Immanuel - God With Us

Immanuel - God with us

Topic: Our Greatest Need is fulfilled because Jesus is with us

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

Matt 1:18-23 NIV

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."

(Isaiah 7:14 - 8:8)

Immanuel

"Immanuel" the Hebrew word meaning "God with us" it expresses the wonder of the incarnation, that God "became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14).

God is constantly trying to communicate with us, to show himself to us in all the ordinary events of our lives.

Somewhere in our lives there is the ’angels song’ telling us the God is with us.

There are times when the volume is louder than others. Maybe a lot of the time we try to block it out, prefer not to think about it or we simply prefer to concentrate on some other ’sound’ inside us that is easier for us to deal with.

Examples

1. How is God with us? In the lives of others. - From More Real Stories for the Soul

All I needed was a little peace and quiet—just an hour or so. Just a cup of coffee and time to think. And just a quiet spot. The fuss and flutter of the holidays had upset my schedule, and most of my tasks remained undone. The Christmas cards weren’t in the mail; the gifts were unwrapped—most of them unpurchased—and holiday preparations at church were percolating.

Only careful, disciplined planning, I reasoned, would enable me to survive the season.

So I chose a little café that served European pastry and a variety of coffees. Its atmosphere was quiet, with soft classical Christmas music in the background. Patrons sat at bistro tables, reading novels or working on crossword puzzles. Here, I thought, I can spread out my calendar, make my “to do” lists, sip my coffee, and schedule the milliseconds between now and December 25.

I only had an hour. But I no sooner entered the café than I heard a familiar voice. An old friend, Dan Cronk, having little to do that morning, had decided to enjoy a pot of tea and a basket of breads. There he stood, tray in hand, looking wistfully, delighted to see me and obviously hoping I’d invite him to sit down.

I didn’t want him to join me, for he was a talker, able to rattle away for hours on hypothetical abstractions from his brilliant but rambling mind. There he stood nonetheless. “Well, hello Dan!” I said with a broad smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” “Didn’t have much goin’ on this morning, and I thought a pot of tea would cheer me up. Meeting someone?” “Well, no … Actually, I’m not … er … Want to join me?”

“Sure!”And down he sat.

For the next hour I sat there, head nodding and stomach knotting, listening to him pour forth. My planning calendar rested unopened on the table, and my blood pressure slowly increased in steady increments. I silently cursed the impulse that had chosen that particular café on that particular day at that particular hour.

The hour passed, and I cleared my throat. “Well, Dan, it’s been wonderful seeing you again. I have to go now, but I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.”

He looked deeply into my eyes, and I noticed for the first time that his were soft, tender, vulnerable. He smiled and reached his hand across the little table and laid it atop mine.