Immanuel "God with us"

INTRO:

Nothing in all of recorded history has been more important than the the birth of Jesus The Messiah. Everything on this Earth has been waiting for the arrival of Immanuel/Jesus

These were the worst of times.. God has been silent for 400 years, you know Israel had to have been thinking maybe God had given up on them.

Oh but what a difference a day can make, because of Christmas day, everything changed in a moment.

In the days of the bible, names mattered.

Immanuel/Jesus =fully God and fully man.

Matthew 1:18–25 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”

PRAY!!!

Jesus birth fulfills the old testament prophecy

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

I wanna show you that Jesus is designated as God in the scripture

Jesus designation as God

Colossians 1:15–16 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

John 14:8–9 “Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

John 1:1–3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Let’s take take a look at some of the characters in this story:

Can you even imagine what the those Shepherds out in the field that night, after another hard day at work must of thought after they were visited by “multitude” of angels? Heaven threw a hallelujah party! They knew the significance.

Luke 2:8–14 “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Wow!

Imagine ole Simeon for a moment:

In one of the sweetest stories of in the whole bible.

He had waited and waited for this one moment, the key is that he waited patiently and expectantly

Luke 2:25–35 “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own…”

What an incredible blessing for an old man who had waited his whole life to see with his own eyes, the messiah

And another touching story is of an elderly woman named Hannah, who stayed at the temple and prayed day and night, and was also rewarded for her service and faith with being able to see the savior the promised messiah.

Luke 2:36–38 “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

What a touching picture of God’s faithfulness

Jesus as fulfillment of the Old Testament names of God will blow you away

Take a look at this:

Jesus as the fulfillment of the old testament names of God.

This deep so hang on!

Elohim “The Creator”

Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

Jehovah “I am”

John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

Adonai “Lord/Master”

Philippians 2:11 “and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jehovah Nissi “Our banner of victory”

John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Jehovah Rahi “The Lord is my Shepherd

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Jehovah Saboath “The Lord of hosts”

Matthew 26:53 “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”

El Elyon “The Lord who is high and mighty”

John 12:32 “And I, when I am high and lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Jesus is the 2nd person of the trinity. He is God!

Look at :

Philippians 2:6–8 “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

My dear Lord… Why?

There’s just one reason…LOVE

What kind of crazy love would make dad send His only son to die as a ransom for me?

The kind of love that:

a. Wants us to know Him on a personal level

I think God knew His people had a skewed look of who He is. They seen Him as a faceless God who was far away and uncaring. That sends His only Son “Immanuel”God with us” to show us the true face of God, so that we can know Him intimately

The kind of love that:

b. Wants us to be with Him forever

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The kind of love that:

c. That we are to mirror and show each other

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Three Takeaways:

Jesus is designated as God, yet chose to become God with us, Immanuel and die for us, so we could forevermore be reconciled with God and have eternal life with Him.

Jesus understands what you’re going through, because He suffered through the human experience too...

God wanted you to know Him in a personal kind of back porch, you know, sitting next to you in a rocking chair kind of way.

3. That he wants to be the God who is right there with you, and wants a close and personal relationship with you

Julie said something cool wed night after our class. She said she had seen a a scripture differently than she had ever seen before,

Micah 5:2–5 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.

Jesus was indeed peace in human form

IN CLOSING:

Because of Christmas you have a home waiting for you in Heaven

Because of Christmas you have eternal life

Because of Christmas you have direct access to God through prayer.

PRAY!!