The Great Sign is a sermon teaching us that the Lord himself shall give us a sign. A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Key verses:
Isaiah 7:1-14

 

Take your Bible if you will and turn with me to Isaiah chapter seven and we are eventually going to look at verses 1 through 14. But to begin with, just want to read verses three through seven. So, Isaiah 7:3-7 we get the flow of thought for this evening.

Isaiah 7:3: “Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;”

Isaiah 7:4: “And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.”

Isaiah 7:5: “Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,”

Isaiah 7:6: “Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:”

Isaiah 7:7: “Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”

Jerusalem, the city, the kingdom of Judah, King Ahaz himself were threatened and the threat was real. But there was weak faith in the king’s household. There was weak faith among the people. The Lord is going to give them a great sign that what He is going to give them will come to pass.

The Threat

Isaiah wrote a little more than 700 years before Jesus came. He was the first of the major writing prophets. He wrote during the period of the divided kingdom, that period when 12 tribes were torn into northern and southern kingdoms. Ten tribes became the northern kingdom called Israel in the north, here in this passage, also called Ephraim. The two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, became the southern kingdom and came to be called Judah or Judea.

Ultimately, the northern kingdom will not hear Isaiah’s preaching, they will not receive it, and they will fall to the Assyrians. The Assyrians will assimilate them into their own culture. We’ll say more about that a little bit later.

In this chapter, Ahaz is the king of Judah or Judea. Two armies have come to conquer Jerusalem, thereby to conquer Judea. These two armies are the army of Syria and the north. It’s interesting that Israel and Syria are still enemies to this day. Maybe you’ve heard about it in the news sometimes for decades now, the Golan Heights. There’s been a lot about conflict over Golan Heights. That is a ridge that separates Israel from Syria.

We were there many years ago. I was up on the Golan Heights and I took a photograph. I’m not sure I was supposed to, but nobody told me on the other hand that I couldn’t do it. So, I did. I took a photograph of a Syrian cannon. Where that cannon was located on the Golan Heights, it could of hit any target in northern Israel, the Galilee region. It could have hit any target up there they chose. That’s why it’s a strategic, important piece of ground to the people of Israel to this day. Because of its advantage. But it’s been an area of contention for thousands of years.

The king of Syria has formed an alliance with the king of the northern kingdom, also called Samaria, for its capital city. They teamed together in order to attack Jerusalem.

Safe If in the Lord’s Care

So, Isaiah comes to King Ahaz with a message from God and it’s a message of hope. It’s a message of great hope. The message that Isaiah brought to Ahaz is not only a message for Jerusalem and Judea, but for all mankind, for those who will hear. So, let’s take a look at verses one and two:

Isaiah 7:1: “And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.”

Now, two things I want to point out there. Notice that there’s a strange alliance here. Israel and Syria are teamed together here, they allied together. They are natural enemies as we’ve already said and to this day as we’ve said. But they teamed together to conquer Jerusalem. Their idea was to set up a new king in Jerusalem, a king that would suit their purposes, not a king of the house of David.

Now, Ahaz is not one of the great kings of Israel, but he is a descendent of David and we see that here in just a moment. In verse two it says:

Isaiah 7:2: “And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.”

“And it was told the house of David,” – that is Ahaz’s family. “Saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved.” Whose heart was moved? Ahaz’s. “His heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.”

Ahaz learned of these approaching armies, and he learned of the alliance. And notice the end of verse one, it says they could not prevail against Jerusalem. Why not? Had Ahaz set up such a tremendous defense that they couldn’t conquer it? No, that’s not the case. The reason they could not prevail against it is because God would not allow it. He didn’t let them take the city. God is in control. But the heart of the king and the heart of the people moved like the trees of the forest by the wind. In other words, they quaked with fear. Then in verse three, we read:

Isaiah 7:3: “Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;”

“Then said the LORD unto Isaiah,” – Now why didn’t the Lord speak to Ahaz? Because Ahaz hadn’t given his heart to the Lord. Ahaz was not submissive to the Lord. So, when He couldn’t talk to the king, the king wouldn’t listen I should say, then the Lord spoke to the preacher, Isaiah, one the greatest preachers of all time.

Isaiah 7:3: “Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;”

That’s interesting, Shearjashub is one of Isaiah’s sons. His name means “a remnant shall return.” What does that mean? Well, you know this is the king of Judah and Judah is going to fall to Babylon, but a remnant should return. God always has a faithful remnant. No matter how far away the people get in general from God, there’s always a faithful remnant, always those who have stayed true to Him. Shearjashub, Isaiah’s son was given that name symbolically. That is his name, it shows that the Lord will not be finished with His people.

It says they meet “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;” That seems like an odd place to meet. Why didn’t they meet in the palace or somewhere else? I think they met in secret because of the invading army. But the message goes on:

Isaiah 7:4: “And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.”

“Don’t be afraid of them,” he’s saying. The Lord tells him just to have faith. Jesus said to His disciples, “Have faith in God.” We need to have faith in God. When things are difficult, when things are challenging, when things are overwhelming, we need to have faith in God.

This isn’t the first time that siege had been laid to Jerusalem. It wouldn’t be the last time either. But in this particular case, Ahaz is afraid. He’s afraid because these two armies are bigger than his army. He’s afraid because it is a mixture of some of his relatives and some of his worst enemies, and his own relatives have turned against him. I don’t mean to say that the king of the northern kingdom was part of the family of David. He was not, but he was of these tribes of Israel.

Isaiah 7:5: “Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,”

Isaiah 7:6: “Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:”

Now, again, this is not a king of the house or lineage of David. This is a king that would be a proxy or puppet king, he would do their bidding. They had great plans for that southern kingdom. They had great plans for the control of Jerusalem. Many others have throughout this millennia.

But God has a prophecy for these oncoming enemies. Take a look at verse seven, this is key to the whole passage here:

Isaiah 7:7: “Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”

What the Lord is saying here is don’t be afraid of these attacking armies. Don’t be afraid of the armies of Israel. He’s saying, “Don’t be afraid of the armies of the Syrians. I am not going to let them succeed. I am not going to let them conquer Jerusalem. You are safe because of me.”

We need to understand that. We need to understand that we are safe as long as we are in the care of the Lord, as long as we’re right with the Lord. Now, that doesn’t mean you’ll never have problems.

Let me explain something to you. In those days when armies came against a city like this, most all the cities had walls around them and that was to protect against attack of course. So, many times they could not breach the wall, could not get into the city, and so they would lay siege around the city, and they would seek to starve them out. They wouldn’t let anybody in, they wouldn’t let anybody out. They couldn’t do trade; they couldn’t get food. And so, they seek to starve them out. This is what these two had planned.

The Lord says it’s not going to happen. The Lord said, “It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.” – saying, “I’m not going to allow it.” And that’s His promise.  You and I have promises of God. We have all the promises in the Word of God. I came across a book in my library the other day by Herbert Lockyer, “All the Promises of the Bible.” And then Lockyer records all the promises that are given in the Bible. That’s quite a work that he did. He had others in the “All the” series.

But the point I’m trying to get across to you is the promises God makes to us are ours and we can be secure in them. We can trust that God knows the things that we don’t. We can trust that God is in control of the situation. We can rest on it.

Isaiah 7:7: “Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”

The Lord goes on in verses eight and nine:

Isaiah 7:8: “For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.”

Isaiah 7:9: “And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”

The Prophecy

Now, let’s go back to verse eight.

Isaiah 7:8: “For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.”

The Lord is giving a prophecy here that in 65 years, within 65 years, that’s a pretty precise number, Ephraim or the northern kingdom would not be a people or a nation anymore. Why not? The Assyrians, we’re talking about the Syrians here. The Assyrians, a little bit north of Syria would invade them and assimilate them into their culture and they would not be a people anymore. That’s why in the New Testament you have that conflict between the Jews, as they’re called in the New Testament, and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were the product of the inbreeding between the Assyrians and the northern kingdom of Israel. So, the Jews recognize them as descendants of the 10 tribes of Israel and yet they do not consider them full-blooded, they considered them to be mixed race, and they looked down upon them.

You may say, “I don’t think they should do that.” You are certainly entitled to say that, and you may be right. But I’m telling you what happened, how it was. This is why you find in John chapter four the woman at the well who is a Samaritan who comes to draw water there. Jesus asks her for water, and she says that the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. She was right. They didn’t, but Jesus did.

That’s why in this parable, and by the way, the Lord doesn’t use this term in the parable, but we call the parable, “The Good Samaritan.” Why? Because you know the story. The man was wounded on the road, wounded by thieves, left for dead. A priest and Levite come by, and they won’t help him, but a Samaritan did. There are many things we can learn from this. One is to not look down at other people regarding their heritage. And not to look down on people not knowing anything about them as individuals. God loves them as much as He loves you.

So, God says, He makes this promise to Ephraim or Samaria, the capital. By the way, I went to Samaria on the same trip I went to the Golan Heights. You know what’s there in the city of Samaria? Rubble, that’s it. Nothing there but a pile of rubble. God says within 65 years “Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.”

Ask Me for a Sign

Verse nine:

Isaiah 7:9: “And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”

“And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.” – and then this next sentence is directed to Ahaz, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”

Now go back up to verse seven.

Isaiah 7:7: “Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”

That’s God’s promise. But then at the end of verse nine, the Lord says to Ahaz, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”

He’s saying the northern kingdom is not going to stand. You need to believe. He’s calling Ahaz to repent. He’s calling the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem to repent. He’s calling them back to Him. I believe God is calling people today. I believe God is calling people today to come back to Him, to turn back to Him, to have faith in Him.

We say, “In God we trust.” We say, “God bless America.” And we are right to do that. But if we want God to bless America, we need to make sure that it is God we trust. In World War II, the Normandy invasion occurred. One of the chief generals of the German army was quoted as saying, “I sometimes wonder which side God is on.” Can you imagine that? Think about what was going on at that time at that place. How could there be anything to wonder?

I’ll share with you this. Sometimes we think God is on our side and what we need to do is make sure that we are on God’s side.

So, to the king of Judah, He says, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” They’re not going to make it if they don’t trust in God. That brings us to verse ten:

Isaiah 7:10: “Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,”

Isaiah 7:11: “Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.”

I don’t know if you understand what a wonderful opportunity that was. The Lord comes to Ahaz, king of Judea, whose throne is in Jerusalem, who sits on the throne of David, and the Lord tells Ahaz to ask for a sign and He places no limitation on it.

Sometimes people come and ask for a sign: I want a sign that God is real, I want a sign that the Bible is true, I want a sign that my prayers are answered, I want a sign that there is a God, I want all of this. They came to Jesus, and they asked Him for a sign after He had done many miracles, by the way. They came to Him and asked for a sign. He said:

Matthew 16:4: “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.”

Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. What’s He talking about? He’s talking about the resurrection would be the sign they could trust in. But He had said prior to that [paraphrasing], “You don’t believe me for my Word’s sake, believe for the work’s sake.” He’s saying, “You’ve seen what I’ve done. You’ve seen the sick are healed. The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the dead are raised, and you ask for a sign?”

But this is the opposite story here. The Lord comes to Ahaz and says:

Isaiah 7:11: “Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.”

Anything you want to ask with no limitation on it. What an opportunity. The Lord God who created the universe, the Savior says, “Ask me anything and I will do it for you.” You know, He makes a similar promise to you and me. He tells us to ask Him for what we need.

Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

It tells us to ask and seek and knock. But here, the Lord says, “Ask thee a sign.”

Turning Down God’s Offer

An astounding statement in verse twelve:

Isaiah 7:12: “But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.”

Ahaz says that he’s not going to ask. “Nope, I’m not going to ask signs of the Lord.” The Lord says, “Ask me.” You know James writes, “Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.” People sometimes ask for the wrong thing.

I’m pretty sure if I asked the Lord to win the lottery He wouldn’t, no reason why He should. I don’t think I would hear directly from Him on that. I think the answer would be clear enough, but I don’t think I’ll hear directly from Him, but if I did, I think the Lord would say to me, “You have me. Why would you need to win the lottery?” But Ahaz says he will not ask.

Then he says something else that is quite interesting, “Neither will I tempt the LORD.” If the Lord told him to ask, how is that tempting Him? It isn’t. I thought about that. I thought why wouldn’t Ahaz ask for the sign that God offers him? Perhaps he was afraid to ask God to do something for him. Perhaps he knew he was a sinful man, and he was afraid to ask God to do something. He tells us to call upon Him. He told old Ahaz to call upon Him. Perhaps he’s afraid to ask God anything at all ever because that meant he was afraid to pray, he wasn’t a praying man, that is possible. It could be that Ahaz was trying to sound very spiritual, on the other hand. Look at what it says.

Isaiah 7:12: “But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.”

“Oh, I would not tempt the Lord. Oh no, I am much too spiritual a man. I have too much reverence for the Lord to ask Him something like that. I would not tempt the Lord,” – perhaps that was his attitude. It could be one of these situations. It could be all of them or any combination of them.

But Ahaz, foolishly in my opinion, says he’s not going to ask. He’s not going to take this opportunity. The conclusion of the whole matter seems to be that he is not fully trusting the Lord. The Lord says, “Ask me. I’ll do it.” He says, “I will not ask.” He’s not trusting the Lord. Maybe he’s in fear of these attacking armies, not trusting God to save him. In the end, Ahaz does not ask. So, the Lord says, He’ll give a sign anyway.

Our Lack of Faith

Look at verse 13:

Isaiah 7:13: “And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?”

What does He mean when He says, “Will you weary my God”? We cannot wear God out. When we get weary, we get pretty much worn out. You can’t wear out God. I don’t think that is what He is saying here. What He is saying though is this: We can offend God, we can. Paul writes and warns us, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” We can grieve the heart of God with our unbelief.

Do you remember the story in John 11, the raising of Lazarus, we’ve talked about it here so many times?

And the shortest and one of the most famous verses in the Bible is John 11:35, as Jesus stands at the tomb of Lazarus, it says, “Jesus wept.” Those standing nearby said, “Behold, how he loved him.” I’m going to tell you that for not one second do I believe Jesus was weeping over the death of Lazarus. I don’t. Why not? Well, first of all, Jesus knew what He was going to do. He already told Martha.

John 11:23: “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.”

John 11:24: “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

John 11:25: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”

John 11:26: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

No, He knew what He was going to do there. Nobody else did but He did. I don’t think He wept for the death of Lazarus. I don’t think His heart was grieved because Lazarus was dead. I think He wept because of the unbelief of those people standing by. I think His heart was broken for those who saw already three, four times in that passage. They had said it, Martha and Mary said it, “Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. If you would have just been here when we needed you.” Do you see the lack of faith? And yet in the end, the small faith that they had was greatly rewarded.

Jesus calls out to Lazarus and says, “Lazarus, come forth.” He that was dead came forth out of the tomb. He was alive again. The next chapter we read there was a great banquet given. Their guests of honor were Lazarus who had come back from the dead and Jesus who brought him back from the dead. I would have liked to have been at that banquet, wouldn’t you? But here, Jesus wept, again, for the unbelief. What the Lord is saying here if you go back again at the end of verse nine, He says, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” Verse 13 again:

“Isaiah 7:13: “And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?”

I think God gets tired of our lack of faith. I think it burdens Him when we lean to our own understanding instead of trusting Him.

God Gives His Sign

In verse 14, the Lord says:

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign,” – “You didn’t ask. I told you to ask me for a sign. I would have given it. I told you to believe in me. I told you to trust in me. I told you that this plot against you is not going to succeed. I’m telling you I’m in control. And yet, you still do not believe.”

Think of all of the things that God has done in this world. Think of all the things He has done and still people do not believe. Verse 14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;” – “You would not ask for a sign, I’m going to give you one anyway.” And look at it if you will, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Let me share something with you about that. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.” Now, Matthew quotes that in his Gospel. And I was listening to some people as I was studying for this and one fellow said, “Well, you see, Matthew got it wrong when he records that as being virgin, because he got it from a Greek translation of the Old Testament. And the Greek translation of the Old Testament got it wrong, so Matthew got it wrong.” Well, that’s partly true. Matthew did quote from the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint because that was in common use in the day in which he wrote. But he didn’t get it wrong, neither did the Greek translators of the Old Testament. They didn’t get it wrong either. The controversy is this, look at verse 14 again:

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The word translated into English as virgin here is the word “alma.” And “alma” is translated from the Hebrew. I’m not a great Hebrew scholar, I don’t claim to be, you know that, but I know how to study and research, and they say that word means young woman, not virgin. Well, that is true, and it isn’t. The first part is true, it can mean a young woman but the implication in context is virgin.

Now, let me prove to you something. What’s happening here? King Ahaz thinks he’s in trouble, he thinks he has no hope. He has two attacking armies, both of them greater than his own army. He believes the city is going to be breached. He believes his kingdom is going to fall. He believes that he is going to die. He believes there is going to be no more kingdom of Judah. He believes the Samaritans, Ephraimites, or the northern kingdom of Israelites and the Syrians are going to take over. They are going to set up a new king of their own and run that region as they want it run. He thinks all that is going to happen.

The Lord sends a preacher to him, Isaiah. And the preacher says not true. The Lord is going to take care of it. The Lord has made promises to you, He’s made promises to the house of David, He’s made promises to Jerusalem and He’s making a promise to you right now.

Isaiah 7:7: “Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”

But then the Lord says to Ahaz, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” Then He offers him this sign and Ahaz declines to ask for a sign. He is an unbeliever. Now, with all of that going on, with all of the trouble going on, let’s look at verse 14 again. Let’s read it that way, “Ahaz, I told you to ask for a sign. The Lord God Creator of the universe, the Lord God your Savior has told you to ask for a sign and you won’t ask. Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. A young woman is going to have a son.” That’s it? Folks, that’s not a great sign. That happens every day in the world, many times every day. In order for it to be a great sign from God there had to be something more to it than that. So, let’s look at the verse again:

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Now, folks, that’s a sign. That is a sign. That word “alma” can mean young woman but in context it means also a virgin. It means a young woman of childbearing age who has not yet born a child, that would be a virgin. It is not a mistranslation here. It’s not a mistake on the part of the translators of Septuagint. It’s not a mistake that Matthew wrote when he wrote it. It’s not a mistake by the translators of the Jerusalem Chamber made in the 1600s, it’s not a mistake at all. It’s exactly what God said. The virgin birth was necessary so that Jesus could be born without sin.

Deuteronomy 5:9: “Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,”

Deuteronomy 5:10: “And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.”

In Romans 5:12, Paul writes;

Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

Where do we inherit the sin nature? From Adam. And yet, in Genesis 3:15 the Lord said to the woman that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, not the seed of the man but the seed of the woman, because it is through the man that the sin nature is passed down. That’s why the Lord says, “Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” – passing down the sin nature. That’s what Romans 5:12 is teaching us.

So, in order to be born sinless the Lord Jesus had to be born of a virgin. There’s no question about that. He must be the Passover lamb. The law of the Passover lamb is given in Exodus and says this, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year and it shall be taken out from the sheep or the goats. He must be the sinless, spotless Lamb of God in order to be the sacrifice for our sins. And there’s no question about that. He must have a virgin birth to set Him apart from all other men. The doctrine of the virgin birth is essential to the truth of the Gospel and to the truth of the Bible. If you don’t have a virgin-born Savior then you do not have a Savior. It’s that simple. Let’s look at the verse again:

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Immanuel means God with us. Matthew tells us that in his Gospel. Immanuel means God with us. Well, what does it mean, God with us? Let me help you with that. What it means when it says God with us, it means that God is with us, that’s what it means. Let me put it to you in Bible terms. It means that Jesus is He:

1 John 1:1: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;”

1 John 1:2: “(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)”

1 John 1:3: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

1 John 1:4: “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

John is telling that He who came is the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. He is Immanuel. He is God with us.

Fundamentals About Jesus

Now, let me conclude here. We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. It is as we’ve already said, was foundational and therefore fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. There are things we must believe about Jesus.

Number one, we must believe that He is born of a virgin, did not inherit the nature, the sin nature of a human father.

Number two, we must believe that He is God come in the flesh.

Number three, we must believe that He lived a sinless life.

Number four, we must believe that He was crucified for our sins.

Number five, we must believe that He rose again from the dead.

Number six, we must believe that He will forgive and save anyone and everyone who will place their faith and trust in Him.

Number seven, we must believe that He will come again.

All of these things are Bible truths. All of these things are things that Jesus himself taught. All of these things were prophesied of Him centuries and millennia before He came. That’s the great sign.

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

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Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for blessing us. Thank you that we have had this time together this evening. Thank you for the time to look into your Word. Thank you that we can have personal copies of your Word that we can read and study and understand on our own. Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for sending Him into the world as the Lamb of God. Thank you Lord Jesus for coming as our sinless Savior to pay for our sins so we might be forgiven and we might be called the children of God.

Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. I would imagine most everyone in the room has already trusted the Lord as their Savior. If that’s not true or someone is uncertain, please let us know. That’s what we’re here for.

We’re going to give an invitation in just a moment. If you’re not 100% settled on your soul’s salvation, you’re not 100% certain that when you leave this world you’re going to go and be with the Lord forever, I want you to come. Let us help you with that.

Then for those of you who have already trusted the Lord as your Savior, I don’t say this often to children but I’ll say it to you. You do not need to do that again. Once the Lord has saved you, He has saved you, no question about that.

You and I can get out of fellowship with God, our faith can become weak. We can become estranged from Him, not lost, not separated. But we can lose that fellowship that He desires to have with us. But like the son of Isaiah’s name, we can come back as a faithful remnant. We can come back to the Lord. I encourage you tonight if you have not been walking closely with Him, if you let something come between your soul and your Savior, come back to Him.

Perhaps you are here tonight and say, “None of that’s true for me tonight. I know the Lord is my Savior. I do have good fellowship with Him. But I do have a burden on my heart, a prayer.” Then come, we’ll pray with you. Let the Lord have His will and His will in your life. There’s a decision you need to make. This is a great opportunity to make it.

Father, bless and move in this invitation time we do pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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