ISN’T HE WONDERFUL?

 

ISN’T HE WONDERFUL?

 

ISAIAH 9:6

 

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. WONDERFUL BIRTH

 

1. Foretold by the Prophets [Gen. 3:15, Is. 7:14, 9:6-7; Jer. 31:22, Micah 5:2]

 

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel .

 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

 

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting .

 

2. Announced by Angels [Mt. 1:20ff, Lk. 1:11-12, 1:26ff, 2:8-15]

 

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

 

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field , keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven , the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us

 

3. Orchestrated by God Almighty [Lk. 1:32-37, Gal. 4:4-5]

 

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.

 

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

 

“It was wonderful that at such a time and in such a country such a people could produce Jesus.” – Billy Sunday

 

II. WONDERFUL CHARACTER

 

1. Wonderful in His Sinlessness – think of the only charges His enemies could come up with [John 8:46]

 

-claimed God as His Father

-received sinners

-did good on the Sabbath

 

Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

 

2. Wonderful in His Unselfishness – He did miracles to help others, never for Himself [Mt. 20:28]

 

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

 

3. Wonderful in His Example [1 Peter 2:21]

 

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

 

Churches, hospitals, missions, organizations (Salvation Army), etc

 

It is wonderful that the greatest figure in history came from such obscurity and became the most famous.

 

III. WONDERFUL INVITATIONS

 

1. Come Now [Isaiah 1:18]

 

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

 

2. Come All [Matthew 11:28]

 

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 

3. Come to Jesus [John 7:37]

 

In the last day, that, great day of the feast, Jesus, stood and cried, saying, If, any man thirst, let, him come unto me, and, drink.