Alba 12-12-2021
JESUS IS MIGHTY GOD
Here we are, closing in on Christmas again. In less than two weeks that day will come.
Isn’t it really something that a baby born in a stable in a place called Bethlehem, thousands of miles from the United States, can cause traffic jams in countless cities, many centuries later?
But even 700 years before Jesus was born the prophet Isaiah introduced Jesus. There was something in the message of Child that was to be Born, this Son that was given, that gave Israel a reason to have hope. Turn again to Isaiah 9:6.
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Last week we discussed the words Wonderful, Counselor. Now we see that Jesus, the child to be born, is Mighty God! In our passage there are the two Hebrew words used. First, a child shall be born and He shall be called EL, which is a word for GOD. We are familiar with that use of the word when God is called El Shaddai, a term you may have heard.
And He shall be called GIBBOR, a word which means MIGHTY. That word refers to the power that breaks through and causes victories. The over-comer of all things.
Deuteronomy 26:8 uses the word saying, So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.
To call Jesus Mighty is to say that He is the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. He is the Mighty God!
Let's take time this morning to consider the meaning and implication of these two words “Mighty God” that describe the coming Messiah.
What Isaiah is prophesying here about this child who would come, he is saying something that is very distinct. The Messiah would be called Mighty. But calling the coming Messiah “Mighty – God” means even more than this.
This child would not be just some god, but...
1. He is God
Jesus wasn’t just a great teacher. He wasn’t just a good example. He IS the Mighty God.
A couple of chapters before this verse, in Isaiah 7, we read this:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14b
Commenting on that prophecy, Matthew quotes Isaiah 7 about the virgin bearing a son, and then he explains: they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23
Isaiah’s message was plain: A virgin was to give birth to a son, and He would be known as “God with us”. And this child that was to be born - this Son that was to be given - would be called “the Mighty God.”
The New Testament reinforces this. John 1:1 introduces Jesus as the Word made flesh in this way: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD."
Colossians 1:15-17 referring to Jesus says it this way: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Genesis 1:1 says, In the beginning, God created... Yet there in Colossians it clearly tells us that all things were created by and for Jesus. Jesus on earth was Immanuel, God with us.
Skeptics often scoff at Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. But miracles are only miracles because they’re outside the bounds of the normal laws of nature. Breaking such laws ought to be no problem for the God who invented them.
Scripture shows that Jesus was, and is, fully God. God in all His wisdom, and power, and might. God in all His infinite goodness, and grace, and mercy.
The God who has neither beginning nor end of days; who existed from eternity past, and who will exist into eternity future.
The God who created the universe, with all its billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars, and who even now sustains all of Creation by His power. Jesus Christ is that God.
This fact, that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, is familiar to most Christians. But the Jews didn’t understand it -- not in the time of Isaiah, nor in the time of Christ.
They had no concept of Father, Son and Holy Spirit being one God.
And so, when Jesus came, and He began to teach with authority, and do miracles, and even spoke of Himself as being one with God, they reacted violently. They even tried to kill Him for committing the sin of blasphemy.
In John 10:30-33 it tells us that when Jesus said "I and the Father are one" the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.
We need to understand this about the divinity of Christ: He has all the power, all the strength, all the ability, all might of what we ascribe to our thought of God. Whatever we think God can do, He can do, because He is God.
Because although intellectually we may understand that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit all have the same attributes, that each one of them is equally omniscient, and omnipotent, and omnipresent, and all the other "omni’s"...
Yet, in practice, because of their different roles in salvation, we tend to think of them as being different from one another.
We think of God the Father as being the strong, forceful one; the Creator; the Warrior; the Judge.
We think of Jesus as being the kind, gentle, compassionate one; the Good Shepherd; the Savior.
And we think of the Holy Spirit as being the mysterious, mystical one; the inner voice; the counselor and guide. But in fact, each is all of those things. They are one.
God the Father is loving and caring. Jesus Christ is powerful and mighty. They are all One in being, and all possess equally each of the divine attributes. We serve one God.
And also, this child, who is God in the flesh, is described as one with great power. In the word used by Isaiah...
2. He is Mighty
When that prophesied child grew up, people marveled at what He could do. He fed 5,000 plus out of a small boy's lunch. He walked on water. He empowered a friend to walk on water. He calmed a storm with His words.
Everywhere Jesus went, people watched Him heal people. Sometimes it was their bodies, sometimes their minds, sometimes their souls. Often, all three.
Pretty powerful stuff, wouldn’t you agree? I’d think we can call it “mighty powerful stuff.”
There's a story of the wife of a preacher who decided to feed leftovers to her two boys. She gave the 8 year old the remaining portion of something called “tor-tel-lini”.
Apparently it was so good the first time round, that the 6 year old son wanted it too. And that’s how the argument started.
Well the dad thought he’d try reasoning with the older son. “Jeremy, what would Jesus do in this situation?” thinking Jeremy would say “He’d Share”. Instead, Jeremy looked up and said, “Oh, Dad… He’d just make more!”
That boy understood what it meant to have a Jesus who is the MIGHTY God. He believed Jesus was able, and willing, to supply us with the things that we need.
You might say: "It’s impossible." But Jesus says: All things are possible. (Luke 18:27). You might say: "I’m tired." But Jesus says: “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
You might say: "I can’t go on." But Jesus says: “My grace will be sufficient for you.” (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15).
You might say: "I can’t do it." But Jesus will reply: You can. You can do all things through me because I’ll give you strength. (Philippians 4:13)
What I love about the Mighty God is that He defies everything that is supposed to happen. Satan threw his best shots at Him and never could win.
He threw disease at Jesus… “by my stripes you are healed”
He threw temptation… “not my will but my fathers will be done”
He threw fame… “you will worship God alone…”
He threw storms… “peace be still”
He threw hatred… “father forgive them…”
He even threw death… “Lazarus, come forth…”
This clearly shows that Satan is big, bad and tough…until someone shows up with more muscle. And when Jesus shows up, He overpowers even the devil, and takes care of business.
What I am saying is that we have a mighty God…His name is Jesus!
People conspired against Jesus, made up all this stuff to get Him out of the way, and then they killed Him putting Him on the cross. They thought they were finished with him, that it was the end of the story, one more trouble maker out of the way!
BUT…God's power stepped in, usurped all their schemes, turned everything upside down and superseded their plans with the plan of His own.
It is called resurrection power. Jesus went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. We all have a need for forgiveness for the things we have done which are wrong.
God's plan was that when Jesus died in our place He took the penalty we deserve. But death could not hold our Messiah.
Isaiah said He would be called “Mighty God.” He proved it when He laid down His life, but then had the power to take it up again. Jesus lives today. The prophesy is true, He came with POWER.
Martin Luther wrote the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
Luther had seen the Pope huff and puff against him, yet he still went on unharmed. He had heard the emperor’s decree, yet God kept him safe. After seeing all of God’s love and protection, he was able to write with confidence in that hymn these words:
Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill; They shall not overpow’r us.
This world’s prince may still, scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done!
One little word can fell him.
The devil lost the battle at the cross and at the empty tomb. Jesus gave us a mighty victory!
In the Old Testament, Jeremiah 32:17 affirms: ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
And I Chronicles 29:11 says, Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.
Listen to those verses: "Nothing is too hard for you". "You are exalted as head over all." In other words, "God, your power is unlimited.
Yes, those passages were from the Old Testament. And they were written to, and about, God the Father. And yet, the same is true of the Son; Jesus Christ; the Messiah.
He also possesses unlimited power and sovereignty, because He also is fully God.
When you and I face impossible situations we need to recognize that we have put our trust in a Savior who is the provider of overcoming power.
And that is what a Mighty God is all about. He is all about taking the most difficult thing, the case we say is unchangeable, impossible, and doing something amazing with it.
God wants us to know that this Christmas can be the most blessed Christmas we have ever had. Whatever the situation, His power can work in us to bring peace, love and forgiveness.
What a promise, what a gift, what a Christmas, what a Mighty God we serve!
CONCLUSION:
A man told how he was involved in a ministry in his church where they would speak at small churches throughout the Midwest.
Typically, they would travel to small towns on Saturday and stay with a family from the church.
One particular Saturday evening the man was sitting in the home of a family in a small southern MO town when their young son entered wearing a costume of a super hero and cape.
He proceeded to start tearing a sheet of paper as he said, “I’m strong!” The man took the paper doubled it and asked him to tear it again. He repeated this until the boy stood before him unable to tear the paper.
What started as an apparent display of strength soon became an unconquerable task.
In life we are frequently faced with situations that require strength – some less, some more. It is a certainty that we will face a situation that is beyond our physical, emotional and possibly spiritual capacity.
Try as we may we will not be able to overcome. It’s at times like these that we will need an alternative source of might. A power source that far exceeds our strength.
The man said, “Rarely do I look at a piece of paper without thinking of that little boy tearing it and declaring how strong he was. It serves as a reminder to me of my weakness and God’s incredible might.
“It doesn’t take much for me to be at the end of my strength capacity, but when I reach it God is there to take over and help me overcome.”
