Jesus with Title
Contents
Word: Matthew 1:23
Title: Jesus Together
A surprising word appears in today's text. It is ‘Emmanuel’. ‘Immanuel’ is a compound word of ‘Im’ meaning “together” with ‘Manu’ meaning ‘with us’ and ‘El’ meaning ‘God’. Although the meaning of 'Emmanuel' is also mentioned in the text, it means "God is with us."
Jesus is the God who created the heavens and the earth, and the King of kings, who came to this earth to be with us. Even ordinary people can be a strength when they are with us. It is comforting and a great help. But how can we express the emotion and joy that Almighty God is with us?
When Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of Israel, I was very afraid. I had no confidence and there was a lot of pressure. When he took his first steps as a leader, God Himself spoke to Joshua and gave him strength. The voice of God, who gave Joshua strength, said in Joshua 1:5-6, “No one will be able to withstand you all the days of your life, just as I was with Moses, I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Then, in verse 9, he said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” When Joshua heard that God was with him, he gained great strength and courage, and he decided to go into God's promised land with the people willingly and acted.
The living Lord is always with all who believe in him. Jesus as Emmanuel is our strength when we are weak. Jesus as Emmanuel gives us peace of mind when we are anxious. Jesus as Emmanuel is our guide when we get lost. Jesus, who is Emmanuel, protects us when we are in tribulation. Emmanuel Jesus becomes eternal life when we die.
Thus, God is not far away. He is always with us. The great religious leader and founder of Methodism, the Rev. John Wesley, gave this testimony. “There are many welcome words in the world, but the most precious word is that God is with us.”
1. Jesus Shares Pain Together
There was a husband who had been confined to the hospital for a long time because of an illness, and a wife who had been by his side for many years caring for his illness. One day, the husband opened his mouth and said he was sorry to his wife who had been suffering for a long time because of him, but he shed tears to thank his wife who was always by his side. The wife also shed tears at her husband's words and said, "No. Even though you are lying in the hospital, I feel reassured that you are there.” The husband listened to his wife and held her hand tightly and passed away so comfortably.
When I have the strength and money, there are many people who want to be with me. But if I become weak and have no money, all the people I have worked with will leave. These people are not really with me. Those who are with me when I am weak and weak are really good friends and good neighbors.
Our Jesus, of course, when we are strong and strong, but rather, the more we are weak and weak, the more we are together, the better our good friend and good neighbor. Jesus, who is with us even when we are in peace, is always with us even when we suffer from various wounds.
When Jesus was young, he heard the news that his friend Lazarus had died in the same town, so he went to the place where Lazarus was buried. There, Jesus weeps over the death of his friend. “Jesus shed tears” (John 11:35). Jesus shared their sorrows with tears.
Jesus knows all our sorrows, pains, and pains. And we share that pain. We want you to realize that Jesus, who is with us, suffers the same when we cry because of pain and suffering. Even though there is nothing left and everyone has left Him, our Jesus shares the pain with us until the end, gives us strength and comforts us so that we can finally rise from our frustrations.
What are your wounds and pains? Go to the Lord with your wounds and pain. For those who have never left, and have always been with us, and the comfort of the Lord who is with us now, a miracle of turning a 'scar' into a shining 'star' will appear.
Look at Ruth. As Jesus shared the wounds of losing her husband, she became the wife of Boaz and the father of the Messiah. look at hannah The one wound of not being able to bear children will be held together by the Lord, and she became Samuel's mother and the mother of five children. see Paul. The thorn in Paul's flesh will be caught by the Lord with him, and it will be revealed with the power to break down the stronghold of the devil.
2. Jesus sharing joy together
Although Jesus shares our pain and suffering when we are struggling and weak, He is with us when we are happy and at peace, knowing our joy as His own joy, rejoicing and rejoicing together.
Jesus wants us to rejoice. May our joy abound. That is why Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I say again, rejoice.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 also says, “Rejoice always.” He also said in John 15:11, “I give this to you, that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full.” Therefore, Jesus rejoices over our small achievements, rejoices over the small sprout of faith, rejoices more than anyone else in passing through the difficult tunnel of tribulation, and rejoices in overcoming the devil's schemes and victory with the word.
But to be honest, there aren't many things we're happy about these days. I feel stuffy and stuffy, and I feel like I'm in charge of all the worries of the world, so I think we don't have many elements of joy. Without joy, he said to Jesus, “Lord, I am very happy right now. Share this joy with us.”
Where, then, and how can we find our joy? First, I hope you have the grace of repentance. Where there is repentance, there is joy. The true meaning of tears is joy. The first man lived in the Garden of Eden, created by God. The meaning of 'Eden' is 'joy'. Before sin entered man, he lived joyfully in a place full of joy. Then, when he fell into the temptation of the devil and sin came into man, that joy disappeared and he distanced himself from God, the source of true joy. Therefore, in order to regain our lost joy, we must first solve the problem of sin, and the way to solve this problem of sin is to repent. Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, that days of rejoicing will come from the presence of the Lord.” He said that when the problem of sin is solved through repentance, the day of rejoicing, that is, the day of joy, will soon come.
And in order to be happy, you have to love. In John 15, there is a scene where Jesus preaches about our relationship with Jesus, using the parable of the true vine and branches. The true vine is Jesus, and the branch is, of course, me and us. It also reveals that the true vine and the branch are one with each other in the relationship of love. John 15:9 says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.” Then, in verse 11, an important statement appears. I love you and you are filled with joy in the relationship of love that you love Me. That is, the joy of the Lord comes to us in full through love.
It’s a story that sounds like an arm’s length but since I met my wife and I started to love her in earnest, I am just happy to think of my wife at work, I want to see more of the time we spend together, and I’m just happy and happy that we are together.
Do you want your joy to be restored? Then, love Jesus, love your wife (husband), love your children, and love your neighbor. Jesus, who is always with us, wants to have an abundance of joy in our lives and rejoices in that joy with us. May the joy of the Lord be abundant with us always.
3. Jesus is with us without change
Normal parents, no matter what kind of circumstances their children are or how filial they are to their parents, what is certain is that their love for their children does not change, and the fact that they always share their love for their children even though they are separated from each other.
Our Jesus wants us to know that Jesus is always with us, whether we are aware that He is always with us or not, whether we are in peace or in sorrow, with unchanging love, and we want you to be convinced by faith.
Jesus knows our shortcomings. Therefore, by being with us, Almighty Jesus, as a great child of God, gives us strength and helps us to overcome this difficult world and become the people of the kingdom of heaven, and leads us to overcome the desires of the flesh and embrace the desires of the Holy Spirit. So that when the Lord comes to judge us in the last days, when we die and stand before the Lord, we will not be reproached. In the Bible, Jesus said in Ephesians 3:22, “You also are being built together in him to be a dwelling place for God in the Holy Spirit.” In 1 Corinthians 1:8, “The Lord has created you on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He will establish him who is beyond reproach to the end.” Please believe that the faithful Jesus is with us anytime, anywhere.
((Example: A story to a cow))
We hope that no matter what circumstance we may be in, we hope that we will become more empowered to live a bold life, believing that Jesus, who has the same power, love, and greatness is always with us. Those who are with Jesus will eventually wear the crown of victory, and will receive the Lord's abundant comfort and praise in the last days.
People think of God as a distant being. That is why I prefer to be called God in the sense of being in heaven and not God. Because we do not realize that God the Creator dares to be with us. You know former US President Carter. Carter is more popular with the public after resigning from the presidency than during his presidency. Why? This is because he abandons the extraordinary courtesy of the former president, which is difficult for ordinary people to imagine, and hangs out with the common people, and especially on Sundays, he always attends a small Baptist church in his village to serve as a teacher pointing to the four children.
God the Creator came to this earth as Immanuel to be friendly with us. God, who came as Immanuel, is with us at this hour today. And we will continue to be together in the future. I hope that I will become a great child of God who realizes that Heavenly Father, the weak but great Creator, is with me anytime and anywhere, seeks God's help, receives God's comfort, and gains strength, sings the song of victory. God is always with you.