MATTHEW 1:21-23 – 21
Isaiah 7:14. This prophecy clearly states that a virgin shall conceive and shall bring forth a Son and His name shall be called Emmanuel. This message was given to Isaiah. If it were you, how would you feel? It sounds too difficult to be true. This is the problem of many preachers in the world today. Whatever they cannot prove and analyze scientifically they cannot boldly declare. A man shall be holy and totally free from sin, and perfected by God. They don’t believe this because they cannot prove it. God is able to do all things and prove whatever prophecy He has given.
Isaiah did not think about the possibility of the prophecy since he was not the one to do it, he declared it openly and confidently. Actually, he was not the first to say this, it has been said by God Himself earlier in a different language in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Everyone born into the world is referred to as the seed of man but in this case, the seed will be unique, distinct, different, a kind that has never and will never be before and after Christ. Satan could only crucify Christ, and nail His feet on the wood, but He in turn would bruise his head and knock him out completely.
Luke 1:30. The Angel said to her, “Fear not, Mary…” Angels don’t argue with or disobey God. He came to Mary and delivered the message as given. They go and obey promptly and implicitly without raising any question. This was why Jesus taught us in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven”. When God sends you on an errand, you do it as stipulated, you will not say you will do it at your own time or in your own way.
vs 32-33. Jesus shall be great and called the Son of the Highest, not the son of Joseph. The throne of His father David shall be given to Him and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. This has not happened yet – He came at the first time as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is coming the second time as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and He will set up His Kingdom and reign, and His Kingdom shall have no end.
vs 34. Mary asked how the prophecy could be fulfilled when she has never known a man. This confirmed that she was a virgin.
vs 35. Christ is holy, righteous and spotless. He is the Son of God who came to fulfill prophecies.
2. The Purpose of Full Justification, our Salvation (Acts 13:33,38-39; Romans 3:24-26; 5:9-11; 10:8-10)
Acts 13:33. Christ is not the Son of Joseph, but of God Almighty.
vs 38-39. Through Him, forgiveness of sin was preached. All that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses in the old covenant. As we come to Christ in the New Testament, we receive justification.
Romans 3:24. We do not need to bring anything, all things are ready and available for us.
vs 25. Jesus is the Propitiation for our sins through faith in His blood, He came to save all from all sins that are past.
vs 26. He is the Justifier of all who believe in Him, but all have to come to Him, repenting of their sins.
3. The Power of Freedom through Jesus from all Sins (John 8:11-12,32,36; Romans 6:18,22; 8:2-4b Galatians 5:1)
John 8:11-12. No man was able to condemn the woman caught in adultery and Jesus did not either, but told her to go and sin no more. She did not need to roll on the ground, but Christ spoke the word of freedom to her and she was free, just as He speaks authoritatively against satan and sicknesses.
vs 32. If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. On examination, all bondages of sin are taken away. When satan comes, he finds nothing in you.
Romans 6:18. Remember the illustration of the one who fell into the well. After rescue, all the bad water he had taken in was pumped out of him and be became free. Same thing with salvation, when you are saved from sin, you become a servant of God and everlasting life becomes your portion. Everlasting life will not come until you are free from sin. You become a new creature and a servant to holiness, and the result is everlasting life.
B. THE SINLESS SANCTIFIER OF ALL SAINTS (Hebrews 13:12-14; 1 John 3:5)
Jesus will save His people from their sins. He will save them from external sin, inbred sin, casual sin, common sin, habitual, personal and peculiar sins. At salvation, we are saved from outward, external sins, and at sanctification, we are saved from inbred sins, depraved nature and things that drag people down. Christ has made all provisions for salvation for all already, all we need to do now is to go to Him in consecration, with expectations, believing, and laying everything on the altar with the promise never to look anywhere else again. We leave everything in His hands as Saviour, Sanctifier and Master of our lives.
1 John 3:5. Jesus was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin at all.
1. The Provision of Emmanuel, the Sanctifier (Matthew 1:23; Psalm 130:7-8; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:9-11)
Matthew 1:23. Look at the depth, height, length and breadth of the miracle-working power of God! “A virgin shall be with a child…” This has never happened before this time. If this could happen according to the promise God gave in the old Testament, then He is able to sanctify us according to His promise. When you get home, I want you to look at all the promises God gave and see how deep and impossible it is for a man to have them fulfilled. Yet, they all happened. This tells us that all promises that God made will come to pass. Emmanuel means “God with us”, that is, God who saved us has the power to sanctify us as well. If He promises to sanctify us, He will surely bring the promise to pass.
Psalm 130:7-8. With God is plenteous, great and deep redemption. God promised to redeem Israel from all her iniquities and He did it.
Titus 2:11-14. If I were cold and unable to manifest zeal for the work of God, Emmanuel is there, He will speak to me and all deadness will disappear and He will make me zealous of good works. God has the power to sanctify us and also help us to have zeal and be unique in His service.
Hebrews 2:9-10. Jesus who was made a little lower than the Angels tasted death for all men to bring many sons to glory. As you look at Adam and Eve and their offsprings, and their stories in Genesis chapters 4, 5, 6, Psalm 14, 53, Romans 3, everything is degenerative and defiled, shameful and dirty, but here comes Christ, Emmanuel, our Sanctifier bringing many sons to glory.
vs 11. He who sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one because Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren. He will not be ashamed of us here on earth and up there in heaven.
2. The Passionate Prayer of Earnest Saints (Jeremiah 29:12-13; Psalm 119:10-11; 2 Samuel 7:25; James 1:6)
For us to get salvation, we had to pray, and show God we want the real salvation, not a so-so or make-believe version, but salvation that heaven will recognize and say we are saved. The one that the Spirit of God will bear witness in the heart that we are saved. The same thing for sanctification, already, we know the promise and provision of Christ, so, we come to Him passionately in prayer.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” God will answer your prayer. When you pray for healing for the body that will go to hell, He answers. When you pray for money that will not be useful after death, He hears, when you pray for life-partners whose relationships do not go beyond the earth – because there is no marriage in heaven, He hears and answers. When you pray for children as Hanna prayed for a child, He answers your prayers, when you pray for sanctification that takes us from earth right to the presence of God in heaven, He will hear and answer when you ask Him with the whole of your heart.
3. The Possession of Entire Sanctification (Hebrews 13:12-14; 1 John 3:3; 4:17-18; 2 Corinthians 3:18)
1 John 3:3. If you are going to purify yourself, you will take yourself to the Purifiers and Sanctifier, and stay there until you are sanctified.
ch 4:17. Love is very important because Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us. But the love goes up and down, depending on our moods. But when God purges our hearts, our feelings will not depend on what is happening around us, what we feel, think, what people do or do not do. Our love is made perfect because as Christ is, so are we in this world.
Look at the love of Jesus still unshaken despite all He went through. He knew ahead that all those things would happen, yet, He kept on loving the people. He healed the ear of the servant of the chief priest despite His imminent arrest. He was beaten and scourged, yet, He was not moved. This is how we behave when we possess entire sanctification.
There is no fear in love. After sanctification, our lives are changed. When our neighbours come to entice us to sin, we refuse, but we don’t fear them. We must love as Jesus loved – love without fear. He loved the Pharisees but was not afraid of them. When Pilate asked Him all kinds of questions, He kept quiet. Then he said he had power to convict or free Him, He did not take offense because Pilate had no such power. When God sanctifies, He also purifies and saves us from fear because it has torment. When you don’t fear, you love freely, you love the sinners, persecutors and opposers, but fear is gone out of your heart towards them. You may be misunderstood, but you keep on loving them.
When you fear, you develop heart problem, high blood pressure, it might shorten your life because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. What will your life, progress and usefulness be if you fear no one on earth and you just love everyone all times? You will succeed and climb the highest mountain in Jesus name.
C. THE SMITTEN SUCCOUR OF THE SICK (Hebrews 2:9,14-15,19; Isaiah 53:4-6)
Jesus came to save us from sin and it’s consequences. He came to heal us from all our sicknesses. He succours, supports, strengthens and sustains us.
Hebrews 2:9. At every point in time in your life, you will see Jesus no matter what comes your way. He tasted death for everyone.
vs 14. Through death, He destroyed him who has power over death. I want to ask you – Is satan as powerful now as he was in the old testament? Definitely not. Some people pray as if satan is still as powerful as he was in the garden of Eden. They pray as if they are still in the days of David, when he did wrong and thousands of people died. Many people pray and see satan as powerful as he was in the gospels, before Christ went to the Cross. They never took note of what Christ did on the Cross.
When you have headache, don’t give the credit to the devil, it may be that you didn’t sleep enough and need to rest more. You have constipation, running stomach as a result of over-eating or not taking proper care of what you are eating, or you did not drink enough water, don’t give credit to the devil because he has no power over you anymore. You are free in Jesus name.
If you are thinking of the devil all the time – human beings do some things and you attributes them to the devil. Having the right perspective about things will give you victory in your life and you will be be more than conquerors in Jesus name!
vs 15. You are saved, sanctified and the power and presence of God is with you, yet you don’t know that satan is defeated, you are still afraid and cannot walk or live freely and you feel satan is behind the door or around you all the time. You are free tonight in Jesus name!
vs 18. For the fact that Jesus Himself was tempted and overcame, He is able to succour all who are tempted. He will support, sustain and lift you up, and the Red Sea will not drown you in Jesus name.
1. Thorough Deliverance from the Consequences of Sin (Galatians 3:13-14; 1 Peter 2:24; Luke 4:18-19, 32,36; John 5:5-9,14)
Galatians 3:13-14 “13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” There will be a fulfilment of the promises in your life in Jesus name!
2. Triumphant Dominion and Cure of All Sicknesses (Matthew 8:16-17; 12:15; 14:14; Isaiah 53:4-5)
Every sickness in your body is healed in Jesus name!
Matthew 8:16-17 “16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” It is done in Jesus name!
3. Total Destruction of the Crucibles of Satan (1 John 3:8; Colossians 2:14-15; Hebrews 2:14-15; Acts 26:18)
Crucible is a container where you pound something or melt it into liquid. Satan is so wicked and merciless, he has no compassion or love. In the Old Testament, he put them and pounded them in crucibles but he cannot do that to you. All crucibles of satan is totally destroyed out of your life, health, strength, power, ability, agility, skill. Walk like the child of the King, you are more than a conqueror in Jesus name!
1 John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” His works are destroyed in your brain, body, projects, profession, on your wife, husband, children, mother, father, all the works of the devil are destroyed.
I remember when we were at Taraba some years ago, there was this young man of 23 years of age, who was paralyzed and moved about on a wooden board rolling about on small tyres. In the message, I declared that Christ has given us victory and that if they believed on Him, all the works of the devil will be destroyed in their lives. As we began to pray, that man stood up and began to walk, raising the wooden board for all to see.
We finished the Crusade and the people knew that it was the last day, and we had said goodbyes, and some people laid three paralyzed people beside the door of the car. The head of security was scolding them so sharply but I told him to not worry, so I said to the men one by one, “you are healed, you are healed, you are healed!” and I entered the car and was driven away quietly. As we got to the gate, I heard shouts and we stopped. I asked what the shouting was about and I was told that all three men got up healed as I decreed.
It is your time now to partake of the blessing. Rise and tell the Lord that you are the first partaker and beneficiary of the power of Christ and it will happen!
