God With Us:
THE REALITY OF EMMANUEL
This morning I am going to share with you a message that has become a Christmas tradition for me. I have preached this message more than any other since I began preaching in 1983. If you would have told me 25 years ago that I’d preach the same sermon 19 times I would have said that you were crazy. But that is exactly what has happened. Today will be the 20th time I have preached this message! I first preached this sermon in 1990 at a small country church in Aguila, Arizona, and have preached this sermon another 18 times since then. You may find it hard to believe but I preached this message 10 years in a row at Michigan Heights Baptist in Stockton.
This message holds special significance to me, and I hope that it will be one of the things I am remembered for when my ministry comes to a close. Back in 1990 I was at a crossroads in my life. I was going to school full-time, I was working as a Minister of Music at Central Heights Baptist Church, and I worked 20 hours a week as a security guard at the college. Lindsay was just a few months old, Brittany was just starting kindgergarten, and Blake Jr. was 2 (boy was he 2)!
Our Pastor was preparing to retire in January, and there was a whole lot of uncertainty in the Church, and in our lives. An opportunity presented itself for me to preach at this little Church which was looking for a Pastor. It was Christmas time and I wasn’t sure what to preach considering the possibility of this Church looking at me as their future Pastor. It was then that God impressed upon me a single theme that I believe transcends all of life, and a solitary expression of that theme that ties together all of human history. It was not a thought original to me then, nor is it today, It is a theme that is as old a life itself.
I hope that this theme is not a new thought for you, but if it is, it won’t be from now on because I will probably refer to, and preach on this theme more than any other in the years ahead. The theme is REDEMPTION, and its key can be expressed in a single word: EMMANUEL.
In the years ahead you are going to hear me challenge you to watch for what I call “Emmanuel” passages in scripture. Passages in God’s Word where it protrays His desire to be “with us.” Why? Because God’s Word is His divine revelation of Himself and His redemptive work for mankind. And within His Word there is a common thread woven around this expression of God’s desire to have a personal relationship with the crown of His creation.
Today let me take you on a journey through God’s Word and show you His most basic desire for mankind, that He might “Be With Us.” If you are one who highlights in your Bible, I would challenge you to mark the passages that contain the phrases where the Lord says, “I am with you,” or, “I will be with you,” or “God is with us.” If you don’t like writing in your Bible, then I would suggest starting an “Emmanuel” note page to keep in your Bible. If you begin keeping track of these beautiful expression in scripture I believe you will discover how important these phrases are. This morning let me share with you some of those special “Emmanuel” passages.
1. GOD WITH US: A REALITY IN OLD TESTAMENT LIVES
Adam & Eve God walked WITH THEM in the Garden of Eden
Noah “I will establish My covenant WITH YOU” (Rainbow) (Genesis 9:9)
Abraham “I will establish My covenant WITH YOU—I will be God to you” (Genesis 17:7).
Isaac “I WILL BE WITH YOU and bless you and your descendants” (Genesis 26:3).
Jacob “I AM WITH YOU wherever you go” (Genesis 28:15).
Joseph “The LORD WAS WITH HIM and caused all that he did to prosper” (Genesis 39:3).
Moses “I WILL BE WITH YOU” (Exodus 3:12).
Joshua “Just as I have been with Moses, I WILL BE WITH YOU, I will not fail or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).
Gideon “Surely I WILL BE WITH YOU, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.” (Judges 6:16)
David “I will fear no evil, for YOU ARE WITH ME” (Psalm 23:4) “The Lord of Hosts is WITH US; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” (Psalms 46:11)
Isaiah “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I WILL BE WITH YOU…(Isaiah 43:1-2)
Jeremiah “Do not be afraid...for I AM WITH YOU, and I will rescue you declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 1:8)
2. GOD WITH US: A REALITY OF PROPHECY
God came into this world, in fulfillment of prophecy, born of a virgin, for the expressed purpose of redeeming mankind from sin. That prophecy was given through Isaiah who offered God’s sign to King Ahaz. That offer is found in what I like to think of as the center of God’s Word. Not numerically, and not simply the break between the Old Testament and the Old Testament. This verse is what ties the Old to the New.
Ahaz rejected God that day and in his indifference he led a nation of people into bondage and slavery. We are given the same chance today to accept God’s one true sign: Emmanuel. If we also turn away, then we too will be bound and enslaved by the effects of sin. When we come to this special prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, we come to God’s promise was to give His own Son. Isaiah proclaimed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:
“Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14)
The God who walked in the Garden, who walked with Abraham and his descendants, who met Moses on the mountain, and led Joshua into the Promised Land, would now come in human form. Born of a virgin, fully human, and yet fully divine, the one, and only God-Man.
That prophecy was fulfilled some 700 years later in a little town outside Jerusalem called Bethlehem. But before Emmanuel was born, God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young girl named Mary. And in the words of the angel we are again reminded of our theme—when Gabriel came to Mary he said unto her:
“The Lord IS WITH YOU” (Luke 1:28)
That is the reality of the fulfillment of God’s promise which takes us to our next reality…
3. GOD WITH US: A REALITY IN JESUS’ BIRTH
Matthew in his Gospel revealed that Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of that divine promise. Matthew wrote:
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “GOD WITH US” (Matthew 1:22-23)
Mankind had lost sight of God, in the dark years that lay between what we now call the Old and New Testaments people walked in darkness. But just as surely as God promised Emmanuel, He also promised that the people who walked in darkness would see a great light. That light was Jesus.
With that first cry of that new born baby in Bethlehem, a world that was filled with darkness was given new light, new life, and new hope. God’s revelation of himself was not limited to a humble stable in a small Judean town. It continued in the life of the man who walked the shores of Galilee, who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, and eventually was crucified for the sins of the world.
4. GOD WITH US: A REALITY IN JESUS’ LIFE, DEATH & RESURRECTION
The Apostle John in his Gospel account tells us the story of his best friend, and his Savior: Jesus Christ. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit John wrote:
The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. (John 1:14).
That is the reality of Emmanuel—God taking up residence among His people. The Creator choosing to become part of the creation so that He can show them the way back to their Creator!
While these are not specific “God with us” passages, let me share a couple of verses that reveal what Jesus did while He was “with us.”
Of his life the Apostle Peter said:
For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
Paul said of Jesus’ death:
“God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8).
And of His resurrection Paul wrote:
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…He was buried…
He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Jesus himself taught His disciples of the sacrifice He had to make with His life. They did not understand until after the resurrection what He had to do, but to assure them further, in His final moments with them Jesus stated the promise again:
“And remember, I AM WITH YOU always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
This wasn’t the first time they had heard that promise. Jesus began preparing His followers for them a day when He would no longer be with them physically. In John 7 spoke of shortness of His time on earth:
Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time. Then I’m going to the One who sent Me. (John 7:33)
Jesus went on to offer an invitation to come to Him and receive the “living water” which was the promise of the Holy Spirit. In John 12 we here Jesus address the crowd in Jerusalem just before His crucifixion:
Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer.
Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. (John 12:35)
In the Upper Room the night He was betrayed Jesus repeated this same message:
“Children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, ‘Where I am going you cannot come, so now I tell you.” (John 13:33)
Just when it seemed like the “Emmanuel” time would end, Jesus introduced His disciples to a new understanding of how He would be “with them.”
5. GOD WITH US: A REALITY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT’S PRESENCE
Jesus promised His disciples that He would not leave them alone, but that He would send the Holy Spirit to them. John records Jesus’ words:
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to BE WITH YOU forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains WITH YOU and will be IN YOU.” (John l4:16-17)
That personal presence of God in the Holy Spirit is where we find our hope for living today. Paul described God’s gift of His Spirit as a “guaranteed deposit.” In the Holy Spirit God has made an investment in our lives. And that investment is Himself. Paul knew first hand the reality of Emmanuel as His constant companion, and His power for fulfilling God’s plan for His life:
Then the Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. 10For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” (Acts 18:9-10)
The theme of God’s Word is redemption, and the greatest expression of that theme can be summed up with one word: Emmanuel—God WITH US!
6. GOD WITH US: A REALITY IN HEAVEN’S PROMISE
This is the final reality of Emmanuel—the promise of eternity with Him in heaven. From the creation of the world, and Creator walking with His creation in the Garden—to a stable in Bethlehem—to the cross at Calvary—from the tomb in the garden—and looking to His promised return—Emmanuel is a reality.
Heaven’s promise is the final piece to the puzzle—for John tells us of the promise that heaven affords those who believe:
Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: “Look! God’s dwelling is WITH MEN, and He will live WITH THEM. They will be His people, and God Himself will be WITH THEM and be their God.” (Revelation 21:3)
Emmanuel: God With Us! That is the greatest message of all!
