1 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:08,520 Morning. Everyone really quick turn to 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:10,320 the person next to you and just say your name. 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,680 If you have a middle name, say that middle name too. 4 00:00:25,730 --> 00:00:29,210 So names are funny things, right? 5 00:00:29,210 --> 00:00:32,880 They look simple on paper, just a couple of letters bunched 6 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,120 together that create a sound. But for anybody that's lived 7 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:38,720 long enough, you know that names are more than just a sound. 8 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:45,200 A name carries a story. We all know this as kids, maybe 9 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,680 even still now, as grown-ups, but especially as kids. 10 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,640 If somebody used your full government name, your first, 11 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,320 middle, last name, no matter where you were or what you did, 12 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,200 judgement, they had arrived. If that happens with me, I start 13 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,960 confessing things that I didn't. I'm not even sure that I did 14 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:08,880 right. One name spoken in the wrong 15 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:15,000 tone can bring a whole storm into a room, but that same name 16 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,560 in the right voice can do the opposite. 17 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,560 Like when your name uses that nickname for you, the one that 18 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,200 other people aren't allowed to use, It's almost like the whole 19 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,400 world just exhales. And for a moment you feel seen 20 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,000 and known and cared for and slightly suspicious because you 21 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:35,720 don't know if you're in trouble yet. 22 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,760 And then there's the workplace version of a name where your 23 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,280 boss leans over the your desk and he just says, Dennis, can I 24 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:45,760 see you in my office really quick? 25 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,680 And immediately, your name feels like a liability, right? 26 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,520 Your heart starts to race and you start rethinking every 27 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,520 e-mail you've sent since 2014. And as you walk to the office, 28 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,680 your brain is like automatically updating your CV. 29 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:08,199 And it's amazing how a name the same collection of letters can 30 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:11,880 shift the atmosphere. It can raise expectations and 31 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,000 stir emotions or even bring comfort. 32 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,640 And that's because names carry weight and they tell a story. 33 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,920 They shape how we see other people and how we see ourselves. 34 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,800 Yet we live in a world that has forgotten that. 35 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,480 And we talk about people like they are categories instead of 36 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,760 sons and daughters. And we speak about ourselves 37 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,200 like we are mistakes instead of masterpieces. 38 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:43,600 And when it comes to God, often we drift into these casual 39 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,280 nicknames that shrink His glory into something vague and 40 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,960 distant. You know, sometimes we say 41 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,560 things like we refer to him as the man upstairs or the big guy, 42 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:57,840 or some people talk about the universe as if God is a regional 43 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,960 manager at head office. That'll get back to my request 44 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,560 after lunchtime. But Scripture never treats His 45 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,800 name casually. When Isaiah speaks in Chapter 9, 46 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,680 he doesn't say He has some nice titles. 47 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,520 This is what he says, if you turn to Isaiah 9 verse 6. 48 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,920 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the 49 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:25,520 government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be 50 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:30,360 called, wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, 51 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,960 and Prince of peace. This is not branding or poetry 52 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,960 or a Christmas card slogan. This is God revealing His 53 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,720 character, unchanging and eternal. 54 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,640 And each name of God shows or tells something about who God 55 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:49,520 is. When our lives feel like they're 56 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:54,440 falling apart, when we feel broken, when we feel confused, 57 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,480 when we feel tired, when you're praying for the strength that 58 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,480 you just don't have, God reveals himself to us. 59 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,760 And some of you walked through a year that it felt like you 60 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,720 experienced more battles than blessings. 61 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,200 A year where you didn't need another motivational quote, you 62 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:17,440 really needed a miracle. A year that forced you to 63 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,279 question everything except the fact that you were completely 64 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:25,120 exhausted. But before the year ends, before 65 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,920 we walk into the next one carrying the weight of this past 66 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,600 one, Isaiah invites you to remember something. 67 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:35,840 That is that God's name still holds power. 68 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,720 God's name still carries authority, and God's character 69 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:45,000 has not changed. Wonderful Counsellor still 70 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,080 speaks when you are confused. Mighty God still strengthens 71 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,640 when you are weak. Everlasting Father still holds 72 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:57,000 you when others leave, and Prince of Peace still calms the 73 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,840 storm when chaos hits. And throughout your year your 74 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:06,240 situation might have shifted, but His name didn't, and neither 75 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,320 did he. So the question isn't, do you 76 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,920 know His name? The question is, do you still 77 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,400 believe what His name reveals about him? 78 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:20,160 Let's read that again. For unto us a child is born, 79 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:24,440 unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his 80 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:28,240 shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful counselor, 81 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:32,640 mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. 82 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,680 Now before we talk about these four names, we have to 83 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,880 understand when Isaiah spoke them. 84 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,840 Isaiah didn't preach this verse on a beautiful day where birds 85 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:47,040 were chirping and kids were playing in the background and 86 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,040 everything was going well. He spoke this into a nation 87 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:56,560 drowning in fear and political chaos, corruption, confusion. 88 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,240 Israel was surrounded by enemies. 89 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:03,080 People had walked away from God. The Kingdom was divided, 90 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,520 families were falling apart and leaders were failing and 91 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:11,600 darkness was everywhere. And this might sound like 2025 92 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:15,480 for some of you. The people were tired. 93 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:19,320 They were tired of waiting for deliverance, tired of injustice, 94 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:24,640 and tired of bad leadership. And into this darkness God sends 95 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:28,160 a prophet, Isaiah. Not with strategies, not with a 96 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:32,240 five step survival plan, not with a new king or a army. 97 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:37,440 But he sends a name. A baby whose names don't fit in 98 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:42,080 a crib. A promise wrapped in 99 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,880 vulnerability. For unto us a child is born, 100 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,800 unto us a son is given. And it's almost offensive how 101 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,000 God answers our problems. We want power. 102 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,400 He sends a baby. We want escape. 103 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,800 He sends endurance. We want solutions, and he sends 104 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,040 a savior. So the people are listening to 105 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,120 this and they say, God, what are you doing? 106 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,800 Where are you? Why are you sending us a baby 107 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:14,520 when we need a champion? And it's because God wasn't just 108 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,240 fixing their situation. He was revealing his character. 109 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,240 He wasn't sending an idea. He was revealing his identity to 110 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:27,200 them. And so Isaiah speaks the words 111 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:31,280 that would echo for 700 years. His name shall be called 112 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:35,080 Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of 113 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,960 Peace. Not a nickname, not a resume, 114 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:46,840 not a seasonal job title, but his name, his essence, his 115 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:53,040 nature, his eternal character. See the power wasn't what in 116 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,720 what the people could see, which was a baby. 117 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:03,040 It was in what God called him to be because what God calls 118 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,560 something determines what it becomes. 119 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,200 If we look throughout the Bible, we see that God calls things 120 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,800 what they will be before they even look like it. 121 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,960 So if we look at Genesis one verse 3, it said God called 122 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,120 light day before the sun ever appeared. 123 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,280 In Genesis 7/14. He called Abraham a father 124 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:28,960 before he even held a child, and in Judges 611 he called Gideon a 125 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,840 mighty man of valor while he was still hiding out in The Cave. 126 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:39,440 So when Isaiah says he shall be called, he's not describing, 127 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,840 he's declaring. He's declaring wonderful 128 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,680 counselor. In Hebrew, wonderful means 129 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,440 beyond understanding, too extraordinary for word words. 130 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,360 And counsellor means the one whose wisdom you can trust even 131 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:59,640 when you cannot trust yourself. So as I was saying, when you 132 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:05,640 don't know what to do, he does. When you are confused, he isn't. 133 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,600 When your thoughts betray you, his thoughts are higher. 134 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:15,800 He's declaring mighty God, not motivational God, not support of 135 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:20,640 God, but mighty God, champion God, warrior God. 136 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,360 Isaiah's reminding a scared people that God is not 137 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,360 intimidated. What by what intimidates you or 138 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,040 me? He's declaring everlasting 139 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,200 Father, Everlasting meaning he doesn't leave, he doesn't fade, 140 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,400 and he does not change his mind about you, Father, meaning he 141 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,440 doesn't just rule, but he loves you. 142 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,760 Some of you grew up without fathers, fathers who left 143 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,360 disappointed, all wounded you. And Isaiah is saying that God is 144 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,920 not that father. He is the one who stays. 145 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,960 And he's declaring Prince of peace in Hebrew, Tsar Shalom, 146 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:04,000 the captain of peace, the ruler of wholeness, and the commander 147 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,000 of calm. When I read these names, it's 148 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,520 funny because it's names about peace, but it makes me want to 149 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,600 run through a wall. So Isaiah is saying peace isn't 150 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:15,360 a feeling, it's a person beautiful. 151 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,000 And where God rules, peace reigns. 152 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,440 So all this was spoken 700 years before Jesus was born. 153 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:27,920 And Isaiah wasn't just giving us a prophecy, he was giving a 154 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:32,320 profile, a character description, a revelation of 155 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,120 what God is like when everything around us is spinning. 156 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,720 So before we talk about what these names mean for your 157 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:45,480 situation today, remember this. Isaiah spoke this into a world 158 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,960 in chaos just like ours, and God answered their chaos the same 159 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,760 way He answers ours, by revealing who He is. 160 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,280 Each name reveals a layer of hope we need, especially after a 161 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,440 long, hard season like some of you had this year. 162 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,640 Wonderful counselor. Meaning God knows what you 163 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,760 cannot see. Some of you walked through 164 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,760 situations this year where you said, Lord, I have no idea what 165 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,320 to do next. Your plans didn't work out, your 166 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:24,400 expectations didn't happen, and your prayers didn't get answered 167 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,520 the way you expected them to. But the confusion on your end 168 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:32,200 doesn't mean confusion on his. God isn't pacing heaven all 169 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,200 stressed and trying to figure out your future, and he's not 170 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,680 trying to look through revising blueprints for you or scrambling 171 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,400 to find illusions. He's already seen those 172 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:46,000 trapdoors that would have caught you and you avoided. 173 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,080 He already see all the doors that would have destroyed you if 174 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,440 you would walk through them, and he already saw all those 175 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,880 relationships that would have drained you if you pushed into 176 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,800 them. And I want to tell you, it feels 177 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,840 like you lost your way, but actually it was just God guiding 178 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:07,040 you a different way. Wonderful counselor means God's 179 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,960 wisdom is not always loud, but it's always accurate. 180 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,040 So when life feels confusing and your prayers feel more like 181 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:19,200 question marks than exclamation points, he's not silent and he's 182 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,120 not guessing. He's a wonderful counselor, full 183 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,880 of wisdom beyond logic. And sometimes God's counsel 184 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,040 doesn't make sense until we look back. 185 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:34,400 Beautiful. We think in certain situations 186 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:38,480 that he's delaying, but actually he's just developing us. 187 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,000 We look back and we thought he was ignoring us, but he was 188 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,440 instructing and guiding us. We look back and we think that 189 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,520 he was silent, but he was actually being strategic. 190 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:56,720 CS Lewis said God's wisdom often offends human logic before it 191 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:05,040 produces divine results. Mighty God means that God is 192 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,880 strong where we are weak, and he was strong this year where we 193 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,000 were weak. And this is where some of us, we 194 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,680 feel it on our chest because this year we were in places 195 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:16,440 where we realized I'm not as strong as I thought I was. 196 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:22,960 Our faith wavered, our discipline slipped, our hearts 197 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,080 got tired, and our strength ran out before the battles were 198 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:31,040 over. The thing is that God never 199 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,440 asked us to fight battles in our own strength. 200 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:36,960 God just says to us we have to show up. 201 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:42,120 He'll fight this battle for us. Every time you cried this year, 202 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,560 Mighty God fought. Every time you prayed through 203 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:50,880 shaking hands, Mighty God stood firm. 204 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:56,480 And every time you were so close to quitting, Mighty God held you 205 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,080 up. Our weakness doesn't scare him, 206 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:05,080 it invites Him. Some of you thought you failed, 207 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,760 but what if in your weakest moment, that's when God was 208 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:13,920 working the hardest? We sang that song I read the 209 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:18,600 other day that God works behind the scenes in the darkness. 210 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,080 Like we said, there was darkness before there was light. 211 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,320 And I read that God is working on 10,000 things in your life, 212 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,880 but you only see two of them. And don't get discouraged 213 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,360 because you only see those two. God is working. 214 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:39,000 The Hebrew word for mighty is Gabor, meaning warrior and 215 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,960 champion, the one who steps onto a battlefield when we cannot. 216 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,880 And we often only think of God as gentle, which he is. 217 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,760 But we shouldn't forget that the Lamb is also the lion. 218 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:56,160 And like Stephen preached last week, Psalm 23, he makes us lie 219 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:00,080 down in green pastures so that he can tend to our soul. 220 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:05,760 And when I'm lying down in green pastures and I'm not able or I'm 221 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:10,520 not currently fighting those battles, I imagine this fierce 222 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,560 lion fighting my battles for me. And I want to show you the type 223 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:19,440 of lion that I imagine that right there, that lion's name is 224 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,280 Scarface, not the one from Lion King, the real live one. 225 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:29,680 This lion took down over 130 opponent males. 226 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,600 He's killed over 400 hyenas. He's taken out hippos and 227 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:38,160 crocodiles while protecting his pride. 228 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:42,600 And in 2021, he passed away peacefully because he never lost 229 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,240 the battle. That's the type of lion I 230 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,760 imagine that's fighting my battles for me when I can't. 231 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,040 God's not intimidated by your storm, your sin, or your 232 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,000 situation because He does not lose battles. 233 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,360 Everlasting Father. God didn't leave when others 234 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:07,400 did, and this one lands deep for some of us, because everyone in 235 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:12,160 this room knows what it feels like to lose someone through 236 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:18,120 distance, conflict, betrayal, A misunderstanding, or simply just 237 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:22,680 the painful drift of life. The people you depended on 238 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:24,360 weren't they when you needed them. 239 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:27,920 But God is not a seasonal father. 240 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,240 He's not present when you are strong and distant when you are 241 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,600 broken, and he doesn't show up when you perform. 242 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,360 And He's silent when he struggles or when we struggle. 243 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:43,360 He doesn't love us in moments. He loves us for eternity, for a 244 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,880 lifetime. And some of you didn't realize 245 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,200 this, but the reason you survived this year is because 246 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,480 the everlasting Father put his hand on his back and he refused 247 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,760 to let you collapse even when you felt alone. 248 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,800 You never walk alone. You can outgrow your car, your 249 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:04,160 job, your house, but you can never outgrow his love. 250 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,920 And when you messed up again and you convinced that God's patient 251 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:13,200 must have run out, this time, God whispers in our ears, and he 252 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:20,040 says, I'm still your father. When everyone else saw the 253 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:24,640 strong version of you this year, God saw the tired version, the 254 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:29,160 discouraged version, and the broken version, and he stayed 255 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,480 Prince of Peace. God brings peace in the storm, 256 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,720 not just when it ends. Some of you prayed for peace 257 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,880 this year, but the storm didn't stop, the diagnosis didn't 258 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,360 shift, the job didn't change, the family situation didn't get 259 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:51,000 better, and the pressure didn't live lift. 260 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,800 And we start wondering, God, where is this peace that you 261 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,360 promised? But peace was never the promise 262 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:01,680 of a storm free life. Peace is the promise of His 263 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:07,840 presence in the storm. I read this the other day. 264 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,480 It just says when he walks into a room, anxiety loses oxygen, 265 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,160 when he whispers, fear loses its volume. 266 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,680 And when he stands with you, chaos loses its authority. 267 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,160 And I just, I really like that he didn't promise a storm free 268 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,640 life. He promised a peaceful heart. 269 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,960 There's an interesting difference in behavior between 270 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:32,440 cows and bison or Buffalo when storms come up. 271 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:36,240 Don't know if you know this, but when those dark clouds roll in, 272 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:38,760 cows instinctively turn and they run away. 273 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,800 They try to avoid the storm, but because the storm is faster than 274 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,960 them, it catches up and it stays over them for much longer before 275 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,160 it passes. So by trying to avoid a storm 276 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,120 they're actually endear suffering more. 277 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:57,840 But with bison, when a storm approaches, they turn towards it 278 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:03,080 head on, and they run into the storm because they know if they 279 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,320 face that storm, they're going to get through it quicker and 280 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:07,560 they're going to reach calmer skies on the other side. 281 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:13,800 God didn't call us to turn away from difficulties. 282 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,920 He calls us to run into the storm, through the storm with 283 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:22,240 Him. If we look at James one, verse 284 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,120 2, it says trials produce endurance. 285 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:30,120 Isaiah 43 verse 2, it says when you pass through the waters, I 286 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:33,920 will be with you, not over the waters, not along the waters, 287 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:39,280 but through the waters. Psalm 23, verse 4, though I walk 288 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,600 through the valley of the shadow of death, again through the 289 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,120 storm. And Romans 5 verse 3 teaches us 290 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:48,400 that suffering produces strength. 291 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,280 And I want to tell you that if your storm is still raging, 292 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,200 that's because God is not done teaching you how to walk on 293 00:19:55,200 --> 00:20:01,040 water. Every name Isaiah gives is not 294 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,360 just who God is. That's who God wants to be for 295 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:08,600 you if you are. He's not a wonderful counselor 296 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,360 in theory. He's wonderful counselor in your 297 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:13,960 confusion. He's not mighty God in your 298 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,080 stories. He's mighty God in your 299 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,280 weakness. He's not everlasting father for 300 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,240 the people around you. He's everlasting Father for you. 301 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:25,200 And he's not Prince of Peace on paper. 302 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,400 He's Prince of Peace in the storm. 303 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,480 Your season this year did not redefine God. 304 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,520 Your season revealed what name you needed. 305 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:44,160 If you were confused, you needed wonderful counselor. 306 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,440 If you felt exhausted, you needed mighty God. 307 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:51,560 If you felt abandoned, Everlasting Father, and if you 308 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:53,800 were anxious, you need Prince of Peace. 309 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,600 God wasn't distant this year. He was revealing himself to you, 310 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,280 name by name, moment by moment, and he was carrying you in ways 311 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:10,680 that you didn't even see. So we've talked about what these 312 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,880 names mean, and that's, that's amazing, right? 313 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,160 But it's one thing to see it on paper and another thing to apply 314 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,880 it when your world is shaking. So what do we do with this name 315 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,040 when life really hits you in the face? 316 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,040 Like Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get 317 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:34,680 punched in the mouth. Everyone in this room is 318 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:40,200 carrying something. A pressure, a decision, a 319 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:47,160 battle, a wound, a fear that you won't say out loud, and a 320 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:50,240 disappointment from this year that you buried under the words. 321 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:54,560 I'm fine. But Isaiah isn't giving you 322 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:58,880 information. He's offering transformation, so 323 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:02,840 let wonderful counsellors speak before your anxiety does. 324 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,560 Some of us are in a season where our thoughts are loud and big 325 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:11,160 and our peace is extremely small and your mind keeps rehearsing 326 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,800 the worst case scenarios and you fighting battles and carrying a 327 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:16,800 load that God didn't ask you to carry. 328 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,840 Stop letting your thoughts be louder than His voice and invite 329 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:25,240 the counsellor into your conversations, not just after 330 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:29,800 your decisions. Before you panic, pray. 331 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:34,560 Before you spiral, seek Him. And before you assume the worst, 332 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:39,760 ask the One who sees all. Let mighty God fight battles 333 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:41,640 you've been trying to win on your own. 334 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,560 Some of you won't stop fighting battles that that aren't yours, 335 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:50,160 and it's draining you emotionally and physically. 336 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,360 And I'm specifically thinking about men in this room and men 337 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:57,280 in general. You think standing down is 338 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,720 quitting, but sometimes that's obedience. 339 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,480 God does not need your panic, your plan, or your pressure. 340 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,520 He needs your trust. And sometimes the strongest 341 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,800 thing you can do is to bestow. Stay calm and let him fight. 342 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:18,080 Exodus 1414 says the Lord will fight for you, and you shall 343 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:23,240 hold your peace. Hand him the battle. 344 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,560 Rest in his strength instead of yours. 345 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,240 And I know this because I've spoken with so many of you that 346 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:32,840 some of you are one. Surrender away from 347 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,200 breakthrough. Place it in God's hands. 348 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,600 Let everlasting Father rewrite the lies that your wounds taught 349 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,200 you. Our past shaped the way that we 350 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,080 see God. So if your earthly father was 351 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:53,440 absent, you assume that God leaves, and if he was angry, you 352 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,560 assume that God is hard to please, and if he was 353 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,520 unpredictable, you assume that God is unstable. 354 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,160 Let God redefine that word. Father. 355 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,760 Stop looking at him through the lens of your wounds. 356 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,360 We've preached this a lot through the year. 357 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,640 You are loved, you are held. You are not forsaken, You are 358 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,000 not condemned. You do not have to earn the 359 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,000 affection that He already gave you. 360 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:27,400 Your earthly story does not cancel your heavenly identity. 361 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:32,440 Let Prince of Peace rule the places where chaos has been 362 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,480 ruling you. Some of you have been living in 363 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,360 emotional survival mode, heart racing, mind crowded, spirit 364 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:43,480 unsettled. As we said, peace is not 365 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,680 something you chase. Peace is someone you surrender 366 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:52,080 to, so let him into the storm, let him into your anxiety and 367 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,320 led him into the places that you've been trying to control in 368 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,400 your own strength. Let the Prince of Peace do what 369 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,920 only He can do, and that is to calm this internal world that 370 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:10,880 nobody else sees. God didn't give you and me His 371 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:12,720 name so that we could admire them. 372 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,880 He gave us His name so that we could call in them, on them. 373 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,080 Wonderful counselor. It's not a theory, it's an 374 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,520 invitation. Mighty God is not a title, it's 375 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,720 a promise. Everlasting Father. 376 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:33,720 It's not poetic, it's personal. And Prince of Peace isn't 377 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:39,160 seasonal, it's survival. Across Scripture, the commands, 378 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,160 invitations, and examples of calling on God appear well over 379 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:48,080 100 times, and references to crying out to God appear over 380 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:51,680 150 times. That's one of the most repeated 381 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:59,520 themes in the Bible. God's name never changes, but 382 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:08,800 maybe what you call him has to. If you call him distant, you'll 383 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:12,480 feel alone. If you call him silent, you're 384 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,840 going to miss his voice. If you call him absent, you'll 385 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,400 overlook his presence. And if you call him weak, you'll 386 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:25,280 never experience his strength. But if you choose to call him by 387 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:29,040 the name that Isaiah revealed, you'll find wisdom and 388 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:33,280 confusion, strength and weakness belonging in your loneliness, 389 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,920 and peace in your storms. Now I want to close with the 390 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:42,800 Scripture, Psalm 9, verse 10. Those who know your name will 391 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:47,040 trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who 392 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,160 seek you. So I want to say again, before 393 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,720 we rush into the next year carrying the weight of this past 394 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:59,520 one, just let God be who He's always been and let God do what 395 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:04,080 only He can do, because His name never fails.