Mary Visits Elizabeth

Let's pray together. Father God, we are so grateful for the opportunity you give us each and every week to study your word together as a church family. We do pray Lord that today as we as we gather around your word once again that we realize just the privilege we have each and every week to learn about you and pray that the things we learn today will enable us to live this week as we've lived no other week before. Because you are energizing our life, and we are living to the glory and honor of our God.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. If you got your Bible, I trust that you do, turn with me to Luke chapter 1.

Luke chapter 1. I almost said Luke chapter 2. But we're not even close to Luke chapter 2 yet. Luke chapter 1. And this is a a wonderful story about consolation and confirmation. And you know, it's it's always great to know that we receive that from our Lord. You know the Bible tells us in Psalm 119 verse number 50 that amidst my affliction it's God's word that comforts my soul. You can always be assured of one thing that no matter what happens in your life God's word is that comfort to your soul.

In fact, the Bible goes on to say in Psalm 119 52, I have remembered thine ordinances from old, O Lord, and comfort myself. There's something about remembering what God has said and receiving comfort from him. Over in verse number 76 of Psalm 119, O may thy lovingkindness comfort me according to thy word to thy servant. The lovingkindness of God, the word of God, is the comfort that the believer receives. And God uses his word to comfort our lives. The Bible tells us over in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, these words, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

We know that our God is the God of all comfort. And the text goes on to say, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. God comforts us not so much that we can receive comfort, but that we can then comfort those with the comfort God comforted us with. You see, there's a byproduct to God bringing consolation to your life. That's so you, as another believer in Christ, can bring consolation to someone else because you demonstrate to them what God has done in your life.

So we begin to realize that our God is the God of all comfort. And what he's going to do is use his word to bring comfort to our lives. And we know that the Spirit of God, who has taken up residence in our life, is called the Spirit of comfort. He's called another comforter or another helper. And the Lord said in John chapter 14 that this other comforter is going to reside within you and lead you into truth. Because the Spirit of God works in conjunction with the Word of God to bring comfort to the hearts and souls of people.

And in this story today, we have Mary and Elizabeth both receiving consolation. But Mary receiving the greater consolation as well as great confirmation because of one who can identify with her situation. And one who through the Spirit of God speaks the Word of God so that Mary receives not only the comfort that she needs, but the confirmation that only the Spirit of God can give through the Word of God. Thus we have the narrative in Luke chapter 1 beginning in verse number 39. Let me read it to you.

Now at this time Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country to a city of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. Then it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she cried out with a loud voice and said blessed among women are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold when the sound of your greeting reached my ears the baby leaped in my womb for joy and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.

What you have in these few verses is the consolation that Mary required and the confirmation that Mary received. These are great verses. And this morning as Chris led us in our time of musical worship, we were able to understand the joy that the Lord gives to us and the excitement about the presence of God in our lives. And those songs that we sung tie in directly to the joy of the presence of God as spoken in these verses this morning as we will see. But the first thing I want you to see is the is the consolation that Mary required based on three things the context, her cousin, and her comfort.

And then we're going to look at the confirmation that Mary received a personal confirmation, a physical confirmation, and then a prophetic confirmation.

That's our outline. That's where we're going. Hopefully you're ready. Here we go. First of all the consolation that Mary required.

The context is so important. The context in Luke chapter 1 is the narrative about the the apex of redemptive history. How it's all going to be fulfilled. And there are two key figures. One Elizabeth and one Mary. And these two figures, these two individuals, play the most prominent role as it comes to understanding the plan of God as it relates to your salvation and mine. One woman, Elizabeth, was up in years. Probably her 70s, maybe even her 80s. Mary was a young teenage girl. Both had situations surrounding them that God would do through them a great and mighty miracle to bring about his perfect purposes.

And if you were to look at both accounts, the account was Zacharias and Elizabeth, and the account with Mary and Joseph.

They are almost identical. An angel appears, the same angel, Gabriel, to Zacharias and to Mary, some six months later. This angel comes with an announcement. And with that announcement comes great fear, both upon Zacharias and both upon Mary, or as well as upon Mary. Both are located in obscure villages. One a village in Judea, the other a village in the northern Galilee, some 80 miles apart. And when the angel would come and give the announcement to Zacharias, there would be unbelief on his part.

But that would be his response. And with Mary, it wasn't unbelief. It was just confusion. She was unable to comprehend how it is that she, being a virgin, would have a child. When the angel came, what he did was speak, first of all, about the obstacle.

Elizabeth was barren. Mary was a virgin. But he would talk about how he would overcome, or the Lord God would overcome, that obstacle. The angel also would give the name of both the children. One would be called John, the other would be called Jesus, the Son of the Most High. He also would talk about the ministry of John the Baptist, as well as the ministry and the identity of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. John would be called Great. Greatness would be granted to him. Jesus, in essence, is great. John would be the forerunner.

Jesus would be the Messiah. And the Holy Spirit gives us the details of those encounters so we can begin to see how it is that God is orchestrating the events of life to bring about his great and wonderful plan for salvation, for your life, and for mine. But that's the context. The cousin, maybe she should be called a relative. Elizabeth is a relative of Mary. The word that's used to describe it is a word to describe a female relative. We know that Elizabeth is the descendant of Aaron. We know that Mary is the descendant of David.

So in order for Mary and Elizabeth to be related, that would mean that Mary's mother would have to be a descendant of Aaron as well. And that's how they are related together. They are probably not cousins, but there is no word in the Greek for cousin. It's just that they are relatives together. And the third thing I want you to see about this consolation that Mary acquired is that God had done a great and mighty work through the angel Gabriel.

For in verse number 36, he says, Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is now the sixth month for her, who is called barren, for with God, nothing will be impossible. Mary required some consolation. And the Spirit of God knew that. And the angel, when he reassured to Mary what was going to happen, he reassured it by telling her about her relative Elizabeth. So she would know that God is in the process of doing great and mighty miracles. Remember, there had not been a miracle for over 400 years.

There had not been a visitation from an angelic being in over 500 years. So it wasn't a normal thing for God to perform miracles. It also wasn't normal for God to take those who are barren and cause them to produce children. Nor was it even normal for a virgin to conceive and bear a child. That had never happened before at all. So what was going to happen? Mary required comfort. How easy would it be for her to explain her situation? You've got to put yourself in her shoes. You've got to put yourself in her situation.

She's just been given this great announcement by the angel Gabriel how she would be carrying in her womb the Son of the Most High God. She carries in her womb the Messiah of Israel. How is she going to handle all that? How is she going to explain this to her family? How is she going to explain it to Joseph? How is she going to explain it to her neighbors? What on earth is she going to do? And how is God going to comfort her? And who is she going to tell? In fact, who would she tell that would believe her?

Joseph loves her. Joseph is engaged to her and we know he doesn't believe. Read Matthew chapter 1. He wanted to put her away. He wanted to divorce her. Why? Because the only conclusion would be that she had had an affair. She was an adulteress. So he could stone her by law or he could put her away. He could divorce her by law. So that's what he was going to do. Put her away quietly. Until an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and explained to him what had taken place. But Mary required comfort and the only one who could do it was another who could identify with her situation.

And there was only one person like that. And that was her relative, Elizabeth. That's why the angel told her about what had taken place. She is in her sixth month. You see, it would be important for her to understand that this happened in her sixth month. In the right amount of time. It couldn't have happened, you know, within a couple of weeks or a couple of months of Elizabeth conceiving. Because we know that Elizabeth hid herself for five months. Because who would believe that the one who had the nickname Baron Elizabeth was pregnant.

Unless, of course, she was showing that she was pregnant. And so God was orchestrating all the events. And so he says now in the sixth month, your relative Elizabeth is in her sixth month, and she has conceived. Well, this was a miracle. Because she's way up in the years, and she's barren. And God has done something magnificent. And so that leads to point number two, the confirmation that Mary receives.

Because she will receive three forms of confirmation. One personal, one physical, and one prophetic. And the Bible explains to us how it happens. Verse 39. Now at this time, Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to the city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth. Now we'll stop right there. Mary went in haste. Mary did not wait to do this. She went immediately to see her cousin Elizabeth. Now we know from verse 56 of Luke 1, she was there three months. Because she left in the ninth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

We know, we've already been told, that she's in her sixth month. So Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months. You will note that the Bible never tells us the moment that Mary conceived. It doesn't tell us that. We don't know when it happened. I'm not sure Mary knew when it happened. All we know is what the Spirit of God tells us. That the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and you will conceive in your womb. Now had this already taken place, we don't know.

The Bible doesn't say. Does it take place during the three months she's with Elizabeth? We don't know. We don't know the exact moment it took place, but we know it's going to happen. Why? Because the confirmation that Mary receives from her relative Elizabeth. Now this is 80 miles away. Now she couldn't call her up on the telephone and say, hey Elizabeth, I understand you're gonna have a baby, and you're six months pregnant. This is great. She couldn't call her up. She couldn't write her a letter.

That would take forever. She had to get there. Young Jewish women just don't travel alone. So who's gonna go with her? I don't know. Doesn't say anybody went with her, but she went. She went because of the consolation she would receive, as well as the confirmation she would receive. And so she would go in haste to that little village in Judea, outside of Jerusalem, and she would greet Elizabeth, her relative. So important, because someone had to identify with her. Someone had to be able to console her.

Someone had to be able to to understand her situation. There was no one on earth who would understand her situation except for Elizabeth. None. Except maybe Zacharias, but Zacharias couldn't speak. He couldn't hear her. So, you know, he doesn't really help much. But Elizabeth, she was pregnant, and she had conceived miraculously, and God had intervened in her life, in Zacharias' life. And so she would go in haste, and she would go, and she would greet Elizabeth. And can you imagine the conversation they must have had?

The Bible doesn't tell us. But you know, when you greet someone, it isn't like, hey, good to see you. How you been? Let's have a cup of coffee together. You know, when you greet in Judaism, you greet by hugging one another, kissing one another, bowing down to one another, paying great respects to one another. But can you imagine the conversation that must have taken place between these two individuals? Remarkable. Mary comes and says, Elizabeth, you're not gonna believe what happened to me. Elizabeth says, hey, you're not gonna believe what happened to me.

You know, and Mary's gonna relate to her the story that this angel, Gabriel, came to me and told me that I was gonna conceive in my womb a child. I'd never known a man, Elizabeth. It was the most amazing thing. And the angel said to me that you were in your sixth month. And Elizabeth says, I am. I am in my sixth month. You're not gonna believe what happened to us. My husband was in the temple. He was doing the priestly thing. And the angel, same angel Gabriel, came to him, told him what was gonna happen.

Unfortunately, my husband didn't believe like you believe, Mary. But God worked in spite of his unbelief. He's now deaf and mute. But God did a great work. So you can imagine what's going on here. So what you have is Mary having a personal confirmation that God is at work. She goes because the Spirit of God had told her, behold, stand amazed, Mary. Get a load of this, Mary. If you can grasp this, get a hold of it, your relative Elizabeth, barren Elizabeth, is with child. She's in her sixth month.

So she goes 80 miles, probably take her four days to get there. Probably four days if she goes 20 miles a day, about four days. But she went in haste. No grass would grow underneath her feet because she wanted to receive that confirmation. She wanted to see Elizabeth. She wanted somebody who could understand her situation. Mom and Dad didn't. I mean, this is a typical, you know, teenage story. Mom, Dad, I'm gonna have a baby. But I'd never known a man. And it's a supernatural conception and the angel Gabriel came to me and told me, can you imagine, as her parents, believing that story?

Where did you come up with this, Mary? You've got to be kidding me. This can't be true. Who's gonna believe Mary? If Joseph didn't believe her and he's engaged to her and loves her, her parents aren't gonna believe her. Her friends and neighbors are not going. Who's going to believe her? Only one person. That's Elizabeth. And so going to Elizabeth, that's why she stayed so long. There was someone who could identify with her, quote, abnormality. Someone who could identify with her circumstances, her unusual situation.

Elizabeth could do that. Not only was there a personal confirmation, but there was a physical confirmation. A physical confirmation. And this gets so exciting. You gotta stick with me here. It says this, verse 41, and it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. The baby actually leaped in her womb. Same word used in Psalm 114, verse number four, translated in the Greek Septuagint, skipped. The baby skipped in her womb.

Now, do you understand the significance of this? Now, we all know as best as we can from the male side, that the babies move in the womb. And, you know, I've had a number of children in my days, or my wife has had a number of children in our days, and, you know, it's always that time when the baby begins to move that the wife says, oh, oh, the baby's kicking. Come feel, come feel, come feel. You know, she grabs my hand, she puts it on her tummy, and there I sit, you know, waiting for the baby to kick, and sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't.

When it doesn't kick, she says, he doesn't like you. See? Or it's going to be a mama's boy or a mama's girl, you know what I'm saying? But, you know, sometimes you can see it move across the stomach lining area there with a little foot or a little hand or something, and just to be able to observe that is quite enjoyable. It's quite pleasurable. It's a fascinating thing because you know that there's life in you. Life in you. This incident in Luke 1 is not that. This is not that. This is a literal skipping of the baby in the womb.

And I can't, I can't explain that to you. I can't help illustrate that for you. All I know is that the baby skipped in her womb, and this is to help you understand that at this time, at the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, John the Baptist, because he couldn't speak, he skipped. This is the first prophetic announcement that John the Baptist gives.

You say, you got to be kidding me. No, I'm not kidding. You know how I know that? Luke chapter 1, verse number 15. Speaking of John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel said in Zacharias, he will also be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. Now, what good is it to fill the baby with the Spirit of God from the mother's womb? Unless, unless from the mother's womb the baby is going to give a prophetic revelation. That's the only reason. There is no other reason to do that. I mean, because this baby's going to grow in Elizabeth's womb, and it's going to, you know, be born.

It's going to be the forerunner to the Messiah. But God had other things in store. This is all about miracles, folks. The whole conception process is about miracles, and God doing great and marvelous things. And what God is saying, look, John the Baptist is going to be filled with the Spirit of God from his mother's womb because he is going to do something miraculous even as an unborn child. This is fabulous. And because now after the baby skipped in a womb, the Bible says that Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit of God, that means that Elizabeth gave a prophetic announcement and told us what the skipping meant.

It tells us in verse number 44, For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for what? For joy. This was a skipping of joy. And you know what, folks? That is the characteristic of John the Baptist's ministry. It was a ministry of supreme joy, and it began at six months in the womb of Elizabeth, his mother. John chapter 3 says it this way. John the Baptist in verse number 29 said, He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him, listen, John the Baptist says, rejoicing greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.

And so this joy of mine has been made full. John the Baptist said, my joy has been made full. Why? Because I rejoice at the voice of the bridegroom. John the Baptist had this great ministry of joy because it was all about the voice of the bridegroom and how God would use him as a forerunner to the coming of the Messiah. His whole ministry was about joy because Messiah had come. Did he receive persecution? Yes. Was he thrown in prison? Yes. Did people reject his message? Yes, but you know what? It never dampened his joy.

It never dampened his spirit because he would rejoice in the voice of the bridegroom. Folks, let me tell you something.

Everything about the coming of Messiah is about joy. Remember Simeon? Luke chapter 2. We'll talk about him in a few months. His whole thing was that the Holy Spirit had guaranteed him he would not die until he saw the Messiah. And when he finally saw the Messiah, he said, you know what?

I can die now. My life is basically over. I have lived to do one thing and that's to see the Messiah. There's nothing else to live for. This is it. Anna was the same way and we'll talk about her in a few months as well because she came up to Simeon while he held the baby and she experienced the great joy as well. In Luke chapter 2, you read about it with the angels. Good news of great joy has come to you today. Everything surrounding the Messiah is nothing but joy. It's all about the presence of Almighty God and that's why our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can promise joy to you.

You see John the Baptist, he skipped with joy. He skipped with joy to confirm in a physical way what God was going to do in Mary, the mother. Of the Messiah. And you see we need to understand the whole nature of joy as it relates to Jesus Christ our Lord. What did Paul say in Romans 14, 17? The kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking. It's about peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Isn't that what the kingdom of God is all about? So when John the Baptist came preaching, what did he preach? He preached about the kingdom of God.

When Jesus came, what did he preach? He preached about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is about joy in the Spirit of God. That's why the Bible says in Galatians 5 that the fruit of the Spirit is joy.

God's Spirit produces joy in the life of those in whom he takes up residence. So when God's Spirit comes into your life, the immediate byproduct of that is joy. And that's why the Bible says that God's truth is that which promotes joy.

I have no greater joy than to hear that your children walk in truth. Over in John 15, Jesus said these words, John 15, 11, These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. It's all about joy and the joy that comes because of the presence of the Messiah. The Redeemer of Israel, the one who saves the soul of sinners. And so you have a physical confirmation, you have a personal confirmation, and now you have a prophetic confirmation. Because now Elizabeth is filled with the Spirit.

Now understand this, the Spirit of God is doing a lot of work in Luke chapter 1 and Luke chapter 2. And the Spirit of God, when he comes upon you and fills you, the byproduct of that is a prophetic revelation. John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit from his mother's womb and gave a prophetic confirmation or a physical confirmation as to what was taking place between Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth now was filled with the Spirit. You'll notice over in Luke 2 25 that Simeon, of course, the Spirit of God was upon him and it had been revealed to him, verse 26, by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came with his spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for him the custom of the law, then he took him into his arms and blessed God and said, and he gave a prophetic revelation about the child Jesus. Over in 2 Peter chapter 1 we begin to understand that holy men of God were moved and brought along by the Spirit of God. When someone had the Spirit of God come upon them, they gave forth a prophetic revelation. And that's what Elizabeth now is going to do.

And she gives, listen, she gives the first of five hymns of praise. Elizabeth gives the first one. Next week we'll talk about Mary. She gives the second one.

The angels, I'm sorry, Zacharias gives the third hymn of praise. The angels give the fourth hymn of praise and Simeon gives the fifth hymn of praise. And we'll cover all of them as we go through Luke chapter 1 and Luke chapter 2. But this is the first one.

As the Spirit of God would come upon Elizabeth, she too would be filled with God's Spirit. She too would be controlled. The word filled just means to be controlled or dominated by the Spirit of God, where God's Spirit will actually speak through her. And this is what she says. She cried out with a loud voice. A loud voice. Now that's important because when God wants to make sure he's heard, he does it in a loud way. That's why the book of Revelation, the key word is loud. See, you've been here, you know, 82 times.

Loud is the key word in the book of Revelation because you got to hear how it's all going to end, right? It's all about loudness. Some people say, well, she spoke loud because she was so used to speaking loud because her husband couldn't hear. And so for six months, she's always been shouting, honey, shut the door. Honey, pick out the trash. Honey, can you hear me? Of course, he can't hear. He's deaf. So maybe they say, well, she's speaking loud because her husband can't hear. That's not the case.

She speaks loud for the purpose of enthusiasm and for the purpose of emphasis. She's emphasizing what God is saying and she's enthusiastic about it. That's why she speaks loud. It's almost as if, you know, when God is doing something and giving you a word, you can't keep quiet about it. When God is speaking, who can keep quiet? People need to hear. So she speaks with a loud voice. And she said, blessed among women are you. We'll stop right there. This is the first prophetic blessing.

In other words, she says, Mary, you are the most blessed of all women, and she was. You see, in those days, in Jewish culture, a woman's greatness was centered around the greatness of her children. The greater the children, the greater the woman. Well, think about that. Those of you who have given birth to children, the greater the children, the greater the mother. That's why over in Luke chapter 11, it records these words. Verse 27, and it came about while he said these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast at which you were nursed.

Oh, the woman who had you is so blessed. She is so wonderful. Why? Because the Messiah was so great. The one who bore him must be great. And so therefore, in Jewish culture, to understand what Elizabeth is saying, she is saying you of all women are the most blessed. Now, think about that for a second.

Bring it down to our level and try to understand what's happening here. You're a woman who's been barren for let's say 80 years or in this case 60 years. She's been married, let's say 60 years, got married at 20 or maybe 15. So 65 years. Never had a child before she's barren. Can't have any kids. And God does a great work in her life. And seeing her husband get together, they conceive and they know the child's name is going to be John. They know he's going to be the forerunner of the Messiah. This is a great thing, man.

This is fabulous. Then some little teenage girl shows up at your door and has got a greater miracle than you got. She's never known a man. She's going to have a baby. And not only is she going to have a baby, this baby is a son of the Most High God. This is going to be the Messiah. It's almost like, well, la-dee-da. So you think you're better than I am, huh? Elizabeth could have been very jealous, but she wasn't. Remember, she was a righteous woman. We looked about that in Luke chapter 1, verse number 6.

She was a righteous woman. And she could have, with jealousy, not said a thing and become bitter in her spirit, but she wasn't. She rejoiced over what God had done in her relative. You rejoice with those who rejoice. You weep with those who weep, right? It's a good lesson for us to realize as Elizabeth would learn to rejoice in what God was doing in the life of Mary. Oh, you, above all women, Mary, are truly blessed. And then she says, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. In other words, blessed is the child that you will bear.

And that's true. That child was the most blessed child that ever lived. Why? Because that child was perfect, was sinless, was undefiled, was harmless. That child would receive the full, unmixed, unmitigated rewards and blessings of heaven. That child would redeem mankind. That child was the greatest of all children. And then she says, and how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

She says, you know what? Blessed am I. She too receives a blessing. I'm a blessed woman. Listen to what she says. She says, how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? That word Lord used 25 times in the first two chapters of the book of Luke is always referred to as God.

The mother of my Lord, Elizabeth, recognized Jesus as her Lord. She recognized that. And she referred to Mary as the mother of her Lord. Mary is never called the mother of God because she's not. Mary is the mother of the man Jesus. God has no mother. God has always existed. Remember, it's a child that's born, but the son is given. The son was given, but the child was the one who was born. Speaking of his humanity, and so you must understand that Mary is never called the mother of God because God has no mother.

But Elizabeth recognized that the child in her womb was her Lord. Was her Lord. Which recognizes her submission to the authority of the Lordship of Christ. And then she says this, And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. Now think about this for a minute. Now she pronounces a blessing not only upon Mary, but all who believe. Like what one commentator said, they seemed to think that Zacharias was in the room. And so when she spoke to Mary, evidently, maybe Zacharias had learned to read lips.

And so she says, looking at Zacharias, blessed is he who believed. Because you didn't, Zacharias. The blessed one is the one who believes. The word she's in the third person, not only does it refer to Mary, but it refers to all those who ultimately will believe in the revelation of God given to Mary.

You want to be blessed in your life? The greatest beatitude comes to those who believe what God has actually said. And it's true when you act upon it. Mary was a blessed woman because she believed. And not only did she believe, she obeyed. And not only did she obey, she worshiped her God. And we'll see that next week in verse number 46. And Mary said, my soul exalts the Lord. My, and my spirit rejoiced in God, my Savior. Again, you see the joy in Mary as a result of the saviorship of Christ and who he is.

Everything around the birth of Christ produces joy for those who believe. And blessing comes to those who hear the revelation of God and believe it. In other words, the blessing comes because you hear the revelation that says, Mary, what's going to happen to you is supernatural. You will conceive in your womb a child. The child's name will be called Jesus. He'll be great. He'll be the son of the most high God. This is a virgin conception. This is a miracle. And those who believe that and believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and believe that this one who was born would be the Savior of the world and obey that are the blessed ones.

And you got to ask yourself this morning, have you received that blessing? Are you one who has been blessed because you believe in the revelation of God? How do you know that you believe in the revelation of God? The joy that resides in your heart. That's how you know. That's how you know. You see, to be a Christian and have no joy cannot be reconciled in Scripture. It doesn't exist. The person who's a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has great joy in her heart. You know, Alita, the lady whose husband died yesterday at the rehearsal dinner, you know, I was talking with her last night.

Great peace and great joy in spite of great suffering. And as I sat and talked with her, you know what I realized? This woman loves the Lord. She knows the Lord. No doubt. No question. With tears in her eyes, she said, you know, my husband's with the Lord, and I rejoice that I know where he is, and I had assurance of eternal life. And I'm thinking, you know what? This woman knows the Lord. How do you know? Because of the joy in her heart. Does that mean she's not sad? No, she's broken over the loss of her husband as anybody would be.

But joy was the supreme emotion because it overrides everything else. That's how you know you're a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the Spirit of God produces joy in the heart of the individual. And it doesn't depend upon circumstances. It depends upon the presence of Almighty God in the heart of an individual. That's why the kingdom of God is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. How do you know a child that's a part of the kingdom of God? They have peace. They have joy in the Holy Spirit.

Translation, if you don't have peace and you don't have joy, it's because you don't have the Spirit. And if you don't have the Spirit, you're not a part of the kingdom of God. Simple as that. That's exactly what the Scripture teaches. That does not mean that people are not brokenhearted over loss. It does not mean that people have difficult times. They do. But in the depths of their soul, there is joy. Real joy. Because of the presence of Jesus Christ who rules in their heart. Because in the depth of the heart, they have believed.

They have believed what God has said. And they trust what God has said. And they worship that God. That's Mary. She becomes the classic example of a believer who understands God's working in her life. And trusts Him to accomplish His purposes. I pray that that's characteristic of you and me this morning. Let's pray together. Father, we thank You for this day and the opportunity we have to examine Your Word. And we thank You for the joy that John the Baptist let us in on as he skipped in the womb of his mother.

The blessing that Elizabeth received as well as Mary. And the blessing that any man can receive if he understands and believes in the revelation of God Almighty. I pray, Lord, for the people today who are here. That God, every one of them, would experience in the depths of their soul the peace and joy that comes only through the Spirit of God. And they would rejoice in what You do and how You do it. Because they are subject to You, the King of the greatest of all kingdoms, the kingdom of God. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.