Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham

Isaiah 9:1-7; A Child Is Born: Wonderful Counselor

• Jason Sterling

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Jason Sterling November 30, 2025 Faith Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL Bulletin

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SPEAKER_00:

If you have a copy of God's word, turn with me to Isaiah chapter 9 this morning. Isaiah chapter 9. And if you have a Bible open, please or have a Bible, please keep it open this morning. If you don't have a Bible, you'll see some pew Bibles in the window seals around the church. And I would encourage you to take that as a gift. If you don't have a Bible, we'd love for it to be a gift from us. But if you don't have a copy of the Bible, you'll see it in your bulletin, and it'll also be on the screen behind me in a moment. But this marks the beginning of Advent. And if that term is unfamiliar to you, Advent just simply means anticipation. We are anticipating what is coming. And the church calendar marks the four Sundays before Christmas as the season of Advent. And it's a season of preparation. It's a season where we remember God performing a miracle in coming to earth in the person of Jesus Christ in order to rescue us. So that's what we'll be celebrating in the coming weeks. And in the Old Testament, one prophet whose writings perhaps shaped that anticipation more than any other was the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah, the book of Isaiah, is a really big book in the Old Testament. He lived about 700 years before Jesus was born. In this Advent season, we're going to look at chapter 9, but especially we're going to focus in on Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6. And we're going to, over the next four weeks, look at the four names that are given God's coming Messiah. So over the next four weeks, today we'll start with Wonderful Counselor. Next week we'll look at mighty God, everlasting Father, and then Prince of Peace. With that in mind, if you have a copy of God's word, uh follow along with me as I read. Again, it'll be behind me and in the bulletin as well. This is the word of the Lord. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the later time he was made glorious, 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 shone. 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 and the staff for 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, and 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, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness. From this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. This is God's word. Let's pray, bow with me, and I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit to come and help us with the hearing of the word, but also the teaching and preaching of the word this morning. Please pray with me. Father, would you remind us this morning that no matter where we come and what we bring into this room, whether it's skepticism and doubt on as to whether we even believe this is true, or whether we bring worry and anxiety and stress or grief, perhaps excitement and joy and hope wherever we find ourselves. There are many different stories this morning represented here. I pray that you would convince us that you move towards us and not away from us. All of us need the hope and the joy and the peace of Christmas. And so come, Lord. You have brought us here. It is not an accident that we're here on this morning to hear this word. And so we're asking that you would teach us. Be with the one who teaches. Give me humble boldness. But also as those listening, would you make them alert and attentive? And I pray that you would work and that we would encounter the Lord Jesus Christ, the wonderful counselor, this morning. It's in his name we pray. Amen. I'm sure you've noticed this, but it seems like uh every year, and this has been happening for some time, that the Christmas decorations seem to go up earlier and earlier. Uh it seems like now you walk into a store in October and they are displaying Christmas items. Neighborhood lights have often already up by this time, and we might joke about uh or have strong opinions on the timing in which one should decorate for Christmas, but I think there's something deeper that's actually going on. People are searching for something. We live in a world that is increasingly chaotic, it is confusing, it is overwhelming, and we are drawn to the joy and the warmth and the promise and the lights and the hope and the peace that Christmas represents. There's something in us that is longing for what Christmas brings, and the hope and the joy and the peace, a sense of direction and a sense of clarity in the midst of life's confusion. And we're all bombarded, aren't we, with a lot of information. We have information coming at us at every direction, and yet it hasn't really helped. We are more confused than ever about what to do, where to go, and how to live. We have more access to the experts and to podcasts. We have more opinions, and yet, more than any other generation in history, perhaps, we are still asking the same old questions. Who can I actually trust? Where can real wisdom be found? Who is going to guide me through the chaos? Who is going to get me through this life? And where do I turn? And here's what's remarkable that is Isaiah chapter 9. That is what's going on in Isaiah's day. They are asking the exact same question. God's people are dealing with chaos and darkness and confusion, and their king, Ahaz, has shut the doors on the temple. There is idolatry at every corner, and the people are looking for guidance. They're looking for guidance in all the wrong places. And so, what does God do? He gives them Christmas, he gives them hope. God promises in that context to send a child, his son, a light who would dispel the darkness, a child whose name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This morning, three things I want us to see, three headings in Isaiah chapter nine. The problem, secondly, the promise, lastly, the person. The problem, the promise, the person. That's where we're headed. We'll take those in turn. Let's look at our first heading, the problem. Look at verse one. If you have your Bible open, this is where I want you to look at some context with me. Verse 1 and chapter 9 begins with, but so that connects it to what has gone before. And if you look in Isaiah chapter 9 or 8, verses 19 through 22, God's people are looking for guidance. They're looking for guidance everywhere except from God. They're consulting mediums and spiritists and the dead, anything but the living God. And where does that lead? Well, it leads the same place that leads us. Look at verse 22. When they look to the earth, look at these words here: distress, darkness, gloom, anguish, thick darkness. And then look at chapter 9, verses 1 and 2. Here's the contrast. But there will be no gloom for her, who was in anguish. The people who have walked in darkness have seen a light. Those who've dwelt in deep darkness, on them has light shined. In the Bible, darkness is about lostness. It's about confusion and knowing, not knowing. Think about being in a dark room, not knowing which way to go, not which direction that you should go. And look at verse or chapter 8 again. Notice where they're looking. They're looking down here. They're looking horizontally rather than looking vertically up to God. And it leads to darkness. And then in chapter 9, something changes. On them has light shined. Think about a light shining down. It's not from within the darkness, it is upon the darkness. It's coming from the outside, it's coming from above. How often, think about it, let's put ourselves in this context here. And we might say this is a million miles away, but how often is our knee-jerk reaction to look to the experts? Or to say, I need a book, or to say, I need, I need more education. That's what we need. That is what's going to fix our problem. Or I need a better medicine. Or we need better health care. Or we need, you know, maybe the problem, politics, that's the problem. And if we just had the right politics and the right political system, everything would work out perfectly for us. Or we look to technology or to AI. And we know things are dark, but oftentimes we do the exact same thing. We focus down here in order to fix ourselves. And in order to fix the world. Listen, those things are not bad things. Will those benefit you? Yes. Will they benefit our society? Yes. But the Bible is exposing something here in us. And that is that we have a counsel-seeking problem. That we look everywhere for counsel except to the one who actually has it. Think about Proverbs 3. Maybe you're familiar with this verse. Trust the Lord with all your heart and what? Lean not on your own understanding. But that is exactly what we do, isn't it? The issue is not lack of data. We are drowning in data. The issue is that we trust first ourselves. Maybe you're familiar with it was in 2023, the Titan capsule. Remember that little submarine capsule that was going down to explore the Titanic and only held five people? And it ended in tragedy. The thing actually, the capsule actually imploded, killing all five passengers. But even more haunting is that the capsule was designed so that it could only be unsealed from the outside. And so even if it would have surfaced, the passengers could not have opened it from the inside. Their only hope was a rescue from the outside, a rescue from above. And tragically, that rescue never came. Friends, that's our story, too. That's what the Bible says about us spiritually. That we are hopeless and helpless, that we need rescue, and it will never come from inside of us. It comes from the outside. We cannot save ourselves. We're trapped in darkness, the Bible says, descending, unable to open the door. But God shine the light down. Look at verse two again. On them has light shone. Not from within the darkness again, upon it, from above, the rescue comes in Christmas. At just the right time, God took on flesh and came into the world in order to rescue his people. Ephesians 2 puts it this way: we are dead in our sins, without hope, but God, rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ Jesus. I think about this every year around Christmas. Uh, we have made Christmas to be a very sentimental season. And it is. I love Christmas. It's fun, there's lots of joy, there's lots of uh life. But if you really think about it, it is jarring because it confronts the wisdom of the world. Christmas says our condition is so grim and we are so desperate that God had to come Himself into the world in order to rescue us. And I say that, and I'm gonna keep saying that, because if we don't get that and you don't understand what who you are and what Jesus has had to do, Advent will never make sense. Christmas will never make you sing and bring you deep and lasting joy. That's the problem. Secondly, let's look at the promise. Look at verse three, and we're gonna walk through these verses. There's gonna be some content here, but I want you to understand these verses. So please look at your bulletin or your Bible. Look at verse three. God promises deep lasting joy, the kind of joy that overflows like a farmer celebrating after a great harvest, or like a warrior dividing the plunder when the battle has finally been won. And again, this is not just about happiness, this is a complete reversal of the darkness, of the suffering. Look at verses four and five. Let's see how total this deliverance will be. The yoke that has pressed down on their shoulders is shattered. The rod of the oppressor which has beaten them is broken, and the boots of the marching enemy and the blood-soaked garments of war, all of those things will be thrown into the fire as fuel. And notice that little phrase, the day of Midian. Perhaps you're familiar with the Bible story in Judges 7 of Gideon. Remember, God takes his army down and reduces it from 32,000 to 300. Why would God do that? To remind us that it's not about us. To remind us that it is God who gives the victory. That God, it belongs to him. And so this is a picture in those verses three through five of a comprehensive, permanent deliverance. And then the question is, okay, how does God go about doing this impossible thing? Look at verse six. Through a child. For to us, a child is born, to us, a son is given. Let me let's work out that phrase. Those two phrases are pretty amazing. A child is born, fully human, a son is given, fully divine, born from below, given from above. And notice the language here. It's crucial. To us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. The point is, friends, Christmas is not earned. It's a gift, it's not a reward for you being righteous. It is something that's given. And it is something to be received. And remember, I love the context because I think it gives us such hope. It's not the promise is not for the good people. The people who have it all together, remember the context, verse 8. They're consulting mediums and spiritus, and they're walking in darkness, they're turning away from the word, they're under judgment, they're worshiping idols. And yet it says, To us, to them, the idolaters and the rebels, God promises a child. The point is Christianity is grace from beginning to end. And then notice verse six also says the government shall be on his shoulder. And so this child will rule. Verse 7, where and how? Well, keep reading, the throne of David. Again, original audience here, that would have been hopeful but also heartbreaking. Because God had promised David was going to have an eternal throne. But then when they look at Isaiah's day and Ahaz and all the kings who are a complete mess and utter failures, they're starting to lose hope. And the promise looks impossible. But God, God says this child is going to reign on David's throne with perfect justice and perfect righteousness, and not for a four-year political cycle. From this time forth to forevermore. It will never be overthrown. Overthrown. Look at verse 6 again. Look at what it's actually claiming. Think about this. I think we can just read past the Christmas story and read read past things like this. A child, a baby, will have the government on his shoulder. And this child is called mighty God. And it isn't just a good teacher or wise sage. This God himself is entering into the darkness to rescue us. This would have sounded impossible. God coming down first, not as a warrior, but as a vulnerable child to meet us where we are in Bethlehem, Bethlehem, to poverty and to weakness, to the human experience. And this government will crush every oppressor and end the war. And all of that will be on the shoulder of an infant. And then the question is how how can God promise something like this? Something this audacious. Well, because it depends on Him. Look at verse seven. Your zeal will do that. No. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Not your spiritual fervor, not our church's zeal, God's zeal. And I think this is really amazing. Your rescue and your salvation is something God is zealous about. He is passionate about. What we cannot earn and do, God gives. And so then the question is: who is this child? Well, we see the four names. We're going to look at wonderful counselor this morning in the last point, the person. Wonderful counselor, look at verse 6. The literal translation would be a wonder of a counselor or a miracle counselor. And so the word wonder is what the Old Testament writers often use to talk about miracles. The miracles that God would perform when he delivered his people from Egypt, when he was parting the Red Sea, when he was striking judgments on Pharaoh. And so, in calling the Messiah a wonderful counselor, Isaiah is not saying, here's a great guy that has exceptional gifts and he does really well at what he does, and he's going to give you really good advice. That's not what Isaiah is saying. This is a statement that the counselor will be a miracle counselor. That his counsel will be beyond any counsel that you would get and can get from an ordinary human being. This is human or this is supernatural wisdom, divine wisdom, wonderful wisdom. And again, I this needs to be said again. We are drowning in information. Everyone has a strategy for your life. But even the best human counsel, think of even the best counselor you know and the best wisest person you know is fallible. Even the wisest person doesn't see the future. They can't see into your heart and know you completely. They cannot guarantee that what they are telling you will actually work. We desperately need someone, do we not, whose wisdom is absolute, who is completely trustworthy. And that is what God promises in verse six. A counselor whose wisdom is miraculous and supernatural and who is always right. And we hear the word counselor and we immediately think therapist office. But in the ancient world, a counselor was ultimately supposed to be the king who would counsel the people. A counselor was someone, though, who you could trust and follow, who you knew was going to look out for you and care for you, someone that you could look up to and do life with, shoulder to shoulder. In fact, if you look at Proverbs, think about the book of Proverbs, the relationship you'll see between a wise counselor and the one being counseled is often a parent-child relationship. The counselor was like a parent, wise and experienced and caring. And the one being counseled like a child, humble and attentive and needy and willing, not distant or transactional, but it was life on life, walking with someone who embodied godliness and godly living. Think about Proverbs again, the opening nine chapters. You can go read it. And here's the picture. It is the context of a dad counseling his son in wisdom. And you know what he does as he trains his son in wisdom? He doesn't set him down in a classroom. It's never, hey son, sit down and let me lecture you for 45 minutes. That's what we do. Now the Proverbs is much more like two people walking together through the normal day. A father and son walking through a village. And the father training the son through what he sees. And he'll look over and he'll point out the marketplace and he'll say, son, let me talk to you about money. Let me talk to you about generosity. Let me talk to you about work and laziness. Or he'll be walking and he'll point and he'll say, You see that house there? Or do you see that tavern? Let me talk to you about what I've learned about self-control. And so it's shoulder to shoulder. It is, let me show and tell you, it is the never-ending field trip with someone you know who really loves you and cares about you. And scholars have often pointed out that that sounds a whole lot like the way the Apostle John introduces Jesus to us at the beginning of John in John chapter one. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word came down to walk with us and to dwell with us and to be with us. John is telling us that wisdom is not just an idea anymore, that wisdom is actually a person, a person with a name. Jesus, who came down in the flesh. That is the staggering claim of Christmas. In Christ are all the hidden treasures and wisdom and knowledge, not some wisdom, but all wisdom. And remember 1 Corinthians, Christ is the power, the apostle Paul says, and wisdom of God. And so do you see the claim? Jesus doesn't just give wisdom. Jesus is wisdom. Jesus doesn't just say, hey, look, there's the way. Go go go for it. No, Jesus says, I am the way. Jesus doesn't just say, hey, let me teach you something about truth. No, he is the truth. A wonderful counselor is not just a philosophy to study, a system to master. He is a person to Know. And here's what that means for us today. You want to be wise, it's not just more information that you need. Wisdom in the Bible is covenantal. You want to be wise? You have to relate to a person. It's a relationship with Jesus Christ, the miracle counselor, God in the flesh, the heart and the mind of God that's given to you and gives you his spirit to walk shoulder to shoulder with you through this life. And we relate to him by walking with him. He's a parent. We are his children. We share with him and we seek him and we follow him and we trust him. And you trust his wisdom especially, especially when it contradicts your wisdom. Because he's always right. You see, the invitation this morning is to come to a person, to come to the wonderful counselor. And the good news is you do not have to clean yourself up before you come. He says, come on, wherever you find yourself. Because here's the thing: it's not a one-time thing. It is walking with Jesus every single day, shoulder to shoulder, learning from him, from his word, because in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And so will you come this morning to the wonderful counselor? Come to Jesus. That's an invitation. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your zeal for rescuing your people. Forgive us for leaning on our own understanding. And Holy Spirit, would you help us this Christmas season to come to Jesus? And I pray that we would trust His wisdom and His counsel. We need your help in Jesus' name. Amen.