IMMANUEL:  GOD WITH US

Kay Keith Peebles  12/27/2019  19.46

It is hard to imagine that it has been over 2,000 years since Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  Many have come to believe in Jesus as their Savior since then and yet, over such a long time some have grown dull and cold in regard to their faith in Him.  In this hour and this day the Gospel of Jesus Christ is more relevant and powerful than ever before because His second coming is near! 

The prophet Isaiah was one of several who declared His humble advent.  “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).  Isaiah 7:14. 

Jesus has many names which describe His character and His purpose.  The name Immanuel means God with us and it encompasses His deity and His humanity.  I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in Israel when Jesus left the heavenly realms of glory to dwell among mankind.  There is a Christmas story that has been around for decades which gives us a glimpse of why Jesus/Immanuel came to live among us.

A man by the name of Paul Harvey had a radio program with commentary each day.  He recited a Christmas Story entitled “The Man and the Birds” in a 1965 broadcast.  I remember hearing it on the radio and wanted to share it in this article.

A Christmas Story:  The Man and the Birds.  Author Unknown

“Now the man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man. “I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.
     Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.
     Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.
     And then, he realized, that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. “If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe, warm . . .  to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.”
     At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells–“Adeste Fidelis”–listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.”

It wasn’t until 1980 during a crisis that Jesus- Immanuel became real to me.  I guess it was pride that was the biggest influence keeping me from believing for so long.  Pride blinds our eyes from seeing the truth.  We have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.  I was offended when someone said I was called a “sinner” because I had always “tried” to be a good girl.  Pride blinded me until I realized I was helpless and I needed someone who was able to help me in my situation.  That dark night I knelt beside my bed and asked Jesus to come into my heart.  He not only became Immanuel in my home, He also became Immanuel inside my heart!

Driving to church this past Sunday (December 22, 2019), I heard the Lord speaking the words of the Christmas hymn O Come, O Come Immanuel to me.  I looked online to find all the stanzas of the song.  As I began to read the powerful verses, I felt heaven invade our car.

O Come, O Come, Immanuel  (Sung by Mercy Me)

O come, O come, Immanuel And ransom captive Israel.  That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.  Rejoice, rejoice, Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.                                             

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny.  From depths of Hell Thy people save and give them victory o’er the grave.  Rejoice, rejoice, Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring Come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here.  Disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death’s dark shadows put to flight.  Rejoice, rejoice, Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heavenly home.  Make safe the way that leads on high and close the path to misery.  Rejoice, rejoice, Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might.  Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height in ancient times did’st give the Law in cloud, and majesty and awe.  Rejoice, rejoice, Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

At the time of Jesus’ advent, Israel had not heard the voice of a prophet for over 400 years.  Their rebellion and idolatry had sent them into defeat and captivity many times dispersing them throughout nations.  Their brokenness, shame and despair became everyday life as God’s voice continued to remain silent.  On a hillside in Bethlehem five miles from Jerusalem, a brilliant star broke through their darkness pointing to their Salvation, Deliverance and Healing.  The silence of God exploded with the voices of Heavenly Angels proclaiming a Savior Who is Christ the King.  The long promised and awaited Messiah had been born but the prophecy had laid dormant for so long, the people had tired waiting for it.  They had pre-determined what He would look like and how He would act when He finally came.  Unfortunately for them, His humble advent and unwillingness to rule in the way they thought He would fell short of their expectations.  Their appointed time had come but they missed their visitation.  Not only did they miss it, they crucified their Deliverer as did our own sins!

Today the world isn’t much different from then.  The spirit of the Antichrist has risen and many who believed before have slowly been lulled to sleep.  They have compromised the Biblical testimony of their Savior just as Israel did and conformed to the world’s doctrine of faith.  Over decades many in churches have relinquished their relevance in the world by compromising God’s principles and relaxing their conviction. 

Once again as long ago, our Savior’s Light is piercing the veil of darkness and shaking those who’ve laid down their swords.  He is going to the dark dungeons of bondage all over the world and again proclaiming Immanuel- God with us.  May we not surrender to the pressure of the world’s system.  May we never resign our faith to doubt and unbelief.  The Champion of our souls cries out again this year, “I have come, will you believe in Me?”  May our hearts be open to all He is, has been and will be in and through us.  May we say, “Yes, Lord, come live in my heart!”  Rejoice, Rejoice, Immanuel- God is with us.