In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the title "Wonderful" and connects it to God's purpose. He emphasizes that God's purpose is beyond human understanding and is truly wonderful. The preacher references passages from the Bible, such as Romans 11, Judges 13, and Daniel 2, to illustrate the prophetic vision of the kingdom of God and how Christ will establish his government with judgment and righteousness. The sermon also highlights the message of repentance preached by John the Baptist and Jesus, emphasizing that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and those who accept Christ as their king will be part of his kingdom.

Will you please turn to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9. Just two verses, verses 6 and 7. Isaiah 第九章第六集第七集. Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this. We know that the prophet Isaiah lived approximately 800 B.C. He was almost midway between Moses and Christ. Of all the Old Testament prophets, none was given such a full revelation concerning Christ. We can say that Isaiah is the Paul of the Old Testament. Throughout his book you will find many, many prophecies concerning Christ. Especially, of course, the second part of Isaiah, beginning from chapter 40 onward. But even in the first part of Isaiah, you will find these great prophecies concerning Christ. For instance, in chapter 7, verse 14, which we are all familiar with. Therefore will the Lord himself give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, and call his name Immanuel. That's a tremendous prophecy concerning Christ. And in chapter 9, the verses that we have just read, we find unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And then in chapter 11, verse 1, and there shall come forth a shoot out of the stalk of Jesse, and a branch out of his root shall be fruitful, and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him. Chapter 28, verse 5, In that day will Jehovah the host be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty unto the remnant of his people, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. So we find that Isaiah prophesied a great deal about Christ. And this morning we would like to concentrate on the two verses we read in the beginning. Of course, during these days, people's minds are all occupied with Christmas. People are preparing for the Christmas day. I suppose we all know that the Bible is silent on the exact day of the birth of Christ. People celebrate Christmas on December 25th, not because the Bible says so, but it is a tradition that comes from the heathen world. You know, the winter solstice usually happens on the 22nd of December. This is the shortest day of the year, the longest night. And the heathens used to have a kind of superstition. When it came to winter solstice, they were very much afraid that the sun would go down and never come up again. And that will mean death. So after the 22nd of December, and the sun began to rise up, and even to stay longer, they were so happy about it that they took December 25th as the birthday of the sun god. And later on, Christianity just Christianized or baptized that heathen day and made it the birthday of Christ, assuming that Christ is the son of righteousness. Now, this is the origin of December 25th as the birthday of Christ. But of course, the Bible exhausts us to remember the death of the Lord, but never asks us to celebrate his birth. But we are not, this morning, trying to argue over this matter of date. I think that is a very minor thing. But what is important is the fact of the birth of our Lord Jesus. And with that fact, it's tremendous meaning. Here you'll find the prophet Isaiah prophesied about 800 years before the birth of Christ. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. A child, a son, is born, is given. Remember, a child is born. That speaks of the humanity of our Lord Jesus. He was born into this world as a child. He was born as a baby. And he had to grow up from babyhood to adolescence until he became a full-grown man. He had to go through all the stages of human life. He is a man, a perfect man. And because of that, he is able to sympathize with us. He is able to die for us on the cross. A child is born unto us. Unto us a son is given. That speaks of His divinity. The child who is to be born is the Son that is given. In other words, before the child was born, He was the Son. He is the eternal Son of God. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This speaks of the divinity of our Lord Jesus. He is God. He is perfect God. And because of the love of God, He is given to the world, that we might be saved. Now, brothers and sisters, this is a tremendous fact. It is now a historical fact. When Isaiah said these words, it was a prophecy. But when we are reading this word this morning, this is a fact accomplished, a history. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. Tremendous love behind this fact. But I would like to ask one question. Why is the child born? Why is the Son given? The child is born unto us. The Son is given unto us. That is to say, it is not just He is born, and that's it. Or He is given, and that's it. He is born unto us. He is given unto us. So the question is, is He born so far as we are concerned? Is He given? Have we received Him? If we have received Him, then He is born in us. And we are born again. And this is the salvation that He comes to bring into this world. Now, oftentimes we think that Christ is born, the Son is given, that we may be saved. And thank God for that. That is true. The personal aspect of the birth of Christ, of the giving of the Son, is our salvation, that we may be saved. But there is another overall aspect, which oftentimes we overlook. And that is what is given here in the prophecy of Isaiah. For unto us a child is born, a Son is given. For what reason? For what purpose? And the government shall be upon His shoulder. In other words, this child that is born, this Son that is given, is to have the government upon His shoulder. He is not only born and given to be our Saviour, and thank God He is, but He is born to be king. He is born to have government upon His shoulder. He is born to establish His kingdom upon this earth. Now, that is the overall aspect of the birth of Christ. This is the Gospel according to Matthew. When you open a New Testament, you find the Gospel according to Matthew. The first Gospel. And the first Gospel is, He is born to be king. And even when He was judged, He said, I am born a king. But His kingdom is not of this world. He is coming. He comes to establish His kingdom upon this earth. That is what He is born for. And the government, what government? The government of God. The government of the kingdom of God shall be upon His shoulders. Now, let's go back a little bit concerning the government of God. God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. And after He had finished creating the heavens and the earth, He created man. He created man in His own image. And then He gave dominion over the fowls of the air, the cattle of the field and the fishes of the sea into the hands of man. In other words, God gave the government of this earth to man that man might rule this earth for Him, might subdue the earth, might bring this earth back to the glory of God. That was how the government on earth was first handed to man by His maker. But unfortunately, man sinned. Man fell. And because of this, dominion had passed out of the hands. Man not only lost God's image, but also lost the dominion that God had first given to man. And because of this, Satan is today called the prince of this world. In other words, he took from man the government that God first put into the hands of man. But that does not mean that God just gave up His government. You'll find that God began to react. And when God began to react, first He called a man by the name of Abraham. Abraham, the father of faith. And from that man, He began to raise up a nation. And this nation of Israel was to be God's kingdom on this earth. Even when they were in the wilderness, after they were delivered out of Egypt, even when they were in the wilderness, you'll find in Numbers chapter 23, when the prophet Balaam prophesied about this people, you'll find Balaam spoke in this way, saying that, verse 21, "...he had not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither had he seen wrong in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of the king is in his midst." In other words, here you'll find God had redeemed a people out of Egypt. God brought them to Himself. And God was their king. The shout of the king is in their midst. God was their king. God had His government over a people on this earth. And this people were the children of Israel. And we find this was fully fulfilled in the time of David. Because when David was king, he was king as representative of God. God was actually the king over the nation of Israel. But unfortunately, the children of Israel were unfaithful to God. And because of that, you'll find, again, the nation was taken into Babylonian captivity. Government again came into the hand of the Gentiles, beginning with Babylon. And during that period, you'll find in the Old Testament, God is never called the God of the heavens and the earth. God is always addressed only as the God of the heavens. In other words, on earth, there was no government that could represent His government. To put it in another way, in the book of Daniel, you'll find the heavens do rule. Even though government was in the hand of the Gentiles, and yet the heavens still rule. But the heavens does not rule directly. The heavens rule indirectly. The government, the heavenly government, is an invisible thing. It is not seen on this earth. And this continued for thousands of years. Continued on for a long time, about a thousand years, until the time of Christ. So you'll find when Christ is born, when this Son of God is given, something began on earth, which is of tremendous consequence. When Christ is born, God begins a new move upon this earth. And this new move was, God is going to establish His kingdom upon this earth. And the government shall be upon His shoulders. You open the New Testament, and you'll find the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist. When he came out to preach, what was his message? Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. Why should the children of Israel repent? Because the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. God is going to establish His kingdom upon this earth. And when Christ first preached the Gospel, He did the same thing. He said, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. Why? Because the King is now in their midst. And if any should accept Him as their King, they will be His kingdom. Over them He will rule, because government is upon His shoulder. For the Jews at that time, they were looking for a physical kingdom. They expected a physical kingdom to be established, without any preparation spiritually. But you know that when God made a move, He always would bring in the spiritual reality first, before there can be a public physical manifestation. And that is the reason why they rejected Jesus as their Messiah. Why? Because they were looking for a physical kingdom. But they were not prepared to repent. They were not prepared for the spiritual preparation that was necessary for the physical manifestation. They rejected Christ. But even so, you'll find, Christ began to gather around Himself a people. First, the twelve disciples. And then you'll find on the day of Pentecost, a hundred twenty. And then you'll find it began to increase, and increase, and increase. First it began in Jerusalem, and it began to spread to all Judea, and to all Samaria, and unto the end of this earth. The increase of His government shall know no end. But it began with the birth of Christ. It began with the coming of the Son. So dear brothers and sisters, I think there is one thing that we need always to remember, and that is the coming of Christ is for the establishing of God's kingdom upon this earth. This is the purpose of His birth. He is to establish a kingdom, not of this world, but a kingdom of God upon this earth. He is to gather around Himself a people. Over that people He has absolute rule. A people that will put themselves under His government. And this is the purpose of His birth. Brothers and sisters, we have believed in the Lord Jesus. We have accepted Him as our personal Saviour, and thank God for that. But remember, this is just the beginning. We are saved, that we may become His people, that we may become His kingdom, that He may exercise His government upon us, over us. Is this true with us today? What is it that the Lord is doing today? He is bringing to Himself a people who will give themselves completely to Him, that He may have complete control over them. His government shall be established among a people. And this is the kingdom of God on earth today. The church, in its spiritual reality, is the kingdom of God on earth today. And when He should get a people, He should get His church. And when that body is fully matured, then you will find He will return again and bring His kingdom publicly manifested upon this earth. But first, there must be the spiritual realization of that kingdom upon this earth. And this is where it is so important with us today. If we are waiting for the return of Christ to establish His kingdom publicly on earth, we must first allow Him to establish His kingdom among us and within us. There is a tremendous responsibility with every one of us how we need to submit ourselves, how we need to yield our life completely to Christ. Let His government be over us. And if He should obtain that among us, then He will come and manifest His kingdom to this whole world. And because of that, because there is such a work to be done, therefore you'll find Isaiah said, and His name is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. These are His titles. And these titles speak of His works. What is He going to do so that He may establish His kingdom upon this earth? He may have His government over man. What is He going to do? And here you'll find represented by these different titles. First, Wonderful. I believe the word Wonderful, His name is called Wonderful, that is connected to purpose, to God's purpose. God's purpose is wonderful. You'll find in Romans chapter 11, Paul, after he has shared with us all the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, he concludes with these words, O depths of riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways. When you think of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, when you think of God's eternal purpose, it is beyond our understanding. It is wonderful. Really wonderful. You'll remember in the Old Testament time, in the book of Judges chapter 13, when Manuah, the father of Samson, asked the angel that appeared to him and said, Now, what is your name? And the angel said, Why do you ask my name? Is it not wonderful? Our God is wonderful. The word wonderful can also be translated as marvellous. He is just marvellous. He surprises us on all hands. We cannot comprehend the wonder of His purpose. Oh, His purpose is wonderful. Think of that. If you read the book of Ephesians, you'll find that the eternal purpose of God is really beyond our comprehension. Why? It is so wonderful. That He will obtain for Himself a people, a body, a bride, a habitation in man. That He will join us to Himself as one. Now, that is really wonderful. So, when you think of Christ, you think of Him as wonderful. That is connected with purpose. Counselor. Counselor is always connected with plan. You counsel and you plan. You lay down a plan and He is the counselor. Who can be His counselor? None. But here you'll find again in Ephesians, God has an eternal purpose and He has His counsel, according to the counsel of His will. He lays down a plan. A wonderful plan. And then He is called Mighty God. Mighty God is always connected with works. With work. After you have a purpose, you lay down a plan and you start to work. You start to work according to the counsel of His will, according to the eternal purpose of God. And He is Mighty God. Mighty speak of strength. He is not only great in wisdom, counselor, He is also great in might. The Mighty God. Father of eternity. Now, in some version you may find Eternal Father. Everlasting Father. Now, remember this. In the original, it is Father of eternity. Why? Because this is a title. You know? The Father and the Son are one. But, the Father is the Father and the Son is the Son. Sometimes people use this verse and say because Christ is called Eternal Father, Everlasting Father, therefore the Son is the Father and the Father is the Son. Now, remember this. The Father and the Son are one. But the Father is the Father and the Son is the Son. So, here you'll find He is called Everlasting Father. In the original, it is Father of eternity. Now, what does that mean? We say Washington is the Father of the United States of America. He is the founder of this country. We say someone is the Father, why? Edison. I don't know whether it's Edison. Edison is the father of electricity. Now, suppose you use it this way. It simply means that it begins with Him. He represents it. He is the founder of it. Now, our Lord Jesus is the Father of eternity. Why? Because He is eternal life. And He gives eternal life to all those who believe in Him. Therefore, He is called the Father of eternity. That is what He has done and is doing. So, Father of eternity is connected with grace. The grace of God in Christ Jesus is eternal life. That we may have eternal life by believing in Him. And then, finally, Prince of Peace. This speaks of the ultimate realization. He is our peace. He makes peace for us with God and with one another. And one day, His peace shall rule over this whole world. The world today does not have peace. How can they have peace if they reject the Prince of Peace? Our Lord Jesus is the only one who is able to bring peace into this world. Not just peace, peace, a cry, but real peace. And unless there is peace with God and with one another, there can be no peace in this world. So, here you'll find in these different titles, different names, we are told of the work that He will do in order to bring His kingdom upon this earth. And in verse 7, of the increase of His government and of peace, there shall be no end. The increase of His government shall know no end. It will increase and increase. It begins with very little. As we said before, He begins with just twelve disciples. But then you'll find it continues to increase and to increase. More and more people will be constrained by His love to put themselves under His government. His government shall grow and grow and grow. And in the measure of the increase of His government shall be the measure of the increase of peace. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom. David is a type of the one who is greater than David. David's kingdom is just a type of the kingdom that Christ was established among men. To establish it and to uphold it with judgment and with righteousness from henceforth even forever. Daniel, in chapter 2, shows us the prophetic, historic vision of the kingdom of God. You remember in Daniel there, Nebuchadnezzar saw a gold image, an image with a gold head, silver breast, brass belly, and iron feet and iron legs and feet, partly iron and partly clay. And in that vision Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone, not cut out with the hand of man. And this stone will hit upon the feet of that great image and the whole image will be scattered and will disappear. And this stone will grow and increase and fill the earth. Now that speaks of the prophetic, historic vision of the kingdom of God. The stone speaks of Christ. And how Christ will destroy all the kingdoms of this earth. The kingdom of this earth shall become the kingdom of God and of His Christ. And He shall fill this earth. That is the historical thing. And we know that this will happen very soon. But here in Isaiah it speaks of the spiritual reality of that kingdom. And the spiritual reality of that kingdom happens throughout the ages. You find that the increase of His government and of His peace shall know no end. In other words, it is increasing all the time. Brothers and sisters, you remember our Lord Jesus said, I will build my church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Sometimes we may not see much outwardly. But we do thank God that He is working towards His purpose. We do thank God that His government is increasing. And because His government is increasing, one day His kingdom shall publicly be manifested upon this earth. From henceforth forever. It never ends. It is going on all the time. If we have faith, if we have the eyes of faith, we shall see that His government is increasing. His kingdom is being established. He will establish His kingdom and uphold it with justice and with righteousness. Now what is justice? With judgment. What is judgment? How does He judge? He will judge everything. He will measure everything according to Himself. He is the measuring rod. He is the rod of judgment. And brothers and sisters, in order to bring us into His kingdom, in order to establish His government over us, how He has to judge us? He has to measure us with Himself. And when He measures us with Himself, and we do not measure up, then He has to discipline us. He has to deal with us. And we know all His dealing is to bring us to His measure. That we may grow into the fullness of the measure with judgment. And with righteousness. And what is that righteousness? The righteousness that is spoken here is what we find in Matthew. We find in Matthew, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. And what is the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And the Lord said, You have heard what is said to the ancient, but I say unto you. Now that is the righteousnesses of the kingdom. The righteousnesses of the saints. Christ is building Himself in us. He is reproducing Himself in us. And as we allow Him to reproduce Himself in us, His righteousness shall become our righteousness. And this is the righteousness that is spoken of here. You can find in Matthew 5-7. This is the righteousness of the kingdom. Love your enemy. Give to those who are hungry. Pray for those who persecute you. And so on and so forth. These are the righteousnesses. And He is to establish and to uphold His government, His kingdom, with judgment and with righteousness. From henceforth even forever. So dear brothers and sisters, we do thank the Lord. Two thousand years, about two thousand years ago, a child is born. A son is given. What tremendous result comes from that birth. From that giving. Through these two thousand years you will find the increase of His government. And it is going on until He shall come back again and manifest His kingdom and His government publicly on this earth. The zeal of Jehovah the Host will perform this. The zeal of God coupled with the power of God will perform this. May we have faith in this. May we thank God that the zeal of God will perform this. This is coming. And this shall be fully realized. So I think in these days, as people's minds are occupied with Christmas, I think it behoves us to go back to the Word of God and to consider seriously together what is the meaning of the birth of that child. The giving of that son. That we may yield ourselves more completely to Him. That His government may truly be over us. That we be His kingdom. Then we can pray, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast given us Thy Son, that a child was born, and the government shall be upon His shoulder. We do praise and thank Thee that for these two thousand years Thou hast establishing Thy kingdom over a people upon this earth. Our prayer is that we may fully yield ourselves to Thee. Let Thy government be absolute over us. That one day, in the fullness of time, Thy kingdom may be publicly manifested upon this earth. Lord, for centuries, the cry of Thy church is, Thy kingdom come. And we do join together with Thy people all over this world and pray, Thy kingdom come. But Lord, let Thy kingdom be a reality in each one of us first. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.