The Promise Kept

Dean Lancaster

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The Promise Kept

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Here we are with Christmas upon us again so fast and so busy. Every year we are faced with the same challenge: how to properly celebrate the true meaning of Christmas without focusing too much attention towards gifts and festivities.

This year we have divided our celebration into the weeks of Advent. Each Sunday we will be preaching and celebrating the themes of Advent.

Today we begin with the promise of Jesus’ coming which was given 700 years before His birth in Bethlehem. So essentially, at Christmas we celebrate that God kept His promise.

What was His promise? It was Immanuel, which Matthew translates as “God WITH us.”

God promised to send Himself to us so that we could relate personally to Him.

Before Jesus, we could relate to Him through nature, prayer, sacrifice, but not personally. Before Jesus came, humans only saw God as an Angel, or a shadow, or a faceless voice or the end of His robe.

Immanuel, God with us, gives four realities we celebrate at Christmas.

(realities that were not ours before Christ came.

Reality No. 1: Jesus came so we can be on God’s Side

The Law was against us because we are too weak to fulfill it.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We are no longer enemies but sons and daughters of the King.

Reality No. 2: Jesus came to us in human flesh

He is just like us.

He was born just like we all are.

He faced temptations just like we all do.

This HighPriest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin.

He felt pain just like we feel it. (Hungry, grief, sleepy, depressed.)

God came as a human so we could relate to Him.

This blows away the argument that God doesn’t understand what I am going through.

He understands our needs and he provides a pathway through our circumstances.

Reality No. 3:Jesus came to be our substitute

We owe a penalty for our sin.

Romans 6:23 NIV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For the penalty of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.Jesus stepped in and paid it for us. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. (NLT)God took out His wrath on Jesus, so He wouldn’t have to take it out on us. He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (NLT)

For the penalty of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus stepped in and paid it for us.

Romans 3:25 NLT

25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,

For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. (NLT)God took out His wrath on Jesus, so He wouldn’t have to take it out on us. He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (NLT)

For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. (NLT)God took out His wrath on Jesus, so He wouldn’t have to take it out on us.

1 John 2:2 NIV

2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (NLT)

Reality No. 4: Jesus came because we are helpless.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son.God wants a relationship with His people.But His people are living with sin.There was nothing they could do to overpower sin.Jesus didn’t stop at Salvation; He is still ministering to us.He is our Intercessor - praying for usHeb 7:25 He always lives to make intercession for them.He is our Advocate - arguing for us1 And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.He is our Healer - comforting us. ()

Romans 8:3 NIV

3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son.

God wants a relationship with His people.

But His people are living with sin.

There was nothing they could do to overpower sin.

Jesus didn’t stop at Salvation; He is still ministering to us.

He is our Intercessor - praying for us.

He always lives to make intercession for them.

He is our Advocate - arguing for us.

And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the

righteous.

He is our Healer - comforting us.

James 5:15 NIV

15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

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Take this with you…

If you know for sure you will go to heaven when you die:

Love others as much as you love yourself and forgive them.

God keeps His promises:

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Overlook the things that “get to you”.

Give the gift of real love this Christmas.

If you are not sure you will go to heaven when you die, make sure today.

We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.

For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.