Yesterday we talked about Immanuel meaning God with us. So what does this look like? These verses will help with that. Roman 8:31 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.” 2 Kings 6:16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Jesus said in “Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life.” Deuteronomy 20:1 “When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.” Genesis 15:1 “After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Genesis 26:24 “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Also God’s word tells us, “do not be discouraged or terrified.” These are just a few of the verses that say, “Do not be afraid”. All you have to do is type “Do not be afraid” (NIV) with the quotation marks into Bible Gateway and read them yourself. There were 70 in the NIV
The truth of the matter is, God with us means do not be afraid, discouraged or terrified. Yes when God is with us we have nothing to fear or worry about. Paul said death where is your sting? So then why do so many Christians fear, worry and tremble before the enemy. Why do so many shake in their armour. 1 Samuel 13:5 “The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.” The same thing happened later after Samuel anointed David. 1 Samuel 16:12-13 “Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.” Now the giant Goliath was calling out the army of Israel. 1 Samuel 17:10 “Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.”
This was Israel’s army, the “God with us” army. Unfortunately the church continues to quake in its armour. Romans 1:25 “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.” Yes this verse is normally used to point out the sexual wickedness but there is so much more here. When we begin to worship what our hands have made, and serve created things we loose out. Deuteronomy 31:29 “In days to come, disaster will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and arouse his anger by what your hands have made.” Deuteronomy 32:19 “The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.”
If we return and serve God with all our heart, soul and mind, the church of Immanuel will mean no man will stand against us, everywhere you set your foot will be yours, we will not be afraid, we will not be discouraged but we must have the anointing. Soul lost the kingdom because he refused to wait for Samuel. He disobeyed a direct order. Somewhere along the line people have believed that they can disobey and get away with it. They expect God to be with them no matter what. If they disobey, its fine, God with us. If they sin, God with us. If they do not honour God as holy, God with us. If they do not believe or trust God’s word, God with us. If they do not put their hope or wait on God, God with us. This view of God’s grace is distorted and delusional. Since Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed,” we must turn from our wicked ways and humble ourselves before God. We must learn to fear the Lord once again and return to living a holy life before him. Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Paul said in Romans 8:37 “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 2 Corinthians 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Once again the church must stand strong in the fear of the Lord. God has conquered the enemy in Christ Jesus. Colossians 2:15 “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” But Romans 13:11 “understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. When we believe again that we can have the same anointing power that defeated the giant, the same power as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead, we can stand in victory against our enemies. We can say with David, 1 Samuel 17:32 “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Pray this prayer and believe: Ephesians 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which he has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesian 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
