This Is Your Day for a Miracle
TEXT - Luke 1:26-38
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
INTRODUCTION: If I may focus on verse 28 and translate, And the angel came in unto her and said, "This is your day for a miracle." Look at someone and tell them this is your day for a blessing. Some people wonder "Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th? Jesus was not born on December 25th." I know Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th, but I know He was born. I know He was born because He lives within my heart. And since we don’t know exactly when He was born, why not December 25th? Someone else is saying "Christmas has become too commercialized." If it is commercialized, that just means it is well advertised. Give God every opportunity to take what the devil means for evil and used it for good. Don’t say "Happy Holidays", say "Merry Christmas". Don’t talk about Santa, talk about the Savior. Don’t talk about the gifts under the tree as much as the gift God gave to you and me to hang on a cross on Calvary. His name is Jesus Christ. Let’s take a look at the history of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1. Focusing on the Virgin Birth Historically.
The bible says in Galatians 4:4-5 that in the fullness of time, God the Father sent forth his Son, made of a woman under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. It was at this time that God’s plan for man which He had established before time was set in motion. The infallible Word of God became flesh in the form of an infant named Jesus. He was God in the flesh. Because He was God in the flesh, His appearing would be nothing less than a miracle. His birth was foretold by the prophets because His birth was to be nothing less than a miracle. A star appeared in the sky at His appearing because His appearing was to be nothing less than a miracle. A host of heavenly angels celebrated and commemorated His birth because His appearing was to be nothing less than a miracle. He was born of a virgin because His appearing was to be nothing less than a miracle. Before we go any further, I want to clarify the virgin birth. If you stay with this ministry, we will go through a process I like to call unteaching for unlearning because much of what know from the bible ain’t so! And as we do unteaching for unlearning I hope to simultaneously do reteaching for relearning to teach you what my pastor calls a revelation of the difference. Some people get baptized to get saved. Some people get baptized because they are saved. "What’s the difference?" The revelation makes the difference. Some people try to please God to try reach God. Some people try to please God because He has reached down for us. "What’s the difference?" The revelation makes the difference. I want to sit down and settle down to teach the revelation of the difference between the Immaculate Conception and the virgin birth. The Immaculate Conception is the concept that teaches that in order for Jesus to be holy, Mary had to be holy. The Immaculate Conception is the concept that teaches that in order for Jesus to be born without sin, Mary had to be born without sin. But If Mary could be born without sin, then we would not need Jesus. Mary could have died on a tree for you and for me. But Mary was not sinless. She did not have to be. The angel did not say blessed art thou above women. He said blessed art thou among women. Mary herself said in Luke 1:46-52:
"My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree."
Mary was a regular person just like you and I. Mary was not inherantly holy. Mary was not innately angelic. Jesus was not placed in one of Mary’s eggs. He was placed in Mary’s womb. The Holy Spirit did not enter into Mary to have intercourse. The Holy Ghost came upon Mary to enable her to do the impossible. As it says in Luke 1:37, For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said be it unto me according to thy word. Luke 1:45 says And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. All Mary had to do was believe to recieve a miracle. Mary was not sinless, she was just selfless. The virgin birth was not an issue of Mary’s ability to give birth to a Sinless Savior. The virgin birth is about Mary’s availability to be used by God for a miracle. That helps me to examine the birth of Jesus Christ historically to see it was nothing less than a miracle.
2. Focusing on the Virgin Birth, spiritually.
Examining the birth of Christ historically helps me to understand the birth of Christ spiritually. If God can do it for Mary, He can do it for me. If God can do miracles through Mary, He can do miracles through me. If God can bring something big out of little Bethlehem, He can do something big through little ol’ me. If God can bring something good out of Jesus’ family tree, then I know he can bring something good out of me. Matt 1:1-16 lists some people that would make you feel good about your family reunion. Abraham was an adulterer. Jacob was a con-artist. Judah thought he was sleeping with a prostitute. Rachab was a prostitute. David was a murderer. Solomon was polygomist with 300 wives and 700 concubines. If God can come through that family tree, I know He can bring something good out of me.
3. Focusing on the Virgin Birth, prophetically.
This helps me to see the birth of Jesus Christ prophetically. It was the transition from the law to grace. It was the transition from sin to salvation. It was the event that split time in half, therefore, it represents a new beginning for me. This is my day to start believing! This is my day to start receiving! This is my day for a blessing! This is my day for a miracle!
