Our Help in Time of Need

His name shall be called Healer, Faithful, Friend, Defender, Perfect example. Almighty. I am wonderful Counselor.

Amen. Would you take your device or your Bible? Go to the book of Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet. As we began this new series for the month of December, our Christmas series, that's entitled, as you see on the screen, his name shall be called Isaiah, Chapter nine. These amazing words that Isaiah penned that still have so much life and meaning for us today.

And I'm praying and hoping that you're going to get a greater understanding of who Isaiah is writing about as we go through this series. Would you stand to honor the Word of God as we begin to read in verse two of Isaiah, chapter nine, familiar verses that we often refer to around the Christmas season? And Isaiah writes this. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of deep darkness. A light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy. They rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 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. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Are you ready for the Word this morning? Church? Come on. Will you make some declarations with me about the greatest book on the planet? Everybody ready?

Go. I will hide this word in my heart that I might not sin against God. This word is life to my body and health to my bones. I will be a doer of the Word and not a hearer. Only that he who has begun a good work in me, in Jesus name, Amen.

You can be seated again. There's notes on the app. I encourage you to take notes and follow along when somebody announces that they're going to have a baby, or when there's a gender reveal that are so popular nowadays. One of the first questions that's asked is, have you picked out a name yet? Our sixth grandchild will be coming here in the next several weeks, in the first week of January, the due date, another little girl and my son and daughter in law have been asked, I'm sure many times, have you picked out a name yet?

Names are important. There was a lady back last year in June of 2023 by the name of Emma Bennett. She wrote an article and in the article she highlighted some of the most unusual and weirdest names ever given to boys and girls. I just thought that might be helpful to some of you that are trying to pick out your child's name. We'll start with the girls first.

Rock star Frank Zappa named his daughter Moon Unit.

There was a couple that were debating over the child's name and they couldn't come to a conclusion because the wife really liked the name Hazel and the husband was a motorcycle rider and he wanted to work with Hell's Angels. So they compromised and they came up with the name Hellzel.

Go figure. Hellzel. Somebody else had had the wild idea that it would be great to name their daughter figure Felony.

But they added just a touch of class. Rather than using the F, they substituted the ph. That makes it way better.

Why in the world would you name your little girl Otter? I mean, so you think that's a cute little furry animal? Great. Don't do that to a child. Please do not do that.

Here's some boys names. Somebody named their son. Version 2.0. That's the legal name. Like I said, Junior is way overused.

Junior's not original. So let's come up with something better. Version 2.0. Somebody else in Scotland named their child back in 2018. Lucifer.

I mean, come on, for real. Somebody else named their son King Messiah. No pressure son. But you've got some big shoes to fill. Somebody else named their son Buddy Bear.

Buddy Bear, I just say, poor boy. You reckon he got beat up a few times in middle school? Maybe. Maybe you'll understand a little better when you hear what the siblings names were. Poppy, Honey, Daisy Boo, Pamela Petal Blossom, Rainbow and River Rocket Blue Dallas.

Obviously this was a couple that lived in a state where marijuana was already legalized.

Back in 1884, there were five baby boys registered legal name. Man, Man, I don't know if they just saw the baby and went, man, I don't know what the story is behind that. Listen, names are important. Names carry meaning and description. We find names in the Bible like Adam from the dust, Abraham, father of generations, Isaac, laughter, Rachel in childbirth.

While she was dying, she named her son Benoni, son of my sorrow. Fortunately, her Husband Jacob changed the name to Benjamin, son of my right hand. The name Jesus Emmanuel. God with us literally means salvation. And that's who Isaiah's writing about.

700 years before Jesus would be born, Isaiah writes these beautiful prophetic words about the coming Messiah in the midst of a very dark time. Isaiah is living in the midst of darkness. And for some 3,000 years, the world had been getting worse. Kingdoms had risen and fallen, sin abounded everywhere, and God's people were under great oppression. Does that sound familiar?

Maybe that could be a description of the times in which we're living right now. And in the midst of all of that, God pulls the curtain back just a little bit and gives Isaiah a picture into the future of a coming hope, of a coming light. Look back at verse two we read a moment ago. It says, the people walking in darkness. Now, Isaiah is writing this.

Now think 700 years before the fulfillment of the prophecy, and they're in the midst of darkness and oppression where things are getting worse and people are caught up in sin. And Isaiah writes, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of deep darkness. A light has dawned. Isaiah's writing about a coming light. And we know that he's writing about the man, Jesus, who's going to pierce the darkness with his very presence.

John the apostle later calls him the light of the world. That would light up every continent, that would light up every nation, that had the ability to light up every home, to light up every city and every community and every oppressive and dark spot in the entire world. It was like being on a wave tossed ocean with darkness so thick that you could almost feel it. And all of a sudden you see across the horizon a light, a faint light that begins to pierce the darkness, like the sun just barely rising in the midst of a storm. When Isaiah got that view into the future, he saw three things.

Number one, he saw a crib when he said, for unto us a child is born. Secondly, he saw a cross when he said, for to us a son is given, prophetically speaking, about a day when Jesus would hang on the cross. And he also prophesies a crown. He sees a crown when he says, and the government will rest upon his shoulders. And in verse 6, Isaiah gives us a description when he says that his name.

Remember, names are important. And people are asking the prophet, who is this that you're talking about? What is his name? Isaiah says, well, his name is Emmanuel, God with us. But there's even more than that.

Isaiah says, his name shall be called Wonderful counselor. That word wonderful in the Hebrew is the word pele. It means extraordinary beyond human understanding. The concept of pele is deeply rooted in God's activity and God's involvement in the world, and that his actions would be so far beyond the comprehension of man. The word counselor in the Hebrew is the word yaats.

It means to advise, to counsel. In ancient Israel, counsel was highly valued, especially in leadership and governance. Kings and prophets and elders often sought advice to make informed decisions. The role of the counselor was hugely significant. It could influence the direction of a nation.

It could influence the outcome of a situation. Isaiah is writing 700 years before, Jesus would come, and he would say, you need to know who it is that's coming. It's not just God with us, but Jesus is coming as a wonderful counselor and as a counselor to mankind. There's three things that he's going to offer, three things that he's going to bring. Number one, Jesus would come and he would bring emotional help.

Emotional help. Listen, if you have mental health issues, if you're battling depression, if life has overwhelmed you, if you're being bombarded on a regular basis with suicidal thoughts, if you're experiencing relationship struggles, Jesus provides advice and counsel that is extraordinary, that is beyond human comprehension. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 17 and 18 says, for this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way so that he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Watch. Then Jesus could die in their place to take away their sins.

And now he can help those who are tempted because he himself suffered and was tempted. The word help, there in the Greek is the word botheo, and it literally means running to the aid of someone who cries out for help. And Isaiah said, I want you to understand something about the one who's coming.

He's a wonderful counselor, and he sits on the ready so that the moment one of his kids cry out for help, he comes running to their aid. He's not the kind of counselor who says, hey, I hear you, but I'm booked up for the next month. You need to make an appointment and come see me. No, no, no. Isaiah says he's the kind of counselor who the moment you, you cry out for help, he comes running to you to give you advice and counsel that is beyond human understanding.

Somebody ought to thank him for that today.

Hebrews chapter 4, verse 14, 15, 16 says, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith. We profess for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize or empathize with our weaknesses. There's a difference between sympathy and empathy.

To sympathize with somebody means that you can have compassion for them. They're walking through a tough time. They're in the midst of a very difficult situation. They're walking through grief, they've lost a family member, they're walking through divorce, they're having financial struggles. And you have real compassionate feelings for them that sympathy.

But empathy is different. Empathy means that you've actually walked through the same or similar circumstances, and you don't just have compassion for them. You can literally feel what they are feeling. That's empathy. It's not just, oh, I care about you and I'm so sorry for the things you're walking through.

No, it's much deeper than that. Empathy says, I can literally feel the pain that you feel. I feel the emotions that you feel. And Hebrews describes our great high priest, Jesus, the wonderful counselor, as one who feels what you feel.

He feels the emotion. He feels the grief, he feels the pain. He feels the struggle that you feel. And the writer of Hebrews goes on to say, we have one who's been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

What I want you to understand today, Church, is that there is no greater counselor, there's no greater advocate, no greater helper than Jesus. He understands everything that you feel. He understands everything that you face. And Jesus ought to be the first place that you run. He should never be your last resort.

Whenever you find yourself in the midst of darkness or challenging season, I want to challenge you that the first appointment you make is with Jesus, that you run into his presence, you run into his arms, and that you talk to him about what you're facing and what you're going through. I love what Joyce Meyer used to say. She used to say, before you go to the phone, you need to go to the throne. I think that's great advice. Listen.

Just as Jesus is the perfect high priest, he has anointed and raised up pastors made in his image to carry out his work in the earth. In the same way Jesus being the perfect counselor, he has still anointed godly counselors in the earth to carry out his work. And I personally thank God for anointed godly Christian counselors. And here at the church we have several that we recommend, several that we have vetted.

And listen, just because you have the name Christian in front of the word counselor does not necessarily mean that they are a Christian counselor. We want to send people to counselors who are deeply grounded in the word of God, who are going to steer you towards the things of God. And I want you to know from your pastor that there's nothing wrong with going to counseling.

I've been to counseling more than once. You did this to me.

Nothing wrong with going to godly Christian counselors.

They're a gift to the body of Christ.

Maybe you're facing marital issues, marital struggles, and you need to seek help. Listen, the reality is some people only want to find a counselor who will agree with them and make them feel justified in their actions.

Listen to me. If you're being unfaithful to your spouse, you need a counselor who will help you get healed and not just make you feel justified in what you're doing.

Can I speak truth to you today?

Being married to somebody who's mean is not grounds for divorce.

Being married to somebody that you don't have anything in common with is not grounds for divorce.

Listen, I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying that you're not going to have struggles and difficulties. Melanie and I have been married for 41 years. Coming up on 42 years, we're about as opposite as they come. But yet we've learned to work together and.

And to leverage the differences in our relationship so that we're better together than if we were apart. We made a decision when we got married that we would never allow the word divorce to enter into our vocabulary.

Now, listen, Let me make this clear. God hates divorce, but he does not hate those who are divorced.

I know the statistics for divorce are about the same as they are in the world.

It pains the heart of God, but he loves you deeply. Many in our church who have walked through the bitter waters of divorce.

But I want you to understand, Scripture makes allowance only in three cases for divorce. Number one, if there's unfaithfulness. Number two, if there's abuse. Number three, if you're married to an unbeliever and they choose to walk away from the marriage. Everything else.

Everything else. We should honor the covenant that we've made before God because it's a holy covenant. Will it take work? Yes, it will take work. But there are godly anointed counselors that can help you get there.

If you're battling suicidal thoughts, if you're struggling with depression, I encourage you seek help through a counselor. If you're battling addiction, seek help through a counselor. Cry out to Jesus. He stands on the ready to run to you and to help you. And at times, the help that he provides comes through some of these, that he's anointed and that he's raised up.

I'm grateful that Jesus, as our wonderful counselor, brings us emotional help. I don't know about you, but I need emotional help. We're emotional beings. We're made in the image of God. But how many of you know, at times it's difficult to navigate the turbulent waters of life.

It's okay to ask for help. Are y' all with me today?

Secondly, our wonderful counselor brings advice to us. We often hear somebody who serves as an advisor to the president or an advisor to a head of state. That person is a trusted and proven friend who can help somebody who's in authority to make good decisions for the good of the nation. Isaiah says about the wonderful counselor, Jesus who's coming, that the government would be upon his shoulders. It represents authority that he would carry in a unique way.

The garments of the high priest had six stones on one shoulder and six on the other, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, because the priest was meant to feel some of the weight of governing the 12 tribes. And. And Isaiah says that there's one who's coming, and he's going to walk in an authority unlike anybody else. He's going to have the government of the world upon his shoulders. And the word government there is only found two times in all of Scripture.

And we just read it in Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6 and 7. It's the Hebrew word Mizrah. It means authority and dominion. And this word, Mizrah, only used twice in the entire Bible, is reserved to demonstrate the uniqueness of what God would establish through Jesus. A kingdom that would never end, ruled by a king like none other.

He can give you advice, he can give you counsel from a place of authority that nobody else possesses.

Psalm 1, verse 1 says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. You see, Jesus possesses this authority, this dominion, this Mizrah that nobody else possesses. And because of the authority that he walks in, he has dominion over every demon and every principality there's ever been. He has dominion over every form of sickness that's ever been. He has authority over addiction.

He has dominion over depression. Come on, are you with me today? Like, he carries this authority over death and over sin and over everything that the enemy would try to use to pull us out of our relationship with Jesus. Jesus walks in that authority and out of that place he gives you advice and counsel.

And Psalm 1:1 says that you're a blessed man or a blessed woman if you surround yourself with people who are deeply grounded in the Word of God. Blessed are the ones who walk not in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners. Listen to me. It's so vitally important that you are in community and that you surround yourself with people and that you're getting advice from people who have spent time in the Word of God every single day of their life. Don't run to people that just have lots of opinions.

Don't run to people just because you think they're smart. No, surround yourself with people who have a deep knowledge of the Word of God. God. Because that Luke 10:19 authority that Jesus walks in, that he says, I'll give to you now, that comes through those who have grounded their life in the authority of the Word of God. Isaiah says, the wonderful counselor.

Jesus is going to be able to give you advice like nobody else. And lastly, he's going to be able to give you legal counsel. Legal counsel. If you're ever arrested, one of the first things that you're told is that you have a right to legal counsel. Legal counsel is the use of a lawyer that'll represent you in judicial proceedings.

When you enter into a relationship with Jesus, you get an advocate. The Bible calls him an advocate. That's one who will represent you. It's one who will stand in the gap for you. One who stands before the righteous judge.

Anytime an accusation is brought against you. Listen, the Bible is clear. All of us were born with a penalty, a fine that we could not pay. We're all born sinners. We stand before a righteous judge and he says, how are you going to take care of this?

Fine. How are you going to. How are you going to take care of this? And we have no answer. We can't.

We can't make ourselves clean on the inside. You can do all kinds of things. You can memorize scripture. You can serve in the community. You can serve food at Thanksgiving at a homeless shelter.

You can change the diapers of babies in the nursery. You can do all kinds of things, but you do not have the ability to. To make yourself clean on the inside, not on your own. And the righteous judge says, there's a fine that you have to pay. And Paul says in Romans 6:23 that that fine, the penalty, the wages of our sin is death.

It's death. We stand before the righteous judge, and we. We have no comeback. We have no answer.

He says, then you're going to have to pay with your life. And all of a sudden, someone steps in front of us, and he stands before the righteous judge, and he says, judge, your Honor, I'd like to pay their fine. I'd like to take their place.

I would like to pay the penalty for their sin by giving my life. Instead, he takes the penalty that we could never pay. And all of a sudden, that righteous judge looks at us and he says, you're free to go.

You're free to go. Your record has been absolved. There's nothing that's going to show up ever your record, because you've been declared clean. You've been declared forgiven. You're free to go.

And the moment we step into relationship with Jesus, that's exactly what happens. But we also know that even though we're in relationship with Jesus, there's one that the Bible describes as the accuser of the brethren. And he begins leveling accusations towards us based on who we once were. And he says to the righteous judge, no, no, no, Judge, you don't understand. You said they're free.

That person is nothing but an addict. They're a liar. They're a thief, Judge, that man's a thief. That woman's an adulteress. Judge, you don't understand all that they've done.

Accuses us night and day, over and over, trying his best to sever the relationship that we have with Jesus. The apostle Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 5, if any man is in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. All things are made new. The enemy has no power over us unless we give it to him.

But he accuses us night and day. And the righteous judge looks at us and says, how do you plead to these charges? How do you plead to the fact that you're an adulteress? How do you plead to the fact that you're prideful, that you're full of anger? How do you plead to the fact that you've stolen from your family members?

How do you plead to that? And before we can get a word out of our mouths, that advocate steps in front of us again before the righteous judge, and he says, you, Honor, my client pleads the blood.

My client pleads the blood. That was taken care of a long time ago, Judge. My client has been clean. He's been forgiven. He's been washed.

There's nothing on his record. Anymore because the blood speaks a better word.

Isaiah is writing about this wonderful counselor, saying there's one who's coming in the midst of darkness.

He's going to embody and carry so many things that we need. And one of the things is that we're going to need emotional help and we're going to need legal counsel, and we're going to need advice. And he's going to be all of that for you. And you don't have to make an appointment for months away. You can call on him today.

He'll come running. He'll come running to you.

Whatever your situation, whatever's going on in your life, whatever darkness surrounds you, whatever perplexing circumstances you're facing, God brought you here today. Or God had you tune in today so that you could be reminded. We have a wonderful counselor. He's beyond human understanding. He's unlike anybody that's ever lived, ever breathed, ever walked on the earth.

He's unlike anybody that we've ever had access to. And the beautiful thing is you have access to him right now.

And I want to challenge you that. Your first appointment, you may need to see a counselor, and that's okay. But your first appointment needs to be with Jesus. You need to run to him. You need to cry out to him.