Introduction

Matthew 1:18-23 ESV  Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  (19)  And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  (20)  But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  (21)  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  (22)  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  (23)  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

You may be seated

• And you shall call him Immanuel, which means “God with us”.
  • GOD WITH US… that is what He shall be named.
    • Church, when we come into the Christmas season, a question that is often possessed is “Why did Christ come to this earth?”.
    • Why did Jesus leave His heavenly thrown to come and be born in a manger of all places.
      • And as this question is possessed, a lot of answers can be given… correctly given I might add.
      • One might say “He came to die”… and they would be right in so saying.
      • Another might say “He came to forgive us of our sins” and that too, of course, is corrected.
      • You could even appropriately say that Christ came to live as an example for us, that we might imitate Him.
        • But we can’t properly imitate Him if we are defined by our sin… So Christ forgives us of our sin.
        • But we can’t be forgiven of our sin unless there is a sacrifice, so Christ died for our sins.
      • All of these things work beautifully together… but I think there is another, big picture, reason Christ came to be born of a virgin.
  • And that reason is in His name, Emmanuel, which means God with us.

SHOW TITLE SLIDE

• God with us.
  • Not God away from us.
  • Not God far off in heaven.
  • Not God in a book and no where else.
  • Not God from the pulpit but not in our lives.
  • No, GOD WITH US.
• So, this Christmas Sunday, we are taking a break from revelation to talk about one of the biggest parts of Christmas… that is signifies God with us.
  • I have two take aways that I want you to get this morning.
    • First, GOD WANTS TO BE WITH YOU.
    • And second, I have this challenging question… Do you want to be with God?

Let’s get into it with point one… God Want’s to Be With You!

Point One – God Wants to Be With You

Matthew 1:23 ESV  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

• Here Matthew, in the telling of the birth of Christ, references a prophecy that was at the time about 700 years old… he references the prophet Isaiah…

Isaiah 7:14 ESV  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

• That means seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, God wanted people to know “I WANT TO BE WITH YOU.
• Again, point one this morning is God Wants To Be With You!
• So 700 years before Christ God says “I want to be with you, the virgin will conceive a child an he shall be called “God with us”.
  • But even before that 700 years, God has been showing us that He wants to be with us.
  • In fact, the whole plan for Mankind was that we were to be with God.
  • God never intended, nor did He plan to be a far off God.
  • He has always intended to be with us, and us with Him.

Show this on one slide please

• God With Us in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 1-3
• God With Us in the Tabernacle. Exodus 36-Dueteronomy 34
• God With Us in the Promised Land. Joshua-1 Kings
• God With Us in the Temple. 1 Kings-Matthew
• God With Us in Christ Jesus Walking With Us. Mathew-John
• God With Us in the Holy Spirit and Christ Living in Us. Acts-3 John
• God With Us in Eternity (New Jerusalem). Revelation

• God has always, ALWAYS wanted to be with us. He created us to be with Him.
  • He created the earth as a place that we could walk with and talk with Him.
  • He created the garden of Eden as a place that would provide for us as we abide with Him.
  • When we messed that up, He gave us the Tabernacle and the Ark, a place for Him to dwell amongst men.
  • Then He gave us the promised land, a land that His people could live near Him and with Him, much like the Garden of Eden, a place we could be provided for, flowing with milk and honey, as we abide with Him.
  • In the promised Land God had the temple be built, a home for His presence to dwell amongst His people.
  • Then Christ came, Emanual, God in the flesh, who walked with us physically and taught us, and of course died and rose again for us.
  • Then Christ sent he Paraclete, the holy Spirit, the Helper to dwell in Us, and Christ promised that He two would dwell in us.
  • And as you know, we are going through revelation, God has an eternal plan, a new home for us, a new heaven and a new earth, and a city for us that we can be with Him… as close to Him, if not closer, as Adam and Eve were in the Garden.
    • And this list doesn’t even go over all the other times God has proven himself with us.
    • God with us in Battle is a theme throughout the whole old Testament.
    • God with us in turmoil.
    • God with us in worship.
    • God with us in desperation.
    • GOD WANTS TO BE WITH US!
• Y’all, the joy, the freedom, the peace that you could have in your life if you consumed this truth…
  • If you really understand and believe this truth… so many lies of the devil will be washed away.
    • Lies that you are ugly.
    • That you are unwanted.
    • That you are not loved.
    • That no one likes you.
    • That no one cares about you.
  • THE DEVIL IS A LIAR.
    • GOD MADE YOU BEAUTIFUL.
    • GOD WANTS TO BE WITH YOU.
    • GOD LOVES YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE YOU!
    • GOD LIKES BEING AROUND YOU.
    • GOD CARES SO MUCH ABOUT YOU, HE THINKS YOU ARE TO DIE FOR!

Joshua 1:9 ESV  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

• Now don’t take this verse out of context, Joshua was a mighty man of God who was living justly.
  • So you can’t go to the strip club and expect God to be with you there.
    • God ABSOLUTLY wants to be with you.
      • But God does not want to be with your sin.
      • God does not want to be with your filth.
      • God does not want to be with your greed, or envy, or pride, or lust, or gossip.
        • But even with all that garbage we bring to the table God wants to be with us so much that He made a way for us to be free of those things.
    • Jesus DIED so we could be free of sin and the consequences of sin.
    • Jesus DIED so we could be holy and righteous and be able to stand before a holy God.
    • JESUS DIED so we could be with God.
  • So yes, Baby Jesus came to die… but He came to die so that we could be with God.
• Emanual, GOD WITH US.
• It is clear through the whole testimony of Scripture that God want’s to be with us… that’s our first point… but the question, dear saint, must be asked “Do you want to be with God?”
  • That’s our second point this morning “Do you want to be with God”.

Point Two – Do You Want To Be With God?

Matthew 1:23 ESV  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

• Jesus came so that God could be with us… but do we want to be with God.
  • Do you dear saint want to be with God.
    • Are you so madly and passionately in love with God that all you desire is to be with Him and to please Him?
• This is why the Son’s of Korah write that it’s better to be with you for one day than anywhere else for 1000 years…

Psalms 84:10 ESV  For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

• Think about that statement, does that describe your heart.
  • It’s better to be with YOU God for one day… even just in your presence as the doorkeeper…
    • Than doing anything else, then being anywhere else.
      • If I had to chose between a day as your doorkeeper, and a 1000 days in Cabo, all expenses paid… I CHOSE YOU GOD.
      • I would rather be with you for a day then surrounded by wealth and fame for the next 1000.
      • No amount of food, or money, or stuff… NOTHING… is better than just a moment with YOU GOD!
    • The question is… do you want to be with God.
• You could chase after money, and you might find it.
• You could chase after sex, and you might find it.
• You could chase after cars, or TV’s or houses, or boats… and you might find it…
  • If that’s what you want…
    • OR DO YOU WAN TO BE WITH GOD?! Do you want to be with Him like He want’s to be with you?

Same Slide As Before

• God With Us in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 1-3
• God With Us in the Tabernacle. Exodus 25-Dueteronomy 34
• God With Us in the Promised Land. Joshua-1 Kings
• God With Us in the Temple. 1 Kings-Matthew
• God With Us in Christ Jesus Walking With Us. Mathew-John
• God With Us in the Holy Spirit and Christ Living in Us. Acts-3 John
• God With Us in Eternity (New Jerusalem). Revelation

• You know there was this time before entering the promised land… where God is having a very honest conversation with Moses… Francis Chan did a sermon on this that is so good, I am going to borrow some from him… look at Exodus 33:1-3

Exodus 33:1-3 ESV  The LORD said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’  (2)  I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  (3)  Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

• God says “I am going to give you EVERYTHING you wanted in this promised land”
  • “A land flowing with milk and honey”
  • “You will be completely provided for”
  • “And not only that, but I will drive out all the other people in that land so the land will be fully and completely yours!”
  • “And I will even send an angel out before you to help take care of all of this!”
  • “But I won’t go with you”.
    • God is literally offering them everything they ever wanted as a people.
    • Land, possessions, security, provision, PARADISE.
      • But God says “I won’t go with you, because you are a stiff necked people and I might consume you, I wont go with you”.
• And look how Moses responds:

Exodus 33:15 ESV  And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

• MOSES SAYS “NO, IT’S NOT ENOUGH! If your not going with us then I am not going! BECAUSE I WANT TO BE WITH YOU!”
  • NO AMOUNT OF MILK OR HONEY OR ANGELS OR PROTECTION OR PROVISION OR WHATEVER IS WORTH NOT BEING WITH YOU!
  • I WANT TO BE WITH YOU.
• Moses says “No, I am not taking that deal”!
  • But I wonder dear saints… I wonder how many of us would… how many of us would be happy enough with the provisions of God without the presence of God.
    • It’s as if God is saying to you:
      • “You want a big family, fine you can have it.”
      • “You want a good job, fine, it’s yours”
      • “You want a big house, tv, car… whatever… sure, go ahead”
      • “You want a big church, a big ministry, a big influence… if that’s what you want, take it”
        • … BUT I WON’T BE WITH YOU.
          • How many of us would have said “Yes that’s what I want, thank you”.
  • Now I don’t think any of us would say that out loud…
    • But we live that way.
      • God is secondary, if that…
      • Secondary to our lives goals.
      • Secondary to our family…
      • Secondary to our income…
      • Secondary to our stuff…
      • Secondary to our hobbies…
      • He is a nice add-on for sure… but really what we want is more of us and we don’t mind if we have less of Him.
  • John the Baptist understood this temptation, and like Moses, he rejected it.
    • John had a big and powerful ministry.
    • People followed him, listened to him, came from all over the known world to see and hear him.
      • And when Jesus came John’s followers said “Go and rebuke that Jesus, he is trying to be like you!”
      • But John wanted to be with God…

John 3:30 ESV  He must increase, but I must decrease.”

• Listen dear saint, DO YOU WANT TO BE WITH GOD?
  • Think about the moment you were saved…
    • I was saved when I was 16… I remember that moment like it was yesterday…
    • I remember the second Christ entered into my heart… the first time I was truly with God and God was with me.
      • I remember the joy… not happiness, though I certainly was happy, but this joy that came over me… something I had never experienced in my life.
      • And the peace… oh it was heaven on earth… I remember being so at peace, being away from all the troubles of the world, all the stress that being a teenager can have…
      • I remember hearing from God clearly, like he was next to me talking to me face to face.
      • I remember his guidance.
      • I remember the first time I experienced a miracle… when God told me to evangelize and I had only been saved for a few weeks, but God told me to tell a fellow student about Christ… even highlighted this young lady and said “Go tell her now”…
        • And I went and she started asking HARD questions…
        • And one by one the Holy Spirit reminded me of verses that answered her questions.
          • JUST LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD. I remember being so excited seeing God work in my life!
    • Maybe you were saved at a young age and don’t remember that experience… surely you must be able to remember a time you were close to God and he was close to you?
      • When I was in Singapore, there was a time when I was laying at the altar and God brought me to His throne room.
      • I could see His feet, as He sat on the throne… I again had that same peace and same joy, and I worshiped… and OH how I loved that worship… better than anything this world could ever offer.
        • And I didn’t want to leave… God told me I must… but I just wanted to stay there…
  • Think about a time like that in your walk with Christ… IS THAT NOT BETTER than money, or sex, or fame, or anything else?
• Is this what we want in our lives?
• Immanuel, GOD WITH US!
• You can have that kind of relationship with God, if you desire it, if you pursue it…

James 4:8 ESV  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

• Draw near to God and He will draw near to you!
  • You can’t draw near to God if you just stay in your lane…
    • If you just do what you do and never seek after God, you will find He is far from you.
    • You have to break free from what the World says you are and say “No, I am not this profession or that profession… I AM A CHILD OF GOD! I WANT TO BE WITH HIM”.
• You come to church, but do you want to be with God…
  • It is my strong opinion that this altar is far to empty far to often…
    • Why are there not more people up, on their knees, crying out to God?
    • Literally drawing near to Him…
      • Is it because you are afraid you might look dumb in front of the church?
      • Should you not be more afraid you might look stiff-necked in front of God.
  • Next Sunday, as you are singing worship… and you feel the pull of the Spirit… come to the altar, get on your knees, and repent, and confess, and worship, and draw near, and ask God to draw near to you…
    • It is in those times God will come and be with you, and you will find that Joy, and that peace, and that little slice of heaven.
      • Then start doing it at home, in your prayer time, in your Bible time… start drawing near to God, and He will draw near to you.
      • Then start doing it at work, and everywhere you go… and before you know it you literally will be living the best life you could possibly live… a life WITH GOD.
• Immanuel, God With Us!

Conclusion

I want to conclude with this…

Some 2021 years ago, Christ was born in a manger…

The physical incarnation of God the Son…

He was born so He could be with us…

And maybe you feel robbed, why did Mary and Joseph, and the Disciples get to walk and talk with Jesus… and all we get is an altar in the front of the church, or a spot of carpet in front of our recliner at home, or a moment of prayer in between calls at work…

Let me encourage you… You, dear saints, have a greater blessing than even those who walked physically with Jesus… Jesus Himself promised this…

John 20:26-29 ESV  Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  (27)  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”  (28)  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  (29)  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

• Gospel Call
• HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS! LET IT BE A “GOD WITH US” KIND OF HOLIDAY!