The Wonderful Counselor, our Messiah, wants our minds transformed by Word of God. From the day Adam and Eve fell and our sinful mind became clouded, we have needed the wisdom of the Wonderful Counselor. Now we have the Holy Spirit to help us—but we must still be the ones to seek it. And if we will—the promises of blessing are all still there.

Eight months after he had watched the twin towers of the World Trade Center come crashing down, Arizona Cardinals, safety Pat Tillman was staring at an offer of 3.5 million dollars to continue to play for the Arizona Cardinals. But he could not sign the contract because his heart compelled him to enlist in a far greater mission—protecting the country he loved. On May 31, Pat Tillman enlisted in the US Army and became an Army Ranger. On his second tour in Afghanistan, he paid the ultimate price for his country. Tragically, he was killed by friendly fire.

I believe there is something of Pat Tillman’s heart in every man. Sometimes it’s buried so far down we don’t realize it is there. But part of every man wants to devote himself to a great mission, a mission that is worthy of his full allegiance—a mission that really matters. After all, boys don’t dream of sitting safely at a computer desk, bringing home a paycheck, and becoming a nice guy. Their dreams and the stories they love are about defeating the evil villain to save the world against impossible odds, winning the hand of the beautiful princess in the process and riding in the lead chariot of the victory parade. Boys dream of greatness, which can only come by accomplishing a great mission. So, what is the mission of a Christ-following man? I would argue that our mission has three distinct parts. 1) We are called TO CHRIST—to enjoy a love relationship with him. 2) We are called TO BE LIKE CHRIST to cultivated Christ-like heart attitudes. 3) We are called to EXERCISE DOMINION FOR CHRIST—implementing his agenda in every sphere of human life.

For the next four weeks, our focus is on the first and most foundational part of our mission—deepening our love relationship with Christ. We will do this by zooming the camera in on four titles of Jesus given in the Isaiah 9 prophecy of the coming Messiah Jesus—Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. What do these titles tell us about Jesus and what difference these descriptions of our Commander in Chief make in our everyday lives?

 Everyone knows that the mission of the church is to make disciples. So before digging in to why it matters that Jesus is called WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, I want to show how the word disciple points to the three-part calling mentioned above. The early Christians had a much clearer idea of what a disciple was than we do today. Bands of disciples with their masters were quite common in Jesus’ day. They understood three callings of discipleship:

1. Everyone knew that a disciple had the deepest kind of possible personal friendship with his master because they did life together. The language that we use for this part of discipleship is that we are called TO Christ (to enjoy a love relationship with Him.)
2. Everyone also knew that a disciple (the Greek word is MATHETES) was a FOLLOWER of a master. The disciple patterned his whole life on the teaching and example of his master. The disciple’s greatest goal was to be like his master. We say, we are called TO BE LIKE CHRIST (to Christ-like character).
3. The early church understood WHY Jesus’ great commission to make disciples of the nations in Matthew 28:19-20 was preceded by verse 18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples….” Jesus was not referring, in Matt 28, to his eternal, sovereign authority as God the Son, which he ALWAYS had. Rather Jesus was speaking as the Second Adam. He was talking about his defeat of Satan, sin, and death, the tyrants who had usurped the rule of Adam’s kingdom enslaving mankind. The early church understood the gospel, not as the good news of personal private salvation but as the good news that the second Adam has come to overthrow Satan, sin, and death, fix everything that has been broken by sin, and establish the rule of his kingdom of righteousness over planet earth. They understood that to be Christ’s disciple was to enlist in his cause—the spread of his kingdom of righteousness over every square inch of the planet. Therefore, this podcast defines the third part of our mission this way. We are called TO EXERCISE DOMINION FOR CHRIST (to implement Christ’s agenda in your role as husband, father, employee/employer, neighbor, church member, steward of resources, ambassador of the kingdom—every sphere of life). Exercising dominion for Christ recaptures our creation calling to shape culture and to guide our children to do so, which is why we do occasional series like, “Protecting Our Children from Enticing but False Worldviews.”

Today we return to the core of our mission, Called TO CHRIST to enjoy a love relationship with Him. Our goal is to understand our Commander in Chief better so that we can love Him more. Isaiah 9:6 says, 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. Before digging into what it means that our CO is the Wonderful Counselor, let’s remind ourselves why our mission always begins with our love relationship with Christ. Six reasons come to mind:

Why Our Love Relationship with Christ Is Our Mission Foundation

1. Because both God the Father in Deuteronomy 6 and Jesus in John 14 say, “If you love me keep my commandments.” The greatest commandment is, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30).
2. Because in helping the Corinthians defeat lust, Paul explained that we were made for God and God is the answer to our deepest longings (1 Cor 6:13).
3. Life is designed for us to first set our hearts upon delighting in God. The very first two commandments teach us that we are to set our hearts on no other God, allowing not other God to steal first place in our hearts.
4. Because in God’s design, he wants us to renew our hearts—filling them with joy, delighting in Him. Rejoice in the Lord, always. Again, I say rejoice (Phil 4:4).
5. Because LIFE is the result of knowing God. Jesus prayed to the Father, And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Eternal life doesn’t wait till we die. It begins now and continues into eternity and describes not just the duration of life but quality of life (Jn 17:3).
6. Because the power to accomplish the other two parts of our mission—becoming like Jesus in our inner heart attitudes and accomplishing Christ’s agenda in each part of my life is dependent upon the strength of my relationship with Christ the Vine.  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (John 15:) So let’s get to better know Jesus the Messiah as God reveals him to us in Isaiah 9.

Why It Matters that Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor

A. At every point his treatment of us is based upon divine wisdom: Of course, the whole point to the mystery that God is using Isaiah to reveal is the incarnation. The deliverer will be a human. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. But his four titles underscore the ultimate deity of this child deliverer, as well. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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