Immanuel - God is with us!

     Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

The incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ is full of wonder and mystery, power and blessing.  What a joy it is therefore to celebrate Christmas.   The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The eternal Son of God came to us. In spite of our poverty, our sinfulness and our ignorance, the King of Kings came to make his home among us.

I am fascinated by the many angelic visitations that surround the birth of Jesus our Lord. Angels are powerful messengers, sent from God to do His will and to communicate with people. So often in the Christmas stories, the first thing an angel has to say is “Don’t be afraid.”  They are powerful, awesome beings sent from heaven to earth to interact with people.

However, when the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream, his message was not terrifying, it was full of hope and peace. The angel quoted the prophet Isaiah saying, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).” That’s right, the angel told Joseph that the virgin to whom he was engaged to be married was going to conceive a child from the Holy Spirit and give birth to a son who would be Immanuel, God with us.

Though it was unexpected and very unusual, the news the angel of the Lord gave to Joseph was Good News indeed.  In the Garden, man and woman had lived in fellowship with God.  But our forefathers rebelled against Him, turning their backs on his goodness.  The Bible says that each of has gone astray. Like sheep, in our rebellion we have strayed from God.  The result is brokenness and fear, guilt and shame.

But God took matters into his own hands.  He sent us Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. Jesus “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:7). He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:11, 12).  Amazing!

Brother and sisters, this is the love of God for us. God came to us in the person of Jesus. Not because we were good or deserving, not because we had wisdom or riches to offer Him.  No! God came us in the person of Jesus because he loves us. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16, 17).

May this Good News of Christmas deeply penetrate your thoughts and prayers in these days.  The Father dearly loves you. God wants to be with you. In spite of all your mistakes and rebellion, your ignorance or pride, God loves you and has come to be with you. Hallelujah!  What a Savior! He is Immanuel, God with us!

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #Immanuel #Incarnation