Advent Series - Love | Rev'd. Walter Macdaniel Nakan

 

Advent Series (4) - LOVE

Fr. Walter Macdaniel Nakan

21.12.2025

                                                                                                                                                     

Text: Isaiah 7:10 – 16; Romans 1:1 – 17; Matthew 1:18 – end.

 

Title: Love is…Immanuel.

 

I would love to borrow Paul’s admonishing remarks from his letter to the Romans to address all of you this morning; “I am obligated both to [Christians and non-Christians], both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in [this church]” (Romans 1:14 – 15) this morning. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the [all of us]. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last.” (Romans 1:16 – 17). And that power is not some impersonal force but rather personal and ever-presence; Immanuel. 

This week is the final portion of the Advent series before the ultimate conclusion through my Christmas message, and we end our Advent with the theme of love: a familiar word and yet many of us misunderstand its strength and its true definition. Hence, many of us stuck in the idea of transactional or emotional “love” that oftentimes fleeting just as the emotion will.

As usual, the narrative of this sermon will bring us through the idea of past, future, and present. So, let us take a look together.

                                                                                                                                                     

Persistent Love of God (Isaiah 7:10 – 16)

    We have the tendency to rely on the tangible strength or help when we are in deep trouble. That has always been the human nature. Evidently in the context of the Old Testament reading today, we read that King Ahaz of Judah was being challenged to ask for a sign. Innocently, without reading the whole context, we would think that this is God being generous and Ahaz showing the correct response as a king; being pious and humble. However, God sees through his false-piety and insist on showing him a sign of His love – that He will be with them; Immanuel. King Ahaz practiced a 'fragmented devotion.' He used pious language to hide his political schemes. How often do we do the same? We praise God on Sunday, but when life gets 'manageable,' we rely on our own alliances. We treat God’s word as a luxury rather than a necessity. Yet, God’s response to our faithlessness is not withdrawal—it is Immanuel. He insists on being with us even when we try to push Him away.

    In response to this illness, God has the same prophecy for us as He did to Jerusalem, through Isaiah; He is with us. (Emphasis on the present-tense)

                                                                                                                                                      

Virgin birth, a Son; Immanuel

    There is something about God’s promises in Old Testament, that though we always see it through the lens of Gospel’s fulfilment, it is also not uncommon for God’s prophecies to be fulfilled in the near future or further in the future. In this case, it is both. Through Isaiah (in chapter 8), God fulfilled His promise – through Isaiah’s wife and son (if we understand the original language of the prophecy, the word does not actually mean virgin but rather young woman), of the promise of salvation from the besieging of Israel and Syria two years after the prophecy declared (verse 16). Now, through this simple prophecy, we can establish a way to understand it. Virgin-birth and the son are the signs of the product of the prophecy – that is the salvation.

    That is also the case for Jesus’ birth. Parallel in nature – a young woman ready to marry gave birth to the promise Son. Both sons (in Israel past history and during Jesus’ time) become the sign of God’s testament of power to save; that is by being present in the history of His people. Both in the past, present, as well as future. Now, if we really want to discuss on the prime example of great love, consistency is on top of it. This prophecy is an important reminder that God has always been there with His people in spite of our insistence to push Him away.

    And worth mentioning is the fact that God is willing to be present in our lives not only in our strength but also weakness; while pregnancy may sounds like a good news, but to a betrothed young woman, that news was her lowest point. Yet, God’s presence brought peace and joy to her then. Likewise, things may seem to not go according to our plan in life, but God’s promise of His presence to be with us will bring peace and joy to us.

                                                                                                                                                     

Love is…Immanuel

    The culmination of Advent series that ends with love befitting of a great ending. This sermon series by itself may not be the greatest, however, what the Word of God has spoken to me (and hopefully to some of us) through this series could tether us firmly to the promise of ultimate salvation. At the end of the day, the reason we have Hope is because God loves us. The reason we have true shalom/peace is because of God’s love (John 3:16). And the reason for our great joy is from knowing that God insistently love us that He is being patience in executing His judgement of this world (2 Peter 3:9).

    At the present day, as we await judgement that will usher in ultimate salvation for all who believes, understandably we will face many uncertainties or even being deprived of love to the point that we may no longer believe in love or even to share the love. But, here is the comfort, until we experience God’s immense love for us, we can never share the true love to others. And what other way can we experience His immense love for us than through His Son Jesus Christ?

    As you struggle again this week to love yourself or allowing yourself being loved by others or even to love others, turn to Jesus – Immanuel who dwell with us. He understands the evil of this world caused the deprivation of love, and He has come to redeem it and will come again to reign over it. This Christmas, it can be overwhelming to some of us, but, may I encourage you to take a step back from the crowd and go to Jesus our Immanuel in your silence as you remember that He is the power of salvation that God has given to us in order to fill our tank to show love to one another (especially when it is the most difficult). That power is not impersonal or some force to displays might, but rather God’s personal and real presence in our lives. And where Jesus is present, the hope becomes reality, the peace becomes real, the joy becomes everlasting, and love overflows. Amen.