Mar Mari Emmanuel teaches that believers should not fear trials or feelings of abandonment because the Holy Spirit convicts, guides, and strengthens them through faith in Christ's abiding presence.
In this devotional sermon titled 'Do Not Fear,' Mar Mari Emmanuel explores how the Holy Spirit convicts believers of sin and guides them through trials. He emphasizes the importance of faith over fluctuating feelings and encourages listeners to focus on Christ's constant presence rather than their difficult circumstances. Drawing from John 16:8-11, the speaker reassures believers that God permits only bearable trials and that His grace never abandons them, even in their darkest moments.
Full Transcript
If we are being tormented by fear and the word is, the Lord is allowing it, sorry, if we are being tormented by fear and the Lord is allowing it, how do we work out or find from the Lord what we are doing wrong? So if we are being tormented, how do we know what are we doing wrong for us to be tormented? In the Gospel according to Saint John, chapter 16, verses 8 to 11, not bad for an old man. John 16, 8 to 11, the Lord Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit when He comes and dwells in you. He will work in you in three ways.
One, sin. Two, judgment. In John 16, verse 8, and when He has come, when He meaning the Holy Spirit, when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
Now there are three things the Holy Spirit convicts the Christian soul. Sin, righteousness, and judgment. For sin, because they did not know Me, the Lord says.
For righteousness, for I am going to the Father and you will see Me no more. And for judgment, for the ruler of this world is being judged. Now the ruler of this world is Satan.
Judgment is meant to be for Satan and the foul spirits that followed Satan. Judgment was never meant to be for no human being whatsoever. Now for sin, because they did not know Me.
Now every time we make a mistake, which the Holy Bible calls it sin, sinning is a denial of Christ. The reason why I sinned, because I forgot about Him. I denied Him, that's why I committed that sin.
If I was in His holy presence, really aware of His holy presence, I would have made a mistake. But the more I forget Christ, the more I make mistakes. The more I remember Christ, the lesser I make mistakes.
Because when I'm reminded by the presence of the Lord, I am less susceptible of making that sin or committing that crime or that sin or that mistake. So now the Holy Spirit's role is to ring a bell in you to say, why did you sin? So how do you know you are doing something wrong? God who is the Holy Spirit, God will make sure that you are aware of what is wrong in you. He will make sure that, because God is fair.
To give you a fair judgment at the end, He will bring it to your attention, what you just did was wrong. So what happens, it is the conscience that becomes heavy on you. The conscience start giving you a very hard time.
You start hating things, hating yourself, and maybe it's a bit of a harsh word, hate, but I want to use it anyway. So you see yourself and you're not happy about it at all, because you see someone that is not you. Or you see someone that Christ never intended for that someone to be you.
So the answer to that question, how do we know? It's the Holy Spirit, my beloved. He will remind you. The Lord is not going to put you through a trial that is unbearable, where you will fail 100%.
The Lord will only permit trials that will come your way, where you can handle it, but with somewhat struggle. And in the midst of that struggle, the Lord is actually helping you. Otherwise, it is impossible for us to bear any trial, no matter how small they are.
Without the Lord's grace, it is impossible. So for you, and you use the word feel, and so honest you are, exactly this is how you feel. But let me say this to you, my child, do not follow Christ with feelings, follow Christ with faith, not feelings.
Because our feelings are like a yo-yo. One day I'm up here, the next I'm down there. One day I am as hot as summer in my faith in Christ, and another day I am absolutely frozen like the Antarctic region, absolutely iceberg.
So if I'm going to follow Christ with my feelings, I'll get absolutely nowhere, I'll lose Him. You need to follow Christ with faith. So therefore, sometimes it is good to be in kind of a helly situation.
It's all right. Because that hell, that feeling of hell, is actually making you grow spiritually, and at the end of it, you'll come out much wiser, much stronger, much more resistant to worldly matters, much more resistant to worldly matters. But the Lord knows how much you can handle, and the moment He sees you're going to fall, He comes to the rescue before you blink your eyes, and relieves you from whatever hell you are going through.
And I pray whoever wrote this question, I pray the Lord Jesus relieves you from that hell right now. According to His divine will, I pray He relieves you, and makes you feel His holy presence, and makes you feel His grace has been always carrying you, even when you felt absolute desert, deserted, silent, lost, confused, disorientated. Let me tell you, the grace of the Lord never leaves you, never.
Absolutely never. If the Lord leaves, I'm finished. It's not I'm going to struggle, no, no, no.
It'll be the end of me, if the Lord leaves me. So even when I'm struggling badly, it feels like hell, yeah? The grace of the Lord is still carrying me, otherwise, I would have been gone long, long time ago. Prior to the incident, I thought I had maybe somewhat faith in the Lord.
After the incident, the Lord wanted to teach me a lesson. Even if you thought, Bishop, that you had faith in me, it was me. I'm going to show you what you're going to do without me.
Or, I'll make you feel that I have totally detached myself from you. It's only a feeling. But let me see what you're going to do, how you're going to handle yourself in that moment where you feel your Lord has forsaken you.
I'm going to show you the slightest of the slightest faith we have. I can assure you, my beloved, it is from the Lord Jesus, nothing from you. Because I realized that after the incident, it's all the Lord.
It's all the Lord. So, yeah, don't worry. Be happy.
Don't worry, don't worry. Hello, my angel. I love you.
Hello, my angel. What's your name? Oh, she's shy. What is her name? Sophia Rose.
Please put your hands together for Sophia Rose. Look, the Lord is teaching us one thing profound. He wants us not to focus on the situation, but focus on the Lord Himself.
Because if you're going to focus on the situation, then you will drift away 100%. Because the situation is hell, as you mentioned. So if I'm focusing on hell, how do you think I'm going to feel? I'm going to feel like hell.
I'm going to think like hell. I'm going to live like hell. I'm going to walk like hell.
And I'm going to treat everyone around me like hell. So don't focus on the situation, because everything will become pitch black. You're losing hope here.
But focus on the one who said, I will not leave you orphans. I am with you all the days of your life and until the end of all ages. The one who promised that He's with you in the good times and the bad times.
His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This is the true living God who was revealed in the flesh in the end of times over 2020-odd years. He's never left you.
He made a promise. And since He's God, He is faithful and loyal to His promise. So hell, hell, who cares? Enjoy hell while you can.
Now, let me tell you one thing. The dark tunnels teach you things the light cannot and vice versa. Don't ever think success always is healthy.
It's not true. It's only a wishful thinking. It's only an imaginary thing.
Failures are as good as successes.
Sermon Outline
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I. Understanding Fear and Conviction
- The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment
- Sin is forgetting Christ and denying Him
- Judgment is for Satan, not humans
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II. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives
- The Spirit makes us aware of our wrongs
- Conscience becomes heavy to guide correction
- God allows only bearable trials
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III. Following Christ by Faith, Not Feelings
- Feelings fluctuate like a yo-yo
- Faith is the anchor during trials
- Difficult situations promote spiritual growth
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IV. Focusing on God, Not the Situation
- Focusing on problems leads to despair
- Jesus promises never to leave us
- Failures teach valuable lessons like successes
Key Quotes
“If the Lord leaves, I'm finished. It's not I'm going to struggle, no, no, no. It'll be the end of me, if the Lord leaves me.” — Mar Mari Emmanuel
“Don't follow Christ with feelings, follow Christ with faith, not feelings.” — Mar Mari Emmanuel
“Focus on the one who said, I will not leave you orphans. I am with you all the days of your life and until the end of all ages.” — Mar Mari Emmanuel
Application Points
- Trust in the Holy Spirit to convict and guide you away from sin.
- Choose to follow Christ by faith, not by fluctuating feelings.
- Focus on Jesus and His promises during difficult and fearful times.
