Scandals are outrageous and utterly shocking.
In 1995, a young man created a huge scandal. The young man, Nick Leeson, 28 then brought Barings down with the loss he caused. He was sent to 6.5 years in prison.
Another scandal involves a young girl who had an encounter with an angel.
Luk 1:28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Our God is a good God, He wants to release blessings to all of us. His presence is with us. When we are in God’s presence, we have the pleasure, the providence and protection of God.
An outrageous announcement
The angel gave Mary an outrageous announcement.Luk 1:30-33 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. (31) You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. (32) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, (33) and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
Mary who was young and not married then. It sounds illogical and biological impossible for her as a virgin to have a child. In the song Hark the Herald Angels Sing, we sing about “Offspring of the virgin’s womb.”
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
The virgin birth was prophesied 700 years beforehand.
Pastor Daniel said there are 700 prophesies in the Bible and most of them have been fulfilled. Some have yet to be fulfilled, e.g. the return of Jesus Christ, when every knee shall bow.
But when Jesus came the first time, he came as a servant, not as a conqueror.
At the time, Mary was engaged to Joseph. When Joseph found out that Mary has conceived, he was trouble for he was a just man. God has to intervene again by sending his angel to Joseph.
Mat 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
The angel of God came to ensure Joseph that it is ok and the child is special. Jesus is born sinless, not from one man and one woman. Only through a sinless man can forgiveness be given to the sinned.
Imagine a pure and upright girl bearing a child and her good and righteous fiancé facing this reality. Bethlehem is a small town. Every one knows everything about everyone. What would the community think? It’s a disgrace. They would be driven away.
God mercifully intervened. Today, we can sing and celebrate about this. God provided a way out. God did this for us. A scandal can be turned around to be something wonderful and beautiful. God can do the impossible.
Sometimes we get offers are too good to be true. But we have to be careful, once we gone in, we may never go out.
Human lives and relationship are given to us to appreciate and celebrate.
Pastor Daniel told the story of Jimmy Tang, a gambler who is now a pastor. The video testimony can be found here. Jimmy’s story has been made in a movie in 2003.
The sad part in the midst of the glitter of commercialized world that we live in, Jesus is hidden.
Jesus is real. Do we allow Him, the Prince of Peace, the king of the whole universe into our lives?
No comments:
Post a Comment