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Sermon #1826 Miscellaneous Sermons

Title: The Name We Trust

Text: Isaiah 9:6-7

Subject: Our Savior’s Wonderful Name

Date: Sunday Morning – December 27, 2001

Tape # Z-78b

Reading: Romans 10:1-21

Introduction:

I want to pick up this morning right where I left off Tuesday night in Isaiah 9:6. The title of my message is — The Name We Trust.

Have you ever noticed that we are never called upon to trust the righteousness of Christ, or to trust the blood of Christ, or to trust the intercession of Christ, or to trust the merits, power, or grace of Christ? We are never once admonished even to trust the finished work of Christ? — The Scriptures teach us to trust Christ himself. Yet, we are often urged and taught to trust the name of Christ, to call upon the name of Christ, to worship the name of Christ, because the name of Christ is what he is and who he is (Psalm 9:10; 20:7; Isaiah 50:10; Jeremiah 7:14; Zephaniah 3:12; Matthew 12:21; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13).

(Psalms 9:10) “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”

(Psalms 20:7) “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

(Isaiah 50:10) “Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.”

(Jeremiah 7:14) “Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.”

(Zephaniah 3:12) “I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.”

(Matthew 12:21) “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”

(Acts 4:12) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

(Romans 10:13) “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

What a blessed season this is! I care nothing at all for the all the religious tom-foolery associated with Christmas; but I do greatly enjoy these few weeks in every year when all men everywhere are compelled to think about the fact that God sent his Son in this world. Don’t you?

Our hearts rejoice to celebrate the incarnation of God’s darling Son! We celebrate the coming of God to us in humiliation, for he came here in humiliation that he might bring us to himself in glory (2 Corinthians 8:9).

(2 Corinthians 8:9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came here to die as the last Adam, that we who died in the first Adam might live forever with him in his glory. He came here to restore that which he took not away by paying the debt we owed to the broken law and offended justice of the holy Lord God. – The Price was his own life’s blood!

Truly, in Christ, it must be said, — “Where sin abounded grace did much more abound!” I want to direct your hearts once more to him in whom the grace of God comes bounding and abounding to sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our text will be Isaiah 9:6-7.

(Isaiah 9:6-7) “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.”

This is our Savior! This is the Christ upon whom we rest the weight of our immortal souls. This is — The Name We Trust. I want you who are yet without life, without grace, without hope to know and trust and love him. Oh, may God the Holy Spirit cause you to see that “his name is Wonderful” and give you grace to trust in his name!

Though the Lord God threatens wrath against the ungodly, though he will by no means clear the guilty, though he has sworn, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die,” in wrath our God remembers mercy and promises great mercy to all who hear his voice and trust him. But how can such a promise be fulfilled? All the great, comprehensive promises of grace, those promises of salvation and eternal life could be fulfilled only by God sending his Son into the world in human flesh.

Proposition: In Isaiah 9:6-7 Isaiah proclaimed that God would fulfill his word of grace by sending his own dear Son into the world, by the incarnation, virgin birth, extraordinary character and glorious exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Divisions: In verses 1-5, as I showed you Tuesday night, God promised to bring salvation to his elect. Here, in verses 6-7 he tells how he would accomplish his great purpose of grace. Let me show you four things revealed in these few verses about our Savior.

1. The Incarnation and Virgin Birth Of Christ.

2. The Amazing Character Of Our Savior.

3. The Glorious Exaltation Of Our Redeemer.

4. The Infallible Security Of God’s Purpose.

The Incarnation

Our begins with a prophecy of the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. — “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” Without question, Isaiah is here elaborating upon the prophesy he had given in chapter seven, verse fourteen. — “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” He is telling us that in order for God to save us, God himself must come into the world in human flesh!

In this opening sentence the prophet of God tells us three things about the Messiah, the Savior whom God had promised.

First, he declares the humanity of Christ. — “For unto us a child is born.” Behold the humiliation of our Savior. Though he comes to reign as King forever, he is born into this world as a little child! In his state of humiliation he was as helpless as any other baby, requiring the sustenance of his mother’s breasts, the care of her hands and the warmth of the blankets she wrapped around him.

· Our Savior is a man like us, touched with the feeling our infirmities.

· Because he came to suffer the wrath of God and die in our place, he assumed a nature capable of suffering and death.

· Because he came to redeem men, not angels, he took on him the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2:16; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:5-8).

(Hebrews 2:16) For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

(2 Corinthians 8:9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

(Philippians 2:5-8) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Second, Isaiah speaks of the deity of our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. — “Unto us a son is given.” As the Son of Man, Christ is a child born; but as the Son of God, he is a Son given. You see, this little child is himself God the eternal Son, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. He is God in our nature. Our Savior must be both God and man in one glorious Person!

· This is the great mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16).

(1 Timothy 3:16) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

· This is the great mystery of grace. — This child was born and this Son was given “unto us!”

Man had broken God’s law and a man must repair it; but his obedience to the law could be of no value to us were he not also the infinite God. — Man had sinned and man must die; but his death could never satisfy the justice of God for us were he not himself the infinite God. His deity gives merit and efficacy to all that he did as a man. — Christ Jesus our Savior is the Gift of God’s love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10).

(John 3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

(1 John 4:9-10) In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

He is the Son given…

· In the Covenant of Grace.

· In the Incarnation.

· Into the Hands of Justice on the Cross.

· In the New Birth.

· In Heaven’s Glory.

Third, Isaiah proclaims the dominion of our Savior. — “And the government shall be upon his shoulder.” Remember, Isaiah is here talking about Christ as the Mediator, the incarnate God-Man, our Redeemer; and he tells us that as the result of his obedience to God the Father as our Mediator and Surety, “the government shall be upon his shoulder.” This is the result of and reward of his redemptive work (John 17:2). But what government is he talking about?

· The Government of All Creation.

· The Government of Providence.

· The Government of His Church and Kingdom.

· The Government of All Grace.

“As in the days of his flesh he exercised the most unlimited authority over diseases, devils and the very elements, so now everything fulfills his unerring counsels.” — (Charles Simeon)

Our Savior’s Character

Look at the next part of our text. Here the prophet of God shows us the amazing character of our Savior. — “And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Here are five names by which our Savior is called, the name by which we call upon and worship our great God, the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. His name is his character. He is called these five things because this is who and what he is! You who know him will bear me witness that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, is…

“Wonderful!” — Wonderful in His Person. — Wonderful in His Works. — Wonderful in His Accomplishments. — Wonderful in His Love. — Wonderful in His Grace. — Wonderful in His Death! — Wonderful in His Resurrection! — Wonderful in His Exaltation! — Wonderful in His Intercession! — Wonderful in His Second Coming!

“Counselor!” — He stood as our Counselor in the Covenant of Grace. — He gives Counsel to His people in this world by his Spirit and by his Word. — He is our Counselor at the Bar of God in Heaven.

“The Mighty God!” — Jesus Christ is God, the Mighty One. Sometimes in the Scriptures angels and magistrates are called “gods” because of their God-given authority. But Christ is the God, the Mighty One! — Though he assumed our nature, he never ceased to be God, the Mighty One. — Though he died under the wrath of God, he who died upon the cursed tree is God, the Mighty One. — Though he sits in heaven in a human body, that man in heaven is God, the Mighty One. — Because he is God, the Mighty One, he is able to accomplish all he has undertaken as a man.

· Righteousness (Romans 5:19).

· Redemption (Hebews 9:12).

· Salvation (Hebrews 7:25).

“The Everlasting Father!” — Isaiah was not confused about the Persons of the Godhead, or the doctrine of the Trinity. He wrote by Divine Inspiration; and his words are precisely accurate. — He is the Father of His Spiritual Seed, the Church (Ephesians 3:15). — He is the Father of an Everlasting Age. — He is the Father of the World to come. — Christ is to us The Everlasting Father!

· We are born of His Spirit.

· We have His Nature.

· We wear His Name.

· We are under His Care.

· We live upon His Provisions.

· We shall possess His Inheritance.

“The Prince of Peace!” — He is the Prince by whom peace comes!

· He Purchased Peace for us.

· He Promised Peace to us.

· He Performs Peace in us.

Wherever the Prince of Peace rules, there is peace. And the more willingly and fully we submit to his rule, the greater our peace shall be.

I told you our Savior’s character is amazing, more than amazing, astonishing. He is Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!

Christ’s Exaltation

Look now at verse 7. Here Isaiah proclaims the glorious exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was hinted at earlier. Here it is more fully described. — “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.”

Isaiah is talking about the sovereign rule of Christ, the Messiah, as the Prince of Peace, as the exalted King and Governor of the Universe, and as the Governor of his church and kingdom. (Compare Psalm 2:6; Isaiah 45:23-25; 53:12; Philippians 2:9-11; Acts 2:32-36).

(Psalms 2:6) Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

(Isaiah 45:23-25) I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. 25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

(Isaiah 53:12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

(Acts 2:32-36) This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

(Philippians 2:9-11) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christ’s kingdom is an ever-increasing kingdom. His government is a peaceful rule.

· He rules the hearts of men.

· He rules by love.

· He rules through the gospel.

And his rule is established in the hearts of men by wisdom and justice.

· He makes us to see the Wisdom of God in Redemption.

· He causes us to know the Justice of God in Grace.

Christ’s kingdom is an everlasting, eternal kingdom. — “Of his Kingdom there shall be no end.”

Secure Purpose

Now look at the last sentence of our text. Isaiah assures us of the infallible security of God’s sovereign, eternal purpose of grace in Christ. — “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” God himself, the eternal, omnipotent, sovereign God of the universe, the Triune Jehovah has himself undertaken to perform all these things. They cannot fail.

· God’s zeal for His own name will perform it.

· God’s zeal for His people’s good will perform it.

Jehovah’s zeal is his fervent flaming love. His fervent, burning love moves him to perform his purpose, and is effectual to accomplish it.

· His fervent love for his own glory, which is his ultimate end in all his works of creation, providence and grace, moves him to fulfil all that is here revealed by the prophet. — The birth of Christ — His Offices — Redemption by His Blood — The Fulness of His Kingdom.

· Jehovah’s zeal or fervent love to his Son, shown in giving all things into his hands, in committing all judgment to him, that men may honor him as they do the Father, moved the Triune Jehovah to increase his government and peace, and make Christ the Firstborn higher than the kings of the earth.

· And his zeal or fervent love to his elect assure us that he will perform all these great promises of mercy, love and grace for us.

· Everything the queen of Sheba said of Solomon may be said of Christ and his people. — “Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice” (1 Kings 10:9).

Application

What does all of this mean? How do these things apply to us?

· You can trust this Christ.

· How we ought to admire such a Savior.

· How grateful we should be to our Redeemer. — “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gift!”

· How devoted we ought to be to our God. — (Tonight’s Message — “More than A Tithe — Malachi 3:8-12).

· How we ought to rejoice in our Savior’s name!

(Isaiah 9:6-7) 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. 7 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.

(Acts 4:12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

(Romans 10:9-10) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

(Matthew 1:21) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!

There’s just something about that name!

Master, Savior, Jesus,

Like the fragrance after the rain!

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Let all heaven and earth proclaim:

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,

But there’s something about that name!”

There’s something about that name that prevails with God! — There’s something about that name that gives sinners acceptance with God! — There’s something about that name that satisfies my soul’s needs! — There’s something about that name that cheers my heart! — There’s something about that name that gives me hope! — There’s something about that name that gives me hope for you!

(Romans 10:9-13) “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (12) For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

What more can I say? “His name is Wonderful!” — Publish it everywhere!

His name is Wonderful,

Jesus my Lord;

He is the mighty King,

Master of everything,

His name is Wonderful,

Jesus, my Lord.

He's the great Shepherd,

The Rock of all ages,

Almighty God is He!

Bow down before Him,

Love and adore Him,

His name is Wonderful,

Jesus, my Lord.

Amen!

Don Fortner

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