Everlasting Father
THIS MORNING – as we continue in our message series, ‘Name Above All Names’ we will be unpacking another title that we find in Isaiah chapter 9:6…
HOWEVER – before we look at that verse and begin to drill down on that title, I want us to we put it into its historical context.
BECAUSE - as we say around The Grove, when it comes to understanding the Bible… context is KING!
NOW AS - Isaiah chapter 9 opens up…
• It is ~ the year 734 BC.
• The Nation (Israel in the North) and (Judah in the South) have been divided and in a civil war for about 200 years…
• NOW – I think we all would agree that this was neither a good or productive time for the Nation.
• And Listen, this civil war as you might expect weakened bot the Israel and Judah making them much more vulnerable to attacks from the various nations that surrounded them.
• AND – to make matters worse, not only was the nation divided and at war, but they had also began to worship other gods (false gods)… turning away from the Lord.
• Which I contend provided both the foundation and ongoing fuel for this war and division.
• Understand, when God’s people are walking with God (and live according to HIS WILL, as expressed in HIS Word) they do not go to war with each other. AMEN!
• QUESTION – are you starting to see the picture?
The Nation is a mess, it’s in turmoil… division, rage, violence, hatred, anger, war… Not to mention the economic, emotional and personal fall out (thousands lost loved ones) that always comes with such things
• SO GOD sent His prophets (Elijah, Elisha, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Hose) to both Kingdoms calling on them to repent and turn back to Him. But they refused to hear.
• And listen, during these 200 years of conflict… Israel in the North had 17 different kings/leaders… and every one of them did evil in the eyes of the Lord… Judah in the south had 11 Kings and most were for the most part okay… but the guy who was King when Isaiah 9 opens up was far from okay. Check out what God says about King Ahaz in 2 Kings chapter 16…
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree. – 2 Kings 16:2-4
OKAY – so the king of Judah (AHAZ) is not an ungodly, corrupt, immoral and ineffective leader.
A leader who is facing a huge challenge as Isaiah chapter 9 opens up.
YOU SEE – in 734 BC the King of Israel (North) formed an alliance with the King of Aram to attack Judah.
AND – Ahaz starts freaking out, big time.
SO GOD – sends His prophet Isaiah to him to tell to…
take a breath, chill out trust Him, because He would deliver the Judah from her enemies… “Ahaz, I got this… trust in Me’ BUT LISTEN – it is hard to trust a God you do not know and are not following.
SO AHAZ - instead chooses to form an alliance with the King of Assyria… not a good plan…
A plan that would come back in a few years to bite Judah’s butt.
AND UNDERSTAND – God is not happy with Ahaz’s decision.
IN FACT – as Isaiah chapter 8 closes God is like,
“Okay, so you want to do this without Me. You do not want me in your life. Have it your way. But just know that…
Your life – ME = not very pretty
They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God.
They will look up to heaven and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.
– Isaiah 8:21,22 (NLT)
OKAY – so that is the context for Isaiah chapter 9…
• A nation in turmoil (wars, hatred, violence, death, economic hardships)
• God’s people living just like, doing all of the detestable things of the nations He had driven out (I mean, they are living so much like the world around them, they you cannot even tell the difference)
• And on top of that they have had 200 years of some pretty lousy and ungodly leadership. And for Judah, at this moment… Ahaz was a terrible and ungodly leader.
• A leader who God said, here is what it will be like as you choose to lead without me…
YEAH – kind of gloomy stuff.
IMAGINE – living it.
NOW – we are ready for Isaiah chapter, a prophecy about the coming of Jesus, their Messiah.
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 nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
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.
Of the greatness 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. – Isaiah 9:1-9
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6
MAPLE GROVE – welcome to week 8 of our series name about all names… and a conversation called ‘Everlasting Father.’
On December 9, 1866 (In England) Charles Spurgeon spoke on this very title. And I want to quote from the introduction to His sermon.
It is pretty powerful, like seriously it is worth leaning in for.
How complex is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ! Almost in the same breath the prophet calls him a “child,” and a “counsellor,” a “son,” and “the everlasting Father.”
This is no contradiction, and to us scarcely a paradox, but it is a mighty marvel that
He who was an infant should at the same time be infinite,
He who was the Man of Sorrows should also be God over all, blessed for ever; and that
He who is in the Divine Trinity always called the Son, should nevertheless be correctly called “the everlasting Father.”
How forcibly this should remind us of the necessity of carefully studying and rightly understanding the person of our Lord Jesus Christ!
We must not suppose that we shall understand him at a glance…
So deep is the mystery of the person of our Lord that he must reveal himself to us or we shall never know him.
He is not discovered by research nor discerned by reason. “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonas,” said Christ to Peter, “for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee.” “When it pleased God,” says the apostle, “to reveal his Son in me.”
…He is the lesson, but he is also the schoolmaster.
He is both key and lock, answer and riddle, way and guide. He is that which is to be seen, for we are to look unto him; but it is by him that we are enabled to see, for he giveth sight to the blind.
Let us then, dear friends, if we really desire to understand that most excellent of all sciences, the science of Christ crucified, entreat the Lord himself to be our Rabbi, and beg to be allowed to sit with Mary at the Master’s feet.
Be this our prayer, that “we may know him;” and be this our desire, that “we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;” for “to know him is life eternal,” and to be taught of him is to be “wise unto salvation.”
“That we may know Him”
B/S – that is why we are doing this series
IN ORDER - to know better the one we have chosen to follow.
AND LISTEN – since April 26th we have unpacked some powerful… know Jesus better truths, that are intended to both anchor and shape our lives…
MGCC - Jesus is…
• The Word become flesh
• Mighty God, Immanuel
• The Good Shepherd
• The Prince of peace
• The Lamb of God
• The Head of the body,
• The Bridegroom of the bride,
• The Vine of the branches and
• The Cornerstone of the building
• The Way, The Truth and The Life
AND THIS MORNING – we are going to look at that title in Isaiah 9:6… THAT - at first glance may seem a little confusing…. Jesus is the ‘Everlasting Father…’
First let me tell you what this title does mean…
• It does mean that Isaiah is confused
• And it does mean that Jesus has somehow switched places with the God the Father in the trinity… He is still God the Son
QUESTION – so, in what way is the Son the Father?
Jesus is Father = not in identity, but in disposition. It is a descriptive analogy pointing to His character. He is ‘father- like’ in His treatment of us. And the great news is that, this Father-like care towards us is everlasting.
AND UNDERSTAND – since you know the historical background and context of the title ‘Everlasting Father’
YOU KNOW – that this is the exact kind of leader God’s people both needed and were longing for.
YOU SEE the coming Messiah is not like the leaders that thye were accustomed to… weak, selfish, unwise, often violent… agenda driven men
INSTEAD…
• He is a Wonderful Counselor
• He is Mighty God
• He is the Prince of Peace, and
• He is an Everlasting Father
OKAY – here’s the deal in our time remaining
I want us to consider some of God the father-like caring characteristics of Jesus…
AND LISTEN – these never ending qualities of Jesus should bring us great encouragement…
I MEAN (seriously)… He is exactly the kind of leader we need in our lives…
PRAYER
This Title Speaks To…
I. His Everlasting Presence With Us
A few verses….
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. – Psalm 46:1
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” - Hebrews 13:5
QUESTION – do those words encourage you?
AND – how about these words…
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. – Matthew 28:20
UNDERSTAND - God has always desired to be present with His people. I MEAN – we see this…
• In the garden (when God would walk with them in the cool of the morning)
• When they wandered in the wilderness (fire/cloud)
• When the set up camp in the desert with Tabernacle pitched in the very center
• In the temple at the center of the city, and
• In God the Son putting on flesh and dwelling among us
Jesus is everlasting in His presence with us!
AND LISTEN – what He said to Isaiah, He says to you and to me…
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. – Isaiah 41:10
Jesus is the Everlasting Father
He is with you always, constantly… If fact as David wrote in Psalm 139…
Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
– Psalm 139:7-10
YES – Jesus is the everlasting father who will never leave us or forsake us…
AND B/S – this truth MATTERS!
AND LISTEN – His everlasting presence should greatly encourage and empower you.
AMEN.
AND – dads your presence matters too! It matter a lot... so much more than our current culture caesura to admit or acknowledge.
UNDERSTAND
Fatherlessness is written into the heart of our generation.
It is heard in our songs, seen in our movies, read in our blogs. It is a story of shame, loneliness and rejection.
A story that desperately needs to be heard.
Fatherlessness is both a personal tragedy and a growing epidemic.
Fatherlessness is the engine driving gangs, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and suicide.
The fatherless are all around us - but they are often missed or ignored
Kids not living with a Father…
In 1960 ~ 7% and in 2014 ~ 40%.
That is an ~ 600% increase
Percentage from Fatherless homes
63% of teen suicides
71% of high school dropouts
71% of pregnant teens
75% of teen in chemical abuse centers
80% of rapists
85% of children with diagnosed behavior problems
85% of youth in prison
Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. – Psalm 27:10
Jesus is the everlasting father…
This Title Speaks To…
His everlasting presence with us, and
II. His Everlasting Provision For Us
A few verses…
I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. – Isaiah 46:4
Jesus spoke the following powerful words about His provision is Matthew 6…
This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying?
And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these!
If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith?
So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. – Matthew 6:25-33
Knowing that Jesus is the everlasting Father, shows us that he is not only ABLE (because He is Mighty God) to meet these needs . . .
He is also WILLING to meet them. He provides what we need for eternal life.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19
Jesus is the Everlasting Father who provides…
• words for tough situations
• guidance we need for tough decisions
• comfort we need in times of heartbreak
• the clothing, food, and support we need
• opportunities for us to make a real difference in life
• people who will stand alongside us and teach us
• answers to our prayers
• spiritual truth to live by that protect us from the life destroying consequences of sin
• strength when we feel we can't go on
Jesus is the Everlasting Father, this speaks to His everlasting…
• presence with us
• provision for us, and to
III. His Everlasting Protection Of Us
In Deuteronomy 31, Moses is talking to God’s people telling them about the nations they will have to do battle with when they cross the Jordan River into the promise land.
And so, he speaks these powerful words of protection…
So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
– Dt 31:6
AND – in Isaiah 43… we read these words of the Everlasting Father’s care and protection.
But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
– Isaiah 43:1-3
The Hebrew writer, puts it like this…
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
- Hebrews 13:5,6
Paul even as knew that
I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
– 2 Timothy 1;12
AND – without a doubt one of my favorite pictures of the everlasting Father’s protection is in Psalm 18
I love you, LORD; you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.
Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.
He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals.
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals. He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused.
Then at your command, O LORD, at the blast of your breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the LORD supported me. He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me. - Psalm 18:1-19
Jesus is the Everlasting Father, this speaks to His everlasting…
• presence with us
• provision for us,
• protection of us, and to
This Title Speaks To…
IV. His Everlasting Patience With Us
QUESTION – is God patient with His people?
LIKE – have you read the OT?
Have you ever read the book of Judges?
UNDERSTAND – if I were God I would not only be so done with His people, but I would be so done with me!
The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. – Psalm 103:8-14
Just 1 more verse about the Everlasting Father’s patience.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
– 1 Timothy 1:15-17
Jesus is the Everlasting Father, this speaks to His everlasting…
• presence with us
• provision for us,
• protection of us,
• patience with us, and to
V. His Everlasting Passion For Us
NOW – there is so much that I could talk about here…
BUT – I just want to quickly, talk about four ways that Jesus ‘The Everlasting Father’ demonstrates His passion for us.
Just four quick points with Scripture to back it up.
a) This passion is seen in His love for us
Having loved his own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of his love. – John 13:1
b) This passion is seen in His adoption of us
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. – Ephesians 1:4,5
I have adopted 2 children and I know first hand about the great pleasure of adoption and the great passion that is required to make it happen.
c) This passion is seen in His acceptance of us
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. – Romans 15:7
MGCC - you are accepted by God.
Yes, He knows you, yet He still accepts you!
Dads your acceptance matters more than you know
d) This passion is seen in His belief in us
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10
Jesus believe in you
He believes that you are a masterpiece and that you can do awesome things.
Dads your belief in your kids matters!
Jesus is the Everlasting Father, this speaks to His everlasting…
• presence with us
• provision for us,
• protection of us,
• patience with us, and
• passion for us
YES – Jesus is the ‘Everlasting Father’ there is absolutely no question about that.
IN FACT – the only question that remains…
IS – this one…
Is Jesus your ‘Everlasting Father.’
