those that teach them and care for them as well. Praise God. Is it warm in here to anyone? Yeah. It's nice? No divide over anything in the church, right? All right. Well, it is a wonderful time of the year, isn't it? And we have such a wonderful opportunity for us to not only worship the Lord for what he has done for us, but as has already been said, to be a light in this present darkness, to tell others about the Lord. And one of the ways that we can be very confident in doing that is having confidence in knowing that God is sovereign, God is in control, and God has communicated to us through his word. We can be absolutely confident that that Bible that we have is the very word of God. That being said, how difficult is it for us to wait? Very. How difficult is it for us to wait for something that we really want or need? It is really hard sometimes, and the longer you have to wait, the more the anticipation builds, doesn't it? Like waiting finally get married, or waiting for the birth of a child, or waiting for a promotion or a raise. Now in most of those cases, at least we have some idea of when this will happen, but what if you have no idea of when? That makes it much harder to wait, doesn't it? what if you were waiting to be rescued from some form of captivity? If you had been taken captive and you were waiting for someone to rescue you? Well that would describe the situation of the Jewish people in the Promised Land at the time of the birth of Jesus. we have seen and sung earlier in the song, O come, O come, Emmanuel, the people of Israel had been anxiously awaiting the coming of the Messiah to rescue them from their captivity. Messiah is a Hebrew word that literally means anointed one. In the Greek, Messiah is translated Christos, so in English we translate it Christ or Savior, which is its meaning to us. So every time you see the name Jesus Christ in Scripture, it's telling us that Jesus is the Messiah or Jesus is the Savior. Now why was there such an anticipation for the Messiah to come? Well he was to be a deliverer who would be anointed and empowered by God to deliver his people, establish his kingdom, and rule over that kingdom forever. The people had been suffering under Roman rule. they were anxiously awaiting a promised Savior who would deliver them. How did they know that the Messiah was coming? Well, you know the answer to that. God had told them over and over again for centuries that he would send a deliverer to them. And so I want to start this morning by looking at some of those promises of Messiah's coming. Now obviously we cannot touch on all of them. You may or may not realize this, but there are over 100 prophecies given. regarding the coming of Christ, his life, his ministry, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven. Over a hundred specific prophecies. The first promise of a Messiah occurred in the Garden of Eden, thousands of years before Jesus was born. Speaking to Satan, God said these words in Genesis 3 15, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. It's singular. It is the particular offspring of the woman, the particular seed of the woman. He will crush Satan. He will defeat Satan. We call this the Proto-Evangelion, the first promise that God would provide a Deliverer, a Savior, who would defeat Satan. Thousands of years later, another promise is given by God, this time to Abraham, letting Abraham know that the Messiah would be his descendant, and he would be a blessing to all the people of the world. Listen to what God says in Genesis 22, verses 17 and 18. I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your offspring. And in your offspring, or descendant, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Now this promise came to Abraham a little over 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus. Hundreds of years later, God sent his prophet Nathan to King David to tell him that the Messiah would be his descendant as well. Listen to what Nathan said in 2 Samuel 7 verses 12 to 14. I will raise up your offspring after you, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. That's God speaking. So here, in just these first three promises, we know that the Messiah will be a descendant of Eve, meaning he will be human, he will be a descendant of Abraham, and he will be a descendant of David. In fact, he will sit on David's throne. We learn about this in Psalm 2. Listen to what we read in Psalms 2 verses 6 through 8. As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. So God is telling us here that he will set that king upon his throne, and that king will be his son, his only begotten son, and that king will rule forever, and the whole earth will be his possession. The prophet Jeremiah also mentions the rule of Messiah. Listen to what Jeremiah writes, Jeremiah 23 verses 5 and 6. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. And this is the name by which he will be called. The Lord is our righteousness." What an amazing prophecy that is. The days are coming. We don't know, or they didn't know at that time, how long that would be. The days are coming, declares the Lord. But the Lord declares, I will raise up a descendant of David. He shall reign as king. And I love the way Jeremiah states, the Lord is our righteousness. That's what we will call him. looking forward to what Jesus will accomplish in securing our righteousness. Remember, we are able to stand before God not because of our own righteousness, but because of the Lord who is our righteousness. It is his righteousness that is credited to us. And as Pastor Don mentioned earlier, the prophet Isaiah tells us that this Messiah will be born by a virgin. Look at Isaiah 7.14. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and she shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son. That doesn't happen very often, does it? Only once. Hundreds of years beforehand, God, through the prophet Isaiah, tells his people, there'll be a sign, one you can't miss, because it's only going to happen once. She shall bear a son, and he shall be called Immanuel. Isaiah goes on to tell us that the Messiah will rule forever. Listen to Isaiah 9, 6, and 7. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called, listen to these names, 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 uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." Pretty clear, isn't it? God is going to send a deliverer, a Savior, a Messiah. He will be born as a baby, as a human being, as a human man. And God will raise him up, and God will seat him on the throne, and he will rule forever. And as Pastor Don also mentioned this morning, the prophet Micah tells us where this Messiah will be born, that he will be born in Bethlehem, Micah 5.2. But you, O Bethlehem Ephratah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me, that is for God, one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from old. from ancient of days. There's an important clue, isn't it? That even though he will be born, he has existed forever. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. He existed before anything else existed. He is from ancient of days. These are just a few of the prophecies regarding the Messiah that were given hundreds of years before he was indeed born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. These promises of a deliverer, a savior, a ruler, and a king resulted in a great expectation among the Jewish people for the Messiah to come. Each successive generation were certain that the Messiah would come in their lifetime, and especially once the nation had come under the iron rule of Rome. The stage was set. The need for a deliverer was never greater. The people believed these promises from God that he would send a deliverer, yet they overlooked misunderstood several other key promises from God, several other key prophecies from God regarding the suffering and death of the Messiah which would result in the spiritual deliverance of his people, not the political deliverance of his people. The Jews simply did not understand that before Messiah would rule over them, he had to first die to deliver them from their slavery to sin, to death, and to Satan. Then he would enter his kingdom. And they would enter his kingdom because they could not do so while they were dead in their trespasses and sins. They needed more than a political or military deliverer. They needed a spiritual deliverer. And the only way the Messiah could achieve that was through his suffering, death, burial, and resurrection. And so I want us to also look at some of these promises of Messiah's suffering and death that are very clear in the Old Testament scriptures. The Jews were waiting with eager anticipation. This is mentioned several times in the New Testament, how they were expecting the Messiah. But they wanted a physical deliverance, a political and military power. They wanted a king who would defeat all their enemies and establish his kingdom and rule over the world. So they neglected or ignored all of the passages that spoke of his suffering and his death, which had to be fulfilled. to result in their spiritual deliverance from slavery to sin. So I want us to look at a couple of these texts this morning. If you would, open up your Bibles to Psalm 22. Psalm 22. We're going to look at several verses in that text. Let me read to you verse 1. Verses six through eight and verse 14 through 18. Psalm 22, verse one. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning? Verse six. I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me, they make mouths at me, they wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord, let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him. That's what they say. Verse 14. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Every one of these prophecies fulfilled in the suffering of Christ. And this was the plan of God from the beginning. The Father would send his only begotten Son into the world to suffer and to die in order to provide the atonement that you and I are in such desperate need of. Our greatest need is not deliverance from political or military forces. Our greatest need is deliverance from the holy wrath of God that is due to us for our sin. We need a Deliverer who can rescue us from ourselves and our bondage to sin and to death. We need a Deliverer who can defeat our greatest enemy, Satan, and deliver us from his grasp. And this is exactly what Jesus our Messiah accomplished for us through his perfect life, his atoning death, and his resurrection from the dead. The prophet Isaiah gives us a detailed prophecy of what the Messiah would have to endure to secure salvation for his chosen people. So turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 52. We will be reading from Isaiah 52.13 all the way through the end of chapter 53. Many of you probably do not know this, but this section of Isaiah is so clear in its description of the suffering of the Messiah that it has caused enormous problems for the teachers of Judaism. For that reason, this passage is never read in the synagogues. they simply jump over it and go to chapter 54. This passage is never read by the Jews in public because they have no explanation for what it says about the Messiah. This whole passage divides easily into five sections, each having three verses. The first section is Chapter 52 verses 13 through 15 is really a summary of everything found in chapter 53. So I want to read through this in three verse sections. The first section is about God's servant acting wisely. Look at Isaiah 52.13. Behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which was not which has not been told to them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. Isaiah here, referring to the Messiah as the servant, look at verse 13, behold my servant, that is God's servant, shall act wisely. By referring to him as the servant of God, Isaiah connects him with the previous servant of Jehovah passages, which we do not have time to look at today, but there are several in the book of Isaiah. In this first verse, the emphasis is on the exaltation of Messiah once he has accomplished his mission of atonement. Once his mission of atoning for the sins of his people was accomplished, then he would be exalted. It speaks of his ascension to heaven and his being seated at the right hand of the Father. He will act wisely and his actions will result in his exaltation. Verse 14 explains that prior to his exaltation, the Messiah will suffer and in fact he will be terribly disfigured as a result. This foretold of his scourging and beatings that would leave him almost unrecognizable. Verse 15 tells us that through his sufferings he shall sprinkle many nations or people groups Sprinkling here is speaking of cleansing. In this case, cleansing from sin through the redemption and propitiation by his blood. Despite the suffering, he will be exalted, and those who once mocked him will be silenced by him, and they will finally understand why he did what he did. They would not understand it at first. It was not what they were expecting. But in the end, all will understand. All will come to know that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess. Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen. My servant shall act wisely. Now look at chapter 53 verse 1. Isaiah asks this question. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, like a root out of the dry ground. He had no form of majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. The emphasis here on verse 1 is of the unbelief of the Jews. They did not believe the prophecies of the suffering servant. Therefore, they refused to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, with very few exceptions, those who were chosen by God to believe. He also refers here to the Messiah as the arm of the Lord or as the arm of Jehovah. Lord here is in all caps. Jehovah. This links the Messiah again to the references in Isaiah to the arm of Jehovah which tells us that the arm of Jehovah will rule for God. that the Gentiles will trust in him and that he will redeem and provide salvation for his people. In verse 2, Isaiah explains one of the reasons for their disbelief in Jesus as their Messiah. He was simply too ordinary. He was born in normal, indeed rather poor or mean circumstances. there was nothing in his outward appearance to set him apart or to cause people to be drawn to him. Now I know we see the images of the Christ child with the glow around his face, right? The beams of radiant light coming out from him. That is artistic liberty that is entirely unbiblical. And by the way, when we sing Silent Night, we sing the line, no crying he makes? Right. Isaiah tells us that there will be nothing about this baby, nothing about this child, nothing about this man that will be attractive, that will cause people to have any clue that this is the promised Messiah. He will be ordinary. In fact, according to this verse, he was not particularly good-looking. He was in appearance just like any other man. And in verse 3, we are told that his whole life was characterized by rejection and sufferings. In fact, people in general did not even want to be around him. I know that challenges some of our cultural ideas of Jesus, but I'm telling you, the scripture is clear. He did not come as a conquering king. He came as a servant, not drawing attention to himself. He was here to fulfill the plan of salvation for you and for me and for countless others. And that's what Isaiah goes on to speak about in the next section. He has borne our griefs and our sorrows. Look at verse four. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord, that is God, Yahweh, Jehovah has laid on Him that is on the Son the iniquity of us all. These verses, especially verse 4, have an emphasis on the substitutionary nature of Messiah's sufferings. Isaiah is making it very clear to us, Messiah didn't suffer because He deserved it. He suffered as a substitution for us. At the time when the Jews read this, they did not understand this. And at the time when the Jews saw the sufferings of Christ, they considered his sufferings to be a punishment from God. And they were. but not against him, but against our sins. The Jews saw someone hanging on a tree, and the scripture said that anyone who hangs on a tree is cursed by God. And so the Jews said, aha, he thinks he's the Messiah, look at him suffer. But the Messiah had to suffer, not for himself. but for us. The emphasis here is that Jesus suffered in our place. He who knew no sin became sin for us and was wounded for our transgressions, was crushed for our iniquities. He bore the chastisement from God that was due to us, the wrath of God, the holy wrath of God that was due for our sins. As I said last Sunday, God cannot be just and overlook sin. And we all know that, right? We're up in arms when somebody is set free and then they kill more people, as just recently happened. A man was set free and they took his car and ran down people in a parade. And everybody is saying, how could this happen? God has to punish sin. He cannot overlook it. He cannot wink it away. That sin has to be punished. Jesus was crushed for our iniquities. He received the chastisement, the wrath from God that was due to us. With his stripes and his shed blood, we are spiritually healed. And verse 6 tells us what we know. All we like sheep have gone astray. In other words, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And God in His grace laid upon His own Son the iniquity of us all. We would not be here today celebrating the birth of a child in Bethlehem if we didn't know about his death, burial, and resurrection in Jerusalem. If it weren't for the substitutionary death of Christ, we would care less about his birth. For we all, like sheep, have gone astray. We've all sinned. So he was the one who bore our griefs and sorrows. And Isaiah goes on to tell us that he was oppressed and he was afflicted. Look at verse 7. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that before its shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth, By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. These verses describe the trial, execution, and burial that the servant of God, the Messiah, would suffer. Verse 7 tells us that he will humbly submit to the suffering and affliction, saying nothing in his own defense or even making a complaint about it. Now you know what happens. you're accused of doing something you haven't done, right? You do not take that lightly, and chances are you don't take it quietly. But Jesus would stand trial for sins he had not committed, and he would be declared guilty and worthy of execution for those sins he had not committed. But by the grace of God, he submitted to that because that was God's plan, that he could die in our place. Verse 8 tells us that he will undergo a legal trial at which time he will be condemned to death and then executed. Make no mistake, What it says here is that he will be cut off out of the land of the living. But note, it also tells us that his death will be substitutionary. He will be stricken for the transgressions of his people. By the way, this is the first time in Scripture where it is expressly stated that the Messiah will die. and he will do so to save his people. Then in verse 9, we're told of his burial. Having been executed as a criminal, it would be expected that his body would have been thrown into the mass grave with the other criminals. But instead, Isaiah tells us that he will be buried in a rich man's tomb because he was not a criminal. In fact, he had done nothing deserving of death. Think about this. This prophecy comes hundreds of years prior to Jesus' death. And it was fulfilled to the letter. when his body was taken down by a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, and placed in that rich man's own tomb." Amazing. It's almost like God knew what was going to happen. And indeed he did, to the letter. And then, The final section here, where we are told it was the will of God to crush him. Look at verse 10. Yet it was the will of the LORD, again LORD in caps, Yahweh or Jehovah, it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He, that is Jehovah, has put him, the Son, to grief. And when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one my servant make many to be accounted righteous and shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. Note here in verse 10 who is ultimately responsible for the Messiah's death. It is not the Jews nor the Romans. It is God Himself, Jehovah. It was the will of Jehovah to crush Him, to put Him to grief. Why? Because this was the only way to provide salvation for sinners, to provide salvation for you and me. This was the only way The penalty for sin is death, eternal separation from God. So someone had to die to pay the penalty for our sins. And the only one who could accomplish that was the Son of God, who came to be our sacrifice, who came to be the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. And as a result of his sacrificial death and the atonement that it accomplished, death could not hold him, and he rose from the dead. That is how the prophet writes, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. That is not possible if the Messiah is still dead. He can't have any offspring if he's dead. His days cannot be prolonged if he is dead. He can't prosper if he is dead. So we see here that God is revealing to his people through the prophet Isaiah that not only will the Messiah die, but he will be raised from the dead. And he will see the success of his mission. and those who are his will prosper. Verse 11 tells us that he will see the result of his sacrifice and will make many, listen to this, he will make many to be accounted righteous. Accounted righteous, or credited with righteousness. That describes every one of us if we have put our faith and trust in Christ for our salvation. Those who trust in Christ will be credited or accounted by God with His righteousness. It doesn't make me righteous. I'm still a sinner. but it credits me with righteousness. And that credit cannot be taken away. It is finished. Amazing what God had revealed to the prophet Isaiah over 500 years before Jesus was born. All those who believe in Jesus and trust in him will be accounted as righteous. They will be credited with his righteousness. What a blessing this is, and how grateful we should be. This is the greatest gift ever given. Not only did God send his Son to this earth, But God sent his son to die in our place, pay the penalty for our sins, be buried, on the third day raise again, ascend back into heaven, take his seat at the right hand of the Father, and credit each one who believes and trusts in him with his righteousness. Hallelujah, what a Savior. And verse 12 tells us that the Messiah will receive his reward and he will share that reward, listen to this, he will share that reward with the many who trusted in him and in his completed work of bearing away our sins. He will share the kingdom with those given to him by the Father. And we're also reminded by Isaiah that he continues to make intercession for us. We who are still transgressors and will be until we see him face to face. Yet, God's mercy and grace and love are so great for us that the one who gave his life to die for us now makes intercession for us as we need it. Amazing, isn't it? Amazing love. How can it be? So these are some of the prophecies given to us by God in the Old Testament. And I want to finish by looking at how the promises of Messiah are fulfilled in Jesus. God has given to us a great gift through the writings of his chosen servants. Through these prophecies fulfilled in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has given us the gift of knowing that he is in control over all things and that we can absolutely trust in his promises. Amen? Oh, that was weak. Can we trust in God's promises? Yes! And amen! As I said earlier, there's over a hundred prophecies in the Old Testament given regarding the first coming of Christ and given over a period of thousands of years, all of which were fulfilled to the letter. This gives us absolute confidence in the Bible as the very Word of God. therefore in the promises of salvation for all who trust in Christ and the promises of a second coming of Messiah, the second coming of Jesus, something that we are now anxiously awaiting. Amen? Think about that. I've shared with you this before, that when I got saved, I was 13 years old, and just a month or two after I got saved, I started high school as a freshman, and got into a youth group. That's where I met my beautiful wife, in that youth group. And I was certain, absolutely certain, that Jesus would return before I ever graduated from high school. I mean, it was going to be next week, or next month at the latest. And every time I had a birthday, I was like, you've got to be kidding me. Never did I expect to get married. Never did I expect to have children. Never did I expect I would someday be a pastor. No way! Jesus was coming back! Maranatha! Remember that? Come quickly, Jesus. The whole Maranatha movement. Well, listen to me. While we await the second coming of Christ, there is work to be done. Peter tells us why Jesus has delayed. It is because God wants every single person who's been chosen for salvation to be saved. So you and I have work to do. He has chosen us. to be His voice, to be His hands extended, to be His representatives, to be His people, to be His church. Let us fulfill our calling with great joy and with great confidence in knowing that we can trust in the promises of God. Amen. Joy in knowing that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Joy in knowing that our work on earth is vital and when it is done he will call us to himself and we shall forever be with our Emmanuel. joy in knowing that one day Jesus will return, and this time in power and in glory. And we shall be with him in the new heavens and the new earth, where righteousness will dwell forever. I don't know about you, but I'm excited about that. And God has given us an opportunity this holiday season to share the excitement, not only in the first coming of Christ, but in the second coming of Christ. Amen? Joy to the world, the Lord has come, and he will come again. Let the earth receive her king. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, again, we just thank you for this wonderful opportunity for us to gather together as your people. those, Father God, to whom you have revealed your truth. Thank you, Father, for your word. Thank you for those that have taught us your word. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who gives us understanding and causes us to have a desire to know you, to love you, to serve you. Father, I pray that you will bless us, your children, During this holiday season, give us, Father God, a spirit of joy. Joy in knowing what you have done to save us, to bring us to yourself, to bring us in to the body of Christ, the family of God. And Father, let us seize upon any opportunities we have to share the reason for the joy that is within us, the reason for the hope that is within us, to share the gospel with family, friends, neighbors. Father, we pray that many would come to know Christ over the next few weeks, and they too would be welcomed in to the body of Christ. We give thanks to you for all of these things, and we praise your glorious name. Amen and amen. Thank you, Pastor Steve. Over how many prophecies? 100. You know the chances of fulfilling