God With Us, Wk1

God With Us

God With Us

Week 1

peace, hope, healing, and life to a lost and dying world. This series explores

the Christmas story by examining the relationship between the book of Isaiah and the purpose and work of Christ in the New Testament. Because of Jesus, we can experience the joy that comes through his finished work. ‘God With Us’ provides a powerful guide for helping your people understand and apply the nativity story.

Week 1

Text: Topic: Manger, Virgin Birth, Christ

a virgin birth that would heal a dark world.

Application Point: We will place our trust in God’s miraculous power in times of trouble

and doubt.

Intro: 

For a christmas teaching this year I wanted to do something different. Yes we’ve all heard the story and know it well…..but do we really?

Do we know at heart what the birth story really meant to the world 2000 years ago and do we know what it means to us now?

Jesus’s birth is a powerful display of God’s faithfulness to bring

peace, hope, healing, and life to a lost and dying world.

For this season Over the next few weeks we will explore the Christmas story by examining the relationship between the book of Isaiah and the

purpose and work of Christ in the New Testament.

Isaiah gives us detailed prophecies of not only the birth but also the work to be completed by Christ

Because of Jesus, we can experience the joy that comes through his finished work.

so Through this ‘God With Us’ I will prayerfully provide a

powerful guide for helping people understand and apply the nativity story.

Big Idea of the Message: God would bring a miraculous sign of his faithfulness through

a virgin birth that would heal a dark world.

Our text today is going to be

Application Point: We will place our trust in God’s miraculous power in times of trouble

and doubt.

Our text today is going to be

Our text today is going to be

interesting side sermon, in Ch7 of Isa we get the name of one of Isaiah’s sons. 

So what better way to start than by what point number one is….

1.The Crisis

We open to a crisis for the kingdom of Judah.

The Hebrew people were split in two different kingdoms after the death of Solomon: Israel to the north and

Judah to the south.

Both kingdoms struggled to stay faithful to God, and eventually both were exiled.

shows the kingdom of Israel and Aram(nowSyria) planning to attack the Assyrian empire and they want to force Judah to join them.

But since King Ahaz of Judah refuses the other two kings they are now

trying to invade Jerusalem the capital of Judah.

King Ahaz of Judah is nervous about the thought of invasion.

Scripture says that the “hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (v. 2). 

We know these situations all too well. It doesn’t have to be an actual war. Many things make us nervous.

This time of year it could be finances, family, depression, you name it. 

Worried about not being good enough for people, not able to get the perfect gift etc. 

We worry, get nervous, become “shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.  We start to listen to every voice except the voice of God.

And sometimes it overtakes our spirit so much we can no longer think on anything but said situation 

which is where our next point comes in

2.The Instruction

It is at this point that God instructs the prophet Isaiah to go to Ahaz and tell him,

Isaiah 7:4 NLT

4 Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah.

isa 7:4

“Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid” (v. 4).

“Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid” (v. 4).

Isaiah 7:7 NLT

7 But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place;

Speaking of the invasion, God says, “it will not take place, it will not happen” (v. 7).

Speaking of the invasion, God says, “it will not take place, it will not happen” (v. 7).

Isaiah 7:11 NLT

11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.”

Isaiah 7:10 LEB

10 And Yahweh continued to speak to Ahaz, saying,

Isaiah even tells Ahaz to test the Lord to show his faithfulness: “Ask the LORD your God for a sign” (v. 10).

Isaiah even tells Ahaz to test the Lord to show his faithfulness: “Ask the LORD your God for a sign” (v. 10).

Isaiah 7:12 NLT

12 But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”

isa 7:

Ahaz responds by saying, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test” (v.12).

Ahaz responds by saying, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test” (v.12).

Ahaz seems very holy sounding, but in fact he has no relationship with the Lord.

2 King 16 describes Ahaz: “He did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire”

2 Kings 16:2–3 NLT

2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done. 3 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.

That mirrors many of the good old deep south christians who sound holy in certain sentences but truly have NO relationship with God

Ahaz was not a good king. He might have had the temple of the Lord in his land, but he also worshiped other gods.

He did not put his trust in God, and in the situation of possible invasion, he put his trust in the Assyrian Empire

Israel”

2 Kings 16:7 NLT

7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal. Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.”

 He sent a message to the Assyrians, asking for help and saying, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and the king of

The Assyrians made an alliance and destroyed Israel and Aram. However, the relief brought by Assyria would not last;

Israel”

The Assyrians made an alliance and destroyed Israel and Aram. However, the relief brought by Assyria would not last;

eventually the empire would turn against Judah

Isaiah 7:18–25 NLT

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees. 19 They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places. 20 In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people. 21 In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. 22 Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey. 23 In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns. 24 The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. 25 No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.

).

Man made plans failed in the long run. 

Im pretty sure if Isaiah and King Ahaz had this same conversation in todays society Ahaz would have blown him off with an I Got This

which comes to point 3

3.If you have this who has you

We all have been in situations where God told us to trust him and we trusted

something or someone else.

We made alliances with our own empires;

we trusted ourselves to provide for our needs instead of the Lord to be our provision.

Have you ever tried to hold four things at once while going up the stairs? Maybe

someone asked if they could help and you said “I got this” shortly before you dropped everything because you tripped.

When we struggle to trust God, we can tell him, “I got this” when we really don’t.

That lack of trust shows our continual need to grow in our relationship with him.

4.The Promise

So, what does all of this have to do with Jesus and Christmas?

Isaiah turns his attention away from speaking to Ahaz and speaks to all the people of God, the “house of David” (v. 13).

Isaiah 7:13 NLT

13 Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?

God’s people are in a dark period of rebellion and judgment.

Isaiah uses this situation of anxiety, fear, and helplessness to describe what God will do.

Isaiah 7:14 NLT

14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will

conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (v. 14).

The word virgin can also mean a young woman.

Many theologians believe that

has a dual prophetic fulfillment. Isaiah was speaking of a young woman who would bear a son during the time of Ahaz and a future Messiah born to bring

freedom to all.

Ias 7:14-18 

7:14 the virgin The Hebrew term here, almah, indicates a young woman of marriageable age. In the ancient world, a young unmarried woman who had reached puberty could reasonably be assumed to be a virgin because of the close social and familial restrictions on her activities.

God with us Means “God with us.” The name immanuel is also meant point Ahaz to the three phases of God’s future work: imminent judgment, coming restoration, and future redemption (compare ; ).

7:16to reject the evil and to choose the good The sign for Ahaz is meant to indicate that the threat from Aram (Syria) and Ephraim is short term and will pass within a few years. By the time the boy has been born—but before he knows right from wrong—Aram and Ephraim will be out of the picture.

7:18 the bee that is in the land of See 5:26. God will use the nations to judge Israel and Judah. Their soldiers will swarm over the land like insects.

As Matthew, inspired by God, reflects on the virgin birth of Christ

he references  

Isaiah is highlighting God’s power to do the miraculous.

Just like When Matthew writes his Gospel about the life of Christ, he tells the story of

Joseph wrestling with Mary being pregnant while still a virgin.

Joseph considers divorcing her when an angel appears and tells him, “She will give birth to a son,

and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from

their sins.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’” ().

Music Megalodon

Closing 

Mark Lowry’s song “Mary Did You Know?” is a classic of contemporary Christmas music:

Christmas music:

You have probably heard its minor chords while shopping for gifts.

The song describes the amazing things that Christ has done and addresses Mary directly, asking if she knew her son would do all these great things.

One specific lyric shows the main reason for Mary giving birth to Jesus,

“the child that you delivered will soon deliver you.”

Mary had the tremendous responsibility to bring into this world the One who would save her from sin and

death.

We have the responsibility of telling others about the one that saved us from sin and death. 

 Isaiah’s prophecy of hope was given in a time of hopelessness and rebellion, a

time where those leading God’s people were not holy.

God would fix what was made to be right through the incarnation (as Immanuel, God with us). He would physically walk with his creation and sacrifice himself to give life to those who were lost and

dead in sin.

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