What a blessing. It's no secret what our Lord can do. And I must tell Jesus and talk to Him. By the way, He is accessible. I watched my mama go to heaven and the last few days in the hospital, mom was saying over and over again, help me Jesus, help me Jesus, help me Jesus. I love you Jesus, help me Jesus, help me Jesus. I was thinking about that just the other day. I thought, well, you know, and she was telling the folks that were the nurses and all, she said to them, now girls, now you can trust Jesus. I'm an old woman now. She was 93. She said, I tell you what, you can trust him. All the way home, you can trust him. And she was listening. to his voice, I realized that, because she'd quote scriptures, and then all of a sudden she'd wake up and look over at me and say, she called me Terry, by the way, that's my middle name, Bradley Terry. And she'd say, Terry is, don't it say in the Bible, cause his face to shine on us? And I said, yeah, that's what it says, Mom. And Mom and Gil, Mom would say, Lord, cause your face to shine on us, hallelujah. Aren't you glad that when you're at your sickest, when you're getting ready to cross to heaven's bright shore, that he is so close and his word is so near and so dear? What a treasure that is. Hallelujah. What a blessing. Amen. Thank you, folks. Y'all, you sounded good today. I'm glad you were here to sing in there. I'm telling you, we miss our others, but you did wonderful. Hey, I'm going to two passages of scripture today. in Luke chapter number one, Matthew chapter number 28, we have been, we've been traveling through the miracles of Christ. And oh, what a wonderful series of studies and messages that this has been. And how it's blessed my heart where Pastor Josh, I listened to the, I actually got to watch last Sunday from home. I'd much rather have been here than as, Feeling as rough as I did, but still was able to watch and enjoy it. Man, it lifted my spirits. But he dealt with the last miracle our Lord performed before he went to the cross. That was the miracle of healing the servant of the high priest, healing his ear when Peter cut it off, or at least cut a portion of it off, and probably Peter was, as Brother Josh brought out, tremendous statement there. Peter was probably aiming at Judas instead of Malchus, and Malchus stepped in the way, and Luke tells us who this person was. But, and anyway, He dealt with that last week and I thought brought out so many good things about the crucifixion of Christ. Now, I'm going to talk to you out of Matthew 28 this morning and Luke chapter number 1 on the greatest miracle, I do believe, that our Lord performed. And it's connected to this miracle of the virgin birth. Now, what on earth could that be? We have this miracle, the greatest miracle our Lord performed on this earth, and then we've got one more miracle our Lord performed after His resurrection. But the greatest miracle, I do believe, that Christ ever performed is the resurrection of His own body. You see, three times before He resurrected His own body, He resurrected the dead. The first one was the son of a widow who was in the city of Nain, and her only son, and she was a widow, had no other source or help from a family, and our Lord was passing by the city in essence, hundreds and thousands of people walking with him, and here comes a funeral procession out of the city of Nain. Here comes this widow, and they're carrying the coffin of her only son, and Jesus breaks up the funeral, hallelujah. Jesus stops the funeral procession and commands the boy to wake up, and he does, hallelujah. And then the second one is the young daughter of Jairus, remember that, 12 years old, and their Lord raises her from the dead. They're in the home. So the first one was on the way to the cemetery, the second one was in the home where she died in the bed, and the third one was Lazarus, who was an older man, and He had been buried three days, and our Lord Jesus is there on the fourth. Lord, he's there, and our Lord speaks, and Lazarus comes forth. What a marvelous story in John chapter number 11. So we have three recorded for us, miracles, where our Lord raised the dead. We know that Elijah in the Old Testament, in 1 Kings 17, we know that Elijah had raised an only son, by the way, an only son. From the dead we know that Elisha in 2nd Kings 4 verse 32 through 37 Elisha Also raised an only son. Yeah, that's not coincidental. Well, who's going to raise? God's only son When he dies who's going to raise him from the dead? Well our Lord Jesus himself spoke to his own body. Now that is a most astounding statement to make, but you read that in Matthew 28. And I want to show you the scripture right here. Let's begin in verse number one. In Matthew 28, in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week. Now we're at Easter, okay? I know we're in Christmas, but we're at Easter right now. And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the sepulchre. Verse one. Behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. he is not here he is not in this location for he is risen now get this as he said he is risen as he said and notice this come see the place where the Lord lay so here's our Lord here's the angels telling them he has he is risen as he said he spoke the words for the resurrection of his own body he spoke those words our Lord Jesus were told as you read the narratives from all the Gospels, and you also read the writings, other writings in the New Testament. We know that our Lord Jesus, in the time between His, the time between, the time when He said, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit, which was His last statement from the cross, from that time, to the time he rose from the dead on that what we know as Easter Sunday morning, from that time he was busy. We know that he had led captivity captive, as the scriptures described to us. Peter says that he openly defeated Satan. Paul alludes to the very same thing. Hebrews chapter number 2, whoever that writer may be, probably Paul or Barnabas I, But they said that he destroyed the works of the devil. When did all this take place? When did all this take place? During that period of time that our Lord Jesus' body lay in the grave, then he was busy moving paradise, I think leading paradise to heaven, and breaking Satan's stronghold, who had a power over death at that time, Hebrews 2 says, and the Bible tells us that our Lord Jesus embarrassed Satan, literally embarrassed him in front of all the demons of hell, in front of those folks in paradise, he embarrassed him, took the keys of death, hell, and the grave away from him, threw him down on the ground, put his foot on his throat, and just made a show of the devil. Hallelujah. And then after he does that, he comes back by way of the grave, speaks to his own body. Now this is marvelous. And then enters that body. And it's changed. It's a changed body. How do we know that it's changed? It's the same body, but it's changed. Because his friends didn't recognize him. Mary Magdalene, who loved him so dearly, thought it was the gardener. It's a changed body, but it was the same body. Our Lord Jesus resurrected that body, His own body, spoke to His own body. Death cannot hold Him. He is eternal life. That's what He told Martha, remember, and Mary. He said, I am eternal life. You're looking at Him. So, the greatest miracle, no question about it, our Lord performed while on this earth is the resurrection of His own body. Hallelujah and glory be to God. Let that settle in your mind for a moment. That He could raise His own body from the grave, and He did. Hallelujah and glory be to Jesus. And satisfied the Father's demands completely for the payment for our sin. And in that resurrection proof that the payment had been accepted, now how miraculous this is that he could enter back into that body that was so mutilated, that body was so bruised, but yet he changed it. He changed it in a fashion he still had the wounds. He still had those wounds. He said to Thomas, Thomas, you can put your hand right here on my side, where that spear was. We know that he could eat in that resurrection body, but we know there was a difference, just like the difference that's going to be in our loved ones, the difference that's going to be in you. We'll know each other when we get to heaven. You'll have your body. You've got one temporarily till Jesus comes and resurrects us all, hallelujah. But when that happens, he's gonna change our vile bodies, fashion like unto his. We'll go back in that body, but it'll be a changed body. The only one with wounds in heaven is Jesus. You and I'll have a perfected body, hallelujah, and glory be to God. How wonderful that truth is. We have that body that's like Jesus, but he's got the wounds and we don't. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace is upon him. You see, when we're in heaven for all the centuries and eternity and the zillions and zillions of years when we're out there, we'll always be amazed when we look at Jesus and say, look there, I don't have a blemish in my body, smooth, not one thing, and look at his dear body. Jesus, where'd you get those wounds? In the house of my friends. But I was wounded for your transgressions. We'll know that then perfectly. I was bruised for your iniquities. And we'll shout heaven down. Glory to God. Look at what is, look at Jesus. Look at him. How marvelous. Now, I said that to point you back now to this time of year. Lord showed me this on my sickbed, literally. At this time of year, we know that our Lord took on a human body. You go back to Luke chapter number 1, and I want you to read a passage with me. We're familiar with this in Luke 1, but I think we often forget just how quickly this happened. Luke chapter number 1, beginning in verse number 26. Now you need to be with us on Wednesday nights because I'm doing some more in-depth study into this season on Wednesday nights during the month of December. Tonight at 5 o'clock, you definitely want to be here at 5 o'clock tonight. We're doing our best on Sunday nights to run interference between the devil and all of these young people that's out there, that the devil lies to them and tells them, hey man, you need to just end it all. He fills them with shame. He fills them with hopelessness. He lies to them and they believe the lies of the devil. And Lord willing, I'll be preaching tonight on one of Satan's biggest lies that young people are believing, not only young people, but adults as well. We're believing that lie. And in believing that lie, they feel hopeless and helpless. And they, well, what's the use? I might as well just end it all. Just because you end it all, why would that change your circumstances? I'll let you think about that for a minute. We'll talk more about that in the service tonight. But you want to be here at five o'clock, four o'clock for choir practice. Now, in Luke chapter number one, I want you to notice something here. Let's read. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel, that's not the sixth month of the year, but it's the sixth month in the pregnancy of Elizabeth. Zacharias and Elizabeth, it's six months with her. Which means, which gives you a little, well it really gives you a lot of credibility to celebrate this time of year. If Elizabeth is six months alone with John the Baptist, which she is, the Bible says that. She's in her six months, and we know, according to history, you read the history of the 24 courses of priests, and this course of priests that Zacharias was a part of was Abia, and that course of Abia, they finished, he finished his ministry when Gabriel talked to him, he finished that ministering in the temple in June, in mid-June. Now keep this in mind, six months later, it's what time? Mid-December. So mid-December, I say mid-December at least, but he had to travel from the priest's office, or from back home where he lived in the hills, so which took several days journey. So it is, it is very, it is very, very likely that The story I'm reading to you happened around December 24th, 25th when Gabriel appears to the little virgin girl, the little peasant girl named Mary. I know folks says, ah, Christmas is pagan holiday. Listen, don't let them steal your thunder in any form or fashion. Did the devil have anything or the pagans have anything to do with creating the day? No. Do they have anything to do with creation at all? No. Our Lord made it in 24-hour days. And if I want to regard a day as unto the Lord, I'll regard it as unto the Lord. But you have credibility to believe without question, historically, that this, this particular announcement to Mary, we can even say the conception of Christ was around this very time of year. Now it's all right to have him, it's all right to realize his birth there, because don't we all know, don't we all know that babies are alive at conception? Amen? Yeah, you just can't see them yet, but they're alive at conception, fully alive. And every baby, every baby deserves a mama. Every baby deserves a mama. Every baby deserves a father. We say, well, we know he has a father. In these days, there are those trying their best to put them in situations and unions and homes where they have no mother, or in homes where they have no father. There's two people there, but not mother and father, as we know the Bible states. Now, back to this story. The angel Gabriel, the sixth month, appears to Mary in the city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin as spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel came in under her and said, Hail thou that art highly favored. 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 or greeting this should be. Here's this young little teenage girl. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor, or grace, your much grace, your found grace with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. Jehovah saves, hallelujah. 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. He shall reign over the house of Jacob, hallelujah. forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Aren't you glad for all these statements it's made? Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be seen? I know not a man. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. The power of the highest, or the Most High God, shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." That holy one that's going to be born of you is going to be called the very Son of God. And then he gives her encouragement in verse 36. Behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she's also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. I love that. I mean, she wasn't able to have children, neither was Zacharias able to father children. I can see him on walkers trying to walk around the house and him to get back from the temple, you know. Took him a lot of extra time because he wasn't running the shuttle and the transit buses and all. He was having a hard time. And then the Lord touched their bodies and touched them both and God gave them this baby. And Elizabeth is expecting this baby. Hallelujah. Notice this. And I love verse 37. Far with God nothing. The same words translated, no word shall be impossible. Not one word God says will ever fail. Not one word or one promise God makes, no word, will ever fail and will ever be impossible. And that's what the angel Gabriel tells to Mary here in the month of December in this particular year. I believe this according to my studies years ago. And I must give credit to Dr. Larry Spargiomino from Southwest Radio Church because he brought out, I just happened to catch a program the other day, he brought out some of these things and I thought, wait a minute. Man, 25 years ago I studied history and went back through some old books and Josephus writings and things and went back through there and found out some of this truth and he reminded me of it. And so it just ought to put a little extra twinkle in your eye this time of year. Well, after the angel said that, Mary said, I love verse 38. Here's the important verse. And behold, the handmaid of the Lord, What she says, I'm a slave, I'm a bond slave to God. That's what I am, that's the Greek word. Be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Now what was she saying right here? What she said right here was literally this. I am pregnant, I believe it. You said it. and nothing with God is impossible, no word is said, then I'm pregnant. I believe it. It's happened right now. And I believe it. How do you know that? Because Gabriel doesn't have to say one other word. Mary arose in those days. Verse 38, after she said that be unto me according thy word, what did the angel do? Let me tell you a little more now, Mary. I mean, I know you're saying you believe it, but I know really you don't believe it. The angel departed from her. You remember when the angel spoke to Zacharias, and Zacharias is told, hey, you're going to have a child. In your old age, you're going to have a child. And old Zacharias stands back and says, well, you know, I had to have a cane to get in here. And the angel says, I'm Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. That's enough sign for you. But he never once gave another word after he told Mary. that Mary, you will conceive the Holy Ghost has come upon you. Now, I want to say this clearly to every one of us here. Every person who is a believer and you've experienced the work of the Holy Ghost in your life, you didn't have to have anybody tell you that God the Holy Ghost showed up in your life. You didn't have to have anyone come along and say, hey, I just want you to know that was the Holy Spirit. No, no, no. I'm telling you when I was born again September the 22nd 1974 12 o'clock midnight in my home I knew when God the Holy Ghost came into my life I knew I had a great Christian dad and mom and they were praying with me in the living room and I was there as an 18 year old boy bowed on my knees I knew when he what when the Holy Ghost wasn't in me and I knew instantly when he was in me And I want to tell you something, there's no question in my mind that this young teenage girl, the moment that angel said with God, no thing shall be impossible, no word's impossible, and she said, whoo-wee, Holy Ghost has come in. I'm pregnant. Be it unto me according to thy word. I believe it, it's done. I believe it. And it did happen. Now, go to heaven for a few minutes. This is so astounding to me. But we started our message with how Jesus came back by way of the grave, resurrected His own body, got in it, and came out of the tomb. What was it for Jesus? Who the psalmist says in Psalm 104 and verse number 2. He says He robes Himself in light. as with a garment. What David was seeing was into the throne room of heaven by the inspiration of God the Holy Ghost and he could see Jesus there in the heavens. This is before, long before our Lord came to this earth and he could see Jesus robed in light as if it's a garment. That's what he saw. And the Bible describes our Lord as light. And in Him was no darkness at all. But He wore light as if it was a garment. So what was it? As Gabriel was speaking to Mary, what was it? But that Jesus stood up from the throne. He had to take that robe of light off. Put on the pigment of human skin. come into the wet womb of a virgin, come into, as one writer put it, the placenta of a pleasant, the placenta of a peasant girl, and be born in a human body. I'll tell you something, the God, the Jesus, that can step out of the robe of light and lay it down, and come down to this earth and be placed in the womb of a virgin in that dark womb and actually enter the placenta of a peasant woman. That same Jesus had no problem coming back from way of the grave and entering His own body and resurrecting that body and coming out of the grave. Hallelujah! And glory be to God. That's how this is tied together, friend. became flesh so you and I could have an eternity with God again in fellowship. The only way to get us to heaven, the only way to redeem us, the only way that we could call upon him is that he would robe himself in flesh and come to this world. Yes, as Paul later describes in Philippians, when he said he humbled himself, he took on the form of a servant. Boy, he sure did. He sure did. He took that garment of light, that robe of light, that crown. He took that off and laid it down and came down and got into the womb of a virgin girl and there placed himself right in that girl and she believed it. And he was born of a virgin and his father's God and this same Jesus was born. In Bethlehem, just as was described, an amazing thing to me too. You ever thought about as Mary gave birth to Jesus, born into this world, she knew of how this was the Holy Son of God. She knew it. She knew this was all God. This was all holiness. This is all the work of God. She knew that. I wonder, She picked him up. He was hungry, as every newborn baby is. And her mind is, do I feed him? Do I worship him? What do I do? I know he needs to eat, but this is God. This is him. What do I do? And she realized, I gotta do both. I'll nurse him, I'll feed him, but I'll worship him. How do you know that? Well, flip page in Luke chapter one. And long before, well, nine months, perhaps eight months, she probably took her a month to get to Elizabeth, but we read this wonderful Magnificat of Mary in verse 46 of Luke 1. And Mary said, chapter 1, 46 of Luke, Mary said, my soul does magnify the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my savior. Hallelujah. She's already shouting and she's got the baby in her womb. The baby's growing. material coming to the time of birth and she says my soul magnifies the Lord my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has regarded the lowest state of his handmaid for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed for he that is mighty has done to me great things and holy is his name and and His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He has showed strength with His arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He's put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. He's filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. You see, she is so full of praise. She's got Jesus in her womb, and she's so full of praise. Even before His birth, she understands this is the very Son of God, and she says what you and I should be saying, what we have to say. He is God, my Savior. He is God. Hallelujah. Only God could get His Son here. through the womb of a virgin. Only God could get his son here who would lay aside a garment of light and a robe of flight and put on the pigment of skin and be put into the womb of a virgin girl and be placed in that little peasant gal and then be born and then live that perfect life, paid the debt for my sins and yours and come back by way of the grave, tell his own body to get up and get in it, hallelujah. Here's something else I'll throw in because I've thought about it. What'd he do with that robe of light that he laid aside in heaven when he came here and put on the pigment of human skin? What'd he do with it? Could it be that's the reason them two angels came down? They brought that robe with them. When they came down that Jesus come back by way of the grave and resurrected His own body, they put that robe on Him. Now, how do you know that, preacher? Well, He left His grave clothes in the grave, right? He didn't come out naked. He got a robe somewhere. And I can't help but believe that it's that robe that he laid aside 33 years before so he could get in a pigment of skin and be put in the womb of a virgin and the placenta of a peasant girl. I like that statement. And be birthed into this world so you and I could have the new birth. So that we could have a savior and a redeemer. That's what this season's all about. I like the reindeer and the elves, and I always blame the elves for whatever's wrong. You can in December, did you know that? But anyway. And you can, you know, I like all of that. But be sure you don't miss the truth. Not only the truth, be sure you and I understand it and we tell others that they understand this season is all about Him. He's the reason for it. And if it wasn't for this one, if it wasn't for what I've preached to you this morning, if it wasn't for this, I'd have no help and no hope for these dear ones that Satan is lying to these little teenagers and lying to folks and telling them the biggest lies that ever was and they begin to believe them and they feel like life is hopeless and they kill themselves but I want to tell them somebody that could leave heaven and take off a robe of light and enrobe himself in flesh and come into the womb of a virgin and then come back by way of the grave, hallelujah, after he died and resurrect his own body and get in it and come out and then ascend back to heaven and say, I'm coming back for you, church. That one can help you. He's the one that can redeem you. He's the one that can change you. How much do you love him today? We bow our heads in prayer. How much do you love me? I know these are some things perhaps you've never thought of, but I hope you do now. I hope it make you look at things differently. And it's not the time of the year as important as the knowing that the actual happenings I've described did happen. That our Lord is returning. And that right now he still has salvation offered to whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Whosoever shall believe upon him. Whosoever, whosoever, what a lovely word. What a lovely name. That whosoever. Myself. You. Anybody. Whoever. believing that Jesus died for them, that he rose again, he's alive forever. He's the greatest miracle worker. As Brother Roy said, that Josh had said, miracles, endless miracles are happening all the time, and they are. Endless miracles, because we have an infinite God, and he's in that business. Now what about in your life? Where are you in life right now? Is life more of a, just an adventure in the flip of a coin? I may go there today, I may do this for a little while, and then I may do this for a little while. Or do you realize that a holy God has a plan for you? A holy God has great vision for you, and great plans for your life, no matter who you are and how old you are. Sometimes as we get older, we think, well, one of the devil's best lies today is, you're finished, you're through, it's over, I can't do anything with you. That's a lie of the devil. Moses was 80 years old when God finally could use him to put him into the ministry. Simeon in this wonderful story and Luke 2. Anna in this story. The two greatest witnesses we have besides the shepherds of Mary and Joseph. of the very Son of God, they were both well stricken in years. Hallelujah. So it's not age that matters, it's availability. Will you give yourself? Will you just surrender? Lord, I'm yours, box, stock, and barrel. I belong to you, whatever you want to do, I'm yours. Hey, we don't have time, church. to take off on a tangent on our own thoughts and things. Then say, I'll turn around and come back whenever I get this little, this little thing out of my system. Hey, you don't have time for that. Jesus is coming. And he's still working though. And he has a plan right now for your life.