His Name Is...mighty God

His name shall be…the mighty God.

In Isaiah’s day it was extremely dark. The nation had sunk into their own version of a famine. It wasn’t a famine of food exactly, it was a famine of hope and it was a famine of God. In fact they had turned to everything but God in their despair. Isn’t it funny how we do that?

Some of you may be going through this same thing today, your own personal famine. You feel that times are dark and you wonder if God is going to arrive. You may be facing some of the most difficult times in your life and you wonder, “Where is God?”

On the edge of this darkness God reveals that He was going to do something new, he describes it this way (you may remember this from last week):

Isaiah 9:2-5 (NLT)

- Those in darkness will see a great light…

2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light—a light that will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow.

- Joy will replace despair

3 Israel will again be great, and its people will rejoice as people rejoice at harvest time. They will shout with joy like warriors dividing the plunder.

- The enemies power will be broken

4 For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the army of Midian with Gideon’s little band.

These verses tell me something.

1. If there is going to be light, I can’t manufacture it myself. Jesus is the light of the world and I get light when I get Jesus.

2. Joy is something that I can’t just “come up with” by watching Dr. Phil. Joy is the inner peace that comes when I know something, it is inner security when I am holding the ace up my sleeve. Actually joy comes when you know SOMEONE!

3. I can’t just beat up my enemies! My enemy is unseen, vicious and gnarly. If he is going to be thrashed, I need some help. I need Jesus.

What I am saying is that these are things that you just don’t will upon yourself, these are things that are outside of our ability to just make happen. God is sending an outside force, an outside power to do this job.

Let me put it another way…

Have you ever been picked on? Have you ever become a bully’s target? Remember the movie the “Christmas Story” when the boy is attacked by the neighborhood bully? Has that been a constant in life?

Maybe that is where you are right now. An uninvited neighborhood bully has moved in and is inflicting pain on you weekly, daily and there is nothing you can do about it.

Wouldn’t it be extremely cool to have your own personal bodyguard? Someone to protect you? Well, when you know Him you have this Joy, this light and this power working on your behalf!

WE WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO JESUS! THE MIGHTY GOD.

Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Last week we talked about what Wonderful Counselor means, now lets turn our attention to MIGHTY GOD. Jesus will be known as the mighty God.

Who is this Jesus you say you are interested in? Who is this Jesus that you say you have placed your faith in?

- Is the God who is all talk and no action?

- Is he a distant, far off shell of the man we read of ij the NT?

- Is He one that we were once devoted to, on fire for, and now we have lost confidence in Him?

- Is He the compartment of your life called religious belief, tucked away safely in the drawer unless needed?

I am afraid that some of us here today have killed Jesus off! We have traded the real Jesus for a whipping boy. We have traded the Jesus of the Bible for a teddy bear, cute and fuzzy but powerless. We have thrust God out of His seat and replaced Him with some inferior, beaten down, politically correct, all affirming God of love.

God said that this baby, this Jesus would be called the MIGHTY GOD!

What does this mean? MIGHTY means…

- A hero, a strong valiant hero, we would know Him as such.

- A proven warrior, unafraid to battle and never defeated.

- One of high ranking power who is expected to lead the battle. HE IS NOT AFRAID OF A FIGHT!