Ask for

1
Ask for

• a Sign

2
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) This is how the birth of Jesus
  Christ came about His mother Mary was pledged to
  be married to Joseph

Ask for
a
Sign
A Sign Fulfilled
3
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) but before they came
  together, she was found to be with child through
  the Holy Spirit

4
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) Because Joseph her husband
  was a righteous man and did not want to expose
  her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce
  her quietly

5
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) But after he had considered
  this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
  dream and said

6
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) "Joseph son of David, do not
  be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because
  what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit

7
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) She will give birth to a Son,
  and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because
  He will save His people from their sins"

8
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) All this took place to fulfill
  what the Lord had said through the Prophet
  Isaiah

9
A Sign Fulfilled

• (Matthew 118-23) "The virgin will be with child
  and will give birth to a son, and they will call
  Him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."

Observation 1 Christmas makes two fundamental
and unmistakable statements about God and
humanity
2. The solution to sin cannot come from the
sinner but from the Sinless and that
necessitates a Saviour.
Note 3 It is in these two names that the great
doctrines of the Incarnation (God came to be
with us) and our Salvation (Jesus came to save
us) are grounded
Note 2 Two parallel names are given the name
Immanuel is a description of His Position while
the name Jesus is a description of His Mission.
(1 Timothy 115) Here is a trustworthy saying
that deserves full acceptance Christ Jesus came
into the world (Immanuel) to save sinners
(Jesus)
Note 1 Matthew points to the prophecy of
Isaiah uttered about 730 years before the birth
of Jesus
1. God is as in your face as you can get
because He will not abandon us to our sin.
10
A Sign Fulfilled
Sign

• (Isaiah 71-9) When Ahazwas king of Judah, King
  Rezin of Aram and Pekah king of Israel marched
  up to fight against Jerusalem

Observation 1 Christmas makes two fundamental
and unmistakable statements about God and
humanity
The Sign in Context
2. The solution to sin cannot come from the
sinner but from the Sinless and that
necessitates a Saviour.
11
The Sign in Context

• (Isaiah 71-9) Now Judah was told, "Aram has
  allied itself with Ephraim i.e., Israel" so
  the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as
  the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind

Context A Terrible Crisis
12
The Sign in Context

• (Isaiah 71-9) Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go
  out, you and your sonto meet AhazSay to him,
  'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do
  not lose heart becauseof the fierce anger
  ofRezin and Pekah

Context A Terrible Crisis
13
The Sign in Context

• (Isaiah 71-9) They have plotted your ruin,
  saying, "Let us invade Judah let us tear it
  apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the
  son of Tabeel king over it."

Context A Terrible Crisis
14
The Sign in Context

• (Isaiah 71-9) Yet this is what the Sovereign
  LORD says "'It will not take place, it will not
  happen

Context A Great Assurance
Context A Terrible Crisis
15
The Sign in Context

• (Isaiah 71-9) for the head of Aram is Damascus,
  and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within
  sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to
  be a people (see 2 Kings 175-8)

Context A Great Assurance
16
The Sign in Context

• (Isaiah 71-9) If you do not stand firm in your
  faith, you will not stand at all.'"

(Isaiah 71-9) If you do not believe, you will
not stand at all.'"
Observation 2 The invitation to Ahaz as it is
to us is not to fight enemies but to believe God
because...
Note 2 The only requirement for survival is
that Ahaz himself must believe that God alone is
able.
Note 1 God has already declared that the
conspiracy against Ahaz will not stand because
the loyalty of his enemies is fickle and unstable.
Anyone can fight, and plot, and scheme, and get
even, but...
only those who are willing to trust God are
willing to operate by His rules rather than the
enemys.
Context A Great Assurance
Context A Stern Warning
17
The Sign in Context
Sign

• (Isaiah 710-14) Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz

Observation 2 The invitation to Ahaz as it is
to us is not to fight enemies but to believe God
because...
A Sign of Faith
Note 1 This second conversation no longer
concerns the crisis of political conspiracy but
the crisis of faith which Ahaz must now confront.
only those who are willing to trust God are
willing to operate by His rules rather than the
enemys.
18
A Sign of Faith

• (Isaiah 710-14) "Ask the LORD your God for a
  sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the
  highest heights"...

Note 1 This second conversation no longer
concerns the crisis of political conspiracy but
the crisis of faith which Ahaz must now confront.
Note 2 The offer to Ahaz was to ask not for an
ordinary sign but an extraordinary one because
Ahaz needed to grasp that He is an extraordinary
God.
19
A Sign of Faith

• (Isaiah 710-14) But Ahaz said, "I will not ask
  I will not put the LORD to the test."

Note 2 The offer to Ahaz was to ask not for an
ordinary sign but an extraordinary one because
Ahaz needed to grasp that He is an extraordinary
God.
20
A Sign of Faith

• (Isaiah 710-14) Then Isaiah said, "Hear now,
  you house of David! Is it not enough to try the
  patience of men? Will you try the patience of my
  God also?

Note 2 The offer to Ahaz was to ask not for an
ordinary sign but an extraordinary one because
Ahaz needed to grasp that He is an extraordinary
God.
Note 3 Ahaz completely misses the point and
the opportunity to build a faith on which he
could stand, and in so doing tries the patience
of God towards him.
21
A Sign of Faith

• (Isaiah 710-14) Therefore the Lord Himself will
  give you a sign

Note 3 Ahaz completely misses the point and
the opportunity to build a faith on which he
could stand, and in so doing tries the patience
of God towards him.
Note 4 This is a God-originated Sign far
beyond our human ability, and far beyond the
reaches of our human imagination.
22
A Sign of Faith

• (Isaiah 710-14) The virgin will be with child
  and will give birth to a son, and will call Him
  Immanuel.

Observation 3 The Sign of Immanuel confronts us
with the failure of Ahaz
(see the consequences of Ahazs unbelief in 2
Chronicles 281-8)
but even more, it confronts us with the need to
make the commitment to walk the walk of faith
Note 5 This is Event that has been fulfilled
only ONCE in the history of humanity, and Isaiah
715-25 detail the signs of Immanuels coming.
Note 4 This is a God-originated Sign far
beyond our human ability, and far beyond the
reaches of our human imagination.
23
A Sign of Faith

• Three Commitments
• I will respond to the conviction of sin and turn
  away from it to pursue the righteous life that
  God desires in me.
• I will hunger daily for God in my life to learn
  to grow each day in Him.
• I will choose to serve Him with my energies, my
  time, my finances and my spiritual gifts.

Observation 3 The Sign of Immanuel confronts us
with the failure of Ahaz
but even more, it confronts us with the need to
make the commitment to walk the walk of faith
Three Commitments