Prince of Peace [Part 1]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. Our kingdom is increasing.

Do not be dismayed by what you see in the natural kingdoms. Be encouraged by the ever-increasing kingdom of God. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Merry Christmas, and welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Prince of Peace as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout our special Christmas teaching today, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. We'll tell you more about it later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching.

Here is Alan Wright. Are you ready for some good news? What's beautiful about the gospel and what makes it such good news is that every one of the glorious benefits, every one of the wondrous gifts of God to us that has been promised to us, all of it, every bit of it becomes yours, not because of your will, but because of God's. Not because of your zeal and effort to reach heaven, but because of the zeal of the Lord of hosts. A zeal for you to fellowship with Him forever. We are thinking about the Prince of Peace today and our series on Peace on Earth. And we come to this famous and beautiful prophetic messianic text in Isaiah chapter 9, right in the middle of your Bible, Isaiah chapter 9, and we are reading it verse 6. Isaiah 9 verse 6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Little Johnny was being selfish and self-absorbed and so materialistic in writing his long, long letter to Santa asking Santa for everything that Johnny's dad thought he's missing the whole point of Christmas. And he said, Johnny, here's what I want you to do. Instead of writing a letter to Santa, I want you to sit here in the living room and just gaze upon the nativity scene and look on it until the real meaning of Christmas sinks in. And then I want you to take a piece of paper and pencil and write a letter, but not to Santa, write it to Jesus. Johnny was sat down on the couch, pulled his arms and scowled at the nativity scene for a while. And then a sheepish grin came over his face. He looked to the left and he looked to the right, crept up to the nativity scene and removed the figure of Mary, stuffed her into his pocket. And then he crept back to his bedroom, creaked open his closet door, wrapped up the Mary figurine in an old t-shirt and stuffed her in the corner of the closet.

He came back down and sat with a rude smile and took out his pencil and paper and wrote, Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again, here's what you'll get me. What empty and vain religion is, is human effort by human design to try to express through devotion, ritual or sacrifice, zeal and devotion to the divine in order to manipulate the heavens to move on one's behalf. That is the basis of not only paganism, but every form of religion that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Isaiah was prophesying eight centuries before Christ, he had seen enormous change. The kingdoms had become divided. Gone were the glory days of King David over a united kingdom where there was peace, prosperity and expansion of their borders and the defeat of the pesky Philistines.

Now the kingdoms were divided, a northern and a southern kingdom. And in the northern kingdom, they're going to suffer judgment at the hands of the Assyrian invasion in 722 and in the southern kingdom Jerusalem is going to be sacked in 587 BC by Babylon. But about the time that Isaiah is prophesying here, a big change has taken place because he was called, Isaiah was called to the ministry in the year that King Uzziah died. And we know when that was in the eighth century BC because Uzziah had reigned for 52 years in a pretty godly way. But now Uzziah's grandson Ahaz is on the throne in Judah and he's wicked. Oh, he has the appearance of being a worshiper of Yahweh, but he began sacrificing to pagan deities and worshiping at the high places and offering on the altar to Asherah and Baal and the Canaanite fertility gods trying to manipulate them on his behalf.

And he even had come into the awful Canaanite pagan practice of child sacrifice. And with that as a backdrop, the people of God are in desperate need of a real leader. And here comes the trumpeting sound of Isaiah 9 about a prince of peace, a real leader. Upon his shoulders will be the government and this government will never ever stop increasing. And the peace that he brings will never stop. It won't be like where David started it, but then it got interrupted and stopped and was divided and broken.

It'll just keep growing. It's clearly a text about the Messiah because he is called everlasting father. He's called mighty God.

So no human king could fulfill this role. It is a prophecy eight centuries before Jesus was born about Jesus, the prince of peace. And I want to show you today how beautiful it is that all of these good promises of Isaiah 9 hinge upon the last verse that we read in which the Lord assures us the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching about told them to be fruitful and multiply because in God's design, blessing isn't the reward for productivity, it's the fuel for it. Now more than ever, someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft it. This month's special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft a meaningful blessing. The easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing. So this Christmas, give someone you love a present not found in stores, a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower. Write down the blessing and put it in a package under the tree or put it in your Christmas card.

They'll never forget it. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month, we'll send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless. Call us at 877-544-4860 or visit PastorAlan.org.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. Let's look a little closer at the text with me. It's beautiful that the prophecy says to us a child is born, to us a son is given because it expresses both Jesus' humanity and divinity. To say a child is born is to say he's born like every other child.

He's human. But to say he's a son who's given is to say that he is a pre-existent one who is already a son and he is given to us. So Jesus was born in a seemingly ordinary way but there was nothing ordinary about it. It was essential to God's plan and it is at the heart of Christmas that Jesus come to earth as both fully human and fully God. If you were not fully human he could not understand you. He would not be able to represent you and it's human sin that needed to be punished in order to be justice on the earth and so we need a human being that would represent us.

If there's going to be a human being on the cross then he could rightfully take our sin, take our punishment. But at the same time we needed him to be God because he's a king and if he's a king then there's a kingdom and it means that he rules and he has authority, even authority over the grave. And so this is what makes the story of Christmas so mysterious and wonderful that there was a virgin birth so it's like an ordinary birth but yet it was extraordinary in every way and it's interesting all throughout the story this paradox is there. On the one hand baby Jesus is just born in total obscurity placed in a little town in a manger and the ones who visit are the obscure unknown shepherds from nearby fields, obscure. But if you read Matthew's account a little later in Jesus' life what you realize is that these magi were not obscure at all. If you were to really study it you'd see that you would hear the thunderous hoofbeat of a whole entourage of wealthy kingmakers who come from the east to bring treasures to the little child's family and they were impressive and Herod took notice and so there's a paradox and it's always going to be this way with him this baby Jesus was at the same time meek and majestic and was finite and yet infinite he was wordless but he was the word vulnerable and yet invincible he was unnoticed and worshiped immobile but unstoppable humble and heralded confined but uncontainable in danger but the baby was dangerous hungry but satisfying the world's greatest need he was a baby and he was a king he was a god man to us a child is born to us a son is given and the prophecy tells us the government shall be upon his shoulder the whole weight of government of the entire cosmos rests upon his shoulder there's no list in the Bible about what makes for a great king or great ruler but we know what one is someone who cares more about the well-being of the people than he does him or herself someone who is wise and a follower of God and who makes sacrifices that are needed there's a biblical model of the great leaders throughout Israel's history they are the ones that recognize oppression stand up against the evil tyrant liberate the people build or cleanse the temple win the ultimate battle and set up lasting rule that's what people like David or Moses or even Daniel that's what they did and all of this is pointing to Jesus who is the one who ultimately would do all of those things and would stand up to the very devil himself and never be defeated who would liberate the people and establish this spiritual kingdom the religious leaders didn't recognize him because they were expecting someone on this level of rulership a natural level but Jesus came on an even higher level of rulership for a spiritual kingdom theologian NT Wright said it well he was the true king but they had become used to the ordinary shabby second-rate sort they were looking for a builder to construct the home they thought they wanted but he was the architect coming with a new plan that would give them everything they needed but within quite a new framework they were looking for a singer to sing the song they'd been humming for a long time but he was the composer bringing them a new song to which the old songs they knew would form at best the background music he was the king all right but he had come to redefine kingship a kingdom is a king's domain and the kingdom had come Jesus went about according to Luke chapter 8 verse 1 traveling from one town village to another proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God he had come to take government in the spiritual realm and this government we're told of the increase of his government and of peace there'll be no end I love the ESV study Bible note on this verse it reads the Empire of grace will forever expand and every moment will be better than the last I love that this is the nature of the kingdom of God unlike earthly kingdoms which will collapse and some will rise and some will get strong and some will fall and they'll be subject to change but the kingdom of God is not like that it's such a beautiful thing that the kingdom in a very real sense grows every time someone discovers the saving loving power of Jesus Christ for his or her life every time someone accepts Christ they are brought out of a kingdom of darkness into a kingdom of light and our kingdom has increased our kingdom is increasing do not be dismayed by what you see in the natural kingdoms be encouraged by the ever-increasing kingdom of God and all of this we're told the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this and I am extremely comforted and encouraged by this news because if you've ever like I have in my life spent energy and time and mental strife trying to make it happen by yourself to no avail you know that it is not only sweet relief but it is profound encouragement to know that the way it will all happen is not by my zeal but by God's paganism during the time of Isaiah had grown to this point where there's all kinds of fertility cults and altars at high places and Asherah poles and Baal worship and the people of God had fallen into such practices themselves and now Ahaz who is supposed to be the wise godly leader of the people leading them into the delights of worship of Yahweh he himself has become a practitioner of pagan idolatry and we read about this awful practice in 2 Kings 16 verse 2 likely likely Ahaz was in power by the time Isaiah is giving this prophetic word in Isaiah 9 Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem and he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord as God as his father David had done but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel he walked in the way of the wickedness of the northern kings who walked away from God and then listen to this he even burned his son as an offering according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel and he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree everywhere you could offer a sacrifice he's offering it even to the point I wanted to show his zeal to Baal to the gods he even came to the unthinkable of burning his own son on the altar as a sacrifice and we say we can't even imagine such a thing but if you follow the logic that's where it ends up listen beloved if you think that what it's all about is you show your devotion to God by willingness to make ever increasing greater sacrifices so that God will move on your behalf where's the end to that so Ahaz one day decides he'll offer a turtle dove to Baal perhaps I need the gods I need heaven to move on my behalf so I can have victory as a as a leader and I can have prosperity and and live long doesn't get what he wants so he says I'll make a greater sacrifice so he brings a lamb a more expensive sacrifice offers the lamp doesn't get what he wants so maybe you bring in several oxen and offer them on the high places and you still don't get what you want from your God and so maybe he he offers up whole whole flocks and and the blood is just running everywhere on the hillsides and he still doesn't get what he wants and so along this line of logic he says well I need to prove myself to be the most zealous one imaginable so he offers his own son what I'm saying is that religious legalism doesn't just miss the joy delight and beauty of the gospel it invites the darkness of hell itself why do you think Jesus was had so much zeal against the hypocrisy and legalism of the Pharisees it's because this is where it goes he said you searched the world over for a convert and then you make him twice the son of hell that you are life in Christ is exactly the opposite life in Christ is where you are transformed not by your zeal and devotion but by the zeal and devotion of Jesus to you Alan Wright today's good news Christmas message titled Prince of Peace stick with us pastor Alan is back in the studio with a parting good news thought for today in just a moment want to give someone a present this Christmas that they'll never forget let us help you give a gift that money can't buy this Christmas give someone your blessing a positive biblically based faith-filled vision for their life in the beginning God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful to multiply because in God's design blessing isn't the reward for productivity it's the fuel for it now more than ever someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft it this month special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft a meaningful blessing the easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing so this Christmas give someone you love a present not found in stores a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower write down the blessing and put it in a package under the tree or put it in your Christmas card they'll never forget it when you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month we'll send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit PastorAlan.org back here in the studio now with Pastor Alan Merry Christmas yes this is a good teaching Prince of Peace and what is your closing thought as we put a bookmark here and wait for the conclusion has there ever been a time where we more needed peace than this Christmas and I love the idea that a child has been born and a son is given that the government's on his shoulders and I think that this Christmas invitation is to let your heart meditate on this and to settle in to the assurance that the government's on his shoulders not ours a year of pandemic of contentious election of political unrest racial unrest and just to say this Christmas Jesus you are the Prince of Peace you reign and I will trust you let the government be on his shoulders and peace will come in your heart today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.