Immanuel, God with us:

Christmas and New Years are behind us now and we begin another year and decade. As we look forward to the coming year, we will undoubtedly experience times of worry and fear. In last weeks posting I shared some words of encouragement regarding handling worry and fear. This week I want to share from a message I heard Wednesday night from my pastor entitled “Immanuel, God with Us”.

Immanuel is not a word commonly used today but we may have heard it in a Christmas carol this past Christmas. Since the word is not commonly used today, many do not know its meaning. However, an understanding of Immanuel can bring encouragement to our lives.

The first use of Immanuel is in Isaiah 7:14

14 All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel — 'God is with us.'
NLT

This prophecy is later fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-23

18 Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly.

20 As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All of this happened to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet:

23 "Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and he will be called Immanuel
(meaning, God is with us)."
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John Elaborates on the significance of Immanuel in his gospel

John 1:1-5
In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. 4 Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. 5 The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
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John 1:14
14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.
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John purposely mimics Genesis 1 to emphasize that the same almighty God who created the universe has decided not to turn his back on fallen man but to instead come and live with us. By living with us, he is able to experience what we experience. He knew what it was like to run a business by helping Joseph in his carpentry business. He knew what it was like to loose a loved one (Joseph) and a friend (Lazarus). He knew temptation, pain, and homelessness. He also experienced rejection and death.

Immanuel does not just dwell with us but he can dwell in us if we invite him into our lives. Knowing that God lives in us brings peace because we know he is right there when we cry for help. By having dwelt with us, we also know he understands our situation.

Heb 4:14-16

14 That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
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Therefore, if worry or fear takes hold of us, all we need to do is cry out for help and Immanuel will be there to help us.

You can download a free download of the pod cast by going to the link for Calvary Community Church on this website. You will need to download the massage for Wednesday January 6, 2010.