Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

The preacher Sunday focused on the Lamb of God who provides hope, gives help and handled sin. Seeing as you spoke from my favorite of the Christmas stories, I will share additional Light on his inspiration.

Today’s scripture, Revelation 21:23 (NKJV) prophesies…
[23] The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

Consider…
John 1 is my favorite Christmas story, because it’s told from an eternal perspective.

It starts with John 1:1-4 (NKJV)…
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. [4] In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Dana’s niece danced with a host of dancers, while the choir sang these lyrics. Needless to say, my heart smiled as I imagined the same scene simultaneously happening in Heaven.

A couple of weeks ago I spoke of the importance of recognition to appreciation. Today I would add the prerequisites of proclamation and confirmation to salvation.

The Holy Spirit referenced Romans 10:14-15 (NKJV), which says…
[14] How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? [15] And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Which brings me back into my favorite Christmas story, which picks up at John 1:6-9 (NKJV), where we read…
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [7] This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. [8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. [9] That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

We spent last week highlighting Christ as the Light that leads us out of darkness and death into eternal life.

One thing I love and appreciate about God is that He never leaves you guessing or wondering who He is. Rather than using cryptic supernatural signs, He chooses ordinary people to make Himself known. We call them prophets of old, and preachers today.

John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ cousin, bore witness to Jesus in his mother’s womb.

This leads me to share the supporting story to this story.

God’s impossible preparation…
Luke 1:13-17 (NKJV) shares…
[13] But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. [14] And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. [15] For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. [16] And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. [17] He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Notice John’s purpose before being knit in his mother’s womb was to make the Lord known.

God’s immaculate connection…
Luke 1:35-37 (NKJV) shares…
[35] 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. [36] 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. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Notice, it’s when a barren relative was impossibly pregnant that the Angel of the LORD foretold the immaculate birth of the Son of God!

God chooses the impossible to reveal His immaculate.

That triggered I Corinthians 1:27-29 (NKJV) in my consciousness…
[27] But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; [28] and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, [29] that no flesh should glory in His presence.

God does the opposite! That’s good to know when we don’t understand why things don’t make sense in our lives.

That’s because God does what He does, when He does, how He does, so that there’s no doubt it was Him that did!

You see, God wants us to always see His handiwork and sing with Praise & Harmony…

All the glory belongs to You
All the glory belongs to You oh God, oh God
All the glory belongs to You
All the glory belongs to You oh God, oh God (all the glory)
All the glory belongs to You (all the glory)
All the glory belongs to You oh God, oh God (all the glory)
All the glory belongs to You (all the glory)
All the glory belongs to You oh God, oh God

Now that we understand everything is done for God’s glory, we can finish the story within the story.

God’s inspirational confirmation…
Luke 1:39-45 (NKJV) shares…
[39] Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, [40] and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. [41] And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. [42] Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43] But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44] For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. [45] Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Three quick wisdom nuggets dropped…

• The baby leaped
• The Holy Spirit filled
• Elizabeth spoke

When the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us moves, we should testify to what He’s revealing to those near us.

Also, don’t miss the subtleties of scriptures, like…

• Young virgin Mary knew her old barren cousin Elizabeth
• Second trimester John recognized Jesus in His beginning
• Elizabeth affirmed everything the Angel told Mary based on her impossible baby’s womb response to what has immaculately conceived. The Angel told Mary she would be impregnated by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth affirmed she was.

It’s important to pay attention to the subtle details of God’s movements in our lives, because it’s in subtleties we discover the realities of His impossibilities.

I believe we overlook so many subtle things the Lord does in our lives that we don’t fully grasp He’s always doing impossible. For example…

• We breathe because He breathed (Genesis 2:7)
• We wake up because He never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:3-8)
• Even when we’re unfaithful to Him, He remains faithful us, because He can’t deny who He is (2 Timothy 2:13)
• His Real love is sacrificially unconditional not reciprocal (1 John 4:10)
• While we’re enemies, God loved and Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)

This is just a handful of examples of things we take for granted about the impossible things God did/does in our lives.

While writing this I hear James Fortune and Pastor Mike bellowing…

You did the impossible, impossible
You did the impossible, impossible

It’s with the dichotomy of God revealing His immaculate through the impossible that we return to today’s main Christmas story…

John 1:29-34 (NKJV) resumes…
[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ [31] I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” [32] And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. [33] I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ [34] And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Remember my subtleties encouragement. Well recall in the story within the story, John was Jesus’ cousin and they knew each other from their mothers wombs. Yet, the forerunner who was prophesied to testify of the Light identified Him as the Lamb! And, he continued on to say that he didn’t know Him until He was revealed.

I believe John absolutely knew his birth cousin Jesus, but he didn’t recognize God’s Sacrificial Lamb until the Holy Spirit revealed Him at baptism. No doubt John knew cousin Jesus was special, but it wasn’t until God revealed Him that John knew He was Him!

That’s important because it shows us that no matter how well we think we know Jesus, we can never fully understand or comprehend who He is without God revealing Him to us.

That reminds me of Matthew 16:15-17 (NKJV) where we read Jesus’ transformational exchange with His disciples…
[15] He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” [16] Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [17] Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Notice, Jesus asked people who walked and talked with Him daily who they claimed Him to be. And notice the key point for all of us who claim to know Jesus, He told Peter…
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

It is God alone who makes Jesus known. Never allow messengers to overshadow or get in the way of the the Message or the Message giver.

That’s important to hear in this time of fallen heroes of the pulpits.

I believe the Holy Spirit is emphasizing, God reveals Christ through flawed humans, both in Bible days and today, so that all the other flawed humans can meet the immaculate through the impossible. Recall…

• Moses the murderer foreshadowed Christ the deliverer
• David the adulterer and murderer foreshadowed Christ the Good Shepherd and King of kings
• Adam and Eve the disobedient ones foreshadowed Christ, God’s grace covering within His divine justice. God covered them with animals skins, but He covers us with the blood of the Lamb who takes away all of our sins.

You see God continually, and continues to reveal His immaculate love through the impossible means.

That’s why the same Jesus who said in John 10:11 (NLT)… “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

…is also “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

This Christmas as you revisit the myriad of stories about baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, don’t overlook this equally important story about the Light who came to lead us out of darkness AND the Lamb who came to take away the sins of the world. It explains why God wrapped Divinity in Humanity to make His impossible standard of rightness with Him possible through Him! Simply put, it explains why Christ came.

The Light and Lamb, who is also the Word, became flesh to give us new life in God’s Spirit!

Today’s song is…
Now Behold The Lamb

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)