“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, ‘God with us’.”
Many years ago, I saw a Sunday morning newspaper comic strip that depicted a father and son, on a snowy day, looking in the front window of a department store. The display in that window was of a Christmas tree, surrounded by all the toys and trappings of the commercial season. A sign posted on the inside of the window said, “Come in and shop! Let’s make this the best Christmas ever!” The caption of the cartoon was of the father saying to the son, “How are they going to top the first one?”
It was meant to combine humor with satire, and was very successful of course. But the satirical side of it serves to express how differently Christmas has come to be viewed in our society, from when it first began to be celebrated, and certainly, from that first blessed Bethlehem night when our Savior was born.
It has to do with a distance, of sorts; a distance between myth and reality, between spiritual truth and the deceptions of the spirit of this world, between fallen man and his Creator.
In our study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we recently discussed verse 13 of chapter 2, and again, in verse 17, the joyous revelation that although we were far from God, He brought us near to Him by the blood of Christ, and the gospel message.
The Bible has much to say about the ‘distance’ between God and fallen mankind, and for the most part what I see it saying is that the distance, the gap, is caused by man and sin, not God.
Now, there are a few places, ~ Proverbs 15:29 is an example ~ that say things like, “The Lord is far from the wicked...” But even then, we should understand that He is only far from the wicked by virtue of wicked man’s rejection of God and His Holy Spirit.
Actually, God always has been, and is now, very, very near and available. It is His eternal presence that I want to talk about today. I want us to see that God did not only become accessible to His creation at Christmas time; but that His coming revealed what had always been true.
“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned” - Matt 4:16
THE DISTANT GOD
I again refer to the spirit of this world. By that term, what I mean and what other preachers mean, is the Satanic spirit that shapes and governs the thinking of those outside of Christ and without God. We must always bear in mind as Christians, that we are the aliens here. Like Abraham and the other giants of the faith, we sojourn in a strange land, looking for a home whose builder is God, eternal in the heavens.
This world and its system, until redeemed by a returning Christ, continues as the domain of evil, and all of its efforts and influences come from that realm. Therefore the term ‘the spirit of this world’, refers to a spirit, a mindset, an entire existence that is contrary to the Spirit (capital “S”) of God.
To this world, this worldly mindset, and those governed by it because they themselves are far from God, God is distant.
We see this as a basic and assumed principle in all of classic mythology. God is always far off. Watching the world from his lofty throne, either molding history by the intermittent dispatch of his agents to accomplish certain tasks, or watching in detached amusement as events unfold, with no intervention whatsoever.
To the avowed agnostic, God is ‘out there somewhere’, mysterious and unknowable.
This view of God is unfamiliar to none of us. We see it expressed everywhere we look; in the entertainment media, the news media (on occasion), in song; Bette Midler had a big hit with “God is watching us, God is watching us, God is watching us, from a distance”.
But however this prevailing attitude expresses itself, I would like to impress upon you today and ask you to make an indelible mental note of it for future reference, that it is we who are (or were) far off.
Man, in his bilious pride and incredible arrogance, says “I can’t see God, I can’t feel God, I can’t hear God, I can’t smell God, I can’t taste God, therefore, if there is God, He is far away from me.
Oh, if only he could see himself as the lost lamb and know that in reality it is he that has strayed and is far from the safety of his Shepherd. If only he would see himself as the prodigal, who has sought his own way and as Paul Simon wrote, has “squandered his resistance for a pocket full of mumbles”... has laid down with the pigs and starved himself of the Father’s provision. Then perhaps he would come to his senses and stand up and take the first step toward home.
If only men would realize that they’ll never find God with the senses of their flesh; because the distance they’ve put themselves from Him is not spatial, but eternal. Then perhaps they would come to understand their utter helplessness, and cry “what must we do to be saved?”
THE GOD WHO IS NEAR
At this time of year, and this Sunday before Christmas, you will be inclined to think immediately of God coming near in the flesh of His Son, laying in that manger with angels announcing good news toward men and a special star shining brightly over the heads of wondering shepherds.
We’ll talk about that, indeed. But first I want to impress upon you today that God has always been near to the humble and the seeking. From the very beginning, we see Him significantly present with those who are attuned to His voice and seeking His face.
He walked with Adam in the Garden. He walked with Enoch. He spoke with Noah and appeared physically to Abraham and Jacob and Moses and Joshua and so many others. If you have not been a Christian very long or you have not spent very much time in the Bible or heard many sermons, then I invite you to begin skipping through the Old Testament books. The historical books and the books of the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel and Ezekiel, and pay attention to how many, many times God’s presence with His people is specifically mentioned or implied by the content of scripture.
I invite you to search through the poetical books and see psalms such as 34:18
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit” or Psalm 119:151 which declares, “Thou art near O Lord, and all Thy commandments are truth”
Go to Proverbs 18:24 and read “...there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”, and know that the writer is talking about none other than the Almighty God, who has always been no farther away than a repentant prayer offered in a whisper or from the silent agony of a grieving heart.
Most of you have heard me quote from C. S. Lewis’ wonderful “Chronicles of Narnia” in the past. In the book titled, “The Horse and His Boy”, there is an account of the main character, Shasta, riding his horse alone in a dangerous place, in the very darkest of night.
He suddenly becomes aware of a presence with him, walking along beside him very softly and making no other noise. Just about the time Shasta, who is very afraid now, convinces himself that it is only his imagination, he hears a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him, and feels hot breath on his left hand.
We learn as the story progresses that his invisible companion is Aslan the lion, who in the stories is symbolic of the risen Christ.
Here is the passage that comes from the scene I’ve just set for you:
“Who are you?” he said, scarcely above a whisper.
“One who has waited long for you to speak.”, said the Thing. Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep.
“Are you - are you a giant” asked Shasta.
“You might call me a giant,” said the Large Voice, “But I am not like the creatures you call giants.”
“I can’t see you at all,” said Shasta, after staring very hard. Then (for an even more terrible idea had come into his head) he said, almost in a scream, “You’re not - not something dead, are you? Oh please - please do go away. What harm have I ever done you? Oh, I am the unluckiest person in the whole world.”
Once more he felt the warm breath of the Thing on his hand and face. “There,” it said, “that is not the breath of a ghost. Tell me your sorrows.”
My friends I want to ask you today to make this observation; that our God, from the moment He breathed the spirit of life into Adam, has been this close to us, often simply waiting in silence for us to say, “Who are you” and always inviting us to tell Him our sorrows; closer, says the wise man, than a brother. And those who know that presence, that closeness, always living shoulder to shoulder, side by side, with those who in their blindness and unwillingness to hear, proclaim that He is distant, aloof, far off.
The difference, I repeat, is not in where God is, but where they are.
IMMANUEL
Immanuel. Isaiah prophesied, and Matthew translated it for his readers so as to be perfectly clear. It means, “God with us”
Joseph had gotten the news. His beloved Mary was pregnant. All of his dreams were suddenly and violently shattered. His innocent, beautiful Mary, with child. But by whom? She had told him the account of her visit by the angel, but his head was spinning. His thoughts racing. He couldn’t digest it all. He needed time to think.
One thing he was certain of; he wasn’t going to subject her to the shame of public exposure and certainly not to stoning in the streets. No, he’d hide her away from the eyes of those who knew her, and keep her there until ... until he could come up with a plan.
That night he lay in fitful sleep, tossing on his bed, his subconscious trying to deal with a problem too big for his conscious mind. Suddenly from outside his own thinking processes, there appeared a vision. A man dressed in gleaming white, assuring him that what was in Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and He was to be the one promised by God, who would take away the sins of the people.
We have yet another account here, of the nearness of a loving, caring God; who as the perfect, divine gentleman, takes into account the feelings of one man, and sends His messenger to give assurance and peace and counsel; all of which is heeded and obeyed from a heart of faith.
A ‘distant’ god, one who orchestrates from afar, could have achieved all of these same results without conferring one moment with the people involved. He could simply have invaded the body of Mary and caused Elizabeth‘s, pregnancy with no offer of explanation. He could have bent the will of Zacharias and Joseph to do His bidding in ignorance, and killed Herod so there would be no need for this chosen family to go down into Egypt.
That is what we would expect from a distant God. But He came to Zacharias through His angelic messenger. He came to Mary. He came to Joseph. He is not distant, but near, and involved, and gracious and kind in His dealings.
He who had always been there, walking along side, sighing His warm breath on cold hands and broken hearts, was now about to come closer than ever before, and take on flesh and live among His own. That is how very much He desired the company of His creation. Immanuel. God with us.
Later the apostle John would write “...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” WOW! What a statement.
Can you begin to fathom the glory of that truth? This one referred to as ‘the Word’, who, declares John, was with God and was Himself God. He created all things. There is nothing in existence that He did not create. He said, “Let there be light” and it was. He spoke and the land appeared and the water, and He separated the two in their proper places. He said a word and the vegetation appeared; and the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the animals walking the earth.
In His infinite wisdom and according to His divine plan, He fashioned man out of the ground.
WAIT! See? Here is another evidence of His personal touch and His desire to be close to us.
Up to now He has said, “Let there be...” and it was. But now, when it comes down to His greatest creation; the thing dearest to His great heart, He bends down, lovingly moulds this thing out of the dust of the earth, and breathes His own life into it... and it becomes a living soul.
But that wasn’t close enough ultimately. In the fulness of time He became flesh and dwelt among us. God with us.
But that wasn’t close enough either...
GOD INSIDE
In His farewell discourse to His disciples, Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit. He called Him the ‘Helper’, whom the Father would send to live in believers. We know this is the Spirit of Christ, because He said to them, “He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” That’s John 14:17,18 and in verse 20 He goes on to say, “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
The fulfillment of that promise is recorded in Acts 2, when the apostles and others, gathered in a room in Jerusalem witness a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and tongues as of fire resting on each one of them, and they begin speaking with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Once they’ve stepped out onto the streets and are confronted by a very large gathering crowd, Peter gives them a Bible lesson. (Acts 2:16 - 17)
“...this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel; ‘And it shall be in the last days‘, God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams...”
Peter continues his sermon to the very same people who were in Jerusalem 53 days previously, and witnessed the events of the crucifixion and had all heard accounts of the resurrection. At the end of this first sermon of the church, these people are pierced to the heart with conviction, and they ask in desperation, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
Pay close attention to Peter’s response.
“Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.”
What had God promised? His presence. And in a greater, more significant way than men had ever dreamed. He had promised to come and live in them, and infuse them with His kind of life ~ eternal life ~ and empower them to live the divine life by His own Spirit.
And I want you to consider folks, that quite probably, many in this crowd had been the very ones who about 6 short weeks before, had cried out “Crucify! Crucify Him! Let His blood be on us and on our children!”
Yet instead of destroying them, or turning His back on them, or demanding retribution, He poured out his Spirit on these very ones and brought them near by the blood of Christ.
It was about 9 o’clock in the morning. They had started the day as usual, with the exception that it was the day to celebrate the Feast of Weeks; otherwise nothing of note going on. They began the day, as usual, in darkness. But by 9 am they were children of light. They began the day, dead in trespasses and sins. But by 9 am they were filled with the Holy Spirit and with fire. They began the day far from God. But by 9 am they were dwellings of God in the Holy Spirit. They began the day knowing in their heart of hearts that they had crucified the Hope of Israel. But by 9 am they had Christ in them...the Hope of Glory.
Beloved, this is Christmas presence. There is a day in history upon which we can focus, and say, “This day is born for us a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord” Immanuel. God with us.
But this is a presence that has been with us...been with mankind, significantly, from the very beginning, and will be while eternity rolls.
God has never been far. And His invitation from the very beginning has been, “Come”. His declaration has always been “They will find Me, who seek Me with all their heart”. His word of assurance has always been “He who comes to Me I will certainly not cast away”. His offer has always been “Let him who thirsts come and drink freely without cost” His challenge to belief has always been “He who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne”, and His loving, pleading desire for our fellowship sounds like this; “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Rev. 3:20
One day out of the year, most of us wake and in one way or another, from one avenue or another, are forced to think of Christmas presents.
I pray for each of you, and for many who are exposed to the gospel message during this holiday season, that you will be filled with Christmas presence; because He has always been Immanuel. God with us. God with you.
Welcome His presence with you and in you today, and may your Christmas be especially blessed with the everlasting presence of the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace, until the day He calls you with rejoicing to join Him in your glorified body, in that glorious place He has prepared for you; called to be in His presence for ever and ever, through the blood of Immanuel, His Son and our Lord.
Amen.
