A Christmas Promise

Bible Book: Isaiah 9 : 6-7

Subject: Promises from God; Prophecy Fulfilled; Birth of Jesus; Christmas

Introduction

A Christmas Promise was made through Isaiah. These words were written 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. This promise is written in the prophetic perfect tense. It is so sure it is as good as if it is done. Note the words “will be” in our text, “For unto us a Child is born, / Unto us a Son is given; / And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called / Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace / There will be no end, / Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, / To order it and establish it with judgment and justice / From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” These are the words of a promise, a Christmas promise.

Allow me to point out each time we find “will be” in our text.

I. The first “will be” refers to His dominion.

In Isaiah 9:6a we read, “For unto us a Child is born, / Unto us a Son is given; / And the government will be upon His shoulder.” The word translated “government” could be translated “responsibility.” What a responsibility! Only God’s Son could fulfill such a responsibility.

In a message titled, “Unto Us a Child Is Born,” Dr. Billy Graham shares the following, “The invasions that Isaiah predicted did take place, but God promised that someday the King would come and set up His Kingdom. The promise given was that God’s covenant with David will stand and that someday a King will sit upon that throne.”[1]

Centuries later, we read, “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, / ‘Sit at My right hand, / Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?’ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore” (Matthew 22:41-46).

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) said, “Ultimately, nothing matters but what we think of Jesus.”[2] Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) is cited as saying, “There’s a lot of people who want the joy of Christmas without the worship of Jesus. Impossible.”

II. The second “will be” refers to His designation.

From Isaiah 9:6b we read, “And His name will be called / Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, titles a message based on Isaiah 9:6-7, “The King with Four Names.”[3] Let’s focus on these four names:

Jesus Christ is the “Wonderful Counselor.” Solomon provides wise counsel in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, / And lean not on your own understanding; / In all your ways acknowledge Him, / And He shall direct your paths.” Jesus said of Himself in Matthew 12:42, “The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.” A careful study of Solomon’s life serves as a cautionary tale that it is good to be known for wise counsel, but we must live by it to be wise! Someone wisely quipped, “A wise person seeks much counsel. A fool listens to all of it!” In Luke 6:46-49 Jesus, the “Wonderful Counselor” inquires, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

Jesus Christ, the “Wonderful Counselor,” issues an invitation in the following passage found in Matthew 11:25-30, where we read, “At that time Jesus answered and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.’”

Jesus Christ is the “Mighty God.” He is El Gibbor, meaning “Absolute Deity!” Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). We read in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Immanuel means, “God with us.” Paul the Apostle writes in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He also writes in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Remember, Jesus Christ is the “Mighty God!”

Jesus Christ is the “Everlasting Father.” From Psalm 103:13-14 we read, “As a father pities his children, / So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; / He remembers that we are dust.” We read in Romans 8:14-18, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Jesus said in John 8:37-38, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” Jesus Christ is God, the “Everlasting Father!”

Jesus Christ is the “Prince of Peace.” We read in Luke 2:13-14, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, / And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” From John 14:27 we read, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Paul the Apostle write in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul also writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Dr. John Phillips (1927-2007) said, “The great mystery of the manger is that God should be able to translate deity into humanity without either discarding the deity or distorting the humanity.”[4] Dr. R. G. Lee (1886-1978) explained, “Jesus is the only one born with no earthly father, but an earthly mother. He had no heavenly mother, but a heavenly father. He was older than his mother, and as old as his father.”[5] There are no rivals to Jesus Christ, He is the God-man. In the Bible names reveal character. We are reminded by Henry Gariepy (1930-2010) in his book titled, 100 Portraits of Christ, these are only four of at least 100 names for Jesus Christ our Lord.

III. The third “will be” refers to His duration.

“Of the increase of His government and peace / There will be no end, / Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, / To order it and establish it with judgment and justice / From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7).

From Revelation 11:15-16 we read, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’ And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, / The One who is and who was and who is to come, / Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.”

In Psalm 45:6 we read, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; / A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” We find this reiterated in Hebrews 1:8, where we read, “But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; / A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”

Conclusion

The promise is fulfilled literally in Jesus Christ (Luke 1:32-33; Zechariah 9:9) who will one day reign in Jerusalem (Isaiah 11:1-5; Jeremiah 23:5-8; 30:8-10).

Dr. Luke records the following in Luke 1:26-38, “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.’ Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”

We read in Zechariah 9:9-10, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; / He is just and having salvation, / Lowly and riding on a donkey, / A colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem; / The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; / His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, / And from the River to the ends of the earth.’” Later in Matthew 21:1-11 we read, “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.’ All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!’ And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, ‘Who is this?’ So the multitudes said, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.’” Dr. Adrian Rogers reminds us within one week they went from hail Him to nail Him. What about you? Will you hail Him or nail Him?

In Isaiah 9:6-7 we find a Christmas promise.

[1]Billy Graham, “Unto Us a Child Is Born,” Sermon Notes, (Luke 2:11-12)

[2]John Peoples, “The True Identity of Jesus,” (Isaiah 9:1-7), Accessed: 12/17/13, http://media.sermonaudio.com/mediapdf/1214101354527.pdf

[3]Joy To the World, ed., Olivia M. Cloud, “The King with Four Names,” by Daniel Akin, (New York: Atria Books, 2006), 1-13

[4]Joel Breidenbaugh, “The Promise of the Prince of Peace,” (Isaiah 9:1-7), December 12, 2010), First Baptist Sweetwater, Longwood, Florida, Accessed:12/17/13,

[5]Rhett Wilson, “Glorious Names of the King,” Sermon Notes, (Isaiah 9:6-7), The Spring Church, Laurens, South Carolina, Accessed: 12/17/13, http://www.thespringchurchonline.org/clientimages/54733/handouts/glorious%20names%20of%20the%20king.pdf

By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527

Author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice Available on Amazon.com and WORDsearchbible.com

http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Biblical-Preaching-Giving-Bible/dp/1594577684

http://www.wordsearchbible.com/products/Sound_Biblical_Preaching_1476.html