The Promise of Advent: Celebrating God's Faithfulness

I hope you're glad to be in the Lord's house. And I tell you what,

we've been on a journey, right?

I mean, over the past several weeks, churches all around the world,

as you know, have been celebrating the season of Advent, right?

Including ours. And traditionally, as you know, this is a time of hopeful expectation,

as we just remember what Christ has done for us through the birth that he came.

He was willing to be born of a virgin, the birth of Christ on Christmas morning.

And you may remember the word Advent just means what?

Arrival, right? And Christmas Day is the day that we've been so eagerly waiting

for, the culmination of the Advent season, right?

Christmas is the day that we all remember and we rejoice that Jesus did,

in fact, arrive, just as promised, amen? That's something to celebrate.

And chances are good here this morning probably that many of you have heard

a sermon at some point in your life about the arrival of Christ at some point.

In fact, you've probably heard a sermon from some of the same passages that

we've been looking at and that we're going to look at together today.

However, I'd also bet that probably many of you have had a long year since last Christmas.

How many of you have had a long year since last Christmas, right?

Maybe you're ready to put, possibly, to put this one behind you and move on

out from the pain, right?

Suffering or disappointment maybe you felt over the past 12 months.

I don't know each heart represented here today, but chances are good that for

one reason or another, all of us, church, all of us need to hear the Christmas story again.

And we need to hear how God, get this, how God kept his promise and how all

the prophecies about a coming savior are true.

And we need to know that this same God is a God who answers the prayers of his

people and that the birth of Jesus church wasn't just some blip on that proverbial radar, right?

I mean, we got to remember again that God so loved church, the world that he

gave his one and his only son so that whoever believes in him should not perish

but have everlasting life.

We need the Christmas story, don't we?

And that's what we're talking about today. This is week five of our series Christmas, right?

Christmas. We need it over and over again, year after year.

And lucky for us, Christmas is the day that we have been so eagerly waiting for.

Christmas is the day that we remember and we rejoice that Jesus did, in fact, arrive here.

Just as he promised, church. We've got to remember that. How many of you here

have ever made a promise?

Come on now. Anybody made a promise before? Yeah.

And how many of you have ever broken a promise? Okay.

Depending on who you're talking to, promises are a big deal. What do you think?

They really are. In fact, for as broken as our culture is in some areas,

and heaven knows we know it's broken in many areas, we still seem to understand

the gravity of making and keeping promises.

We know on some level, in other words, that it's important to keep your word, right?

To do what you said that you're going to do, to come through, to deliver, so to speak.

And as much as we expect this from one another, we really expect it from who?

From God, right? The creator, the sustainer of our universe to be a trustworthy

promise keeper and a maker as well.

And so Christmas is a time that we come together, Eastwood, we collectively

remember that God did, in fact, keep his promises.

One of the greatest promises ever to us was kept when he gave his one and only son to us.

And let's talk about that just a little bit this morning, this promise.

The promise of Jesus, as we look at this slide, the promise of Jesus begins all the way back where?

In the Old Testament, where we learn that God is in fact faithful to his people and to his word.

Now, I read Deuteronomy chapter 7 a while ago, and I'm going to read just a

Deuteronomy 7 · chapter mention

couple of verses from that again. We're going to break it down.

Deuteronomy chapter 7, verses 6 through 8, to start with, it says,

Deuteronomy 7:6–8

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.

The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession.

Out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth, it was not because

you were more in number than any other people that the Lord actually set his

love on you and chose you.

For you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you

and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.

And the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the

house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God,

who keeps his covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his

commandments to a thousand generations.

That's the passage we read earlier. And as we see here this morning,

we read there that God has chosen his people because he loves them and because he made a promise.

To their forefathers. And it was because of this promise that he brought the

Israelites out of Egypt and he redeemed them from the land of slavery, right?

This is all just a beautiful foreshadowing, church, of how Jesus is going to

come to our rescue a little bit later, right?

He's the Savior of all mankind.

In fact, in verse 9 of that passage, that verse, we see that God will keep his

covenant of love to how many generations?

Thousand generations, right? He'll be faithful to his promise, in other words.

It's done. When God makes a promise, guess what? You can count it as done.

That's how sure his word is. And so he will see it through, in other words,

to the very end. To the very end, he's going to keep his promise.

And I want you all to just know this morning that when we see that,

We see that what's implied by the idea of thousands of generations is really

a long time to keep a promise, by the way, right?

We know that God did, in fact, keep his promise. Jesus did come, and he has set us free.

Some of us today, I hope nearly all of us, and I hope all of us can say,

he set me free from the curse of sin and death. It's all because of who?

All because of Jesus, right? Or as the Apostle Paul actually says in 2 Corinthians

1.20, he says, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ.

And so through him, the amen is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Y'all, Christmas is a day, Eastwood, Christmas is a day when we remember the

promise of God as foretold throughout the scripture and the prophets.

And guess what? We proclaim, come on, we proclaim yes and amen.

I'll tell you what, the faithfulness of our God.

Well, that brings us to prophecy, to prophecy.

And Christmas is also a day that we remember Jesus is not just a promise fulfilled,

which would be enough, but he's also the fulfillment, guess what,

church, of all the law and the prophets.

Jesus himself says that in Matthew 5, verse 17. Let me read that for you here.

Matthew 5:17

He says, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them, but to what?

To fulfill them, to fulfill them.

And so here we see that the birth accounts in both the gospel of Matthew and

Luke, that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies about the promised Messiah.

But here's a few that stand out. I just want to take a look at these few that's

on the screen this morning.

Number one, Christ would be born of a virgin and he would be called what?

Emmanuel, which means what? God with us.

And this prophecy actually comes from Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Listen to this.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive

and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel.

And we see that these words specifically fulfilled actually also in Matthew

Matthew 1:22

chapter 1, verses 22 and 23. Listen to this, 22 through 23 there.

It says, all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name

Emmanuel, which means God with us.

So the name Emmanuel, we know you've said it, means God with us,

which is precisely what Jesus came to do and be.

Church, he lived with us. He died with us.

He rose again with us. And he's building his church to this very day, Eastwood, with us.

He is truly Emmanuel. We talked in our Sunday school class this morning about

the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and how when God made this promise,

you know, God with us, that he said, it's better for you that I go away.

It's to your advantage that I go away because the helper will come.

It's better, in other words, for him to be dwelling inside of you.

See, that's really God with us, right?

As believers, we have the Holy Spirit of God living within us,

giving us the power to live a victorious Christian life.

Well, number two, he was born where?

Bethlehem, right? That prophecy actually comes from Micah chapter 5 verse 2.

Micah 5:2

Listen to it. But you, O Bethlehem, Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

for you shall come forth for me, one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

And then we also see those words fulfilled in Matthew 2, verse 10 and Luke 2, verse 4.

Matthew 2:10 Luke 2:4

Listen to these, Matthew 2, 10.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Luke 2, verse 4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth

Luke 2:4

to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of

the house and lineage of David.

So this is where things get exciting. Are you ready?

The Luke passage, this Luke passage mentions that Joseph, who,

as you know, ends up being Jesus's earthly father, was part of King David's line.

And if you turn back to the birth account in Matthew chapter one,

you'll find a detailed genealogy of Christ leading all the way back to Abraham

that goes specifically through King David.

And you can see that Matthew chapter one. I encourage you to read that.

And look, it's so amazing because this genealogy helps tie in these words that

we read from Micah chapter 5, verse 2, who says, Jesus's origins are from of

Micah 5:2

old, do you remember, from ancient times?

And that's why the prophet Zechariah, if you remember, he sings these words

in Luke chapter 1, verses 68 through 70.

Luke 1:68–70

Listen to this. He says, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation

for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.

Wow. It all comes together in Christ's church, all of it.

And I know that's a lot of information, a lot of scriptures to hear,

and it's not meant to overwhelm you, but it's meant to inspire.

It's meant to captivate us this Christmas because today we remember that God's

plan of unfailing covenantal love for his people that he poured forth.

It was never a haphazard or a patchwork plan, if you will, was it?

It was always an intentional plan. And when did he come up with it again?

From before the foundations of the world. It was always an intentional plan,

which brings me to one of my favorite prophecies.

And you see it on the screen here. It's our last one up there.

He is our wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, and prince of peace.

From Isaiah chapter nine, verses six and seven, we read that though the child

born on Christmas day there will come as an everlasting government of justice,

righteousness, and peace, in other words. That sounds pretty good about right now.

Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, listen to this again.

Isaiah 9:6

It says, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government

shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called what?

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end.

On the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Wow, Christ, it wasn't the kind of conquering king that many people were hoping

for, but he was, and he is the savior we needed.

He wasn't only the prophetic promise fulfilled, But he was also,

guess what, church, a divine answer to prayer.

Not just for the Israelites 2,000 years ago, but for us today as well.

And that leads me to this, y'all. We need to look at this prayer for just a moment.

Prayer. Have you ever prayed for something for a really, really long time?

Anybody ever prayed for something for a long time?

Have you ever prayed for something specific and the answer you got was opposite

or different than the thing you asked for?

Have you ever had that happen? Can you imagine, just think for a moment,

can you imagine praying for the same thing your entire life,

only to pass that prayer on to

your children in hopes that they may see it fulfilled in their lifetimes?

I know those are hypotheticals, you know, reality maybe for some of us here today.

But that was also the reality of the Israelites.

For them, lived hundreds of years and thousands of years ago, right?

They waited for their coming king, a promised Messiah foretold by the prophets

of old, who would establish an everlasting kingdom of peace and power.

You see, Eastwood, Christmas is a reminder that God does, in fact, answer prayer.

Come on. It's a reminder that our God answers prayer.

He does keep his promise. Yes, he does fulfill the prophecies,

but he also answers prayer.

In celebrating the arrival of Jesus 2,000 years ago, it's just our annual reminder

as well that God hears our prayers and that he does respond.

It might take a while, but he's listening.

He loves us. He cares for us. To a thousand generations, if you remember,

as we read earlier, does he love his people?

Jesus is the fulfillment of promise, prophecy, and prayer to a weary world,

church, in desperate need of a Savior.

Let me just ask you quickly today. Don't you think that our world today needs a Savior?

I mean, we can come up with all sorts of programs. We can, you know,

and we should be involved.

Yes, we should be involved. We should vote, all those things that we are called to do.

But I want you to know there's only one real solution, and that is a heart that

is changed by the gospel of Christ.

Everybody needs Jesus. And I guess if we were to wrap up our time today and

let you get on to what you have planned to celebrate this this year,

I want to leave you with this.

After learning that she would give birth, if you remember, to the Messiah,

Mary went to visit her relative. You remember who she was?

Elizabeth, right? And the two women had a brief exchange, and Elizabeth proclaimed something.

She said, blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.

And overcome in that moment, church, you know what Mary did?

She said, well, you know what Mary did?

She began to sing a song of praise called the Magnificat, right?

That song of praise and gratitude in Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

Is that okay if I share that with you? Luke chapter 1, verses 46 through 55, I believe here.

Luke 1:46–55

Let me read that for you. I think this is such a beautiful prayer. And Mary said,

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant for

behold from now on all generations will call

me blessed for he who is mighty has done great

things for me and his is his and holy

is his name and his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation

he has shown strength with his arm he has scattered the proud and the thoughts

of their hearts he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted

those of humble estate he has fulfilled the hungry with good things and the

rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to

our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

I mean, she just burst forth in this song of praise.

The arrival of Jesus is a reminder, church, again, that God keeps his promises.

He answers our prayers. And that reality so overwhelmed Mary 2,000 years ago,

and I pray today, Eastwood, it would overwhelm us.

We need to take a fresh look at this, y'all. We need to be just falling down

and saying, Lord, thank you so much for being willing to humble yourself and come to this earth.

Thank you, Lord. It should humble us. It should overwhelm us today.

No matter what we've been praying for, hoping for, or waiting for, church. God hears.

God sees, right? He knows what everybody needs that's sitting here today, this Christmas.

And he knows more than anything else that we all need Jesus most, right?

That's who we need. God gave his son so that we might live, he would.

Jesus has arrived he has arrived aren't you grateful.