God With Us

This week’s sermon invites us to slow down, turn our attention toward God, and rediscover the meaning of Emmanuel—God with us. Listen now on our podcast and prepare your heart for Christmas.

Transcript

Then if you'll turn to Matthew chapter one, we'll get right into things here.

We've already seen a presentation. Boy, they had the core of the gospel there in their message, at least what we would call maybe the first part of the Gospel, right, Which is his coming, his incarnation. And they had it all there, which was great, the kids in their presentation, and what a cool thing that always is to see. All right, turn with me again to Matthew chapter one, and then we're going to find our way to verse 18.

This is the fourth Sunday of Advent, remember, so we haven't quite reached Christmas to celebrate. Properly speaking, we're still in the part of the season of waiting. And so notice these words as the Church gives us this text today in Matthew chapter one, starting with verse 18. This is the word of God. Now, the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, took place in this way when his mother, Mary had been engaged to Joseph.

But before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet.

Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Immanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had been. Until she had borne a son. And he named him Jesus.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we call on you to help us today as we wrestle with the great mystery of the incarnation, which is how you chose to save us, Lord. It's how you chose to come near. And so, Lord, today would you give us eyes to see and ears to hear what it is you want to say to us today? We pray in your name. Amen.

And you can be seated.

It's always fun, I think, to reconsider the great events of our salvation. And of course, the greatest event is Christ's own coming to us. This is both prophesied in the Old Testament and then spoken of in the New Testament. It is the center of all things, because Jesus is. Is right at the center of all things, because he is the one mediator between God and man.

And so it's worth our consideration this morning as we look at this particular passage, I want to take a little bit of maybe a different, perhaps angle on this, and it's actually going to be one of repentance, and it's a call to repentance. But we'll get there in just a moment. The first thing that I would love to do is just consider that Isaiah reading again. Now, I know in the hustle and bustle of all that's happened this morning, because it's been a lot, trust me. Remember that Isaiah reading.

Did you catch what was going on there? This is right after Isaiah's call, by the way, in chapter six. And we get chapter seven, where we have Ahaz. And the Lord tells him, says, ask for a sign. Right?

You remember this? He says, his deepest Sheol, which is. Which is like Hades, the place of the dead. So as deep as the dead and as high as the heavens. Like, ask a son.

Like, go ahead. It's one of those things where it's like, maybe a parent who's like, hey, you can have whatever you want on this aisle. Like, really ask for something good. Or maybe you go to a restaurant, like a date with my daughter. Okay, let's say take her out.

And I'm like, all right, baby. Anything on the menu? Like, ask big, you know, and then she asked for chicken tenders, you know, of course. I mean, because that's what kids do, right? Or I'd like the Mac and cheese, please.

You know, it's like, well, hey, there's actually a filet mignon on there, right? But no, no, it's part of our human nature that left to ourselves, we have a very small world. Let me say that again. Left to ourselves, we have a very small world left in our head. Very small world.

In fact, not big enough to match reality. And so here's God through the prophet Isaiah, saying, hey, you know, because Isaiah's like, hey, ask, man. Just ask. Like, what's it going to be? You know?

And he's like, no, no, no, I'm not going to tempt God. You know, he said, do you have to? You already are wearying mortals, right? Do you have to weary God with your stupidity? That's basically what he's saying here.

Okay, I'm just interpreting for time's sake. All right?

Do you have to weary? I mean, this is literally what he said. Do you have to weary God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will choose the sign. And what is the sign?

That the Virgin will conceive. The Virgin will conceive. I found it interesting as I've watched shows over my life and movies, I've noticed a little pattern, and I watch movies and shows critically for this kind of pattern to emerge. And it's this pattern right here. No matter if it's an apocalyptic show where everything is falling apart, whatever.

What they'll often do is introduce a baby. You ever notice that, like in the storyline, they'll all of a sudden introduce a baby. Now, what does a baby have to do with, you know, the Walking Dead, for instance? It's like, what does that have to do with anything? Why would you.

Because it's new life. That's why. It's a new start. Babies represent a new start. I mean, literally, right?

You know, that's the whole point. Like, they have their whole life before them, right? That's why they're so precious and like, such a jewel, okay? And so, too, in the scriptures, we see right at the center of all things, a baby showing up. And it's this baby that will save the world.

Now, you know, we think that, like, Adam was created maybe as a teenager or an adult. Same thing with Eve, right? But not here. We get a baby. God doesn't come full grown, which can be intimidating.

You know, we size each other up, right? You never size up a baby. Like, all right, what you got here, man? You know? No, they don't have anything, right?

Like, you know, you walk into a room and it's like you start sizing people up. Like, okay, that guy looks intimidating. That gal right there, I don't know, she looks mad. I mean, we just automatically do this. Nobody sizes up a baby, you know, like, oh, man, that guy's out to get me, you know?

No. A baby. No, no. They're just trying to do their thing, right? They're not bothering anyone, in fact.

And how does God show up? Not as something intimidating, but giggling. Da, da, da, da, da, da. You know how they do, right? A little baby and you ever seen, like, a baby smile or laugh?

I mean, if you don't laugh, something's wrong with you. Seriously, something's wrong. No, God shows up needing a diaper change. Think about that for just a second. God shows up with the face of a baby, of an infant, and this is his coming into the world.

He says, no, I'll give my own son. And it's something that man can't do. In fact, I'm going to bypass man altogether.

And so he Saves the world by a man and a woman. Because a man and a woman get us in trouble in the beginning, don't they? And so he doesn't discard either. Oh, Eve, it's all your fault. So therefore, save the world through a man.

No, he uses both because we both need salvation. And he redeems through both because that's what he likes to do. He doesn't discard, he redeems, he goes. And he wins back, doesn't he? This is the great story.

These are the great themes that are playing out before us when we consider what's going on here in. In the incarnation. Remember, that term can be maybe scary for some, but incarnate, in fleshed, he comes in the flesh. Two words smashed together. Incarnation in the flesh.

This is God drawing near because he's Emmanuel, God with us. He's not with us as an energy.

He's not even with us, just as an aura or a presence that we somehow feel. He's with us in a person who lived like we're living right now, whose flesh had a beginning, although the Son of God never had a beginning. But when he joins himself to humanity, he has a beginning. And in fact, you date your birthday to his beginning. My birthday?

April 26, 1980. One years from the time that the historical Jesus came to earth.

No, Emmanuel is not an idea. Christianity is not an ideology, another one to tack on. No, Christianity is about a person.

Christianity is about Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. That's what Advent is leading us to. It's preparing us to meet the true Jesus. Not one that we have in our head, not one that remains an idea, but a living, personal God. One that to this very day has the body that he took on as a baby glorified, yes, but a body, if you don't know, nobody else believes that in the world.

There is no other religion in the world that believes that we're the only one. And so my hunch is that when I watch these movies and they are introducing a baby into the storyline to give people hope in a dark world, well, it's because that's what happened in reality. And something about us picks up on that. And even though we may not be aware of it because it's true, and he bypasses man and man's involvement by the Holy Spirit, we're told. So rather than Jesus being generated by a man, he is conceived by the Holy Spirit and Mary carries him to term and gives birth, just like all of us in this room.

We have this in common with God now, you See, what God does is he joins Himself to us. We didn't ask him to do this. He did it long before we existed.

And yet, from the beginning of time itself, he knew what he was going to do. And that's why it's so easy for the Bible to match up things in typological order. It's not because it's playing some neat literary game. It's because it's been the game from the beginning. He knew what he was going to do to save us.

He knew that it would cost him coming to be with us, and he chose that. And that's why he's love, because he has willed our good by becoming one of us, to lift us up from our darkness into his marvelous light. So you see, Emmanuel means God does not save from a distance. He comes personally to save us. He comes Himself.

Now, he always uses people. And he even uses people to get here, doesn't he? Even though he's conceived by the Holy Spirit, he must be carried in the body of a woman. And this is redemptive in itself, isn't it? And it's also prophesied in the very few first chapter three of Genesis, isn't it?

From your seed the woman will come, one who will crush the head of the serpent. You see, God uses both male and female in his economy, in his kingdom. And so, please, during this season, like as you continue to prepare just for the next few days and as we gather here, Wednesday, let us not think of Immanuel as just some concept, but a person standing before us. He is God with us.

Also, the psalm. The Psalm today, Psalm 80, repeats three different times this refrain. Restore us by letting your face shine on us. Another way to put it is your countenance, the light of your countenance, which is God's face. Okay?

By the way, in the Old Testament, when it says presence, it's always good. God's face. That's actually the term in Hebrew. Hebrew is a very pictorial language. And so his presence is his face.

So in other words, what we have, the way God restores us, is to turn his face toward us. Think about that. He turns his face toward us. Now, have you ever been in a room like this room, and there's a lot of things going on, and you see basically everything in here. Like when I'm looking, even back here at the sound booth, I can see everything else, but I don't really see it.

Do you know what I'm talking about? Like, Jessica was looking for something the other day, and she saw it. She Passed right by it because it was literally lying on the table. Okay? When I came in, I saw it.

And she even looked across the table, but she didn't see it. She saw it, but she didn't see it. You know what I'm talking about. You've done this before because it has to do with attention. It has to do with what our face is actually turned to.

We can actually be looking at somebody and not listening. You ever done that before? I'm guilty of that.

Because we're not paying attention. And you know what? Maybe we could say it like this. You really do have to pay. To pay attention, it costs you something.

Doesn't it, like, push everything else out of your mind kind of thing, you know? It's like, sometimes Jessica will do this, and it's very helpful for me, actually. Honey, look at me. And then she'll say what she wants to say. And honestly, that's how you do get my attention, to be honest with you, okay?

Now, because I've got learning disabilities like everybody else, I also have to look around while I'm thinking about stuff. So don't think I'm, like, not paying attention, but. Because I actually am to some degree. But if she's really. If she's really focused, okay?

She's like, this is really important. He's like, look at me. I remember when Jackson was a kid, and he wasn't listening, you know? And I was like, buddy, stop doing that. And it was.

You ever done that with a kid? They're not listening, right? They don't hear it. So I had to get down on his. Hey, buddy, listen to me.

Listen, this is very important. I got his little face and I made him look at me. Now, he was darting his eyes back and forth like this, you know, look at me. Gotta look at him. I said, hey, don't do that.

It's dangerous, buddy. Okay? Isn't that, like, what the Lord wants to do with us? Hey, I know you're looking around all these things and listen, we got so much to look at. Now, these days, like, so many things that are vying for our attention, we're scrolling away.

Our attention is we're paying attention to things and not people.

We're paying attention in our own head, wrapped up with all these different thoughts. We're not listening. That's why Jesus constantly always saying, if you have ears to hear, eyes to see. Think about it. What we see and what we hear, it's very important.

We need to see Jesus in these days. We need to hear Jesus. If we Just simply think about Jesus. That is not enough, dear brothers and sisters, we must go to Him. We must talk to him.

Call on his name, like, actually just say, like, jesus, will you help me? My mind is filled with uncertainty, anxiety, depression, whatever it might be. Listen, there's a lot of things that fill our minds. Worry about finances or whatever it might be. Lord, help me to push that out so I can actually just listen to you for a minute.

What if we just had a pause like that? Like that's what waiting looks like. We talk about. Advent is a time of waiting for his coming. That's how we wait.

How much does he want to say to us that we just blow right past to me and we don't stop to listen? We have His Word and we don't stop to listen. And we wonder. God doesn't speak to me. Do you ever pay attention?

Where is our attention going? Here's what the scripture says. It calls us to repent. That term, repent is interesting. It's actually two words smashed together, like typical, right?

One is meta, which is an interesting word. It's metanoia is the term in Greek. Okay, now stay with me here because it's interesting, the two words that are actually coming together here. One is meta, like metaphysics, okay? The other is nous N o U s, which actually is mind.

So it's actually beyond the mind is what it means to repent. Now, some of us are stuck in our minds. And if we want to just summarize, and I do right now for just a minute, a little pressed for time today. And you don't care anyway about this, but all modern philosophy, all modern philosophy gets summed up in this. It stops with the mind.

You get stuck in the mind and you can't trust reality. Extra mental or external reality, you can't trust it. From Descartes to Kant to the rest, Hume, they all have the same problem. They stop in the mind. They get stuck in the mind.

They can't trust external reality. This is why today we're told, no, no, you can become whoever you want to become because it's all in your mind. It's fluid, like water. That is not reality, dear brothers and sisters. Reality exists outside of us as much as inside of us.

In other words, you are real, but also I am real and other things are real. And just like the fact that you can think all you want, that you can just walk through these chairs because they're not there, because you're just in your mind, you'll learn real quickly that you Actually can't. So don't do that, please. We don't want to have anybody go into the hospital. Okay?

But how many of us are hurt because we're stuck in our mind trying to construct reality on our own? What a ridiculous way to live life. What a sad way to live life. What a limited life. Ask as high, as low.

I don't know. I don't think I'll ask anything. If you want to sum up post modernity, that's it, lesson over. Like, that's where we literally live today. It's the byproduct of many people trying to X out reality, external reality, objective reality, and we go.

I'd love to go further, but we can't. And we're not. Some of you don't care. So here's what I'm looking for, is this. Look to God.

That's what repentance is. In other words, get out, meta. Get out of your own mind. Don't trust yourself. Don't trust your own wisdom.

Like, that's what repentance is, actually. It's turning from your own way to God's way.

And then you'll see the light. Why? Because you're looking at his face. He's already turned his face to us. If we turn to him, boom.

Light, light and life.

You know, I had this thought this morning. It's kind of like, this happened to me a couple times, where I walk into a big room and there's a lot of people, and it's like a party and people are having fun, but I don't know anybody, you know what I mean? It's like. And I'm just, like, just hanging out. And I'm okay to hang out by myself, so it's not a big deal.

But it's like at the same time, it'd be nice to have a friend there, you know? Then all of a sudden I'm like, oh, shoot, there's so and so. Hey, what's up? And everything changes, doesn't it Notice? Same party, same food, same music.

Everything changes. When I see the face of someone, I know you get it. We're lost until we see his face. This world makes no sense until we see his face. We're just kind of wandering around.

Like, here other people are having fun. I don't know. What. I don't know. I don't know what to do.

I got to construct my own. That's ridiculous. No, no, there's more. There's more. Get out of your head.

Turn around and you can see the light. That's why we got the light all around here, right? It's the whole point. In the darkest days of our year, winter, the light comes, we can turn. We can turn to him, and the countenance of his face restores us.

Same situation, same spouse, same amount of money, same house. Everything changes when we see his face. Ah, the familiar face. I know. I know what it's about now.

I got it. We don't understand everything, do we? Not at that point. But he is with us. That's what matters.

This whole project Earth of reality, of what is real, is all about being with him. That's it. He created us to be with him. That's why he walked with us in the garden until we turned away. So turn back around.

He made a way. We don't have to live in a small world in our own mind. No, no, get outside of that. Just touch the grass. Let the grass lead you up to the highest God himself.

Who then comes down in the face of a baby. What a thought, Manger. What a thought. The kids up here. What a thought.

They're exercising. The play was about reality.

Okay, so the sign has come. Well, I'll land the plane with this. Much more to say, by the way, but I'm being gracious. Merciful. We really do have time.

But nevertheless, Mary and Joseph finally model a faithful response. Model a faithful response. Mary obeys with her words, let it be unto me thy servant. Think about that. Let it be unto me thy handmaid or thy servant.

She receives the greatest gift of all that could ever be given God in the flesh, Jesus into her body by the Holy Spirit in that moment of verbal obedience.

And by the way, do you know that Christ is born in us the same way? Let it be unto me thy servant. That's the way we're born again.

That's the way he's born in us. By the Holy Spirit.

We're supposed to be like Mary, let it be to me. According to your word.

Joseph obeys in this text. Indeed. We never really hear what he says. I'm sure he has a lot of questions. He probably just kept his mouth shut.

You remember what happened when Zechariah started questioning things, don't you? How's this gonna be? Mute. Okay. I think Joseph maybe learned a lesson perhaps, right?

Maybe he heard, you know, like, oh, well, I'm just not gonna say anything, you know, When I don't know something, I just stop talking. I mean, I really do because I don't want to look stupid, you know? So it's like, okay, Maybe just stop talking. We don't have what he said. Okay?

But here's what we do have. We have his deeds. He's told two fundamental things. Here, take Mary. That's your wife.

Now, it's interesting that he wakes up from asleep and then takes his wife. Was that reminiscent of Adam? Right. Anybody? No.

Like, he wakes up, here's your wife. Behold, woman. Whoa, man. Right. That's what he does.

I mean, I'm assuming. And here's Joseph. He takes his wife. We're told. Literally told.

Notice the angel tells him to do it. He wakes up, he took her, his wife, Boom. Check. He's ready to do. Check.

Done. What's the second thing? Name the child Jesus. Don't name him after yourself. That was common practice.

Name him Jesus. What does he do? We're told the last thing that we read today, he named him Jesus.

Joseph did not delay in obeying God. He didn't put it off. He woke up and he did what the Lord asked him to do.

No doubt he had questions, but he did it anyway. Obedience does not require full knowledge.

So if I could say it this way, stop messing around with all the questions. If you know what's right to do, simply do it. Figure out the other stuff later. In fact, as you do it, you might figure it out.

Faith is not only something internal or in word only, but in deed. So obedience, as Paul said, the obedience of faith. Don't you love that? The obedience of faith is in word and in deed. Some of you maybe have confessed the Lord as your Savior.

Now followed up with the deeds that he's asking you to do.

Emmanuel unites heaven and earth, divine and human, by having a divine father and an earthly mother. And he blesses marriage and family right here in this text. He sanctifies it by his participation in it. Just like with baptism. Jesus doesn't need baptism.

The reason he gets baptized is to sanctify the water.

You see, the water doesn't do anything for him. He sanctifies the water so that when we're baptized, it's holy water because of him. Same thing with marriage, same thing with family. He sanctifies those institutions by his participation in them. And really, as we said the other week, we're to be married to him.

That's what this is all about. He's doing what is necessary. We are betrothed to him and he is to be born in us. And so he's given the sign already. Will you repent of our small mindedness?

Will you repent of our busy minds? And not paying attention to God. He is with us. He's already turned his attention to us. Would you turn to him in this holy season and receive him as Emmanuel, the restorer of our soul, our salvation.

God with us. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May it be so.