Signs Of Christmas!

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

TEXT: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23, 2:1-15; Luke 2:8-20

Last Tuesday I turned on our TV to a Fox Network program, to find a panel celebrating the 3rd Annual lighting of their 50’ Christmas tree.

As some of you may know, it is a metal tree, & last year its decoration, beside its many colored lights, were made of brightly painted cardboard. Then during the week, somebody climbed up & set the cardboard decorations on fire.

Well, this year their tree is adorned with fireproof decorations. And they were also pleased that for the 3rd year they had set up & deco-rated their tree before the more famous & taller tree in Rockefeller Center. The Rockefeller Center tree this year will be 80’ tall & will be set up this Wednesday.

The TV panel then turned their conversation to the question, “When should Christmas music & advertising start – before Thanksgiving or after?” One panelist answered, “On the Sunday after Thanksgiving.” Another said, “During the first full week of Dec.” There were several other ideas, & then one panelist said, “On Dec.15th.”

Personally, I was surprised that nobody mentioned that some stores have “Christmas in July” sales.

And I’m sure that as you look around this week you will see more & more signs of Christmas. That is what I want us to consider this morning – “Signs of Christmas.”

God was in the business of providing signs from the very beginning. After the flood, when the rainbow appeared, God told Noah it was a sign that He would not flood the entire earth like that again. So whenever we see a rainbow, that sign reminds us of His promise.

Through Moses & Aaron God gave very dramatic signs to Pharaoh to force him to set the Israelites free. And in the wilderness during the next 40 years God provided multiple signs of His power & guidance & of His love for His people.

I. PROPHECY

A. He gave the Prophets (& later the Apostles) the ability to perform signs & wonders. Since God is in the business of giving people signs, it makes sense that he would give a sign when it came to the most important birth in human history.

Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child & will give birth to a son, & will call him Immanuel."

A prophecy is a foretelling of a future event. A Prophet was given insight regarding something previously unknown. The fulfillment of prophecy would be proof & a sign that God could be believed & trusted.

Sometimes a prophecy was fulfilled soon after it was made. Sometimes the fulfillment was hundreds of years later, like this one. This prophecy was written 700 years before it was fulfilled.

B. We are familiar with the angel telling Mary what was going to happen, & her response. But when Joseph found out Mary was pregnant, he thought she had been unfaithful to him. Then an angel appeared to him, assuring him that Mary had done no wrong.

Matt. 1:21-23 tells us the angel told Joseph, "She will give birth to a son, & you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins”

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child & will give birth to a son, & they will call him Immanuel” - which means, “God with us”. So both Mary & Joseph received signs that confirmed what they were told.

There are other prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus. When the Magi came to King Herod, they told him they were there to worship the newborn king. This disturbed Herod, so he asked the chief priests & teachers of the law where the Christ was to be born.

Matt. 2:5-6, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”

This prophecy is from Micah 5:2. Interestingly, there's an added line at the end of this verse in Micah that reads, "whose origins are from old, from ancient times." Some translations have, 'from eternity' or 'from everlasting' which raises the question, “How could there be someone coming in the future who has ancient origins?”

But it makes sense when you're talking about Jesus. His birth was not his beginning. It was his beginning in human form, but Jesus existed long prior - from the very beginning.

John 1:1-2 says, "In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” Okay, but how do we know that Jesus is the Word?