A Virgin, A City And The Shepherd's

A Virgin, a City and the Shepherd’s

Introduction

This is a wonderful time of the year for Christians; we have the opportunity to remind ourselves just how special Jesus the Son of God really is to the fulfillment of prophecy and mankind.

Today the Sermon will include the usual discourse and the congregation will also be asked to participate with singing at various times.

Prophets and prophecies of God should never be understated, for the true prophets of God help prove that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Truth seekers in the word of God should find special joy in the realm of messianic prophecy because it ties the New and Old Testaments together in unique and wonderful way. Together we should expect to see exactly what God wants us to see and that should include how His plan for all mankind is always unerring and perfect.

Main Thoughts

Sing – Silent Night, Holy Night (Verse’s 1, 3 & 4)

This popular Christmas carol (song or hymn) has been enjoyed for almost 200 years. It has been translated into more languages around the world then any other Christmas song, it is one of the most popular carols of all time and often sung without musical accompaniment.

It is part of our teaching this morning because it speaks of a virgin, who will give birth to a Holy Infant and this fulfills Messianic Biblical Prophecy.

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Luke tells of the virgin birth of Jesus, but to tie this blessed event back to the original prophecy we need to go back 700 years from the virgin birth to the book of Isaiah.

Throughout scripture the prophet Isaiah is a prominent figure. The New Testament quotes the book of Isaiah over 20 times and when you add allusions and quotations from the book of Isaiah you have more references to it then any other Old Testament book. In fact Jesus began His ministry with a quote from…

Luke 4:16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."

Then the listener’s heard Him say, Luke 4:21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Obviously the book of Isaiah contains some very important prophesies and messianic prophecies.

The virgin birth prophecy is located in the 7th Chapter of Isaiah verse 14 which reads, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (English Standard Version)

Seven centuries later the Holy Spirit led Matthew to refer to that statement of Isaiah.

Matthew 1: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." (NIV)

Sing – O Little Town of Bethlehem – All Verse’s

Before we contemplate the significance of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, I would like to remind you that only prophecies given by God are correct 100% of the time.

Illustration - Prophetic Goofs

The book, The World’s Worst Predictions lists some of history’s all-time prophetic goofs.

• King George II said in 1773 that the American colonies had little stomach for revolution.