Wonderful Counselor - Radiant Sermon Series

Nov 28, 2022

Devotional

Day 1: Light breaks into our present darkness

Advent trains you to name the darkness honestly and lift your eyes for light that comes from the outside—Jesus stepping into Galilee’s shadows, into our exhausted places, into a world that cannot fix itself—with a hope that begins exactly where our resources end; today, dare to ask God to break in again where you feel stuck, because Christmas always starts in the dark and the Light has already begun to dawn. [09:43]

Isaiah 9:1-2 (ESV)
But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Reflection: Tonight, light a single candle at your table and pray Isaiah 9:2 aloud over one specific situation (name it), then text one trusted friend and ask them to pray with you for “light to break in” this week.

Day 2: Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor-King

The Son is given—graced, not earned—and He bears real authority with radiant wisdom, so come to Him as you are with what hurts, what confuses, and what keeps you awake, expecting both tender care and a clear way forward, because His counsel is not platitudes but a King’s guidance that brings peace without end. [12:54]

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Reflection: Block 10 quiet minutes today; write one pressing question you’d bring to a brilliant counselor, present it to Jesus, and then write the first wise step you sense He’s inviting you to take.

Day 3: Draw near; His grace welcomes honesty

Because Jesus suffers with you and understands you intimately, you can approach the throne of grace with confidence—no fig leaves, no spin—finding mercy for what you’ve done and help for what you’re facing, welcomed not as a client but as a beloved child who is fully known and not rejected. [30:12]

Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV)
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Reflection: Set a 7-minute timer, imagine walking up the steps to Jesus’ throne, and tell Him out loud the one thing you’ve been afraid to say—then jot one sentence of what you sensed from Him.

Day 4: Ask, wait, and obey His wisdom

Wisdom is generously given when you ask in faith and then wait, making space to listen; the Wonderful Counselor won’t force His counsel, but He will meet humble hearts ready to trust His voice over their own and to act on what He says. [37:12]

James 1:5-6 (ESV)
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Reflection: Identify one concrete decision you must make this week; ask God for wisdom, wait in silence for five minutes, and then take one immediate obedience step He brings to mind (and tell a friend for accountability).

Day 5: Emmanuel—God with us in waiting

God’s sign in Emmanuel assures you that even when fulfillment seems slow, He meets you daily while leading you toward your destiny; you can live the in-between—partial tastes now, fullness then—confident that “God with us” is true in your present ache and your future hope. [05:43]

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Reflection: Name one long-term area of waiting in your life and write “OMW—Emmanuel” on a sticky note where you’ll see it; choose one small act of hopeful preparation aligned with His promise (e.g., schedule the appointment, compose the apology text, set a boundary) and do it today.

Sermon Summary

Advent invites us to slow down and step back into the posture of waiting. We live between two strong truths: Christ has come, and Christ will come again. Isaiah 9 speaks into that in-between space, promising light that breaks into real darkness and a child whose names are radiant: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Prophecy often arrives in layers—partial fulfillments that keep hope alive until the final fulfillment comes. That’s why we taste peace, joy, and healing now, but we’ll one day know them in full. Until then, we carry lamps lit from the manger into a world that still aches.

Today I leaned into the first name: Wonderful Counselor. Jesus does not just save; he counsels. He meets us in real pain with real wisdom. Hebrews 4:14-16 shows why: he cares for us tenderly—he suffers with us. He understands us intimately—tempted like us, yet without sin. He welcomes us boldly—inviting us to draw near to a throne that is, in fact, a throne of grace. And he guides us wisely—giving mercy and concrete help in our time of need. So yes, pursue therapy; it’s a gift. But also pursue Jesus as your living, present Counselor. Bring him your sadness, your anger, your addiction, your stuck places. Sit long enough to listen. Contemplative prayer is not fancy; it’s unhurried openness—silence, Scripture, and self-examination—so we can hear and respond.

The sticking point for many of us is not access but humility. What do you do when you and Jesus disagree? Trusting him more than you trust yourself is where discipleship becomes real. He won’t force his wisdom on you; he will offer it, and invite you to come honestly, listen attentively, and respond obediently. This Advent, don’t only celebrate his birth; seek his wisdom. The Counselor is in session. Ask for help. Wait for his voice. And walk in what he says.

Key Takeaways

1. Advent trains us to wait well Waiting is not passive; it’s a formed posture that keeps hope alive even when fulfillment seems delayed. Isaiah’s layered prophecy teaches us to look for God’s daily mercies while we hold onto ultimate promises. We live in the “already and not yet,” tasting light while longing for full daybreak. This tension matures faith rather than diminishes it. [08:08]
2. Jesus cares for our pain tenderly He is not an unmoved observer; he suffers with us. Sympathy in Hebrews means “to suffer together,” which reframes prayer as honest companionship, not performance. Because your hurt touches his heart, you can bring everything—large or small—without fear of dismissal. Let his care draw you near rather than your shame push you away. [20:18]
3. Come boldly to the throne of grace We often reach for fig leaves—self-covering, hiding, defensiveness—when what we need is grace. His throne is not a tribunal of scorn but a place of mercy, welcome, and practical help. You don’t clean up to come; you come to be cleaned and guided. Confidence grows where condemnation dies. [32:37]
4. Wisdom requires humble obedience to Jesus Jesus offers counsel, not coercion. The real test is what we do when his word confronts our desires—about bitterness, sexuality, or self-justification. Trusting him more than we trust ourselves is where transformation begins. Humility opens the door to a wiser life. [41:21]
5. Make space to listen and respond Contemplative prayer is an unhurried opening of yourself to God—silence, Scripture, self-examination. Ask for wisdom, then wait long enough to hear, and commit to act on what he says. Simple prayers like “Help” can reorient a life when matched with attentive listening. Create five minutes a day this Advent and see what he reveals. [37:12]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:24] - Advent: Hope between two comings
[05:43] - Emmanuel and layered prophecy
[08:08] - Waiting in the already-not-yet
[09:43] - Christmas begins in the dark
[12:54] - Introducing “Wonderful Counselor”
[15:36] - What “wonderful” and “counselor” mean
[18:05] - Therapy and Jesus: pursue both
[20:18] - Hebrews 4: He sympathizes with us
[26:16] - He understands us intimately
[30:12] - Draw near with confidence
[32:37] - Contemplative prayer: listen and wait
[35:33] - Throne of grace, not condemnation
[39:34] - Wisdom offered without coercion
[44:13] - Practice: bring your care and listen

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading (ESV)
- Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. … For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

- Hebrews 4:14-16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

- James 1:5-6
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Observation Questions
- In Isaiah 9, what specific changes does the coming child bring to people “who walked in darkness”? Note the repeated words and contrasts (darkness/light; given/government; justice/righteousness).
- Isaiah says, “to us a son is given.” What does “given” imply about how the child comes to us (earned vs. grace)? The pastor had the group say “given” out loud ([09:43]).
- In Hebrews 4:14-16, list the four movements you see: who Jesus is, what he understands, how we approach, and what we receive.
- The pastor said sympathy means “to suffer together.” How does that sharpen your reading of “able to sympathize with our weaknesses” in Hebrews 4:15? ([20:18])

Interpretation Questions
- Advent is waiting in the “already and not yet.” How does Isaiah’s layered prophecy (partial now, full later) help believers keep hope alive without giving up? ([08:08])
- Why is it crucial that the child is “given” (Isa. 9:6) and not achieved? How does that shape how one receives Jesus’ counsel—humbly or defensively? ([09:43])
- Hebrews calls it a “throne of grace.” What does that do to one’s inner posture—shame, hiding, boldness—when approaching God with real struggles? ([32:37])
- The pastor asked, “What do you do when you and Jesus disagree?” Where might Jesus’ counsel confront cultural norms or personal desires, and why is humility the turning point? ([41:21])

Application Questions
- Make space to listen: The pastor suggested “contemplative prayer” as “the unhurried opening of oneself to God” through silence, Scripture, and self-examination. Pick a five-minute slot each day this week. What will your simple opening prayer be, and what one question will you bring to Jesus? Set a timer and try it for seven days. ([32:37])
- Pray the right thing: He shared Matthew Perry’s simple prayer, “God, please help me.” What is one area (anger, sadness, addiction, bitterness, shame) where you will pray, “Help,” and then wait to listen? When and where will you do this tomorrow? ([37:12])
- Come as you are: Where are you tempted to “sew fig leaves”—hiding, self-protecting, over-explaining—when drawing near to God? This week, what would “confidence” look like for you at the “throne of grace” (e.g., naming the exact temptation, bringing the exact failure)? ([30:12])
- Therapy and Jesus: The pastor said pursue both. If you’re not in counseling but probably should be, what’s your next step (ask a friend for a referral, call your insurance, email a Christian counseling center)? If you are in counseling, how will you also invite Jesus to “be in session” with you between appointments? Set one concrete action for this week. ([18:05])
- When you and Jesus disagree: Name one place where Jesus’ wisdom confronts you (forgiveness, sexuality, money, self-justification). What specific act of obedience will you take in the next 72 hours, and who will you tell for accountability? ([41:21])
- Waiting in the dark: Identify one area where you’re waiting (healing, reconciliation, direction). What “daily mercy” have you tasted that keeps hope alive? What small practice will train your waiting (lighting an Advent candle nightly, reading Isaiah 9 at dinner, journaling one mercy each day)? ([08:08])
- Bring small stuff too: The pastor said there’s “nothing so small” Jesus doesn’t care about. What “small” concern will you bring to him today, and what will “listening” look like (a quiet walk, a 5-minute pause after reading a Psalm)? ([21:46])

Sermon Clips

“And today we get to flip the calendar, our church calendar at least as it were, and enter into a new season in the life of our community. It's the season of Advent. And for those unfamiliar, Advent is different than Christmas. They are not synonymous. Advent is the time of year where we posture our hearts once again to wait. We step back into the story and we wait for the coming of the Messiah. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth. Advent is stepping back into a posture of waiting.”

“Because during Advent, we remind ourselves that we are people as followers of Jesus who live in between two affirmations, that we live in between the affirmation of Christ has come and the hope Christ will, anybody know?Come again. Christ will come again. And it's during this season of Advent that we look back to the baby who was born to a teenage mother in a manger. And we dip our lamps into that manger and we pull them out again with faith and hope and love. And we walk with those lamps into our world that is just latent with what we might call a present darkness.”

“See, I think Advent reminds us that God always meets us daily, even while he leads us towards our destiny. And I love this about God. I love this abouthim, that he gives us peace now, but not to the extent that he will ultimately one day. We taste joy now, but really it's probably a shadow of what we will one day experience in his presence. Amen.We experience healing now, but not permanent healing that we will one day experience at resurrection.”

“See, this season reminds us that when we get to the end of our ingenuity, that we get to the end of our progress, that when we get to the end of our ability, we have not gotten to the end of God. Amen? That God is at work in our midst, even when, maybe especially when, our resources are exhausted. See, we are still people who are walking in darkness, and the light comes from the outside, not from the inside.”

“And over the following months of meeting with her, God started this process of restoration and of healing. And I can remember her calm demeanor, her poignant yet thoughtful questions, her well-placed but not overbearing advice. And in so many ways, she started to help me see me more clearly. She helped me see us more clearly. And it was what God used to catalyze the healingprocess that he's walked us through over the last, well, almost 20-ish years.”

“But here's my question for you right now. Do you believe that Jesus has anything to say about those issues? Do you believe that Jesus has anything to say as the wonderful counselor? Because that's how Isaiah describes him? He's the wonderful counselor. Wonderful meaning that he is beyond description.Mind-blowing. Like words can't even describe how good he is.”

“He's a wonderful, and then Isaiah says counselor. He's an advisor. He's an instructor. He's a guide, but he's a guide who guides from a place of authority and knowledge. He's not like the friend that you call when you're at the end of your rope and your friend's like, gosh, I'm really sorry to hear that, and I don't really know what to say about that, and yeah, I hate her too, or I hate him too, and you know what I mean? He guides from a placeof authority, someone who you can bring your worst problems to, and he will show you a way forward.”

“So lean in for a moment. I have this sneaking suspicion that many of us have little problem viewing Jesus as Savior, as Lord, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Yes, and amen to that, but do we view him as counselor? Like today, right now, do we view him as one who is able to speak a word of help in a time of need? See, that's the picture Isaiah's describing,and the radiance of Christmas shines through the wisdom of Christ. Yeah, Christmas is bright, not just because there are lights on your house, but because the wonderful counselor is still available today. He's still in session today.”

“So here's the deal, friends. Christmas is not just about a baby being born. Christmas is about wisdom that's being offered, and so here's what I want to say. Throughout this message, please don't hear Ryan said you shouldn't go to therapy, or you shouldn't go tocounseling. You should just pray about it, right? But also, please hear me saying that you shouldn't just go to therapy, and you shouldn't just go to counseling. The wonderful counselor is still available, and I think that we should pursue both with everything that we have.”

“What I love about the name wonderful counselor is that it means that Jesus came for people who need help. He didn't come for the perfect. He didn't come for the righteous. He didn't come to pat religious people on the back tosay, my goodness, you're just doing, you're amazing. I'm in shock with you, right? No, he's a doctor.He came not for the healthy, but for the sick, not for the righteous, but for the sinners, to call us to repentance, to call us to life in him. And do you know, do you know Jesus as the or your wonderfulcounselor?”

“So we have a great high priest. We have a wonderful counselor who suffers with us, not from a distance, but enters in with us. In our vernacular, we might use the term empathy that he hurts with us. It's interesting that Plato's God was an unmoved mover, one who created the universe, but then really was disconnected, especially disconnected emotionally from it.But see, the God of the scripture is, God is not an unmoved mover, but he is a deeply moved counselor.”

“As if to say, when you're looking at me, I'm looking back at you. And when you're going about your day, paying no attention to me, I'm looking at you. And I care about the things that are going on in your life. And there's nothingtoo big that I'm unable to step into. And there's nothing so small that I don't care about it. He says, I care about it all. And the picture that we get, friends, is that the incarnation, God putting on flesh and stepping into the world, the incarnation happened, but the incarnation also happens.That he steps into your world, into your pain, into your hurt.”

“You might think of it like this, that Jesus never treats us as clients. He loves us as children. He never treats us as clients. He loves us as children. And see, when my kids hurt, I hurt with them. I don't look at them and go, well, good luck with that. I really hope that. No, like we enter in with them, don't we?Most of the time.”

“Man, a few weeks ago, my youngest son is like the world's biggest Dodger fan right now. And so when the Padres were playing the Dodgers, my oldest son is a Padre fan and so am I.And we were cheering really hard. And when the Padres won, my youngest son was devastated, devastated. And I can remember sitting next to him and he's just so upset. And I'm like, oh, buddy, daddy really cares. And yeah, buddy, I too, I wish, I wish it would have at least gone seven games so that we could have had one. It was so hard to empathize. I'm like,here's the thing. God never feels that way about us.”

“You don't have to pretend. You don't have to spin.You don't have to justify. You don't have to say, yeah, I failed here, but you know what they did.And you know how it was really their fault that I did what I did. You don't have to go there because he understands us intimately. And what beautiful freedom that we have to come before the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and have no filter. No filter. To just lay it all out there in 100% honesty. And to know that he will look at us and say, I get it.”

“Don't you love that with this fiery eyes, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords can look at you and go, I know how you feel. You're lonely. He knows how you feel. Betrayed.He knows how you feel. You're in pain physically. He knows how you feel. You're broken. He knows how you feel. You're suffering loss. He knows how you feel. You're tempted to just give into that anger.He knows how you feel. You're tempted to act out on the lust. He knows how you feel.”

“And here's the beautiful thing about that, you guys. Here's the beautiful thing about that. And this is, I think this is a word for somebody in here, because this is your thought about God, that when you come to God, he responds to you, how could you? How could you? But Jesus will never say that to you because he knows how you could. That's what the scripture just said. He knows how you could.He's been tempted in every way so that he can look at you and say, I understand you intimately, intimately.”

“That means we can at any point in time, friends, walk into the presence of God, knowing that he is for us. But you've got to choose to draw near. That's why it's an invitation. It's not God's automatically going to draw you near, just sit back and enjoy and hope you get drawn near. It's no intentionally. I envision the woman who's beenbleeding for 12 years, just crawling through the crowd, just leaning in to grab the tassel of Jesus's robe. That's the picture drawn near. Like go, go at him with everything you've got because he's the wonderful counselor.”

“And maybe it's just us sitting before God in silence saying, God, I'm stuck. Do you have anything you want to say? God, I'm sad.Would you speak to me? I've got this anger that I don't know where it comes from and I don't know what to do with it, but God, would you reveal to me where it comes from and then would you start to heal? And then just sit.”

“What do you do when you and Jesus disagree? When you think you should go and he says stay? When you think you're justified in your bitterness and he calls you to forgive? When you think your addiction is just, it's just a little bit of a hang up. It's not really hurting anyone and he calls on you to get help. When you have sexual desires and he calls you to fidelity. What do you do when you and Jesus disagree? See, it's possible to trust Jesus's wisdom more thanyour own.”

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