God Is With Us

what a powerful name he has all power in heaven and in earth is in that name hallelujah we sung about that name i'm thankful that we have the revelation of that name hallelujah matthew chapter 1 and verse 18. it's good to see everyone in the house of the lord this morning all of our guests again we welcome you and thank you for being with us today christmas is upon us next week we'll be celebrating that and i hope that you have a great time with your family during those celebrations matthew chapter 1 and verse 18 it says now the birth of jesus christ was on this wise when his mother mary was espoused at joseph before they came together she was found with child of the holy ghost then joseph her husband being a just man and not willing to make her a public example was minded to put her away privately but while he thought on these things behold the angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream saying joseph thou son of david fear not to take to thee mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the holy ghost she shall bring forth a son thou shalt call his name jesus what is his name jesus for he shall save his people from their sins now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the lord by the prophet saying behold a virgin shall be with child shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name emmanuel which being interpreted is god with us god with us and i want to preach to you this morning on this thought god is with us god god is with us today would you lift your hands and would you ask the lord to speak to our hearts today lord i thank you for your word that is so anointed i thank you that you gave us this revelation of who you are and i pray today that you would speak to our hearts that you would work in our lives today don't let us leave the same way that we walked in but let us be changed by your word today we thank you would you clap your hands one more time in honor and praise to that name jesus we praise you we worship you and we magnify you amen amen amen and you may be seated

there is something that is so powerful about a testimony a testimony is an account of the first hand of first-hand experience when you have a testimony you literally have something that has already happened in the past where god has come through where god has showed up it is a circumstance that i can say without a doubt that god was involved as you read the pages of the bible there are many instances and examples of people who had a testimony of god intervening and working in their lives page after page as you read the bible testimonies of god being with his people and performing the miraculous in their lives and the old testament uh the bible tells us that god hears the cry of his people israel who are slaves in egypt he acknowledges their cry for deliverance and he decides to deliver them this deliverance was going to involve a man named moses god tells moses that he has heard their cry and he has seen their affliction and he's going to deliver them and so he sends moses to pharaoh to tell him to let his people go moses says who am i that i should go to pharaoh and bring them out of egypt and then exodus chapter 3 and 12 god's response god said to moses certainly i will be with thee god affirm moses hey i'm going to send you to do my work but you're not going to go alone you're not going to have to do it on your own but i am going to be with you god delivers israel from egypt as moses is leading israel to the promised land and he has this testimony surely god was with him in egypt before pharaoh this journey as you know was full of the miraculous that was god was with them every step of the way in egypt god showed the plagues and his power and then as they're going on their journey to the promised land miracles were all around them the red sea is being parted and there's a pillar of cloud and fire that's guiding them and bitter waters are made sweet and quail and manna falling from heaven and god speaks from mount sinai and i could go on and on and on about the miracles that happened for israel it was god proving and showing israel that he was going to be with him every step of the way i chose this story specifically because israel unfortunately struggled with remembering the miracles and the testimony that they had god never told israel or moses that this journey was going to be easy god didn't say hey i'm taking you from here to there you're not going to have any struggles you're not going to have any pain there's not going to be anything that comes up it's a straight shot no god didn't say that but what god did was said i'm going to be with you every step of the way and in your struggle and when you come up against things i'm gonna be with you on that journey hear me somebody today we're on a journey to heaven amen this home is not my home i'm just passing through i'm on the journey to heaven and as i'm on this journey everything might not be peachy i might have some struggles and i've had some struggles i might have some things that come up and that block the way or seem to block the way

but i have this confidence today that god is with me no matter what i go through no matter what comes up god is with me every step of the way hear me child of god god is with you you're not walking alone today but god is with you the last several years have probably been some of the most trying years that my family has gone through and i know that each and every one of you has gone through things and have gone through struggles in the last years that that you never thought that you would go through but as i was thinking about all of this and all the things that has happened in our family i have this confidence and i have this testimony looking back that even though i've gone through it and my family's gone through it i can see that god has been with me every step of the way can you look back and look through the trial that you've gone through and through the the heartache and the pain that you've gone through look back at those times and i promise you you will see the hand of god in your life because god has not left you god has not forsaken you but god is with us hallelujah if you believe that if you're thankful for that would you just lift your hand and would you thank him that he's with us and he hasn't left us i thought about this and with javen my brother dedicating this baby today israel struggled with telling their children the promises and the miracles that happened in their life on the journey church we cannot forget to tell our children jaden yeah we might have gone through a journey and it might have been hard at some times but we have a testimony and our testimony is this that god has been with us because we have the testimony of god being faithful he's faithful church he's faithful he has a testimony we have a testimony that he is faithful and he's always with us we have this confidence today we have a testimony and now we have a confidence because of the testimony that god will be with us today we find in scripture that god was right there with people the bible says that god was with enoch the bible says that god was with noah god was with joseph in the pit says he was with him in the prison it says he was with him in the palace god was with shadrach meshach and abednego in the fiery furnace he was with david the bible tells us he was with david while he was with this cattle and while he was hiding in the caves and when he was in the royal cabins david david i love david david's one of my favorite characters in the bible and david referred to his testimony of what god did and was with him in the past and when he referred to the testimony that god was with him it gave him confidence for the present that god would be with him today

david showed up to see his brothers one day and the enemy was there and blaspheming and defying the armies of god this happened for 40 days and 40 nights that that goliath came up and talked to him and talked to the the children of israel defying them but when david heard that when he showed up he said this isn't going to go on any further he told the king i will go out and fight the giant but the king said you are just a youth and he is a man of war from his youth you are not able but david said i have a testimony of when god was with me he said a lion and a bear came in to steal one of my sheep and i went after them and i slew the lion and the bear and i did that because god was with me he had a testimony david was not able to slay the lion and the bear on his own god was with him in order to take on the current obstacle david referred back to the previous testimony and it gave him the strength and the courage to know that god was going to be with him and if god was with him then god was going to be with him now he had a confidence that today god is with me today god is with me it's important that we remember that god was with us in the past our testimony is so important of what god has done and how we've seen him walking in our lives but we must have this confidence that god is going to be with us now in this present time in this present circumstance he wasn't just the god of the past he wasn't just the god of our elders but he is the god that is with us right now joshua 1 9 have i not commanded you be strong and of good courage don't be afraid nor dismayed for the lord your god is with you wherever you go that means that every path that you journey down child of god he is with you every valley that you walk through he is with you david said yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death what god thou art with me i have this confidence that i'm not going to get stuck and i'm not going to die in this valley but god you are with me so i am walking through the valley hear me child of god you're not going to die in the valley hear the word of god into your life you are not going to die in the valley you are walking through the valley why because your god is with you and he's walking with you every step of the way he's with us every dark night that you are faced with god is with you every road of suffering that you've walked down god is with you here is somebody in your sickness god is with you in times of despair god is with you when things are uncertain and we can't figure it out and we don't know what the future holds i've come to tell you that god is with you and uncertain times in times of disappointment when things aren't going the way that we think they should go when things aren't adding up just like and how we thought it was going to go in those times of disappointment we've got a god that is standing right by our side and he is with us when we feel depressed when we feel discouraged when things aren't going right we have this confidence today that god is with us and when you feel alone and when you feel like there's nobody to talk to nobody can understand what you're going through you feel like you don't have a friend i've come to tell you today that you have a friend and you are not alone that god is with you in your hurt and in your pain and in your struggle and those times i know that we have times of blessing i am so thankful that not everything that we walk through is difficult we do have times of blessing where god is raining down his blessings upon us and i thank god for that but in times of hurt and times of pain we know that we have a god who isn't just with us when things are going all right and good and great but we have a god that's with us every step of the way so in my hurt and in my pain god is with me

when you were fearful as i began to write this list down the holy ghost began to speak to me and when i got to fearful something stopped me and the holy ghost there are people that are dealing with fear and i don't know he didn't reveal to me what type of fear it is that you're dealing with but you're dealing with some type of fear this is the word he gave me in isaiah 41 and 10. fear not for i am with you fear not i know that you might have a fear of tomorrow or fear of what the future might hold or fear of how everything's going to work out god's word to you today is this fear not for i am with you i'm not going to leave you and i'm not going to forsake you but i am with you he said be not dismayed i am your god and then he said in your fear and when you feel like you're weak he said i'm going to strengthen you yes i will help you and i will uphold you with my righteous hand deuteronomy 31 6 be strong and of a good courage do not fear nor be afraid for the lord your god he is the one who goes with you he will not leave you nor forsake you isaiah 43 and 1 fear not for i have redeemed you he said i have called you by name and you are mine he said when you pass through the waters what i will be with you and through the rivers they shall not overflow you he said when you walk through the fire when the fire feels like it's going to burn you up he said when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned nor shall the flame scorch you why because he said i'm going to be with you whew you feel like the waves of the ocean are going to overtake you and you feel like you're going to walk through the water hey god knows what to do he parted the red sea and he was with he was with israel during that time oh this fiery trial is hotter than any trial i've ever been in in my life but shadrach meshach and abednego were put into the furnace of fire and it was seven times hotter but god was with him and the fire he said hear me he said don't be afraid or dismayed and when you're walking through the waters or in the fire because i'm gonna be with you i'm gonna be with you isaiah 46 and 4 he says i will be your god throughout your lifetime he's not going to leave us he said i'm going to be your god throughout your lifetime until your hair is white with age he said i made you and i will care for you and i will carry you along and save you that sounds like a god that loves us that sounds like a god that cares about us he's not going to leave us because we mess up or fail but he's going to be with us for our lifetime we have a testimony that in the past god has been with us we have a confidence that god is with us now and today and we have a promise that god will be with us in the future

god will be with us in the future was prophesied in the old testament that this god who we've been singing about today would come to earth his birth would be miraculous and his teaching would be astounding he would be righteous his purpose was undeniable his power would be unlimited and his name would be high above all names isaiah 7 and 14 therefore the lord himself shall give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son thou shalt call his name immanuel interpreted god with us isaiah isaiah 9 and 6 for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counsel her the mighty god the everlasting father and the prince of peace of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end john 1 1 says in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god fulfilling the scripture of old time john 1 and 14 and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory is of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth first timothy 3 16 and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifest in the flesh the prophecies of the old testament would now be fulfilled because the son of god would be born of a virgin and his name is jesus yes he was born in this world as a human but make no mistake he was god robed in flesh his purpose was clear and evident god desired to be with us in eternity from the beginning of time the bible says that from the foundation of the world the lamb was slain he before he even created the world it was his desire for you and i to be with him and to spend eternity with him so jesus was born of a virgin fulfilling the prophecies while he was on earth he taught the people he taught the disciples he was tempted he healed the sick performed the miracles the bible says he came to his own his own received him not he was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death and they nailed him to a cross and he died on the cross for you and for me he's the perfect lamb without blemish and without spot john the baptist knew that jesus would be the sacrifice in john 1 29 he says behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and as jesus died on the cross he not only removed the guilt of sin but also the judgment and wrath that sin warranted by removing the guilt and sins penalty jesus propitiated or he satisfied god's justice propitiation means that jesus he eliminated god's wrath hebrews 2 and 17 therefore in all things he had to make lot be made like us like his brethren that he might be merciful and faithful high priests and things pertaining to god to make propitiation for the sins of the people john two and two first john and he himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only before the whole world first peter 2 and 24 he himself bore our sins and his body on the tree that's on the cross he his own self bear our sins in his own body on the cross that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye are healed so as jesus was born and that's what we're celebrating that jesus was born this week he was born he fulfilled the prophecy but not only did he do that he died on the cross and he paid the ransom or the price for sin john in 3 16 probably everybody knows the scripture but it's so powerful for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever he didn't limit it to just a few certain people but he said whosoever believes in him should not perish but have what everlasting life it was always god's desire and always god's designed to spend eternity with his people because it was his design and because it was his desire to spend eternity with us he was willing to pay the price and to give his life for us

jesus told his disciples before he was getting ready to die on the cross he said i will not leave you comfortless he said i will come to you yet a little while and the world sees me no more but you see me because i live he said ye shall live also but the comforter which is the holy ghost whom the father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring things your remembrance whatsoever i have said unto you we find in scripture how to accept and receive the comforter the holy ghost jesus said i'm not going to leave you i'm leaving this world i'm leaving this earth he said but i'm not going to leave you and i'm not going to leave you comfortless he said but i'm going to give you the comforter which is the holy ghost and that is going to be me living inside of you so that means that wherever you go i go hear me somebody you are not alone and he is with you because when you have the holy ghost you have god living inside of you he said i'm not going to leave you comfortless but i'm going to give you the holy ghost jesus that's jesus in our lives this plane of salvation is so powerful and so important and i'll go through it quickly but simply three steps here repentance asking god to forgive you for the sins that you've done and making a conscious effort to turn away from those sins and then you must be baptized in jesus name baptism represents burial and we're going to do that today we're going to baptize a couple of people here today in the wonderful powerful name of jesus baptism is so powerful you know it's not about the water there's nothing special about this water but when you speak the name that we sung about today when you speak the name of the savior when you say the name of jesus the bible says that all of your sins are washed away they are remitted peter said repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ why for the remission of sins remission means wiped out remission means cancels remission means dismissed so when you go down in the powerful name of jesus and you come up all of your sins are canceled all of your sins are dismissed all of your sins are no more there is something powerful about being baptized in the name of jesus and then you can receive the holy ghost and when you receive the holy ghost you are a new creature romans 8 and 10 says and if christ be in you the body is dead because of sin oh but the spirit is life because of righteousness after you repent of your sins and when you're baptized in jesus name you can simply say god i need you in my life i want you i'm missing something in my life i feel like there's some people here today that are missing something in their life you may have been searching and wondering what that is i'm here to tell you today that is the power of the holy ghost that's the power of the holy ghost and if you will avail yourself to what you're feeling he will fill you with his spirit and you will speak in another language as the spirit gives the utterance we call this the plan of salvation so we have a testimony that in the past god has been with us there is no doubt that when we look back on our life that god has been with us every step of the way now we have a confidence that god is with us today and we have a promise that god will be with us in the future and when we die and when our bodies turn back to dust we have a promise that god will be with us and we will be with him first john 14 and 2 told his disciples in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so i would have told you said i go to prepare a place for you if i go and prepare a place for you he said i will come again he came the first time and we're going to celebrate that this week but he's coming again a second time he said if i go and prepare a place he said i will come again and i'm going to receive you to myself here's his desire that where i am there you may be also he's going to be there and when our bodies turn back to dust i want to be there with him because he's given us a promise that we can be with him

would you stand with me it's his promise and it's his desire to spend eternity with us because he is emmanuel he is god with us just a few minutes i'm going to open these altars for a time of prayer what i'd like to see are a few things if you oblige me i'd like to see some people that come to this altar maybe it would be some elders that come to this altar and say when i look back i have a testimony and i can see that god has been with me every step of the way are there any elders are there anybody in here that can say that i have a testimony that god's been with me everest and then there are some people who may be in the darkest night of your life maybe you're dealing with sickness or uncertainty or disappointment or maybe it's depression or discouragement or maybe you feel alone or maybe you're fearful i'm inviting you to come here in just a minute and lift your hands and as you do that hear me somebody as you do that there is going to be an affirmation in your spirit that god is with you you're going to feel him overshadow you you're going to feel his power as you come and make that step when you lift your hands god's going to say i am with you and finally if there's anybody here that has never repented of your sins if you've never been baptized in the name of jesus christ we can do that today if you'd like if you've never received the baptism of the holy ghost you can do all of those things today for one simple reason because god is with us god is with us i wonder before we come can we just lift our hands right now and could we just thank the lord that he's been with us that he's never left us that he's never forsaken us we thank you today oh god we thank you today would you begin to come now if you have a testimony that you can look back and say that god's been with me would you come to the front now would you lift your hands and would you just thank him for that if you're dealing with darkness or or depression or sickness or uncertainty would you come down to this altar and would you lift your hands and say god i believe your word today that you are with me i've seen the faithfulness of god we're still inside the shore the promise of the shore i said just pile in here just pile in the altar lift your hands and let's give thanksgiving to him today there's strength there's strength in the house of god today there's healing in the house of god today there's peace in the house of god today