The Heart Of Christmas: God keeps His promises.

In preparing for our time together today, I have been thinking on God’s faithfulness.

More specifically I have been thinking about how forgetful I can be when it comes to God’s faithfulness.

How often I seemingly forget, or don’t realize it.

I know God is faithful and true. I know His ways are right and good.

And yet so often I find myself wrapped up in the busyness of life.

It can be so easy to forget that God is right there with me, and that I can lean on Him.

That He knows exactly what I am going through.

That Jesus had the same feelings.

When confronting my own sin it is east to forget that Jesus was tempted as I am (and even to a greater degree) and yet did not sin.

There are times when I wonder, perhaps you do also, God how can you really forgive a sinner like me?

Yet his promise rings true as John reminds us that God is faithful to forgive when we confess our sins. 1 Jn 1:9.

When Jesus was in need, He didn’t simply buckle down and try harder, He turned to His heavenly Father.

Yet when I am in need, I get forgetful.

I forget that God faithfully provides in His ways and in His timing.

Worry can set in because of a desire for control.

I know these types of thoughts are not unique to me.

It can be so easy for us to often overlook God’s faithfulness in our daily lives, despite it’s constant presence.

God’s unchanging nature though, for us as Christians is the foundation of our ever changing lives.

It is God’s permanence that provides us with stability amidst life’s fluctuations.

At times we may feel alone in our struggles, but we must remember as Christians, as children of God, we are never alone.

God responds to our requests, even if we haven’t really asked and frequently we don’t initially realize his handiwork.

God is faithful, his plans are greater than our immediate understanding.

Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered, Volume 2 (2014–2021) What Does the Bible Say about Faithfulness?

In His faithfulness, God protects us from evil (2 Thessalonians 3:3), sets limits on our temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13), forgives us of sin (1 John 1:9), and sanctifies us (1 Corinthians 1:9; Philippians 1:6).

When a person walks consistently with God, in humble service to Him, he or she can be called “faithful.”

When Nehemiah had to leave Jerusalem to return to Persia, he put Hanani and Hananiah in charge.

The reason for his choice of these men was that they were “more faithful and God-fearing … than many” (Nehemiah 7:2, ESV).

Nehemiah needed men of character whom he could trust. Men who would not take bribes, who were committed to the welfare of the people, and who would uphold the integrity of the office.

Faithfulness is associated with fearing God.

Not as in being terrified by Him but deeply knowing a respecting Him.

The better we truly know God, the more we will want to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1).

The more we know we can trust and believe in Him because He has made many good and wonderful promises to us.

This is one of the wonderful things that Christmas does for us.

Christmas is one of the yearly reminders on our calendars that God is faithful.

That God’ keeps his promises.

This is what I want to remind us of as we spend our time together this morning.

I want to remind us that God's faithfulness is showcased through the promise of Christ's birth at Christmas.

And because of this, we can be encouraged as believers to trust in His word and timing in our own lives.

As we approach Christmas this year, let us must remember that it is more than a date on the calendar.

It is more than a season that makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Christmas is a cosmic event, a grand climax in God’s symphony of creation.

Christmas is a promise kept.

Pray

There are over three hundred messianic prophecies fulfilled in Jesus, with many related to his birth, ministry, and death and resurrection.

These prophecies became increasingly specific throughout biblical history, including predictions about Jesus' place of birth, tribe, and lineage.

All were important but one significant promise surrounding Christmas that God kept was the virgin birth.

Promise of the Virgin Birth

One of the most significant and difficult promises that was made and kept is the promise of the virgin birth.

Matthew 1:21–23 ESV

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew, who was writing to a primarily Jewish audience, was quoting from the book of Isaiah.

Knowing and interpreting the OT in a Jewish context, he referenced Is 7:14

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

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 introduces us to a wicked king of Judah named Ahaz, who had forsaken his father’s legacy and led the nation into idolatry.

Ahaz’s wicked reign was threatened by an alliance of two kings: Rezin (king of Syria) and Pekah (king of Israel).

Rather than cry to God for help, Ahaz turned to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser.

Isaiah was sent by God to tell Ahaz that he would deliver Israel and that he should ask God for a sign to confirm his promise.

Ahaz didn’t want God’s help, so he declined the offer.

He was attempting to appear humble, but it’s not humble to disobey what God commands.

But God gave him a sign anyway, and the sign wasn’t just for him; it was also for the entire nation.

Let’s add a little context to that verse.

Isaiah 7:13–16 ESV

13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that 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. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

This child would be proof that God was present among his people to protect them.

They could trust that neither Ahaz nor Pekah nor Rezin nor Tiglath-Pileser nor any other oppressor would be able to ultimately destroy God’s people.

God would preserve Judah and David’s line through whom Messiah would one day come.

When we look at these verses, in the time they were written, and then how Matthew refers to them, it can be a little difficult to understand.

Prophecies as we read them in scripture often have a near (partial) fulfillment that applies directly to their hearers

as well as a far (ultimate) fulfillment related directly to Jesus.

This promise is actually fulfilled in two ways.

Isaiah’s son Maher-shalal-hash-baz is the near fulfillment (Isa. 8:1–4).

The word translated “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 is ’almah, which can simply mean “young woman” depending on context.

In Isaiah’s context, it references his wife, who was a young woman, who bore a son.

Commentator Ray Ortlund speaks of this

Isaiah—God Saves Sinners Decision

God stood by his promise to Ahaz that the two nations menacing him would fall. But Ahaz’s unbelief was costly. His crisis was resolved by a more terrible enemy, the king of Assyria himself (7:15–17). Someone has said that this whole episode was like a mouse attacked by two rats, squeaking for the cat to come save him. The cat did (2 Kings 16:5–9). But the mouse ended up as dessert.

Matthew is referring to the far off fulfillment of this prophecy.

Judah in Isaiah’s time (The kingdom’s had split by this time) faced an alliance of two evil kingdoms.

Matthew interpreted this promise in a Jewish context to address a coalition far worse than that faced by Judah.

A coalition that Jesus came to conquer.

The alliance of sin and death.

An alliance that never goes away, and that we are no match for ourselves.

When the OT was translated into Greek, the Jewish translators used a word this promise more specific.

Matthew’s use of the prophecy though the Holy Spirit assures us that the far (ultimate) fulfillment of Isaiah 7 is found in the virgin birth of Jesus.

Matthew and the Septuagint both use the Greek word parthenos, which can only mean “virgin.”

So Matthew’s testimony of Jesus’s miraculous conception followed a faithful Jewish interpretation of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Matthew is telling us that Isaiah, whether he knew it or not, was speaking of the Messiah—

and that his prophecy is fulfilled, completed, accomplished, and realized in the miraculous conception of Jesus.

This matters because we can trust God’s promises.

J.I. Packer in his concise theology -

Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs Virgin Birth: Jesus Christ Was Born by Miracle

Most Christians accepted the Virgin Birth without hesitation until liberal theology challenged miracles in the nineteenth century. Then it became a pivotal point in the debate about Christian supernaturalism and the divinity of Jesus.

Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs Virgin Birth: Jesus Christ Was Born by Miracle

Liberalism, seeking to desupernaturalize the faith and reinterpret Jesus as no more than a uniquely godly and insightful teacher, surrounded the Virgin Birth with a spirit of needless and unreasonable skepticism.

In reality what God promised about a Messiah to Adam (Gen. 3:15),

To Abraham (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7),

To Judah (Gen. 49:10),

and to David (2 Sam. 7:12–15) is reiterated in what he promises to Isaiah.

The incarnation of God’s Son is a sign to the world that God hasn’t forsaken his people.

He has kept his promises, just as he always does.

Joseph was to find comfort in the fact that Mary hadn’t been unfaithful to him,

but God had been faithful to his people by coming among them through Jesus.

This is one of the reasons it is so important for us to read our OT.

It reveals to us God’s character.

And specifically in relation to this and in relation to Christmas,

We have a God who keeps his promises.

For us, promises are easy to make, but often hard to keep.

We know this all to well.

As kids, we make pinky promises, secret handshakes.

If we been to a weeding, we witness vows being exchanged.

If we are married, we have exchanged vows.

We have purchased items with a guarantee.

But we have also seen guarantees fall through,

friends become enemies,

empty promises and covenants breached.

The thing is, it can be so easy for us to become cynical, skeptical, Jaded.

Christmas is a reminder that God keeps His promises, and we can to.

God makes promises to us throughout scripture.

But many of us have trouble really believing that God will actually do the things that he says.

For those us who find it difficult to trust in God, his word, his promises, plans, and will.

Let this Christmas be a reminder.

Christmas is not just the season to get through, but the season we need.

God does not just make promises (like those in Isaiah), He keeps them.

When God spoke though through the prophet Isaiah, every word was going to come into fruition.

Although hundreds of years span between Isaiah and Matthew, at just the right time, on a silent and holy night, God kept his promise.

What Do Promises Mean For Christmas?

The significance of Christmas is not just that Jesus is a gift but that God is a promise-keeper.

God kept the promise of promises—and this has major implications for each of us.

1.) Christmas Gives Us A King We Can Trust.

Christmas should reinforce our trust in God.

When God says that we will have peace and wisdom if we ask, we can believe Him.

When God says that we are forgiven, loved, and fully accepted in Christ, that is a reality.

When God says there is joy in obedience, there is power in weakness, joy in suffering, and life in death, it is a guarantee.

We can trust God because God keeps the promises he makes.

2.) Christmas Gives Us Hope.

Have you become pessimistic and jaded to the point where you believe that this is how things will be forever?

Perhaps you have given up on others—friends, family members, or even yourself.

Maybe there is a particular situation or circumstance where you think nothing will ever change.

Christmas gives us hope.

Jesus did not just speak of a Kingdom that is coming,

Jesus said the Kingdom is already here because the King has already arrived.

The hard part is that though the Kingdom has begun, it has not yet been fully realized, and will not be until Christ’s second coming.

God made a promise thousands of years ago and on Christmas we look back to remember that God kept it.

We can trust him even when times are hard because he does what he says.

We can have hope in any circumstance because if God entered the world –

in exactly the manner he said he would, hundreds of years prior –

that means he is still fulfilling all of his scriptural promises, to one day make all things new.

If you have difficulty trusting God or you lack hope, perhaps the promise of Christmas is just what you need.

Because when we know we have a God that keeps this promise, we also know that He will keep His promise of eternal life.

That

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Scripture speaks often of God’s faithfulness.

Over and over we learn that when God says He will do something, He does it (even when it seems impossible).

When He says something will happen, it happens.

This was true for the past, and is true for the present and the future.

If this were not the case—if God were unfaithful even once—He would not be God, and we could not rely on any of His promises.

But as it is, “Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave” (1 Kings 8:56).

God is eternally reliable, steadfast, and unwavering because faithfulness is one of His inherent attributes.

God does not have to work at being faithful; He is faithful.

Faithfulness is an essential part of who He is (Psalm 89:8; Hebrews 13:8).

This Christmas, let us remember God’s faithfulness!