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The Messiah - Part 11
Born of a Virgin
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Therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14
There are many prophecies in the Old
Testament that have double meanings. It takes discernment and prayer
often to be able to see what the Lord is trying to tell us. Isaiah 7
verse 14 refers to the coming Messiah while some of the other verses
may imply Isaiah's own son. We know that Isaiah's son was not born
of a virgin so verse 14 has to refer to the coming Messiah born by a
miracle from God.
Immanuel means, "God with us." That
sounds so beautiful. How I long for God to dwell among us. He was
once with the children of Israel in the wilderness when they built
the tabernacle. Sin drove God away. He was so close but unbelief
limited His presence among them. That is the same with us. I heard a
preacher once say, "You are as close to the Lord as you want to be."
That is so true. It is "us" that stray away from God. He is not the one
who is refusing fellowship.
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and
is Immanuel, God with us. He is God who came into the flesh, born of
woman and dwelt among us for a season. Many did not recognize Him
and still do not. Yet we can know the Lord. We can receive Him into
our lives. We do not ever
have to be alone. He will come into your
life, change your life and dwell with you by giving you the Holy
Spirit who comes to abide with those that receive Him.
When He was resurrected He told his
disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they be endued with power
before they went out to preach. In the book of Acts it tells us
about the disciples and many others being filled with the Holy
Spirit on the day of Pentecost and all throughout the book of Acts
many were baptized in the Holy Spirit. We do not have to be alone.
Immanuel, God with us. Our unbelief is the only thing keeping
us away from God.
Fulfillment in the New Testament:
- Matthew 1:18 Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary
was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost.
- 19 Then Joseph her
husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public
example, was minded to put her away privately.
- 20 But while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not
to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost.
- 21 And she shall
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall save his people from their sins.
- 22 Now all this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying,
- 23 Behold, a virgin
shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Notice verse 21 in the above scriptures
in Matthew. Makes clear that the prophecy in Isaiah was Jesus, not
the actual son of Isaiah.
Now we see that the Messiah comes first
to save people from sins. All need to be saved from sin. This
message came to the Jews first. They rejected this message and so
after their rejection the message of salvation from sins and eternal
life was given to the Gentiles. Jesus came to save from sin. This is
the gospel. We need to be saved. Every last person on the face of
the earth needs to come to Jesus to be saved. Our sins must be
repented of and turned away from. We ask Jesus into our lives
forever. He will come the moment we turn to Him and believe. He is
waiting for us to just ask. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you
shall find. Knock and He will open the door. He loves you and is
waiting.
- Luke 1:26 And in the
sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of
Galilee, named Nazareth,
- 27 To a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin's name was Mary.
- 28 And the angel
came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored,
the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
- 29 And when she saw
him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what
manner of salutation this should be.
- 30 And the angel
said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with
God.
- 31 And, behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and
shalt call his name JESUS.
- 32 He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord
God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
- 33 And he shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there
shall be no end.
- 34 Then said Mary
unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
- 35 And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God.
In Matthew we read that Jesus came to
save people from sins and now we see that Jesus is the Son of God.
The Son of God became one of us to live among us to show us the way
to God. We also see the promise that this same Jesus will rule
forever.
- Luke 1:39 And Mary arose
in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a
city of Juda;
- 40 And entered into
the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
- 41 And it came to
pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the
babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy
Ghost:
- 42 And she spake
out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
- 43 And whence is
this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
- 44 For, lo, as soon
as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe
leaped in my womb for joy.
- 45 And blessed is
she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those
things which were told her from the Lord.
- 46 And Mary said,
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
- 47 And my spirit
hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
- 48 For he hath
regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from
henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
- 49 For he that is
mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
- 50 And his mercy is
on them that fear him from generation to generation.
- 51 He hath shewed
strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts.
- 52 He hath put down
the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
- 53 He hath filled
the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty
away.
- 54 He hath holpen
his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
- 55 As he spake to
our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
Elizabeth also was carrying a child,
John the Baptist. When Mary came to visit and entered her house, the
baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy. This is how great the very
presence of God is. Even a baby leaped for joy at His presence. Do
not think some churches are strange because
people shout and praise God, when God's
Spirit is present it will cause shouting, weeping, crying, praising,
singing and many other emotions. We shout when our favorite football
team scores a touchdown. Crowds go wild with joy. Isn't our God
worth more that that?
Mary then prophesied of the purpose of
the child she was carrying. He shows mercy to those that fear Him
not only in that generation but in ages to come. Some of her
prophecy is yet to come to pass. He also will restore Israel as He
promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Jesus Christ will one day come and set
up His everlasting Kingdom. The good part is that we do not have to
wait for that day to receive Jesus. We can have Jesus Christ within
us now. All we have to do is ask Him to forgive us of sin and take
our sin away. We then ask Him to come into our lives. He will send
His Holy Spirit to help us and lead us.
When we take one step toward the Lord,
he takes two steps toward us. He loves you and you do not have to be
alone. Ever. DC
Messiah Index
Messiah part 12
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