Do you know what an APTRONYM is? I don’t remember covering this in ENGLISH class when I was in high school or even in college, but one of the benefits of weekly sermon preparation is that you are always learning new things, and here’s what I learned this week about APTRONYMS!
An APTRONYM is a compound word consisting of the adjective ‘apt’, meaning ‘aptitude’, and ‘nym’, the Greek word for ‘name.’ When you put those two meanings together, you have a term that designates a person whose name lines up with their aptitude. Let me put it this way: an APTRONYM occurs when what a person is NAMED describes what they DO. Here are some real life examples taken from Wikipedia:
- Britt Barefoot, punter for The University of Southern Mississippi college football team
- Layne Beachley, Australian world champion surfer
- Samantha Bond, who played Miss Moneypenney in four of the James Bond films.
- Margaret Court, tennis player
- Cecil Fielder and his son Prince Fielder–both baseball players
- Bill Medley, singer and one half of the famous Righteous Brothers
- Margaret Spellings, Education Secretary under George W. Bush
- Larry Speakes, presidential spokesman under President Ronald Reagan
- Lake Speed, former NASCAR driver
- Willie Thrower, former NFL quarterback
- Tiger Woods, golfer (Wood is of course a type of golf club)
- William Wordsworth, poet
I bring this up because today, as we continue our ‘Christmas B.C.’ sermon series, where we are studying the Scriptures that predicted the Messiah’s coming centuries before His birth–today we come to a very familiar text in which God gave four names to the coming Messiah–names that are what you might call ‘Advent Aptronymns, ‘ because these names match up with what the Messiah came to do. These four prophetic names tell us both about His character and also about His mission.
And speaking of names–have you ever stopped to realize how important descriptive names are to God? I would go so far as to say that God INVENTED the concept of an aptronym because the Bible tells us that, from the very beginning, our Creator gave appropriate names to both things and people. Genesis 1 says that,
‘God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness He called ‘night ‘…God called the expanse ‘sky’…God called the dry ground ‘land.”(Genesis 1:5, 8, 10).
Of course those names seem fitting because that’s what we’ve always called them but here are some of the many examples of how God gave descriptive names to PEOPLE. Isaac means ‘laughter’ , which makes ‘aptronymic’ sense because Genesis 17 tells us that when God told Isaac’s father, Abraham, who was then 99 years old, that he would have another son, the wrinkled patriarch literally fell on his face laughing. Here’s another: the definition of Jacob is ‘deceiver,’ and that name fit that child perfectly! Remember how Jacob deceived his brother and later his father-in-law? One more: Moses’ name means ‘drawn out,’ matching the fact that, as a baby floating in a basket, he was DRAWN OUT of the Nile by the Pharaoh’s daughter.
And Jesus–a perfectly suited name that means, ‘Jehovah saves’–Jesus is the best, the most COMPLETE, example of God’s use of aptronyms, because the Bible records the fact that Jesus was given not just one, but many names. In fact the Scriptures contain over 100 different descriptive names that were given to the Son of God. Why so many? Well, missionary E.A. Ruskin was once asked that question by the people of the Congo (now Zaire), and this is what he said: ‘The beauty and the fullness and the magnificence of this matchless Person cannot be expressed by just one name.’ And I agree with Ruskin. One name doesn’t begin to completely describe Who Jesus IS and What He DOES in our lives. Remember, Jesus is INFINITE God in the flesh so one name would be too finite, too limiting. It has been said of Jesus that ‘…every name He BEARS, is a blessing He SHARES,’ and that is true because our Lord gives and gives blessing after blessing, until our cups overflow so one aptronym won’t suffice!
This morning we’re going to zero in on FOUR of Jesus’ names–names that were given him through the prophet Isaiah 700 years before He was born. Turn in your Bibles to our next ‘Christmas B.C. text,’ Isaiah 9:1-7, and let’s begin our study of these names that help us get a better picture of the matchless Messiah Who was laid in a manger 2,000 years ago:
1 – There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan–
2 – The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
3 – You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before You as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
4 – 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.
5 – Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 – 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.
7 – Of the increase 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.
Did anyone see a ‘Christmas song’ imbedded in this text? Sure you did–in verse 6. Those familiar words are not only READ in tons of Christmas cards, they are also HEARD whenever Handel’s oratorio, Messiah is sung because they are the lyrics to one of the most popular choruses of that great work. If it were in our hymnal, we’d sing it this morning BUT, before we go any further, let’s try and understand the CONTEXT of this familiar prophecy.
By looking back at chapter 7, we can see that in 741 B.C. the prophet Isaiah was sent to Jerusalem to speak to King Ahaz when his city was surrounded by the armies of their enemies.
Isaiah told the king to ask God for a sign that would convince him and his people that the God of Israel still loved them and would protect them. But Ahaz refused the offer, hoping instead that Assyria would protect him. So the Lord gave His OWN sign, saying that a Deliverer would come out of the house of David. In the next chapter Isaiah predicted the downfall of the ten tribes by Assyria. Then here in Isaiah 9 the prophet foresaw the Assyrians invading Galilee, which they did twenty years later–causing a great emotional and spiritual darkness to come over the people of God. But Isaiah was also given prophetic insight that in the future God would place his Messiah in the land of Galilee as a great Light. So understand–this particular Messianic birth announcement was made in the midst of grief and gloom–hardship that came as a result of the people’s sin.
Remember, as I told you last week, sin always has painful consequences, and these sinful people were experiencing them. They were enduring hardship because of their disobedience. But, as a testament of God’s amazing grace, Isaiah said that Jesus would come and DISPEL the gloom. People walking in DARKNESS would one day see a great LIGHT!
If you’ve ever been in the midst of a time of grief then you know that in those BAD times, good news sounds especially GOOD. Well, that’s how this would have sounded to these people. Things were BAD–but God was and still is GOOD–and so this promise that the Light of the World was coming must have stirred their hopes! We must remember this principle in our own ‘dark times.’ We face hardship–life is tough for us as fallen people living in a fallen world–but as Christians we know how things will turn out in the end. Do you remember Paul’s words from 2nd Corinthians 4:8?
‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.’
In the gloomy times of life we need to remember that the Light of the World HAS come and that His kingdom is forever and a time will come when gloom will be gone for good. As Tony Campolo put it in his best-selling book, ‘It’s Friday–but Sunday’s coming!’ Tell yourself that the next time you go through a tough time! Remind yourself that for the Christian no ‘nightmare’ is permanent. Because of Jesus’ we go THROUGH difficult times–we don’t REMAIN IN them.
Well, this good news given to people living in a tough time begins in verse 6 as Isaiah talks about the indescribable uniqueness of the promised Messiah. I say ‘indescribable’ because in these words God hinted at both Jesus’ humanity and deity. You see, the coming Messiah would be the God-man, and no theologian I have ever studied has been able to fully explain or DESCRIBE this logically; but the Bible systematically and clearly teaches that Jesus was 100% man and at the same time 100% God. We see this vital doctrine here in Isaiah 9:6. Look at its words once again. The phrase, ‘For unto us a child is BORN’ says that the Messiah would begin His life like every other HUMAN, as a flesh and blood baby, referring to the child already spoken of in Isaiah 7:14 where he wrote,
‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and she will call His name Immanuel.’
The words, ‘to us a son is GIVEN’ points to Jesus’ DIVINITY. This phrase tells us that Jesus is GOD’S Son, Who has been GIVEN to us. This reminds me of Galatians 4:4-5 where it says,
‘When the fullness of time came, God sent forth–God GAVE–His only Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the law.’
I think Ravi Zacharias summarizes this well. He says, ‘The Son wasn’t born, the Son eternally existed; the child was BORN, the Son was GIVEN.’
On top of this, Isaiah says that the ‘government will be upon His shoulders.’ This means that all the expectations of the throne of King David were to be fulfilled in Christ. In 2nd Samuel 17 God had promised David that his throne would last forever, and that promise was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, the Christ–God in flesh appearing–Redeemer and Ruler of all.
That’s another thing we need to realize in the midst of our own trials and tribulations. Jesus IS on His throne. He IS in charge. His purposes WILL prevail.
No matter what happens, our Redeemer and Ruler ‘works in ALL things for our good.’ We often miss these vital facts because, at Christmas, we focus only on the infant Jesus. I mean, the phrase, ‘Christ-child,’ is a beautiful one, but it doesn’t quite do it! Jesus is far more than a ‘child’ — as we will see in our study of these four aptronyms, so let’s look at them. What do these four names tell us about Jesus? By the way, I think this is one of the easiest verses on which to build a sermon outline because each of the names is a clear-cut point. Thank You God! Outlining this verse is a no-brainer!
(1) First, Isaiah tells us that Jesus is the ‘WONDERFUL COUNSELOR.’
This is indeed good news, because we all need and yearn for a counselor. This is why people read horoscopes and pay $150 per hour to speak to a professional counselor. This is why we surf the internet for information. We all hunger for someone to help us make the right decisions. We need someone wise enough to guide us through the perplexities of life. This is part of the reason all those women on the Oprah show that I mentioned last week were falling all over themselves to follow the guidance of Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. They wanted someone to help them understand how to make sense of their lives…and Ms. Gilbert seemed so confident! She seemed to know what she was talking about. Well, Ms. Gilbert’s guidance is flawed at best, but this Christmas B.C. text reminds us that Jesus’ guidance, His counsel is WONDERFUL! As Isaiah 28:29 states, ‘The LORD almighty, is WONDERFUL in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.’
The word ‘wonderful’ is so overused that we have forgotten its true meaning. These days people use this word interchangeably with the word ‘nice, which doesn’t even come close to the full meaning of this word. I remember watching the Lawrence Welk show as a kid, and he judged every song in his show as being ‘wunerful…wunerful…’ Anyone old enough to remember that? Well, when Isaiah used this word here, he wasn’t saying Jesus’ counsel is NICE or PLEASANT. He wasn’t using ‘wonderful’ in the bland ‘Lawrence-Welk sense.’ No, he was saying that the coming Messiah would ASTOUND us with His knowledge and insight. Larry Libby has written an entire book on this phrase. He says,
‘Compared to the Biblical description of WONDER, our own fades like the beam of a penlight at high noon. Wonder isn’t some bland bloodless adjective. It is a mountainous noun soaring into the heavens like Everest, piercing the upper atmosphere. It isn’t like plugging in the Christmas tree lights; it’s more like grabbing a high-voltage power line. This is wonder that throbs with power, turns your knees to jell-o salad, and prickles the hairs on the back of your neck.’
Coupled with the word counselor, a proper understanding of this overused adjective tells us that the Messiah would be someone who gives powerfully PROFOUND counsel to people. And He did that. During His incarnation, Jesus demonstrated amazing wisdom as a counselor. Study the New Testament descriptions of His encounters with people who came to Him for counsel and you’ll see what I mean. In a WONDERFUL…marvelous…HIGH-VOLTAGE way…Jesus always knew exactly what to say; when to reach out to a seeking heart and when to rebuke an impetuous soul. He saw not just the EXTERIOR, but also the INTERIOR…the thoughts and intents of the heart…so He knew what to say to the lonely Woman at the Well who hungered for the grace of God, and to the self-centered worldly Rich Young Ruler whose priorities were all messed up. Jesus knew what to say to His prideful confused disciples. The testimony of those who heard Him was this:
‘Never did a man speak the way this Man speaks.’
(John 7:46). Jesus’ wisdom and insight was indeed FULL of WONDER. As Jesus told His disciples,
‘The Queen of the South…came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now One greater than Solomon is here.’ (Matthew 12:42)
You know, this particular aptronym makes sense because Jesus is THE TRUTH, so it is He to Whom we must turn to make sense out of confusing falsehood of life. And Jesus does this for us. Brian Bill, pastor of Pontiac Bible Church, writes, ‘Our Lord has counsel for every crisis, and for every problem He has a plan. He has a solution for selfishness, answers for anxiety, and a message for every man.’
In fact, there is no counselor, even in modern times, who comes close to Jesus’ expertise. Psychiatrist Dr. J. T. Fisher writes,
‘If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene…if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out the excess verbiage…if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably through comparison. For nearly two thousand years, the Christian world has been holding in its hands the complete answer to its restless and fruitless yearnings. Here…rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment.’
Plus, unlike earthly counselors, Jesus is always available; and when we go to Him, He gives us His undivided attention because He genuinely cares about us. As 2 Peter 5:7 says, we are encouraged to ‘…cast the whole weight of our burdens on Him because we are His personal concern.’ And if that weren’t enough, not only does Jesus care, not only does He put His complete wisdom at our disposal to help us know what to do, when we call on Him, He comes PERSONALLY to help. This IS wonderful, because as someone put it, ‘When life caves in, you do not need reasons, you need comfort. You don’t need some answers, you need someOne. And Jesus is that Someone. He comes to us with His PRESENCE.’ He is GOD WITH US!
Let me ask. Do you need any profound advice right now? Is there something that confuses you or terrifies you? Are you in a predicament that you don’t know how to get out of? Do you have a problem that you can’t solve? Is anyone here at a crossroads in life? Then, go to the Wonderful Counselor in prayer! Search His Scriptures for the answers you are looking for! He promises that when we seek we will find…when we knock doors will be opened. So go to Him! I promise, if you heed His WONDERFUL counsel, you will echo the words of Psalm 16:7 who said: ‘I will PRAISE the LORD, Who counsels me…’
(2) The second aptronym in our outline is the phrase, ‘Mighty God.’
This descriptive NAME tells us that not only is Jesus profoundly wise in His counsel, He also has the power to accomplish what He advises. Ray Pritchard puts it this way: ‘As the Wonderful Counselor, He makes the PLANS; as the Mighty God, He makes the plans WORK.’ And He is ABLE to make the plans work because, as I said a moment ago, not only is He the SON of God; He is also GOD the Son. The Baby laid in the manger is also the King of glory. Or to put it another way: ‘The humble CARPENTER of Nazareth is also the mighty ARCHITECT of the Universe.’
We see His Godly power and might even at his birth. Think of it, Jesus’ arrival caused a star to appear in the heavens. That star led the Magi to leave their homes and make a long journey to come and pay Him homage. Their arrival in Jerusalem shook King Herod and his court. Jesus’ birth brought angels from Heaven to sing His praises. Midnight became like midday as the glory of God appeared to those shepherds abiding in the fields. All these parts of the Christmas story show that Jesus was–and still is–the MIGHTY GOD. John MacArthur writes: ‘Christ the King loves to step into a life of chaos and not only provide wonderful counsel, but also display His divine power by bringing order to the chaos. In other words, He not only tells His subjects what to do as Wonderful Counselor, but He can also energize them to do it–because He is the mighty God.’
Well, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus was Mighty God over and over again. John 1:1 says,
‘In the beginning was the Word and the Word WAS God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’
Colossians 2:9 says,
‘For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form.’
Colossians 1:15 says,
‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.’
And in spite of what many liberal theologians will say, Jesus CLAIMED to be God. In John 10:30 He said, ‘I and the Father are one.’ In John 12:45 he said, ‘If you have seen Me you have seen the Father.’ But remember! Not only did Jesus make this claim–He lived up to it by doing things that only God could do: healing the sick, calming storms, walking on water, forgiving sin, and raising the dead! Plus, His first followers, men who spent three years at His side, died rather than recant their belief that Jesus was God in the flesh. We even see Jesus’ Godly might from the dawn of creation! Colossians 1:16 says,
‘By Him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones of powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.’
So, ironically, on that Christmas night the Creator became a Creature.
What does all this mean to you and me? It means that since Jesus is mighty God–since He is omnipotent–all powerful–He can do anything power can do because He has the strength to do all He wills to do, and this means Jesus can handle anything! He can do the impossible in your life right now. He will give you victory over whatever you’re struggling with today. So let Him! Let Him fight your battles.
During this season, embrace the words spoken by the angel to Mary in Luke 1:37: ‘Nothing is impossible with God.’
(3) And the third point is in the next phrase–an aptronym that says the Messiah is the ‘Everlasting Father.’
Not only would the Messiah be MIGHTY, ALL-POWERFUL GOD. Isaiah also foretold that He would love us and use His power to protect us and provide for our needs–like a FATHER. Psalm 103:13 says, ‘As a father has compassion on His children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.’
Inside, we all long for the compassion and love and care of a father. I think one of the things I miss most about my dad since he died, is not having someone ABOVE me…someone more powerful…more wise…who loves me and cares for me; someone who makes it his responsibility to bear the burdens of my life on his shoulders…someone to tell the world, ‘When it comes to Mark Adams’ needs and struggle, the buck stops here with me!’ We are all that way. Think of it. The entire world changes when we know our earthly dads love us, and this is especially true when we know that the Dad who loves us most is our Heavenly Father–our ABBA.
Shortly before his death, the American novelist, Thomas Wolfe referred to this when he wrote,
‘The deepest search of life, it seems to me the thing that in one way or another is central to all living is man’s search for a Father. Not merely the father of his flesh; not merely the father of his lost youth; but the image of all strength and wisdom, external to his need and superior to his hunger, to which the belief and power of his own life could be united.’
Well, whether he knew it or not, Wolfe was describing the Messiah, because ever since the fall, all people have longed for the ‘father-child’ relationship with God that mankind lost when sin entered the world. And the good news is the fact that this is WHY Jesus was born! As John 1:12-13 puts it,
‘…to who received Him, those who believed in His name, He gave these people the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.’
Galatians 4:47 says,
‘When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, the Spirit Who calls out, ‘Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son.’
C. S. Lewis put it this way: ‘The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.’
In a message by Brian Bill I found the following bit of prose entitled, ‘My Child.’ It’s in the form of a Scripture-based letter written by God to us. Follow along on the screens as I read and note the Bible references:
My child, I offer you more than your earthly father ever could (Matthew 7:1) for I am the perfect Father (Matthew 5:48). Every good gift you receive comes from my hand (James 1:17).
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11), because I love you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).
You are my treasured possession (Exodus 19:5) and I want to show you great and marvelous things (Jeremiah 33:3).
I am also the Father Who comforts you in all your troubles (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you (Psalm 34:18). One day I will wipe every tear from your eye (Revelation 21:3-4)!
Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen (Luke 15:7). I have always been Father, and will always be Father (Ephesians 3:14-15).
My question is… will you be my child? (John 1:12-13). I am waiting for you (Luke 15:11-32). Love, Your Everlasting Father>
So Isaiah prophesied to our dark, gloomy world, the glorious news that the Light of the World, the Messiah, would come; and He would be a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father.
(4) Then finally he said the child born that night would be our ‘Prince of Peace.’
This is another precious promise because, you see, when SIN entered the world, a CONFLICT began between God and man. Do you remember our study from last week? When Adam and Eve disobeyed, they were driven out of the Garden, separated from their Holy Creator by their sin. Since that time all human beings have followed in their footsteps and rebelled against God. Instead of living their lives according to the will of our Creator, each of us chooses to live according to our own selfish will. Isaiah 53:6 described this struggle we all engage in with God when he said,
‘We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way.’
As I said, when SIN entered the world, PEACE left it, because all of us DO tend to go our way instead of God’s. All of us tend to live in opposition to His will. And, on that horrible day, I think Adam and Eve immediately sensed this, and longed for the peace to return. They desperately hungered to get back what they foolishly lost. If you remember our study of this text from a few years back, you know that when Cain was born Eve literally said, ‘I’ve done it! I’ve given birth to the Deliverer…the promised One Who will crush satan’s head and fix things once again!’ Of course Cain wasn’t the Deliverer, and so they continued to long for the way things used to be prior to The Fall.
Down through the generations all mankind has not only inherited Adam and Eve’s sin nature, but also their yearning for the promised Redeemer to come, and in His coming, bring peace once again between God and man. Jesus Christ is able to do this because, on the cross, He became our peace offering. A peace offering is defined as ‘a gift or service for the purpose of procuring peace or reconciliation.’ In the Old Testament there are dozens of references to the Hebrew people recognizing this enmity between them and God by bringing peace offerings, sacrifices to God, to the temple. But Jesus came to be the Sacrifice–the Peace Offering to God for all mankind. The prophet Isaiah said it would happen this way. He said, ‘The punishment that brought us PEACE was on Him.’ (Isaiah 53:5). In Romans 5:10 Paul said,
‘For we were God’s enemies–reconciled to Him through the death of His Son; we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.’
Ephesians 2:14 says,
‘For JESUS is our peace, He Who has destroyed the barrier…the dividing wall of hostility….for through HIM, we have access to the Father …’
And that’s not all because when we have access to God through Jesus–the Great Peace Offering–when we realize that we have the gift of eternal life, then we can have peace in all aspects of life. Nothing can disturb this peace–not illness, not financial troubles, not even death! Through Jesus, we can indeed have ‘the peace of God, which passeth all understanding’ (Phil 4:7) because true peace comes, not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God. This was the angels’ song that night. Remember? They sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE to men on whom His favor rests.’ (Luke 2:14)
Are you worried about something this morning? Does panic lurk in your thoughts? Give all your anxiety to the Almighty, and His unexplained peace will give you calm in the midst of chaos. Later, in this same book, Isaiah offers us this promise: ‘You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.’ (26:3).
Our study of this text will not be complete without our looking at the last phrase of Isaiah 9:7: ‘The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. The word ‘zeal’ here, in Hebrew means ‘intense desire.’ If you’re ZEALOUS about something, it occupies your thoughts constantly. You build your day around it. For example, I’m always ZEALOUS about getting my sermon done. I remember being ZEALOUS about getting ready for the arrival of our children. Can you think of your own examples…things you are ZEALOUS about? Well, verse 7 of Isaiah’s prophecy tells us that God is ZEALOUS about giving you everything we’ve talked about this morning because He loves you more than you can possibly comprehend! Lucado says, ‘If God had a wallet, your picture would be in it!’ And I like it that God’s ZEALOUS love isn’t some sort of ‘blanket policy love.’ No, it’s a personal love! Tozer writes, ‘God does not love populations. He loves people. He loves not masses, but men. He loves each of us with a mighty love that has no beginning and can have no end.
The lyrics to one of my favorite songs do a great job of describing God’s ZEALOUS love for you and me. They go like this:
‘If you were the king of a great and mighty land…
all that you could see for miles would be at your command…
would you give it all to save a single grain of sand?
That’s the Master’s love for you!If you had all riches that this ole world could hold,
all that you possessed could be of silver and fine gold.
Would you sell it all to save a beggar in the cold?
That’s the Master’s love for you!If you had the power to light the starry sky;
move your hand to steer the earth or make the sun to rise,
would you reach down from above and dry my weeping eyes?
That’s the Master’s love for you!He left a kingly crown to play the pauper’s role;
He laid His glory down to suffer shame below.
He Who holds no time nor space and holds
eternity took the time to give His life,
then live again for me. That’s the Master’s love for you!’
Let me ask…is Jesus Your Master? Have your claimed Him as yours? Is the Christ of Christmas YOUR wonderful Counselor, your Mighty God, your Everlasting Father, Your Prince of Peace? Or, like so many do you still wander in darkness, powerless in the face of life’s struggles and fears, longing for a Father-child relationship with your Creator? This morning, if you are here and are not a Christian, then I challenge you to call on the name of Jesus right now. Pray and ask him to forgive you. Commit today to follow Him as Lord! And if you do that, please come and tell me! Nothing would make my Christmas merrier! If you are a Christian and have a public decision to make such as joining our church, I invite you to come also, right now, as we stand and sing.