“Not Alone- Not Forsaken- Not Silent”  Dr. J. Ben Sloan   Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-7 ; Mt. 1:18-23

      This week new billboards went up around Columbia.  They are Atheist’s billboards that say- “Don’t believe in God?- you are not aloneTheir point was that they are not the only ones- that there are many atheists- so be encouraged.  .”  I would contend with that.  Atheists are the most alone.  Atheists believe you come into the world alone- with no ultimate meaning or hope, and you leave the world alone- with no ultimate meaning or hope.  Atheists believe there is no one to thank at Thanskgiving but themselves- and this too is pretty lonely.   Someone asked the famous atheist Alduous Huxley what he missed most in not  believing in God- He said, “Knowing you are not alone in the universe.”

    In this first season of advent- we remember that we wait for God to come to us. The good news is “He comes”- and we are really not alone.  He is “God with us.”  Immanuel.  Today I want us to explore what “Immanuel” means- It literally could be translated “You are not alone.”

I. WE HAVE SOMEONE TO PRAY TO AND TALK TO- God came to earth.  1 John 1 speaks of that as “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God [talking about Jesus].  And the Word became flesh- that is, came to live with us. Because God is with us we may talk to Him- Prayers for help and thanksgiving.  In our passage Isaiah was talking to the unbelieving King- Ahaz.  Ahaz was the king who had nailed the Temple doors shut. He was like the atheist king. When the enemies of Judah- the armies of Israel and Syria surrounded Jerusalem, Ahaz totally panicked and freaked out.  Isaiah, came to him and  pointed out that there was help- and it was in the form of God.  The child Immanuel was a sign of God’s help and deliverance for them.  The angel told Joseph in a dream that Jesus was Immanuel too- a deliverer- a Savior-the name Jesus means the Lord saves.
     When you are in the desert and there is no human being around for miles- you are not alone.  The widow is not alone.  The orphan is not alone.  The ones at Thornwell know this.  Today you have an opportunity to give to Thornwell directly through the envelopes in your pew racks- we do this every Thanksgiving time.  The people who believe support Thornwell.  It was started as an orphanage after the Civil War.  Today it serves kids who have been abused, abandoned, neglected, or whose parents cannot afford to keep them.  Rather than being pushed out on the street, they have been welcomed in by the church.   If you go to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil there are street kids everywhere. Becca Hancock can testify to the needs of the orphans in Uganda.  I will never forget stepping over a young child sleeping on the sidewalk in Iquitos Peru right before sun up as Ray Peterson and I were trying to see the sun rise over the Amazonian plain.  The child was just lying there with a piece of cardboard under his head.  We saw many more lying outside with no shelter. The church is not strong in these places. But it has been strong here.  We know God does not leave us alone, and we seek to be a help to others who are alone- the widow and the orphan.  

     Thanksgiving is not- as some would re-write history- about simply thanking each other.  Anyone may turn it into that.  But if you believe God blesses, then  we have someone to thank. When Continental Congress made the first Thanksgiving proclamation it was to thank God and ask for His help.  When Washington and Lincoln made their seminal proclamations it was to thank God.  The Pilgrims ralled around each other and made peace with the Indians.  The Pilgrims thanked God.  The Pilgrims had their numbers decimated to half, and it looked like that half were starving to death until an Indian named Samoset introduced another indian named  Squanto.  Squanto had been captured as a slave, but bought by some clergy who taught him English and the Bible.  When he came back to America, his tribe had been wiped out by disease.  But being alone, he was not alone.  As Governor Bradford said, “Squanto was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation.” Though alone, he went to the Pilgrims- who were also alone- and taught them to fish, hunt, and helped them make pece with the Indians around them. Thanksgiving is a time to take stock of your blessings, but also remember who is the blesser.  It is not simply a time to pat ourselves on the back.  The Pilgrims did not just each other for pulling together- or even thank the Indians who had come to join them for a meal.  They had someone to thank.  It is a lonely thing when you believe there is no one to thank but yourself.  Advent/Christmas is a season of wonder and a season of thanksgiving.  That there is no hope of eternal life, and no ultimate righting of wrongs.  The Good News is God is not silent- He has spoken by His Son, and we can speak to Him through prayer and thanksgiving.

II. WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP US- IMMANUEL- God is with us to deliver us- from enemies. Immanuel- he will save his people from sin.  Jesus means the Lord saves.  Let’s face it, there are times when we all need a little help.
A. WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE WE NEED HELP- First of the 12 steps is to admit need help. It is a sad thing when people do not recognize they need help outside of themselves or even outside of humanity.  When the iceberg hit the Titanic, for hours people did not believe the ship was sinking- which caused many to die needlessly.   Last April there were tornadoes in Oklahoma, Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and 43 people lost their lives- many- according to the media most of them needlessly- because they did not heed the tornado warnings. Last April a man was driving down the road with his 12 year old son in North Carolina- heard the tornado warnings, even saw the tornado.  He could have stopped his car, but he continued to drive- right into the tornado!  God does not leave us without warning signals- danger signs- but signals, signs, warnings do no good when we shut our ears and refuse to listen.  When you are having a hard time breathing or when your heart is pounding without stopping or you have severe pain- you go to a doctor- you heed the warning signs of your body.  Yet many refuse to go to the Great Physician for help- we refuse to stop the problem.   
B. GOD OFFERS HELP- Many times in scripture it says, “I will not leave you nor forsake you.”  The greatest visible symbol of that is that Jesus came down to earth for us. When you go through the hard times of life- when you lose your job, your health, your joy,  your relationship, when you can hardly put one foot in front of the other; when you go through the valley of the shadow of death- you are not alone.

God is not blind that He cannot see.  God is not deaf that He cannot hear.  God’s arm is not so short that He cannot help us.  

III. COMMUNITY IS FORMED WHEN WE RECOGNIZE OUR MAKER-  not just a bunch of individual units thrown together by accident.  Not every man for himself or every woman for herself.  There is no really good answer why we should love if there is no God of love.  If we live according to our feelings and nature- then selfishness- or group selfishness- family/nation reigns.
Where are the atheist orphanages?  Where are the atheist soup kitchens?  It is not an accident that We Care-the only food pantry this side of the lake, was founded by the churches; that most homeless shelters are affiliated with religious organizations.  It is no accident that Habitat for Humanity was founded on Christian principles. Or that the first hospitals in the west were Christian- and many still are- and have names like Providence in Columbia, or Baptist, or St. Francis in Charleston or Greenville or St. Joseph in Asheville.  Love for neighbor comes from love of God.  When you take away love for God- there may be numbers of people, but there is a vast aloneness.  Ask the people of the Soviet Union about their grayness and loneliness during the soviet era.
    The title “Immanuel” is interesting.  In Isaiah 8 Canaan is called “Immanuel’s land.” In other passages Canaan is called “God’s land.” Thus Immanuel is identified with God.  When Jesus was born the angel in Matthew calls him “Immanuel” which means “God with us.” 

You can be surrounded by people and still be alone.  In fact, sociologists tell us that one of the loneliest places on earth are big cities.  Sociologists describe loneliness as not having anyone to discuss important matters with.  Estimates are between 42 to 60 million Americans meet this definition.  Wikipedia says that the number of lonely people has increased dramatically since 1984 (by about one third), as on average Americans have two people to talk to about important matters instead of three.  I think it is interesting that the atheists put their billboard up during the holidays, for the holidays are some of the loneliest times for people.  Those who are grieving, those who have gone through divorce, those who are isolated because of sickness, business travel or military service.  There is a reason “I’ll be home for Christmas” is still a well-played song.  There are many who do not believe, but that does not mean they are not lonely.  Christians can be lonely too.  But we at least we have someone to talk to, someone who cares, who has come for us, who calls us outside of ourselves into community and love. 

In the end, Home is where your God is.  God has come down to us to invite us back home- back to Him.  So, this Advent/Christmas, you too are invited back.  No, it is true- you are not alone in the universe.  God has spoken- the Word became flesh.  Immanuel has come.