Everlasting Father Series

Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace, pt. 3

Good morning everybody!

[Turn to Isaiah 9].

Over the past few weeks we have looked at this passage in Isaiah. We've talked about Jesus being our wonderful counselor and how he can guide and Shepherd our lives so that we are never alone and are always on the right path we can trust in him.

Last week we talked about Jesus being mighty God making him able to provide all the protection and power and presence that we could ever desire.

This week, we will touch on a very intimate title that God wants us to explore, and that is Jesus as the Everlasting Father.

That word Father can bring up a lot of emotions within us. IN our western culture, most people will view and get their ideas about God from how they view their fathers.

For some, fathers are as source of comfort and strength. Father’s can be great sources of wisdom and if done well, can set an example of Godliness that can last for generations.

However, I know that for some, the word father is a source of pain.

Perhaps you had an abusive father, and therefore when you think about God instead of the one true God you instead see a picture of Zeus sitting on the cloud with a lightning bolt waiting for you to mess up so he can punish you.

For others, perhaps your father was there in the home, but was a weak man or absent from much of the goings on in the home, or a work-a-holic who thought that all he needed to do was provide and your mom handled the rest.

For others, the picture that comes to your mind when I say the word father is a blank- a person who was absent in your life.

Then there are those who had really bad fathers, it’s a source of pain and perhaps the source of many of the struggles you face every day in trusting people, and most of all trusting God.

A moment ago, I mentioned before that many people get their idea of God from their relationship with their fathers.

Therefore, it’s important for us to see exactly what God is trying to tell us this morning when we see the coming of the Messiah as the perfect father who will never leave us or forsake us and welcomes us into His family forever.

Let’s read the verses in Isaiah 9 again.

I’ll start with Isaiah 9:1.

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan – Isaiah 9:1

Isaiah 9:6For 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. – Isaiah 9:6

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,

Establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness

From that time on and forever. – Isaiah 9:7

Let’s pray.

This morning we will be examining what it meant for the people Isaiah was prophesying to in telling them that the messiah would be an everlasting father.

Two weeks ago we’ve covered why Jesus is called a Wonderful Counselor- the God who wants to guide us throughout our lives into a destiny so incredible that words cannot describe it.

Last week we covered why He is called “Mighty God”, and is powerful enough to protect you and strengthen you in any situation that life might throw your way.

This week we’ve cover why He is called, “Everlasting Father.”

This is going to be a harder message for some.

I started out this morning acknowledging that the idea of father stirs up a lot of negative emotions for some, and to be honest and transparent, it does for me also.

My parents separated when I was 5, and the next 7 years of my life were spent being tossed back and forth between them and other relatives. To be honest, some of my childhood would shock Jerry Springer or Maury Povich.

I say that to say that I understand if some of you might have some pain when we talk about fathers.

God knows that, and He understands that, which is why He told His prophet to tell the people that this messiah that was going to be born in Bethlehem will be an everlasting father to you.

That’s where we are going today-

First of all little bit of historical context to the words we read a few moments ago.