Please turn with me in the Old Testament to Isaiah chapter 7, Isaiah 7 as we read together the first 17 verses, verse 14 serving as the text tonight, and also we will read a few verses from Matthew 1, 19-23. Isaiah 7, the first 17, and then Matthew 1, 19-23. Hear now the Word of God. When Ahaz, son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King King Rezan of Aram and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it. Now the house of David was told, Aram has allied itself with Ephraim. So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out, you and your son, Sheir Jeshub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool on the road to the washerman's field. Say to him, be careful, keep calm, and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. Aram, Ephraim, and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin, saying, let us invade Judah, let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves and make the son of Tabil king over it. Yet this is what the sovereign Lord says. It will not take place. It will not happen. For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within 65 years, Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. But Ahaz said, I will not ask. I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said, Hear now, you house of David. Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father, a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah, he will bring the king of Assyria. In Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 through 23. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, But before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and 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 and will give birth to a son and they will call Him Emmanuel, which means God with us. Christmas time. It's upon us once again. You can't miss it, can you, beloved? Decorations both inside and outside of houses and buildings. Parties, office parties, work parties, school parties, maybe even a bonus, we can hope. Family gatherings, buying and selling of gifts, fudge, cookies, peanut butter balls, those things, you know, that we save for only this time of year for whatever reason that may be. And don't forget programs in school and, of course, in church here tonight, the Lord willing, a little later. But what's it all about? What's it all about? Now, boys and girls, you say, well, that's easy. It's about the birth of Jesus. We celebrate His birthday. Yes, that's true for us as believers. We sing, Away in the Manger, No Crib Before a Bed. We sing, O little town of Bethlehem. We sing, Hark! The herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn king. What child is this? We sing them. And as well, even though much of the world doesn't believe in Jesus, yet, you know, for some, the story of Jesus' birth may be, for them, a quaint little story that they still tell at Christmastime. Along with that other familiar one, was the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring. Not even a mouse. Maybe they mixed the two. But the question is still the same. What's it all about? Christ's birth, what's it all about? It's about the greatest gift. After the angel came to Joseph in the dream, Matthew's inspired record includes the words as we read verses 22 and 23 of Matthew 1. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us. Now there are a number of different ideas about Isaiah's prophecy, which of course we know took place hundreds of years before Christ's birth. Who was the child that Isaiah was talking about? Some say that this was referring to King Ahaz's son, King Hezekiah. Others say that Isaiah was talking about his own son, yet to be born, whom he called Meher Shalal Hashbaz. One of those nice names. I'm glad we didn't have that for baptism this morning. It would have been difficult. But there's problems with these, you see. That means speed the spoil, hasten the booty. Not God with us. So others say that this child refers to both someone at that time, like Isaiah's son, who then was a shadow of the Messiah to come. Maybe. But you see, when we consider all the theories, none of those theories have any good support. In fact, there is more evidence against them. But Matthew 1, verse 23, I believe, says it all. It makes it clear that Isaiah was clearly looking forward to the one announced to both Mary and Joseph. You see, we come to Isaiah 7 from a different perspective than even Isaiah himself because we come to it from the perspective of its fulfillment. And blessed we are, beloved, blessed we are to be able to look back through the spectacles of Scripture, boys and girls, the eyeglasses of Scripture, to see the beauty of God's promises fulfilled. Which gives us confidence that all of God's promises will be fulfilled. And as we consider this episode in Isaiah 7, we need to first take note of the announcement of the gift. Now the setting here is both sad and amazing. It's sad when we consider the wickedness of King Ahaz and then amazing that God should even bother to mercifully deal as He does with this wicked king. Ahaz was the king of Judah, the small southern kingdom. He was in David's line. Now chapter 7 verse 1 summarizes what we find in both 2 Kings 16 as well as 2 Chronicles 28. In those chapters you find the history of Ahaz and the kingdom at that time. Some details included in one, other details included in the other. But really, chapter 7, verse 1 summarizes what we find recorded in those two chapters. The kings of Syria, also called Aram in our passage, and Israel, also referred to as Ephraim, join together and make an alliance with the goal of destroying the monarchy in Judah. You see, beloved, this is yet another instance in Old Testament Scripture where we see the seed of the serpent trying to wipe out the seed of the woman, and trying to destroy it. The Messiah was to come from David's line, yet this alliance had the goal of stopping that line and putting the son of Tabeel, possibly a Syrian, on the throne of Judah. In other words, God's promise of a Messiah was in jeopardy. And it's clear that Ahaz and his people were scared stiff. They were shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. In other words, they were terrified. And it's into this situation that Isaiah is sent with a message of comfort and deliverance for wicked Ahaz. And Isaiah is even told to take with him his son, Sheir Jeshub, whose name alone was a sign of God's promise. It means, a remnant shall return. But the word of the Lord through Isaiah to Ahaz was basically, don't worry. It's not going to happen. Syria and Israel will not succeed. Their fire is gone and they are only smoldering stubs. But Ahaz wouldn't believe it. And the mercy and patience of God is illuminated as the Lord says to Ahaz in verse 11, Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. And notice, wicked man doesn't seek for and come to God, but God condescends to man. But what an invitation. Say the word, Ahaz. What will it be? The whole universe is at your disposal. Any sign you want, and it's done. Ahaz responds in verse 12, I will not ask, I will not put the Lord to the test. Sounds pious, doesn't it? Especially since in Deuteronomy 6, verse 16, it says, Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massa. Indeed, it sounds pious, but don't be fooled, beloved. It's not pious at all. It's not as if Ahaz was saying, Okay, okay, if you're going to go that far, Okay, I believe, I believe. You don't have to twist my arm. You see, to ask for a sign would not have been testing God because God commanded him to ask for a sign and he outright rejected the command of God. He outright disobeyed. But this is no surprise because Ahaz didn't believe. He was indeed wicked. Bible history tells us he burned. He sacrificed his children in the fire. He sacrificed to idols. He closed the temple of God. He sent the silver and gold found in the temple to Tiglath-Plazer, king of Assyria. Why? Because that's who Ahaz went to for help in his time of trouble. He was commanded to find his hope in the Lord. Proverbs 3, verses 25 and 26 says, Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared. You see, beloved, the sign, the sign that Ahaz was commanded to ask for was to be for his benefit. It was designed to convince him of the truth of the word of the Lord. That sign was intended to be an aid to faith. To a true believer, the sign would be a confirmation of and serve to strengthen his faith. That's also the blessing of the sacraments, isn't it? To confirm the gospel message, the word of God. To nourish and strengthen the faith of God's people. But Ahaz refuses because he is faithless. He knows what the Lord requires of him. But he chooses to lean on his own understanding instead of trusting in the Lord with all of his heart. Ahaz demonstrates a complete lack of trust in the power of God and in the faithfulness of God to stand by the word of his prophet Isaiah. Beloved, faith shows itself in obedience, But unbelief manifests itself in disobedience. But the Lord gets the last word. Isaiah speaks again, this time in essence, to the whole kingdom of Judah. And he addresses them as you, house of Judah. And in that phrase alone, Isaiah reminds them of God's covenant promise with David. The Lord had said to Nathan the prophet concerning David in 2 Samuel 7, Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me. Your throne will be established forever. You see, the threat from Israel and Syria was a threat against the truth of God's Word. And Ahaz himself rejected the promise of God to David's line. Sure, they were terrified, but not because they were worried about God's promise. Not because they were worried about the line of the Messiah. Ahaz himself showed his disregard for the promise of God and by doing that he was questioning the nation's hope for a coming deliverer. But that could not stop God. And once again, God himself would give a sign that would confirm his promise to David and this sign would be a rebuke against Ahaz for his unbelief. Yet at the very same time, it demonstrated the mercy of God in giving a most wonderful promise of the Messiah during the time of this most wicked king. Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel. And as Isaiah announces God's sign, he announces the greatest gift. A special gift. Born of special circumstances for a special task. And all of this becomes clear in the meaning of the gift. Now they would have understood the meaning of the name Emmanuel. God with us. They would have understood that meaning. And it might not have been such a surprise to them as we'll talk about in just a few moments. The idea of God being with them. But the entire sign was meant to show that this wasn't just a special name given to an ordinary child. but that the child to be given this name was himself no ordinary child. Now the New International Version leaves out a very important word from the Hebrew which most versions include. The word translated, behold. Behold, the virgin will be with child. That word was used to grab their attention. To let them know that something important was about to be said. It was to announce something of unusual importance and significance. In this case, this child would be a significant child. This child to be named God with us would Himself be the one true God. And Isaiah confirms this in chapter 9, verse 6, calling the child born, the Son given, mighty God. And the fact that He would be born of a virgin would be proof of this. this sign would be a human impossibility. Ahaz had the universe at his disposal. Pick a sign, Ahaz. I doubt he ever would have thought of this one. Of course, there's debate. There's debate about the Hebrew word translated as virgin. That it can refer to simply a young woman of childbearing age and not necessarily mean sexual purity. and other arguments added in there. But you know, beloved, after all of the arguments are given, after they're all laid out on the table, E.J. Young says in his commentary, of the different words Isaiah could have used, only the one he used unequivocally signifies an unmarried woman. As well, the fact that she will name him a task and honor that was reserved for the Father. Points to the truth that very simply no man, not even in an illegitimate sense, would be involved in the conception and birth of this child or he would have been conceived and born in sin. Therefore, he could not have been God. Now, as hard as this kind of sign would be to believe for people at any age, once again, I believe the Word of God makes all of this clear. As we read in Matthew chapter 1, before they had come together. And Mary says to the angel in Luke chapter 1, how will this be? Since I am a virgin. The angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Now again, beloved, we look at this from our perspective some 2,000 years after the coming of Christ. Yet what an awesome announcement for Ahaz. Yet what a shame that he didn't believe. He did not need to fear the alliance that threatened him because God would not forsake his promise. And at times of crises, God was always present with his people. And this is why I think the name Emmanuel, God with us, would not have necessarily been a surprise to them. In Genesis 26, during the time of famine, Isaac went to the land with his family. He went to the land of the Philistines. And God said to him, Stay in this land for a while and I will be with you and bless you. And after Jacob left home, in a dream at the place that he would then call Bethel, God said to him, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you. And we also read in Scripture that the Lord was with Joseph and the Lord was with Joshua and the Lord was with David. In Isaiah 43, we know those comforting words that the Lord says to His redeemed. When you walk through the fire, when you go through the flames, I will be with you. The promise of God with us is to remove all of our fears. When Moses was standing by the burning bush trying to get out of the task to which God was calling him, God said, I will be with you. And it turned out for him that God's presence was so precious to Moses that later on, after the golden calf incident, when the Lord told Moses to take the people and go up to the land flowing with milk and honey, knowing how angry the Lord had been with the people, Moses says to the Lord, if your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. He knew that it would be better to be in the barren desert with the Lord than to be in the land flowing with milk and honey without Him. But when Isaiah says the Virgin will call Him Immanuel, God with us, he wasn't just saying that God would be with the kingdom of Judah simply by delivering them from Syria and Israel. He wasn't saying very simply that God would be with him in the same way that God promised to be with Jacob and Isaac and David and Moses and so forth. He wasn't just saying that God's feeling of comfort and encouragement and peace would be with them or that God's strength would simply be with them. But when this child would be born, God Himself, very God of very God, would be with His people in the flesh as He would become a man and live on this earth among men. And boys and girls, Jesus Christ was the greatest gift because as the true God and true man, His coming as a baby born in Bethlehem meant not only that God had kept His promises to send the Messiah, but that only this Messiah was the one who could save us from our sins. Only this Messiah was the one who could remove all the fear of our true enemy, Satan. The one who hovers over us to attack us. Yet even in our day, it's hard to fully comprehend the beauty of this chorus. God with us. Think about it. The Creator became one flesh with the creature He had made. And the One who is from everlasting to everlasting became fixed in time for a time. The One whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain because of His immensity contained Himself in a human body. The One who named the stars and provides food for all creatures and to whom nations are as dust on the scales depended on the nourishment from His earthly mother. It cannot be fully comprehended. It's indeed a mystery. It can only be believed by faith, by the grace of God. But what condescension? What love? What salvation? God with us to do for us that which we desperately needed but we couldn't do for ourselves. Man sinned. And therefore, man had to pay. Man had to satisfy God's wrath and anger. But he had to be perfectly righteous and holy. And therefore, God took it upon Himself to redeem the One made in His own image, yet who had rejected that glorious privilege. He came in the likeness of the same sinful flesh that had offended Him. That He might be with us. and demonstrate His love for us and save us. Oh, beloved, does that name, Emmanuel, charm and warm your heart. Because God is still with us until the end of the age, Jesus said. And God said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Emmanuel has sent His Holy Spirit to take up residence in our hearts, to comfort us, to guide us, to protect and sanctify and preserve us and one day to glorify us. Is that your comfort? If it's not, if God is not with you, then you are lost. You are in trouble and like Ahaz, you have no hope and you better be looking out over your shoulder for the enemy. But to those who turn to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, He says, no one will snatch you out of my hands. You are mine. you belong to me I will always be with you the deliverer has come and those redeemed by his blood have the confidence that that in any and every situation of life where wherever they might be their comfort is that God is with them in the middle of the desert where there is no water and where no vegetation grows God is with them at the bottom of the deepest darkest ocean which is a mystery to man, God is with them. When life seems hopeless and there are no friends to be found and my heart feels empty, yet God is with His children. You see, if God is not with us, our worship is empty and meaningless. Our preaching is in vain and our living for Him is a waste of time and our prayers fall to the ground. But Isaiah's prophecy was not just empty words of vain hope, but words of fact that have come true. And we know that they are true by the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. His coming is to convince us of the truth of God and His saving grace. We don't believe in fairy tales. We don't chase after false hopes. But God with us, beloved, points to the new heavens and the new earth where John in Revelation says that God's dwelling is with man and He will live with them forever. Because of Emmanuel, God with us, our confidence is if God is for us, who can be against us? And the answer is simple. No one. And we can sing with confidence, I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless. Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness. I triumph still if thou abide with me. The name Emmanuel is a terror to Satan. Did you ever think about that? The name Emmanuel is a terror to Satan because God with us means that His doom is sure. We are more than conquerors through Emmanuel. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God, which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's what it's all about. God with us to fulfill His promise of salvation. Boys and girls, our celebration is not for nothing. It's not a waste of time, unless Jesus Christ is not our reason for the season. Indeed, as we look around at the decorations and the signs of the season all around us throughout town as we hear the call to bring toys. For example, for the Marines, Toys for Tots program to help those who are less fortunate. That's not a bad thing. I'm not saying that at all. But it's sad to know, you see, when you think about that, that so many do not realize that it's not a toy that brings true hope. But it's the only message of Jesus Christ. The greatest gift. It becomes so clear this time of year that many are ignorant and lack an understanding of God with us. But may we celebrate rightly. May we understand the truth of the words we sing as we sing of the angels glorifying God and praising Him for the newborn King. And it may be that in all of our celebrations that those who witness us see that in Him we live and move and have our being and ours is indeed the confidence of Emmanuel, God, with us. And in us may they hear the call to come and worship Jesus Christ, the King. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we confess that we cannot and do not understand the full impact of God with us. Jesus Christ come in the flesh. Yet we understand by Your grace the saving purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ. Coming to do that which we could not do, which we so desperately needed to be done for us. And Father, therefore, our hearts rejoice. And indeed, we sing out glory to the newborn King, to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Oh, Father, bless our celebration. Indeed, may it be that our focus would be right and true and that every day throughout the year we would celebrate your presence with us every passing hour for the sake of Jesus Christ. Emmanuel, God with us. In His name alone we pray. Amen.