“All I want for Christmas is a Savior”
Micah 5:1-2 and Isaiah 7:14
It is hard to imagine that Christmas is now less than a day away. Technically Christmas will arrive in about 6 hours. It’s now past that time when people ask the question-hey-what do you want for Christmas?
I read this week about one woman who wanted to go out and buy gifts for all of her friends but she quickly realized she just didn’t have time or money so she thought – I will just send them all a card. So she bought a box of 50; used almost the whole box and mailed them to all of her friends. She liked the picture on the front of the card so she didn’t even take time to read it … thought-this is perfect so she quickly signed them, with all my love, signed her name and dropped them in the mail.
Two weeks into the new year she happened to come across the box of cards-had a couple left and she picked one up and read it a bit closer-she was shocked when she noticed the printed message inside which read: “this Christmas card is just to say, a little gift is on its way.” So she had sent a card to nearly 50 friends and family promising a gift without even realizing it. It’s very easy to make a promise but promises can be very hard to keep.
In the OT there were many prophecies that were written down and these prophecies are like promises. They both tell us that something is going to take place. Over 300 prophecies were given to us in the OT concerning the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And every single one has been-has been fulfilled.
Men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah and many others wrote down prophecies; promises of a Messiah who would come to earth. And if we could somehow go back and ask them a simple question at this time of year-hey what is it you as a prophet want this year-I think their answer would be simple-all I want this year is for our Savior to be born. I’ve been waiting so long and I’m ready for Jesus to arrive. But none of them would see it in their lifetime.
It’s hard for us to imagine what it was like to live in those days. We live over 2000 years after the birth of Christ-many of them lived over 1500 years before the birth of Christ. We look back. They were looking forward. And this birth they promised would be the most unique birth to occur in all of history. Think briefly with me.
1. There are actually no recorded prophecies concerning the birth of any other religious leader in history. Not Mohammed. Not Buddha. None. Zero. Yet there were many written in the OT about Jesus our Messiah.
2. Jesus was born of a virgin. That had never happened before that time or since. Only happened once. And will never happen again.
3. Jesus had no control over the place of his birth. We don’t either. My parents lived in Wilson, Arkansas when it’s time for me to be born. So where do you think I was born? Jonesboro. No hospital in Wilson. We don’t have control over these things. But the prophets predicted the place of our Savior’s birth nearly 1000 years ahead of time and said it would be in a city where they Mary and Joseph would not even be living.
Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth yet they traveled almost 100 miles on a donkey. Can you imagine? 9 months pregnant---hey Mary let’s go for a ride on a donkey! If anything would put a woman into labor I would think that would. But God was in control of these events.
My wife and I have four children. When we were expecting children we chose, each time, not to know the gender of the child beforehand. We both wanted to experience the surprise. So we had boy, boy, boy, girl. And we were never disappointed. Often people will say to me, hey pastor, guess what, were expecting a baby boy... Now they’re not prophets; the mama just ask to have a scan at the doctor’s office. The scan was the evidence.
But now if the father could predict whether the child was a boy or girl and the exact date they would be born and what hospital they would be born in that would be amazing but it is possible.
But what if they could tell you the exact time, place and circumstances before the woman was even expecting --- now that would be a miracle. And what if they could know all this 1000 years before? We would say that was impossible. And yet it happened. And the prophets knew that it would.
Anne Graham Lotz has written a book but before I tell you the title I want to tell you a bit about some things that were happening in her life…In a two year period:
• She published 2 books and wrote a third.
• Produced a 7 volume video series.
• 3 of her children got married in 8 months btw.
• Her husband’s office burned to the ground.
• Her son had cancer and had surgery and treatments.
• She cared for her parents Dr. Billy and Ruth Graham.
• Her mother was hospitalized 5 times.
She said but I don’t want to escape, I don’t want sympathy, I don’t want to quit, I don’t even want a miracle…she said Just give me Jesus. Just give me Jesus because He is enough. Do you have Him? And do you realize that Jesus is enough?
