Title: The Light of Christmas
Bible Book: Isaiah 7 : 14
Author: J. Mike Minnix
Subject: Christmas; Jesus, Birth of; Salvation; Jesus, The Presence of
Objective:
Introduction
A great, grand, and glorious prophecy was made by Isaiah 750 years before Christ was born. This prophecy, as stated in our text, is a confirmation of the authority and validity of scripture.
This prophecy came at a sad time in Judah's history, becaue their king, Ahaz, was a weak-kneeded, watered-down leader. Uzziah was his grandfather, Jotham was his father and both of them had been good men. Ahaz. however, filled the holy city with idols, revived worship of Molech in Valley of Hinnom, and sacrificed his own son to the idol god. The nation of Judah had become so wicked that Syria and Samaria plotted to attack and Ahaz did not turn to God in repentance but rather turned to Tiglath-Pileser, who was the wicked king of Assyria, for help. Tiglath-Pileser had proclaimed himself deity and had given himself the title "kings of kings." Ahaz bowed down to him and made Judah his slave, even giving him the gold and silver from the temple and closing the temple to worship. God sent Isaiah to Ahaz to tell him to ask for a sign and that God would grant him any sign he asked for, and God was doing this in in order to show his willingness to save the nation. Ahaz refused to ask for a sign because of his pride and hypocrisy.
The Lord spoke through Isaiah anyway and gave him the words found in 7:13-14. Part of this prophecy was contemporary but a portion of it was futuristic. The "you" in the prophecy is plural and thus is directed to the entire house of David and to all of us as well.
At this time of year, when houses and stores are brilliantly lit with the lights of Christmas, let’s look back to see the light over the manger and the Light who was laid in it! All the way back to the time of Isaiah, the Light was promised.
I. A Light Pointing to His Leadership for Us
What is a sign? A sign points the way, identifies and/or confirms something. We use them all the time on our highways. We cannot live without them. Church signs, business signs, warning signs, and others are everywhere.
A man was walking down the road one day pushing a baby carriage and talking out loud. "Be calm, Albert," the repeatedly said. "Now, now, Albert," he moaned. A fellow came along and heard the man referring to Albert, so the stranger looked in at the baby in the carriage and said, “Hey, Albert!” The man pushing the carriage said, “His name is not Albert, my name is Albert! His name is Harold." The exasperated father was simply talking to himself as he attempted ot take care of his son Harold!
We can be so confused by evidence that seems absolutely clear, but God is never fooled by what is said or done. He can lead us, and He does lead those who trust Him implicitly. We can’t trust what we think we see, but we can trust the One who knows the present, the past and the future in absolute perfection. Jesus came to lead us and that thought alone is a bright light for us in this dark world.
Note that Jesus is preexistent – He has always existed. Thus, the virgin birth is a sign. The lord Himself, in the manger, is the sign. Why did God send a choir to sing on his birthday? Why did he put a star over Bethlehem? Why did he send out his birth announcement 750 years before he was born? All of these were signs so that we might not miss Him! Signs point the way so that we do not become lost, and Jesus has numerous neon lights in history pointing to Him as the Light of the world.
I read somewhere years ago about some boys who painted white lines off a curved California highway. Later than night a family came driving along that road and followed those lines and drove directly over the cliff to their death. It was a prank that went terrible wrong. That family was killed by having false lines leading them in the wrong direction. There are many today who are doing all they can to paint lines on the road of life away from Jesus. To follow those false directions is to drive off an eternal cliff. God has done great things to be sure that you don’t miss His Son.
Note something else the light of Jesus does for us...
II. A Light Pointing to His Love toward Us
There is no possession of an earthly nature more precious than our children. Recently I saw a couple on television whose baby was stolen from the hospital and they were pleading for his return. They were willing to give anything to get their child back alive.
Think of this fact: God had one Son, the glory of heaven, and God gave Him, Jesus, for you and for me!
Ahaz, the evil king of Judah, sacrificed his son to the pagan God Molech, an idol god. The Living God gave his true Son on a cross at Calvary so that we might have life eternal.
Above all else we can say that God’s gift of His Son was an act of love - preeminent love. The light of heaven shown on that first Christmas was a sign of God's love for you and for me. This is not a love that we deserved, in fact we deserved the judgment of God. Yet, HIs love is so profound that He was willing to pay the ultimate price for our redemption and ransom.
John 3:16 is so familiar to us that we can easily miss the significance of it. It begins with, “God so loved…” Without that love the fact of sending His Son does not exist. The salvation available to sinners is because of God’s amazing love. "God so love the world..." The world! The entire world and all who are in it - have ever been in it - will ever be in it! There is none so high in this world that he or she is exempt from needing this love, and there is none so low that he or she is eliminated for that love. The is none so good that he or she does not need God's gift in Christ, and none so awful and sinful that they cannot receive God's love in Christ.
When we read Luke 15, and there we see a parable that has only one purpose – to show us the love of God for the lost. The lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost prodigal and even the elder brother, are helpless without someone coming for them or someone being available to them. Without His love we would never come to God – He first loved us and only then were we able to respond to it. "Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me!"
When we see the light over Bethlehem is a light of love shining on the evidence that God means it when he states His love toward us, but consider yet another truth...
III. A Light Pointing to His Link with Us
"Immanuel" - God with us. How amazing, how wonderful and how personal is God's desire for us to know Him through His Son! Jesus came to be among us, to live a holy life for us, to die on a cross in our place and rose to assure us of an eternal home. In other words, God did not just desire a relationship with us here on earth but sent His Son to give an eternal relationship with Him to those who repent of Sin and trust Jesus by faith.
Some years ago I was playing near Atlanta, Georgia and was teamed up with a man I had not met before. As we talked, I asked what he did - what was his area of employment. He told me that he had been a scout for the Atlanta Braves. Along way in our round of golf, we talked about some of the players he had found for the team. They are names every Braves fan would know. What an amazing time I had listening to a portion of his life story. Isn't interesting to meet and spend time with famous people? We all seem to feel privileged to do that. Yet, think of the greatest Friend you can ever have - Jesus! He came to be WITH you! God did not send an angel - He sent His one and only Son. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He comes to dwell in us and promises to take us to dwell with Him in eternity. I cannot describe the joy of that - but, then, if you are saved you know that of which I speak! Immanuel - God with us.
One day you and I are going to die. A famous man was dying as a friend stood by his bed. The dying man said, "You know, this is so strange. I know people die, but I thought their might be an exception in my case." No, dear friend, there are no exceptions - "it is appointed untio man once to die and after that the judgment." Ah, but there is Someone to go with you through that valley. There is only One who can go with us through the valley of the shadow of death - that is Jesus. No earthly companion can accompany us on that journey. There is only one who can and will go with us - Jesus our Lord with meet us at the Jordan and take us over. That is the promise He has given us. He will never leave us nor forsake us!
Some years ago a lady named Iva Burgess, the mother of one of my church members, was at the point of death. Her family was standing by to comfort and aid her. Suddenly, the mother took the hands of her daughters and said, “Come, go with me.” Thinking mother was simply confused, one daughter asked, “Where are you going mama?" The mother answered, "To heaven." Then, in surprise and delight they asked, “Can you see heaven?” Mom replied, "Oh yes, I can see it and it is beautiful!" As they told me the story tears were in their eyes and my soul was soaring. You see, when you trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He will not leave you – especially in the hour of death. You can be assured that Jesus will meet you at the crossing of the Jordan! He is Immanuel – God with us!
Conclusion
There is the story of a woman who had a baby on a train years ago. She became sleepy and asked a man sitting across from her to please wake here when the train came to the next stop because she did not wish to miss her station. With that, she fell fast asleep. Sometime later the man shook her saying, "Ma’am, the train has stopped; you told me wake you." The lady wrapped her baby in a little blanket and stepped off the train a few minutes later into the snow that was on the ground. Just then, the train began to move. You see, the train was not at a station but had stopped to clear some snow from the tracks. The woman screamed but no one could hear her. The man who woke her was mistaken and did not know it. They found the woman and her baby frozen to death hours later.
You must be sure that you are listening to the right voice. There is the voice of God found in His Word and whispered by His Spirit in your heart. It is the voice of true leadership and love. You must follow the correct sign. God has placed lights in history to point directly to the One way for us to be saved and to live with Him forever. All the signs point to JESUS! Turn from sin and link your life to the Savior. He will not never lead you to the wrong stop in life or eternity.
