The Promise of God

Good Evening Church! If you are visiting with us tonight, welcome. Hello to all of you streaming tonight. We are blessed to have you. I’m Pastor Josh Taylor. I’m the senior pastor here at FBCO.

My family and I just moved here from the San Francisco area. So, this is my first official service as pastor of FBCO and what a privilege it is to be here with you all.

I want to start off our time bragging a little bit if that’s ok. Bragging about FBCO. I can’t begin to tell you how loved and wanted you have made myself and my family feel leading up to arrival. Through emails, cards, calls, cleaning our new home, bringing meals over. I can’t begin to tell you how blessed and thankful we are for such an amazing church family. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Forgive me if you are here on Sunday as you will probably here some of that again!

Nativity Story

Before we get into our main text this evening, I want us to open up to Luke 2 and recount this monumental moment in history.

Often times today pastors and teachers of the Bible make attempts to contemporize this story. Looking at ways to either make it more exciting or help people get excited about a story they have heard many, many times.

This last week I read a quote from Pastor Kevin Deyoung and this what he said-

“Pastor, don’t get cute at Christmas. Go ahead and tell them the old, old story one more time.”

So, church my attempt tonight is not to get cute but to proclaim the amazing truth that does not need my help to make it exciting and amazing.

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Luke 2 opens by telling us of Mary and Joseph needing to return to Bethlehem. Mary being pregnant with our Savior, God incarnate.

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Mary gives birth in this dark, dirty cave like stable. Not a place we envision to welcome a King let alone the Savior and King over humanity. But God in His humility demonstrates to us that it’s not about the lavish things in life, but it’s about the important things in life. The things that truly matter.

We are in a season where we often proclaim the reason for the season but yet we become focused on the material aspects of it. Jesus came in this initial moment as a reminder for humility and focus.

And a side note, Jesus is the reason for every season.

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And then we see this imagery of Angels appearing to the shepherds, heralding the arrival of the newborn king.... The shepherds act upon hearing this news and go to see the Messiah. But it doesn’t end there. After seeing Him, they go and tell others about Him.

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This moment in history and I want us to understand the need to view it in such a way. It’s not some tale, myth, legend or even just a story. This historical moment changed everything. So much so, here we are thousands of years later, still talking about it. That is some major lasting power only God could pull off.

But yet, this was not something that came out of nowhere. It had been in the making long before it happened.

And that brings us to our main text in Isaiah.

If you are able please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Pray

In chapter 9 of Isaiah. The prophet begins his fourth and final section regarding the prophecies of Judah. And he is continuing this dialogue we see throughout the Old Testament about God’s faithfulness to His people because of the covenant He had established with them.

The question had to have come up about how God was going to ultimately fulfill His promise. And then we reach chapter 9, verse 6. And that answer becomes more clear.

Have you ever had some tell you something and be very vague with the explanation?

- Only to find out later, why they were vague and it had a purpose.

That’s how the people of God have felt regarding this moment.

Then the Promise of God is revealed.

A child will be born to us and he will be our wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace!

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Think of these titles describing Jesus.....They encompass everything we need from a King.

Wisdom, Strength and Quality, Relationship and Peace.

All of these qualities this child will bring contrast the failure of Israel’s earthly kings. And don’t miss it, they certainly contrast the failures of our contemporary leaders.

That is why He is above all earthly leaders. This why His kingdom will be perfect, just, righteous and last forever.

We see in verse 7 that He is zealous to do these things. Being righteous and benevolent is who He is and we are the beneficiaries of that, if we believe. T

The Promise of God came in the form of the child...Jesus, was carried out on the cross and is fulfilled in eternity.

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This promise that Isaiah prophesied so many years before came to pass on that night as a baby was born in a stable and laid in a manger.

A King had entered this world in one of the most humble of ways......to no fanfare.....no celebrations. He was not greeted by nobleman, dignitaries or other royalty but by lowly shepherds who then went to proclaim what had happened. The anticipation of thousands of years had come to pass.

Conclusion

And in like fashion, we must approach this day in the same manor.

Now, I hate to break it to you but December 25 probably wasn’t the day Jesus was actually born. But, it is a day we have chosen to remember, commemorate and celebrate the arrival on earth of our King Jesus.

And so, we must come bow before Him in all humility, celebrating our covenant keeping God and that this miraculous moment took place.... that lead to the cross.....that has lead to our ability to be redeemed to our God by means of Salvation through Jesus. We just have to believe.

We must never lose sight that whether it was at the beginning of everything, the prophecies of Isaiah, the nativity story or today....It’s always been about Jesus. It’s always about Jesus.

The child that was born, the son that was given. The promise of God.

Pray