"Immanuel is Mightier Than Ichabod" with Jentezen Franklin

the following program is sponsored by friends and partners of Kingdom connection well we want to wish you a Merry Christmas thank you for watching the program today I believe this message is really going to speak to you and I'm so glad to have my wife Charisse of 27 years we normally have all of our kids we've got five kids but they're all over the place and we couldn't get them together but I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and we appreciate you and love you merry Christmas everyone let this message speak to your heart I would like to go to Matthew chapter one and I want to read verse 21 and in a moment we're gonna come together and conclude with a beautiful candlelight service the first service was so powerful so beautiful lives were changed and I just sense that God is ready to touch us again in a powerful way this morning verse 21 and she will bring forth the 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 Emmanuel which is translated God with us there are two names that are huge in the Bible one of them that I want to highlight from the Old Testament is reflective of the fact that there was a name that was before Christ in the Old Testament and it's a name you don't ever want to name your children if you're having a child don't name your child ichabod number two don't name him Judas and don't name her Jezebel if it's a girl but I was thinking about how that in 1st Samuel chapter 4 there's this story and there's a woman who's giving birth and it's the worst day of her life and here's what's taking place the Bible said that the Ark of the Covenant was stolen by the Philistines she hears the news the presence of God the Ark of God the favor of God has has been stolen not only that but then another servant runs in and says on top of that bad news your father-in-law Eli the high priest the man who stands before God for the people he is dead he fell over and broke his neck in a chair and he's dead and then on top of that a servant runs in and says even worse news your husband was killed in the battle and now she has a baby and that baby's name she decides to name it Ichabod and listen don't ever allow your present to name your future it's easy for you sometimes to get in a bad season but you don't have to let what's going on in your present name your future she named that child Ichabod and when she named that child Ichabod she went on to say because the glory of God has departed from my life it's departed from my marriage it's departed from my family the presence of God they're no more good days there's no more happiness there's no more joy in my life so just name that child what I'm presently going through I'm going to name this child Ichabod the glory has to party and then you fast-forward and you get into the verse that I just read to you and it says that the Prophet said that his name shall be called Emmanuel which means God with us and there are two names and in that I see that there are two kinds of spirits and you have to choose which kind of attitude and spirit you're gonna take on you're either going to have an Ichabod spirit that says the glory of the Lord has departed just give up don't have faith don't have hope don't have dreams don't believe that God's gonna do great things it's Ichabod or we can hear the message of Christmas this morning that the real message is Immanuel God is with us and you have to choose you have to choose between Ichabod the glory has departed or Emanuel God is with us a spirit of Ichabod says that life is going down down down I've had setback after setback and if you're not careful you just start taking on that kind of spirit and that kind of attitude and you start acting like nothing good and believing that it's just bad and you've just go around with an Iike bad spirit when you have an Ichabod spirit the glory has departed the joy the hope the fun the happiness you begin to look like a covergirl for The Book of Lamentations you look sad and you're down all the time I've seen people there's a lot of Christians who have a non victorious spirit they allow life to to hit oh man we all go through stuff and this is the point this is the message of Christmas it's not that if you have Emmanuel God with us you don't go through the same things that other people who don't have God they're gonna go through - but we don't go through it with the same spirit when we get bad news and when adversity and challenge comes we don't go through it with an Ichabod the glory has departed this is bad we go through it with Emmanuel God is with us God is for us God is on our side let's give the Lord a praise right now we're gonna we're gonna declare I hear that in my spirit and I'm preaching this morning I'm preaching this morning in your life Emmanuel is mightier than Ichabod you see if you're not careful you get that ichabod spirit life is just a burden life is just the trial life is just a hard thing you know in life is hard and you just start taking on that spirit we live in a world in a society that is screaming Ichabod if you bought my god every time you turn on the news it's politically Ichabod Ichabod the glory has departed from Washington and then it's the economy Ichabod Ichabod the glory has departed from the greatness of America the glory has departed from the educational system ABC NBC woe is me are constantly saying Ichabod Ichabod but that is not the message the church the message of the church is Emmanuel God is with us whatever comes whatever we face whatever happens morally to this nation God is with us the people of God let's give the Lord a big praise if you believe that Emmanuel you know I'm concerned that the church can take on that ichabod spirit it's almost like the church says the glory has the party Oh where's the revival and all where's the move of God Ichabod they get it icky spirit if your bond miracles are over and revival is over and the move of God is over and signs now we've got preachers holding conferences saying that the Holy Spirit is over and signs and wonders are over but I've come to proclaim the message of Christmas is Emmanuel the same god of the book of Acts the same God who healed the blind and opened the eyes oh come on somebody he is still here and he's the same yesterday today and forever somebody needs to hear that we're not called you know to go around with the with the dull platoons marching in syncopated beat Ichabod Ichabod we're just waiting on Jesus to come to get out of here Ichabod no it's Emmanuel Emmanuel God is with us that's the message of Christmas I used to teach children's church before I ever got to pastoring in Gastonia North Carolina I was the children's church director and I always had to break a lesson down and so in case you've missed this whole point of this sermon I'm gonna break it down I go something like this once upon a time there was a little fella named Chicken Little he was a chicken and he was pecking around in the barnyard and one day an acorn fell out of the tree and it hit him in the head and he started clacking all over that barnyard the sky is following the sky is falling and he went to turkey Lurkey and turkey Lurkey got all upset and he started screaming the sky is falling in turkey Lurkey went to ducky wucky and ducky wucky started quacking all over that barnyard the sky is falling Ichabod the glory has departed and then ducky wucky y'all know the story went to horsey horsey and horsey horsey started bucking up and running saying oh my god in a hissy Oh Franny ki the sky is falling a acorn a problem has hit in my life and it's the end of the world either God and horsey warsi went too bossy the cow I'm preaching now come on and bossy the cow finally discover you got the whole barnyard in an uproar over one little acorn that has hit you in the head and if you're not careful a little acorn and life will hit you in the head and get you to thinking the whole kingdom of God is about to collapse and fall down but I'm here to announce it is not Ichabod and just because you've got a problem this hits you don't you dare think that he has abandoned you the message is this I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it it's not a kabob it's Emmanuel come on get in syncopated beat with Emmanuel God is with us Emmanuel God is with us God is with us I'm sure when when Joseph who was dating a little Jewish girl from a respectable family named Mary her name was Mary classy family there in Bethlehem he's dating earth they agree we're gonna have a little arrangement and get married and the Bible said then an angel appeared to her not to him appeared to her overshadowed her with the Holy Spirit she became impregnated with the seed of God and then she goes off if you read the story she goes off for three months and nobody sees her she goes to see a Lisbon and doesn't come back until three months later and he hadn't seen his girlfriend in three months and she comes back and she's three months pregnant but you know an icky icky icky spirit came on him icky Bob the glory has departed this relationship I mean he looks at her and she's showing and she says I need to talk with you and he says obviously no you don't understand I've been with an angel it's not an angel I think you've been with a devil oh no this is a Nikki bod this is Emmanuelle I want to say to some of you who your life is in an upheaval and everything seems to be going crazy what I've learned in many years of journeying with the Lord what I thought was Ichabod was really Emanuel working he is in control he has divine destinations for your life he has a pathway a purpose for your life and you don't have to let even when you're going through rough times keep any manual spirit God is with us in your marriage keeping keeping Emmanuel spirit not a NICU bod a way that we don't love each other let's just quit the glory has departed when you first fall in love it's ideal and then a few months later you have after you get married an ordeal and then if you don't get it fixed a few months later you get to think and this is a raw deal and then you're ready for a new deal and it's so easy to say Ichabod we miss God but all you you got to do is say Amen you al give me your hand God is with us and we'll walk through this storm together and if any two of us will agree nothing can overcome us come on and give the Lord a shout of praise if you'd believe that's the story of Christmas say that name Emmanuel God is with us look over at somebody and say you look like you have Ichabod but I'm gonna prophesy Emmanuel on you God is with us I heard the story in closing of them of a man who was sitting in first class on an airplane the last row of first class and you know if you've phoned that there's first class there's a curtain and then there's economy class and the curtain separates the Holy of Holies there's this guy sitting on the back row of first-class section and they made a mistake and the stewardess said sir I am so sorry to tell you this but you're gonna have to give up your seat in first class walk through the curtain and sit on the front row of economy class now you need to understand it's just three feet it's just three feet and three inches wider of a seat from first class to economy class this guy went ballistic he blew a gasket he stood up he told the stewardess where she would spend eternity he said I hate this is the sorriest airline I have ever seen this is ridiculous grabbed his bags and walk three feet demoted three feet from first class to economy and had to walk through the curtain to get there humiliated in front of all of those people he sat down we can't even hardly move three feet into motion in humiliation and it not just destroy us but think about Jesus Bible said he considered himself equal with God it was not he was not vice-president he was not a junior partner in the Trinity firm he was as much God is God the Father he was as much God as God the Holy Spirit he was there when mankind was created and they said let us make man in our image Jesus was their all-powerful all-knowing creator God it was Jesus the Father the Holy Spirit and it was equal shared power but he voluntarily said I volunteer to be demoted and I won't do it for an hour or a minute I'll do it for 33 years I'll go down I'll be born in a barnyard I'll be demoted not one of the most touching scriptures to me is when it says they wrapped him in swaddling clothes do you understand that means strips of coffee and it literally means used strips of cloth in other words what would they have been used for in a barn we we romanticize the stable the manger that Jesus was born in but it was not beautiful it was not lovely it had the smell of livestock in urine and filth and those rags that they wrapped the trembling Jesus in were strips of used cloth if that were not enough he was demoted even more when he became a full grown man and he washed the disciples feet if that were not enough the ones that he washed one of them would betray him and the other would desert him if that were not enough the people he came to save would beat him slug him and punch him and spit upon him you talk about demotion you talk about humiliation and all he did was moved from heaven through the curtain to earth they ultimately took him to the cross and crucified him nailed him to a cross why why he did it for you he did it because you and I were filled with vile deadly sin and the only solution was for him to become that sin for him to take my sin and there were so many of them and take your sins every one of them he took it and became that sin that vile fill you talk about humiliation from being equal with God the Father got now he is sin hanging on the cross and he did it for you and he did it for me and I can't get over it and I can't rush through the holidays and I can't just do the stuff and see the trees and take the pictures I have to put everything on pause and say Jesus I love you Jesus I praise you Jesus I honor you can we just stand up on our feet all over this room and lift our hands toward heaven we sing praises to your name praises to your name for your name is great and greatly to be praised is your singing so good sing it everybody we sing praises to you come on sing it to a church always sing praises soon praises to your name for your name Jesus Jesus Jesus there's just gee oh Jesus Jesus Jesus proclaim they were but there's Oh the you may be listening to me right now and you don't you don't know Emmanuelle is with you I would invite you to pray this prayer with everybody in this room and those in overflow and those watching streaming let's pray this prayer together and you don't have to Leo facing the future with Ichabod on you saying the greatest days are behind me but you can say Immanuel God is with me pray this prayer say Lord Jesus I give you my life I surrender completely to use you are the Savior who saves their peoples from sin and today I surrender my life I give you my future I believe in you and I thank you that you're with me you are Emmanuel to me and today I receive you as my Lord and Savior Jesus be the center of my Christmas be the center of my family be the center of my home and my future in Jesus name make the new year a year of increase seeking God's best in 2015 join Pastor Jentezen Franklin and people from around the world for our annual 21-day fast beginning January 4th 2015 this month we prepared two special resources that will encourage you throughout your vesting journey if this is your first fasting experience request fasting 101 in it you'll find Jenson Franklin's New York Times best-selling book fasting along with devotionals and exclusive teachings on CD and DVD that will help you get the most out of your first fasting experience if you've already begun to develop a lifestyle of fasting and prayer there's fasting too no to take your fasting to another level included our resources that will lead to deeper intimacy with God and reveal advanced principles that will release the power of fasting in your life or for your gift of any amount this month ask for Jenson Franklin's powerful CD series day-by-day commit the New Year to God through fasting and prayer and watch as he releases his hand a blessing and makes 2015 a year of increase life is real vivid alive beating breathing it happens behind closed doors and out in front there's joy there's laughter and to chaos lifelong friendships are forged love is found moments cherished and never forgotten life is a gift and together we are real family real friends real people experiencing real life is free chapel this program has been brought to you by the friends and partners of Jenson Franklin media ministries for more information on this broadcast or for additional resources go online at Jensen Franklin dot o-r-g

Channel: Jentezen Franklin

Views: 14,898

Rating: 4.8926172 out of 5

Keywords: Jentezen Franklin, Kingdom Connection, Free Chapel, TV, Ministry

Id: JMMdQG7g79o

Length: 28min 31sec (1711 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 19 2014