Sermon Tone Analysis

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Series: Christmas

Title: God Acts; Man Reacts

Text:

Pic - Gym

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Well, we’re not too far from the beginning of a new year, and many gyms across the country will be upping their ad budgets and trying to attract delinquent athletes back to the gym.

One gym sent out the following advertisement:

[The New Year] is right around the corner and you're either going to own the year OR the year is going to own you.

It's 100% your choice.

It's in your hands.

That's the first thing.

Simply by taking all of the responsibility and putting it on your shoulders you become empowered.

Next, you take that feeling of empowerment.

Of invincibility.

The feeling you can run through a wall ... and you take action.

You take action like you've never taken action before.

You become prolific.

You become consistent.

And you let no obstacle stand in your way ... no matter what.

No more pity parties.

No more whining about anything.

YOU are in control.

YOU.

You know, I guess that could be pretty motivational if you’re a certain type of person.

It sounds great, but it has a major flaw: It is really unbiblical!! says A man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

You could say it like this: God acts, Man Reacts.

But I will have to tell you that HOW man reacts is absolutely critical to how he ends up especially when it comes to how he reacts to what God did at Christmas

BACK

Spiritually speaking, you see we are coming to the time when we celebrate one of the most active times in Biblical History.

In just three weeks we will celebrate the most amazing birth that ever took place—the birth of our Savior.

You cannot look at what happened in Bethlehem and not be aware that God was acting in time.

He stabbed the veil of our brokenness and inserted His Presence in our humanity.

He was active.

Yes that’s what God did, but the story doesn’t end there.

Each of us writes the ending to the story with our own reaction.

From the beginning this truth is seen clearly and unequivocally: God acts; man reacts.

I say “from the beginning” because the birth of Christ was talked about hundreds of years before it ever happened.

Through the prophets, God called out to man, telling him that He was sending His own son.

One of those prophets was Isaiah.

Now the amazing thing about biblical prophecy is that, on certain occasions, words that were written included what Bible students call a “double reference.”

A double reference in prophecy happens when a prophet spoke a prophecy which both addressed his own current situation and a situation that would take place in the future.

That’s the kind of prophecy we find in our text today.

It’s :

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.

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 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; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!” 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.

15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.

16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.

17 The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”

Now you’d probably heard the part about a virgin birth before.

It’s kind of standard Christmas fare, but hearing in the context it was originally given helps you realize that this prophecy has a double reference.

Originally it was given to a wicked king named Ahaz.

It addresses a doom he was facing.

But there was also another reference.

You see, this verse is quoted by Matthew in his account of Christ.

reads,

Now you’d probably heard the part about a virgin birth before.

It’s kind of standard Christmas fare, but hearing in the context it was originally given helps you realize that this prophecy has a double reference.

Originally it was given to a wicked king named Ahaz.

It addresses a doom he was facing.

But there was also another reference.

You see, this verse is quoted by Matthew in his account of Christ.

reads, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

NEED

And you may hear that and say, “That’s great, Rusty, but why do I need to hear it?

I know the Christmas story and I’ve heard this verse a hundred times so what can you tell me that I don’t already know?”

Well, that’s a good question, so let me give you a couple of reasons to listen this morning.

First, this message can help you if your negative circumstances have robbed you of hope.

Maybe you’re here this morning and you have lost all hope that things can be different.

You may be married to someone who keeps promising to change, but it never happens and you feel hopelessly trapped in a meaningless marriage.

Maybe you’ve lost someone very special to you and you are grieving and feel hopeless.

You may be petrified this morning at the thoughts of having to live the next few months of your life.

You’re facing a situation you never anticipated and you don’t know if you’re going to survive.

I want you to listen because there is hope in this newborn King.

And then this message can help you if you have doubt this morning.

Maybe you’re skeptical about this whole Christian thing.

You’ve examined the “evidence” and don’t feel fully convinced.

I want you to listen today because a step of faith can overcome your doubt.

You can choose to believe.

TRANS

Which may leave you asking the question, “Why?

Why should I choose to believe?

Why should I react in faith and not in doubt?

Well, let me try to answer that question.

First, you can choose to believe because:

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There is hope that can override your circumstances.

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Now the thing about double prophetic references is that understanding the first reference can shed light on the second.