The name of the message today is prophecies of Christ's coming. Prophecies of Christ's coming. Our Lord, it said in Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, that our Lord came to save his people from their sins. Listen to this verse in Matthew 1 21. And she, that's being Mary, shall bring forth a son. And thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall. I love that little word. He shall save his people from their sins.

And now turn, if you would, to Matthew 27. were presented by the Holy Spirit of God the time when the Lord Jesus Christ saved his people from their sins. How did he do it? By the shedding of his blood and the giving of his life before God as our perfect spotless lamb. My, he's the great substitute of God's people. Bearing our sins now remember as I said in Sunday school this this is real This really happened What we believe is not just something in history that somebody made up this is real God became a man

Now let's stand up. We're going to read together verses 45 to 50 of Matthew chapter 27 And remember, I read in Matthew 1.21, for he shall save his people from their sins. Let's stand up and read where he did that. Matthew 27, starting in verse 45, going to verse 50.

Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. That is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there when they heard that said, this man calls for Elias. And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink. The rest said, let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

And what did he cry? It is finished. And notice he yielded up the ghost. I remember some commentator saying he could have hung on that cross for, he's sinless. He's sinless. He's bearing our sin. Says he gave up, he willingly gave his life for us. That's grace, isn't it? That's wonder. Oh my.

So today we'll look at seven Old Testament prophecies about the birth of Christ. and we'll see their New Testament fulfillment. Now, for some of us, we may have seen this before, but I believe we need to see it again and again and again. I really do. I really do. We need the scripture set before us, and we need to be in awe and wonder of what the scripture says, even if we've heard it a thousand times. Because I'll tell you what, I've read verses hundreds and hundreds of times, and then all of a sudden, poof, something comes off that verse and I'm just hopping up and down. I'm so excited. And I know some of you have that too. And it's wondrous, isn't it? It's wondrous.

As we looked at in the past Bible studies, the Bible is a book that transcends time. It transcends cultures. It transcends time, civilization itself. It goes all through. It goes over all of them. It transcends them all. This book is just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago, as it was when Moses wrote the Pentateuch and the Law, and when the prophets wrote their, it's just as relevant today. People say, well, that's an old book, and it was written by all these people. This is a book that God authored, and he used men. He used men. And the amazing thing, because God's the author, it all connects together. Isn't that amazing? Oh my.

Christ, who does this book reveal? Well, it's a hymn book, H-I-M. It reveals Christ. And we know that because on the road to Arimaeus, the Lord said to the disciples, those two disciples, he said, the law and the prophets, they testify of me.

I was talking to someone, he says, well, I don't read hardly any of the Old Testament. And I started going through with him the pictures of Christ. He's like, oh my gosh, that's amazing. I said, he's all through the Old Testament. He's all through. All those sacrifices point to our King. They all point to him.

And all those people who Christ saved by the shedding of His blood, when He offered Himself up before the justice and love and the wrath of God, were born sinners. And after they're saved, they're born again, they're given faith and repentance before God, and now they're called safe sinners.

We don't remarkably stop sinning, do we? after the Lord saves us. No, we keep, unfortunately, but you know what that does, beloved? I've been really thinking about this too. Luther used to call us, and you've heard me say this many times, he used to call us sinner saints, which means to be a sinner and to be yet be totally justified before God. We can't grasp that, can we? But it's the truth. We are still bonafide sinners, but now the difference is, now we know what sin is. Now we struggle with it. It bothers us now. My sin bothers me. It didn't bother me before, but our sin bothers us now. It grieves us, when before it didn't. We're new creatures now in Christ. We're born again by the Holy Spirit of God.

The things that we once hated, now we love. Did we love the gospel? No, I hated it before I was saved. I might not have said I hate that, but by my actions I sure did. And by telling people, making fun of Christians, I was sure telling, saying that out loud, wasn't I? But now, I love you guys. You're my family. And I consider the man that my family and I used to make fun of, I actually talked to him shortly after the Lord saved me and said, you're my brother, man, I love you. And I apologized for it. He didn't even know about it, but I still apologized to him.

See, so this is how we are. And now that we're saved, now that we're saved, we're sinner saints. Now think of that. We still sin, we still confess our sin, we still repent before God, don't we? Yeah. That's because we're new creatures in Christ. And yet, Brother Tom, God looks at us and sees Christ, and we're totally, he doesn't see our sin. So we're a saint of God, and yet we're still a sinner. Isn't that amazing? That's absolutely incredible, isn't it? But beloved, that's a fact. That's a fact. We are sinner saints. That's what we are. And Jesus Christ, our Lord, he saved us from all our sins. He gave us repentance before God. And now we're saved sinners.

Now the prophecies concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ are particularly awe-inspiring because they happened hundreds of years before Christ even came to this world. They leave us in awe. Well, the reason that they're true is because God, the Holy Spirit, had holy men pen these things down. And holy men, why were they holy? Only because they were in Christ. They're not holy outside of Christ, are they? Just like we weren't holy outside of Christ. That's what I mean. We're sinners, and yet we're holy before God. Isn't that amazing? It's incredible. It's incredible.

Now, the Old Testament prophecies span centuries, centuries. They were written by different authors, and they paint a vivid picture of the coming Messiah. Now, in the Old Testament, they said someone's coming. I've often said this. In the New Testament, it says he's come. So who were the Old Testament saints looking to? They were looking to Christ the Messiah. Right? Who do we look to? Christ the Messiah. He is the Messiah. He's the Savior of his people. Remember? He shall save his people from all their sins. My! And what leaves us in awe is that God saved us. That God saved us.

But Mark here the power of our sovereign God, that over centuries, decades, he had these men pen these words about someone who comes hundreds of years later. And they all point to one person, the Messiah, and the sent one of God. He reveals himself through the Gospels, and he really reveals himself in John 17, doesn't he? The high priestly prayer. Oh my.

But look at this. We'll look at seven specific Old Testament prophecies. The first one is over in 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel chapter seven. This prophecy is that the Messiah will be from the line of David. The Messiah will be of the line of David. Then put your finger in Matthew chapter one and Luke chapter three. So here's the prophecy. Here's the prophecy that the Messiah will come through the line of David.

See, God made a covenant with David that through, and we see through the prophet Nathan, promises that David's offspring will establish an everlasting kingdom. Well, we saw that in our reading and before the message, right? He's the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and his government will know no end. Oh my, look at this. 2 Samuel 7, verses 12 and 13. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy father, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom," what? Forever. That's pointing to Christ. The throne of his kingdom forever. is pointing right to our King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Now let's turn to the fulfillment in the New Testament. Matthew chapter 1, verse 1, we see here that the New Testament meticulously traces Jesus' lineage back to King David through both his earthly father, Joseph, and his mother, Mary. Look at this. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. My, oh my, there it is. And you can read, you can continue to read the lineage. And then look at over verse 17 of Matthew chapter one, a little further down. So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations. And from David unto the carrying away into Babylon are 14 generations. And from the carrying away into Babam, our Christ, our 14 generations.

Now I read something in reading this here, that Joseph, he's the earthly father, he's not, we know he's not Christ's father, but according to tradition, the firstborn would be the one who would be the heir to the lineage. Look at that. So even Joseph is of David. And so is Mary. Turn over to Luke chapter 3. Turn over to Luke chapter 3. We see in Luke 3, 23, Jesus began to be about 30 years of age, as was supposed the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli. Now, if you read that to the end, it'll take you right from David to Adam. Right from David to Adam. My, oh my.

So the fulfillment of this prophecy underscores Jesus' rightful claim to the throne of David. He's the promised Messiah. He's the long-expected Messiah. It solidifies his position as the one who was to come, who would establish an everlasting kingdom. Solomon didn't establish an everlasting kingdom, did he? No, he died like all the other kings. David died like all the other kings. But Christ's kingdom is everlasting. Isn't that amazing? And it includes Jews and Gentiles who are all one in Christ. All one in him by his blood and his righteousness. That's just amazing.

Now, we're gonna see the prophecy of the virgin birth. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter seven, and put your finger in Genesis chapter three, and then put your finger in Matthew one. Okay, I'll say that again. Isaiah seven, Genesis three, and Matthew one. Here we're gonna see the prophecy of the virgin birth. My oh my. And Genesis was written thousands of years before Christ came.

Look at this, Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name what? Immanuel, what our dear sister sang about. God incarnate in the flesh. His name is Immanuel, Brother Brian. That's the Lord Jesus Christ, eh? God in the flesh. Immanuel.

Now let's go back over to Genesis, chapter 3. And then put your finger in Matthew 1, as I was saying. So here's another prophecy, too, that Christ will be the seed of the woman. Look at this, Genesis chapter 3, verses 14 and 15. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and thus shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. Look at that. Oh my, her seed is Christ. Oh my, it shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel. Oh, look at that. The seed of the woman is going to bruise Satan's head. And only his heel, only his heel will be bruised. He crushed him. Christ crushed Satan at Calvary's cross. Now we're no match for him. We just cry for our older brother, don't we? The Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that amazing?

Now go to Matthew chapter one. Here we go. Here's the fulfillment. Look at this. Matthew chapter one, remember that's written years and years and years before the birth of Christ. Matthew chapter one, the scripture declares this. Verse 21, that we read before, "'And she shall bring forth a son.'" Oh, my. "'And thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.'" Now, that's never been said about any other man, because no man can save us. I can't save you, you can't save me, but the God-man can save all who come to him, can't he? Oh, yeah. That's why we say, flee to Christ. He's the only hope for sinners. the only hope.

Now this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which is interpreted God with us. then joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel the lord had bitten him and took upon unto him his wife and he knew her not and bought and she bought forth her firstborn son and she called his name jesus oh my perfect fulfillment perfect fulfillment

Now, let's go to Micah chapter five and put your finger in Matthew chapter two. And what we're gonna see here is another prophecy in the book of Micah about where Christ would be born. Again, this happened hundreds of years before Christ was ever born. But let us remember that the true author of the scriptures is God, the Holy Spirit. And Scripture will interpret Scripture, always. It's not our job to interpret Scripture. Scripture interprets Scripture. And we just proclaim it, don't we? And the only reason we know that is because God's showing us. Isn't that amazing? That's just incredible.

So look at this. In Micah, chapter 5, verse 2, We see the prophecy of Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah. But thou, Bethlehem, Ephra, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, just a tiny little place, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel. Now, that's ruler in national Israel, Right? Because he rules over all. And that's awesome. Ruler of the whole world. And ruler of the Israel of God. Right? Which is his people. He's our king. He's the ruler of his kingdom.

Oh my. Whose going forth have been from old, from everlasting. Look at that. He's the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. His goings are from everlasting. He's the Word of God. He's the one angels used to bow down before. Now they're doing it again. But before he came to this world, they were bowing down before him. And here he is, the one who's been set up as the Messiah from everlasting. The one who we were chosen in from before the foundation of the world. The Word of God. the Messiah, Jesus, who saves his people from their sins, does that which is impossible for us. But all things are possible with God, aren't they? And he's God in the flesh.

I'll never forget someone said to me, they said, you say God in the flesh too much. And I said, what? They said, you make it sound common. I said, well, you're gonna get tired of hearing it, because I'm gonna keep saying it. I don't think we can say it enough. He's God. This is remarkable. He's God in the flesh. God himself came to save us, beloved, from all our sins. And he did it when he gave up the ghost, like we read. It is finished. If it's finished, is there anything for us to do? Look unto me and live. That's all. We look at things all the time, don't we? Look unto Christ and live. He's the only Savior of sinners. He's the only one. Oh, if you don't know Him, if you're not looking to Him, I pray God will have you look to Him. God will give you grace to look to Him, because that's all He's done for you and I, beloved, isn't it? He'd given us grace to look to Christ. It's marvelous.

Now turn to Matthew chapter two. Here's Micah's prophecies documented in the New Testament in the book of Matthew. Look at this. Matthew two, verse one. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, there it is. Where was he born? Exactly where Micah said. Isn't that amazing? It's a fact. Right there.

But now, I'm sorry. Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? Now, did you see that? This is wonderful. He's king in heaven. And these wise men proclaimed that he's king already. And we know, don't we, Brother John? He's king right now. So there's never been a time when he wasn't king. And the king humbled himself to save his servants. Oh, my. That's incredible. That's what he did, though.

Look at this. He's born king, beloved. Born king of the Jews. For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled. And all Jerusalem with him. Now I remember an old preacher friend of mine said, it says all of Jerusalem was troubled with him. These men wouldn't have just come, however, we don't know how many there are. There could have been 10 wise men, there could have been two. We know there was more than one.

But these wise men, from what this preacher friend of mine used to say, they would come with an entourage, soldiers. Because if they came from the East and they traveled a long way, there's bandits, there's all kinds of stuff going on. These are wealthy men and they would have had armed soldiers, armed to the teeth with them to guide them through all these areas. No wonder Jerusalem was troubled. Here comes all these people, all these soldiers coming into Jerusalem with these wise men. You know, we see the pictures and there's just three guys. No, I'll tell you what, they came in, they were important people. They were wealthy people. They could afford protection. And you had to have it back then. So here, why would Jerusalem be troubled when they probably never even heard what the wise men said to Herod? They'd be troubled because all them soldiers coming in. Oh, it makes sense, doesn't it? Makes total sense.

When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests, so he's thinking, I'm king. I'm king. What are you talking about king of the Jews? I'm king. Oh, my. Pride, pride, pride. And when he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes, the people together, he demanded them of where Christ should be born. Now, Christ there is a Messiah. That's the Messiah. They knew the Old Testament scriptures. Christ is speaking of them. It's the Messiah. The Christ of God.

In verse five, and when they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea, for it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the princes of Israel, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. He rules his people, doesn't he? Oh, yeah, he does. Oh, and his banner is love. Everlasting love. His banner under me is love. It's what the bride says in Song of Solomon. Oh, my.

But we see in verse one, look at verse one of Matthew chapter two. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, it already happened. Exactly where Micah said it would happen, it happened. A governor that shall rule my people Israel. My oh my. And this all happened.

In the journey of the wise men, they were guided by a star. They were guided by a star. And it leads them to the very specific town that Micah talked about, Bethlehem. Look at verses 11 and 12 of Matthew chapter two. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, right? And fell down and worshiped him. And when he opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and mirth. So they didn't come to the manger, did they? You notice that? They came to where they were living. This is later on. Oh, my. When they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary's mother and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened the treasures and presented them gifts, gold and frankincense and mirth, And being warned of God in the dream that they should return to Herod, they departed unto their own country another way.

Now, something I want us to think about. Mary and Joseph were not rich people. They lived in poverty. They weren't wealthy. They were just common folks. But remember, our Lord's gonna say, you need to go to Egypt. Well, they wouldn't have the money to do that. Here comes God's provision, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Valuable commodities there. See God's providence providing for them? They can go to Egypt, live in Egypt, and they can come back when he tells them.

I marvel at those little things like that and how God provides for his people. He does it. We may not always see it, but He does. He provides for every one of us. He takes care of every one of us, beloved. Oh, it's amazing. We might not have what we want, but we always have what we need. Oh, isn't our God so great? I just get, I get so overwhelmed sometimes how good He is to us. It's just amazing.

Now, the fourth prophecy we'll look at is the prophecy of the messenger preparing the way. This is the prophecy of John the Baptist, preparing the way for who? For Christ. Oh my, turn if you would to Isaiah chapter 40, put your finger in Malachi chapter three, and then we'll go to Matthew chapter three. Isaiah chapter 40, Malachi chapter three, and Matthew chapter three.

We'll see here in the book of Malachi in verse one, Oh my, or in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 3, let's read that first. We see here, there's one who's going to come to prepare the way for the Lord. And the whole aspect I want to focus us on is for the Lord. He's the forerunner. He's going to tell folks about Christ. He's coming. The Messiah is coming.

Look at this. Isaiah 40, verse 3. Oh my. That's in Isaiah. That's hundreds of years before Christ ever come. And then look over in Malachi, chapter 3. Look at this. Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts." He shall come, right? There's no way he's not gonna come. We have to be safe from our sins.

Oh, and in the fulfillment of this prophecy, we see as in Matthew chapter 3, in verses 1 to 3, we find out the messenger is John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. Look at this. He's the prophesied messenger. Matthew chapter 3, that prepares the way for the Lord. Matthew 3, verses 1 to 3. In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent.

Well, you know, if you're given faith by God to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will repent. It's like the same side of a piece of paper, faith on one side and repentance. If someone doesn't have repentance before God and doesn't have faith in Christ, they're not saved. No, because the one who believes on Christ will repent.

And I'll tell you what, I'll ask you this question. I already know the answer for me. Do you repent every day? Oh, yeah. Lord, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Lord. Or have you ever had a thought come in your mind? You're like, oh, Lord, please forgive me. That's repentance. You know that? It's a change of mind towards God. We never would have cried out to God before we were saved, because sin didn't bother us. The scripture says we drank it like water. It's like picking up a glass and, oh, that's so good, putting it down. And you know, sin is pleasurable for a season, but all the consequences of it, oh my.

So we see the fulfillment right here. Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by Isaiah, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. And this prophecy was hundreds of years before Christ ever came and before John the Baptist was ever born.

And John's ministry was to pave the way for Christ, right? for Jesus' public ministry. And I love, I love, been talking to some guys about this verse, and I just, I've been chewing on it all week, all week long I've been chewing on it. And it's just so incredible, right? When John the Baptist sees Christ and he says, he must increase, but I must decrease. My, is that not what happens in our lives? We see ourselves, the Lord just makes us low to the ground, and raises Him up, and He's so beautiful, and He's so wondrous, and we see Him as our King, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, and He must increase, right? And we must decrease.

Oh, and that's what happens when the Lord saves us. He works that in us, beloved, by the power of God the Holy Spirit. He works that in us, and we see Christ as more glorious than we've ever seen Him before. And we see ourselves, we, now remember, and we were talking about this this week too, remember at the end of Paul's ministry, the end, he's just about ready to be offered up, he says, I'm the chief of sinners. Did he see himself as getting better? No, as you grow in grace, we see our sin more, but we see more the wondrous, the wondrous Lord Jesus Christ who died for my sins and saved me. And that's why we can say, John, he saved the rats like me. My, isn't it beautiful? So we're in awe and wonder of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his blood that redeemed us from all our sins. My, oh, my.

Now, the next thing we'll look at is the prophecy of the scepter and the star. I've not seen this one until I put this study together. So here we go. I've seen the star, but the scepter. Oh my. Turn to Numbers chapter 24. Numbers chapter 24. What does a king have? Well, they usually have a scepter. They usually have a scepter. And that, that's, remember that one, I think it was the Persian king, that if he, if he put a scepter forward and they touched it, you were allowed to talk to him. But if not, he could say, take her head off. My, oh my. See that in Esther. Book Esther. My, oh my. Look at this, in Numbers 24, verse 17. I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Seth.

Now, let's go back and we read Matthew chapter 2. I know we read this, but we're going to read a little further down. We're going to read Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 to 10. And here it is, the star pointing them. And when they say, who's born king? Well, the king holds a scepter, doesn't he? King holds a scepter. And our King holds a scepter over all the world and all the universe and all that is seen and all that is unseen. He's the King of Kings, and He's the Lord of Lords. He's the ruler over all things visible and invisible. His scepter is mighty, isn't it? Oh, my. Look at this, Matthew chapter 2 verses 1 to 10. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east, And remember, he's called the Bright and Morning Star, too, isn't he? Oh, yeah. And are come to worship him.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and hauled Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes and the people together, he demanded them of where Christ was born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet. And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art thou not the least among the princes of Judah? For out of these shall come a governor that shall rule all my people, Israel.'

Then Herod, when he had probably called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also."

What a liar. You know, he said that because he wanted to go kill Christ. because they called him a king. And he thinks, is this a king? And Herod being king, that would be a threat to his kingdom, wouldn't it? Oh, yeah.

And when they had heard that, and when they heard the king, they departed and lo, the star, which was they saw in the east, went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. This really happened, beloved. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding joy. Oh my, the Magi were guarded by a celestial phenomenon. Well, how's that possible? Because God's sovereign over everything? Stars are nothing to him. Just things he spoke into existence. How great is our God? How great is our God, beloved? How great is the one who saved us? We can't even fathom it. My, and they fall, that star, right to find the newborn King of the Jews. His name is Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins through his blood and righteousness, beloved. Mmm. My oh my. The appearance of the Star of Bethlehem and the journey of the wise men to worship Jesus validate the prophetic words of Balaam. The star and the scepter both symbolize the significance of Jesus' birth as a momentous event in the history of Israel and in the world because he's the ruler over all. All things. All things. He reigns with what? A scepter of righteousness.

Listen to this in Genesis 49.10. The scepter shall not depart from Judea, nor a lawgiver from the people, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. Who's Shiloh? Shiloh's Christ Jesus, isn't he? And unto him shall the gathering of the people be. He gathers all the elect to himself. Oh, my! Aren't you glad he gathered you? Aren't you glad he made you willing in the day of his power and gathered you to himself? I sure am glad. I'm sure glad. Oh, my. My.

The next prophecy, the sixth one, is a prophecy of a child born as a sign. As a sign. Again, Isaiah 7, 14 and Matthew 1. Isaiah 7, 14. We see here that his name is to be called, his name is Emmanuel. He's called that both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Hundreds of years apart. Look at this, Isaiah 7, 14. Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Here's a sign. People are always looking for signs. I was talking to someone about something, and they said, well, you know, the story of the ark wasn't real to me until I went and visited that ark. And I thought, I don't need to visit no ark to have that story be real for me, do you? It's real. I'm not saying bad about anyone who wants to go see that, go ahead. But just like I don't have to go to Israel and wander around areas where supposedly Christ walked that are now so Catholicized, I don't need to. See, the amazing thing about our faith is we believe in one who we've never seen. The world needs to see it to believe it. You ever hear that? You hear that, right, all the time. I gotta see it to believe it. We've never seen Christ. And yet by God's amazing grace, we believe on him.

But you know what? We're gonna see him as he is. We're gonna see him, beloved, in glory. We're going to see the lamb who was slain. We're going to see the handprints and the footprints, the holes, we're going to see it. We're going to see him. Now we see through a glass darkly, right? It's like looking through a, you ever have a film on your window? And you can see the shades, you can see the shadows of the trees, but the film prevents people from looking in, and it really prevents you from looking out too, right? You can still see the light, but it's all shadowy. Oh, but then, like I'm looking at you, brother Tom, and like you're looking at me, we're gonna see Christ. Oh my! All because of what he's done. We're gonna see him face to face. That's the wonder and awe of heaven, that Christ is there. that Christ is there.

Look at this in Isaiah chapter 7. Now go to Matthew chapter 1. Here's the sign is that a virgin gives birth. A lady who is never laying with a man And that which is in her is conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. My. Isn't that amazing? And he doesn't have a human father. Oh my. And how do we believe that? By faith, don't we? People in the world say, you're crazy. Oh no, we're not. I'm not crazy. God's given me faith to believe that. I'll believe it. Call me whenever you want, I don't care. I don't care. You remember, count it as a small thing when people judge you for believing this stuff. It's just, it's nothing. Pray for their souls. Pray for their souls. My, we don't know who God's elect are. We just keep praying for them.

Look at this. Matthew 1, 22 and 23, we're given the, We're given a sign. We see what the sign is. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophets, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and she will bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name what? Emmanuel, which is being interpreted, God with us.

So that tells us that Christ is God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And then further down in John 1, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. There it is, Immanuel. That's another one of his titles, isn't it? Immanuel, God with us. God, God himself. Born of a virgin. Conceived by the Holy Spirit of God and the scriptures actually says in Hebrews a body has now prepared for me All planned and purposed by God In eternity

The king is still a king but he's born a man then he dies for his servants and he's still king and He rises again as king, and right now we see that the right hand of the Father interceding for us, King of kings and Lord of lords. Not once did he cease to be king. Not one second. God died for us. This is truth. God with us. God died for our sins. Who made the law? God did. Who fulfilled the law for we who are His people? God did. Who is our Savior? God is. Who is our Redeemer? God is. Who is all our righteousness? God is. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Whose blood was shed to redeem us from our sins? God's blood. The God-man. Oh, my.

The name Immanuel encapsulates the profound theological truth that Jesus' birth signified God's presence among His people. He is the Messiah. He is the long-proclaimed Messiah come to save His people from their sins. He is fully God and fully man, and He is Lord of all.

So rejoice, beloved of God. Through the birth of Christ, God, become a man dwelling among us and accomplishing our salvation for us. We are now saved sinners.

The last prophecy we'll look at, there's many more, there's many more, is the prophecy of the suffering servant. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 53. The prophecy of the suffering servant. My, this is one of the most profound, profound portions of Scripture. Isaiah 53, we looked at it at the end of Sunday school, but we're going to tie it in with 1 Peter chapter 2, so put your finger in 1 Peter chapter 2 as well, where we see a proclamation of what happened. And remember, Christ is sinless. He's spotless. He's the Lamb of God. He's the just one dying for the unjust.

Isaiah 53, who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? See, the gospel has to be revealed to us or we'll never know it. For he shall grow up before us, before him as a tender plant, As the root of the dry ground, he hath no form nor comeliness. That comeliness is beauty in the Hebrew. And when we shall see him, there's no beauty that we should desire him. So he just looks like an ordinary man. He's born king, and he looks just like an ordinary man. There's no beauty in him that would have us desire him. He has despised and rejected a man, a man of souls and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. We didn't seek him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our souls. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. Put your name in there. Put your name in where it says our. Put your name in there, beloved, if you're one of the redeemed. He was praised for our inequities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. And then further down, it says that God's satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ. My oh my.

This prophecy provides deep insight into the nature and mission of the Messiah. See, he was on a mission. He didn't come to earth just to come see what the earth was like that he created. He already knew what it was like. He came on a mission. He's sent by the Father. In his life, this portion gives us a glimpse into the sacrificial life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a man of sorrows. Imagine being sinless and being in this world of sinners. He's acquainted with grief. He's despised and rejected by man. but he came to save his people from their sins.

And the servant, the Messiah, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, the text speaks of is a servant who would be despised and rejected by man. A man of sorrows, a man acquainted with grief. And this servant would endure immense suffering, suffering that we can't even imagine, paying for all our sins. And this is God in the flesh, though. How could God save a people that no man can number, the elect of God? How could a man do that? Well, because he's the God-man. He's God. How can one extinguish the wrath of God for all of eternity that was against us? How can one man do that? Because he's the God-man. He's Emmanuel. And think of this, God who gave the law, Brother Brian, fulfilled it in our room and place. He gave the law. We couldn't fulfill it, so he did it in our room and place. And in the penalty that was due us, he bore it all. And he cried, it is finished.

Now finished means there's nothing for us to do. Right? Chris, when you finish a construction, doing one of those tilings and all that, it's done, right? Yeah, when you say it's finished, there's nobody gonna touch it. It's finished. Christ said of the great work of redemption, he said, it is finished. In the Hebrew, or in the Greek, Tim James says, it means it is perfect. Perfect. Can't add nothing to perfect, can ya? And if we added something to it, now Chris, if someone went after you, after you had totally completed that, and someone went and started to try to fix something, they'd ruin it, wouldn't they? Yeah? Yeah? Man tries to put his own works in there, they ruin it. It's no longer grace.

Oh my. Isn't God amazing? So this servant, he would bear immense suffering, bearing the pain and sins of God's elect of all the ages, bearing the penalty that was due us, bearing the wrath of God that was due us, the eternal wrath of God. He was wounded and crushed and oppressed for the sake of his people, for our redemption.

Now turn to the New Testament, where we see the fulfillment of this wondrous prophecy. And we see it plainly connects to Isaiah's suffering servant with the life and ministry and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the gospel accounts portray Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of the prophetic description as Jesus Christ's crucifixion is documented in the New Testament, perfectly aligns with Isaiah's prophecy. Because he's the man of souls. And remember what he said in Matthew chapter 20? Remember what our king said? He said, the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Isn't that remarkable? The one who's worthy of all praise, the only one who's really worthy to be served, Says, I didn't come to be served. I came to serve. He's the suffering servant. He humbled himself before God to walk and live the perfect life that we never could. He endured physical torment. He endured ridicule. He endured rejection during his trial and his crucifixion. And the wounds that would be most heavy upon him was the weight of the sin of all his people, more so than any physical. Like I said, that which we couldn't see. And he paid the price and fall for our sins with his precious blood.

Look at this in 1 Peter 2. We see that the Apostle Peter also draws a close and clear connection with Isaiah 53 and Jesus in verses 21 to 25 of 1 Peter 2. For even here unto where ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Look at this. Who did no sin. Christ didn't do any sin, he didn't have a thought sin, he didn't have a word sin, he didn't have a heart sin, he didn't have a sin of going somewhere where he shouldn't have went, none. None. Neither was guile found in his mouth. Sinless. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. who his own self bear our sins, here it is, in his own body on the tree, here's the suffering servant, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed.

Peter's writing to believers, isn't he? He's saying, you were healed of your sin and the punishment and the payment of your sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. Ah, this is amazing. For ye were a sheep going astray. Oh, we saw that in Isaiah 2, didn't we? But are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. All because of the everlasting love of God. All because we couldn't save ourselves from our sins.

So marvel at these prophecies and their fulfillment in the New Testament. They point to one person, and there's many more. There's many more. You can go online, you can type in prophecies of the Lord in the Old Testament and fulfillment in the New. There's many more. It's just a scratch on the surface. Look at that. Prophesized hundreds of years come to pass when Christ was born. Hallelujah. What a Savior is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen and amen.