Sermons

Could I ask you please to open your Bibles to Isaiah chapter nine? Isaiah chapter nine. I don't know what adjectives you like to use when you see a little baby, a fresh, a fresh one. Cute, squishy, adorable, precious, smoochy. I don't think any of you have ever looked at a child and said, warrior-like or mighty warrior God. But that is the child that we come to this morning.

Would you stand with me please as we read of this One that would change the world. Isaiah chapter nine, reading from verse two.

[Scripture reading] “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 nations, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you 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 for his oppressor, you have broken, as in 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.”

Let's pray.

[Prayer] Our Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that world history has turned on the birth of this child and the perfect life that He lived and the sacrificial death that He paid. We thank You, Lord, that His story is not over, that He has been raised and is seated at Your right hand. And we thank You that He will return victorious. And we ask that in these moments that You would help us, Your people, to understand something more of the splendor, of the significance of this One who came. And You would help us to, through the words of Scripture, be reminded of the hope that is to be found in Him. So, help us, we pray, for it's in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. [End}

Have a seat. Well, over these weeks in the run up to Christmas, we've been taking some time to dwell really on the theology of the child that was born in Bethlehem. And in particular, we've been going to a passage written over 800 years before that child was born, a prophecy about the one who was to come here in the book of Isaiah. And here we find words that are used to describe Him. He will have a fourfold name. The words, the language that is used here, the fourfold name itself, is used to reflect, to give us insight into the character of the one who would be.

And last week we thought about that first part of the fourfold name, Wonderful Counselor. That He would be wonderful in the sense that he would not be like any other man. With man, things are impossible, but not with God. He is wonderful, full of wonder, able to do to the uttermost anything He wishes, anything He desires. And in particular, that reference to the wonder, the divine nature of this child that would come, we are reminded that He would be perfect, He would be wonderful in the counsel He gave. Not in a secular counselor sense today that just cares about how you feel, but a counselor in the courts, a counselor in the White House, one who gives direction to the affairs of state. One who helps the people, who leads the people perfectly, who knows what He is doing. Not just a great human leader, but one who is in an altogether different category, a wonderful leader. One who is divine in the very knowledge that He possesses of what is the best way forward.

And today then we come to the second part of that fourfold name, Mighty God. This one who knows, we also need to recognize, is the Mighty God. Or we could translate it, the Warrior God. That word might or mighty, it sounds very polite and noble, but really it's a reference to war-like fighting. It's an adjective here, but it's used to describe the fierce, battle-ready nature of the God, the child God, that will be.

And so, again, to try and understand why this particular part of the name, Mighty God, Warrior God, would speak hope to the people of Judah, the people in Jerusalem at the time that this was given, we need to understand something of the world that this prophecy was first spoken in. Something of the political background that caused the people to feel their need for a warrior leader, a Mighty God amongst them.

In this particular time in history, we said last week, the force to be reckoned with, the force that was growing and beginning to consume the world around it was that of Assyria. And in the particular time when King Ahaz in Judah was on the throne in Jerusalem, in Assyria it was Tiglath-Pileser... Let me try that again. There's going to be a lot of these today, by the way. Tiglath-Pileser. And he, in fact, Tiglath-Pileser III. And he really is the one that Assyria becomes not just a strong nation, but an empire under. He's the one that really makes Assyria the first global empire, the first to really expand itself in a significant way. And it will be the precursor for the Babylonians and the Medo-Persian empire and the Greek empire and the Roman empire, but actually the territory that he governed over or the city would later govern over was larger than all the others until the time of the Romans. This is no small thing. This is significant. And this particular man spearheaded that development.

And he did it in a number of different ways. The first thing he did was he redefined how armies work. You remember in the time of David, we read about many times in the time of David and the kings that follow, when kings went off to war. In other words, there was a season during the summer when people went into battle. People didn't fight in the winter. The people fought at a particular time of year, and that's the way everybody worked. And most people worked as farmers or laborers in some form, and then they would come together. You think again of David's brothers. They're all working on the farm, and then occasionally at the time that kings go off to war, they're kind of conscripted in for a season to kind of, you know, join the force and let's see what we can do this year.

Well, the Assyrians changed things because Pileser, he developed a full-time army for the first time in history. It wasn't just a summer month thing. People became professional soldiers under him. That was their occupation. They were given some form of income so they didn't have to make their money off the fields. They could give their time and attention to the military. And so not only did he do that, but there was a structure. As soon as you professionalize something, you give expectation of structure. And within that army there were different ranks, different soldiers. Always there had been different people with different skill sets. You think of David, King David, with his sling. He was very good with that particular weapon. Well, that's normal. But now there was an organized system around that. His army, he would have men with slings, he would have men with spears, he would have the infantry, he would have the cavalry too with their horses and chariots. It was significant. He even had a whole squadron of engineers. Engineers that were designed to lay siege to cities and to break down the walls. That was their full-time army job. It was unbelievable what he achieved in his lifetime.

Now, he took over a large territory of land, but what's interesting is he didn't really build anything with it. Most other successful military leaders, they poured the money back into their capitals and huge building projects came as a result. Well, not this guy. We know of one palace that he built during this particular season, a new palace in Nimrod. Instead, what he did with all that money that he raised through and took from the conquered territories was he poured it all right back into the army. And so, he was able to develop things further.

Before this point we have what's called the Bronze Age. And here is the beginning of the Iron Age and it all really commences with Assyria. They, for the first time, developed iron weapons. Helmets and spears and shields and even in their leather armor there was iron woven into it to add extra security. And so, whenever they would fight those other armies with their bronze weapons, they quickly were victorious.

Often in Assyrian kind of annals, as they record the events of the time, they would talk about the various cities he came to, and they would say, I destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire. They were not just a strong army, but they were ruthless. And they tried to rule the nations that they took over by fear. If anybody rebelled against them, they were made an example of. In Nimrod, in one of the temples that records a particular city, Suru, near the Euphrates, and they had been conquered, but they rebelled. And when the king, a predecessor to this one, when he came in, what he did was he took all of the chieftains, he flayed them, and he nailed their skins into some sort of kind of pillar, tent-like construction at the front of the city so it would stand as a testimony to anybody else, do not mess with Assyria.

This army was incredible. The chariots led by, not donkeys as had happened before, but by strong horses. Those weapons of swords and spears and helmets all made with iron. The spearmen, they were mobile. You'll like this, Texans. They were the first to invent the army boots. I know how much you like boots. First to invent the army boot, and again, it changed everything. Doesn't sound like much to us, but for the first time, these boots were knee-high. You like that too, don't you? Knee-high, made of leather, thick-soled, hob-nailed. They had iron plates inserted in them to protect the shins. Now because of those boots they could go on any terrain at any time of the year. It didn't matter that the ground was mucky. It didn't matter that there was marsh. Whether it was summer, whether it was winter, they could move. This was the first all year round all weather army.

Their archers, they developed the first composite bows, which could fire long range over huge distance. They were an incredible feat. But in particular, they pride it themselves on their siege warfare. Again, that separate group of engineers, they had people that worked for them that were designed to dig under the walls to cause them to collapse, to set fire to the wooden gates. They had ramps that they could push up against the walls and try and send soldiers over the top. They had these big mobile ladders that they would throw down over moats to get across. But in particular, they had what they called their engines, these massive, massive engines, grump-like structures that they could push right up to the wall and a whole battalion just launched themselves in. And at the bottom of those same engines were battering ramps to smash into the wall.

These guys were good at warfare. That's my point. It was a merciless war machine led by a ruthless but extremely talented warrior king. And he was proud of his achievements. In fact, there's an inscription in Nimrod where this character, Pileser, talks about himself, and this is what he calls himself. His title, “the great king, the mighty king, the king of the universe, king of Assyria, king of Sumar and Akkad, king of the four corners of the world, who is attentive to the lifting of the eyes of Enlil. The king who, from the rising of the sun to the setting thereof, has scattered all the foes to the winds and has maintained his sway, who subdues the people of the upper and lower lands, who oust their rulers and installs his own officials."

He's a confident guy and he has a good track record to back it up. So, we really have in the world at this time a warrior, a warrior king who is chewing up everybody around him.

Meanwhile, in the land of Judah, in the city of Jerusalem, the people are being led by a weak, knee-knocking, King Ahaz. And he is the opposite of a warrior leader. That's the point. The complete opposite.

Do you know those dogs? We have one of these dogs in our house who has no fear. No, no, no. No gumption, no strength at all. When our dog Ted comes into the room and he sees you, before he's even, you know, sniffed you, he rolls onto his back and submissively expects you just to scratch his stomach. It's awful. Takes after the children. That's King Ahaz. He just rolls over and submits.

If you turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 16, you get an idea of this. 2 Kings chapter 16. Look at verse 7. 2 Kings chapter 16 and verse 7. “So Ahaz sent messengers to Teleth-pelazar, king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel who are attacking me.” Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria, listen to him, the king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Ker and killed Rezan. When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tileith Pilesar, king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus, and King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar and its pattern exact in all its details.”

Let's get down to verse 18. “And the covered way, speaking of the remodeling of the temple, and the covered way for the Sabbath that had been built inside the house and the outer entrance for the king he caused to go around the house of the Lord because of the king of Assyria.”

Do you see the submissive spirit? Everything he could do; he would do for Assyria. But that wasn't the beginnings of his weakness. If you turn over to 2 Chronicles 28, 2 Chronicles chapter 28 also records many of the episodes around the time of King Ahaz. And I want you to get a sense of just what a weak leader this man was. He's a wicked leader, we'll find out more about that next week, but he is a weak leader.

2 Chronicles 28, look at verse 4. “He,” that is Ahaz, “sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.” That's sacrifices to false gods. Verse five, “therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. For Pekah the son of Ramali killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. And Sicri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maazai, the king's son, and Ascram, the commander of the palace, and Elkanah, the next in authority to the king. The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria.”

Now, Israel there is northern Israel. That's a different country. And what we're being told is not Assyria, Syria, a different country again. I know there's a lot that's confusing here. Syria destroys them and takes away captives. Northern Israel destroys them and takes away captives. It's all falling apart.

Skip down to verse 16. “At that time, King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help. For the Edomites,” another army, “the Edomites had invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. And the Philistines had made raids on the cities of the Shephele and the Negev of Judah and had taken Ben Shemash, Algalon, Gerdoth, Succo with its villages, Tima with its villages, and Gizmo with its villages. And they settled there. For the Lord,” verse 19, “for the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel. For he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the Lord. So Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, came against him and what? Afflicted him instead of strengthening him. For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the Lord and the house of the king and of its princes and gave tributes to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.”

Okay, now you've been very patient with me as we've gone down our large historical rabbit trail. But do you see what's going on? In the world at the time we have the beginning of empires. We have arguably one of the most innovative army chiefs, warrior kings there has ever been. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, King Ahaz is being chewed up and spat out by everybody. Syria comes; we're destroyed. Northern Israel comes; we're destroyed. The Edomites come, we're destroyed. The Philistines come, we're destroyed. Assyria is meant to help us and all they do is weaken us even further. You get the idea? This is a man who should have been their warrior leader, and instead he has made them vulnerable from every direction.

If you were to look at a map of Judah, you would see all of these places described Edom in the south, the Philistines off to the west, Syria up in the northwest, north northern Israel, up in the northeast we have Assyria. Completely surrounded. In every direction they are weak and vulnerable and being picked apart. And into that climate God speaks through the prophet Isaiah, and he pronounces, verse 6 of Isaiah chapter 9, that there is a child who will be born. The government will be on his shoulders. Yes, he will be a wonderful counselor, but thanks be to God for Judah, that this child will be the Warrior King, the Warrior God. The Mighty God. Do you see why for them this particular name is so important? They are hurting primarily in this area. Their king is a weakling. He's a pansy. He has nothing to offer. No military leadership comes from him. He's useless. But there is one who will come who will be the Warrior King, and in Him great hope is to be found.

So, I have four very simple points to make, and each one again should be obvious, as we'll see in many of these names. And here's the first one. This is a child who will be God, or a child who is God. Now, we already mentioned that idea sat in the title, Wonderful, last time. And in the third part of the name, Everlasting Father, that adjective, everlasting, also implies something divine about this child. But what is subtle in the other names is explicit here. That second word, God, is very simply, if you had to define what that means, it means God. There is no other way to understand it. You know the way sometimes whenever we talk, like I just said, mighty can be translated mighty or maybe better, it has the idea of war in it. It's a warrior. A warrior God is what we're talking about. Well, do you know what you don't debate? That word El just means God. There's no other way to understand it.

In fact, during the week when I was studying, there is a very respected Jewish Hebrew scholar, and he's done amazing work translating, you know, the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible. And in this particular verse, he says, “the most challenging epitaph in the sequence appears to say, warrior God. That's how he would translate it. Warrior God, except the prophet would therefore be violating all biblical usage if he called the Davidic king God.” Now, he's a Jew. He believes that the Messiah that was to come was just a king to rule, a man, another man, a good man, but another man. And he says, if we are to take this text literally, there is no other way to understand it than warrior God. It just means that. It is God.

In fact, the actual word is used again one chapter later. It's only the other time this title appears collectively. And it's in chapter 10, if you look at chapter 10, and in verse 21. But we'll read from verse 20 so you see that it clearly means the divine.

In verse 20 it says, “in that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.” So, very clearly, we're talking about God the Almighty, okay? That's what we see. The Lord, the Holy One of Israel. There's nobody else that can be apart from God.

But look at what it says immediately after.” In truth,” verse 21, “a remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.” God is amazing. And one chapter later, we see unequivocally that that title can only be used to speak of God. And so, when we bring that back and apply it back into the reading of chapter 9, verse 6, we can say that when it says, Mighty God, it means Mighty God. It is God. This child is God.

Again, it sounds so simple to us today because we're used to thinking about it at Christmas, but what is being communicated was so important. And it is so important for the Jews to hear. For the Mormons to hear, for the Jehovah Witnesses to hear, for liberal Christianity to hear that this child that was born was no other than God Himself, no less than Emmanuel, God with us.

And again, when you think of the world that this is all being spoken of, the mess of wicked kings, the mess of fallible leaders who don't know what they're doing, what help it is to know that our leader is no less than the Almighty, than God himself.

In other words, the one that would come was not just going to be a good king, He is one who would have supernatural ability, for He is supernatural. He is supernatural. Our King, the one who leads the church, the head of the church, is no other than the Almighty Himself, God Himself. And that's why He's mighty over all.

The second thing I want you to see in the text, again, that's obvious, is this would also be a child who is the Warrior God. A child who is the Warrior God. Now, when you are witnessing to your friends, I think very rarely do you talk about Jesus as the Warrior God, do you? In fact, very rarely in church do we talk about Jesus as a Warrior King, as a Warrior God.

And yet history makes that reality that we have one who fights for us clear. You think if just the book of Genesis. You have Abraham and he comes to the Egyptian king and the Egyptian king takes Sarah for himself. God intervenes to protect the line. You think of Jacob and Jacob goes off to his uncle Laban and Laban is a troublemaker and Laban tries to get advantage of Jacob in every way but God fights and God intervenes. You think of Joseph. Joseph and his brothers, his brothers seek to harm him, seek to exploit him, seek to ruin him, and yet at the later in his life Joseph is able to proclaim before those same brothers, that which you meant for evil, God meant for good.

He's in control and he's working for his people. But there is probably no greater picture of the fighting God. And in the book of Exodus. And there, God comes in a tremendous way and performs not one wonder, but ten signs and wonders. He only needed to do one, but he does ten, so it will form a catalog, a reference point for Israel going forward in the rest of the Old Testament, time and time and time again. Whenever Israel is threatened, we'll pick up that list of ten. Those signs and wonders and remember the strength of God.

In fact, if you were to look up Exodus chapter 15 verse 3, when God at that time takes the people of Israel across the Red Sea and he takes Egypt, which in that day was the most powerful army of the world at that time, and he decimates it under the waters, the people break into song. And what they sing about are many things, but in particular, verse 3 of Exodus 15 calls him in song, “the Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. The Lord is a man of war.” That's part of who God is. He is drawn to fight for His people. He is ruthless towards those who would attack and harm His people.

Think of Psalm 2. That same imagery of the mighty God is declared to be true of His Son also. Psalm 2 verse 1. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot and vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed,” that child that would come, saying, verse 3, “let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in heaven laughs. The Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, “You are my son.” Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise. Be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.” Verse 12, “kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way. For his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

The Lord is a War King. And Jesus, because He is fully God, is also a Warrior King in the same way. We need to understand God is one who fights for His people. Christians today, we have such a neutral, soft version of Jesus in our mind. Yes, He is the Prince of Peace, and we'll think about that in a few weeks. But the Prince of Peace is a Warrior God.

Exodus chapter 14, verse 14, “the Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” That's the God we have. That's the one we hope in. The New Testament will speak with the same confidence. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 6. “So, we can confidently say, “the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man will do to me.”” Why? Because we have a warrior king in charge. One who is mighty in every way.

The Scriptures are littered with descriptions about the strength of His arm, the might of our Lord, the power that is to be found in Him, and how He wields that power on behalf of His people. For friends, we have one who is God. That child is certainly God, but that child that would come and whom we have found our hope is a Warrior God.

Thirdly, He is a Warrior God with Wonderful Counsel. He is a Warrior God with wonderful counsel. The thought of one with that type of might is terrifying, isn't it? Whenever you think of that wicked king of Assyria, with all of the military advantages over everybody else of His day, it's a terrifying thought to be looking over the walls knowing He's on the other side.

But when the Bible describes our King of Kings and Lord of Lords as a warrior God, we need to understand the context in which that is pronounced. The one who has all might, friends, the one who will fight is one with wonderful counsel. And those two come together. I think it's no mistake that Wonderful Counsel is pronounced before Mighty God. For not only is He able to do what He wants and destroy any He wants, but He knows what He's doing and He knows perfectly what is right.

This is a controlled strength. This is not some random MMA fighter that just is off his hinge and will just lose it at any moment. This is a strength that is focused and perfectly controlled and so can be exercised perfectly for the good of all under His rule. He knows what he's doing and He knows what he's doing with us.

You think of Ephesians chapter 1, Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose him before the foundation of the world. that we should be blameless, holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself, a Son through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us and the beloved. In Him we have redemption through the blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which,” verse 8, “He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and on earth in Him. In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

Do you hear the boom, boom, boom, boom, boom of Ephesians 1? He knows what He's doing. It's all planned. It's all understood. And thanks be to God that the Almighty knows what He's doing. That's so important that we recognize He knows.

And sometimes Christians whenever we are living in this world and we go through the difficulties the momentary afflictions of this world we find ourselves in a position of doubt. Friends He is able. That's why we pray He is able. But He also knows what He's doing. If he withholds that relief. If He waits for a season before He fights back that difficulty, it's because He understands. And He has purpose and perfect plans in that for the good of His people in Christ. It's an amazing thing that the Almighty, the Warrior God is one with wonderful counsel.

And then lastly, I said every point is very simple. We have one last simple point. The Warrior God is a Warrior God for us. For us. We said this last week. Each of these names are meant to be understood as a place of hope for the people of God. “For to us a child is born. To us a son is given.” There is hope to be found in a Mighty God. For you there is hope in knowing this, Warrior God.

Now what does that all tell us? Well, it tells us that this baby that was born in Bethlehem was not simply weak flesh and bone, frail and helpless. The baby in Bethlehem that night held in his teenage mother's arms was in fact the mighty warrior God who moves kings and smashes apart armies according to His will. That is no soft, cute picture. In Bethlehem that evening lay in the manger one able to fight for His people and break the bonds of sin that held them and was able to and is able to continue to protect His people from any ongoing attack.

That Warrior God came as a child by no accident. And He, in that moment, didn't give up His warrior God-like nature. Isaiah says, this will define the very child itself. He is a Warrior God. And He left heaven to come to earth. The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us to wage war. To defeat the enemy, to break into the prison cells where His people were held captive and to smash apart those chains and to lead His people out victorious.

The child in the manger was no different picture than the mighty warrior king spoken of here in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6. Romans chapter 16 verse 20 says, “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Friends, the reason the Mighty God came in the form of a child is because that was what was necessary to break Satan's hold and to set those dead and their sins and transgressions free. For to us, a Mighty God has been born.

He's so different from every other king. That sometimes we struggle to understand Christ because He is just so different. You think of Matthew chapter 2. And this child is born in such an unusual way in Bethlehem and laid in a manger in strange circumstances. Meanwhile in Jerusalem Herod the Great sits on the throne. And Herod will be visited by those magi, and they'll come and they'll proclaim to him that a child has been born and they're there to visit this Great King. And Herod will respond, in his own form of mighty warrior-like behavior by sending his armies into Bethlehem to massacre the infants. You talk about uncontrolled war, uncontrolled anger, uncontrolled power. But that was Herod.

When Herod died, Herod had taken all of the nobles, all of the great men of the region that he ruled over and he locked them all in prison because he knew his death was coming and he was worried that nobody would cry whenever Herod died. And so, his plan was that when he died all of these leaders, all of these nobles, all of these notable men would be taken out and killed so then everybody would cry. You see what an egotist he was, and what a dangerous warrior-like personality he had.

Meanwhile, our Savior, His death did not result in the massacre of many men, but the salvation of many men and women that He had came into the world to fight for.

What do you fear? Sometimes people are terrified with politics. Every time they turn on the news, they just, they can't sleep afterwards because they're just so worked up. Maybe you're afraid of a shooting. Maybe you're afraid of something happening to one of your loved ones. Maybe you've seen somebody affected and so you live in fear of cancer or some other type of illness. I mean, you live in fear of dementia. I don't know. What do you fear?

Friends, Jesus is not a cute little baby that was born at Bethlehem. He is the Mighty God, a Warrior God with all strength who knows what He's doing. He's not to be trifled with. He's not soft and cuddly. That's why the book of Ecclesiastes finishes with that call, “fear God and keep His commandments.” Why? Friends, if you only knew how mighty He is, if you only knew the strength of this warrior, if you only realized that He's not just a warrior but a warrior of all mighty proportions, the Mighty God. It would cause us to bow the knee in humility.

And yet the wonder is that this Mighty God, He is one for us. He is one who has all strength, who has all power, and yet He uses, He wields that strength to save His people from their sins, to draw them to Himself and to rule over them with a glorious, keenly warrior-like protection. Do you know Him at that level? Do you know Him as the God over all who is your God?

Everybody will bow the knee one day to this Warrior King. He will crush all His enemies. That's decided. But He has also promised to protect His people in a way that King Ahaz never achieved. He's one who will care for all who find refuge in Him. With Christ you either live in terror knowing that one day He will come, and you will stand in judgment or you live with confidence knowing that that warrior God is my King and He never loses one of His subjects. He's coming back.

This particular prophecy in Isaiah was about that first coming in part. And that child was born. But the rest of Scripture reveals He is coming again, and He is coming with just the same strength.

Revelation chapter 19 verse 11 says,

“Then I saw heaven open And behold the white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges and makes war.His eyes are like a flame of fire. And on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dripped in blood. And the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh, he has the name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Friends, the mighty God is coming once more. Are you one of His subjects? And if you are, have confidence, for He is coming to fight for His own.

Let's pray.

[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we are so thankful. In a world that so often confuses us and throws us into panic that there is one who sits on the throne, who is over all, who all power is at His fingertips, who has that perfect knowledge and yet insists in bending it all to fight for the good of His people. We thank You, Lord, that under His rule there are no casualties. We thank You, Lord, that He never loses the battle. We thank You, Lord, that there are no losses on His side, for He is the one who has already fought the fight and won the victory.

Lord, we look forward to that day when He will return, and we pray and ask that all in this room would be ready, not simply to bow the knee, for all will bow a knee to Him, but to rejoice that our King has come home.

So Lord, we pray and ask that You would lift our view of that child this Christmas, that we wouldn't just see another cuddly, cute picture, but that we would understand that the glory of the incarnation is that the one that lay in the manger was no other than Mighty God who came to fight for His people and to set them free. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. [End]

‍