INCARNATED TRUTH
Matt. 1:17-25
INTRODUCTION
Never in all of history has there been anyone like Jesus Christ. He never wrote a book, yet the book that tells His story, the Bible, has outsold every other book in human history. More books have been written about Jesus than about any other person. He never wrote a song, but more songs have been written about Jesus than anyone else. He never traveled more than a few hundred miles from home, yet you can go almost no place where His name is not known.
Isaiah captures the uniqueness of Jesus’ birth.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign, behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isa. 7:14)
Matt. quotes it and adds, which is translated, "God with us." (Matt. 1:23).
GOD WITH US = "incarnation" = God became man.
* GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US IN THE PERSON JESUS CHRIST.
I. GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38
* Our God is a Sovereign God.
1. God’s Sovereign Hand Displayed In The Genealogies
* DON’T YOU JUST LOVE READING THOSE "BEGATS" - favourite part of Bible
- Why in the world are they in the Bible
Matt. 1:1-17; Lk. 3:23-38
* The genealogies establish the legitimacy of Jesus Christ to be King of the Jews and the Messiah of God.
** He has to be able to establish His "Roots"
Matthew’s Genealogy - Proves Jesus is tied by Royalty to David. Traces Joseph’s family tree and shows that Joseph is a direct descendant of David’s son Solomon. Solomon’s line is the Royal line. Matthew establishes the fact that Jesus’ roots are in the Royal line of King David.
Luke’s Genealogy - Establishes a tie to David by way of family relationships. Traces Mary’s family tree and shows that she is a direct descendant of David’s son Nathan.
2. God’s Sovereign Hand at Bethlehem
* Our sovereign God is in control of human history.
1. He Worked Miracles To Get Christ To Bethlehem
* All through Old Testament days, He worked around personalities, sin, matching this person with that person to accomplish His sovereign plan.
i.e. Brings Ruth a Moabite woman back to Palestine to marry a Jew named Boaz. They give birth to a boy who becomes the father of Jesse, the father of David.
2. He Brought Mary and Joseph Together.
* Two different family trees but both go back to David.
3. He Got Them To Bethlehem At the Right Time
* Roman Taxation called at exactly the right time to have them in Bethlehem to fulfill the prophecy of Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
- God was in control of Government to bring about His perfect plan. The powers that be in this world think that they are so mighty and powerful. They are but pawns in the hands of our God who is working out His eternal purposes.
4. He Preserved The Genealogy Of Jesus
* Temple in Jerusalem Stored All Genealogies of the Jews. In 70 AD Roman General Titus completely destroyed the temple and the Genealogical records.
* No Jew today can trace their genealogy back to the Bible times. But we have the Genealogy of Jesus perfectly recorded in Matt. & Luke.
* OUR SOVEREIGN GOD WAS AT WORK DIRECTING HUMAN HISTORY TO COME TOGETHER IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME FOR THE BIRTH OF HIS SON. OUR GOD CONTROLS HUMAN HISTORY.
3. God’s Sovereign Hand in Our Lives
* The same God who worked all of human history to bring about the Birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem is the same God who is in control of your life and mine.
1. God Is Working His Eternal Purposes In Our Lives
* There may be ups and downs but His eternal purposes will be accomplished.
2. Nothing In Our Lives Happens Without His Approval
3. God Works All Things For Our Good And His Glory
II. GOD’S HOLINESS
1. Our God Is a Holy God
* He does not mess with sin or view it lightly. When God took on human flesh at Bethlehem, He preserved His Holiness in the virgin birth.
2. Our God Works Through Holy People
* Getting ready to manifest Himself in human history, God wanted to use holy people.
* Joseph and Mary remained sexually pure
- No sexual contact before marriage. Instead of stealing her virginity, he protected it.
* When he found out she was pregnant, before he knew it was of the Holy Spirit, he was willing to put her away privately instead of disgracing her and stoning her. Joseph was committed to a moral code that would not allow him to compromise his holiness. Mary was committed to the same code.
3. Our God Calls Us to Holy Living
1. God Uses Holy People Today
- He is still looking for men and women and young people who will commit themselves to the same kind of moral code that Joseph and Mary committed themselves to.
2. God Calls Us To Reflect The Purity Of His Son
- As we live holy lives in an unholy world, we reflect the holiness of Jesus for the world to see.
- Church in North America weak today because we have no standard of Holiness to which we hold ourselves accountable.
- In our right desire to cast off legalism - we have wrongly cast away Holiness
But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak (1 Cor. 8:9)
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Gal. 5:13)
* CHRISTMAS SHOULD REMIND EVERY BELIEVER OF THE IMPORTANCE REFLECTING JESUS CHRIST IN THE WORLD BY LIVING HOLY LIVES.
III. GOD’S POWER
1. The Conception of John the Baptist
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. (Luke 1:5-7)
* Zacharias and Elizabeth wanted a child for years. Now they were too old. - God visits Zac and tells him Elizabeth is going to have a baby.
* THEY HAD PRAYED AND NOW QUIT
- God couldn’t answer their prayer when they were 20 or 30 because it wasn’t time for Jesus to be born.
- God’s timing is not always our timing.
2. The Conception of Jesus
* Virgin birth - Supernatural Power.
And the angel answered and said to her,"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)
* WHEN GOD HAS SOMETHING HE WANTS DONE, HE HAS THE POWER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
** GOD WILL NEVER GIVE YOU AN ASSIGNMENT OR ASK YOU TO FACE SOMETHING THAT HE WILL NOT PROVIDE HIS SUPERNATURAL POWER TO ACCOMPLISH.
"Faith is believing that the God who called us to the assignment is the One who will provide for its accomplishment."
IV. GOD’S TRUTHFULNESS
* God cannot lie.
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." (Matt. 1:22-23)
1. The Prophecies Concerning Jesus
* Several prophecies concerning the birth of Christ.
- Time - location - virgin birth etc.
* How do we know Christianity is true and everything that contradicts it is wrong? BECAUSE THE PROPHECY VERIFIES GOD’S TRUTHFULNESS.
- Prophecies made hundreds of years before the event.
God was faithful to fulfill every prophecy and every promise.
2. God Is Faithful to His Word.
If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. (II Tim. 2:13)
* YOU CAN BE SURE THAT WHAT GOD SAID HE WILL DO, HE WILL DO.
ie. Rom. 8:28 - I Will Be With You Always - I Will Come again.
CONCLUSION
