MAIN IDEA - The three things that last are 1. The Word of God, 2. The soul of man, and 3. The love of God.
INTRO / WELCOME
Good morning and Merry Christmas.
If you’re joining us for the first time this month, we are in the middle of a series called “the NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES” which is based upon the names given to Jesus by God in Isaiah 9:6.
This is what happened - God was so excited about the gift of Jesus that He was going to give humanity on Christmas day - That He began to tell people about it 700 years before it even happened.
This is what He says - “A son will be born, and His name will be” -
Mighty God
Wonderful counsellor
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
So each week - as we make our way to Christmas day this year,
We are exploring these 4 important names that Jesus was given.
A couple weeks ago - I started with -
“Jesus, the Mighty God” - and explained that - God loves to create miracles from ordinary things.
Last week was “Jesus, the wonderful counsellor ” - That He came for the purpose of relationship with us.
And Today - we move onto the next description - “Jesus, the Everlasting Father”
(ME)
When I was a kid I remember being really disappointed one time - by a very specific thing.
I would have only been 6 or 7 and I had heard all about a piece of candy that lasted forever. So - I saved up all my pocket money & went to the candy shop and bought myself an everlasting gobstopper (IMAGE). I was so excited to get started on it and then have it with me, forever.
I realized after only a few hours that the candy was getting smaller and smaller until eventually it was all gone.
They lied to me.
Now - anytime I hear the word “Everlasting”. I get a little cynical.
And I don't think I’m alone in this -
Because there is really nothing on the planet that has the ability to last forever.
In fact -
I wondered if other people felt the same way - so I went in search for some other people that had been burned like me -- and believe it or not I found an open forum on the topic that addressed the question -
What lasts forever?
Among the top answers -
Lines at the DMV.
Sesame Street.
Glitter.
As “forever” as these things seem - They too have a shelf life.
(WE - PROBLEM)
Nothing here really seems to last forever.
Like 1 Corinthians 7 says - “this world in its present form is passing away”.
Even the biggest and most powerful things will come to an end.
Last week I told my daughter that - one day, the sun will disappear -
She looked at me - terrified.
I said it's OK - we have a few billion years - we've got some time….
That’s a mind boggling thought that one day - even our sun will die - (SUN IMAGE)
(fun facts about the sun)
The Sun is about the most powerful thing we know.
Just to give you an idea -
The sun would fit 1 million earths inside of it.
It can produce temperatures up to 2 million degrees F
It's power is unlike anything else in our entire solar system -
For example -
The most powerful bomb ever used on earth was a 50 mega ton nuclear bomb -
The sun produces the power of a 1 trillion megaton bomb - every second.
Which is said to be enough power to sustain earth's energy needs for almost 500,000 years - every second...
But one day, like everything else, it's will all fade away
Almost Everything that we know here, there is a beginning and an end.
So - it’s no wonder that the word “Everlasting” causes a skeptical response.
Eternity is a challenging concept to wrap our heads around.
I once saw a pastor try his best to show an example of what ‘everlasting’; looks like.
(Can I show it to you)?
Fancis Chan UNENDING ROPE analogy. (makes me wonder why we worry so much…)
It's helpful - thought-provoking example
But I don't think it makes everlasting suddenly a really easy concept to fully understand...
The problem with this analogy and any other - is that imagining something going on endlessly - even something as simple to imagine as a rope -
There’s something about ‘everlasting’ that still feels impossible to imagine as an adult.
Maybe as a kid (I believed wholeheartedly that a piece of candy lasted forever).
But now, as a mature adult - It seems like 'everlasting' is far more of a challenge to comprehend.
What do I mean? -- The rope has to end - like everything else!
Having an end is what we understand.
(short tangent)
Why is understanding important?
Because - Without understanding, closure is so difficult to come by -
Understanding brings about Closure - doesn't it?
And closure brings comfort.
This is why everything in our fridge - including our fridge has an expiration date -
This is why researchers have gathered data on what our life expectancy should be -
This is why scientists have calculated when the death of our sun will occur -
Closure is finding answers that bring us comfort -
Closure helps us to understand our place in the world -
Closure helps us to prepare ourselves with expectations in life.
But what happens when we come across a problem that we don't have a full and complete understanding of?
What do we do with this important word - “Everlasting".
How do we find closure with the Everlasting - if we don't know everything?
How do we find comfort?
Let's jump in to the word of God today and take a closer look (in particular) at this word - Everlasting and what it represents.
(GOD)
We are in Isaiah 9
- Verse 6 -
One of the most classic Christmas verses with an everlasting twist -
Here’s what it says -
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.
Everlasting Father -
What does it mean that Jesus is called the “everlasting father”?
On face value it seems like a strange title for Jesus.
Because what comes to mind for me when I think of what an “everlasting father” is -
looks something like this -
(classic dad image) - A dad forever.
New Balance wearing,
Lawn-mower loving,
Endless Pun giving -
~ The forever dad.
But - I don't think this is what Isaiah meant.
In fact - let's dig beneath the surface with some ancient translations.
Originally “Everlasting Father” written in Hebrew and was intended to be understood in a slightly different way than we might interpret according to our own culture today.
In Hebrew -
Everlasting Father, is XXX Hebrew word.
As a side note of interest - This is the first and only time - this combination of words --
‘a-bi-ad’ is used in the entire bible.
It’s unique and one of a kind.
To really understand what Isaiah wrote here, we need to
Begin with the 2nd word of the description - the word ‘father’ -
Now - Father here doesn't translate to what we would think a father should mean -
Here - father is not - protector, or provider, or Lawn mowing expert.
-
Instead - the word used means -
The Chief or Principal - The Owner, The Ruler, The Master.
The word ‘father’ here is less - 'a dad', and more what we might call - the 'father of' it maybe even the forefather or founding father.
Like Father Abraham. The title suggests much more than just being a father - but instead a protagonist of change - the leader of a new way - a new nation.
If I were to ask you who the father of America was - you would say…?
George Washington…
Not the literal father - that would be very troubling…
But the father of a movement. A new world.
This is the idea that this Hebrew word for “ father” means.
The forefather - the father of… something.
So what is this father of, the father of?
As Isiah puts it, Jesus is the father of
-- The ‘everlasting’
You see, Isaiah is not saying that Jesus will be the forever, lawn mowing-loving dad -
Instead, God is explaining that - Jesus will come and become the owner and ruler of that which is everlasting.
The Father of Time,.
The Father of the Everlasting.
The owner of all things that last for eternity.
Which means that there must be some things that are everlasting after all...
& I can tell you with certainty - that candy is not one of them.
Would you like to know what they are?
Isaiah 51:6 and Hebrews 1:10-12 says that even the heavens and the Earth will perish—they will “wear out like a garment.”
With that being said - The bible also talks about three things that are everlasting -
That will never spoil,
Never perish,
Never vanish, or
Never fade—
And in this, we can actually gain enough understanding to find closure and comfort.
Even though we don't have ALL the details and every answer -
It turns out, when it comes to the everlasting, we only need to know 3 things.
What are they?
Good question!
Everlasting item # 1 is this --
The Word of God.
The Bible has withstood attack, ridicule, criticism, and all kinds of attempts to destroy it over the centuries.
In the 18th century, a French philosopher and historian named Voltaire, once said, “One hundred years from my day, there will not be a Bible on earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity-seeker.”
Many have forgotten Voltaire, ( to be honest I hadn’t heard his name until last week)
Let alone his failed prediction
however, no one has forgotten the Bible.
In 1525, William Tyndale translated the New Testament from Greek to English for the first time.
Catholic authorities forbade this.
Any Bible found violating these rulings were burned, but Tyndale believed that all people should be able to read the Bible in their own language.
After being tried and convicted for treason and heresy for printing and distributing Bibles, Tyndale was burned at the stake in 1536.
But did that stop the word of God?
NO!
In fact - Because of Tyndale and others like him throughout history, the Bible today has been translated into nearly 3,000 languages!
Despite every attempt to eradicate it, the Bible today is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book.
In the last 50 years, 3.9 billion copies of the Bible have been sold.
Just as Isaiah 40:8 and 1 Peter 1:24-25 declare, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
The “Father of the Everlasting” has protected the word of God throughout history and all of life to come. The word of God is Everlasting.
..
Are you ready for Everlasting item # 2 --
The Soul of Man.
Sometimes it's easy to think of ourselves as no big deal.
But there's something about you that will live on - you are everlasting.
The Bible says in Psalm 139:13-16 and Jeremiah 1:5 that God forms us in our mother’s womb—that He knows us even before we were born.
Our time on earth is a mist or a vapor (James 4:14) but, our spirit will eventually return to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
C.S. Lewis put it well when he said, “You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body”
The soul is precious and has a destination beyond this world.
Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
In John 5:28-29, Jesus made this stunning revelation: “...a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” And we know from John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son—that whoever believes in Him, would not perish but have eternal life.
The “Father of the Everlasting” has protected our souls.
Our soul will live Everlasting.
The third item of the everlasting is this -
The Love of God. (Everlasting item # 3)
God’s love endures forever (Psalm 136:1-26).
We learn from Romans 8:28 “…that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
And quite possibly the most astonishing verse about God’s love comes only sentences after in Romans 8:38-39, which says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing can separate God’s love from those who love, revere, and serve Him!
The “Father of the Everlasting” has protected and secured His love for us for all eternity.
God’s love is everlasting.
Our Soul is Everlasting
God’s word is everlasting.
(YOU - Worship team return).
The eternal can be uncomfortable - because it's hard to see - we don't have all the answers.
I mean - Who has the power to come back from the grave and tell us all about eternity?
Who indeed...
As we trust in the father of the everlasting, comfort arrives.
You might think - I'll worry about the everlasting things when that time comes - everlasting has already begun.
It began with the name above all names - The name of JESUS.
Are you looking for comfort in your soul today?
Call on the powerful name of Jesus.
(WE)
And as you do - As WE all do - Comfort and truth will arrive because “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10
LETS PRAY
Pray
...
We end as King David prayed in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
...“Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
~ 1 Chronicles 29:10
