Born Again - Is The Messiah In You?

December 9, 2012

Morning Worship

Text: Isaiah 9:6-7

Subject: The Coming Messiah

Title: Born Again – Is the Messiah in You?

Last Sunday night I preached from this very passage so for those of you who were here last Sunday evening, you can just kind of kick back in the recliner, put it on cruise control and enjoy the ride… NOT! As I was praying this week about my sermon I really felt led to go in a different direction with this sermon. I’ve been talking about who Jesus is – His characteristics and His nature. Today I want to show you that His very nature is alive in you and that God expects you to be a revelation of His nature to the world.

Our beginning passage is Isaiah 9:6-7. I’m not going to do a study on the whole passage but I want to look at the characteristics of the Messiah that are mentioned and then to relate them to you the church for today.

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.

7 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.

The zeal of the LORD Almighty

will accomplish this.

I believe this is God's Word…

I believe it is for me…

I accept it as mine…

And I appropriate it to my life today…

I. THE MESSIAH IS A GIFT TO ALL THE WORLD… For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given… The nature of God is to give… The bible tells us that He gave a Son… He gives grace… He gives life… He gives light…He gives endurance and encouragement… He gives us victory… He gives strength… He gives freedom… all those things are mentioned in the New Testament. Wouldn’t you agree with me that God is a giver? But His nature goes beyond what He gives. The bible tells us about the way that God gives. John 3:34, …for God gives the Spirit without limit… How does He give? Without limit!!!!! John 10:10, Jesus came that we might have life and have it how? … More abundantly! James 1:5, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all… Romans 8:32, He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? So it is one thing to say that God is a giving God, but it is another to say that He gives abundantly, generously, and without limit. To whom are all those gifts given? The source of all those gifts is God, but they come through faith in Christ. John 1:11-13, 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. OK, let’s stop there for just a minute. All of things we have talked about are things that God has given and the way He has given them and outside of the giving of His one and only Son the things that are mentioned are for the church Romans 8:15- 17, 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ… The word translated heirs means, an inheritor or a possessor. What are we supposed to be possessors of? . Romans 8:32, He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? So Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Son of God and because of faith in Him God qualifies us to receive all the gifts that He gave the Son.

II. THE MESSIAH IS REPRESENTED IN HIS PEOPLE… Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… Now listen to me. I am not saying that since you are co-heirs with Christ that you are Wonderful Counselor. What I am saying is that because these names reflect the very nature of God that that same nature is in you and it qualifies you to be like God… Ephesians 5:1, Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children… If the names reflect God’s nature and God’s spirit lives in us doesn’t that mean that we have God’s nature in us? So if we understand what the names of God mean we can get a glimpse of how we can imitate God. 1) Wonderful Counselor… First, let’s look at the word wonderful. The Hebrew word means miracle… Do you have a miracle inside you? You have the Holy Spirit of God in you. That in itself is a miracle. But we are talking about being like God. There are miracles and signs and wonders living inside of you that are waiting to be spoken into existence by words of faith. The next name really belongs with Wonderful and that is Counselor. John 14:16, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever… 14:26, But the Counselor, 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. 15:26, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 16:7, But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. That is why Jesus said in 14:12, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. The word “Counselor” in the Hebrew means “advisor”. You have the advice of the Living God dwelling inside of you waiting for you to ask Him to guide you, teach you and empower you. 2) Mighty God… Listen to this. In the original language mighty = powerful… the word translated God is el and it means strength. Because you have the Counselor living in you, He gives you power. It is He who gives you strength. Turn with me to Ephesians 1 and verses 18-20. You see, this Messiah, the anointed One of God who Isaiah spoke of under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is the Mighty God and in you He becomes the powerful strength. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms J.B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, "How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God." When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us. 3) Everlasting Father… Let me ask you a question… If this is referring to Jesus who is the Son, then why does it call Him Father? Because Isaiah is not referring to His names but to His nature. He is mighty. He is wonderful… He is Counselor… He is God… And now He says He is Everlasting Father… Everlasting concurs with John 1:1, In the beginning was the word… and Revelation 21:6, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End… Even though Jesus had an earthly beginning He has always been. Before Abraham was I AM!!! Well Pastor Mike, how does that relate to me? I am a finite being limited by time and space. True – and so was Jesus when He walked on earth. But don’t you remember that this isn’t our home. This is not our final resting place. Hebrews 11:8-10, 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. John 3:36 tells us that we when we trust Christ we become eternal beings… 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” You have eternal life right now. It is yours. You don’t have to hope for it. It’s done in the Son… Now the second part of this name seems to be a little trickier. As I said before, Jesus is not the Father. But… He has all the characteristics of a Father. For many the idea of God as father becomes a little difficult because of strained relationships with earthly fathers. My dad was out of the picture by the time I was eight years old. I knew him as a drinker and a gambler. He wasn’t around a lot and when he was it was constant arguing with my mom and sometimes even some violent fights. My step dad was no different – an alcoholic who was terribly jealous and also physically and emotionally abusive. There is a third dad that I don’t mention much – my biological father, and I don’t mention him because I never knew him. But if I had to rely on my relationships with my earthly dads before I could understand what my heavenly Father is like I would still be lost. And Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. God’s nature is His nature and that nature dwells in us. He is holy, infinite, loving, powerful, wise, just and that’s just the beginning. And because His Spirit is in us we can be like Him. 4) Prince of Peace… Prince and at the same time He is King of Kings. The Son of God the King. And He is peace. The word translated peace also means health, happy, friendly and prosperity. That’s who He is and that’s what He wants for your life. Someone once said, “Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.” And that Peace dwells in you.