DEC 1
INTRODUCTION
Opening comments
Today is December 1st, and today we begin a series exploring the Biblical meaning of Christmas. The heart of the story of the birth of Jesus is to bring tidings of great comfort and joy to all mankind. So right from the start of this briefing lets address the prevalence of depression in the world. Comfort and joy are not primarily found in or sustained by the abundance of things we have – rather, they come from living by the righteousness of faith, which is a gift only available from Jesus. Romans 6:23
It also only functions by the loving power of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 60:1–2
Acts 1:8
As I was preparing for this briefing, Holy Spirit dropped this jovial perspective into my soul:
Depression – lack of press. As mature born again Bible believers, we’re all about bringing Glory to God. Which in essence, is to make a great “Himpression” in this life and eternity. To make an “Himpression” we need to take action and exercise some ‘’press’’’
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
When for one or more reasons we lose and /or lack ‘press’ we are in essence ‘’de – pressed’’.
The actual dictionary meaning of depression is; ‘Feelings of severe despondency – state of low spirits caused by loss of hope and/or courage, and dejection – sad and depressed state low spirits’
The are several kinds of press;
PRESS IN
Going through Jordan into promised land…
Joshua 3: 15-17 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
PRESSED IN
Daniel fasted 21 days
Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia
Jesus fasted 40 days - Luke 4, Matthew 4
The widow with the unrighteous judge
Luke 18:1-5 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ””
David with Goliath, 1 Samuel 17 HANDY LINK
Coming through the roof with the paralytic man Luke 5: 19
Woman with Issue of blood – Matthew 9,
Jesus in garden sweating blood and on the cross Luke 22:44
PRESS ON
press on towards the prize – Phil 3:13-15
Peter and John after being beaten and imprisoned - Acts 4:21
command to persevere Revelation 3:3
patience and long suffering fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5
PRESS DOWN
Shaken together and running out all over, Luke 6:38
PRESS UP
spiritual and physical exercise , 1 Timothy 4:8,
All discipline painful - Hebrews 12:3-11
Put aside every weight Hebrews 12: 1
WINE PRESS
- Proverbs 3: 10, Isaiah 16: 10, Matthew 21:33, Revelation 14:19-20 - - Generally speaking, the winepress in New Testament terms speaks of the uninhibited state and overflowing joy that we experience when we’re baptized in the Holy Spirit. Note also re: Revelation 14 scripture that God releases his righteous indignation on the nations and the people of the earth as a part of His judgments and this is likened to a winepress. Anger in itself is not wrong, in fact it’s a God given emotion, it should however be used in a mature manner. The expression of anger, in part, is an important factor in justice. And when someone is murdered, raped, terrorized it is inappropriate not to be angry about it and unjust not to look to hold the perpetrator to account.
New Wine - Matthew 9:17, Isaiah 65:8, Numbers 13:23-24
THEME: ONE AND THE SAME
What does it mean? Hmmmmmmmm……… A Heavenly mix of multiplicity of messianic multi millennial mandate momentous mile stone making mystery.
When two or more persons or things are thought to be separate describing them as one and the same means you are saying they are one person or thing. We as born again Bible believers are distinct individuals from every kindred, tribe and tongue that together make up the Church that Jesus is doing a brilliant job building all across the earth. That Church is one body and as such the one glorious, victorious bride that Jesus will present to Himself knowing that she has prepared herself for him. As such ‘One and the Same’ we celebrate Our Savior and His favor.
TOPIC: SEED OF THE WOMAN
What does this mean? It is a type. It points to Jesus being born of a virgin, to the supernatural power of God to do things outside of the physical norm.
Central to the Biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus, is the Miraculous birth born of the Holy Spirit. We too not only can be born of the Holy Spirit but indeed must be, in order to see and enter God’s kingdom. (John 3:1-7, John 1:12-13) The theory, the theology of how this happened is not gone into in any great detail in the scriptures, other than that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary. Way more than theory and theology and whether we are female or male, we can all find great relational therapy in this supernatural happenstance Yes, because Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit, we can all also be, and when we are, we have the platform for supernatural vibrant, virtuous, vintage relational ecstasy with God and one another.
Genesis of the notion
This makes us aware this is a Biblical concept that starts in Genesis, Genesis is known by many as the seed bed of the Bible!
Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel
This also makes us and satan aware that God is in charge and God as the man of war that He is, will deal to those who oppose and disobey Him.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you (prayer scrum)
Deuteronomy 33:25 "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
God’s part
God so loved the world:
John 3:16 Incarnation – God sent Jesus not a message
Prophecy Confirmation:
Isaiah 7:14 therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
HS came to Mary:
Matt 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
God sows two kinds of seed:
Incorruptible seed of the word:
Mark 4:14 The sower sows the word.
1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Us: children of the kingdom
Matt 13:36-43 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
God gives increase
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God gives the increase. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
Opens womb – womb of the morning
Isaiah 66:9 "Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God.”
Psalm 110:3 "Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth.”
Gen 30:22 "And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb."
Incubation: Gen 1:2 (incubation) Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Mother of us all – Jerusalem which is above Galatians 4:26 "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."
Our part
We sow, water, fertilize:
Luke 13:6-9 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it [b]use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 [c]And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building
Intercession and operating the principles of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus – spirodynamics
1 Timothy 2:!
Romans 8:1-2
Prepare soil - Plough , break up clods/take responsibility
Hos 10:11 And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.
1 corinthians 9: 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.
Be love in person:
- Loving in deed rather than word
1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
- Love God love people (summary of law and prophets) matt 22:36-40
- Love one another for God is love:
1 John 4:7-21 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is per we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Be midwives:
Exodus 1:15-21 "15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.'