Monday, November 30, 2009

Promises, Promises

Luke 1:26-38

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

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:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

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.

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.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.


Promises, Promises

I know it may seem a bit early to talk about the Christmas story, but this is more than a holiday message.

Although so many things stand out in this passage, one that pricked my heart this week is that even though the Holy Spirit hadn’t yet come on Mary to conceive the Christ Child, the promise of Christ was already fulfilled.

Christ had been prophesied since Eden. His name had been mentioned, the place of His birth, even the throne of His inheritance had all been put in place. Further, His forerunner and disciples were already being birthed and raised so that they could be in place. Even Saul of Tarsus was being birthed into his Pharasee home so that he could later become Paul. It was all arranged and set into motion. All of the pieces needed before Jesus’ arrival and after His crucifixion were all set in place before Mary ever said, ‘be it unto me.’

My dear believer, we can learn from Mary to accept the promise as fulfilled at God’s word. When He says it is done, it is done. We need to trust that He is putting everything in place. And, even when we need a little encouragement, there are signs.

Whatever it is you’re looking for, if God spoke it into our lives, if the Holy Spirit has confirmed it, we know what the Son is making intercessions on our behalf. We can go ahead and expect it. When you see flowers on the tree or on the plant, you expect fruit when its harvest time. It’s okay to prepare for the harvest because you have the promise of the flowers heralding it.

A promise is a promise. The harvest season for whatever it is may be ahead of us, but ‘be it unto me, according to thy word.”


Luke 2:9-11

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.


On earth, Peace, and Good Will Toward Men!

-Sis. Stephanie Robinson

Lifeline is the evangelistic ministry of Fellowship Church in Jonesboro, GA.

Feel free to share this message. For questions or to subscribe, send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com

Fellowship Church
455 HWY 138 Suite C
Jonesboro, GA 30238
Alton Watkins, Pastor

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