Several years ago, Billie Burke, a famous actress, was on a transatlantic ocean liner, where she noticed a gentleman sitting at the next table suffering from a bad cold.
She asked him sympathetically, “Are you uncomfortable?” The man nodded.
Then she said, “I’ll tell you just what to do for it. Go back to your stateroom and drink lots of orange juice. Take two aspirins. Cover yourself with all the blankets you can find. Sweat the cold out. I know just what I’m talking about. I’m Billie Burke from Hollywood.”
The man smiled warmly and introduced himself in return. He said, “Thanks. I’m Dr. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic.” (James s. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, p.21)
Billie Burke didn’t know who she was talking to, did she? I’m afraid that’s the way many people approach Christmas today. They set up their manger scenes. They sing the Christmas carols, but they don’t really know the Christ they are singing about.
Well, the Isaiah, the prophet, knew Him better than most, and he lived 700 before Jesus came. In fact, Isaiah writes one of the best descriptions of Christ that I’ve ever read. So if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Isaiah 9, Isaiah 9, where Isaiah introduces us to Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 9:6 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. (NIV)
You see, one name wasn’t enough to describe Him. So Isaiah uses four different names, and in these weeks before Christmas, I want us to take a closer look at each one.
First, Isaiah calls Jesus the “Wonderful Counselor.” The word “wonderful” means unique and different, separate from the ordinary, extra-ordinary. Well, that’s exactly what Jesus’ counsel is like. It’s beyond the normal. It’s well worth listening to. My dear friends, if you want the best advice you can get, I urge you…
LISTEN TO JESUS’ SUPERNATURAL COUNSEL.
Pay attention to Christ’s advice, which is literally “out of this world!”
Lisa Owens was facing knee surgery. She was a bit nervous about it, so she asked her boss, a veterinarian, if he had any advice for her. He was very comforting and without any hesitation told her, “Turn your worries into prayers, get plenty of rest, and don’t lick your incision.” (Reader’s Digest)
Somebody once said, “Opinions are like armpits. Everybody has them and they usually stink.” That’s never the case with the advice and counsel of our Lord. You’re in Isaiah 9. Turn with me if you will to Isaiah 55, Isaiah 55. When you find Isaiah 55, look at verses 6-7.
Isaiah 55:5-7 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord... (NIV)
In other words, don’t seek your own counsel; don’t follow your own advice. Instead, come to the Lord. Why?
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. (NIV)
His advice and counsel is beyond anything we could get from our own minds or any of our friends. It’s wonderful, extraordinary counsel. So listen. Pay attention to what Jesus has to say. Listen to His supernatural counsel. More than that…
LISTEN TO HIS SURE & CERTAIN COUNSEL.
Pay attention to our Lord’s advice which never fails and is never wrong. Heed His words which stand forever. No other counselor would ever make that kind of claim, but God does! You’re in Isaiah 55. Turn back with me a few chapters to Isaiah 46, Isaiah 46. When you find Isaiah 46, look at verse 8.
Isaiah 45:8-10 Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand (literally, my counsel will stand), and I will do all that I please. (NIV)
What God says, He will do! You can stake your life on it. In fact, you can stake your eternal destiny on His words, as well. Our Lord’s counsel stands!
Isaiah 14:24 puts it this way: “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed (or counseled), so it will stand.’” Why? Look at verse 27: For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
God is sovereign. He is in absolute control, so his counsel is absolute; it stands forever! God directs the circumstances of our lives, so His advice always works.
Van Morris of Mount Washington, Kentucky was at the zoo with his daughter and grandchildren, where they visited the orangutan exhibit. The only thing separating him and his family from those powerful creatures were panes of thick glass, each 20-feet tall. At first, Morris’ two-year-old grandson, Trevor, was amused by the antics of the orangutans until one of the hairy beasts suddenly began to beat on the glass. Trevor jumped into the arms of his mother, crying, “I scared! I scared!” His mother tenderly took him, placed his little hand on the glass, and showed him that the glass shielded him from the animal, so there was nothing to fear. Afterwards, any time Trevor seemed uncertain, his mom would simply say, “Remember the glass.” (Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky; www.PreachingToday.com)
Sometimes it seems that there is nothing that stands between us and the forces of evil that would knock us down and destroy us if they could, but God’s Word, like that glass, protects us from those forces; and it can never be broken.
God’s Word says, “[We] are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:5-6).
My dear friends: Believe it! Count on it! It is God’s sure and certain Word!
Listen to some more of God’s Word: “The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10).
In those times when you’re afraid, “remember the glass!” Remember what God has said in His Word, and find the courage to keep following Jesus. If you truly want to succeed in life, listen to His supernatural counsel; listen to His sure and certain counsel; and…
LISTEN TO HIS SAVING COUNSEL, as well.
Pay attention to our Lord’s advice which will save you forever. Heed His Word which alone leads to eternal life.
When you trace the word “counselor” throughout the Old Testament, you find that it is often used of a king’s counselors, or a king’s advisors. King David had many such advisors (or counselors), but none were as good as Ahithophel. 2 Samuel 16:23 says of him, “Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how… David… regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.” King David highly respected Ahithophel’s advice and counsel. It was the kind of advice that saved him in many battles. It was the kind of advice that kept him alive and gave him many victories.
Even so, David speaks of a counselor even greater than Ahithophel. Turn with me, if you will, to Psalm 16, Psalm 16, where David finds himself in a great deal of trouble. Perhaps he is hiding from King Saul who is raging with jealousy towards him and wants him killed. Perhaps he is trapped on the field of battle with nowhere to turn. Or perhaps he is running from the palace where his son, Absalom, has just led a successful coup against him. We don’t know the exact circumstances of this psalm, but we do know who David’s counselor is here.
Psalm 16:7-11 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Now, any good counselor could give David advice which would preserve his life in battle. But only the Lord can give him advice which will preserve his life forever, which will give him “eternal pleasures!” That’s our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the “Wonderful Counselor”, who saves forever anyone who hears and believes His Word.
In John 6, Jesus speaks before a huge crowd of people – over 5,000 men plus their wives and children. He has just fed them all with five biscuits and two small fish. Now, he talks to them about the real Bread of Life, the only bread that will give them eternal life, and that of course is Himself.
In a figurative sense, he talks about their need to eat his flesh and drink his blood, i.e., to receive Him as their Savior, but that is more than they can handle. His words are too graphic to consider, so when the invitation is given, instead of people coming forward to receive Christ, everybody leaves, all of them except 12 men.
Then Jesus turns to the 12 and asks, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” And Peter, one of the 12 says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Jesus ALONE has the words of eternal life. His Word ALONE can save a person forever, who believes and trusts in Him.
In Decision magazine, just a few years ago, Nard Pugyao from the Philippines, described the life-changing power of God’s Word in his life. He writes:
In March of 1956 (when I was about 6), a tall, pale, white man stumbled into my home village of Dibagat in the northern jungles of the Philippine island of Luzon. The man didn't speak our language, so our elders asked him the best they knew how, “Why are you here?”
“I've come to learn your language,” he said. “I'd like to write it down and then give you God's Word in your language.”
“Who is your God?” the elders asked.
“He's the God of Heaven and earth,” the man answered. “He's the Creator of the universe. He created you, too.”
“Is he powerful?” the elders probed. “More powerful than the spirits that have controlled our lives from the beginning of time? Is he more powerful than our ancestors, the head-hunters?"
“Yes, he's more powerful.”
Hopeful, [they] started teaching this man, Dick Roe, [their] language. Maybe his God could free us from the spirits.
“When Nard was about 13, Dick had to return to the United States to raise support for his ministry. But before he went back, he translated the Gospel of Mark and gave Nard a copy. While he was gone, Nard started reading the Bible for the first time. Sitting on top of a rock, he read the Gospel of Mark in his own heart language. He says, “It felt like I was actually there, seeing the characters.”
But the further he read, the more distressed he felt. A mob of people came to get Jesus out of the Garden of Gethsemane. What did he do wrong? Nard read as fast as he could. They accused Jesus of all kinds of false things. They mocked him, spat on him, beat him, and took him before Pilate. Then the scourge and the crown of thorns. It was excruciating for Nard to read that they forced him to carry a wooden cross and then nailed him to it.
Nard says, “Deep in my heart, a hatred of God swelled.” He shook his fist and shouted: “I hate you, God, for being so powerless! Why should I believe in a powerless God like you?” With all his strength Nard threw the Gospel of Mark down to the rocks and started walking home. He couldn't understand why God would not protect his own Son. “Our headhunters defended us to the death,” he reasoned. “Because of them, no one could touch us,” Nard says. “I wanted a god like that – someone who would protect me from the spirits that demanded we sacrifice our cows, chickens, pigs, and dogs. This God didn't even save his own Son.
Suddenly, God reached down into Nard’s heart. “Nard, don't you understand?” he heard God say to him. “That's how much I love you. I gave my Son on your behalf.” “For the first time,” Nard says, “I understood grace. I understood how much God loved me.”
“God, if you love me that much,” Nard prayed, “I want to give you my life, my heart. It's all yours.” Then he went back and picked up the Gospel, brushed it off, and sat back on that rock to see what happened next. It was an incredible moment as he read that Jesus rose from the grave on the third day. Nobody in all of Dibagat, nobody from among the Isnag people, had ever risen from the grave. Nard says, “The resurrection story changed my life.” (Nard Pugyao, "Penetrating Power," Decision (July-August 2006), p. 18; www.PreachingToday.com)
And the resurrection story can change your life too, if you care to hear it and believe. Jesus alone has the words of eternal life. Please, listen and believe His words today.
The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). That’s because “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Therefore, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Won’t you believe His Words to you today? Won’t you call upon Him and ask Him to give you eternal life? Please, do it before you leave this place this morning.
If you’ve already done it, then tell others about Jesus and the eternal life He offers. But when you do, use this Book. Use the words of the Wonderful Counselor, because they alone have the power to save.
Someone once said, “Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.
“Jesus painted no pictures; yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him.
“Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him.
“Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratorios they composed in His praise.
“Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.
“His unique contribution to the race of men is the salvation of the soul! Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music. Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sin and Satan. He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead.”
That’s because He alone is the Wonderful Counselor! Listen to Him. Listen to His supernatural, sure, and saving counsel, and let it begin to change you forever like nothing else ever could.
