Christmas Day. God with Us .
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14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
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22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
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It is Christmas day. Let us celebrate Immanuel, God with us.
There are still many opportunities for each of us to celebrate and worship this Christmas. The Holy Spirit is just as capable of touching someone's heart whilst singing a carol in a pub as much as in a church or in a house group.
Let's look around and notice the wonderful things of Christmas.
For example, all our gifts are a picture of Jesus, God's greatest gift to us.
Look at the Christmas lights again and remember that the prophet Isaiah foretold that a baby would be born and he would be the 'light of the world.' See on the Christmas treetop, angels and stars and remember that Bethlehem was the place marked with a star and the place angels sang to the shepherds. As you celebrate by your evergreen tree, remember that the one who came was more than evergreen, he was eternal, Jesus Christ, who would open the door to eternal life for us.
Let us have a verse from the prophet Isaiah and from the Gospel of Matthew.
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14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
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22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
God with us. This is the message of Christmas in three words!
The first word is God.
Why did the first followers worship Jesus? The answer is that they were convinced he was God. Look at his life, his claims (the I am sayings), his healings, his miracles, his perfect life. The first disciples were convinced that he was and still is God.
If you are a big Elvis fan, you may worship him. You could be a fan club member, play his music, frame his pictures. You could even visit Gracelands, his home. Notice this, Elvis' band and people closest to him, those who knew him best, didn't worship him. Why? Because Elvis didn't live up to that great reputation. Despite all the millions who have visited Gracelands, Elvis is not God; Elvis is not alive.
Millions have visited Bethlehem and Jerusalem because Christianity is not about a celebrity but about a saviour; Jesus was born in Bethlehem, died in Jerusalem and rose from the tomb – He is the one that the prophet Isaiah called Immanuel God with us. If Christ is born in Bethlehem, all the rest makes sense…his perfect life, the cross, the resurrection, the doorway to eternal life. We get all that from the first word: God.
Think about the next two words, 'With us.'
The Divine was made human so that he could be with us. Soft, touchable, the Word made vulnerable, a baby in a manger – that's the Christmas story.
How crazy is that, of all the religions, only Christianity says God has become human, a baby dependant on his mother, Mary. It's the truth.
With us means one of us.
He was tested and tried and suffered as we do. He has been where you are. How does that make you feel? Do you think he is someone you can talk to, pray to, who knows that what you are going through is tough?
Do you feel broken, - He was, do you feel deserted, He was, have you experienced injustice - He has, have you faced death and dying – He has. You can go to him about anything – he understands, he has been there, he is with us.
Many years ago, when I was in hospital with a spinal injury, a man called Mark came to see me every week. I had never met him before, but he had had a similar car crash two years earlier.
I loved his visits; I could ask him anything; he had been where I was, been broken, faced death and survived. He understood what I was going through. Friends in Jesus - we have so much more; he is not a hospital visitor; he is God with us. He has been broken, beaten, born in a manger. He is - God with us.
With us means if you invite him into your life, he will be within you and with you. Immanuel, God with us. With us means you don't get a religion you get a person - Jesus. Not an occasional visitor but Jesus with you always. Will you take up his offer, invite him in to be within you this Christmas.
What a Christmas Day that would be.
O holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!
O Little Town of Bethlem
Footnote
John Wesley's dying words were: ' God is with us.'
