I. INTRODUCTION
FALSE FORTUNES IN A GLOOMY WORLD.
As we near the end of the year, one of the things that will be in vogue aside from Christmas themes and topics will be the predictions of our local fortune tellers. The only names that come to mind, would be Madame Auring and Jojo Acuin and this other one I got from surfing the net—Maricel Gaskell.
And by citing fortune tellers, the topic of choice for such people would be showbiz celebrities…
What happens to Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes next year?
Will KC concepcion’s love life be more complicated?
Will Nora Aunor ever get her career back? Will their be a new rivalry between Noranians and Vilmanians?
… or politicos perhaps?
Will the Ampatuans be found guilty or not? (I suspect that the powers of these so-called fortune tellers, are hindered when they come to the realization that their lives could end by predicting something not favorable to politicos).
Will PNOY get married next year?
So on and so forth.
There will be so many predictions concerning a lot of people for next year. But why do people do it? Why do people turn to and listen to such fortune-tellers year in and year out?
For one, they like gossip. Second, and perhaps the more relevant reason would be is that they are looking for some spark of good news on the horizon; something that could tell them, next year is going to be a different year.
Perhaps next year will be their year, a year of turning new pages and new chapters, even writing, so to speak new books about their lives.
I think, no one is exempt from that. All of us are hoping for good things to come our way.
Lets face it, the world we live in, no matter what kind of beauty we see in it is a world run by the principles of sin and wickedness. Its all gloom and doom.
That’s why news programs have to deliberately put in a segment that focuses on just good news, because there is hardly any; not on a global scale there isn’t.
Because of that, people are turning to all sorts of problem solving devices (including fortune tellers) for them to avert further bad news, or give a new direction to their lives—even if its just for a brief moment. The problem there is that people are continually trusting in so many other things and names other than God! Even the Devil!
Do you really think fortune telling is of God? The Bible says it is not of God!
We are being encouraged and even goaded into trusting ourselves, believing in self rather than God—they say God cannot be trusted.
ONE OF THE VERY CLEAR PURPOSES OF THIS WORLD AND THE DEVIL IS TO SHRINK God IN OUR HEARTS. TO SHRINK HIM TO THE POINT THAT WE OURSELVES WILL SAY THAT ITS FOOLISH TO COMPLETELY TRUST HIM—WE HAVE TO HELP HIM.
The devil is always doing an ambush makeover on God’s name—trying to make Him small and insignificant so that people will have a hard time believing in Him and trusting Him.
And that has been one of the greatest battles fought yearly especially for believers, whether to fully trust God for our situations and problems, or go at, on our own.
And that is why in the sovereignty of God, He has allowed us to have a designated season to be reminded, that the solution does not lie with the schemes of men, because it never did. Christmas, being a designated clarion call for salvation and eternal life, is also a time for people to remember that the Promised Savior is a Glorious One—one that can be trusted, One that can be loved and One that shall love His children, forevermore.
II. JUDAH IN THE TIME OF ISAIAH
A. THE PASSAGE
Isa. 9:1-7
1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
3 You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence as with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
B. THE PROBLEM OF GOD'S PEOPLE
Why is this passage here? Or why was such a passage written in the Bible?
THE PEOPLE OF GOD NEEDED TO BE REMINDED OF THE GREATNESS OF GOD; THE GLORY OF GOD; THE HOLINESS OF GOD, THROUGH JUDGMENT AND REDEMPTION.
That is one of the reasons why you find verses in Isaiah that goes like this:
Isa. 55:8--"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.
Isa 48:11-- "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And My glory I will not give to another.
In those two verses, God wants us to see that He is absolutely greater than the greatest minds and that He is the only One that deserves worship—because He is entirely incomparable to anyone or anything else.
It seems the recurring pitfall of God’s people, even today; that we have a hard time, simply leaving our affairs and concerns to God.
We are all like frightened pigs and chickens come December.
God wanted Israel, both Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom) to take Him very, very seriously. And by seriously, we don’t mean the faithful worship of the Temple, because they were very faithful to the rituals and sacrifices of the Mosaic Law. That you clearly find in chapter 1. But God would no longer have any of it.
God saw their sacrifices as plain and empty rituals of activity. Many of the hearts of the people were empty of any sincere worship.
Which is another pitfall of God’s people, isn’t it? That we are more or less faithful to activities of the body, but of heart and mind we are very much lacking.
It’s safe to say that many, if not most in Israel and particularly Judah were living their lives in the way they saw fit. They might not have been grossly sinful, but they were entirely surely devoid of God’s wisdom. To have God shrink in their hearts means that they had a very difficult time trusting Him and His promises and a very easy one, trusting in men.
C. THE SIN OF JUDAH
This was the clear problem of Judah. Instead of trusting God for their help and life, they bowed down to the current world power—Assyria.
· This introductory segment provides the basic information about the historical situation that Judah faced plus God's command concerning that situation.
· Would King Ahaz face his threat from God's perspective or from man's? Would he trust in Yahweh or in soldiers? Would he exercise faith or resort to works?
King Ahaz, the grandson of King Uzziah (6:1), reigned in Judah from 735-715 B.C. altogether. Early in his reign King Rezin of Syria (Aram) and King Pekah of Israel allied against him (cf. 2 Kings 15:37; 16:5, 10-18; 2 Chron. 28:22-24).102 They attacked Jerusalem to force Ahaz and Judah to ally with them against Assyria, which was growing stronger in the northeast and threatening to annihilate them all (2 Kings 15:37).103
God protected Jerusalem, and this dual enemy could not force Judah into a treaty.
But when Ahaz ("the house of David" of all people!) heard that Syria had moved its army into the Northern Kingdom (Ephraim) and had settled down there, he and his people shook with fear.105 Ahaz had previously suffered defeat at the hands of both these enemies (2 Chron. 28:5-8).
Edom and Philistia were also threatening Judah at this time (2 Chron.28:17-18). What Ahaz would do would affect the future of his dynasty, the house of David.
Notice here that the thing at stake is not simply land or of treasures but the Davidic line of kings.
But in spite of this, Ahaz chose not to trust God. He simply could not see how God, even with all of His clear promises to protect His people and the throne of David, could even thwart off the Assyrian empire.
Ahaz no longer had faith in an Omnipotent God, nor an all knowing One. All he could see were empty promises and a world of inconvenience if he did not play politics correctly.
Politics was dirty then, its still dirty today. And perhaps that is one reason why politics is such a dirty “game” because it jockeys for position for the confidence and the trust of men. Its either people are jockeying for them to be trusted, or to be in a position where their own personal interests are protected.
There is no God, in much of politics.
D. SAME PRESSURES TODAY
What can we get from this? We obviously don’t have any Assyrian empire breathing down our necks, we don’t have smaller kingdoms trying to invade us. So how can we learn from this, and how does it relate to the passages before us?
THE WORLD WILL ALWAYS DARE TO THREATEN GOD’S PEOPLE, TO BOW DOWN TO IT, TO LIVE THE LIFE IT DICTATES, TO WORSHIP IT, OTHERWISE DESTRUCTION.
The world as we have said is always calling for our allegiance. It continually promotes itself as the solution to all our problems.
Saying that our happiness lies in it;
Because our security is also in the world.
Take banks for example--That’s why in a few Hollywood movies, the ones that are made to be powerful are no longer crime bosses, but the banks, or pharmaceuticals in another movie.
The world promotes itself as the greatest force on earth; nobody competes with the world—the solution to our problems lies in adapting worldly principles;
That they control God and God only makes sense because of it.
If you sum that up, we can safely say that the world indirectly teaches us to fear the loss of it, to fear not going their way or loving it or living the life that it promotes, otherwise, you’ll find yourselves all alone and still without any answers or direction in life.
The world shouts at us, “EXCHANGE GOD FOR ME! FOLLOW ME INSTEAD OF God! Or you’re going to lose your job, lose your friends, family will turn away from you, people are going to think you’re crazy!”
Lucifer has not changed his game plan. He tried to make Christ worship him, in exchange for the riches and allegiance of the world—“if you worship me, I will give you full control of this world! You wont have a problem in people being born-again. But if only you worship me.”
The price of the exchange was great then, and it still is. To follow the world, to follow our own will is to exchange God in the process.
That was the principle with Assyria. Assyria sowed fear into the hearts of God’s people, saying that destruction will come if Israel and especially Judah will not bow their knees to them.
This is why Isaiah, though clearly being a prophetic book, is a very practical one, because it calls us to a renewed vision of God’s greatness and gives us clear reasons as to why we can, surely can trust Him in times of problems and distress; as to why we can continue to look to Him in 2011, till Kingdom come to be the God who shepherds His people.
III. A SAVIOR WE CAN TRUST
For that we look at practically two verses from Isaiah 9 [vv.6,7].
As we roll off into another year, we can trust God because. . .
1. The Promised Savior is THE WONDERFUL COUNSELOR (Isaiah 9:6).
JESUS CHRIST, SAVIOR AND LORD, EXCEEDS ALL HUMAN WISDOM.
In fact, He is the source and foundation of all knowledge and wisdom. There is nothing or no one that can even begin to compare with His wisdom. Speaking of Christ, Paul says…
Colossians 2:2-3--…Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
There is no greater name in which we can rest our lives with, other than the name of Christ.
There is no greater name in which we can seek for help in this life, in this world, apart from the sure name of Christ.
That is why a quick application to this would be: In as much Christmas time is a clarion call for unbelievers to find their lives in the Savior born on Christmas day, it is also a call for believers to continually trust God, to trust the Great Shepherd in continually leading their lives, even if the world is growing darker and darker, even if the problems we have seems to be piling up.
He is called Wonderful Counselor, in comparison to the existing earthly kingdoms that there was back then, whether be Babylon or Egypt, or The Assyrian Empire—great and numerous their counselors might have been or greatly schooled their rulers might have been. Even if the rulers that were in question were of Israel’s, they would still have been no match for the wisdom of God.
That is also why Paul in Corinthians affirms this:
1 Cor. 1:25-- Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Whatever it is that the world calls wise, especially in this day and age where so many things, teachings are being peddled as great wisdom, all of that, does not even come close to the “tiniest” thoughts of God.
The invention of the space shuttle cannot even begin to compare to the creation of a single ant. Because though space shuttles fly at great distances and speed, it does not have life. The ant, no matter how pesky it is, to our lunch or dinner table, shall be an absolute insult to the so-called ingenuity of man.
And if we raise our sights higher, we shall begin to realize that even the most advanced jet fighter, manned or unmanned is no match for one single angel, in terms of design.
And that is why some translations of this passage, would say that the proper word that should have been used here is “miraculous”—for the kind of wisdom that the Messiah bears and displays can only come from God. But the proper rendering would be, “Wonderful”.
1) Wonderful.
Notice how the Lord wanted us to see Him; He could have placed here, “supreme” or “Matchless” and both words would have still sufficed, attached to the word “Counselor”. But He uses, “Wonderful”. He could have also just said, Counselor, and that would have still been alright. But the Lord Himself adds an interesting adjective to His work to His people.
The word itself already calls God’s people to a sense of awe and reverence for Him. We are not, nor was Israel or Judah allowed to think that the name of God can be realized or understood without a sense of awe and wonder—amazement.
This word is placed exactly and used exactly, for the heart issues of God’s people. Mighty God could have gone first and then, Eternal Father, but it did not. Wonderful counselor was first. Why? Because that is what Ahaz, Judah and Israel lost—the wonder of God. There was nothing amazing about God anymore. Their worship, which hit its peak in the book of Malachi was just routine.
Pretty much like so many people’s lives entering another year—it’s just routine.
Like what Barry Manilow sang:
It's just another New Year's Eve,
Another night like all the rest.
The worship of God’s people will never be right until they get this first title correctly.
They will continue to trust in men, in themselves and others, if they don’t see Him as a Supernatural God.
It’s obvious that God has shrunk in size, in the hearts of these people. Its just plain tragedy when such things happen to God’s people—losing the sense of wonder of God, in their walk and in their lives.
I cant imagine the kind of day to day living these people had—despairing but never willing to trust. Because they did not see God as a God of wonder.
In the movie Prince of Egypt, the voice of God (based on Exodus 4 and 7, told Moses that He will show Moses and Israel and Pharaoh, His wonders. That was all for the express purpose to leave the hearts of the people in awe.
Even in rescuing His chosen people out of Egypt, God used wonders to revive His people’s hearts into believing that He is indeed a God of wonder and as His people we are called to be in awe of God.
This is something that we need to pray for and practice, that we as God’s people will always be in wonder towards Him. Not wondering, as to where He is, but to have our hearts gripped by the very truth of His majesty—whether it be in the month of December or not.
And that is why the first order of the day for them was to be restored in the wonder, in the bigness of God.
More than Just Faithful Preaching.
Has it ever occurred to us, that our being faithful to God, is not simply and exclusively confined to the faithful preaching of His Word? We can get the text right every time, someone preaches here and yet be very unfaithful, just like Israel.
BEING A FAITHFUL CHURCH TO GOD, MEANS THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE THE SENSE OF WONDER WITH US IN OUR HEARTS, SHARPLY IN OUR MINDS, ENGAGING OUR VERY SOULS, RISING IN REVERENTIAL WORSHIP.
2) Counselor.
But God goes on and adds Counselor to that adjective. What does it mean to have a Wonderful Counselor? What does it mean when Jesus Christ or God is a Wonderful Counselor?
THE SAVIOR BORN ON CHRISTMAS DAY IS A SAVIOR WHO POSSESSES PERFECT WISDOM. THE GREAT SHEPHERD POSSESSES ALL THE WISDOM THAT HIS PEOPLE, HIS SHEEP WILL EVER NEED IN THIS LIFE.
THERE SHALL BE COUNSEL IN GOD WHEN WE NEED IT.
James did say that we should ask wisdom, (James 1:5) and God will give wisdom generously.
And if counsel or wisdom is not God’s answer to our problems, then we can surely count on His providence.
Providence—It is the care and superintendence which God exercises over his creatures. It is the power of God, the wisdom of God, the goodness of God handling every detail of our lives. Nothing is left to chance.
Charles Spurgeon:
From all eternity, Christ was the Counsellor of his Father with regard to providence—when the first man should be born, when he should wander, and when he should be restored—when the first monarchy should rise, and when its sun should set…
Remember, there is nothing that happens in your daily life, but what was first of all devised in eternity…
… counseled by Jesus Christ for your good and in your behalf, that all things might work together for your lasting benefit and profit.
Let us learn to leave providence in the hand of the Counselor, let us rest assured that he is too wise to err in his predestination, and too good to be unkind, and that in the council of eternity, the best was ordained that could have been ordained—that if you and I had been there, we could not have ordained half so well, but that we should have made ourselves eternal fools by meddling therewith.
Rest certain, that in the end we shall see that all was well, and must be well for ever.
The prophet Jeremiah affirms this:
Jer. 29:11--'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope
a) Why is This So Important?
Seeing Jesus Christ as the Wonderful counselor is important, because the world that we live in has been condemned because of evil counsel in The Garden of Eden. The devil counseled, as it were, Eve and Adam to mistrust the Words of God and here we are—continually sliding into compounded problems.
We live in a world produced by wrong counsel. And being such, it will further breed wrong and sinful counsel, just like its father, the devil.
God did not design this world that way.
And if we are to make any sense of it, we must go to the One who offers true and lasting counsel—Jesus Christ.
IV. WHAT ARE WE CALLED TO DO?
1) Trust the God Who knows what He’s Doing.
The world will issue forecasts of all sorts for 2011, and even beyond that God willing. But it can only assume. The world looks like it knows what its doing, but it really is just trying not to look very afraid—because life is uncertain.
What does next year hold? We don’t know. Will our economy go up or down? Will I still be in school or employed next year? Will someone in the family pass away next year? We don’t know.
One obvious truth in all of this is that as Wonderful Counselor, a God who exercises providence, He knows all, He knows what He is doing.
Israel and Judah failed to trust God because they misjudged Him as being unfaithful and weak in fulfilling His promises—allowing the threat of Assyria to come to their doorsteps. But history would now prove of course that God can be trusted.
I wonder what would have happened if Israel and Judah would have simply trusted God?
But the Bible tells us here, through Isaiah that the Lord knows what He is doing and He can be trusted.
a) Mighty God.
Does God have a sure plan for His children? Can those plans be trusted, either by the revelation of His Word, or through providence? YES. Why?
Because of the next phrase, “Mighty God”.
Because God is Mighty God as well, there is absolutely nothing that can hinder His plans or His counsel from taking place. The hope that this verses bring, cannot be hindered by time, by space, or wickedness itself.
In a world of gloom, can God still be trusted? YES.
2) Engage God in Prayer.
One of the things that we are called to do, in which Judah and Israel failed to do, was to zealously go to God in prayer for their problems.
INSTEAD OF WORRYING, INSTEAD OF HAVING OUR HEARTS FRAZZLED AND FEARFUL, WHY NOT GO TO GOD IN PRAYER AND ASK HIS HELP. The problem is, we don’t.
If there is one sin, among the many sins of believers that will stand out in the accounting of eternity is the sin of not praying; the sin of not going to God as zealously as we should; giving up somewhere or immediately giving up, for fear that God will not have the answers we need or maybe the answers that we want!
I am sure, many of us understand this, that we have been guilty so many times of assuming we can do things on our own, by our own wisdom and strength, and then seeing God move, seeing God’s help—wishing that we had gone to God first, because His wise counsel was always there for Him to give.
HOW MANY TIMES IN OUR LIVES, HAVE WE STOOD TO BE OUR OWN COUNSELOR?
By standing as our own counselor, we are surely saying that our wisdom is greater than God’s. We might have a hard time believing that, but that is what we do and say every time we don’t go to God and ask His help in prayer.
I wonder as a Father, as to how God must feel, hurt, knowing that He already has laid out directions, answers for us to receive, and yet we fail to ask His help.
Just like a son or daughter, wanting to do things their own way, not wanting the help of the father, who was always eager to help, because he loves his children. What more God?
Ephesians 2:10-- For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Joseph M. Scriven, 1820-1886 (What a Friend We Have in Jesus):
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
WHEN WE COME TO HIM IN PRAYER, WE CAN BE SURE THAT HE KNOWS EVERY WORD THAT WE WILL SAY, EVERY OUNCE OF TEAR THAT WE WILL SHED AND EVERY INDESCRIBABLE HEARTBREAK WE EXPERIENCE (CF. MATTHEW 6:8; PSALM 56:8; ROMANS 8:26-27).
V. CONCLUSION
I would like to share this prayer of AW Towzer with all of us.
O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen.
May we truly see God as great and good.
References:
CH Spurgeon’s sermons; All passages come from the NASB or the NKJV, unless specified.
