THE
HEAVENLY VISITOR
by Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D
"And
his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied,
saying blessed by the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and
redeemed His people." (Luke 1:67-68)
Christmas
is always a blessed time for our family. I will always have fond
memories of my childhood and so many Christmases since. And now that
all our children are grown and they have families, this glorious
tradition continues!
A special joy and goodness accompanies this
time of the year, as we spend extra time with the family, go to
Church and think about the wonders of God's grace which brought Jesus
Christ into our world!
We
all know that December 25 was not the date of that first 'Blessed
Morn' when God came down in human flesh to redeem us from death, and
reconcile us to God.
The
exact date of that great event is not important. The truth is that
He did come and His birth, life, death and resurrection are all
glorious realities!
Again,
the word "Christmas" certainly is misleading since it
actually means "Christ-Mas", or a Mass for Christ, derived
from the R.C. conglomeration of confusion. That does not take away
from the fact that Jesus did come to earth, and that great event is
honoured by billions the world around!
When
I think about Christ's birth and the great truths that surrounded
that event, together with the significance and the results of His
coming, the exact date and the name by which this mighty act is
called, pale into insignificance!
THE
FORERUNNER OF THE LORD
Jewish
prophets had foretold the First Advent of the Messiah. The faithful
in Israel had long awaited King Messiah's coming. In the fullness of
time He arrived on the scene as promised.
John
the Baptist - the prophet - was His forerunner. Zacharias, the
priest and his wife Elizabeth both received physical miracles of
healing, in order for John to be born due to his advanced age and her
barrenness!
The
Angel Gabriel announced the good news to Zacharias thus: "Fear
not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth
shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou
shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord...And he shall go
before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
ZACHARIAS
asked: "Whereby shall I know this; for I am an old man,
and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said
unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am
sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
And,
behold thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that
these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words,
which shall be fulfilled in their season". (Luke 1:11-20)
BLESSED
BE THE LORD
Since
Zacharias did not fully believe the words of the angel, he was struck
dumb for a period of nine months. When John was born, his tongue was
loosed and he prophesied saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people". (Luke
1:67-68)
Divine
words flowed from the lips of the Priest as he was filled with the
Holy Ghost, declaring "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel".
I
join the heavenly choir and the multitude of blood washed saints who
have gone to their eternal reward, together with millions still on
earth, saying, "Blessed be the Lord!" I also join King
David in blessing and praising the Lord:
"Bless
the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits; Who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who
redeemeth thy life from destruction;
"Who crowneth thee with loving
kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good
things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's". (Ps.
103:1-5)
We
have so much to praise and thank the Lord for; His mercy and love
endureth forever! The Psalmist was constantly praising and blessing
God for His goodness and mercy. Many people have forgotten the
benefits of Calvary, but the Psalmist hadn't; he rejoiced as he
thought about God's provisions to him in forgiveness, healing and
protection!
King
David continues to bless and praise God in Ps. 34:1-4, "I will
bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my
mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall
hear thereof, and be glad. Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us
exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and
delivered me from all my fears".
CONTINUALLY
PRAISING GOD
"And
He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and
blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He parted
from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him,
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
“And
were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.”
Let us learn from the Early Church and praise and bless the
Lord constantly. Zacharias called the Lord, "Blessed", for
He both visited and redeemed His people!
The
Bible says "...and the people which shall be created shall
praise the Lord". (Ps. 102:18) Here is why we should praise God
more often: "For He hath looked down from the height of His
sanctuary: from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the
groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to
death". (Ps. 102:19-20)
Hallelujah!
No wonder we praise God for all the great things He has done for us.
God is constantly looking down upon us to see our need, protect,
heal and bless us; so why shouldn't we praise, magnify and bless His
Holy Name?
“And
when He was come nigh, even now at the decent of the mount of Olives,
the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and
praise God with a LOUD VOICE
for all the mighty works that they had seen.”
(Luke 19: 37)
Some
people ridicule us for praising God audibly in our church services.
They feel that is not proper. The only answer I have is the answer
Jesus gave to His critics: "Ye do err: not knowing the
Scriptures, nor the power of God". (Matt. 22:29)
Believers
who are well versed in the Scriptures would never make such foolish
statements, since the Bible abounds with accounts of joyous and
enthusiastic praise unto God. Anyone who knows God's grace and has
seen His power in action, would be more exuberant in their praise to
Christ for all His great and mighty works!
Jesus
declared that those who have been forgiven much will love much. He
was surprised that of the ten lepers which He had cleansed on a
certain occasion, only one returned to give thanks and praise to God!
Many people, however, have never experienced God's miracles since
they do not believe in His power, so they have nothing to praise God
for. We, who have experienced God's power, however, have much to
praise Him for.
VISITED
AND REDEEMED HIS PEOPLE
What
a visit that was, when Heaven kissed the earth; when Divinity came
into contact with Humanity; when He who was perfect and Holy came to
change the imperfect and unholy! He who was rich became poor so that
we might be made rich through His goodness
and grace.
What
a visit that was, when God came down to save sinners, heal the sick,
change the course of human lives, mend that which was broken and make
us all new!
What
a visit that was, when God's only Son came to earth to redeem Adam's
fallen race, to meet the demands of Divine Justice and to sacrifice
Himself so that we might have life. What a visit! Oh, what a visit
that was!
Oh,
the blessings of God toward those who accept His unspeakable gift,
who turn to Him in humility and brokenness.
Oh, the peace of mind,
tranquility of soul and joy of heart that floods the very being of
those who accept this message for themselves, appropriate His
promises and believe the Word of God.
Oh,
the miracle of restored health and strength, the goodness, mercy,
patience and gentleness that comes to those who accept the Prince of
Peace into their lives and allow Him to work out His will in them.
LET
THE WORLD KNOW THE TRUTH
No
other message could ever be as joyous as that of the Heavenly Visitor
Who came from Glory to redeem fallen man;
to purchase our salvation and destroy Satan's control over the souls
and lives of the lost, hopeless and unregenerate.
No
other message could ever be as important as the message of the
redeeming work of Christ on the cross! The Good News of God's
Salvation for confused, bewildered and deceived mankind. The Bible
tells us to "shout it from the housetops", which translates
into: "Let everyone know". (Matt. 10:27)
Don't
hide your light or cover it up, but let it shine. Let people know
that Jesus Lives on the inside. Yes, my friend, Let the World Know
that there is a Better Way
than the way they are living, a better road than the one they are
on!
Let the world know that Jesus Christ CARES for them, that He died
for their SINS. And that He was buried and rose from the dead, and
will soon return to rapture the Church!
Tell
them that our Lord waits for them to call on His name in faith and
receive His forgiveness and freedom from every sin, fear, oppression
and torment. And eternal life for evermore!
Jesus
said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature." (Mark 16:15). The word Gospel means the Good News.
The Good News is that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke
19:10). The Good News is that, "Whosoever will call upon the
Name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 1:21), and that Jesus
invites: "Come unto Me, all ye who labour and are heavy laden
and I will give you rest". (Matt. 11:28)
That
is most reassuring, for He also said: "Him that cometh to Me I
shall in no wise cast out". (John 6:37)
NO
OTHER MESSAGE IS AS URGENT
The
Bible says, "The king's business requires haste" (1 Sam.
21:8), and Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. (Rev. 19:16)
Jesus said, "Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then
cometh harvest. Behold, I say unto you,
"Lift up your eyes and look
on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that
reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that
both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together."
(John 4:35-36)
Again Jesus said, "I must work the works of Him that sent Me,
while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work". (John
9:4)
How
important that we appropriate Gods Promises for ourselves and allow
Him to live in our lives as he wishes, so that we can become
effective witnesses to a lost, needy, sick and confused world.
Let
us go forth with the message of God's great love, mercy and peace.
Let us not slacken off in proclaiming to the unreached masses that
Jesus Christ came into this world to "seek and to save that
which was lost"! (Luke 19: 1)
Let
us continue to hold up the bloodstained banner of the Cross, knowing
that there is only One Way to Heaven and that Jesus Christ is that
Way. May we constantly remind ourselves, "Only one life,
it will soon be past - only what's done for Christ will last".
I
am praying for you and your family at this beautiful time of the
year. Please pray for us and help us as we continue
reaching the lost for Christ, in the months and years to come!
My
prayer is that we will all be fully awake, alert and aggressively
building His Kingdom, when He returns! Amen.
