I love the music of Christmas for September,
whatever month this is. We received an email
message from Ted Esler this week that the Lord
wonderfully preserved them from what could have
been a life -threatening situation in Sarajevo.
The only heat they have in their home right now
is in a wood -burning stove. And in the middle
of the night, their dog began barking. And it
woke them. And he found that the house was on
fire. And that it had just begun, but it had
begun at an area near the propane tank that they
had, which was so hot he couldn't even put his
hand on it. And had he not gotten the fire out
when he did, the house probably would have exploded
with the loss of their lives. And so we're grateful
for that. And as we learned that provision of
God for them, he asked us to pray for him tomorrow.
because he will be going this next week with
50 Sarajevans on a retreat, the purpose of which
is primarily evangelistic. And so he asked us
tomorrow on Monday to especially remember him
and this retreat in prayer. And I'm going to
ask you to do that, if you will, please. I had
heard that Steve and Mary Lynette were going
to be in our services today. I don't know if
they are here. Are you here? There you are. I've
been looking for you. It's nice to see you this
morning, all the way from California, suffering
back here in Minnesota. Steve and Mary were missionaries
in the Taliabo, and were there again this last
summer. And right now, he's studying at the seminary,
at Master's Seminary, and on the staff of Grace
Community Church. We welcome you this morning.
God bless you. I'm going to ask you to open your
Bible with me, please, to the book of Matthew.
and the first chapter as we begin our Christmas
series, Names with Christmas Glory. Matthew chapter
1, I'm going to read verses 22 and 23. All this
took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet, the virgin will be with
child and will give birth to a son. and they
will call him Emmanuel, which means God with
us. There was a book written a number of years
ago by the title, Are You Running With Me, Jesus?
I didn't like the book. It was not a good book,
but I was intrigued by the title, and it stuck
with me all of these years. And I have good news
for you this morning. The answer to that question,
if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ,
is yes. Jesus is running with you. in your race
of life. The first name that we look at in this
Christmas series is the name Emmanuel, which
means, as Matthew notes, God with us. Matthew
writes frequently about the Old Testament being
fulfilled in the life and ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And what he says in these verses
is not a contradiction between what he has recorded
in the earlier verses of the angel's word to
Joseph. Joseph was told to call the baby Jesus.
Here we see his name will be called Emmanuel.
The name Emmanuel was not intended to be a personal
name. It is a constitutional name. That is, it
describes the makeup, the nature of this one
whose name was to be called Jesus. He is God
with us. The name Emmanuel reassures God's people
that He is with us in all of the seasons of life.
To appreciate what Emmanuel means, I'd like for
us to look at it from four angles this morning.
The first significance we want to see is the
historical significance of the name Emmanuel.
Obviously, Matthew says, the prophet has said,
the virgin will be with child. And as most of
you know, that is a prophecy of Isaiah. So would
you turn back to the Old Testament book of Isaiah,
please, and the seventh chapter where we're introduced
to this prophecy. It helps to understand a bit
of the historical context of this prophecy that
is given in verse 14. In the time of the prophet
Isaiah, Syria, and Israel were attacking Judah.
You say, how is that? How is Israel attacking
Judah? Well, you may recall that in 930 BC, there
was a division of the nation. There was a northern
kingdom that assumed the name Israel, or Samaria,
or Ephraim, and there was the southern kingdom
that assumed the name Judah, or Jerusalem. They
had a separate line of kings. The southern kingdom
was faithful to the line of David. The northern
kingdom followed after a rebel whose name was
Jeroboam. His descendants and then others as
well, beyond his descendants, ruled over the
nation of Israel to the north. All of them were
ungodly kings and the nation was an idolatrous
nation. At this particular time, the time of
Isaiah and this Time frame is about 200 years
after this division. It's about 735, 734 BC.
The northern kingdom Israel aligned itself with
the nation of Syria, or Aram. Its capital was
Damascus, as it still is today. They were concerned,
those two nations, were concerned about a growing
power to the north and to the east by the name
of Assyria. whose capital later was Nineveh,
where Jonah went to preach. They were concerned
about this growing power out there, and so they
sought to put pressure upon the king of Judah,
whose name was Ahaz, to align himself with them
against Assyria. But Ahaz did not trust these
people. In fact, they attacked Jerusalem to try
to put pressure on Ahaz. They could not take
the city. And Ahaz did not trust these two. And
so he decided that he would send a message to
Assyria, to the king whose name was Tiglath -Pileser,
and ask him to come to help him against the king
of Israel and the king of Syria. Isaiah was dead
set against that. He said, it is wrong, Ahaz,
for you to go to the king of Assyria to ask for
help. Turn to the Lord, not to the king of Assyria.
Now that's the historical context for what we're
going to read. Chapter 7 of Isaiah, beginning
in verse 1. When Ahaz son of Jotham the son of
Uzziah was king of Judah, king reason of Aram,
or Assyria, And Pekah, son of Remaliah, king
of Israel, marched up to fight against Jerusalem,
but they could not overpower it. Now the house
of David was told, Aram has allied itself with
Ephraim. So the hearts of Ahaznes people were
shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken
by the wind. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, go
out, you and your son Shiar Jashub. to meet Ahaz
at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool
on the road to the washerman's field and say
to him, be careful. Keep calm. Don't be afraid.
Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering
stubs of firewood, because of the fierce anger
of reason and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
Aram, Ephraim, and Remaliah's son have plotted
your ruin, saying, let us invade Judah. Let us
tear it apart and divide it among ourselves and
make the son of Tobiel king over it. Yet this
is what the sovereign Lord says. That will not
take place. It will not happen. For the head
of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus
is only reason. Within 65 years, Ephraim will
too be shattered. as a people. The head of Ephraim
is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's
son. If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all. I want to tell you
something. That sentence that was spoken to Ahaz
is as legitimate today as it has ever been. If
you and I do not stand firm in our faith, we
will not stand at all. And Ahaz was greatly shaken.
Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz. Ask the Lord your
God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths
or in the highest heights. But Ahaz said, I do
not ask. I will not ask. I will not put the Lord
to the test. Then Isaiah said, hear now, you
house of David. Is it not enough to try the patience
of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign.
The virgin shall be with child and will give
birth to a son, and will call his name Immanuel.
He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough
to reject the wrong and choose the right. But
before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong
and choose the right, the land of the two kings
you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring
on you and your people and all the house of your
father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke
away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria."
Well, the prophecy goes on, and I don't have
time to read it all, but I do want you to notice
the historical significance of this occasion.
God offered to Ahaz a sign if he wanted to sign.
And Ahaz said rather pompously, oh, I wouldn't
tempt the Lord with a sign. And so the Lord says
to Isaiah, I'll give you a sign anyway. that
I can be trusted, and that you don't need to
go to the king of Assyria for help. The virgin
will conceive and bear a son. And you will call
his name Emmanuel, and that means that I am with
you. God is with you, Ahaz." Now, it's interesting
that when Isaiah wrote this prophecy, he used
a Hebrew word here that can mean, and does mean,
a young maiden. It doesn't have to mean a virgin.
The reason for that is that there was probably
an immediate fulfillment in that day. Indeed,
as you go on into chapter 8, it seems that the
son that God promised as a sign to Ahaz was a
son that was shortly after this born to Isaiah
and a prophetess who was at this moment still
a virgin. He was not married to her yet. And
that son who was born became the sign to Ahaz,
that God was with him. And God said before that
boy knows enough to reject right and to choose,
to reject wrong and choose the right, before
he's one or two years of age, both of these kings
that you're dreading today will be out of here.
And indeed, within two years after this prophecy
was given, both of those kings were dead. because
Assyria came down and attacked. You see, God
has a way of proving himself, and he did in that
age. The historical significance is that that
prophecy had a fulfillment in that day, in Isaiah's
day, but God, God had something greater in mind
in that prophecy. And we see that it has direct
reference to one who would be born hundreds of
years later. to a virgin. And when Matthew writes
about this, he uses a word that does not mean
a young woman. It means a young woman who has
never known a man. There is no mistaking it in
the New Testament that he is saying that it is
a prophecy of a virgin birth, and that that was
fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Having briefly
looked at the historical background and significance
of the name Immanuel, that it meant in the days
of Ahaz that God was with His people and He would
deliver them. Let's secondly consider the salvational
aspect and significance of this name Immanuel.
That returns us to Matthew chapter 1. In the
verses just preceding the prophecy that Matthew
points toward, The angel says to Joseph regarding
Mary that he is to not be afraid to take Mary
as his 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.
The historical significance of the name was that
God would be with His people to save them from
the threat of their enemies. But the New Testament
significance of this name, as applied to Jesus,
is found in this, that He is with us to save
us from our sins. God was with His people in
that day in their spiritual yearnings. They longed
for deliverance and for God's intervention. And
He came to be with them in a most unique sense.
It had never been done before, nor is it repeatable
how He came. God Himself came to be with them
and with us through the virgin birth. And in
doing so, He identified with us in our humanity.
while he was protected from our sin. Adam's sin
is counted through the male seed. And because
Jesus was born without the participation of Joseph,
therefore he was not legally a sinner through
Adam. And God so protected Jesus in the womb
of Mary that he did not inherit from her her
own sin. sin, so that he was holy from his conception,
fully human, fully God, and holy, and thus able
to be the one who would save his people from
their sins. Jesus Christ was Emmanuel in the
fullest sense of that meaning. Bible dictionary
says, Matthew rightly recognized that hope for
restoration through the house of David reached
its ultimate fulfillment only with Jesus. With
the coming of Jesus, God is with us in the most
profound sense. Not only is God with us in the
birth of the Lord Jesus, But in the continuing
ministry of the Lord Jesus to us and His presence
in our lives throughout this age, He is with
us. He is with us to save us from our sins. And
that is why He came just as the angel announced.
Philip Yancey, one of my favorite authors, writes
these words. This is the key to understanding
Christmas. I believe that we live in parallel
worlds. One consists of lakes and barns and politicians
and shepherds watching their flocks by night.
The other of angels and sinister forces and places
called heaven and hell. One night, in the cold
and dark, those two worlds came together. God,
who knows, know before or after, entered into
time and space. Could it be true this story of
a creator descending to be born on one small
planet? If so, it is a story like no other. Never
again need we wonder whether what happens on
this dirty little tennis ball matters to the
rest of the universe. Little wonder, a choir
of angels broke out in spontaneous song, disturbing
not only a few shepherds, but the entire universe.
Because when Jesus was born, He was born as God
with us. And He was with us to save us from our
sins. But that brings me to a third significance
as we consider this name, Emmanuel. And that
is the eternal significance of the name. Because
the name has a meaning that stretches into eternity
yet to come. with the new heaven and the new
earth. I'd like you to turn in your Bible to
Revelation chapter 21, all the way to the end
of the New Testament, to the book of the Revelation.
Chapter 21. In this chapter, John has a great
vision of the new heaven and the new earth. And
he sees the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven. And in verse 3,
he says, I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, now the dwelling of God is with men,
and He will live with them. They will be His
people, and God Himself will be with them and
be their God. Now, although the name Immanuel
is not used here, the meaning of the name is
very clearly spoken here. God Himself will be
with them and will be their God and they shall
be His people. And what is John talking about?
He is talking about the eternal presence of God
with His people in the new heaven and the new
earth and in the new Jerusalem in particular.
that God will dwell with us there in the most
profound sense, the eternal significance of the
name Immanuel. Matthew Henry comments with these
words, it is a matter of wonder that a holy God
should ever dwell with any of the children of
men. The presence of God with his people in heaven
will not be interrupted as it is on earth, but
he will dwell with them continually. It is for
this reason and because of something that is
said in the eighth chapter of Isaiah that we
didn't have time to look at, that heaven is sometimes
referred to as Emmanuel's land. Because it is
the place where God will be with us in the most
profound and eternal sense. Anne Ross Cousin.
was a pastor's wife 150 years ago, and as she
sat sewing one evening, the sermon of a great
Scottish preacher by the name of Samuel Rutherford
was going through her mind. She took several
phrases from that sermon of Rutherford and created
a hymn that we sometimes still sing today. This
is the hymn that was sung at the bedside of Charles
Spurgeon before he died. in 1892. The sands of
time are sinking. The dawn of heaven breaks.
The summer morn I've sighed for. The fair, sweet
morn awakes. Dark, dark hath been the midnight.
But day spring is at hand. And glory, glory dwelleth
in Emmanuel's land. The bride eyes not her garment,
but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze
at glory, but on my king of grace. Not at the
crown he giveth, but on his pierced hand. The
land is all the glory of Emmanuel's land." You
see that place that you and I will spend eternity
is called the place where God will be with us.
And thus rightly, Emmanuel's land. But there
is a fourth significance that I want us to see
before we stop this morning and this has to do
with us personally. The personal significance
of the name Emmanuel. This name has rich meaning
for you and for me. Matthew begins his gospel
by saying that Jesus is the one who is God with
us. You remember how he ends his gospel? He has
the Lord Jesus Christ making this statement,
and lo, I am what? With you, always, to the end
of the age. You see, this gospel of Matthew is
about Emmanuel, God with us. Not only was he
with us in his birth to save us, but he is with
us always to the end of the age. And what does
this mean that he is with us? It is not merely
that he is present as though we were to take
record of attendance and mark him present. But
it means that he is present and active and working
in our lives. You see, that was the special word
for Joseph in Matthew chapter 1. Joseph was afraid.
Mary was with child. He could not understand
how this could be. How this one that he loved,
to whom he was betrothed, would be unfaithful
to him and be with child. His only thought was
that he had to put her away privately. He didn't
want to embarrass her publicly. He didn't want
to bring shame to her. But he was afraid. And
so the angel came to Joseph, and what did he
say? Do not be afraid. And what had Isaiah said
to King Ahaz? Do not be afraid. You see, the
name Emmanuel is a name that should say to you
and me, you don't have to be afraid. As you pass
through the trials of life, God is with you.
When you pass through persecutions and the mockings
of people who do not appreciate your faith and
your integrity, don't be afraid. God is with
you. As you pass through the deep valleys of
life and the loss of someone or something that
is dear and precious to you, you don't have to
be afraid. God is with you. When you are confused
and there are question marks in your mind, and
you say, what am I to do? Or where is God in
this? The answer is, Emmanuel. God is with you
right then. Do not be afraid. A little girl once
said to her mother, Mommy, I like you better
than I like God. The mother was a little nonplussed
by the statement. She said, oh, honey, you mustn't
say something like that. The little girl said,
yes, mommy, I really do. I like you better than
God. And her mother, rather shocked by this time,
said, well, honey, what makes you say something
like that? She answered very simply, because
I can hug you. But do you see that in this name,
Immanuel, God becomes huggable? He's not merely
the mighty sovereign creator of the universe
who's out there who knows us and knows all things
and controls all things. He is the one who came
and is with us. And in Jesus we may embrace Him
and know Him and trust Him. Let me ask you a
question. If you were thoroughly convinced that
Jesus Christ was standing with you, what would
make you afraid? Would you be afraid to witness
to a relative who might turn around and mock
you because of your faith? If Jesus were standing
there with you Would you be afraid of some physical
danger? If Jesus was standing there with you
at the moment Would you be willing to go to a
foreign culture as a missionary? If Jesus was
with you Would you be afraid to die if Jesus
was right there with you? You say, well, no.
If Jesus was right there, I wouldn't be afraid
of any of those things. You see? That's what
the name Emmanuel tells us. He's here. He is
with us. And therefore, we don't have to be afraid.
And we can trust Him to be at work in our lives
and expect Him to be at work and look for Him
to be at work. Therefore, we must allow Him to
be at work by submitting to His Lordship moment
by moment. Wonderful significance in the name
Emmanuel, a name that is filled with Christmas
glory that encourages us in every season of life.
The historical significance of the name God with
us is that He keeps His promises. He kept His
promises to Ahaz, although Ahaz did not trust
Him. The salvational significance of the name
is that He will save us from our sins. We don't
have to be afraid of the past. We don't have
to be afraid of the future because the eternal
significance of the Name is that He keeps us
secure forever and will dwell with us. And we
will be His people. And He our God, for all of
eternity to come. The personal significance of
the Name is that we don't have to be afraid of
the present. Whether it be in our service or
in our suffering, whatever it be, He's with us.
JB Phillips tells the story of an angel describing
the splendors of the universe to a newcomer,
a new angel. This is in his imagination. Past
the whirling galaxies and the blazing suns, these
two crossed the infinite distances of space to
a galaxy of 500 billion stars. The senior angel
pointed to a small sphere that was turning slowly
on its axis. It looked like the dirty little
snowball to the little angel, whose mind was
filled with the size and glory of all that he
had seen. But the angel said, watch that one
particularly. It looks very small to me, said
the little angel. What's so special about it?
He listened in stunned belief as the senior angel
told him that this planet, small and insignificant
and not overly clean, was the renowned visited
planet. Do you mean, said the little angel, that
our glorious prince stooped so low as to become
one of those creeping, crawling creatures on
that floating ball? I do, said the senior angel,
and I don't think he would like you to call them
creeping, crawling creatures. For strange as
it seems to us, he loves them. He went down to
visit them, to lift them up to become like him.
The little angel looked blank, for such a thought
was beyond his comprehension. Well, my friend,
that's what the name Emmanuel means. It means
that this has become the visited planet. God
is with us. It means because of that, you and
I don't have to be afraid in this world. Because
He is Immanuel. He is Immanuel. Let's pray. There
are some of us afraid this morning. Issues in
our lives. have so grown and mushroomed that
we fear we're going to be caught up, carried
away. Others may be afraid of people, afraid
of the future, what it holds. Will you this morning
reach out and take a hold of this name, Emmanuel,
and draw it to your breast, hang on to it, and
realize what it means to you. And if you would
like to have someone to pray with personally
after the service, some of our staff and elders
will be over here by the Christmas tree on my
right. After the service, they're available to
pray with you, and I invite you to come and to
take them by the hand and say, I need someone
to pray with me. This is not a counseling time,
but it is a prayer time. And as others are walking
out, you can go get some personal help and find
a friend to pray with. Lord Jesus, thank you
for being Emmanuel to us. Thank you for the great
prophecy spoken by Isaiah hundreds of years before
your birth. Thank you for your coming in such
a miraculous way and for the purpose. of saving
us from our sins. Thank you that for all of eternity
to come you will be with us and dwell with us
and that even right now you are with us speaking
the words as were spoken to Joseph do not be
afraid. So may we go from this place this morning
with that sense of confidence and joy in our
hearts that you are with us. This we pray in
your blessed and lovely name. Amen. I'm going
to extend the right hand of fellowship this morning
to a number of people. And if I read your name
and you're in this service, I invite you to come
over to this side of the auditorium and to stand
there so we can come by and take your hand and
shake it and welcome you into our church family.
Bonnie Arneberg, Steve Brown, Mary Beth Daly,
and come as I call your name. Sherry and Stu
Erdenberg, Melanie and Rick Helm, David Isaac,
Rick and Tammy Kelly, John and Tracy Kolbrek,
Adele Kunde, Don Rubiolo, Gail and Mike Teegarden,
Joel and Sue Varberg, Mike and Therese Vogt.
Come and shake them by the hand, won't you, and
greet them. and welcome them into our church
family. Let's stand together now as we are dismissed
in prayer. And once again, if you would like
to pray with someone, we'll have some folks standing
right over here who will be able to pray with
you. And now, Lord, dismiss us, I pray, with
the blessing and the joy of Emmanuel in our hearts,
for Christ's sake. Amen.