God with Us

How many of you had a Merry Christmas? How many of you had a merry Christmas? Pastor Samuel and I have a prayer before God, and we want—we long for—a 100% answer to that prayer. God has something for you that you should be happy and glad about: God is with you, and He has never left you or forsaken you. Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your presence. Thank You for every song and chorus that was lifted up before You. Thank You for this choir. Thank You for the drama. Thank You for the many ways You have given us to tell You that we love You and that we need You. And thank You for this word. Spirit of God, this is Your word; may it be You who breathes upon it and makes it come alive, so that souls may be set free, bodies may be healed, and those who are in chains may leave here free. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

We are reading from Matthew, chapter 1, verse 18: “...And she will give birth to a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. And behold, a virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, which translated means God with us....”

What does Christmas mean to you? You know, there are many people out there who would rather Christmas did not come, and I imagine that perhaps there are some of you here today, perhaps some of you listening on the Internet, for whom this Christmas may not be what you expected. Perhaps you have not had the Christmas you have wanted for many years, and I understand that there is a reason for this. And I suggest that perhaps the reason Christmas is not enjoyed—and why, despite all the carols that have been sung, some of them may not make much sense to you—is that perhaps you are sitting there saying, “I want to understand what the big deal is. I wish I could feel the same joy that others feel when Christmas comes. But if I am honest, perhaps I do not enjoy Christmas, and I cannot understand why the people who sing about it are so joyful.” And I even dare to go further: perhaps some of you think those people are making it seem as though it is something that it is not. Perhaps some of them do not properly understand what Christmas is and are merely faking it in one way or another. Because perhaps you have been faking it too. Perhaps there are some among you who have gone through Christmas after Christmas and New Year after New Year, faking the true feeling of that season because it is still not in your heart. And I believe that the most important reason for this has to do with what you think about Christmas.

Every one of us has been programmed regarding what Christmas is or what Christmas should not be. And this changes from culture to culture. There are people here from Africa, Latin America, and even Jersey. Jersey can also feel like a foreign country sometimes. But regardless of the culture you come from, you grew up with the idea that if points A, B, and C are not present, you did not have Christmas. If you did not have a little Christmas tree, if you did not have many gifts, if you did not have something to give, if perhaps you did not have a little coquito, ...through His blood that redeems them. Perhaps if you did not have someone with whom to go caroling with a cuatro or something, then you did not have Christmas; you will think you did not have it.

I want, in one way or another, to reconfigure your idea of what Christmas is. And I have a confession to make: I love Christmas; I love Christmas. I am one of the biggest Christmas fanatics. But it is not because all my Christmases have been perfect. I lost a grandmother on December 24, and almost 20 years ago to this very day, I also buried one of my aunts, who died on Christmas Eve. People die at Christmas. But it is still Christmas. And I rejoice when Christmas comes. There are people who lose their jobs at Christmas, but I rejoice in Christmas. And I rejoice when this season arrives.

I have known what it is to live with or without, but I love and adore Christmas. Because there is one central idea that gives meaning to Christmas. Without that aspect, there is no Christmas of any kind. No matter what other ingredient you add to your Christmas, if this ingredient is not present, there is no Christmas. And if you have nothing else but you do have this truth, no matter what happens, you are going to have a tremendous Christmas. Do you know why? Because of Emmanuel: God is with us.

Please look: a twenty-first-century instrument in a twentieth-century hand. God is with us. Everyone say, “Emmanuel.” All this means is “God with us.” Say, “God with us.” Say, “God with me.” This is the central idea of the incarnation. What this means is that God left His throne, came to earth, clothed Himself in flesh, and walked among us. There are books that discuss how this can be possible. And I am not here to explain to you how God came to this earth and became flesh in the person of Jesus; I am here to celebrate the fact that God came from heaven and became flesh here on earth in the person of Jesus. I am here to celebrate the fact that if Jesus—if God—had not left His throne and come here to be with us, there would be no reason to celebrate.

This is not merely the central idea of Christmas. As we serve Jesus—or rather, you, servant of Jesus, you who are a disciple of Christ Jesus—Emmanuel is not merely the secret ingredient for a good Christmas; Emmanuel is the secret ingredient for a successful Christian life here in the midst of the world in which we live. Emmanuel means that no matter what hell throws at you, you are going to have victory because God is with you. That is what Emmanuel means: God is with us.

Well, Pastor Samuel, of course God is with us. Is He not omnipresent? Is He not everywhere? Of course He is. You know, we needed the incarnation to prove that God was everywhere. Throughout the entire Old Testament, they knew that God was omnipresent. Throughout the Old Testament, many women had a sense of fellowship with God. Isaiah did not have to prophesy the coming of an Emmanuel in order to say and believe that God was everywhere.

So this tells me that there is more to Emmanuel than the mere fact of His omnipresence. Do not let anyone deceive you: there is more to the concept of Emmanuel than the mere fact that God is everywhere. To put it simply, there are people who understand very well this idea that God is everywhere, but to them God is like an uncle who lives far away and only sends them an email at Christmas to say hello. He is scarcely present in their lives. They know He exists; they know He is somewhere, but He is on the periphery of their existence.

The point is that God does not want to be a distant uncle to you. What does this mean? First of all, it means that God is among us. Do you know what I love about this idea of Emmanuel? It is this idea that God is with us. Even if you were a theologian, loved language, and were, as they say, analyzing this sentence, this phrase—“God is with us”—it is one of the most perfect poems in any language, because it means all these things at the same time. And the first thing it means is that God is among us—not merely with us, but among us—walking in our streets and in our businesses; with you when you are at that funeral; with you when you are giving birth to a baby. He is with you when you receive that bill from your workplace; He is with you when your doctor gives you an unwanted diagnosis. He is a God whom you can know and a God who can be known.

God did not have to assume flesh or possess flesh for you to know that He was there. He did not have to go through that entire process to know what a broken heart is, but He wanted you to know that He knew what it meant to be human and what it felt like to go through what you are going through. So Jesus took all these things upon Himself, just as you do every day.

My Bible says that Jesus wept. My Bible says that Jesus went to weddings. My Bible says that Jesus knew what it meant to be betrayed. Jesus knew what it meant to be disappointed. My Bible says that Jesus knew what it was to be forsaken and alone. And Jesus was the One who, when He looked toward the heavens, fulfilled the prophecy that said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” So when it is your turn to look toward the heavens, and all you see are clouds, and you have to say, “God, why have You forsaken me?” you will be able to hear Him say to you, “I have not gone anywhere; I am with you.” He is with us. He wants to be part of your world, part of your life.

The fact that God is with us also means that God is for you. In other words, if God is with us, it means that He is not against you. God is with me in the same sense as when you turn around and look at your friends, and you are about to leave, and perhaps you wonder, “And who is with me now? Who is by my side?” God is trying to tell you that He is not there to persecute you; He loves you.

Let me allow that to sink into your heart. He loves you. He is not there to cause you trouble. He wants to be your friend. What we have in Emmanuel is God daring to take some very great risks simply because He wants to be your friend. And the Bible is full of attempts God has made to be our friend. This God, so great, strong, and powerful, humbles Himself as we would humble ourselves with a child, trying to be our friend.

You know, it is possible; God really does have friends. Abraham was known as a friend of God. The Bible says in Exodus 33 that Moses spoke with God face to face, as a man would speak with his friend. The Bible says that David was a man after God’s heart—in other words, he knew God’s heart. He saw His heart. He spoke with God heart to heart.

When was the last time you had a heart-to-heart conversation with God? When was the last time you were not in the presence of a distant uncle, but in the presence of a Friend who is almighty and who is there for you? When was the last time you experienced God invading your Bethlehem, that area of darkness, and saying to you, “Here I am; I am your friend”? If you cannot understand this, it may be for one of two reasons: perhaps you are convinced that God has forgotten you, that your circumstances have proved to you that this God whom these people talk about is not interested in you. Let me suggest something: perhaps those very circumstances, those very tribulations, do not mean that God is abandoning you. Perhaps it is exactly the opposite. Perhaps what God is trying to do is get your attention. Perhaps God is giving you a reason to cry out to Him. Perhaps God is motivating you to go one step further in coming to know Him. He wants to be your friend. So you say, “Pastor Samuel, wow, with friends like that, I do not need enemies!” But you know, He loves you too much to let this fall to the ground. God will continue seeking you because He knows how much you need Him. He is not going to let Himself fall. As long as there is breath in your lungs, He sees hope. As long as there is breath in you, when God looks at you, He sees someone with whom He can establish a friendship. He sees a soul with whom He can connect. He sees a heart with which He can speak. He sees a life to which He can minister. He sees a miracle that He can make a reality. He sees a forum where His glory can be manifested. When God sees you, He sees a temple waiting for the Holy Spirit to inhabit it. Literally, literally, God wants to get inside your skin and make you understand—literally. He does not merely want to be with you, but also in you. He wants to be your friend because He has a purpose for you.

Which brings me to the next meaning of Emmanuel: God is accompanying you, supporting you, and guiding you. And I would even add this: motivating you and also giving you a hand. God is with you in the sense that God is there beside you, encouraging you. It is like an opera singer; perhaps you have heard a singer say, “Today I sang as never before because I felt that the audience was with me.” Well, you know, God is with you, applauding you and giving you a hand, giving you ideas, giving you His anointing, His revelation.

When I think about this idea of God being with me, I think about the book of Ezra. Ezra had a phrase throughout the entire book. You do not see many miracles in the book of Ezra, but what you do see is a pattern that continually repeats itself. You know, Ezra receives this idea from God, something a little crazy that no one had ever done before, but God says to Ezra, “Go and do it yourself.” So through dreams and whispers through the Holy Spirit, God plants this idea in his heart and in his mind.

I ask you, how many of you know what I am talking about? Suddenly your mind receives a message that could only come from God. Perhaps no one in your family had ever gone to college, and you receive this revelation from God to conceive that idea, to push yourself to achieve it. No one had ever succeeded at anything before, but somehow God is telling you, “It is you; you go and do it.” No one in your family had ever been set free from drugs or alcohol, but the light of God shines upon you, and He says, “I have put life in you, and you are going to be the one; you will be the one who will drive the darkness out of your family. Go, I am with you. Go, dare to do it.” Maybe you have been sitting in these seats here at León de Judá for years. You see this choir singing like angels. Why don’t you talk to the members of that choir? Why don’t you ask them their story? Why don’t you ask them how they got there? Why don’t you ask them whether they have ever had a difficult Christmas? Why don’t you ask them whether they have ever gone through hell? And the reason they sing the way they do is because God has whispered to them. And He has told them, “I have a life for you, something you cannot imagine. So go and do it. Do what no one has ever done before. I am with you. I am with you.”

There is a great difference between those who live, as they say, day by day with that perspective of what Emmanuel means and those who do not. There is a great difference.

My brothers and sisters, I want you to leave here asking God, “Give me a mission worthy of Your glory. Give me something impossible,” because if there is one thing about Christmas, it is that God can do impossible things; all things are possible for God. When you finally awaken to the idea that God is with me, there is nothing that can stop you.

If you take Joseph’s example, in Scripture you never see Joseph saying anything specific; he never says a word. Nowhere in Scripture can you find the words, “And Joseph said,” but what we do see is God revealing Himself to Joseph through dreams. And the Bible says that the next day Joseph got up and acted on that revelation. If God is with you, live boldly; if God is with you, pay attention to those dreams and dare to take risks for the Kingdom of God. If God is with us, who can be against us? If God is with you, who can stop you?

I have tried to live my life encouraging others so that they can hear the voice of God, and perhaps you cannot see anything beyond the end of the road, even if you believe that this movie is about to end right now. This is what I can indeed tell you: 2010 is almost here, and I can say with complete conviction, “I have never, never, never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread,” and that is the same God who is with you. He is the same God who is in you; He is the same God who is giving that promise to your life. León de Judá, God is with you. It does not matter if hell does not like it. It does not matter if hell has a plan against you; God is with you, and the gates of Hades will not be able to prevail against you.

Let us stand for a moment. I want you to say these words with me: “Emmanuel. God is with me.” Can you believe it? Please bow your heads for a moment. Thank You, God. You have never turned Your back on this planet. You have a plan. You are that eternal God. You are great. You are almighty, the God who reigns forever, Prince of Peace. The government rests upon Your shoulders. There is no one like You. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to You. The angels bow before You and call You King, and it is You who say that You are with us; it is You who say that You are with every one of these people. You are powerful, You are invincible, You are tremendous, and there is no one like You.

Master, if there is a life for You to flood, I declare the heavens open as though it were that day long ago; I declare Gabriel at his post as on that day; I declare the heavenly hosts proclaiming those words of great joy. I declare Your light shining upon that soul who needs a Savior to be born in their life today. Bring life to the one who has known nothing but problem after problem. Be with them, Jesus. Be with them, Jesus. Be with them.

If you are here today and this is good news for you—if you have never seen Christmas this way because perhaps you do not see God that way—and you say, “Pastor Samuel, I want God to be with me today. I do not want to leave here without the certainty that God is with me, and I want to receive Him today. I want God for Christmas, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, forever. I want Him with me today.”

Please, I invite you to raise your hand. If you are receiving the Lord Jesus for the first time, I invite you to come forward. If this is the first time you are saying, “I want to receive Jesus for the first time in my life,” I invite you to come forward; we want to pray for you. If you are raising your hand because you are receiving this strength from God, I want you to receive this today as well.

Thank You, Lord Jesus. We give the glory and honor to You alone, Jesus. My God, these people who are raising their hands—You know their hearts, You know their petitions, You know the longing and desire of their lives. You know what each of my brothers and sisters needs in a season like this, so, Father, having heard this word, we declare once again that You are with us. Father, we declare that You want to be that eternal friend in our lives, that You are there to encourage us and lift us up, and Father, that is why our hands now reach out to You, Lord. We do not want to leave this place with any doubt, Lord, that You are with us. So, Father, reveal Yourself to each of Your sons and daughters. Lord, may each of us be affirmed in the truth that You are with us.

Today we proclaim Emmanuel. We proclaim Emmanuel over our lives: that You are with us, that You are with our own, with our loved ones, and that You go with us wherever we go. May Your light shine upon us forever and ever, Lord Jesus. All the glory and all the honor belong to You, Lord. Be glorified in our midst, Lord. We seek You with all our hearts. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You, God.