Immanuel - God with us
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NAMES
NAMES
WHAT IS IN A NAME?
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE HAD KIDS, DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU HEARD THE NEWS OF THE PREGNANCY - YOU STARTED TO CHOOSE NAMES AND YOU HAD TO HAVE A LIST OF GIRL AND A LIST OF BOY NAMES.
THE NAME WAS KEPT A SECRET AND NO ONE HAD TO KNOW JUST IN CASE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS NAMED THEIR KID THE SAME NAME AND THEN IT WOULD LOOK LIKE YOU STOLE THEIR NAME.
THE NAME WAS IMPORTANT - IT MEANT SOMETHING TO YOU AND WHAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY REPRESENTED. HOWEVER TODAY WE PICK NAMES FOR OUR CHILDREN THAT HAVE NO SPECIAL MEANINGS.
THIS WAS NOT THE CASE IN THE BIBLE - PEOPLES NAMES HAD MEANING AND THE VERY FIRST NAME WE SEE IS ADAM AND THAT WAS DERIVED FROM THE HEBREW WORD (HA- ADAMAH ) OUT OF THE EARTH.
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT NAMES WERE VERY IMPORTANT AND WE OFTEN SEE GOD CHANGING NAMES OF PEOPLE -
BUT TODAY WE ARE LOOKING AT ONE NAME THAT WE ALWAYS HEAR AROUND THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.
EMMANUEL - WHICH MEANS GOD WITH US
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
LETS JUST ALLOW OURSELVES TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT TO THE SCRIPTURE HERE IN ISAIAH
HISTORY -
ISAIAH SENT TO KING AHAZ
AHAZ DID NOT BELEIVE THAT GOD WAS WITH HIM IN HIS TIME OF STRUGGLE
ISAIAH BRINGS A MESSAGE OF HOPE TO HIM AND HE DOES NOT GET IT
Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shear-jashub and go out to meet King Ahaz. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.
Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah.
Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying,
‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’
But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place;
for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed.
Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”
Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz:
“Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.”
But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”
Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
IMANUEL - GOD WITH US?? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??
Many times, when we say that someone is with us we mean that they are our friends. We benefit from their companionship and comradery. They are there for us in our time of need or distress. They are on our side and will fight to defend us.
Scripturally speaking, what does it mean that God is with us? First, we must define "us." God is not with everyone in the sense of being friends with everyone. In fact, the Scriptures tell us that subsequent to Adam's fall, all mankind are born enemies of God (Genesis 2:17; Psalm 51:5; Romans 8:7). Having sinned against God both by commission and omission we have incurred a sin debt that merits God's eternal wrath (Romans 6:23).
But God promised to send a Savior, a Messiah, to save God's people from their sins. He promised to overcome the curse of sin and death, which man brought upon himself when he gave into Satan's temptation (Genesis 3:15). The prophet Isaiah spoke about this Messiah approximately 700 years before His birth
His name is Jesus Christ and He is the long-awaited Immanuel, which means, God with us (Matthew 1:22–25). Jesus is the Word
PRAY HERE??
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ”
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
GOD WITH US
GOD
JESUS IS GOD
CREATOR KING OF UNIVERSE HAS BECOME A HUMAN BEING - JOHN 1:14
THE NEW TESTAMENT TELLS US THAT JESUS IS GOD
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
THIS ONE NAME THAT MEANS THREE THINGS NEEDS TO BE BROKEN DOWN FOR US:
FIRST WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND GOD.
GOD
Jesus is what it means for God to be with us. He emptied Himself and humbled Himself, taking on the form of a servant, in order to identify and sympathize with us sinners, whom He came to save (Philippians 2:6–11; Hebrews 4:15–16; 1 Timothy 1:15). He broke down the dividing wall of hostility between God and us (Ephesians 2:14). He sacrificed His very life on the cross for our sins thereby erasing our debt (Colossians 2:13–14).
Christ performed works which only God can do. He is creator.7 He is the upholder of all things.8 He forgives sin.9 He will raise the dead and execute judgment.10
Jesus Christ Himself claimed deity. He taught His disciples to pray in His name.11 He claimed that He and the Father were one and that He was the Son of God.12 He claimed that to know Him was to know God, to see Him was to see God, to receive Him was to receive God, to believe Him was to believe in God and to honor Him was to honor God, while to hate Him was to hate God.13
11John 16:23, 24
12 John 10:30, 36; 14:9; 17:11
13 John 8:18; 14:7; John 12:45; 14:9; Mark 9:37; John 12:44; 14:1; John 5:23; John 15:23
GOD WITH
COME ALONGSIDE US
TILL JESUS WHEN GOD CAME NEAR - IT WAS A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE - THE JEWISH PEOPLE WERE AFRAID OF GOD. ISAIAH 6 - HE WAS CONVINCED HE WOULD DIE FOR SEEING GOD
TO EXPERIENCE IS DIFFERENT TO BEING WITH -
UP TILL JESUS, TO GET INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD WAS VERY SCARY
MOSES SAW THE BACK OF GOD - HE HAD A RADIENCE THAT REQUIRED A VEIL
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO MEET GOD!!
THE DISCIPLES NOT ONLY EXPERIENCED GOD - THEY KNEW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO HAVE HIM WALK WITH THEM.
IT TOOK SOME CONVINCING FOR THEM TO TRULY UNDERSTAND GOD
JESUS CAME TO SHOW US HOW TO LIVE OUR LIVES WITH GOD
HE WALKED THE TALK
I DONT KNOW IF YOU CAN REMEMBER A FEW WEEKS AGO AS WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING IN THE BOOK OF MARK TOGETHER WITH OUR SMALL GROUPS - YOU MUST HAVE READ THE PASSAGE ABOUT JESUS TEACHING IN A NEW WAY - THIS WAS FOREIGN TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE - THEY WERE BEING SHOWN “GOD WITH”
NOTE:
YOU KNOW WHAT IS VERY INTERESTING IS THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT IT, WE ARE ALL GIVEN A NAME BY OUR PARENTS
THEN THERE IS THE NAME WE ARE CALLED.
THEN THERE IS THE NAME WE AQUIRE FOR OURSELVES?
WHAT NAME ARE YOU AQUIRING FOR YOURSELF - HOW DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE OR BE WITH YOU?
JESUS
WHEN WE TELL THE STORY OF THE BIRTH WE DONT TELL ABOUT HOW THIS ALL CAME AND HOW HORRIBLE IT MUST HAVE BEEN AND SCARY IT WAS FOR MARY
UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE OF THE TIME.
THE STORY OF MARY
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
WE CAN STUDY THE BIBLE - ATTEND CHURCH - ATTEND STUDIES BUT STILL NOT KNOW GOD TRULY
AHAZ - DID NOT WANT TO MEET GOD - HE DID NOT TRUST GOD HE WANTED HIS WAY
JESUS CAME TO TAKE AWAY THE BARRIER -
GOD WITH US
WHO IS US?
PEOPLE INVITED
HUMBLED
SHEPHERDS
OUTCASTS
COME WITHOUT RFERENCES OR ARGUMENTS
WE ARE NOT WORTHY BUT GOD MAKES US WORTHY
STOP LIMITING GOD - EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD
GETTING NEAR GOD THIS CHRISTMAS - WHAT IS KEEPING YOU FROM GOD? - DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF HEAD KNOWLEDGE, - WHAT IS THE COST?
GET OFF THE FENCE- ARE WE LUKE WARM
WE NEED TO MAKE A CHOICE OF WHAT WE WANT
TODAY WE DABBLE IN CHRISTIANITY - WE TAKE A LITTLE OF THIS AND MIX IT WITH A LITTLE OF THAT AND THEN SEE IF IT IS GOOD
GOD IS AN ALL OR NOTHING GOD
JOHN WESLEY DIED WITH THESE WORDS ON HIS LIPS
LET US LIVE WITH THESE WORDS IN OUR HEARTS
GOD WITH US