Unto Us A Son is Given
Isa 9:6
Introduction
Every year there is an increasing assault on the celebration of Christmas
There is always a push by those who want to take Christ out of Christmas because they don’t want non-Christians to be offended
I want you to know that without Christ, there is no Christmas
Christmas stands for “Christ Mass” which means to celebrate in Mass the birth of Christ
That’s the whole reason we celebrate because of Christ who was born…to live…and then die…and to live again!
This morning I want us to look at the Christmas story found in Isaiah 9:6
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (NKJV)
Pray
Trans: Listen, God did not have to send a Savior, but He did because of His magnificent love for us…how do I know? Because it says…
1. For unto US…
For unto us what? A Child is born – A Son is given
The Christmas season is about giving because it was first given unto us
God looked down on mankind and had great compassion…He desired for us to be redeemed back to Himself
We are His most precious creation and He wanted us back with Him
Isaiah had been given the prophecy a few chapters and about 200 years earlier in Isaiah 7:14 of Who was coming
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”
Notice in this passage again it says “the Lord Himself shall give”
To whom did He give? To US a child is born
What did He give? A Son…but truly if we look at Isa 7:14 again we see “the Lord Himself shall give”
What’s that really saying…look again “the Lord shall give Himself” to us!
Luke 2:11 says “For unto YOU is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
John 1:14 says “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…”
1 John 4:4 says “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world”
Unto Us a Son is given…
Christmas time is great and I love this time of year…but it is time for me to reflect and see that UNTO ME was given the gift of His Son
Paul says in 1 Cor that it is an indescribable gift…why? Because He gave Himself as a gift…incorruptible, unblemished, without sin…an everlasting imperishable gift.
Trans: Notice secondly that it says…
2. He shall shoulder the government
Just as it is today…even back then government was considered a burden and was often times described as being on the back or shoulders
The Hebrew for government here is “misrah” which is where we get our English word “misery”
Webster’s defines government as “the form or system of which to rule”
When Isaiah was told the “government shall be upon His shoulder” he was saying that the burden of sin…the misery of sin shall be upon His shoulder
He shall take upon Himself the weight, the burden, the misery of our sin and will conquer it…he will rule over it…He will make it so that it cannot rule over us.
And it also represents that He will rule forever and ever…His kingdom will reign forever and ever
There are so many verses in the bible about this I can’t list them all but here a few
Isa 22:21 “And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
Jer 23:5 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”
Matt 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and earth”
Jesus was born to rule and reign over everything…He shall shoulder the government; the weight of the world; the weight of our sin and the burden of sin
Trans: Lastly, notice that Isaiah says…
3. And His Name Shall be Called…
I wonder if Shakespeare had been musing through Isa 9 the day he penned Romeo and Juliet when he said “what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”
Some things like roses are almost too beautiful for words…they outshine their name
700 years before the first Christmas, the prophet Isaiah knew of Shakespeare’s dilemma for no name, or a series of names, could do justice to the coming Savior
But Isaiah was given some specific names for the coming Messiah
First in Isa 9:6 He is Wonderful Counselor…which tells us that no question perplexed Him…no riddle could stump Him
His counsel included more than mere words…it offered compassion that was felt.
He experienced the same hurts, pains, frustrations, anxieties, temptations as we but did not sin
His counsel will be the right counsel…never having to wonder if it is good counsel
It will be a lasting counsel that extends beyond time for all eternity
Isa 28:29 says “All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom”
Second, we see He is called “Mighty God” which in the Hebrew is “el gibbor” which literally means “God Hero or Heroic God”
Only He could create a universe from nothing…and sustain its zillions of cosmic systems.
He is our Champion…He is our defender…He is our Warrior… riding on a White stallion… He is the Bride Groom who has come to save His bride…Our Hero of the Faith
1 John 5:20 “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Third we see that He is the “Everlasting Father” which describes the relationship that He desires to have with His people
In the Hebrew “everlasting” means “forever, continuing future, ancient of past time, forever of future time, and continuous existence”
The word “father” in Hebrew is “Abba” which is a term of personal intimacy that means the “head of founder”
He is our forever, continuing, intimate father which transcends all time…the father of our past…our present…and our future
And it is a personal relationship between a father and his child where we can cry out to Him as Paul says in Galatians we cry out to Him “Abba Father”
Fourth, we see that He is called the “Prince of Peace” both outward and inward
The word “Prince” in the Hebrew is “sar” which literally means “captain, leader, or keeper”
And then “Peace” in the Hebrew is “Shalome” which means “tranquility, contentment, or completeness”
So He is the Captain, Leader, or Keeper of our tranquility, contentment and completeness
He has authority over the storms of our lives and can bring complete calm and contentment to any situation
Psalm 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 29:11 “The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.
And there are some 240+ more verses that tell us that because of this Son…this Prince, we have peace in Him
Lastly in Isa 7:14 we see the name “Emmanuel which means “God with Us”
This name speaks of the incarnation of Christ…that He was fully human and yet fully God
It truly sums up these previous names in that having God with Us means that He will be our Wonderful Counselor, Our Mighty God, Our Everlasting Father, and Our Prince of Peace
CONCLUSION:
No wonder His name “is above all names”
No wonder it’s at His name that “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess”.
No wonder the forces of darkness “shutter” at the mention of His name
And you and I have been given this wonderful name
This Christmas season I pray that we all will see that UNTO US as Son is given…the most precious gift of all
But a gift is not a gift unless you receive it…embrace it for yourself…make it yours personally
When you do…when you embrace fully all that Christmas is…then you can say that He is your Wonderful Counselor, He is your Mighty God, He is your Everlasting Father, and He is your Prince of Peace
May we all share we everyone everywhere that the real Christmas message is
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (NKJV)
Pray
