The Sermon Preparation Brings Perspective by David McGee
Dec 15, 2013
Preparation Brings Perspective (38:22)
Referenced Scriptures: Luke 1:34-59
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
Luke 1:34-59
34) Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, seeing I am a virgin?"
35) The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one which is born from you will be called the Son of God.
36) Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37) For no word from God will be void of power."
38) Mary said, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word." The angel departed from her.
39) Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,
40) and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41) It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary‘s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42) She called out with a loud voice, and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43) Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44) For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
45) Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!"
46) Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord.
47) My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48) For he has looked at the humble state of his handmaid. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
49) For he who is mighty has done to me great things; Holy is his name.
50) His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.
51) He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.
52) He has put down princes from their thrones. Has exalted the lowly.
53) He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
54) He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy
55) (As he spoke to our fathers) Toward Abraham and his seed forever."
56) Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house.
57) Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son.
58) Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her.
59) It happened on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father.
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Bus morning were looking at Luke chapter one beginning in verse twenty six and I thought of this in the context of preparation brings perspective wedding preparation brings perspective, we are preparing for Christmas and how many are done with your Christmas shopping after we haven't started yet. Okay God, that you have a day did you start this look like Christmas Eve, not the Allawi, why do you want to get what you want to get up, get their anyhow, then of course I have one of my friends is Russian Orthodox and eases autostart. Do you know you guys have your Christmas then they have sales just for us in our love for the Orthodox Church there there. Christmas is a week later. So, but anyhow it seemed we were talking about that and how that the audio doesn't do his Christmas shopping until until later, so in our lives. We are preparing preparation brings perspective and whatever you're preparing for Christmas. What perspective do we have all that we prepare ourselves what perspective do we have about our gifts about what we give what perspective is there and so it is it balances out our preparation brings perspective, our perspective balances our preparation. So we look at at at the thing and then, again, I wallowing this through. I was looking at Mary McCain, Mary the mother of Jesus and what is her preparation for that night the angel Gabriel showed up and gave her the message that she was going to have a trial. I think this is a very difficult announcement to bring joy young woman, probably anywhere from some of you know to be fourteen, sixteen years old so and in those days, and always very common for someone to be married at the age of fourteen, sometimes even thirteen then I was very common because their life span was that about thirty, thirty five, a note you were four years old. You were an old person, so being married was a young age was very common word was that it was the ordinary and so Mary could've been fourteen years old, sixteen years old, but somewhere in that preparation. What prepared her for that night in which she was going to receive this announcement so whenever Mary responded, and I said, with the start of verse thirty six but I want to read verse thirty four Mary said to the angel, but how you know you're going to be Angel Gabriel says, you know you're going to have a child and you know the Holy Spirit 's going to come upon young men and marriages. She's not disengaged from the angel. She's very engaged is not like confronting the angel sees Angel Gabriel. She's talking with him and trying to bring a perspective to the whole think this whole circumstance busy whenever we are praying and we have our prayers. What perspective do we bring with our prayers. What perspectives do we have whenever we have our court are present, we're bringing to God, and what preparation do we have in bringing our prayers to God. Preparation is knowing the Scripture knowing basically what the promises of God are all that the promises of God work in our life and that understanding that preparation of the Scriptures. James Ossa perspective than about how we should pray and how what we should ask for and how we should ask so these these two things go back and this preparation gets perspective. Perspective is preparation and we're looking at this and and our whole faith is based on our understanding of the Scriptures and our understanding about the relationship to Jesus Christ has with an insult in this preparation that we have perspective within the perspective that we proved that we prepare so Christmas is coming, so we prepare it the house decorated. I'm in the house decorated Army started on. They will finish that I won't finish until the kids get home and they can finish so, but we have these things go hand-in-hand. So Mary. She has the angel Gabriel comes to her and CEO makes daily announcements and good morning Mary, you're beautiful of God 's beauty, but that's a great introduction and then he goes on talks about how that this child is born in you, he will be great to be called the son of the highest award him the throne of his father David. He will rule Jacob 's house forever. No, and ever to his kingdom, so here's the declaration come into this young woman, your child is going to sit on the throne of David. He's got to be greater than that of the king of Israel, David, and who is Mary. She is a peasant girl in a remote village of village in a small village. So here is a peasant girl in a small village having a visitation from an angel telling her that her child is going to be greater than the greatest king of Israel. How do you wrap your mind around that. How do you get perspective of that old by preparation. What was the preparation she would've known the promises of a Messiah. She would've known about how that God had worked in the lives of mothers and we see an agency. and Mary says in verse thirty four, one how. I've never slept with a man. I think she's not that naïve that she doesn't understand that the mock the the progression of of having a child and the angel said the Holy Spirit will come upon you the power of the highest cover over you, and therefore the child you bring to birth will be called the son of God. We think it's hard and I know I say promises of God. What are some of the promises the company of my. I think of God 's promise that he'll never leave us nor forsake us think she can never be alone her out of God 's presence that God says I will supply all your need according to his riches in glory. Now these are promises spoken to us through the Scripture. How do we make the application of those promises to our everyday life. We find it difficult sometimes when things aren't the way they should be when things don't work out the way we planned Windows difficulties. There what happens. We began to question. But if we are prepared by knowing the word and allowing God to speak to our hearts every day. Then when these problems come. We have a per proper perspective. We have a perspective about them that will help us handle the salt preparation brings perspective perspective brings preparation, cause I know how great the task is I've got to prepare myself, but Mary has already prepared herself because of her love for God and Denver thirty six and did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son of as she is everyone called her barren and here she has six months pregnant. Nothing you see is impossible with God. Now let's talk about what you know you been praying about God meeting needs in your life. Along comes someone else's. We know God has been doing a work in somebody else's life. God has met the need in someone else's life, and does that make us jealous Barry hears about her cousin Elizabeth, you know, one of the things that in the Old Testament as a number of stories, a number of places in the Old Testament where bearing women were made were given promises that they were going to have a child. Abraham Hill, Sarasota have a child. What if Sarah do when she heard that she is the because waiting for you to laugh at it really joyfully a half dozen must let me give you a promise. God go to supply all your needs are left, Linda Lavin, while that's the promise came to Sarah that you don't have a child be this guy out there is little not it out. He doesn't know how old I am and he doesn't know the situation. God knows the situation when the other things. It's so amazing is Mary's cousin Elizabeth is with child. I can have a baby Zachariah, her husband gay. He's appraised in the Temple Zachariah and if you read the Scripture we would do this on earnings last week with four saccharide watching now it was his turn in and in the Old Testament that the holies of holies. This was a sacred place, a very sacred place that I praised when in once a year for the sacrifice went into the tallest holies for the presentation. The sacrifice. Okay, while Zachariah went into the holy place and the very presence of God in Angel Gabriel shows up and says Zachariah, your wife is going to have a son, and you're going to call his name John. Okay, and Zachariah says, I don't think so, I really got to know this you are you pulling my leg and the angel says, by what Zach, I went back your longer be able to speak until the babies born into. You name the baby 's name is John and Zechariah Apple that moment was able to speak Mary when the angel spoke to Mary. She didn't have that type of bow. She had the question. While preparation brings perspective. She didn't have. She knew the natural things, no Zechariah is he's married to Elizabeth, yet all shall he honor says Zachariah that it's a natural thing, while she is doing well. I'm too long never going to happen in our life. And here is an angel coming to Zechariah in the hallways of holies and Zachariah is there supposedly in the prior voice and God, and the angel shows up any doubts what's happening. Barry is in her home in a small put together hot, and an angel comes in speaks to her and her final response is in verse twenty four thirty seven and I said yes I see it all now. I find the Lords made ready to serve, let it be with me, just as you say Barry is just willing to accept what the angel says the angel Gabriel shows up and says this is what's going to happen. She says okay while not married but where the Holy Spirit to come upon you while I'm never I'm never been a sexual relationship with a man, not a child. The Holy Spirit 's going to come upon you and that he that is conceived and you will be of God and Mary just like okay whatever you want this on your handmaiden of do whatever you feel is right. God you do it in my life. How different that is from Zachariah, how different that is from Abraham and Sarah, how different it is from the different ones in the Old Testament that were barren to have a whole. Their perspective was like, doubt and question everything out. Angel Gabriel. He shows up Angel shop and tell them the things, but they still doubt the well. The angel left Mary and we find that there is this challenge and in Mary's ball was married to Mary Dan leaves to go visit Elizabeth to find out to know gain perspective of this so when she goes on this journey. Her before she goes on, I'm going to look at this in the name for this from the perspective from the perspective that we have the perception, what, what is God doing whenever we have a perspective K every one of us have a perspective every one of us have traditions we had the friends that there down the parents always made the holiday dinner while now the adult daughters decided they were to make a holiday dinner while the adult, the parents couldn't get that perspective in their head. The young wall. They will, they will know what to do while there. Older adults and married and have children of the round, and but they don't automate this meal because the parish perspective of their adult children was that I don't think they can really is what they were saying it out if I ever say that about in the article that you really couldn't become the mouse in the accommodating of that, but it was just the idea that it was a different perspective. What while they go to do it. Ha ha I got to make the meal while while dad. It's a turkey yet all and used office and you put them on those bags are put in the Avenue couldn't loan you don't. How do it right, though. It's like the eye and I said this before, so psyched that they work the young married couple, just newly married their first Thanksgiving, Christmas and they were putting a ham in the government and Mrs. yet cut off both ends the ham and the husband is wisely won't like him him him always as better than waste of Mama was vividly called mom and mom mom, why did you cut the ends off the hand loaded we do that, that's what grandma always used to do so, they called grandma and grandma, why would cut the ends off the hand while I did have a pan big enough for him to fit in, so we cut the ends off a so prospective so we have a perspective and it all. There was no reason for just that we always bedded in, and I think that's the perspective sometimes of Christmas. That's the perspective of promises. That's the perspective of how the we live, but knowledge has to use the preparation has to give us knowledge and understanding of how we do things in our knowledge is ever increasing. Why do we have to always have the same tradition. It's okay. It's okay to have traditions in fact, we should have, but it's okay to tweak them why, because things change. Things change. While what happened with Mary, my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. The first forty six and forty seven my soul magnifies the Lord, one of the worst things that can happen to a person is to live with a shrunken understanding of God and a shrunken soul, always cutting off the ends of things while God can do that but yeah, like Zachariah, the Angels. As you know you have a son. I don't think so far there are when they're angels, as you know you have a child. She laughs, we see how that the shrunken soul in the worst thing we can do is have a shrink-wrapped soul that whenever the heat supplied everything closes in on that we have this perspective, that when things go wrong and what goes wrong in problems arise and this happens we get a shrink wrap soul. Everything shrinks and because of the pressure that we feel uneasy. The thought, while Mary doesn't have a shrinkwrap sold. She doesn't have a shrunken perspective of God, and this is a perfect perfect reason to take Christmas seriously, it's our best hope for our minds and our hearts to be enlarged with God 's greatness. It is the greatest opportunity for us to be enlarged with God 's great. I was reading about how the children can become greeting one of the greatest things about Christmas is to teach children how to give because mostly we teach them how to get and that's not in on a young please don't misunderstand me that we should not give where were we have to give, but in the same perspective, we have to let things go there certain things we need to give away their certain things that we need to transition out of our lives. I member this. This was the story years ago I read it, and it was about this big church in New York City and they were doing this was like he said while this turn-of-the-century, probably about nineteen ten nineteen twelve. Somewhere in there and job there was we're doing a drive for the poor. This large church in New York City and they were doing this drive for the poor and the kids of this one family decided they were going to do without they were actually they'll didn't turn the lights on in her house and let me. They did everything they could to raise money for the needy families in their church and so they raced -based rant, they say, and they had their whole family project about it and they put money on energy on the table and they would put their pennies and dimes and nickels and things in this jar and they raise like twelve dollars and fifty cents and young in nineteen twenty nineteen ten. Somewhere in there was a lot of money, so they took their money and they were very, very happy, and they were very excited because in the Sunday that they were the only brought their contributions to the church and they gave it took it forward. Put it in the offering it for you for the needy family and the end of the week. The pastor came to their house. What I put in twelve dollars and fifty cents at the end of the week. The pastor came to the house and gave them fifteen dollars because they were the needy family and the church and they were astonished. One. They didn't know they were needy and number two of the entire congregation. They raise twelve dollars and fifty cents of the fifteen and they were very disappointed one because they didn't realize they were needy and I was remember my mom talking about yellow system will be grew up. We didn't know we were poor. We were so poor we didn't know we were poor, and that an inlet perspective of giving was such that when we look at our lives, there is this perspective of how the we give Bible says in the weekend and out of the abundance of the heart we get we speak we give we do and what happens is God 's promise that he will return and we don't get because room expecting a return we get because we are expecting God to give up because it's a good thing. It's a pleasing thing and I are solved to get us to give us the right perspective of things. It gives us a perspective of how that we can look at things and sometimes whenever we look at things. We have a certain perspective. I asked José to put up some pictures we have those pictures now. Whatever we think of perspective what the faraway shot first game I know what that is what is now tonight, shots out the blue matching thank you that is not assigned it to load up their paycheck. I thought we got the moon and most of us are used to. Perhaps the type of perspective in our lives is generally how we look at things we got we got a good perspective. We have a very good perspective. But, you know, if we try to focus in a little. We have another perspective I while back again. Now that's even a little know, telescope, or whatever, and you got a get a better perspective of things. So then you get a more powerful perspective, being it right up close. I preparation brings perspective when we prepare our lives for what God is going to do. Sometimes we look at it. Look at who we are from a distance of yeah, I'm not seeing the moon. I even feel most no full moon, and that the cloudless sky and see the moon have a good perspective of the moon. There's a perspective of preparation brings perspective, so whenever we face a things we see them in a certain light we see them from Rupert, certain knowledge and the challenge of the Scriptures give to us that God just like the angel coming to Mary gives her a perspective that you are going to bring a child into this world that is going to be called for the most high, and he's he's going to be a manual is God with us. All of the promises of the Old Testament. All the promises of him know how that God has brought barren women to have children while the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you're going to have a child and Mary says what she say, she says, I see it all now. I'm the Lords made I'm I'm I'm the Lord 's name, and I'm ready to serve. She didn't see now in the ultimate in those times. If you are pregnant and not married, they would stone within. She was betrothed to Joseph, that meant if she has a child and she is with child and Joseph knows that he's not the father. He can put her away, so she's taking upon herself the sentence of death and losing her husband, the guy and she said to the angel, I recognize that I am the Lord 's made. I am ready to serve. Whatever God brings promises to our life, we think of all the perspectives, volume I see the moon up there while God saying to us, I want you to have a closer look at this. I want you to have a telescopic baby over this and you and your write up on it in our life. The promise of God comes to write up on it. Part of our life that stands in the incest of loss. I can meet this need, and we say, well, you know, I don't really see how well Mary says I see it all now that she goes to be with Elizabeth. First, thirty nine. Mary didn't waste a minute she got up and traveled to the time and you did in the hill country straight to Zacharias house to greet Elizabeth now Zacharias, you can talk Elizabeth with child and Zechariah can talk and he can't say what's going on now. Really. Now they just know that something is going on here at end Elizabeth knows that something 's happened. She's with child something great is happen and she in and out when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting K when she heard the grating the baby in her womb late. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang out exuberantly so, Elizabeth Mrs. Hart first inclination that this child inside of her. Is somebody really great. She knows that there's been promises she knows that there's somebody coming. She knows that there are the prophecies of the Old Testament and how that all this something to happen, but this is the first time she herself, the spirit of God comes upon Elizabeth and the baby in her move starts doing somersaults in the ladies remember about things while this one was now there's unwise more than just a few kicks. This was a few somersault and then Elizabeth declares to Mary yours sold last among women and the begging your move is also blessed now, Elizabeth has no inkling of what's going on here. All she does is hear. Mary say hello and with that, hello. The spirit of God comes upon Elizabeth and she begins this declaration and why am I so blessed the mother of my Lord visits me there was a divine perspective that took place in Elizabeth's heart, mind, body, that brought to reality all that was going on at the moment. The sound of your greeting entered my gears. The bedroom. I will stick like a lamb for sheer joy blessed woman who believed what God said the last woman who believed what God said perspective. She knew what happened. The angel spoke to Mary and Mary came to the conclusion I'm the made handmaiden of the Lord let it happen to me exactly as you said, and an Elizabeth city. She says while was the woman who believed what God said believed every word would come true what is the declaration about Mary. She believed she believed what the angel had said to her, she believe, and it was a great thing going on in English. This segment of words here and just a few paragraphs. The word blast is used four times blessed and believe less than believe what they believe we got one practicing for the play next week and a half. Yeah, please practice in the South blast. I believe again. Bless them believe they left the whole point, we find that our life will be blessed when we believe what God has said Frost and perspective. We have a right perspective and then we go on another level. this, and Mary said again, this is how Mary response to this, I am bursting with God news. I'm bursting with God means when the promises of God come to our life, we are bursting with God news God is going to take care of me. God is going to be Whitney God is going to give me the right perspective of life that God is going to help me, and in all that I'm saying and doing God is going to work with in my life and that there is there is no perspective without preparation. And God has been preparing me for this moment, your life is better preparation for this moment on the perspective of this moment is often sitting here looking up at the moon and God is saying, I want you to focus in on something. I want you to focus in on AAA need in your life, and I've been preparing you for, and I'm going to give you a perspective based upon a promise that I'm going to meet your needs than I'm going to work in your life. I'm going to do a miracle in your life. I'm going to do something new that you never thought possible, and we look at the moon and we say, while I really can't make that out from here. But you know when you start zooming in and zooming in and zooming in, you can come to the little craters, a little rocks and little pieces of the planet of the moon and you can see you can see on the planet where they stepped what was it back in the sixties when they put their first foot to foot on the moon and now the Chinese got there yesterday and but you can see that as you focus in I'm bursting with God news. I'm dancing the song of my Savior God, God took one look at me and look what happened. I am the most fortunate woman on earth she could be stoned. She could be put away. She could be dis- honor she could begin out dishonored by her family excommunicated from her family and her community. She could be run out of town and she said I'm the most fortunate woman on earth what God has done for me will never be forgotten. She had a perspective of what God was going to do that no one else had a clue when God said to Zachariah God have a son. I don't think so. Zip them up. So you're going to have a son and a you have children, as many descendents of the stars and sky about the good one you don't know how old I am yet oh oh, you just don't know. And that's what we say. I don't think that happen. But Mary what God has done for me will never be forgotten the God whose very name is holy set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after late wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength scattered the+ writers of the people who always braggadocio sieges scatters them away. He knocked the tyrants off their high horses for victims of mud. What's next, the starving poor sat down to a banquet the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel. He remembered and powder on the mercies how them on high mercy after mercy after mercy all because Mary said that isn't too far-fetched for the God that I'm that I know that I could have a child that I never knew a man, and that God is going to do a new work in the if we look at the promise that God has given to us. God, we have to say that's not too far-fetched for me. God can do new work. It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham right up until now. Mary had a perspective of how the Godhead works of the nation of Israel, which gave her what she have Marianna perspective that brings monthly yellowing Marianna preparation of what God has done through Israel, but gave her perspective that what God had promised that he will do exactly what he promised Mary stay with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home, and that's whenever she started to confront all the other things with Joseph and the families and the community. She was in that she was now starting to show with her pregnancy so what is a challenge challenges preparation brings perspective we prepare our hearts for God to do a new thing this Christmas and the new thing is that he is going to give us a promise, and that we then must have a perspective that promise is not beyond God 's ability to accomplish in my life that promise is not beyond God 's ability to accomplish in my life that promise is not beyond God 's possibility to bring and accomplish in my life, and then that's the father, we thank you for how you blessed us and for what we know in our lives, and that what we are aware of and how that your spirit speaks to our hearts and brings alive the promises and we thank you for that preparation, the God we want to have a perspective that sees how that you will work in us and how that we must open our hearts and we must be receptive to what you want to do so prepare us, Lord, that we might receive the blessings and the gifts that you want to bestow upon us, thank you God for this the full-time year which we celebrate God with us. Ask your blessing upon our families, our loved ones, watch over and guide us as we travel this week, and Lord. They we do thank you for the blessings that will continue to flow into our lives. We pray in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Everybody said amen. God bless youBus morning were looking at Luke chapter one beginning in verse twenty six and I thought of this in the context of preparation brings perspective wedding preparation brings perspective, we are preparing for Christmas and how many are done with your Christmas shopping after we haven't started yet. Okay God, that you have a day did you start this look like Christmas Eve, not the Allawi, why do you want to get what you want to get up, get their anyhow, then of course I have one of my friends is Russian Orthodox and eases autostart. Do you know you guys have your Christmas then they have sales just for us in our love for the Orthodox Church there there. Christmas is a week later. So, but anyhow it seemed we were talking about that and how that the audio doesn't do his Christmas shopping until until later, so in our lives. We are preparing preparation brings perspective and whatever you're preparing for Christmas. What perspective do we have all that we prepare ourselves what perspective do we have about our gifts about what we give what perspective is there and so it is it balances out our preparation brings perspective, our perspective balances our preparation. So we look at at at the thing and then, again, I wallowing this through. I was looking at Mary McCain, Mary the mother of Jesus and what is her preparation for that night the angel Gabriel showed up and gave her the message that she was going to have a trial. I think this is a very difficult announcement to bring joy young woman, probably anywhere from some of you know to be fourteen, sixteen years old so and in those days, and always very common for someone to be married at the age of fourteen, sometimes even thirteen then I was very common because their life span was that about thirty, thirty five, a note you were four years old. You were an old person, so being married was a young age was very common word was that it was the ordinary and so Mary could've been fourteen years old, sixteen years old, but somewhere in that preparation. What prepared her for that night in which she was going to receive this announcement so whenever Mary responded, and I said, with the start of verse thirty six but I want to read verse thirty four Mary said to the angel, but how you know you're going to be Angel Gabriel says, you know you're going to have a child and you know the Holy Spirit 's going to come upon young men and marriages. She's not disengaged from the angel. She's very engaged is not like confronting the angel sees Angel Gabriel. She's talking with him and trying to bring a perspective to the whole think this whole circumstance busy whenever we are praying and we have our prayers. What perspective do we bring with our prayers. What perspectives do we have whenever we have our court are present, we're bringing to God, and what preparation do we have in bringing our prayers to God. Preparation is knowing the Scripture knowing basically what the promises of God are all that the promises of God work in our life and that understanding that preparation of the Scriptures. James Ossa perspective than about how we should pray and how what we should ask for and how we should ask so these these two things go back and this preparation gets perspective. Perspective is preparation and we're looking at this and and our whole faith is based on our understanding of the Scriptures and our understanding about the relationship to Jesus Christ has with an insult in this preparation that we have perspective within the perspective that we proved that we prepare so Christmas is coming, so we prepare it the house decorated. I'm in the house decorated Army started on. They will finish that I won't finish until the kids get home and they can finish so, but we have these things go hand-in-hand. So Mary. She has the angel Gabriel comes to her and CEO makes daily announcements and good morning Mary, you're beautiful of God 's beauty, but that's a great introduction and then he goes on talks about how that this child is born in you, he will be great to be called the son of the highest award him the throne of his father David. He will rule Jacob 's house forever. No, and ever to his kingdom, so here's the declaration come into this young woman, your child is going to sit on the throne of David. He's got to be greater than that of the king of Israel, David, and who is Mary. She is a peasant girl in a remote village of village in a small village. So here is a peasant girl in a small village having a visitation from an angel telling her that her child is going to be greater than the greatest king of Israel. How do you wrap your mind around that. How do you get perspective of that old by preparation. What was the preparation she would've known the promises of a Messiah. She would've known about how that God had worked in the lives of mothers and we see an agency. and Mary says in verse thirty four, one how. I've never slept with a man. I think she's not that naïve that she doesn't understand that the mock the the progression of of having a child and the angel said the Holy Spirit will come upon you the power of the highest cover over you, and therefore the child you bring to birth will be called the son of God. We think it's hard and I know I say promises of God. What are some of the promises the company of my. I think of God 's promise that he'll never leave us nor forsake us think she can never be alone her out of God 's presence that God says I will supply all your need according to his riches in glory. Now these are promises spoken to us through the Scripture. How do we make the application of those promises to our everyday life. We find it difficult sometimes when things aren't the way they should be when things don't work out the way we planned Windows difficulties. There what happens. We began to question. But if we are prepared by knowing the word and allowing God to speak to our hearts every day. Then when these problems come. We have a per proper perspective. We have a perspective about them that will help us handle the salt preparation brings perspective perspective brings preparation, cause I know how great the task is I've got to prepare myself, but Mary has already prepared herself because of her love for God and Denver thirty six and did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son of as she is everyone called her barren and here she has six months pregnant. Nothing you see is impossible with God. Now let's talk about what you know you been praying about God meeting needs in your life. Along comes someone else's. We know God has been doing a work in somebody else's life. God has met the need in someone else's life, and does that make us jealous Barry hears about her cousin Elizabeth, you know, one of the things that in the Old Testament as a number of stories, a number of places in the Old Testament where bearing women were made were given promises that they were going to have a child. Abraham Hill, Sarasota have a child. What if Sarah do when she heard that she is the because waiting for you to laugh at it really joyfully a half dozen must let me give you a promise. God go to supply all your needs are left, Linda Lavin, while that's the promise came to Sarah that you don't have a child be this guy out there is little not it out. He doesn't know how old I am and he doesn't know the situation. God knows the situation when the other things. It's so amazing is Mary's cousin Elizabeth is with child. I can have a baby Zachariah, her husband gay. He's appraised in the Temple Zachariah and if you read the Scripture we would do this on earnings last week with four saccharide watching now it was his turn in and in the Old Testament that the holies of holies. This was a sacred place, a very sacred place that I praised when in once a year for the sacrifice went into the tallest holies for the presentation. The sacrifice. Okay, while Zachariah went into the holy place and the very presence of God in Angel Gabriel shows up and says Zachariah, your wife is going to have a son, and you're going to call his name John. Okay, and Zachariah says, I don't think so, I really got to know this you are you pulling my leg and the angel says, by what Zach, I went back your longer be able to speak until the babies born into. You name the baby 's name is John and Zechariah Apple that moment was able to speak Mary when the angel spoke to Mary. She didn't have that type of bow. She had the question. While preparation brings perspective. She didn't have. She knew the natural things, no Zechariah is he's married to Elizabeth, yet all shall he honor says Zachariah that it's a natural thing, while she is doing well. I'm too long never going to happen in our life. And here is an angel coming to Zechariah in the hallways of holies and Zachariah is there supposedly in the prior voice and God, and the angel shows up any doubts what's happening. Barry is in her home in a small put together hot, and an angel comes in speaks to her and her final response is in verse twenty four thirty seven and I said yes I see it all now. I find the Lords made ready to serve, let it be with me, just as you say Barry is just willing to accept what the angel says the angel Gabriel shows up and says this is what's going to happen. She says okay while not married but where the Holy Spirit to come upon you while I'm never I'm never been a sexual relationship with a man, not a child. The Holy Spirit 's going to come upon you and that he that is conceived and you will be of God and Mary just like okay whatever you want this on your handmaiden of do whatever you feel is right. God you do it in my life. How different that is from Zachariah, how different that is from Abraham and Sarah, how different it is from the different ones in the Old Testament that were barren to have a whole. Their perspective was like, doubt and question everything out. Angel Gabriel. He shows up Angel shop and tell them the things, but they still doubt the well. The angel left Mary and we find that there is this challenge and in Mary's ball was married to Mary Dan leaves to go visit Elizabeth to find out to know gain perspective of this so when she goes on this journey. Her before she goes on, I'm going to look at this in the name for this from the perspective from the perspective that we have the perception, what, what is God doing whenever we have a perspective K every one of us have a perspective every one of us have traditions we had the friends that there down the parents always made the holiday dinner while now the adult daughters decided they were to make a holiday dinner while the adult, the parents couldn't get that perspective in their head. The young wall. They will, they will know what to do while there. Older adults and married and have children of the round, and but they don't automate this meal because the parish perspective of their adult children was that I don't think they can really is what they were saying it out if I ever say that about in the article that you really couldn't become the mouse in the accommodating of that, but it was just the idea that it was a different perspective. What while they go to do it. Ha ha I got to make the meal while while dad. It's a turkey yet all and used office and you put them on those bags are put in the Avenue couldn't loan you don't. How do it right, though. It's like the eye and I said this before, so psyched that they work the young married couple, just newly married their first Thanksgiving, Christmas and they were putting a ham in the government and Mrs. yet cut off both ends the ham and the husband is wisely won't like him him him always as better than waste of Mama was vividly called mom and mom mom, why did you cut the ends off the hand loaded we do that, that's what grandma always used to do so, they called grandma and grandma, why would cut the ends off the hand while I did have a pan big enough for him to fit in, so we cut the ends off a so prospective so we have a perspective and it all. There was no reason for just that we always bedded in, and I think that's the perspective sometimes of Christmas. That's the perspective of promises. That's the perspective of how the we live, but knowledge has to use the preparation has to give us knowledge and understanding of how we do things in our knowledge is ever increasing. Why do we have to always have the same tradition. It's okay. It's okay to have traditions in fact, we should have, but it's okay to tweak them why, because things change. Things change. While what happened with Mary, my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. The first forty six and forty seven my soul magnifies the Lord, one of the worst things that can happen to a person is to live with a shrunken understanding of God and a shrunken soul, always cutting off the ends of things while God can do that but yeah, like Zachariah, the Angels. As you know you have a son. I don't think so far there are when they're angels, as you know you have a child. She laughs, we see how that the shrunken soul in the worst thing we can do is have a shrink-wrapped soul that whenever the heat supplied everything closes in on that we have this perspective, that when things go wrong and what goes wrong in problems arise and this happens we get a shrink wrap soul. Everything shrinks and because of the pressure that we feel uneasy. The thought, while Mary doesn't have a shrinkwrap sold. She doesn't have a shrunken perspective of God, and this is a perfect perfect reason to take Christmas seriously, it's our best hope for our minds and our hearts to be enlarged with God 's greatness. It is the greatest opportunity for us to be enlarged with God 's great. I was reading about how the children can become greeting one of the greatest things about Christmas is to teach children how to give because mostly we teach them how to get and that's not in on a young please don't misunderstand me that we should not give where were we have to give, but in the same perspective, we have to let things go there certain things we need to give away their certain things that we need to transition out of our lives. I member this. This was the story years ago I read it, and it was about this big church in New York City and they were doing this was like he said while this turn-of-the-century, probably about nineteen ten nineteen twelve. Somewhere in there and job there was we're doing a drive for the poor. This large church in New York City and they were doing this drive for the poor and the kids of this one family decided they were going to do without they were actually they'll didn't turn the lights on in her house and let me. They did everything they could to raise money for the needy families in their church and so they raced -based rant, they say, and they had their whole family project about it and they put money on energy on the table and they would put their pennies and dimes and nickels and things in this jar and they raise like twelve dollars and fifty cents and young in nineteen twenty nineteen ten. Somewhere in there was a lot of money, so they took their money and they were very, very happy, and they were very excited because in the Sunday that they were the only brought their contributions to the church and they gave it took it forward. Put it in the offering it for you for the needy family and the end of the week. The pastor came to their house. What I put in twelve dollars and fifty cents at the end of the week. The pastor came to the house and gave them fifteen dollars because they were the needy family and the church and they were astonished. One. They didn't know they were needy and number two of the entire congregation. They raise twelve dollars and fifty cents of the fifteen and they were very disappointed one because they didn't realize they were needy and I was remember my mom talking about yellow system will be grew up. We didn't know we were poor. We were so poor we didn't know we were poor, and that an inlet perspective of giving was such that when we look at our lives, there is this perspective of how the we give Bible says in the weekend and out of the abundance of the heart we get we speak we give we do and what happens is God 's promise that he will return and we don't get because room expecting a return we get because we are expecting God to give up because it's a good thing. It's a pleasing thing and I are solved to get us to give us the right perspective of things. It gives us a perspective of how that we can look at things and sometimes whenever we look at things. We have a certain perspective. I asked José to put up some pictures we have those pictures now. Whatever we think of perspective what the faraway shot first game I know what that is what is now tonight, shots out the blue matching thank you that is not assigned it to load up their paycheck. I thought we got the moon and most of us are used to. Perhaps the type of perspective in our lives is generally how we look at things we got we got a good perspective. We have a very good perspective. But, you know, if we try to focus in a little. We have another perspective I while back again. Now that's even a little know, telescope, or whatever, and you got a get a better perspective of things. So then you get a more powerful perspective, being it right up close. I preparation brings perspective when we prepare our lives for what God is going to do. Sometimes we look at it. Look at who we are from a distance of yeah, I'm not seeing the moon. I even feel most no full moon, and that the cloudless sky and see the moon have a good perspective of the moon. There's a perspective of preparation brings perspective, so whenever we face a things we see them in a certain light we see them from Rupert, certain knowledge and the challenge of the Scriptures give to us that God just like the angel coming to Mary gives her a perspective that you are going to bring a child into this world that is going to be called for the most high, and he's he's going to be a manual is God with us. All of the promises of the Old Testament. All the promises of him know how that God has brought barren women to have children while the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you're going to have a child and Mary says what she say, she says, I see it all now. I'm the Lords made I'm I'm I'm the Lord 's name, and I'm ready to serve. She didn't see now in the ultimate in those times. If you are pregnant and not married, they would stone within. She was betrothed to Joseph, that meant if she has a child and she is with child and Joseph knows that he's not the father. He can put her away, so she's taking upon herself the sentence of death and losing her husband, the guy and she said to the angel, I recognize that I am the Lord 's made. I am ready to serve. Whatever God brings promises to our life, we think of all the perspectives, volume I see the moon up there while God saying to us, I want you to have a closer look at this. I want you to have a telescopic baby over this and you and your write up on it in our life. The promise of God comes to write up on it. Part of our life that stands in the incest of loss. I can meet this need, and we say, well, you know, I don't really see how well Mary says I see it all now that she goes to be with Elizabeth. First, thirty nine. Mary didn't waste a minute she got up and traveled to the time and you did in the hill country straight to Zacharias house to greet Elizabeth now Zacharias, you can talk Elizabeth with child and Zechariah can talk and he can't say what's going on now. Really. Now they just know that something is going on here at end Elizabeth knows that something 's happened. She's with child something great is happen and she in and out when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting K when she heard the grating the baby in her womb late. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang out exuberantly so, Elizabeth Mrs. Hart first inclination that this child inside of her. Is somebody really great. She knows that there's been promises she knows that there's somebody coming. She knows that there are the prophecies of the Old Testament and how that all this something to happen, but this is the first time she herself, the spirit of God comes upon Elizabeth and the baby in her move starts doing somersaults in the ladies remember about things while this one was now there's unwise more than just a few kicks. This was a few somersault and then Elizabeth declares to Mary yours sold last among women and the begging your move is also blessed now, Elizabeth has no inkling of what's going on here. All she does is hear. Mary say hello and with that, hello. The spirit of God comes upon Elizabeth and she begins this declaration and why am I so blessed the mother of my Lord visits me there was a divine perspective that took place in Elizabeth's heart, mind, body, that brought to reality all that was going on at the moment. The sound of your greeting entered my gears. The bedroom. I will stick like a lamb for sheer joy blessed woman who believed what God said the last woman who believed what God said perspective. She knew what happened. The angel spoke to Mary and Mary came to the conclusion I'm the made handmaiden of the Lord let it happen to me exactly as you said, and an Elizabeth city. She says while was the woman who believed what God said believed every word would come true what is the declaration about Mary. She believed she believed what the angel had said to her, she believe, and it was a great thing going on in English. This segment of words here and just a few paragraphs. The word blast is used four times blessed and believe less than believe what they believe we got one practicing for the play next week and a half. Yeah, please practice in the South blast. I believe again. Bless them believe they left the whole point, we find that our life will be blessed when we believe what God has said Frost and perspective. We have a right perspective and then we go on another level. this, and Mary said again, this is how Mary response to this, I am bursting with God news. I'm bursting with God means when the promises of God come to our life, we are bursting with God news God is going to take care of me. God is going to be Whitney God is going to give me the right perspective of life that God is going to help me, and in all that I'm saying and doing God is going to work with in my life and that there is there is no perspective without preparation. And God has been preparing me for this moment, your life is better preparation for this moment on the perspective of this moment is often sitting here looking up at the moon and God is saying, I want you to focus in on something. I want you to focus in on AAA need in your life, and I've been preparing you for, and I'm going to give you a perspective based upon a promise that I'm going to meet your needs than I'm going to work in your life. I'm going to do a miracle in your life. I'm going to do something new that you never thought possible, and we look at the moon and we say, while I really can't make that out from here. But you know when you start zooming in and zooming in and zooming in, you can come to the little craters, a little rocks and little pieces of the planet of the moon and you can see you can see on the planet where they stepped what was it back in the sixties when they put their first foot to foot on the moon and now the Chinese got there yesterday and but you can see that as you focus in I'm bursting with God news. I'm dancing the song of my Savior God, God took one look at me and look what happened. I am the most fortunate woman on earth she could be stoned. She could be put away. She could be dis- honor she could begin out dishonored by her family excommunicated from her family and her community. She could be run out of town and she said I'm the most fortunate woman on earth what God has done for me will never be forgotten. She had a perspective of what God was going to do that no one else had a clue when God said to Zachariah God have a son. I don't think so. Zip them up. So you're going to have a son and a you have children, as many descendents of the stars and sky about the good one you don't know how old I am yet oh oh, you just don't know. And that's what we say. I don't think that happen. But Mary what God has done for me will never be forgotten the God whose very name is holy set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after late wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength scattered the+ writers of the people who always braggadocio sieges scatters them away. He knocked the tyrants off their high horses for victims of mud. What's next, the starving poor sat down to a banquet the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel. He remembered and powder on the mercies how them on high mercy after mercy after mercy all because Mary said that isn't too far-fetched for the God that I'm that I know that I could have a child that I never knew a man, and that God is going to do a new work in the if we look at the promise that God has given to us. God, we have to say that's not too far-fetched for me. God can do new work. It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham right up until now. Mary had a perspective of how the Godhead works of the nation of Israel, which gave her what she have Marianna perspective that brings monthly yellowing Marianna preparation of what God has done through Israel, but gave her perspective that what God had promised that he will do exactly what he promised Mary stay with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home, and that's whenever she started to confront all the other things with Joseph and the families and the community. She was in that she was now starting to show with her pregnancy so what is a challenge challenges preparation brings perspective we prepare our hearts for God to do a new thing this Christmas and the new thing is that he is going to give us a promise, and that we then must have a perspective that promise is not beyond God 's ability to accomplish in my life that promise is not beyond God 's ability to accomplish in my life that promise is not beyond God 's possibility to bring and accomplish in my life, and then that's the father, we thank you for how you blessed us and for what we know in our lives, and that what we are aware of and how that your spirit speaks to our hearts and brings alive the promises and we thank you for that preparation, the God we want to have a perspective that sees how that you will work in us and how that we must open our hearts and we must be receptive to what you want to do so prepare us, Lord, that we might receive the blessings and the gifts that you want to bestow upon us, thank you God for this the full-time year which we celebrate God with us. Ask your blessing upon our families, our loved ones, watch over and guide us as we travel this week, and Lord. They we do thank you for the blessings that will continue to flow into our lives. We pray in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Everybody said amen. God bless you