Three Great Assurances

Let's look at Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Brand new Bible and the same words,

but it's staying together.

Matthew chapter 1, verse 21.

Matthew 1:21

She shall bring forth a son,

that shall call his name Jesus,

for he shall save his people from their sins.

All this was done,

that my field was spoken of the Lord

by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall with child,

shall bring forth a son,

they shall call his name Emmanuel,

which being interpreted,

is God with us.

Because of that Christmas,

that first Christmas,

the child of God is recipient

of three great assurances,

more, but just three tonight,

that provide comfort and strength

throughout our life.

First of all, he was God's own son.

Luke 2.19 says,

But Mary kept all those things

and pondered them in his heart.

Can you imagine the thoughts

that Mary was actually pondering on that night?

A young woman.

I can think as Mary was rocking her baby boy,

she might have been filled with sadness,

or with a new birth,

filled with joy.

She looks upon that tiny face

and sees the hope of every race.

Her heart is filled with a mother's glow,

and she never wants to let him go.

She'll see him run and laugh and play,

and longs to keep him safe each day.

His life won't be an easy one,

his destiny hard.

As God's own son Mary sees,

the miracles he'll perform.

The lepers healed and free from scorn,

the lame will walk,

the blind will see.

She sees his love will set us free,

and then she sees him on a cross.

She feels his pain and feels our loss.

She knows his life must come to this.

She sheds a tear and gives a kiss.

His life won't be easy,

won't be an easy one.

His destiny hard.

As God's own son,

each year when Christmas time draws near,

and people are all so busy here

with shopping, baking, trees of green,

let's ask,

what does this really mean?

Each year,

let us take a moment from this fuss

and think of all their gifts to us.

A mother's love,

a baby boy,

peace and comfort,

love and joy.

He was born for everyone.

In a book that Chuck Lindell,

Chuck Swindoll,

wrote,

The Grace Awakening.

If our greatest need

had been information,

God would have sent us an educator.

If our greatest need

was technology,

God would have sent us

a scientist.

If our greatest need

had been money,

God would have sent us

an economist.

If our greatest need

had been pleasure,

God would have sent us

an entertainer.

But our greatest need

was forgiveness.

So God sent us a Savior.

Now we can look at

these three great assertions

that provide comfort

and strength throughout our life.

number one

is God with us.

Matthew 1.23 says,

And they shall call His name Emmanuel,

which interpreted

is God's with us.

Matthew 28.20 says,

And lo, I am with you always,

even unto the end of the world,

always with us.

Deuteronomy 31.8 says,

And the Lord,

He is that doeth,

that doth go before thee.

He will be with thee.

He will not fail thee.

Neither forsake thee.

Fear not.

Neither be dismayed.

Always and forever.

And He goes with us in depth.

Last week,

a friend of mine

that was younger than me

passed away unexpectedly.

She was a Christian

and her husband was

not dealing so well

with her death.

But of course,

in Psalm 23,

Psalms 23:4

verse 4,

it says,

Yea,

though I walk

through the valley

of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil.

For thou art with me.

Thy rod and thy staff,

they comfort me.

Pastor's message

just a little while ago

was about

the beggar Lazarus

who died.

All he had to eat

was crumbs

from somebody's table.

But now he is comforted.

Hebrews 13.5 said,

For he hath said,

I will never leave thee

nor forsake thee.

A newspaper held a competition

to find out

how people would describe friendship.

The winning answer was,

a friend is someone

who's walking in

when everybody else

is walking out.

You and I have a friend

that will do just that.

A friend who will stick

closer than a brother.

And that's Jesus.

When Sam Walton

was in his mid-90s,

was named one of the richest men

in America.

Does everybody know

who Sam Walton was?

His company's not like it was

when he was running it.

You'd never know it

because he drove an old pickup

and lived like a regular person.

He was asked one time

why he didn't drive

a Rolls Royce.

He replied,

Where would I put my dogs?

He was successful,

at least in part,

because he connected

with the common man.

I had a boss

that was a millionaire

when I worked with

our ex-song leader

in Omaha.

And he just drove

an old Dodge Polaro.

Probably a 10-year-old Polaro.

He didn't care.

It didn't bother him.

There's a few people

I've known,

had known of,

I should say,

that have money

but don't flaunt it.

But he was successful

because he treated

the common man

with dignity.

That's why Jesus came

as a man to earth.

God with us

to connect

with the common man

because he is

an uncommon God.

Number two,

God in us.

Colossians 1.27

says,

Which is Christ in you?

The hope of glory.

The Holy Spirit,

which is the Spirit

of His Son,

is in us

to seal us

until the day

of redemption.

And that's

one of the reasons

is to guide.

Luke 1.79

says,

To give light

to them

that sit

in darkness

and in the shadow

of death

to guide our feet

into the way

of peace.

In Acts 9.31,

Then had the churches

rest throughout

all Judea

and Galilee

and Samaria

and were edified

and working,

walking

in the fear

of the Lord

and in the comfort

of the Holy Ghost

were multiplied.

What happened?

What divine

intervention

occurred

that gave

the churches

rest?

What?

Yeah.

God knocked Paul

off his horse.

Got his attention.

But Paul,

not doing

what you're

supposed to be.

Get away

from your

pharisaical

training

and learn

what Isaiah

had to say

about me.

All that.

Paul got saved.

He was doing

really mean

things to the church.

So,

by divine

intervention,

Paul got

saved.

He's also

to teach

and empower

us for

Christian service.

Next time you're

in an airport,

notice the difference

between passengers

who have

confirmed tickets

and those

on standby.

Those who have

confirmed tickets

are relaxed.

They're confident

and expectant.

Those on standby

hang around

the ticket

counter.

They pace

and smoke,

pace and smoke,

pace and smoke,

all because of

uncertainty.

God offers

us freedom

from the burden

of uncertainty

so we can

know for sure

where we

stand with

God.

1 John

5.13

says,

These things

have I written

unto you

that believe

on the name

of the Son

of God,

that ye

may know

that you

have eternal

life,

and that ye

may believe

on the name

of the Son

of God.

Number

three,

God is

for us.

Romans 8.31

and 32

says,

What shall

we then

say to

these things?

If God

be for us,

who can

be against

us?

He that

spared not

his own

Son,

but delivered

him up

for us

all,

how shall

he not

with him

also freely

give us

all things?

You know,

Napoleon

was a

great

general,

but an

extremely

poor

theologian.

One of

his

declarations

was that

God

is on

the side

with the

army,

with the

largest

battalion.

Well,

Wellington

proved him

wrong.

Now let's

look at

Joshua

Joshua 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

Rather

interesting

time

in Joshua's

life.

Moses

is gone,

he's off

the scene

now.

He's in

charge.

Let's

look at

verse 13

to the

end of

the chapter.

And it

came to

pass,

when Joshua

was by

Jericho,

that he

lifted up

his eyes

and looked,

and behold,

there stood

a man over

against him

with his

sword drawn

in his

hand.

And Joshua

went unto

him and

said unto

him,

art thou

for us

or for

our

adversaries?

And he

said,

Nay,

but as

the captain

of the

host of

the Lord,

I am

now come.

And Joshua

fell on his

face to the

earth and

did worship

and said

unto him,

What saith

my Lord

unto his

servant?

And the

captain of

the Lord's

host said

unto Joshua,

Loose thy

shoe from

off thy

feet,

for the

place

whereon thou

standest is

holy.

And Joshua

did so.

Joshua was

expecting him

to say,

Okay,

you're on

my side,

yay.

But the

angel said,

Wait a

minute here.

I'm not

here to be

on your

side or

their side.

I want

to find out

if you're

on my

side.

So Joshua

got it

right.

He bowed

down.

You know,

Balaam

just about

got whacked

off until

he listened

to his

donkey.

And that,

if he'd

have pursued

that a

little bit

more,

I think

he'd

lost his

head.

That

angel

wasn't

going to

mess

with him.

Joshua

dropped to

the ground

and bowed.

And he

took his

shoes off.

We are

to be

reminded

that the

wonderful

promise of

Romans 8.

8.31

follows

that great

passage of

Romans 8.28

and 30.

Which clearly

sets forth

that all

things work

together for

good to

those who

love God,

to those

who are

called

according to

his purpose.

The called

according to

his purpose

are further

characterized

for whom

he did

foreknow,

he also

did

predestinate

to be

conformed

to the

image of

his son.

Conformed

to his

image.

Joshua

found out

that he

needed to

be not

so arrogant.

He didn't

know what

that was.

He had a

sword.

Looked like

a soldier.

He was

more than

that.

But he

made the

right move.

Moreover,

whom he

did

predestinate,

them he

also called.

And whom

he called,

them he

also justified.

And whom

he justified,

them he

also glorified.

Romans 8,

28,

and 30.

The

dedicated

Christian

who walks

daily in

the will

of God

can take

courage in

knowing that

no weapon

that is

formed against

thee shall

prosper.

And every

tongue that

shall rise

against thee

in judgment

thou shalt

condemn.

this is

the heritage

of the

servants

of the

Lord,

and the

righteousness

is of

me,

saith the

Lord.

Isaiah

54,

17.

It is

said that

Billy Graham,

an evangelist,

tells of

driving through

a small

southern town

and being

stopped by

a policeman

and being

charged with

speeding.

Graham admitted

his guilt,

but was

told by the

officer that

he would

have to

appear in

court.

The judge

asked,

guilty or

not guilty?

When Graham

pleaded guilty,

the judge

replied,

that'll be

ten dollars,

a dollar for

every mile

you went

over the

limit.

But then

suddenly the

judge recognized

the famous

minister.

You have

violated the

law,

he said.

The fine

must be

paid,

but I am

going to

pay it

for you.

The judge

took a

ten dollar

bill from

his own

wallet,

attached it

to the

ticket,

and then

took Graham

out and

bought him

a steak

dinner.

I want to

go to

that town.

Of course,

I'm not a

famous evangelist.

And Billy

Graham used

that illustration

in his

sermons for

a long

time to

explain God's

grace.

grace.

That is

how God

treats us

as

repentant

sinners.

He paid

for our

sins with

his son,

and now

we get to

dine with

him in

heaven.

Now in

2 Kings

2 Kings 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19,

starting in

verse 1,

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and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth,

to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos.

And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah,

This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy,

for the children are come to the birth,

and there is not strength to bring forth.

It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakim,

whom the king of Assyria, his master, hath sent to reproach the living God,

and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard.

Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

And Isaiah said unto them,

Thus shall ye say to your master,

Thus saith the Lord,

Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard,

with which the servant of the king of Assyria hath blasphemed me.

Behold, I will send a blast upon him,

and he shall hear a rumor,

and shall return to his own land,

and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

So Rabshakim returned,

and found the king of Assyria,

warring against Libna,

for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish.

And when he heard,

say of king Terhaka,

king of Ethiopia,

Behold, he has come out to fight against thee.

He sent messengers again unto Hezekiah,

saying,

Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah,

king of Judah,

saying,

Let not thy God,

in whom thou trustest,

deceive thee,

saying,

Jerusalem shall not be delivered

into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria

have done to all the lands by destroying them utterly,

and thou shalt be delivered.

Have the gods of the nations delivered them

which my fathers have destroyed,

as Gozan and Haran and Respa,

and the children of Eden,

which were in Thilassar,

where is the king of Hama,

and the king of Arpad,

and the king of the city of Setharvan,

of Hena,

and Iva.

And Hezekiah received the letter

of the hand of the messengers,

and read it.

And Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord,

and spread it up before the floor,

and spread it before the Lord.

And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord,

and said,

O Lord God of Israel,

which dwelleth between the cherubims,

thou art the God,

even thou alone,

of all the kingdoms of the earth.

Thou hast made heaven and earth.

Lord, bow down thine ear,

and hear.

Open, Lord,

thine eyes,

and see,

and hear the words of Sennacherib,

which has sent him to reproach the living God.

Of a truth, Lord,

the kings of Assyria

have destroyed the nations and their lands,

and have cast their gods into the fire,

for they were no gods,

but the work of men's hands,

wood and stone.

Therefore,

they have destroyed them.

Now therefore,

O Lord our God,

I beseech thee,

save thou us out of his hand,

that all the kingdoms of the earth may know

that thou art the Lord God,

even thou only.

How many things did Hezekiah do right

in this passage?

Number one,

he humbled himself.

Number two,

he got counsel

from the man of God,

Isaiah.

And number three,

he prayed to God.

Now let's look at verse 32,

in the same chapter.

Therefore,

thus saith the Lord

concerning the king of Assyria,

He shall not come into this city,

nor shoot an arrow there,

nor come before it with shield,

nor cast a bank against it.

By the way that he came,

by the same shall he return,

and shall not come into this city,

saith the Lord.

For I will defend this city,

to save it,

for mine own sake,

and for my servant David's sake.

And it came to pass that night,

that the angel of the Lord went out,

and smote in the camp of the Assyrians,

and hundred fourscore and five thousand.

And when they arose early in the morning,

behold,

they were all dead corpses.

So Sennacherib,

king of Assyria,

departed,

and went,

and returned,

and dwelt in Nineveh.

And it came to pass,

as he was worshipping

in the house of Nisroch,

his God,

that Aramelech,

and Shearizar,

his son,

smote him with the sword,

and they escaped

into the land of Armenia,

and Eschar Haddon,

his son,

reigned in his stead.

What did Sennacherib do wrong?

Number one,

he mocked God.

Number two,

like Napoleon had confidence

in his many battalions,

he thought his 185,000 men

were going to do him some good.

Number three,

he thought his crown was secured.

These two sons had another thought.

But God saved Jerusalem that day

because Hezekiah humbled himself,

sought counsel with a man of God,

and prayed to God,

and God rescued Judah.

Hezekiah has been called

the king whose heart was closest to God

other than David.

That's not bad,

being number two on the list.

Let's think of how Hezekiah

and the church

because of it got rest

because God intervened

and Saul of Tarsus

got saved

and learned that

he was wrong

and Jesus was right.