HCBC 12-09-07 AM
The Messiah Will Come!
Well, Christmas is coming!
What are you looking forward to?
A special gift?
Christmas dinner?
Time with family?
Peace on earth?
What are you looking forward to as Christmas approaches?
Down through the centuries of the 2,000 years since the birth of Jesus, there have been many and varied observations and celebrations associated with what we call Christmas!
Dates for the celebration have changed.
Pagan customs have been in and out as part of the
celebration of Christmas.
The celebration of Christmas has been banned in some
places for years at a time.
In our own time, the celebration of the birth of the
Messiah has been impacted by the adoption of pagan
elements and commercialization!
What are you looking forward to as Christmas approaches?
We might find it helpful to think about what the people of the time of Christ were looking forward to!
Before the birth of Christ, people dealt with the influences of the ungodly culture around them, just as we do!
There were people who refused to acknowledge God who brought their ideas to the culture of the time!
But God’s people had God’s Word!
And for those who were steadfast in their relationship with God,
There was a purpose!
There was a plan!
They knew what to expect!
And it had a tremendous impact on there lives!
Let’s look at a few things they knew and consider how it impacted their lives!
The Messiah was to be born of a virgin!
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Matt 1:18-23 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 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."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."
Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
Fulfilled:
Luke 2:4-6 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
Psa 72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.
Fulfilled:
Matt 2:1-11 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
Fulfilled:
Matt 2:12-15 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
Isa 40:3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Fulfilled:
Matt 3:1-3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea
2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Fulfilled:
Matt 21:1-5 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away." 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"
What are you looking forward to as Christmas approaches?
Has the promise of the coming of the Messiah had an impact on your life?
What is the most important part of Christmas to you?
How will the celebration of Christmas be different this year?