For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6


Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the significance of the names and what they mean to us. Each one of these names reveals a different as aspect of the Savior. This week it is Wonderful Counselor.


We get this from two Hebrew word’s 
1. pele’; extraordinary, too wonderful for words, beyond understanding.


2. Ya`ats; To advise, to guide, to consult.


The pele’ ya`ats, the Wonderful Counselor. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor He has been where you’ve been and where you are and will be where you are going      Isn’t that what we really need in a counselor? Someone who knows our pain, our weakness, our sickness, our lack?.


The book of Hebrews in the 4 chapter 15th and 16th versus tell’s us about a high priest who is able to sympathize because he has been through All of the same things that we have been through Yet he did not SIN. Jesus is that high priest and because of that we can go to God with confidence, or boldness when we need mercy and grace, when we need it the most.


It bears repeating: Jesus comes for the sick. Luke 5:31,32

Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. So I have a question for you?


                                Where are you sick?
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
You can fill in the blank, Depressed, fearful, stressed, financial, lonely, family, hurt, angry, illness? Jesus know your pain and there are is a pathway to healing. If we are willing to listen to the Counselor?


1. Be Brutally Honest with Him. John 4:16-17, Psalms 55:22
2. Listen To The Counselor’s Voice. Mark 9:7, John 10:27
3. Do what He Says. Mark 10:20-22


Jesus The Wonderful Counselor is speaking will you listen?? Unless we do what he says we will never be healthy, and that’s the way I see it in my market.

I’ve been thinking again……(sometimes not so good) here we are fast approaching Christmas all kinds of things going through my head. One thing keeps coming to the the top, this idea of doing life together.

One of the things the bible tells us at the very beginning in the book of Genesis is that God said “It is not good for man to be alone” so he made a helper for him and it was God’s custom to “walk in the garden.” Clearly it was His intention to be with us. Fast forward to the New testament and in the Gospel of Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and they will call him Immanuel” which means, “God with us.”


Move on ahead to the book of Acts we see that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit chapter 2:1-4 “our helper” again God is with us and then at the end of chapter 2:42-47 we see the Church the “Body of Christ.”


                                  “Doing life together” 

          Do you think there could be a pattern here?????? 


We where never meant to live by ourselves. Have you connected with Your Father????? If not, now would be a good time and that’s the way i see it in my market.

I have been thinking a lot about what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ and as I cruise around in the New Testament I have begun to realize there is something missing?.  Not only in my life but, in the body of Christ as I know it. It seems that there is a lot of ambition in the church today and if we a really honest it’s not because we want to exalt God. I think it bears remembering that Our God: The Creator of Everything Has NO desire to share HIS Glory with ANYONE. Yet we continue to allow Pride, Pride in ourselves, Pride in our Abilities, Our homes, Our churches and in Our Past accomplishment to disguise itself as HUMILITY.  

The Bible clearly teaches that “God opposes the proud, But gives grace to the humble”


And that brings me to my point- A dead man has no ambitions.


I think this is what the apostle Paul was talking about when wrote  “The world has been crucified to me and I to the world” 


I think we forget to easily what it was to be crucified: personal humiliation that can not be described, Pain beyond anyone one’s ability to bear that always ends in death, everything is taken from you and you  can’t do anything about it.

And yet Jesus said ” If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”


Dr. A.W. Tozer wrote what it meant to be crucified ” To be crucified means three things…….

1.  The man on the cross is facing only one direction ….
2.  He is not going back and…..
3.  He has no further plans of his own…..”

 A dead man is no longer divided in his heart, A dead man is finished with his old life, A dead man has no plans of his own.

As long as we are full of ourselves we will be empty of God and we will only have a form of godliness and lack the power to change our self or our world. Can you say with Paul  “I have been crucified with Christ”????

Do you think that it could be possible that our Lord Jesus himself expects this from us? I know The Holy  Spirit has a lot of work to do the question is will we let Him  and that’s the way I see it in my market.

Do you speak the language of the Cross?


The cross doesn’t care where you’ve been,
It cares about where your going.

The cross doesn’t care what you’ve done,
It cares about what you’ll do.

The cross doesn’t care who you’ve known,
It cares about who you know.

The cross doesn’t care what you love,
It teaches you what love is.

When the world rejects the cross,
The cross welcomes all who come.

You don’t change the cross,
The cross changes you.

The cross only promises life to those who are ready to die. The law condemned us, the cross freed us.

“Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 1:14 The cross of Christ speaks a better word over our life, and that’s the way I see it in my market.

We finish up this series today. We have been talking about our appetites and how they desire to control us. So what happens when we lose control? When our appetite for food takes over and we no longer eat to live, but live to eat? When our appetite for significance gets out of control and we search for better stuff instead of a better me? or because we feel insignificance we just want to escape? What happens when our desire spiritual emotional physical intimacy leads us into living in a bad relationship rather than into a relationship where we live for God? and because of that we hide? What do we do?????

Things done in secret control us.


When we hide in secret we live in darkness.


If you want to break to power of darkness you must expose it the light. Ephesians 5:8-14 Paul talks about the power of light and darkness. If you don’t know Jesus you live in the dark, but once you receive him HE bring light in to your life. Secrets empower your appetites. If you are hiding in shame because of an appetite that has gotten out of control, EXPOSE IT! How? By telling someone about it. James 5:16 says {confess your sin to each other and pray for each other so that you my be healed.}

Find someone who loves and cares about you and tell them about the darkness you are battling and watch what happens. And that’s the way I see it in my market.

When we started this series about appetites we said our appetites have one word and that word is          

                                                                “MORE”


Here are a couple of thought about appetites, God created them and sin distorted them. Appetites are never fully and finally satisfied. appetites always say now not later.

We must learn to control our appetites or they will control us.
 appetites out of control will lead us to sell out now for something that is less than God’s best for our lives. The story of Jacob and Esau is a good example of this. You can look it up in the book of beginning Genesis 25: 29-34 we drop in on the story Jacob is cooking some stew and Esau comes in and wants some of it. Jacob being the schemer he was says “OK but first sell me your Birthright”.

Now whats the big deal? and whats a Birthright? we really don’t have modern equivalent of this, but the birthright was this.
1. A double portion of the inheritance.
2. Power-leadership of the family.
3. spiritual blessing-God’s hand on you.
Who would give up so much for just a bowl of stew? the answer is you would for the right bowl of stew. When one of your appetites become inflamed and out of control you will be tempted to sell your future happiness and security for something that is temporary. Two things we can do to bring our appetites under control.
1. Re frame
2. Refrain
Ask yourself this ten years from now                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     I want____________________.
                                           I wish____________________.
                                           I hope____________________.
And if and appetite is driving you away from those goal that is a bowl of stew that you should pass up. and that’s the way I see it in my market.

It still continues to amaze me how many Christians and “preachers” still misunderstand what faith in Christ is all about?????. Our faith in Jesus Christ is supposed to equip us to face the challenges that life throws at us, to help us through the fire and through the flood. There are many people that have embraced the “Happy Gospel.” God wants me to be happy and rich and never ever asks me to do anything that is uncomfortable or requires commitment from me.  It is this type of “Gospel” that Paul says “they have a form of godliness, but it denies the power there of” It looks good but no substance. ALL SHOW and NO GO.


It is very true that when we apply God’s principles to our lives it puts us in the best position to be blessed and to be used by God for his purposes……..whatever HE chooses. God’s will for your life and my life is that we become like Christ. This I know and you can take this to the Bank, the people God uses are the people that have been through Pain and disappointment. The people who trust God even when their life is upside down, when it doesn’t make since, when the circumstance of life scream “where is God” and “God don’t You care” and “God don’t You see”. Every follower of Christ has had times like this in their life. Remember the story of the  disciples crossing the lake and a violent storm came up they said the same thing and Jesus was with them in the boat, He is here, He cares, He sees.  Not everything God calls you to will give you peace, this is a common misunderstanding. Peace comes after Trust.


Two things 1. He said “let’s go to the other side”
                    2. He said “Peace be still”
The work He started He will finish making you complete just like Him. Trust Him through the Pain and uncertainty He is faithful, and that’s the way I see it in my market.

ap.pe.tite: a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need.
more: a greater or additional amount or degree.

we all have God given appetites and that in it self is a good thing. It is when our appetites get out of control that we run into trouble. you have to understand your appetites have one word and that is MORE, Their goal is to control you. Appetites out of control cause us to do Stupid things.

* to be irresponsible.
* to be unhealthy.
* to be hurtful.
* to be ungodly.
The reality is that you and I have an appetite that is battling for control over our life.

What do we do?
1. Ignore it?
2. Think positive thoughts?
3. Ask God for help?

Well the best answers is always found in God’s Word. So lets Go there and look.
Titus 2:11-12 ” For the grace of God that bring salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “no”  to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. “
Paul understood somethings about the Grace of God. From his point of view he had received so much himself, coming to realize how bad he was and how good God is. It humbled him to say the least. And out of humble repentance his life began to change. He no longer trusted in himself or his tradition, because he had been face to face with Jesus the perfect picture of Grace. It is God’s grace that teaches us to say NO. Once you have seen grace ” has appeared to all men” Jesus is what he is talking about. Once you see him you don’t want to do the old life. His grace teaches you, The Holy Spirit of God teaches you and leads you to the best life you can have, but it all starts with saying “NO” repentance. The power of sin and death is broken when we repent and allow grace to teach us.

What appetite do you need to say NO to?___________________________. God’s grace will teach you, and thats the way I see it in my market.

“He was despised and rejected by men……..” Isaiah 53 was written 700 years before Jesus lived this out. I have heard this scripture preached and taught many times and almost always the focus is on His physical suffering, which was horrific to say the least. I don’t want to minimise it in any way but I think the emotional pain he went through was equal to or possibly even greater than his physical pain. “a man of sorrow, and familiar with suffering…..”


When no one else understands the lord knows. 


“ and by His wounds we are healed” I have to believe that includes the pain of rejection, my rejection, your rejection. The deepest hurt you have ever known can be healed if you allow God to take it.
My deal was to build a wall, the problem with that is the wall you build to keep people out, keeps people out. It’s hard to be loved and accepted through a wall. Pain made me socially awkward, I didn’t know how to talk or act around people. The simple act of saying good morning or how are you? was foreign to me Nobody ever ask me how I was Nobody cared they where too self absorbed. So I stayed quite,  I was labeled “stuck up” It’s not that I didn’t want to be a part I just didn’t know how???? After you have been told how dumb you are a couple of hundred times a day you start to believe it.

My life began to change when I met Wendy and her family. She never seemed to mind that I didn’t talk much. ( she has always been able to make friends fast) I still remember the first time I went on a picnic it was with her family nobody yelling or screaming but the most amazing thing was no deputy sheriff came to break up a fight. (we where “the Myers”) they knew us by name. it was peaceful and good. My family experience had been anything but peaceful. This I have learned, God love’s me! and accepted me for who I am but loves me enough not to let me stay that way.

I also have learned that I must live for God’s approval and not for the approval of people. “but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” John 14:31 God’s amazing love caused Jesus to rise again and to risk again. It can do the same for you Gods love can cause you to rise above your Pain and cause you to risk again.

Remember without risk there is no return. maybe you have been hurt and hurt badly more than words can say, Jesus has made a way back for you he knows the way. will you trust him? will you accept God’s amazing transforming love?? will you risk it one more time ?? or will you reject it? the choice is yours. And thats the way I see it in my market.

As we have been working through this series on “Pain” I have been thinking about all the difficulties  and challenges that have been painful and the opportunities that accompanied them. It seems to me that the part of me that gets better is the part of me that holds out until the pain is over. Every time there has been a great opportunity “God ordained” direction there have been challenges as soon as the door was opened.