Immanuel - A Sign to Be Believed (Part 1)

This morning I would like to set forth to you the greatness of God’s gift to a world of fallen sinners. We will do this by looking at the beautiful Name of our Savior which is given to us in this text; the name Immanuel. The Lord Himself gave Ahaz a sign which has become one of the greatest prophecies of Christ’s birth, in the whole of Scripture. It was a sign to be asked for, and a sign to be believed. The sign itself was of a virgin who would conceive and bear a Son. And His name would be called Immanuel. We know that just before the Christ child was to be born, that the angel told Joseph to call His name Jesus; for he would save His people from their sins. But here in Isaiah it says that the virgin shall call his name Immanuel. And we do not find the name of our Savior spoken of in this way, anywhere in the Bible, except here in the book of Isaiah and in Matthew chapter 1. And so I think that we need to take Immanuel to be a spiritual name; part of the sign that was given. You and I must seek to understand the meaning of this sign-name for ourselves. In what ways is the name Immanuel a sign to be believed? Let me tell you how it is so.