God is with us

Intro

UFGC what a week its been.

Words cannot discribe the events, emotions andcircumstances of the lasst 7 days.

Our country came under attack, War was declared on Gauteng and KZN.

But today i want you know that through it all: God is with us.

Even asd we rebuild and put the peaces back together - God is with us.

Romans 8:31 NASB95

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

Our Lord Jesus promised us

Matthew 28:20 NASB95

20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Not once, not for a single second have you been alone. God has been with you.

Some of us have been busy. Busier than we have ever been. Regular sceduled prayer times and bible reading have been forgotton, as we patrol, deliever, protect and police.

I am encouraged by a prayer written by an airbourhne soldure as he flew into frace on DDay, hge wrote it in his diary and it is so simple but also so pure:

“Lord, thou knowest how busy i must be this day, if in the chaose i forget thee, I thank thee that thou will never forget me”

I myself have prayed this prayer this week many times.

nd though we have been so busy, though we may have not always had the oppertinity to spend as much time in the presence of God as we normally do, dispite all this: God hgas been with us.

He is Emanuael, not just at Christiams but every second of every day of every year.

I. God is with us when we are tempted to quit and give up;

Exodus 14:10–14 NASB95

10 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14 “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

A sure defeat was turned into victory because the Lord was with them.

Many of us felt this way this week. Surrounded.

We had violence all around us and no where to go.

But my friends through it, maybe unseen by natural eyes, God was with us.

Angels with flambing swords stood by our houses and our beds.

II. God is with us when there are needs in our lives.

Hebrews 13:5 NASB95

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

Have a positive confession; confess what God says about your needs.

Philippians 4:19 NASB95

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

We have not had all we would like over past 7 days.

We have not had basic food, bread, milk, on some days we even had no water.

But despite the fact that we did not have these things, we did have something much more important: We had Jesus.

There may not be bread in our house - but Jesus is.

There may not be milk - but Jesus is.

There may not be meat - but there is Jesus.

There may not be Honey - but there is Jesus.

But if you do want bread, milk, meat and honey - all these things are here in the Word of God.

We may not have everything in life we want, but we do have the Lord. He is right there with us all the time. He sees all our needs and He will meet every one of them in His own time and in His own way.

IV. God is with us in difficult times.

For many people the next few weeks, even months are going to extra difficult.

Church I have cried over this.

As if both COVID and the lockdown have not been enough, now you have this to add to your already great burdens.

But my friends I want to remind you of something:

Daniel 3:23–26 NASB95

23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.

God is with you in this fire and God will be with you as he brings you out this fire.

His presence will keep you.

If you have lost your shop, you have not lost the lord - he will sustain you.

V. God is with us in times of danger

Isaiah 43:1–4 NASB95

1 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. 3 “For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. 4 “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

When you were at home on your knees praying as you heard the explosions and gunfire - the lord was with you.

When you maybe were on the streets patrolling, checking cars, manning road blocks - the lord was with you.

When you were shot at the lord was with you.

Conclusions:

Yes, the presence of the Army has for many people been reassuring and we thank them for coming to our aid.

But through it all we have had a far more powerful presence with us: The presence of God.

I thank you today for all your prayers and efforts. Our communites thank you.

We give all the glory to God!