Back in the fall of 1969, I was
in college. Shelby and I had been married
just a few months. And I was working at a shoe store
in Winston-Salem. Several other men working in
the same store. The manager of the store started
asking me some questions during one of those long lulls when
there were no customers around. He wanted to talk about religion,
much to my surprise. And it quickly became obvious
that his object was merely to poke fun and ridicule. After
a brief exchange, he smiled a little sarcastically and said with a
snicker, surely you don't believe in the virgin birth, do you?
Of course, the other men were listening and they thought he
had been just brilliant. So they laughed with bravado.
And when the laughter subsided, I responded this way. As a matter
of fact, I do. I not only believe that Jesus
Christ is the virgin born son of God, I hang all the weight
of my immortal soul on that one fact. Either he was born of the
virgin, or I have no savior and he's a fake. I never saw any
of those men again. Shortly after that, I was transferred
to another store and Shelby and I shortly after that moved with
faith to West Virginia where I pastored for nine years. And
then after I'd been here a while, about 10 years or so, I got a
call from a fellow that I knew back in college, asked me to
come down to Little town north of Winston-Salem in Preach, a
little place called Germantown, North Carolina, up close to Mount
Airy where Andy Griffith and Gomer Powell were from. The first man to meet me at the
door after the service that night was my old store manager, Charlie
Kiger. Been 20 years or more since I
saw him, but I immediately recognized him And I recognized the smile
on his face. Only this time, there was no
sarcasm. He was smiling with joy, anxious
to tell me what the virgin-born son of God had done for him.
That's my subject tonight, our virgin-born Savior. Isaiah chapter
7, verse 14. Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Now put your Bible mark here,
we'll be going back to it, back and forth from here a little
bit. But in verse 14, we read, therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son. You might read it this way, a
virgin shall conceive and a virgin shall bear or bring forth a son. and shall call his name Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat,
that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good. The Lord God, during a time of
great difficulty for Israel, promised to send them a deliverer,
a deliverer who would deliver his people from their foes. And
he said to Ahaz, the king of Judah, in verse 11, Ask thee
a sign of the Lord thy God. Ask it either in the depth or
in the height above. But Ahaz didn't believe God. He refused to respond to the
prophet and say, give me the sign that God has given. Instead,
with a pretense of humility, with a pretense of righteous
indignation, he says in verse 12, I will not ask. Neither will
I tempt the Lord." As if he knew better than God what God would
have him to do. He said, I won't ask even though
God said it. And I won't tempt the Lord, for to ask aside is
to tempt the Lord. And then Isaiah replies in verse
14, therefore, since you won't ask, God's going to do it anyhow. Therefore, the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Butter and
honey shall he eat that he may know to refuse the evil and to
choose the good. Now hold your hands here. Put
a mark here and turn to Matthew chapter one, Matthew's gospel.
This is a prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ, that there'd be
no mistake. This is a prophecy of the virgin
birth of the son of God, our savior. We know that because
in Matthew chapter one, God, the Holy spirit tells us that
this deliverer who was promised by the prophet Isaiah is that
one who has spoken of here in Matthew one, the Lord Jesus,
our savior, Matthew chapter one and verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise. When his mother Mary was espoused
to Joseph, before they came together, that is before they were married,
she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Child that was from,
that was out of, that originated with the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph,
her husband, being a just man, a righteous man, Not willing
to make her a public example. Not willing to shame her, though
he thought she had done horribly evil. What a good man he must
have been. What a remarkable man he must
have been. Here's his wife. He's planning to marry just a
little bit. They've been engaged for a while
and she's pregnant and he knows he never slept with her. And
he has every right under law to put her away. To stone her
if he wants to. Have her brought before the elders
and kill her. Has every right under the law to do so. But rather
than shame her, this man sought a way to privately settle the
matter and get it taken care of without any embarrassment
to her more than was necessary. Verse 20. But while he thought
on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto
him. Not an angel of the Lord. the
angel of the Lord. Ron, the very God who's conceived
in Mary's womb, appears to Joseph in a vision. No limitations on
him because he takes on himself manhood. He appeared to him in
a vision and he said, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to
take unto thee Mary thy wife. For that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth the
Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, Joshua, Jehovah Savior,
Jehovah who delivers, Jehovah who redeems, Jehovah who saves. Call his name Jehovah Savior,
for he shall save his people from their sins. Call him Jesus
and do it for this reason. This one, the deliverer, he shall
save his people. They're already his people. He's
come here to save them and save them, he will, from their sins.
Verse 22. Now, all this was done. The reason
why all this conversation took place, the reason why the angel
of the Lord appeared to Joseph, the reason why he spoke thus
to it, all 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 being interpreted is God with
us. Here are four things. Number
one, Our text speaks of the virgin birth of the son of God. Isaiah
7, 14 tells us that God, the son, our Lord Jesus Christ is
none other than the virgin born son of God. None of us knows
the date of our Lord's birth. None of us do. December 25th
is just pulled out of the air by religious folks. And call this the birth of Christ. I hope you know better. Of all
the dates in the year when the Lord might have been born, December
25th is definitely not one. There's not one. Not a possibility
in the world that our Lord may have come here December 25th.
But this text does describe a glorious birthday. Mary's child was born
in a manger in humility. born in poverty, but never was
there a day of birth like this. His birthday was anticipated
by the saints and prophets for 4,000 years. People have been
looking for this day for 4,000 years, anticipating the day when
God would come into the world in human flesh, the woman's seed,
to crush the serpents in. All the Old Testament scriptures,
all the types, all the prophecies, all the promises pointed to this
day. God on this occasion hung a fresh
lamp in the sky, put a star in the sky to guide the way to the
Savior's place of birth. And then the angelic host came
down to this earth and sang his praises. Shepherds and wise men
came to bring presents to the prince of the kings of the earth
when he was born. Our text announces a glorious
birthday. Look at Isaiah chapter 9, Isaiah
chapter 9. It announces the birth of a man.
A man who is God, the eternal son, the savior of the world. Isaiah 9 verse 6, For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. As a man he was born, as God
he is given. As the son of man he is born
of the virgin's womb, as the son of God he is given through
the virgin's womb. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder. Now you read the commentators
and they'll argue whether it's talking about the Jewish government
or the government of the world. It's talking about all government.
It's on his shoulders. His shoulders are broad. He's
ruler everywhere. The government shall be on his
shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the
Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government and peace, there shall be no end. upon the
throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever
the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. The prophet's
language back here in chapter 7 and verse 14 speaks of a miraculous
conception. Behold, a virgin shall conceive. Our Savior was born of the seed
of woman. He was conceived in the womb
of the Virgin Mary by the miraculous intervention of God the Holy
Spirit. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth his son made of a woman. Made of a woman. Now we live in this day when
everybody thinks they can explain everything in this book. You
try that. Made of a woman. Without the
aid of a man. His holy body, we're told in
Hebrews 10, was prepared in the womb of the virgin. Turn there.
Hebrews chapter 10. Look at it. Hebrews chapter 10.
Had he not been born in our flesh, the Lord Jesus could have done
nothing to save us. He could never be our Redeemer.
He could never have saved us. God, in justice and in truth,
could never have forgiven sin except Christ be born of the
Virgin. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 4,
the blood of wild beasts could never take away sin. And it was
the sacrifices that were offered in the law were a continual reminder
of sin, never putting away sin. But there's one coming. of whom
all those sacrifices speak, who puts away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. Verse 4, Hebrews 10. It is not
possible that the blood of goats and calves, or bulls and goats,
should take away sin. Wherefore, when he cometh into
the world, he saith sacrifice and offering, thou wouldest not,
but a body hast thou prepared made. God, the Holy Spirit, prepares
a body, the exact kind of body necessary for Christ, our Redeemer,
to live for us and die for us and put away sin for us by the
sacrifice of himself. Isaiah's prophecy also speaks
of our Lord's humble parentage. Mary's highest honor as a woman
was her virginity. Still a high honor. The highest
honor any woman has by nature. It is true. She was of the seed
royal of David's house. But that didn't count for much
in her day. David's house was under Roman rule. It's kind of
like if she had wanted to brag about her, Joseph had wanted
to brag about them having royal ancestry. It'd be kind of like
somebody living in New York bragging that Shah of Iran was kin to
them. What difference does that make? He got no power. Her royal
ancestry, insofar as any kind of physical or political standing
was concerned, was nothing. Her royal ancestry points to
much with connection to the Savior, but it was no high honor to her.
It gave no special privilege to her, no power, no position.
Our Savior was born in poverty. He lived in poverty all the days
of his life, and he did so by his own choice. He came here
the son of a poor man and a poor woman and lived deliberately
in poverty, never owning a plot of ground, not even a tomb, never
possessing anything of his own. He had not where to lay his head
and live with perfect contentment as the son of God in this world. Oh God, teach us, teach us to
follow our Lord's example and count everything in this world,
nothing, nothing, nothing. He who was born in poverty has
come to visit the poor in spirit. He who was laid in that hard,
cold stone manger will come to our poor stony hearts. He who
humbled himself, who emptied himself, will be
the friend of humbled, brokenhearted sinners. Isaiah's prophecy also
speaks clearly of a divine election. Turn to Luke chapter one. Luke
chapter one, verse 26. There were lots of
virgins in the land, but God chose Mary. What's this? Luke 1 26. And in the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named
Nazareth to a virgin, a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph
of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came in and to her. and said, Hail Mary, thou
art highly favored. Do you know that's the very same
word that's used in Ephesians chapter one with regard to all
God's elect when it says we are accepted in the beloved. The
very same word. We are as blessed as the blessed
virgin, highly favored of God. This woman, Mary, was chosen
of God, just as we are. She was favored of God, accepted
in Christ her Redeemer, just as we are. The Lord God visited
her, just as he visits us. Mary had Christ formed in her
physically, and she had Christ formed in her spiritually, just
as we do. Mary was blessed of God for Christ's
sake. So are we. And Mary Rejoiced
in God her Savior look in verse 46 Luke chapter 1 and Mary said
my soul doth magnify the Lord My spirit hath rejoiced in God
my Savior Isn't that something? so much for Mariolatry So much
for those idiots who want to want to make Mary mother of God
and So much for those who would who would dare pray to Mary as
though Mary had some power. She said, my soul rejoices in
God, my savior, the God who was in her belly at the time. My
soul rejoices in God, my savior, you know. For he has regarded
the lowest state of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things, and holy is his name. And his mercy is
on them that fear him from generation to generation. But God's favor
upon Mary caused her great trouble in this
world. Do you know, Mary, it was obviously commonly
reported, in the eyes of the Jews all around her, was a woman
of ill repute. Do you remember how the Jews
spoke to the Lord Jesus in John chapter 8? Remember how they
spoke to Him? When He spoke about being the
Son of God, And he told them that they were not Abraham's
children. Do you remember what they said? We'd be not born of
fornication like you. That was the implication. We'd
be not born of fornication. You were, but not us. Not us. Mary's highest honor, her greatest
given honor such as no other woman in history was given. Jesus
Christ, God came in this world through her virgin womb. And
because of that, she was reputed a vile, despicable woman. And so it is with all God's people
in this world. God chose us, and God favored
us, and God's favor upon us will cause us trouble as long as we
live in this world. Our Lord said, in the world,
you shall have tribulation. Now, let's look at something
else here before we move on. Something here that's an astonishing
wonder. God's promise here is introduced
with the word, behold. Behold. I told you at the outset,
I not only believe that Jesus Christ is the virgin born son
of God, I hang all the weight of my soul upon this fact. But my hanging the weight of
my soul is really nothing. The God of glory hangs all the
weight of his glory and his majesty as God on the savior who is named
here. No man. No man could be so ignorant,
so foolish as to prophesy that a virgin would bring forth a
child. You just, you stop thinking about
that for a minute. I've seen some religious nincompoops in
my life write some religious tomfoolery and make some religious
prophecies that were beyond absurd, but nothing like this. I want you all to hear me now.
I've got a word from God. There's going to be a virgin
who brings forth a son. Do you reckon there was ever
a man born who would be so foolish as to make such prophecy? None
but God would make the prophecy. And none but God could bring
it to pass. The Lord God not only declares
a virgin shall conceive, he asserts that she shall be a virgin when
she gives birth to a child. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son. Not only is this woman engaged
to Joseph when the Holy Spirit forms the body of Christ in her
womb, But Joseph and Mary remain unconsummated in marriage until
after the Savior is born. So that Mary is still a virgin
when the Lord Jesus comes out of her womb. Reckon why? You ever do that later? Reckon
why? Turn back to Exodus chapter 13,
I'll show you. Exodus chapter 13. There's really no wonder,
no majesty, no mystery at all to say that the virgin conceives. Every woman who conceives on
the first occasion when she knows a man was a virgin when she conceived. That's no great wonder. Mary
was a virgin when she gave birth. Now that's a wonder. That's a
wonder. Watch this. No No possibility
that this prophecy in Exodus chapter 13, this law, which was
a prophecy, could come to pass any other way. When the Lord
God called Israel out of Egypt, He gave special command, saying
in verse 2, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever
openeth the womb, that's the firstborn, among the children
of Israel, Both the man and the beast is mine. But no child, male or female,
man or beast, ever opened the womb in birth. Never happened. The womb is opened in conception,
not in birth, except for one man. That man who is called the
firstborn among many brethren, that man who is the first begotten
of the father, that man who is himself the firstborn, Christ
Jesus the Lord, as he comes into the world, he says, a body has
thou prepared me. Lo, I come to do thy will, O
my God. Behold, a virgin shall bring
forth a son. And this son is God's firstborn. He's the preeminent one who has
all power, who has the right of heirship, who governs everything,
Christ the Redeemer. This is God's work. It has God's
stamp upon it. He who formed the first Adam
out of the dust formed the last Adam out of the virgin's womb. Behold, Jehovah's firstborn. He opened the womb. He opened
the womb of the morning, we're told in Psalm 110, verse 3, when
he stood forth as our surety in the eternal covenant of grace.
He opened the womb of the virgin when he came here to perform
the work he had agreed to. And he opened the womb of the
earth when he had finished his work and raised from the dead.
All right, look at verse 15, Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 15. Here's the second thing. Isaiah
uses very suggestive, figurative language to speak here now of
our Savior's holy humanity. Butter and honey shall he eat,
that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. Now that word, that, In verse
15, it should really be translated when, or but, or and, anything
but that. If you could figure out how eating
butter and honey will cause a man to know to refuse evil and to
do good, then you can soon make yourself real rich selling butter
and honey. The text should read, butter
and honey shall he eat, and he shall know to refuse the evil
and choose the good. Our Lord's eating butter and
honey suggested that he would be bored during a time of peace
in Israel. Butter and honey are things that
men don't normally make or gather when there's war going on. Eating
butter and honey Suggest also that our Lord comes here as a
real man to eat butter and honey Not a phantom not a not just
an aberration not just an appearance of a man But he comes in real
flesh and he eats butter and honey at a time when Israel in
her long history Had almost always been at war, but she's now at
peace though under Roman rule at peace spiritually the butter
and honey turn back to Psalm 45 Psalm 45 The butter and honey may have
reference to the grace that is poured into our Lord's lips for
his people. Look at Psalm 45 verse one. My
heart is indicting a good matter. I speak of things which I have
made touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men. Grace is
poured into thy lips. Therefore, God, hath blessed
thee forever. Butter and honey speak of the
grace then flowing out of him that was poured into him, interceding
grace, saving grace, preserving grace, cleansing grace. The next
sentence speaks of his perfect holiness as the God-man, our
savior. And he shall know to refuse the
evil and choose the good. This one who is man, God in our
flesh, came here being compassed of a woman, the incomprehensible
God whose center is everywhere and his circumference is nowhere,
is brought into a woman's womb and compassed of a woman as Jeremiah
said it would happen. Now he comes forth and he lives
as a man eating butter and honey all the days of his life, knowing
to choose the good and to refuse the evil. When Satan tempted
him in the wilderness, you remember after his baptism, Matthew four,
he was driven of the spirit. into the wilderness specifically
to be tempted of the devil. So that the very beginning of
his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus is tempted with all that
Satan might have in his usurped head by which he would tempt
the Son of God. He was tempted with everything
by which Satan tempts you. Tempted with everything by which
my heart is enticed to turn away from my God. Tempted by everything
that might grab me and pull me away from him. And he refused
the evil. Refused power. Refused riches. Refused honor. Refused adoration. He refused the evil and chose
the good. And it was in Gethsemane's garden One of the wondrous things that
I see about our Redeemer and his obedience is the fact that
he never had to obey or do anything. There are things he must do,
Darren, if he would save us. He must suffer and die if he
would save us, but he's Jehovah's servant. And the law of the bond
slave in Exodus chapter 25 says he can go out free whenever he
wants to. He can go out free whenever he wants to. Somebody
said, were the temptations in the wilderness real? More real
than I can imagine. He refused the evil, chose the
good. He comes to Gethsemane's garden
and anticipates being made sin for us. And his holy heart is
crushed in him. And you remember later he said,
I could ask my father and right now he'd send legions of angels
to come deliver me. You mean he could have gone out
anytime he wanted to, but he had to go out without his wife
and without his children. He said, father, if it'd be possible,
let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, thy
will be done. He refused the evil and chose
the good. Then third, Isaiah was inspired
to give us a special name, this very glorious name given to our
Savior. We are told that his mother would
call his name Emmanuel. Now, I challenge you, find any
place in this book Anywhere. Where his mother ever called
him Emmanuel. Find any place in this book where
anybody ever called him Emmanuel. We sing and call him Emmanuel.
His name is Emmanuel, but find me a place where anybody ever
spoke of him and called him Emmanuel. But what does that mean? Come
back to Genesis chapter four and I'll show you. Genesis chapter
four. Verse 26. No one ever addressed
him as Emmanuel. And yet all who worship him called
him Emmanuel. Genesis 4 verse 26. And to Seth, to him also there
was born a son. And he called his name Enos. He named him Enos. Then began
men to call upon the name of the Lord, to call on the name of the Lord. Then folks began to worship God. That's exactly what Paul's referring
to in Romans chapter 10, when he says, whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. It doesn't mean if
you're out here in a car wreck and somebody comes along, some
slick soul winner comes along and says, Oh, don't you want
to be saved? Call on Jesus. Jesus saved me. Everything's
all right. No, no. Anybody, anywhere, including
you and me right now, who worships Christ as God, his savior is
saved. That's what it is. Mary, worshiped
God, her savior, while he was in her womb and called him her
God and her savior, and thus called him Emmanuel, which is
being interpreted God with us. Oh, what a great, glorious name
this is for our mediator, our redeemer, our advocate, our savior,
Emmanuel. God with us. God with us by incarnation
to redeem us. God with us by his spirit to
protect and guide and comfort us. God with us when we needed
his name to bless us. God with us is hell's terror. God with us
is his servant strength. God with us is every sufferer's
consolation. God with us is the dying believer's
hope. God with us is the song and joy
of heaven. And then our text speaks about
a sign. Here's the fourth thing. The Lord God tells us that our
savior's incarnation is a sign. What signs are you talking about?
What sign? He said, I won't ask the Lord
for a sign. The Lord said, ask for a sign. And then he said,
the Lord himself shall give you a sign. What is it? Behold, a
virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall be worshipped. God with us. She shall call his
name God with us, Emmanuel. The sign is a token for good. Lord, Jonah said, not Jonah,
I'm sorry, Gideon said, give me a sign. Wet the fleece. Give
me a sign. Keep the fleece dry. Give me
a sign. What's a sign? A sign's a token
for good. A sign is you make a promise and you give a token,
something to give a pledge that you're going to fulfill the promise.
Something that assures the person to whom the promise is made that
what's promised will be performed. Well, what's God's sign? Christ
is God's side. When God gives you his son, Bill
Raleigh, he's given you a token for good, a sign of good things. Surely God in our nature is God
come to save. Surely if the Lord God has given
us his son, his love for us must be indescribable. The love of
God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost that's given
to us. It's not a, it's not just a feeling. Bless God it involves
that, but it's more than a feeling. My blessed is if God gave his
son for me. Oh, how he must love me. Whether
I feel it or don't. Whether I sense it or don't. Whether he shows me his face
or hides his face. Oh, how he must love me. Surely, surely, he who gave his
own dear son will not withhold any good thing from his people. He despaired not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Tell you a story, I've told it
many times, and it makes me look so good, so I'll tell it again. Brother Doug and Faith were married.
He came over and I had some things prepared for them shortly after
they got off their honeymoon. I gave them a package, told them
where everything we have any possessions of, and that's just
insurance, insurance papers and such things as that, a copy of
a will we had made out years ago. Told them where it was. Didn't give it to my daughter,
gave it to him. He's the head of the house. Give it to him. Gave him keys to everything
around here. Everything. He can come and go
as he wants to. And told him, now, out there's my vehicles
and my tools. If there is anything you want,
it's yours. Use it as you want to. And I told this story when
somebody asked me, did you really do that? Well, yeah, I did. I gave him my daughter. I gave
him my daughter. You think I'd withhold a monkey
wrench? I gave him my daughter. God Almighty has given us his
son. Now James, just what do you reckon
he won't give you? Just what good thing do you think
he's going to withhold from you? 700 years before Christ came
into this world in human flesh, Isaiah declared, therefore, the
Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall
he eat and he shall know or he may know to refuse the evil and
to choose the good. Beginning in Genesis chapter
three, going through all the Old Testament, this promise was
repeated again and again and again. Adam said the Redeemer
will be the seed of a woman. Abraham, the Lord came to him
and told him the Redeemer would be his seed. The Spirit of God
told Jacob that Messiah would be of Judah's tribe. The Lord
declared to David that he would be of his own family and that
he would be prophet, priest, and king in Israel. To Isaiah,
The Lord God said that the Lord Jesus, his son, would be born
of a woman. In Micah, the Lord said, I'll
tell you, not only is he going to be born in this world, born
of a woman, Abraham seed, David seed, tribe of Judah, he's going
to be born in Bethlehem. But there are two Bethlehems.
He's going to be born in Bethlehem, Ephratah. He'll be born right
there in Bethlehem, Ephratah. And Daniel said he's going to
be born at the end of the 70th week of years. Mark it down. This is the time Messiah is coming. Emmanuel, we bless your name,
our Savior, God and King. Our God, a man like us became
that he might man redeem. Emmanuel. God come to save the
people of His choice. Emmanuel, by Him we're saved. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. Amen.