Title: Jesus as Emmanuel Matthew 1:23
Content Merry Christmas !!! Every one. Today is Merry Christmas Eve, the birth of the Lord. May the blessings of the Lord's Christmas come upon you.
Today is Christmas Eve. Outside the church now, there are scolds. Every restaurant, every bar, every house is a busy night for hanging out with friends and having a party. You may be busy for something. I don't even know why this day exists. I just know that Christmas is a day to enjoy.
The night that Jesus was born was as busy as people living in this age. It was busy with people gathering to register in Bethlehem. People were busy looking for an inn for their overnight stay, and the innkeeper was also busy welcoming guests and accepting money. They were just so busy with their work that they trembled, unaware that the Son of God was being born within the same enclosure.
It is still the same. People living in the modern age who are fussing without knowing what day Christmas is, are also fussing among themselves without knowing Jesus.
Dear saints, Why are you busy? Why are you gathering here now? We must be busy celebrating the birth of Jesus. What makes you busy is very important. I wish you all a busy Christmas Eve for what is right.
The text we read today says, “Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will call his name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’”
The great name of Jesus appears in these words today. His name is Immanuel. The name Immanuel is a special Jesus name made up of three different words. The word “Im” means “together”, “Manu” means “with us”, and the word “El” means “God”. So Immanuel means “God with us”.
“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 1:12).
Jesus, who is God, came to this earth to dwell with us. Therefore, when Jesus was born on this earth, when the angels announced the news of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, they said, “Behold, I bring you the tidings of great joy that will come to all the people.” Because Jesus Christ was born, those who fell into sin and had no choice but to die forever will be saved from sin. And it is the news that those who are saved can live with God while they live in this world until the day they go to heaven. So, this is good news.
Dear saints, Our Jesus is Emmanuel with you. However, there are too many people who live without feeling the God of Immanuel who is with them while they live in this world. God is faithful. He is a man who cannot tell lies. Therefore, I pray that you will live a blessed life by properly knowing Him and living with Him. So, what will the God of Immanuel do for us?
First, the God of Immanuel is the one who protects us from everything. We have to live in this world. But this world is not a place where we can live in peace. It is infested with all kinds of iniquity and crime, and danger is all around us. It is also where the devil's traps are laid out to prevent us from living by faith. Therefore, we live in an environment where it is easy to get distracted.
Also, how difficult is the environment in which we live? The world is becoming more and more difficult to live in.
But the God of Immanuel tells us, “I will be with you to the end of this age.” you made a promise. Psalm 121 shows how the God of Immanuel protects and protects us.
God does not sleep or sleep to protect us. God exists as a shadow at our right hand to protect us. God protects and protects us, so neither the sun nor the moon at night can harm us.
Humans are finite beings and need to sleep. If you don't sleep, people go crazy. It later leads to delirium. Therefore, a third of the day is set by God for sleeping time. People don't know anything when they sleep. I don't know what will happen.
But no worries. Even when we sleep, God does not sleep and protects and protects us. The God of Immanuel does not leave us. He is the one who protects and protects us.
Also, God is with us as the God of Immanuel, even when we face failures in our lives in this world. Therefore, we must know that there is absolutely no failure in our lives serving God. Do you know what a real failure is? It is a failure to live without God. Even if it seems like you are making good money and ascending to a high position in this world, unless you live with God, that is a failed life. A life with God never fails. It seems to fail, but it is not. Because life is with God.
Saints! The God of our Immanuel is the one who stands guard for us. It gives me strength to think that he neither sleeps nor sleeps, and that he protects us. If we have the firm faith that “there is a God who neither sleeps nor sleeps, there is a God who protects us,” there will be no mountain that we cannot overcome. There will be no rivers that cannot be crossed, and there are no hills that cannot be climbed. In this way, Jesus came as the God of Immanuel to become our protector. I earnestly pray that the God of Immanuel will be your God.
Second, the God of Immanuel is with us until eternity. People can protect us for a while. But we can't guarantee forever.
Even if the bodyguards protect the president at all, it is only for a short time. I'll protect you only when you're president, and that's it when your term ends. We all know that when a South Korean president was tempted to commit suicide and tried to commit suicide, there was a guard who could not protect him from suicide.
But our God, Emmanuel, has promised to save us from all tribulation and to protect your soul. Psalm 121:8 says, “I will keep your going in and out from now on to everlasting.”
Saints! Can you take responsibility for everything you do? There is nothing we can guarantee that we are responsible for anything of our own. I cannot take responsibility for my body, my health, my possessions, my life, my soul, or anything else. But the God of Immanuel has promised to protect us from now on to eternity. Because he is the God of Immanuel who is with us.
Saints! The joy and emotion of Christmas should be ours every day and in any circumstance. In order to do that, we need to feel that Jesus, who came as Immanuel, is with us every day in our hearts.
Saints! Have you ever encountered a difficult and difficult task at this moment? If so, please remember that Jesus, who came as Immanuel, also came in the cold winter. Because to be a friend of those who shiver in the cold. Baby Jesus was born lonely. So you can be a friend of lonely people.
Jesus, who came as Emmanuel, was born with a big star in the night sky. Because it is to become a lighthouse for those who are lost and wandering through the hardships and difficulties of living in this world. Jesus, who came as Immanuel, was born while listening to the angel's lullaby singing, "Glory in heaven and peace on earth." Because he wants to be a mediator of love for those who put themselves in hell through discord and war. Christmas is the day when the greatest God was born in the form of the least human.
Saints! Christmas is the day when the richest king, who owns the whole world, is born like the poorest. Because he is to become the God of our Emmanuel.
Dear saints, Starting from this Christmas, remembering that the God of Immanuel is always with you and walking with you, I pray earnestly that you will become all the saints who make the decision to live by faith even in hardships and difficulties. Merry~ Christmas.