Matt 1:22-23 Immanuel, God is with us!
Jesus has many titles and names assigned to Him.
Each brings out a different facet of his beauty, majesty and grace,
And gives us insight into His redemptive work
His name Jesus means Saviour. The angel said in Matthew 1...you will call his name Jesus for for he will save his people from their sins.
He is also called The door...The way...Bread of life...Light of the world....Living water...Good shepherd...
In Isa 9:6 he us called wonderful counsellor, the mighty God.....
In Rev he is alpha and omega.....the Faithful and true witness
In John1 he is The Word of God
But the name Immanuel is Profound as well. It’s means God is with us.
In a way it encapsulates all other titles
He will be with us.
Whatever else he is he will be to us because he is with us.
It is profound because it prefigured his sinless life. That Jesus would be God with us. He would have to be Holy, pure and righteous.
It spoke of his resurrection...ascension...outpouring of the Holy Spirit...
In all these things he would be with us
He said it is better that I go..so he could come to dwell in us by his spirit, and in that sense, truly fulfil his name, Emmanuel.
Emmanuel
Speaks of three important things:
1. Help....
When the Holy Spirit comes...he will lead you, guide you, empower you
Another Paraclete.....Helper
When God promises to be with us, it is not as an observer, but as helper!
In fact by promising his presence, he promise strength, encouragement, power, success, and victory over your enemies.
For Example, Joshua 1:5...no one will be able to stand up against you...as I was with Moses so shall I be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Chinese have some names we find unusual, as they must find our names as well.
But I remember many years ago hearing about a Chinese brother called Lo.
He had been going through a really bad time and was thinking of giving up.
Then he heard someone quote Jesus words from Matthew 28:18-19
And Lo I am with you always...
He found that quite encouraging because he took it to be a personal word to him.
And so must we!
Put your name in there!
Matthew 28:18-20
They were going to take land too
They were going to face many challenges and difficulties
But HE PROMISED HIS PRESENCE. And that’s enough!
Heb 13:5-6
God said: never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. SO we say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me.
God is with us to HELP us, not simply to make us feel good.
Having a knowledge and faith and trust in his presence will sustain you.
Fear kept the Israelites out of the promise
Fear will stop you from having ...doing...what God wants
Being convinced of his presence to help will remove fear.
Context...v5 keep yourselves free from love of money, be content with what you have.
That is, don’t let your life revolve around the things of this world.
Don’t put your hope and trust and confidence in material things and possessions, but put your trust in God who promises never to leave you.
2) Hope
His presence gives us hope.
God being with us does not mean that we won’t face tests and trials, but he does promise to be with us ... to help us
And this assurance gives us hope.
Because he is with us, we can have hope in seemingly hopeless situations.
Listen to Psalm 3. David rejoices in the fact of the presence of God.
Remember, he can turn any situation around
Wedding at Cana....feeding of 5000....calming a storm at sea
He is the one who can came into chaos and commanded order. Right at the beginning. He reveals his power. He can come into your chaos and bring order and beauty.
He came to darkness and commanded light.
He is the one with us...the Lion of the tribe of Judah....the Ancient of Days...the Anointed one
We don’t have to be afraid...or full of despair...as we face the future.
He says to you, as I was with Moses.....so shall I be with you
David rejoices in this In the Psalms
In Ps 27..the Lord is my light...whom shall I fear
Ps 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, and ever present help in the time of trouble.
V2 therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Remember there is nothing God cannot help you with. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.
I love that Song: there is no storm to dark, God cannot calm it
There is no Mountain too tall, God cannot move it
There is no problem too big cannot cannot solve it
If he carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders, I know that he will carry you.
Is 43 when you walk through the fire....water, I will be with you.
One of the first Scriptures I memorised as a new believer:
Is 41:10 fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed I am your God. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
In Ps 23 David says even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me!!
If you find yourself under attack....remember that he is with you, he is Emmanuel
he is an ever present help....in the time of trouble
If you find yourself in being tempted, remember he is an ever present help in the time of trouble
If you find yourself in sin...remember he is an ever present help in the time of trouble. He can get you out!
If you find yourself in need....remember he is an ever present help in the time of trouble. He can meet all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Don’t lose heart, and don’t lose hope
We have a God who will never leave us nor forsake us
His presence also speaks of
3. Healing
His presence speaks of A release of the supernatural power of God ...signs, wonders, miracles
Question: When did the people actually fulfil that prophecy...that he will be called Emmanuel.
It was when the miracles were released....when their needs were met. When wonders were poured out.
They said:
God has sent us a prophet...that is, God has not forgotten us, abandoned us.
God is with us.
Nicodemus said: Surely God is with you...for no one can do the miracles you are doing unless God is with him.
They said: Only God can forgive sins...
They said: No one has ever opened the eyes of someone born blind
He multiplied fish and loaves. Calmed storms and cast out demons with word!
Heb 13:8
He wants us to say Emmanuel, God is with us.
In every meeting. In every storm. Every day
Peter said: you are the Christ.
Magi....worshipped Him. They new he was God with us.
Thomas....said my Lord and my God.
The Centurion...said surely this was the son of God!
Moses got a revelation of the privilege and power of the presence.
He said....I will not go forward unless your Spirit goes with us.
He wanted God’s presence more than the promise! Because the presence is worth more than any promise
You seee, In the presence of the Lord there is fullness of Joy...and his right hand pleasure for EVERMORE.
What ought to happen if we truly believe he is with us: there should be an
Inner peace
Inner purity
Inner power...confidence and strength
What are some of the Keys to getting the presence of God to manifest in your life:
Make Jesus your lord and follow his leading
Spend time alone with God in his word. Get to know him, build your faith.
Practice his presence continually. Become aware of his presence constantly. Think about him throughout the day. Call upon him throughout your day.
If you don’t know the joy of the presence of God in your life, come to the front. Come and surrender to Christ. Give your life and heart to him. He will come and dwell inside of you.
