Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000540A
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00:01 BREATH OF LIFE MINISTRIES PRESENTS:
00:05 SERMON B540 "His Name IS WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR" 00:11 [BREATH OF LIFE THEME MUSIC] 00:20 Our text today is a very familiar text, coming to us 00:24 from the book of Isaiah, chapter 9, verse number 6. 00:29 Isaiah, chapter 9 and verse number 6. And we're reading, 00:35 you're hearing the Word of God says, "For unto us a child is born, 00:39 unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon 00:44 his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful." 00:48 Everybody say Wonderful. Aud.: Wonderful. 00:50 PB: "Counsellor." Everybody say Counselor. 00:52 "The mighty God, the everlasting Father, 00:55 and the Prince of"--what? Aud.: Peace. 00:58 PB: Let me read it once more. 00:59 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 01:02 and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 01:04 and his name shall be called Wonderful, 01:07 Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, 01:12 the Prince of Peace." Now I can preach five 01:17 sermons from this text: one on Wonderful; 01:19 one on Counselor; one on the mighty God; 01:22 one on the everlasting Father, 01:25 and one on the Prince of Peace. 01:28 But somebody says, Pastor, don't do it all 01:29 in one day. Come on, say amen. 01:31 So I'm just going to hit the first two today. 01:34 His name is Wonderful, Counselor. 01:38 His name is Wonderful, Counselor. 01:41 Father, in the name of Jesus, speak for 01:43 Your servant's hearing. Hide us behind Your cross. 01:45 Forgive me of my sins. Give clarity. But Lord, 01:48 may Your anointing fall. We praise you in 01:51 advance for what you're going to do even when 01:53 we get to the appeal time. It's in Jesus' 01:55 name we pray. Let everyone say Amen. Amen. 01:58 Aud.: Amen. PB: His name is Wonderful, Counselor. 02:02 There are many reasons why we name our children 02:05 the way we do. Maybe we give them the names they 02:09 have because the name is cute. Carissa. Maybe it's 02:14 because the name is popular. John. Maybe it's 02:18 because the name is unique. Rain. Maybe it's 02:24 because their name is after somebody else. Junior. 02:28 The second. The third. But maybe we give our children 02:34 the names like we do because the name defines 02:36 who they are. Shaquita. Laquita. Names, however, 02:46 in the Bible are extremely important because a 02:49 name not only conveys who you are, but it also says 02:54 something about your character. Isaac means laughter. 02:59 Isaac brought laughter to Abraham and Sarah, 03:04 because after all, they birthed a child at 90 and 03:08 100 years young. Somebody knows that what Viagra can't do, 03:12 God can do. Do I have a witness in this place? 03:15 [Aud. reaction] PB: The name Isaiah, the prophet in 03:19 our text, means God is my salvation. His prophecies 03:25 point to our salvation. And so in Isaiah 9:6, 03:28 we find one of the best-loved verses in the Bible 03:30 because it reveals five dynamics of His name and 03:34 the character of Jesus Christ. More than 800 years 03:38 before He was even born, Isaiah prophesied that His 03:41 name should be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, 03:46 everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Why do I need to 03:52 know the name of Jesus from Isaiah's perspective? 03:54 Well, the main answer is because if you know His 03:57 name and you come against certain human attacks 04:01 in your life, you'll be able to appropriate His 04:05 name to a certain situation. Because in case you 04:08 didn't know, there's something about the name of Jesus. 04:12 Demons lose their power at the name of Jesus. 04:15 Every knee must bow at the name of Jesus. 04:19 Every tongue must confess at the name of Jesus. 04:22 Angels fall prostrate at the name of Jesus. 04:26 Death loses its sting at the name of Jesus. 04:30 The grave gives up its victory at the name of Jesus. 04:34 Satan has no say-so at the name of Jesus. 04:40 Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 04:45 I'll tell it everywhere I go. When we look 04:50 at the names of Jesus and look at the character 04:52 of Jesus, understanding His name helps us to 04:55 better understand Him. So why is He called Wonderful? 05:00 The answer is in the name itself, because His name 05:04 is Wonderful, that's the answer as to why God calls 05:08 Him that. Because everything outside of God is not 05:11 wonderful, but you don't know that until you come 05:15 to know Christ as Wonderful. You see, it's one 05:18 thing to say Jesus is wonderful, but it's another 05:22 thing to know Jesus is Wonderful. [Aud. reaction] 05:26 PB: For some people, before you met Jesus 05:28 you really thought life was wonderful. 05:30 You thought you had it going on. You thought 05:33 that life couldn't get any better than this. 05:35 But then you met Jesus, and you discovered that 05:39 there's nobody like Jesus. There's nobody greater 05:43 than Jesus. That Jesus is the best thing that 05:47 happened in your life. That's He's good; 05:50 that He's wonderful; that He's marvelous. 05:52 Wonderful means something that is transcendently 05:56 beyond the common. Something that is beyond the ordinary. 05:59 It means something that is altogether unlike anything else. 06:04 Jesus is Wonderful. What makes Jesus wonderful? Well, 06:10 number one, His birth was wonderful. It was wonderful 06:14 in that Jesus, unlike all of us, had one human parent 06:19 and one divine parent. So Jesus then inherited both 06:23 the nature of man and the nature of God. 06:26 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. 06:27 Jesus is the God-man. Two natures in one personality. 06:32 He protected the interests of heaven with His divinity, 06:35 but looked out for the interests of earth in His humanity. 06:38 In His divinity, He is God's way to man; but in His 06:42 humanity, He's man's way back on up to God. 06:45 [Aud. reaction] PB: But then number two, 06:47 His life is wonderful. He came to bless and 06:52 not to curse, to lift up and not to cast down, 06:56 to help and not to hurt, to give life and not death, 07:02 to seek and save that which was lost, to give sight 07:05 to the blind, to set the captives free, to reveal 07:10 the Father's love. He came to give rest to the weary, 07:14 to be a blessing to the whole world. 07:16 In the Bible, the Bible records 37 of Jesus' miracles: 07:21 turning water into wine, feeding 5,000 with two fish 07:25 and five loaves of bread, healing Peter's mother-in-law, 07:28 healing the woman with the issue of blood, raising 07:30 Jairus's daughter, raising Lazarus's daughter, 07:34 healing the blind man at the pool of Bethesda. 07:36 But understand, these are just some of the miracles, 07:39 because John 20:30 says He did many other signs and 07:42 wonders in the presence of His disciples, which are 07:45 not even written in this book. 07:47 His life is wonderful. Wonderful is His name, 07:52 because He knows how to make your life wonderful. 07:56 He knows how to turn your life around. He knows 07:59 how to give you what you need when you need it. 08:02 Let me illustrate it, because I'm preaching to myself. 08:05 Somebody doesn't understand what I'm talking about. 08:07 As you know, I do a lot of flying. I fly everywhere, 08:09 and after preaching one Sabbath here at Oakwood I was 08:12 on my way to preach in New York City for a revival on 08:15 a Saturday night there in New York. And as I was on 08:18 my way from Huntsville through Atlanta, my connection 08:22 to New York to preach, my plane left Atlanta late. 08:26 I said to myself, "Oh, my. I have only a few minutes 08:30 to get from the airport to the church to preach. 08:32 How in the world am I going to make it? It's late. 08:36 I'm tired. I've already preached in Huntsville and Oakwood. 08:40 I can't even get a nap before church tonight, 08:43 and when I finally get on the plane thinking I'm 08:46 going to go to sleep, the pilot said, "I'm sorry. 08:49 We're late. We're going to get you into La Guardia 08:53 as soon as we can." And after we were about in the 08:57 air for I'd say about 20 minutes, looking like all 09:00 hope was gone, the pilot broke through on the intercom, 09:05 on the loudspeaker, and said "Passengers, I've got 09:08 some good news. We left 30 minutes later, but there's 09:13 a strong tailwind pushing us on the way, and at the 09:19 rate we're going, we're going to arrive 10 minutes early." 09:23 I wish I had a church in this place today. 09:25 [Aud. reaction] PB: That's just like Jesus. 09:27 He's wonderful, because the Lord has a way of 09:30 letting you take off late but getting you there 09:33 ahead of time. I wish I had a church in this place. 09:36 [Aud. reaction] PB: But not only do you have a 09:38 tailwind, there are sometimes some of us can get 09:42 in a hurry. And we try to move ahead of God. 09:47 And so we leave in life early, and that's what 09:51 happened to me on another flight. Another flight, 09:54 I was on time. And I was about to get in to my 09:58 destination early, and I was going to be able to 10:01 rest a little longer. And although we started off 10:04 on time, 20 minutes into the flight the captain 10:08 came on the loudspeaker. He said, "We'll be 20 minutes 10:13 late because we're headed for a headwind." 10:17 Sometimes God will push a tailwind to get you there 10:21 on time and before time. But sometimes God will send 10:26 you a headwind to slow you down, so that you might 10:30 avoid the danger you might be headed toward. That's 10:33 what it means to have a wonderful Savior. He knows 10:36 what you need, knows when you need it, and knows 10:40 how you need it, because He's wonderful. 10:44 [Aud. reaction] PB: A wonderful Savior. 10:47 Wonderful Jesus. He walks with me, He talks 10:51 with me, He tells me that I am His own. 10:55 He's wonderful. He'll wipe away your tearing eyes. 10:59 He'll roll your burdens away. Won't He do it for you? 11:03 He'll pick you up, turn you around, place your 11:05 feet on solid ground. He's wonderful. His life 11:09 is wonderful and He'll make your life wonderful. 11:11 But not only that. Not only that. Not only was His 11:16 birth wonderful, His life wonderful, but His words 11:19 were wonderful. John 7 says Jesus was out preaching. 11:24 The Pharisees are listening, and the Pharisees 11:26 even had to say "Never before have we heard a man 11:28 speak like this man speaks." It wasn't just the 11:32 rhetoric or the clichés Jesus was using, it was 11:34 the power of the Word. Don't you know there is 11:38 power and life and wonder in the Word of God. 11:42 You don't believe me? How many times have you 11:43 come to this church empty, and you come weak 11:47 into the house of God. But by the time you left, 11:51 you were set on fire, you were set ablaze, 11:56 you were set afoot because the Word of God is alive. 12:01 How many times have you awakened in your life, 12:04 and you felt like not going on. But once you heard 12:08 the Word of the Lord, it put a running in your feet, 12:11 a smile on your face, a song in your heart, clapping 12:16 in your hands. And I'm not talking about an emotion. 12:20 I'm talking about when you want to give up, and then 12:23 God will speak in a still, small voice, and God will 12:27 say "Go on. Go on." God is wonderful! Wonderful 12:33 in His birth, wonderful in His life, wonderful 12:36 in His words, and even wonderful, friends, in His death. 12:40 Look at His death. A gruesome death, a repulsive death. 12:46 A horrifying, ugly death. Nothing good about His death. 12:52 Blood was everywhere. His back was ripped wide open. 12:56 The weight was resting on his feet. His lungs were 12:59 about to collapse. Having to lift his weight above 13:02 His feet to open up his air chamber to breathe some air. 13:05 There Jesus is, gasping for His life. His head torn open 13:10 by thorns, His wrists tearing under the weight of the spikes. 13:14 And yet Jesus is able to say, "Father, forgive them, 13:19 for they know not what they do." Jesus is able to say 13:23 "It is finished." There's nothing good about death. 13:29 But in death, I've learned, if death never comes, 13:34 you'll never have a resurrection. So, thank God 13:39 for His death, but praise God for His resurrection. 13:44 And because He got up, one day the dead in 13:48 Christ are going to get up, and we which are 13:50 alive and remain will be caught up to meet 13:52 the Lord in the air. Some of you right now, 13:54 we've come to the end of the year and you feel 13:57 like your life is hung on a cross. It feels 14:00 like it's dark, like it's pain. Doesn't look 14:04 like anything new is going to come. It looks 14:07 like every day is going to be dark. But if you 14:09 hang on in there, if you hold on long enough, 14:15 God will give you--I'm a witness- 14:18 -the joy that you need. His name is Wonderful. 14:23 Wonderful in His birth, wonderful in His life, 14:28 wonderful in His words, and even wonderful in His death. 14:32 The text says "Wonderful." But then the text goes 14:37 on and says "Counselor." Now some translations read, 14:41 "His name is Wonderful comma Counselor." Others read 14:46 "Wonderful Counselor." Let me today just put it this way: 14:51 His name is Wonderful. But His name is also Counselor. 14:57 Now, if there's one thing we all have in this place 15:01 today in common, even the best of us, is that we 15:04 worry too much. Come on, say amen. Tell the truth, 15:09 shame the devil. We worry too much, and worry in 15:15 a real sense can have an interesting effect on your 15:19 everyday life. For many of us, the problems of life 15:21 worry us so much that we need a counselor. 15:24 Now, as a pastor, I am not like a counselor like 15:26 other counselors. But the old motif in church was, 15:30 if you've got a problem go to the pastor. 15:32 Do I have a witness in this place? But if the 15:35 truth be told, as pastors we've taken some classes 15:38 in counseling. And we've been somewhat trained as 15:41 pastoral counselors, but we are not clinical counselors. 15:44 In other words, I'm trained to preach the Word of God. 15:47 So when you come to me, all I can give you is a word 15:50 from the Lord. And some folk don't want to come to 15:52 me to hear from me, because all I can tell them is 15:55 what "thus saith the Lord." But then there is the flipside. 15:58 There are some folk who want to go to pastoral counseling, 16:02 who don't want to go to clinical counseling, 16:04 because clinical counseling is the kind of counseling 16:07 that brings out the clinical where you can be literally 16:10 diagnosed as mentally ill, and folks don't want to hear that. 16:14 You see, Pastor Byrd, the pastoral counselor won't 16:18 call you crazy, but the clinical counselor will. 16:22 Are you hearing what I'm saying? Because what's wrong 16:24 with some of us is not spiritual. You've got some clinical 16:29 issues you've got to work through in order to address 16:32 them spiritually. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 16:34 But we like to go the easy route. Let me go to Pastor Byrd. 16:38 Just lay some hands on me, and if I fall out, when I get 16:42 up everything's going to be all right. But I'm a witness 16:45 that everything's not going to be all right until 16:48 you deal with it, rather than just trying to spiritualize 16:52 your issues and cover them up. You'd better face them 16:55 so you can fix them. Do I have a witness in this place? 16:58 [Aud. reaction] PB: And when you boldly address 17:00 what has happened to you, I believe you're able 17:03 then to open to how the Word of God can address 17:06 your problem, and I believe that when you have 17:09 enough faith in God, you won't need all those meds, 17:13 all that other stuff they like to put in you. 17:16 Because that stuff doesn't do anything but cure symptoms. 17:20 But it doesn't deal with the root of the problem. 17:22 Are you hearing me? Anybody can give you anything 17:25 to slow you down. Take this cup and drink it and relax. 17:29 But then when that wears off, you're going to 17:32 need something else. Sometimes you have to 17:34 have something deeper than Prozac. 17:36 You need something that will keep you in 17:39 perfect peace. You need something that 17:41 will make a way somehow. You need something 17:44 that knows just how much you can bear, 17:46 and that something is Someone, and that 17:49 Someone is Jesus. His name is Wonderful, 17:53 but His name is also Counselor. [Aud. reaction] 17:56 PB: Where people turn for help is often an 18:00 indication of their character and faith. 18:02 One person turns to the bar and happy hour to 18:05 drink themselves into some solution. Others 18:08 turn to drugs, prescription or nonprescription, 18:10 to try to quiet the noise of themselves. 18:12 Others have taken the path of clinical help: 18:15 psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts. 18:17 Some have even gone to palm readers, tarot card readers, 18:22 soothsayers, and 1-900 Psychic Friends. But somebody 18:28 has to be reminded today that Jesus is the 18:32 supreme Counselor. He heals the brokenhearted, 18:36 He set the captive free, He made the lame to 18:40 walk again and calls the blind to see. 18:42 Let me tell you something else. Throw this in, 18:44 free of charge. It's good to have friends that 18:50 can counsel you, but everybody is not qualified 18:55 to counsel you. A lot of people can give you advice, 18:59 but not everybody is qualified to counsel. 19:02 Are you hearing what I'm saying? But I know 19:04 Somebody who has qualified Himself as a Counselor 19:12 and His name, His name, His name is Jesus. 19:22 Can I give you quickly some of His credentials, 19:25 then I'm going to sit down. I'm going to get 19:27 you out before 1:30. Come on, say amen. 19:29 Number one: Jesus understands how we feel. 19:33 Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we have not an 19:36 high priest which cannot be touched with 19:38 the feeling of our infirmities; but was in 19:40 all points tempted like as we are." You see, 19:45 Jesus is not some aloof Savior who says 19:49 "What you got yourself into is too hard for 19:53 me to identify with." He says, "No. I've taken 19:57 on all the sin of humanity. I'm a qualified Counselor. 20:01 I can sit down with you, because I've sat where you sit. 20:05 I've cried like you cry. I've experienced 20:09 your disappointments, I was tempted just like 20:12 you were tempted." Jesus knows how we feel. 20:16 There is nothing that you experience, 20:17 there is nothing I experience, nothing that 20:19 you go through, nothing that you deal with 20:21 that Jesus can't identify with. I don't care 20:24 what your experience is, Jesus has been there 20:26 and done that. Number two: He is a qualified 20:31 Counselor because He loves us. Now, we've got 20:37 some counselors in this church, and they'll tell you: 20:39 counselors are not advised to get involved 20:44 emotionally with their patients, because this 20:48 involvement might hinder them from doing their work. 20:52 What I love about Jesus is, we've got a Counselor 20:57 who says not only do I love you, but I'm going to 21:01 get involved with you. Do I have a witness in this place? 21:03 [Aud. reaction] PB: And He gets involved because He 21:06 has been tempted at every point and He knows that you 21:08 can't get out of it without His assistance. Let me stay 21:12 there for just one minute. Don't you know, friends of 21:16 mine here at Oakwood today, that there are some things 21:19 that you can have all the Scriptures, you can have 21:23 all the experience, all the human voices telling you 21:28 one thing. But there are some things I've learned 21:31 in my life that you can't get out of unless God gets you out. 21:36 [Aud. reaction] PB: I talk to men and women who battle 21:39 crack cocaine and battle addiction, and I ask them, 21:43 when they've had a tenure of cleanliness, 21:46 "Talk to me about it." And they often say to me, 21:47 "Every now and then I battle, and I crave an appetite 21:51 for it years later, when I've gotten off of it." 21:54 And so I say to them, tell me. Help me understand. 21:56 How did you get out then? Was it a 12-step program? 22:01 Was it some counselor? Was it a support group? 22:05 They say, "Pastor, all that is good, and Pastor Byrd, 22:10 I needed all of that." But everyone I've asked that 22:14 same question have said to me, that's been staying 22:17 knows that if it had not been for the Lord on my side, 22:25 somebody knows if it had not been for the grace of God. 22:32 Now, we come to church and we try to camouflage our stuff, 22:35 but everybody's got some stuff. I wish I had a witness 22:38 in this place. And everybody in this place knows, 22:40 if it had not been for somebody praying for you, 22:43 somebody interceding for you, somebody helping you, 22:48 somebody encouraging you. If it had not been for the 22:52 Lord on your side. So don't sit up in here all snooty 22:54 and stuck up, like you've got it going on. If it had 22:57 not been for Jesus. Now, you can take that experience 23:03 into any habit, any problem, any addiction, 23:06 and the only thing that has kept you is the goodness, 23:09 the grace, and guidance of God. And for the believer, 23:14 there's no other way out of the sin problem but for 23:18 the grace of God. You're not smart enough to think 23:22 your way out. You're not articulate enough to talk 23:24 your way out. You're not rich enough to buy your way out, 23:28 because if you could, you would have gotten yourself 23:30 out in the first place. And once you're in it, 23:33 you have to appeal to the supreme Counselor. 23:36 God, I need You, and I need You now. He's qualified, 23:41 because He understands us. He's qualified because 23:44 He loves us. And then finally He's qualified as a 23:46 Counselor because He comforts us. 23:50 Now this word "comfort" is the same word for encouragement 23:55 or to give strength. This is further illustrated in 23:58 First Peter chapter 5, verse 7. It says, "Casting 24:01 all your care upon him because he careth for"--whom, 24:04 everybody? You. Casting all your worries, casting all 24:10 your anxiety, casting everything on Him because He cares for you. 24:19 When Christyn was two years old--our daughter, our eldest daughter; 24:24 Caileigh was just a baby--Christyn would try to pick Caileigh up. 24:31 Now, I would say to Christyn: Christyn, baby, wait a minute, 24:34 wait a minute. 'Cause she was a baby herself. And she thought 24:37 she was the mama. She still thinks she's the mama. Come on, say amen. 24:40 I would say, Christyn, wait a minute. Give me the baby. 24:46 Christyn would try her best to pick Caileigh up, 24:48 but when I would look at them, I knew they were about to fall. 24:53 In my mind, I would say, uh-huh, that's good effort. 24:55 But give me the baby, because you can't carry the baby. 25:02 Church of the living God, your Daddy hates to see 25:08 you try to carry something that's too big for you. 25:12 I wish I had a witness in this place. 25:13 [Aud. reaction] PB: Learn how to cast your cares 25:16 on our Father, because He cares for us. He's there 25:20 to comfort us, strengthen us, encourage us. But, 25:23 you know why we don't cast it? Because we sometimes 25:26 don't think it's too big for us. 25:28 Let me tell you something I've learned. 25:30 The only way you're going to release it is 25:31 when you own up to the fact that you can't handle it. 25:34 And you see, that's when the devil is good, 25:37 'cause he's going to mess with your ego. 25:39 You know, they say ego's the acronym, "Easing God Out." 25:43 And a lot of times we don't cast it because we feel 25:46 like we're a failure if we do. But when you start 25:49 getting hurt enough, when you start getting burned enough, 25:54 you'll start saying "You know what, Lord? I can't handle this. 25:58 I can't do this by myself." As a matter of fact, 26:01 you've got to get to the point where you say, "Lord"- 26:03 -when those bills come in your mail--"This is Your mail. 26:06 This is Your mail. This is for You. I know my name's on it, 26:10 but this is for You." You will learn that if it's His will, 26:13 it's His bill. If it's His choice, it's His invoice. 26:17 I wish I had a witness in this place. 26:19 You've got to learn how to let some things go. 26:22 Everybody say "let it go." Aud.: Let it go. 26:25 PB: Come on, say "Let it go." Aud.: Let it go. 26:26 PB: I was with the nominating committee this week, 26:28 and I told them, I'm getting older now. 26:30 Every hill is not Calvary. Some things we've got to 26:34 learn how to let them go. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 26:37 You see, I heard somebody say one time, "When we pray, 26:42 we ought to pray to be stronger men and women." 26:46 In other words, don't pray--listen to me good, 26:51 my last teaching point--don't pray for tasks equal to your power. 26:58 Don't pray for tasks equal to your power. 27:04 Pray for power equal to your tasks. 27:12 Many times we pray, we pray and say "Lord, 27:15 give me a task equal to where I am in Your walk with me." 27:21 But you know what will happen when you pray that prayer? 27:25 You will never grow. If I just simply pray and said, 27:31 "Lord, give me a task equal to my power," 27:35 I would never be the pastor of the Oakwood Church. 27:38 I would never be the speaker-director of Breath of Life. 27:42 Pray for power equal to your task. When you pray, 27:47 you should say, "Lord, this task is bigger than me, 27:52 so I'm not going to ask You to reduce my task to the 27:56 level of my power. But give me power equal to the 28:00 task that I'm looking at." And that's when the Comforter comes in. 28:06 That's when the Counselor comes in. When you learn to pray to God, 28:11 you have to say, "Lord, I can't handle it anymore. It's too big for me." 28:16 >: Thank you for joining us for another 28:18 exciting Breath of Life television broadcast. 28:20 Tune in next week at the same time, as Dr. Byrd will 28:23 deliver another dynamic message from the Lord, 28:26 just for you. Until next time, may God bless you. 28:29 [END] |
Revised 2017-01-05