His name shall be…the mighty God.
In Isaiah’s day it was extremely dark. The nation had sunk into their own version of a famine. It wasn’t a famine of food exactly, it was a famine of hope and it was a famine of God. In fact they had turned to everything but God in their despair. Isn’t it funny how we do that?
Some of you may be going through this same thing today, your own personal famine. You feel that times are dark and you wonder if God is going to arrive. You may be facing some of the most difficult times in your life and you wonder, “Where is God?”
On the edge of this darkness God reveals that He was going to do something new, he describes it this way (you may remember this from last week):
Isaiah 9:2-5 (NLT)
- Those in darkness will see a great light…
2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light—a light that will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow.
- Joy will replace despair
3 Israel will again be great, and its people will rejoice as people rejoice at harvest time. They will shout with joy like warriors dividing the plunder.
- The enemies power will be broken
4 For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the army of Midian with Gideon’s little band.
These verses tell me something.
1. If there is going to be light, I can’t manufacture it myself. Jesus is the light of the world and I get light when I get Jesus.
2. Joy is something that I can’t just “come up with” by watching Dr. Phil. Joy is the inner peace that comes when I know something, it is inner security when I am holding the ace up my sleeve. Actually joy comes when you know SOMEONE!
3. I can’t just beat up my enemies! My enemy is unseen, vicious and gnarly. If he is going to be thrashed, I need some help. I need Jesus.
What I am saying is that these are things that you just don’t will upon yourself, these are things that are outside of our ability to just make happen. God is sending an outside force, an outside power to do this job.
Let me put it another way…
Have you ever been picked on? Have you ever become a bully’s target? Remember the movie the “Christmas Story” when the boy is attacked by the neighborhood bully? Has that been a constant in life?
Maybe that is where you are right now. An uninvited neighborhood bully has moved in and is inflicting pain on you weekly, daily and there is nothing you can do about it.
Wouldn’t it be extremely cool to have your own personal bodyguard? Someone to protect you? Well, when you know Him you have this Joy, this light and this power working on your behalf!
WE WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO JESUS! THE MIGHTY GOD.
Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Last week we talked about what Wonderful Counselor means, now lets turn our attention to MIGHTY GOD. Jesus will be known as the mighty God.
Who is this Jesus you say you are interested in? Who is this Jesus that you say you have placed your faith in?
- Is the God who is all talk and no action?
- Is he a distant, far off shell of the man we read of ij the NT?
- Is He one that we were once devoted to, on fire for, and now we have lost confidence in Him?
- Is He the compartment of your life called religious belief, tucked away safely in the drawer unless needed?
I am afraid that some of us here today have killed Jesus off! We have traded the real Jesus for a whipping boy. We have traded the Jesus of the Bible for a teddy bear, cute and fuzzy but powerless. We have thrust God out of His seat and replaced Him with some inferior, beaten down, politically correct, all affirming God of love.
God said that this baby, this Jesus would be called the MIGHTY GOD!
What does this mean? MIGHTY means…
- A hero, a strong valiant hero, we would know Him as such.
- A proven warrior, unafraid to battle and never defeated.
- One of high ranking power who is expected to lead the battle. HE IS NOT AFRAID OF A FIGHT!
Jesus would be known as the MIGHY GOD, THE valiant, undefeated warrior who would fight for His people.
Our Jesus, the Jesus who lives in our lives, the Jesus that we follow is the MIGHTY GOD.
Does anybody here need a mighty God in their corner today? Anybody here facing a mess, maybe one that you made yourself, or another made for you and you need
- A mighty God,
- a miracle working God,
- a Satan defeating God,
- a circumstance changing God,
- an overcoming God
…to get on the scene and apply His power to the thing? Because HE IS A MIGHTY GOD!
Now I want you to see this clearly.
When Isaiah prophesied here about this child that would come he said something that is very distinct. This child would be called GOD. In addition he would be called mighty the one who causes things to change. The one who was to be the over comer and victorious one in this world.
When you and I face impossible situations we need to recognize that we have laid claim to a savior who is both the creator of all things but also one who is the provider of overcoming power.
When this child, which Isaiah is prophesying about comes, He would come with POWER. Not just the sustaining power but with that power which is described in the scriptures as overcoming power, breaking through power, victorious power.
JESUS IS THE MIGHTY GOD! You know, that is one of the reasons they killed Him, because he claimed to be God and backed it up with mighty power.
I want to give you my favorite MIGHTY GOD STORIES from the Bible:
STORY 1. JESUS, THE MIGHTY GOD, IS LIMITLESS. Mark 5
Mark 5:21-43 tells the story of a desperate father who forsakes his pride and high societal standing to bow before Jesus and plead with him to heal his near death daughter.
Jesus agrees. But on the way everything goes wrong. First they are delayed. Then the father is approached by a servant and tells him that it is too late, the girl had died. Jesus says, “ignore this news, and just believe.” When they get to the house it is a crazy scene, people are wailing and sobbing and mourning the little girls death. Still Jesus says, “the little girl is not dead, but asleep.” They laugh at Jesus.
You know the end of the story, he lifts her up by the hand, speaks a few words and she is alive again. Lungs that had no air filled up, a heart that was still started beating again, flesh that had turned to gray became rosy, eyes that had sunk in and rolled back became bright. HE IS THE MIGHTY GOD!
You see, our life is full of limitations and roadblocks. Everywhere we look someone has erected a boundary that we dare not try to cross over:
- medically speaking, this can’t get any better
- financially speaking, you can’t do this
- this thing you dream of cannot happen with your resources
I admit like Jarius, I live in limitations. I am limited by…
- what I know
- by my strength
- by my education
- finances
- insight
- my resources
But Jesus, the mighty God, knows nothing of limitations. He crosses every barrier, he breaks through all walls and nothing hinders him from accomplishing anything.
It doesn’t matter that people laugh.
It doesn’t matter that they say she is dead.
It doesn’t matter that this has never been done before
It doesn’t matter that a father’s faith is wavering.
It doesn’t matter that they say that this can’t happen.
He is the Mighty God who transcends time, space, hearts, money, obstacles, the economy, the doctors, the paycheck, the government, the courts - - ALL THINGS!
Isaiah 43:11-13 (NLT)
11 I am the LORD, and there is no other Savior. 12 First I predicted your deliverance; I declared what I would do, and then I did it—I saved you. No foreign god has ever done this before. You are witnesses that I am the only God," says the LORD. 13 "From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions."
STORY 2. JESUS, THE MIGHTY GOD, CANNOT BE HELD BY OUR RULES.
Listen to this….
Acts 3:13-15 (NLT)
For it is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of all our ancestors who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him to life. And we are witnesses of this fact!
What I love about the Mighty God is that He defies everything that is supposed to happen. They conspired against Jesus, made up all this stuff to get Him out of the way and then they killed Him. They thought they were finished with him, that he was squashed like road kill on I 77 and that he was never coming back. It was the end of the story, one more trouble maker out of the way!
BUT…God stepped in usurped all their schemes, turned everything upside down and superseded their plans with the plan of his own.
It is called resurrection power and that is what the mighty God is all about. He is all about taking the most difficult thing, the case we say is unchangeable and doing something amazing with it.
THINK…reversing the irreversible
Fixing the unfixable
Doing the undoable
Beating the unbeatable
Saving the unsavable
Changing the unchangeable…AND YOU WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT A MIGHTY GOD!
Just think, they thought that they had killed Jesus, His power, His radical teachings, His claims to be the way BUT THE mighty power of God in the resurrection defied…
- Nature…”this kind of thing just doesn’t happen!”
- High powered people who just wanted to get their own way
- Religion which didn’t want things disturbed.
- Good ole boys who thought they held all the aces
- The disappointment and dashed dreams of the disciples
- Satan who thought he had won
- Doubt – this didn’t stop Jesus
Bottom line…Jesus is not subject to the rules, to men or to courts, to crosses, to nails, to natural law.
Nothing could hold Jesus, not even death and a rock rolled on top of his grave.
I love it when God does stuff like this and just defies all the men who think they are Gods! We serve a mighty God…
LESSON 3. JESUS, THE MIGHTY GOD, OWNS SATAN
Luke 11:20-22 (NLT)
But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 21 For when Satan, who is completely armed, guards his palace, it is safe— 22 until someone who is stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
This clearly says that Satan is big, bad and tough…until someone shows up with more muscle. And when that person shows up he attacks, overpowers and takes care of business.
What I am saying is that we have a mighty God…his name is Jesus. Satan threw his best shots at Him and never could win.
He threw disease at Jesus…”by my strips you are healed”
He threw temptation…”not my will but my fathers will be done”
He threw fame…”you will worship God alone…”
He threw demon possessed…he said, “get out.”
He threw the depressed and hopeless and the addicted…”you are whole”
He threw hatred…”father forgive them…”
He threw messed up religion…I will build my church
He threw political muscle…”the government is upon my shoulder…”
He threw false accusations Against his character…”You’ll see, on the 3rd day…”
He threw storms…”peace be still”
He even threw death…”Lazarus, come forth…”
We serve a mighty God! He beat them all…
Jesus is the over comer. That means whatever Satan may have Jesus has more!
Now don’t go and assassinate my Jesus by making Him something less then He is! Don’t leave here with some little Jesus who does little stuff…His name is the Mighty God!
John 19:8-11 (NLT)
8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. 10 "You won’t talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?"
11 Then Jesus said, "You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above.”
Jesus was saying, “There is a boundary on what you can do. God has put a limit on you. And nothing you do to me hasn’t already been known by my Father and already been panned for His own advantage. No Pilot, you don’t have the power you think you do. No Satan, you don’t own this situation!
You have been outwitted again, you have been out powered…again.
That is who we serve today. Anything in your life has been allowed by God above and God has already determined how this is going to back fire on Satan.
33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? 36 (Even the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep." ) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. 39 Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:33-39 (NLT)
Yes! We serve a mighty God!
LESSON 4. JESUS, THE MIGHTY GOD, EVEN OWNS DEATH!
Even what seems like the last great weapon of Satan, death, is no problem to the mighty God. He turns death into a doorway.
54 When this happens—when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die—then at last the Scriptures will come true:
"Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!
1 Cor 15:54-57 (NLT)
There is a bee buzzing around the room, but we have no need to fear, the stinger has been removed. He may be a pest but he cannot hurt you.
I have stood at many graves and said, “death…is this all you can do? Where is your power because this person is in heaven! Satan, you lost!!!”
We serve a mighty God…(adapted from SM Lockridge’s sermon)
My King was born Mighty God.
He’s the MG of righteousness. He’s the MG of the ages. He’s the MG of Heaven. He’s the MG of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King and he is the Mighty God
Do you know Him?
He is the MG of limitless love.
He knows no end to His supply.
No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.
Our MG is strong.
Jesus the MG is so knowledgeable that there is nothing hidden from Him.
He’s the centrepiece of civilization
He stands alone in Himself.
He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented.
I’m talking about Jesus, the MG.
He’s the miracle of the age.
.He supplies strength for the weak.
He’s available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and He saves.
He’s mighty God and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharged debtors.
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent.
He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the leader of the legislatures. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. He’s the mighty God!
He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible. He’s irresistible.
The heavens of heavens cannot contain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him.
There’s nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign.
He’s the mighty God!
19 I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything
