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Joseph Was A Man Of Faith
Matthew 1:24, 'Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.'
MATTHEW 1:18-24
Much attention is given to Mary and her piety, but Joseph was quite a man of faith, too.
Verse 18 says that Mary was 'found' with child, implying that the pregnancy was observed by Joseph, not explained to him by Mary. And this was after Mary had been away visiting Elisabeth for three months! (Lk. 1:56) Certainly Joseph was tempted with the same thoughts that you or I would have been. How could she expect him to believe that this was a virgin birth?
As special as Mary was, she had an equally special young man for a fiance.
How many men would have...
Desert Training
Luke 1:80, 'And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.'
LUKE 1:57-80
John the Baptist had the most important job assignment ever given to any mortal in the history of the world. He was to prepare the way for the coming of the long awaited Messiah (v. 76).
How did the Lord prepare John for such an important task? What university could teach him all he needed to know? Who offered a course in becoming the greatest prophet who ever lived? (Mt. 11:11) Of course, no one could prepare John for such an important position, so the Lord taught him personally. John was in the deserts until he was thirty years old. He was tutored directly by the Lord through...
SALVATION, NOW AND FOREVER
Choosing Joy
Luke 1:46-47, 'And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.'
LUKE 1:39-56
Here, Mary makes a very clear distinction between her soul magnifying the Lord and her spirit rejoicing.
Our soul is the part of us that is considered to be our personality. It is our intellect, emotions and will. Our spirit is the part that gets changed at salvation and it is always operating in 'love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance' (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:22-23). That's true whether our souls (feelings and emotions) 'feel' it or not.
Many believers wait until their emotions feel like praising the Lord before they enter in to worship. They think...
Believers Receive
Luke 1:45, 'And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.'
LUKE 1:39-56
There are many reasons why God's blessings don't always come to pass in a person's life, but the most frequent cause is simply unbelief on our part. There are no limitations on God's part. He is willing and able to do anything He has promised. The problem is with our believing.
The Lord has given every believer faith (Rom. 12:3). It was given to us at salvation through hearing the Word of God (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 10:17). It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). However, we must choose to exercise it.
Our faith is linked to our knowledge (2 Pet. 1:1-4). What we...
The Power To Serve
Luke 1:41, 'And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.'
LUKE 1:39-56
Upon hearing the greeting of Mary, John the Baptist leaped for joy inside his mother's womb (v. 44). A six month old fetus experienced unbridled emotion, voluntarily leaped for joy and was actually filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is no coincidence that the man Jesus called the greatest of all Old Testament prophets, was the only man in the Bible to be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb (Lk. 7:28).
The anointing of God that breaks every yoke is simply the manifest presence and working of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 10:27). The...