TITLE: The King Who Almost Stole Christmas John Stonestreet, Leaving Religion in the Pandemic. • American Christianity has fallen 12% over the last 10 years. • 20% of Americans are “nones.” They are people who do not identify with any particular religion. • Historically, catastrophic events tend to draw people back to faith. The global pandemic brought many back to faith, but they were the minority. Why don't more people turn to God in a national crisis? The King Who Almost Stole Christmas • Ahaz was King of Judah from age 20-36. • Ahaz destroyed the political and religious life of Judah. • Ahaz refused a direct offer of divine help from God. • Ahaz turned to pagan gods and nations for help. • Ahaz closed the temple and gave its treasures to Assyria. • Ahaz constructed a pagan altar in the temple area. • Ahaz was so evil he was not buried in the royal cemetery. • See 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28. The Problem • 2 Chronicles 28:22 (NLT), “Even during this time of trouble, King Ahaz continued to reject the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, ‘Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them.’ But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah.” The Solution • Isaiah 7:7 (NLT), “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place.” • Isaiah 7:9 (NLT), “Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.” • Keep the faith and God will keep you. The Refusal • Isaiah 7:10 (NLT), “Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: 11 ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.’ 12 But the king refused. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I will not test the Lord like that.’ 13 Then Isaiah said, ‘Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?’” The Restoration • Isaiah 7:14 (NLT), “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” The Book of Immanuel (Isaiah 7-12) • The Sign of Immanuel: A virgin will conceive a child (Is. 7:14). • The Power of Immanuel: Judah’s enemies will not succeed (Is. 8:10). • The Reign of Immanuel: Great light will shine in darkness (Is. 9:2). He is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (9:6). His government and peace will never end (9:7). • The Restoration of Immanuel: One breath from His mouth will destroy the wicked (Is. 11:4). Creation will be restored (11:6). The earth will be filled with people who know the Lord (11:9). CONCLUSION Faith is the victory that overcomes the world! 1 John 5:5 (NLT), “And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”