SERIES: ADVENT (Week 1)
TEXT: Isaiah 9:6
MESSAGE: Jesus, Our Wonderful Counselor
“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…” — Isaiah 9:6
Why do you and I need a wonderful counselor?
“Loneliness is much more often commented on by songwriters than by social scientists. One psychiatrist has suggested that we neglect loneliness because we have no theory with which to begin to cope with its manifestations.” – MIT Press
“You try to sleep but a chill seems to have crept into the room—and into your heart. The old longing rises unbidden, the longing for someone who isn’t there. That thickness in the throat, dryness in the mouth, that restlessness—what is it? You have been given much—home, work, friends. What is this weakness, this sickness, this storm in your soul?” — Elisabeth Elliot
“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” – Genesis 2:18
Why? Because God made us in HIS image. And God is a triune being.
“Adam was not lonely because he was imperfect. Adam was lonely because he was perfect. Adam was lonely because he was like God, and therefore, since he was like God, he had to have someone to love, someone to work with, someone to talk to, someone to share with. All of our other problems—our anger, our anxiety, our fear, our cowardice—arise out of sin and our imperfections. Loneliness is the one problem you have because you’re made in the image of God.” — Timothy Keller
TEXT: Isaiah 9:6
And so how does God meet us as our wonderful counselor? He does it in three ways…(1. In an understanding way 2. In an astounding way 3. In an accessible way)
- In An Understanding Way
“For to us a child is born…”
“The incarnation means that for whatever reason God chose to let us fall … to suffer, to be subject to sorrows and death—he has nonetheless had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine … He himself has gone through the whole of human experience—from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death … He was born in poverty and … suffered infinite pain—all for us—and thought it well worth his while.” —Dorothy Sayers
“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” – Hebrews 2:18
- In An Astounding Way
“…to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder…”
“His peoples shoulders are delivered because he takes the burden of rule.” — Alec Moyter
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” — Hebrews 4:15-16
- In An Accessible Way
“…his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor…”
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21
“…the word translated ‘wonderful’ refers to the ability to work supernatural signs (Exod 3:20); the word counselor refers to the giving of wise advice, as advisors to the king would do (2 Sam 16:23). Jesus came both to do signs and wonders and to give wisdom by his teachings.” — Andrew M. Davis
TAKEAWAYS: How can we apply this to our lives?
* Expect times of being misunderstood
* Loneliness is not a quick fix
“Loneliness is one of God’s pulleys. It is a call to prayer. This condition of my earthly existence from which I cannot extricate myself is the very ground of my prayer. Because I am lonely and afflicted, I have reason to hope for divine help. God is in the business of coming to the aid of those who know their need and ask Him to meet it.” — Elisabeth Elliot
* Be equipped by trusting the wonderful counselor
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” ― C.S. Lewis