Are you in the Christmas Spirit yet?  I think I see a few “Bah! Humbug!” types out there this morning.  And I’ll cut you some slack, since many of you are still eating leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  Today is the first Sunday of Advent and this morning, the Prophecy Candle was lit.  And I want us to look at a prophetic section of Scripture that was written 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

 What is in a name?  Names, in the Bible, were important to God.  In creation, Genesis recounts that God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”  He called the expanse “sky” and the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters He called “seas.”  And God saw that it was good.  Adam’s first job was to name the animals.

Names can relate to some aspects of one’s birth.  Isaac means “laughing;” because Sarah and Abraham laughed when they heard of God’s promise of a child…at their age.  Jacob means “deceiver” or “supplanter.”  Moses means “drawn out” and Isaiah means “God is my salvation.”  Names and titles can relate to some aspect of one’s life or character: Alexander the Great, William the Conqueror, Simon the Zealot, and John the Baptist. 

 With Christmas upon us, we will be talking about the birth of One who will be the Savior of the world.  His name is Jesus, which means “Jehovah Saves.”  Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  God told Moses, when asked who sent him, to say, “I AM” has sent me.  (Ex. 3:13-14)  Psalm 111:9 tells us that God’s name is holy and awesome.

 Isaiah 8 is an ominous, dark kind of passage.  People are rejecting God’s way and are walking and living in darkness.  Despair is rampant in the nation and the pressure of an enemy attack lurks in the shadows.  People were stressed out and afraid.  Were they necessarily afraid because the nation of Assyria was poised at their border, ready to invade?  No.  They were afraid because they had totally lost sight of God and the Lord sent Isaiah to help them recover their sight.

 The days of God’s nearness were gone.  The days of God’s great work had ceased.  The days of God’s glory were gone.  In their desperation, where did the people turn?

 Isaiah 8:19-22 “And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums & the necromancers who chirp & mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God?  Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching & to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.  They will pass through the land, greatly distressed & hungry.  And when they are hungry, they will be enraged & will speak contemptuously against their king & their God, & turn their faces upward.  And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress & darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.”

 Looking for answers, they actually thrust themselves into deeper darkness by having the palms read and checking out astrological charts—and the whole time they are cursing God.  Verse 20 tells them that all they needed was to look in God’s Word—but they didn’t.  The culture of Isaiah’s day is not much different than ours.

 As we move into chapter 9, we see that God is going to do something new and significant.  Isaiah 9:1-6 “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.  In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun & the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.  For the yoke of his burden & the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.  For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult & every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; & the government shall be upon his shoulder, & his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 In verse 2 we are told that those in “darkness will see a great light.”  Joy is going to replace despair, according to verse 3 and the enemies’ power will be broken in verse 4.  And Isaiah tells them that this will all be fulfilled because of the birth of a baby who will be named Jesus Christ.  In chapter 9, Isaiah saw the crib when he wrote “unto us a child is born.”  And he also saw the cross when he penned “unto us a son is given.”  The Lord Jesus would be given up upon the cross for our sins.  And Isaiah also saw the crown when he wrote “the government shall be upon his shoulder.”

 Verse 6 describes that name of Jesus.  “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”   I want to spend this Advent Season looking at the titles of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6 and, this morning, let’s look at “Wonderful Counselor.” 

1. There is Wonder in His Name.  “Wonderful”

What does wonderful mean?  The Bible would describe Jesus as beyond anything we have ever seen.  In other words, He is singularly unique.  He is extraordinary, beyond our comprehension and He goes far beyond the bounds of all human expectations.  Webster’s Thesaurus lists “amazing, awesome and astonishing” as synonyms for the word “wonderful.”

 Paul describes the wonder of that name in Phil. 2:10-11 “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven & on earth & under the earth, & every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Acts 3:6 Peter said, “I have no silver & gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up & walk!”  Jesus Himself said (John 16:23) “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”

 Part of the wonder of Christ’s name rests in the power of that name.  If you want to know about the power of Jesus’ name, look at the efforts by the enemies of God who want the name of Jesus Christ removed from our country.  It is a threatening name to them—to us it is sweet and powerful.

 The New Testament word for “wonder” seems to be replaced by the word “amazed.”  People were continually amazed at the wonder of the Lord Jesus.  First of all, Jesus brought a fresh face to God.  He said (John 14:9), “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”  Jesus brought the fresh power of God that had become a memory and He brought the fresh teaching of God that had grown stale.  And He brought the fresh grace of God that had been replaced by rules.

 People were “astonished at his teaching” in Matt. 7:28 becasuse it was powerful and new.  They were amazed in Matt. 8:27 because the wind and waves obeyed Him.  In chapter 13:54 they were amazed at who He was.  They were amazed at His healing power when the mute man began to speak in Matt. 15:31 and the disciples were amazed that a fig tree would obey Jesus’ orders in Matt. 21:20.  Folks were amazed that demons obeyed Him.  They were amazed that paralyzed bodies sprang to life and that He walked on water.

But the most amazing thing about Jesus is what we call Amazing Grace.  That amazing grace is the fact that Jesus didn’t come to earth to show off, but He came to give you what you couldn’t get in your own power; to do what you cannot do by your own works; and to take you where you cannot go by your own will alone—He came to give you grace.

 Grace is the undeserved and unearned favor of god.  It is Christ’s dying for you and reconciling you to God.  Jesus Christ is WONDERFUL!  He meets and exceeds all expectations.

2. There is Wisdom in His Name.  “Counselor”

A counselor conveys a number of ideas: psychologist, lawyer, pastor, etc.  The Greek word implies one who “comes alongside of another.”  A counselor is one who comes alongside to give knowledge and understanding.  Everybody needs a counselor from time to time…someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of.  Jesus is the One we can go to because He knows everything.

 Hear what Paul writes about the Lord in Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches & wisdom & knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments & how inscrutable his ways!  For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?  For from him & through him & to him are all things.  To him be glory forever. Amen.”

There were times that Jesus’ disciples simply scratched their heads because they couldn’t really grasp what Jesus was teaching.  God’s mind is so deep that you will never get to the bottom of it.  His mind is beyond us.  We are limited in what we see and experience and know, but not Him.

 Do you know what we sometimes do?  We attempt to give advice to God.  Think about that!  We are WAY out of our league when we try to figure out the plans of God.  That is why we should learn to TRUST!  It’s not that we know something, but we know the ONE who knows something…who, in fact, knows everything.  He is a wonderful, amazing counselor.  

Two synonyms seem to best describe Jesus as Counselor.

·         He is our Advisor.  He counsels us and advises us to what is right and wrong.  He does that through His Word and the Holy Spirit.  Psalm 16:7 “I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.”    A lot of folks go to professional counselors and they are quite helpful in many instances.  A few folks even seek out psychics and astrologers for advice.  However, Jesus Christ is the wisest man alive.  He is the Perfect Counselor and, do you know what, His advice is free!  James 1:5 invites us to come to God for wisdom. 

Jesus being our Counselor is not merely because He’s good at giving advice.  Shoot, I’m good at giving advice…a lot of it is lousy advice, but it’s advice.  Our Lord understands things which are beyond the ability of our minds to comprehend.  He knows things that only God knows, because He is God Himself.  When we need advice and counsel, our first choice needs to be Jesus Christ.

·         He is our Advocate.  When we think of an advocate, we often think of an attorney.  People not only need advisors, but, at times, they need advocates.  I heard it said that at the rate people are becoming lawyers in this country, in 50 years, everyone will be a lawyer.  We’ve all heard the lawyer jokes.  In fact, our attorney deacon at the church often forwards them to me.  A man and his wife were strolling through a cemetery one day reading the epitaphs on tombstones and one said “A Lawyer and an Honest Man.”  The husband said, “Well, they must be running out of space if they have to put two men in the same grave.”

A lawyer’s job is to interpret the Law in such a way as to benefit his or her client.  Jesus wrote the Law!  He   has also proven that He is willing to face death for the benefit of His clients.  He is the world’s best Counselor, bar none.  1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Suppose you committed a horrible murder and were arrested.  You couldn’t afford an attorney so one was appointed for you.  You found out that he was the best there is.  Your trial comes and the evidence is overwhelming against you and you are convicted and sentenced to death.  Then something bizarre happens.  Your lawyer stands and approaches the bench and tells the judge that even though you are guilty, he would like to take your place in the execution chamber.  What would you think about that lawyer?  Would you be perplexed, amazed or grateful?  That is exactly what Jesus Christ has already done for us on the cross.  He came alongside us as our Counselor/Advocate and took our place on the cross. 

There are four ways that Jesus counsels us.  First of all, He does it through prayer.  Phil. 4:7 tells us that when we pray we can receive the peace of God.  He counsels us through His Spirit.  Jesus told His disciples (John 14:26): “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things & will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”  He Holy Spirit is with us always, which means we have the world’s best Counselor on permanent retainer.  Jesus can counsel us through His Word.  2 Tim. 3:16-17 tells us that God’s inspired word is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  As a result, we should be in God’s Word daily.  And God uses His servants to counsel us. 

Jesus Christ is our Wonderful Counselor.  He is amazing!  He is beyond description and beyond words.  And, catch this!  We can go to Him with every problem, concern or circumstance.  Do you do that?  Are you accessing Him every day?  Abiding in Him?  And loving Him?  “For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; & the government shall be upon his shoulder, & his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor…”  Is He YOUR Wonderful Counselor?  Let’s pray.