Thursday, December 10, 2015

THE PREDICTION (PART 3)



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“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. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.”

“The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Isaiah 9:6-7a, 7b

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A sign from God would be given to His people in the way of a virgin giving birth to a son named Immanuel.

God would send a light into the world that would come to break through the darkness His people were living in.

These were the first two predictions found in the Book of Isaiah and highlighted in the first devotions of this four devotion series. Today, we look at prediction number three and start by looking at these verses from Isaiah, Chapter 9:

“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. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.”

“The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”  Isaiah 9:6-7a, 7b

In Isaiah 7, God promised the Israelites that a son would be born to a virgin and although the boy’s name would say almost everything about Him, there was still more that defined Him. For yes, Jesus was (and is) Immanuel or God with us but as we see in our passage for today, He also came to bring so much more to a people in need. Let’s examine those other qualities of Jesus that the scriptures predicted one at a time.

1. Jesus would have the government on His shoulders.

 The government is in charge, dictating laws and establishing societal mores but a government does not exist without someone to govern. When it comes to creation and the government of it as a whole, there is only one true Leader who holds all government on His shoulders and that is Jesus. Everyone and everything are subordinate to Him. Period.

2. Jesus would be the Wonderful Counselor.

Why do people go to a counselor?

Often they need some guidance as to how to proceed through a certain situation. Academic counselors help people work through their educational challenges. Transition counselors help people go from one job or career to another one. Marriage counselors help couples work through relationship problems with the hope of healing them.

Still other times, people go to counselors to just be able to talk about the way they are feeling. The counselor becomes a sounding board, actively listening to their client and allowing them an opportunity to express themselves, often helping them gain comfort and a sense of being cared for and valued.

In Jesus, we have all this and more, a perfect source of direction and wisdom as well as a loving, caring, compassionate advisor who is always invested in what is best for us. He is indeed our Wonderful Counselor.

3. Jesus would be the Mighty God.

Jesus was Immanuel (God with us) and so He was fully God while being fully man as He was born into the world and walked upon it for 33 years. And since He was fully God then He possessed the same power and might of His Father, a power and might He never hesitated to put on display as He worked miracle after miracle during His ministry.

4. Jesus would be the Everlasting Father.

Jesus was fully God. He was God’s own Son and so everything of God was in Jesus’ DNA. He was just like His Father during His time of earthly ministry; He’s just like His Father today and He will be just like His Father forever because He is the Everlasting Father.

The good news is that through a belief and trust that Jesus is our Savior, we get to live eternally with Him.

5. Jesus would be the Prince of Peace.

The world in the time Jesus arrived was one of turmoil, especially for the Israelites. They were under Roman rule and oppression like so many other places and the people therein. Conflict and tension were always present and people yearned for a day when they could be liberated from the tyranny they were under. They needed a Prince of Peace and although Jesus did not come to be their mighty warrior as they thought, He did bring to them a chance to be at peace in life, no matter the circumstances, through the salvation promise He brought to all mankind and His death being the atoning sacrifice for all sins.

Today, we still live in a world filled with turmoil, hardship, war, and evil acts manifested against people such as terrorism. It would be easy to be uneasy over it all but we always need to be reminded that we have Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who will one day return to set everything straight and usher His faithful, beloved followers into a life with Him and God forever, a life where there will only be peace and light and love.

So to sum up this third major prediction about Jesus from the Old Testament, He will have the government on His shoulders as He comes as our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. We would be nothing but lost without Him but with Him, there is nothing we can’t do (Philippians 4:13) and our eternal future is secured (John 3:16).

Tomorrow, we will look at the final prediction, one that will reveal where Jesus will enter the world to bring God’s presence to earth, to bring a light to dawn upon man’s darkness, and to bring us more than we could ever imagine in the way of an eternal hope in the truth that through Jesus, we have secured our way to God (John 14:6).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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