The Incarnation And Birth Of Jesus

Title: “Micah 5:2 The Incarnation and Birth of Jesus” Scripture: Micah 5:2

Type: Christmas Eve Where: GNBC 12/24/24

Intro: I Tim. 3:15 declares that the church is “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” If you notice we don’t sing “Jingle Bells” or “The 12 Days…” here. We sing “carols” about the most amazing event in history…the incarnation of God’s Son. I am not quite sure how in our society the Son of GOD has had to share top billing on His own birthday with a fashion and calorically challenged figment of Western culture’s imagination. I know that the story of Santa is loosely rooted in a historical figure and part of our Western culture, and that his appeal to parents is so they can leverage his appeal in an attempt to get temporary good behavior from their children. In many ways it’s a harmless myth, however, I have an even more fantastic story we should tell our children…and every word of it is true…that on Christmas we celebrate the birth of the Son of God who descended from heaven to earth, born a supernatural birth in a cattle shed, lived a sinless life and died a substitutionary death, and 3 days later raised bodily from the dead. And one of the greatest prophesies of this amazing event takes place in this one verse in OT book of Micah.

Prop: Tonight we’ll examine 4 important questions about Xst’s incarnation this one verse answers.

BG: Who was this prophet Micah? He came from near the border with Philistia, and preached during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (About 700 BC). He was thus a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. His prophecies are against both Israel & Judah. He prophesies both nation’s capture and the people’s restoration. The most important prophecy was the coming and reign of Messiah. Which we see tonight.

Prop: Let’s examine 4 important questions regarding Xst’s Incarnation and Birth in Micah 5:2.

1st Question: Who Sent Christ Forth? (“From you one will come forth from Thee”)

A. Micah 5:2 Informs us Xst Came forth by the Authority, Plan, and Purpose of God the Father.

1. I think the average Christian cannot comprehend the heart of Jehovah, when God the Father equipped the Son for this great cause of mercy. The Son left the Father’s Bosom. Illust: He was not a phantom. He was not an apparition. He was not a ghost. He took a human body which had the exact same biochemical composition as yours and mine. He had his own DNA. He had the same anatomy as any other human being, the same physiology. He had the same central nervous system; therefore, he had the same sensitivity to pain. His mother made the exact same contribution to Christ as her Son as any other human mother makes to the genetic input of her child; 50 percent of his chromosomes came from Mary, and 50 percent of the chromosomes were imparted miraculously in the creative act of the virgin conception

2. The Father pours all that He is by nature into the Son. In other words, the Father and the Son are identical in terms of the divine nature. Both (and Spirit) possess the full set of attributes that make God, God. The Son is sent by the Father, but this sending does not make the Son in any way inferior to the Father. 100% equal in essence!

B. It was the Heart of the Father that Equipped the Son for His Cause of Mercy.

1. The Father sent the Son. Every step of His life, every trial and temptation He experienced was part and parcel of the eternal, approving plan of the Father. When we speak of the incarnation, Jesus taking on flesh, we are speaking of an event that took place in time. At a particular point in history, God the Son—2nd Person of Holy Trinity— took on a human nature without subtracting from Himself any of His divine attributes (John 1:1–14). In Him the whole fullness of deity is pleased to dwell, and this will be so for all eternity (Col. 1:19–20; Heb. 13:8).

2. Illust: Keith Hartsell of Wheaton, Illinois, was driving with a friend of his when he noticed that his friend's cell phone was locked with an unusual password -- pro nobis. Keith asked him what it meant and why he chose that for a password. Keith's friend told Latin and it meant "For Us," and then he suddenly started choking up. Keith thought, "Why would those two Latin words cause so much emotion?" His friend composed himself and explained went thru time of emotional pain and found true healing when he learned that God is "for us" – pro nobis. Keith's friend said that after his parents' divorce, he entered a season of depression, contemplated suicide, when he assumed that God didn't care or that God had given up on him. But he finally found hope through those two simple words -- pro nobis (for us).