God With Us
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, the founder of the Moravians and writer of over 2,000 hymns, was converted in an art gallery in Dusseldorf while contemplating a painting of Christ on the cross.
This picture had been painted by an artist three hundred years before...
And it’s history leading to it’s completion is very moving.
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During the early process of creating this painting...
When the artist had finished his first sketch of the face of the Redeemer...
This artist called in his landlady’s little daughter and asked her who she thought it was.
The girl looked at it and said, “It is a good man.”
The painter knew that he had failed.
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He destroyed the first sketch and, after praying for greater skill, finished a second.
Again he called the little girl in and asked her to tell him whom she thought the face represented.
This time the girl said that she thought it looked like a great sufferer.
Again the painter knew that he had failed, and again he destroyed the sketch he had made.
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After meditation and prayer, he made a third sketch.
When it was finished, he called the girl in a third time and asked her who it was.
Looking at the portrait, the girl exclaimed, “It is the Lord!”
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That alone makes the coming of Christ meaningful to the world--
Not that a good man came,
Not that a wise teacher came,
Not that a great sufferer came,
But that God came--
Immanuel, God with us.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 1 and focus on verse 23.
Our message this morning is titled, “God With Us”
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On this Christmas Eve we will discuss the true meaning of Christmas...
And we will do that by looking at the word “Immanuel.”
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So, this evening we will cover two main points:
The Prophecy...
And...
The Fulfillment .
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
Holy is Your name...
Worthy are you to be praised...
For You sent Your only begotten Son to our world.
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Help us to better understand what it truly means that God came into our world...
Taking on flesh...
Being fully man and fully God.
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Thank You Father for loving us...
Thank you for not giving us what we deserve...
And Thank you for Jesus...
For He is the true reason for the season.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Prophecy
1) The Prophecy
Verse 23(a): “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
Let’s start by looking at the context of this verse...
And to do that let’s go back a few verses...
Look with me at Matthew 1:20-22 which says:
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
This prophecy that is found in Isaiah 7:14 was recorded in 735 BC...
And that passage says:
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
That is not all that Isaiah said about this child that would be know as Immanuel...
Earlier in his book he records this in Isaiah 9:6-7:
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
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Since Isiah wrote those words if was understood that this Immanuel would be someone special...
He would come to save the lost...
He would bring a peace that this world could not understand...
And He would embody the meaning of “God with us”...
And this takes us to our next point.
2) The Fulfillment
2) The Fulfillment
Verse 23(b): And they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
As Pastor John MacArthur says:
“That name was used more as a title or description than as a proper name.
In His incarnation Jesus was, in the most literal sense, God with us.”
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So, the most amazing event in human history transpires...
God took on flesh and came into our world...
As Luke 2:6–7 says:
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In the most humble of settings the King of Kings and Lord of Lords entered our world...
A world that would despise Him...
A world that would ignore Him...
A world that would reject Him...
And a world that would ultimately kill Him.
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But despite knowing all this would happen...
Love ruled and Jesus voluntarily came into our world...
Lived a perfect life in this world...
And freely gave His life as a sacrifice for wretched sinners.
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As John 1:14 plainly and boldly records:
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This is so shocking, Church!
God, who does not need anyone or anything...
God, who is the creator of all things visible and invisible...
God, who is above all other things and is in His own class...
God, for our sake, humbly took on a meat suit and endured all the pains and challenges of His creation.
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That would be like building a Lego play set and then voluntary turn yourself into a Lego character...
With all the limitations of a Lego piece...
You then go into that Lego play set you built...
And endure insults from other Lego pieces you created in order to save those Lego pieces that truly understood and appreciated the fact that you really did create them.
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Why downgrade yourself and endure suffering?
Why go from a living human being with all our complexities and become a piece of lifeless plastic...
Especially when most will reject your truth claims...
Why do all that?
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The only driving force to experience all this persecution that can be easily avoided is because the motivation is love.
As 2 Corinthians 8:9 says:
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Jesus became poor for our sake so we could be rich!
Jesus became a curse...
Jesus took on all sin...
Jesus was crushed by the full weight of the wrath of God the Father.
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All this He endured...
So, we could take His righteousness...
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All this He endured...
So, we could be adopted into the royal family.
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Jesus truly went to great lengths to be with us...
God with us!
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As the Reformation Study Bible says:
“In the Old Testament, God’s promise to be with His people was the answer to their fears.
His glory dwells in Israel’s midst in the tabernacle.
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Jesus, the ultimate and complete fulfillment of the ‘Immanuel’ promise, will commission His apostles and encourage His church with the promise [found in Matthew 28:19-20:]
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Not only did Jesus come into our world...
Not only did Jesus live an obedient life in our world...
Not only did Jesus die in a perfect sacrificial death in our world...
Not only did Jesus rise up after three days and ascend into heaven...
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But He promises to return a second time to this world and lead us to the new life to come.
And even while we wait for His return...
We still experience Him with us...
For He promises to be with us always as to the end of the age...
Truly Jesus is and will forever be God with us!
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this that I came across in my study this week...
It is a Christmas poem:
Twas the night before the birth,
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When all the world did not know what was about to happen.
Not a creature was stirring, and all men were napping.
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The rabbis were safe and secure in their knowledge.
Old Herod, the king, the Lord he refused to acknowledge.
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King Herod was nestled in bed.
With dreams of all the people he ruled dancing through his head.
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Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem were looking for a place to nap.
When at the inn door did Joseph tap.
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No room at the inn was there for the Lord to be.
And Mary’s time was quite near for all to see.
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The inn keeper said there is no room at the inn.
But the stables I am sure there is room for the Savior of Men.
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So Mary and Joseph to the stables they went...
And only the animals were there to witness that blessed event.
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For on that night so long ago to man was born God’s only begotten son.
By him and him alone would the victory over sin be won.
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The Angels on high did sing...
As in all of heaven did praise and joy ring.
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When to the wandering shepherds did appear on high...
Angels declaring the Lord’s birth was nigh.
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Fear not they did call out...
The savior has been born they did shout.
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No longer does man with sin need to strive...
For God’s gift has now arrived.
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The shepherds to Bethlehem they did go.
To see the savior laid in a manager so low.
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To all they cried with a shout...
The savior has been born, man has no reason to doubt.
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Those they told were amazed at what they had heard...
But they soon forgot all the shepherd’s words.
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On the eighth day to the temple Joseph and Mary went...
And to the temple was Simeon sent.
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He said let your servant depart in peace for I have seen the Savior.
No longer should the faith of men waiver.
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Now this story for generations has been told...
To belief and faith must one hold.
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For this gift is still there to receive...
For all who will believe.
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Form lowly manager to heaven on high.
Our Lord is drawing nigh.
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Are you willing to believe...
And no longer be deceived.
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If you trust in the truth of the Christmas story as recorded in Scripture...
That God came to be with us in the God-man Jesus...
If you believe in your heart and mind...
Then God will be with you for all eternity...
So, take this the heart if you haven’t already done so...
As it says in Romans 10:9:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.