Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / God With Us (Part 1)
Transcript
- 0:01Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
- 0:06designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
- 0:09walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
- 0:13the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
- 0:17right in. I want to thank God for this opportunity
- 0:22to bring the word to us. And I also want to thank
- 0:25the asteroid also for this opportunity they have
- 0:29given me. And I pray that as you listen to the
- 0:32word of God, that you're blessed. Amen. So this
- 0:38morning, we're going to be looking at the topic
- 0:43titled, Filled with the Spirit or God with Us.
- 0:57Filled with the Spirit or God with Us. Amen.
- 1:04Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. This
- 1:18is Paul writing to Timothy and he says, in whom
- 1:49are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- 1:54Now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you
- 1:57with persuasive word, for though I am absent
- 2:01in flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing
- 2:06to see your good order and the steadfastness
- 2:09of your faith in Christ. As you, therefore, have
- 2:14received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk in him.
- 2:18rooted and built up in him, established in the
- 2:23faith, as you have been taught, abounding in
- 2:27it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat
- 2:31you through philosophies and empty deceits, according
- 2:36to the tradition of men, according to the basic
- 2:39principles of the world, not according to Christ.
- 2:44For in him dwells all the fullness. of the Godhead
- 2:48bodily, and you are complete in him who is the
- 2:53head of all principalities and power. Amen. You
- 2:57are complete in him. So we see here that he encourages
- 3:03him to be established in faith. And one of the
- 3:07things that we try to do, even in church, how
- 3:10we're doing in church, is to get you to be established
- 3:14in faith. Praise the Lord. that nothing deceives
- 3:18you or nothing cheats you of the power of God
- 3:23or the things that are found in Christ. Praise
- 3:27the Lord. So today we're looking at being filled
- 3:29in the Spirit or, like I said, God in us. He
- 3:34said you're complete in Him in verse 20. You're
- 3:38complete in Him. Praise the Lord. Can somebody
- 3:41say I'm complete in Him? So He wants us to...
- 3:46be established in faith, to be well established
- 3:49in faith. In this season and in this time, it
- 3:54is important that we as children of God continue
- 3:57to grow, continue to know God for ourselves.
- 4:01Praise the Lord. Like I said, what we do here
- 4:04is to show you, or as we teach, is to show you
- 4:09and then you go and find out for yourself. You
- 4:12go and check again. Praise the Lord. As you listen
- 4:15to a teaching, what you do is that you go and
- 4:18read your Bible again to find out if these things
- 4:21are true or if you understand them to be established.
- 4:26Praise the Lord. You need to have a clear understanding
- 4:29of the things of God or the Word of God. Hallelujah.
- 4:37So this is not our main text, but I wanted to
- 4:40just start from there. Praise the Lord. So you
- 4:44need to read further. Right? That you are persuaded
- 4:47by the scriptures. Praise the Lord. He said that
- 4:51even though he's not present with them, praise
- 4:54the Lord, even if you're far away, as most of
- 4:58us are, from home, or even from, as you're far
- 5:02away, let's say even from your pastors in church,
- 5:05as we meet twice in a week, right? That you establish,
- 5:09you're persuaded. Praise the Lord. That you know
- 5:12God for yourself and your lifestyle, It's not
- 5:16that which requires monitoring. Praise the Lord.
- 5:19It's that which is established because you have
- 5:22given yourself to understand the Scriptures.
- 5:25Praise the Lord. We see in Ephesians 5, verse
- 5:2818, God also tells there that be filled with
- 5:32the Spirit. Ephesians 5, verse 18. He tells them
- 5:38what? To be filled with the Spirit. To be filled
- 5:42with the Spirit. Well, let's just go to our main
- 5:44text. Matthew chapter 28, as you've been doing,
- 5:48or as I've been doing for a while now, Matthew
- 5:51chapter 28, Matthew chapter 28 and verse 18 to
- 5:5720. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,
- 6:02All authority has been given me in heaven and
- 6:05on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of
- 6:09all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
- 6:12Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. teaching
- 6:16them to observe all things that I have commanded
- 6:18you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the
- 6:23end of the age. So we're looking at this, we
- 6:25want to understand what he means by saying that
- 6:28I am with you always. I am with you even to the
- 6:33end of the age. Mark chapter 16, Mark chapter
- 6:3916, the same thing, Mark chapter 16 verse 15.
- 6:46Mark 16, verse 15. And he said to them, Go into
- 6:59all the world and preach the gospel to every
- 7:01creature. He who believes and is baptized will
- 7:04be saved, for he who does not believe will be
- 7:07condemned. These signs will follow those who
- 7:09believe. In my name they will cast out demons,
- 7:12they will speak with new tongues, they will take
- 7:16up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly,
- 7:19it will by no means hurt them. They will lay
- 7:22their hands on the sick, and the sick will recover.
- 7:26So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, he
- 7:28was received up into heaven and sat down at the
- 7:32right hand of God. And they went out and preached
- 7:35everywhere, the Lord walking with them and confirming
- 7:39their word through accompanying signs. We're
- 7:41also going to look at this word, the Lord walking
- 7:43with them. Praise the Lord. The same thing that
- 7:46he's saying as Matthew, he said, I'm with you
- 7:48always, right? The Lord walking with them. Praise
- 7:52the Lord. We go back to that Matthew chapter
- 7:5728, and we see two things there, right? Or we
- 8:02see something there, or we pay attention to what
- 8:06is written there. It said, I am with you always,
- 8:08verse 20, even to the end of the age. So this
- 8:13word, I am with you, right? It's a proper name,
- 8:17right? It is a name. So it's not just a set of
- 8:23pronouns, right? It's a proper name. Praise the
- 8:26Lord. I am with you is a proper name, right?
- 8:32We also see something that is something similar
- 8:36to this in Exodus chapter 3, verse 14. Exodus
- 8:41chapter 3, verse 14. And God said to Moses, I
- 8:50am who I am. Or you can say, I will be what I
- 8:55will be. I am who I am, right? And he said, told
- 9:00you shall say to the children of Israel, I am
- 9:03have sent you. What does that mean? It's a name.
- 9:06Somebody has sent you. I am who I am. I am has
- 9:11sent you. So he's saying that someone has sent
- 9:16you and that I am is a person. Praise the Lord.
- 9:19It is someone. I am who I am or I will be what
- 9:23I will be. It's the word haya, right? H -A -Y
- 9:28-A or Yahweh. Praise the Lord. The same thing
- 9:32as saying Yahweh has sent you. Praise the Lord.
- 9:36It's also the same thing as egomai. Praise the
- 9:41Lord. It's a Greek word, egomai. E -G -O -E -I
- 9:48-M -I. E -G -O -E -I -M -I. Egomai. And in its
- 9:58fullness, right, I am. with you, that is what
- 10:02we saw in Matthew chapter 28, is egomai met haimon.
- 10:08I'm going to spell it. Egomai met haimon. It's
- 10:12E -G -O -E -I -M -I -M -E -T -A -H -Y -M -O -N.
- 10:32Egomai met haimon. I am with you. Praise the
- 10:36Lord. He's saying that I am with you is God's
- 10:40name. Praise the Lord. Yahweh, as I've said,
- 10:45Yahweh or Hayah. Praise the Lord. So he's saying
- 10:49that, so God's name is I am with you. Praise
- 10:54the Lord. God's name is what? I am with you.
- 11:00Not just I am, but I am with you. Praise the
- 11:03Lord. So we see that in the gospel. He's not
- 11:05just saying that I am, as we see here, I am who
- 11:08I am. but he's saying, I am with you. That is
- 11:12God's name, that God is with you. So this shows,
- 11:19right, God's everlasting covenant to say, I am
- 11:23with you. Praise the Lord. So this is showing
- 11:27God's everlasting covenant to say that I am with
- 11:31you. He's saying that I will not leave you nor
- 11:36forsake you. Praise the Lord. He's saying, I
- 11:40will not leave you nor forsake you. I am with
- 11:43you. And he said, God walking with them. Praise
- 11:47the Lord. So God is not apart from them. Praise
- 11:51the Lord. God walking with them. Let's go back
- 11:54to that Mark and see this walking with them.
- 11:57Mark chapter 16, verse 20. Verse 20, he says
- 12:02what? And they went out and preached everywhere.
- 12:05The Lord walking with them through accompanying
- 12:09signs. Praise the Lord. The Lord walking. with
- 12:13them. So the Lord is working with them. Praise
- 12:17the Lord. So if we say that, for example, as
- 12:20a church, we work together. Let's say different
- 12:22departments work together. And we give example
- 12:26that Femi is in the ushering department and God's
- 12:33voice is in the media. Praise the Lord. So although
- 12:36they work in the same organization or they work
- 12:40in the same church, but They are not doing the
- 12:43same thing. Praise the Lord. They are not doing
- 12:46the same thing. Although they walk in the same
- 12:48place, right? They are not doing the same thing.
- 12:51But this, this word, the Lord walking with them
- 12:55is not the same. It's not the same as somebody
- 12:59being in the same organization, but performing
- 13:01different roles. Praise the Lord. It's not the
- 13:04same as that, right? I am, or the Lord walking
- 13:12with them. He's saying that. He is working together
- 13:16with them. Praise the Lord. He is working together
- 13:20with them. We see the same word in Romans chapter
- 13:258. Romans chapter 8, verse 28. He said, For we
- 13:35know that all things work together for good to
- 13:39those who love the Lord and to those who are
- 13:41called according to his purpose. This thing,
- 13:44all things work together for good, right? All
- 13:48things work together for good. It's the same
- 13:50thing as saying, working with them, right? It's
- 13:55a Greek word, S -Y -N -E -R -G -E -O, sunageho,
- 14:10right? Sunageho. That's what it means, working
- 14:14with them. We also see the same thing in 1 Corinthians
- 14:1816, verse 16, for laboring together. 1 Corinthians
- 14:2416, verse 16, that you also submit to such and
- 14:35to everyone who works and labors with you. The
- 14:39same thing as that place, laboring with us. 2
- 14:44Corinthians 6, verse 1. 2 Corinthians 6, verse
- 14:491. We then, as workers together with him, also
- 14:59plead with you. Plead with you not to receive
- 15:03the grace of God in vain. We then as walkers
- 15:07wait. Right? It's that word. Tsunageho. So, and
- 15:15we also see the same thing in James chapter 2.
- 15:18James chapter 2. James chapter 2. James chapter
- 15:252 verse 21 to 22. Was not Abraham our father
- 15:32justified by the works when he offered up Isaac
- 15:36his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was
- 15:42working together with his work? And by works,
- 15:45faith was made perfect. Praise the Lord. So you
- 15:49see what? See that faith was working, what? With
- 15:53his work. Or working together with his work.
- 15:57It's that same word we see there. So it means
- 16:00that we are seeing his faith by his work. That
- 16:05is from this place. Right? We also see that in
- 16:09Romans chapter 16, verse 3, an adjective of this
- 16:14word, sonageho. Romans chapter 16, verse 3. He
- 16:19said, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers
- 16:23in Christ. My fellow workers, right? It's that
- 16:26same word. And then we also see in verse 21 of
- 16:33that same Romans chapter 16. He said, Timothy,
- 16:37my fellow worker. Praise the Lord. Timothy, my
- 16:41fellow workers. So it means that they are working
- 16:45together. Praise the Lord. It means that they
- 16:49are working together. When he says working with
- 16:53them, right? We saw in Mark chapter 16, verse
- 16:5820, right? He's talking about that they are working
- 17:01together to achieve the same goal. Praise the
- 17:04Lord. They are working together to achieve the
- 17:07same goal. God is saying that what God is working
- 17:10with them with a company sign. He said that God
- 17:13was working with the disciples, right? They were
- 17:16working together to achieve the same goal. So
- 17:20their goals and their priorities were alike.
- 17:23Praise the Lord. So when he says working with
- 17:25them, he's saying that they are achieving the
- 17:27same thing. Their goals and their priorities
- 17:30were the same. So, but it's actually quite stronger
- 17:37than that. It's not just that they were working
- 17:39together to achieve the same goal. Praise the
- 17:41Lord. It means one walking through the other,
- 17:46praise the Lord, and vice versa, right? It's
- 17:50not just that they are walking together, you
- 17:52know, we agree on the same thing. Let's say Femi,
- 17:55who is in the ushering department with Caroline,
- 17:58they're in the same place. They are walking together
- 18:00to achieve the same goal in the church ordination,
- 18:03getting people to see properly and all of that.
- 18:05But he's saying he's just greater than that,
- 18:07right? That word walking. That word walking with
- 18:12them is saying that one is walking through the
- 18:16other and vice versa. Praise the Lord. It means
- 18:18that there is no separation. Hallelujah. It means
- 18:22there is no separation. Fellow workers, people
- 18:29who are doing the same thing, who are walking
- 18:33the same way. Praise the Lord. So when he says,
- 18:37or when you say that you have the spirit of God
- 18:40in the inside of you, right? It means that you're
- 18:42saying that you and God are working the same
- 18:44way. Praise the Lord. You're saying that you
- 18:48and God are working the same way, right? That
- 18:51your goals are the same. Praise the Lord. You're
- 18:55fellow workers. Hallelujah. Philemon chapter
- 19:011 verse 1. We see that same word again. Fellow
- 19:05laborers. Philemon chapter 1 verse 1. Fellow
- 19:10laborers. So it means that God is working, right?
- 19:17Philemon chapter 1, it said, Paul, a prisoner
- 19:19of Christ, and Timothy, a brother, to Philemon,
- 19:22a beloved friend and fellow laborer. Praise the
- 19:28Lord. Fellow laborers. So it means that God was,
- 19:32when he says God was working with them in Matthew
- 19:34chapter 16, right? He's saying that God was walking
- 19:37through the world that he preached. Praise the
- 19:40Lord. is that God was walking through the preaching
- 19:43that they were doing. Praise the Lord. And the
- 19:47word of God is walking through God. Like I said,
- 19:50it's vice versa. Praise the Lord. The word is
- 19:54walking through God. So you cannot separate the
- 19:58message from God himself. Hallelujah. It means
- 20:01that you cannot separate the message from God
- 20:04himself. What they were doing cannot be separated
- 20:06from God. Praise the Lord. So when you go out
- 20:10to preach, or when you go to tell somebody about
- 20:12Christ, what you're doing cannot be separated
- 20:15from God. It's all a different walk. Praise the
- 20:18Lord. It is God that is walking together or through
- 20:21you. So the world cannot be separated, or God
- 20:25cannot be separated from the message that we
- 20:27preach. Praise the Lord. So when he says something
- 20:32like another gospel, it means that they are preaching
- 20:36something that God is not in the middle of it,
- 20:39or God is not there. Praise the Lord. They're
- 20:42teaching that which is not from God, which does
- 20:45not originate from God. Praise the Lord. So we
- 20:49cannot separate the message from God. So when
- 20:55you preach the word, God's word is powerful,
- 20:58right? God's word has God in it. So when you're
- 21:03preaching, what you're doing is you're not just
- 21:05saying things. You're not just wasting your time.
- 21:09You're not just... Taking a time out of the afternoon
- 21:13and saying something. Praise the Lord. It is
- 21:16that the things that you're preaching, God is
- 21:17in the inside of it. God is in his word. God
- 21:22walking with them. God's word has God in it.
- 21:29The message we preach has God in it. He said
- 21:33what? A fellow laborer. He's a fellow laborer
- 21:37with the message. Praise the Lord. The Lord is
- 21:40walking with. with them with the lord is working
- 21:44with so it means that when jesus uh told them
- 21:53to go and preach or when jesus told them to go
- 21:56and preach he gave them himself as well praise
- 22:00the lord when jesus said go and preach go and
- 22:02preach the gospel when he says what he should
- 22:05preach where starting from jerusalem and to the
- 22:07ultimate part of the earth he's saying that i'm
- 22:09giving you myself with it praise the lord So
- 22:13he's not telling them, oh, go and do this work.
- 22:16And it's your responsibility. You are in charge
- 22:19of it. I have no, I have no, I just come to judge
- 22:23you on the result that you get. If somebody gives
- 22:26you a workplace and it requires a result, right?
- 22:29You go and figure out how that work is being
- 22:32done, if it's difficult, if it's not. He's saying,
- 22:34when he said he should go and preach, he also
- 22:36gave himself to them. So that's what he's walking
- 22:40through them. Praise the Lord. Do we have an
- 22:44understanding of what I'm saying? Do we understand
- 22:47what I'm saying? So when we say God with you
- 22:53or God with us, you see what it is. That the
- 22:58Lord is in the inside of you and is working as
- 23:04you preach the word. Praise the Lord. As you
- 23:06teach the gospel, the Lord is working. He gives
- 23:10you himself. Praise the Lord. So we're not just
- 23:23messengers of the message, right? We're not like
- 23:29John the Baptist, okay? A voice of the one crying
- 23:34out in the wilderness, right? We're not just
- 23:37the messenger of the message, right? We are what?
- 23:43The messengers of a person. Remember where we
- 23:46started from? I am with you and we say it is
- 23:49a proper name. Praise the Lord. Yahweh, right?
- 23:54We are messengers of a person in a message. Hallelujah.
- 23:59We are messengers of a person in a message. Luke
- 24:03chapter 14, Luke chapter 24, verse 49. Luke chapter
- 24:0924, verse 49. 1 verse 4. Remember, Luke was the
- 24:31writer of the book of Acts. As they had been
- 24:37assembled together, he commanded them not to
- 24:40depart from Jerusalem and to wait for the promise
- 24:44of the Father, which he said, you have heard
- 24:47from me. Praise the Lord. So he had made the
- 24:50promise. And he's the same writers of the same
- 24:53scriptures. So he's the word promise. So that
- 24:56word promise is a Greek word. I'm going to spell
- 25:05it, and then E -P -A -N -G -E -L -I -A. It's
- 25:19a word, epangelia. Praise the Lord. It's a word,
- 25:23epangelia, right? Promise, right? That word for
- 25:27promise. It means a self -commitment to do something
- 25:31by yourself. Praise the Lord. So when he says,
- 25:36what? The promise of the Father. It's something
- 25:39that he has committed that he's going to do.
- 25:42Right? Promise, epangelia. It means a self -commitment
- 25:47to do it by yourself. Praise the Lord. And we
- 25:52saw it in Acts chapter 1, verse 4. The promise
- 25:57of the Father. So, look at verse 4 now, verse
- 26:015 of this Acts chapter 1. For John truly baptized
- 26:06with water, but you shall be baptized with a
- 26:09holy spirit. not many days from now. Verse 8.
- 26:14Verse 8. But you shall receive power when the
- 26:20Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall
- 26:22be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in Judea
- 26:26and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
- 26:29Acts chapter 2, verse 38. The promise of the
- 26:34Father, the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 2, verse
- 26:3838. Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let
- 26:42every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
- 26:45Christ for the remission of sins, that you shall
- 26:48receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Verse 39.
- 26:55For the promise is to you and to your children,
- 26:58and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord
- 27:02our God will call. Praise the Lord. The promise
- 27:06is what? Not just for you, but to your children.
- 27:09and to all who are far off. Remember, we were
- 27:12looking at this a few weeks ago about the intention
- 27:15of God concerning salvation. Praise the Lord.
- 27:20So Jesus is teaching them, right? And he keeps
- 27:23mentioning to them what's the promise of the
- 27:26Father, the promise of the Father. Luke chapter
- 27:294, sorry, Luke chapter 24, verse 27. He tells
- 27:40us that what's... that he taught them from what?
- 27:43Genesis to what? He taught them from Moses and
- 27:46in all the prophets. He expounded to them in
- 27:48all the scriptures the things consigning himself.
- 27:51Praise the Lord. Verse 44 and 45. And he said
- 27:59to them, These are the words which I spoke to
- 28:01you while I was still with you, that all things
- 28:03will be fulfilled which are written in the law
- 28:05of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms
- 28:08consigning me. Verse 45. And he opened the understanding
- 28:11that they may comprehend the scriptures. We've
- 28:15also dealt with that. So reading, right? So he
- 28:19read from Genesis to Malachi to give them understanding.
- 28:25So even you, as you read the scriptures, right?
- 28:29You read now, you read the scriptures from Genesis,
- 28:32right? To Malachi and to the four Gospels, you
- 28:36regard them as a book, right? You consider them
- 28:39as a book. I remember in the sound meeting where
- 28:41we were dealing with... at the judgment seats
- 28:45of Christ and we read in Matthew, right? And
- 28:49I was asking them, I said, how do you explain
- 28:51to somebody when in the scriptures in Matthew,
- 28:54he talks about telling those, separating the
- 28:58sheep from the goats and he's saying to them,
- 29:01to those who have done good things to this side
- 29:03and to those who have done bad things to the
- 29:05other side. How do you explain to somebody who
- 29:07is just a believer, who just became a believer
- 29:09or somebody who does not, is curious to know
- 29:11what is going on here? Or ask you the question,
- 29:14does it mean that in my good deeds, I'm righteous
- 29:18with God? How do you explain that? Seeing that
- 29:20it is declared there in the scripture, that is
- 29:22what he's suggesting. Praise the Lord. How do
- 29:24you explain that? And we said that you explain
- 29:26that by what? Explaining the entirety of the
- 29:30scriptures. Praise the Lord. You explain that
- 29:33by explaining the entirety of the scriptures.
- 29:36So you see that and you become confused, like
- 29:38what is going on here? So you read Genesis. and
- 29:41to the four Gospels as one book. And then Matthew
- 29:44to Acts, right? As the same as one book, and
- 29:48then Romans to Revelation as a singular book.
- 29:52So, in essence, they explain each other. Praise
- 29:56the Lord. As somebody tells you that from Matthew,
- 29:59you want to go to the epistle to explain to him
- 30:01what was that about. Praise the Lord. So, when
- 30:06you see a phrase in the epistle, or when he's
- 30:09saying something, remember, we just read something
- 30:11now. And it means that these things was written.
- 30:13You will find this story or the narrative or
- 30:16the concept of this in the Old Testament when
- 30:19you see something in the epistle. So when Jesus
- 30:25said, I am with you, right? We said it's a proper
- 30:29name. Egomai is a single name, right? He said
- 30:33always to the end, right? But it's not just the
- 30:36first place that this thing was written. Praise
- 30:40the Lord. It's not just the first time. Right?
- 30:42Matthew writes about it. Matthew chapter 1. Matthew
- 30:45chapter 1. The angels, the Joseph encounter with
- 30:49the angel. Matthew chapter 1, verse 21. And he
- 30:57shall bring forth a son, and he shall call his
- 31:00name Jesus, for he will save his people from
- 31:04their sins. Just pay attention to this. Verse
- 31:0722. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled,
- 31:13which was written by the Lord through the prophets,
- 31:16saying, verse 23, Behold, the virgin shall be
- 31:20with a child and shall bear a son, and they shall
- 31:23call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God
- 31:27with us. Praise the Lord. So we read, we see
- 31:33that it seems like there is a contrast, right?
- 31:36In verse 21, let's go back to 21. He said, she
- 31:40shall bring forth a son and his name shall be
- 31:44called, and you shall call his name what? Jesus.
- 31:48What is Jesus going to do? He said he will save
- 31:52his people from their sins. Just pay attention
- 31:55to this because we're going to understand it
- 31:57very soon. Verse 23 now. He said, Behold, the
- 32:03virgin shall be with a child and bear a son.
- 32:07Praise the Lord. And he shall call his name Emmanuel.
- 32:10What is Emmanuel? He says what? God with us.
- 32:15The first one said his name shall be who? Jesus.
- 32:18And what is Jesus going to do? He's going to
- 32:20save people from their sins. But Emmanuel is
- 32:25what? He's talking about the same son. And he's
- 32:29going to be what? Emmanuel, for you to know what?
- 32:32He's translated God with us. Praise the Lord.
- 32:36So he's not just saving, he's staying. Praise
- 32:39the Lord. Hallelujah. He shall save his people
- 32:45from their sin. We write down verse 21. And then
- 32:48verse 23 says what? He shall call his name Emmanuel,
- 32:50which is God with us. God with us. Jesus didn't
- 32:56just say God with us in Matthew 28, but he says
- 33:00what? I am with you. Praise the Lord. So when
- 33:04we say I am with you, right? He's telling them
- 33:08something that has been prophesied. I've already
- 33:10said it, but he's saying God with us. But then
- 33:12he's saying I am with you always. Praise the
- 33:17Lord. Do you understand that? So he said, I am
- 33:21with you. But then when you see the angels reporting,
- 33:25verse 22, when we see what the angel was reporting,
- 33:30he says what? And so this was done that it may
- 33:33be fulfilled which was written, which was spoken
- 33:35by the Lord through the prophet, saying. So when
- 33:39we see the angel, the angel is the third party
- 33:41here, saying this. He says what? God with us.
- 33:46Praise the Lord. So the angel will say what?
- 33:49God with us. Emmanuel. Praise the Lord. So, but
- 33:54where is the angel referencing this from when
- 33:58he says that it was spoken of the Lord through
- 34:01the prophet? Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Isaiah
- 34:06chapter 7, verse 14. Therefore, the Lord himself
- 34:14will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall
- 34:18conceive and bear a son and shall call his name
- 34:23Emmanuel, God with us. So, Emmanuel. is two words
- 34:31to put together. Praise the Lord. The manual
- 34:34is two words put together. The first one is I
- 34:40-W -M -A -N -U. Right? I -W -M -A -N -U. Right?
- 34:52Emmanuel. Or Emmanuel. Right? And then we have
- 34:56E -L. Right? That's the second word that was
- 35:00put together. to bring Emmanuel. So, Emmanuel
- 35:07is with us. That's the word, with us. Right?
- 35:12E -L or L is God. So that is God with us. So
- 35:19it's to say God with us. Then he referenced that
- 35:23Emmanuel, he said God with us, Emmanuel, and
- 35:26referenced a child. Right? He said what? Shall
- 35:30conceive and bear a son. Right? And you shall
- 35:34call him Emmanuel. So where did we see this?
- 35:49Let's just look at this word with us. Right?
- 35:54Or God with us. And let's see where it is first
- 35:58also mentioned or where we can start seeing it.
- 36:02Right? We see examples of this with Eve and Adam.
- 36:08Genesis chapter 3 verse 16. Sorry, Genesis chapter
- 36:113 verse 6. Genesis 3, verse 6. So when the woman
- 36:20saw that the tree was good for food, that it
- 36:23was present in the eyes, a tree desirable to
- 36:26make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.
- 36:30She also gave her husband with her, and he ate.
- 36:35Right? It's that word. It says what? With her
- 36:39husband. Right? Right? Her husband with her.
- 36:43Praise the Lord. It's also that same thing we
- 36:45see there as wheat. So we see that wheat has,
- 36:53so it means together with her, right? When he
- 37:00says her husband with her, it means that her
- 37:01husband was together with her, right? They were
- 37:03in the same place. We also see in Genesis 2,
- 37:09verse 24, rendering it in another way as one
- 37:16flesh, right? Therefore a man shall leave his
- 37:19father. and his mother and be joined to his wife,
- 37:22and they shall become one flesh. Ehad is a Greek
- 37:27word, ehad. E -H -A -D, right? It's the same
- 37:32word that is used for that first place we read
- 37:34as with her or with her husband. It's used for
- 37:37one here. Praise the Lord. So he's saying with
- 37:40as alike, right? Or alike or by or in, right?
- 37:48Let's not miss what we're saying, okay? So remember
- 37:52where we came from. We said what? Emmanuel, God
- 37:55with us. And we're trying to look at the word
- 37:57with us, right? And we came here to say that
- 38:01when he says with, he's saying as like or alike
- 38:06or by or in. Remember where we started and we
- 38:09said that he's walking through them. Praise the
- 38:13Lord, right? I am with you always. He's walking.
- 38:18through them. So he's saying that they are alike
- 38:21or by or in. So it's the same thing that the
- 38:24apostles explored and we have the words in the
- 38:28epistles as in Christ or Christ in us. Praise
- 38:33the Lord. So it means that they have a mutual
- 38:39identity. Praise the Lord. With us. God with
- 38:43us. That you have a mutual identity or a reflection.
- 38:48Praise the Lord. or a reflection or a likeness.
- 38:52Praise the Lord. Or a likeness. A light. So we
- 38:58have God with us. God like us. Right? So we have...
- 39:07So what he's saying is that when he says God
- 39:10with us, he's saying a man like God. Praise the
- 39:15Lord. Emmanuel. A man like God. He's not saying
- 39:19a man like God. Right? A man like God. A reflection
- 39:24of God. A man -like God. Which means that in
- 39:29the incarnation, we are going to have a man -like
- 39:33God. Praise the Lord. A man -like God. Emmanuel.
- 39:40God reflecting as a man. Praise the Lord. God
- 39:45reflecting as a man. So he's not going to be
- 39:55walking through men, like in terms of... occasionally,
- 40:00or the thing that Emmanuel is coming to do is
- 40:03not something that is bestowed on particular
- 40:06individuals. Praise the Lord. He's going to reflect
- 40:11himself as a man. Praise the Lord. So when the
- 40:16angel said, thou shalt call his name Jesus, right?
- 40:21Two things are happening. So when he says Jesus,
- 40:23remember when we said Jesus, it's the same word
- 40:26as family has at that name, Joshua. Praise the
- 40:31Lord. Or Yeshua. So it's the same word when he
- 40:37says Jesus. It's the same word as Yeshua or Joshua.
- 40:43Praise the Lord. So remember, there's one teaching
- 40:48I was doing and I said that in theology, that
- 40:51location is important and name is important.
- 40:55Praise the Lord. It's important to understand
- 40:57what God's intention is. When you're studying
- 41:01the scriptures. Why did he use Joshua? Why did
- 41:08he use Joshua? Why did he say you shall call
- 41:12his name Yeshua? He says what? We read there,
- 41:17what did he say? He will save his people from
- 41:20their sins. He will save his people from their
- 41:24sins. So we see that Emmanuel was prophesied
- 41:28in the Old Testament, right? Emmanuel was prophesied
- 41:32in the Old Testament, but not Yeshua. Right?
- 41:36Or Jesus. Or that name, Jesus. So, we know where
- 41:43we started seeing Joshua from. Right? The assistant
- 41:46of Moses. Right? From the scriptures. He was
- 41:49somebody who was assisting Moses and who took
- 41:52the children of Israel to the promised land.
- 41:54Praise the Lord. He was the one who took them
- 41:57to the promised land. So, it means that Jesus,
- 42:01right? It means that we regard Jesus or we would
- 42:05look at Jesus as an event. And that event is
- 42:11what? He will save his people from their sins.
- 42:15Praise the Lord. Why? Because Jesus is a common
- 42:20name, as we well know. Jesus is a common name.
- 42:25Presently, we have some Arsenal players who are
- 42:28Jesus. Praise the Lord. a lot of Brazilians who
- 42:33bear Jesus. Praise the Lord. So now and before,
- 42:37it was a common name. Praise the Lord. It was
- 42:41a common name. It wasn't a peculiar name to just
- 42:45our Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord. It was
- 42:48not just the person bearing this name. So it
- 42:58was a common name. So when you say Joshua, right,
- 43:02it's also two words. Ave Yeshua. When you say
- 43:11Joshua, it's two words. Ave Yeshua. A -V -A -H.
- 43:15Then Yeshua. So, Ave is used for Yahweh. Then
- 43:24Yeshua. So, we also see that we use that word
- 43:34because they were in Exodus. Right? We use that
- 43:40word because they were in Exodus. Why did they
- 43:43use that word? The name shall be Jesus. Right?
- 43:47We use that word because, well, that word is
- 43:50used because it's also people of Exodus understand
- 43:53it. Praise the Lord. People in Exodus understand
- 43:56it. So, by the very name of Jesus, we need to
- 44:03read that word. That's in Exodus. Exodus chapter
- 44:064, chapter 2, verse 7. Exodus chapter 2, verse
- 44:107. 2, verse 17. 2, 17. It said, Then the shepherd
- 44:27came and drove them away. But Moses stood up
- 44:30and helped them and watered their flock. He helped
- 44:35them. Exodus chapter 14, verse 30. Exodus chapter
- 44:4214, verse 30. The Lord saved Israel that day
- 44:50out of the hands of the Egyptians. And Israel
- 44:55saw the Egyptians died in the seashore. Saved.
- 45:00Yeshua is an Exodus name. Numbers chapter 10,
- 45:07verse 9. Numbers chapter 10, verse 9. He said,
- 45:15When you go to war in your hand against the enemy
- 45:19who oppress you, then you shall sound an alarm
- 45:22with a trumpet, and you shall be remembered before
- 45:25the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from
- 45:28your enemies. We see that word again, what? You
- 45:31shall be saved from your enemies. Deuteronomy
- 45:33chapter 20, verse 4. For the Lord your God is
- 45:43he who goes with you. to fight for you against
- 45:47your enemies, to save you, to fight for you against
- 45:51your enemies, to save you, your enemies. Deuteronomy
- 45:5433, verse 29. Deuteronomy 33, verse 29. Happy
- 46:03are you, O Israel, who is like you, O people,
- 46:06saved by God, the shield of your health and the
- 46:09sword of your majesty. Your enemies shall submit
- 46:12to you, and you shall tread down their high places.
- 46:17Praise the Lord. Saved by the Lord. These are
- 46:20people saved by the Lord. So it is an Exodus
- 46:23name, Joshua or Yeshua. Praise the Lord. So it
- 46:29means that Jesus, therefore, right? When he says
- 46:33you shall call his name, can we go back to that
- 46:35place in the scripture where you shall call his
- 46:37name Jesus? The angel was talking to Mary, Matthew
- 46:48chapter one, verse 21. So when he said you shall,
- 47:01Bring forth a son, and he shall call his name
- 47:05Jesus, for he will save his people from their
- 47:07sins. So it means that Jesus was given a proper
- 47:11name. Praise the Lord. It means that what? Jesus
- 47:16was given a proper name. Why? Because that word
- 47:19Jesus, it means what? To save, right? To deliver.
- 47:24Praise the Lord. To deliver. Because what does
- 47:30Joshua did for them? He saved them or he took
- 47:33them across the Jordan to the promised land.
- 47:35So he was given a proper name. What does that
- 47:38represent? So Joshua represented someone, a man
- 47:43who took them to where? To the land. He took
- 47:45them to the land. Praise the Lord. I wish we
- 47:49had time to describe this, but I'm just going
- 47:51to say it and then we'll come back to it again.
- 47:54So the land, I think we have done a brief study
- 47:57on this. describes, right, as a people. Isaiah
- 48:02describes it as God himself, right? Jerusalem,
- 48:06Zion, right? He calls it a person, right? Like
- 48:11I said, we're going to come back to this. But
- 48:13let's look at some of the promises concerning
- 48:16the promised land, right? Genesis chapter 12,
- 48:20verse 2 to 3. Genesis chapter 12, verse 2 to
- 48:243. I will make you a great nation. I will bless
- 48:29you and make your name great. You shall be a
- 48:32blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I
- 48:36will curse them who curse you. In you all the
- 48:39families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis
- 48:41chapter 15, verse 5 to 8. Then he brought him
- 48:48outside and said, Look now towards the heaven
- 48:52and count the stars if you are able to number
- 48:54them. And he said to him, So shall your descendants
- 48:58be. And he believed in the Lord. and he accounted
- 49:03it to him for righteousness. And he said to him,
- 49:07I am the Lord who brought you out of the land
- 49:10of all of the Chaldeans to give you this land
- 49:14to inherit. And he said, O God, how shall I know
- 49:22I would inherit it? Genesis chapter 17, verse
- 49:274 to 6. Genesis 17, verse 4 to 6. As for me,
- 49:35behold, my covenant is with you. and you shall
- 49:37be a father of many nations. No longer shall
- 49:40your name be called Abraham, but your name shall
- 49:43be called Abraham, for I have made you father
- 49:46of many nations. I will make you exceedingly
- 49:49fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and
- 49:53the king shall come from you. Genesis chapter
- 49:5822, verse 16 to 18. And said, By myself I have
- 50:10sworn, says the Lord. Because you have done this
- 50:13thing and you have not withdrawn your son, your
- 50:15only son, blessing I will bless you, and multiplying
- 50:20I will multiply your descendants as the stars
- 50:23of the heavens and as the sand which is on the
- 50:27seashore, and your descendants shall possess
- 50:29the gates of the enemies. And in your seed all
- 50:34the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because
- 50:36you have obeyed my voice. Then to Jacob now.
- 50:41Genesis chapter 28, verse 13 to 15. He was dreaming
- 50:50or seeing a vision. And behold, the Lord stood
- 50:54above it and said, I am the Lord of Abraham your
- 50:59father, the God of Isaac, the land of which you
- 51:03lie I will give you and your descendants. And
- 51:08all your descendants shall be as the dust of
- 51:10the earth. You shall spread abroad to the west.
- 51:13to the east, to the north, to the south. And
- 51:14in you and in your seed, all the families of
- 51:17the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with
- 51:19you. You see that again. I'm with you and I will
- 51:22keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you
- 51:25back to this land for I will not leave you until
- 51:28I have done what I have spoken to you. Praise
- 51:31the Lord. So we see here that there's a lot of
- 51:34land. There's a lot of things that we said. So
- 51:37again, remember that there are several studies
- 51:41and we said that God uses or permits something
- 51:45to teach them what his divine purpose is. Or
- 51:49he uses maybe something that they are used to,
- 51:51to teach them what he wants to do. Praise the
- 51:54Lord. And one of those is land because they were
- 51:57farmers. They were capturers. Praise the Lord.
- 52:01They were people who were into agriculture. Praise
- 52:05the Lord. So he uses the land, right? He uses
- 52:09the land because it is... the closest he can
- 52:14use to describe what he is trying to get them
- 52:17to believe, right? Because they were farmers,
- 52:20they dealt with land and they produced and they
- 52:23were into agriculture. So we said Joshua represented
- 52:27the man who took them to the land. So it was
- 52:29Moses who saved them, right? It was Moses who
- 52:33saved them. It was Moses who sent them through
- 52:38the waters, right? Joshua was the one who took
- 52:43them to the land. So we see that even John the
- 52:47Baptist, when he came to baptize, he went to
- 52:51the Jordan. And I think Pastor Takunda was teaching
- 52:53on this as well. He went to the Jordan, praise
- 52:56the Lord, deliberately. He didn't just choose
- 52:57any water to go to. Why? Because what? They crossed
- 53:01through the Jordan. Praise the Lord. They crossed
- 53:04through the Jordan. Mark chapter 1, verse 4 to
- 53:085. Mark chapter 1, verse 4 to 5. John came baptizing
- 53:16in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of
- 53:20repentance for the remission of sins. Then all
- 53:23the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went
- 53:27out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan
- 53:30River, confessing their sins. So he took them
- 53:34to Jordan to baptize them. Jordan, we said, was
- 53:37how they entered into the land. This is the land.
- 53:43Praise the Lord. So they are in the land. They
- 53:49are in the land. So why is he going to Jordan
- 53:52again? Praise the Lord. So they thought, okay,
- 53:55when they get to the land, they're going to be
- 53:58free from their enemies, right? There's nothing
- 54:00that will happen, but their enemies were also
- 54:05there. Praise the Lord. So if God was promising
- 54:09them a land that is flowing with milk and honey,
- 54:11but then they go there and they found that there
- 54:14were bees. that were wild beasts. They were coming
- 54:18after their life. Praise the Lord. So they were
- 54:21not free of troubles, but they were not free
- 54:23of enemies. Praise the Lord. They were not free
- 54:27of enemies. It means that the land was not the
- 54:31promise. There was something else that was bigger
- 54:33than that. Praise the Lord. They were looking
- 54:36forward to something. Emmanuel. Praise the Lord.
- 54:40God with us. A Messiah. Right? God with us. They
- 54:44are waiting a Messiah. So John is saying that
- 54:47the Messiah is here by going to the Jordan. Praise
- 54:50the Lord. Because now you are able to cross into
- 54:54the proper land in which God intended for. Praise
- 54:58the Lord. They were going to cross into the proper
- 55:01land in which was promised. Praise the Lord.
- 55:04So John was pointing them not to a land because
- 55:08they were already in the land. He pointed them
- 55:10to a person. If you read down, you will see that
- 55:13he's pointing them to a person. Praise the Lord,
- 55:16because they were already in the land. So John
- 55:20is saying that the kingdom is here. We are close
- 55:23to it. We are at the border of it. The Messiah
- 55:25is close to coming. So when he said you shall
- 55:30call his name Joshua, right? His father understood
- 55:34what he was saying. That is Joseph, right? He
- 55:40will save his people, right? Not from their enemies.
- 55:45Praise the Lord. This Joshua. He's not saving
- 55:48his people, what? From their enemies, what? But
- 55:51he's saving them from their sins, right? Their
- 55:54greatest enemy. Praise the Lord. So when they
- 56:00were taken out of Egypt, right? He took them
- 56:02out, right? To the promised land. So John the
- 56:07Baptist, right? He's a messenger that is going
- 56:09before his face to prepare the way for the Messiah.
- 56:15Because of time, I will not be able to talk about
- 56:18that. The use of the land was a parable, right?
- 56:24The land is God himself. Praise the Lord. The
- 56:29land is God himself. He is their possession.
- 56:33He is that which they have been waiting for.
- 56:35And God is our possession now. God with us. So
- 56:45he was given a name of a man that is Jesus. We
- 56:48said it was a common name so that they would
- 56:50know what he came to do. Praise the Lord. He
- 56:54was given that name, Jesus, so that the people
- 56:55would know that this one had a purpose. He came
- 56:58to do something. He was given the name of a man
- 57:01so that they would know what he's doing. So the
- 57:05name describes his function, tells about the
- 57:08function of the Christ or Jesus. So like I said,
- 57:14Jesus was a common name. There were many people
- 57:16who were called Jesus, right, in that land or
- 57:20in this thing. So what is important? Why is he
- 57:25important? Praise the Lord. There were so many
- 57:27people who were called by that name. Why is it
- 57:29important? It is important because what? It is
- 57:31Emmanuel, God with us. Praise the Lord. It is
- 57:36important because what? God with us. Yes, he
- 57:38was given a name, right? Joshua or Yeshua, right?
- 57:45To describe what he came to do. But many people
- 57:48will say, oh, okay, my son is also called Jesus.
- 57:52So who are you? It is important because he is
- 57:56what? Emmanuel, God with us. A man like God.
- 58:04Praise the Lord. There is a man, Yeshua, right?
- 58:10For God will deliver, right? Yeshua means that
- 58:14what? God will deliver. Joshua means God will
- 58:17deliver, right? Then you have Emmanuel. So God
- 58:22is delivering and God is with us. Praise the
- 58:25Lord. Do we get that? God is delivering and God
- 58:29is with us. So the man like God is reflecting
- 58:34man and God at the same time. Praise the Lord.
- 58:40So he's Yeshua and he's also Emmanuel. Praise
- 58:44the Lord. He's reflecting or God is reflecting
- 58:47a man and vice versa. Praise the Lord. So Jesus...
- 58:55Like I said, it was a common name that God bought
- 58:57to show his mission on the earth. Praise the
- 59:00Lord. To show his mission on the earth, to save
- 59:04his people from their sins. Amen. Praise the
- 59:10Lord. So Wednesday, we're going to continue to
- 59:13discuss more. But one thing that, or two things
- 59:17we can learn from these things, right? Is one,
- 59:22as believers, we need to recognize the presence
- 59:26of God in our lives daily. Praise the Lord. We
- 59:30need to recognize what? The presence of God in
- 59:34our lives daily. I am with you. You live with
- 59:39that confidence that God is with you. God is
- 59:44present with you. Whether you're at home, whether
- 59:48you're in school, whether you're in workplace,
- 59:50whether you're facing difficulties, God is with
- 59:53you. If you've lived long enough, you'll realize
- 59:58that trouble does not finish. Hallelujah. Do
- 1:00:03you know that? That even the person that you
- 1:00:06are thinking that you want to become has a challenge.
- 1:00:09Praise the Lord. Has something that is in his
- 1:00:11face that he needs to deal with. Praise the Lord.
- 1:00:14But he's saying what? God is with you. So when
- 1:00:19God is with me, what do I do? I'm confident.
- 1:00:22Oh, sorry. When I have this assurance or when
- 1:00:26I have this knowing in the inside of me, I can
- 1:00:28face anything. Praise the Lord. It means I can
- 1:00:32pray about anything. It means I can speak to
- 1:00:34God about any situation. It means I can communicate
- 1:00:37with Him. He says what? He is in us. Praise the
- 1:00:42Lord. He is in the things that we preach. Praise
- 1:00:48the Lord. So, we sang the song, You Are Not Alone.
- 1:00:51Praise the Lord. It means that you are not alone.
- 1:00:54Praise the Lord. So, no matter the situation
- 1:00:57or no matter the difficulties you face, You will
- 1:00:59not say you are alone. Praise the Lord. You are
- 1:01:02encouraged. Praise the Lord. All of a sudden,
- 1:01:06there is a joy that comes from the inside of
- 1:01:08your heart. Knowing that you are not alone. Knowing
- 1:01:11that God has not left you. Knowing that you are
- 1:01:13not forsaken. Praise the Lord. No matter the
- 1:01:16challenges that come upon your life, you know
- 1:01:19that you are not alone. You don't go through
- 1:01:23it alone. Praise the Lord. So what the devil
- 1:01:25wants to do is to... Make you not to see that
- 1:01:28reality. Make you not to recognize that reality
- 1:01:30at every circumstance, at every junction of your
- 1:01:34life. So when you face your challenges, what
- 1:01:37do you do? As we have been taught, you begin
- 1:01:40to find out what you're supposed to do at this
- 1:01:42time and at this season, to hear what he will
- 1:01:44say to you now. Praise the Lord. God with us.
- 1:01:50Hallelujah. Let us just pray and just thank God
- 1:01:54for his presence with us. We appreciate you being
- 1:01:58here today. We hope you carry this word with
- 1:02:01you throughout your week. Don't forget to check
- 1:02:04the show notes for additional insights. Stay
- 1:02:06connected with us through our website or follow
- 1:02:09us on social media. If you are encouraged, share
- 1:02:13this message with someone you care about. Until
- 1:02:16next time, stay blessed.