The Old, Old Story

      I.        Introduction

a.    Ask, “Did you survive Christmas okay?  Did your wallet survive okay?”

                                          i.    Refer to 12 Days of Christmas.  “Imagine having to buy gifts the “12 Days of Christmas” way

                                        ii.    Connect to remembering, church calendar, liturgies, cathedrals, Hebrew year (feasts, celebrations, Passover, etc.)

                                       iii.    Hebrews believed that the chief reason that people sinned is that people became forgetful

                                       iv.    Easy to become forgetful in this time of year – 12 days of Christmas

                                        v.    Refer to Isaiah 52:10

                                       vi.    Story of Christmas is the continuation of the story of salvation

                                      vii.    Bible is the history of God’s salvation

                                    viii.    Familiarity breeds contempt

                                       ix.    Experience again the “old, old story”

    II.        Explain Isaiah 52:10

a.    “Bared his holy arm” – warrior would bare his “fighting” arm in order to be uninhibited as he fought;  it was also a demonstration of his power; “tickets to the ‘gun show’”

b.    With respect to God, refers to his power or righteousness

c.    Reference to Christ – comes right before the famous passage in Isaiah, chapter 53, which prophesies about Jesus Christ

d.    God has bared His holy arm many times in history, and He continues to bare it

   III.        God bares His holy arm in creation; his creative power

a.    “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.”  Romans 1:18-19

b.    The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.  Psalm 97:6

c.    Psalm 19

d.    General revelation

e.    Ties in with ability to save – demonstration of his power

  IV.        Sin enters the picture

a.    I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  Genesis 3:15

b.    First reference to Jesus Christ

c.    God is going to bare His holy arm in order to save humanity and to restore a broken relationship

   V.        God demonstrates His power to save in Israel’s history

a.    Exodus

                                          i.    And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.  For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.  The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”  Exodus 14:13-14

                                        ii.    This story of salvation is one that Jews today continue to remember through the observance of Passover

b.    God, in other instances, bared his holy arm and demonstrated His salvation power

                                          i.    Noah

                                        ii.    Joshua

                                       iii.    Samson

                                       iv.    Gideon

                                        v.    David

1.    “For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel.  You saw it, and rejoiced.  Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?”  1 Samuel 19:5

2.    Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!  His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.  The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.  He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.  Psalm 98:1-3

                                       vi.    Jehoshaphat

1.    2 Chronicles 20:1-22

                                      vii.    Law

1.    Exodus 34:1-11

                                    viii.    Prophets

1.    It is at this time of the year when we remember the many OT prophecies that pointed toward the birth of Jesus Christ

                                       ix.    Jesus’ birth

1.    Before his birth

a.    And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”  Luke 1:46-55

2.    At the birth of John the Baptist

a.    And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”  Luke 1:67-79

3.    After his birth

a.    “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”  Luke 2:29-32

4.    Jesus was the definitive demonstration of God’s salvation power which was to be to all people; it was the beginning of a new era of salvation; something great was about to happen; God was saying something new

a.    What was He saying?

                                                                                          i.    Genesis – “and God said…and God said”

                                                                                        ii.    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  John 1:14

                                                                                       iii.    Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.  Hebrews 1:1-3

                                        x.    Jesus’ life

1.    Jesus did not fit the molds of power, fame, and success.

a.    His birth story doesn’t exactly sound like what you might expect with the birth of a king

b.     He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  John 1:11; prophet in his own hometown

c.    Even his cousin, John the Baptist, his forerunner, wasn’t completely sure that Jesus was the Messiah; “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”  Matthew 11:2-6

d.    For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  Isaiah 53:2

e.    Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Philippians 2:5-8

f.     Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve

g.    This was not what the Jewish people were expecting—they were expecting a Messiah to ride into Jerusalem on a white horse, and, in a demonstration of his power and might, throw off the tyranny of Rome and usher in the Messianic age

h.    There is no doubt that Jesus could have done great good if He had come in this way.  He would not have done the ultimate good.  As a public, political Messiah, he would have been an impersonal monarch, using impersonal means to achieve public results.  He would have lived in a castle or fortress, far removed from his lowly subjects.  His salvation would have been a physical one, but not a spiritual one.  It would have been public, but not personal.  There would have been no relationship involved.  Instead, Jesus chose a different way, the way of a servant, a way that demonstrated a personal salvation

i.      That is why Satan tempted Jesus with shortcuts.

2.    Jesus’ miracles

a.    God definitely bared His holy arm through Jesus’ miracles.  They are reminiscent of God’s OT miracles, but with a twist—God was actually personally present to them in the flesh.  He was Emmanuel, God with us.

                                       xi.    Jesus’ death

1.    When I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself.

                                      xii.    Jesus’ resurrection

                                    xiii.    Jesus’ return

1.    Great Commission; Ascension

2.    Pentecost; apostolic age

3.    Paul and his missionary journeys

4.    God is baring His holy arm at a rapid rate

a.    Missionaries

b.    Podcasts

c.    Television

d.    Print; Bible is being translated into new languages every day

e.    You; recipient and participant, both for yourself and for others

5.    His return is imminent

a.    Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  Matthew 24:30

b.    For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.  Romans 14:10-12

c.    You will be on one side of the salvation line or the other

d.    so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.  Hebrews 9:28

e.    who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  1 Peter 1:5

                                    xiv.    Observer, recipient, or participant?

1.    Choice between heaven and hell is logical

2.    Jesus is the only way to heaven

3.    Can’t paint you into a corner and make you want a relationship with Jesus

4.