I have been married for 24 years of the 47 years of life that God has given me. Seven times God has allowed for me to successfully impregnate my wife and allowed for us to give birth to a healthy baby. Three girls and four boys. Seven times I have stood bedside as God has answered my prayers while I have watched my wife literally push the crowns of seven big heads into this world. I am a witness to the unquestionable fact that all life comes from God.
As I prayed and meditated upon Luke 1st chapter in preparation for this mornings message, I tried to remember the times in those 24 years of marriage when both my wife and I where on one accord and both 'full of the Holy Ghost' at the same time. Much like Elisabeth and Zacharias were in this text as the gave birth to John the Baptist.
I realized that those were the times when we were giving BIRTH....not just to babies but to schools, ministries, solutions...IDEAS. There is nothing more beautiful than when Man and Woman get together and GIVE BIRTH...especially to Ideas! Ideas go through a period of gestation similarly to babies.
1) Plant the IDEA.
2) Allow the IDEA to form and grow.
3) Give birth to the IDEA and give it love, nurture and support until it grows to maturity.
Marriage is one of the best incubators for great IDEAS. We often give birth to BAD ideas when we are ALONE. That may be one reason why God says, " It's not good for man to be alone." It has been my experience that the Things Of God are always giving birth to new life, new things and new IDEAS. The greatest power in the universe is the power of a good idea. A good marriage is always pregnant with good IDEAS. Might I remind myself that marriage begins with God and I, then my spouse and I. My first marriage with God MUST agree with my second marriage to my spouse. If they are not a mirrors image reflection of one another then I have a perfect example of a BAD IDEA.
Zacharias and Elisabeth has a good marriage because they were both filled with the Holy Ghost at the same time. That's what being used by God to GIVE BIRTH does. In the moment that you are being used by God TO GIVE BIRTH, there is a tendency to forget about yourself, your problems, your enemies....YOU! The moment of being filled with the Holy Ghost in marriage brings opportunity to experience pure SELFLESSNESS!
I would define SELFLESSNESS as the hopeful moment when husband and wife (N.B. No capitalization) realize that there is something, someone that matters more than themselves. It's a wonderfully liberatiing and empowering moment....free indeed!
That moment helped Zacharias realize that God's will shall be done. He will redeem whosoever He chooses, even you! He will save you from your enemies and yourself! YES! The hopeful moment of SELFLESSNESS in marriage caused by God using you to GIVE BIRTH to something that you realize is more important than YOU....will allow you to FORGET about your enemies and the people that hate you the most. You will not just FORGET for a fleeting moment, but they will simply no longer matter. There seems to be nothing quite like the taste of triumph and victory inspite of the outstanding efforts of your detractors. IS GOD USING YOU TO GIVE BIRTH DESPITE YOUR ENEMIES?
Pray for you ENEMIES! Why? Because they are on the LOSING TEAM! They will always lose! Even when it appears that they have won. Just look at the cross on Golgotha's hill. There hung Jesus! The son of the Living God gave up the Ghost. It appeared that the enemy had WON! I declare that they LOST! They lost that day and they are losing today and they will lose tomorrow and when the Trump sounds they will come up short of the victory. I serve a God who has never lost a battle. I serve a God who remains UNDEFEATED! I serve a God who even when He dies, He still wins!
Zacharias and Elisabeth make me want to know 'what is the purpose of your enemies? What are their hopes for your life? What are their methods? What are their short term and long term goals?
Might I suggest that all your enemy has to do to be successful in your life is to make you more SELFISH!
Think about what YOU need, want, don't have, whose to blame and the easiest way to do that is to break up your marriage....or should I say marriages, your marriage to God and to your spouse.
It's funny how the more SELFISH you become, the more sense your enemies begin to make in your life, the more you need them and even agree with them. It is no coincidence that you stop GIVING BIRTH TO THE THINGS OF GOD and you just give birth to THINGS!
James 1.15
" Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Does it intrigued anyone else other than I that birth is a group project and death is a solo performance. Birth is something that MUST be done together while death is something that MUST be done all alone. My prayer is that you get together with Jesus and some of his folks before you die a lonely death among lonely strangers.
The songwriter declares," What A Friend We Have In Jesus!"
Bith Elisabeth and Zacharias were filled with the Holy Ghost in marriage at the same time. Elisabeth gives birth to a nation. Zacharias gives birth to a nation.
Such an encounter will cause you to:
1) Prophesy
2) Become aware of the presence of God
3) Remove the shame of your 'bareness'
4) Save your family
5) Know that God keeps His promises
6) See God save you and your family from enemies and devoted haters.
Because we are double-minded, many children are born in sin and belong to both God and Satan. This child of Zacharias and Elisabeth belonged to GOD ONLY! Whatever we give birth to when we are filled with the Holy Ghost belongs to GOD ONLY!
We ought always be GIVING BIRTH
I declare that YOU HAVE THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH IN YOUR TONGUE!
There are some things that you ought NEVER say....and there are some things that you should ALWAYS say!
That's a SELFLESS GOOD IDEA!
As I prayed and meditated upon Luke 1st chapter in preparation for this mornings message, I tried to remember the times in those 24 years of marriage when both my wife and I where on one accord and both 'full of the Holy Ghost' at the same time. Much like Elisabeth and Zacharias were in this text as the gave birth to John the Baptist.
I realized that those were the times when we were giving BIRTH....not just to babies but to schools, ministries, solutions...IDEAS. There is nothing more beautiful than when Man and Woman get together and GIVE BIRTH...especially to Ideas! Ideas go through a period of gestation similarly to babies.
1) Plant the IDEA.
2) Allow the IDEA to form and grow.
3) Give birth to the IDEA and give it love, nurture and support until it grows to maturity.
Marriage is one of the best incubators for great IDEAS. We often give birth to BAD ideas when we are ALONE. That may be one reason why God says, " It's not good for man to be alone." It has been my experience that the Things Of God are always giving birth to new life, new things and new IDEAS. The greatest power in the universe is the power of a good idea. A good marriage is always pregnant with good IDEAS. Might I remind myself that marriage begins with God and I, then my spouse and I. My first marriage with God MUST agree with my second marriage to my spouse. If they are not a mirrors image reflection of one another then I have a perfect example of a BAD IDEA.
Zacharias and Elisabeth has a good marriage because they were both filled with the Holy Ghost at the same time. That's what being used by God to GIVE BIRTH does. In the moment that you are being used by God TO GIVE BIRTH, there is a tendency to forget about yourself, your problems, your enemies....YOU! The moment of being filled with the Holy Ghost in marriage brings opportunity to experience pure SELFLESSNESS!
I would define SELFLESSNESS as the hopeful moment when husband and wife (N.B. No capitalization) realize that there is something, someone that matters more than themselves. It's a wonderfully liberatiing and empowering moment....free indeed!
That moment helped Zacharias realize that God's will shall be done. He will redeem whosoever He chooses, even you! He will save you from your enemies and yourself! YES! The hopeful moment of SELFLESSNESS in marriage caused by God using you to GIVE BIRTH to something that you realize is more important than YOU....will allow you to FORGET about your enemies and the people that hate you the most. You will not just FORGET for a fleeting moment, but they will simply no longer matter. There seems to be nothing quite like the taste of triumph and victory inspite of the outstanding efforts of your detractors. IS GOD USING YOU TO GIVE BIRTH DESPITE YOUR ENEMIES?
Pray for you ENEMIES! Why? Because they are on the LOSING TEAM! They will always lose! Even when it appears that they have won. Just look at the cross on Golgotha's hill. There hung Jesus! The son of the Living God gave up the Ghost. It appeared that the enemy had WON! I declare that they LOST! They lost that day and they are losing today and they will lose tomorrow and when the Trump sounds they will come up short of the victory. I serve a God who has never lost a battle. I serve a God who remains UNDEFEATED! I serve a God who even when He dies, He still wins!
Zacharias and Elisabeth make me want to know 'what is the purpose of your enemies? What are their hopes for your life? What are their methods? What are their short term and long term goals?
Might I suggest that all your enemy has to do to be successful in your life is to make you more SELFISH!
Think about what YOU need, want, don't have, whose to blame and the easiest way to do that is to break up your marriage....or should I say marriages, your marriage to God and to your spouse.
It's funny how the more SELFISH you become, the more sense your enemies begin to make in your life, the more you need them and even agree with them. It is no coincidence that you stop GIVING BIRTH TO THE THINGS OF GOD and you just give birth to THINGS!
James 1.15
" Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Does it intrigued anyone else other than I that birth is a group project and death is a solo performance. Birth is something that MUST be done together while death is something that MUST be done all alone. My prayer is that you get together with Jesus and some of his folks before you die a lonely death among lonely strangers.
The songwriter declares," What A Friend We Have In Jesus!"
Bith Elisabeth and Zacharias were filled with the Holy Ghost in marriage at the same time. Elisabeth gives birth to a nation. Zacharias gives birth to a nation.
Such an encounter will cause you to:
1) Prophesy
2) Become aware of the presence of God
3) Remove the shame of your 'bareness'
4) Save your family
5) Know that God keeps His promises
6) See God save you and your family from enemies and devoted haters.
Because we are double-minded, many children are born in sin and belong to both God and Satan. This child of Zacharias and Elisabeth belonged to GOD ONLY! Whatever we give birth to when we are filled with the Holy Ghost belongs to GOD ONLY!
We ought always be GIVING BIRTH
I declare that YOU HAVE THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH IN YOUR TONGUE!
There are some things that you ought NEVER say....and there are some things that you should ALWAYS say!
That's a SELFLESS GOOD IDEA!