Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family are having a wonderful Advent Christmas season. I've enjoyed preaching from the book of Hebrews this Advent season. The first sermon was from chapter one, titled The Glorious Son. The second sermon was from chapter three, The Faithful Son. The third sermon is from chapter seven, The Perfect Son. And the fourth and final sermon will be from chapter 10, titled The Will of God.

It is possible to be near the gospel and miss salvation. It is possible to have some knowledge of the gospel and not believe it. It is possible to be close to salivation and not be saved. Proximity does not equal possession.

Beyond making a comparison between Moses and Jesus, Hebrews 3 warns that it is not enough to simply know who Jesus is. Like the people that Moses led, there will be many who miss out on receiving the salvation of Jesus. Those whom Moses led out of Egypt were witnesses to God's great and glorious power but did not have faith and thus did not receive the blessing of the promised land. Likewise, many today have heard the gospel but have not believed in faith and thus have not received the promise of salvation.

God has used many things to reveal himself to man and testify to his glory, but these things must not distract you from the glory of Jesus Christ. We are people who are easily distracted. The first chapter of Hebrews identifies some of the good things God has used to reveal himself to man, testify to his glory, and accomplish his will. God used these good things to point to his glory, but they are not and never have been equal to his glory. The danger and warning of this chapter is becoming distracted by these things and missing what they testify to. 

With such a propensity to be distracted, how can you keep your heart and mind focused on the glory of Jesus Christ? To keep you from disastrous distractions, this passage calls you to recognize the glorious supremacy of Christ in three areas.

The gospel of Matthew (2:20-23) tells us that God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to tell him that the child that Mary was carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel also instructed Joseph that the son Mary would bear would be named Jesus because "he will save his people from their sins." The name Jesus is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means the Lord saves.

The New Testament celebrates the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophetic promise. One of the earliest books in the New Testament is 1 Thessalonians. In chapter 5, Paul gives instructions for how Christians are to live in the context of a wicked and broken world. Specifically, Christians are to live in a posture of expectation of the imminent return of Jesus.

The connection between Isaiah 9:7 and 1 Thessalonians 5 is one of timing and perspective. Isaiah is looking forward to the day that the Messiah will come. Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, is rejoicing that Jesus the Messiah has come and is looking forward to when he will return. Isaiah looks forward to the Messiah coming to establish his kingdom. Paul is rejoicing that the kingdom of God has come and is looking forward to the day when the fullness of it is known.

From these two passages, we are encouraged to have a perspective of hope in the promise of salvation that enables us to persevere in the present.

The last two names listed in Isaiah 9:6 for the Messiah are Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. These two names point to the eternal nature of the Messiah and the work of redemption he has accomplished.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul teaches that the resurrection of Jesus is fundamental to the work of redemption and celebrates the victory over sin and death that Jesus' resurrection has brought. The redemption of Jesus provides eternal salvation and eternal peace to those who believe in faith in Jesus.

Isaiah declares that Jesus will be called – wonderful counselor and mighty God. Wonderful counselor acknowledges that the Messiah will be one who reveals the glorious truth of God, and Mighty God declares that he is God and exercises the power of God. The Messiah will be God, revealing the truth of himself to the world.

In the New Testament, one of the clearest declarations of this comes in John chapter 14. Jesus was encouraging his disciples that he was preparing an eternal dwelling place in his Father's house for those who believe in God and in him. Thomas asked Jesus how they would know the way to his Father's house. Jesus responded that He was the way, the truth, the life, and salvation was only through him.

With this declaration, Jesus made it clear that the hope of the gospel was exclusively through and in himself.

Isaiah 9:6 is a familiar passage often read during Advent. This Advent season, I will be preaching each sermon from Isaiah 9:6 with attention to the names given to the Messiah.

Today, we consider the first two phrases of the passage: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” In these two phrases, we have a foundational truth of the hope of the gospel declaring the nature of Jesus. Jesus is both and, at the same time, all God and all man. These two natures are united in the person of Jesus. He is all God and all man.

Isaiah prophesied this glorious mystery in Isaiah 9:6 when he declared that unto us would be born a child (man) and a son would be given (God). The gospel of Matthew tells us that God sent an angel to Joseph to declare to him that the baby that Mary conceived was of the Holy Spirit and was the one for whom the prophet Isaiah foretold and would be called Immanuel (which means God with us) (Matthew 1:18-25).

The glorious hope of Christmas is that God came, in the flesh, to redeem us from our sins. The prophet Isaiah declared this future hope, and the New Testament celebrates the fulfillment of this hope. Philippians 2:5-11

teaches this fundamental truth and testifies that Jesus coming in the flesh was an act of grace, a gift of love, and there is hope in the name of Jesus.

The birth of Jesus is an amazing event. His birth is why we celebrate Christmas. As Matthew retells the birth story, he repeatedly reminds us that these events were the fulfillment of the prophecies that foretold of the coming messiah. Even the family’s escape to Egypt and return to Nazareth (2:13-23) were part of God’s perfect plan. But amazing as the birth and all the events around it are – the birth is not the end of the story.

The birth of Jesus is important but why He was born is even more important. Matthew 3 begins to tell the story of who Jesus is and why Jesus was born. Jesus is the Lord of all creation. The Lord of all creation came to die that we might be saved

When the angel revealed to Joseph that Mary was pregnant with the Messiah, he was declaring that the long wait was over. The long-anticipated Messiah was coming. The Christ has arrived.

The name that the prophet Isaiah gives the messiah is Immanuel. As Matthew recounts the encounter Joseph had with the angel, he reminds us that this name means “God with us.” God stepped out of the glory of heaven to dwell among and with us.

The prophets sang, “Oh come, oh come Immanuel.” The angel declared to Joseph Immanuel had come. Through Jesus, we know the amazing love of God's presence, and sacrifice. And through the love of Jesus, we are transformed.

Habakkuk knew that the judgment of God was coming. He knew there was no way to avoid it. He would likely die before God restored the people to the land. These were hard days. They were not going to get better in his lifetime. And yet Habakkuk ends this book with some of the most hopeful and joy-filled words in all of scripture.

Habakkuk had joy even in the brokenness of his present situation because he was looking toward the salvation of God that would come with the birth of Jesus.

God made a promise to Abraham to bless all the families of the earth through him. God added to this promise when He promised king David (a descendant of Abraham) that his kingdom would last forever with a descendant of his on the throne. These promises, and many more, were fulfilled in Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, a member of David’s family, and the lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

In these three verses, there are three promises that give us hope. These were words of hope for Juda for their restoration from captivity. And looking beyond the near horizon to what is beyond these are words of hope for all the world that there is salvation in Jesus.