The Healing Word

Scene: "The Healing Word" ministry on One Place is brought to you by the generous donations of people like you. At any time during today's message, feel free to send a prayer request or make a donation using the links provided. Now, I pray you will be blessed as Pastor Jack Morris delivers a message from the Word of God that will encourage and strengthen your faith in him.

Pastor Jack Morris: Look up. Jesus has come. He is here to do wonderful things because his name is wonderful. Darkness has a way of making us question where to turn for help. When confusion presses in and answers seem distant, God speaks hope into the night.

Today on The Healing Word, Pastor Jack Morris opens God's Word to reveal the meaning behind one of the most comforting names ever given: Wonderful Counselor. We will explore why it still speaks peace to troubled hearts. His name is Wonderful Counselor. Seven hundred years before the blessed event, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that Jesus was going to be born. Seven hundred years after the prophecy, Jesus Christ was born.

Now, take your Bible, will you please, to Isaiah chapter nine, verse six. That is on page 489 in the pew Bible. Hold your Bible up, and I want to read chapter nine, verse six, in unison with you. Together let us read: "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."

Now, you might notice that in the King James Version, the authorized version, there is a comma between "Wonderful" and "Counselor," giving five names. Here, the comma is removed in the NIV, and only four names are given. Also, in Handel's Messiah, perhaps the greatest hymn of exalting the majesty of Jesus that has ever been written, Handel follows the King James Version and puts a comma between "Wonderful" and "Counselor." Here the comma is removed, but there is no harm done in either version because Jesus is wonderful and he is the Wonderful Counselor.

Now take your bulletin, open it up. There is a lot of writing today. I hope your pencils are sharp. Under point A, write down "Wonderful." His name is wonderful. And so he is. What an appropriate name for our Lord and Savior. His name is wonderful.

The world is filled with wonders. There are wonders of nature and wonders of workmanship and craft. There are wonders of art. But our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ stands supreme, supernatural, transcending all other wonders. There is no wonder like this wonder of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We must stand back in awe, look at this, and wonder, for it is beyond human reasoning. It is beyond human understanding. The coming of our Lord, the manner of his birth, wonder of wonders. Seven hundred years before he was born, Isaiah said this was going to be something that all the world would stand back and, for all time and all eternity, look at and wonder.

Try to figure it out. You cannot do it. It has never been reasoned logically, but he has come, this Savior, this wonderful Savior. He is wonderful because he is wonderful. Now, under point one, write down the word "birth." He was wonderful in his birth.

Consider the paradox: the eternal of ages becomes an infant and draws nourishment from a mother's breast. Now, figure that one out if you can. Stand back and wonder. I shall say it again because I do not think you got it the first time. The eternal of the ages becomes an infant, and he draws nourishment from a mother's breast.

Wonder of wonders. He who made the sun, the moon, and the stars. The Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He speaks the worlds into existence. And here we are out here in space, connected to nothing, in midair, so to speak. The Bible says by him all things were made, and without him not anything was made that was made.

He who spoke the worlds into existence, who made all things, becomes a baby in the very world that he created. Wonder of wonders: eternal, yet born; supporting the universe, yet carried in a mother's arms. A mother supports him; he supports the universe. His name is wonderful. Say that: "His name is wonderful." He is wonderful.

Now, under point two, write down the word "character." He is wonderful in his birth; he is wonderful in his character. You see, this is one who never sinned. This cannot be said of another. No other person ever born on this earth lived above sin, for you have sinned and I have sinned.

The question is today: have you acknowledged your sin? Have you confessed your sin? Have you repented of your sin? For, sir, lady, you are a sinner. We have all sinned. Only of one can it be said who never sinned, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. He never sinned. He is the sinless one. It is a wonder to wonder, a wonder to look at, a wonder to consider.

Number three, write down the word "works." He is wonderful in his works. He forgave people their sins, and when we confess our sins, he forgives us our sins. He cleanses us from our sins. He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. He ministered to all people.

He continues to do exactly the same thing today to all who call upon him, for he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is God who changes not. Nicodemus saw him. Nicodemus talked to him. Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who came from God, for no man can do these miracles that you do except God be with him." So he is wonderful in his works. Nicodemus knew so.

Listen to me, friend. Has he done anything wonderful in your life? His name is wonderful. He does wonderful things, and he will never cease to do these great and wonderful things. As a matter of fact, he is going to do something great and wonderful today to you and to me. He is here to do so. My heart is opening. My heart is anticipating. Come, Lord Jesus, wonder of wonders, and do something wonderful for us today.

I believe there are those today who need the touch of the wonderful Savior and who will receive the ministry, his touch today. He will minister to them. He is wonderful. Number four, write down "influence." He is wonderful in his influence.

Now, think about this. Two thousand years have come and gone since he was here, and he has influenced this world like no other person. Two thousand years, are you listening to me? Two thousand years, and instead of his influence diminishing, do you know that Jesus is more popular today than he has ever been in history? Particularly has he gained in popularity among young people.

That is why his name is wonderful. We look at this and we wonder. Every other great personage has come and had their day, and then their influence abated and diminished. But two thousand years and Jesus Christ is more popular today than ever before. He is wonderful, our Lord and Savior.

Consider the influence that he has had upon education. Most of the great universities in America, particularly I am referring now to the older ones, have been established by the Christian church: Harvard, Yale, Princeton. I could go on and name others. Tell me something, Jesus Christ has had an influence.

He has influenced elementary and secondary education. Elementary and secondary education has had a direct impact influence from the Sunday School movement. The influence of our Lord Jesus, think of the social and humanitarian movements today. All over the world, there are hospitals, orphanages, clinics that have been established by the Christian church.

Jesus has influenced the world. These institutions, these hospitals, clinics, orphanages, have been influenced by the Christian testimony. They have been established by the Christian church. They have been financed when we pass offering plates in churches on Sunday mornings. That is how they have been financed. Go to those institutions today and they are staffed by Christians.

It is amazing the influence that our Savior has had. He has influenced the US Constitution. He has influenced marriage and family, making marriage and family sacrosanct. He has influenced equal rights and opportunity throughout the world. This wonderful Savior whose name is wonderful has influenced and has influenced in a very positive way for good, and he continues to do so. And his popularity continues to rise.

The season of giving is a time to reflect on the blessings in our lives and share the love of Jesus with others. While so many are filled with joy and peace, others are struggling, facing loss, emotional challenges, and physical pain. That is why The Healing Word is here: to offer hope, encouragement, and the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ to those in need. We love Jesus and we love you.

Through your prayers and financial support, you can help us reach even more people with his healing message. Together, we can be a source of comfort and strength to those who need it most. Visit thehealingword.com to make your tax-deductible donation today. Let us end this year by spreading his blessings and sharing his love with the world. Thank you for standing with us. God bless you.

Number five, write down the word "death." Now, he was wonderful in his life, wonderful in his birth, wonderful in his character, wonderful in his works, wonderful in his influence, but he was also wonderful in his death. For he tasted death for every person, this wonderful Savior, this wonderful Lord. His enemies taunted him. They ridiculed him. They jeered him. He did not open his mouth.

Now, listen to this. This is something wonderful. This is something that you and I cannot understand. He did not threaten. He did not retaliate. He was as a lamb led to the slaughter, opening not his mouth. As a lamb before his shearers is dumb, he did not open his mouth. They did all of that corruption and rottenness and dirt to him, and he did not open his mouth. And then finally, when he did open his mouth, he said, "Father, forgive them."

Wonder of wonders: our Lord Jesus Christ. But he tasted death for every man. He went there. He experienced it. He wanted to know what you are going to experience and what I am going to experience and what our loved ones are going to experience when we go into that valley, when we go into the pangs of death, when we go into that dark world. He went in there ahead of us. Now he knows exactly how to help us when we get there because he went there first.

Talk about wonder. What a wonderful Savior our Lord is. And he was wonderful in his resurrection. After three days being in the tomb alone in the darkness, his body sleeping in death, the Holy Spirit comes back. Jesus of the cross arises from the dead and is alive forevermore. All who believe in him will also rise when we die in him.

But number seven, write down the word "now." He is wonderful right now, today. This is what I meant when referring just a little while ago about the wonder of our Lord, the wonder of his presence, the wonder of his goodness coming into our lives.

A number of years ago, I visited a lady at Walter Reed Hospital. I remembered as I was putting this message together for this morning, I remembered this lady whose name is Marilyn. Marilyn told me the story how that she and her husband moved from the East to the West. They got jobs, and they made a lot of money, and they established themselves.

But she said, "We were Christians before we went out there. And for a while, while out West making all of that money, we remained Christians." But she said, "Pastor, almost imperceptibly, we started losing our relationship with the Lord. We did not notice it. It just sort of drifted away from us, and we drifted away from him, and we lost our relationship with the Lord."

And she said, "And then, and then I became ill." Marilyn was forty-seven. She said, "Then I became ill. And after many examinations, the doctors told me that I had cancer. And they sent me back East to this hospital, Walter Reed Hospital." When Marilyn came East, she brought her fifteen-year-old son with her to live with her sister while she was being treated at Walter Reed. Her husband stayed in the West with their nineteen-year-old boy.

And Marilyn kept smiling. Now, she is only a skeleton of a figure now. All of her body had just wasted away. But she kept smiling. And this little smile just kept playing on her lips. And I asked her, I said, "Marilyn, you can smile?" She knew her condition. She knew she was dying. It was very evident.

She said, "Pastor, my husband came to see me and told me, 'Marilyn, I cannot take this.' The husband said, 'I cannot take this. I am leaving you. I am divorcing you. You are going to die alone. You are going to die without me. I cannot take it.'" And she says, "I have lost everything, Pastor."

But I said, "Marilyn, that little smile. You keep smiling. You keep talking, and you keep smiling." Now, friends, here is the wonder. Anybody can laugh and be joyous when everything is going well. But it takes a wonderful miracle for you to smile in adversity, for the joy of the Lord to reign in your heart when everything is against you.

Two weeks before I visited Marilyn in the hospital, she was in church. There she was. And she said to me, she says, "Pastor, the reason I can smile is that God is back in my life again. The joy of the Lord, his presence. My health has gone. My husband of twenty-three years is gone. My life is gone. But he has come. He has forgiven me. He has accepted me back, and I can smile."

She said, "Pastor, this last year has been a bad year." She said, "But next year is going to be better." She knew where she was going to be next year. That is what I am saying, friend. He is wonderful now. Will you open your heart and let him do something nice for you this morning? Something beautiful, something wonderful.

He is a wonderful Savior. Life can be very, very difficult. Who knows what a day is going to bring forth? Only the Lord knows. But this one thing we do know: with him, we can make it. And we can withstand, not in our own strength, but in his strength. We can smile through the tears.

His name is wonderful. Say it again: "His name is wonderful." My wonderful Lord. My wonderful Lord. By angels and seraphs in heaven adored. I bow at thy shrine, my Savior divine, my wonderful, wonderful Lord. Oh, thou Ancient of Days, thou art worthy all praise, thou omnipotent life-giving Word.

This is Jesus. He comes to bless, to minister, to heal, to do good things. Friend, the world is going to treat you bad. And your health will not last. And life will pass. But Jesus will last. Jesus will not fail me.

Now, under point B, write down the word "Counselor." His name is the Wonderful Counselor. This refers to the wisdom of God, the insight of God, the understanding of God. Life is so unpredictable. No one knows. No one does. He does, though. He knows. And he is always there ready to bless and to do that beautiful thing that needs done in your life.

The world will do ugly things to you, and the world will try to make you act ugly. The world will move its influence upon you, but there is a greater influence. It is the influence of Jesus. Let him have some influence over your mood and over your downswing.

His name is Wonderful Counselor. We cannot choose our circumstances, but we can choose what to do in the circumstances. Someone said, "Why did this happen to me?" I do not know. I do not know why it happened to you. You do not know. Perhaps you never will know why it has happened to you.

No one ever explained to Marilyn why her husband could not stand her dying of cancer and had to leave her and never see her again and leave her die alone in Walter Reed Hospital after being married to her for twenty-three years and having two grown sons. She died without knowing. Friends, there are things that you do not have to know. You will never know in this life.

If it were important for you to know, God would tell you. But it is not important. It is only important that you know one thing: that Jesus loves you, that he is a wonderful Savior, and that he does wonderful things to those who look up to him. Now, if you know that, you have got all the knowledge that you need. Enough to keep you forever throughout all eternity.

He is wisdom. When you do not know what to do, and there are going to be more times in your life than you will be able to count that you will not know what to do, but he is your wisdom. The scripture says in First Corinthians one, thirty: "He is made unto us wisdom."

So be wise. The wisest thing you can do is to look to him who is the Wonderful Counselor. That is the wisdom of God: to look up. When the world knocks you down, you just look up, for he will be there. He is the meek and gentle Savior. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is your wonderful Savior.

Do you know him this morning? Have you received him into your life? I pray this morning that some of you will receive him. I am saying in this way: you are a Christian, you know the Lord, you have received him as your Savior, but you have not yet received him into your trouble times right now. You have not received him into your problem. You have not received him into your situation. He cannot be wonderful on the outside; he can only be wonderful on the inside.

We preach the sermon: "There is no room in the inn." A lot of Christians today, yeah, they have received him into their hearts, but they have not received him into their troubled marriages, into their troubled careers, into their troubled health, into their troubled disillusionment, into their disappointment. Look up. Jesus has come. He is here to do wonderful things because his name is wonderful. Shall we bow before him now? Would you bow, please?

With our heads bowed in this moment of prayer, I want you to look up. Make room in your heart. We talk so often, "They are taking the Ten Commandments out of the courthouse, and they are not allowing the nativity scene down on the square." Friends, you are not allowing him to come into your problems right now.

Look at your own life, your own hurt, your own problem. Let us not look out and say what they are not allowing. They are not allowing Jesus in. Other things are taking his place: Santa Claus and gift wrapping. Friend, what are you allowing, as a born-again Christian, what are you allowing to destroy your joy today?

When Jesus comes, there is no power that can resist him. And he can come, and he will come, with an invitation from you. He loves you that much. Jesus is not only mighty in power, but he is also gentle in wisdom, able to guide, comfort, and lead us through every season of life. And as we continue this week, we will look beyond his name to discover the deeper purpose behind it. Join us next time for a message titled, "The Glory of His Name."