Born to Reign, Part 2

Welcome to Delight in Grace.

The teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Christmas marks the great invasion, God breaking into enemy-occupied territory to rescue the enslaved race of man. Isaiah 9 tells us that Jesus would shine light upon the people who walk in darkness. This dark world is desperate for a savior. Pastor Rich unpacks Isaiah 9-6, showing us Isaiah's description of the kind of savior that would come. And what a wonderful savior he is. Let's listen in. This is part two of a message called Born to Reign.

It was first preached on December 11th, 2022. And a gift is given. The Son is given by the tender mercies of Holy God, and the title, Son, points out His divine nature. Let's not miss that. He's also human. He's born human.

Let's not miss that either. And the fact that He is of divine nature, He is a symbol of the Father's might and strength. Jesus said, if you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. One essence. One essence.

Three persons, one essence. And the Son is also a designation of honor and exaltation. He is, He is, this child that is born is deity in humanity.

The timeless one steps into a point in time. The writer of Hebrews says, God has spoken to us in His Son. And then it says, let me turn there so I can, ah, there it is, a child is born, a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder. The government shall be upon His shoulder.

The government, as ordained by God, is to establish and maintain order. This Son, this gift, this child, will be given dominion. Jeffrey's record of those who have had dominion is a record of failure, pretty much, isn't it? As it says, chapter 9, verse 4, you have broken the yoke of his burden and the rod of his oppressor. In other words, in human history, that of leadership and governance has been a history of burden and oppression.

It's a sad history, isn't it? But this Son's government will establish righteousness. All will be under His dominion, and everyone and everything will be as it ought to be, including you and me.

At the end of Psalm 2 that Nathan read earlier, it says blessed, and blessed means a state of well-being, of pleasurable satisfaction. Blessed are those who put their trust in Him. The only one who's worthy of that trust, because the government will be on His shoulders. He will uphold it permanently. He Himself is the foundation of this righteous reign, of which you and I will be a part. And the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called. That's the importance of the name. We don't follow this so much today.

When we're going to name a child, we look in the baby name book and pick one that sticks out to us that we like, that we hopefully, Mom and Dad, agree on. You pick out one. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That takes me. No, I knew somebody by that name. I'm not going with that. You've been there, huh? Yeah. My wife would not call one of our sons Richard.

Think about that one for a while. A name is referring to a person's reputation. Who is this person? What is their fame?

What are they known for? A person's name is a statement. It's about the kind of person he is. And his name shall be called, what's the first word?

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Now Manoah, in the Old Testament, Book of Judges, Samson's dad, you remember Samson? His dad was approached by the angel of the Lord. And Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, what is your name?

Judges chapter 13. Do you remember what the angel said? The angel said to him, the angel of the Lord. You believe this is pre-incarnate Christ. The angel of the Lord said to him, why do you ask my name seeing it is wonderful?

What does that mean? Wonderful means my name, the mention of my name incites marvel. The mention of my name puts you in awe.

That's who I am. That's who this child is. His name would be called, the first part of it is wonderful.

It awakens wonder, awakens astonishment. All that he is and does is beyond the capacity of human comprehension, this child born in a stable. All that he is and does is beyond the capacity of human comprehension.

You can't wrap your brain around who this child is entirely. If you could, you would be equal to God, and you're not. He is an infinite creator, this one. His name shall be called wonderful counselor. Now let's think about counselor, because counselor in today's world, in the way that word is used, we think of going to see a counselor to talk through some things, to maybe think straight, because that's the whole point of a counselor, isn't it?

Because our behavior flows from our thinking. But this counselor, a counselor in the way that is used here, a counselor is one who devises a plan. Listen, this created order is God's thing. It is his purpose that will stand. He's the one I need to seek. He's the wonderful counselor. There is great work to be done by him, and great work is done by him.

One of my favorite passages, Romans 11, 33 to 34, oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways, for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor. He is a God who does awesome things, and God is like what God has done. That's this one, the one that was born, the son, the gift, the child.

Wonderful counselor, the counselor is a guide. You go to a counselor as a guide, but this counselor is the one who has set the plan in motion, and so we go to this counselor as a guide to know and understand the plan. And his plan, very simply put, is as Hebrews 2, 10 says, bringing many sons to glory. Bringing many sons to glory. Hebrews 12, 2, so that we may run the race, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. That's this one that we celebrate, this one that's being described by Isaiah's prophecy.

He's a wonderful counselor, we look to Jesus, he's the author and perfecter of our faith. But he's also called mighty God. Mighty God, an infant, prophesied seven centuries before, and here he is born on that first Christmas night, in Mary's arms, is mighty God.

Wow. Mighty God, it could be translated like the God hero, the champion, this word mighty that's used. It's a word that's used of a champion. The one who can carry out astonishing things.

This is the one. He is the one who alone can overcome evil and brokenness. And we're surrounded by that, aren't we?

We've mourned it, we've lamented it this morning, even some. He alone is the one who can overcome this brokenness and this evil. And he is the one who will establish righteousness. Not only in his kingdom, but where? Where does he establish righteousness?

Right here, right here. He has made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, why? That we might become what? The righteousness of God in him.

That is an awesome work. And only God can do that. This child that we celebrate, the one who is mighty God, is a divine act of transforming the human heart and mind. He's also called Everlasting Father, and this has thrown many people in history for a loop, and even some false theologies have been crafted from this statement and talked about it this morning in ABF, Everlasting Father.

This is not a statement necessarily on his eternal pre-existence or Trinitarian relationship. This whole prophecy is looking to the future. This is who this son will be, and this is what he will be. This is his disposition toward us. This is what we will be in relation to him. This is who he will be to us. So you could take this literally, if this were translated literally, he is Everlastingly a father. Now, in ABF this morning, Brian Ward was teaching the men's department, and he was blowing our minds helping us understand this whole concept of everlasting, the infinitude of God.

And he was affirming something that I've held for a long time, the vastness of the universe is created primarily so that we could somehow get a grasp on the infinitude of God. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's Word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace, weekdays at 10 a.m.