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Good morning, Merry Christmas. My name is Suzannne Revers and I’m a part of the Preaching and Teaching team, here at The Father’s House, and once in awhile we fill in for Pastor Marty to bring the Sunday message.
So, I’m going to get us started off here with a prayer….
Lord, we thank you for being God above all. We ask that you would make yourself known to us. Lord, Jesus, that you would be here with us today as we gather to praise you, and worship you. And, having the desire to learn more about who you are in our lives, God, we ask that your Kingdom come….break-in on our hearts, and break in on our minds, so that we may experience you today and throughout this Christmas season, Lord we ask, that your Kingdom come upon us……yes!
Kingdom come…….don’t ya just get excited at the thought of it! Kingdom breakthroughs, it’s what we’re praying for right? Yes? You’re open to Kingdom breakthroughs, aren’t ya? Orrrrrrr are you wanting to pick and choose the kind of God stuff you want for your life. Kind of like picking out a food item off the menu? Have you been hoping to find a list of Kingdom Specials to select from in this big book….now there’s an idea….yeah….let’s see where would that be anyway…..probably somewhere in the front, don’t ya think? Ahhhh yes, here it is….mmmmm…looks like some pretty good choices here. I’m thinking I might like the #1 a Miracle just in time. Or, let’s see, maybe I would rather have the #2 a fresh dish of God’s power and strength to get me through the day. Oh wait, #3 this sounds even better yet…..yes, I’ll have the #3 a Healing, well done please, and ”hold” the angels, visions, dreams, and any revelations….gives me gas! And, hey, I’m in a hurry….so I’ll have it to go, yes….“God to Go!”
Ah-ha….we do that don’t we. In our fast-food lives, it’s like we want to order up God when we’re hungry for him. And, we want him to be delivered in such a way that’s most comfortable for us (no angels please, I don’t think I could handle that!) We want him to look like what we would expect. It’s only natural. And, then what do we do when He shows up and He doesn’t look like what we expected? Well, when I go through the McDonald’s drive-through and I leave only to find that they’ve given me McNuggets instead of the burger and fries I ordered, and oh yeah, they forgot the ketchup again…..well, I want to send it back. Oooooooo….do we ever do that with God….send him back. God shows up in our lives to deliver a Kingdom breakthrough and we miss it?
Well that’s just what happened for some in the Christmas story….did ya ever think about that? Some missed the whole thing, and they were right there. How about the folks staying in the hotel where there was no more room….they didn’t have a clue what was happening out in the stable, and here, the greatest Kingdom breakthrough of all time was happening right under their noses.
The greatest event of all of history -- when God, himself, arrives on earth! He leaves his throne in heaven to land in this place that we live and he chooses to become one of us……..fully human, and yet fully God. And, the plan is that he will arrive on the scene as a newborn baby, in the poorest parts, with no grand entrance, no ticker tape parade, but packaged in the smallest of bundles….born in a barn…..in the quiet of the night…..who knew this baby was magnificent?
Sometimes, we’re like the folks in the Inn. We just don’t see the Kingdom breakthroughs happening around us. Well, here’s the good news – Kingdom breakthroughs – we’ll just call ‘em God’s little packages sent from heaven – they’re meant for you….whether you receive ‘em or not. Did you get that? God’s sending you packages from heaven! It’s true! You just gotta look for ‘em.
Well, chances are there were folks at that Inn who had been looking for God. It’s just that they had a preconceived idea of what the package would look like. You see , they were looking for the Messiah, it means “the Anointed One.” Anointed by God and empowered by God’s spirit to deliver his people and establish His kingdom. For many years the word was out that the Messiah was coming, but the people envisioned a political leader. They expected a new King to help them come together and form an army so they could defeat their enemies with force and power so as to bring peace to the land. They expected a war like leader, not a Spiritual deliverer, and certainly not a baby.
This baby lying in a manager, a Kingdom breakthrough?
Well, Mary and Joseph….they knew! Or did they?
Most definitely they knew this baby was special…..conceived by the Holy Spirit. But, did they know the extent of this Kingdom breakthrough. Sometimes we do see the clues God sends us that something’s up! God stuff is going on! And, in this case, both Mary and Joseph had an angel fill them in.
Turn to Luke Chapter 1 beginning with verse 28…..
28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
Now that’s a Kingdom breakthrough….right? easy to see! An angel! It’s a no brainer. But, when it’s us on the receiving end of God’s Kingdom in our life, it’s not always all that easy to see. In fact, if you look here, even Mary is shaken when this angel makes his visit. Oh, I’m so glad She’s normal! She didn’t expect anything like this! She too, probably had heard of this great leader coming, the Messiah, but what could all this mean….what this angel was saying…..pregnancy! How? Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married, but they hadn’t come together. Mary was a virgin. And, while it seems their relationship was established, because in that day engagements were lengthy and quite a bit more involved than what couples experience today. In fact, most likely legal documents would have been in place and I imagine the dress was ordered, the reception hall reserved, the caterer hired, and the invitations practically in the mail!
What to do?
Well, Joseph….he knew what he wanted to do? He wanted divorce. Of course, he did. A Godly man, full of good principal, thinking Mary had been with someone else, he wanted out. Certainly, he must have felt hurt, betrayed, and angry. So, he decides to call off the engagement quietly so as not to embarrass Mary any more than she is bound to be when everyone finds out about this “scandal.” Until an angel appeared to him in a dream
Take a look at Matt beginning with verse 20:
20But after he had considered this (breaking off the wedding plans), an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."
A Kingdom breakthrough? Well, we know the end of the story….we know that he goes ahead with the wedding plans. But, did he know what he was getting into? This baby, his step-son, that he would take on as his own….becoming his daddy….raising not just any child, but Jesus! I’m thinking he had his own ideas of how he wanted to become a father, and he surely could not have seen this coming! This didn’t look like anything he expected….in fact, this all looked pretty messy, this was not necessarily a good time….there’s a wedding to take place. In his eyes, we don’t really know, the scriptures don’t tell us how he was feeling, but I envision Joseph saying, “A Kingdom breakthrough where?”
God stuff – Kingdom breakthroughs – they don’t always come packaged or delivered like we expect! (REPEAT)
Did you know that God can send Kingdom breakthroughs from Russia? I sure didn’t. I didn’t see this one coming. My youngest sister Diana had been married to my brother-in-law for several years and were unable to get pregnant….so the adoption process began……they already had two boys, adopted from Russia and this time, they were working with the same orphanage and hoping for a girl, but just like most parents they would take whatever came…boy or a girl! It was an exciting time…for everyone….me and my whole family included. Time passes, and time passes, and the process becomes very long and drawn out for them. They didn’t expect this kind of a delay, and it’s all taking much longer than they experienced with the boys. In the mean time, our sister, Angie gets pregnant with her 4th baby. Mmmm…Diana kept a happy face, and I’m just guessing here, but surely she must have felt a twitch of restlessness when she got their news. More time passes and finally Diana confides in me that she’s going to pretty disappointed if her baby doesn’t arrive before Angie’s. And, while it was a wonderful day, when on May 4, 2005, Angie gives birth to her 4th baby girl, I know that Diana must be struggling. Her baby from Russia is not here yet, and now they’re being told it will probably be a boy…and of course, she’s okay with that, but things just are not going as planned. Soon after they are told it won’t be long now and the months drag on, one after another. Just try and to imagine being nine months pregnant, month and month….that must have been how she felt. Finally, late that fall their little girl, Sierra, arrives home from Russia…..and get this, her birthday is May 4th 2004! Exactly one year to the day ahead of Angie’s baby! I was shocked…..I didn’t see this Kingdom package coming and I’m supposed to be the godly one in the family! You see, the even bigger breakthrough here was that my sister Diana acknowledged to me that this was a “God thing.”
God’s breakthroughs, when you finally see ‘em, can arrive in grand style. This little gift from heaven, sent via special delivery from Russia, arrived just on time for my sister and her family….God’s time.
God stuff – Kingdom breakthroughs – they don’t always come packaged or delivered like we expect!
One more quick personal story and then I’ll close:
I had just started going to church…….my life was a mess……..and this pastor kept preaching that God could be real in our lives. I was desperate for anything, not so sure that I believed in any of this God stuff, but I reluctantly started to pray. Little did I know that Kingdom breakthrough was right around the corner and it would come in the most unusual way, through my son Andy, who had been born with Downs Syndrome and was 12-years old at the time. He was functioning at about the level of a 2 ½ year old, he couldn’t read, and his speech was very limited. I was standing in church, singing to the music when Andy starts…
• Pulling on the back of my jeans trying to get my attention
• and like we mother’s often do, I was rather bothered by him and ignored him.
• He continued. He persisted. Until, finally I turned to look at him.
• There in his lap, lay this book and I recognized it as one of his encyclopedias (he had a set of 18 children’s encyclopedias and like thumbing through them)
• Irritated -- How did he get that book in here, rather strict about it.
• Then, nonchalantly glanced down hoping he might think I was interested.
• And, after a second look…..I was stunned!
• Andy had the “J” encyclopedia, turned to the page with Jesus’ picture, and he was pointing at him on the page.
• I was baffled at first! How was he able to locate the “J” encyclopedia, bring it to church (I hadn’t even seen him bring it in, and if I had it wouldn’t have made it into the church), and then turn to the appropriate page with Jesus’.
• Andy pointed and excitedly repeated the word, “Jesus,” over and over again, as if to say, “Mom, he’s right here. The Jesus you’re looking for is right here. He’s right in front of you!”
• Impossible? When you look the facts…Downs Syndrome, unable to read and write, mentally disabled…..yes, Impossible.
• But at the time, impossible never crossed my mind. I looked my boy in the face and I knew without a doubt I was, in a sense, looking at the face of God.
People, people, people….do ya get it! Kingdom breakthroughs – they don’t always come packaged or delivered like we expect!
I would have never imagine that God would use my handicapped son to communicate with me, to let me know that he is real for today.
My sister, Diana, I’m sure she could have never dreamed of a Kingdom breakthough from Russia. I’m hoping and praying for more and more of God’s Kingdom in their lives. I have her on my bookmark….and I wish I had the time to tell you all the God stuff I see going on around them…I’m not sure they know yet, what is to come….and you know what, neither do….but, I know it’s gonna be good!
Mary and Joseph….did they know they were in the midst of the greatest Kingdom breakthrough ever? What were they thinking that Christmas morning when they gazed at their newborn babe? Did they know that he would walk on water, raise the dead, give sight to the blind? Did they know about Gethsemane, the cross, the resurrection? No….on that day I doubt they could have imagined all the glory they would witness, all the pain that lie ahead, and all the restoration thereafter.
When you’re in the midst of your everyday life, do you see that God is still in the business of sending little packages from Heaven? Do you know that God has a way of presenting himself in ways that you might not expect? In the book of Hebrews we’re told to be aware that we will come upon people and not even realize that we have entertained angels.
But, just to let you know….there’s this awesome Christmas song, and many of you may have heard it….it’s called, “Mary did you know.” And, the guys are going to throw on the CD for us and I encourage you to give it a listen. It goes right along with the message today….that Kingdom breakthroughs, those packages from heaven, are often bigger than we could ever imagine.
Kingdom breakthroughs, they don’t always come packaged or delivered like we expect AND…they go beyond our imagination! Beyond our imagination! Beyond our imagination!
PRAYER -- Oh Lord, help us not to miss ‘em. God help us not miss a one. Lord God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus. Lord, we thank you for your Kingdom breakthroughs…..for you little packages from heaven. And, God we ask that you help us to realize and recognize the potential of your goodness for us……that your ways are so much higher than our ways…Lord, this Christmas season we ask that you help us to think and wonder our way into the presence of the greatest gift from heaven….Jesus. Lord, help us not to miss out on all that you have for our lives during this special season and for all of our lives. In Jesus name I pray AMEN.
That’s my closing prayer…if you would like to stay afterwards I’ll be up here along with others who want to come along side of you and support you, answer your questions, pray with you. And, if you need to get going, I understand that too.
AMEN!
