Blessed Be The Lord God Of Israel; For He Hath Visited And Redeemed His People And Hath Raised Up An Horn Of Salvation For Us In The House Of His Servant David - Part 1912

"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the Word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou might know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed." (Luke 1:1-4)

"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His Name Jesus. 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 ... and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:31-33)

And the angel answered and said unto [Mary], "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

And Mary said, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and Holy is His Name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; as He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed for ever." (Luke 1:46-55)

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His Holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life. 

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel." (Luke 1:67-80)

Who is the dayspring from on high who hath visited His people? The Word made flesh. (John 1:14)

The same He who was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. The same He who came unto His own and His own received Him not. (John 1:10-11) And this same God willingly robed Himself in human flesh so that we could have abundant life forever in Him. 

This is the good news gospel message that is celebrated world wide -- that God Himself loved us so much that He would literally become as one of us to get our attention. He became the Lord's Christ so that when we believe in Him as our Lord and Saviour our sins could be redeemed, forever cleansed by His precious blood on that cross. (Luke 2:26)

Sadly, however, the blessings that our good Lord intended for His people and His goodness, grace, and mercy are being sidetracked and replaced by commercialization, and the season less and less about God's declaration of "Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace and good will toward men." (Luke 2:14)

Even the snippets of what is traditionally recognized as the birth of Christ timeline fails (in this modern day culture) to proclaim His coming as the very best news that could ever be told in this earth. That is, "unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

He is Emmanuel, God with. us -- Christ the Lord -- God Himself who has come to rescue His people from perishing. His most wonderful offer put on the table so that we could come and dine. Like the lyrics to that song state, "Come and dine, the Master's calling, come and dine. Come and feast at Jesus' table all the time ..." 

Why? Because only the Lord Jesus can satisfy the soul. He is the Bread of Life. Only He offers the living water wherein (when we taste that the Lord is good) we never thirst again. And He is inviting each and every one of us to step into a life with Him wherein He is leading and guiding us into all truth. 

And yes, while the wise men brought precious gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh to the Lord Jesus when He was still a young child, the Lord Jesus today has a mission and purpose for each and every one of us, and thus, His desire is to flow through us with His precious gifts also. (I Corinthians 12:1- 31) But we have to first Jesus as both Lord and Christ in our hearts, and similarly, press into the Lord Jesus with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength.

And when we do, He will give unto us His marvellous gifts that will sustain us through the thick and thin of this earthly life. In other words, our cups (like the psalmist declared) will runneth over with His joy and peace and love and mercy in our hearts -- every day. And to this end also, we will know definitively, like the angels who proclaimed the greatest love story ever to be told on earth, (even before Jesus was born) that there is no other story worth sharing than this -- the dayspring from on high hath visited His people. 

The King of kings and Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the Ending! (Revelation 1:8; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Genesis 1:1-2; Acts 2:36-41)

In this current dispensation of grace, His Name is JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21-23)

Stand in the offering plate.