God With Us

History

Historical:

Received Word from The Lord - Promises

Israel to return from exile

Will be established as a Nation (land, borders)

God will appoint a King

From the Davidic line

will rule with justice, mercy, strength

will Lead among the nations

will overthrow any oppressor

NOW:

The only promise fulfilled: return from exile

Still under dominion by Rome (Gentiles)

Still no King, no Ruler

Society lacks justice, mercy, strength

Israel is NOT a ruler among the nations

The people are oppressed & taxed

Immanuel

Isaiah 7:14 NASB95

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Immanuel: “God With Us”

ILLUSTRATION: RUSSELL HERMAN'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

In 1994, a 67-year-old carpenter named Russell Herman died in Marion, Illinois. In his last will and testament he bequeathed the following:

• $2.4 billion to the town of Cave-In-Rock

• $2.4 billion to the city of East St. Louis

• $1.5 billion for projects in southeastern Illinois

And in a final act of unprecedented generosity, he left $6 trillion to the Federal Reserve to pay off the national debt (it would take a lot more today because the debt is now over $14 trillion). There was only one problem: at the time of his death, the only thing Mr. Herman actually owned was a 1983 Oldsmobile.

Russell Herman may not have left behind anything of monetary value, but he did leave us all with a good reminder: you can’t give away what you don’t possess.

The bottom line is that he did not have the resources to make any of this a reality. Not so with God. He has all the means to make good on all His promises. Our big idea today is this: In a world of broken promises, God can be counted on.