“And His Name Shall Be called: Immanuel”
Isaiah 7:10-14

Click for Audio

Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Third Sunday in Advent—December 17, 2017

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

During the Advent and Christmas seasons this year we are focusing on the real “reason for the season” by meditating on the meanings of some of the hundreds of names and titles given in Scripture to the Babe of Bethlehem, whose birth we are celebrating:

“And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

“This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.”

“You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . .  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

We continue this morning with perhaps the most familiar Old Testament prophecy of the Savior’s birth, proclaimed by Isaiah in today’s Old Testament Reading:

“The Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

And His Name Shall Be Called: Immanuel.

“All the lonely people, where do they all come from?  All the lonely people, where do they all belong?”

Have you ever felt alone, really alone?  Deserted, abandoned, no one to turn to?  No cares, no one will help?  Of all the human emotions, none is more painful than loneliness.  Especially when you fear that God himself is no longer there, even he has left you all alone.

In Isaiah’s time the people of Israel thought that God had deserted them.  They were surrounded by their enemies, they feared their nation was about to be overwhelmed.  In the midst of this bad situation, God sent the prophet Isaiah to tell King Ahaz: “Be calm, be not afraid.  Do not lose heart.  Stand firm in your faith.”

Are you too in a bad situation like the people of Israel?  Do you also feel surrounded by forces that you fear will overwhelm you?  Financial problems?  Problems at work?  Problems at school?  Problems within you family?  Problems within your marriage?  Problems with alcohol or drugs?  Problems with peer pressure?  Problems with your faith?  Problems with your church?  Or perhaps one or two or more of these and other problems all put together?  In the midst of your bad situation God says to you: “Be calm, be not afraid.  Do not lose heart.  Stand firm in your faith.”

Isaiah told King Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heavens.”  But King Ahaz refused to trust in God; he refused to believe that God would help; he refused to ask for a sign of the Lord’s love and faithfulness.

Then Isaiah said, “The Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The name Immanuel means “God-with-us.”  God did not desert his people of old; God was with them.  He rescued them from their enemies, the forces that threatened to overwhelm them.  And God will not desert you; God is with you, too.  He will rescue you from the forces that threaten to overwhelm you.

God gave to his people of old a marvelous promise of a miracle, a sign of his love and faithfulness: “The Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.” The people of the Old Testament looked forward in faith to the coming of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, trusting in him as their Savior.  Over 700 years after Isaiah’s prophecy, the promise of the Lord was fulfilled.  Just as Isaiah foretold it, the Savior of the world was born, the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

God came down to earth and took human flesh.  Jesus Christ is God and man in one person, Immanuel, God-with-us.  Made like us in every way except without sin.  The sinless Son of God took your sins upon himself, suffering and dying in your place, shedding his precious blood as a sacrifice for your guilt, earning you full forgiveness.

Jesus Christ is our Savior, our Immanuel, God with us, God with you.  “Be calm, be not afraid.  Do not lose heart.  Stand firm in your faith.”

When you feel surrounded by forces that threaten to overwhelm you, trust in Jesus.  He loves you, he forgives you, he will help you in all your needs.  When you feel surrounded by forces that threaten to overwhelm you, remember the sign the Lord himself has given you, the sign of his love and faithfulness, the sign of his miraculous power, the sign that his promises come true and his word never fails.  Behold, the Virgin did conceive and bore a Son, Immanuel, God-with-us.

Jesus promises, “Lo, I am with you always.”  God is with you.  As the Lord declares in Isaiah, “Fear not, I am with you; be not dismayed, I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you up with my mighty hand.”

You are not alone.  God is with you.  And your brothers and sisters in God’s family of faith are with you, to help you.  Whatever it is that you face, you do not face it alone.  “Be calm, be not afraid.  Do not lose heart.  Stand firm in your faith.”

There’s a song that puts it this way: “I’ll walk with God, I’ll take his hand.  I’ll talk with God, he’ll understand.  I’ll pray to him, each day to him, and I’ll never walk alone for I walk with God.”

“The Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  Immanuel, God-with-us, God with you.

And His Name Shall Be Called: Immanuel. Amen.