(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Good evening, brethren. Before we get into the passage, if I could just ask that you keep two things in prayer for us. Number one, obviously the borders have been closed in Queensland so I can't come and travel. Had all my flights booked out for the 30th of this month and all of next month as well. So please keep that in prayer that the borders will open and I'll be able to get up there and continue to fellowship and to preach to you guys face to face. But also secondly, if you can also pray for Blessed Help Baptist Church because the previous restrictions that we were dealing with have returned. We did briefly go to the two square metre rule which was great. We could have almost an entire church here together which was wonderful. But now it's back to the four square metre rule so we're back to limited attendance in our church. So if you can keep those two things in prayer, I would really appreciate it. But we're there in Isaiah chapter nine and let's start there in verse number six, Isaiah chapter nine in verse number six and of course I'll be preaching a Christmas message to you. Neither of the men on Sunday preach a Christmas sermon so I thought well okay that's left for me now. So look at Isaiah chapter nine verse number six it says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. And so we have this wonderful prophecy here in the book of Isaiah about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. And it's so wonderful that it begins by saying, For unto us a child is born. The reason why Jesus Christ came 2,000 years ago was for us, was for sinners. We needed a Saviour, we needed the Lord to come and offer himself that perfect sacrifice for us. And what's beautiful about verse number six we get all these names that are given to the Lord Jesus Christ and so that's what I'll be preaching about today. I'll be preaching about all these names and just illustrate some truths for you. So the title for the sermon tonight is, Unto us a child is born. And as we kept going there it says, And the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful. The very first name that we get of the Lord Jesus Christ in this passage is that he is wonderful. And isn't it great that we serve a wonderful God. Yes we ought to have a fear of God, yes he is a terrible God in the sense that, you know, we ought to fear him. You know when you think about the Lord we ought to are shaking our boots a little bit, have a healthy fear of God, understand that he's the creator of all universe and that he hates sin. And when we sin against the Lord he's not happy with that. The Lord is angry with the wicked every day the Bible tells us. But not only that, we also serve a wonderful God. What a great thing, you know, that our God is considered wonderful. Now if you can please keep your finger there and go to Matthew 21 please. Go to Matthew 21 verse 14. We're fast forward in here to the New Testament and the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we think about our wonderful God, we often think about his wonderful name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We think about his wonderful works. You know that he came and he, as I've mentioned, you know sacrificed himself for us. Not just that work but also his creation. The fact that he created all things in six days and rested on the seventh. You know we have a wonderful Lord, we have a wonderful Savior. You know when we consider his creation we think of the lands and the seas and the animals and the trees and the mountains and the hills and the grass. We think about human beings, we think about how we can bring forth generation after generation and not just what's on this earth, the clouds. We look at the sky and you know and into outer space, the sun, the moon, the stars and you know just how vast this galaxy and this universe is. You know when we understand what creation is and you know we think about it at a macro level like that but also at a micro level. All the little organisms that we don't even see with our naked eye. You know the fact that you know we're all made up of atoms which we can't again see with our naked eye. You know all the laws and the powers of the universe that God has put into place. It's just amazing to think of this wonderful God that we serve. But in Matthew 21 verse 14 the Bible says and the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them and when the chief priests and scribes saw, look at this, the wonderful things that he did and the children crying in the temple and saying Hosanna to the Son of David they were so displeased. And so we see that the chief priests, those that were in positions of authority, they saw the works of Jesus Christ. They even claimed that these works were wonderful and what works were they? Well again verse 14 says the blind and the lame came to him in the temple. And so even as Christ walked this earth some 2,000 years ago he came healing the sick. He came giving vision to the blind. He gave the ability to walk for those that were lame, unable to walk. And obviously he did many wonderful works casting out devils and healing all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. And the Bible tells us all those wonderful works were wonderful, right? They were wonderful works. You know in Psalm 40 verse 5 it says many O Lord my God are thy wonderful works. Many, okay, many O Lord my God are thy wonderful works which thou hast done and thy thoughts which are to us-ward, they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee if I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered. Okay so there we have the wonderful works that God has done but also the thoughts that he has taught us. You know just the fact that God thinks about you know mankind, that he thinks about you and I and at an individual level. The Bible tells us this is wonderful, that he even considers to think about us. And you know even if we want to speak about the wonderful works of God, we want to speak about the wonder of God and his amazement. It says that, it says if I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered. We cannot, you know if we could speak for the rest of our lives about the wonders of God, how wonderful is we would not have enough time to number them all because there's just too many wonders of our Lord God. And so of course this great name of wonderful was given to our Lord Jesus Christ. The next name that is given is counselor. Counselor. Now you know if you can please turn to, I'll get you to turn to Psalms. Please go to Psalm 16 for me. Go to Psalm 16 and verse number 7. Psalm 16 and verse number 7. You know quite often when we're in a state of difficulties or trials and we need a bit of help, we often like to go to man don't we? We often like to go, well you know some people go to psychologists and philosophers. You know sometimes we will just go to their friends and family for counsel and advice. Sometimes we will come to the church pastor for counsel and advice. And look, I'm not saying there's ever a wrong time to go and seek counsel. You know the Bible makes this quite clear that when you need counsel you know go and ask, but make sure that before you go and ask the counsel of man you first go to the counselor. Okay and of course Jesus Christ is our counselor. You know you go to the Lord God first and seek him counsel. He may very well give you the answer that you need you know through his word without having to go to any man. Or he may help you and lead and guide you to the person that will give you the answer that he wants you to have. Okay. Understand that the counsel of men can be good, but it also will contain error. You know sometimes the counsel of men might be wrong. It might be it might very well be wrong counsel. You know you come to the pastor for some counsel, I may very well give you the wrong kind of counsel. Right? Or you know the advice that I have is tailored toward me, my wife, my kids, my family, my situation, which may not work well for your situation. And so here's the thing about the counsel of men. It's not always right. It's not always going to work for you, but the counsel of God will always work. You know it's always right. You know it's it's a one-size-fits-all counsel when it comes from the Lord God. And there in Psalm 16 verse 7 it says, I will bless the Lord who have given me counsel. My reigns also instructs me in the night seasons. And so the Lord will speak directly to you. It's the Lord that gives you counsel. It says my reigns also instructs me. It's talking about his inner man. His inner man. And so you know as we're because we're saved we have that new man in us. We have that spiritual man. And the Holy Ghost will speak to us by speaking to that inner man, that new man that we have. And so quite often you can just go to the Lord asking for wisdom, asking for guidance, asking for counsel. The Holy Ghost may very well just give you the answer you know and speak to your inner man. There have been times when I've been preparing a sermon for example. And I might be stuck on a topic or might be stuck on a verse. And I've gone to the Lord for counsel. And sometimes I've had to wake up the next morning literally the morning of the church service and I've received the the Word of God there. You know he's given me the counsel. He's given me the answer to that passage I was struggling with. Even the morning you know coming up to preach God's Word. And so God is Jesus Christ is our wonderful and our counselor. And also if you can now go to Psalm 33. Psalm 33. There's another passage that I want to read to you from Isaiah 25 and verse number 1. But you go to Psalm 33. I'll read to you from Isaiah 25 verse 1 which reads, Oh Lord thou art my God. I will exalt thee. I will praise thy name for thou has done wonderful things. So we've already seen how God is wonderful. But then it says this. Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. That's what's great about the counsel of God. That it's faithfulness and truth. As I said the counsel of men may not be either one of those two things right. But we see the counsels of God are of old. Okay. They go back a long time. Okay. Our Bibles are is an old book. Okay. The Bible is an old book. But the counsel of God is still relevant to us today. It doesn't change. You know people will often say well the Bible is so old-fashioned. It is. Praise God. The counsel is true. You know it was true when it was written. It's true in 2020. When we can turn to God's Word and read it. Okay. But not only is the counsel of God old. Not only is there much wisdom of the ancients. You know in God's Word. It says there in Psalm 33 verse 11. It says there in Psalm 33 verse 11. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever. The thoughts of his heart to all generations. As I said yeah the counsels are old. God's wisdom. God's guidance goes back a long time. But it's it's relevant. It works. It's good for all generations. In fact it's going to stand forever. Forever. God's counsels will never change. There's never going to come a time in our lives when we look at God's Word. We look at his counsel and say well that's that doesn't work anymore Lord. I need to do things a different way. No. God's counsels are always correct for every single generation. Please go to Psalm 107 now. Go to Psalm 107 and verse number 8. Psalm 107 and verse number 8. So God has given us his counsel. Jesus Christ is our counselor. You go straight to the Lord God when you need help. But in Psalm 107 verse number 8 it says oh that man would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. And so we really saw that God is wonderful. And you know what we ought to do. We ought to praise God. You know for his wonderful works to the children of men. You know what the things that we learn of God of course the gospel salvation. We ought to go and proclaim that wonderful gospel to those that are lost. But then he keeps going in verse number 9. It says for he satisfies the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. And so when you need counsel when you need help the Lord is the one that's going to satisfy that longing soul. He's going to be the one that feeds you with his goodness. And in verse number 10 we'll look at the opposite now. It says such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death being bound in affliction and iron because they rebelled against the words of God and contempt the counsel of the most high. And so you can see that if you want to live a life of darkness in the shadow of death you know bound in affliction and iron you know you're just you know if you're just someone that just if that's what you want you want a hard life a life that's depressed and a life full of sorrow a life of restrictions well in order to live that kind of life it says there that you have to rebel against the words of God. Meaning that if you want God's counsel if you want to receive his counsel you must go to his word you must go to the Bible and if you reject God's counsel you're going to find yourself in a place of darkness you're going to find yourself not following or not living a life to its full potential you know and you're not going to be satisfied you're going to be in that dark spiritual state. And so Jesus Christ is our counselor. Now brethren if God gives us counsel in his word and man gives us another type of counsel okay let's say you know let's say it's on finances let's say you're struggling financially and you know what God's word says about finances you know the Bible says work hard you know seek his kingdom first and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you and we see that you know the love of money is the root of all evil right but we know that money is a useful tool to live out our lives but God wants us to not be focused on those things he wants us to be focused on the treasures that we lay up in heaven okay but then you're struggling financially and you say well Lord I don't know if your counsel is right you know I'm going to go and seek after the counsel of this ungodly unsaved man who's rich wow he's successful look at all his property look at his you know bank account look at his wealth you know and Lord he's given me counsel of how I can get out of my financial hole and become like him well it's not going to work for you okay because you're a child of God and God wants you to follow his counsel even when it might seem better to follow the counsel of somebody that is is is has a love of money right someone that is unsaved that doesn't love the law of God who's rebellious against God's word don't follow off that okay follow off the God's counsel and listen it requires faith it requires faith to hear what God has to say and follow through with it but one great thing about the Lord he always comes through he's always going to give you what you need in life to live after him okay we don't need to turn to the unsaved heathen world to get our counsel okay we can go straight to the counsel of God and know that it's eternal it's for all generations it lasts forever so we saw that Jesus Christ is called wonderful and then counselor the next name given to Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9 6 is the mighty God now that should be as plain as day for anybody to know and understand that Jesus Christ is God and people struggle with this there are so many religions that deny this you know Islam first of all they deny that not only they deny that Jesus is God they deny that Jesus is the son of God you know the JWs have Jesus Christ as sometimes you know what what what view they have of Jesus well I think they think of him you know or you know not as God okay but then you have your Mormons that consider Jesus a God but he's not the one true God you know he's kind of like this lesser God you know and so you've got all these different you know cults out there and false religions that just cannot see what the scripture has to say you know in black and white that Jesus Christ is the mighty God now I remember when I showed this sometimes when I've gone solely and I've spoken to Jehovah's Witnesses and they deny that Jesus is God I'll often turn to turn to Isaiah 9 6 and show them because even in their own false bible the new what's it called the new world translation even that still contains that Jesus Christ mentioned his name there as the mighty God I've never had an answer from these guys they often they see it and they're surprised and they want to turn away quickly to some other passages and they never have an answer to that one you know even in their own bible so that's a great reference to turn to but if you can please uh turn to revelation 21 verse 22 please turn to revelation 21 and verse number 22 revelation 21 and verse number 22 I just want to show you uh what JWs show uh in order to show you that Jesus Christ is not God uh one one explanation that I've had and I can't remember if this was JWs or Mormons I'm pretty sure it was the JW they said well you know Jesus is referred to here as the mighty God but he's not the almighty God you know he's not the one true almighty God it's kind of like just this sub you know creation of God or something like this right and so one passage that they might turn to is revelation 21 verse 22 let's read it together revelation 21 verse 22 it says and again this is speaking about the new heavens and the new earth it says and I saw no temple therein for the Lord God almighty so you got the Lord God almighty and the lamb are the temple of it so of course Jesus Christ is the lamb of God okay and then it says there the Lord God almighty so I say well see uh Jesus Christ is the lamb but he's not the Lord God almighty so you know if you don't know how to answer that you know the book of revelation it's so clear it's so easy to show in the book of revelation that Jesus Christ is the almighty God so let me just show you where you can turn to let's go back to revelation chapter one let's go to revelation chapter one and let's have a look at the words of Jesus Christ here revelation chapter one and verse number eight revelation chapter one and verse number eight Jesus Christ says I am alpha and omega the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come the almighty so who's the almighty in revelation 1 8 well it's the one that calls himself alpha and omega and of course for us that are bible-believing Christians we have no problems with this we can look at that and say well that's Jesus Christ speaking you know in fact many of your bibles will have that in red uh red letters you know whenever Jesus Christ speaks a lot of bibles try to point put in red letters and uh but what they'll say what the JWs will say oh how do you know that's for sure Jesus Christ speaking just because it's red doesn't mean it's him speaking you know because this is up to the publisher and I agree with that I would agree yeah just because it's red doesn't necessarily mean it's correct right and so they say well you know that almighty there that's referring to you know the father god you know not not Jesus Christ who is the lamb well keep that in mind keep that in mind in in verse number eight there that the almighty is also called the alpha and omega okay so let's drop down to verse number 11 now in the same chapter revelation chapter 1 verse number 11 let's see what else the alpha and omega says which is the almighty it says there in verse number 11 saying I am alpha and omega the first and the last so what's another name or another title to this almighty the alpha and omega he's also given the title the first and the last amen that's not complicated that's straightforward now let's drop down to verse number 17 of the same chapter John says and when I saw him that's the one that's speaking to him I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right hand upon me saying unto me unto me fear not I am the first and the last so who was the first and the last in revelation 111 it was the alpha and omega hey who was the alpha and omega in revelation 1 8 the almighty amen well let's keep reading there in verse number 18 so the first and the last says I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore amen and have the keys of hell and of death so the one that is the first and the last here in revelation 117 in 18 it says he lives why is that relevant because he was dead so he's someone that died but is alive someone that died and resurrected from the dead now even the JWs have to admit that would be Jesus Christ amen so if in revelation 117 to 18 if Jesus Christ is the one that was dead and came back to life and he's given the title of the first and the last well who's the first and the last in verse number 11 it said saying I am alpha and omega the first and the last the first and the last was the alpha and omega well who's the alpha and omega we go back to verse number eight verse number eight I am alpha and omega the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come the almighty you see Jesus Christ is the not just the mighty God amen he is the mighty God but he's also the almighty God easily proved you know in the book of of revelation and so don't allow you know these false religions and these cults to confuse you on the topic of who Jesus Christ is he is the Lord God in fact you have to believe this in order to be saved you have to believe that not only is he the God the creator of all things that he is the son of God who came and sacrificed himself for you that he died for you and guess what he was resurrected from the dead for you as well okay now considering this fact if you can please turn to Exodus chapter 6 please turn to Exodus chapter 6 and verse number 3 Exodus chapter 6 and verse number 3 so what is a name for Jesus Christ the almighty now am I going to argue and say that the father is not the almighty of course he's the almighty okay because there's one God all right and so they share the same attributes you know the father is the almighty God Jesus Christ is the almighty God the Holy Spirit is the almighty God okay now people get confused about this topic of salvation and you know I've been hearing this lately not within our church within our friends just by by external people saying well you know people did not know the name of Jesus Christ in you know until the new testament which I agree with and so you know those that like to preach another gospel those that are accursed for believing other gospels and preaching other gospels they will say that in the old testament people were saved another way because how could they be saved by believing on Jesus Christ right and the Bible tells us in Romans 10 13 for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved who's the name of the Lord God Jesus Christ amen and so in order for us to be saved we have to believe that he died for us that he rose again he paid for our sins that it's by the sheen of his blood that we receive the atonement and we call upon the name of the Lord we ask him to save us and he'll give us everlasting life we call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ so how did people get saved in the old testament if we get saved by calling upon the name of the Lord well was there anything different in the old testament the answer is both yes and no okay yes there is a difference they called upon the Lord by another name but they still had to believe faith alone and call upon the name of the Lord which is Jesus Christ but they did not know the name of Jesus Christ so I just want to show you that in Exodus chapter 6 and verse number 3 Exodus chapter 6 and verse number 3 God says to Moses and I appeared unto Abraham so this is a time before the old covenant this is a time before Moses and I appeared unto Abraham and unto Isaac and unto Jacob by the name of God almighty hey who's the almighty wasn't that Jesus didn't we already conclude that the almighty is Jesus Christ and so before Moses they knew him as God almighty which is a title given to Jesus and then it says but it's been to Moses now and the you know for the tomb of Israel it says but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them so we have a few things here we have the name of God almighty we have the name of Jehovah and in the new testament we have the name of Jesus what does the bible passage say again for whose service shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved again who is the Lord that's Jesus Christ well here's the thing before the old testament when the times of Abraham they knew Jesus Christ by the name of God almighty amen and then when it came to Moses they knew him as Jehovah which the King James bible most often translates as the name of the Lord Lord Lord means Jehovah okay and so here's the thing yes they may not have known of course they definitely did not know the name of Jesus okay but they still called upon the same Lord Jesus they just called him by God almighty then Jehovah and then in the new testament times God asked us to call him by the name of Jesus that's how salvation was received it's the same Lord Jesus Christ is the almighty amen all right now can you please turn to uh turn to Isaiah again let's turn to Isaiah chapter back to chapter chapter nine Isaiah chapter nine and verse number six once again just a passage that we're building this on Isaiah chapter nine verse number six so some people say well you know if he is the almighty God and the father's almighty God then really is there any difference between the father and the son you know and this is where you get the idea of modalism and oneness theology and I say well if he's the almighty maybe that makes him the father as well because in Isaiah 9 6 it says for unto us a child is born unto us the son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty God and then it says the everlasting father hmm I wonder then is the son God the father can the son be referred to as the father and so people will take this passage and they will conclude that Jesus is God the father that Jesus Christ not only that that Jesus Christ is the holy spirit because there is one mighty God one almighty all right and we have to then believe that the father is Jesus okay and they create for themselves another Jesus okay another gospel another spirit and we have to be careful of this because the trinity is taught clearly in the bible specifically in the new testament by the preaching of Jesus Christ it's Jesus that really opened up the understanding of the trinity and once you understand the trinity in the new testament you go back to the old testament and it all fits it all makes sense okay now you know one thing I do want to admit to New Life Baptist Church obviously is that when I've taught on Isaiah 9 6 in the past I was in error you know I basically said this when it refers to there as the everlasting father that that was a reference to God the father okay but I always made this I always made it clear why that could be God the father is because there is one God there is one mighty God and so my conclusion on that passage was that Jesus Christ is the same God as the father not that he is the father but there is one God the trinity which is made up of father son holy ghost okay and so as I said you know my my thoughts around that was well you know there's one God and so there's no other God beside him and so you know one thing I had to fix up in my my interpretation here is understand that you know by claiming that passage is about God the father you're kind of you know giving oneness a bit of ammunition to use against you okay now I think I've heard multiple times where pastors will turn to this passage and refer to that everlasting father as God the father but never making the conclusion that Jesus then literally is God the father okay so how do we understand this passage well if you turn to Isaiah 22 and verse number 15 Isaiah actually you're in Isaiah yeah go to Isaiah 22 because you've already seen that in Isaiah 9 but go to Isaiah 22 verse 15 and I'm going to read to you from Revelation 3 7 now if you've got a pen and paper can you also write down this reference because I want you to read this in your own time revelation 3 7 while you're turning to Isaiah 22 but in revelation 3 7 Jesus Christ says these words he says and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia writes these things say if he that is holy he that is true and that's the next words he that have the key of David so Jesus Christ has the key of David okay then it says he that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth so whatever Jesus Christ opens with his key no man can close it and whatever he locks with his key nobody can open it okay and you say what is that about well that's why you're in Isaiah 22 in verse number 15 Isaiah 22 verse number 15 let's read it together and I'll explain it to you as we read it says here in Isaiah 22 verse 15 thus saith the Lord God of hosts go get thee unto this treasurer even unto Shebna which is over the house and say so let's pause there is a treasurer here okay and he's a treasurer to the kingdom of Israel and his name is Shebna okay but so what does God want to say to this treasurer verse number 16 he says what has thou here and whom has thou here that thou has hewed thee out a sepulcher here as he that heweth him out a sepulcher on high and that graveth and inhabitation for himself in a rock so this treasurer had lifted himself up you know to a position like a like a like a position of a king that he had you know created a sepulcher or a grave a place that his name will be remembered amongst all the kings of Israel and what you'll notice is that God is against this treasurer in verse number 17 it says behold the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity and will surely cover thee and so God says this man is not going to have a good end he's going to be carried away by the captivity right let's keep going verse number 18 he will he will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country there shalt thou die and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy Lord's house so the Lord is bringing this treasure of very low this treasure was a wicked man God was not happy with him he's going to be taken into captivity and going to be you know tossed around like a ball okay now let's keep going there verse number 19 it says and I would drive thee from thy station and from thy state shall he pull thee down so he's going to lose his position as the treasurer right he's going to lose that position verse number 20 and it shall come to pass in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah so God's now referring to another man Eliakim and this Eliakim is going to take over the position of this corrupt treasurer Shevna okay Eliakim now let's keep going number 21 and I will clothe him with thy robe and strengthen him with thy girdle and I will commit thy government into his hand and notice the next phrase and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah so the time here the time frame here is king king Hezekiah so Eliakim would become the treasurer under king Hezekiah and he would be like second in command okay whatever this old treasure had the power this old treasure had would be given to Eliakim now this is very clearly also about the lord Jesus Christ okay so even though there's a a reality in this day and age about these treasurers you'll soon see this is very prophetic about the lord Jesus Christ don't forget we're in Isaiah 22 and we read Isaiah 9 where the governments will be upon the shoulder of Jesus Christ and we saw in Revelation that the key of David was given to Jesus Christ okay so let's keep going it says in verse number 22 and the key of the house of David where did we read about that revelation who had the key Jesus Christ let's keep going will I lay upon his shoulder hey we read about the government's been upon the shoulders of Jesus in Isaiah 9 6 again this is clearly about Jesus it's then it says this so he shall open and none shall shut and he shall shut and none shall open hey isn't that what we read in Revelation chapter 3 yeah that whatever this man opens nobody's going to be able to shut and whatever he shuts nobody will be able to open okay this is very clearly about the lord Jesus Christ and so the reason I'm bringing your attention here is because you know Jesus Christ is not God the father so when it says that he's the everlasting father what are we talking about then well if you see this prophecy in the same book of Isaiah you know whenever you want to understand the Bible you know you might be stuck in a passage I always recommend first focus on the chapter that you've read it in or focus within the same book before you go externally and what we learn within the same book within the same author is that this being a reference to Jesus Christ is given this key and the government will be upon his shoulder he's going to be second in command as it were okay second in command to who though we'll cover that shortly but I want us to go back to verse number 21 again let's read it again now I'm not thinking about Elijah but thinking about Jesus Christ let's read it again verse 21 and I will clothe him with thy robe and strengthen strengthen him with thy girdle and I will commit thy government into his hand and notice this so he's going to be over the people of Judah here or over Jerusalem it says and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah now was Elijah biologically the father of all the people of the land of course not okay so it's to be like him and he's going to be a father what is that referring to then biologically no that his fathership would be the authority the power and the authority that he holds over the nation as the treasurer okay and so what do we learn here that father does not necessarily have to mean God the father okay or it doesn't necessarily have to mean a biological father because just as one that has authority of the nation can also be referred to as the father over that nation and though that nation of course was over Jerusalem and Judah all right so understanding that now okay that we see that Jesus Christ one day he's going to rule and reign for a thousand years the government will literally be upon his shoulder he's going to be above all you know all nations and all powers on this so if we're going to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years well in that sense isn't he the father of the nations you know taking it directly there from Isaiah 22 and so you know some people say well you know what you're saying then is that there are two everlasting fathers you're saying that Jesus Christ is one everlasting father but then God the father is another everlasting father you know what what are you saying you know and and basically they'll conclude by saying this you know that's stupid there must only be one everlasting father therefore Jesus is God the father but that's why we haven't finished reading there in Isaiah 22 now let's keep going there let's let's start verse number 22 again Isaiah 22 22 Isaiah 22 verse number 22 let's just read again and the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder the one who's going to be the father over the inhabitants so he shall open and none shall shut and he shall shut and none shall open now look at the next verse and I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place and he shall be a glorious throne to his father's house so you have Eliakim or here you know prophetically of Jesus been referred to as the father of the nation okay but even as he's the father of the nation guess what he also has a father himself he's got his father's house and Jesus Christ will be a glorious throne you know his thousand year reign on this earth is going to be glorious it's going to be wonderful okay and so just because we're referring to Jesus Christ as a father does not mean that there cannot be another father in fact this passage very clearly states to us that Jesus Christ as an authority figure as a father figure over the nations himself has his own father okay now if you can go back there to Isaiah 9 6 okay go back to Isaiah 9 6 and it says therefore unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder that's what we read about all right in Isaiah 22 these things go perfectly one another it says and his name should be called wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father should we then conclude that Jesus Christ is God the father no not for two reasons number one because we're in the same book we see that father can refer to one having authority and within that same passage prophetically of Jesus Christ he has his own father as well which is God the father okay and of course when he refers to there as everlasting I'll just read to you from Micah 5 2 this is a very famous passage about the prophecy of Christ's birth in Bethlehem in Micah 5 2 it says but thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from old from everlasting so Jesus Christ is not a created being he's not a son that just he didn't just become a son at a particular time no Jesus Christ is from everlasting and the bible says in Micah 5 2 that he's going to be a ruler in Israel that ruler in Isaiah is referred to as the father in Israel okay so everlasting father is not a reference to God the father that's something I need to correct okay and you know the correct teaching of that is that Jesus Christ will be ruling over the nations okay and that's how he's going to be a father father over the nations but he's not God the father all right and finally brethren the next name given to Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9 6 is the prince of peace the prince of peace now can you please turn to Luke chapter 2 and verse number 8 Luke chapter 2 and verse number 8 and you know we want to think about Christmas and you know I personally don't believe that Jesus Christ was born in December 25th you know there might be some pagan roots or reasons why December 25th is worshipped or sorry worships is celebrated after the day of the birth of Christ but listen I don't care every day you know is a day that the Lord has made I will be glad and rejoice in it okay no matter what it is you know what if our nation stops and celebrates the birth of Christ praise God you know quite often it's going to open up the opportunities to preach the gospel people are going to be a bit more receptive during Christmas unfortunately this COVID thing down in Sydney has messed things up a little bit here hey but I guarantee you if you're going out soloing over the next few days there on the Sunshine Coast people are going to be a little bit more receptive if you can't bring in you know glad tidings of the Christmas message but in Luke chapter 2 and verse number 8 it says and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over the flock by night and lo the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid and the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings with great joy which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord and this shall be a sign unto you you shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying and what are they praising God about what are these angels praising God about verse number 14 glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will toward man or toward men so what is this good will that God has shown man what is this peace you know Jesus Christ being the prince of peace what is that peace Jesus Christ him being born some 2,000 years ago you know in these swaddling clothes you know in a manger you know what a birth what a birth you know for the king of all things the king of kings and the lord of lords to be born in a manger but Jesus Christ is the peace of earth you know this isn't saying that when Jesus Christ came there was going to be peace in the earth intent like no more wars you know that mankind we're going to get along with one another and we're just going to live in this peaceful utopia that's not what it's saying it's saying that we can have peace on this earth because of Jesus Christ we can have peace on this earth with the father because of the Lord Jesus Christ we can have peace with God can you please turn to Romans chapter 10 we'll finish up on this one turn to Romans chapter 10 and while you're turning I'm going to read to you from Colossians 1 19 you turn to Romans 10 Colossians 1 19 says for he pleased the father that in him that's in Jesus should all fullness dwell and then it says in verse number 20 and having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven and so the Lord has brought peace between us and the Lord by the shedding of the blood on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ okay so even though that is sometimes you know thinking about the death of Christ is horrific but it's also the way by which God brought peace between us and himself and you're there in Romans 10 15 let me just finish up on this one Romans 10 15 the Bible finishes by saying here and how shall they preach except they be sent as it is written how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things brethren do you want peace on this earth I know I want peace you know I want more people to find peace with God well we learned this the message here of Christmas Jesus Christ came to be the prince of peace he came to bring peace on this earth but it's our jobs brethren it's our jobs to be a preacher of the gospel of peace that which brings peace between God and man it's our job brethren and if we're not doing it we're not sharing the peace the message of peace that God has in this world we're not spreading the message of salvation by the birth of Christ and ultimately his sacrifice on the cross so let's keep these things in mind as we you know celebrate you know this Christmas season with our family and friends that we remember that the reason we do this is because the father sent his son a son was given to us and his name was wonderful counselor the mighty God the everlasting father the prince of peace amen let's pray heavenly father lord I want to thank you so much for offering your son to this earth lord thank you for his salvation lord thank you for allowing him to come in in the manner of man lord to bear our sins to take our iniquities lord to shed his blood for us on the cross and lord not only that we serve the lamb of god who has done these wonderful things for us and lord not only is he a god that we can go to for council not only is he the almighty god but lord he was dead and yet he lives today lord I thank you so much for the resurrection because without the resurrection lord we would still be in our sins our faith would be vain lord we thank you for this provision and lord I pray that during this holiday season that we would you know spend time thinking about your great sacrifice your great love and that one day lord we know that Christ will come back the government will be upon his shoulder and I'm looking forward to reigning ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years lord we pray these things in Jesus name amen all right brethren have a merry Christmas