- [00:00:00] Now, as we were hearing the Christmas carols being sung, and this famous song, *Silent Night*, Elizabeth sang to us in German, it just brought back a flood of memories because we used to live in Germany before we moved to the United States. Our very first Christmas was a white Christmas. I know everyone loves to have a white Christmas, but our joy of a white Christmas was very short-lived because we had no one to be with us that first Christmas. We were in a new country, speaking a strange language which we had not yet begun to master. - [00:00:36] Our second Christmas turned out to be an even bigger challenge. I remember sitting in front of a doctor in a hospital around Christmas time, feeling terribly sick. He looked into my eyes, and with his cold German accent, he told me that I probably had three years to live, or at most five. That Christmas was one of the saddest I have ever experienced. All sorts of questions flooded my mind: Why me? Why now? And at the end of all those questions came the biggest one that stuck with me: Is God really against me? - [00:01:20] Perhaps that is the experience of some of you this morning. Though there are lights, pomp, and ceremony outside, you still carry a residual sadness. In times of uncertainty, you might get a phone call or walk into your office on a Monday morning, and your boss says, \"Can I have a word with you?\" You already know what\'s going to transpire. A fear grips your heart about what\'s next and where your life is headed. You ask, \"Is God really against me?\" - [00:01:57] The very first Christmas, as experienced by Mary and Joseph, was not calm, clean, or comfortable. It was confusing, disruptive, and almost scandalous. But in the midst of all this chaos and confusion, God gave a message of hope to them and to all of us now. The message is found in Matthew 1:23: \"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.\" - [00:02:45] The central message I want to share with you this morning is that God is with us, not against us. If there is one takeaway about the meaning and essence of Christmas, it is this: God is with us, not against us. - [00:03:23] Germany, as a nation, went through significant advances in science and technology. At one point, technology flourished so much that people began to believe all of life\'s problems could be solved by human effort and scientific advances alone. This is very similar to the vibe here in the Bay Area, isn\'t it? We are the tech capital of the world. We have the power to create alternative realities at our fingertips. We talk about artificial intelligence and how it will radically reshape the next ten years worldwide. We are living right in the center of it. - [00:03:57] It\'s possible to believe, as some big entrepreneurs say, that in ten years there will be no poverty, no need for doctors or teachers. You may start to think, \"Therefore, we don\'t need God.\" That was also the conclusion of Freud, the German philosopher, who famously declared, \"God is dead.\" When a nation believes it can take care of itself and gives God a decent burial, one after another tragic event happens. - [00:04:35] Two world wars killed millions and millions of people. Despite living in the most technologically advanced era in human history, we have fought more wars in this century alone than in all previous centuries combined. This reminds us that science, technology, or faith in human reason have not truly made our lives better, maybe only externally. - [00:05:20] When God looked at us, He did not think, \"Your life just needs an update, like the software on your smart device.\" Nor did He think, \"You need a different job or a better scenario so your life will improve.\" God realized what you and I truly need is a person. So He gave us a person to be with us. That is the essence of Christmas — Emmanuel, God with us. He is not against us. - [00:06:00] This message unfolds in the lives of Mary and Joseph. The first Christmas was not a Hallmark card Christmas. I don\'t know how many of you remember Hallmark greeting cards from years ago. They showed perfect Christmas scenes — families posing in front of Christmas trees. Maybe you\'ll take some pictures today after church; our Christmas can look beautiful and Instagrammable. But the first Christmas was nowhere close to that. It was scandalous. - [00:06:34] When God decided to enter humanity, Jesus came into the world in a very scandalous way. Matthew 1:18 says, \"Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.\" - [00:07:13] The first Christmas nearly upended Mary and Joseph’s lives. Mary was found to be pregnant before marriage, which from a human perspective is devastating. Mary was a teenager — in those days, people were often betrothed between 12 and 16 years old. Teenage years are when a girl is forming her identity, seeking social acceptance, wanting to be liked by her peers. Mary knew exactly what this would mean. Joseph knew even better. They would be ostracized, isolated, looked down upon, and sneered at. - [00:07:52] Mary was a teenager, and Joseph was a righteous man, a good guy. Their future looked almost ruined. They faced fear, shame, rejection, and isolation. This Christmas, perhaps some of you are carrying those same emotions. You may be fearful about the future, ashamed over past actions or decisions, or grieving the loss of a significant person in your life. Contrary to what people say, time does not heal grief. It often hits harder on days like this. You might be asking, \"Is God with me or against me?\" - [00:08:30] Or perhaps your situation is so complicated that you don’t even have the right words or questions. You don’t know how to ask. Let me remind you, my dear friends, you are not strange. You are not alone. You are not experiencing anything new compared to what Jesus\' parents went through. The first Christmas was born in disruption. - [00:09:10] Joseph, a good man, had an exit strategy. Like startups today, which often have exit strategies because only one out of twenty succeed, Joseph wanted to protect his and Mary’s reputations. Matthew 1:19 says, \"And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.\" - [00:09:54] Joseph had an exit plan, but God sent an angel to tell Joseph some amazing good news. Back home during that Christmas season, after receiving devastating news, we felt so alone. We had just made friends with a German couple, Haiko and Morena Miller. Haiko was an eye surgeon working long hours at the university hospital. Yet, he came straight to be with us. His presence for those five days mattered greatly during our pain and turmoil. It was God’s way of saying, \"No, I am with you.\" - [00:10:37] God literally sent someone into our lives who opened our spiritual eyes to see that He had not left us alone and would never leave us alone, my dear friends. The angel\'s message to Joseph was to remind him he was not alone. Matthew 1:20 says, \"But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David...\" - [00:11:16] The Christmas account is written by Matthew, one of Jesus\' disciples and a tax collector. Tax collectors were meticulous and recorded every detail with precision. Matthew traces Jesus’ genealogy from Abraham to Joseph. Interestingly, the angel calls Joseph \"son of David,\" though David was his great-great-great-grandfather who lived centuries earlier. - [00:11:56] Why does the angel call Joseph \"son of David\"? In Silicon Valley, pedigree matters—where you studied, who you know, your job history. Joseph’s resume wasn’t impressive; he was a carpenter from a forgotten town. Mary reminded Joseph that he was a descendant of King David, a man who rose from shepherd to powerful king—a perfect \"rags to riches\" story. - [00:12:36] Yet David was not happy or satisfied. Even at his peak, something was wrong in his heart. He abused his power to take another man’s wife and kill her husband. His selfishness blinded him to the hurt he caused others. - [00:13:25] That’s why we also hurt one another. The Bible calls this sin—putting trust in something other than God to find fulfillment and value. God could have rejected David, but He didn’t. He sent a prophet to confront him, and David responded. Eventually, David was called “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts). - [00:14:03] God didn’t just restore David; He made a covenant—a promise—that one of David’s descendants would be king, not just of one nation, but of the whole world, ruling perfectly in peace and redeeming all people. Mary wanted Joseph to remember who his God was: a promise-keeping God who always fulfills His covenant. - [00:14:42] God did not write off David because of his failures. Instead, He promised that the Messiah would come through David’s lineage. Joseph was grappling with fear about the future, but the angel told him explicitly, \"Do not fear.\" - [00:15:23] Matthew 1:22-23 says, \"Take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.\" Mary and Joseph didn’t struggle with what to name their child. Jesus is the Old Testament equivalent of Joshua, which means \"God saves.\" - [00:16:46] Joseph would have known Joshua, who led God’s people into the promised land. This son, conceived supernaturally, would be the fuller and better Joshua. The angel made it explicit: Jesus would save His people from their sins, including Joseph. - [00:17:27] The name Jesus means \"the one who saves,\" not just a self-help teacher or moral example. Some think of Jesus as a guru or a political activist, but the problem in the world is not external systems; it is sin in our hearts. - [00:18:06] Instead of coming in judgment, God steps into our story. The prophecy says, \"They shall call his name Emmanuel,\" meaning God with us—not watching from afar, not disappointed and waiting for us to fail, but present and near to save. - [00:18:45] If you are a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley with multiple startups and technologies to change the world, you know it’s not easy to gain access to influential people. But God came to us as a vulnerable baby—safe, unthreatening. When we see a baby, our first instinct is to hold and care for it. That’s how God entered the world: to invite us to touch Him, feel Him, and experience Him. - [00:19:30] This promise fulfilled what the Lord spoke through a prophet 735 years before Jesus was born. At that time, a king’s people were under threat and feared God was against them. God’s prophecy was a sign: He was with them, symbolized by the birth of a son, a sign of extended life and blessings. - [00:20:56] Yet God’s people continued to stray, became scattered, and God stopped speaking for 400 years. Then He began to speak again—not through another prophet, but to Mary, a teenage girl, and Joseph. God kept His promise then, and He is keeping it now. - [00:21:39] The message of Christmas is that whatever your pain, suffering, or unanswered questions, God is with you, not against you. Romans 8:28 says He makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him. He wants you to receive His love this Christmas as a free gift. - [00:22:17] Jesus is God’s free and best gift. When someone gives you a gift, you don’t ask how much it costs or how you can earn it—that would be rude. The best thing to do is accept it. If you have received Jesus, if you have experienced God’s presence in tough times, I invite you to a worship service coming up on the 31st. - [00:22:53] This is not just a pep talk. If you have experienced Jesus’ presence, you have a responsibility. We are called to be with those going through pain, challenges, and suffering. Haiko Miller didn’t just stay with us for five days. He was not just a casual helper. - [00:23:24] Haiko and his wife Morena went to Africa, to a tiny village where 70% of people are blind due to vitamin A deficiency. They spent 20 years restoring eyesight, one person at a time. Eventually, they started a Christian blind mission, training indigenous African doctors to perform surgery and open the eyes of people living in darkness so they could see light. - [00:24:04] If Jesus has come and His Holy Spirit has lit a light in our hearts to expose our need through sin, pain, and suffering so we can experience God’s presence, then we are called to be that presence for those hurting around us. - [00:24:40] The Bible consistently talks about social justice—from Genesis to Revelation—how God’s heart cares for orphans, widows, and the poor. We are called to express God’s Emmanuel presence in the lives of those around us. - [00:25:02] May I encourage you this Christmas season: there is someone in your family or church going through a difficult time. You can be God’s presence to them. You can be a Haiko Miller to them. You can light up their lives and open their eyes to see that God is with them, not against them.