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Wonderful As Valentine's Day approaches, and all of its emphasis on love and romance, this will seem to be a strange story to share—but do read on! Several years ago, after Myra had dropped her husband off at the airport, she stopped at the mall. She didn’t mean to stay long, but she ended up making her way through the deserted parking lot at about 9:30 at night. She knew she had made a tragic error when she felt a sharp object between her shoulder blades, and a voice declared, "Don't move, or I'll kill you!" Thinking quickly, she said, "If its money you want, there is close to $100 in my purse—you can have it." Ignoring her, the man ordered her to drive and directed her to an abandoned farmhouse. When she was ordered out of the car and was pushed into the back seat, she knew she was dealing with a rapist, or a murderer, or both. She screamed and clawed to no avail. "Help me, O God, help me," she prayed, and continued with the Lord's Prayer. When she got to the phrase, "hallowed be Thy name," he loosened his grip and screamed, "What are you doing?" With a new found peace and calmness, she sat up and replied, "I am praying for you. God loves you and will forgive you and change you if you will be honest with Him and ask Him to—this is why Jesus came, to hallow His name!" With a look of amazement, the young man turned, ran, and disappeared into the darkness. Did that man ever receive that change? We don't know, but he was confronted with it—wonderful love had stopped evil in its tracks! There are 256 names given in the Bible for Jesus, and this is one of them—Wonderful! Twenty one times it appears in the Scriptures, and more than a third of those times in the Book of Psalms. Psalm 107:8 tells us, "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" This very verse is repeated three more times in this particular Psalm. There must be something "wonderful" here. Isaiah, the prophet, foretold it 700 years before Jesus was born—"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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (9:6) Some versions of the Bible use it as an adjective—Wonderful Counselor—but that is not the way it is meant here. "Wonderful" stands by itself, and it refers to something that is transcendently beyond the common—that is, altogether unlike anything else. In the Hebrew Old Testament, it is a word that is only used to refer to God Himself, and so Jesus is just that—God Himself! And He is surely wonderful throughout—His birth was wonderful! Mary had been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and so Jesus inherited both the nature of man and the nature of God. Ironically, this King was not born in a palace—in fact, there was not even any room for Him in the inn! Yes, He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. Though His coming was proclaimed by angels on high, the message was given to a few lowly shepherds out in a field. Wise Men traveled over 1500 miles to worship Him and to present Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They had seen a very wonderful star in the East, unlike any other, and in the end, it would lead them to the very spot! His life was wonderful! Wonderful for its unselfishness, its sinlessness, and its usefulness. He was always helping and changing the lives of others. He could have turned stones into bread in the midst of His own excruciating hunger, but He didn't. His first miracle was performed at a wedding in Cana—not to drum up support for His fledgling ministry, but out of compassion for others. Even His enemies couldn't come up with more serious charges than healing and doing good on the Sabbath day. His teaching was wonderful as well! Wonderful for its clarity and simplicity, as well as the amazing way it could be applied to every life that was willing to be changed. Jesus often used powerful illustrations that contrasted God's way with the ways of the world, not unlike the amazing testimony with which we began this message. He was wonderful in His originality, and that was actually proof of His divinity. The human mind cannot "create" anything in the absolute sense of the word. It can build, but it cannot create—barah—making something out of nothing. In Toledo, Ohio, a massive bridge and a myriad of under and over passes is currently being constructed. It could be labeled as amazing and wonderful, but men did not create it. Yes, its concept flowed from the human mind, but who originally created the human mind? Everything is an outgrowth of something else—there is indeed "no new thing under the sun." (Eccles. 1:9b) But who created the sun? The first rail road cars actually resembled the old stagecoach, and the first car looked eerily like the horse drawn carriage—only without the horse. The awesome truths that lie behind Jesus' parables were never copies of something else—they were truly original! Not only was His teaching style wonderful, but so was what He taught. He declared that He was equal to God. He said, "He that hateth me hateth my Father also." (John 15:23) He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," offering to bear the burden of the whole world. Imagine! He said, "I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." And He said, "I am the resurrection and the life; and he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."(John 11:25,26) Certainly, He was wonderful in what He taught. Oh, He was wonderful in all that He prophesied concerning Himself—His suffering, His death, and His resurrection—and all so that we may be forgiven and freed from the power of sin. He not only helped people in this life, but changed both hearts and lives for this life and the next. Many years ago, Jerry McAuley sat in a prison, having lived a life of crime, only knowing God as the source of his profanity. One Sunday, the preacher quoted Scripture, and a particular verse caught Jerry's attention. Wanting to find it, he took a Bible back to his cell and started to read it from the beginning, determined to find that verse. Praise God—he found Jesus long before he found that verse. His heart and his life were changed forever, because he finally got honest before God. When he was released, he started the Water Street Mission, where it is said there was never a service held in which a man was not born-again. Wonderful love had stopped evil in its tracks. People gloriously changed forever is proof positive that Jesus Christ is a wonderful Savior—ready, willing, and able to save to the uttermost—now! His wonderful salvation and sanctification were not just for by-gone days; it is for you and me! Remember—all have sinned! Oh, Jesus is just so opposite of what this world today thinks is wonderful—He is altogether other! Though I don't know who wrote them, perhaps these words say it best—"He was born in an obscure village. He worked in a carpenter's shop until He was 30. He then became an itinerant preacher—He never held an office; He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college; He had no credentials but Himself. He was only 33 when the public turned against Him. His friends ran away and He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had on earth. He was laid in a borrowed grave. Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that ever marched; all the navies that ever sailed; all the parliaments that ever sat; and all the kings that ever reigned, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life." Praise God—LOVE came down and surely stopped evil in its tracks! This is graphically seen in perhaps the most wonderful thing of all—just 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, God sent His Holy Spirit to take up residence within His people. Wonderful—the very character of God living and having its way within us—changing into His image those who want it! No matter what the world may say, this is what hallows God's holy name! . Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
