Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020 – Promises Kept 3 – Christmas Day
Pastor Troy Brewer
OpenDoor Church, Burleson, TX
When Gabriel announced to Mary that she would have a son, the angel invoked a promise that had echoed throughout the Old Testament. Her son would be called the Son of the Most High and would reign on the throne of His father, David. Those familiar with the Law and the Prophets, including Mary herself, would have quickly begun to connect the prophetic dots.
In time, God’s plan became clear: He would fulfill this promise through His Son, Jesus. When the angel appeared to Mary, God provided the ultimate update on God’s plan to keep His promise.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call Him Jesus. He 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, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.
Luke 1:34-35
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on 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.”
The first use of the fulfillment phrase mentioned above introduces one of the best-known prophecies in the Bible.
Matthew 1:23
Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
In reference to the birth of Jesus, Matthew cited a specific prophecy from Isaiah made more than 700 years earlier.
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Matthew 2:6; Micah 5:2; John 7:42
“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.”
To qualify as the Lamb of God that would be led to the slaughter, as Isaiah 53 says, he had to be born at the place that all the other lambs for sacrifice were born. Think about this: God used the census to get them to Bethlehem. Then he used the fact that her pregnancy was scandalous to get her out of the house. And where do they go? To the Tower of the Flock, just as Micah prophesied.
Now imagine you are one of these priestly shepherds. Surely you know the prophesy of Migdal Eder and Bethlehem. It is where you spend most of your days. If the Magi from the east knew of the prophecies (Matt. 2:6), then certainly the temple shepherds did. And then one night, as they were out with the lambs of God, a heavenly host appears. Oh, how I love this story!
The angel startled them. I mean, who sees an angel in the middle of the night on the hills of Bethlehem? It was, indeed, terrifying. But then he utters those words that bring me to tears when I read them:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
Good news! Really? What an understatement. Good news is that my Espresso machine isn’t really broken. This was AWESOME NEWS! Emanuel! God with us!!! Hallelujah! Of course, the phrase is prophetic and comes from Isaiah 61:1, where the Messiah doesn’t just bring good news. He is the good news
Just stop for a minute and shout praise to the Lord! While most of earth was unaware, the greatest of celebrations was taking place in the heavenlies—and the shepherds had the privilege to join in. It had to be a secret—there were enemies, as we shall soon see; those who would seek the life of the Savior. But God could not keep all this joy to Himself. He sought the companionship of these priestly shepherds—much like with Abraham—to rejoice over His marvelous plan of redemption.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
Luke 2:13-15
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
They were in the hills outside of Bethlehem. But they went back to the Migdal Eder—the Tower of the Flock. How did they know to go there? He could have been anywhere in Bethlehem. First, they knew the prophecy of Micah 4:8, that the restoration of Israel’s royal authority would come from Migdal Eder; and from
Micah 5:2
that it was not merely Bethlehem, but Bethlehem Ephrathah—the town of David, the home of Boaz, where the Messiah would be born. Did every Jew know this? Maybe, but these were shepherd-priests, in service of the Lord.
Paul said that Yeshua humbled Himself by coming from heaven to earth (Phil 2:5-8), but that is not even the half of it. He was placed in a dirty manger and like a newborn lamb, wrapped in swaddling clothes. This was the custom of the priests, to keep the lambs from hurting themselves. The shepherds knew exactly which manger to go to, despite the fact that there were certainly dozens, if not more, in the area. It was the one of which the prophet Micah spoke—the Tower of the Flock.
When they arrived they found “Miriam and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” (Luke 2:16) Then they became the very first evangelists:
Luke 2:17-18
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
The tower of the flock video
The very first Christmas came with promises kept, encounters with God, supernatural wonder and the mess and disappointments of family controversy and political turmoil.
The Gospel of Luke really shows us the humanity of Jesus and the
The world itself would make way for the messiah in broad daylight for not only everyone to see back then but for every one to see today
Alexander the great video
Who were the wise men from the east, looking at stars, studying the heavens and waiting for a jewish messiah in a gentile country?
It goes all the way back to one the greatest human beings the world has ever seen. A slave who rose up as a prophet and literally changed the world. His name was Daniel
Upon his arrival in Babylon and assignment to the court of the King, Daniel interprets a dream that none of the Babylonian
“…magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, Chaldeans, (astrologers)” could not interpret.
Daniel gives all glory to God, and because he was able to interpret the dream, his life is spared, and also the life of these ‘magi.’ They are in his debt, and they recognized that Daniel’s God is God. Furthermore, the King makes Daniel
Daniel 2:2
“…ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.”
Again in chapter 4, and many years later in chapter 5, he remains known as “Chief of the magi.”
What do you think Daniel did with that authority? What do you think Daniel taught these wise men? In addition to Balaam’s oracles, Daniel gave them access to all of the counsel and Words of Jehovah. From Moses to Joshua to Micah, we cannot be sure how much Daniel knew, but we know that he was of Jewish nobility, well educated, and devoted to God (Daniel 1:3-7).
Finally, Daniel would teach them the prophecies that God revealed to him. One of the most striking is the 70 sevens (70 7 year periods) in Daniel 9. There are many interpretations of this passage of history to come, but few, if any, disagree on the fact that it pinpoints the exact time of the arrival of Messiah (483 years would pass between the decree to rebuild Jerusalem -issued by Persia- and the arrival of the Messiah).
THIRD VIDEO
If you saw a sign in the heaven would you be wise enough to believe what God was saying?
VIRGO: There is a Messiah coming.
LIBRA: He will be a Redeemer.
SCORPIO: There will be a war and He will die.
SAGITTARIUS: He will resurrect and conquer death.
CAPRICORN: From His death, a living people will be born.
AQUARIUS: He will pour out His Spirit upon them all.
PISCES: His people will multiply and bless the earth.
ARIES: His Kingdom will come and His will be done.
TAURUS: He will return with His people on behalf of Israel.
GEMENI: His people will be just like Him.
CANCER: He will never let go of them as His possession.
LEO: He will rule and reign supreme throughout the Universe.
What if it took 490 years for a promise to be fulfilled? Would you be one of the very few who had the courage to stope what your doing and the seek the miracle that God had promised because of a celestial, natural event?
There is another celestial wonder taking place in the heaven this very week marking a supernatural miracle
12/21 – palindrome – reads the same backward and forward. The winter solstice is a prophetic palindrome. The days get shorter until 12/21 – the darkest day & longest night of the year – then the days get longer. BOOM!
The great 2020 convergence of Jupiter and Saturn
Jupiter represent the King, the Kingdom and God’s Justice
Saturn, the ringed planet, represents covenant and Harvest
It happens on the peak of the Ursids meteor shower – Ursa Major & Minor. Ursa Minor, the Little Dipper, points to the North Star! The center of the universe from our perspective – THE THRONE OF GOD, JESUS
First day of the sign of Capricorn (life coming from sacrificial death. The Church being born from Jesus death.
Mark 13:25
And the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Matthew 24:29
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Revelation 6:13
And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
It happens on winter solstice (the darkest day of the year)
It happens on December 21st
Romans 12:21
says do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.
The first Christmas sign in the heavens was star and it promised God was now with us
The heavens are declaring the same thing today
Jesus is alive, on His throne and with us right now
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God says he is with us and He always keeps his promises