Pastor's Corner: God with us … Really!

As we celebrate Christmas and move toward the end of 2020, so many people are experiencing what Saint John of the Cross called the “dark night of the soul” — a time and/or season of life in which we are lonely, out of touch with God, and just struggling to get by day-by-day. It is during these times that we desperately need to move beyond thinking about God’s presence to experiencing it. Matthew 1:23 states 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” You and I need to experience “Immanuel moments” — personal “God with me” encounters. We can go beyond singing about Jesus being “God with us” and really experience Him as such. Today is the perfect time to prepare our hearts to receive anew the blessings of God’s abiding presence.

There are four key ingredients to Immanuel “God With Us” moments:

1. We can interact with God in deeply meaningful ways.

2. The Bible declares in so many ways that God is committed to being with His people.

3. We need to assume a posture of expectancy toward the Holy Spirit.

4. We must take the initiative to draw near to God.

#1 — We can interact with God in deeply meaningful ways. So often we, as people function as deists. We believe that God exists but He’s not really with us. We assume that God created the universe and then withdrew from it, leaving it to run according to natural laws. So many of us who claim to believe in God are content to live each day in a way that’s essentially without the experience of His empowering presence. We need to remember that God is a real, personal, relational, Trinitarian Being with whom we can interact in deeply meaningful ways. And thanks to the incarnation of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we can not only conceptualize God, but we can also experience Him. He really can be with us! There is truly a vast difference between a real relationship with God and a merely philosophical faith or formalistic religion based on rules and rituals. A real relationship with God and personal experiences with Him are possible.

#2 — The Bible declares in so many ways that God is committed to being with His people. We must become convinced of how eager God is to interact with us in empowering, transformational, life-shaping ways. The notion that God is committed to being with His people permeates biblical witness. The Book of Psalms repeatedly points to the reality of God being present with His people, God surrounding His people, and God being ever available as a Source of personal guidance and empowerment. The possibility of experiencing the presence of God is a major theme in the Old Testament. But there is always a danger of self-sabotage. In the Old Testament of the Bible, tragically, God’s covenant people kept pushing Him away. They continually engaged in acts of sabotage. Their hearts were hard and prone to wander. As a result, they proved to be incapable of experiencing God with them in the enduring manner that God desired. But Romans 5:20 tells us that God’s grace was greater: 20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.

The prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming of a righteous servant whose substitutionary suffering would atone for sins and make reconciliation with God possible. Isaiah also spoke of the birth of a future messianic king: Isaiah 9:6-7 — 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. This witness of the Old Testament to the importance of God’s presence brings a sense of hopeful anticipation. It looks forward to the time when the Messiah would arrive on the scene and make things right. Isaiah 7:14 — 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.[a] Many New Testament scriptures portray Jesus Himself assuring His followers of His perpetual presence. Other New Testament scriptures speak of the amazing possibility of an ongoing mentoring relationship with the risen Christ by means of His indwelling Holy Spirit. According to the New Testament, the events of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost combine to create the potential for us to experience the power and presence of God. Possessing the potential as Spirit-filled believers to experience a moment-by-moment mentoring relationship with the incarnate and risen Christ doesn’t do us any good if we’re not alive to the Holy Spirit’s moving in our lives. So, there’s a third ingredient if we’re to totally experience “God with us.”

#3 — We need to assume a posture of expectancy toward the Holy Spirit. Just s God the Father can be conceived of in an impersonal manner and reduced to a mere idea, concept, or force — so can God’s Holy Spirit = presumption. It’s one thing to say we believe in the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s another thing to seek Him, wait on Him, and expect Him to impact us in meaningful life-transforming, ministry-engendering ways = expectation. Presuming and believing without expectation is like pulling the power cord on our walk with Christ. The sad reality is it’s possible for the life-giving, transformational work of the Holy Spirit to be resisted, grieved, rejected, and quenched. ACTS 7:51 — 51 “You stiff-necked[a] and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Ephesians 4:30 — 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 1 Thessalonians 4:8; 5:19 — 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who[a] has also given us His Holy Spirit. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. Really experiencing “God with us” — life-story shaping encounters with the incarnate and risen Jesus — requires that we assume as additional posture of expectancy toward the Holy Spirit, rather than simply presuming His presence in our lives. We must learn to live each day aware of, in touch with, and responsive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings in our lives.

#4 — We must take the initiative to draw near to God. This is especially necessary in times of intense spiritual attack when we might wonder whether He’s really there. There comes a time when we get desperate for a personal encounter with God. James 4:7-10 — 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. The way to defeat the devil is not to battle him yourself, but by drawing near to God. Proximity to God matters! If we want to experience “God With Us,” we sometimes must “Come Near” to Him in a proactive manner, essentially defying the devil in the process.

In closing, God is a personal God who is eager to be with us. He is a speaking, communicating God who, through the incarnation of His Son and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit, wants to mentor us in a moment-by-moment manner through the entirety of our lives, even in our darkest hours. But for us to really experience “God with us,” four (4) things are necessary:

1. We can interact with God in deeply meaningful ways.

2. The Bible declares in so many ways that God is committed to being with His people.

3. We need to assume a posture of expectancy toward the Holy Spirit.

4. We must take the initiative to draw near to God.

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The Rev. Edroy “Curt” Curtis is president of the Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association; Northern Montana Care Center chaplain, and lead pastor of Havre Assembly of God Church