DAVID
My little friend Gilbert when he was two had a memory verse he liked to share with us.
GoooooooooooooooooooooooDDDD IIIIIIIsssssssssssss wifyou!
The God and IS was spread out very long and then wifyou was so fast we use to laugh but its true GOD is wifyou wifus!!!!
PHYLLIS THE TRADE OFF God thought ---- I am with you
Thinking Haiti situation.... devastation to human lives... people. It impacted each of us in a different way. From a distance- what do we do? Give to organizations that are already set up. We give what we have.... Also something even more powerful that we can do.... in our class ... asked the Holy Spirit to be with each person trapped in the rubble.....
Not leave...not depart from, not leave behind, not leave alone
Not abandon or neglect, let go,
By faith... I believe He answered
By faith we believe what the Bible tells us –it says ... God is with us , I am with you
Powerful statements from a God who can’t lie....
That He will not desert you –
Instead He will restore, repair, encourage, hold on to us
***Stuffed animal & person
With is a special word... a preposition a word that talks about position........
Nice to be around, beside, on , above, below, ..... but with denotes not leaving, like a fragrance is with you ...
Throughout the Word God said, “I am with you” .... never leaving, not separated from
Why is that important?
I am with you!!!! This is the Lord saying this to each and every one of us not only today but each and every day!.
The words He puts together most frequently are ..... don’t be afraid.... I am with you
Message GENERALLY has 3 parts
- Don’t be afraid
- I am with you
- And......
DAVID
1. I am with you &........Gen 28
Jacob (feared for his life... going to find a wife with his angry brother chasing him) Jacob was wondering around not knowing what to do. He went to bed with a rock for a pillow & had a dream
12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
Ge 28:15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."NIVI
Don’t be afraid ...I am with you...& will watch over you and not leave you until I have done what I’ve promised....complete the promise
SO WHAT IS THE TRADE OFF? Like Jacob, I GIVE HIM MY FEAR ----& HE WATCHES OVER & protects ME... STAYS WITH ME... KEEPS HIS PROMISES
PHYLLIS
2. Don’t be afraid, I am with you &
God speaking to the Israelites to encourage them – strangers in a strange land.... words of comfort for the few believers and the Jews of the Exile. Israel would not be destroyed or swallowed by other nations, but a remnant would be preserved.
Isaiah 41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.NLT
So the God who is with you will ....
Strengthen – to be strong, alert, courageous, brave, stout, bold, solid,
to be determined, to make oneself alert, strengthen oneself, confirm oneself, persist in,
Uphold= support, hold up, hold
Don’t be afraid, I am with you & I will strengthen, help & uphold Is 41
SO WHAT IS THE TRADE OFF? I GIVE HIM MY FEAR AND HE PROVIDES for me STRENGTH, HELP & UPRIGHTNESS.
DAVID
3. Don’t be afraid, I am with you and ....
Is 43:5 "So don’t be afraid: I’m with you. I’ll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from east and west.
In Isaiah 43 the people were still in exile ... confused, discouraged, angry, feeling that God had left them & was no where around......and God sent the prophet Isaiah to comfort them to encourage them. God gathered them ..... He says
In the trials – I am with you
I am working a work in your character,
you will grow, I am with you
With ALL His people,
In the local church – you will become strong – for I am with you
PHYLLIS READ THE STORY PAGE 29 – one person who was scattered
DAVID
Luke13:34 “...how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, (Jesus speaking)
Don’t be afraid, I am with you and I will gather you back to me ----- to my house, to my family
SO WHAT IS THE TRADE OFF? I GIVE HIM MY FEAR AND HE DRAWS ME, SHELTERS ME, GIVES ME A PLACE OF BELONGING
PHYLLIS God is with us and is speaking to us today to our hearts....
like the people in the Bible we need to make a trade -
trade whatever is holding us back for the only thing that can enable us to go on .... God who is love... His unending Presence with us.
Maybe our situations don’t seem as dramatic as that of the one under the rubble in Haiti, or of Jacob fearing for his life or the girl who lost her way ... but ours are ours every bit as life threatening and so important to God because our life is precious to Him.
Jesus said Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world Matt 28:20
Please stand with us....
DAVID GOD IS WITH ME and....
God, I give You my fears and I trust that You are with me.
I believe Your promise that You will watch over me,
that You will not leave me,
and that You will do all You have promised in my life.
PHYLLIS I know I need You,
and so I receive Your help, strength, courage and support
to live what is right each day.
DAVID I thank You that Your love draws and shelters me,
that Your Word speaks to me,
And that you’re PRESENCE that enfolds me.
