"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call
His name Immanuel." (Matt. 1:23)
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel." (Is. 7:14)
God is with us
This is the beautiful name, our master Jesus was called by when He was born "Immanuel." (God is with us). It
is a name full of comfort, because it consists of a lot of love for us.
The blessing of Christmas is that: We would feel that Jesus is God with
us, God is in our midst, living inside us, and living with us. In truth
God loves all humanity. He loves to give men the pleasure of coexisting
with Him.
He loves the heart of men as a place for His residence. Since
the creation of men, He created him in His own image and likeness. He
wanted to make of him a place to dwell, He wanted to be in the heart of
men and to reside in him.
Thousands of years have passed, and our good
Lord is trying to find a place for Himself in men, a place fit for Him
to live. But all have swerved and became corrupt, no one doing good,
not a single person … The Lord didn't find in their hearts a place to
rest His head … So how about you, blessed one? God is looking at your
heart and says, "This is My resting place forever. Here I will dwell,
for I have desired it." (Ps. 132:14). And this is how David, praising,
says: "For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling
place:" (Ps. 132:13). This Zion is your soul, which God seeks; it is
your heart which the Lord loves to dwell in.
The dwelling of God with the people
God
living with the people and among them is actually a historic story
(historical). It is the story of the Tabernacle, in which we see God
living among His people. It is also the story of the Ark of Covenant,
the symbol of God descending among the people. For God's dwelling among
the people is symbolized in the Tabernacle. It is also a symbol of the
everlasting Jerusalem in heaven, which was mentioned as, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people."
(Rev. 21:3).
He also placed the following meaning resembling His strong
love: He said He is the head and we are the limbs. The apostle said
about us, that we, as a church of God are, "The body of Jesus." We can take, as an example of this resemblance, what the Lord said, "I am the vine, you are the branches."
(John 15:5). He asked of us to abide in Him as the branches abide in
the vine. Also, this might be a portion from the long prayer, which He
prayed in the Brook Kindron Garden, when He told His disciples, "I
in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that You have sent Me. And I have declared to them
Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me
may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:23-26).
God needs you to
abide in Him and He in you. God who occupied the Virgin's womb, to take
from her a body, He wants to occupy from within, to fill you with love
… The best dwelling for God is in you. God is not pleased just with
heaven, but He is also standing at your door, knocking for you to open
(Rev. 3:2). He considers your body an altar for the saint's spirit and
for God's spirit to dwell in it (1 Corn. 3:16). He wants to come to you
to live with you with the Father. Listen to what He says, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him."
(John 14:23). God, who insists, persistently to live in you, He calls
on your soul, which is beloved to Him, with this affectionate
expression, "Open for Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My perfect one; for My head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night." (Song 5:2). His real heaven is your heart, for this He continuously asks you saying: "My son, give Me your heart …" (Prov. 23:26). He tells every human soul as David praises in the Psalm, "Listen,
O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also,
and your father's house; so the King will greatly desire your beauty;
because He is your Lord, worship Him." (Ps. 45:10, 11).
The expression "God is with us", was not meant to be Immanuel with us only during His incarnation, but always. And that is how the Lord says, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt.28:20). He also says, "For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matt.18:20). And the Lord will still be with us forever, that means without end. And the Lord said about this, "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am." (John 17:24). He assured us concerning this matter by saying, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:3). And also, through John, who wrote the Book of revelation, as John said concerning the heavenly Jerusalem, "And He will dwell with them." (John 21:3).
Is it to this extent O Lord? Yes, II find pleasure in your association, in your friendship. I love being in your midst … I am "Immanuel",
God is with us. My brethren, if you feel that you are with God, and God
is with you, then you have really enjoyed the blessing of Christmas …
Don't suppose that Christmas is the day we concluded the lent and began
breaking the fast! Or Christmas is the day when we conducted the
Christmas liturgy joyful liturgical tunes…Christmas from the spiritual
view, is Immanuel's association, which is God is with us. God doesn't
need anything from you, except your heart to be in it … Never think
that the Lord needs anything from you other than that, believe me,
never. He tells you, 'My beloved I need your heart, I need to dwell in
it.' You tell Him, 'I will fast and stop everything.' He tells you, 'I
need your heart.' You tell Him, 'I will pray all night.' He tells you,
'If you prayed all night and you don't offer your heart, then your
prayers are worthless.' All your worships and prayers are worthless if
God is not dwelling in your heart. P God wants to establish a
friendship with you. The Book says: "And want to dwell in you, and abide in you.
Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."
(Gen.5:24). It is a beautiful view to imagine Enoch as he is walking
with God. It is a deep feeling to be aware of how God was not going to
be without Enoch, so He took him …. Paul the apostle explains the
Lord's second coming on the clouds … And we, being lifted up to Him. So
he concludes this beautiful scene, by saying, "And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with the words."
(1 Thess. 4:17, 18). And here on earth, we glance at a strong
observation in the life of the saints, for the saints always felt God's
presence with them. They always saw Him before them and at their right
… It was a repetitive expression by Elijah for he said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand." (1 Kings 18:15). Who among us, always feel, that he is standing before Immanuel, who is, God is with us?
Also David, always felt the presence of God with him, for he said, "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved."
(Ps. 16:8). What is this O David? Is the Lord before you or at your
right? He is always with me, and in every place, and I feel God in
every direction …
The person, who feels that God is before him, will not make a mistake.
He will definitely be ashamed from God. He says, ‘Here God sees me
while I work, and He hears me when I speak.’ God has two eyes like
flames penetrating the darkness. If we feel that God is with us, it
would be impossible for us to sin. Our sins are indications that we
don't feel His presence with us. There was an incident that happened to
saint Ephram the Syrian, which was later confirmed, one time a sinful
woman threatened to exploit him if he didn't sin with her. He pretended
to agree, but on one condition, that this ordeal occurs in the open
market of the city. She was astonished and told him, ‘How can you do
this in the open market? Wouldn't you be embarrassed when the people
are around us?’ Then he answered her, "If you are embarrassed from the
people, wouldn't you be embarrassed from God, whose eyes penetrate the
deepest of darkness?" His words were so deep and effective that she
repented at his hands. Dear brethren, only the atheists are the ones
who deny the existence of God. I assure you that for every sin you
commit, you would have forgotten the existence of God, or openly denied
Him. If you really believe in His existence you would have been ashamed
… Immanuel - God is with us - will always give us the cleansing of the
souls, piety and the sainthood.
Our feeling of Immanuel, God is with us, gives us courage and no fear. When Joshua started his service, the Lord told him, "No
man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I
was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake
you … Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, nor dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Josh. 1:5, 9)
The person who feels the presence of God, he feels that there is a
strong power with him, eliminating all fear, all troubles giving him
trust and peace … Someone asks you an uncomfortable question, you fear
the answer and so you lie! Why? Because you are afraid? Why fear? God
is with you all your life … The sin of fear, is the sin of not
believing, believing in Immanuel our shepherd. David was brave and
said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? … Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise against me, in this I will be confident."
(Ps. 27:1, 3). 'So I will not fear, what men does to me?' In this
expression we point out the difference between the courage of the
saints and that of those living in this world. Those who live in this
world trust their own power. But the saints trust the presence of
Immanuel. God is with us. When God appeared to Paul the apostle, in a
night vision, He told him, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you or hurt you;"
(Acts 18:9, 10). Paul took this expression and lived by it, expressing
the power of belief … He before Lysias the prince and Felix the
governor, and before the dear Fistous and Agribous the king. Not a
single one of them was able to hurt him. On the contrary they were
afraid of him. Why were you afraid O kings and princes from this
prisoner who is tied with chains? Felix answer did not scare Paul,
because the Lord who was with him, the Lord lived in him … Paul, as a
person, we can subdue him, but we could not subdue him when he says, "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
(Gal. 2:20). What did Lysias do with Paul after he arrested him? Did he
hurt him? No. But he prepared a battalion consisting of 200 soldiers,
70 horsemen and 200 archers; to safely transport him to Caesurae to
Felix the governor (Acts 23:23, 24). Truly God you are with us. Paul
stood before Felix and as he talked about piety, the judgement which
will come, Felix was shook (Act 24:25). He was shook from this bound
prisoner, from the power coming out of him and from God who is with
him, from Immanuel.
This is an idea about the work of Immanuel our Lord when He is with us.
He shreds all powers before his servants, so nothing hurts them.
This is Immanuel who was with the three youth in the burning fiery furnace,
"O whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed, nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them." (Dan. 3:27). Until Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and said, "There is no other God who can deliver like this ...” (Dan. 3:29)
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