Was that baby really God? Of course!

Steve Brown:
Was that baby really God? Of course! Let’s talk about it on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
It’s for freedom that Christ set us free and Key Life is here to bring you Biblical teaching that encourages you to never give into slavery again. Our teacher on Key Life is Steve Brown. He’s an author, broadcaster and seminary professor who is sick of phony religion.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at Isaiah 9 during this Christmas week. One of the wonderful prophecies of the coming Messiah.

And to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And we spent a day or two talking about that first name, Wonderful Counselor. And we saw that means supernatural fount of all wisdom. You don’t have a problem that he can’t deal with. You have nothing happening to you that surprises him. There is no perspiration on his upper lip and I don’t care what it is. You don’t have a sin that he hasn’t redeemed. You don’t have listen, go to him, because that is the Wonderful Counselor. I’m not suggesting that medications aren’t helpful sometimes. Or that sometimes a counselor can give wisdom and really help or a psychologist, but ultimately bottom line, the anchor is Jesus. Be still, go to him and take every concern that you have because that baby in that manger that first Christmas, and nobody knew it, was a wonderful and still is a Wonderful Counselor. I could spend a lot more time on that, but I just have this week, so let’s go to the second name that Isaiah talks about, the name of Jesus, the name of the coming Messiah. And this Christmas, remember that he’s a Wonderful Counselor. It’s okay, remember also that he is, Isaiah said, a Mighty God. Now this designation by Isaiah, of the name of Jesus is first a designation of power. The term mighty is often used to describe a battle hero, but here it is clearly not referring to that. It’s a referring to God who is mighty, who is sovereign, who is holy, who is righteous, who is in charge, who knows what he’s doing, who has no perspiration on his upper lip, who has written this play and directed this play and will end it the way he wants to end it and make of it what he wants of it, because he is a Mighty God. Buddy Greene, who sometimes travels with us and I love him a lot, the Nashville recording artist. He and his friend had done that. Christmas song, that you’ve already heard I’ll bet in your church. Mary, Did, You Know? The lyrics to that song are absolutely wonderful. Mary did you know, did you know that was God, did you know that that little baby in that crib, in that manger, with the smell of animals and manure, that little baby born in a no-place, nowhere town, that nobody, did you know that the Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. Is Jesus God? Oh yeah. If he isn’t man, we’re still in our sins. We’re going to die and you better get what you can get while you’re here, cause when it’s over, it’s over and that’s it. If he’s not God, then everything he said is of no import any more than what I say or what your friends say or what you say. But if he’s God, if the incarnation is in fact, a fact. If God has entered time and space, if Jesus himself is God, then you can listen to everything he says, because it is from the God of the universe. Never think of God, unless you think of Jesus. Never mention God, unless Jesus comes to mind. Never, never surmise about who God might be, without first going to Jesus and looking at his kindness and his gentleness, the way he abhorred self-righteousness, the way he loved the needy and the marginalized and the sinful and the sick, that’s God. You know, I get irritated. And when you’re old, you get irritated easily. You’re already irritated about being old, but I get so upset sometimes that I just want to get up and leave a church I’m attending or conference I’m a part of, when somebody starts talking about the God of the universe being angry. And if you get out of line, he’ll break your legs. No, he won’t. You belong to Jesus. The real God is the real Jesus. And when he got up out of the grave, as he said, he was going to, that put an explanation to everything he was and everything he did. When you think of God, make sure you think of Jesus. Let me say it again. When you think of God, make sure you think of Jesus. And especially at Christmas time, you know, as we’re looking at the prophesied names of the coming Messiah and the baby in the manger, remember, remember that’s God. And he loved you so much that he would become totally vulnerable to humankind, that he would come and be tired the way you’re tired and afraid the way you’re afraid and lonely, the way you’re lonely. He is God.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. And the Word was God. And the Word became flesh. And dwelt among us.

That’s Christmas. Oh man, you know, I gotta, I gotta keep moving. Let’s look at the third name. Isaiah saw it. He understood because it was revealed by the Holy Spirit that the coming Messiah, yeah that one in the manger, was a Wonderful Counselor and a Mighty God, but he was also, and still is the Prince of Peace. Now English doesn’t convey the meaning of this name of Jesus. The Hebrew word, as you know, is Shalom. And you say, yeah, that means peace. No, it really doesn’t, well it does, but it means a lot more than that. When your Jewish friends says Shalom to you, that’s a benediction and that’s a benediction that means, may things surround you that are right and good and deep. May you have peace. May you have the reality of the God and the universe, may God cause his face to shine upon you. Why do you suppose his name should be called the Prince of Peace? I’ll tell you, because his work, his primary work is that of reconciliation. Offering himself as a ransom for you, and for me. It’s Christmas and you know, it’s right that we should think about the baby and have the creches and sing Christmas carols, cause that’s really cool. And that’s really Christmas, but when you do that, remember that baby was born to die, that you might have peace with God. My friend, the late Billy Graham wrote a book that has sold literally millions of copies. And you know what he titled it? Peace With God. You know what he meant when he titled it Peace With God, he meant reconciliation and redemption, the peace that comes only from Christ. The angst of our culture is anxiety. I mean, we pop depressive pills that help our depression more than we do gum drops. The suicide rate. Well, you know what it’s all about? It’s about being separated from the God of the universe, knowing that we’re guilty and not knowing what to do about it. It has, it has to do with the anxiety and the demons that come at three in the morning. That is the source of the real lack of peace. I hate Christmas for one reason, love it for a lot of other reasons. But the reason I dislike, is that so many feel something, and then they miss it. Don’t miss it this year. That baby will bring you to God. And that’s the place where you’ll find peace. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Once again, that was Steve Brown, teaching us from Isaiah 9, about the names and the significance of the names of the Messiah. The perfect way to get our hearts ready for Christmas tomorrow. So you may be getting a present or two tomorrow, but what about the rest of the year? Well, we have something you may be interested in. It’s called the Key Life CD family. Basically, it’s just a group of folks who get two free CDs from Steve each and every year, as funds permit. These CDs are from talks at various events where Steve speaks throughout the year. Usually this is audio that hasn’t been heard anywhere else previously. So get in on this by calling 1-800-KEY-LIFE. That’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also drop an email to [email protected] and ask for those CDs. By mail, send your request to

Key Life Network
P.O. Box 5000
Maitland, Florida 32794

If you’re in Canada, mail us at

Key Life Canada
P.O. Box 28060
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6J8

Just ask for those free CDs from Steve. Well, our mission here at Key Life is to share the message of God’s radical grace, to sinners and suffers. And you can help us with that mission through your giving. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or now you can say simply text Key Life to 28950 on your smartphone. That’s Key Life, one word, two words, doesn’t matter to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.