The Love We Crave

Okay, dear brothers and sisters, if you would grab a Bible and open with me to Isaiah, chapter 9.

During Advent, we are taking time to reflect upon these four descriptors of the coming Messiah. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And isn't it beautiful that we have God's Word given to us in a language we can understand in English? The privilege of reading it. And I wonder If you recognize the profound cost that it has come to the lives of many hundreds, even thousands of men and women in the history of the church who have given their lives so that this book might be translated into English.

Oh, we take it for granted, don't we? So easily. But what a profound privilege it is to hear it in our mother tongue. One of the great contributions of the Protestant Reformation was to be able to have God's Word translated into the language of the people. And so if you're willing and able, let's stand and I'll read Isaiah chapter 9, verses 1 through 7.

And then we will spend some time thinking about just one word in Hebrew, avyod, everlasting father. Give your attention to God's word. It is written and given to you in love. But there will be no gloom for her who is in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.

But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nations. You have increased its joy.

They rejoice before you, as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden and the staff, for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken, as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the trampling warrior in battle, battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

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 end. 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 grass withers and the flowers fade, but God's Word stands forever. This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Please, Father, would you take us in these moments by your Holy Spirit and would you shape us more and more into the image of your Son?

Would you use the preached word, Father, to shape us? Would you guard the meditations of my heart and the words that I say? May they be pleasing to you. For the sake of this body together, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, 17. 6 million people have grown up with no biological, adopted, or adopted children.

That is enough people to fill the entirety of New York City twice, and the whole of our state more than four times. Research shows that the absence of a father profoundly affects the impacts children. It leaves a void that often leads to struggles with emotional developments, academic performance, and stability.

And on the other hand, the presence of a loving father, an engaged father, makes a remarkable difference in the lives of children. And not just for children, but for mothers and for families as a whole. And the reality of that research points to something deep in the human heart. We all long to be loved for, cared for, nurtured, and strengthened by a good and loving father.

And friends, I know that even me mentioning fathers brings up lots of emotions in this room because I know your stories of this relationship many of you share with your family. your own fathers. Some of you have had fathers that have been absent in your life. Some of you don't actually even know your father.

And there's a deep wound and a deep hole and the gospel has helped you fill that hole. But nevertheless, you still have aches longing to know the guidance and protection Some of you have a remarkable father, some of your fathers and even your grandfathers are in this very room and you've grown up with this profound example of great fathers.

But even the best of fathers fall short, right dads? Even the best of fathers fall short, and even in the best of examples of households where there were good and loving fathers, it still leaves us in ache, and Isaiah chapter 9 gives all of us, regardless of a relationship with our dads, this tremendous and powerful hope, that when Isaiah is thinking, In the 8th century B.

C., how do I describe to the people what this coming Messiah is going to be like? He's going to be a wonderful counselor. He's going to provide the wisdom that we need. He's going to be a mighty God. He's going to be the strength that we so desire. Ah, yes, and He is going to be an everlasting Father.

And Isaiah 9 invites us. To consider the good news that we celebrate at Advent is that Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is described for us as an everlasting Father. He is indeed the one that has characteristics of the Father that we have always longed for. I wonder if you know His fatherly care.

So this morning, I want to explore the title in Hebrew, Avi Ad, Everlasting Father. And I want to do it in three ways. I want to help you think about the promise of the Everlasting Father, the fulfillment. of that promise through the incarnation, and then knowing Jesus as our everlasting Father. Do you know Him in that way?

First, the promise of the Everlasting Father. What does it mean for Jesus to be called the Everlasting Father? Well, let's start with the text. In Hebrew, avi'ad is the word. It is a word that is divided into two words, combined into one. Avi, Father. It just means father. Often times, kings in the ancient Near East would be called fathers.

Not because they were biological fathers, but because the king stood as the shepherding guide and presence over the nation. They would refer to, even if you go to, uh, some large gatherings in, in the Presbyterian church in America, our denomination, if you go to General Assembly, every person who addresses the microphone will say, fathers and brothers.

Because the older men in the room are like shepherding guides to us. They are our fathers in a sense, and that's what in the ancient Near East they would often call kings. They would call them a father, avi, father, ad, or ad, A D. It's a Hebrew word that just means everlasting or forever. Our father everlasting.

This is our everlasting father. This is our forever father. And what's interesting about this phrase is that you can see in The Old Testament, Job, for example, referred to him as a father to the needy. I was a father to the needy in Job 29, 16, and I stretched out the cause of him whom I did not know. He protected his people.

Or in Proverbs 29, verse 14, a king faithfully judges the poor. His throne will be established forever. It's a nod to this idea that the king is an everlasting shepherding presence over the lives of the people. But here's where we need to be very careful, O theologians. Because Isaiah is not saying that the Messiah is God the Father.

That would be modalism and that is a heresy to be avoided. He is saying that Jesus, the coming Messiah, has characteristics that are like a father. Do you see the difference? The difference is massive. Jesus is not God the Father. He's the second person of the Trinity. But Jesus has characteristics like a father.

He is a father in his care for us. The fatherly care that Jesus shows us is not limited by time or circumstances. His love is eternal. His provision is unending because He is eternal. Because He is unending. Psalm 72, 17 says, May His name endure forever. His fame, may it continue as long as the sun. May people be blessed in Him.

May all the nations be blessed in His name. And Isaiah's context in the day, Remember, they were facing the turmoil of a leaderless nation. King Ahaz had given his life over to idolatry. He was absent from the wheel of steering them toward the beauty of worship as God's covenant people. He had set up Asherah poles to worship things that were completely foreign to God's law.

And Isaiah called him out, and he called the people. Out and he said, in the midst of this darkness, there is one coming. A child is coming. Who will redeem us? Who will protect us? Who will one day be the kind of king that King A has? Certainly is not. And I wonder if that's true in your own life. As I prepare for sermons, I think about how, how am I consistently replacing Jesus with other stuff?

How do I fall back to the same kind of sin patterns that I've struggled with since I was a little boy? The desire for. comfort or approval or the pride in my heart that Consistently says Jesus you can have all of my life, but there's a couple of things. I'm gonna keep for myself And he consistently says, Do you not know that I am a good father?

Do you trust me?

And I wonder if you know where you look for security and care when life feels uncertain. Honest questions, O Trinity, because Isaiah's audience was looking to earthly kings and human solutions to ease their fears. Are you tempted to rely on things that ultimately cannot provide the kind of care and the kind of stability that you need?

Like success? Amen. However you wanna define that, or relationships or financial security. What is your own image of a father? Do you struggle to see Jesus as the one who has fatherly care and tenderness to you toward you? Or do you see him as someone who is far off an untouchable and your consistently trying to be like Jesus in order to get God to love you more?

Oh, lay your deadly doings down. Down at Jesus's feet and rest in him and him alone. What do we often say? Gloriously complete.

What difference would it make to know that the King who rules the universe is also tenderly, tender and fatherly towards you? How might your life be different if you really believed that Jesus was the tender father that Isaiah describes him? Oh, we have this promise of this aviat, this everlasting Father.

I wonder if you know him. Second, we have the fulfillment that comes to us through the incarnation. If you fast forward to the New Testament, you see that Jesus comes to us as a caring shepherd king. A caring shepherd king. Throughout his ministry, Jesus demonstrates fatherly care when he feeds the hungry.

Moms and dads, you know what it's like to feed your children. Jesus fed the hungry in Matthew 14. He healed the sick. You know what it's like to put band aids on your children, care for them, nurture them, shepherd them. Jesus did the same thing. For his people, didn't he? He welcomed the little children, saying, let the little children come to me, in Matthew chapter 19.

Just as some of you dads have sat with your children as they've wept, and you've wept with them, Jesus, in John 11, he wept with those who grieved. Do you know what this means? It means that Jesus doesn't just deal with our problems to fix them. Like, he has already done that on the cross. He has fixed them, and it is sealed.

And so he gets to deal with you. It's like a father who's already taking care of the mortgage. He's already taking care of college tuition. He's already taking care of all the basic necessities of this child's life, and now he just gets to dwell with his child at home. I wonder if you know Jesus like that.

Jesus comes to be with you, and he does that through his Holy Spirit. Did you know how he manifests that love to you? Look at the people around you. He does it through his body, the church. He does it through the voices of preachers, like me and like Mark. He does it through the care of your shepherding elders, who come and call you, reach out to you, care for you, and they're there for you, and you need them.

He does it through the body of Christ. He does it through his people, by his Spirit. Wanderer of wonders. In John 10, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. He says, I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. This is no distant relationship. This is the intimacy of a fatherly care and love for his people. Oh, church, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is not to be mistaken for God the Father.

We are no modalists. We are Trinitarian. But Jesus, nevertheless, Isaiah says, has characteristics of fatherly tenderness.

In Luke chapter 22, Jesus, it's like he's the adult in the room. You know, the, the disciples are, uh, arguing amongst themselves. Almost like, you know, sons would be bickering over who's going to play on the Xbox. And it says over, you know, they're arguing who, among who, uh, among them should be the greatest.

And it's not the first time that these guys have debated about who's going to be the greatest amongst themselves. And Jesus, he knows their concern. And his His response is corrective, and it's not just corrective, but it, like, revolutionizes the way they understand what it means to lead. He says the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over others, but it's not so with you.

Rather, that the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the one who serves. Jesus, like a good father, flips the script on his disciples. And he says, Oh, I have much to teach you before you leave my house. I want you to know that real leadership is marked not by power, but by humility.

Real leadership is not marked by asking others to serve you, but by your service to them. Real leadership is not marked by what you gain, it's by what you sacrifice. And that kind of care that Jesus offers to us as our Shepherd King is also available to you. Would you receive it?

There are times in life when we feel lost and overwhelmed. Some of us at work right now as the year ends. It's getting hard there. You're pushing to get things closed out by year's end and many of us We have granddaughters in the hospital. We have children who are recovering from illness. We have we are waiting for news from our boss for our Retirement at work.

It's, there's a lot going on and Jesus doesn't promise to remove every danger, but he does promise to find us and hold us fast and lead us safely through. Amen? You know the old song we sing, he will hold me fast? He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For I know my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast.

Don't you know that Jesus sings that over you? He's got you. Do you know that kind of fatherly care? What burdens are you carrying, my friends, that you haven't yet brought to Jesus? He is the good Father who loves you.

Jesus is not only our shepherding king, but Jesus is our eternal king. Because Jesus care as our eternal king isn't just tender, it's also eternal. He's promised us that we'll never leave you or forsake you. Hebrews 13, 5 assures us of that. Jesus says, What makes Jesus unique is that unlike human fathers, no matter how good they are, they can't provide forever, but Jesus can provide forever.

We as fathers grow old. We fail, we will one day leave our children, but Jesus's care for our children never ends. Sometimes in my family, it's funny, I, my kids sometimes will say, who's your favorite child? And of course, I will always say, well, you are. And then when the next one asks, they all say, well, you are.

And they're like, hey, I thought I was your favorite. Well, we've got four favorites. And sometimes I'll ask them, you know, the jokes on me, I'll say, well, who's your favorite dad? And they'll say, God, you're our second favorite. And we love that in my family because it's just a reminder to them that, you know, I want to be a good dad, but my children know they have a heavenly father who is so much more faithful to them than I ever could hope to be, and there for them when I can't be, even though I would give my life to be there for them.

In World War II, did you know that there were so many orphans in World War II that They, um, placed them in refugee camps. It's a very challenging time in history when you read of these children that were in these camps. They were so traumatized by the loss of their family that they couldn't sleep at night.

And caregivers discovered that if they just gave the children each a piece of bread to hold, not to eat, but just to hold, it helped them rest. It regulated them. And this bread began to symbolize provision. And it reassured them that they wouldn't go hungry because they had been hungry for so long and they can just hold onto their piece of bread that they were cared for.

And it's so Jesus says to us, I'm the bread!

This morning we get to welcome young Ben Popp and Augie Altman to communion for the first time and they get to hold the bread. Jesus is your bread. And isn't it amazing that like a tender father, He gives us Himself? And so I wonder if you know the weight of coming to the Lord's table, because Jesus gives you His life.

Oh, foster children, orphans, who have been adopted by a good and loving Father, who is our Shepherd King and who is our eternal King. Hallelujah. And not only does Jesus promise us that He will be our everlasting Father, not only does He fulfill that through the Incarnation, but thirdly, He wants us to know and experience.

Jesus as an everlasting Father. What does that mean? Well, let me give you just three challenges. Number one, would you bring your burdens to Him, and would you experience His tender care? Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Next week when we're in that building on the fireplace, you will see Matthew 11, 18 chiseled into the stone of that thing.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Do you know why that passage is there? Because you have a hard time believing it. And it is the exact opposite of the motto of this great state. Work conquers all, is the Oklahoma motto. And so we as Oklahomans come to worship, and we will read every week, Come to me, your tender father says, and he will give you rest.

Do you know the rest that Jesus offers to you? Experience his tender care. Would you trust his, eternal provision. He has reconciled us to God the Father through his death and resurrection, 2 Corinthians chapter 5. He has prepared a place in his Father's house for you. He will come again to make everything new and earth and heaven will once again become one renewed in the new heavens and the new earth.

You don't have to live in fear anymore, and where are you striving to secure your future instead of trusting in Jesus? Oh, Christian. Where, oh non christian in this room, where are you continuing to struggle? Why are you so exhausted? Maybe it's because the gospel is so profound and yet so simple it is hard to believe because you can't get around the pride of your heart.

Maybe, just maybe, today is the day of salvation for you. Because Jesus came To give up everything that he possibly could give up for you. He died for you on the cross. He left his father's throne above, as Christians have sung for centuries. And he came and he lived a perfect life. And he died on the cross in your place.

Not just to be a model or an example for you, but to be your substitute. And he rose again on the third day because he took care of business. He conquered sin and death for you so that he could be the tender father with you that you need. And you could say, oh, cease your strivings, and would you come, would you experience my tender care, would you trust my eternal provision, and would you, empowered by my Spirit, now go and reflect my fatherly love toward others.

Jesus intends to use you for his glory, just like he's using the TU students to go to Mexico. He intends to use you through the warping wolf of the regularity of your week. He intends to use you. Would you allow him to use you? Would you have eyes to see through the lens of the gospel, the world, so that you can be his hands and feet?

But you can only do that if you know His fatherly care, because you have nothing to lose. Your father loves you. He loves you. No matter what, go give it your all, because you have the embrace of your father. Isn't that revolutionary? It changes so much of our motivation as Christians, knowing that our security is found in Him.

We cannot lose our salvation. He has granted it to us through His own work, so that not by our works do we need to try to muster up the courage. We need to rather trust His fatherly care and affection. Rely on His eternal provision. So as we close, let's go back to the very beginning. The statistics about fatherlessness reminds us of a heartbreaking reality in our world.

That many live without that care. Many live without the protection and presence of a father. And this absence creates a void. That deeply impacts our life and reveals insecurities even for those of us who are adults with which we still struggle. But there is hope in Isaiah chapter 9 that Jesus meets us as our everlasting, tender, loving God.

It invites us to know Him in that way this morning. And through the darkness of life, we as His children experience and know His fatherly care. And He carries us through the sorrows and He leads us with perfect wisdom and love. So this Advent season, friends, this Lord willing, last Sunday we worship in the gymnasium of the church.

May you carry in to your week and into future spaces where we worship, including the building across the road. A confidence in your Savior's fatherly affection for you. And may we sing and dance and celebrate with joy in that new building as children who have been adopted by our King, who has come to be our shepherd and our eternal triumph.

Hallelujah! Let us run to Him. And to this table with grace and joy as Advent reminds us the child to be born is not just a Savior, He is our everlasting Father, and He is the one who meets the deepest needs of our heart with His eternal, let's pray. Father, would you help us to rest in your Son's love, to trust in His provision, to rejoice in the truth that He will never let us go.

Amen. We thank you that in Christ we find the perfect Father we have always wanted. The characteristics of a father in Jesus. Father, fill the void of many of our hearts who lacked a father in our life. And I pray that you would strengthen, encourage, provide, and prepare us to be your hands and feet as we prepare to come to this table and give of our offerings and tithes for your glory's sake.

In Jesus name. Amen