It is good to be back with you once again. I bring you greetings from Westminster and countryside. It is a delight to return and bring you God's Word. Would you turn with me in God's Word, first of all, to Isaiah chapter 7. Two passages out of Isaiah, first from Isaiah 7, then from Isaiah 8, and then we will move over to Matthew chapter one. This is God's word from Isaiah seven, beginning at verse 10. Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ask a sign of the Lord your God. Let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask and I will not put the Lord to the test. And he said, here then, O house of David, is it too little for you to weary men that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. And then over to chapter eight at verse five. The Lord spoke to me again because this people has refused the waters of Shaloh that flow gently and rejoice over Rezan and the son of Ramaliah. Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the river, mighty and many. The king of Assyria and all his glory. and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah. It will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel. Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered. Give ear, all you far countries. Strap on your armor and be shattered. Strap on your armor and be shattered. Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing. Speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us. And then would you turn over to Matthew chapter one with me. At verse 18, 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. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but he knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. Would you pray with me? Our Father in heaven, thank you for your word. And would you bless it now to us as we hear that word proclaimed, we pray, tend to our hearts and comfort us. As we know, Lord, you speak to us through your word and by the power of your spirit. And so speak that which we need to hear. We ask in Christ's name. Amen. What if I told you that God is with you right now, at this very moment? God is with you. Well, let me just say, in my opinion, this little phrase, God with us, is one of the most profound biblical truths to confront humanity. And that's what I'd like to develop this evening. From the beginning, God has been present among his people. Adam walked and talked with God in the garden of God. It was Adam's sole delight to be with his God and to enjoy him. And it pleased God to condescend into the garden to be with Adam. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs of Israel, enjoyed covenantal communion with God. They too received heirs of God as heirs of God, the benefits of his covenant. They and their descendants were his people to dwell with him forever in the promised land. There was Moses, the mediator of God, who was given the privilege to enter the holy mountain where the holy theophany of God and shrouded Sinai. And there Moses was with God in a new and extraordinary way. God had come down to his people there. The Lord condescended to meet Moses for the sake of Israel. In the giving of the law, the establishment of the holy priesthood and the building of the tabernacle made it clear more than ever before that the God of Israel was present with his people. The pillar of fire by night, the cloud by day, the presence of the holy prophets and the priests of God and the physical manifestation of the tabernacle. In this place dwelled the glory of God. The Lord was with Israel and he met her every need in the wilderness. The tabernacle of the Lord went before them every step of the way. This was the Lord's revealing that he was with his people, especially as they were sojourners and pilgrims in a foreign wilderness land. That promise continued with Joshua into the promised land of Canaan. God led Joshua and the people into their inheritance and there he would dwell with them. David, the king after God's own heart, whose life of persecution by Saul led him to a full dependence upon the Lord despite his sin, his longings, his poured out heartaches expressed in the Psalms, finds solace in the Lord's care, in the Lord's promise that David dwells within the bosom of his father in heaven. that his God is with him in his distress through his persecution. You can think of a portion of the Psalms like Psalm 23, 4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? For you are with me. Your rod and thy staff, they comfort me. There are psalms like Psalm 135 which close with these words, Blessed be the Lord from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord. The psalmist sings of the Lord who is from Zion above, but who dwells in Jerusalem with his people. It's this God of Zion from on high who humbles himself in order to draw near to his people for their sake. It's this God who chooses to work through the Son of David, the reigning Prince of Peace, King Solomon, to build the great picture of God dwelling with his people in the Old Testament, the splendor and the spectacular spectrum of glory in the temple in Jerusalem, visibly expressing that of the glory of God, the God of the heavens and earth, had made Israel his chosen people and showed that he will perpetually reside in their midst. Then there were the prophets of God. There was no prophet whose Emmanuel message was clearer than Isaiah. Isaiah prophesies of a day when God with us would be manifest in a child. Isaiah 7.14 is a familiar passage. Isaiah 8 and 10, maybe a little less so. A young woman, a virgin, will give birth to a child who shall have the name Immanuel, God with us. Now you must understand at this point, up until this point, God hadn't done anything like this before. He'd never before promised the name of Immanuel to anyone. In Isaiah, we see a new revelation that God would be with His people. This Immanuel is a child, promise, an 8th century Israel. And this promised boy, Immanuel, God communicates the condescension of His holiness into this world of death and decay. And not only does God communicate His condescension, but God preaches through this sign, Immanuel, that He Himself will experience everything that Israel will undergo. Now the historical setting of Isaiah 7, it's the 8th century Israel just prior to that devastating deportation and slaughter of the nation of God. The army of Assyria will overflow and pass through the nation, up even to its neck, Isaiah 8 said. But through it all, the promised sign of Immanuel will endure as a constant signpost throughout it all. a sign of God's presence that would remain with his people. God's proclamation through this sign that he will suffer with his people as a sign of Emmanuel to come from heaven above. Supernaturally born to us. Not simply a sign of God's abiding presence with his church anymore, but now the very reality of God's abiding presence with his church. The reality of the living God of Zion entering into history in the fullness of time to dwell with his people forevermore. This Immanuel prophesied in Isaiah, this Immanuel that we find here in Matthew 1, this Immanuel is God born human by the power of the Holy Spirit to save his people from their sins, therefore his name is also Jesus, to save us from our sins, to commune with us, to be with us, to be with his people, to be God with us. And this is simply profound. This is life-changing. This is history-altering. God has entered into the humiliation of history, and the transition of the ages is taking place. Here in the beginning of the New Testament, Jesus, the Savior, the Son of God, the Word of God, is given the name Immanuel. From this point on in the New Testament, the Church of Jesus Christ, you are to know God's abiding presence with you, even in the midst of suffering. It's absolutely essential that you know God's abiding presence with you. Jesus said to Paul, do not be afraid any longer, for I am with you. All the way through to the end of the New Testament, even to the end of the revelation of John, we witness that Jesus is God with us. There, at almost the end of the Bible, we read in Revelation 21, a very well-known passage. We read of being brought into the consummation of all things. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." What a description of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven for her husband. The husband, the tabernacle of God, Immanuel, is among men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them. And then he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore for the former things passed away. This is the scope from beginning to end of Matthew 1 verse 23. This is the spiritual power of Matthew 1 verse 23. that God has come in Jesus Christ, inaugurating the age of salvation, and is bringing in the kingdom of heaven unto consummation. God has come in the flesh to save His people, and He is the one who dwells in your midst at this moment. From the beginning to the end, God reveals to us that He wants to be with His church. And He makes it happen. That's his desire to dwell with his church exclusively forever. But interestingly, it's only in two books of the Scriptures that we find explicit reference to this name, Immanuel. Those references are found in what we read already, Isaiah 7, 8, and Matthew 1. Three places, that's it. Now, with such a prominent biblical theme, as God's abiding presence with his people. Doesn't it seem appropriate for us to understand these two books, one serving as something of the background to the other, at least in part? In Isaiah 7 and 8, Immanuel is a sign testifying that God is in the midst of his people. even as the presence of these wicked threats of Assyria come to them. And in Matthew 1 verse 23, Immanuel is the fulfillment, the very reality of God's presence being with his people. One conclusion is that Jesus is the very God of very God, that Jesus is God with us. This is the common conclusion, of course, a right conclusion. Jesus is God's very presence with his people, so that he might live through the distress and suffering of this world for us and with us. That he would experience the threat of the wicked, and in doing so, bringing to you, his people, spiritual encouragement. In the midst of your sufferings, in the midst of whatever distresses you might find yourself, even if that become persecution. And I think this opens up to us the book of Matthew in many wonderful ways. Obviously something we're not going to develop on a whole tonight. But we should ask ourselves, why is Matthew the only gospel to cite such an important prophecy as Isaiah 7.14? Now, given the context of Isaiah 7, why would Matthew begin his book in such a way except that he is writing to a church who is amidst of some kind of threat of wickedness, some kind of suffering, some kind of persecution against her. One of Matthew's purposes, I think you're guessing at least from me now, is to encourage her. I think Matthew's purpose is to encourage the church of Jesus Christ by endeavoring to set forth the implications for you, for the church, of what it means to confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He is drawn near to be with His people, and that He is with you through all things. That He is drawn near to be with His people, that Jesus is drawn near to this suffering and the persecuted church to whom Matthew writes, that Jesus draws near to you in whatever sufferings and distresses that you might go through in this world. Jesus takes the burdens and afflictions of the world upon himself in order that the church might live in him and through him. This is how the church is defining encouragement in Immanuel. It's not just a once-a-year kind of slogan. It's a name that's filled with spiritual power. The church finds encouragement and grace in that he has taken to himself the onslaught of wicked threats and remained victorious and faithful through his suffering, through his death, unto his resurrection and ascension and glory. God's abiding presence with you does not mean that you will not go through troubles and times of suffering and distress that comes with living in a fallen world. The sign of Immanuel in the 8th century BC did not mean that Assyria would suddenly turn away from destroying Israel, or that Judah would not go into exile. What it did mean, though, was that God would remain in their midst through the exile, that He would be with them, and that the nature of His presence was not of this world. The 8th century child Immanuel's presence meant comfort and encouragement to a broken people. to those whose hope was in God. For God had come in their midst as he gave himself over to their humiliation. Likewise, Jesus' presence among us does not mean that we will not suffer distress, or persecution, or sufferings, or death. But it does mean that his abiding presence is with us, and that it is sure and certain comfort and encouragement to the church of Jesus Christ in this world. I'm told that on his deathbed, John Wesley opened his eyes and exclaimed for the very last time, the best of all is this. God is with us. He could have said many things, but if the accounts are correct, he said in that estate, the best of all is this. God is with us. It's my hope that throughout this reflection on Immanuel that you would see the benefit and even the great joy of this name, Immanuel, God with us. Whether you're mature in your faith, young, doubting, backslidden, do you see the offer of Immanuel? Do you see that out of the darkness of your life, your depression, your illness, your weariness, whatever it might be, the pressures of the world that might be coming in upon you, can you see that God, in His Son, in that little baby in Bethlehem, has sent Emmanuel, God with us, for you? You shall save His people from their sins. He's testifying to you now that God is here. Just pause. God is here. You're in his presence right now. He is with you. That has to mean something to a Christian. It has to mean something vital to you. and he condescends to meet with you in his love through his Son. God is here in the midst of his assembly and he wants you to respond to his grace, to his saving power, to his deliverance, to his redemption that is in the midst of us this evening. Are you weary? Are you tired? Are you stressed? Do you feel the pressure and the pain of the world and the temptations that it brings? And all of the pressure that we live in in this world? Listen, this evening, there is a king among us. God is with us. This evening, there are storms that we go through in life. Are you going through the storms of sickness or bereavement or pain? Are you going through the storms of loneliness or desertion of some sort? Whatever you're going through, listen. I mean, really, God is with you. Jesus, Emmanuel, he's come to dwell. He's come to reside with you. When you're feeling bad, it's one thing, isn't it? For someone to say they're rooting for you or they're thinking of you, but it's completely different when they are there with you. They're crying with you, or they're holding you, encouraging you, praying with you. God doesn't just say he'll be there. He is there, and ever so closer than anyone else. But what if you don't even have anyone to say that they are there for you? It can become lonely to be on your own, can't it? Maybe you're on your own today. Maybe you're on your own in life. You've been providentially left on your own. Listen again. No matter where you are, no matter how lonely you might be, no matter how lonely you feel, no matter where you are in your life, Listen again. God is with you. For the fatherless child, for the orphan, he's the everlasting father. For the lonely one, he is the omnipotent companion who is with us wherever we go, whatever we do. For the sick, for the lonely, for the deserted, listen to this word again. I've repeated it over and over again. Do not Get sick of it. Emmanuel, God is with us. He is with you. He took upon himself your nature, took upon himself humanity, human feelings, human emotions. He was and remains truly human, yet without sin. so that he could empathize, so that he could sympathize, so that he could save us, become God with us. You think of his condescension, that he had such glory, such beauty, such splendor, and yet he came down and he left it all. He was true God, and yet true God became true man, and he became God with us. Emmanuel is God with us. The Father sent his eternal Son, and he took upon himself our flesh, that he might suffer so that he might empathize, so that he might comfort us. The great Princeton theologian Benjamin Warfield said these words, The glory of the incarnation is that it presents to our adoring gaze not a humanized God or a deified man, but a true God. One who is all that God is, and at the same time, all that man is. And that means this. One on whose almighty arms we can rest, and to whose human sympathy we can appeal. Your spouse, your closest confidant, can sympathize with you. And God has blessed us with that. but oh, what is it to have the almighty God to sympathize with you. For we do not have a high priest, the preacher to the Hebrew says, who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Whatever your need is, let this word sink deep into your heart, Emmanuel, God with us. He is with you. I opened my sermon this evening with the question, what if I told you God is with you? What if I told you that you do not have to wait until you die until the second coming of Jesus for God to be with you? Do you believe that promise? Do you believe the name of Jesus, Emmanuel? That right now, at this very moment, God is with you. That Jesus Christ, Emmanuel incarnate, is with you more powerfully than when He walked on this earth. Because He is now exalted at the right hand of God in resurrection, victory, and glory. And He's poured out His Spirit upon you. His very temple, His very place of habitation is you. You are His dwelling place. Church of Jesus Christ. Here you are in the presence of God like no other place on earth because God has chosen to condescend to make His people where He will be. Saints of God, Church of Jesus Christ, the promise is sure and I trust you believe when Jesus says to you as He closes Matthew's Gospel. Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. There's the promise. You believe it? Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, oh, would you grant us that faith to believe it and to rest in it, that the spiritual power of God's presence among us, O Lord, would continually change us and conform us more and more unto Christ our Savior. And in doing so, our God in heaven, you would grant your people in the midst of whatever sufferings, distress, trials, or temptations, our God, we might find ourselves. Lord, that you would be that comforter to us by your spirit, even through your presence. the presence that you have brought to us by your spirit. Jesus, you are with us in him. Oh Lord, we thank you. Tend to each one this night, our God, by your spirit, by your presence. As we enter into this assembly, oh God, you are the one who promises to be with us and to minister to us your grace, your mercy, and your peace. We pray, asking in Jesus' name, amen.