Immanuel, God with Us

He Shall Be Called

Immanuel, God with Us

Crosspoint – Dave Spooner – Nov. 29th, 2020

 

Intro:

  • Today, we are starting our 4-part Christmas series entitled “He shall be called,” focusing on the names of the Son who is given, Immanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, and the I Am. I hope that you will grow in your understanding and appreciation of what God has given us in and through His Son during this season and this series, and that these truths will firmly establish and expand your faith and joy in Jesus. This week we will explore the title “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
  • Because God is with you, you have hope in every and all situations.
  • Because God is with you, you have companionship in every season of your life.
  • Because God is with you, you know what to do by looking to and following the example of Jesus.

 

You have hope

 

  • The word “Immanuel” is first recorded in chapter 7 in the book of Isaiah. So, at this time, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. Ahaz was the King of the tribe of Judah from the line of David with their capital of Jerusalem. In this passage, Ahaz and his kingdom were being attacked by the King of the rest of Israel and his ally, the King of Aram. Ahaz and his people’s hearts were “shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (Is. 7:2).
  • God told the prophet, Isaiah, to deliver a message to King Ahaz and

 

Isa 7:4.7,9 NIV

Say to him, Be careful, keep calm, and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart . . . It will not take place, it will not happen . . .  If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

 

  • I have something for you to do, be careful, keep calm, do not be afraid, do not lose heart. Why? Because what these two kings are planning on doing to you will not happen. Trust me and stand firm in what I am telling you because if you do not have faith in me, you will not stand at all . . . because I am your only hope.
  • And then, out of God’s kindness, He offered to give Ahaz a sign which would help him believe and have faith.

 

Isa 7:10-14 NLT

Then, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: 11 “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.”12 But the King refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”

 

13 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? 14 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).

 

  • Now, this is a really weird sign that God gives to Ahaz that he can trust God to deliver him . . . Ahaz was thinking of his immediate issue of being delivered from the external evil and destruction, where God was thinking about their eternal need of being delivered from the internal evil and destruction.
  • We know this because the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy came 800 years later, where the New Testament describes this virgin and her son.

 

Matt 1:20b-23 ESV

 “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:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

 

  • The hope that you have to defeat the evil without and the evil within is to be placed in the son who will be born of a virgin (which is a sign), which is God with us, who will save his people from their sins. The evil around you is a problem, but the bigger problem is the evil within your own heart. Because God says I am present with you through My Son Jesus, I will defeat them all. Stand firm in your faith because if you do not, you will not stand at all.
  • Know that in every evil and difficult situation, that God is with you, and that if God is with you, you always have hope. Because He will come through and deliver you at the end, put your faith in Him, and trust Him. He promises that He will save His people from their sins.
  • Notice that he does not say that he will deliver you from every difficulty and hardship. He will be with you through it. He promises you that, and He promises that you will be delivered from the greatest evil, which is deliverance over sin and death.
  • God always and forever keeps His promises. If you are holding onto a promise, make sure it is one that He gave. People greatly err when they become angry at God for not keeping promises He never made.
  • Because God is with you, you have hope in every and all situations.
  • Because God is with you, you have companionship in every season of your life.

 

You have companionship

 

  • The good news is that if God is with you, you are never alone. David declared:

 

Ps 139:7-12 ESV

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

 

  • There is no place on this earth that you can go that God is not. Wherever you go, there God is. Paul said

 

Rom 8:38-39 NIV

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

  • God will always love you, and nothing or no one can and will separate Him from you. He promises to be with us

 

Ps 23:4 ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 

  • Even though we walk through the shadow of death (this is not the real death), He will be the good Shepherd and walk with us. If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, you will never walk alone.
  • He will help you and guide you and protect you and not forsake you. He will see you through until you have completed your purpose here on earth and throughout eternity.

 

Acts 13:36 ESV

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep

 

  • So, we are to

 

1 Chron 28:20b-21 ESV

Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.

 

  • And He promised:

 

Matt 28:20b ESV

I am with you always, to the end of the age.

 

  • Because there was a child that was given, who is Immanuel – God with us, we always have
  • Because there was a child that was given, who is Immanuel – God with us, we always have companionship.
  • Because there was a child that was given, who is Immanuel – God with us, we always can know what to do, because He is our example to follow.

 

You have an example

 

  • Which is better, to be told how to do something or to be shown how to do something? To be shown how to do something is always better (Ill. of learning how to paint from Bruce Ramm – he could have said “paint the room,” but he showed me how to do it, from how to prepare the room, from preparing the paint, choosing the tools, what order, how much pressure, to how to clean the brushes, etc.)
  • In the Old Testament, God told us what was required of us; in the New Testament, God showed us how to do it. This is what is required of us.

 

Deut 10:12-14 ESV

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?

 

  • And this is God showing us:

 

John 1:14 ESV

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.

 

  • God’s glory is seen in His goodness

 

Ex 33:18-19 ESV

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’

 

  • Jesus showed us the glory of the Lord by showing us the goodness of the Lord. He walked in both grace and truth . . . forgiving sin and telling us to sin no more, casting out demons and calling people to himself, by speaking the truth and extending grace, by confronting evil and providing salvation, by drawing close to the humble and resisting the proud. By humble service and sacrificial leadership. By always following in the footsteps of His Father.

 

John 13:15 ESV

For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

 

  • Because the Word became flesh, because God is with us, we know what to do. And we must look to him to know what to do. We get in trouble when we do what He would not be doing and say what He would not be speaking.

 

1 Peter 2:21b-25 ESV

Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps

 

  • And we cannot do these things on our own; we must have help, we must have His presence, His Spirit in us to do and to follow in this way. We must decrease, and He must increase.

 

Conclusion

  • The Son that is given. His name is Jesus; He is the Immanuel that was promised. He is God with us. And because He is with us, we always have hope. Because He is with us, we always have a companion; because He is with us, we know what to do.
  • Stand firm in your faith because if you do not stand, you will not stand at all. Always hold on to hope because He will not fail you. Always turn to Him because He will not leave you. Always fix your eyes on Him, and you will know what to do.
  • Receive the gift of the Son; rejoice in the gift that has been given. Worship God in the highest, who has given us the greatest of all gifts, the gift of Himself.