Revelation of the Messiah, Pt. 1

Ronald Weinland

September 26, 2018

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon – 2018

Prayerfully we’ll be observing a completely different Feast, a different kind of Feast of Tabernacles next year, one that will have some very unique speakers who will be feeding God’s Church. That’s going to be an awesome thing when that occurs. It’s kind of hard to imagine, really, when you think about it, and wondering how that’s going to be administered, how it’s going to be done. But again, prayerfully we’ll be observing the Feast that pictures the very thing that God has us here at this Feast of Tabernacles picturing, when God’s Kingdom is established on this earth and the Kingdom of God ruling on the earth for the next 1,100 years, that which is, again, pictured in what we are now observing concerning the time of the Millennium and the hundred years that follows.

This is the first sermon that came to me this past summer concerning what I should give at this Feast this year. It’s about the very thing that God gave to us as a Church that has more fully worked to cleanse it and any association with those things that exist in false Christianity. I mentioned that yesterday, the importance of all this is being reflected in the very title of this sermon today, Revelation of the Messiah, Part 1.

Again, when I go through something like this I think this is what God wants us to focus upon, this is what we’re looking at, this is what He wants us to think about and look forward to even more so.

So again, it’s about the very name God gave, speaking of that which we covered, that God gave and said that the Messiah should be named by, the name of Joshua. We’re going to begin by reviewing a little bit of what was stated, what God gave to us on May the 19, the Sabbath before Pentecost. It was stated, “We are now at a point where more is going to be given to us as part of the process of cleansing the temple and of making preparation for the coming of our Christ as he will once again be on this earth on Pentecost. The name that had been given to the man who would lead Israel into a promised physical land is the name of the one who will lead the first of spiritual Israel into the true promised land, into the Kingdom of God that will be on this earth on Pentecost.” So again, just repeating some of those things that were given in that particular sermon.

The name was Joshua, which means “the Eternal is salvation,” or “the Eternal’s salvation.” It is the name that Christ carries. In the New Testament the translations, it states that it’s “Jesus,” which is from the Greek word, as I mentioned again yesterday, Iēsous. But as I mentioned recently again, looking at this, looking back in time, looking back at the time this sermon was given on May the 19th, it was a period of time, and I don’t remember exactly how far back, whether it was months or a year or whatever, but I’d mentioned something about this being his real name. I really felt at that time that it was something that would be established once he returned to this earth. But thankfully he’s blessed us to have that, to be able to have that name, to use that name now, to understand the freedom that’s there.

Because I don’t know about some of you, and I think a lot of you do feel that way, maybe all, but it’s an absolute freedom to be freed from that false name, any association with it, because it reflects everything that’s false. That’s incredible that finally before he returns that it’s been established what his true name is once again.

The Greek name given to Christ was not a word that conveyed the meaning of Joshua. That’s something they should have done, a name that reflects what the meaning is. That’s a proper translation. When you translate you want to give the meaning of what is being stated, whatever it is, but they didn’t do that. It was not a translation from Hebrew or Aramaic into Greek. That was their language at the time. There are some that try to argue in writings and so forth that, well, they knew Greek at that time and they started that. Bull! They knew exactly what his name was, and the Jews, especially in that particular region where they lived, some may have spoken Greek but that wasn’t their language. Their language was Aramaic, the form of Hebrew. That’s what they spoke in the regions at that time.

Again here, it was what they did then, the translators later in time here, it was actually a transliteration not a translation of sorts, a transliteration if you want to call it that (a pretty poor one at that), supposedly to give a similar sounding name in Greek. But the name “Jesus” was not a translation of the meaning from the Hebrew word for Joshua. They could have done that. Other languages have done that. When they talked about Joshua in the Old Testament they didn’t call him Jesus. So why did they do that if they translated it and translated it into Greek and other things, in other languages, Latin and the like, why didn’t they do that in the Old Testament? Well, they used the name for Joshua. At least I don’t know of any that put down “Jesus,” so they did it on purpose.

There is a being that inspires those things, has a great deal of power. Far more than what we know. Far more than what we realize. Far more than what we understand. He’s deceived the whole world, God says.

Matthew 1:18, let’s start there once again to go through some of these verses a little more in depth in this particular series. It says, Now, the birth of, it says “Jesus” Christ, but we know better now. ...was on this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused, in other words as being engaged to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the holy spirit. Now, that’s an awesome thing to think about there as well. It wasn’t just a matter of the power of God. That’s why it’s stated this way. It states it in a very specific way. God’s spirit goes forth in whatever He commands it to create, to do, whatever He gives charge by. It’s His power. But when it talks about the holy spirit it’s talking about that which is in the mind, the thinking, the being, in that respect, of what’s given from His very being, of His thinking fully because that’s what it’s about.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make a public example of her, because they weren’t married yet, they were engaged, and here she is, she’s going to be with child, she’s with child. So he didn’t want to go through that or make her go through that, of the fact that they weren’t married yet.

Not like today. People don’t care today. You know, people live together for years and years and years today. People have children today and they don’t care about getting married, in large part. It’s the society and the world we live in. Gone down the toilet.

But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, you son of David. It’s important to understand what he’s telling him. Do not fear to take to yourself Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived (begotten) in her, very explicit here, is of the holy spirit. It is from the very being of God, which, again, is more than just His power to create. He could have done it that way, but He didn’t. He made it very clear here this is of the holy spirit, from God directly, powerfully, intimately so.

Verse 21—And she shall bring forth a son and you shall call his name – again, we understand not “Jesus.” Again, written in Aramaic, the Hebrew word for Joshua. For he shall save his people. You think, even the simplicity of it, the one who led the children of Israel into the promised land and God says to use that name again for the one who will lead into a true promised land, into God’s Kingdom, into all that was pictured on a physical plane as that which was going to be fulfilled later on a spiritual plane. Simple.

And he shall save his people, because “Joshua” mean’s “the Eternal is salvation,” or “the Eternal’s salvation.” So it goes on to say the process that this has to be done in. He shall save his people from their sins. Because that’s why he had to come then and die as the Passover first, that’s where it begins, the means by which we can begin a process of being saved. It is a matter of being able to repent of sin. That’s an awesome thing to understand.

That’s why the cry is going out at this Feast of Tabernacles more than I’ve ever known it for God’s people to use what God has given us to be saved, to receive favor, to receive help, to repent of sin, to look at their sin. I’ll just tell you, there is a lot of it in the Church that shouldn’t be there. I’m not talking about a little bit; I’m talking about a lot in the Church that shouldn’t be there. I know that by God’s spirit, Okay? Not because of counselling people, which I know. Not because of things that I know that have come in from different ministers, which I know. I know it’s more than that! By God’s spirit I know that. That’s the message I’m giving to the Church because that’s what God is giving me to give. This is a time to repent.

Joshua the Christ died, gave his life so that we could have the power of his Father, his life, his power living and dwelling within us and we in them, and sin cuts us off from God. It just cuts us off. I wish people could see that more deeply, to think that when you sin, when you dwell in sin you have cut yourself off then from God. People talk about these things that they do. It’s like, “I did this,” or “I did that...” We talked about tithes yesterday, “I use this,” or “use that,” and we don’t realize right then and there when you made that decision you cut yourself off from the power of God’s spirit! Then I think of one that had the audacity to say, and I’m sorry, and sometimes, you know, these things come out in the open so they can come out in sermons. God manifests them so they can teach us and help us to learn. You know, there are a lot of sins written in the Bible, things about David and what he did and how he lived his life and the mistakes he made, big things that he did, and yet he repented and his heart was after God’s way, wanted God, loved God with all of his being, all the things you see in the stories from the beginning of his young life, that love that he had toward God. Incredible! Because he pressed forward and would continue to seek to change when he was wrong God loved him mightily, responded in kind. Thankful that that could be given to human beings who sin. It’s just a matter of repentance, of acknowledging our sins and going forward.

I think of one that had the audacity—more than one, candidly, a couple now that I can think of—that talked about how they felt God would bless them then after they misused what He gave. God doesn’t bless you! There is a being out there that might try to give you “blessings,” to give you “favor,” to give you “help.” You don’t want that! You think Satan doesn’t have the power to give you favor from someone out in the world? Because he has the world in his control, in the sense of deceiving the world. Employers, they’re not of the Church, they’re not of God’s spirit, and a being can come along and persuade them, move them in their thinking. They have that kind of power to broadcast, powerfully so to give favor. He does it all the time with world leaders and different situations out here, to form alliances and the things that happen. It’s not God doing that, it’s Satan. There is a powerful being out there, Lucifer, who does those things. To think that somehow we can disobey God and say, “But I’m going to do it later and God will bless me to get it back in the fund later.” I wish I had a big buzzer. WRONG! Okay? It doesn’t work that way!

That’s what’s deceitful about something like that kind of thinking, because you open yourself up more so to a being to help you, to lead you farther away. “See, if you rob from God, God will bless you.” Because “Look! Look at what I received. Look at what I got for doing that! He helped me because I wanted to pay it back, my desire was to pay it back, therefore, this happened in my life and God blessed me because my heart was right.” No, your heart was wrong from the moment you robbed from God! That blows my mind!

I’m sorry, I’ll try to go on here.

We deceive ourselves. Joshua the Christ died, suffered for us so that we could be forgiven of sin. If we sin then we just treat that so lightly. It’s like being a part of killing him and beating him. I hope we’re hearing the message because this is the last time you’re going to hear it like this. You’re not going to have another few months or a few weeks after the Feast to keep hearing some of this, although there might be times when I get so frustrated and I might mention certain things. But as a whole, I’m just saying, now, leading up to this period of time, especially the last year, and even more than that, it’s been over the last two and a half, three years almost, two and a half years that there has been a constant message to God’s Church. God is making it very clear this Feast of Tabernacles is it. Just like saying when it does happen and Joshua the Christ begins to return, it has to happen at a specific time, and it will occur then. We have a specific time of measurement that it must be done, that it must be accomplished to be a part of what God is doing with us in our lives, what He’s offering to us. I’m here to tell you it’s this Feast of Tabernacles. That’s awesome to understand.

I don’t care if we have a few months or a few years, it’s this Feast of Tabernacles. God is making that very clear it’s this Feast of Tabernacles that we have to search out our hearts, search out our actions in our life, search out our thinking, and love God and obey God.

Verse 22—Now, all this was done so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is “God with us.” Then Joseph... So a lot of names, a lot of names he carries. High Priest, King of kings, Passover, on and on it goes, Lord; names that are God’s, God Almighty’s, because He is the Lord of Lords, and yet He gave that name to His Son. God Almighty is the King of Kings that it records over and over again in the Old Testament, and yet He’s given that to His Son. Incredible.

“God with us.” You better believe it. When he walked on this earth, that which was, that he was begotten of, in his life, in the womb, of the holy spirit from God Almighty, awesome!

Verse 24—Then Joseph being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the LORD had appointed him and took unto him his wife, and did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called his name Joshua.

That which happened during this period was exceedingly important in all of God’s plan in, by, or through the revelation of how God was going to save mankind from their sins and give deliverance, deliverance to those who would receive it, into God’s family...deliverance into God’s family, into Elohim. “...to those who would receive it.” I’m pausing and saying it that way because all are not receiving it. I’m fearful of that for God’s people because it keeps coming out a fourth, a third, a half... I don’t know. I don’t know. God knows and He has me continue to send this message, to give this message, especially at this Feast of Tabernacles.

We think sometimes in the Church, lived through that in Philadelphia and in Laodicea, that yeah, we all believe this, we’re living this, we’re doing it. All of Laodicea, all the way up until the time of the Apostasy thought we’re in this, we’re doing it, we’re living it, and then, wham!

Well, let’s look even more closely at what happened during this period of time when God began to reveal His own Son. Luke 1:1—Inasmuch that many have taken undertaken to set in order, meaning, in essence, to arrange here a declaration or a narrative, is really what the word is about, of those things which are most surely believed. Now, he’s telling here why he is writing this and that others have taken this on as well – Matthew, Mark, John – and they’re talking to others of the disciples and they’re now going to or began to work on writing these things down from their perspective of what they saw, what they witnessed and so forth. This is what he’s explaining. “This is why I am writing to you. This is why I am recording these things because we have decided here we’re working on this to write these things.” Well, God inspired them to do that, to put the story in writing, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the gospels, so that we could know, so that we could read these things and be inspired by them and receive the teachings of Joshua the Christ and so forth that God wanted us to receive as His Church.

He’s telling them these things, “We have set, we have decided, we’ve determined to put these things in order, to arrange a narrative, as story, of those things which are most surely believed,” the word meaning “fulfilled.” Because they were things fulfilled, things that God had prophesied through different prophets from the very beginning of things that would happen in time. It took 4,000 years from the beginning, talking about the Messiah first coming to this earth, but he did it. This is, then, the narrative of that story when he did come, of those things which were fulfilled by God Almighty.

...even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also... Why? He was just moved by God’s spirit to do it. It wasn’t an accident. The reason he felt/seemed good to him to do to be a part of it, God moved him to do it. We have it to this day. ...it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, not while he was with Joshua the Christ, but from the first, when he saw it, when he understood it, what he had gone through, what others had gone through and what it meant after the day of Pentecost when they’d received God’s spirit and all of a sudden they knew and understood things that Christ had taught them, had given to them. Now it was indeed coming alive.

So he said, from the very first to write unto you in order, in an orderly account, in other words, a careful summary, most excellent Theophilus, that you might know the certainty of those things where in you have been instructed.

So he was talking to Theophilus, or writing to Theophilus having no idea how God had inspired him to do this and that this was going to be used in the Church from era to era to era, and finally to the very end and on into the Millennium and on into the Great White Throne, this story, this summary. He was just writing to Theophilus. I have to chuckle at some of these things sometimes when we don’t know exactly where things are going and why they occur as they do and having no idea at all how this is going to be used mightily throughout time.

It says, again, verse 4—that you might know the certainty of those things where in you have been taught or that you were taught. That’s what he’s telling him, instructed and taught.

Verse 5—In the days of Herod, the king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah. Now, they called them “courses” because what would happen is there is a period of time that different families within the Levitical system, they had specific jobs to do at a specific time of the year. That’s how it was organized. So whatever length of time it was that they had to serve, depending on the division of the people’s and so forth, whether it be two weeks or whatever, this is what they did during that period of time. Then other family would come along and do their course, whatever their specific function was within the operation of or the functioning of the temple. It gets very specific about what he did and the course he was involved in, the period of time that he was serving within the temple. So this is what it means by this course of Abijah, an order of service in the temple for the Levites.

And his wife of the daughters of Aaron... Awesome the lineage they had. They understood these things. They knew who they descended from. They kept these things. It was important to them. This is exceedingly important, you know, a descendant of the first high priest. ...and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God. We don’t know to what degree whether it was a matter of a calling or more than likely here as a matter of different ones that are spoken of that their heart, their mind, their desire was to serve God and they were dedicated in that in what they understood and what they knew. As far as the law, the physical law is concerned, they were living it right. The 10 Commandments, that’s what they knew. That’s what they understood in depth, powerfully so. So on that plane for certain they were living righteously before God.

...and they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the LORD blameless. And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.

Verse 8—And it came to pass that while he executed the priests office before God in the order of his course, during his duties and time of duty in that year, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot, this is what he was given to do, was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the LORD. There was a routine of things they went to, whatever different ones had. They had a specific function and a specific duty and a specific job that they took care of day by day by day during the period of service.

Again, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple... We know what that means, to burn incense. Incense that goes up before God, we understand symbolically in the Old Testament was symbolic of the prayers going up before God, of God’s people. It’s used in that symbolism.

And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense. So at the time that this was done they were physically doing outside what is pictured spiritually for God’s people, that which is sweet smelling that comes up before God of our prayers as we pray to Him. That’s what it’s symbolic of.

It says here, And there appeared unto him an angel of the LORD, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. That would shake you up. See, this isn’t something, a routine that normally happened, obviously. It hadn’t happened, period, in scripture, in that regard, as far as an experience like this. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and you’d be troubled too. You see an angelic being standing in there, standing there. You’d be a little terrified, probably. ...he was troubled and fear fell upon him. In other words, he was overwhelmed with fear. Anyone in that same position would have been as well.

But the angel said unto him, Do not fear, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard. What prayer? Well, it’s about what he’s about to tell him, of that which happened a long time ago that they weren’t able to fulfil. So this is being fulfilled a long time later; but a prayer, he says, was heard. ...and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son.

Now, this is important and this was exceedingly important for them. They were Levites. She was a descendant of Aaron and within that community they would have been looked up to mightily because of that. She is a descendant of Aaron. He is a priest serving within the temple, in that respect, and had a job to do as a Levite, in that respect, on a physical plane. That which they had wanted in their life never happened. They wanted a son. Why? That’s exceedingly important to them that that name continue, that that service in that course continue. That’s why. It was exceedingly important to them that they be able to have that and they didn’t receive it. But now the angel is coming and saying, “Your prayer is heard.” You know, “What prayer?” Well, he tells him.

Your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son and you shall call his name John. And you shall have joy and happiness, and many shall rejoice at his birth, because of his birth. They’re not going to rejoice just because he’s born. There’ll be those who do because they understand how important this was to them, but this is far more meaningful in what it’s talking about.

Verse 15—For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. Awesome. He’ll be great. God looks upon him, his function is going to be great, something that God is going to do. ...and will drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he will also be filled with the holy spirit, power, mind, thinking from God, even from his mother’s womb. So something unique here that we don’t fully grasp nor comprehend as God makes it very clear here this is something that He was doing, that He was giving, and He would work with this individual before he was ever born, and as he is born, from that moment, to mold and fashion him, even the mind.

You say, “Well, why doesn’t God do that to every human being then?” “Why haven’t all human beings had that same?” It has no great meaning then in the purpose that God is fulfilling for mankind. God has specific functions through time to fit into an overall picture of something, very powerfully so, and so there was this one he was going to work with in a very specific way through a very specific family who had qualities and characteristics that were handed down. That’s important because then they could glean from those qualities of both mother and father and begin to learn from them, because they’re going to be faithful in what they teach and what is given to them and they’re going to have that benefit to learn certain things – in this case, John – and he’s going to have this ability then because God’s spirit is going to be working with him to perform something later on that’s very great.

God can do that if He chooses to, if He has a purpose and a function that’s very specific to accomplish. But as a whole God’s plan and purpose is through time to have the kind of variety, vast variety in His family of all kinds within that family, that they choose, that they choose on their own that they want what is being offered to them. There is a uniqueness in that that candidly, we don’t fully grasp nor comprehend yet.

I marvel how much God has given over the past many years, past five or so years, to understand certain things about how God does work and how God molds and fashions us. I think of the series about fellowship and so forth that came out in writing and different things that have been given, that God’s given us more insight to how He does things. To me that’s beautiful, and I’m thankful to be able to share in that because that’s a part of preparing certain ones for specific duties, responsibilities, jobs, service that they will do in the future.

…he shall be filled with the holy spirit even from his mother’s womb. God’s going to be there as he grows. From that moment in time He’s going to work with him, the conditions around him, in a very unique way to bring him to a point in time that he fulfills a powerful role.

And many of the children of Israel will turn to the LORD their God. Because of that, because of what God does with John, because of the power of God’s spirit that’s going to work through John, and all for a great purpose. He tells what that purpose is.

And many of the children of Israel will turn to the LORD their God. He will also go before Him, before God Almighty, in the spirit and the power of Elijah... Powerful. Powerful. Making it very clear here there is tremendous power being given to him, through him in what is being said. It’s the words that are going to be spoken, it’s the teaching that’s going to be there, what he says and what it’s going to accomplish, because to draw people, as well, to hear a message of something that’s being given, not to be called into the Church but just to draw them, God has to be involved in that so that people will respond, so that people will perk up their ears to what’s being said and be moved to do certain things.

Just as when Joshua the Christ came into Jerusalem and the people were crying  out like they were, “Hosanna!” and talking about the son of David as they looked upon him as being the Christ, the Messiah. Basically, it was stated that if they hadn’t done so God would have raised up stones to do that, to accomplish it, because it was going to be done. God worked with people and brought them to that point in time, moved them by His spirit to be moved to do it.

It started with John. It started with John. Those people that were there started with John, okay?

He will go before Him in the spirit and the power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.’ I marvel at this here. At one time we basically felt more so within the Body, within the Church through Philadelphia into Laodicea, that this was about families and about attitudes, and in this case, father’s toward children and becoming more involved. So some of that kind of thinking is what kind of prompted things like Y.E.S. and Y.O.U. and more involvement of family’s and activities within the Church. Those things are exceedingly important when you have that kind of an ability to do that because church areas are so large from region to region and they can have those kinds of activities and the tools and everything were made available, but that’s not what this is about. It’s not a physical thing, it’s a spiritual one. “To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” Who were the children? Well, those who he would go to, they are descendants of those of times of old, of the prophets and different ones and David himself and different ones who have written things. It’s basically talking about them, in that respect, that they’re dead. The fathers of old are dead. But what was their heart? What was David’s heart? A man after God’s own heart? So it’s talking about here that kind of attitude and that kind of mind toward the children so that they can have an ability or an opportunity to taste some of that, of what the forefathers had lived.

...and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. So John was going to go out and talk to people who were disobedient. They weren’t looking for a Messiah. They weren’t looking for a Christ. They were living life frivolously, not as bad as today, because, see, today it’s pretty close to what it was like before the flood. There is a difference there. Society is different. The world is different. The world is far more corrupt an evil in mind than ever before, and truly goes back to a time, “as in the days of Noah,” because of technology and the misuse of technology. I hope we understand that because that’s our battle as human beings. It’s what’s out here that pulls at us, that pulls us away from what is true. If you focus too much on those kinds of things and you begin to look up to those kinds of things and you begin to esteem those things, you begin to copy those things he’s got you right where he wants you, that being, to pull you in different directions.

People look at fashions. It’s the world that sets the fashions and so people wear things that they shouldn’t wear. They do things to their bodies that they shouldn’t do. That’s the way of the world. So much of it comes through technology today because people have these individuals, these people that they see constantly on TV, whatever it might be, in music videos, and they want to emulate that. Whatever they wear or ever what color they want to wear their hair, I want that color too. You know, you see people with this bright pink out of their hair. God didn’t make you that way! On and on it goes. The purples or greens. I saw some people the other day, women with green. You think, “What is wrong with you?! Get a life! You’ve taken something beautiful that God gave and you’ve distorted it. You want to look like a clown?” But they don’t understand that. They don’t grasp that. It shows how far they go. But I’ll tell you what, people in God’s Church can be drawn to those maybe just a little here and there. You’ve got to be careful how you think.

Same thing in fashions. You don’t have to be like the world. We’re the ones that are going to set the pace as far as time goes on here, okay? The world isn’t going to do it. The world is going to be changed and a lot of this stupidity that’s out there, you know, and how people misuse things isn’t going to be around. I’ve talked about some of these things. I think about, you know, the blouses that go farther down where it just barely covers the nipples. You see people on TV and that’s all it does. Some of these people on these shows that are out there? I’m trying to think of some of these names. America’s Got Talent. The Voice.

Now, I enjoy some of those things, to see the talent that’s there, but I’ll tell you what, sometimes the judges and some of the people that are there, and you know what? Young people look up to them and so they think that’s the way to dress. You think, you don’t understand. You’re selling yourself cheaply. You’re making yourself cheap. But people don’t understand that. Or they wear their dresses short where they turn over just a little bit and it’s like, “I don’t want to see that!” And sadly, there are a lot of men who say, “I’d like to see more!” That’s the kind of sick world we live in! People are drawn to that; men are drawn to those kinds of things. I don’t know about women because I’m not one. I don’t know what you’re drawn to fully in that respect, but I know the human mind and the male mind and I’m not deceived by it by one iota.

There is a way of thinking that you’ve got to think and you’ve got to fight your mind. For women, I don’t know what your battle is. But I know what the men’s battle is because it’s the most powerful pull that human beings have! It really is and we misuse it. The world has misused it. Technology misuses it. Television misuses it. MTV. They all misuse it. Why? Because that’s what people are attracted to.

“You know, Moses is up there. He’s been up there for forty days now. Let’s build this calf. Let’s have a big party. Let’s build this thing to God, who delivered us out of Egypt, this molten calf,” and they started partying. It’s like MTV! You think it wasn’t? That’s what it was. You want to talk about a party, the kind of way they partied? It wasn’t good. They were on the brink of being destroyed. They really were, except God had a plan, you’ve got to have a people to take through the wilderness for forty years and to take them to the promised land. But there’s a whole bunch of them that are going to die. They’re not going to be allowed to go in. The ones born in the wilderness, they’re going to be able to go in, certain ages and younger, whatever, to 20 or whatever it was that came out of Egypt. Different ones were going to have the ability to go in but there are certain ones over that certain age they’re not going to be allowed to go in. Not a one of them except for a few like Joshua himself. Awesome to understand those things.

We’re swayed by the world and we don’t understand sometimes how much technology has been used and why we’re like the days before the flood. You live in a sick world and you need to recognize some of the battles that are out there. You need to see your battles more clearly. Sometimes people don’t see it because we’ve adopted, accepted too much of the world. Okay?

I hate to even go to a beach. It’s like it’d be like a horse, get these blinders and just look straight ahead because you don’t want to look down, you don’t want to look around because you’re going to see things hanging out all over the place. Hardly anything for the rear end, just a little thing going down through the middle and you think, “That’s got to be uncomfortable.” But “Oh, no, I like that!” People are drawn to that, they’re attracted to that. Young men can get by with certain things. Old men get out there, different ones, or people that just don’t have good proportions and they wear these things that are so tight. Men, you know. That’s just totally, downright gross, but they think they look good because that’s what the world portrays, “This looks good.” Some of this tight stuff sometimes it’s so tight and you think, “If you knew what your butt looked like in that you wouldn’t wear that, if you knew what your thighs looked like. Do you not see what you’re doing?”

I’m sorry, but a lot of people in God’s Church are swayed by these things. You have to be careful. That’s why God tells us to do things in moderation, not to go to the extremes, whether it be in clothing, whatever it might be. There are so many things we do we have to look at in that respect of moderation as far as the world is concerned. Today it’s gone so far that sometimes we have to pull back that part on moderation and be just maybe a tad more conservative. Well, I hope you understand what I said.

…he’s going to go forward in the power of Elijah, it says here, 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. Incredible! It happened once before and it’s happening again, now spiritual. Then it was physical; and John was used, in that respect, to help work with, to turn a people to the first coming of the Messiah.

Now there is that which is taking place that is indeed small, but it’s been going on for a good seventy plus years. A lot was done through Mr. Armstrong. The fact that The Plain Truth went out like it did, and the telecast went out like it did, and the radio went out like it did, and there are people out there today who still know the name, who remember, who read in their language things in The Plain Truth magazine, and on and on it goes, seeds have been planted. Incredible what’s taken place, that which was done in the spirit and the power of Elijah in part through time here.

And Zacharias said unto the angel, How shall I know this? Whew, not good. “How shall I know this?” For I am an old man... Sometimes we just are that way and this shows that, even within the Church. “How do I know this?” ...and my wife well advanced in years. Because physically just looking at it, it doesn’t look possible. This really can’t happen. This doesn’t happen in the world.

And the angel answered, said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. “Shall I have to tell you that?” That’s what he’s basically telling him. Now he’s showing him the authority that was there and the power that was there, and the fact that you should have believed this because I’m an angelic being telling this from God, of what’s going to take place, and that your prayer has been heard by God. But he doubted. Gabriel answered him in a very specific way because of his response, “Well, how am I to know this?” Well, just wait a little while, you’ll know it. If you really believe that there is an angelic being standing there telling you these things and this isn’t something common you should already know it just on a physical plane.

Verse 20—Behold, you shall be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place. There’s going to be a lesson in this. See, now, this wasn’t just for him. It’s for all time for people to understand that when God sends something and sends a message to anyone at any time we’d better listen...we’d better listen. We’d better think about it. Behold, you shall be mute and not able to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words which shall be fulfilled in their own time. They’ll be fulfilled just as my coming to you. In essence he’s saying here, “Your prayer has been heard.” Well, he wasn’t praying that prayer in the last many years there, I can guarantee you, because he knew he was old and she was old, and they weren’t asking for a child anymore. That time had already gone by. This shows it, what he’s thinking. It was a long time later after those specific prayers, but he came and said, “Your prayer has been heard.” How old was he when he quit? I don’t know when he quit praying about it, but they prayed for a long time. So did Elizabeth. Then they got old and realized we’re beyond the years now so you quit praying about that same thing. He says, now, “Your prayer is heard.”

There are times that God doesn’t answer right away. There are times when we have to go through things to learn certain thing before God answers. I marvel at that. I think there have been some things that have happened in my life that I think back, “Wow, I prayed about that a couple of years ago.” I’m just glad I remembered or I wouldn’t have recognized that. God’s taking care of it. But we’re impatient. We want God to do things right now. “I’m suffering right now.” Well, learn through your suffering then. Look to God. Look to God to deliver you and you’ll be given something greater as time goes on, as we talked about yesterday. ...because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their own time.

Verse 21—And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. It took him a long time. “Why is he in there for so long? Because this doesn’t take that long. He’s never taken this long before. Where is he?” And when he came out he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple because, for he gestured to them. He couldn’t talk. So he’s gesturing to them and they perceived then, they guessed. Kind of like one of these games where you play certain things and you try to gesture and have people guess what it is. Anyway, they perceived, finally, because of his gesturing to them, and he remained speechless.

And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his administration or his service had been accomplished he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, she became pregnant, and hid herself, went into seclusion five months. So something they chose to do. I don’t know. We don’t know. Perhaps not wanting to be seen at this point in time, older as she was, wanting to make sure that there would not be a miscarriage or something, I don’t know.

Verse 25—Thus has the LORD dealt with me, in the days wherein He looked upon me, to take away my reproach, my disgrace among the people. Why? She was of the lineage of Aaron. He had a course, her husband had a course, to serve within the temple. If they have no son that particular part that they would have followed, or the son would have followed and been trained for, worked for or whatever, been shown to do, wouldn’t have occurred. Someone else would have to have that, receive that within the Levitical system. They’d have to make a decision as to how that part of the service is going to be accomplished. So to them that was something that hurt because they weren’t able to have that ability to have this passed down. Because this is a long, long time since Aaron and since the Levitical system had been established, and now for this phase of it to be shaken like that, they took it as a matter of something that was shameful and embarrassing to them.

They couldn’t help it but because God had a purpose in it all. Do you think that she couldn’t conceive for a purpose? Do you think God’s in the planning and purpose in life when He has something to accomplish and fulfill specifically to fit into a certain area? It’s in God’s control and God’s power and God’s might. There is nothing more beautiful it could be if God’s working with someone to do something, to accomplish something.

Verse 26—And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed (engaged) to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came into her... I love this, how that different ones wrote about different parts and you have to go to different areas.

I think of the Passover and all the events that happened around Passover, and I think of one book, The Harmony of the Gospels, is probably the closest to things in accuracy but it’s still not accurate because they still didn’t understand the plan of God and what He was doing. But as a whole so many of these things are interesting when you see all four of these put together and follow it through from beginning to end. So here he’s adding more that others don’t have and we’re going through that today.

...to a virgin betrothed (engaged) to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, Rejoice, you who are highly favored, for the LORD is with you... Awesome! Highly favored, receiving a kind of favor from God you can’t even begin to imagine. As I was going through this and thinking about some of this this morning I thought, and we don’t get it sometimes within the Church what we have been given, so highly favored to be called. Remember your calling, to be called by Almighty God and it just isn’t real to us sometimes as it should be. If it was more real, in that respect, of the awesomeness of the Almighty God, Yahweh Elohim reaching down and drawing out of millions and millions and billions of people, giving you that opportunity because He’s given you a favor that we don’t deserve, and nobody deserves it, but to be given that kind of favor I would think, why would a person ever sin if that’s in the mind, if that’s in the forefront of the mind. Why would a person ever dishonor God or turn against what Christ did for us. Because every time we sin we turn against him as our Passover, because then we have to go and repent, and thankfully we have the Passover and able to be forgiven of sin.

And the angel came to her and said, Rejoice, you are highly favored, for the LORD is with you; you are highly blessed among all women! So I think of what was said yesterday about us. We don’t grasp. Think about those things: so highly blessed. That’s why I mention, think about all the people out there, today far more than ever before. There weren’t that many people in the world and yet they gave that analogy, that example. When we think about the numbers of people out there? What does it mean? It’s just numbers.

And when she saw him, she was troubled, this word meaning “perplexed.” “What is being said here? What does this mean?” ...at his saying, and wondered in her mind... In other words, trying to consider it or reason what kind of a greeting this was. If you’ve never had anything like that, nothing’s ever happened like that before, nothing’s ever been written about that, so how do you relate to that? She was perplexed, “What does this mean?”

And the angel said unto her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. All of you have found such incredible favor with God, to be called, to receive the impregnation of His holy spirit. I think of the many who have gone by the wayside who received the impregnation of God’s spirit. It’s an easy thing for me to see when they’re resurrected in the Great White Throne that there is going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth. You know, if you could turn your foot around and kick yourself in the rear end, the butt, you would do it over and over and over again for a little while. If you could just get that part dislodged from the knee and boom, boom, boom just as hard as you could for a while so you could feel a little bit better for being so dumb, for being so stupid! “How could I have been so stupid to do those things? How could I have been that dumb? Now I could have had opportunity, if not to be in 144,000 to be at the end of the Millennium and be a part of something that I robbed myself of, an ability to serve in a greater way, an ability to help in a greater way, an ability to help in the Great White Throne!”

Because all those who live through and go on into the Millennium and are able to be resurrected at the end of the Millennium have the ability in a very powerful way to do an incredible work when billions and billions and billions of people are resurrected and we get to serve them and help them. That’s what their job will be. That’s why the thousand years is so incredible because that’s where people are going to come from who are able to go into a larger portion then, into Elohim to serve at that time.

Because that’s the greatest part of the rest of the remainder of all mankind, the vast majority, to where the magnification of Elohim becomes far, far, far, far greater! What an awesome opportunity! There are going to be people in the Millennium who are going to kick their rear ends in the Great White Throne because they’re going to have to die and be resurrected and live it again. You think, wasn’t once enough? I feel very strongly about that. I don’t want to be in this twice! To me that’d be like a horror movie, “I’ve got to live in this twice?!”

Anyway, I get too wrapped up in what I’m saying here. Okay, “Blessed among women,” she is perplexed, and the angel said, Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you found favor with God.

And finally verse 31—And behold, you shall conceive in your womb, become pregnant, and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Joshua. Not Iésous. It just makes me sick now to think about that, Iésous, and how that got started. I’m so glad to be free of that and yet because of habits there are lessons in that as well. We’ve done it for so long, and within the Church knowing the truth, that transition takes some time because every once in a while it just slips because we’re so accustomed to using it. Then when I do it’s like you stick your finger in your throat and you’re almost to puke.

And you shall conceive in your womb (become pregnant) and bring forth a Son and call his name Joshua. He shall be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest. Can you imagine someone being told something like that: “He’s going to become the Son of the Highest, the Son of Almighty God.”

And the LORD God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Do you know what she was just told? He is the Messiah. What’s going to be born of you, the child you’re going to give birth to, his name is Joshua; he’s the Messiah. He’s the one been prophesied since the beginning of time for mankind because she knew what that meant. People knew what it meant to give of the throne of David because there was no throne of David at that time at all. They’d been taken into captivity long, long before and there is no kingly line anymore in the sense of one ruler after another over Judah. No, instead Rome had power over them, Rome was in control.

...and the LORD God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. It’s about Israel. It’s not just about a physical people, it’s about Israel, those who can come in and be a part of spiritual Israel. She didn’t understand those things, obviously, but we do today. ...and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Because they knew, she knew, others that would read that would know there was an end to the kingdom of Judah. There is no more lineage of kings who are taking power and rule over Judah, let alone Israel who went into captivity before that. Of course, that was a mess because none of them obeyed God. All of them followed after the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, as it says.

Verse 34—Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, seeing that I have not known a man? And the angel said unto her... This isn’t going to be a physical thing. This isn’t going to come from a physical lineage, The holy spirit shall come upon you. Again God making it very clear this is from Him. It was more than just sending His power to give birth to someone, to allow for a birth to take place in someone, to create a birth, because it’s from Him. It’s of the power and the holy spirit. That’s why when it talks about the Word it has more meaning, because it’s the being, of the mind. It is God that’s doing this. It’s holy because it comes directly from God in ways that are hard to see and grasp and understand, and that we can’t really fully.

Verse 35—The angel said to her, The holy spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who shall be born of you, holy, from God, holy because God is there. God is there from the moment it starts, not as John, when he came out and God began to work with him even at a young age to mold and fashion his life, but this is going to be done from the very moment of conception.

Therefore, also, that Holy One who shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. I cannot fathom that. For someone to be told something like this, she couldn’t grasp it, even though she was told that, obviously. But what does this mean?

I thought it’d be good to read John 1, as a matter of fact, about the Word, because you can’t help but think about that when you talk about the holy spirit and that which was going to overshadow her and that which would be born in her was of the holy spirit from the very moment of conception. We’re going to come back to Luke so hopefully you won’t lose your place there.

I marvel at this here as I read this, too, because you know what? We as a Church did not grasp this fully, it was not given to the Church until 2005, in that period of time. I marvel at that because God had a plan and a purpose for leading and guiding and directing us and helping us to understand more things about Himself because He’s preparing to send His Son and so there are certain things He’s given to us to enrich our lives, to, again, take away a misconception of something here that existed in the Church because it was given to Mr. Armstrong to understand the “holy ghost” is not a being—and there’s reason why they translate some things certain ways—and the holy spirit, in that respect, was not a being separate from God and yet God, the three-musketeer thing, all in one. Anyway, there is no such thing. So basically now there were only two in the godhead, as seen in the godhead, because God chose not to give that to him. That’s God. Any truth that comes, it’s God’s responsibility. It’s a matter of what God sets apart, sanctifies, and does and gives to His people. So that wasn’t given. God reserved that for later on. He reserved it for 2005, that specific time, that specific year, that specific Feast, to be driven home more powerfully than ever before that there weren’t two in the godhead.

John 1:1—In the beginning was the Word. So it’s saying here “in or at the origin of all.” ...and the Word was with God. So it’s like, “See!” That was looked upon as being Christ, that before he emptied himself of being a God and jumped into the womb of Mary; I’m sorry, but that’s kind of the concept. It’s like that God gave up his power to become a human being, and how does a God give up His power and become physical and everything that is spirit is away. We just weren’t given the truth. But now we can look at that and say, that just really didn’t make any sense. But we couldn’t before that. I couldn’t have done that all through those years in Philadelphia. It wasn’t there until God gives it.

...and the Word was with God. It’s God’s Word (that’s what it means), because it’s God’s. The Word? That’s God. It’s with Him, obviously. It’s the revelatory thought, the mind. That’s what it’s talking about. It’s talking about the mind and that which is able to reveal that mind. It’s God and His thinking, His way, and the power of His holy spirit.

...and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, not talking about a second being in the godhead but about God Almighty, Yahweh Elohim. That’s why I marvel in the Old Testament, Yahweh Elohim, the name of God, and yet it was looked upon that this was Christ, and yet when you read those scriptures in Isaiah that Johnny read and different ones it’s Yahweh Elohim that says, “I am God and there is no one else.” No one else! Awesome! What’s simple to us now wasn’t so simple through Philadelphia and through Laodicea.

The same was in the beginning with God. The Word. That mind hasn’t changed. That’s who He is. That reveals who He is.

Your mind reveals who you are. Your thinking reveals who you are because that leads to the decisions or the thinking you have that lead to certain decisions and actions then in your life of what might come out of here that maybe shouldn’t, what things we do sometimes that we shouldn’t. It comes from this mind. That’s why this mind has to be transformed. That’s why we have to repent, that word that means “To think differently,” because our thinking is all screwed up! Thank God He can transform that and bring us into His family. That’s what His plan is. It’s an awesome thing. It’s a marvel beyond human comprehension. It takes God’s spirit to comprehend that, to be thankful for that, to embrace that.

And the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. It’s His. It’s His mind. It’s His being. All things were made by Him. Everything that exists made by Him...and without Him, or apart from Him there was not anything made that was made. In other words, without Him nothing was made that was made. It’s just saying anything that exists out here, it doesn’t exist except God did it, God brought it to pass.

Verse 14, jumping on down—And the Word was made flesh, born, begotten, not just born, begotten of the holy spirit from the moment of conception. Now, he still had to come to a point of baptism and be impregnated—his choice, separate, not God, not Yahweh Elohim, but he had to live and grow, but he still had that mind. Now, that’s sometimes maybe difficult thing to grasp and comprehend, and in many ways it is. But he had a mind that was in unity and agreement with God all of his life. He was able to see things and know things. When he was able to read them in scripture, when he heard things of scripture he knew. It was his mind, his thinking. But it was him. He had his own experiences in life. He grew up separately as a human being. He was his own just as we are.

We are begotten but we have a lot of garbage before we get to that point. We have a whole lot of garbage because we were let go and let free in our life until God started drawing us.

Christ was different. From the moment of conception God was there. There’ll be, candidly, things about that we can’t fully grasp until we’re changed. We’ll understand it more. That’s something you ever grow in. Because I’ve grown in it from the time God began revealing the smallest portions of it through time, and it continues to become greater and greater in understanding.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. “God with us,” Emmanuel. It’s what it’s about. God with us, now with mankind. The disciples were able to walk with, in that respect, the Word, everything that came from God. Christ said, “What I speak, that’s not mine. It’s from the Father.” He didn’t take credit to himself. He said, “What I’m speaking to you is not from me. It’s from God.” Because it’s the Word of God, it’s the mind of God. Everything he taught came from God the Father, because he was in total unity and oneness with God. Awesome!

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, the one who would be the Passover, the one who would become High Priest, the one who would rule until everything is brought into subjection, and then as it says by Paul, and then handed back to God, in essence, God the Father. Finally, complete peace, Elohim, and only that which is fully at one in the thinking of the angelic realm. Everything else goes by the wayside, is destroyed. Only peace will remain. Beautiful!

Again here, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, because that’s God. Only truth comes from God. All truth comes from God; grace, mercy, favor, kindness, when it comes God’s time to give that to a human being. God is a God of love, agape, and we can’t understand that until we receive some of that into our life through the power of the holy spirit. Then we can begin to taste of it and desire more of it.

Going back to Luke. Luke 1:35—And the angel answered and said unto her, The holy spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you, therefore, also that Holy One who shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. And behold, your cousin, Elizabeth... your cousin Elizabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. People recognized she was barren, she wasn’t able to bear children, she’s too old now, never able to have a child though they wanted to. So, “Your cousin Elizabeth, she’s with child.” Amazing! For with God nothing is impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the LORD! Be it unto me according to your word. And the angel departed unto her. “So be it.”

Verse 39—And Mary arose in those days and went quickly into the hill country, into the city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. See, she’d been told, she wanted to go see. She wanted to visit her. She was moved by God’s spirit to do this. And it came to pass that... She didn’t know that but she was. God can move people to do things by His holy spirit, that it enters into our mind and we may think it’s our own decision. They might think, sometimes it happens, it’s your own decision, but no, sometimes God works that way to lead, guide, direct us into that which is true and right and just.

And it came to pass when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. Incredible! So when Elizabeth heard this greeting the baby leaped...and Elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit. In other words, now God was filling her mind with His mind to the degree to do or say some of the things that she came to see and say. And she spoke out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Awesome! She was inspired to know, to see something now that she shared in, that she was excited about, that God was excited, obviously. We don’t think about those kinds of things, the excitement God has for what He’s doing. What He’s doing is exciting to Him.

Work, what we accomplish and do, there are things that should be exciting in our life, but especially when it comes to God’s plan being fulfilled. God had looked forward to this for so long, had planned this out for so long, for His own Son to be born. Now was the time. That was in Mary. He also then gave to Elizabeth the one who was going to go before Christ, who would preach, who would teach about the Messiah coming and to repent and to turn to God. These things were exciting to God. This is what Elizabeth was moved by, that kind of excitement that is from God Almighty that He shared with her at that moment and she couldn’t help herself. She was filled with excitement.

When I get up here and preach, I’m filled with excitement about God’s word because it’s exciting, it comes alive. That’s why I think of those verses we read the other day here. God’s word is alive and powerful. When it’s mixed with God’s spirit they’re not just words, it’s not just a story, but it moves because there’s a purpose that God is working out in our lives.

And it came to pass when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit and she spoke out with a loud voice saying, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? That’s awesome! “How is it that the mother of my Lord...” How does she know that? God gave it to her and she was excited and she felt this way, “How is it that the Messiah, the mother of the Messiah, the mother of the Son of God would come and visit me? My Lord that is going to be born of her?” Talk about humility, talk about a right spirit, talk about a right mind, a right kind of thinking, a right kind of awe toward God Almighty, well, she had help of God’s spirit at that moment in a very powerful way.

Verse 44—For indeed, as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting in my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. She knew it! She knew that’s what it was about. That was something that God performed, worked, accomplished so that she could know and be moved by that. Blessed is she who believed, that there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the LORD.

And Mary said: My soul, my life does magnify the LORD. You know, there are times in our life when we go through certain things and they’re highlights. There are times when we’re moved by God’s spirit and there are things that happen that stir us more and we long for that on a continuing basis. That’s why I long to be in Elohim, so I can have that all the time. Here we only receive it momentarily. Like at the Feast of Tabernacles we’re able to receive more of that kind of power, more of that kind of life in our lives than any other time of the year. You can go back and listen to sermons that were given at the Feast, but this is where we learn the most, this is where we’re able to be moved the most. This is where we’re able to be stirred by God’s spirit more and to turn to God more, especially with the kind of messages God is giving at this Feast. This is our opportunity in a very powerful way.

Then Sabbath by Sabbath, you can’t have the same thing during the rest of the week. There is something unique about how God works in a specific day to give more, to inspire more. It doesn’t mean you can’t listen to certain things at other times and be inspired and learn more, because you can, but there is something unique about the first time we hear it and God’s spirit is working in our life to move and motivate us, to receive what’s given.

Verse 47—And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowest state of His handmaiden, His female servant; For indeed, from now on all generations shall be blessed. What an awesome thing to see. What an awesome thing to be moved by of God’s spirit, to see that all generations are going be blessed now because that which has been given to the prophets through time and preached is now coming to pass.

For He who is mighty has done to me great things, and holy is His name. If we could only look to God always like that. God is holy. We are so blessed to have what we have. If we could have that kind of attitude and kind of mind all the time we wouldn’t sin. It just goes to show how much carnality we have. Because you can’t be that way all the time because you’re in a body that battles against God. You’re in a body that battles against God. Your carnal mind, my carnal mind resists God. That’s the battle, human nature, “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” it just fights. That’s what has to be brought into subjection. That’s by our choices and by our prayers, by our crying out to God for help.

Verse 50—And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. If we love God, if we see what we’ve been given to see we’d fear to do anything different. That’s what it’s talking about. It’s not talking about being scared of God, not at all. Not that kind of fear, but to love God, to see certain things, and to fear to do anything but.

Verse 51—He has shown strength, in other words, mighty things with His arm, through His power. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, a beautiful thing.

People get lifted up with pride, it’s just disgusting, and God allows them to be lifted up mightily so and then they fall. The more people have of pride, one day there’ll be a fall. There are some people in this world right now that are going to have some huge fall, because they have incredible pride out there, people who think they’re great, people who think they have all the answers in life, and they don’t. They’re going to have a horrible fall when it hits. They’re going to find out, “I’m not so great. I’m not so important.”

Verse 52—He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. Through time in kingdoms and things that have risen up in the world and governments and so forth. God has had a hand in different times in intervening and bringing them down, and things to be written for us so that we can learn about the power and the might of Almighty God to do those things. Because, candidly, we’re just puny as human beings, but we think we’re so great. So that’s what it’s talking about here.

He has filled the hungry with good things. If you’re hungry for God’s way of life, you want it, you start putting it into your life, awesome. And the rich He has sent away empty. So it’s an attitude of mind. That’s why I love even in Isaiah 2 and other places where it talks about some of these things and it talks about the haughtiness and mankind and God’s going to bring all that down and humble human beings to where there is humility, to show us we’re not great, we’re not mighty, our way is not right. Every phase of government, every kind of government we’ve ever had stinks, it’s rotten, because it’s not of God. It can’t bring happiness. It can’t bring peace. It can’t bring justice because we’re incapable of such things as human beings.

We can’t judge what is right by what we hear because we’re prejudice, we have bias. Incredible, the human mind, thinking it can be just and righteous in judgment. Try to do the best you can with what you have but it’s still filled with bias and prejudice and you’ll misjudge all the time.

Verse 54—He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary dwelt with her for three months, for about three months, and returned to her house, her own home.

Verse 57—Now, Elizabeth’s full time came, that she should be delivered, and she brought forth (delivered) a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the LORD had shown great mercy upon her and they rejoiced with her. To be of that age and finally to have that which they so desired, and those who knew them rejoiced in that. It’s a natural thing.

And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called his name Zacharias after the name of his father. So this is what they did because that’s what they thought would happen. And his mother answered and said, No. I thought, what am I reading here, they didn’t call him Zacharias. But the people did because that’s something you would hand down in the course of the Levites and so forth, and so they thought that was going to be a natural thing.

And his mother answered and said, No, but he shall be called John. Shocked them! And they said to her, There is none of your kindred that’s called by this name. And they made signs to his father about how he wanted the child to be named. He couldn’t speak to them in that and he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, saying, His name is John. Awesome story! And they all marveled. They were all surprised by what he did because they knew it was going to be Zacharias. So if Elizabeth doesn’t know he’s got to know, and his mouth was opened immediately. Finally Zacharias was able to speak again. And his tongue loosed and he spoke and praised God. And fear came on all who dwelt round about them.

Now, they saw things that, witnessed things that just don’t happen, and things about God that they were told and things that happened here that they were told. Then when he started speaking again, yeah, it says here their fear came upon them. They were witnessing something that just doesn’t happen.

And all these things were repeated abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard these things laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be? If this has happened, how important is this? And the hand of the LORD was upon him.

Verse 67—And his father Zacharias was filled with the holy spirit and prophesied, saying... So now he’s moved by God’s spirit to say the things he’s going to say because of what was taking place. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.

I hope this isn’t just a story for some of us, okay? I hope it’s not just a story and, “Oh, boy, we’re going to go through all this in Luke and read about this story about Joshua and about Elizabeth.” I hope we’re getting the message, okay? I hope we’re moved by God’s spirit! Because this is not a story just being given, okay, it’s from God, something God wants us to see. If we’re not excited by it what is wrong with us? Okay?

Because I perceive by God’s spirit that some of us have that kind of thinking right now, that kind of attitude! Oh, boy! Now, we don’t think that out loud but you’ve got to be careful of your response to God Almighty, you really do, and how you think toward God. Does this inspire you, because it inspires me. It inspires me what God did with John, with Elizabeth, with Mary, with Joseph. I don’t know if this is for you specifically or for some who are going to listen to it later, but I’m just telling you these are the kinds of things we need to take to heart.

Do we throw ourselves into God’s word? Are we able to be moved by God’s word? Because if you can’t be moved by God’s word right now you are in bad shape! You’re in bad shape spiritually if this doesn’t inspire you today, if this doesn’t move you today. Because this isn’t just a story I’m ready in the book of Luke, okay?

This just goes to show to me even that much more how much we’re languishing and beginning to drift again, beginning to go by the wayside again, letting things slip through our fingers on a spiritual plane. And, brethren, this should not be happening. And if Mr. Armstrong was up here he would tell you the exact same thing except he would be pounding on the podium right now with his feeble hands, you know, that sometimes I saw him do and think, “Man, 90 years old, 91 years old and he’s banging on that podium and crying out with all of his being,” because he was moved by God’s spirit and saw what was taking place in the Church and it hurt him. It hurt him to look out there and say, “Are there 10% of you who get it?” Because he saw what was taking place with the leadership of the Church there in Pasadena.

So I’m just saying, if you’re not inspired, moved spiritually by what you’re hearing I can’t give that to you. It doesn’t matter if I get up here and put on a great show, you know, and I am able to speak with great flamboyant words. It’s not about that. It’s about the story, okay? I could get up here and do it in an absolute monotone voice: ...and he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marvelled. They were all surprised. And his mouth was immediately opened (opened immediately) and his tongue loosed and he spoke and he praised God. And fear came upon who dwelt...

You should still be inspired because it’s God’s word! Okay? Moved by it because it’s God’s word! Because of God’s spirit, it comes alive. My point is if it’s not coming alive in us that there are some of those that I’m talking to at this Feast, you’d better repent. You might think you have it made, you might think you’re doing all the right things, but you’re not.

I don’t like speaking like that, brethren, I’ll just tell you candidly. But I know God is crying out and pleading with His people. After everything that’s been given, will half of you remain? Will a fourth of you remain? I don’t know. Ten percent of you remain? I don’t know. “Not by might nor by power, but by My spirit,” God says. I know I’m going to remain. My mind is set. You have to decide is your mind? Do you feel like your mind is set on God? Do you love God? Do you want God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your being and you’re crying out to God and praying to God for help to see self?

So Zacharias prophesied, was moved by God’s spirit. We should be moved by God’s spirit as we read a story like this that God gave to us to read so that we could be inspired by what He gave here as inspiration. He’ll give us of that spirit to be inspired by what He’s saying if our heart is right, if we’ve been praying before we come to services and saying, “Father, help me to be inspired by what I hear because I know that You have prepared this for me at this Feast of Tabernacles. Help my mind to be here at what You’re saying to us and giving to me.”

Verse 68—Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David. Awesome what was being said here. ...as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets. You know, from the time, from the very beginning of Abel on, things that were said about a Messiah, about a city whose builder and maker is God. 4,000 years of that and the Messiah never came. 4,000 years and they heard about it prophet after prophet, prophet after prophet about a Messiah. Time would go by, they went into captivity, they came back out of captivity, and prophets were talking about a Messiah and about the fact of what was going to be given to them as a people, to save the people.

Now, they only saw it on a physical plane of saving Israel, but again, and then they went through a huge period of time up to the time of Christ. No Messiah, conquered by the Romans. Finally 4,000 years.

...as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Those who don’t want God, that’s what it’s about. It’s about those who, candidly, hate God’s way of life, who don’t esteem it, who don’t hold it up. And sadly, that happens in God’s Church. That hurts.

Verse 72—To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore. Think this is important to God? He’s revealing how important it is. He’s showing, “I made a covenant and I fulfilled it. My word is absolute. Won’t happen maybe in the time you want it to happen because I have a plan and everything must happen in its own time, in its right time. Everything must be fully prepared. Now is this time. Now is My Son coming. Now is the Messiah being born.”

...the oath which He swore, promised to our father Abraham, because God inspired this. It says he was moved by the holy spirit to say these things. That means God is communicating this through what he’s saying and he wants people to understand he is being moved to say these things. God is moved to say these things, but He’s fulfilling His promise. He wants people to understand that.

Verse 74—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 you, child, speaking about John, shall be called the prophet of the Highest, for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. So it’s dual in that respect, in many ways, as far as what it’s talking about here, but there is that which is going to be from Zacharias that had to do with his son John and he is going to go and prepare the way, the things that are going to be said, frankly, for the ministry of Christ. More is prepared after that through the prophet, Joshua the Christ.

Verse 77—To give knowledge of salvation unto His people, because it goes beyond what was in John. It goes into that which is a matter of Joshua. ...to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins. That’s what the angel told Mary concerning Joshua, that “He shall save His people from their sins.” So it has a beginning, a type, and just like with the type of those who speak in the power and the spirit of Elijah God brought us to a point finally in seeing clearly the fulfillment of those things was not about that which took place in the sense of John or Mr. Armstrong or of me or whatever, but it’s in what Joshua the Christ does. He fulfills all things. You talk about coming in the power and spirit of Elijah, it’s coming in the power of Almighty God.

Verse 77—to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the bowels of mercy of our God, thereby the dayspring from on high has visited us, in other words, “the light from above has shined on us.” ...to give light to those (that’s what it means here, the light from above that shined on us), to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

What an awesome thing. That’s what God desires. He gave up peace long, long ago. How long? We don’t know. Billions and billions of years because of what was going to happen in the angelic realm and then with mankind. His desire is to bring us back into, to give peace. That’s what Elohim is, Jerusalem, holy Jerusalem.

Well, I’m not going to take any more time to go through some more of this. There is so much more. Maybe I’ll pick it up in Part 2. I have more time; I just probably won’t finish Part 2. We can always give that at another time, though, after the Feast. I’ll stop there; it’s a good place to stop.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1