The King is Among Us

Greeting

Matthew 1:18–23 (NIV)

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

The King is Among Us

Introduction

Aren’t you all glad that December is here, and without controversy start to do all things Christmas?

I say that because everyone stars Christmasing at different times of the year. And this year was the first time that we got our tree up in November. That was a Herrera first for us. We used the Veteran’s Day weekend to get the Chrismasing started, and we may have started a new tradition.

And I think that’s what I love about Christmas. We have family traditions that we lean in to. Every family has traditions and we all lean in to them. Such as:

Travel

Gift exchanges

Home made decorations

Making tamales

Everyone has a tradition. One tradition that we started few years ago is Advent. Advent is the preparation of Christmas, and although it has many different ways that it can be celebrated, for our home it is the tradition of a daily evening family devotion. It has become a yearly highlight for my family, and we start tonight.

What I love about this tradition is that it takes us back into the mind of those who waited for the birth of the Messiah. They were waiting and preparing for the day that the Messiah would come.

And for my family, we remember that waiting, while we now join in the waiting that Jesus is coming back again.

Transition

As we begin this series, A Savior is Born, we want to dive into the Story of Christmas and find it’s connection to the Story of God.

Text

In the story of Christmas, we come across the announcement of the birth of Jesus.

There was couple, Joseph and Mary, that were engaged to be married, and God interrupts their plans with his plans. The Lord sent his angel to Mary and informs her that she had been chosen to carry the Messiah.

This wasn’t hitting the lottery. This was complicated. This was disrupting everything she had envisioned for her life and replacing it with God’s vision for her life.

When the news is shared with her husband, he’s tangled into his own feelings about what to believe…

How can my fiance be pregnant with the Messiah? This story does not sound plausible. There has got to be more to the story…

And in fact, there is more to the story.

An Angel has to show up at Joseph’s house just to tell him that Mary is telling the truth. That’s where our scriptures pick up this morning. And we read this from the scriptures, which is our focus today:

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Immanuel. The compound word from Immanu, meaning “With Us”, and El, meaning “God”. Your son, the Messiah, will be called God With Us.

To The Jews

I want to fully understand what this meant to the Joseph and Mary’s people, the Jews. And I also want to know what this means for us.

So, let’s start with what it meant to the first hearers of the announcement.

And to do this, we need to go back to the very beginning; we have to go to the Garden.

[Transition]

God was with Adam:

Genesis 3:8 (NIV)

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

This verse first tells us that God was with Adam in the Garden.

The creator walking in communion with his creation. There was no separation between them. This was the “good” that God spoke of after having created the heavens and the earth. That he would have a personal and close relationship with humanity that He created.

But sin separated creation from the creator. This wasn’t God’s design. This wasn’t the good that he envisioned for humanity.

Since then, God was not with humanity as He was in the garden.

He was remotely with humanity.

Sinai

Fire by day and cloud by night

The Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle

This was their reality that was brought about by their disobedience. A proxy relationship with our God.

[Transition]

Yet, even in the condition of humanity there was a longing to know our creator at an intimate level.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Eternity in our hearts is constantly pointing us to our creator. To know him. To see him. And to somehow understand him.

What sin separated in the flesh could not undo what God deposited into our hearts.

[Transition]

But Isaiah, the prophet to the God’s people, gets a heavenly vision of what is to come and he writes the following:

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Like a flare lit into the night, it gave Israel a hope that God would once again be with His people.

The God who was FOR THEM, would once again be the God who was WITH THEM.

And then, Matthew gives us the fulfillment of this prophecy when the Angel tells Joseph - the Messiah, the one you have been waiting for is coming!

Jesus is born and Emmanuel is here!

Theology of Emmanuel

What does this mean? Can I just hit you with the theological implications?

God has revealed himself in the the Flesh!

What is God like? Does he have a personality? How does He emote?

When we see the man Jesus, we see God in the flesh. It is all the glory of God, wrapped in flesh and dwelling among His creation.

The Infinite has become Finite.

Jesus progressively revealed who He is to the disciples. Every day giving them a little more of who He really is. Every day a little closer to understanding who He is. And it’s not until he ascends into Heaven that his followers begin to tell us who he is: Fully God, and Fully Man. Fully Divine, and Fully Human.

He is the God-Man. He wasn’t just a teacher. He wasn’t just a prophet. No, he was the Messiah. The God who rescues and saves us!

Majesty has veiled himself in Meekness.

God, our Lord and Savior chose to robe himself in flesh. We couldn’t see His glory!

Moses wanted to, and the Lord told him that he couldn’t and that he would die.

So the Lord comes to us in a way that we can see Him.

The Son of God became the Son of Man so that the Sons of Man could become the Sons of God.

To Us

And now, to us, what does it mean to have Emmanuel come?

It means that God will never leave us. The writer of Hebrews says to us;

Hebrews 13:5–6 (NIV)

“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 mere mortals do to me?”

Let’s start by remembering WHO God is.

We just finished preaching for 7 weeks on the Gospel, and why we need to frame up the Gospel the right way. Too many people have diluted God to a divide life coach whose mission is to help you live your best life. That’s not who He is.

God is sovereign.

God is all powerful.

God has defeated the enemies of this world.

All things are under His feet and He is seated at the right hand of God.

We need to get a bigger vision of Who He is.

Too many of us have a small vision of who the Lord is, and whenever you go through hardship and set backs you think that maybe this time God won’t win. Maybe this time God doesn’t have your back. Maybe this time the enemy won one over on you.

No. There is nothing that the enemy can do to our victorious King. He is defeated. He has been conquered. He is a nuisance that can only plant lies and doubt into your minds.

But when you see God for who he is, it should make you walk with confidence that the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, is WITH YOU. Emmanuel! God is with me! The maker of heaven and earth is for me!

So I will not be afraid. I refuse to allow doubt paralyze me from seeing the goodness of God all the days of my life.

[Practical]

Can I get really practical with everyone here this morning?

I’ve been gathering with and sitting with church planters for 7-8 years now. I was one of them. When we planted Lighthouse Church I had faith that we were going to plant a life-giving church in North County and I was ready to charge hell with a water pistol.

I had bear-wrestling faith!

And then we get to five years as a church, and that’s just enough time for me to being to settle into the reality of what I am seeing.

I start to wrestle with the thoughts that maybe we won’t become some of the things I hoped for as a church.

I had faith for these things, but I am looking at a budget that only gets me these things…

So I began to search my heart and the Lord was whispering to me that I let fear settle into my heart. I was looking through our budget with lens of fear. I was looking at our events with fear. I was thinking that some of the things in my heart were what I want and not what God wanted.

So he ever so gently told me that I was battling leadership fear.

So I asked the Lord, “what do I do?”

And the Lord led me back into the book of Joshua where God spoke to Joshua over and over again, “Be strong and courageous!”

I’ve let the word of God wash over my fears and He’s making me dream again. And believe again. And to trust again.

[Practical]

Why am I saying this to you all today?

The God who is with me didn’t let me sit in my fears. He didn’t let me live in my fears. Not only did He remind me that with me, but he started showing me that just as He was with Joshua in the Promised Land, he was going to be with me in my Promised Land.

That’s what it is like to live with Emmanuel.

When you go through deep water, he will be with you!

When you go through the fire, you will not be alone!

When you go through the hardships of life you are never going to go through it alone.

God is with you! God is for you! And His Spirit is in you!

Conclusion

Emmanuel comes when he is invited into the places of our lives. I could have continued in my fear and doubt, or I could have said I need Emmanuel to come and sit with me.

What areas of your life are in need of Emmanuel?