The Gospel According to Isaiah

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO 
ISAIAH
Everlasting Father

So each week - as we make our way to Christmas day this year,
We are exploring these 4 important names that Jesus was given.
A couple weeks ago – we broke down that Jesus is a wonder. I mentioned Mother Wilson and her saying that has really stuck with me. That God ways are wonderous. We discovered that He a beyond understanding counselor. 
Then we talked about “Jesus, the Mighty God” - and explained that – that Jesus redeemed us, triumphed over death, hell and the grave. He makes us more than overcomers through His MIGHTY works and MIGHTY LOVE.
And Today - we move onto the next description - “Jesus, the Everlasting Father”

Have you ever heard of or had an EVERLASTING GOBSTOPPER? 
It is a piece of candy that claims to last forever. I brought you some so you can have candy with you, forever.
What you probably already know is that after only a few hours that the candy will be getting smaller and smaller until eventually it will be all gone.
False advertisement. They lied.
Now - anytime I hear the word “Everlasting” you may get a little cynical.
And that’s probably not a bad thing because there is really nothing on the planet that has the ability to last forever.
What lasts forever?
Among the top answers -
•    Lines at the DMV.
•    Sesame Street.
•    Glitter.
As “forever” as these things seem - They too have a shelf life.
(WE - PROBLEM)
Nothing here really seems to last forever.
Like 1 Corinthians 7:31 says - “31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.
Even the biggest and most powerful things will come to an end.
Did you know that one day, even the sun will disappear - it's OK - we have a few billion years - we've got some time….
That’s a mind-boggling thought that one day - even our sun will die - (SUN IMAGE)
(fun facts about the sun)
The Sun is about the most powerful thing we know.
•    The sun would fit 1 million earths inside of it.
•    It can produce temperatures up to 2 million degrees F
•    The most powerful bomb ever used on earth was a 50 mega ton nuclear bomb - The sun produces the power of a 1 trillion megaton bomb - every second. Which is said to be enough power to sustain earth's energy needs for almost 500,000 years - every second...
But one day, like everything else, it's will all fade away. Almost Everything that we know here, there is a beginning and an end. So - it’s no wonder that the word “Everlasting” causes a skeptical response.
Eternity is a challenging concept to wrap our heads around. There’s something about ‘everlasting’ that still feels impossible to imagine as an adult. 
Maybe as a kid (I believed wholeheartedly that a piece of candy lasted forever). But now, as a mature adult - It seems like 'everlasting' is far more of a challenge to comprehend.
What do I mean? -- Everything has to end!
Having an end is what we understand.
Why is understanding important?
Because - Without understanding, closure is so difficult to come by - Understanding brings about Closure - doesn't it? And closure brings comfort.
This is why everything in our fridge - including our fridge has an expiration date - This is why researchers have gathered data on what our life expectancy should be - This is why scientists have calculated when the death of our sun will occur -
Closure is finding answers that bring us comfort -
Closure helps us to understand our place in the world -
Closure helps us to prepare ourselves with expectations in life.
But what happens when we come across a problem that we don't have a full and complete understanding of?
What do we do with this important word - “Everlasting"?
How do we find closure with the Everlasting - if we don't know everything?
How do we find comfort?
Let's jump in to the word of God today and take a closer look (in particular) at this word - Everlasting and what it represents.
(GOD)
We are in Isaiah 9
- Verse 6 -
One of the most classic Christmas verses with an everlasting twist -
Here’s what it says -
Isaiah 9:6 New King James Version
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Everlasting Father -
What does it mean that Jesus is called the “everlasting father”?
On face value it seems like a strange title for Jesus. Because what comes to mind for me when I think of what an “everlasting father” is -
looks something like this -
- A dad forever.
•    New Balance wearing, 
•    Lawn-mower loving, 
•    Endless Pun giving –
•     The forever dad.
But - I don't think this is what Isaiah meant.
In fact - let's dig beneath the surface with some ancient translations.
Originally “Everlasting Father” written in Hebrew and was intended to be understood in a slightly different way than we might interpret according to our own culture today.
In Hebrew  “Everlasting Father”, is avi’ad.
As a side note of interest - This is the first and only time - this combination of words -- ‘a-bi-ad’ is used in the entire bible. It’s unique and one of a kind. To really understand what Isaiah wrote here, we need to begin with the 2nd word of the description - the word ‘father’ -
Now - Father here doesn't translate to what we would think a father should mean -Here - father is not - protector, or provider, or Lawn mowing expert.
-
Instead - the word used means -
The Chief or Principal - The Owner, The Ruler, The Master, The Possessor.
The word ‘father’ here is less - 'a dad', and more what we might call - the 'father of' it maybe even the forefather or founding father.
Like Father Abraham. The title suggests much more than just being a father - but instead a protagonist of change - the leader of a new way - a new nation.
If I were to ask you who the father of America was - you would say…?
George Washington…
Not the literal father - But the father of a movement. A new world.
This is the idea that this Hebrew word for “ father” means. The forefather - the father of… something. So what is this father of, the father of?
The words Father of in this context carry the meaning, “possessor of eternity.” Father of eternity is here used “in accordance with a custom usual in Hebrew and in Arabic, where he who possesses a thing is called the father of it. 
As Isiah puts it, Jesus is the father of or possessor of -- The ‘everlasting’. The New Testament backs up Isaiah’s prophecy: 
John 1:1-5 New Living Translation
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.
Colossians 1:16 New King James Version
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
And then we see Jesus proclaiming this: 
John 8:58 New King James Version
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

You see, Isaiah is not saying that Jesus will be the forever, lawn mowing-loving dad -Instead, God is explaining that - Jesus will come and become the owner and ruler of that which is everlasting.
The Father of Time, the Father of the Everlasting. The owner of all things that last for eternity. Which means that there must be some things that are everlasting after all...
I can tell you with certainty - that candy is not one of them.
So, do you think that heaven will last forever? 
Isaiah 51:6 New King James Version
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not be abolished.
and 
Hebrews 1:10-12 New King James Version
10 And:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”
With that being said - The bible talks about three things that are everlasting -
That will never spoil, never perish, never vanish, or never fade—
And in this, we can actually gain enough understanding to find closure and comfort. Even though we don't have ALL the details and every answer -
It turns out, when it comes to the everlasting, we only need to know 3 things.
What are they?
Everlasting item # 1 is this -- The Word of God.
The Bible has withstood attack, ridicule, criticism, and all kinds of attempts to destroy it over the centuries.
In the 18th century, a French philosopher and historian named Voltaire, once said, “One hundred years from my day, there will not be a Bible on earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity-seeker.”
Many have forgotten Voltaire, ( to be honest I hadn’t heard his name until this study)Let alone his failed prediction however, no one has forgotten the Bible.
In 1525, William Tyndale translated the New Testament from Greek to English for the first time. Catholic authorities forbade this.
Any Bible found violating these rulings were burned, but Tyndale believed that all people should be able to read the Bible in their own language. After being tried and convicted for treason and heresy for printing and distributing Bibles, Tyndale was burned at the stake in 1536.
But did that stop the word of God? NO!
In fact - Because of Tyndale and others like him throughout history, the Bible today has been translated into nearly 3,000 languages!
Despite every attempt to eradicate it, the Bible today is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book.
In the last 50 years, 3.9 billion copies of the Bible have been sold.
Just as
Isaiah 40:8 New King James Version
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
1 Peter 1:24-25 New King James Version
24 because
“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
The “Father of the Everlasting” has protected the Word of God throughout history and all of life to come. The word of God is Everlasting.
..
Everlasting item # 2 -- The Soul of Man.
Sometimes it's easy to think of ourselves as no big deal. But there's something about you that will live on - you are everlasting.
Psalm 139:13-16 New King James Version
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How did God make the land and sea? The animals? The stars? Etc. But where did we come from? An eternal being, so we are eternal in our souls.  
The Bible says in 
Genesis 2:7 New Living Translation
7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 New King James Version
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
C.S. Lewis put it well when he said, “You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body”
The soul is precious and has a destination beyond this world.
Jesus said in Mark 8:36 New King James Version
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
In John 5:28-29, Jesus made this stunning revelation: 
John 5:28-29 New Living Translation
28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.
 And we know from John 3:16 NKJV
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The “Father of the Everlasting” has protected our souls. Our soul will live Everlasting.
The third item of the everlasting is this -
Everlasting item # 3 – The Love of God
God’s love endures forever
Psalm 136 New Living Translation
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.
4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
9 and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.
10 Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
11 He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
12 He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
13 Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
14 He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
15 but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
16 Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever.
17 Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
18 He killed powerful kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
21 God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—
His faithful love endures forever.
22 a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.
We learn from 
Romans 8:28 New King James Version
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
And quite possibly the most astonishing verse about God’s love comes only sentences after in 
Romans 8:38-39 New King James Version
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing can separate God’s love from those who love, revere, and serve Him!
The “Father of the Everlasting” has protected and secured His love for us for all eternity.
God’s love is everlasting.
Our Soul is Everlasting
God’s word is everlasting.
The eternal can be uncomfortable - because it's hard to see - we don't have all the answers. I mean - Who has the power to come back from the grave and tell us all about eternity?
Who indeed...As we trust in the father of the everlasting, comfort arrives. You might think - I'll worry about the everlasting things when that time comes - everlasting has already begun.
It began with the name above all names - The name of JESUS.
Are you looking for comfort in your soul today?
Call on the powerful name of Jesus.
And as you do - As WE all do - Comfort and truth will arrive because 
“All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10
LETS PRAY