What Does Immanuel Mean to Leaders?

In this episode, Sean shares the importance of the name Immanuel, God with us, as we lead in 2026. We are not alone and it is not all on us. God is with us every moment and this changes everything. Happy New Year 2026!!!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Good morning everybody. This is Sean Copeland. Today is Sunday,
December the twenty eighth, and welcome to another brand new,
life changing edition of the ninety four x Kingdom Driven CEO.
Thank you fake applause people. Hey, it is so good
to be back with you guys. And it is almost

(00:31):
twenty twenty six, believe it or not. I hope everybody
had a wonderful Christmas. We certainly did. We had spent
time with lots of family and really kind of slowed
down last week. And I'm on vacation this week as well,
which is awesome. We're up at our lake house and
just reminiscing on twenty twenty five and getting ready to

(00:54):
move into a brand new year. You know, one of
the things that I wanted to share with you guys
today is remember when the Angel came and told Mary
that she was going to have a baby, and she
told him that his name would be Emmanuel, And as
you may know, Emmanuel means God with us. And I thought,

(01:18):
what an important way to start twenty twenty six, but
to think about how God is truly with us and
how the presence of God can really change the way
that we lead as we move into a new year.
Leadership can be incredibly lonely. You're surrounded by people, but

(01:38):
often you're carrying decisions.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
All by yourself.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
You're expected to be confident when you're uncertain, calm when
you're anxious, and strong when you're exhausted. Someone once said
that leadership is making hard decisions in the absence of
complete information and pretending that you're fine with it. That
definitely hits close to home. Many leaders don't quit because
they can't lead. They quit because they feel alone. And

(02:05):
that's why the name Emmanuel is not just a Christmas name,
it's a leadership lifeline. Matthew one twenty three says, behold,
the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they
shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us,
not God above us, not God around us, not God
just tolerating us, God with us. And that changes everything,

(02:30):
especially how we lead. When you truly believe that God
is with you, you lead differently. You lead with courage
instead of fear, humility instead of ego, and peace instead
of pressure. Emmanuel means that you're never leading alone. One
of the greatest lies leaders believe is this, It's all

(02:52):
on me. I have a good friend that literally every
morning he would arrive to his company that he led,
that he build. He was in such stress that he
would literally throw up every morning before he walked into
his company because he was taking it.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
All on himself.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
And this all on me line is the lie that
produces burnout, anxiety, control issues, and sleepless nights. But scripture
tells a different story. Let's take a look at Moses.
When God called Moses to lead Israel, Moses didn't say, Wow,
I've been training for this my whole life. He said,
who am I that I should go? This was Exodus

(03:32):
three eleven. God didn't boost Moses' self esteem. He didn't
give him a leadership seminar. He gave him a presence promise.
I will be with you. God's answer to insecurity is
not confidence, It is companionship. You don't need to feel
adequate when God is present. If God is with you,

(03:53):
you don't have to have all the answers. You don't
have to control everything. You don't have to carry the
weight alone. Presence is your greatest leadership advantage. Emmanual changes
where our authority comes from. Many leaders lead from title, position, fear, image,
or insecurity. But leaders who believe God is with us

(04:16):
lead from identity, not anxiety. Jesus didn't constantly remind people
he was in charge. He didn't posture, he didn't dominate.
Why because he knew who he was and who was
with him. John eight twenty nine says, the Father who
sent me is with me. He has not left me alone.
Jesus could lead with calm authority because his security was

(04:38):
rooted in presence, not performance. If your leadership depends on
being noticed, praised, or feared, you'll always be exhausted. But
when you know God is with you, you don't need
to prove yourself. You don't need to win every argument.
You don't need to be the loudest voice in the room.
Quiet confidence flows from God consciousness. Emmanuel produces courage and

(05:04):
not fear. Fear is the number one leadership limitter, fear
of making the wrong call, disappointing people, losing influence, being misunderstood.
God knew fear would attack leaders, so he gave us
one of the most repeated promises in scripture, Isaiah forty
one to ten. Do not be afraid, for I am

(05:25):
with you. Notice what God does not say, don't be
afraid because it will all work out. He doesn't say,
don't be afraid because people will understand. He says, don't
be afraid because I'm with you. Courage doesn't come from certainty,
It comes from presence. David didn't defeat Goliath because he
believed in himself. He defeated Goliath because he believed God

(05:46):
was with him. Leaders who know God is with them
make bold decisions. They tell the truth and love. They
stand firm when it's uncomfortable. Fear shrinks when God's presence grows.
Emmanuel changes how we treat people. Here's where it gets practical.
If God is with us, then how we treat people

(06:07):
matters even more. Jesus, the ultimate leader of all time,
did not lead from a distance. He led with proximity.
He walked with people, He ate with people. He noticed
people others overlooked. John one fourteen says the word became
flesh and welt among us. God didn't shout from heaven,

(06:28):
he showed up. Great leaders don't just give direction. They
give presents. Your people don't just need vision, strategy and accountability.
They need to know you see them, you're with them,
and you care. Leadership is not just what you decide.
It's how present you are while deciding it. Emmanuel sustains

(06:50):
us when leadership gets heavy. There are seasons when leadership
feels overwhelming, when the vision feels heavy, when the pressure
is relentless, when the criticism is loud, when the results
are slow. That's when a manual matters most. God promised
his disciple, Surely I am with you always to the

(07:10):
very end of the age. That's in Matthew twenty eight twenty.
Not when things are easy, when you get it right,
when everyone agrees. Always, God is with you in the boardroom,
in the office, in the car ride home, in the
quiet moments where no one sees the burden you carry.
You may feel tired, but you are not abandoned. You

(07:31):
may feel stretched, but you are not alone. So here's
the invitation today. Stop bleeding for God and start leading
with God. Emmanuel means you don't have to fake strength,
You don't have to fear the future. You don't have
to carry the weight alone. The same God who stepped
into humanity steps into your leadership.

Speaker 2 (07:54):
The greatest leaders are not the.

Speaker 1 (07:56):
Most gifted, They are the most God aware. When you
know God is with you, your leadership becomes calmer, your
decisions become wiser, your influence becomes deeper. So walk into
this next season with confidence, not because you have all
the answers, but because Emmanuel is with you. As we

(08:16):
close out today, I want us to go into twenty
twenty six just remembering that we are not alone. Okay,
we are not in this all by ourselves. It is
not all on us. God is with us. His promises
are true forever. So as we end twenty twenty five,

(08:39):
I want to encourage you to take a moment and
look back on this year. Give thanks for all of
the many blessings that God has given you, many of
them frankly that we have already forgotten, but asked the
Holy Spirit to bring them back to your remembrance. Ask
God to show you those areas where you can improve
last year, areas where you could have done better. You

(09:01):
could have reacted differently. You know, you could have been
more focused on the right things. And as we move
into twenty twenty six, I want to encourage you to
put together a set of scriptures that affirm you each
day that you can read.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
It's very easy.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
Just google positive affirmation scriptures and read those every morning.
Let's spend time with him every morning, at least ten
or fifteen minutes alone with him, asking him to guide
and direct your day and to really put him in
control that day. And then something I always love to
do is write a letter from God to you at

(09:42):
the end of the year, so dated December thirty one,
twenty twenty six, and write in there what God's telling
you after this amazing next year, how proud He is
of you, all the things that you accomplish this year,
how you drew closer to Him. And then pull that
out at the end of the year and read it,

(10:03):
and I'm telling you it will be remarkable how close
the reality will be. So I want to congratulate you
on an amazing twenty twenty five. I want to wish
you great blessings and favor in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
And let's close out in prayer.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for the
fifty four thousand listeners who listen in here on the
daily on the weekly podcast. I'm so grateful to them.
When this began, I didn't know if it would be
two or three listeners. It might have just been my family.
When I could talk them into listening. But thank you
for broadening the influence of your word through this medium.

(10:45):
Next year, help us to double that number, Father, and
help us to make a difference in the lives of
people all over the world. As we lead in twenty
twenty six, let us remember that we are not alone.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
It is not all on us us You are with us.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
Please please guide us and direct us in this new
year in Jesus' name a man, and thank you all
so much for joining the ninety four ex Kingdom Driven
CEO