“Contemporary people tend to examine the Bible, looking for things they can’t accept; but Christians should reverse that, allowing the Bible to examine us, looking for things God can’t accept.” – Tim Keller
Prayer
Wisdom
Isaiah 9:6
[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.
So in the last few weeks we’ve been walking through Isaiah 9 and celebrating Advent. Advent is our looking forward to Jesus’ 2nd coming.
We’ve seen where he (the Messiah) is the:
Prince of Peace – He is the ruler whose reign will bring about peace because the nations will rely on his just decisions in their disputes. Peace is the term shalom…. Jerusalem….not just lack of conflict but wholeness. Peace for nations and peace for us as individuals.
Mighty God (Power) – For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. – Deuteronomy 10:17
This week we will look at how He is Wonderful Counselor.
Wonderful Counselor –
Webster says a counselor is – a person who gives advice, consultant (an attorney is called a counselor and you can have a marriage counselor or a social worker/psychologist or psychiatrist)
The Bible teaches that our wonderful counselor is miracle working & supernatural counselor….the best advisor counselor ever.
As we’ve walked through these titles for the One who Isaiah is prophetically saying is to come……. we’ve looked at how His peace affects the world and us individually. How His power affects the world and us individually. We will do the same for His counsel or wisdom.
It’s easy to see how the Lord’s peace and power affect the world quickly right?
The trumpet will sound and Jesus will return with a grand entrance and the earth will tremble. The evil will get their judgment and the righteous (those who follow Him) will get just their reward.
He will do this by His power and then His peace will reign and there will be no more wars for the world and no more tears for us.
So it’s not difficult to see in scripture that the Lord’s power and peace will “set the world to right” NT Wright
Let’s now see how his counsel/wisdom will help the world.
Isaiah 46:10
[10] ………‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
I’m going to approach this a bit like last week. I think we want God’s power (when it gets big things done we want to get done…..e.g. “the bad guys get it”), but when it’s individually impacting us we might be afraid of His power…e.g. what it means for me to submit to His power and trust His power (even when I can’t see the answer myself).
So…..God’s counsel for the world as we just saw in Isaiah 46:10 as we can see will accomplish all of his purpose.
I think we know that our world leaders would certainly benefit from listening to His counsel. We know then that we would benefit from that…so we see where God’s wisdom & counsel will change everything for the good.
Voltaire said “common sense, isn’t so common”
So just think how much a big dose of common sense would help the world let alone the wonderful counsel of an Almighty God.
So…..if we trust his counsel to help the world ….do we trust his counsel to help us? In everything? Everyday?
The big question then is……are you listening to His Wonderful Counsel? Or only on the big things and then winging it the rest of the way?
Just so we’re clear. This is about “how we live the Christian life” “how we live a good fulfilling Godly life” Hint: it’s by listening to the Wonderful Counselor and doing what He says.
This doesn’t mean things always go right, things are perfect, and I’m never sick, and my team wins every game.
This is in the context of “we are in a fallen sinful world, with trials and tribulations at many turns of life”
This is how am I going to advise those whom I love and do I abide by my own counsel?
When things go bad am I listening to him?
When things go good am I listening to him?
Tracking?
——
Luke 10:38-42
[38] Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. [39] And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. [40] But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” [41] But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, [42] but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
This isn’t a complicated passage to exposit. No symbolism or metaphor, no parable. It’s straight forward.
Who is doing the right thing? Mary
Who is not? Martha (but she’s not the bad guy)
Is Jesus saying it’s bad to get the house ready or work or prepare a meal? No
He’s saying that the best possible thing to do is to make it a priority to listen to him. To make time.
I can’t give you a list of every wise saying in the Bible in this short of a time or even the lists of do’s and don’ts in the New Testament. What I can tell you is that true wisdom and counsel is found at the feet of Jesus. Humbling ourselves and learning from him.
“It’s not the whale events in your life that make you who you are. It’s all the guppies. Every morning you wake up and millions of them come at you. You have to eat. You have to sleep. You have appointments. The mundane, the hum-drum, the hustle and bustle.
The difference between Martha and Mary is that Martha is swept along by the mundane, but Mary has put her feet at the bottom of the stream. The stream is going one way, but Mary walks the direction she wants to walk. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet in spite of distractions, in spite of opposition.
Because we’re more like Martha than Mary, we’re sinking in a sea of mediocrity. So we ask, what does it mean to sit at Jesus’ feet?” Tim Keller
- Self-inflicted Problems come when we don’t sit at His feet.
- The Pharisees (prideful people) were too proud to sit at His feet.
- We get to busy to sit at his feet
- We don’t prioritize to sit at his feet
What does that do for me today?
Wonderful Counsel…..
Matthew 11:29-30
[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Psalm 1
[1] Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
[2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
[3] He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
[4] The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
[5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
[6] for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
