Why Call Him Immanuel - Part 1

This podcast is made available by this increasing media as to the generosity of our support is your donation today means great podcast ideas remain available to help people look to God daily presentation at our nation today send out all day this year bring the celebration of Christmas home Turning Point online home for Christmas to channel your season with all your favorite holiday traditions using Carol's inspirational Bible teaching, and more on your fingertips completely free to be played on your phone, your car at home Christmas. Simply log on to David Jeremiah.org or Turning Point.tv because of his love for us are created confined himself to a loving human body so that we could address the real Christmas that I am Turning Point that I would your markets is what it means that God is with us a concert that inspires the imagination of theologians like people like from what is going to his message. Why call him Immanuel will have a lot of names were Jesus sees the Savior. His Christ is the King of Kings is the Lord of lords, but at Christmas time we discover new and fresh way that he is Emmanuelle and how vital that is to us in this crazy season in which we find ourselves surrounded by so many imponderables and so many unprecedented things, know that he is Immanuel now is so important because you see the word Immanuel means, God with us. When Jesus Christ came to be born into the human race. He came to be God with us in his human body. He went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sin and he did not discard his humanity when he went back to heaven. He is God with us.

Immanuel always available to us as close as your next breath. Your next prayer is this Jesus whose birthday were celebrating at this time.

So today we open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 1 in verse 23 and we asked the question why call him Immanuel. Let's begin our discussion back in 1996 pop song by Joan Osborne made the charts asking what difference it would make if God were one of us quote just a slob like one of us stranger on a bus commuting home. Many people thought the song was sacrilegious, but it expressed the longing that all of us have for God. Who can understand the kinds of problems that we face in our humdrum everyday lives. What Joan Osborne didn't know was this one day, God did become one of us listen to these words from the first chapter of Matthew's gospel. Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuelle which is translated God with us say that with me, God with us many years ago on a snowy Christmas eve in Fort Wayne, Indiana where I was. Then the pastor of a church. I was it home on Christmas Eve and everybody else had gone to bed I was up late and I was listening to the radio in the kitchen and I heard a late presentation of Paul Harvey's program. I remember hearing Paul Harvey tell the story. I never heard it before. I have since heard it many times and actually recently founded in written form. I will never forget the impact that story had on me that Chris received so many years ago. Perhaps it was the snow on the ground outside of my home and the eeriness of being up late at night on a Christmas Eve when everyone else had gone to bed, but most of all, it was the story itself that help me to understand and appreciate Christmas in a way that I had not ever appreciated it before.

Here is the story as I have recently found, and I think you'll understand why it has been such a help to me. One wrong winter night a man heard in the regular thumping sound against the kitchen storm door. He went to a window and watched as tiny, shivering sparrows attracted to the warmth inside were beating their wings and their bodies against the glass of the door feeling compassion for the helpless creatures. The farmer bundled up and trudged through fresh snow to open the barn for the struggling birds. He turned on the lights, tossed some hay in the corner, sprinkled a trail of saltine crackers to direct them to the barn but the sparrows which had scattered in all directions. When he emerged from the house still hid in the darkness of the night afraid of him. He tried various tactics to get them to a place of safety, circling behind the birds to drive them toward the barn tossing cracker crumbs in the air toward them, retreating to his house to see if they flutter into the barn on their own. Nothing worked. He a huge alien creature had terrified them. The birds could not understand that he really meant no harm.

In fact, he was trying to help them. He withdrew to his house and watched the doomed the sparrows through a window as he stared a thought hit him like lightning from a clear blue sky.

If only I could become a bird. One of them just for a moment, then I wouldn't frighten them so I could show them the way to warmth and safety at the same moment.

Another thought dawned on him. He realized that he had grasped the whole principle of the incarnation. A man becoming a bird is nothing compared to God becoming a man. The concept of a sovereign being as big as the universe he created, confining himself to a human body was and is too much for some people believe, but that my friends is the real story of Christmas. That is the heart of the Christmas message that God has come to be one of us, God becoming a man so that he could reveal himself and his love to lost mankind is the very essence of the gospel, and it is the good news of joy which the angel spoke on that hillside outside of Bethlehem Savior is born God has come to be one of us. I'm convinced that if we are to prepare our hearts for Christmas. We must spend some time contemplating this incredible truth. God becoming man Emmanuelle. Let's begin by pondering the mystery of it for a moment think about the mystery of Emmanuelle John the apostle wrote about it in the gospel that bears his name in the very first few verses of his book in John one, we have this word and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. John said, the only begotten son of the father full of grace and truth was made flesh and dwelt among us. This is God with us. This is Emmanuelle and what some people consider to be a him of the early church. Paul the apostle wrote about it in a more graphic in perhaps even earthly airway.

Here's what he wrote in Philippians chapter 2. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament gave us a glimpse into the future of this truth when he said that God would one day visit his people and he said that when that moment came, the son of God would be given a special name that would forever remind his people of his sacrificial love for them. Isaiah put it this way in his prophecy in the seventh chapter he said. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuelle is that passage that Matthew quotes in his gospel which we read a few moments ago from the first chapter, behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated God with us. Isaiah prophesied it. John expressed it. Paul wrote about it in Matthew recorded it. God has come to be one of us. Emmanuelle one day Paul was writing to his young friend Timothy, and out of nowhere he burst forth into a moment of praise and wonder in first Timothy 316, he said, and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness.

God manifest in the flesh.

Paul was writing to Timothy he said to me I don't understand if this is unbelievable without controversy. There is no way you could contradicted. This is an incredible truth that God has become one of us.

We are so familiar with it because of all of our Christmas cards and all of our traditions that sometimes we go right past it and miss the magnificence of this truth that home hating God has come down here to be one of us look at the person you're sitting next to right now just look at the God becoming a person just like that person God becoming a person, not some spiritual personality but a real physical person like you like the person you just looked at God becoming flesh and blood over the years as I have read about the incarnation and been somewhat of a student of theology, I have found that writer after writer has come to this truth, overwhelmed with its importance writers that I respected many you have heard me speak of. Over the years as I have been your teacher. These men well known men have come to the place where we are today have written of Emmanuelle men like CS Lewis, who, in his classic mere Christianity rights. The second person in God the son became human himself was born into the world as an actual man, a real man of a particular height with hair of a particular color speaking a particular language weighing so many pounds. The eternal being who knows everything and who created the whole universe became not only a man but before that a baby and even before that a fetus inside a woman's body." AW toes are also was overwhelmed by this study said the coming of Jesus Christ into this world represents a truth more profound than any philosophy.

All of the great thinkers of the world together could never have produced anything even remotely approaching the wonder and profundity disclosed in the message of these words, he came the words are wiser than all learning understood in their high spiritual context, they are more eloquent than all oratory more lyric and moving than all music. They tell us that all of mankind sitting in the darkness has been visited by the light of the world. Frederick Buechner adds the claimant Christianity makes for Christmas is that any particular time and place. God came to be with us himself when Quirinius was governor of Syria. In a town called Bethlehem child was born who, beyond the power of anyone to account for was the high and lofty one made low and helpless. The one who inhabits eternity comes to dwell in time, the one whom none can look upon and live is delivered in a stable under the soft in different days of cattle, the father of all mercies puts himself at the mercy of all and more recently Philip Yancey has written in Jesus, something new happened. God became one of his own creatures and event unparalleled unheard of unique.

In fact, in the fullest sense of the word, the God who fills the universe imploded to become a peasant baby who, like every infant who has ever lived had to learn to walk and talk and dress himself in the incarnation God's son deliberately handicapped himself exchanging omniscience for a brain that learned Arabic stroke by stroke on the presence for two legs and an occasional donkey omnipotence for arms strong enough to solve wood but too weak for self-defense instead of overseeing 100 billion galaxies at once.

He looked out on a Narrow Alley in Nazareth, a pile of rocks in the Judean desert in a Crowded St. in Jerusalem. Finally, here's the way St. Augustine wrote about the incarnation way back at the beginning of the Christian century. He said man's maker was made man that he ruler of the stars might nurse at his mother's breast that the bread might hunger that the fountain might thirst that the light might sleep that the way might be tired in its journey that the truth might be accused of false witnesses that the teacher might be beating of lips that the foundation might be suspended on wood, but strength might grow a week that the healer might be wounded and that life might die.

I don't know what you think when you hear all these words by men who are much more articulate than I could ever be.

But they stretch my mind to the breaking point.

This is a truth without any precedent. There is nothing you can compare it to that the God of the universe, the creator of us all day. In his wisdom to come down here and for a period of time confine himself to a human body like yours and mine, and to walk among us so that he might ultimately go to across and be the sacrifice for all of us here is the mystery of Emmanuelle the creator in the crib, the ancient of days, becoming a babe in Bethlehem, the one who thunders in the heavens, crying like a baby. The one who made all flesh now himself made flesh, the mighty God. Now I helpless child, what a story. What a thought that God has become one of us in these days that are before us.

You will have an opportunity to see a manger scene.

Most often we walk by the manger scene and first of all, we look for the baby and if were with the children, they will usually say all look at that pretty baby. Isn't that a cute baby look at the baby Jesus. And certainly that is a part of our celebration, but men and women. When you look at that baby Jesus in the manger of that manger scene. Remember that baby Jesus was the Lord God of glory coming down here to be born as one of us. That is the mystery of Emmanuelle for what is the meaning of it. How does that affect you. How does that affect me. Dr. Criswell, who was one of my teachers and mentors used to write about this and he would preach at Christmas time. If you never heard him preach at any other time of year you always wanted to hear him preach at Christmas because he could preach at Christmas time. One time he said, think of the blessing of it all, God is with us. He shares our labors. He knows the dull, drab drudgery of life's common tasks. The heavy misery of backbreaking toil. He shares our trials and our limitations.

He was poor, with no place to lay his head. He was hungry.

He was thirsty begging water of the Samaritan woman. He was weary and exhausted and sat for rest on the well he bore our sorrows and our heartaches.

If there was a death in the home.

It brought tears to his eyes when he looked upon the cripple in the (the blind and the helpless.

His heart was moved to compassion with Dr. Criswell was saying is that when God became one of us and walked among us. He had all of the same emotions in the same feelings that we have and that is a part of his gift to us in the incarnation, and because God is with us. There are three things that are true.

First of all, because God is with us. We can endure the difficult circumstances of life. Because God is with us. We can endure the difficult circumstances of life. I want to read with you. A Scripture I want to read it first. The way we would normally read it and then I want to read it the way I believe it should be read. This is what the Scripture says for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

So, we may boldly say the Lord is my helper, I will not fear can man do to me now listen, for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you so that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what can man do to me what the Lord has said is so that we can say what God has said about himself and his presence with us.

He has said to us, so that you and I may be able to say I don't have to be afraid.

What can man do to me. I have the Lord with me. The Lord is with me.

Psalm 27 is almost exactly the same way some 27 one, says the Lord is my light and my salvation: shall I fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid throughout the Scriptures. This concept is repeated over and over again.

Psalm 118 verse six says the Lord is on my side I will not fear what can man do to me. Men, those encouraging verses do we find in the Scripture friend you know the challenges of this past year have had a cumulative effect on many of us, leaving us weary and wary weary from the upsetting news that will fill our screens every night for most of the year and wary because we don't know what is ahead of us but the good news is this God is still in control and is returned to the Scriptures and study God's faithfulness to his people in the past we can see that he never leaves his people without hope tomorrow will come back to finish our discussion on the subject of Emmanuel and on Thursday and Friday as we come to the last days before the actual celebration of Christmas were going to talk about why call him Savior.

He is the Savior of the world friends. I hope you are prepared to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas and that you will gather with whoever you can be with during the season and remember that Christmas is not about all of the extra things that we've added to the story but it's about the coming of Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world is your Savior and his mine and if you don't know him.

What a wonderful opportunity for you to open your heart to receive him and accept him as your own personal Savior. Funny friends. If you haven't discovered our home for Christmas Channel go to RM and there you will find a whole station full of Christmas things for you to enjoy in these last few days before we celebrate Christmas there all 40 pin that you can enjoy them. Every one of them will see you next time I'm David Jeremiah. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's commissaries why the Nativity, please visit our website with girls. I find two freeways to help you stay connected to monthly magazine Turning Points and elevating email devotional sign-up today at David Jeremiah thought or was less ready that Jeremiah thought oh/writing when you ask for a copy of Dragon 365 day devotional for 2021 fiscal strength for today and it's filled with political truth for the yearly and the gift of any amount and keep your spirits right through the holiday season. Visit the home for Christmas candlelight Turning Point.tv 3000 Christmas music, videos, messages and the home for Christmas Channel and Turning Points thought TV.

I'm very hopefully please join us tomorrow as we continue the series why the Nativity detail Turning Point. Jeremiah, thanks for taking time to listen to on the non-decent Christian thighs and all