“ANTICIPATING OUR MESSIAH”
Isaiah 7:14; 9:2; Micah 5:2
FBCF – 12/8/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Sermon bump video – “That He Gave”
About 700 yrs before that actual event happened, the OT prophets, Isaiah & Micah, were told by God to let the world know to anticipate that something special would be happening one day.
Late 70’s, Heinz ketchup came out w/ a commercial that showed how long it took for their thick ketchup to come out of the bottle. And by the way, Heinz ketchup is really the only ketchup anyone should ever use! In the commercial, an elderly grandmother & her granddaughter were sitting on a porch, trying to enjoy a hamburger together but couldn’t get the ketchup out of the bottle. The granddaughter held the bottle poised over a juicy hamburger while Carly Simon sang her song, “Anticipation, anticipation, it’s making me wait.” Finally, the thick liquid came out of the bottle for them to enjoy together.
Anticipation is what characterized the words of Isaiah & Micah. They let the people know that something special was coming.
- That something special was a lot more important than ketchup. That something special would change everything for everyone
- In fact, that something special came into the world to give His life to save the very people in that commercial – Nedra Volz (the grandmother), Carly Simon, Casey Kasem (narrated the commercial), the little girl, & everyone else who was involved in producing that commercial & everyone who has ever watched that commercial!
- That something special was some-ONE special & His name is JESUS!
Christmas is a time of waiting & expectation; of wonder & preparation; of watching & anticipation. Truthfully, a large part of our lives as Christ-followers is spent in preparation & anticipation.
- Our short time on earth is a time of preparation to spend eternity in heaven.
- It’s a time of excited anticipation of just how awesome our eternal home is going to be.
- Not just sitting around twiddling our thumbs as we wait. Not like we’re just sitting in a spiritual waiting room flipping through old People magazines.
- Our waiting & anticipation is an active waiting & anticipation as we use our time on earth to help others get prepared to meet Jesus in heaven, too. We work as we wait. We proclaim Jesus as we prepare to see Jesus.
- And even now, we anticipate that this Jesus who has come into the world is going to work in someone’s life today in this place. Is it YOUR life? Is this the day that you are going to give your life to Jesus & be saved? Is this the day that you are going to renew & recommit your life to Jesus & start walking in obedience to Him again? Is this the day that you are going to respond to His call on your life – the call to missions or ministry? Is this the day you’re going to join this church FAMILY?
- We come into this place week after week in anticipation & expectation that the Savior of the world is going to meet w/ us & change our lives for all eternity!
And that is our application point for this message today!
APPLICATION – Because Jesus came into our world & is alive today, we should anticipate His work in our lives today.
3 POINTS OF ANTICIPATION ABOUT JESUS:
ANTICIPATE HIS PRESENCE – Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel.”
The prophets of the OT were men who were called by God to deliver His message to the world. Sometimes they were called “seers” b/c God gave them the ability to see things from a spiritual standpoint. Came from different backgrounds, spoke to different audiences, & possessed different styles of communication.
But one thing was clear about all of them: They were to communicate God’s message clearly & accurately. One prophet stated in 1 Kings 22:14, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell [the king] only what the Lord tells me.”
Clear, accurate communication is so important. Vicki is listed in my contacts as “Vicki My Awesome Wife.” Once said to Siri, “Siri, call Vicki my awesome wife” to which Siri replied, “Which one? You have 8.” You gotta be clear!
Prophet Isaiah was very clear when he stated that there would be a virgin who would have a baby boy, & his name would be “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” I could just park right here the rest of sermon! LOVE this name for JESUS! Isaiah spoke these words to the people of God in a time of great tumult & trouble. They needed to know that God has not abandoned them & that there was still hope for them. His clear message to them was that hope WAS coming to them, not temporarily, but eternally. Jesus, the everlasting hope for the world, would be WITH THEM forever! Immanuel was coming! He came for them, & He has come for us. He was w/ them, & He is with us! His presence is:
- INTENTIONAL – “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign…” – Not a random act or nature or coincidence, but an intentional act of God. Right here today in this room, God is intentionally w/ us!
- MIRACULOUS – “…the virgin shall conceive & bear a son…” – Don’t have to explain that to you, but that ain’t normal! It’s miraculous! His conception & birth were miraculous – His life, death, burial, & resurrection were miraculous - & His presence w/ us in our lives today is miraculous - & one day, His return will be miraculous where will be will ALWAYS be in His presence forever & ever!
- LIFE-CHANGING – “God w/ us” is simply a life-changing truth. His presence is w/ us now no matter what we are facing:
o Death of loved one? IMMANUEL!
o Sick child? IMMANUEL!
o Cancer diagnosis? IMMANUEL!
o Marriage struggles? IMMANUEL!
o Addiction kicking your tail? IMMANUEL!
o God calling you into ministry/missions? IMMANUEL!
o Need to be saved? IMMANUEL!
ANTICIPATE HIS POWER – Isaiah 9:2 – “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
The presence of God in our lives means we also have the power of God in our lives. You can anticipate that.
Light has power. More specifically, GOD’S light has power!
- Power to dispel darkness from our lives – Every one of you deer hunters has a flashlight in your hunting gear bag.
o Psalm 18:28 – “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”
- Power to direct our lives – That same flashlight gets you safely out of the woods.
o Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp…”
- Power to identify our lives – Lights on airplanes identify them – Lights on boats in the reservoir – Lights on emergency vehicles (Don’t like to see those blue lights sometimes!)
o Ephesians 5:8 – “…live as children of light.”
- Power to reveal sin in our lives – Flip a light switch in a dark, old, abandoned house & watch the roaches scurry away, trying to get back to the dark places they love.
o John 3:20-21 – “All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” (NLT)
- Power to bring growth & life to our lives – Miracle of God called photosynthesis where plants use the light of the sun to grow
o 1 John 1:7 – “…if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
ANTICIPATE HIS PROMISES – Micah 5:2 – “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
God says: “I promise…”
- “…that this baby is going to be born in Bethlehem.” - & He was – a tiny town whose name means “House of Bread” – a fitting place for the Bread of Life to be born!
- “…that He’s going to be a great ruler.” - & He is – not over Israel alone, but over all the world. And He wants to be ruler of our lives.
o Philippians 2:9-11 – “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
- “…that He’s been around since before the beginning of time.” - & He was & will be around forever. Jesus didn’t begin in Bethlehem – He is the eternal God, the Son, 2nd Person of the Trinity, present at creation &, as Colossians 1:16 tells us, “…everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him.” (CSB)
And here are some other promises that are given to us today by Jesus – Immanuel – the Light of the World – the Promise of God:
- “I promise that I will save you.”
- “I promise that I will strengthen you.”
- “I promise that I will supply you.”
Which promise is for YOU today?
