Declaring Messiah! Series

SERMON BRIEF

Date Written: December 8, 2012

Date Preached: December 9, 2012

Church: Oak Park BC (AM)

FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS

Series: Approaching the Manger

Title: Declaring Messiah!

Text: Isaiah 9:2-7 [NLT]

Introduction:

Have you seen the latest commercials from Samsung about their newest phone? Samsung pokes fun at the iPhone users and the iPhone itself. For those of you who have not seen the commercial... They show a long line of people outside of a store, waiting for what they believe will be the ‘next big thing’…they never talk about or mention the iPhone but it is Samsungs biggest rival...

In the line we see all the people on their phones and they are talking with each other about how wonderful the next big thing is going to be…

One talks about how the headphone jack is going to be located at another place on the phone…and you see people waiting with great anticipation for the phone they just HAVE to have!

Then there are some OTHER people who don’t have iPhones… they begin to do things with their phone that looks interesting and cool… and it catches the attention of the iPhone users!

They say things like ‘what is that?’ or ‘what were you doing there?’ And then the tag line for the commercial is that ‘the next big thing’ is already here and it is their phone… and NOT the iPhone!

They ridicule the iPhone and their users making it look as if they are waiting on something that is never going to get there… waiting on a product that will never be as good as their phone!

The prophet Isaiah declared thousands of years ago about the ‘next big thing’ and the coming Messiah, and the Jews believed that the ‘Messiah’ was the next big thing, but when Jesus was born in Bethlehem they simply could NOT see Jesus as ‘the big thing’

You see the iPhone users in this commercial represent those who have a taste of who Messiah is supposed to be… and they are anxiously awaiting Messiah to come!

When Jesus comes… they simply cannot grasp that the ‘next big thing’ is here! Jesus IS Messiah and he has come!

The prophet Isaiah tells us in 9:2-7 [NLT]

4For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. 5The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. 6For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

This morning I want us to take a look at what Isaiah had to say about Messiah and see how he declared the coming of Jesus in his prophecy about Messiah!

MESSIAH WILL BREAK THE YOKE OF SIN – v4

4For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

The Jews taught this to generations of their people, but the teaching was focused on a MAN who was going to deliver Israel out from underneath the yoke of oppression… a physical deliverance as a nation!

But Isaiah’s words are about the burden and yoke of sin in this broken world. Messiah will be the one to deliver this world from the bondage of sin is what Isaiah’s message is about, not how a man will deliver his country out of slavery…

Jesus came to earth for ONE purpose… we find Him telling us what that purpose is in Luke 19:10 when He says, “10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Jesus came to save us from the sin of this world… a sin we are trapped in and cannot escape on our own!

The oppressor in this verse is Satan and his stronghold on this physical world… Jesus came and broke his stronghold on this world! Jesus brought redemption and deliverance for those in this world of sin and separation from God!

Jesus the Messiah came and broke down the stronghold of the oppressor… Satan! And in turn offered another destination… another outcome to their life! No longer bound for destruction, but now with the hope of eternal redemption because the power of sin has been broken!