A wonderful invitation for you

Text Isaiah 55 Time 29 11 09 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
Have you got any invitations sat on your mantel piece at the moment – a wedding, a house warming, a Christmas or birthday party or some other special occasion? Invitations are usually nice things to receive.

In Isaiah 55:1 we have a wonderful and open gospel invitation to come to Christ. There we read

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

In verses 2 and 3 there are arguments for accepting this invitation Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. The rest of the chapter fills out what is said in verse 1.

There are many such wonderful invitations in Scripture but this is surely one of the greatest. Isaiah 55 acts as a sort of epilogue to the whole long section that begins back in Isaiah 40. Isaiah has been talking about God’s salvation - how it has been prepared and how the Servant, the Christ, is going to bring it about. Now he emphasises the need to appropriate that salvation, to receive it. Let’s look at the invitation together then. Let’s consider it together by asking a series of questions.

1. Who gives this invitation?

Perhaps we can begin by considering who is speaking here. It starts quite suddenly and it is not immediately obvious who the speaker is. If you cast your eyes down to verses 8 and 9 though you will read these words For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. The speaker then is God himself. What it says in verses 8 and 9 is true in a general sense. When God thinks, his thoughts are greater than ours. When God acts, his acts are greater than our acts. What he thinks and does is infinitely superior to what we think and do. In the context, it is clear though that it is not so much the greatness and perfection of God that is in mind but the matchless purity of his thoughts and his ways.

We must see that this wonderful invitation is not from just anyone but one who is perfect in his thoughts and ways and in every single way. It is an invitation from God himself and so it demands out attention.

2. Who is this invitation for?

Now this is most interesting. Invitations are often given to those who are deserving in some way or who are likely to be able to give something in return at some point. But this invitation is specifically to those who have nothing, to those who can do nothing for themselves. Come, all you who are thirsty, it says. You who have no money, come, buy and eat. It is not for those who are quite satisfied and who have all they need. It is not for those who are rich and feel no thirst. Rather, it is for those who are the very opposite.

We are speaking in spiritual terms, of course, and on the basis of what is here I say – do you feel an emptiness in your soul, a thirst for completion, filling? Are you aware of an emptiness within, a lack in your soul? Have you ever felt like that? Do you understand what I mean? Then this invitation is for you and for people like you.

3. What is offered in this invitation?

The offer is to come to the waters to drink, to come, buy and eat! To come take wine and milk without money and without cost. Again, we are speaking in physical terms of spiritual things – spiritual food and drink.

We read of water – water can slake a thirst. Think of a hot summer day and a real thirst. Then of a cool refreshing glass of water. That is a picture of what is offered to your soul in the gospel.

More generally, it speaks of eating food. Again, food can remove hunger. Imagine a man in a desert. He's not eaten for days. Then a meal is miraculously provided for him. That is another picture of the satisfaction the gospel can bring to your soul.

It also speaks of wine. Wine suggests the joy that is found in heeding the Word of God. You may not like wine – we certainly need to take care with alcohol – but you know the happiness a glass of wine can bring to a person. Think how happy they all were at the Wedding in Cana when Jesus turned water into wine. Again, it is a picture of the effect of the gospel.

And milk - the life giving milk of the Word to make us fit and strong. If we take cow's milk as a familiar example, it is full of goodness. It contains 18 types of protein, Vitamins A, B1, B2, B12 and Vitamin D plus Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium – things that our bodies need to grow and be strong. In a similar way it is the gospel that restores a man's soul. We get a more specific idea of the things in mind from the previous chapter which speaks of peace (10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed) security (14 Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you) knowledge (13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD) righteousness (17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you). These and many other gifts come to those who accept this invitation. Here, at no cost, is all that your soul could desire, all that your soul could need. Here is satisfaction, filling, comfort, peace, security, freedom, every good thing. This is what we all need more than anything else. Not money or goods but these things.

4. Why should I consider this invitation?

The verse begins by calling for attention. More literally it can be translated Ho, every thirsty one, come to the waters, etc. Why should we give it our attention? There are many reasons why you should consider this wonderful invitation. We have already said that these words are spoken by God. Let me mention two more things here:

1. It's free. Here is a feast that is free.

There is a saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch. TINSTAAFL. It was the title of a book on economics in 1975 by Milton Friedman. It refers back to the 19th Century practice in American Saloons where they would offer a free lunch – as long as a you bought a certain number of drinks! It is a warning against supposing anything is really free and we probably all need a little reminder against being too gullible. However, here in the Bible it is God himself who says that the things he provides can be had without money and without cost. They are free. You pay nothing for this wonderful fare. It sounds to good to be true perhaps but that is the invitation and as it is God's invitation we have every reason to believe it and accept it. Often we can't have certain things because we cannot afford them but here it is quite different. This is what we most often refer to as the grace of God. The word Grace emphasises that God's gifts are free – without cost (as we say) at the point of use. Yes, it cost God. One way of remembering the word grace and what it means is with an acronym – God;s Riches At Christ's Expense.

2. It's full. Here is a feast that is superior to any other.

As we have said we have good reason to be suspicious of some so called free gifts. We are right to want to know what the catch is. But see how Isaiah goes on in verse 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? The LORD pleads Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. What others have to offer is not really bread and does not satisfy. Your soul is left empty by those things. In Hebrews 13:9, 10 the writer says Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. He is thinking of the Old Covenant priests who were still active at that time. There are other so called priests today too. They say come eat and you will find strength but it is a lie. You cannot gain anything from what they have to offer. Don’t waste your money and time on such inferior things. Rather, listen to this message and eat what is good. Your soul be assured will delight in the richest of fare.

5. What will happen if I respond positively to this invitation?

Just as it says here in verse 2 your soul will delight in the richest of fare. You will be delighted. Not your body but your soul itself will be satisfied. You will find fulfilment of a sort that you thought was not possible on earth. Just listen to this message, just accept this invitation and all your worst problems will be over.

6. How do I respond positively to this invitation?

You notice that the very first word in verse 1 is the word Come and that word is repeated several times in the same verse. Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. The verse implies drinking and also speaks of buying and eating. Verse 2 says Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good. Verse 3 begins Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. To come then is the same as to buy, eat or drink, to hear or listen and that is what is requested. It is something simple, basic, straightforward. That is all that is required from us. We have no money, we have only our hunger and thirst and so all that is required is to come or hear or buy without money or drink or eat. That is what faith is like – listening, coming, buying without money, drinking, eating. All these words help us to see what is required. They are all ways of speaking of faith. To believe is to be quiet and to listen to God. To have faith is to move from where we are and to come to Christ. It is to open your mouth and, as it were, have it filled. It is to eat and to be satisfied. It is to drink and so find your inner thirst quenched To buy something is to make it your own. We normally do that with money but here it is without money. That is the nature of faith.

Verses 6 and 7 expand further on what must be done. There are basically two things

1. Seek God and call on him.

Verse 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. The call is to prayer, to earnestly seeking God with all our hearts. The while he may be found and while he is near are reminders that we cannot do this just when we like, when we fancy. Opportunities come and they go. Here is an opportunity for you today. Seek the Lord now if there is any desire in you at all. There may not be another opportunity. We cannot guarantee another opportunity.

Do you know the story of D L Moody and the great Chicago fire? One Sunday Moody preached in Chicago and he wasn’t able to say all he wished and so he urged the people to come back the next week and hear the rest. That week a great fire swept across the city and many were killed and so were not able to come and hear the message. From then on Moody resolved never to assume that he would have another opportunity to speak to a congregation. That must be right.

Preachers must preach, as Baxter put it, as dying men to dying men. I've often said to you who are younger that you must guard against the thought ‘I will seek God when I am older’. You can't think like that. There are no guarantees of later opportunities. Seek the Lord now – while he may be found. Call on him now – who knows when he will be near again. As a general rule you should never spurn the desire to pray – make the most of the opportunity when it comes.

2. Repent.

With true seeking of God there must be repentance. If there is no repentance it is not really seeking God. Verse 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. By nature the lives we lead are wicked. We are on the broad road. We must leave that way behind. We must leave that path. We must forsake it. Not only must we turn from wicked ways but from evil thoughts also. Such ways of thinking must be left behind. Let him turn to the LORD it says. If we fail to do that we will be judged. We will be damned for our sins. It is only if we turn, if we repent, that there can be any hope.

Listen to the promise here Let him turn to the LORD and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. God is full of mercy. He is ready to pardon because of what Christ has done on the cross. All you have to do is to turn form is and turn to the Saviour. Turn to him today.

7. What advantages will come to me if I accept this invitation?

Verse 3 begins Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. That is the invitation – an invitation to life. If you accept it then you will truly live. You will know what the Bible calls eternal life. We can go into a little more detail about this. God also says in verse 3 I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. The promise is of the renewal of the promises that God made to David in the past. That is the picture. This is expanded a little in verses 4 and 5 - See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. David’s victories acted as a witness to the world. He was a witness to the nations. We ought not to forget the extent of David’s kingdom. He ruled over a vast area as a leader and commander of the peoples. Now in a similar way God promises here to do something like that for Israel. Verse 5 Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendour.

Gentile nations are going to be added to the number of Israel. They will eagerly join the Jews because of God’s work in making Israel attractive to them. Of course, all this talk of David draws our minds inevitably to great David’s greater son. God’s love to David anticipated his love to his Son Jesus Christ. He has now established his kingdom on this earth forever and ever. It is by trusting in Christ that we enter into a covenant with God like that with David, a covenant not only to receive a blessing, so that our souls may live but also to be a blessing. Others will see the blessings you have received from God and will want also to share in them as you speak to them about Christ.

The final verses of the chapter are like others in Isaiah. Here again we have a wonderful picture of what it will be like when God’s people take up this invitation in earnest. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed. When the rain of God’s Word comes down as it were it will transform the landscape. As people take up this wonderful invitation so the face of society is changed, so it is renewed.

Ancient kings would often record their victories on stones but then other conquerors would come and destroy these stones. The victories that the LORD brings last forever. They never come to an end. Conclusion

So here is wonderful invitation from God himself. It is for everyone here today. It says Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. The invitation has gone out once again today. Who will respond? I am confident that there will be a response because of what we read in verses 10 and 11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. God’s Word will most certainly be fulfilled. These are not empty promises. We can absolutely rely on them. We can give out this invitation with confidence. God will act.

Memorial Service Ravaka Rajo

Text Isaiah 6 Time 06/07/13 Place Trinity Road Chapel, Tooting

(Ravaka Rajo was a Malagas pastor and Seminary Director who died at the end of April 2013 in Madagascar after being hit by a motorcycle)

I count it a privilege and an honour to preach here this afternoon. I only knew Ravaka for a relatively brief few years of what was a sadly short life. I never saw him in his native Madagascar and so he was always at a disadvantage, especially in those early months when someone like me would chat away in English and Ravaka would endeavour to keep up in what I suppose was his third language. Even in that short time we recognised that here was a man of God, a gentle and quiet man in many ways but one whose great desire was first and foremost to serve the Lord. From our limited human viewpoint it seems a great tragedy that he should die so young.

Reference has already been made to Philippians 1:21. Certainly it is very important that we are all clear that for Ravaka to live was Christ – it was all about Jesus Christ. His death, of course, is gain for him because he is now with Christ forever. We all need to know Christ and trust in him and then when we die it may be loss to others but it will be gain to us.

When I knew I was to speak here today, however, my mind immediately went to a Scripture that I thought would be a help to us this afternoon as we reflect on our loss. My mind went to Isaiah Chapter 6. Let me read that short chapter to you now.

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty. 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me! 9 He said, Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. 11 Then I said, For how long, O Lord?And he answered: Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.

Now from these verses I want to say three things to you

1. Something about Ravaka - a great one has died and left us

The words that drew me to this chapter were the ones with which it opens. The chapter begins In the year that King Uzziah died. King Uzziah (or Azariah) was one of the good kings of Israel and Judah and although he made mistakes he was a godly man and a good leader. He has been called the most prosperous king, excepting Jehoshaphat, since the time of Solomon and he gave hope to people like the prophet Isaiah who were eager to see God honoured. His reign lasted some 52 years and we can be sure that Isaiah had never known any other king. But at last he died. Isaiah felt devastated.

I don't think it is difficult for some today to identify with that situation. Ravaka was no king, of course, but he was your king, Liz; your husband and protector, and he was a king to Anna and Jonathan, a gentle and loving lord over them. Pastors are not kings, either, but he was a good shepherd to the church in Antsirabe and not only that, the new Principal of the seminary as well. And now, and at a much younger age than Uzziah, he has been taken. This is the year that the Principal died, the pastor died, the husband died, the father died …. To feel devastated, especially when we consider how suddenly it has happened, is not wrong. It is perfectly understandable.

2. Something about Ravaka's God – a greater one is still on his throne

So what did Isaiah do when he heard his king had died? I think it is clear from this chapter that he did exactly what we are trying to do today. Isaiah went to the Temple of God there in Jerusalem. He went to the place where he could meet with God. We are not under the Old Testament law, of course, and there is no Temple. Jesus has come. He is our Temple. But we have agreed to meet together like this and to seek God. Isaiah tells us in verse I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Uzziah was no longer on his throne. Ravaka has gone from us. He cannot be a husband, a father, a pastor, a Principal, a denominational leader as he once was. We wonder why it should happen in the way it has. But make no mistake God is still on his throne. He is still in control. He is seated on a throne, high and exalted, and although the most Isaiah or we can see is the train of his robe, it is enough. We know he is in control.

Isaiah says that (2-4) Above him were these heavenly seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

Such details remind us that God is the holy one, the holiest of all. He is the Almighty one and the glorious one. How majestic, how powerful, how great he is.

That is where we need to fix our minds today. Ravaka is gone. We long to see him again in heaven, but for now, he has gone and so we must look to God.

And some of you may say to me but I find it hard to fix my mind on God. In John 12 in the New Testament there is a quotation from this chapter from verse 10. Interestingly, John says, Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. The same glory Isaiah saw is the glory that was later to be seen in the man Christ Jesus. If you want to think of God and his glory, then, think of Christ – his holiness, his powerful miracles, his death on the cross for sinners. That is where to look.

3. Something about those who Ravaka leaves behind

And so for the rest of our time let's think about ourselves – those Ravaka has left behind. There are a number of things we can say from this passage.

1. We who remain are all sinners before God

Look at Isaiah's reaction to all this in verse 5 Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! What prompted that? For I am a man of unclean lips, he says and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty. The presence of death and of God suddenly made Isaiah aware of his sinfulness. Simply talking about death and about God can have this effect. It is one reason why people don't like funerals. Perhaps you feel like that. As I speak, you find your sins coming to mind. Isaiah was supposed to be a prophet who spoke in God's name but he knew his lips were sinful lips. He knew too that the people who he spoke to were sinful as well. And he knew that God was watching them. It is hard to admit you are a sinner. I'm sure Ravaka found it hard the first time he did it. But he knew he was a sinner and we need to recognise that we are sinners too who will also one day die and have to face our Maker.

2. Yet we can be forgiven

And then we have perhaps the most wonderful bit in this chapter. 6, 7 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. In the Temple there was more than one altar but the one in mind here is the one where the animal sacrifices were made. The live coal stands symbolically for atonement through sacrifice, forgiveness through what has happened on the altar. It is applied to Isaiah's mouth because that is where he was most conscious of sin. The coal is a means of removing sin and guilt. It points forward to the great sacrifice Jesus Christ was going to make by dying on the cross and so securing salvation for all who trust in him. We are all sinners but there is forgiveness in Christ.

3. Once we are forgiven we must tell others about the Lord

Next Isaiah says (8) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? We do not know in quite what tone this is said but Isaiah's immediate response was Here am I. Send me! And I suppose that is partly how you ended where you are today Liz. In some way or another you heard God saying, as it were, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And you said Here am I. Send me! And that, ultimately, is how you met Ravaka. He too in a different way had also said Here am I. Send me! All believers, to a greater or lesser extent, are those who are sent. We have found forgiveness and we are called to pass the message on. We must tell others. Sometimes we come to strange junctures. You are at one now, Liz, and so are the Baptist churches in Madagascar, due to this strange providence. You want to say Here am I. Send me! I trust but where? Madagascar? The UK? Somewhere else? Who knows? In some ways they are only the details, as important as they are. Willingness to be sent is the first thing, the chief thing.

4. Tell them even though they may not listen

But then in verses 9-13a we are brought back to reality with a bump. It can sound very exciting – being sent, going out. But look what Isaiah is told He said, Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.

It is not going to be easy, and sometimes it isn't, perhaps we should say usually it isn't. 11 Then I said, For how long, O Lord?And he answered: Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. Isaiah was going to preach through lean and hungry years and eventually the people would be carried off into exile by the Babylonians. What bleak times they were. Isaiah was to do the work, nevertheless, and we who are believers must go on telling out the good news, whether people listen or not.

5. Be assured that some will respond

But the chapter doesn't end on that low note and nor do we. Verse 13b says But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land. When you cut down a tree like an oak or a terebinth that isn't the end of the story. They sprout again, they begin to grow again. We do not know yet what may come from this very death, tragic as it is. There is nothing automatic here and the previous verses ought to make us sober but who knows what might be next for you as a family, for the Baptist movement in Madagascar, for Madagascar itself.

This is a sad day for us let's not deny it but let us look to God, to Jesus Christ. Let's serve him as Ravaka sought to do when he was with us.

Come, let's reason together

Text Isaiah 1:18 Time 11 01 09 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
In one of his little books for children the hymn writer Isaac Watts calls Isaiah “the prophet who spoke more than any other concerning Christ and the gospel.” In his Short view of Scripture history, also for children, he speaks of “Isaiah, who was called the evangelical or gospel prophet, because he foretells the greatest variety of events that relate to him” and goes on to give some examples – Isaiah's prophecy of the virgin birth, of Christ's descent from David, of his rejection, of John the Baptist's role as forerunner, of Christ's sufferings, etc. The truth is that although Isaiah is clearly an Old Testament prophet who wrote some 800 years before Christ his book is full of Christ and full of evangelical or gospel teaching. What I want us to do this morning is to look at just one such text in Isaiah – probably the very first - the one that is found in Isaiah 1:18
Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Isaiah prophesied for a long time. You can see that from the title in 1:1. He prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The burden of his prophecy in Chapter 1 is to confront God's people with their sin. God calls them rebels against him, people who have forsaken him. 2 The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Not mincing his words he calls them a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; ... spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. Isaiah explains that it is their persistence in rebellion that has caused the troubles they've known (7) Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. What devastation they'd known. It was not that the outward signs of religion had disappeared. They were all still there. But it was just an empty charade. Stop bringing meaningless offerings! God says (13) Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations - I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Where is justice? Where are good deeds? There needs to be repentance. There is more of this later in the chapter. It is in this context though that we read (18)
Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
The prospect of blessing is held out to the people – but only if they will respond to this verse.
Now this is an excellent verse for us to be considering this morning as although we may not be suffering as God's people were then, we are certainly rebels by nature and left to ourselves we all forsake God and turn from him. Such rebellion deserves his judgement. Nevertheless, in this verse we find a word of hope, a light at the tunnel's end so to speak, a reason not to despair.
There are three things to take note of
1. Consider this invitation to reason things through with the Lord
The first word in the text is Come which is a great Bible word and one that is full of invitation. When you get an invitation to a wedding or a party or something like that, the word come is often the key word. It may be dressed up a bit “Mr and Mrs John Smith request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter, etc” which is just another way of saying come or it may be a plain old “Come to my party”. What we have here then is an invitation. We can ask three obvious questions.
1. Who is sending out the invitation?

It is the LORD, the sovereign God of Israel, our Creator and our Judge, the only true God.
This means to say that it is an invitation that cannot be ignored. Like me you no doubt get all sorts of invitations through your door – places to eat, news of services available, ways of spending your money, etc. Most of these we ignore. It doesn't matter that we do this because the people who send them to us usually have no authority over us or any real claim on us. If, however, a summons to court should come through my door or something of that order then I cannot ignore it. This verse in Isaiah is an invitation but because it is an invitation from God it is in some ways more like a summons than an invitation. You cannot ignore it. You must respond.
2. Who does he send the invitation out to?

To his people, to all those who Isaiah was addressing. This would have included all sorts of people. In a similar way, there is a general invitation today that goes out from God to all who hear.
The word COME can helps us there. It includes Children but not just children Others too. It includes the Middle aged and the Elderly as well. Everyone, whatever their age, male or female, rich or poor, all are included. It includes you. This invitation from God to reason together about your sins is for you and for me and for all of us.
3. What are these people invited to?

Well, the invitation says Come now, let us reason together. It is an invitation to a conference, a parley, a discussion. One version paraphrases "Come. Sit down. Let's argue this out." Others have “I, the LORD, invite you to come and talk it over”; “Come now, let’s settle this”; “Come, let’s consider your options”.. That's the idea then - “Let's sit down together and talk this through”.
There are some people and they drift through life without ever really thinking at all. They never stop and consider what they do and how it affects others or where their way of life is leading them. They're too busy with other things. Is that you? Are you making that mistake? Don't!
There are others who do think about their lives and about many other things too. Sometimes they will discuss with others what they are thinking. Indeed some like to interact. What they will not do, however, is what this verse urges us all to – they will not reason together with God. They will not come to him and reflect on their ways before his face. It is summed up well in Psalm 110:4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God – a sort of motto for the age in which we live. Again is that you? You're a thinking person, yes, but you are an independent thinker – a person who is seeking to shut God out. Don't do that. Get to thinking about yourself with God. Do it together. Ah, it's a fearful thing to be in the presence of Almighty God I know but that is what is needed.
“How though?” you say “how do you reason together with God?” Well, you do it with your Bible open, in a spirit of prayer and humility. It's really what we are doing now – reasoning together with God, discussing things openly before him; listening to what God says and carefully reflecting on it. Let's do it then.
2. Understand how deeply stained with sin you are by nature
There are two things that we really need to take in here. The rest of the verse reads Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. This is poetry and Hebrew poetry often uses repetition or parallelism. Your sins are like scarlet, parallels they are red as crimson and they shall be as white as snow, they shall be like wool. Let's look first at Your sins are like scarlet and its parallel they are red as crimson.
The thing about the colour red or scarlet or crimson here is, firstly, that it is pretty obvious. When soap powder manufacturers want to advertise their product they often do it with white clothing marked by tomato ketchup or red wine – things like that. There is no hiding sin in the end. It is a glaring thing. We talk about being caught red handed which is the same as being found with blood on one's hands. The terms, as here, speak of guilt, obvious undeniable guilt. That was the position of the people then and it is our position now. Our sins are like scarlet ... they are red as crimson. Another idea is that of being deep seated. Our sins cling to us and cannot easily be washed away. Have you ever had dye on your hand, especially a red or purple dye? It cannot be removed. So sin clings to us. It sticks to us like mud.
Some of you this morning are quite sensitive about sin. It's like the way some people with a fair complexion blush easily when they are embarrassed. Others of you sometimes feel quite pure and innocent but we only have to be exposed to God's law to see that we are full of sin. We do not love others as we should and we do not love God. He is not first in our lives. We would so often rather idols. We will not speak of him as we should and we will not give him the time we should. There is a rebellious streak in us that raises its ugly head at times. Sometimes we are malicious, sometimes lustful, sometimes grasping, sometimes dishonest, sometimes greedy.
Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Such sins are typical. As Paul says plainly (in Galatians 5) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Yet these are the sorts of things we do.
Like Macbeth in Shakespeare's play we say “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.” Like Lady Macbeth we say in vain “out damned spot” and “What, will these hands ne'er be clean? ... Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Oh, yes like them we can easily wash our hands or take a shower but it is not so easy to shake off the pangs of conscience. It keeps knocking. We continue to know its pangs and humanly speaking there is no way to deal with such pangs. There is such a stain that nothing will remove it. It is as if there is a beautiful white carpet and someone has thrown a tin of red paint all over it. It is obvious, lasting and nothing is going to remove it. That is our position before God by nature and we must see it.
3. Hear this promise of pardon and purity for sinners like you
All that is quite depressing, of course, but necessary. The thrust of the verse is very positive, however, Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, ... though they are red as crimson - they shall be as white as snow; ... they shall be like wool.
Yes, the stain of sin is obvious and deep seated. We are guilty. We are not innocent. It seems as though there is no remedy. Yet here God speaks very plainly a word of hope Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. It's been trying to snow recently. Snow in London soon turns to slush and is not a pleasant sight but when the snow comes down it is white, pure white – no sign of red in it. Wool on the backs of sheep can be various colours but tends to be most often more of an off white these days but there is certainly no hint of red in it unless it's been put there. “Now look” says God “by nature you are stained, you are marked, you are guilty but I can remove the stain, I can purify and cleanse you again.”
He doesn't go into how here but we know from elsewhere that it is through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that this cleansing work can be done. By coming and dying as he has done Jesus Christ has provided a way so that though our sins are indeed like scarlet ... though they are red as crimson, they can nevertheless be as white as snow ... like wool straight from a sheep's back. All we need to do is to put our trust in Jesus Christ and all will be well, our sins will be washed away.
Are you washed? Are you washed in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Without that there is no hope. 19, 20 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. The Day of Judgement is fast approaching when God will thoroughly purge away all dross and remove all ... impurities. He is going to set up the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City. He will redeem Zion with justice, those who are sorry for their sins with righteousness But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the LORD will perish. What a fire will be kindled on that day. How will you escape unless you turn to him now? Put your faith in Christ then. Trust in him and know all your sins removed.

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Text Isaiah 9:6c Time 17 12 08 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
Some years ago now my mother died, which is a great loss. But I had her for many years and I still have my father, which is a great blessing. Not only that but like many of you I have lived through many years of peace. Such blessings are not to be taken for granted. To have a father who cares for you and to be in a peaceful environment are great blessings many do not know. I want to talk tonight about what it is to know Jesus caring for you and bringing you peace.
We are looking at Isaiah 9:6 a great prophecy of Messiah. We looked before at the first two titles or names given to Messiah here and tonight I want us to look at the second two. We looked last time at
1. Wonderful Counsellor 2. Mighty God
The Lord Jesus is full of both wisdom and power. He is the wisdom and power of God. This is because he is both man and God. He is the God man, the one Mediator between man and God. There is no greater wisdom than the supernatural wisdom found in him. There is not greater power than the Almighty power of God which he wields.
Now this evening I want us to concentrate on the second two phrases here delineating the character of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Everlasting Father 2. Prince of Peace
The first two names really flow from the name he is given back in 7:14 Immanuel (God with us). These next two bring us to the matter of what this Child to be born, this Son to be given, this Wonderful Counsellor, this Mighty God will bring about when he comes. He not only preserves and liberates his people, he does much more.
1. Recognise Jesus Christ as the Everlasting Father
1. He is a father
To refer to the Son as Father seems strange indeed. The reference here is not to the First Person of the Trinity, however. The point here, rather, is that the Messiah will reign like a father. He does this as God because, of course, because he is Mighty God. Like the Father he is A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows (Psalm 68:5). Like God the Father he is one of whom it can be said As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him (Psalm 103:13). Like the LORD he also disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Just as an earthly father deserves honour so Jesus Christ deserves honour too.
In other words, the Lord Jesus is marked by fatherly compassion and by tender care. This sometimes means hard discipline but it is always for the good of those who so suffer. Wasn’t the Lord Jesus like a father to this disciples? How he loved them, how he cared for them. In John 14:18 he says I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. So he deals with all who are his. When he said I am the good Shepherd he was expressing much the same thought. Remember too how he wept over Jerusalem saying he longed to gather them as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings. Or think of how he speaks in the Sermon on the Mount like a wise father teaching his children.
Do you know the Lord Jesus as a father watching over you? Perhaps you have never thought of his tender and loving care – you ought to. It can be yours through faith in him. Believer, may be you have never thought of the Lord Jesus in this way. You ought to.
2. He is eternal
As before, in other places with the very human epithet of Father comes this clearly divine one of eternal or everlasting. Jesus had no beginning and he will have no end. The point, however, is that he is everlastingly a father to his children. He is ‘Father-Forever’. It is very sad when a parent dies, especially a good one (I can testify). But this Father never dies.
Warning: we all look with hope in one direction or another. If you are not looking to Christ, wherever you are looking cannot last. It will be removed.
Encouragement: if you are looking to the Lord Jesus he will never be taken from you.
2. Recognise Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace
1. He is a prince
The title prince is a royal one. He is a leader, a valiant young leader. Here is David revived and all his promise fulfilled. Here is one who is victorious and who will rule. Cf Ezekiel 34:24, 25 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. He is a prince but he is superior to all kings. See Acts 5:31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Rev 5:1 Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Who is your prince? Look to Christ, the prince of glory, the prince of life. He has overcome the prince of this earth, the prince of demons.
2. He brings peace
He is not only David but Solomon too. This is the emphasis. His victories lead to peace. The triumphs he brings about lead to peace. He not only brings peace but the methods he uses to secure peace are peaceful means. Other princes gain victory through war, he does so through peace. John the Baptist’s father Zechariah picks this up (in Luke 1:78, 79). He speaks of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. We are very familiar with the words of the angels to the shepherds when Jesus was born too Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.
Jesus himself speaks in these terms
Luke 7:50 (woman who'd led a sinful life) Jesus said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace.
8:48 (woman with issue of blood) Then he said to her, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
Often in John 20, 21 Peace be with you!
When weeping over Jerusalem (Luke 19:42) he said If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes.
But how does Jesus actually bring peace about? In Isaiah 53:5 we read But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. By nature we are God’s enemies, we are at war with God but by his death on the cross the Lord Jesus has secured peace for all who trust in him.
The word for peace is a very full one. It does no mean merely the absence of war. It means well being, freedom from anxiety, wholeness, completeness. This is what Jesus Christ brings to his people – peace that transcends understanding, peace with God. The person who knows Messiah has a total peace that cannot be taken away. All his sins are forgiven and he at peace with God. He knows peace in his heart at last. He is then able to be a peacemaker and bring God’s peace to others.
As so often in Scripture, we end with peace (grace, mercy and peace). Verse 7 simply expands on this Of the increase 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 for ever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. It reminds us of Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you know peace with God? Possession of all who trust in Christ. As Isaiah often says there is no peace for the wicked but to those who look to Christ God says Peace, peace, to those far and near. Paul takes this up in Ephesians 4 (14-18) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Peace is often spoken of, especially at Christmas. It can be yours in Christ. Warning: peace is not the same as complacency or warm feelings. Real peace comes through faith in Christ.
It is very important for believers to make every effort to continue in the peace the Prince of peace has brought. Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. James 3:18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. 2 Peter 3:14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

Wonderful Counsellor and Mighty God

Text Isaiah 9:6b Time 10 12 08 Place Childs hill Baptist Church

Have you ever seen a strong man competition? Or perhaps weightlifting or something like that? It can be interesting for a while. More interesting is something like ‘Brain of Britain’ or 'Mastermind'. I’ve never seen a competition looking for both brains and brawn, wisdom and power. Not always, but it tends to be that those who are thick in the arms are also thick in the head.

I want us to consider tonight one who is both all wise and all powerful. We’re looking at Isaiah 9:6. We’ve already said that this text is clearly a prophecy about the Messiah or Christ. It is one of two famous texts found in the ‘Book of Immanuel’ (Isaiah 7-12). The other is 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. We made the point that the verse shows that the only hope for us is in a Child, a Son to be born and that one is the one Isaiah prophesies here – the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago. He is both human – the child born to Mary, and divine – the Son given by God. He has come to his people – to all who are his by faith. We can be absolutely confident in him because, as Isaiah puts it here, The government shall be on his shoulders – the Lord Jesus is the great King of Kings and Lord of Lords – he is the Sovereign Lord whose kingdom can never fail. But more than that, Isaiah goes on to say And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, etc. Already in 7:14 we are told that the child to be born to the virgin will be called Immanuel. As here, this is not a personal name but simply a name that shows us his character. People today tend to choose names for their sound. They want a name that sounds masculine (Samuel, Joshua, Daniel or Jack) or feminine (Emma, Emily, Chloe or Sophie). If the name has a good meaning all the better but it is not the most important thing. In the Bible the meaning of a name is usually more important. Here certainly Isaiah’s concern is not over what the Messiah will be called but over his character, his nature. He was eventually called Jesus/Yeshua – he saves or the LORD saves. Here, however, we have a series of names or titles that sum up in a large measure the character or person of Messiah. So what I want us to do today is to look at these important titles given to Messiah through Isaiah.
Before we look at them there are two important things to sort out.
1. It is important to recognise that they are spoken of Messiah.

There have been Jewish commentators who have tried to understand the verse thus, ‘God who is called and who is Wonder, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, calls his name the Prince of Peace’ but the verse will not bear that and is clearly all about this Child who is born, this Son who is given.
2. Then there is the question of how many names are used of him. The answers vary greatly.
1 Just one name? It has been suggested that we render all the words as one. You know perhaps how some of the more eccentric Puritans sometimes gave their children names such as ‘Praise God’ or ‘Joy in trials’ or even ‘Repent from your sins’. Something similar was known among God’s ancient people. Isaiah himself had a son – Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil). The suggestion then is that the name here is ‘A wonderful thing is counselling he who is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.’ There are many problems with this idea. One writer calls it ‘sesquipidalian’ (cumbersome and awkward) which it certainly is. Another calls it ‘an unparalleled monstrosity’.
2 Many go for five names. That's how the AV deals with it. John Newton in his sermon (a series on the texts of Handel’s ‘Messiah’) takes it that way as does Handel, of course – Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
3 Vulgate (1 higher) plumps for 6: Admirabilis, Consiliarus, Deus, Fortis, Pater futuri saeculi, Princeps pacis
4. It is more difficult to argue for 7 or 8 but I suppose one could go for – ‘Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty One, God, Everlasting One, Father, Prince of Peace’ or even ‘ … Prince, Peace.’
5. It seems most likely, however, that we have here four names as in the NIV. Why?
1. Despite what I have said the last two names stand in such close relation to each other that they must say Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. The other two pairs also appear to be related quite closely.
2. The way the Massoretic text (ie the main Jewish text) is accentuated suggests four names.
3. This gives the most likely symmetry.
4. By taking the names this way we preserve a further suggested symmetry in that there is an emphasis in the original on the divine and then the human in the first pair and then on the human followed by the divine in the second pair, ie WONDERFUL Counsellor, GOD Almighty, Father EVERLASTING, prince of PEACE.
So we will look this evening at the two phrases Wonderful Counsellor and Mighty God and then another time, God willing, at Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. In his commentary E J Young says ‘It is one of the saddest points in the entire history of exposition that in the entire history of exposition that so many have refused to see the true import of these glorious names.’ Let’s not make that mistake.
1. Recognise Jesus Christ as the Wonderful Counsellor1. He is a Wonder

The Word Isaiah uses is not actually wonderful but wonder – that is why the AV translates as it does. I rarely mention what a word is in Hebrew or Greek because to most it is meaningless. The word here though is Pele. I don’t know where the great Brazilian footballer go this nickname but he was often described as a wonder – an inexplicable bundle of talent who was delight to watch and the despair of his opponents on the football field. The Christ is a wonder not in that sense, of course, but his great wisdom, would cause similar astonishment and excitement when he came to this world. The word is used in Psalm 78:12 to refer to the wonderful miracles God did in saving his people out of Egypt. Think of the wonder of the miracle of crossing the Red Sea. Interestingly, in Judges 13:18 when Samson’s future father Manoah asks the visiting angel his name he says it is wonderful ie beyond understanding.
The words wonder and wonderful have become rather devalued in our day. Marvel or marvellous have suffered a similar fate. A wonderful/marvellous opportunity or a wonderful person/a marvel can sometimes be rather ordinary in reality. We should be in no doubt about the strength of the word here, however. The Messiah is clearly God – mysterious and amazing as it is – that is who he would be. Everything about him would be and was and is wonderful in the highest sense – truly amazing, supernatural. From his supernatural conception to his supernatural resurrection and ascension he was a great Wonder.
2. He is a Counsellor

A counsellor is someone who gives you advice, who helps by speaking to you about your needs and what to do. We hear a lot about counsellors these days. Whenever there is a disaster of some sort such as this terrible rail crash a few months ago we are now used to hearing that both the victims and those dealing with them, such as t he police and ambulance drivers. It is recognised that such disasters can be hard to cope with and some are not equipped to face it on their own. And so they are offered professional counselling by those who have been trained to various levels and in various techniques and schools of thought. Modern society recognises that good counselling can be very therapeutic and make the difference between surviving and going under. Now the Messiah will be Wonderful Counsellor.
When a king is on the throne people look to him for wisdom and guidance. The wisdom of Solomon, of course, is famous. Now Jesus was one greater than Solomon – what a wonderful counsellor he was and is. What ever our need we should go to him. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him. In Isaiah 11:2 we are told The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Luke tells us (2:40) that the baby of Bethlehem grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. When he came to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? they asked (Matthew 13:54).
The idea is perhaps that whereas a king normally surround themselves with many advisors to help them rule this one will not need such counsellors – he himself is the Wonderful Counsellor to whom we all may go in complete confidence. Of course, God’s wisdom is foolishness to men but once our eyes are open to see it what wisdom shines out.
So what we are saying here is that Jesus was both a supernatural counsellor and one who gave supernatural counsel. Think of some of the things he said. For example

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. If we go to him all will be well despite our troubles.
13:24-26 If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Of course, Jesus’s wisdom not confined to his own words – all of Scripture is breathed out by the Spirit of Christ. It is all useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. It is the Scriptures that are able to make us wise to salvation.
Warning: Isaiah lived in days when many thought themselves wise but they were in fact very foolish. This is one of the biggest problems facing people today. We are convinced that we are wise and so we have become fools. Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Don’t make that mistake. It is only by going to the Wonderful Counsellor Jesus that we have any hope at all. Yet how few will go to him. There is no counsel if you refuse to go to him. Humble yourself and go to Jesus and to his Word for guidance, for wisdom.

Encouragement: Jesus is the wisdom of God. He came with a perfect plan for the salvation of his people. It cannot fail. Praise God. All wisdom found in him. Oh yes we are fools by nature – how many mistakes we make but if we go to him he will guide u and help us and make us wise. Believer are you seeking his counsel daily? Are you acting on it? We slide back when we rely on our own wisdom. 1 Corinthians 3:18, 19 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a ‘fool’ so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight.2. Recognise Jesus Christ as the Mighty God1. He is God

As you know there are many who deny that Jesus the Messiah is God. When we come to this next phrase then these people have great problems. The title Wonder of a Counsellor suggests Godhead but it could possibly mean someone less than God. Even confronted by this next title some try to wriggle out of the idea that he is God. It is true that sometimes men are referred to in Scripture as being ‘like gods’ but there is no example of the title here El Gibbor being used for a man. The translation ‘Great hero’ then is not adequate. This is clear from 10:20, 21 for example - In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to El Gibbor.There can be no real question that this is what is being said here. It’s an amazing contrast – he is a child, says Isaiah, yet he is also God. Isaiah was moved by the Spirit to reveal this even in those far off days. Now Jesus has come we can see that he is God – God come in the flesh. If he was not God he could not save as he does. It is because he is both man and God that he is the Perfect Saviour. That is why we must go to him. ‘God of God, Light of light, Lo he abhors not the virgin’s womb, Very God, begotten not created’
2. He is Mighty

He is called here Mighty God. The word Gibbor really means ‘hero’. We could translate ‘God of a hero’ or ‘Heroic God’. In John 16:33 Jesus says In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. What a word of encouragement to those who trust in him. He is not only the wisdom of God but the power of God also. His power is without limit. Remember his words at the end of Matthew (28:18) All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. God is putting everything under his feet. When you go to a human counsellor than hopefully they will give you good advice but it is up to you to put it into practice – they cannot do it for you. Good counsellors are advised to give those they counsel ‘homework’ to do. But the Lord Jesus is Mighty God and he not only counsels perfectly but he gives the strength to his people to live for God’s glory. He not only has a perfect plan but he has brought it to completion and he continues to work it out in the lives of his people.
The most obvious example of his power is his resurrection. Death was not able to hold him down. He triumphed over it. How? Because he is Almighty God. The same power that raised him from the dead is now at work in believers.
Do you know that power at work in your life? Go to Christ and know it.

Warning: It is no good relying on our own power. It's easy to feel strong when all is going well but think of the future.

Encouragement: Are you aware of your own weakness – how easily you fall. But if you rely on him he will give you strength and enable you to stand.

Believer are you relying on his strength not your own? if you're slipping back may be it is because of that.
Jesus is a man – he is able to sympathise with us and draw alongside us like no other. Yet he is also Almighty God. He can transform us like no other. He is the Perfect Saviour. If we reject him what hope is there at the judgement?

To us a Child is born

Text Isaiah 9:6a Time 03 12 08 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
Isaiah 9:6 is one of the great prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Messiah. It is one of two found quite close to each other in Isaiah 7-12 (what has been called the Book of Emmanuel) – the other is in 7:14 (Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel).

Perhaps you are familiar with the famous chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Handel’s Messiah was first performed in 1742, some 17 years before Handel died. It was revived again over 40 years after the first performance in John Newton’s time. Newton objected to it as it involves singing Scripture for entertainment. Rather than just be negative he preached a series of sermons on the texts used in that oratorio. His aim is summed up in something he says near the end of the series - “Permit me to hope and to pray, that the next time you hear the Messiah, God may bring something that you have heard in the course of these sermons, nearly connected with the peace and welfare of your souls, effectually to your remembrance.”
When he comes to this great Christmas text he says that every clause in the verse could provide us with a long sermon. That is certainly true and so I want us to just begin looking at it tonight and then return to it again. Tonight I just want to look at the opening words For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
Chapter 8 of Isaiah ends on a very sad and distressing note (8:21, 22) Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look towards the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness. Isaiah prophesied in very dark and dreary days when there was much sin and many troubles. However, God enables him to look forward to better times ahead. Isaiah 9 begins with a strong Nevertheless …. Isaiah 9:1-7 is full of hope for the future. This hope is so strong and these better times are so certain that Isaiah writes in the past tense – the so called ‘prophetic past’.
One commentator divides 1-7 into 2 parts:
1. The hope described (1-3). There are three things
What God does – The reason that despite the desperate situation there will one day be no more gloom for those who were in distress is that though in the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali … in the future he will honour Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan.
What his people will enjoy – It is because God is determined to honour The people walking in darkness that they (past tense) have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
What follows – (3) You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
2. The hope explained (4-7) Again there are three elements
What God does - 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, (ie under Gideon) you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
What his people will enjoy – Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
What follows this great victory is what we find in 6 and 7 and what we want to concentrate on now.
Notice the movement from

Nevertheless do not be afraid (1) to
For God will act (4)
to For (6) – how God will act.
There is no doubt at all that this a prophecy of Messiah. That is made clear in Matthew 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali - to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
There are four things in particular I want us to concentrate on tonight.
1. The hope is a child and a son. Look nowhere else.
This great victory that is going to come for God’s people will be won through a person. Fundamentally, the truth is not abstract. It is not in the realm merely of ideas. It is to do with a person. Surprisingly, perhaps, this person is a child. The emphasis is not on the child when he grows up but on the mere fact of his birth. Once he comes all will be well. He is referred to as both a child and a son.
1. Child

This word relates him to his ancestry. He has a mother like us all.
2. Son

He will be a male, and, as is clear, of the Royal line. He is Son and heir. The word king is not used – perhaps because the idea had been greatly devalued by the fact that Judah’s kings had so often been reprehensible.
There can be no doubt that, as in 7:14, Isaiah has in mind the coming of Messiah – the Lord Jesus Christ. Some have implausibly tried, especially Mediaeval Jewish commentators, to deny it. Others can see it so clearly that they try to say it was written much later than it was – around 800 years BC. However, both earlier Jewish commentators and Christians see this must be about Messiah.
So here is the hope for Israel and for the world – not an army, not a political movement but a person. And not a world leader or a great hero but a baby. As one writer (Oswalt) puts it ‘How will God deliver from arrogance, war, oppression and coercion? By being more arrogant, more warlike, more oppressive and more coercive?’ Well, no. It is clear from Isaiah that God is powerful enough to destroy his enemies in a moment but ‘again and again, when the prophet comes to the heart of the means of deliverance, a childlike face peers out at us.’ God overcomes his enemies by becoming vulnerable and humble. On the face of it the idea seems faintly ridiculous and yet even to the worldly mind there is a charm to the idea that attracts. But this is not some form of romanticism but the cold fact that the only hope for any one of us is in the Lord Jesus Christ – the child who was born in Bethlehem and who Mary his mother placed in a manger there. Do you believe that? Do you believe it as a fact?
This fact ought to shape our approach to everything. For example
1 To salvation

Matthew 18:2-4 He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
2 To witness

2 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect ....
3 To parenting

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged
4. To holy living

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
2. He will both be born and be given. He is both God and man.
You notice, secondly, that he says two parallel things about this child and son.
1. He will be born.

This brings out the human side. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. A real baby was born there. He had genes and blood cells, skin and bones just like us. Never underestimate the humanity of Jesus.
2. He will be given.

But also he would be given. God sent him into this world. He came from the glory of heaven to this world. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. He did not spare his one and only Son. He gave – he did not lend. We must never forget that he is nothing less than God – he is God come in human form.
We must always keep this in mind about Jesus. He was one person, yes, but he had two natures – human and divine. He is the God man, the One Mediator between God and man. This is why he is the perfect Saviour – as man he fully sympathises with us in our weakness and sin but as God he is able to save us, nevertheless. This is what Newton calls ‘the central truth of revelation’ which like the sun casts its light on all else.
3. He will be born and given to those who believe. Is he yours?
The emphasis in the Hebrew is certainly on the child being born and the son being given but do notice the repeated to us. Isaiah is speaking of the people of God. To all who trust in him Jesus has been born. The angel spoke similarly to the shepherds at the birth of Christ (Luke 2:11) Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. It was a favourite theme at Christmas time with Luther – a Saviour has been born to you. He was not born, he did not come merely to please himself – it was for you, for all who look to him.
Did Christ die for you? He died for all who look to him and to him alone.
4. The government will be on his shoulders. Be confident in him.
The last thing I want us to look at tonight is the phrase and the government will be on his shoulders. This is not the only thing that Isaiah says, clearly, but it is the first. He uses a rare word for government. It is a word that basically means this child or son will be the epitome of princeliness, of executive authority. On his shoulders is symbolic of bearing rule (See 22:22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no-one can shut, and what he shuts no-one can open.) Think of a golden chain of authority. This is a common enough picture from the idea of carrying authority. In 7:14 we have already been told that the child is Immanuel (God with us). The statement here comes as no surprise then – the child is the Son of God and he will reign forever until all his enemies are put under his feet. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Of course, that kingship was veiled on earth. Many would have gladly made him an inferior earthly king but he refused it. He refused because he had a higher glory to come. Already his kingdom has advanced far but one day it will reach its zenith and it will be in every place.
Here is the great paradox again – a mere baby, yet Lord of all! Trust in gentle Jesus now before he comes in wrath and might and destroys you. Those who trust in him already share in his throne – and there is more to come. What blessings await those who have the King for their friend. Are you ready for glory?