GOSPEL

Number of times I have been told that a  rapist or killer does not get heaver when they die.  I got into a chat last might with a friend and this topic came up.  A rapist she said has a special place in hell.  I agree and I began to go with it.   I said the hell they get is horrid and the lake of fire is hot and it burns hot.  I said the rapist wou;d have tons of demons to do to him what he did.  THEN I said something that I am not sure I got myself.  If one gets it to heaven JESUS must pay his sin debt.  So I got a fresh look at the Gospel and the messy thing it really is.  Jesus had to pay on the cross and pay the rape sin.  Jesus some how on the cross paid or went to eternal Hell.  He went to the place of hell and spent all time in hell some how on the cross.  If you were a cross you are wearing a sign of so much.  Jesus paid for every repented sinner.  This means that if Hittler would of repent Jesus would of paid his eternal hell.  Is this not the truth we got to share?  Not Jesus died but he paid for sins and the sins he paid were nasty and yucky and in some cases very messy things.  Jesus paid for all the sins price so one could go free.

16Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;(how can you be a new thing) old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.(BECAUSE) 21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

jesus is going to be born1

Well lets take a look at more of the life of Jesus. We look tonight at the annocement of the birth

12. Gabriel Announces the Coming of Jesus Christ  

Luke 1:26–38

^LK Now [1]in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to [2]a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, [3]highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

Sent from God. So Mary the mom of Jesus is not sure where but a Angel comes and tells her that she is with Child and he is the Lord of all creation. Was Mary a sinner? I think so because it does not say that she is not.

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “[4]Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called [5]the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of [6]His father David. And He will reign [7]over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

II think I would be quite fearful. Any being from God is to be fears and this gives me a hint she was not perfect because her sin made her afraid of God. She has found favor? She has found this out of the grace of God not because she is sinnless. No one the bible said is sinless but Jesus. At his birth Jesus is declared to be king. Jesus is going to take the Throne of David who was the second of the last King of Israel so he is a king of the Nation of Israel (and will be in the end) Jesus is going to rule forever and ever in heaven. Are you going to be there?

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since [8]I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The [9]Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, [10]Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! [11]Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

 Holy Spirit is going to do this. This is a operation of Holy Spirit and that is to give Mary Jesus.And he gives another sign and that is John the B to show her birth is real.

cc 

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[1] in the sixth month. I.e., Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy.

[2] a virgin. The importance of the virgin birth cannot be overstated. A right view of the incarnation hinges on the truth that Jesus was virgin-born. Both Luke and Matthew expressly state that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived (cf. Matt. 1:23). The Holy Spirit wrought the conception through supernatural means (cf. Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). The nature of Christ’s conception testifies of both His deity and His sinlessness.

[3] highly favored. Lit. “full of grace”—a term used of all believers in Eph. 1:6, where it is translated “accepted.” This portrays Mary as a recipient, not a dispenser, of divine grace.

[4] Do not be afraid. The same thing Gabriel had said to Zacharias (Luke 1:13).

[5] the Son of the Highest. Cf. Luke 1:76, where John the Baptist is called “the prophet of the Highest.” The Greek term Luke uses for “Highest” is the one employed in the LXX to translate the Hebrew, “The Most High God.” Since a son bears his father’s qualities, calling a person someone else’s “son” was a way of signifying equality. Here the angel was telling Mary that her Son would be equal to the Most High God.

[6] His father David. Cf. Matt. 9:27. Jesus was David’s physical descendant through Mary’s line. David’s “throne” was emblematic of the messianic kingdom (cf. 2 Sam. 7:13–16; Ps. 89:26–29).

[7] over the house of Jacob forever. This emphasizes both the Jewish character of the millennial kingdom and the eternal permanence of Christ’s rule over all. Cf. Is. 9:7; Dan. 2:44.

[8] I do not know a man. I.e., conjugally. Mary understood that the angel was speaking of an immediate conception, and she and Joseph were still in the midst of the long betrothal, or engagement period (cf. Matt. 1:18), before the actual marriage and consummation. Her question was borne out of wonder, not doubt, nor disbelief, so the angel did not rebuke her as he had Zacharias (v. 20).

[9] Holy Spirit will come upon you. This was a creative act of the Holy Spirit, not the sort of divine-human cohabitation sometimes seen in ancient Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman mythology.

[10] Elizabeth your relative. It seems most reasonable to regard the genealogy of Luke 3:23–28 as Mary’s. This would make her a direct descendant of David. Yet, Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. Therefore, Mary must have been related to Elizabeth through her mother, who would have been of Aaronic descent. Thus, Mary was a descendant of David through her father.

[11] Let it be to me according to your word. Mary was in an extremely embarrassing and difficult position. Betrothed to Joseph, she faced the stigma of unwed motherhood. Joseph would obviously have known that the child was not his. She knew she would be accused of adultery—an offense punishable by stoning (Deut. 22:13–21; cf. John 8:3–5). Yet she willingly and graciously submitted to the will of God.

how to read the word thing

I remember going to the dentist as a kid. After all of the picking and cleaning I was given fluoride. I picked the flavor, marinated in that gushy material, and then spit it out. The hygienist would then treat me like a prize-fighter and give me a tube for water. I compliantly, swished and spit. Then I was done, out of the chair and on my way out the door.
I am afraid that too many of us practice dental chair devotions. We grab our Bibles, spend some time in it and then we are done. We promptly put down our Bibles and walk out the door or on to our daily tasks. Five to eight hours later someone could ask you, “What did you read in the Word today?” The answer, too often, is, “I can’t remember.”
What happened? We grab a little Bible reading, swish it around in the morning, then spit it out on the way out the door. The treasures from the Word don’t get swallowed and digested but rather spit out quickly. This is because we often practice a “swish and spit” devotional time. We don’t really engage the mind and heart with the Word.
How do we resist this “swish and spit” mentality?

1. Pray before you read. I like what John Piper wrote in his book When I don’t Desire God. He advises Christians to pray specifically before they come to the Bible. He developed a helpful acronym to remember it, IOUS:  Incline my heart to you, not to prideful gain or any false motive. (Psalm 119:36), Open my eyes to behold wonderful things in your Word. (Psalm 119:18), Unite my heart to fear your name. (Psalm 86:11), Satisfy me with you steadfast love. (Psalm 90:14). This is a cry for dependence while making your requests known to God.
2. Pray while you read. In Don Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life he advocates prayer while reading the Word. As Whitney shows, this is not a new practice but it is a regrettably neglected practice. The discipline of thoughtful, prayerful Bible reading engages the heart along with the mind. It produces meditation as we are chewing on the Scripture.
3. Prioritize Quality of Quantity. It would be great for us to be jamming through large portions of Scripture with great impact. However, most of us cannot do that effectively and consistently. So instead, purpose to spend time with a smaller text and ensure that it is getting in you and over on you in a good way.
4. Meditate upon the text. This is the intentional chewing, tasting, ruminating, upon God’s Word. Far from “swish and spit” meditation is “sit and steep.” We need to steep the Word in the water of our soul so that we are flavored and colored by the Bible (Ps. 119:15,16, 27, 97).
5. Read the text aloud. I was surprised recently to read that until the 20th Century most people did not read silently. Instead they read aloud, sometimes quietly and others more loud. Perhaps you know an older person who still practices this reading style. It helps with Bible reading because it engages another one of your senses.
6. Interrogate the passage. This just means to ask questions. Who wrote it? Why did they write it? What does this teach me about God and his character? What is the correct response to this truth about God? When you read in Mt. 5:45 about God caring for all people that oppose him, what does that teach you about God? In what ways does he do this? What attribute is on display here? Where else do I see this attribute in neon lights?
7. Make specific application to your life. As you interrogate the text you will find that there are specific personal areas that need to be addressed. Considering again Mt. 5, what does the fact that God cares for all people even those who do not love him, what does this mean for the way you treat other people? How do you look at people who do no look and act like you? How do you feel about them? Do you have a unjustified hatred of people? Does it show? What areas do I need to repent of? What does repentance look like?
8. Ask and answer how this makes you treasure Christ. This is so often neglected. Like Jacob with the angel, do not leave until you are blessed! Here is the blessing: how does it showcase the work of Christ? Well, if you are mistreating enemies or friends you need to remember how Jesus treated his enemies. He died for them. He loved them. He gave everything for them. By the way, I was that enemy! (Rom. 5:11) I see Jesus and all of his obedience to God’s law fleshed out in his particular perfections in my place. My life as an enemy before God and my life in not loving people who are different than me. The fact that God judges us based on Christ’s merit and obedience instead of our own is a cause for worship.
   
9. Take it with you. Find a verse or verses that have a grip on your heart and write them down. In some way put them either on a sticky-note or your hand or your phone or the fridge or wherever you can put them. Our church has a number of men who work in government facilities that do not allow electronics in and out. I tell them to write it down on a yellow sticky-note. They put it in their pocket and carry it about with them all day. In between meetings, on the way to lunch or the bathroom, take it out and read it. Pray through it. Apply it. Marvel at it. Keep it with you. This is the treasuring of God’s Word in your heart.

Bible reading is far too precious and important a time to just go through the motions. You must get that word into your heart, mind and life. This takes work. So, resolve today to not practice the swish and spit, dental chair devotional life. Instead prayerfully marinate in the text, interrogate it and take it with you.