Celebrate Jesus!

 I want to point us to a man in scripture who was celebrating the events of Christmas even before Christmas was invented - about 700 years before Jesus was born. Let's look at familiar words I shared last evening, but now a little deeper, in Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)...

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

The only way we can appropriately celebrate Christmas as a spiritual celebration is when we realize it isn't just Jesus' birth that's significant - take away the cross and His resurrection and His birth becomes somewhat inconsequential.

As we hear Isaiah's words we can really see why he was celebrating. It's a prophetic statement about the One who was to come, the Messiah. It identifies Him as the 'human - heavenly Son of God', the unique presence of God in our midst.

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The phrase - "For to us a child is born ...". "Born" - what a powerful word. If you've ever had the privilege of having a baby or being present when a baby was born, you know what I'm talking about. Jesus had a physical birth! The fact that He was born of a virgin is a miracle in itself, but in a sense - it's really no more of a miracle than life in the first place. You see, it's God who gives life and birth. How He does it is up to Him, but from our perspective, it's always a miracle.

The phrase - "to us a Son is given". This gift of life was the life of God Himself. Jesus is often referred to as 'God's Son'. And from a physical perspective, we're limited by our understanding of just what that means. We're confined to physical relationships. This is so much more. God's Word, His living, powerful, eternal Word has come into our midst - Emanuel - "God with us". And what does this gift bring? One of the powerful implications is found in the phrase - "And the government will be on his shoulders"

Talk of 'government' lately brings about strong feelings for many. But this child - He would be unlike any other. This child was bringing mankind something no man could promise. Unlike a world filled with war and hatred, this child would rule over a world that would abide in peace. Jesus was not coming to establish an earthly political government, but an eternal, heavenly kingdom. His 'government' would be a government of peace forevermore.

Human governments can draft treaties and make a truce - but just because outward hostilities may have stopped doesn't make for true peace. God's Word being 'born in the flesh' promised a kingdom of true, lasting peace.

The phrase - "And he will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." One name wasn't sufficient to describe the magnitude of this wonderful gift of God. In fact, Scripture uses more than 100 names to describe Jesus, and each of those names contains sub-categories of hundreds of others.

This was no ordinary child! This was God Himself - in the flesh! The whole purpose of Jesus' life was to bring glory to the Father. The entire Godhead is mentioned in the passage - "And he will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". All there - The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit (the Counselor).

Isaiah 9:7 (NIV)

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

The kingdom that was promised is an eternal kingdom. While every other world leader ends up in the grave, Jesus conquered death! There's no enemy powerful enough to overcome Him; no weapon strong enough to defeat him, no grave deep enough to hold him! There is absolutely no authority on the face of the earth, nor has there ever been or ever will be, to rival Jesus' Kingdom that would increase in power forever and ever!

The phrase - "The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Whatever God determines to do, He does. You can't stop Him, you can't hold Him back - it will happen. Just as Jesus' birth was a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and David, so the establishment of His eternal Kingdom is a done deal!

We may have our hopes and dreams and plans and goals, but many times we fail. Circumstances change, finances dry up, health issues arise, life happens - and our plans come to a screeching halt; our plans fail. One of the biggest differences between God and man is God's consistency. He's always the same. He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. God never fails.

God's plan all along was to redeem mankind to Him. The birth of Jesus represents the fulfillment of God's eternal plan revealed to Isaiah hundreds of years before its culmination. No matter the circumstances, no matter man's attitude or opinion, no matter what government is in control, no matter anything - our God does what He says He will do! Nothing can keep God from doing what He says He will do. And Jesus promised - He will return!

Looking at our text this morning, perhaps Isaiah saw much more then than we do now. To celebrate the birth of Jesus is to celebrate so much more than a holiday or even an event. Isaiah discovered these facts hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and we need to rediscover it for our world today. Merry Christmas!