“FOR GOD SO LOVED YOU!”
Every Christmas message should begin with those Words from the King of Kings. For God so loved you that He gave Himself for you personally.
Have you ever judged yourself for overspending at Christmas? Has buyer’s remorse ever overcome you?
Have you ever thought that you just gave too much to Jesus through your church or ministries or to charities?
Think about this. At Christmas, God the Father, God Jesus, and God Holy Spirit gave everything they had to buy you for all eternity.
They set the example for us of the joy of giving. Their reward is the one thing they wanted the most, more than anything else, You.
I remember one Christmas. my son wanted a Ghost Buster suit. He wanted it more than anything. That suit was at the very top of his list. I searched all over Atlanta
nobody had one. They were the most popular item that year. Finally, I found a store on a business trip to Birmingham with them. I bought one for my son and one for my nephew. When He opened that gift, the joy on my son’s face was so worth all of the investment of time and energy that went into the search.
There is Nothing that surpasses the joy of giving, Nothing. Jesus told us that the reason He was willing to suffer the most horrid death of any human and thereby give us the greatest of all gifts, was so that His joy and gladness would be in us and that our joy and gladness would be complete and overflowing.
(John 15:11)
Giving always produces joy for the giver and the recipient and cannot be overdone because of God’s law of reciprocity. Giving is the key to prosperity and happiness. If you believe anything that Jesus said, you must also believe His teaching about the multiplication that accompanies giving.
“Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into the pouch formed by the bosom of your robe and used as a bag. For with the measure you deal out, with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others, it will be measured back to you.”
(Luke 6:38)
MEANING:
In today’s world, Jesus meant give, and it shall be given to you pressed down, shaken together, and running over they will pour into your finances according to what is in your heart when you give.
Our last message was about the astonishing unbelief of Zachariah. Zachariah was a man who believed in God and was considered righteous in His sight. Yet, he refused to accept the tremendous and miraculous report from God, even when it was delivered to him by God’s personal messenger, Gabriel.
Rather than being overwhelmed and overjoyed at the wonderful and miraculous news that he was about to have his long prayers and longing to have a son occur, he received the blessed message from God with doubt and unbelief. Here is his statement of unbelief:
“How shall I know and be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
Gabriel had to shut Zachariah’s mouth because of his unbelief. Why? Because Zachariah could and would have spoken his unbelief which would have caused a catastrophe and damaged God’s plan to enter the earth.
Here is how that works: Jesus taught us that from the overflow of the heart (positive or negative), thoughts are spoken, and we will have what we say as long as we do not doubt that what we say will come to pass.
(Luke 6:45 and Mark 11:22-24)
In this teaching, Holy Spirit will contrast the power of unbelief against the power of belief. We will see the Fruit of belief in the birth of God as Jesus through the unquestioning faith of Mary vs. the almost life-ending unbelief of Zachariah.
What you are about to read is entirely impossible, yet true. It is the expertly researched and accurate account of two of the most breathtaking, astonishing happenings in the history of human beings.
Read it with an open mind and heart and Holy Spirit, and I guarantee that your life will never be the same!
God personally chose Elizabeth, Zachariah’s wife and relative of Mary, to receive one of the greatest blessings/miracles He ever produced. Remember as you continue that Elizabeth was very old and barren.
Ironically, Elizabeth falsely believed that her barrenness resulted from violating one of the six hundred thirteen man-made ordinances that the Jews place upon themselves. She falsely believed that she was suffering the curse of the Abrahamic covenant.
The opposite was true. As you will discern, Elizabeth was highly esteemed by God. Just as we, Elizabeth was continually judging and condemning herself and allowing others to do so as well. She had no idea that God does not keep score of our sins. She did not know that God only sees good, and she was afraid of what other people thought of her.
Let’s study Doctor Luke’s description of the heavenly events in her life:
Zachariah’s work was finished a few days after his flawed meeting with Gabriel. Having been made mute by the Arc Angel who stands before God every day, Zach went home, humiliated.
“So it was as soon as the days of his service were completed that he departed to his own house.”
“Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she hid for six months saying:
“Thus The Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Elizabeth was speaking of the condemnation the community gave her for being barren. She told of her constant embarrassment. That is what she meant by “My reproach among people.”
“Now in the sixth month, God sent Gabriel to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin promised to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David.”
The virgin (widely considered by theologians and historians, and students of humanity, to be no older than fifteen. (That was the custom of the day.) Don’t rush to the conclusion that God was condoning pedophilia. Being engaged did not mean being sexually active.
On the contrary, engagements sometimes lasted for several years until the betrothed was of age.
“And having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
“But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.”
“Gabriel then said to her, do not be afraid, (too late Bub!) Mary, for you, have found favor with God.”
A side note: Pay attention. God chose this little virgin girl from a sheep herding town of no account to create His earth suit. She did not belong to a Mega Church.
More from Gabriel:
“And pay attention, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father, David, And He will reign over the house of Jacob(Israel and His believers) forever, and of His Kingdom, there shall be no end!”
Think about this, this virgin girl from a small fishing and farming village had never seen a hologram or a television, movie, or photograph. Then, suddenly, the angelic messenger of God stood in her presence and told her an outrageous story about what was about to happen to her. She must have been astonished at what she saw and heard, yet she totally bought it all and agreed to do it.
Gabriel reported to mary that “of His Kingdom, there shall be no end.” Jesus’ Kingdom is everything that exists. His Kingdom is this present moment. His Kingdom was from the beginning and will always be. He was in the beginning, and He will be for all of eternity.To the degree to which you open it to Him His kingdom is your heart. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
And He shall reign forever and ever Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!! He cherishes you! And He will never leave you or forsake you!
Pay attention to Mary’s reaction to this prophecy and the difference between belief and unbelief! Mary is asking a technical question in belief. Zach asked a sarcastic question in disbelief. As a result, Mary got blessed, and Zach got cursed.
“Then Mary said to the angel. How can this be since I do not know a man?” Massive difference between the question Zachariah asked and Mary’s question.
”And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also that HOLY ONE who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
At this point, most women would have died from shock! God in the person of the Holy Spirit spoke through the arc angel Gabriel that the Holy Spirit would hover over her, and the power of God would overshadow her, and she would become pregnant.
No other woman had ever heard those words. It is not written in scripture. But I speculate that Mary fell dead, and the Holy Spirit revived her and strengthened her.
Insert Mary’s acceptance:
“I am the handmaiden (the servant) of the Lord!!! Let it be done according to the Words that you have spoken!!!!!”
I believe those to be the most powerful words ever spoken by a human. They were the words that brought
Christmas into existence.
As my buddy/partner says: HARRUMPH.
That acceptance started the “GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY, WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL PEOPLE!”
The news of how the Lord would put on His earth suit was not the end of the message that He gave Mary; there was much more flabbergasting news that she was asked to believe. And she did without doubt.
“Now indeed Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.”
Pay attention to this prophetic pronouncement dictated and sent by God to Gabriel to Mary and us!
Gabriel announced not just the greatest miracle of all time that the virgin Mary would give birth to God in human form, but the second greatest miracle up to that moment. Both involved women for whom pregnancy was utterly impossible: not one, but two.
Elizabeth would give birth three months later to the greatest man to have ever walked the earth until Jesus, John the Baptist; a man who walked in more power than the greatest man who ever lived before him; Elijah the prophet.
Nine months later, Mary would give birth to the flesh body of God Almighty. Stunning, hard to grasp, and thoroughly impossible for the flesh or carnal mind to comprehend. Here is how it happened:
“FOR WITH GOD NOTHING IS EVER IMPOSSIBLE, AND NO WORD OF GOD SHALL BE WITHOUT POWER OR IMPOSSIBLE OF FULFILLMENT!”
(Luke 1:37)
Stitch that message from God through Gabriel, to you, to your forehead! Say it every day. Fight to tame your flesh and make a decision to believe it without a doubt.
If you do, you will never have a moment of stress, fear, depression, mental illness of any kind, or drug or alcohol addiction.
Here is the ultimate act of faith, pay strict attention; the course of your life depends on it. Absorb and try to act in the same power of belief that Mary did when she replied to Gabriel:
“Then Mary said, PAY ATTENTION, I AM THE HANDMAIDEN OF THE LORD. LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORDS.”
Oh, how Jesus prays to hear that statement from all of His children! What would happen if we all believed His message without a doubt and, as Mary, acted with a joyful celebration of its truth???
“And Gabriel departed from her.”
“Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste (crazy fast). to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zachariah and said hello to Elizabeth.”
Folks, this is the most power-packed moment you will ever read or hear! It is almost a little scary. You are about to read and visualize an experience created by God, employed by the Holy Spirit, and involving two women who could not possibly have known what they knew.
BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS!!! You have never known a moment like this, and if it doesn’t shock and amaze you, you are void of the Holy Spirit.
“And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary; the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. and she cried out with a loud cry and then exclaimed, blessed above all other women, are you! And blessed is the Fruit of your womb! And how have I deserved that this honor be granted unto me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the instant the sound of your salutation (saying hello)reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
NEVER FORGET THESE WORDS:
“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord.”
Because Mary chose to believe the utterly impossible, there was a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord. Receiving the great and precious and seemingly impossible blood-bought and guaranteed promises of Jesus is accomplished by choosing to believe. Abraham was the father of faith. I rank Mary as the mother of faith and esteem her along with the trusting Stephen and my hero, Caleb.
Remember that Gabriel told the unbelieving Zachariah that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment of his conception!
So get this picture; the baby John in the womb of Elizabeth perceived by the prompting of the Holy Spirit that His King was present and jumped for joy in the womb and being overcome with excitement, Jumped and shouted with joy.”
Abortionists or those considering an abortion, think about this, John shouted for joy in the womb in the second trimester.
Jesus is always in our presence. He will never leave us or forsake us. He has bought us with His blood. We should be just like John in the womb; constantly jumping for joy! Jesus had only been conceived in Mary’s womb for a matter of days yet His presence was so recognizable in the Spirit that John in his mothers womb!!!
Because John was encased in the womb of Elizabeth, she got a dose of the Ghost as well! And while she was drunk in the Spirit, under His guidance, She began to prophesy things she had no way of knowing at all.
Ask yourself these questions:
How could Elizabeth know that Mary was pregnant? Mary never had a chance to tell her. Mary could not have been showing. No baby bump.
How could Elizabeth know that Mary was blessed among all other women?
How could she know that the Fruit of Mary’s womb was blessed?
How could Elizabeth have known that Mary was the Mother of her King?
The answer to these questions is the power of the Holy Spirit operating in and through John and thus his mother, Elizabeth. Before Jesus left us the indwelling Holy Spirit, no one had ever been indwelled from birth by Him.
We have the power, wisdom, and guidance of Holy Spirit operating within us as soon as we make Jesus our King. We can walk in the same type of knowledge that Elizabeth had simply by choosing to be led by Him. Jesus left us Holy Spirit to “guide us into all truth and show us the things to come.” Just as He did with Elizabeth.
This teaching came from the first chapter of Dr. Luke’s meticulous investigation of the facts of the life of Jesus by interviewing all of the eyewitnesses to the events in His life. They can be found in Luke 1:1-40
In our next teachings, we will review the other participants in the greatest event of all time: Angels, shepherds, wise men, and prophets.
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A very Mary Christmas to you all
