Immanuel: God IS with us
Today is the third Sunday of Advent, the word Advent comes from the Latin verb ‘venio’ - to come - and ‘advenio’ - to come towards.
Advent is a time to celebrate both the past and the future, we remember when Jesus came into this world 2000 years ago, born as a baby, fully human and also fully God.
Advent helps us to remember and celebrate the amazing truth of John 3:16-17, “This is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.”
In the birth of Jesus, God declares you and I are worth something significant to Him, Father God declares His love for us and His willingness to save us from our sin.
God loves you and me so much that He was willing to be incarnated, to come to earth, so that He could save us from our sin, He came to rescue us, and when we place our trust in Jesus we are saved.
Advent reminds us Jesus has come, and He is coming again.
Woven through the pages of the Old Testament is the prophetic promise that the Messiah would come, His advent would take place.
Perhaps some of the most well known prophetic words about the coming of the Messiah are found in the book of Isaiah. Let me give you a little background to put the verses we are going to consider into context.
Isaiah is speaking to the King of Judah, King Ahaz. King Ahaz was a man who was evil in many ways, he actually sacrificed his own children to false gods. Sick, twisted, evil are all good words to describe Ahaz.
The Assyrian Empire, was steadily increasing in influence and power and many of the nations of the region were scared about what would happen to them. Syria and Israel wanted to form a coalition with Judah to oppose the growing power of the Assyrians. They made a proposition to King Ahaz, but King Ahaz didn’t know what to do. Because of his hesitation Syria and Israel turned against King Ahaz - they decided that they were going to punish him, and get rid of him. Syria and Israel wanted to put another king on the throne of Judah so that they could have their way.
King Ahaz heard that Syria and Israel had turned against him, and that scared him. Isaiah the prophet was sent to the King to calm him down, to give him a message of comfort, and we read that message in chapter 7 of Isaiah.
Listen to the words of Isaiah 7:10-14, Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11“Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah said to Ahaz: ’if you would only trust in God, if you would put your faith in God, give everything into His hands, then you will be alright and God will look after you, He will take care of you’.
Isaiah commanded Ahaz to test God, to ask God to prove this message was from Him by asking God to confirm it with a sign.
But, Ahaz in his pride, in his stubbornness, he refused and went his own way. Ahaz trusted in his own wisdom and he decided that it would be better to use men. Ahaz made a treaty with another nation, Ahaz made a covenant with the enemy, the King of Assyria.
Instead of uniting with Syria and Israel, Ahaz sided with the enemy. But things didn’t go as Ahaz had hoped and the King of Assyria broke the treaty and Ahaz ended up in a far worse situation than he had started.
Ahaz turned his back on God, even though he had already been told by God, that despite his stubbornness, despite his pride, God would send the sign of God’s own choosing.
The sign would be a baby, a child would be conceived, a miracle child would be born of a virgin, and would be called Immanuel.
Simply put Immanuel means ’God with us’. As Charles Wesley put it: ’Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man’. Immanuel, the baby was named, even before his birth, God with us.
If Ahaz would wait, if Ahaz would have faith, all the pressure, all the threat, all the onslaught from the other nations around, it would all pass away and all would be at peace.
Ahaz refused to listen to the voice of God. Yet, God did not withdraw His promise because of the King’s unfaithfulness. God was faithful to the remnant of those people in the nation of Judah who were faithful to Him, and God said: ’I’m going to send this baby, regardless of whether Ahaz trusts me or fails Me, this child will be born, a virgin will conceive, and his name will be Immanuel’.
In all the trial and tribulation and pressure that the nation of Judah faced, even though their King betrayed them, even though their King buckled under the pressure of human men and kings and politicians, God remained faithful to His people.
This name ’Immanuel’ is only found three times in the word of God: it’s found here in Isaiah, then it is found again in Isaiah chapter 8 verse 8, and in Matthew 1 verse 23.
Immanuel – God with us. God is not just looking after us,God doesn’t just have His hand on us and care for us, but God within the birth of this child, God’s very presence has come to dwell within the body of this child.
Isaiah 9:6, says: ’For unto us a child is born’ - speaking of this child, Immanuel - ’unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God’.
In Hebrew El-Gibbor, the mighty God! This child signified the living presence of the eternal, mighty God with His people. And the Advent, the coming of that child was certain, He was going to be born.
Matthew 1:23, ’Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us’. Immanuel, the only time this name is mentioned in the New Testament is here.
The birth of Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us. God’s presence with His people comes through the birth of a baby, a child. Titus 2:11 puts it like this: ’For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men’.
The baby spoken of in Isaiah’s prophetic words is Jesus, conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit.
Advent is also a good time to remember that Jesus, as He promised, is coming again.
Exactly when His second Advent will be we do not know, but the Bible is clear that Jesus will return. In Luke 21, Jesus spoke to His disciples about the future, His second advent. Luke 21:25-28 Jesus said, “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”
Simon often quotes Tony Campolo, and Tony once said when he was growing up preachers used to scare the kids by warning them that Jesus could appear at any time. Tony says he grew up with a constant fear, every time he went to the cinema, that Jesus would return during the movie and he’d miss the end of the film.
I heard lots of sermons like that when I was a young Christian too. For a while I was worried about what I would be doing when Jesus returned. I was almost paranoid about it, what if I was playing a computer game, what if I was in the middle of an argument... I suppose the real questions for us to think about are:
When Jesus returns, what would you want Him to find you doing?
If you knew the second advent of Jesus was tomorrow, would you do anything different from yesterday or today?
And if there are things you would do differently tomorrow, should you actually be doing things differently everyday?
Advent reminds us Jesus has come, and He is coming again. Jesus came, lived a perfect life, suffered a cruel death on a cross, carried the punishment of your sins and mine, rose triumphant from the grave, ascended into Heaven, and one day He will return.
His return is good news for those who have trusted in Him as Lord and Saviour. Good news for those who have already repented and turned from their sins. Good news for those who are living as disciples of Jesus. Good news for those whose destiny is to spend eternity with God.
Have you invited Jesus Christ into your life? Have you repented, turned from your sin, and been saved by trusting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? Do you see your need to know Immanuel? Do you see your need to know the joy of God with you?
Is Jesus your Immanuel?
Do you see that out of the darkness of your life, or your depression, or your illness, or your weariness - whatever it is
- the pressures of the world that are coming in upon you, can you see that God in His Son, has sent Immanuel?
God has come to be with you!
God has come to rescue you.
God has come to save you from your sin!
His love, His grace, His mercy, His saving power, is available to you today if you trust in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. This is the Gospel, this is the good news, this is the reason for Christmas, Christ Jesus came into this world, Immanuel, God with us, to save us from our sin.
What does Immanuel mean to you?
A God who cares for you.
A God who understands you.
A God who loves you.
A God who is with you.
A God who forgives you.
A God who gives you the free gift of salvation.
A God who has saved you.
Who is Immanuel to you?
God, took on flesh, took on substance that we might see Him, as John says: that we might touch Him, that we might worship Him, that we might hear Him.
God took upon Himself human form, Jesus came as a baby and grew into a man, fully God yet fully man.
He could be seen, He could be touched, people could hear Him speak.
Immanuel, God with us.
Do you see Immanuel is with you?
Jesus, the living form of God, yet many shut their eyes to Him. The people wanted to see God, but when they saw God they shut their eyes to God, they refused to acknowledge the glory that shone from Him to them. God put Christ, His Son, the word of God, into human flesh so that people could speak with Him, yet many rejected Him and His words.
Do you see Immanuel is with you?
Immanuel, God is with us.
Are you going through the storms of life? Are you going through the storms of sickness or bereavement or pain? Are you going through the storms of loneliness or desertion?
Whatever storms you’re going through, listen: Immanuel, God is with us. God is with you!
Immanuel, Jesus, God is with us. In the person of the Holy Spirit, God has come to stay, He has come to dwell, He has come to reside with us!
Maybe you feel like you are on your own today, but no matter where you are, no matter how lonely you are, no matter how you feel, no matter where you are in your life, listen: God is with you!
I will close with this, God is our everlasting Father. He is the omnipotent Comforter who is with us wherever we go and in whatever we do. For the sick, for the lonely, for the deserted, for those going through the valley of death, listen: Immanuel, God, is, with, us! God is with YOU!
God took upon Himself our nature,God took upon Himself our being, our feelings, our emotions so that He would know what we go through. So that He could empathise, so that He could sympathise – God with us!
He had such glory, such beauty, such splendour - yet He left it all, He came down to be with us. God became man to be God with us! This is God’s promise to us today – Immanuel, God with us.
Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit, who now dwells in our heart. Wherever we are, He is there with us. God is with you all the time. He is Immanuel, it means you can never be alone. God is with you all the time.
Finally, whatever your need tonight let this word sink into your mind and your heart:
Immanuel, God with us.
Immanuel, God is with you.
Amen
