All is Calm: The Comfort of Immanuel

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[1:00] Thank you.

[1:30] Thank you.

[2:00] Thank you. As we honor the reading of God's Word.

[2:32] Matthew chapter 1, verse 18. Matthew says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

[3:10] 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.

[3:21] And 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.

[3:37] And when Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the messenger, as the angel of the Lord commanded him. And he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus.

[3:51] Let's pray. Father, thank you for this opportunity tonight to look to your Word. Lord, it is such a great comfort of the promise, the truth of Emmanuel, God with us.

[4:04] And so we pray this evening, even though we want to understand the Bible more, ultimately, Lord, I just pray that this will be a moment that your Spirit would come and comfort us, would minister to us, and that we would truly sense your presence with us tonight.

[4:22] And we pray it in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, Amen. Amen. You can be seated. I don't remember what she looked like. I couldn't even tell you how old she was.

[4:34] All I remember is that she was there. Those were the words of Jennifer McLaughlin. Now, back, Jennifer is there on the left.

[4:45] And back in 1990, Jennifer was in an automobile accident. She was nine years old. And she was in an automobile accident with her older sister.

[4:56] And her sister did not survive the accident. That left Jennifer there all alone at the scene. She was scared. She was in shock.

[5:07] Her body was literally shaking. And she says she can't even really remember anything that took place that day. She said, quote, I don't remember seeing a single car that night.

[5:20] I don't remember an ambulance pulling up. I don't remember much of anything, close quote. Except for one thing.

[5:31] Of all the things that she does not remember, the one thing she does remember is a woman by the name of Rhonda Ray. Rhonda actually saw the accident take place.

[5:43] She rushed to the scene. And she stayed with little nine-year-old Jennifer, assuring her that she was going to be okay until the ambulance arrived.

[5:54] But Faith Family, that is not all Rhonda did. Not only did she stay with her until the ambulance got there, she rode with Jennifer in the ambulance until they arrived at the emergency room where Jennifer's parents were waiting.

[6:09] Then once they took Jennifer inside, Rhonda left, and she would never be seen again. Until 35 years later.

[6:23] Jennifer said, quote, I thought about Rhonda throughout my life. Every time I told my story, she was always a part of it. But it wasn't until she took to social media and wanted to track Rhonda down.

[6:35] She created this Facebook page and began to send out messages to as many people as she could. And eventually, Rhonda's adult daughter discovered this, realized who it was, and sent Jennifer her mother's phone number.

[6:53] Jennifer called Rhonda, and the moment she answered the phone, the two began to sob. Rhonda said, quote, Jennifer called me, and as soon as I heard her voice, I started to cry.

[7:08] I was just so happy to hear that she was okay. Jennifer and Rhonda eventually would meet, and today, they're close friends.

[7:19] And in reflecting on this moment in Jennifer's life, this is what she said. This is so profound. She said, quote, Rhonda's act of kindness helped shape the person I am today.

[7:34] She didn't have to stop. She didn't have to go to the hospital with me. She gave up her whole day just to be with a little nine-year-old girl.

[7:51] That's heartwarming, isn't it? That's a good story, amen? Like, that's a touching story. If you're not touched by that, I'm going to slap you, all right? Because when I read that, I'm like, isn't that such an awesome thing that someone would sacrifice their time just to be with them?

[8:12] But as heartwarming and touching as that story is, it actually teaches us something that we all know to be true. Come on, we all know this. That one of the greatest comforts in crisis is knowing you're not alone.

[8:27] Amen? Amen? One of the biggest comforts in crisis is knowing I'm not alone in this. I haven't been left all to myself. Someone is with me.

[8:39] And this, of course, gets expressed in so many different ways. It's a lot easier to stand up for yourself when you know big brother has your back, right? It's a lot easier to get through times of grieving when you have the support of a friend.

[8:55] You don't freak out when your team is losing when you have the best player on your side. You know this. In fact, a few weeks ago, this really stuck out to me.

[9:06] We were having our ministry update night, and we played a video of Kathy's testimony. Most of you have probably seen this by now. We sent it out and posted it online.

[9:17] And as I listened to Kathy's testimony, there were many things that stuck out to me, but this was one of them. And the same week of the COVID lockdowns is when my lung collapsed.

[9:32] I had to be taken to the hospital all by myself. It was the scariest thing ever because I couldn't even have Neil with me. Did you hear that?

[9:44] It was the scariest thing ever. And why was it the scariest thing ever? Because I was alone. I couldn't have anyone with me.

[9:56] Listen, one of the greatest comforts in our crisis is knowing someone is there with us. And all God's people said, Amen.

[10:07] And that is why the meaning of the name Emmanuel is some of the greatest news you will ever hear. Look at it again in verse 22.

[10:17] In verse 22, Matthew says, all this took place, which we're going to talk about, it took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, that behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name what?

[10:32] Emmanuel. And what does Emmanuel mean? God with us. In other words, Matthew here is showing us that in the birth of Jesus, God is with us.

[10:45] God has come to dwell with mankind in the person of Jesus Christ. Isn't that great news? To know that God is with us.

[10:57] And this is just one of the many Old Testament promises that Matthew is trying to show you are being fulfilled in the coming of Christ. Again, this is just one.

[11:08] He's already given you others. Do you remember two weeks ago when we looked at the genealogy that Matthew gives of Jesus? Why does Matthew start with the genealogy?

[11:21] And how does he structure it? Do you remember when I nerded out for just a little bit and all of the Bible nerds loved that sermon? We talked about the fact that he gives you the genealogy of Jesus in three sets of 14.

[11:36] Does everybody remember that? And why did he give three sets of 14? Because historically we know, and Matthew of course would have known, that there were more generations than that.

[11:49] But you see, Matthew's intent is not to give you all the generations. His intent was to give you three sets of 14. Why? Because the numerical value of the name David is 14.

[12:02] He's showing you by the very structure. I'm going to nerd out again for just a moment. By the very structure of the genealogy that Jesus is the fulfillment of David.

[12:13] That all the promises that were given to David in the Old Testament find their yes in Jesus Christ. And then, if you count from Abraham in verse 1 all the way down to Jesus, you'll get a total number of 41.

[12:30] Why did Matthew do that? Because the numerical value of Abraham is 41. Jesus is not only the fulfillment of the promises given to David, Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises given to Abraham.

[12:45] He's the promised offspring. He's the one in whom all the nations will be blessed. Are you with me? Even in the very genealogy, he's showing you how Jesus is the fulfillment of these Old Testament things.

[12:59] In fact, the total number 3 times 14 is 42, which is the numerical value of the name or the title Messiah. The point is, if you're an original reader, or if you're paying close attention to what Matthew's doing, he's making it very obvious.

[13:18] His intent is to show you all the things that Jesus fulfills from the Old Testament. Are you with me? Well, that's what he does now in verses 18-25.

[13:30] He's going to show us another fulfillment that is related specifically to the birth of Christ. In fact, this will be the first of a run of 10 fulfillment passages that Matthew is going to reference.

[13:46] Let's look at it again in 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.

[13:59] 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, a messenger or 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.

[14:19] She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And all this took place to what? Fulfill.

[14:30] Okay? Some of y'all need to wake up. To fulfill. All this took place to do what? To fulfill something. To fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.

[14:41] Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. Now let me set the context here so that we can understand the passage in terms of the way Matthew intended for us to understand.

[14:58] Matthew here gives the account of the birth of Jesus through the perspective of Joseph. You know, one of the beautiful things that we have is four different Gospels.

[15:09] And the different Gospels will share things from a different perspective, right? Luke, for example, will give you an account of the birth of Christ through Mary's perspective.

[15:20] But here with Matthew, we're coming specifically through the lens of Joseph. Now Joseph here, Matthew informs us, is afraid. That's why he's told do not fear.

[15:34] But faith family, what is he afraid of? What is he afraid of? It's right there in the text. Do not fear to take Mary as your wife.

[15:48] So his fear here is related to taking Mary. Staying with Mary. Listen, when Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant, his response is not, well, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year, right?

[16:05] This is not happy news to him. It is so much that he's afraid. Joseph's entire life has just blown up right before him.

[16:17] And many of you know this, that back in these days, marriages were arranged by the parents. And oftentimes, this would be arranged very early on in the child's life.

[16:30] Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. Anybody? Find me a find. Catch me a catch. No fiddler fans? Goodness gracious.

[16:41] All right, anyways. Now, add to that that Joseph is from a small town that is very, very, very Jewish. Everybody knows everybody.

[16:52] Everybody's a part of this small community. Everybody has known Mary and Joseph for a very long time. In fact, listen, the entire community would have been a part of the contract signing that would have betrothed or arranged the very marriage of Joseph and Mary.

[17:15] You with me? And that contract, which everybody in the community would have been a part of seeing, is something that you do not break. And why do you not break it?

[17:27] Tradition! Tradition! Tradition! Last fiddler reference, I promise, but I can't help it.

[17:37] Tradition! You do not under any circumstances whatsoever break this contract. This has been arranged. It's been arranged for a long time.

[17:49] And everybody knows it. So when it comes out that Mary is pregnant before the marriage consummation, all Sheol is about to break loose.

[18:02] And Joseph knows it. Joseph knows that Mary is going to be seen as a harlot. She is going to lose everything. And Joseph doesn't want that.

[18:13] Even though he feels betrayed in this, even though he is considering being out, he doesn't want Mary to be destroyed. Not only that, he knows that he is going to be the laughing stock of this entire small town Jewish community.

[18:28] And the best story that they have to tell anybody is, the Holy Spirit did it. That's the best they got. So Joseph's not an idiot.

[18:39] He knows what's coming. He knows what's ahead. His life has flashed before his eyes. The marriage that he thought he'd have is over. The future he thought would be his is gone.

[18:50] The reputation he spent his life building is ruined. The woman that he loves is about to be thrown to the wolves. Even though he's young, he's in a midlife crisis.

[19:02] Are you with me? Are you with me? This is what's happening personally, from a personal perspective. This is why Joseph is afraid. He's fearful.

[19:13] He's trembling. His whole life is flashing before him. Now, no, no. Let's stop for just a moment. And to the skeptics in the room, listen, if you're Matthew and you're trying to present Jesus, you're trying to introduce Jesus, you're rolling out the red carpet to show the Messiah has come, and you want to present Him in some type of heroic way, Matthew is doing a terrible job.

[19:48] This is a terrible way to roll out the introduction of Messiah. Are you with me? I think I'm just talking to myself tonight, but that's okay. I'm having fun doing it.

[19:59] My point is this. Think about, this is what we have to stop instead. We get so familiar with, you know, all the Christmas cards and pageantry and sentimentalism of this story.

[20:09] Stop! Matthew is trying to introduce Messiah, and this is how he has chosen to do it. To give you a genealogy that is full of liars, prostitutes, and murderers, and then he's going to introduce the birth of Messiah in the most scandalous way you could possibly think of.

[20:31] Now, what does that prove? It proves this. Somebody say, preach, preacher. The birth of Jesus is not fiction. It's fulfillment. If Matthew was just trying to give you a fictional story to put Jesus in a good light, you don't pick this one!

[20:50] But he's telling you the truth. Because in revealing Jesus this way, he's telling you what he has come to do and what he has come to fulfill.

[21:02] You with me? Now that we know the context, watch how Matthew does a masterful job showing that God is the comfort in our crisis.

[21:12] that God is the peace in our times of panic. And he begins to give you several clues. Can I nerd out for just a moment again? I promise I'll come right back.

[21:23] But okay, let me show you the clues in the text that are really fascinating to me. Here's the first. Now, say it. Birth. The problem is you can see this, right?

[21:35] But you see it in English. If you could see this in Greek, the clue would be a little bit more obvious. But we'll come back to it. The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they'd come together.

[21:50] They were found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Okay? So we got birth and that birth is coming through the Holy Spirit. Keep reading. There's a few more clues. But as He considered these things, behold, an angel or a messenger appeared to Him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife for what which is conceived in her is from the...

[22:12] Huh. Okay. That's the next clue. Matthew even throws another fascinating clue in here and it's this. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife.

[22:25] Okay. Now the nerd in me that sees this says I totally see what Matthew is doing. And here's Matthew's intent. Matthew is taking you back to Genesis.

[22:35] Matthew is taking you back to Genesis. Let me explain. Give me just a few moments. The word birth, this is why I wish you could see it in Greek because the word birth is the Greek word genesis or Genesis.

[22:51] It's a creation. It's a new beginning, if you will. In fact, it's the very same word that Matthew uses for genealogy at the beginning of chapter 1 in verse 1.

[23:05] In other words, very clear on the page in Greek, Matthew is saying that the birth of Jesus is a genesis. Am I the only one that's excited about that?

[23:16] Okay. I'm not done yet. Okay. Then, he's conceived how? How does Mary conceive? By the Spirit.

[23:27] No, no, no. Why didn't he say by the power of God? Why specifically emphasize twice the Spirit? Well, can you think of a time when something was void and without life?

[23:42] I don't know, kind of like Mary's womb and the Spirit brought life. Now, are you tracking with what I'm saying? Better, are you tracking with what Matthew's doing?

[23:54] Hello, McFly, Genesis chapter 1, right? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void.

[24:05] And darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And then, just for funsies here, Joseph was given this dream while he was asleep like Eve was made out of Adam while Adam was asleep.

[24:30] You can't make this stuff up. Matthew's being very clear. This is so awesome. I'm excited for every one of you. It's this. The birth of Jesus is not the first miraculous conception.

[24:45] The birth of Jesus is not the first miraculous conception. God created life in the beginning out of nothing.

[24:59] God bringing by the Spirit life in Mary's womb out of nothing shouldn't shock you. You shouldn't be surprised that God by the Spirit could do that.

[25:14] He's done it before. Three of you are really happy with me. So, okay. I hope Sunday morning brings the energy. Anyways, I'm teasing.

[25:25] In other words, just as the Spirit brought creation in the birth of Jesus, the Spirit is bringing a new creation. A new Genesis. Which, by the way, notice this, believing in the virgin birth is no more difficult to believe than the creation of the world.

[25:45] Amen? Do you have people tell you, you believe in all that virgin birth stuff? Really? You're one of those Christians? Of course I believe in the virgin birth. Do you know why I'm able to believe in the virgin birth?

[25:57] Because I believe that in the beginning was God and God said, let there be and there was. And that makes anything possible.

[26:08] There is nothing in which I step back and say, oh, that surprises me that God could do that. There's nothing impossible with Him. Amen? He has a very long history of bringing life out of nothing.

[26:24] Now, that was all for fun and doesn't count against my time. So, what's the bigger point? Why is Matthew connecting this to Genesis in the first place?

[26:37] Because in Genesis there was chaos and disorder and darkness. Listen to me, faith family. How did God bring calm to that by the Spirit?

[26:52] In Matthew 1, in Bethlehem, Joseph's life is full of chaos and disorder and darkness. How does God bring calm into that?

[27:06] By the Spirit through the birth of Jesus Christ. In the midst of this raging personal storm, God brings a birth.

[27:25] The birth of Jesus. Because a new Genesis is here. A new creation has come in this baby.

[27:39] baby. And that point, if you think I'm wrong on that point, well, you're wrong. But if you think I'm wrong on that point, let me prove it just a little bit more. Look at verse 22. This is the more obvious way that Matthew makes the point.

[27:51] All of this, that is all the stuff that I've just been talking about, all of this took place to do what? To fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Now, we don't know what, we know what prophet, but Matthew doesn't tell us.

[28:04] The way we know it is by what he quotes. Verse 23, Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.

[28:15] So we know that he's referring to Isaiah. The original readers and certainly your footnote in your Bible is going to point you back to a story from Isaiah chapter 7.

[28:26] I'll tell it to you quickly. I won't take a lot of time here. It's a story about King Ahaz who is, stop me if you've heard this before, in a crisis. He's in a big crisis.

[28:38] Look at Isaiah chapter 7 verse 2. When the house of David was told Syria, not to be confused with Assyria, Syria was in league with Ephraim, that's the northern kingdom, the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as trees of the forest shake before the wind.

[29:00] I don't know if you know that. That's afraid. That's scared. Their whole life is shaking like a tree in the wind. Why are they so afraid and scared?

[29:12] Well, because Assyria is on the rise. Again, not to be confused with Syria. We'll get to them. Assyria is on the rise and fearing Assyria's power, a nation, Syria, and the northern kingdom, Israel, form a coalition.

[29:29] They ask Judah, the southern kingdom, to join that coalition, but Judah says no, so Syria and the northern kingdom decide to attack.

[29:41] Verse 6, So let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves. Now, Judah ultimately prevails, but they are severely damaged, and in Isaiah chapter 7, Ahaz is alone, he has no coalition of friends, he's weak, he's lost several soldiers, the place is broken, and he's scared to death.

[30:09] And so again, tell me if you've heard this story before. Here is a man who's afraid, and God sends a messenger. This is not an angel, it's a prophet.

[30:21] His name is Isaiah, and this is what he says. Isaiah 7, verse 10. Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, a sign, the Lord your God, let it be as deep as Sheol and as high as heaven.

[30:34] And Ahaz said, I will not ask for a sign, because I don't want to put the Lord to the test. The truth is, if you read Kings, he really does, he's just trying to be pious. But anyways, he said, hear then, O house of David, is it too little for you to weary men that you weary God as well?

[30:48] Listen, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. I told you to ask for a sign, you didn't ask for a sign, but I'm going to give it to you anyways. And here's the sign. Stop me if you've heard this verse.

[30:59] Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel. So God gives, Ahaz has a sign, it's the sign of Emmanuel that, listen, in his crisis, God is with him.

[31:20] That he's not alone. Now this is where we tend to think the story ends. Again, I'm going to try to do this fast for sake of time, but the story actually I believe continues in Matthew's mind because here's what happens, right, is that Ahaz is ultimately going to join a coalition with Assyria and that's going to come back to bite his son, Ahaz's son, Hezekiah.

[31:44] And when you get to Isaiah chapter 37, listen, Hezekiah is in the exact same situation as Ahaz. He's afraid. He's scared. And look what is said to him.

[31:58] Again, a messenger, Isaiah is sent to him. They said to him, thus says Hezekiah, this is a day of distress. Are you noticing a pattern?

[32:11] Now if your neighbor is asleep, smack them right now, okay? Are you noticing a pattern? We're in a time of stress. We're in a time where we're scared. And go to the next verse.

[32:22] And then notice what he keeps saying in verse 6. Isaiah says to him, this messenger that is sent from God, says, say to your master, the Lord says, do not be...

[32:35] I think I've heard that somewhere. A man in a crisis sent a messenger told not to be afraid. And then notice the sign that's given in verse 21.

[32:47] Isaiah, the son of Amos, sent to Hezekiah saying, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, because you prayed to me concerning the king of Assyria, this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him.

[33:00] She despises you. She scorns you. Huh. The virgin daughter of Zion. So, nerd.

[33:13] Isaiah 7 speaks of a virgin that's going to have a child named... Have you already forgotten? Emmanuel! And then, that was to Ahaz. And then to his son, Hezekiah, there is a sign given that's about the virgin, another virgin here, the virgin daughter of Zion.

[33:33] And then notice this next verse. And this shall be the sign for you. This year you shall eat what grows. In the second year what springs from that. In the third year you'll sow and reap and you'll plant vineyards.

[33:45] In other words, this virgin daughter Zion is going to be fruitful. Now let's put it all together. Have I lost you? Have I lost you?

[33:57] Here it is. Okay. Two men in crisis, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Joseph's in crisis. Two men are sent a messenger, Isaiah.

[34:09] Joseph is sent a messenger, an angel. Two men are given a sign. One is about a virgin that will have a child named Emmanuel. One is about a virgin daughter of Israel that's going to be fruitful.

[34:23] And the other is Mary, a virgin who will conceive by the Holy Spirit. This is what Matthew means when he says, all this took place to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet.

[34:45] Don't you love this stuff? Don't you love how the Bible works together? And Matthew's trying to show you this. Now let me step off all the history and all the biblical background and let me just step into your world for just a moment.

[35:00] Some of you this evening may be experiencing a crisis. Some of you right now you're going through a personal crisis. Maybe you're going through a divorce.

[35:12] Maybe your heart has been broken in some way. Maybe you've had the loss of a loved one or experiencing a death in the family. Maybe you're just hurting.

[35:23] Some of you are in a financial crisis. Your business is barely staying afloat. You're doing everything you can to try to pay your bills. Relationally you've been hurt.

[35:37] Some of you are spiritually in a crisis. You're not sure what you believe. You feel abandoned by God. In other words I bet there's people in this room that feel like Ahaz.

[35:49] Feel like Hezekiah. Feel like Joseph. I'm a little bit afraid. I'm a little scared. Because I don't know how this is going to turn out.

[36:04] And I don't know where my life is going to end up. And what Matthew wants to say to you is this is not new. This is not new.

[36:16] You're not the first person to go through this. Joseph knows. Joseph knows exactly how you feel. Ahaz. They know that the Bible is full of people who have gone through times in life where they were afraid.

[36:35] But God is with you. God is with you. Because Jesus fulfills Emmanuel.

[36:51] Which means God with us. And if it's true and you've already said it is so don't turn back now.

[37:02] One of the greatest comforts in crisis is knowing you're not alone. Well then guess what faith family? Guess what Christian? You're never alone. God is with you in the person of Jesus Christ.

[37:23] And all that nerding out I did over Genesis thank you very much means the same spirit that spoke calm into chaos in the very beginning is the same spirit that can speak calm into your chaos right now.

[37:46] This is the promise of Emmanuel. Now will you give me just a moment to wrap it up? Because I haven't even gotten to the best part. So here's the question I have.

[37:57] How do we know that all this is true? Like how do we know that promise of Emmanuel is true for us? Like how can we truly put our confidence in that this evening if we are in our own crisis?

[38:12] We'll look at verse 21 again and I promise we'll wrap it up after this. Verse 21. She will bear a son and you shall call his name what? Jesus.

[38:24] Why will you call his name Jesus? He gives you the reason. For he will save his people from their sins. A little side note.

[38:34] How many of you have ever heard that one of the names for Jesus is Emmanuel? I bet if I asked you all of you would say yeah Emmanuel is the name of Jesus.

[38:46] Here's what's interesting. That's not the case in this passage. The name given to Jesus isn't Emmanuel. Do you feel the tension?

[38:58] Jesus fulfills the name Emmanuel. Emmanuel was actually a name given to a baby back in Isaiah's day.

[39:10] And that baby meant something. God is with us and Matthew says this all happened to fulfill that. But nowhere in the text does it say and you shall call his name Emmanuel except for the reference to Isaiah.

[39:28] What is the name given to this child? Jesus. Are you with me? Now by the way if you call Jesus Emmanuel I don't think you're a sinner.

[39:40] Okay? I don't think it's necessarily wrong a little bit but it's okay. It's not a big deal. But here's ultimately what I want you to see that Matthew's doing and this is so important.

[39:51] Listen. Preach preacher. The reality of the name Emmanuel is because of the result of the name of Jesus.

[40:03] Think on that. The reality of Emmanuel that God is with us is actually the result we have by the fact that his name the name that he's actually given here in Matthew 1 is Jesus.

[40:17] Because what does the name Jesus mean? Yahshua. Yahshua. Yah is the shortened version of Yahweh.

[40:28] Shua means to save. The name Jesus means Yahweh saves. Now, if you ask the question look at verse 21 again and I want you to be very observant.

[40:41] We're almost done. Hang with me. I mean you could just leave. I'd call you out but you could. Alright? I don't know why you would. This is awesome. Look at verse 21. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Yahweh saves for he will save.

[41:02] Are you with me? Call his name. His name's not Emmanuel. That's a child in Isaiah of which Jesus fulfills. His name is Jesus.

[41:15] His name is Yahweh saves for he will save. He will save. Which raises this question who is going to save? Yahweh or Jesus?

[41:28] And the answer of course is yes! Brilliant! Matthew you are a genius! Matthew here has just essentially given you the truth of Christmas namely that Yahweh is God in the flesh.

[41:48] that Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh. That he is Yeshua. He is Yahweh saves and he that is this very baby is going to grow up and deliver his people.

[42:07] So that's why I say that the reality of the name Emmanuel that God is with you in your crisis. Are you with me? That's a reality. That's a promise faith family.

[42:19] God is with you. But the result the reason we have that reality the result is from the name Jesus.

[42:32] God has entered your crisis. The reason why you know God is with you in your crisis is because God entered your crisis.

[42:45] Notice it on the screen. It's not merely that God is with you in your crisis. That's true. But that He entered it. It's not just that He's here to hold your hand.

[42:59] It's He's here to lead you home. That'll preach. He's not, hey, I'm just here with you. Okay? Just, you know, if you need to cry, I'm here brother.

[43:11] That's true. But He's not just with us in that regard. He's with us in the sense that He came to deliver. He came to save. He actually entered into a world of crisis to bring us out.

[43:27] That's good news. And what's the proof of that? What's the proof of that? The verse, one more time, verse 21, she will bear a son and you shall call his name Yahweh saves, for he will save his people from their sins.

[43:44] Faith family, listen, here's how you know that all of this is true. If you think that your crisis is bad, and I assure you, I have no interest in minimizing your crisis.

[43:58] But think for just a moment the crisis of the cross. You talk about fear, you think Joseph's afraid?

[44:11] You think Ahaz is afraid? You think Hezekiah is afraid? You think you're afraid? Imagine that crisis. And remember how Joseph wanted to find a way out?

[44:25] Remember that? Jesus, like Joseph, asked for the cup to pass. He wanted a way out. If there was any other way, Father, let it be.

[44:37] And do you remember who God sent to Joseph when he was afraid and wanted another way? A messenger of the Lord.

[44:49] An angel. Does that sound familiar to you? Luke 22, 43, And there appeared to Jesus an angel from heaven, strengthening him.

[45:03] All while the disciples were, you can't make this up, asleep. Jesus, faith family, Jesus came into our crisis and endured the cross.

[45:23] And as a result of that, a new Genesis is born. A new creation is here. And if anyone will put their faith in Yahweh saves, you too will be a new creation.

[45:43] And here's how it will happen. Listen, I'm almost done, I promise. The same spirit that brought life to Mary's womb will bring life to you.

[45:53] The same spirit that brought life to Mary's womb will bring life to you. And you say, Pastor, but who, who can call upon the Lord?

[46:07] Well, go back and study Matthew's genealogy. The worst of sinners. Jesus came for all kinds of sinners to deliver them from their sins.

[46:25] Amen? Stories like Jennifer's and Rhonda's are heartwarming. They are touching. And that's because we all relate to that in that none of us want to be alone in our crisis.

[46:42] None of us want to be alone in our times of fear. And that's why the fulfillment of Emmanuel is such great news. Knowing that God is with us because He has saved us.

[47:01] And as a result, He promises you this, He will never leave you. You will never be alone.

[47:13] Because listen, last nerd thing and I'm done. Matthew ends his gospel the same way he begins.

[47:25] Matthew 28. The very last words of Matthew's gospel is the promise of Emmanuel. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

[47:44] And behold, say it with me faith family, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

[47:57] Faith family, no matter where you go, no matter what you face, Emmanuel, you're not alone.

[48:08] Let's pray. Let's pray. Father, thank You. thank You for this great truth. Thank You for the joy of a Saturday night in studying Your Word and hopefully understanding both how Your Word works together, Old and New Testament.

[48:23] But as important as that is seeing our own crisis, our own times of fear and feeling alone through the lens of Emmanuel.

[48:37] well. And I do pray, Lord, this evening that Your Spirit has come into a heart of chaos and disorder or even darkness and brought life and hope.

[48:51] And Lord, I pray that You would do Your work that only You can do by Your Spirit, just as You did for Mary, just as You did for Joseph, that You would do in us as well.

[49:04] And we're going to enter now into a time of remembrance and communion of Jesus. Yahweh saves as we set our minds on the cross.

[49:15] In Christ's name, Amen. Bluetooth Bluetooth