The sermon emphasizes the significance of the number seven in the Bible, highlighting its symbolism as a perfect and complete number. It explores how Matthew's Gospel, in its first four chapters, details seven Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the birth and early life of Jesus Christ. These include prophecies about Jesus being born of a virgin, coming from Bethlehem, being called out of Egypt, the massacre of children, being a Nazarene, having a forerunner, and bringing light to darkness. The central message of the sermon is that Christmas is irrefutable proof of God's faithfulness and His ability to keep promises. The speaker encourages believers to trust in God's promises, especially during difficult times, using Christmas as a reminder of God's unwavering commitment to His word. The sermon concludes by stressing the importance of trusting and rejoicing in God's promises, as they are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The wonderful, and I do mean wonderful, Derek Thomas, former pastor and Ligonier teaching fellow, he says this about the number seven. The Bible has a fondness for the number seven. For example, there are seven creation days, and Joshua and his men marched around Jericho seven times. And then the book of Revelation features seven letters written by Jesus to seven churches, as well as seven seals, seven bowls, and seven trumpets. Seven then is often referred to as a perfect and complete number.

Even the infamous number 666 is alluding to the fact that it is not 777. And so it is precious that Matthew employs this same number, the number 7, in the first section of his Gospel from chapters one to four. As he describes the birth of Jesus and the period before Jesus begins to preach, Matthew cites seven Old Testament fulfillments. End quote. Beloved, tonight that is exactly what we will be examining together.

Seven Old Testament fulfillments in Matthew's Gospel beginning in chapter 1 and ending halfway through chapter 4. Seven Messianic prophecies perfectly and completely fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ on Christmas. Seven perfectly kept promises from God that show you why Christmas matters. We've been going through this on the Lord's Day, the past two Lord's Days, why Christmas matters. And we end our Advent here.

Christmas matters because God always keeps His promises. Christmas, you need to hear this, Christmas is irrefutable proof that God always keeps His promises perfectly, completely, every single time. Now, there are more than seven messianic prophecies and promises fulfilled in the four gospels in the New Testament. There are more than that, but tonight you and I are looking specifically at the first seven and the first four chapters of the first gospel in the New Testament. Exactly how Matthew would have wanted us to look at them.

Christmas matters because God keeps His promises. We've already read a number of them together from our Bible readings this evening. So first, I want to remind you of what we've already read from Matthew chapter 1 verse 23. Promise number 1 from Matthew chapter 1 verse 23. The promise that the Savior of the world would be born of a virgin.

Let's begin in verse 22. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Behold the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means God with us. That's a promise that God made to his people all the way back in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14. That's the first thing we read tonight.

Concerning the Savior to come in Isaiah 7 14, a virgin will be with child. He will bet she will bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel and Matthew's gospel you know what it says to that It says yes and amen To God's promises in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 Yes, and amen in the coming of Jesus Christ on Christmas God keeps his promises Promise number two from Matthew chapter 2 verse 6 The promise that the Savior would come from Bethlehem And you Bethlehem land of Judah are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. That's the promise that God made to his people all the way back in Micah chapter five verse two. Matthew 2 6 is a fulfillment of Micah 5 2. In Micah 5, God promised the Savior from Bethlehem to set His people free, to rule and reign over them as the Prince of Peace, and Matthew says, yes and amen to God's promise in Micah chapter 5.

Yes and Amen are the promises of God in the coming of Jesus Christ on Christmas. God keeps His promises. Christmas is irrefutable proof that God always keeps His promises, every single one of them. Promise number three from Matthew chapter two verse fifteen. In fact, let's just begin in verse thirteen if you're following along.

This is the promise that the Savior would be called out of Egypt, the third promise, the third prophecy fulfilled. In Matthew chapter 2 verse 13, now when the wise man had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child and destroy him. So Joseph got up and took the child and his mother while it was still night and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, out of Egypt I called my son.

That's God's promise to His people from all the way back in Hosea chapter 11, verse 1. Hosea 11.1, out of Egypt I called my son. God had promised that He would send His Son to be born in Bethlehem and then call Him out of Egypt. And Matthew says once again, yes and amen to God's promise in Hosea chapter 11. Christmas is yes and amen to all of God's promises because the Savior came exactly as God had said.

God keeps His promises perfectly and completely. A fourth promise from Matthew chapter 2 verse 18. This is a difficult promise, the promise of the slaughter of children. Beginning in verse 16 of Matthew chapter 2 verse 16, when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the Magi, he became very enraged. And he sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity from two years old and under, according to the time which had been determined from the Magi.

Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled. You keep seeing that word fulfilled? You keep using that word? You do know what it means. In verse 18, a voice was heard in Ramah weeping in great mourning.

Rachel weeping for her children and she refused to be comforted because they were no more. Verse 18 of Matthew chapter 2 was a fulfillment of the grim prophecy that God had made to His people from all the way back in Jeremiah 31 verse 15. Jeremiah 31 verse 15, God had promised His people through the prophet Jeremiah that a great calamity was coming upon the people as the Savior was to be born. Great lamentation, great weeping, as children were to be evilly massacred by evil men. And Matthew says, even to this, yes, and amen.

Prophecy fulfilled. Promise kept. Painfully so. Matthew 2, 18 is the fulfillment of what God has long ago promised. Saints, I'm hoping you're seeing this.

At Christmas, all the promises of God came true when Emmanuel showed up. In case you don't get that, let's keep going. The fifth promise, Matthew chapter 2 verse 23. The promise that the Savior was to be a Nazarene. The promise that the Savior was to be a Nazarene.

Verse 23 of Matthew chapter 2, and after the death of Herod, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. Again, that was God's promise made to His people long ago that the Savior to come would be despised and rejected by men. And that promise is littered throughout the Old Testament prophets.

I've got one here for you, Isaiah 53 verse 3. He was despised and rejected by men. But There are a number of Old Testament prophecies that this particular verse in Matthew chapter 2 is pointing to. The Savior was to come. He was to be rejected by men.

The promised Savior was to be held in contempt. The Jews in the New Testament would say things like, can anything good possibly come from Nazareth? And God through the Old Testament prophets had promised to send a humble and rejected Savior. And so Matthew's Gospel says, yes and amen. In Christ Jesus coming on Christmas from out of an embarrassing and obscure town called Nazareth, From a town that the high Jews pretty much scoffed at, God sent His Son.

God has kept all of His promises on Christmas. Two more. Promise number six. From Matthew chapter three now, the promise of a forerunner. All of these promises are from the birth of Christ to the beginning of His ministry.

These seven promises, these seven promises, prophecies kept. We see the promise of John the Baptist, the forerunner. In verse 1 of Matthew 3, Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Christmas happened, and all of God's promises came true, even this one.

Christmas happened, God took on flesh and dwelt among us. His name was Jesus and before the start of his preaching and teaching was to commence, the forerunner was to come. John the Baptist came and He came along to roll out the red carpet for the Messiah. He came out as the one that was the opener before the main act. God had promised in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 3 and Malachi chapter 3 verse 1, Isaiah 40 verse 3 and Malachi 3.1.

God had promised His people that a forerunner, an opener would show up before the main event began. And Matthew's gospel says John the Baptist was that opening act. John the Baptist was the one promised to prepare the way for the Savior of the world. I keep saying it, and there's a reason I keep saying it, and we're getting there. Every promise that God has made is fulfilled and kept at Christmas.

God keeps His promises to His people. Even a weird promise like a man who's going to come and eat honey and locusts, kept that one perfectly and completely. Finally, number seven. Number seven, the promise of darkness to light in Matthew chapter 4, 13-16. From Matthew chapter 4, beginning in verse 12, now when Jesus had heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee.

This is the last thing that happens before He begins His ministry. Verse 13, in leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who were sitting in darkness saw great light, and those who were sitting in the land in shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.

And from that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We see him enter into his ministry. That promise, verses 13 through 16, was from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 1 and 2. Isaiah 9, 1 and 2. God would send a Savior, and that Savior would take lost and dead and depraved sinners in their sin.

He would take a people of darkness and rescue them from themselves and rescue them from their sins and Transfer them into the kingdom of light the kingdom of his beloved son And this Jesus Christ came on Christmas and he came saying what? I am the light. I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. On Christmas the Savior in the fullness of time, the seventh promise, the Savior of the world came to save sinners from their darkness and depravity, from their enmity with God.

The Savior came to rescue sinners, to redeem them, to take enemies of God, and to so transform them by the work of His might, that they would be made friends and children of the very God they used to spurn. What a promise. What a promise that you, a sinner, who loved the darkness, could be made new. What a promise that you, sinner, who deserve nothing but condemnation and subsequent damnation on account of your sinful rebellion against God. What a promise that you who deserve nothing but eternity in the lake of fire.

What a promise that the light has come and that light is Jesus the Savior and He has overcome the darkness. He has broken the power of sin. He sets prisoners free. What a promise to those who trust Him. What a promise that is for every single one of you, single one of you who run to Jesus Christ this very night by faith.

No longer trusting in anything that you have done, but trusting in the one and what he has done and has finished work on the cross. Trusting no longer in what you have done, but in what the Savior came to do and accomplished. The promise is for you. You will be saved. If you come to Jesus Christ, friend, who came to earth on Christmas, and he lived a life of perfect obedience and he died a substitutionary death on the cross atoning for every one of the sins of the elect.

If you trust Him who was then raised up in triumph over all of His enemies, over every single one of your enemies if you're a Christian. If you trusted Him who has ascended into heaven, who right now is reigning in heaven, who is reigning over heaven and earth with all authority, what a promise it is that if you fly to Him right now, He will in no way cast you out. But instead, the promise is He will take your sin, and in exchange for your sin, He will impute to you His very own righteousness. So that though your sins may be scarlet, He will make you white as snow For the sake of his son Jesus Christ who came on Christmas That's a good promise What a promise to you. Do you doubt that promise?

Do you doubt the promises of God? Now have you not heard what I've just been declaring? Promise after promise after promise that God had made long ago that God completely and perfectly kept. And we only got through seven of them. Will then this promise to you that you who walk in darkness may walk in the light, Will this promise fail too?

Never! Friends, I hope you're seeing why Christmas matters. God keeps His promises. All of them are yes and amen in the coming of Jesus Christ for His people. Every single one of them.

And I just wonder if you realize what that means. How do you know that when the doctor walks into your room and you get that dreadful diagnosis, how do you know that God will keep his promise? How do you know that God will care for you? How do you know that God will care for you? How do you know that God will not let you go?

How do you know? How do you know when the police walk up to the front door of your house, and they tell you that your loved one has been killed in an automobile accident? How do you know you're going to be OK? How do you know how you're going to get to tomorrow? How can you endure sickness and calamity and sorrow and loss?

How can you endure depression? How do you know that despair will not just take you under and Never let you back up and just drown you. What can you do when you get a call from your beloved pastor and he tells you that he has cancer and he's terribly ill. And you fear you might lose him. What on earth are you going to do when you think you might lose one of your best friends in Iowa and your pastor.

You can remember Christmas. That's what you can do. You can remember Christmas and that on Christmas, God kept every single one of His precious and very great promises perfectly and completely for His people. So when the news comes, when cancer comes, when death draws near, you don't need to wonder, how Will I endure? How will I make it to the end?

Will I be able to hold fast unto the Lord until the end? You don't need to despair. Because if you belong to this Jesus Christ, Christmas is irrefutable proof. Every one of God's promises is yes and amen in Him for you. He will hold you fast.

He will not let your soul be lost. He will care for you. He loves you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are His.

He has called you by name. When you walk through the waters of death, I will be with you, God says. When the river of cancer threatens to overthrow you, I will not let you drown. When you stand on the threshold of death and all other earthly counselors and guides can go no further, you're stepping into that threshold and they cannot go. God steps through that threshold with you, carrying you as a shepherd does a wounded sheep.

Carrying you into glory Himself. What a promise! When the winds and waves of life threaten to overtake you, God promises to take you in Jesus Christ. He says, I will uphold you by my right hand. It's a promise.

I will keep you in my grip forever and ever. Those are promises from Almighty God, from your Heavenly Father. Those promises are unbreakable, Christian. So I'm trying to set up for you at the beginning of this sermonette. God's promises are unbreakable.

If you begin to doubt that, where do you look? Christmas! Amen. And though you walk through the very shadow of death, He will be with you, always, forever. Your name is graven on his hand.

Your name is written, Christian, on his heart. There is no eraser. Praise the Lord indeed. These are promises that Christmas makes plain. Promises that God has made to you that God will always and forever keep you in Jesus Christ.

Christmas matters because it shows you that God keeps His promises. And you can trust Him. You can trust Him. So trust Him. Trust Him.

Rejoice in Him. Rejoice that the Savior came and God kept all of His promises. God is trustworthy. Christian, you should rejoice that though your grip is weak, God's grip is firm. Your salvation, Christian, your hope, Christian, your future Christian is secure.

God has promised and God completely and perfectly keeps all of His promises. They are yes and amen in Jesus Christ who came on Christmas. So let me end with a final quote from Dr. Derek Thomas, the man I quoted at the beginning of this sermon. Dr.

Thomas says this, from eternity, the Lord has loved His people. The Lord has loved you. Christmas is the visible demonstration of that love. Calvary the cost of it. Resurrection and ascension, the triumph and effectiveness of it.

Little wonder then that creatures surrounding the Lamb's throne in heaven exclaim, worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. A seven-fold blessing. Seven promises made at the beginning of the New Testament, and seven promises kept at the beginning of the New Testament, and seven blessings at the end of the New Testament, and everything in between, God keeps His promises. Glory hallelujah. Let's pray.

Father, thank you that Christmas matters so much, and now we get to celebrate it. I ask that our people, the people leave here, that they do not know the Lord Jesus, that they would this day fly to Him, knowing that your promise is true, that condemnation is certain for those outside of Christ. But they would also then recognize that your promise is true, that for all those in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation, ever. And at this day, they would repent and believe in Christ crucified, risen and reigning. Help us, Lord, now to sing well as we consider everything that I've just said in this next hymn, in this next carol.

Oh Lord that we would be a balm for our souls. That there would be peace in our hearts. Oh, that we would go home excited to wake up and celebrate again. In Jesus' name I ask these things. Amen.

Thank you.