Gen 28:15, And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." We continue this week with the reality that God has promised to be with us forever and forever in Jesus Christ. We are tracing this promise throughout scripture as it relates to the Children of Israel in the Old Testament and the believers in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. 
As we know, God never changes. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore His promises are as valid as the day that He proffered them, as recorded in His Word and fulfilled with all His Omnipotence, His Omniscience, and this described Omnipresence. 
As well, we considered the effects that this promise of His abiding presence is to have in our day-to-day walk on this earth. We can count on Him, as evidenced in His faithful dealings with His people. There were several aspects of this truth which included our counting on God to go before us as we obey and honor Him. As well, at the core of this promise is the living relationship that is developed in His faithful dealings with us in our waiting upon Him to manifest His way and His plan and His purpose in the course of our lives. We are to honor Him in obedience to His command to Cease striving and know that I am God…
This then brings us to the fact that the Prophet Isaiah understood this as we read in Isa 41:8-14. Please turn to it and mark this passage in your Bible for future reference as we read together, Isa 41:8-14. "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts, And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' "Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing, and will perish. "You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing, and non-existent. "For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.' "Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you," declares the Lord, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 
Please notice how the prophet encourages the people in the manner in which they are to count on the Lord to make His salvation known… your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Throughout this passage, the hand of the Lord is in evidence in the way in which He tells His people that He has done all that is required by the very presence of Himself in their midst and on their behalf. … I have chosen you and not rejected you…'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you… I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you… I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand…'Do not fear, I will help you…
Oh that we would come to the place in our lives where we know God in this manner, in the presence of His surety and grace and mercy. So often, we are caught up in the every day trials and situations that stress our understanding and cause us to squirm and to question and to doubt. We struggle to find our way in and through it all, when we simply are called to count on the Lord to make His abiding presence the very source of our dealings on this earth. We succumb to anxiety and worry and anguish and miss the very fact that God is with us and that He will guide and keep and help us. He longs for us to quit trying to do things in the feebleness of our own ability and to learn to trust and obey Him.
Again, the Prophet Isaiah deals with this in Isa 43:1-11. This is another passage to note and to mark for each of those times when we are so overwhelmed and so caught up in our fears and our worries and our stress and strife. Isa 43:1-11, 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! "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. "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. "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. "Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made." Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears. All the nations have gathered together In order that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, "It is true." "You are My witnesses," declares the Lord, "And My servant whom I have chosen, In order that you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. "I, even I, am the Lord; And there is no savior besides Me. 
What an absolutely steadfast and tremendous source of knowing that God is with us in every detail of our lives. There is nothing that can defeat or exhaust or overwhelm Him. Every day, through every situation, in every manner and aspect of our daily life, He is with us. He is working to His ends and means in our lives to prove over and over again that He is the Lord God Almighty!
This was God’s promise to His Chosen people of Israel and it is His direct and concrete promise to you and to me. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, guaranteed this as we read in many passages in the New Testament. One, which is of incredible importance to us as His Church, is Matt 18:20. "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst."
When we gather together in the name of the Lord, we can be certain that He is with us. Now, what is meant by gathering together in His name? It is the reality of the Church coming together in order to seek Him and to hear from Him and to submit ourselves unto Him. This is in those times of a husband and wife joining their hearts together to seek His will in the family and in the marriage. It is in the family time of reading the Word and sharing in His bountiful grace. It is in our Bible Studies, our prayer sessions, our worship services. Whenever we come together with hearts that are after that which will bless and honor Him, we can be assured that He is with us. 
This is further emphasized by our Lord in Matt 28:18-20. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." As He sent His disciples out to minister in His name, Jesus encouraged them with this truth. He would be with them always as He will be with us always. As we are the witnesses of the fact that Jesus is alive, now and forever, so will we know His abiding presence with us, giving us the strength and the wisdom and the fortitude and the purpose to declare His resurrection life to all to whom He sends us. We are never left to our own abilities or capabilities as we ever live to serve Him. He is always the source of all that is required to minister His life.
The fact that we will never be alone or separated from our Lord and Savior and Head, Our Beloved Bridegroom, is a cause for eternal comfort and security in this realm. It is so easy for us to get frightened and intimidated. Sometimes it is our shyness and lack of communication skills. Sometimes it is a fear of public ministry. At times it might be a lack of conviction or intense fear of what others may think of us. There are so many avenues of fear, intimidation, human inabilities, perceived weaknesses, all that can cause us to waiver and to lose our focal point on the fact that Jesus is with us, every moment of every day of every year of our lives. 
In this, we find such tremendous reinforcement from the Apostle Paul as ascribed to in Rom 8:28-39. Please turn to it as we will read it together. Rom 8:28-39. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
Please note that there is nothing in this passage stating that our lives on this earth will be easy and carefree. There are no promises that we will live what this world considers as a normal and uneventful life. Rather, we will have a life in Christ Jesus that is centered in the reality of His crucifixion and His resurrection. It will be a journey through this age which will serve the very purposes of God as He will prove Himself day after day in the midst of all that comes our way. We will be put to death in many senses as we walk in His grace and His mercy and His glory on this earth. 
That is the manner in which we come to know Him in all His power and preeminence. We should expect that the very course of our lives will be filled with all the trials and situations and dilemmas which force us to learn to rely ever more clearly and dearly upon Him to be our source of strength and wisdom, and energy, and courage to face every day. And, praise His high and glorious and precious name, He will see us through as more than conquerors in His resurrection life! 
There is nothing that can separate us from Him, on this earth, in this creation, in the whole expanse of all that is, nothing can …separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us pray with all earnestness that we would know the reality of this truth in our hearts! Many of us can recite portions of this passage as an encouragement to others and to ourselves, but how many of us truly, consistently, and eagerly know this certainty in our heart of hearts? This is the great blessing of the abiding presence of our God that He has promised to us and instilled into us in His Son by the Holy Spirit. 
We turn once again to the Old Testament as we see the people of God about to enter into the Promised Land. The Lord addressed Moses with the great anthem of His mighty presence going before the people in order to open up the land and to give them the victory over all the foes that they would encounter. In that charge to be strong and to trust God for the victory is the assurance and the pledge that is also ours as we place our full reliance upon God to go before us in our sojourning on this earth. Deut 31:6-8, Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed." 
	He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. This is the very heart of what our Christian life represents on this earth! It is not who we are, but Who God is as He goes before us each day. Our witness and our testimony rests on the reality that God is with us wherever we go. All the troubles and the trials of life serve only to show more and more that He is the Lord God Who delivers and saves to the uttermost. As His people, as His Beloved Saints, it is to be our heart’s stand in this realm that as God is with us, so are we with God and we are His People and His servants to the very end of our earthly days! We will not be swayed from Him nor moved off the rock of our salvation. All that we are we are unto Him, by His grace and His mercy and His abiding presence forever. So be it!
And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Ps 117. Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord! Amen.