Stand Alone Sermon

For many people, even some who claim to be “Christians,” God is more of an idea than a reality. God is some thing or someone who exists, but is some place far away, unseen and unknown. That is not, however, the God who reveals Himself in His Word. God is REAL! He is the Creator of all things. And the highpoint of His creation is mankind. God revealed Himself to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were in communion with God, made in His image as spiritual beings. Then came sin and separation from God. All the problems facing mankind today can be traced to the absence of God in the lives of those who do not know Him. Yet, from the beginning, God has been present with a particular group of people, and He enters into a “covenant” with these, promising to be with them and to bless them. Understanding all of this is really quite simple if your eyes have been opened by the Spirit of God. In the time before Jesus was born God revealed His presence to the people of Israel, His chosen people, in specific ways. And when Jesus came He was literally called, “Immanuel … God with us!” In the time of the New Covenant, the time of salvation through faith in Jesus, the Christ, God sends His Spirit INTO those whom He chooses and He then lives within every true believer. God is with us in a very new way, promising that He will never leave us or forsake us. And there’s MORE!!! God promises a day when He will create a new heaven and a new earth and then literally live with us … be present with us in all His glory! This is not a fairytale! God IS with us NOW … and one day all who believe will live in His perfect presence, where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain … FOREVER!!!