Wonderful Counselor - When we think of a wonderful counselor, nice couch and a listening ear - offers direction and advice - the difference between Jesus and all the good counselors in this world today, is that He already knows your heart and He understands everything you’re going through. Hebrews 4:15-16  Wonderful Counselor, because He knows your heart, and He still loves you. Go to him confidently and freely.

Mighty God - is really significant because this is what actually differentiates Christianity from every other major religion in the world. Every other major religion in the world today typically has a central figure or man that is somehow pointing you to God by some sort of path that you have to follow in order to work your way to god or heaven or enlightenment. But the difference is that this baby, this baby who is going to be born to us IS God.  That’s who he is. He’s God himself. - Colossians 2:9 Paul talks about this amazing reality. What Paul is saying here is that Jesus is in fact fully man and fully God.  All the fullness of God dwells in the person of Jesus Christ.  Let that sink in for a moment. Think about that…

Was he a moral man, yes, he was.  But what the Bible claims over and over and over again, is that Jesus is infinitely more than just a man.  The claim of scripture is that this baby was Almighty God in the flesh - this name means is that we are to come in awe as we respond in worship to the greatest truth in the history of the world: this baby born to us, his character and his identity is Almighty God.

Everlasting Father - important here that Isaiah is trying to reveal to us when he calls Jesus “Everlasting Father” – identifying Jesus with God the Father, and also what is passed on to us in relationship with him - much like Adam was our father in terms of inheriting sin and death, so Jesus is now our father in our inheritance of righteousness and eternal life - sin and death were passed on to us by Adam, but we received righteousness and eternal life through Jesus. His righteousness and eternal life are passed on to us through His death, resurrection, and adoption of us as sons and daughters. 

So, when Isaiah says that Jesus is our Everlasting or Eternal Father, it should give us such great hope! Instead of our destiny being death because of Adam and because of our sin, this scripture is telling us right here, that if we put our faith in Jesus, in the moment of our death our eyes are going to open to first moment of our eternal life. The darkness of death will give birth to His glorious light, and you will never experience death ever again.

Prince of Peace - And if you had been an Israelite back in that day and you had heard this, you would have been ecstatic - for the people of Israel, war was just a part of their history and a regular reality they faced. So when they hear Isaiah say that a baby is going to be born and the government will be upon his shoulders and he will bring peace.  They are thinking, finally! 

They thought that this great new ruler, this king, this messiah was going to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity to the nation of Israel - this is why they missed Jesus when He came.  This is why the people of Israel rejected Jesus as their savior and their messiah - looking for a king and mighty ruler who was going to come and bring military peace and glory and prosperity to the nation of Israel.

But the kind of peace that Jesus brought was radically different from what the people of Israel were looking for.  The kind of peace that Jesus brought was a peace for the soul.

V7 – No end to his reign, no end to his peace – What? Isaiah is saying that his government is NEVER ENDING – this is picture of eternal security – that when Jesus comes on the scene, it is to usher in peace and stability that will last forever –

He rules from David’s throne – significant, because David was Israel’s greatest King, and Isaiah is saying this new king will be great like David, that again, it will be forever

The last phrase of V7 is so important – “the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” – who accomplishes this? The Lord – this is not a man-centered event, but a God-ordained plan – God’s plan was to become a man, wrapped himself in flesh and come to earth to right all wrongs

Why does this matter?

1. You need rescue from brokenness. You are like the Galileans – you have heartache, depression, disappointment – you have a sin problem that requires rescue.

2. Jesus is LIGHT in DARKNESS. John said it in John 1 – Jesus is the light that shines in darkness – Jesus said it about himself in John 8:12 – “I am the LIGHT of WORLD” – If you are looking for a way out of your current circumstance, or hope for the future, Jesus is the LIGHT.

3. Jesus is PEACE. Jesus is not called the PRINCE of PEACE for goodness sake – he brings PEACE into every circumstance – John 14:27 – not like the worlds gives – world gives quick fixes that are not sustainable – only Jesus brings lasting peace.

4. Jesus is the ETERNAL KING. We talk a lot about the Kingdom of God around here. Jesus is the King of an unshakeable KINGDOM (Hebrews 12:28).

5. The PROMISE of JESUS is an ETERNAL PROMISE. This promise was made almost 3000 years ago, and still remains today. People are people, and while this meant something specific to an oppressed, war-torn nation, it means the same thing to us in the context of eternal life-change – everyone who receives Jesus receives life!

6. The WAIT IS OVER. You don’t have to wait anymore. You don’t have to keep searching for answers. Whatever you are looking for, Jesus the answer (John 14:6).