When God Moves In | Hope Carpenter

Well, here we are, just a few days away from Christmas. It's the most wonderful time. You know what it is? It's the most wonderful time of the year. And it is that for me, I go crazy at Christmas. How many of you go crazy at Christmas? Oh, yes, we do. The trees, the decorations, the little villages that we put up, the snowmen, the Santa, the manger scenes. I rem when Ron and I first started dating and I started going to his family's house for Christmas, their whole house would blink. I mean, going up the stairs, around the table, outside, everything was blinking. Had tinsel thrown everywhere. And the shopping, do we even need to go there? The shopping. Right. Gifts are my love language. Anyway, so at Christmas, I just kind of lose my mind. The family gatherings, the friends coming over, the Christmas parties, and all of the food. Oh, my goodness. All of the food and the festivities. It's just an amazing, magical time of year. But how many of you know, and we all do, most of us know that that is not what Christmas is about. It's not about all of the things that we usually. 90% of the time. And the emphasis on spent on is not even what Christmas is about. Matthew 1 and 18:22. I'm just going to read a little bit about. It says this is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about. His mother, Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had already said through the prophet in Isaiah 7. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. Come on. Won't you say that? That out loud? Emmanuel. God with us. Say it out loud. Emmanuel. God with us. So let's talk about that name, Emmanuel. Names are very significant in the Bible, and I believe they are today. But historically, names were used to communicate God's message and they were used to establish an affiliation with God. So, number one, they were used to communicate God's message and they were used to establish an affiliation with God. So let's look back at Abram, who was 93 years old and he was promised that he would be the father of many nations. At 93 years old. Do we have any 93 years old people in here who wants to start over and be a father of many nations? Do we have any 63 year olds? Do have any even 43 year olds? No to the. No to the no. Right. We do not want to start over. But Abram was 93 and God came to him and promised him that he would be the father of many nations. And when this promise came, when there was something significant that was about to happen in his life, he changed his name to Abraham. And then there's Jacob In Genesis 32, after wrestling with God all night, anyone, God changed his name to Israel. When there was a true change in his nature, God changed his name. And then there's Simon, whose name meant reed or shaky or swaying back and forth after his revelation, after he had gone to another level in revelation, Jesus renamed him Cephas, which means Peter or rock. So knowing the significance of names, in Matthew, when the angel declares, he will be called Emmanuel. God with us. See, I already know what I'm going to preach. Y' all don't know what I'm about to preach, but I'm already excited. So when he said and he will be called, his name was Jesus, but he will be called God with us. God with us. Let's talk about it. So let's go all the way back. All the way back before creation of heaven and earth, there was a meeting in time before the foundations of the earth. In Revelation 13, it tells us that Jesus the Word became flesh and was born into the earth through Mary the virgin. He was already slain before the foundation of the earth. So before he ever had a chance to be born, he was slain. Look at somebody and say, we're going to learn something today. Before he was ever born, he was slain before the foundation of the earth. See, God knows the end from the beginning. We are walking in time. And we are sitting here looking at our our light bill and our rent that's due at the end of the month. And our kids that's acting in a certain way right now that we're walking out in December 2021. But see, God is not walking in time with us. God is outside of time. So Jesus had already been predetermined. He had already been determined to be slain before the foundation in the earth. So God had to get him out of Heaven into time, so that he could walk it out. Say, walk it out. So for God to come to Earth, he had to come in the flesh, but he had to remain God. So how does this happen? See, doctors, if we have any doctors in the house, they will even tell you. They'll concur that babies, although carried by the mother, do not carry any of the mother's blood. Only the father's blood is transferred to the baby. So that's why Jesus could not be conceived like a natural baby. He was God's son. He was not Joseph's son. Do you hear me? He was God's son. He was not Joseph's natural son. He was carrying God DNA. He was a hundred percent God, but he was a hundred percent flesh. See, God had to get him here that way. He had to bring the spirit of heaven into the earth. God needed a body so that he could have authority on Earth. Why? Because in Genesis. I love this scripture. In Genesis, he says, let us make man in our own image, in our likeness. And then let them. You, me, us. Let them have dominion on the Earth. Do you hear that? Let us up here, Father, the Word and the Spirit. Let us make man in our image, but then let them have dominion on the Earth. Man is in charge of the Earth. Look at your neighbor and say you're in charge. Say you're in charge of your home. You're in charge of your mindset. You're in charge of the atmosphere that goes on in your house. You're in charge of your relationships. You're in charge of racism. Come on, somebody. Y' all ain't ready today. You're in charge. We are responsible. We are a spirit, right? Living in a body. So to have power on the Earth, God had to come into a flesh suit. God needed to get to Earth to fix the sin problem. So God had to get into a body. Because it had already been established in Genesis 2, who has authority on the earth. Genesis 2 established, Let us make man in our image and let them have dominion. So God knew he had already spoke a thing. He had already established it by what he said. Let them have authority. So he said, I gotta get to Earth. I gotta fix this sin problem. But I can't come like this. I got to come in a flesh, in the flesh. Because flesh is the only thing that has authority in the earth. So that's why Jesus had to come like he did. See, we are probably praying about things that God is waiting on us to already fix. We're wanting God to come fix things. We're wanting God to come fix racism. We're wanting God to come fix social injustice. When he's waiting on us, we have authority in the earth. That's why the Bible says the earth is groaning as in pains of childbirth, waiting for the sons of God to be revealed, waiting for us to take authority. Jesus was born. God in the flesh. And his name will be called. Who? Emmanuel? God. God who was here has now come to be with us. Say it out loud. God with us. Emmanuel. The Old Testament, the name symbolized God was still with them. He had not forgotten them. And that God would deliver his people. Well, here we are in the New Testament. And Matthew quotes Isaiah 7 as it expounds upon the significance of the name. This is Isaiah 7. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. And his name shall be called Immanuel. And while the prophecy was fulfilled in the Old Testament, Jesus came and he brought a greater significance. Listen. The implication of Immanuel is that God would dwell with us, among us, with his people. And up until this point in the Old Testament, the Israelites had. Had had some type of God containment. But it was in the holy of holies. It wasn't living, breathing, walking right here with us. But Jesus shows up and changes everything. Whoa. Everything is supposed to change when Jesus shows up. Your marriage is supposed to change. Your health is supposed to change. Your mental health is supposed to change. Your economy is supposed to change. Your mindset is supposed to change. Your outlook is supposed to change. Your peace is supposed to change. Proverbs 3 even says your sleep is supposed to change. Sweet will be your sleep, and undisturbed will be your composure. When Jesus shows up, everything changes. Everything changes. Why don't you turn around and tell three people When Jesus shows up, Everything is supposed to to change. Oh, y' all better sit down. Y' all gotta sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Stop running around. Everything is supposed to change. I love the message Bible translation of John 1:14 that. Listen to this. This is what it says. The word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. The word became flesh and blood and it moved right next door to me. Aren't you thankful for Emmanuel? God with us? Who lives right beside you, who lives right around the corner, who lives in the same house with you. The Emmanuel meaning is just that. God is now my neighbor. He's with me. He's right beside me. He's doing life with me. I do not do this life on my own anymore. Because Jesus, Emmanuel God with me is walking through this life with me. That is why he came to do life with me. Listen. He came to an unwed single mom hiding, who was running, shunned from a society, sleeping in an open air, four by four, little room, nothing fancy, common, simple, everyday people, problems. And it shows me that nothing that I face ever catches God off guard. Why don't you high five two people and say, it don't matter what you are going through, it has not caught God off guard. Emmanuel is not afraid of our mess, our sin, our brokenness. Listen. Quite the contrary. He's drawn to it. He's drawn to my sin. That's why he had to come. That's why he had to die because of my sin, because of my mess, because of my brokenness. Look at the people throughout the Bible that he was drawn to. He was drawn to the lepers. He was drawn to the outcast, to the prostitutes, to the adulterers, to the shady businessmen, Zacchaeus. To the people in the bar fights, Peter cutting off somebody's ear, people who kept falling off the wagon, Judas. People who come to church for six months, then don't come for six more. He's drawn to people like that. What about the anointed by God? But they committed adultery and murdered David. God is drawn to our brokenness. Emmanuel. He came for the broken. He came for the hurting. He came for the confused. He came for the stressed out. Listen, we were a mess. That's why he had to leave heaven in the first place. I want to give you three Christmas gifts today. Three meanings of Emmanuel for us today. Number one. Emmanuel. He is a God who understands. Whoo. I am so grateful for a God who understands. Scripture tells us that he has walked in our shoes. He has felt our pain. He understands our pain. You may think no one understands what you're going through, but God understands. God so understands our pain that he was willing to leave heaven and come to earth and walk this earth and live and die and go through everything that he went through so that he could understand our pain. The Bible says that he is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He feels it. He understands. The Bible says that he was tempted in every way that you and I will ever be tempted. And when we're going through it, we think, nobody has had it as bad as me. Nobody. Oh, poor, poor, poor me. But Jesus has, Emmanuel. He is the God who understands. Number two, Emmanuel. He not only understands, but he's the God who helps. Aren't you grateful that you are not Going through this mess alone, he not only just understands, but he is the God who helps. He takes it a step further. He did not just come to experience our pain, but he comes to snatch us out of our pain. He's got a promise for every single thing that we are going through. It does not matter what it is. God's already provided a way out. He says, I am with you. I will never leave you. I will never forsake. You didn't say that we would not have suffering. But he promised that he would be our comforter, that he would be our helper, that he would be our paraclete. That he would be a friend that sticks closer than a brother. All your friends and family might have turned their back on you. But if you got Jesus, you got all you need. Listen, he's already given you weapons to fight with. The Bible says he's given you the word of God. He's given you prayer. He's given you praise. He's given you sowing and reaping. Listen. He is a God who helps. Come on, somebody. He's a God who helps. Number three. Emmanuel. He's given us a way to live. God with us. When God is with you, it changes how you approach your everyday life. It changes everything when you know that God is with you. Why do we do this? Why is it that we have all these precious promises of God, but we walk around and sometimes we start feeling sorry for ourselves? We feel like we're all alone. We woe is me. Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. I think I'll go eat worms. Why is it that we get this mindset when the God of the universe, the God of heaven who flung the stars and created the. The atmospheric pressure and He. He put all the trees and the grass and everything that needed to work in the cycles before we ever took a breath? He got all that done before he ever created man. Because he knew that man would need all these things even to breathe and operate. Why do we think that he is not for us? God is for you. God. God with us changes the way that you approach your everyday life. And it doesn't just affect us. It should affect everybody around us. Listen, God didn't just move into the first century Jewish neighborhood. He wants to move into your neighborhood. He wants to walk with you. He wants to talk with you. Why do we only call on him when we're in trouble? Listen, he wants a relationship with you. I've been married 31 years. Years. And what if the only time I went to talk to my Husband is when I needed something, man, that would not be a very good relationship. All the benefits that I could miss out on from being in relationship with Ron Carpenter, if I only went to him when I was in trouble. Just like any other relationship, you got to talk, talk to your spouse. You gotta eat with them, you got to sleep with them, you got to have fun with them, you got to laugh with them, you got to be with them. When there's good days and bad days, God wants to do life with you. He came to earth to be among us, to live with us, to walk with us, to commune with us. And when you realize that God is with you, you never go through anything alone ever again. Sickness, joy, happiness, death, sorrow. Alone. What is alone? You're never alone. Everything that you experience and go through, God, Emmanuel, God with you. Look at your neighbor right now. If you know him, call them by name. Tell them, say, don't stress, don't be afraid, don't get in worry. God's with you. God's got you. Somebody in here needs to let your marriage know. Somebody in here needs to let your children know. Somebody in here needs to let your bank account know. Somebody needs to let your health know and your mental health know. And your business know and your dreams know. God, Emmanuel, is with you. God is with you. If God be for you, who can be against you? If God be for you. It don't matter what the bank says. It don't matter what they say. It doesn't matter what your mama says, what your granny says, what your ex says. It doesn't matter what your employer says. It does not matter what your bank account looks like. It does not matter what your 401k says. It doesn't matter what your stocks look like. If God before you, who can be against you? The Creator of the universe, the only one and true living God is with you. He's with you on your best days. He's with you on your worst day. He's with you when you got plenty of money. And he's with you when you're broke. He's with you when you able to run a marathon. But he's also with you when you're so weak you can't get out of bed. He's with you when you're on top of the world. But he's with you when you in a corner, shaking and shivering, scared to death, alone and depressed. God, Emmanuel. God in the flesh. Whoa. It's with you who I thank God tonight for sending his son. Oh, I thank you, Jesus, that You came. My life will forever be changed because of Emmanuel. God with me that you love me so much that you gave me your very best gift. For God so loved the world. For God so loved me. For God so loved you. For God so loved the ground, the stars, the trees, the cosmos, Cosmos. Everything in it that he gave his very best gift. Jesus. It's better than anything you can wrap and put under a tree. Oh, don't miss it this season. Don't miss it this Christmas season. God with us. I'm so thankful that he came and that he was willing to walk and talk fellowship with and be there for me in my darkest days, my worst days, my greatest accomplishments. He never ever has left me. He's never left you. He won't forsake you. He is Emmanuel. God with us. If you don't know this Emmanuel, you need to know him today. He wants to move into your neighborhood. Oh, you say what neighborhood? Where? Which neighborhood? How does he know where I live? No, I'm talking about right here. The neighborhood of your heart. He wants to do life with you. He never promised that we would have a life where it was a pain free. But he promised that he would be there. That's why he came. He is not afraid of your mess. He is not afraid of your brokenness. Matter of fact, he's so drawn to you. That's why he had to leave the splendor of heaven to come walk this earth. Because of your brokenness, because of your mess, because of your trauma, because of your abuse, because of your abortion. Listen, God wants to live with you, Emmanuel. God with us. Oh Jesus, thank you that you came. Thank you that you came. That you were willing to come be born so that you could die. So that I could live this abundant life. So that they could live this abundant life. So that you could walk with us and talk with us. So that you could be there at every up and every down. You're a friend that sits closer than brother. You're the greatest gift that we've ever received. You're the greatest gift that we could ever give anybody. God put people in our path this Christmas season that we can give this good gift, this good news that they don't have to do life alone. But you came to be our neighbor, to walk with us and live with us. I thank you Emmanuel, that you are God with me. Jesus name, God bless you. We love you and I pray you have the most, most amazing Christmas season that you've ever had. Because of Emmanuel. God with us.