Prince of Peace [Part 1]

Pastor Mosser and Bible teacher Alan Wright is increasing not be dismayed by what you see in the natural kingdoms encouraged by the ever increasing kingdom excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series, Prince of peace is presented with an old church in North Carolina. If you're not able to special Christmas teaching.

Today I want to make sure you know how to get our special source. Right now it can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright industries as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org that's Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 will to you more about it later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan writing.

Are you ready was beautiful about the gospel and what makes it such good news that every one of the glorious benefits.

Every one of the wondrous gifts of God to us is been promised to us all of it every becomes yours, not because of your will. But because of God's not because of your zeal and effort to reach heaven.

But because of the zeal of the Lord of hosts is zeal for you to fellowship with him forever. We are thinking about the Prince of peace today and are series on peace on earth and we come to this famous and beautiful prophetic messianic text in Isaiah chapter 9 right in the middle your Bible Isaiah chapter 9 and we are reading at verse six. Isaiah 9 verse six 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 of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no and on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Little Johnny was being selfish and self absorbed and so materialistic and writing is long long letter to Sanna asking Santa for everything that Johnny's dad thought he's missing the whole point of Christmas. I said Johnny here's what I wanted instead of writing a letter to Santa I want you to sit here in the living room and just gaze upon the nativity scene and look on it until the real meaning of Christmas sinks in, and then I want you to take a piece of paper and pencil and write a letter not to Santa right it to Jesus drive shut down on the couch for is armed, scowled at the nativity scene for a while and then a sheepish grin came over his face. He looked to the left and he looked to the right crept up to the nativity scene and removed the figure of Mary stuffed her into his pocket and then he crept back to his bedroom creaked open his closet door wrapped up the Mary figurine. Anna old T-shirt and stuffed her in the corner of the closet. He came back down and sat with a rude smile and took out his pencil and paper and wrote dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again.

Let's go to what empty and vein religion is his human effort by human design to try to express through devotion ritual or sacrifice zeal and devotion to the divine in order to manipulate the heavens to move on one's behalf.

That is the basis of not only paganism but every form of religion that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Isaiah was prophesying eight centuries before Christ. He had seen enough enormous change.

The kingdoms had become to divided gone with the glory days of King David over a United Kingdom where there was peace, prosperity, and expansion of their borders and the defeat of the pesky Philistines.

Now the kingdoms were divided in northern and the southern kingdom and in the northern kingdom.

They are going to suffer judgment at the hands of the Assyrian invasion in 722 and in the southern kingdom Jerusalem is going to be sacked in 587 BC by Babylon about the time that Isaiah's prophesying here. Big changes taken place because he was called Isaiah was called to the ministry in the year the King Josiah died we know when that was in the eighth century BC Josiah had rain for 52 years in a pretty godly way.

But now, as I was grandson Ahaz is on the throne in Judah and his wicked all he has the appearance of being a worshiper of Yahweh, but he began sacrificing to pagan deities and worshiping at the high places offering on the altar to Asherah involved in the Canaanite fertility gods trying to manipulate them on his behalf, and even come into awful Canaanite pagan practice of's child sacrifice and with that as a backdrop, the people of God are in desperate need of a real leader and here comes the trumpeting sound of Isaiah 9 about a Prince of peace.

A real leader upon his shoulders will be the government and this government will never ever stop increasing and the peace that he brings will never stop. It will be like where David started it but then it got interrupted and stopped and divided and broken it.

Just keep growing is clearly a text about the Messiah, because he is called everlasting father. He's called mighty God, so no human king could fulfill this role.

It is a prophecy eight centuries before Jesus was born about Jesus, the Prince of peace, and I want to show you today how beautiful it is that all of these good promises of Isaiah 9 hinge upon the last verse that we read in which the Lord assures us zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this in Talon right will have more teaching moment today is a ported series want to give someone a present this Christmas that they'll never forget. Let us help you give a gifted money can't buy this Christmas. Give someone your blessing positive biblically-based faith filled vision for their life in the beginning God bless data. Many and then told them to be fruitful and multiply, because in God's design blessing is enthroned for productivity. It's the fuel for it.

Now more than ever, someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft this month.

Special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft an full blessing easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based, and even include a worksheet that helps you and your blessing. So this Christmas. Give someone you love the present, not found in stores, a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower write down the blessing and put it in the package under the tree for putting your Christmas card billed never forget it when you make your gift Alan Wright Ministries this month will send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit pastor and.org these teaching now is your once again is Alan Ryan little closer the text with me is beautiful that the prophecy says to us a child is born, to us a son is given, because it expresses both Jesus is humanity and divinity to say a child is born is to say he is born like every other child is human, but to say is a son who's given is to say that he is a preexistent one, who was already a son and he is given to us so Jesus was born in a seemingly ordinary way.

But there was nothing ordinary about it. It was essential to God's plan and it is at the heart of Christmas that Jesus come to earth as both fully human and fully God.

If you were not fully human. He could not understand you.

It would not be able to represent you in this human sin that needed to be punished in order to be justice on the earth. And so we need a human being, that would represent us ever have a human being on the cross than he could rightfully take our sin take our punishment, but at the same time we needed him to be gone because he's a king, and it is a king, then there's a kingdom and it means that he rules and he has authority, even authority over the great, and so this is what makes the story of Christmas so mysterious and wonderful that there was a virgin birth. So is like an ordinary birth but yet it was extraordinary and every way.

And it's interesting all throughout the story. This paradox is there, on the one hand baby Jesus is just born in total obscurity placed in a little town in a manger and the ones who visit our obscure unknown shepherds, nearby fields, obscure but if you read Matthew's account little later in Jesus's life, what you realize is that these magi were not obscure at all. If you are to really study and you'd see that you would hear the thunderous beat of the whole entourage of wealthy kingmakers who come from the East to bring treasures to the little child's family and they were impressive and Herod took notice and so there's a paradox is always going to be this way with him. This baby Jesus was at the same time meet and majestic, and was finite and yet and defendant.

He was word last but he was the word vulnerable and yet invincible. It was unnoticed and worship in mobile but unstoppable humble and heralded confinement but uncontainable in danger, but the baby was dangerous, hungry but satisfying the world's greatest need. It was a baby and he was a king. He was God man to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the prophecy tells us the government shall be upon his shoulder. The hallway of government of the entire cosmos rests upon his shoulder. The list in the Bible about what makes for a great king or great ruler. But we know what one is someone who cares more about the well-being of the people that he does him or herself. Someone who is wise and a follower of God, and who makes sacrifices that are needed. There's a biblical model of the great leaders throughout Israel's history. They are the ones that recognize oppression stand up against the evil tyrant liberate the people build or cleanse the temple when the ultimate battle and set up lasting rule. I slip people like David or Moses or even Daniel is what they did and all of this is pointing to Jesus who is the one who ultimately would do all of those things and would stand up to the very devil himself and never be defeated. Who would liberate the people and establish this spiritual kingdom, the religious leaders didn't recognize them because they were expecting someone on this level of rulership a natural level but Jesus came on an even higher level of rulership for a spiritual kingdom theologian NT Wright said it well. He was the true King but they had become used to the ordinary shabby second right sort they were looking for a builder to construct the home they thought they wanted, but he was the architect, with a new plan that would give them everything they needed, but within quite a new framework.

They were looking for a singer to sing the song they been humming for a long time, but he was a composer bringing them a new song to which the old songs they knew would form at best. The background music. He was the king all right but he had come to redefine kingship. I kingdom is a king's domain and the kingdom had come. Jesus went about. According to Luke chapter 8 verse one traveling from one town village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. He come to take government in the spiritual realm in this government were told of the increase of his government and of peace.

There'll be no and I love the ESV study Bible note on this verse. It reads the Empire of grace will forever expand in every moment will be better than the last.

This is the nature of the kingdom of God. Unlike earthly kingdoms which will collapse and some will rise and some will get strong and some will fall and they'll be subject to change, but the kingdom of God is not like that such a beautiful thing that the kingdom in a very real sense grows every time someone discovers the saving loving power of Jesus Christ for his or her life. Every time someone accepts Christ they are brought out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and are kingdom has increased our kingdom is increasing. Do not be dismayed by what you see in the natural kingdoms be encouraged by the ever increasing kingdom of God and all of this, we are told that zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this and I am extremely comforted and encouraged by this news because if you've ever like I have in my life spent energy and time and mental strife, trying to make it happen by yourself, to no avail.

You know that it is not only sweet relief but it is profound encouragement to know that the way it will all happen is not by my zeal, but by God paganism during the time of Isaiah had grown to this point where there's all kinds of fertility cults and altars in high places and actual poles and ball worship and the people of God had fallen into such practices themselves and now Ahaz was supposedly VY's godly leader of the people leading them into the delights of the worship of Yahweh. He himself has become a practitioner of pagan idolatry. And we read about this awful practice in second Kings 16 verse two likely likely Ahaz was in power. By the time Isaiah is giving this prophetic word in Isaiah 9 Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to rain anyway. 16 years and Jerusalem.

And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord is God as father David done, but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel walked in the way of the wickedness of the northern kings walked away from God and elicited it. He even burned his son as an offering. According to the despicable practices of the nations of the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places on the hills and under every green tree everywhere you could offer a sacrifice he's offering it, even to the point wanted to show his Eagle to ball to the gods.

He even came to the unthinkable burning his own son on the altar. The sacrifice and we say we can imagine such a thing. But if you follow the logic that's where it ends up listen beloved, if you think that what it's all about is you show your devotion to God by willing nest to make ever increasing greater sacrifices so that God will move on your behalf wears into so Ahaz one day decides he'll offer a turtledove to ball. I need the gods I need heaven to move on my behalf so I can have victory as a as a leader and I can have prosperity and didn't live long does it get what he wants isotonic greater sacrifice.

They bring the land the more expensive sacrifice offers Lent doesn't get what he wants, or maybe bring in several oxen and offer them on the high places and you still don't get what you want from your God.

And so maybe he he offers up whole whole flocks and in the blood is just running everywhere on the hillsides and he still doesn't get what he wants and so along this line of logic.

He says well I need to prove myself to be the most zealous one imaginable so you offers his own son. What I'm saying is that religious legalism doesn't just miss the joy delight and beauty of the gospel.

It invites the darkness of hell itself. Why think Jesus was so much zeal against the hypocrisy and legalism of the Pharisees, because this is when it goes. He said you search the world over for a convert, and you make him twice a son of hell that you are life in Christ is exactly the opposite.

Life in Christ is where you are transformed not by your zeal and devotion. But by the zeal and devotion Jesus to you, Helen writing today's good news is a message titled Prince things with his past rally was back in the studio with a parting good news.just about what I give someone a present this Christmas that they'll never forget. Let us help you give a gifted money can't buy this Christmas. Give someone your blessing positive biblically-based faith filled vision for their life in the beginning God blessed Adam and and then told them to be fruitful and multiply, because in God's design blessing isn't the productivity. It's the fuel for it.

Now more than ever, someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft this month. Special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft an full blessing for easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based and include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing. So this Christmas. Give someone you love the present, not found in stores, a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower write down the blessing and put it in the package under the tree for putting your Christmas card billed ever forget it when you make your gift. Alan Wake ministries this month will send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit pastor and.org biker in the studio now with pastor Al a Merry Christmas.*This is a good teaching, Prince of peace and what is your closing thought is we put a bookmark here and wait for the conclusion.

Has there ever been a time moving more needed peace than this Christmas and I love the idea that a child has been born in a son is given that the governments on his shoulder, and I think that this Christmas invitation. You let your heart, meditate on this and settle in the assurance that the governments on his shoulders and hours a year of endemic contentious election political unrest, racial unrest just to say this Christmas Jesus for you on the Prince of peace. Rain and I will trust you. Let the government be on his shoulders and he's coming here. Today's good news message is a listener supported production. Alan Wake ministries and