BY JONATHAN A. THOMPSON

The following was first presented as a sermon at the DuPont Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, D.C. We leave intact many of the elements of oral delivery.--Editors.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:22, 23).

OO OFTEN, ALL THAT GOVERNMENTS have for minorities, the poor, the needy, the undereducated, and the disadvantaged is poor advice. Pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps.

The truth of the matter is that in a haves versus have-nots, racially polarized society, many people on the bottom of the economic ladder have not had boots--much less bootstraps. How ironic that many of the hard-nosed advocates of the "I've got mine" approach are religious fundamentalists, born-again superpatriots.

What is the proper response to people with genuine needs? The best approach to people at risk, the best approach to people in trouble, the best approach to people in dire need, is the approach that God has used in responding to us. The incarnation of God's Son is not only the greatest mystery of all time; it's the greatest act of benevolence in all history.

If you're not an evolutionist, you have to ask yourself the question: Why are so many people fallen, down and out, in dire need, without the basic necessities of life, and apparently with no way of getting what they need? Did a step in the evolutionary process not take place? If you're an evolutionist, you might think that, well, they came from monkeys or amoebas or something of the sort, and it just didn't complete its growth.

But if you believe in the Word of God, which says that all people--big ones, small ones, fat ones, skinny ones, White ones, Black ones, Yellow ones--were made in the image of God to stand upright, if you believe that, then you have to ask the question: What happened to knock so many of 'em down?

How the Mess Got Started
It started in Eden. A perfect environment, a perfect world with perfect people. But all it took was one decision. All it took was one step. All it took was one act of disobedience. It doesn't matter how big it is. It doesn't matter what it is. When you separate yourself from the Word of God, from the plan of God, from the promises of God, you cannot help falling. You see, there's nothing we can do to improve on anything that God has done. If it's in here [pointing to the Bible], it's right! If it's in here, it's exactly what we need! If it's the Word of God, it's what will lift us up and keep us from falling.

By the time the Incarnation took place, humanity had fallen to its lowest ebb, and there was political unrest and social upheaval. Right was equated with might. The secular and the profane were elevated above the sacred and the holy. Human reason outweighed every "thus saith the Lord." Moral judgment was perverted by lustful desires. Justice was for sale to the highest bidder. Human life was of little value. And false gods, made in human images, were worshiped throughout the world while the true and living God was held in disdain. Even the leaders of Judaism were corrupted by secular philosophy and by their own religious traditions.

The prophecy of Isaiah 60:2 was indeed true. Isaiah had said, "Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." It had come to pass by the time of the Incarnation. Adam and each generation succeeding him had wandered further and further away from God. And without God, the world is without light. Without God, the world is without love. Without God, the world is without grace. Without God, the world is without peace. It's without justice; without mercy; without hope; without life. Without God, we are hopelessly lost in our transgressions. Without God, we are hopelessly entangled in our iniquities. Without God, we are hopelessly bound to our lusts. And without God, we are hopelessly trapped in our weaknesses. In other words, without God there is no hope.

I want you to notice, however, that God's response to suffering and deprivation, God's response to human need, is totally different from ours. A man is caught in the rushing floodwaters of a river. (This is an illustration--it didn't happen.) As circumstances would have it, he comes close enough to a tree limb to grab on to. But his hands are wet and slippery. His body is cold and weak. The man spots some people standing safely on the shore, so he desperately yells out for help. Their response is "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps." Or: "If I were you, I would . . ." or: "What happened to you? How could you let yourself get in such a terrible mess?"

Now, it might be a little better if you told the man, "Hold on, and I'll throw you a flashlight, a dry set of clothing, a compass, and an inflatable raft. And remember, be careful!" It might be a little better than arguing about how he got into that condition. But it's not much better! When we--you and I--were sinking in sin, God didn't give us good counsel. When we were sinking in sin, God didn't debate the pros and the cons of how we became sinful. When we were sinking in sin, God didn't condemn us for our folly and our stupidity. When we were sinking in sin, God didn't throw us a life jacket. God didn't hand us a compass. God didn't put a flashlight in the water. God didn't give us a paddle or a raft. But when we were sinking in sin, God jumped in the water with us--that's what Incarnation is! It's God getting down where we are. It's God getting dirty like us. It's God going where we are, in order to lift us up where we ought to be.

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." To get the full significance of that verse, we have to understand who God is and how God naturally relates to sin.

Never Too Wretched for God
First Timothy 1:17 says: "Now unto the King eternal"--He's a king God. "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God . . ."

Knowledge is one thing. Information is another thing. Understanding is something else. But if you don't have wisdom, if you don't know how to use your knowledge, if you don't know how to apply the information, you can have all the information in--what is that place--the Library of Congress; you can have all the knowledge; but it won't make a bit of difference in how you live. You need wisdom. And God is the only wise, the only one who knows the end from the beginning.

Then Paul says, "Unto . . . the only wise God be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." Add to that what we read in Hebrews 7:26. It says there: "For such an high priest . . ." So He is a king God, an eternal God, an immortal God, an invisible God, the only wise God, the one who is worthy of honor and glory and worship and majesty. Then add to that the fact that He became one with us. He who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (Heb. 7:26). Here you have the holy, righteous God becoming a part of a sinful creation. Look at what it says in Hebrews 12:29: "Our God is a consuming fire." Sin cannot exist in the presence of God without Him doing something to prevent it from being consumed. In other words, God has a zero tolerance policy on sin. But somehow, in some way, for some reason, God has a soft spot for sinners. Hates the deeds, hates the acts, hates the thoughts--but loves the person.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever [don't you like that? whether you have bootstraps or not, whether you have a silver spoon in your mouth, born with privilege and advantage or not!] believeth in him [come on, talk to me] should not perish, but have everlasting life."

So He's not a God removed from us. He is a God with us. He's not a God fed up with our nonsense-He's God with us. He's not a God disgusted with our behavior to the point that He has turned away--He is God with us. He's not God indifferent to us--He is God with us. He's not God warring against us--He is God with us. He's not God off on a vacation somewhere--He is God with us. He's not some absentee landlord. He has not abandoned us. He is God with us, Emmanuel, God with us.

God with us in trials. God with us in disappointments. God with us in tribulations. God with us in trouble. God with us in weakness. God with us in sorrow. God with us in pain. God with us in sickness. God with us in temptation. God with us in adversity. God with us in suffering. God with us in death. Wherever you are, He's God with us. You can't wander too far. You cannot fall too low. You cannot stay in sin too long.

No psychopathic serial killer is too coldhearted for Jesus. No heroin-using, coke-sniffing, crack cocaine-smoking junkie is too addicted for Jesus. No porn-watching, child-molesting deviate is too perverted for Jesus. No three-time-losing death-row inmate is too far gone for Jesus. No full-blown AIDS patient is too contaminated for Jesus. No wife-beating, child-abusing farmer is too despicable for Jesus. No church-bombing, derogatory epitaph-writing, white-hood-wearing racist is too bigoted for Jesus. No womanizing, whoremongering, prostitute-pimping player is too low-down for Jesus. He's God with us.

He's so close to us that in the original language it's not "God with us." It is the "with-us God." Too close to be separated by a preposition, He's God with us.

Think about it: the just doing time for the unjust, the sinless paying the price for the sinful, the righteous dirtying Himself up for the unrighteous, the holy doing it for the unholy. Think about it! Adam and Eve fell in Eden, bringing on the kingdom of darkness. But from Bethlehem, Jesus initiated light--the kingdom of grace. But bless your hearts, one day soon from Mount Zion He's going to initiate the kingdom of glory.

Willpower Won't Work
Before I close, let me just point out something. There is something to be said for willpower. It's just that you can't use it when you're dealing with sin. You can't get rid of AIDS by doing push-ups. There's some validity to emphasizing determination. We need determination. It's just that determination doesn't work on sin. Doing laps won't cure pedophilia. (Hello out there.) You cannot rectify codependency, addiction, or abusive tendencies by doing crunches.

Grit, ego, tenacity, and ambition work fine on Wall Street. But when it comes to sin, they are all powerless. They can't do anything with pride. They cannot do anything with lust. They cannot do anything with envy. They cannot do anything with self-centeredness. They cannot do anything with your temper. They cannot do anything with a spirit of revenge. You see, the sinful mind needs the mind of Jesus. The unregenerate heart needs the blood of Jesus. The iniquity-contaminated will must surrender to the will of Jesus. The only way to get rid of sin is through Holy Ghost power. And you cannot get Holy Ghost power without the power of the blood.

Emmanuel is God with us, making Himself available, inserting Himself into the situation, making possible the impossible, opening doors that are closed and making a way out of "no way."

God came on our side so He could take us on His side. God got into the battle so He could fight our battles for us. God took on our enemy so He could defeat the enemy that had defeated us. The devil wants people to think that all you need are blessings. (Hear me now.) Jesus could have blessed us from heaven, if all you needed were blessings. He could have just written it. He could have just spoken it. He could have just willed it. But what we need is deeper than blessings. More important than the blessing is the One who gives the blessing. You see, you could win the jackpot, but it would be worthless without the God of blessings. You might just get that man or woman of your dreams, but without God your dream can turn into a nightmare. You just may luck up or kiss up into a higher position on your job. Some Fortune 500 company. You may get double-digit raises. But without God you can get all of that, you can get everything the world has to offer, but if it ends there, what have you got? Forty, 50, 60 years in misery and then the end? What you need is the Blesser, not just the blessing!

Who is the Blesser? What is His name? Ask Adam, and Adam will tell you his name is the "seed of the woman" that shall bruise the serpent's head. Who is He? What is His name? Ask Abraham, and Abraham will tell you His name is "Melchizedek, king of Salem," prince of peace. Ask Jacob. Jacob will tell you, He is "Shiloh, of the tribe of Judah." Ask Isaiah, and he will tell you His name is "Wonderful, counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Ask Jeremiah, and he will tell you that He is the branch of David, "the Lord our righteousness." Ask Daniel to take the witness stand, and Daniel will tell you He is the "Messiah," the anointed one to come. Who is He? Ask Hosea. And he will tell you He is "the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial." Ask John the Baptist, and he'll tell you He's the "lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Ask Jehovah Himself, Who is He? And He'll shout from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."

Ask His disciples, and we'll just tell you His name is Jesus. He's our lily of the valley, our bright and morning star, He's the one who's altogether lovely. He is our refuge, He is our rock, He is our shelter in the time of storm.

You can even ask the prince of the powers of darkness, and in the face of Jesus he has to tell the truth. He will say, "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." You see, at the name of Jesus, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.

But ask Jesus, Who are you? Jesus will tell you, "Before Abraham was, I am." "'I am the bread of life.' Are you hungry? I'm bread for the hungry!" Ask Jesus, Who are You? And He'll tell you, "'I am the door.' I am the entrance into the Father's presence." Who are You, Jesus? "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Who are You, Jesus? "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending." He's the start and the finish. He's the author of our salvation.

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Jonathan A. Thompson was pastor of the Dupont Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, D.C., when he delivered this message. He now pastors the Ephesus Adventist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.