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Articles 2021-2023
Immediately after the angel Gabriel informed her that Zacharias’ wife Elizabeth was about to become a mom, Mary quickly went to be with her (Luke 1:39 - 40).
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
The close proximity of the Lord Jesus in just the beginnings of human life in Mary’s womb was enough to precipitate in Elizabeth a powerful manifestation of the presence of God. Here in this initiating introduction of Jesus to this world we see a foretaste of the massive change He would bring to individuals, cities, and nations. Countless millions would be filled with the Holy Spirit.
And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?”
The first thing that the Holy Spirit began to speak about to Elizabeth was that while Mary was certainly blessed among women, the reason why was that the Child in her womb was the One that she would bow down to as Lord.
For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
Contrary to what some in our generation would have us believe this was obviously much more than mere fetal tissue in Elizabeth’s womb. Six months from conception, this little unborn boy was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15) and began to leap and jump for joy. Here was a foretaste of John’s calling – he would precede, recognize, and respond to the coming Messiah of Israel. And he would have joy in doing so. Notice his mom’s observation about Mary.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.
It is doubtful that Elizabeth was comparing Mary with Zacharias and in any way denigrating her husband for his initial lack of faith. More than likely, she was simply proclaiming blessing on Mary for her immediate proper response to the Lord’s initiative in her life. Similarly, today, let us not compare brethren with brethren. We do not compete with each other; we complete each other.
So, Mary began to worship and to prophesy. And she quickly realized that all future generations would call her blessed (Luke 1:46 - 48). Of course, in her own generation she would face the whispers of some who would think that she had been involved in immorality. Virgin birth? Really? But the criticisms of unbelievers cannot change the eternal workings of God. And while His handiwork will endure forever, those called by Him will always bear to some degree the uninformed scrutiny and speculations of doubters.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name. AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
At this point, even though Mary was largely an unknown peasant girl in Israel, yet she could say that God had already done great things for her. While she is mostly remembered for the one mighty work that God had just begun, Heaven’s eternal perspective was that He had already done mighty things (plural) in her life. He had birthed initial faith in her heart, she had responded and believed in Him, and she had walked in relationship with Him for some time.
God sees His work of bringing someone into intimate relationship with Himself as a mighty act with eternal consequences. We must never see it as otherwise or somehow less than other quite impressive interventions of Heaven such as healings or miracles, etc. Each of us today can say that God has done great things for us. Amen.
And Mary looked both backward and forward to proclaim that when people fear the Lord, His mercy will transcend their lifespans, extending into generations yet to come. So, for us, let us fear the Lord, reverence Him, acknowledge His majesty, and know that our future (think children, grandchildren, etc.) will experience Heaven’s mercy in amazing ways no matter what the nations are going through as they are shaken and no matter what the devil is doing in his evil plots against righteousness.
He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
There may have been some who thought that they were more deserving than Mary in what God had called her to. But in choosing this humble young woman, the Lord had scattered those who were exalted when thinking of themselves.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble. HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; and sent away the rich empty-handed.
God’s work in Mary’s life illustrated how He had worked among the nations over many years – He had overthrown those who were politically powerful, raised up those who were small in their own eyes, and prospered those who were spiritually hungry.
In our own lives, if we want to succeed in the eternal sense, we must hunger for Heaven’s bread – even Christ Himself. True prosperity is found here. If we are filling our hearts with man–made processed religious food, we will continually find ourselves unsatisfied even while proclaiming what sounds biblical – a condition where we are spiritually fat while simultaneously undernourished. Here is the challenge. If you are not hungry for more of Him, cry out that He would grant in your heart an unquenchable spiritual craving that can never be satisfied apart from Him.
He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.
God’s work in Mary’s life in order to fulfill His eternal promises to Abraham’s descendants was an expression of His mercy. It was certainly not due to Israel at that time being worthy. In fact, Jesus spoke of how that particular generation was evil and adulterous (Matthew 12:39). Whenever God arises in new ways, it can be so easy for His people to think that there must be something uniquely special about them or their generation in comparison to previous ones. The flesh always wants to take some credit. But His present work, while fulfilling His purpose and His promises to those who went before, is always an expression of His amazing mercy.
Many times, over the years, believers in the midst of a visitation of the Holy Spirit have fallen into the trap of thinking that they were responsible for what was happening. “Look at what is going on because we prayed.” But His call to intercession for fresh outpourings of His Spirit is in fact His call to participate in oneness with Him in His purpose as He extends His kingdom. What is authored from heaven reveals the One who rules there; what is authored from man obscures Him and His authority.
Too much today in Christianity obscures the simplicity, the beauty, and the authority of the King in our midst – e.g., leaders speaking of their church(es) and then also putting biblical words next to their names as titles (a practice that Jesus expressly forbade: Matthew 23:8 - 11) which God intended to be simple indicators of His functional grace in their lives. O Lord, in whatever ways we have drawn attention to ourselves, forgive us, and lead us back to the simplicity and purity of devotion to You.
When Elizabeth gave birth, everyone assumed that Zacharias and her would name the boy after his dad. But according to the angel’s instruction, both parents were clear that his name would be John (Luke 1:56 - 63). A different name; a different path. Instead of serving as a priest like his dad, John would arise from totally outside the religious system of his day.
And then an amazing thing happened to Zacharias.
And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
People could not quantify what was happening; they just knew that God was arising in Israel. What He was about to do would change the course of human history. Nations would rise and fall as His kingdom came into view. The lives of countless millions would be eternally saved. At Calvary the power of sin would be broken as the powers of hell were served Heaven’s eviction notice. Amazing stuff. But apart from Jesus, who in Israel could have accurately foreseen and then cohesively articulated these coming events?
But after Jesus had finished His earthly ministry, a small group of His disciples who were known primarily for one thing – that they had been with Him, began to do exactly that.
Donald Rumble – March 2023
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1 Name : Stephen Sawiri Click to compress comments
Subject: Kingdom Beginnings
Time : 2023-03-03 08:50:27
Great message. Thank you
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