Isaiah 7:10-16; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25
Introduction
In my childhood days, we used to have this game; 'jack where are you?' This is where a person is blindfolded and will shout, "Jack where are you" then the rest of us will respond "I am here". With the leading of the sound of the voices, the blindfolded individual will try to catch one of them.
Today, our focus takes us to locate God's Holy One. So, we are shouting, "Jack [the Holy One] where are You?
Last week, God showed us the promised Messiah or Redeemer. We discussed how some schools of thought doubt Jesus Christ's Messiahship. We took to the Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, how God points to us to the Redeemer, the Holy One to behold.
If Christ Jesus is the Redeemer of humanity, the Holy One of God, the question is, "Christ [jack] where are you?"
The Holy One of God
Apostle Paul draws the line of the Holy One of God to the prophetic promise in the Scriptures (Rom. 1:2). In a prophetic message, David said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me" (Psa. 40:7). Jesus said, "You study the Scriptures, ... And these very Scriptures speak about me!" (John 5:39). Jesus was appointed through the "Spirit of Holiness" (Rom. 1:4).
Years ago, the Holiness of God was in the Ark of Covenant which was in their midst. Today, the Holy One of God is the Christ Jesus who is in our midst.
The Holy One of God is not just for Israelites as we see in the Ark of Covenant, but everyone including "Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." (Rom. 1:6)
The angel of the Lord indicates that God's blessing was for "all nations" (Gen. 18:18). The presence of Christ Jesus, the Holy One of God is in the midst of all nations, all communities, all societies, and in every home on earth.
The Sign of His Presence
When Ahaz refused to test God by demanding a sign of the Redeemer, Isaiah through a prophetic message gave us one, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)
The angel calmed Joseph when he said, "what is conceived in her [Mary] is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21
He went on further to explain this is "to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)". Matthew 1:22-23.
Jesus Himself on His ascension said to us, "...And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matt. 28:20)
We sing the song, "Where is our God?" But today, God is telling us that I am in your midst. Jesus, our Immanuel, God is with us.
Conclusion
I often hear this statement, "... be careful, Osofo Ahenkan is here...", mostly to prompt people on what they are doing that is unacceptable. If my presence or the presence of your pastor, mother, father, wife, husband, or someone directs you to do the right thing, I tell you the truth, the Holy One of God is in your midst always. He sees what you do and hears even your thought.
So Christ, where are you? He says I am with you till the end of time.
Shalom Aleichem...
