Immanuel: God with us, The significance of God's presence (pt. 1)

Immanuel: “God with us”

Matthew 1:22–23 (ESV)

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

God tells us in this passage that all the things that took place with the visits from the angels and the birth of Jesus are to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah to King Ahaz in the book of Isaiah chapters 7 & 8.

Ahaz was the king of Judah- the Southern kingdom of Israel, and the enemies of Israel were all bearing down on them… God sent Isaiah to the king to give him comfort and courage in the face of his enemies… and he did it with the promise of God’s presence in the form of a child who would be born. And, how could the promise of God’s presence not bring comfort and courage?! But, it didn’t, but the problem was with Ahaz. He wasn’t a godly king… and he proved it by ignoring the promise of God’s presence and instead he aligned Israel with their biggest enemy…

The promise of God’s presence is one of the most significant themes in the Bible, and we can trace the theme of God’s presence from the beginning to the end of the Word.

Tracing God’s presence the beginning to the end of the Bible:

Genesis to Revelation

Genesis

The Garden of Eden

Genesis 1-3, God is with us… He speaks, He walks, and He provides/blesses.

The Fall: Adams sin breaks fellowship with God and God’s judgment on sin is passed from Adam to all of mankind.

The Tabernacle

God instructed Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant- where his presence would sit. And to build the tabernacle with the inner space for the Ark to rest. The tabernacle was symbolic of the garden of Eden with the precious stones and metals that were used. God’s people were on the move, but God was with them.

The Temple

Solomon built the temple for the Lord, the place in which his presence dwelled with His people. The Priests could enter, but only through sacrifice. The temple was a permanent dwelling place for God, replacing the tabernacle.

The Incarnation: God dwells with us, or as the word can be translated- He tabernacles with us.

John 1:14 (ESV), 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.

Jesus referred to Himself as the temple… and predicted that after it was torn down it would be rebuilt in 3 days… which it was through his death, burial, and resurrection.

But, like many of the Israelites there are people today who miss what Jesus teaches about the temple and His presence.

Jesus makes it clear that what’s important about the temple is God… it is where He comes to dwell in the midst of His people. And, if the temple is important because of God’s presence, then we must focus our attention more on the presence of God than the building or it’s location.

John 4:19–26 (ESV)

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

The Crucifixion and Resurrection: Overcoming the fall and reconciling mankind through the sacrifice of Christ.

Death is defeated, satan is defeated, sin has been vanquished- it has lost it’s sting… and with the broken fellowship between God and mankind has been restored. What was lost in the Garden of Eden is restored through Jesus Christ.

Where there has been an intermediary between God and man, there is now only Jesus- and Jesus says to come to the Father. In fact, when Christ was crucified the dividing curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle or temple was torn in two— and torn from top to bottom to demonstrate that it was God who tore it, not a man. And this symbolizes the fellowship with God that has been achieved through Christ.

Where there was once a handful of men who had that kind of access to God’s presence, in Christ the entire body of Christ- the Church is granted access to God like that of the OT priests.

And, you don’t have to make sacrifices- Jesus has made the eternal sacrifice, purchasing your pardon and your access until he returns.

The Church: A Kingdom of Priests

After His resurrection and ascension Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as a sign of His promise and presence… and established His people as the church.

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV), 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

And not only is everyone in Christ considered to be His kingdom, and kingdom of priests- the people are the dwelling place of God.

Ephesians 2:19–22 (ESV), 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Like Jesus told the Samaritan woman- the kingdom isn’t made up of geographical lines and special places to worship. The Messiah has come, the old has been fulfilled, and the new has come. Jesus is the Word made flesh, and he has declared that He is with His people- in the midst of her.

1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV), 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV), 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

The church, the body of Christ is the dwelling place of God, and at the same time we are all a kingdom of priests… which means that through Christ we have access to God and can look forward to life in eternity with Him!

And we can look forward to Him because of what has already been said and experienced about Him.

Psalm 84:1–4 (ESV) says,

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!

The lovely dwelling place of God was once the Garden of Eden, and in the future that God has promised we will have something even better than what was lost!

New Heaven and New Earth

Revelation

The Bible begins and ends with God and His people…as we have already seen in Genesis and the garden of Eden, we see something even better in Revelation 21:1–4 (ESV), “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people…

This baby that we sing about at Christmas Jesus came to dwell with us for a little while so that we would one day dwell with Him forever.

The focus is not on us, it’s on God. We would be wrong to focus on us when we look into the nativity. Instead- The wonder and the marvel of this is that God has come to dwell with us!

What does this mean for us today?

God has come to reconcile and redeem what was lost in the Garden.

God’s presence forces us to focus on our relationship with Him.

Reading and praying to grow closer to God, to hear from God, to be heard by God, and to be ready/Equipped for what He has in store for us.

God’s presence gives us comfort and courage

Psalm 46:1–7 (ESV)

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that means your life is worship.

And there are many ways to worship God in your life

Holiness

Obedience

Love

Sharing the Gospel

And even giving… this time of year we encourage you to consider giving to the support of missions around the world- The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is one of the most significant ways that we as SBCers support our missionaries. And, to help accomplish our goals and keep missions in front of us all year we have created the Acts 1:8 Missions Offering. This offering… (brings multiple efforts together, and helps us see the scope of missions throughout the year instead of focusing on two or three big offerings a year… we will focus on one big offering that is designated out in the directions you see in the bulletin.

You are always welcome to designate to things like the Lottie Moon offering, and that designation will be honored… and we will count those gifts to the goal amount of the Acts 1:8 offering. And, I look forward to the way the Lord will use the Acts 1:8 offering in the coming years to grow our giving and our mission efforts!

I was reminded this week of something Dr. Gene Henderson used to say to FBC Brandon, MS. Christmas is about Jesus’ birthday- and before you go and spend a lot of $ on yourself- give to missions as a way to celebrate His birthday for Him.

And, in the same vein, when it comes to giving as a part of your worship- giving to the church is a true offering… because you put it in the hands of the Lord and he directs is and uses it a myriad of ways. Giving to directed offerings, people, and/or ministries is not the same thing as a tithe or an offering to the Lord through the church. We need to do those things, but we also need to place our offering before the Lord for Him to use as he sees fit through the church. With the end of one year and the beginning of another- commit to giving more in whatever way that means for you…