proverbs 11:14
13 You are wearied with your many counsels; —Isaiah 47:13
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away. —Psalm 1:1-4
19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” —Exodua 18:19-23
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them. —Deuteronomy 32:28
1 O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. —Isaiah 25:1
17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, [g]confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two [h]immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. —Hebrews 6:17-18
2 WAYS (at least) Which His counsel is given to us.
- BY SCRIPTURE
- God’s Word is a
gift, and in it we get a picture of the mind of God. - And if we, as disciples of Christ, we have the mind of Christ, then it stands to reason that we would want to pursue the knowledge of God and what HIS WORD says.
16 For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. —1 Corinthians 2:16
- Christ himself says he only does what he sees the father doing and gives a picture of where to find the source of wisdom. And Christ is our example. Which in turn means that God’s Word (the whole of which points to Christ) provides us with the best example for living.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps —1 Peter 2:21
- BY THE SPIRIT
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. —Romans 8:14
11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. —Isaiah 58:11
- PARACLETE – word for the Holy Spirit
- Legal advocate, or counsel for defense, and intercessor, a helper
- Christ tells his disciples in John 14 and 16 that he must go so that the “paraclete” can come. The one who was promised to be with them.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. —John 16:13
WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - - - - - - He is the Wonderful Counselor!
“Good leaders have the ability to be oriented toward truth and reality. A lot of people have biases and blind spots. They have blinders on; they have past experiences that color their vision of how they see people or how they see realities. But then there are other people who have a real orientation toward being able to see reality and aren’t afraid to call things like they are. They are able to confront the brutal realities and, at the same time, maintain hope. So leadership is more than honesty. It’s having a hunger, not only to tell the truth, but to be finding truth and reality. The best leaders are the ones who have a voracious appetite for finding out what that reality is” —Dr. Henry Cloud
Everyone needs a wonderful counselor—a person who knows what is
and speaks into those needs with
and genuine concern.
That person is Christ …… This child
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
3 You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest, —Isaiah 9:2-3
Are you walking in Darkness this morning?
We invite you to come into the light this morning and begin walking with the wonderful counselor who was born at Christmas.
Discussion Questions:
- What is one thing that stood out to you from this week’s message?
- What was your first job? What did you enjoy about it? What didn’t you like about it? Why don’t you still have it?
- Read Isaiah 9:1–7. As you read, think about the ways Isaiah seems to be speaking directly to Israel as a means of hope. What do you find?
- When you consider the words “Wonderful Counselor,” what comes to mind? How many different ideas come to mind when you consider the word “Counselor”? What would a counselor do? Who does a person counsel?
- Who is a wonderful counselor you have known? How does this relate to Jesus as the Wonderful Counselor?
If you would like prayer or to talk with someone aobut your journey with Christ or starting a relationship with the wonderful Counselor we talked about today please contact us. You can email us at info@cityhopeboise.com or you can contact us directly with a connection card here in the app or on our website.
We wnat you to know that you are loved and that God has a plan for your life. We wish you a Merry Christmas and pray that this season and 2024 is a year filled with the Lords Blessings and your continued growth in the Knowledge of who He is and who he has called you to be.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What is one thing that stood out to you from this week’s message?
- What was your first job? What did you enjoy about it? What didn’t you like about it? Why don’t you still have it?
- Read Isaiah 9:1–7. As you read, think about the ways Isaiah seems to be speaking directly to Israel as a means of hope. What do you find?
- When you consider the words “Wonderful Counselor,” what comes to mind? How many different ideas come to mind when you consider the word “Counselor”? What would a counselor do? Who does a person counsel?
- Who is a wonderful counselor you have known? How does this relate to Jesus as the Wonderful Counselor?