INTRODUCTION

1. Celebrating Christmas

2. Focus of these Christmas Messages

a) The Person of the Lord Jesus Christ (Christology)

b) The Prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus

c) The Profound Significance

 

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah,

that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it,

but could not prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are deployed in Ephraim.”

So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. Isaiah 7:1-2

1. The reign of King Ahaz (Judah)

a) Son of Jotham

b) Son of Uzziah

2. The war threat from Syria and Israel

a) Rezin of Syria

b) Pekah of Israel

3. The response of the house of David

a) Great fear felt

b) Compared to trees swaying in the wind

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE LORD

3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son,

at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field,

4 and say to him: ‘Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands,

for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria,

Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying,

6 “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves,

and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— 7 thus says the Lord GOD:

“It shall not stand,

Nor shall it come to pass.

8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,

And the head of Damascus is Rezin.

Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be [g]broken,

So that it will not be a people.

9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.

If you will not believe,

Surely you shall not be established.”

10 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; [h]ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” Isaiah 7:3-11

1. The prophet Isaiah was sent to King Ahaz

2. The message given:

a) Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted

b) The plans of Syria and Israel will not prevail

3. The part of King Ahaz

If you will not believe,

Surely you shall not be established Isaiah 7:9

a) He must have faith

b) If he does not believe, he will not be established

4. Ahaz may even ask a sign from the LORD

 

THE RESPONSE OF AHAZ

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” Isaiah 7:12

1. He appears to be reverent

2. Actually, this expressed his unbelief!

 

THE SIGN OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH

13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David!

Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,

and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:13-14

1. A rebuke to the House of David

a) King Ahaz

b) His royal court

c) His supporters

d) They weary both men and God!

2. A profound sign would be given anyway

a) The sign is given by the LORD Himself

b) The Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son

c) And shall call His name Immanuel

 

CONCLUSION

1. What we do when we celebrate Christmas

a) We celebrate God’s Involvement

b) We celebrate the Gift of His Son

c) We celebrate God’s Presence with us in the Lord Jesus Christ

2. Immanuel

a) Meaning of the Word: “God with us”

b) Magnificence: The Life of the Lord Jesus on earth

c) Mindfulness of the Lord Jesus:

i) He came to help us overcome fear

ii) He came to help us with life’s many problems

iii) He came to teach us about the LORD God