Sermon Tone Analysis

Advent 2009 Promises Fulfilled #2

Isaiah 7:14

Born of a Virgin

Promises are interesting aren’t they

A Son wanted a new car for graduation.

The Dad Promised his son a New Car if he would Read his Bible More Diligently, Bring Up his Grades, and Cut His Hair

The son started reading his Bible every day, He worked on his grades and brought them up … shortly before graduation, he said, “Dad about the grades, I know I said I’d cut my hair, but I’ve been reading my Bible and getting better grades, and you know, I think Jesus and the disciples had long hair” … and Dad said, “Yeah and they walked everywhere they went!

Two guys were shipwrecked for weeks on a raft.

One guy was more scared than the other.

He started confessing sins and said “I’ve just been terrible all my life, I’ve been cruel to people.

I’ve even gone out of my way to hurt people.

Then he paused thoughtfully and said “I Promise …” his buddy said “WAIT WAIT A MINUTE” … don’t go too far, I see smoke from a ship off in the distance”

Well last week we saw the Promise that the Messiah would be Born in Bethlehem and that God moved the World to Keep his Promise, and in the process he Scorns those who think they are prominent that he might Bless the insignificant.

Well let’s look at perhaps the most Audacious of the Promises …

This Promises is Found in the book of Isaiah

Read Isaiah 7:10-14

Let’s Look at this Sign in three ways

*1.

A Sign Extended / Offered*

It is Christmas and we have a gift being given here …

So, when you get a gift in the mail, or a new present shows up under the tree … you Pick the present up and you look to see who it’s from and who it’s for … who is Extending the offer?

*A.

The Giver *– The LORD himself will GIVE you a sign.

That’s a pretty good giver of a gift.

Anyone can make promises.

Anyone can promise you a gift but the question is can they deliver

The Lord himself will extend, give to you the gift

*B.

The Gift* -

What’s the nature of a gift?

A gift is an expression of Love, it is unearned

This was an unearned expression of love from their loving Lord and God

And what was the Purpose in the Gift … It was …

A Sign – "oht" – a sign, military insignia, mark, or banner, miracle - there will be no doubt what the Lord is doing when he does it because the Gift he is giving you not just what is coming but HOW it is coming …

What is the purpose of the miraculous?

The purpose of the miraculous was to reveal the Lord

When Moses told Pharaoh that God wanted them to let his people go, Pharaoh said “no” and then followed 10 plaques.

Those plaques were progressive and they covered every part of God’s creation.

God was Revealing to BOTH Egypt AND the Children of Israel that he was in charge and able to do anything

God parted the Red Sea for Israel, but also so word would get to Jericho and Canaan that God was the only true God.

Jesus made blind see, lame walk, raised the dead, walked on the water, not just as a health plan, He was Revealing who he was and what he could do

The Giver is the Lord and the Gift is a Sign, unearned

But let me say just a thing about

*C.

Givee* – I give to YOU …

Now you should know that the pronoun “you” is plural …

God is speaking through Isaiah to A wicked King, Ahaz.

But he is also speaking to all who would hear this message

But to Ahaz in verse 10 the Lord says

“Ask the Lord for a sign” …

And Ahaz swells up spiritually and says “I will not ask the Lord for a sign, I will not put him to the test” – that sounds spiritual but if GOD tells you to ask for a sign, you better ask.

Perhaps sometimes we don’t want a sign because we don’t want to be held accountable to respond to the sign.

We don’t go to the Word of God because we don’t want the –answer

When God says “test me” you should test him

if the Lord says “ask me” you should ask

God gave a sign then to Ahaz, a wicked King because he is a great God and wants all to be without excuse.

So we have a Sign Extended

And then we have

*2.

A Sign Explained*

Ahaz didn’t want a sign, he could have asked, I guess, for most anything, but of course God knew what he would do and God already knew what HE himself would do.

God gave US a sign that none could deny

We need something bigger than us to believe it

Hebrews 6:17 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all arguments

And so God says …

*A.

A Virgin will Conceive*

This SIGN a critical sign to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If Jesus Christ was born in the normal way, by the normal means with the normal parents then we are hopelessly in the same situation we were before he came

Jesus Christ is FROM Eternity.

We read that last week.

Jesus Christ was not BORN in the sense that you and I were.

And you and I were not born like he is.

Some people think humans are laying around in Heaven somewhere waiting to be born … but that is not TRUE.

we all have a beginning when we are “knit together in the Mother’s womb” as Psalm 139 says.

And we COME into Being

But Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was with God and was God and all things were made by him and without him nothing was made.

And then John 1:14 says That Eternal Word BECAME FLESH.

He already existed in ONE Form and He took UP another Form and the sign would be that he would be BORN of a Virgin

This is that his Divine Power might be manifest and

That Divine Purity would exist in the Messiah

John 3:13 speaking of Jesus says no one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came FROM heaven – the Son of Man

Jesus Christ had to be a pure vessel to be our sacrifice

Jesus Christ could not inherit sin from Mary or from Joseph and so he HAD to be born of a virgin

Don’t let anyone tell you that this is NOT an important sign

It is a Crucial Sign

Genetically Speaking a Black Sheep can give birth to a White Lamb if there is a gene in the Black Sheep for a white lamb.

So then the rare white sheep could be born.

But folks, we don’t have a sinless gene in our spiritual system

There is none righteous not one

Billions of Babies born since Adam, none sinless … except ONE … Jesus, the Christ, HOW? because he didn’t come from us but he came TO us and became LIKE us.

*B.

A Child*

A Virgin, will have a child.

Now that makes news doesn’t it?

When a Virgin, shows up on the scene, verifiable, and she is with child … That’s a good sign if you can pull it off

A Virgin, with Child will

*C.

Give Birth*

Bear a Child … Just like a promise, if the promise isn’t delivered what’s the point

A virgin to present herself and she could pretend or appear to be pregnant but if she doesn’t give birth …

But The Sign was simple to check out