These are notes on the sermon, Indisputable Proof That God Is For You, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 25 December 2022, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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God has a word for us that will set us for the year ahead. As we prepare to step into a new year, we can be encouraged knowing that God has gone ahead of us and He will make the crooked places straight (Is. 45:2).
While there are many theories in the world that can provide us with some answers on what to do, these are not fool-proof and do not always guarantee results in our lives. Instead, we can rely on God’s Word and His wisdom for the year ahead. God can never make a mistake in our lives. And most importantly, God is love! We can trust in His Word when we know His heart for us.
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. 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 1:21–23 NKJV
“JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” — The Hebrew word for Jesus is “Yeshua”, which means to save. Jesus came to save us from our sins and reconcile us with God.
“and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”— The name Immanuel is derived from two Hebrew words “im” and “ēl” which mean “with us” and “mighty God” respectively.
The mighty God who opened up the Red Sea for the children of Israel (Exod. 14:21) making a way when there was no way, who helped David conquer Goliath (1 Sam. 17), who lavishly provided for a widow and her family during a time of famine (2 Kings 4:1–7), who raised the dead (Luke 7:11–17), who makes plenty come out of little (John 6:1–14)—is the same God who is with us today.
God is with us, and He is with us favorably. Some people think that God is angry with them and out to punish them. But that is far from the truth! God is for you. He is not against you!
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
—Romans 8:31 NKJV
“who can be against us” — The Greek translation for this word is “tis” which also means “what.” That means that we can also read this verse as: “If God is for me, what can be against me?”
With the ongoing pandemic, war, and global recession, the year ahead might seem bleak. But what shall we say to these things? Even in the midst of these troubles, we can still take heart knowing that God is for us. And if God—with whom nothing is impossible—is for us, nothing can be against us!
There might be some of us who have been going through challenges and it seems like things are working against us. We might feel alone and find it difficult to believe God is for us. Instead of listening to the voice of the enemy, lean in and listen to the Word of God. There is an enemy that will try to steal our peace and joy. But our Lord Jesus has assured us that He has come so that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Even in the face of your troubles, hold on to His promise for you to live the abundant life!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
—John 3:16 NKJV
“For God so loved the world” — This includes everyone. All we need to do to receive this gift of salvation is to believe!
A bell is not a bell until you ring it. A song is not a song until you sing it. Love is not love until you give it. And God gave us the greatest gift of all—Jesus—because He loves us. Even when we didn’t love ourselves and continued in sinful ways, God loved us and demonstrated His love by sending His only begotten Son to die for our sins.
When Jesus was born, He was laid in a stone manger. The manger is a picture of an empty tomb, signifying that Jesus was born to die.
“. . . and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
—Hebrews 9:22b NIV
When Adam and Eve sinned against God, God offered an animal sacrifice. He killed an animal and clothed Adam and Eve with coats of skin (Gen. 3:21) now that their glory had left them (Rom. 3:23) and they were naked. This signified that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
God’s plan for us is to enjoy everything He has created for us, to live forever healthy, and strong. Death was never a part of God’s plan for us. He never meant for us to grow old, have sickness and disease, and eventually die. But Adam and Eve sinned, and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). As a result, man was separated from God and death came into the world—first spiritually then, physically.
Yet, God loves man. His heart is not for any of us to perish. That’s why God offered an animal sacrifice when Adam and Eve sinned, which is a picture of the true lamb of God—Jesus, who He would send to take away our sins (John 1:29) and reconcile us with God. God sending His Son to carry our sins is the greatest demonstration of His love for us.
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
—Romans 5:8 NKJV
Even while we were sinners, God loved us and gave us His Son to die for our sins. On the cross, our Lord Jesus became liable/chargeable for all our sins as though He was the one who committed them, making Him our divine substitute.
During Bible times, God instituted the sin offering. Whenever an Israelite sinned, they would bring a lamb without blemish or spot to the priest. The guilty man will then lay his hands on the innocent lamb (Lev. 4:1–4). His sins are transferred to the innocent lamb while the lamb’s innocence and righteousness are transferred to the man. The lamb takes the place of the man while the man takes the place of the lamb. After which, the lamb is killed and placed on the altar as a burnt offering, releasing a sweet fragrance to God (Lev. 1:13), because sin has been put away righteously by the blood of another.
The sin offering is a picture of our Lord Jesus taking our place at the cross. The sin offerings offered during Bible times were only enough to cover, but not take away the sins of guilty mankind. Our Lord Jesus is the true lamb of God that can take away our sins (John 1:29). When we put our trust in Him, He becomes our sin offering and burnt offering—our sins are transferred to Him while His righteousness, beauties, and excellencies are imputed to us!
As sinners, we qualify to receive God’s grace through Christ’s finished work at the cross. Our Lord Jesus did not deserve to die our death just as we do not deserve to live His life. Even though we deserve judgment as sinners, we get His right standing before God and His life of blessings and favor—this is God's grace (unearned, undeserved favor) towards us!
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
—2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us” — Jesus knew no sin and did no sin. Yet, He became sin for us because He was made sin with our sins at the cross.
“that might become the righteousness of God in Him.” — We cannot be justified through our own works (Gal. 2:16). We are righteous today because God made us righteous.
The law of God is like a mirror. It is holy and just but it only reveals our true nature, that we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). The law cannot cleanse us. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins (Eph. 1:7).
“For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
—John 1:17 NKJV
“the law was given . . . grace and truth came” — The law was given from a distance, while grace and truth came to us personally. This is the Christmas story, that we can live a life of grace because of Jesus.
We are saved not by our works but by the blood of Jesus (Eph. 1:7). When we believe in the love of God and accept the finished work of Jesus, we are saved. And when we are saved, His life is in us. This is how we can lead true holy lives of moral excellence, not through our own efforts but through the life of Christ flowing in us.
Some might think that God would definitely raise Christ from the dead because He is His Son. But let’s take a look at this verse:
“And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”
—Romans 4:22–25 NKJV
“Not written for his sake alone” — This refers to Abraham.
“it was imputed to him” — This refers to righteousness or right-standing with God. Today, righteousness is given to us as a gift. When we receive this gift of righteousness, we also receive all the blessings of the righteous and will reign in life (Rom. 5:17)!
“but also for us” — This means that the gift of righteousness is not only for Abraham but for all of us!
“who was delivered up because of our offenses” — Our Lord Jesus was delivered up at the cross for our sins and offenses.
“. . . and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.”
—Romans 4:25b YLT
Our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead when God declared us righteous! Christ who bore all (past, present, and future sins because God is outside time) our sins at the cross, was also resurrected without our sins. This means that all our sins have been effectively put away.
God did not raise our Lord Jesus as His Son. He raised Him as our substitute. This means that we are all in that raising, and are today seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father (Eph 2:6)!
We cannot attain justification through our own efforts. The work will always be incomplete when it’s through our own provision and efforts. But God’s work of justifying us is perfect, complete, and eternal. The provision of our justification through Christ is God’s gift to us!
“. . . and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.”
—Romans 4:25b YLT
If we were not declared righteous by God, Jesus would still be in the grave. At the cross, Jesus died in our place, so that we can take His place. When He died, our old man died with Him. And when He rose again on the third day, we were resurrected with Him! Today, God sees us in Christ and as Christ. And Jesus’ resurrection is proof that today, we are acquitted and righteous. This gift of righteousness is proof that God is for you!
The descent of the Holy Spirit is a sign that Christ has been accepted. We need to understand that Christ’s finished work was accepted because He represents us at the Father’s right hand today (Eph 2:6). Just like how our constituent representatives represent us in parliament, our Lord Jesus represents us before God. He is there at the Father’s right hand for us, because God is for us!
“Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”
—Acts 2:33 NKJV
The Holy Spirit was sent not because of our good works but because of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. It’s all based on the work of our Lord Jesus. We are saved because He died on the cross for us, justified because He rose from the dead. And we have the Holy Spirit because Jesus has been glorified at the Father’s right hand!
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
—Acts 2:1–11 NKJV
“from every nation under heaven” — Even though the day of Pentecost was a Jewish feast, there were many other proselytes who came to celebrate.
“in his own language” — The Greek translation for the word “language” is “dialektos” which also means “dialect”. One’s dialect is also one’s mother tongue, the language that we first hear in our infant years when our parents express their love for us. When the Holy Spirit came to announce the glad tidings of accomplished redemption, He did not confine Himself to one language.
When God gave the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, He only gave it to them in one language, Hebrew. Contrastingly, when God wanted to announce the Good News of forgiveness through Jesus, He sent the Holy Spirit to speak in the language of everyone’s mother tongue. God did this intentionally because He wants us to understand how much He loves us and that He is for us, and not against us.
“how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? . . . we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” — When God gave the law, it was about the works of man. But when He announced grace, it’s about the wonderful works of God. It’s all about what Jesus did, and not what we can do. Our part is just to receive this gift from God. This is what Christmas is about, the wonderful gift of our Lord Jesus Christ!
“Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your love for me. A love that never lets me go, a love that kept on loving me in spite of all my sins, in spite of all of my failures, in spite of all my mistakes. Even when I didn’t love myself, You loved me. Thank You, thank You for the gift of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ, who died on that cross and became chargeable for all my sins and all my guilt. Thank You that You raised Him from the dead when I was declared righteous in your eyes, because that work is a perfect work. All my sins have been put away. I thank You, Jesus Christ is now my Lord and my Savior. Thank You Father, from now on, I am greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved. And I'll face the future with You and You for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“This coming week, the Lord bless you with the blessings of favor everywhere you go, with the blessings of wisdom, knowing how to flow with God, with the blessings of protection for you and your loved ones, from all harm, danger, and from all the power of the evil one. The Lord favors you, favors you and your children, favors you and your spouse, favors you throughout this week. May you find yourself enjoying the goodness of God, running smack-dab into the unexpected blessing of God, knowing that your life will never be the same, because you’re stepping into a brand new year where God brings you to a higher level. And the Lord lifts up His countenance, smiles on you, and grants to you and your loved ones, His Shalom peace. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
—Romans 8:31 NKJV
Many of us are often excited to usher in the new year. But perhaps for some of us, thoughts about what the near year might be has left us feeling unsettled or even fearful . . .
Possible recession, ongoing war, challenges that we have been facing for a while . . . You might be left wondering “How am I going to face the new year?”
If that’s you, meditate on this thought throughout the week: God is for me.
Beloved, God loves you and is for you. If your Heavenly Father is on your side, nothing can be against you! Even if what you see in the natural might make you feel otherwise, know that your Heavenly Father will be with you every step of the way, to guide you, help you, and provide for you.
As we prepare our hearts for the upcoming year, let’s shift our eyes to focus on the unceasing love of our Father, who is always for us. Know that you’re stepping into the new year victorious because Christ has already paid the price for you to reign in this life (Rom. 5:17)!
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2022
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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