I occasionally get to speak on Parliament Hill and I went to speak on
Parliament Hill on Friday to some of the staff for the MPs, some of the staff are
the senators and some of the permanent employees on Parliament Hill and I was
there on Friday and of course for many of them they were in complete and utter
shock because even those who worked on Parliament Hill were caught completely
and utterly by surprise with what happened on Thursday with Andrew Scheer
resigning as leader of the Conservative Party. You know you can think you know how
things are going to unfold and how what's going to be happening next and when
there'll be reviews and you just think you can know the future but in fact you
really can't. Monday night of the same week I met with the council of the church
and one of the things we did was look at the first draft of our budget for 2020
and at the heart of looking at a budget of course is trying to have a bit of a
sense as to how much money you're going to receive in the coming year. If you
don't have any idea about the money that's going to come in it's sort of hard to
hard to make some type of a budget. This church doesn't make any money from
rentals or sales or anything like that. We're completely not really dependent upon
the support of people who who make this their church home and of course you don't
really know. It's a very human problem on one hand or very human part of the human
condition to want to know the future. It's part of the human condition to sort
of think you do know the future in some way but the fact of the matter is is that
we don't know the future and every single one of us when we have coffee after the
service we can probably tell often in tragic terms how you think something's
going to happen or something's going to unfold only to be completely and utterly
blindsided by something that you had not anticipated had never dreamed would
happen and completely and utterly changes how your afternoon your day your
week that next month is going to be. It's a very very human aspect that we both want
to control think we can control but reality keeps showing us we can't control
the future and we don't know the future. The text that we're going to look at in a
moment is actually a text that in an odd way speaks into this human condition in a
very very powerful way. I'm beginning a new sermon series if you go and listen to
the whole of Handel's Messiah there's four different passages from the book of
Isaiah that talk about Jesus in the book of Isaiah and I'm going to look at one
each week. In this particular week I'm going to look at a prophecy made some
somewhere between 735 or 734 BC about the birth of Jesus. 735 years, 735
before Jesus was born a man by the name of Isaiah living in Jerusalem made a
prophecy about his birth. We're going to look at that this morning. For Christians
it's a very very well-known verse. So if you have your Bibles, those of you don't
have your Bibles I'll put it up on the screen and here's how Isaiah chapter 7
verses 1, how this sort of how it gets into this particular type of prophecy.
And just before we start to read it, just a couple of things. Some of you are maybe
aware of the fact that there's a couple of huge controversies around this. One of the
controversies is whether or not Matthew, when he quotes and talks about Matthew, I'm
sorry, when Matthew talks, when the early Christians talk about Jesus and the virgin
birth, whether they get it right. Whether in fact Isaiah did talk about a virgin birth.
There's a big controversy about that. There's whole books written on it. I'm not going to
talk about it other than to say that I'm aware of it. I've studied it. I think at the end of
the day, those who hold to the traditional interpretation of it meaning virgin, I think
they won the exegetical argument. I think they won the argument in terms of the ancient
documents and the meaning of the ancient words, but I'm not going to get into it. There's also
a big controversy as to whether Isaiah would have written this in 735 or 734 BC. There's a whole
pile of people who think that it wasn't written until the 400 BCs, but I'm not going to address
that either other than to say that if in fact, on one level for our topic, if in 430 BC they
predicted a virgin birth, that's still a pretty big prophecy 430 years in advance. So I'm not
going to get into those dating issues. I'm just going to take it as it's been traditionally
understood. If you went to a traditional Jewish family, they would understand that this text was
written in 734 or 735 BC, and we're just going to look at it. And here's how the text begins.
It starts like this. I should be better if I actually had it in my Bible. You folks can see it.
Isaiah chapter 7 is where it begins. Isaiah chapter 7. Here's how the text begins.
In the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin, the king of Syria,
and Pekah, the son of Hermaliah, the king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it,
but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David, that's the royal family,
was told, Syria is in league with Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz, that's the king, and the heart of
his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. And I'm just going to pause there
for a second. You know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, names, names, names, right? Well,
this is, interestingly enough, this is all historical stuff. These are people who, outside of the words
of the Bible, there's lots of historical records that all of these people existed, and the events which
are being talked about here are events which are talked about in many pagan and other sources.
And what's going on is this. First of all, you have to remember that, I mean, we talk about a two-state
solution nowadays for Israel. Back at this time, there was a two-state solution to a big problem,
but that two-state solution was that there were two Jewish nations. There is a Jewish nation in the
south whose capital was Jerusalem, and Ahaz is the king of that. That's usually referred to as Judah
at this time period. There's another Jewish nation in the north. That's sometimes called Israel.
Sometimes it's called Ephraim. That's what it's called here. And the king of that northern kingdom
in their capital was a city called Samaria. That's mentioned here. He's the son of Hermalia. He's Pekah,
the son of Hermalia. That's that king.
So what's going on is this. Assyria has started to arise with a desire to be an empire,
and they're conquering nations all over the place as their empire expands. And so as the power of
Assyria is rising, the king of Syria and the king of Israel get very worried. And they come and they
want to invade Israel. They want to invade Judah. They want to take over Jerusalem. And the reason is this.
It's a very simple reason. They think that a three-nation alliance might be able to resist
the growing Assyrian power. And Ahaz is terrified of Assyria, and he's also terrified of fighting Assyria
with Israel and Syria. And that's why he's torn. And because the king of Jerusalem doesn't want to join
the alliance, the other two countries, say, listen, all we do, we go, we take Jerusalem, we kill the king,
we put in our puppet, and he's in charge of the armed forces. We have a three-nation alliance. We go and fight
Assyria. And that's what's going on. Ahaz has rejected the offer to join an alliance. He's terrified of being
invaded by the Assyrians and Israel. And he's terrified of the Assyrians. And that's the context. So what happens?
What happens is next in verse 3. Now, one of the things you need to understand is in those days,
Jewish people had prophets. And if you read through all of, for our Jewish friends who might be here
today, it's called, they would refer to it as the Tanakh. And for Christians, we would refer to it as
the Old Testament. And if you read through that, you'll see that there's this phenomenon in Israel
known as prophets. And a way to understand what a prophet is, is a prophet is God's mouth.
That's a simple way to understand what a prophet is. A prophet is God's mouth. God speaks through the prophet,
and he speaks usually in one of two ways. He speaks directly into the situation that the people in front of him
are dealing with. And sometimes he speaks about the future and something which is going to happen down the road.
And in this particular case, Isaiah is a prophet centered in Jerusalem, the southern kingdom.
And here's what happens. And the Lord said to Isaiah, verse 3,
Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shir Jashub, your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool
on the highway to the washer's field. And just sort of pause there for a second.
Isaiah's son is sort of like a walking prophecy. His name, the name means a remnant will return.
And that means it's on one hand, he's a bit of like a warning of God's judgment,
because a remnant happens when everybody gets, almost everybody is destroyed and there's only a remnant left.
But it's also sort of an oracle of hope that the remnant will return to what Jewish people call the promised land.
And so Isaiah's son, he would have introduced him to Ahaz, and Ahaz would have thought,
Oh, that's like a bit of in my face type of way to name your son and to bring him.
And Ahaz is studying the water supply because he's worried about the invasion and he knows there'll be a siege.
And he's studying the water supply and he's worried.
But Isaiah has come because God wants him to say something to the king.
And here's what he says. Verse 4,
God says to Isaiah,
Say to him, that's Ahaz, the king of Jerusalem,
Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint
because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands
at the fierce anger of Rezan and Syria and the son of Remaliah.
Because Syria with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah has devised evil against you,
saying, let us go up against Judah and terrify it and let us conquer it for ourselves
and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it.
So that's the first part of this message that Isaiah comes to deliver to Ahaz.
And the first part of it isn't so much don't worry.
Those odd little bits about, in the original language,
be careful, be quiet, is really don't do anything.
Like in a sense he's saying to Ahaz,
you can go back in, don't look at the water supply, don't worry about it.
And then he uses a very, God uses a derogatory way
of referring to the northern kingdom, Israel, and to Syria.
He compares them to a force which is spent.
It's as if you had a log and the log burned,
and now everything in the log that is burned has been burned up,
and all you have left is just the remnants.
This has a little bit of a heat left to it.
It's just smoldering, but it's a completely and utterly spent force.
And God says to Ahaz, that's how you have to understand.
Don't do anything.
And Ahaz is probably thinking, well, you know,
this is very easy for you to say just to do nothing,
but Isaiah has a bit of another message for him.
The reason he's to do nothing is seen in verse 7, which is this.
Thus says the Lord God, it shall not stand, it shall not come to pass.
In other words, it's not going to happen.
Now, remember, this is being written in 735 or 734 B.C.,
and Isaiah says, God has said to you that you aren't going to be invaded,
and so all of your preparations are worthless,
and even part of your fear is worthless because they're not going to invade.
Now, he predicts that there'll be no invasion.
He continues on with his prediction in a very, very interesting way in verses 8 and 9.
For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within 65 years, Ephraim, that's the northern kingdom,
will be shattered from being a people.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Hermaliah.
If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.
Now, in fact, what we know from history is this.
Shortly after this, of 735 or 734 B.C., shortly after this, Assyria invades Syria.
And because Assyria invades Syria,
the alliance between Syria and Israel breaks,
and they don't, in fact, invade the southern kingdom.
And, in fact, we know from history that in 732 B.C.,
the Syrian nation falls to the Assyrian Empire
and is completely and utterly gobbled up.
And in that same move of gobbling up Syria,
they gobble up the northern part of,
large parts of the northern part of Israel.
But northern Israel was able to keep fighting for a little bit of a longer time,
even though they were constantly harassed with battles by Assyria.
And in 722 B.C., the capital of Israel falls.
And the nation of Israel falls to Assyria.
And Assyria was a very, very, very, very brutal empire.
And one of the things that the Assyrians did to trouble some nations
is that they would start to have these forced marches
to force the people to migrate to different parts of the world
where they weren't native.
And they would also take another area,
and they would take some of the people from that,
and they'd have a forced migration, a forced march.
And, of course, the Assyrians wouldn't care
if many, many people died in the way.
And they'd force them to relocate in another land.
And shortly after Assyria took over the northern kingdom,
they began these forced migrations of the Jewish people
living in what we now know of as northern Israel.
And, in fact, these were to go on in waves of forced migrations
and waves and waves and waves.
And by the year 670 B.C.,
all the Jewish people in northern Israel were gone.
And, in fact, not only were they gone,
they completely vanished from history.
If you have a Jewish friend,
not a single one of your Jewish friends
is descended from the northern kingdom of Israel.
Not one.
Every one of those Jewish people completely vanished from history.
And every Jewish person that you know
is descended from the southern kingdom of Judah,
whose capital was Jerusalem.
In fact, if you know a little bit about Mormons,
one of the Mormon beliefs is that all those lost,
what they're sometimes called as the lost tribes of Israel,
ten and a half tribes,
they somehow got to North America,
became what we now know of as First Nations people.
And there's a whole pile of Mormon mythology around that.
And those of us who are older might remember
there used to be a weird religion in England
called British Israelism.
And they believed that all of those northern tribes
ended up in the British Isles.
And so those of us who are English and Scottish and Irish and Welch
are really Jewish.
And that's an old, weird thing that died years and years ago
but was held for quite a while.
But the northern kingdom completely vanishes.
In other words, this prophecy ends up happening.
Assyria doesn't invade.
Assyria no longer becomes a threat.
And within 65 years of this prophecy,
the northern kingdom doesn't exist at all.
It's quite a remarkable prophecy.
So, how does Ahaz react to this?
I mean, one of the things which is very surprising to people
when they start reading the Bible for the first time
is you expect that the Bible is going to be talking regularly about faith.
It's going to be talking about people following God.
It's going to talk about people following the Lord
and paying attention to his word and obeying it.
And that's sort of what we think is going to happen.
But actually what happens regularly when you read the Bible
is that that's not what happens at all.
People do the opposite.
So, what happens is if you look at the next few verses,
if you start reading again at verse 9,
at verse 10,
there's a period of time which passes
and God says to Isaiah,
you've got to go speak Dehaz again.
There's been a period of time that's taken place.
The siege of Jerusalem never happened.
The invasion doesn't happen.
But what did Ahaz do when God spoke,
even as he sees these prophecies being fulfilled?
We'll look at verse 10.
Again, that's later on.
Some of your translations might say later.
The Lord spoke to Ahaz.
And this is what he says.
Do I have the right text up here?
Yeah, again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz.
Ask a sign of the Lord your God.
Let it be as deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
But Ahaz said,
I will not ask.
I will not put the Lord to the test.
And then the Lord says through Isaiah to the king,
here then, O house of David,
is it too little for you to weary men and women
that you weary my God also?
Now, there's lots of things
which are very, very curious,
you know, about this text.
Some of you, your ears might have pricked up.
Or if you look up there again,
look at verse 11 again.
It says,
Ask a sign of the Lord your God.
Let it be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.
I've had many, many, many, many, many people
over the years tell me
they're not a Christian
and at a very, very low time in their life
they ask God to give them a sign.
And they've said that if you just give me a sign
and I know you exist,
then I'll believe in you.
And they'll tell me,
and I asked for that
and I asked very, very sincerely
and nothing happened.
Like, if God wants me to be a Christian,
why didn't he give me a sign?
Like, I've had many, many, many people tell me that.
And many Christians as well
have asked over the years
for some type of a sign from God
and often nothing happens
when they ask for a sign for God.
And so there's a very, very curious thing here,
isn't it?
That here God actually says to the king,
I'm going to give this,
I'm going to give you an opportunity.
Ask me a sign
and I'll give you the sign
so that you know that I exist.
And then it's really funny
because Ahaz says,
no, no, it sounds very, very pious.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
I'm not going to ask you
of a sign of you, Lord.
And it sounds very pious.
But then there's this surprising response
where the Lord, through Isaiah, says,
why are you wearying me
and wearying men?
Like, why is it
that Ahaz's pious response
makes the Lord angry?
And that's because
there's something significant.
And if you read
the other different historical accounts,
you know what it was
as to why it is
that he didn't want to give,
ask the Lord for a sign.
It's because
the king of,
the king, Ahaz,
has already made a deal
with Assyria.
In other words,
even though the Lord said,
you don't have to worry,
the invasion is going to happen,
and even though
Ahaz could see
that the invasion didn't happen,
and even though
he starts to have
a bit of a sense
of Assyria attacking Syria
because he would have had
spies and messengers,
even at all of those times,
he doesn't believe the Lord,
even though he's Jewish.
He doesn't trust his word.
He doesn't believe his prophet.
He says,
I'm going to solve
this problem myself.
And what I'm going to do
is I'm going to take
a whole pile of money
and I'm going to go to Assyria
and I'm going to offer
to be their vassal
so they don't invade me.
And so Ahaz
has put his faith
and trust
in power politics.
He's put his faith
and trust
in his ability
to manipulate events.
He's put his faith
and trust
in having Assyria
as his Lord.
And now,
Isaiah goes ahead
and asks Ahaz
a very, very, very,
very uncomfortable question.
You see,
what happens
if Ahaz
asks for a sign
and the Lord
keeps his word
just like he kept
his other word
and actually gives the sign?
And then the fact
of the matter is
that he has not
trusted the Lord before,
that he's given
a whole pile of money
to Assyria,
that he's put his faith
and trust
and hope
in Assyria,
that will come out.
And it will come out
in a very awkward way.
Like, you see,
what would actually happen
if Ahaz had asked
for a sign
and had come?
Does that mean
he's going to go back
to Assyria
and ask for the money back?
Is he going to have
to reveal
to everybody
that he's made
Israel,
Judah,
a vassal state
of Assyria?
He doesn't want
a sign to be true.
Because a sign
to be true
would actually
screw up his life.
Now, I can't speak
for all of you
who are here
and there might be
very many of you
who are here
who have asked
the Lord for a sign
and the sign
didn't come.
But I want to just say
a couple of things
about it
if we just want
to be really honest
about it for a second.
Like, first of all,
there's a very,
very general problem.
Let's say
that you were
in a plane
going up north
and a storm comes
and the first blast
of the storm
knocks out your radio
and it drives you
way, way, way
and you know
that you're
with the pilot.
He lets you know
you're being driven
way, way, way,
way off course
and then finally
the plane succumbs
to the storm
and there's a forced
landing in the water
and in the process
of the forced landing
in the water
the plane is destroyed.
You're battered
and bruised
but you survived
the plane crash
and you're able
to swim
even though it's in
you know
the late spring
or something like that
and the water is cold
you're able to swim
to shore
and you huddle
on the side
you had some
waterproof matches
you make a fire
and you just worry
about how long
you'll have to
be there on this
piece of land
before some help
will come
and you're there
for 24 hours
you're there
for 36 hours
you don't want to leave
and nothing's happening
and so you make
some type of a sign
you think to yourself
well you know
who knows
we could be stuck
here on this beach
and if we maybe
just walked a couple
of miles
like maybe somebody
even lives
a couple of miles away
and it would be so dumb
just to be here
on the beach
when there's help
just a little while away
and so you make
some type of a note
on the side
so that if rescuers
do come
they could see
that you'd been there
and you start going along
and everything you see
just lets you know
that the island
is completely
and utterly uninhabited
but all of a sudden
you come to a spot
right by the water
and you see
two stones
on end
and on top of it
you see a stone
and on top of that
you see
another stone balanced
and on top of that stone
you see another stone balanced
five stones balanced
now what every single
one of us would know
is this
human beings
have been here
human beings
have been here
because who other
than a human being
could have five stones
so clearly set
and balanced
on top of each other
and designed
we would all know
that that was created
by human beings
that human beings
have been here
and instantly
your hopes
would be lifted
that this isn't
maybe a completely
and utterly
unvisited island
up in the north
or a piece of land
that maybe if I keep
walking along the beach
I'll find the kids
who did it
or the teenagers
or the adults
who did it
or maybe I can just
trust that fairly soon
there'll be some hunters
or some fishermen
or something like that
who are going to come here
but a second you see
five stones
just five simple stones
by the water
you instantly know
that human beings
are here
you instantly know
that every one of us
would know that
well how can
how
how is it
that we look
at the universe
how is it
that you look
at a cell
which is vastly
more complicated
than five stones
balanced
how is it
you look at
DNA
which is vastly
more complicated
than five stones
balanced
and don't see design
how can that be
and if you
as a human being
can look at the
all of the miraculous
things in nature
and how it's so
unbelievably
interconnected
in ways
that the adaptation
of genetic changes
can't account
just everything
from the gravity
the atmosphere
everything about
human life
on this planet
just screams
design
and how could
God give you
a sign
if you can't
see design
like how would
that work
and that
that fits in
with an even
deeper problem
how in many ways
even though
we're
2800 years
2900 years
after Ahaz
there's still
something
very very
very serious
in our lives
you see
the fact
the matter
is
is that
if Ahaz
had asked
for a sign
and God
had given
them the sign
then that
would just
mess up
his life
because the
last thing
you want
is an
untamed
God
messing around
in your
affairs
you see
the fact
the matter
is
is that
when a
person
asks that
God
would give
them a sign
so they
would
believe
and I'm
not
maybe
you're
all
different
for those
of you
who've
gone
through
that
but I
think
for many
many
people
they do
it
knowing
that it
will
fail
so they
can say
people like
me
to people
like me
why doesn't
God give
me a sign
that I
will
believe
and I
think
that often
many other
people
even though
they might
on one
level
be emotionally
very very
distraught
and they
might on
one level
really think
they want
a sign
from God
that will
help them
to know
that he's
real
and exist
and you
have to ask
yourself
is that what
you really
want
like if that
happened
does that mean
you're going to
tell all of your
friends that you've
become a Christian
does that mean
you're going to
tell your
family that you've
become a Christian
does that mean
you're going to
change your life
as if the
Christian faith
is true
like do you
really think
you would do
all of that
stuff if the
sign was
answered
and I
think many
times
we don't
actually want
to have
anything like
that happen
we're actually
sort of almost
relieved that
God doesn't
give us a sign
and then we
have a reason
for unbelief
and for many
of us if we
even had the
sign it would
just be one of
those curious
things that we
would talk
about over beer
with our
buddies
but that there's
in fact a deep
part of a
human being
that doesn't
want God to
give them a
sign
and is quite
happy with
having eyes
closed to
design in
the world
so God
goes ahead and
does something
which is very
surprising he
says well I'm
not going to
you didn't want
to choose a
sign I'm going
to give you a
sign and
here's where
we're going
to wrap
up with
this very
just brief
examination
of what the
sign actually
is look
at verse 14
therefore the
Lord himself
will give you
a sign behold
the virgin
shall conceive
a bearish
son and
you shall
call his
name
Emmanuel
and you
shall call
his name
Emmanuel
now the
word for
virgin
usually means
virgin but
it can
also mean
young
maiden
and I'm
not going
to read the
rest of the
stuff that
goes on with
the rest of
the context
of it because
we just need
to sort of
focus in on
this it's very
interesting that
the rest of the
prophecy and
most of the
other prophecies
in the book of
Isaiah it's very
clear how they
were fulfilled in
this time this
would be one of
those things that's
even said in a
very very odd
way it said in
Hebrew you're not
sure whether in
Hebrew it should be
translated in the
present tense or the
future tense but
it's very very
telling that about
250 years after
this Jewish
scholars were
translating the
Hebrew Old
Testament into
Greek and the
Jewish scholars
would have looked
and seen all of
the different ways
that the book of
Isaiah had been
the prophecies had
been fulfilled and
fulfilled and
fulfilled but when
they came to this
particular one they
would have said to
themselves that
we've never
particularly seen
how that particular
prophecy was
fulfilled and
therefore it's
something that
still has to be
fulfilled in the
future and they
understood that it
was referring to a
virgin which is how
it's translated into
Greek which is how
it makes it into our
New Testament but
it's a very very
very very interesting
prophecy that a day
will come when a
virgin while remaining
a virgin will give
birth to a baby boy
and he will be
known as Emmanuel
which means God
with us
God with us
and Christians
believe that an
angel came to
Mary and asked
Mary on God's
behalf whether she
would be willing to
be that virgin
whether she
remaining a virgin
would be willing to
let God do a miracle
within her womb so
that a baby would be
born and Christians
believe that Mary
said yes to that
and then because
Joseph understood how
babies are made
was going to divorce
his fiancee
and so an angel came
and spoke on God's
behalf and spoke to
Joseph and made
clear that in fact
God had done a
miracle within the
womb of Mary
and that that
which was in the
womb of Mary
that little
zygote
was actually God
himself coming to
live within
among us
and the reason that
Christians believe
that anything like
this is true
is all because
Jesus changes
everything
I mean those are
just weird stories
and most of us
would just discount
them
but the thing
which is so
unique and
powerful about
Jesus
I talk about a
little bit in the
blog which is in
your bulletins
today
is that Jesus
lived a very very
particular type of
life
where he did
undeniable miracles
even as enemies
and opponents
even the pagan
writers who wrote
about Jesus
afterward
acknowledged that
Jesus is a man
who was supposed
to have performed
miracles
and he comes
and he predicts
that he's going to
die a death by
crucifixion
he predicts he's
going to die a
form of death
that he can't
control
he could have
said I'm going
to kill myself
or I'm going to
jump off of a
cliff or something
like that
but actually predicting
that he's going to
die in a way that
only the Roman
authorities can kill
him is part of his
prediction
and he predicts
that he's going to
die by crucifixion
and he predicts
that he's going to
rise from the dead
and he says that
my prediction of
my death by
crucifixion and
my true and real
resurrection will
vindicate everything
that I have said
it'll vindicate who
I am and what I've
come to do
and there is very
very very very
very large and
significant evidence
in fact if there's
one thing which
even the most
skeptical
atheist
scholar accepts
is that Jesus
died by crucifixion
under Rome
and there's very
very very strong
evidence
that Jesus really
did rise from the
dead on the third
day
and if a man
is able to
predict such a
thing and in
fact rise from
the dead
surely he's a
man who's
completely and
utterly trustworthy
to listen to
and so it is
completely and
utterly valid to
believe that
Jesus in fact was
the fulfillment of
this prophecy made
735 years earlier
that a virgin would
give birth to a
son and that he
would be God with
us and it's very
interesting because
one of the reasons
that we don't want to
have God with us is
we think that God
will mess up our
lives but the way
that we actually see
God with us isn't
the way that we
fear he would be
with us he's born
of lower working
class parents he
lives a working
class life he has
virtually no
possessions he lives
amongst a conquered
people he has no
particular academic
credentials or
beauty or wisdom
or power or
privilege that
would draw us to
him all we have
is the depth of
his teaching and
the insight into
human condition
all we have is
his miracles that
heal people and
deliver them from
demons and
deliver them from
sickness that give
people life and
purpose he comes
to people and
comes to us in
the midst of all
of the mess of our
lives and he is
with us in the
midst of normal
human life and
he's even with us
to the point that
we he himself said
that he would be
with us so closely
and so intensely
that the death he
dies would be the
death that we
deserve and
and that in his
dying the death
that we deserve
in a sense taking
upon himself the
doom that we
deserve he would
offer us the
destiny that he
deserves that he's
with us even to the
point of the evil in
our lives and the
failure of our lives
and he's with us
even to our death
and he's with us
he's with us
and he dies with us
that we might be his
children that he
might live with us
and this is how an
ending I'll circle
around to the
beginning of the
story
the fact the matter
is is we as a
church when we make
a budget I try to
remember it remind
the council this we
have the vaguest
idea in the world
how much money will
come in in this
coming year not the
vaguest I mean we
have some ideas about
trends and all that
but we don't know
we don't know
we can pray and
make the best
attempt that we
really can but you
see here's the thing
which is really the
most significant thing
about every single
one of us who wants
to know the future
who wishes that we
could know the future
who are the fact
have lots of
experience why about
things that will come
completely not really
out of the blue is
that for us as a
church what matters
is is that Jesus is
with us that every
single day that comes
before me is not a
day that I have to
live and try to deal
with all on my own
and that he knows the
future and that whether
there will be things
that come next week
next month next year
which are a very very
severe blow because
Jesus is with me
through faith I don't
face it alone
and the language of
God being with us is
not just a language of
him being with us just
to be with us but it's
also part of the
language of God having
a call for us
that God has a purpose
or a plan for us
and God is with us
Jesus is with us to
fulfill that purpose or
that plan and the
wonderful wonderful
thing about us is that
Jesus came and lived
amongst us to die for
us in such a way that
when we put our faith
and trust in him he
comes to live with us
again even in the
midst of whatever pain
we might have to face
whatever disappointment
we might have to face
whatever setbacks we
might have to face
whatever triumphs and
good things we might have
to face that he is he is
with us is he is with
us as part of us
entering into the fact
that God has called us
to be his children and
that when Jesus is with
us and we are with him
the final word about any
human being who is with
him is never failure it's
never disappointment it's
it's never loser it's
never hopeless it's
never any foul word that
when we are with Jesus and
he is with us we are with
him because God's call is
being made real in our
lives and in him the final
word about any human being
is welcome home child my
beloved child whom I love for
any person in Jesus that is
the final determinate word about
you and with Jesus we can live
and face the things that come
our way day by day knowing that
he will never abandon us and
that he is with us so that
that call that final word about
us can become more and more
real in our lives as we are
gripped by the wonder that Jesus
is with us as Savior and Lord and
friend I invite you to stand
for any single one of us for those of
us who are in Christ it's a very
very appropriate Sunday morning to
say Jesus help me to know that you
are always with me make the gospel
more and more and more real to me
make those final words that God will
speak over me more and more and
more real to me so that I am able to
face the things which I need to face
today and tomorrow and the day after
that and the day after that make who
Jesus is so real to me and what he did
for me so real to me and those final
words so real to me and his presence
more and more real to me that I
might live each day well in light of
that and if you were here and you've
never asked Christ into your life
there's no better time now than just
in your own words to say Jesus I want
you to be with me I want you to be
with me as my Savior I want you to be
with me as my Lord I want you to be
with me in my plans I want you to be
with me in all my undertakings and not
just be with me as a pet or an
adornment but to be with me as my
Savior and my Lord there's no better
time than today to just say that to
Jesus in your own words Jesus be with
me as Savior and Lord and because of
this prophecy 735 years before the
birth of Jesus that a virgin will be
give birth to a son and his name will
be Emmanuel which means God with us it
means that God gave a sign that he
wants to be with you and if you say to
Jesus be with me he will never say no and
if you think does he know what I'm like
the answer is yes
if you say how on earth could he want to
be with me if he really knew what I was
like then all I can say is he made that
prophecy 735 years into the future he
knows perfectly all about you and he
God would not make any promise like that
if he did not want to keep it he kept
that promise and he will keep the promise
to enter into you and to be with you he
will keep that promise he will never say
no he will be your Savior and your Lord
let's bow our heads in prayer
father we've seen the glory of the dance
we've heard the glory of the music we've
heard Andrew Peterson saying that Jesus
is worthy we've heard of your scripture
we've heard of your promise we've heard
of this spectacular prophecy that you
would cause a miracle within the womb of
a virgin so that a boy would be born and
that he would be known as God with us and
we have been told how he comes to be with
us not to punish us not to destroy us not
to unmake us but to actually die our death
for us that he is with us even to the
point of the evil in our lives and the
death in our lives to make us your child
by adoption and grace father we have been
told those things and we ask that the
Holy Spirit would move with might and
power and deep conviction within us that
we might be gripped more and more by the
truth of the gospel that every day we
will remember what your final word will
be over us when our days are over not
because of anything brilliant or wonderful
or powerful about us but because of
Jesus and that he is with us and he will
help us and guarantee that that call that
you have to come home and be with you and
know that we are your beloved child by
faith and adoption that that will be the
final word spoken over us father grip us
with the gospel that we might be gripped
with your final words about us when we put
our faith and trust in Jesus that we might
live every day and face every problem and
every opportunity in light of that profound
truth and all God's people said amen
you