Do you really believe that prayer has the ability to change circumstances and events in your life?
I want to challenge the way you may think about prayer and what you may believe about prayer.
Look at the picture above. Have ever thought about prayer like this?
Maybe you should.
There is a story in the Bible that I believe paints a picture of prayer similar to the picture above.
The main character in this story is Jacob. He is in a dire situation. He is preparing to meet his estranged brother Esau.
If you remember or are familiar with the story, Jacob and Esau are twins but Esau came first and thus was the first born. And because of his birthright, he was to receive the blessing of his father.
Jacob however ends up deceiving their father Isaac to steal his brother’s birth right. As a result of Jacob’s deception, Isaac pronounces this blessing on Jacob:
“Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons (meaning Esau) bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
If you are Jacob you are feeling good about your future.
Esau however was furious because of Jacob’s deception and what had been taken from him. Instead of receiving that blessing Isaac told Esau:
“Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.
In Esau’s eyes, Jacob has just ruined his life and changed his future. Esau is furious. He devises a plan to kill Jacob. Jacob is warned by his mother Rachel though and flees.
Twenty years have passed since this family breakdown. Jacob and Esau haven’t spoken since that time. Now they are getting ready to meet.
Jacob is uncertain how his brother will treat him and his family.
Jacob sends messengers first to meet Esau. They return to Jacob and tell him Esau is coming to meet you and by the way there are 400 men with him. Not very comforting to Jacob. A force of this size suggests that Esau plans to attack Jacob.
Jacob plans for the worst. Jacob responds by dividing his family into two camps. To demonstrate his goodwill, Jacob sends Esau various droves of animals as a present. He sends waves of gifts as a peace offering before they meet face to face.
Jacob doesn’t know if Esau and his men are going to attack Jacob and kill them. It is here where we find Jacob.
He arises that night and takes his family and all his possession across a stream. We pick up this story in Genesis 32:24-28
“And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, (And notice Jacob’s tenancity and persistence here) “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
How would you like that said about you? You are a person that has striven with God and men and prevailed?
Jacob’s injury in this wrestling match highlights not only the strength of his opponent but also his own resolve to prevail. He doesn’t give up. He is tenacious. He is persistent. He is intense. He is not willing to let go until he receives the blessing he is looking for.
As a result of the encounter and the all night wrestling match, Jacob’s name is changed. Jacob’s name meant to deceive or cheat. The name change to Israel is probably best understood as meaning “he strives with God.”
I think this encounter between Jacob and God gives a picture of the type of relationship and prayer life we should have. Prayer is personal communication and a personal interaction with God. Because of this, we should strive with God.
Listen, you can’t have this type of striving with God if you don’t believe God really answers prayer. You can’t have this type of intensity if you believe prayer really doesn’t matter, that it really can’t change events in your life, in the life of your family, your church, or world. You won’t pray like this if you don’t think God acts on behalf of the prayers of his people.
As a result, we often come to prayer without much tenacity and persistence. We come with passionless prayers that have no heart and soul. We come with a politeness. That is we say words but our heart and attention and engagement are lacking.
Many of you and all of us are going to face situations in life that are stressful and dire. If your marriage needs help, If you need help knowing how to parent and direct your kids through tough situations, if you are facing a major decision at work or at home, if you need God to bless your financially situation, if someone you care about is ill, if you need wisdom for any decision that is staring you in the face, if there is anything that is eating at you and causing you worry or fret, or lose sleep. Then you need to strive with God. You need to be like Jacob and not let go.
To pray like this means we have the faith and belief that God has the ability to change things, to bless us, to give us wisdom. Someone said that prayer changes us more than God and there is truth in that. However when we focus on that only it is easy to forget that prayer changes the way God acts and intervenes in our lives.
This doesn’t mean God is going to answer yes ever time. Sometimes God says No and we yield. Like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asking that this cup could be taken from him and he prays not my will but yours. Sometimes God says yes and he grants us our request. Sometimes God shows us that we should modify our request and ask something different. Or he may direct us to wait. The timing just isn’t right.
Prayer is about you asking a God that has absolute power and the ability to change things in your life. It’s will against will, not that we are opposing God but asking.
On the night of Jesus’ arrest and the day before his crucifixion, you see Jesus praying with this intensity and tenacity in the garden. He comes back three times asking the disciples to join him in this fervent prayer but they keep falling asleep. He asks Peter “Could you not watch one hour?” They aren’t following Jesus and Jacob’s example of wrestling with God in earnest prayer. Maybe they don’t fully understand the power of prayer and the urgency of prayer.
Jesus also taught about the persistence we should have in prayer in the parable of the persistent widow. He also taught us we should ask, seek, and knock. There is a tenacity and determination that we should express in our praying if we believe God can really make a difference.
There are instances in Scripture of God changing the way he responded to circumstances because of the prayers of his people such as in the life of Moses and Hezekiah.
James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Prayer changes the way God acts. It is powerful and effective.
Now back to Jacob. For Jacob the outcome ended well with Esau. Remember he wrestled all night with God until daybreak. Jacob after a night of no sleep meets Esau.
Genesis 33 tells us of their meeting. Remember Esau is coming with 400 men. Will he attack Jacob and get revenge on him for taking his birthright and blessing? Will he kill his family too?
In Genesis 33:1-4 it says – “And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.”
The unreserved manner in which Esau greets and embraces Jacob reveals that he holds no animosity toward his brother. The description of their reconciliation may well have influenced Jesus’ account of the lost son returning to his father.
God has protected Jacob. God has blessed Jacob.
Here is the bottom Line. Be bold. Be persistent. Don’t let go when it comes to prayer because your prayers are powerful and effective.
Prayer truly changes circumstances, events, and people.
Abortion. Most people don’t really like to talk about it because it is a controversial subject. It often makes people feel uncomfortable to share their views and convictions about it. I am uncomfortable writing about it. Honestly, I really struggled with whether or not to even write this article. It is painful and deeply personal. The more I thought and prayed however, I felt compelled to write about this subject on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. I share this with the hope of helping someone else avoid the same terrible decision I made many years ago and with the hope of being a voice of truth and honesty to a society that it is, in my opinion, very deceived about this issue.
To begin with, I haven’t always felt this way about abortion. I was probably like the majority of teenagers growing up in the 1980′s. I had no religious upbringing. We didn’t go to church and we didn’t discuss God or religious topics in our home. This didn’t bother me or concern me. And I liked it that way.
My parents divorced when I was 16. This simply allowed for me to get more involved in the party scene that I was already a part of in high school. I really had no regrets and felt no remorse for any of the really stupid things I was doing as a teenager. I was having fun and enjoying life. It was during this time I began to date a girl.
On a life changing day when I was 18, she called me and told me she was pregnant. I was the father. I was shocked and numb. I wasn’t ready to be a father. I didn’t even have a job. After discussing it we decided to have an abortion. At that time I didn’t see anything wrong with abortion. After all it was legal and it was just a medical procedure like any other I thought. I assumed it was kind of like having your appendix removed. That is what society had taught me.
I had to borrow the money from a friend to pay for the abortion which I believe was a couple of hundred dollars at that time. I took her to the abortion clinic and waited in the waiting room until the “procedure” was finished. After the doctor aborted the baby, I drove her back home. We did all of this without either of our parents awareness.
What I remember so vividly about that day was sitting in the waiting room for what seemed like hours. For the first time in my life I really began to experience remorse and sorrow for what we were doing. I started to wonder if this was more than just a medical procedure. Could it be that we were taking the life of another human being?
After taking her home, I came home and began to weep. Remorse flooded my emotions. I began to ask myself, “What have you done?” Something clicked inside of me. I realized that I had just taken part in terminating the life of my first child. I had been naive walking into that clinic. I really didn’t realize the implications of what an abortion was and what it really involved.
People don’t want to talk about the after effects of abortion on the mother and father. Mental health disorders can be triggered by abortion. Suicidal thoughts and feelings can arise. The woman may isolate herself and experience insomnia and depression. The reason is because abortion is a moral issue not a medical issue like I had thought. The truth is abortion is taking another human beings life. An innocent life. And this is most often done, as was in my case, because of unpreparedness and because of the inconvenience it would bring to our lives.
The grief and remorse I was experiencing turned into a eye opening experience. I became aware in a deep and powerful way for the first time in my life that I needed forgiveness. I needed relief from the grief I was experiencing. The emotional weight of my sin was almost unbearable. At this time God began to open the eyes of my heart. He let me know that there was a Rescuer for my situation.
On a late night sitting with a friend in a car, I prayed to God. I told him I had made a mess of my life. I ask him to take control. I asked him to take over and make something out of my life. I gave my life to him that night. I asked for forgiveness.
Not much longer after that I made a public profession in a church service to receive Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. I followed him later in water baptism. This verse from 2 Corinthians 7:10 I believe explains what happened in my life, “”For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” I resolved to reverse my conduct and live for God from that moment on.
The rest for me is history. I believe Jesus has completely and totally forgiven me for all the sins I have committed, and still will commit. God radically changed my life from that moment. In fact, at my 20 year high school reunion I received the award for “most unlike I was in high school”. This was a reminder to me of much God had changed my life.
That is how abortion changed my life.
I have now been married for 15 years to a beautiful woman. God has chosen to bless us with two beautiful daughters as well. I know my wife had to wrestle with my past before she decided to marry me. She told me however that she knew I was a new creation in Christ and that she saw me as a new creation just as God did. Since that time, God also called me to be a pastor. I have been pastoring now for 6 years by his grace.
In closing I want to say two things:
- If you have had an abortion, there is forgiveness and grace found in Jesus. How? Read this. Here is a link for a good book for women to help find spiritual and emotional peace after an abortion.
- All of us have to consider that we may have become as Michael Paulsen describes, “a nation of holocaust deniers“. Regardless of the controversial nature of this subject, I will continue to speak and share the truth about abortion.
There is a problem that affects all men. This problem is something we all struggle with and have failed at in our lives. A major part of dealing with this problem is to recognize it, identify it, and name it. Be assured, none of us are immune to it. I believe that if we tackle this problem as men, we truly have the ability to change our families now and for generations to come. If we tackle this problem, we can change our work place, our churches, and our communities.
To help you better understand this problem, let me share something that recently happened in my home. It had been a long day. I was tired. I had dealt with the reality of the implications of the Fall on my work. Genesis 3:17-18 describe the predicament we find ourselves in: “cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.” The punishment is not work itself but rather the hardship and frustration that comes with work as a result of the sin of mankind and the Fall.
So I came home, helped my wife with dinner. I ate dinner with my family. Then I sat in my recliner and zoned out. I watched something on TV. I was in my own world.
Meanwhile, my kids are not zoning out. But they know I am. They begin to give their mom a hard time. They become unruly. Chaos begins to unfold in my home while I recline and do – nothing. Finally my wife comes to me graciously and says, “I could really use your help right now.” I had been silent and not asserted my God given responsibility to provide leadership to my family.
What was my failure? I was passive. I was silent. Why? Where did this come from? It comes from our fathers and ultimately from our first father Adam.
Look at the how the first man Adam didn’t exert his God given responsibility to protect his wife and all of creation. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6). He didn’t resist the temptation. He was there with Eve and yet was silent.
“The fact that Adam was “with her” and that he knowingly ate what God had forbidden indicates that Adam’s sin was both an act of conscious rebellion against God and a failure to carry out his divinely ordained responsibility to guard or “keep” (Gen. 2:15) both the garden and the woman that God had created as “a helper fit for him” (2:18, 20). (ESV Study Bible Notes).
I want you to think of the implications of his failure. “The disastrous consequences of Adam’s sin cannot be overemphasized, resulting in the fall of mankind, the beginning of every kind of sin, suffering, and pain, as well as physical and spiritual death for the human race.” (ESV Study Bible Notes).
Notice how God responds in Genesis 3:8-10: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
God comes looking for Adam. Adam isn’t looking for God. He and Eve hide when they hear God coming. God called out to the man. He called to Adam specifically. He didn’t call out to Eve. He asks “Where are you?”. “God confronts Adam first, holding him primarily responsible for what happened, as the one who is the representative (or “head”) of the husband-and-wife relationship, established before the fall.” (ESV Study Bible Notes). When we fail to assert our leadership there are consequences. God calls out and asks us “Where are you?”
The problem for Adam was one of silence and outright rebellion. It was both a sin of omission and commission. It was a problem of passivity. In the beginning, God spoke into chaos and created life and order. Man is created in God’s image and part of man’s responsibility is to speak into chaos and create life and order. “For me, that means that when life is chaotic, I need to speak. I need to say something and I need to do something. I need to get involved. I should not remain silent. If I remain silent, I am like Adam in the garden. I am sinning.” (Hampton Keathley)
To be silent and passive means we don’t assert our God given leadership. Make no mistake, God has given men the unique role of leadership in our homes and in our church. Men and women are created equal and have equal value and worth. However, God has called men to a unique leadership role as part of the created order.
When do you and I struggle with passivity? When do we need to speak up? When it comes to providing leadership to our kids and wife. When it comes to praying with our wives, and praying with our kids. When it comes to leading our family spiritually. When it comes to teaching our kids the Bible. When it comes to protecting our families from bad outside influences. When it comes to engaging our kids or our spouse. When it comes to telling our wives and children we love them. When we sin and we don’t tell our wives and kids that we are sorry and ask for their forgiveness. When our kids sin and we don’t seek them out like God seeks us out. When someone begins to belittle or pull down someone else in our workplace. When we see something going on around us that we know isn’t right and we don’t speak up. I believe God asks you and me like he did Adam, “Where are you?
Where Adam and we fail, Jesus succeeds. When Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, he succeeded. He wasn’t silent. He spoke up. He resisted sin. When the religious leaders were going to stone the adulterous woman, Jesus spoke up in her defense. When the money changers in the temple were comprising the purpose of the temple, Jesus overturned the tables they were using and drove them out. When Satan used Peter to try and deter Jesus from the cross, Jesus spoke and said “Get behind me Satan”. What we can’t do, Jesus can do. Jesus is our Savior. He is our Rescuer.
We too can be changed and be like Jesus. Romans 5 talks about how death came through Adam but life came through Christ the second Adam. “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Adam’s sin led to all of our condemnation. However in Jesus we have life. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1). “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37). Through Jesus we are made righteous and are overcomers.
We will all still struggle with sin. We all still sin and fail. That is what the cross is all about. We find forgiveness at the cross. God asked Adam, “Where are you?” after he sinned. There was punishment for wrongdoing because God is just. Yet God also “made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them”. (Gen 3:21). When we sin, and hide, God doesn’t turn his back on us, he says “Where are you?”
God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus at the cross. Jesus took our punishment and paid for our sins. Our senior pastor, Brian Bloye, challenged our church to begin each day at the cross. To begin each day at the cross means that we embrace the forgiveness Jesus provides for our sins. To begin each day at the cross, means we first look to Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Being a real man and exerting real masculinity means that we seek and look to Jesus each day. If we don’t, we will continue to hide like Adam. We will become less and less effective. We will become impotent to carry out our leadership role that God has laid before us. Remember that God doesn’t hide from us when we fail. We hide from him. He asks you and me, “Where are you?”
Here are some popular New Year’s resolutions. None of mine made that list. Here are my top 10 resolutions:
10. Teach more and become a better listener.
9. Laugh more and find the humor in things more readily.
8. Recognize my sin for what it is and deal with it promptly.
7. Be heavenly minded while on earth.
6. Guard my heart and be attentive to what is going on inside me.
5. Use my God given gifts and fulfill the call of God on my life.
4. Slow down and eliminate hurry as much as possible. Here are some quick tips on how to slow down.
3. Love my wife and kids more.
2. Put God first and give him my all.
1. Worship the One who saved me.
How about you? What are your resolutions? Do any of these resonate with you?
There is definitely a great deal of controversy surrounding the issues of manhood and womanhood, especially when it comes to looking at what the Bible teaches about these issues. John Piper and Wayne Grudem have put together some of the key issues in the controversy. The following statements are from the book Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood.
Key issue # 1 – Men and women are equal in value and dignity.
Any discussion of manhood and womanhood in the Bible must start here. Every time we look at each other and talk to each other as men and women, we must remember the person we are talking to is a creature of God who is more like God than anything else in the universe.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. – Genesis 1:27.
Therefore we should treat men and women with equal dignity, and we should think of men and women as having equal value.
Key issue #2 – Men and women have different roles in marriage as part of the created order.
Adam’s headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not the result of sin. God spoke to Adam first after the Fall even though Eve sinned first. God summoned Adam to give account for what had happened. This suggests that Adam was the one primarily accountable for what had happened in the family.
But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” – Genesis 3:9.
Campus Crusade for Christ adopted this statement affirming our God given differences:
A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Putting this biblical pattern into practice in our daily lives is a challenge, because we err in one direction or the other. There are errors of passivity, and there are errors of aggressiveness.
Key issue #3 – The equality and differences between men and women reflect the equality and differences in the Trinity.
The idea of headship and submission existed before creation. It began in the relationship between the Father and Son in the Trinity. The Father has eternally had a leadership role, and authority to initiate and direct, that the Son does not have. Similarly, the Holy Spirit is subject to both the Father and Son and plays yet a different role in creation and in the work of salvation.
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. – I Corinthians 11:3.
Paul is here referring to a relationship of authority between God the Father and God the Son, and he is making a parallel between that relationship in the Trinity and the relationship between the husband and wife in marriage. This is an important parallel because it shows that there can be equality and differences between persons at the same time.
Key issue #4 – The equality and differences between men and women are very good.
This is a key issue in today’s hostile culture, because we might be embarrassed to talk about God given differences between men and women. We don’t want to be attacked or laughed at by others. After creating Adam and Eve, God’s evaluation of what he saw and created was “very good”. The created order is fair, beautiful, and best for us because it comes from a wise Creator. It truly honors men and women. It does not suppress women’s gifts and wisdom and insight, as people have sometimes done in the past, but it encourages them.
Key issue #5 – This controversy is much bigger than we realize. Because it touches all of life.
The question of biblical manhood and womanhood is the focal point in a tremendous battle of worldviews.
Someone recently asked me this question – What happens to those that have never heard about Jesus?
The way in which we understand the answer to this question I believe will drive us to be more compelled to share the gospel or place doubts in our faith.
First we have to understand that no one deserves salvation. We are born into sin and we make our own decisions to sin. As a result we all deserve punishment for wrongdoing. Justice demands that wrong behavior is punished. To be pardoned of our iniquities is only a result of God’s grace and mercy. Sometimes we may wrongly assume that we and others are entitled to salvation and eternal life. However, none of us are entitled to it. We are all guilty. To receive the free gift of salvation and eternal life is totally dependent on God’s grace and mercy. It isn’t something we earn or deserve.
Since God’s does offer us the gift of eternal life we realize the weight of the responsibility God has given us to share this with all nations and all people. I think when it comes to sharing and getting this good news to others, we face two real tensions- God’s part and our part.
God’s part – God is good, just, has a plan and is in complete control. Therefore I know I can completely trust him.
God had a plan before the creation of the world
Eph 1:3-4 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 us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
Eph 1:11-12 – In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Jesus will not lose any that the Father has given him to save.
John 6:39 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
Our part – There is a real sense of urgency and responsibility we all should have to share the gospel.
Jesus commissioned us to go.
Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Paul has a sense of urgency when it came to spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth, for he believed that the only way to be saved was to hear and believe in the gospel.
Romans 10:14 – How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
So we should be compelled to get the gospel to those that have never heard. We can’t lose the real sense of urgency there is to accomplish this mission. Yet, we should continue to trust that God is in control and that he will not lose any that are his as part of his redemption plan.
I have been looking at the four throne names of the Messiah found in Isaiah 9:6 – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. The title “Everlasting Father” presents some unique challenges because Jesus is said to be God’s Son. It causes us to ask the question, “How can Jesus be God’s Son and the Everlasting Father found in Isaiah 9:6?”
As we look at this, it is important to make sure we have a good grasp of our understanding of the Trinity. “God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology). It is clear in Scripture that Jesus is God’s Son. As God’s Son, Jesus does the will of his Heavenly Father. God the Father and Jesus the Son are two distinct persons within the being of God. Jesus is completely God. He is not the Father but the Son.
The clarifications lies in understanding what is meant by Isaiah when he portrays the Messiah as Everlasting Father. The title “Everlasting Father” means that the Messiah is the eternal king. The use of the title Everlasting Father by Isaiah “is not using the Trinitarian title “Father” for the Messiah; rather, it is portraying him as a king.” (ESV Study Bible). The word Father gives us a picture of a king that is a benevolent protector and whose reign has no end. His reign will be perpetual, eternal, and last forever. He is the “Eternal King”.
It seems that the emphasis is on the eternal nature of the rule of Jesus the Messiah. Think of this in comparison to the reign of other rulers. In the US a President can only rule for 8 years max. Even in countries where there are no term restrictions, leaders might have at best 30-40 years to reign and rule over a country. Kings and rulers come and go as history moves on. The Messiah however will rule forever and of his kingdom there will be no end.
The prophet Daniel prophesied about the eternal reign of the coming Messiah and his kingdom. “And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:14. The kingdom of Jesus shall not pass away nor shall it be destroyed.
When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen to give birth to the Messiah, he explained that “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Gabriel uses words like “forever” and a kingdom with “no end” to describe the rule of the “Everlasting Father” prophesied by Isaiah.
While Jesus was on earth he gave evidence as to how he would rule his eternal kingdom. He welcomed children, opposed religious hypocrisy, reached out to those that society had neglected, loved people, spoke the truth, forgave people of their sins, served others, healed the sick, gave sight to those that were blind, raised the dead, sacrificed himself, and offered salvation and entry into his eternal kingdom as a free gift to all who would believe. That is the type of eternal ruler and eternal kingdom that many of us are longing for.
All other rulers reign will come to an end, but there will be no end to the reign of Jesus. There have been many famous songs written about the eternal king and his eternal reign. I think probably one of the most famous and enduring musical scores that highlights this is Handel’s Messiah. In the crescendo of the “Messiah Hallelujah” chorus, it says over and over, “And He shall reign forever and ever”. Watch the reaction to this unsuspecting crowd at a food court as a group unexpectedly performs Handel’s Messiah Hallelujah chorus. It is hard not to be moved by the truth that Jesus will be the eternal king and the joys that comes with his eternal kingdom.
Jesus gladly invites all to join him in his eternal kingdom. Entry is free. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). All we have to do is receive it by faith. We must decide if we will accept Jesus as Lord, the eternal king. The answer to that question determines our eternity and whether or not we get to enjoy living in the everlasting kingdom of Jesus the Messiah.
There are major implications for us concerning the promise that the Messiah will be a “Mighty God.” In Isaiah 9:6 we see this prophecy about the Messiah, “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”. In my last post I looked at the title “Wonderful Counselor”, in this post I want to examine meaning and implications of the title given to the Messiah – “Mighty God”.
The original language of the Old Testament is Hebrew. The two words of Hebrew used in Isaiah 9:6 translated “Mighty God” are “El” (God), and “gibbor” (Mighty). The meaning of this title is that he will be the prevailing or conquering God. It denotes a divine nature.
The Messiah would be someone very different than Moses or David, through whom God had worked and done incredible and miraculous things. The Messiah would himself be God. The title Mighty God means that the Messiah would be the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and infinite God. As we move to the New Testament, it is clear that the writers want us understand that Jesus is the Messiah Isaiah prophesied about. There are many evidences and implications of the truth that Jesus is Mighty God found in the New Testament. There are too many to cover in short post but here are a few.
1. When you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you receive and experience the favor of God on your life. The Greek word for “Lord” is the word “Kyrios”. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, the word “Kyrios” is used 6814 times to translate the Hebrew words of God – Jehovah and Yahweh. There are over 200 cases of Jesus being called “Kyrios” or Lord in the New Testament. So when the word Lord is used in the New Testament to describe Jesus, it is telling us that he is the Lord God of the Old Testament.
In the account of the birth of Jesus found in Luke 2, we see an angel of God making this declaration that Jesus is the Lord God. The angel tells a group of shepherds,”Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” The angel is saying the baby that has been born is the Messiah. And not only that, but that this baby is the Lord God.
Ironically, the coming of the Messiah as Mighty God is not how most of us would have expected. He wasn’t born in a place of royalty, but in a stable by a young Jewish couple. Then he was placed in a manger, or feeding trough used for animals. It is one of the many instances in which our Mighty God will demonstrate his humility. His humble actions often baffled people. The Mighty God was to be a conquering God, not a baby born in humble circumstances. Many including the disciples had preconceived ideas and misconceptions of how the Messiah, the Mighty God, should enter our world.
In these humble circumstances, the birth of Jesus the Christ (Messiah) and Lord God was a demonstration of God’s favor on us. The angels understood this as they proclaimed to the shepherds that special night,“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” God was letting us know that He is for us, not against us. He showed this by being like us. He took on flesh and bone. He was God, but he was also man. He was divine, but he was also human. He completely identified with us in our humanity. Because of this, He completely understands our weaknesses and struggles better than anyone. The writer of Hebrews describes it this way:
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
He is able to help us because he has shared our humanity with us. This is a mystery. One that clearly demonstrates the favor of God on our lives. Because of this incredible favor God has shown us in Jesus, The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:30-32, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
2. When you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, your spiritual eyes are opened. When we look at many of the claims of Jesus we either have to decide that he is who he said he was or that he was a lunatic. One of these claims is found in John 9:5. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” That is an outstanding statement. No normal sane person can make such a claim and mean it. For Jesus, who was and is truly God, it is true. It is one of his claims to deity. He is indicating that he is the source of all knowledge and moral purity for the whole world. No mere mortal can make such a statement and back it up.
To demonstrate the spiritual implications of this truth Jesus restores sight to a beggar that had been blind his entire life. When his neighbors and those that had seen him begging before asked him how he regained his sight, he replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” In a miracuolous act, Jesus restores the physical sight of this man.
This miracle gives us a picture of what he does spiritually in our lives. Something that only God can do. He opens our spiritual eyes. Yes we are blind, spiritually speaking. We don’t see things the way they really are. We are deceived by the lies and spiritually blindess that has happened as a result of the sin in the world and the work of unseen spiritual forces. Paul describes this truth in 2 Corinthians 4:4 – “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” To help restore spiritual sight and defeat the work of the “god of this age”, Paul says “what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord“. In other words, the message that Jesus is the Lord God is the way in which lives are changed and the spiritually blind are able to see.
3. When you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, your deepest longings and spiritual needs are met. We are a spiritually starved people. We are hungry and thirsty to have the longings of our soul met. Many famous songs have been written about this longing in the past. The Rolling Stones sang, “I can’t get no satisfaction” and U2 sang “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” We are all searching. Searching for something or someone that will satisfy us completely. We often try and fill these longings with things or people only to end up feeling like Bono of U2 “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” People and things may satisfy us for a short while but eventually we find ourselves hungry or thirsty for more. Jesus, as Mighty God, claims to be able to meet these longings permanently unlike any other person or thing can. Jesus said “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” As the Mighty God, Jesus is able to completely satisfy us.
4. When you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you can experience life to the fullest extent. In chapter 20 of the gospel of John, after the death and burial of Jesus, the disciples tell Thomas that they have seen Jesus. They are telling Thomas that Jesus has come back to life. Thomas doesn’t believe it. He doubts the validity of their claim. In fact he declares,“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later Jesus appears to Thomas. He tells Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” This is the dramatic high point of the gospel – “Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Thomas now understands that Jesus is truly the Mighty God of Isaiah 9:6.
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The writer John is wanting us to be able to believe the same thing that Thomas believes at this moment. That Jesus is Lord and God. John ends his gospel by clarifying what he wants his readers to understand, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Jesus reiterated his mission in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Jesus asks you and me this question that we must decide in our hearts, “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” When we believe in Jesus we can experience resurrection from the dead and life to the fullest extent.
Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6. It has major implications for us today. However, there are even greater implications in the life to come. There is a “here and now” impact of Jesus being the Messiah and a very real but “not yet” impact that we anticipate in the future. At that time we will fully understand and see him as the “Mighty God”. “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (I Corinthians 13:12).
In a very famous passage of Scripture, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah. You find this passage in Isaiah 9:6, “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”. These four names are throne names of the Messiah. They are character descriptions. Isaiah is prophesying that the Messiah will not merely have great titles, but BE what those titles claim. The first title “Wonderful Counselor” is a combination of two words. There is a lot of meaning in this first title.
The word “Wonderful” means to excite amazement, wonder, and admiration. “It was not used in a trivial sense, as we often use the English word ‘wonderful’ “(Allen Ross). In the original Hebrew language is derived from the verb that means to separate, to distinguish, or to make great. It is applied usually to anything that is great or wonderful, such as a miracle. “It is applied here to denote the unusual and remarkable assemblage of qualities that distinguished the Messiah.” (Barnes Notes on the Bible).
The word “Counselor” is expressive of great wisdom, and of qualifications to guide and direct the human race. (Barnes Notes on the Bible). It means one who plans and one of honorable rank. Counselor has to with the Messiah as king and ruler. “It means he has the wisdom to rule.” (Allen Ross).
These two words, “Wonderful” and “Counselor” give us the idea that Jesus the Messiah is a wonder of king. His rule and ability to rule is amazing, astounding, and wonderful.
9 ways in which Jesus, the Messiah, is a “Wonderful Counselor”
1. The nature of his birth makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. The Holy Spirit of God came upon a young Jewish virgin named Mary 2,000 years ago. The power of the Most High overshadowed her and in her womb the pre-existent Son of God was conceived. The Son of God, the Messiah, miraculously and wonderful took on flesh in a moment in the womb of this young woman. The conception and the birth of Jesus was amazing, astonishing, and a wonderful moment! Even the multitude of angels who appeared to some shepherds to proclaim the birth of the Messiah said “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” The shepherds left their fields and went to see baby Jesus. After they saw him they “returned,glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2:15-20).
2. The way in which he leads makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. Jesus did not exercise his Messianic authority as many would have expected. He didn’t come to be served and to be treated as royalty. Phillipians 2:6-11 describes the nature of Jesus. “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” He took on the nature of a servant. He even washed the disciples feet, at their wonder and amazement, to illustrate this point.
3. His ability to control nature makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. The disciples were amazed at this ability Jesus had when he calmed the storm while they were on a boat together. They said “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” He also turned water to wine and miraculously caused a tree fig to wither.
4. His authority and control over evil spirits makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. At one point while Jesus was on earth, some people brought a demon possessed man to Jesus who was unable to talk due to the influence of the evil spirit. Jesus drove out the evil spirit and the man was able to speak. When this happened the Gospel of Matthew tells us that the “crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” In many other instances Jesus casted out demons and exercised his authority over them.
5. His ability to heal and cure the sick makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. He doesn’t need a bill or program to administer his government health care plan. The people alive at the time of Jesus were amazed at his ability to heal the sick. Matthew once again records, “The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing.”
6. The wisdom he possesses makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. Even his critics, the ones that would eventually kill him, were amazed at his wisdom. They tried over and over to trap him with questions.However, he would outwit them. Once when trying to trap him on a question about paying taxes he explained to them, “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” The Bible tells us that when “they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.” Whenever Jesus would teach the crowds they were amazed at his teaching. In fact “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” (Luke 2:47). His teachings have had a greater impact the past 2000 years on humanity than any other person.
7. His insight and ability to know people thoroughly makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. He knows what is in all of us. He knows our inmost thoughts. Things we never say. He understands our deepest emotions. The Apostle John tells us “Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” Who else has this type of knowledge and insight? It is amazing, miraculous, and supernatural. King David described his amazement with the insight of God like this: “O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:1-6).
8. His ability to judge with righteousness and complete fairness makes him a “Wonderful Counselor”. We have all seen the abuse of power and lack of fairness in decisions made by those in authority. Jesus however judged and will judge differently. “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth” (Isaiah 11:3-4). The Gospel of John records Jesus explaining how he judges: “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” (John 5:30).
9. His ability to resurrect the dead makes him a “Wonderful Counselor.” This may be the most awe inspiring of all the characteristics of the Messiah. Jesus told Martha “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). He then raised Martha’s brother Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the tomb for four days to prove this truth. Most importantly, Jesus validated this claim by raising himself from the dead after he was crucified. Last time I checked there have never been any other rulers, kings, religious teachers, or presidents that have been able to perform such a mighty feat. He is truly “Wonderful Counselor”.
In the next post I will examine what it means that he is Mighty God.
Would you like to share your parenting experience or story that could be used on an upcoming Family DVD series with Bluefish TV?
Bluefish TV is creating a brand-new DVD series to help parents learn how to build a family of faith in their own homes. God created the family to be the primary place where faith and character are formed, but many parents today feel ill equipped to nurture faith in their children. Our goal is to give parents—couples, single parents, blended families and grandparents—a Christ-centered resource that will give practical and intentional ways to pass Godly values on to our children.
We are looking for people willing to share their real-life stories—both the struggles and the victories. The honest and vulnerable answers captured on camera will help other parents realize that they are not alone. They will then feel encouraged to open up with others in their group for support and learn together.
We are looking for people willing to share their experiences in these areas:
- Families stressed and overwhelmed with busyness and activities
- Marriage relationships strained by having kids (no time together or different parenting styles)
- Second marriages under pressure as families are blended
- Parents and their teenagers who are struggling to relate to each other
- Parents who struggle with how to discipline and/or punish a rebellious child/teen
- Children who are rejecting the faith of their parents (un-belief or following another religion)
- Families creating a Christ-centered legacy (multiple generations of strong Christians)
- Parents having a difficult time not showing favoritism between children
- Parents struggling with teens who are caving to peer pressure involving drugs, alcohol, sex, disrespect, language, clothing, etc.
- Parents who have initiated a “coming of age” ceremony or have made purity covenants with their children
- Parents who feel uncomfortable or don’t know how to share their faith with their children
- Parents who are trying to overcome marriage or parenting baggage from their own wounded childhood and how it affects their family
- Any unique issues of being a single parent, step parent, adoptive/foster parent, or grandparent raising kids
If you would like to share your story that fits one of the experiences above, email rodneyh@westridge.com a brief overview of your story and experience. I cannot guarantee they will film you story, but I will be glad to submit it to them for review. Here is an example of one of the stories they filmed previously here at West Ridge:
