I'd be asking Brother Gene to
come at this time and read a passage of scripture and lead us in prayer. You come, brother. Morning. Brother David has asked
me to read a portion of the first chapter of Matthew. The first
chapter of Matthew, starting at verse 18, down through the
end of that first chapter, This is the inspired word of God,
so please follow along with me as I read, starting at verse
18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise, when as his mother, Mary was a spouse to
Joseph. Before they came together, she
was found no child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband,
being a just man and not willing to make her a public example,
was minded to put her away privileged. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophets,
saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and she'll bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from
the sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and
took unto him his wife, and knew her not, till she had brought
forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. Bow with me for prayer, please.
Our Father, we thank you in the name of our Lord Jesus for allowing
us the honor and privilege of meeting together to worship you
in spirit and in truth. Thank you for your inspired word. Thank you for divine revelation
and giving us, it's limited, I know, but some understanding
of what your word teaches. Help us to lay to heart the fact
that this is your word and we'll accomplish that we're with you,
send it. Be with our pastor, enable him
to speak well for your glory and speak to every heart as it
pleases you, our Father, and we'll thank you. We do pray for
the afflicted, those who are in need of prayer, asking your
healing hand upon them. Thank you for your healing hand
upon those of us who've been away for a while, for bringing
us safely back to our church family, and continue to bless
us for your glory, Lord Jesus. It's in your name we pray with
thanksgiving. Amen. If you would again, turn with
me to the passage of scripture that Gene read, Matthew chapter
one. I'll take verse 23 out of that
passage to be our text this morning. But let's begin reading in verse
22, Matthew chapter one, verse 22. Matthew begins here and says,
now all this was done. Well, we know who did it. He
who does all things according to the counsel of his will. Now, all this was done that it
might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet
saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child and she'll bring
forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which being
interpreted is God with us. The prophet who Matthew speaks
of there in verse 22 is none other than Isaiah. In Isaiah
chapter seven, verse 14, Isaiah wrote, therefore the Lord himself
shall give you a sign and behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear
a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Now there will be many
men and women alike who are meeting in religious assemblies today
to speak from this very passage of scripture in reference to
the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and hope of celebrating Christmas. They'll recite, they'll read,
they'll even have plays about the story. of the Lord Jesus
about there being no room in the inn for Mary and Joseph to
stay and how that the Lord Jesus was born in a stable, wrapped
in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Every year at this
time, I see the nativity scenes in front of houses and businesses. And I'm reminded of just how
this fallen world sees the Lord Jesus Christ. They pretty much
see him as a helpless baby. They see him as a frustrated
preacher and teacher. And they see him as an incapable
savior, a powerless, impotent redeemer, who's reliant upon
the help of others to accomplish his will. But in our text here
in Matthew chapter one, verse 23, we're told quite the contrary. This infant is the infinite one. This newborn baby was Emmanuel,
God with us. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ
is Emmanuel, God with us. Now this infant, a babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, this child grew, the scripture says, and
he waxed strong in spirit. He was filled with wisdom and
the grace of God was upon him without measure. Luke chapter
two, verse 40. And the birth of the Lord Jesus
Christ is not just celebrated one day a year in December, but
Christ, the chosen sinner's substitute, the chosen sinner's sacrifice,
the believer's savior, why he is celebrated every day in our
heart. Christ is the believer's constant
celebration of salvation and redemption. God, in the person
of His Son, came into the world, became flesh and blood to do
for God's people what they could not and could never do for themselves. And this is the gospel message.
God with us. God with us. This is the saving
message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The assurance and
hope of the gospel message is that God died for his people. God died in your room instead,
child of God. This is a faithful saying that
is worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus, who is Emmanuel,
God with us, came into the world to save who? Sinners. The Apostle
Paul, the one who wrote three-fourths of the New Testament said, of
whom I am chief. Now, I want you to consider something
with me this morning that you may have never thought about.
In verse 23, Matthew wrote those two words being interpreted. I don't suppose that I ever really
considered those two words that were added from the original
words of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter seven. Isaiah said, Emmanuel,
God with us. This is my question. Why would
the Hebrew word Emmanuel need to be interpreted or translated
at all? Could it be? Could it be so that
a Gentile like you and like me might know what it means? Just
as God had providentially caused Pilate, we looked at this in
our study of John, but he caused Pilate to employ three languages,
Greek, Latin, and Hebrew on the inscription above the cross of
the Lord Jesus. And in doing so, God revealed
that Christ was not the King of the Jews only, but that he
was also the King of the Gentiles, as well as the King of Kings
and the Lord of Lords. God was behind that inscription
that Pilate wrote. The Jews said, oh no, change
that. Say that he said he was, and Pilate said, it's written.
because God wrote it in His book before the foundation of the
world. In many countries and nations, specifically because
of international tourism, many shops and stores, eateries, have
signs posted in their establishments in more than one language. When
Teresa and I lived in the Houston, Texas area, it was very, very
common to find signs in many stores that were written in both
English and Spanish. because of the great Hispanic
presence in the area. In other words, the stores in
that area were patronizing and serving more than just one race
of people. So here in our text, the words
being interpreted in verse 23 must mean that God the Holy Spirit
through Matthew was not only addressing the Jews, but he was
also addressing the Gentiles. Is Christ not the God of all?
He is whether men know it or not. The Hebrew name, Emmanuel,
was translated into the Gentile tongue so that you and I, the
Gentiles that we are, may know that God provided a Redeemer
and a Savior for us too. Isn't that wonderful? Being interpreted
simply means that other nations beside the Jews were also addressed. Paul asked this question in Romans
three. He said, is he the God of the
Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles too. And
I'm telling you this Gentile rejoices in that. He's my savior. He's my Lord. He's God with us. The name Emmanuel was interpreted
so that we see that we too are welcome and may freely come to
Christ for life. Now, I do not find in the scriptures
where the Lord's apostles or any of his disciples actually
called him Immanuel, but they did in many other ways. Paul
referred to Christ as God manifest in the flesh. Same thing, isn't
it? John wrote, the word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. God with us. John also said,
we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. That's talking about God. He's
Emmanuel, God with us. We'll never fully understand
how God and man could dwell in one person. "'For who can, by
searching, find out God?' the Scripture asks." Yet Christ's
deity is a fundamental truth, a doctrine in the believer's
faith. Jesus Christ being born into
the world means that God is with us. That's why we celebrate not
only the Lord's birth, His incarnation, but we, His people, celebrate
His life, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension
back to the throne of God. This was God veiled in human
flesh. And it's without controversy
that great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in
the flesh. Let me say it again. He's Emmanuel,
God with us. The next time you look at one
of those nativity scenes this time of year, remember that he
was born at Bethlehem in a stable and he lay in a manger, but he
who did was God. God with us is God with everyone.
Well, he is in a ruling way, but not in a saving way. How
do I know that? Well, if he was in a saving way,
all would be saved. In Christ being God, there's
found majesty. But friends, in Christ being
God with us, that's where mercy's found. In Christ being God, there's
found glory. But in Christ being God with
us, there's found grace. Christ being God might strike
terror in some, but with the believer, Christ being God with
us inspires hope and it inspires confidence in our Savior. So in a way of celebration for
the redemption and salvation for the sinner found in Christ,
let us this day and every day, admire this blessed truth of
God being with us. Salvation is of the Lord. and
the Lord Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses. Not imputing their trespasses
unto thee. What great news that is. Christ
made himself of no reputation and he took upon himself the
form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. God did
that. God with us is such a wonderful
and a marvelous condescension. The thought that the omnipotent
sovereign God who made the world and all things therein would
condescend to be made like one of his creatures. The wondrous
fact that God, the self-existent one, should be united with the
dependent and with the depraved and linked with the feeble and
the mortal is a condescension that could never be understood
apart from sovereign mercy and grace. What a wondrous, gracious,
and merciful stoop it was for God to dwell in human flesh and
be God with us. being found in the fashion as
a man, he humbled himself. He stooped way low and became
obedient unto death, but he stooped even lower to become obedient
to even the death of the cross. When you look to Calvary's mountain
and you see your Lord and Savior hanging there, understand, dear
friends, that that is God with us. We might be able to conceive
the Lord taking upon himself the nature of a race which had
never fallen, but to take on himself the nature of men and
women who stood in rebellion against him is absolutely beyond
our understanding. And yet a man did Christ become
that might deliver us from the righteous judgment of our rebellion. For God sending his own son in
the likeness of sinful flesh has what? He's condemned sin
in the flesh. God no longer holding your sin
against you. You know why? Because you don't
have any. Contact with God is described
as terrible. It's a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. The scripture says, he looketh
on the earth and it trembled. He touches the hills and they
smoke. He touches the land and it shall
melt. The mountains quake at him and
Sinai dissolves in flames of fire. So strongly was this truth
drilled into the minds of the early saints of God that they
said, no man can see God's face and live. He's holy. He will by no means clear the
guilty. You cannot stand before this
Holy God in your filthy self-righteous works. And yet I declare to you
this morning that here was a man who did not merely see the face
of God, but was inhabited by deity. This man is Emmanuel,
he's Jesus Christ, God with us. What did he say? He said, a body
that is prepared for me. It was a body like ours and that
it had nerves that were sensitive. Why he felt pain the same as
we do. He had muscles that could be strained just like we do.
It was a body like ours and that it hungered and it thirsted and
it needed rest and sleep. Within his body beat a heart
that could be emotionally broken like ours. and eyes that could
shed tears. God became a man in very close
association to us. He became flesh and bone, bone
of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Christ possessed a mind
and a heart and a soul and a memory and an imagination and judgment,
everything that makes up a rational man. Mr. Spurgeon once said, Never think
of Christ as a defiled or fallen man and never consider him as
a humanized God. We must not confuse his natures. He was all 100% God and he was
all 100% man. We cannot and we must not divide
the person that Christ is. He's one person. He's a man that
is also very God of very God. Why? He's Emmanuel, God with
us. He's God who became one of us
with the exception of sin. And he was in all points tempted
as we are yet without sin. And God with us, he can be touched
with the feelings of our infirmities. He saw to it that he was. Why
do you feel the sorrows of poverty? Well, he had no place to lay
his head. Do you endure the grief of bereavement and loss? Well,
Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Have you been slandered for righteousness
sake? The Lord said, reproach hath
broken my heart. Have you been denied and betrayed?
One friend denied him three times. Another friend sold him for the
price of a slave. Christ being a man, He can be
touched. And He has been touched with
the feelings of our infirmities. He was touched with much, much
more. And the Lord asked every man
and woman, is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? See if
there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto
me. God Almighty left His throne
on high, came to earth in the person of God the Son. And what
did men do to Him? They persecuted Him from the
day He was born. Herod sought to kill Him. Every
single day, He met with opposition. They constantly tried to prove
He was a fake. And then when they finally got
their hands on Him, they crucified and slayed the Lord of glory
with their own hands. They crucified God with us. He said, this was done unto me.
Who did it unto him? Men took him with wicked hands
and crucified and slayed him, but it was by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. God did it to him. Why did
God do it to him? For the salvation of his people.
This is God the Son we're talking about. how comforting and assuring
it is that this is Manuel, God with us. We're a fallen race.
We're sunk in the Mari clay. We're sold under sin. We're dead
in trespasses. Yet it is not possible for the
gates of hell to keep God's chosen down who have God with them.
Everything's gonna be all right. God is with us. That four letter
word with, is used here in the strongest form. It doesn't mean
that Christ is merely in our company. No, sir. It means much,
much more than that. It means together with. It means
sharing with, declaring close, close fellowship. Did he not
say, because I live, you shall live also? That's close communion
there. That's a union like no other. His life will go on forever.
And since He is with us and in us, so we shall live eternally. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever." Do you know who said that? Emmanuel,
God with us. God is with us in blessed communication. He hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son. And like Enoch, we walk with
God. And like Abraham, we talk with
him as a man talking to his friend. God is with us even now. For
where two or three are gathered in my name, he said, there am
I in the midst. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46. Our Lord made this
promise. He said, lo, I am with you always,
even into the end of the world. As God has said, I will dwell
in them and walk in them and I'll be their God and they shall
be my people. You can count on it because it's
God who said it. He's not a man that he should
lie, a son of man that he should repent. God with us, that means
restoration. God with us means reconciliation. God is no longer angry with the
wicked every day. When we see the words God with
us, we know that we've been made new creatures, made perfectly
pure, reconciled to God and Jesus Christ in true holiness. When God looks upon the believing
sinner, he sees his beloved son. You see, we've been miraculously
conformed to His image. And we're so much in union with
Christ that God is with us always. He's Emmanuel. He's God with
us. Christ pleased God. That's what
He did. Jesus Christ pleased God. No
man has ever done that. No man will ever do that. No
man can do that. So then, they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. But he can. He is God. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us and he pleased God. He knew no sin. He always did
those things that pleased the Father. But that's not all that
he did. Yes, he was born without sin
and he lived without sin, but there was something more that
must be done in order for Christ to save his people from their
sin. He had to die. God had to die. He had to die
the just for the unjust in order to bring us to God. Friends,
he is the just one. We're the unjust, we're the ungodly. And when we were without strength,
Christ died for us, the ungodly sinners that we are. Aren't you
glad that he's Emmanuel, God with us? He said, for this cause
came I to this hour. Jesus Christ was born to die.
Jesus Christ came to die. He came to give his life a ransom
for many. Did he die because of weakness?
Perish the thought. He said, no man takes my life
from me, I lay it down. He laid it down for his people.
He said, I have the power to lay it down and I have the power
to take it up again. And he did just that. Did Christ
die as an example? No. Abel was an example. He died for what he believed.
John the Baptist died for what he believed. Peter died for what
he believed. James died for what he believed.
Paul died for what he believed. But Christ didn't die as an example. He died as the lamb slain before
the foundation of the world to save his people from their sin.
Blood had to be shed. And it took the blood of God
to save you, dear sinner. Did Christ die as a martyr? No,
He did not. A martyr's death wouldn't accomplish
a thing. It'll bring judgment on the executioner,
and it may take the martyr on to glory quickly, but it accomplishes
no saving benefit. So why did Christ die? You thought
I'd never ask. He died as His people's substitute. He died as His elect people sacrificed
for sin. He was numbered with the transgressors. God was. He's God with us. He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. Our chastisement, the punishment
that we deserve was laid on Him so that we might have peace.
It was by His stripes that we were healed. Jesus Christ came
into the world to save those who deserve to die. Has God shown
you that because of your sin that you deserve to die? The
wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die. Our sin was so horrific that
God had to die for us to save us. Aren't you glad that God
is with us? God accepted Abel's blood sacrifice. That sacrifice was Christ, God
with us. That brazen serpent that Moses
lifted high, that brazen serpent was Christ, God with us. Look
to Jesus Christ and live. That rock that Moses struck,
that was Christ, God with us. All those Old Testament sacrifices
didn't put away the first sin. The blood of animals cannot put
away the sin of a man, cannot save the soul of men and women. The blood of bulls and goats
were but pictures and types of Christ, our Passover lamb. Christ is pictured and he's typified
in that Passover lamb that was slain and its blood put upon
the door. Our redemption is all about Christ
and what he's done for. The world over the next few days
will be celebrating the birth of baby Jesus. But friends, we
celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, who is God with us. Why did Christ
die? Why did he come to earth in human
flesh and live under the law and perfectly obey the law, being
subject to the law, submissive to the law and perfectly keeping
the law? Why did Christ die a cruel, hateful,
awful, anguish-filled death? Romans 3 26 tells us that he
might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ? He's your justifier. I talked
about it this past Wednesday in great detail. God is love,
and I thank Him that He is. But God cannot manifest His love
at the expense of His holy justice. God delights to show mercy, and
He's plenteous in mercy. I thank God for that. I really
do. But God cannot show His mercy
at the expense of His perfect righteousness. God can not just
wipe away our sin. His justice won't allow Him to
do that. No, sir. His righteousness would not allow
him to receive an unrighteous man into his family, into his
kingdom or into his fellowship. Why did Christ come to the earth?
Why did he obey the law? Why did the Lord Jesus go to
the cross? Brother Mayhem once said, we
preachers better tell people why Christ came so they can believe
on the right Jesus. We better tell people why Christ
came into the world so we can look for and to the right Christ,
so we can bow and trust in the right Savior. Remember the one
of whom I speak is Emmanuel, which being interpreted so that
this dumb unlearned man that stands before you knows that
he's God with us. He's God with us, it took God
dying in our place to put our sin away. Is it nothing to you? Or is it everything to you? Since
Jesus Christ is God with us, let us come to Him without question
or delay. God comes to you as one like
yourself. Those who are poor in spirit
need not hesitate to come while He was born in a stable and cradled
in a manger. Come to the poor man's prince.
Come to the spiritual peasant's Savior. Don't tarry because of
your unfitness. All the fitness that He requires
is that you feel your need of Him. Don't tarry because of your
unfitness. Don't linger because of your
ragged clothing. The shepherds came to the Lord
Jesus in all their tattered clothing. God looks not on our ragged righteousness. He looks upon the heart. It matters
not if you're rich or poor. The Father accepts sinners in
Christ, His beloved, because He's God with us. Man's unbelief
is an unpardonable act of treason. It really is. If God is with
us, we'll be with Him. Put your trust in Him. Lean on
Him, not with your own understanding. Like the prodigal son, may we
learn to say, I'll arise and I'll go to my father and I'll
say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before
thee. You remember how that story turned out? The father ran. When he saw his son afar off,
he ran. God with us runs to us with mercy
and grace. Oh, what hope is there for man?
Oh, there's great hope. For God the Son is a man and
God the Son is God with us. Well, is there anything that
we can do? Well, in and of ourselves, there's not a thing we can do.
Well, don't we have to lend God a will? You better not. But what
hope we find in Emmanuel, because he's God with us. With men, everything
is impossible, but not with God. With God, all things are possible. Paul said, I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me. We can have great confidence
and we can have great assurance in Christ. Why? Because we can
do all things through him. And Jesus Christ is Emmanuel,
God with us. He can do anything and he can
do everything. God of heaven and earth, thank
you for this blessed revelation of our Redeemer. and our Savior. He could have just left us alone
and left us go right on to hell. We were heading there pretty
quickly until He divinely intervened. Friends, there's one God and
one mediator between God and man, and that's the man Christ
Jesus, and He is Immanuel, God with us. There's a man in heaven. There's a perfect man, a glorified
man, a successful man, a righteous man, a holy man. And he's there
right now, interceding for us at the right hand of God. He
is God. Therefore, let us come boldly
into the throne of grace and the presence of God. Be God with
us, because we will then know that God was with us all along. Aren't you glad that he's a man
you love? God with us.