Emmanuel, The Marvellous God With The Glorious Gospel
Matthew 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call 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, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:21-23). The plan of the ages was for the world to be saved by God’s Son. God said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15). He came to reverse every evil thing that accompanied the fall of man. He came to the world to live and die for us and save us from the consequences of sin. Emmanuel, the God of power and possibilities is with us.
1. THE MARVELLOUS PRESENCE OF GOD WITH US
Matthew 1:21-23; 1 Peter 3:18; Mathew 28:18-20; Isaiah 43:2,18-19,21
If you have the problem-solver living with you all the time, what an awesome presence you have! If you have the Person who answers all prayers with you, what a glorious experience that is! You must remove all barriers to having the marvellous presence of God with us. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23). The promise of the virgin birth of Jesus looked incredible, impossible and improbable. A virgin could not conceive without intercourse with a man. The miracle happened to show that “with God nothing shall be impossible”. Impossible, improbable, and incredible are cancelled from your dictionary. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20). Nobody could have made this declaration other than God’s Son. We sometimes forget that the One that has all power is with us. When He comes to you, He comes with all power to save, forgive and turn your life around. We take this message of God’s marvellous presence to everyone in the world, showing them the ability of Emmanuel to solve life’s problems that science, philosophy, medicine and technology cannot solve. As Christ comes into your heart, He wants you to publicly identify with Him in water baptism and to continually observe all that He has commanded to be done. “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.” (Isaiah 43:2,19,21). There are times we encounter problems that seem to overwhelm and drown us but we must always remember His promises and believe that the plan of God in our lives will not be burnt up by the fires of life.
2. THE MARVELLOUS POWER OF THE GOSPEL IN US
Romans 1:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Acts 15:7-9; Mark 16:15-20
The gospel has the power to break every yoke and turn all your sorrow into joy. God is with us and the gospel is in us. We must be full of the power of the gospel. A tall tree that is empty in its roots will be brought down by the winds of life. A life loaded with only earthly knowledge will soon be brought down by the pressures of life. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17). The gospel is what Jesus came to the world to do. We could not produce the righteousness that God demands but through the gospel, we exchange our unrighteousness for His righteousness and we start to live by faith. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:15-20). The gospel cleanses our hearts, transforms our minds and heals our bodies. The gospel is for the whole man. We must take this gospel to everyone in the world. There is no one who cannot believe and receive the gospel because every creature has the possibility of believing the gospel. As we walk in the gospel, miracles, signs and wonders follow us as our natural shadows would follow us when we are under the sun.
3. THE MARVELLOUS PENETRATION OF THE GLOBE THROUGH US
Psalm 68:11; Acts 8:4-8; Romans 10:13,17-18; Matthew 24:14,35-38,42
As God gives you His salvation, you carry that joy of salvation and take it everywhere with you. When we know, we are happy to carry it and share it with others everywhere we go. As we have the gospel in us, we carry that gospel anywhere we go in the world. “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” (Psalm 68:11). You receive the word, and take it home. The word works wonders. We must not be empty of the word anymore. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:4-8). We must share the word of God in all the places we go in the world. Philip shared the gospel in Samaria and God stirred a great revival in that city through his ministry. As the light puts out darkness without struggling with the darkness, when Jesus comes into any life, darkness is dispelled immediately and effortlessly.
