For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.—Isaiah 9:6-7, emphases added
Isaiah prophesies of the coming Messiah, Who has now come to save the world from sin's curse, restore all the things the enemy tried to steal, and to release a peace no other could possibly give except the Living Eternally Existent One, the Jehovah Shalom!
Isaiah now understands his aged prophecy, yet so many he prophesied toward do not! It is now our time to pick up on Isaiah's word, and begin to prophesy this Peace of Jesus into shattered and unsettled hearts! We must demonstrate what all His names and His order of government are about! Set the captives free and open the blind eyes of the lost so they will then see Jesus Christ, the only Messiah of the world who is indeed about to return for His Bride!
Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace
"Wonderful, Counselor" is actually one name instead of two.
Government was considered a burden and thus was often described as being bore on the back or shoulders. "Mighty God," el gibbor in the native Hebrew, is literally "God Hero!"
People of God, we must demonstrate by our relationship with a God of Perfect Peace, The Prince of Peace, to the world who wants "peace at any price," the Shalom and Counselor, Jesus! Our God, as this word "God Hero" suggests, is a "heroic Almighty God" and He brings the emphasis upon the deity of the Messiah, Yeshua Ha Machiac, Jesus Christ as Lord. Jesus is the Peace the world is now searching for, and we have this peace to offer to the hearts of our world living in constant unrest.
"Everlasting" defines the type of Fatherhood who is forever guarding and sustaining His family! God is the same today, yesterday and forever. God was, God is, and God is forever the eternally existent One who will rule and reign everlastingly! He wants us to join Him in that Kingdom not fashioned with man's hand but by the hands of our Creator God.
Taken together, the four names of the returning Messiah are an expansion of the name Immanuel—God with us! They are not names in the modern sense but rather attributes of the One to whom they are given, and that of course is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Yes, He was born in Nazareth, but now is of the Father, is of the Son, is of the Holy Spirit, is of the hearts of His own, is the living Savior of the world! That is Jesus Christ, the Author and the Finisher of our Faith, who always brings peace!
God establishes a peace beyond the temporary cessation of warfare. And no, my friends, it was not just at any price, it was at a great price, but it will now last forever!
Peace Not as the World Gives!
Peace is shalam (pronounced shaw-lam') in the Greek, or as a Hebrew Word, shalom, meaning among many things, "to be safe." However, as so many of the original languages and their applications with many different implications, shalam certainly has its share of connotations for being one word. One of the understated areas of shalom is "to be complete."
The world wants to give us an entire definition for peace, but God does not view that as peace if we do not know Him as our Lord, our Father, our Creator through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. When you know Jesus, you know the peace of God! God's peace knows no end and is the Eternal Peace the world needs!
"I'm leaving you peace. I'm giving you My peace. I don't give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don't be troubled or cowardly."—John 14:27 GWT
In this Scripture this is a little bit different word for peace; eiraynay is derived from eir (to join) with peace. Eiraynay (peace) is an application of peace concerning our welfare or well being.
This same peace implies that we are secure, maintaining a solid stance in our welfare as we are totally undisturbed by the natural surroundings. This is the perfect peace that comes to those who are the children of God!
"I've told you this so that My peace will be with you. In the world you'll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world."—John 16:33 GWT, emphases added
Now, in the natural your surroundings may not be agreeing with the word God has possibly spoken into your spirit through some prophetic messenger. However, this is where our ability to be "God's very own created beings" comes in to play. When the hard times come, and we have had our share this past year (and they are for sure not over), we must follow the advice of our Father, who never gives us bad advice: "Cheer up!"
I decree that if we will begin to hold "Cheer Up Parties", God will not only show up but will also let the Living Word become the catalyst that turns our "mourning into dancing!" This can be, but is not usually, a "quick fix" to see the backdrop change overnight, yet we will view it differently! Why? It is because we now have God's view and not the world's pit of despair, gloom, and misery to fall into.
Actually, they will begin to question why we seem so happy or cheerful about an ugly setting. Then we must be quick to relate this to Jesus as our genuine peace—knowing that our surroundings are not predicting our future, ever again! God is the giver of peace, not the world, and it is this peace, the Shalom from our Father, that they are desperate to know! Give them Jesus, and you will be offering them the genuine peace of completeness.
Know Jesus, Know Peace!
An old bumper sticker came to my heart as God spoke this "Peace" word into me. The famous phrase goes like this:
NO Jesus, NO peace! KNOW Jesus, KNOW Peace!
When Jesus walked into the room where His disciples were bolted in, shaking with fear the zealot Jews and the Romans would arrest them while Jesus was only just crucified, He entered with one word—PEACE, eirene (pronounced i-ray'-nay)—as we reviewed. This is another spelling of the same word above and has the same calming effect to those tormented by fear. In other words, Jesus could have possibly said, "Don't be so disturbed, fellows, it's all right now because I have overcome the 'world order.'"
When the fear seems to grip our hearts, although we have known and followed Jesus, do not allow that wrong spirit to overcome you, for the love of Jesus has cast out that spirit of fear! Knowing Jesus is the peace that passes all understanding, that indeed guards our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, the Author of Peace!
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:7 NASB
The Apostle Paul encouraged the Philippian Church that it was the eirene, the "well being," secure peace that was from the Lord Jesus that would continue to "guard and protect" minds and hearts during shaky seasons ahead. As we know the Father has our well being at the center of His plan, we must know our eternity is more important than any crumbling, carnal plan surrounding us. That is the kind of peace that makes the world wonder how you can be so secure in your heart when all the adjoining scenery is trembling! It is the base of our belief, the shalom or the "completeness" from being in the Lord that gives us an unmovable relationship anchored in Jesus!
Yes, as followers of Christ we must give the peace to the world, not as they try to give, but as the Lord gave to us and for everyone who will receive it. Perfect peace is the shelter in a "not-so-perfect" storm! Yes, our peace as the eirene, the security, rest, and well being that comes only from the Father of Light, will indeed transmit a message of hope that every person in our setting today will listen to!
I have a great word for us, for our country, for our world:
If you want to be awarded the best prize of all, get the peace of the Father in your heart today; and you will run toward the prize of the high calling of God that brings us to the bedrock of peace, lasting our lifetime and forever! Remember, when you are in a loving relationship with a living Father, you can rest assured our peace is for now, for those who do not see it, and forever, because true peace comes from God!
John Mark and Sandy PoolWord to the World Ministries
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