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Isaiah 9:6 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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What a privilege to preach on Christmas morning.
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!
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Merry Christmas.
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Pray that this day is a joy for you.
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My aim this morning is not to give you any new information, not to teach you, but to kind
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of continue through just the celebration of who Christ is, of why we gather, why we
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meet together, why we love one another the way we do, why we're united, and all that
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is because of Christ.
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So my goal is this morning just to kind of lead us, as Wes has led us in singing, kind
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of lead us through some more celebration of who Christ is.
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And I can think of no better way to celebrate Christmas morning than by doing just that together
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in our gathering.
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So let's pray together, and then we'll get started.
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Father, we, first of all, we're in awe of the love that you have shown us.
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Father, this day we celebrate, whether it was this month, last month, it doesn't matter.
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The day we celebrate today, Christmas Day, you sending your Son here on earth to live a
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sinless, perfect life, to be 100% man, be 100% God, to be here on this earth for us.
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To then, 33 years later, to die a horrible, wretched death for our sins, to take our sins
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upon His shoulders.
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So we thank You for Christ.
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We thank You for this day.
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This day is the beginning.
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This day is the beginning of life change.
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This day is the beginning of the world being changed.
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Pray, God, that You are honored and pleased this morning by Your preached Word.
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I pray that what is spoken will be words from You, not my opinions, not what I think or what
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I've learned, but be Your words this morning to all of us.
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I pray that we hear them.
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We hear them with obedience.
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We hear them with celebration.
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We hear them with conviction that we leave here different because Your Spirit has moved.
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You have spoken to us clearly and we have received Your Word this morning.
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Pray, God, and we thank You for this opportunity to celebrate Jesus.
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We thank You that we can gather and celebrate this morning.
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In Jesus' name, Amen.
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The Bible uses names quite different than we do.
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Although, probably very few of us really think about the meaning of a name and name a child
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because of the meaning.
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We might, you know, I have four kids and each child I made sure that the meaning wasn't something
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obscene or something silly, something that they couldn't get made fun of.
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But I didn't really care more or less what the meaning of the name was.
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And I would imagine most of us are probably that same kind of mentality.
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And I could be wrong.
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The Bible uses names in quite a different way.
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The Bible is almost, when you look at a name of a person, it's almost as if God says,
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these are the things I want you to know about this person.
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So, for example, Solomon's name is also Jedidiah.
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And Jedidiah means beloved by God.
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And we know from reading Scripture that Solomon or Jedidiah was known to be loved by God.
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Jacob's name, son of Isaac.
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Jacob's name is he takes by the heel or he cheats.
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And if you know the story, he grabbed his brother's heel while being pulled out of the womb.
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And he also cheated his brother out of the inheritance.
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Isaac's name means he laughs.
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We know that both Abraham fell on the floor laughing.
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Sarah laughed at God because they were too old to bear children.
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They couldn't believe what God was telling them.
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So names kind of give us a glimpse into who the person is.
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And it's no different for Jesus.
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Jesus Christ.
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Jesus means God is salvation.
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Jesus means God is salvation.
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Christ means anointed one by God.
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Anointed one by God to be the Messiah who delivers.
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God's people.
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So his name tells us who Jesus is and why he came.
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There are four names written 740 years before Jesus came that I want to look at this morning.
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So turn your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 9.
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Isaiah chapter 9.
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We're going to look at one verse this morning.
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Kind of pick through it.
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Walk through it.
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And then we'll be finished.
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Isaiah chapter 9.
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One verse.
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And our verse is verse 6.
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Now this is written 740 plus years before Jesus' birth.
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Isaiah writes, verse 6.
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For to us a child is born.
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To us a son is given.
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And the government shall be upon his shoulder.
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And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.
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Mighty God.
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Everlasting Father.
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Prince of Peace.
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So what I want to do is kind of walk through this verse this morning.
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And again, I'll repeat it.
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This book, the book of Isaiah was written 740 years before Jesus.
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And as we read, we notice that the tense is a little off.
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Knowing that.
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It says, for to us a child is born.
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To us a son is given.
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It's almost as if Isaiah knew what was going to happen.
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Isaiah is proclaiming what is going to come.
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As if it has already happened.
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Reminds me of, as we've gone through Romans chapter 4, verse 21.
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Where it says that Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
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So Isaiah knew in his writing that Jesus would come.
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And so he could pronounce it as if he had already come.
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For to us a child is born.
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It's an announcement.
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For to us a child is born.
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Now this us, of course, has a general meaning.
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Population, humanity.
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A child is born into the world.
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But for there is a more specific meaning that is way more important.
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The us here is sinners who need a Savior.
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Which is, I know, a general.
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Sinners who will place their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.
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So for to us, a child is born.
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An announcement.
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A child is born.
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God becoming human for us.
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Who becomes fully man and stays fully God.
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This is this child.
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Philippians chapter 2, verse 6 and 7 says,
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Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
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but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
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A child is born.
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Jesus came to earth, not for a parade, not for a kingly entrance,
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but as a servant to save sinners from their sins.
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Jesus came as a child, laying in the straw that the animals relieved themselves in.
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Laying in the straw that the animals kept warm in.
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This is the throne that Jesus came in.
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Praise God that that throne will change.
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Praise God that our view of a poor choice of a king.
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Now, you know, if we would have done it, we probably would have been like the religious leaders saying,
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Come with this giant parade and this gold throne room and sit.
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But God had other plans.
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As we know from Scripture, as we know from our own lives, God does not make mistakes.
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God was not surprised by the innkeeper.
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Who said, No, God was not surprised by the overpopulation in Bethlehem.
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God chose for his son to make his appearance this way.
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An announcement.
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A child is born.
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Continue reading.
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To us, a son is given.
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Now, a son is very important.
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It shows us the royal lineage.
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So, from God to Jesus.
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Jesus holds the inheritance of a king.
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Not just a king, but the king.
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A son is given.
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Now, this is probably the biggest overstatement I'll say from up here.
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And I've said a few before.
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But this world is pretty messed up.
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It's pretty messed up.
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And since the fall, the world has been messed up because of sin.
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And we have tried for centuries to fix this world.
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We have tried religion.
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We have tried war.
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We have tried survival of the fittest or even the smartest.
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We have tried revolutions.
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Modern revolutions.
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Theology revolutions.
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We have tried many different things.
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We have tried technology.
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But nothing can fix the problem of this world.
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We've even tried to replace God.
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We've even tried to put ourselves as God.
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And we know that that doesn't work.
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The only solution for this world was God coming down to earth.
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Was God giving us his son to save sinners.
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A son is given.
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So the only hope for this world.
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The only hope that we have is God giving his son for us.
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And of course, as we've gone through Romans, we know we cannot earn it.
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We cannot achieve it.
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It is God giving us Jesus.
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God gave his son for sinners.
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And the government shall be upon his shoulders.
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Jesus will bear the full burden of ruling.
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Full burden of being king.
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And unlike any other king.
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Unlike any other ruler.
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He will not fail.
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He will not stumble.
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He will not give into sin.
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As a good king does.
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He will save his people from the enemy.
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He will protect his people forever.
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And he will rule justly.
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And the government shall be upon his shoulders.
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And the people shall be upon his shoulder.
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His name shall be called.
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In other ways, his name is called.
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This is who he is.
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This is who Jesus is.
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His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.
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So, this word wonderful.
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It's a word that only is used to describe God.
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So, when we say we went to a concert and it was wonderful.
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Or we went to a football game and it was wonderful.
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It's not the same word.
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This word here in Hebrew is supernatural.
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He's the supernatural counselor.
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Or supernatural wisdom.
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It's a wonderful counselor.
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You cannot call him Wonderful Counselor unless you embrace his wisdom.
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We cannot call him Wonderful Counselor.
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Wonderful, supernatural counselor.
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Or supernatural wisdom unless we embrace his wisdom and his truth.
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God is wisdom.
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He's the author of wisdom.
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And we must embrace his wisdom before we can call him Wonderful Counselor.
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So, does your life embrace his wisdom?
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Here's what I mean by embrace.
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Now, I'll say I need to exercise.
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True statement.
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Healthy.
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Good idea.
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I need to exercise.
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But that's not embracing exercise.
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That's just stating I need to exercise.
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So, I'll go out and buy some exercise equipment.
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Once again, that's not embracing the fact that I need to exercise.
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That's just buying some exercise equipment.
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I'll exercise once a month.
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Again, that's not embracing the fact that I need to exercise.
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That's just...
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I don't know what that is, actually.
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Embracing something.
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Embracing exercise means it becomes my lifestyle.
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It becomes what I do.
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My life is shaped by exercise.
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I eat healthy.
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I exercise repeatedly.
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My life is a lifestyle of exercise.
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Likewise, just because you say,
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Hey, I need to live a certain way for God,
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doesn't mean you embrace his wisdom.
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Just because we read Scripture once a month or once a week,
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doesn't mean that we've embraced his wisdom.
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It becomes a lifestyle.
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So, do you embrace his wisdom?
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Do you follow his Word?
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Do you love the things God loves and hate what he hates?
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Do you run from temptation?
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Do you cherish God-given things?
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Godly things?
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Embracing God's wisdom is a lifestyle.
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And only then can you call him Wonderful Counselor.
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The next name is Mighty God.
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A God-like hero.
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Jesus is the Mighty God.
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Let us not forget that He is God.
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He came down from heaven as God to be man and God.
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His miracles, His power, His obedience,
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His sinless life are all proof of Jesus being Mighty God.
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A God-like hero.
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The next name, Everlasting Father.
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Everlasting.
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A King who will never die.
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Who will never lose His throne.
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A King who will rule forever.
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Now, this title of Father kind of confuses some.
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And it confused me when I was looking at it.
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It's not talking about the Father part of the Trinity.
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It's not talking about that Father.
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It's talking about His benevolent protector.
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The title of Father.
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He's looking to the wellness of His people.
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He's fathering.
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Illustrating His concern, care, and discipline of His people.
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This is who Jesus is.
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The next name, Prince of Peace.
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Prince.
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He's one with God and one with man.
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And He's administering peace for us, to us.
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Romans 5.1 says that,
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That therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
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Since we have been justified by faith,
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We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Peace with God.
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So those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ,
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Have peace with God.
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Isaiah tells us that this peace to come is by calling Him Prince of Peace.
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That He's going to be the deliverer of peace to His children.
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As Romans 5.1 says,
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We have peace with God.
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But I wonder if all of us in this room have peace of God,
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Or the peace of Christ, as Colossians 3 talks about.
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In fact, Colossians 3.15 says,
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And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
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To which indeed you were called in one body.
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See, it's one thing to have peace with God,
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As our eternal standing with God.
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We have peace with God.
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We're no longer enemies with God,
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But we're now adopted children of God.
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That's one thing.
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But it's a whole other thing to have the peace of Christ,
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The peace of God in our lives.
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Knowing that no matter what happens,
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No matter what struggle or difficulty,
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No matter what comes our way,
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We have peace.
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Because our faith is in the Prince of Peace.
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And not in our abilities.
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Not in our circumstances.
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Not in our citizenship.
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But in the name that is above every name,
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And that is Jesus.
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We have the peace of Christ
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When our lives are focused on Christ alone.
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When we treasure Christ and when we worship Him.
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He is the Prince of Peace
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And He gives peace to those who have faith in Him.
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This word peace is shalom.
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You guys have probably heard this word before.
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One meaning of this word is completeness.
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Jesus completes us.
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And not like the Jerry Maguire line.
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Jesus completes us.
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He completes what God started
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As the foundation of the world.
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Jesus is the one who completes and perfects this world.
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He is the one who will set the captives free.
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Not us.
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He is the one who makes the lame to walk.
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He is the one that makes the blind see.
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He is the one that makes the dead alive.
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See, in Christ, because of Jesus,
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We become or can become image bearers of God.
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As we were created to be.
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But because of sin, we no longer can.
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In Christ, we can become those image bearers.
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We can reflect God's glory to the world.
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We can be the light of the world
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To those around us.
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Because of Christ.
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He is worthy of all praise.
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Worthy of all worship.
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And worth laying everything down for Him.
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In Acts chapter 2, it says that
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At the name of Jesus, sin is forgiven.
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The Holy Spirit is received.
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And lives are forever changed.
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In Acts chapter 3,
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At the name of Jesus,
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The lame walk.
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The blind see.
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The sick are healed.
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The dead are made alive.
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All at the name of Jesus.
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At the name of Jesus.
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In Acts 5, it says that suffering is rejoiced in.
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Persecution is reveled in.
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For the name of Jesus.
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In Acts 4, it says only at the name of Jesus does salvation come.
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Only at the name of Jesus.
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There is no other name but the name of Jesus.
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Philippians chapter 2, quoted there earlier.
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Continue reading in verse 9-11.
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It says,
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Therefore, God has highly exalted Him, Him being Jesus,
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And bestowed on Him the name that is above every name.
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So that at the name of Jesus,
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Every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under earth.
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And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
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To the glory of God the Father.
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This is our Savior.
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This is our Jesus whom we celebrate this morning.
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This is the promise revealed 740 plus years before His birth.
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This is God's plan.
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God's plan A, not plan D.
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As I said earlier, God was not surprised.
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God's plan A was Jesus to come and redeem for Himself a people who He calls His own.
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This is our Jesus.
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The King of kings.
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The Lord of lords.
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Mighty God.
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Wonderful Counselor.
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Prince of Peace.
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Everlasting Father.
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Other names in Scripture for Jesus.
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He is the Alpha and Omega.
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The Ancient of Days.
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He is the Anointed One.
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The Bread of Life.
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The Bride Groom.
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The Bright and Morning Star.
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He is the Brightness of His Glory.
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He is the Christ.
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He is the Day Star to Arise.
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He is Emmanuel.
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He is the I Am.
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He is Jesus.
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He is the Lamb of God.
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The Lily of the Valley.
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The Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
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He is the Light.
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The Morning Star.
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Holy One of Israel.
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The Good Shepherd.
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The Resurrection and the Life.
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The Rose of Sharon.
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He is the Shepherd.
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The Son of Man.
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The Son of God.
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The Son of Righteousness.
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Worthy.
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He is the Kinsman Redeemer.
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Our High Priest.
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The Grace of God.
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Our Coming King.
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Our Mediator.
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Our Advocate.
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That He is Jesus.
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And He is worthy of all praise.
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Acts 4.12 says,
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There is salvation in no one else.
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For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
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Let us pray together.
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Gracious, holy God.
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Thank you for Jesus.
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Thank you for the love that you have shown us through Him.
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Thank you for the life we have because of Him.
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Thank you for the continued grace and mercy you show us through Him.
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Thank you for the victory of sin that we can have in our lives because of Him.
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Thank you for the unity that we have.
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The love that we have for one another because of Him.
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Jesus is supreme.
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Jesus is greater than anything this world has to offer.
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And God, I pray that as these words come out of my mouth, that they're not just words.
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That all of us would believe these words with life, with obedience.
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And live and embrace your wisdom and embrace Jesus this morning.
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Thank you for loving us.
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Thank you for this morning.
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In Jesus' name I pray.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Well guys, we get to...