Jesus is your miracle
Luke 1:26-1:45
Introduction-
Prayer-
This morning I want us to take a look at the miracle of Jesus birth.
For you to fully understand, you have to look at the birth of Jesus as your own personal miracle.
That a loving God would leave heaven and come to this earth in a miraculous way to show you that you mean the world to him.
To doubt or question his birth is to doubt that He did it for you.
It would make it a Sunday school story that will not change your life or the way that you live your life.
Isaiah the prophet records-
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Immanuel translated means “God with us”
Christ translated means “The anointed one”
The anointed one Jesus Christ has come to be with us.
Luke 1:26-1:38 Read from Bible
Mary, the innocent virgin God selected to birth His son was told to name him Jesus- Mary’s response- “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
She was afraid, but knew that this was a God moment. Listen to this as her faith moves from curious to living faith.
Luke 1:39-1:45 (Bible)
“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, ”Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in the womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promise to her!”
Maybe I need to ask you a different question- Do you believe in miracles?
Babies come in all shapes and sizes, and many different weights and lengths, but there was only one that came by the power of the Holy Spirit to a virgin. Do you believe that? That was a miracle.
A supernatural birth that God Himself announced ahead of time and then made it happen for the redemption of mankind.
Mark Batterson-
“Don’t seek miracles. Follow Jesus. And if you follow Jesus long enough and far enough, you’ll eventually find yourself in the middle of some miracles.”
Augustine-
I never have any difficulty believing in miracles since I experienced the miracle of a change in my own heart.”
I believe in miracles.
I believe miracles are supernatural things that God does for us because He cares for us and wants to be involved in our lives.
I don’t believe finding your keys in the basement after you lost them a year ago is a miracle, it is a circumstance. You found them where you left them. Finding them right after you pray is an answer to prayer.
Jesus performed nine miracles I see in Scripture. I am sure He did more.
Walking on water is a miracle. (Don’t believe me try it)
Healing someone terminally ill is a miracle.
Water into wine- something supernatural, something that cannot be a coincidence or explainable.
Jesus, God coming in human form by the virgin birth is a miracle. Explainable only because God said that He would do it and witnessed by the people around Him.
I know that there are people who say “How can you believe in miracles in our scientific age?”
Because… I believe in a God that is not limited by any boundaries of time or space.
Truth is…I have a problem with Christians that don’t believe in miracles, the virgin birth, instant healings, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and that God wants to dwell inside of a believer.
Those that doubt Jesus death, burial, and resurrection.
That would limit what Jesus (God) can do, or has done to their own abilities and thinking.
THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A MIRACLE IS.
Pastors, Theologians, and churches that explain away the miracles of the Bible and dismiss the reality of miracles today- I would tell you that if I attended a church like that, I would not be there long. I would be out the door and attending somewhere that believes what God has recorded and wanting to see what God still wants to do!
They say that the miracles of the Bible were only events that amazed people who were ignorant.
I will give you my theological view of that – hogwash! These people preach a different gospel than what I see in the Bible.
Illustration (SermonCentral)
A father asked his son what he learned in Sunday School. The little boy said, we learned about how Moses went behind enemy lines to rescue the Jews from the Egyptians. Moses ordered engineers to build a pontoon bridge over the Red Sea. After the people crossed, he sent bombers back to blow up the bridge and the Egyptians tanks that were following them. Did your teacher really say that? No, but if I told you what he really said, you would never believe me.
When it comes to Biblical miracles, most people won’t believe. Make up their own story.
So, here we go-
The miracle birth of Jesus Christ
I. Miraculous
Do not try to explain it by mans logic- male, female thing, like you are trying to put a complicated puzzle together. God spoke it into existence, by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Un-explainable but still a fact!
“My ways are higher than you ways say’s the Lord, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” He spoke it into existence.
Just like He said, “let there be...” and there was. Light, animals, sky, oceans, heavens, the once void earth now has a purpose. He spoke it into existence because He is God! And we are not!
If God did all these things (miracles) that are far beyond our comprehension and ability, why would we doubt or question that to keep a holy God pure and be the perfect sacrifice, why could He not place Himself in a womb and become the perfect anointed one.
Define a miracle-
Webster-
“An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.”
For some it is easier to believe in the Big Bang theory than to believe that an all-knowing, all powerful God could be behind unexplainable things. Easier to believe that a glob of substance was heated on a rock and over time evolved into a living breathing, intelligent human being that suddenly dominated all species.
To others, miracles are magical and they do not want you or anyone else dissecting them because they do not need to know all the makings of a miracle because they believe! That is kinda where I am at, I look to science, I am an intelligent person, just ask me. I don’t think God’s Word eliminates science, I think science proves God’s word.
For me, it goes like this- I believe the Word of God. I believe in a higher power and His name is Jesus. I believe that God the Father sent His Son Jesus to this world and His people in a miraculous way to provide a miraculous way of salvation.
I believe that miracles are going to be different for each one of us. Because each one of us look at things differently and we are at different levels in our journey.
I believe in miracles because I have seen God do some miracles, in my life and others that I know.
I cannot expect one that has not seen or heard of a miracle to be at the level of my belief because they are waiting for their miracle. I just pray that they will experience it.
I think Darlene Stiffler is a miracle- she is a walking miracle to me everyday.
The mass that they took out of me in 2001 that should of killed me and it was encased and was not cancerous but what they determined as pre-cancer.
The times growing up that I’ll just say that I was at the wrong place doing the wrong things and God spared my life I will never forget and I will be ever grateful. The miracles and unexplainable presence of God when by normal standards I would have been killed. I would have been a kid killed by violence and someone forgotten the next day.
I believe in miracles because I know that there is a God that wants to get involved in people’s life and I have experienced it.
I have no problem believing in the virgin birth- none, zero. I cannot explain it by normal standards, but if God said it- I believe it. WHOLEHEARTEDLY.
II. The miracle of Jesus birth is- what mankind needed for redemption
“Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is the messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
The older I get, I don’t go looking for miracles. I want to be more sensitive to the things that are around me.
I believe miracles happen everyday, but I believe most people don’t recognize them or forget them as soon as they get out of trouble.
What miracle are you looking for and are you brave enough to look in that manger and to God for it?
I believe that you have to position yourself to experience a miracle.
The wise men hunted him down- they searched for Him.
The shepherds went to see what had happened and searched him out.
The miracle starts with Jesus and everything else you get is a bonus and a blessing.
Abraham Lincoln-
I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day. He is the miracle that you need most.
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. 2 Chronicles 20:17
Only God can provide a miracle and if it happened everyday, they would not call it a miracle.
You have to put yourself in a position to receive a miracle and you need to be looking at the right person for a miracle. His name is Jesus Christ and He is no longer in the manger, no one is able to attempt to kill Him, He has accomplished what is needed for mankind to be redeemed. All that is left is for you to believe and accept.
Closing,
Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not lose sight of Christmas.
Close the service in prayer
