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Renewal
Renewal of Love
Jesus Came to Renew our Love for God
Sunday December 18, 2022 - Pastor Wungreiso Valui
Matthew 1:22-23, Isaiah 7:14

THE MESSAGE

In this message, I will explain that Immanuel (God with us) is an intimate expression of God's love. At the end of the message, I will share why you should renew your love for God.

SCRIPTURE

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." -Matthew 1:22-23 (NKJV)

PAROUSIA (PRESENCE) AS AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE

God's presence is an intimate expression of love. The word "presence" in Greek (parousia) is used in the East as a technical expression for the royal visit of a king or emperor; the coming of a King: Immanuel-the advent of a king.

TU B AV: Jewish Love Festival And Renewal

  1. The ancient Jewish love festival is called Tu B Av. On the 15th day of the Hebrew month Av ( August), young women in the glow of the full summer moon danced in the fields outside the wall of Jerusalem. Young men would join the dance in the hope of finding a wife.
  2. There is a deeper meaning to Tu B Av. God decreed that the Israelites would remain in the desert for 40 years, and no person 20 or older would be allowed to enter the promised land.
  3. Tu B Av is the day the death of the generation that left Egypt ended. God forgave His people.
  4. Renewal begins with repentance and forgiveness.

"All this was done"

What did God do?

  1. Joseph and Mary were engaged.
  2. Mary was pregnant before they had a physical relationship.
  3. Joseph tried to divorce her quietly without shaming Mary.

God designed marriage to express His love. A relationship takes work, and marriage is hard.

  1. An Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife.
  2. Mary was carrying a baby that was of the Holy Spirit.

It comes naturally to love people who love me and people who like me. But it is hard to love difficult people, people who are always trying to find fault in you. God loves both obedient and rebellious people. He did all these things to show His love to us.

The question is, Are we doing all we can to love people?

"It might be fulfilled"

What did God promise?

  1. Behold, the virgin shall be with child
  2. Bear a Son
  3. They shall call His name Immanuel
  4. Fulfilled: God cannot fail, even if we are faithless, He remains true, for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

What if God makes a promise and then lets it go unfulfilled in your lifetime?

  1. Abraham leaves his country to go to the promised land, but he describes himself there as a resident alien, and that his offspring will be resident aliens for 400 years. (Genesis 15:13, Genesis 23:3-4)
  2. Abraham had difficulty producing an offspring.
  3. Jacob had children but not "as many as the stars" nor did they prosper in the promised land.
  4. The Jewish people were not born as a nation.
  5. The first-generation Israelites died in the wilderness rather than live in the Promised Land.

What happens when your American dream is not delivered?

  1. In America, people say, "Work hard, and you can become anything. You can be the President of the United States of America." (I definitely cannot. I was not born in this country.)

The bottom line is to live by faith.

  1. Despite the promise not being delivered, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac and Job never lost their belief that life is filled with purpose and meaning.
  2. They did not give up. They lived lives built on faith and hope with meaning, purpose and blessing.
  3. Despite promises unfulfilled in your lifetime, we can live with a powerful faith that fills our days with meaning, purpose and blessing.

When we live by faith, our love for God is renewed daily.

"Which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet"

Who was the prophet God spoke to?

Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel." -Isaiah 7:13-14(NKJV)
  1. Isaiah was a true lover of God. He proclaimed fidelity to God, the one true God.
  2. Judah mistreated the poor.
  3. Judah mistreated not only the poor but God also.
  4. God sent Isaiah to admonish the people to walk on the right path and to serve God alone.
  5. Immanuel: "God with us" is a demonstration of God's presence in the midst of evil and the enemy. (King Ahaz was a symbol of evil and God's enemy.)
  6. God sent Isaiah to give courage and fortitude when they were suffering mortal fear from the threat of the new Assyrian Empire. Isaiah also described in glowing terms the future glory, which inspires God's people to the present day.

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. -Isaiah 40:31

"They shall call His name Immanuel"

  1. Immanuel-the advent of a king
  2. God's presence is an intimate expression of love. The word presence in Greek (parousia) is used in the East as a technical expression for the royal visit of a king or emperor, the advent of a King, Immanuel-the coming of a king.
  3. God wants to renew the fellowship with His people. In the Garden of Eden, God and Adam walked together in the cool of the day. God longs for close fellowship, so He sent His son to renew the fellowship.

"God is with us" is the sweetest thought in the midst of our sorrows. Jesus has been through it all and He can identify with us.

  1. Are you grieving? Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus.
  2. Are you feeling the sorrow of poverty? Jesus had no place to lay His head.
  3. Are you being slandered and insulted? Jesus said reproach had broken His heart and He was full of heaviness.
  4. Are you being tossed in the storm of life? Jesus was there.
  5. Are you feeling betrayed? Jesus was there.
  6. Are you feeling the pangs of death? Jesus was there.
  7. Are you enduring the pain and agony of physical pain? Jesus was there.
  8. Are you experiencing the tortured spirit of being forsaken? Jesus was there.

Come to Immanuel

  • "God with us"
  • Jesus is with us in the pouring rain.
  • Jesus is with us in the burning sun.
  • Jesus is with us in the darkest night.
  • Jesus is with us in the bitter cold.
  • Jesus is with us in the fiercest fire.
  • Jesus is with us in the stormy sea.
  • Jesus is with us in the hottest desert.
  • Jesus is with us during the driest drought.
  • Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed.
Jesus said, "Because I live, you will live also." (John 14:19)

We renew our love for God because we know our Redeemer lives.
Come to Jesus and renew your love for Him.