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And Mary said, "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word." And the angel departed from her. Today as we come to the last Sunday in Advent, the word which we focus our prayerful attention on is receive, receive, receive.

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Moon, quarterback for the Houston Oilers, set the second highest record last Sunday in the National Football League by passing for 527 yards. Moon was successful as a passer because he had good receivers. He had someone on the other end who was able to catch the

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football when it was thrown and hold on to it. He had the assistance of a wide receiver, we might say the coordinated efforts of a wide receiver. I think that we need more wide receivers today.

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People who know how to receive the gift, who do not take it for granted. We often see a passer throw the football directly into the hands of the intended receiver,

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and somehow the intended receiver does not receive it. He drops the ball. Sometimes he has his hands up in a position to receive the ball and he starts running

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before he gets the ball and misses the ball. So the heart of the message today is learning to receive the gift. The gift is promised, prepare to receive it.

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When the gift comes, accept it. We get before we give or we have nothing to give. We receive the blessing before we share it. When people wish to show us some special kindness,

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It's important for us to know how to receive it. A poor man took his rake and hoe to the blacksmith for repair. When the work was done, he said to the blacksmith, "How much do I owe you?"

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The blacksmith responded, "No charge." The poor man insisted on paying him for the work that he had done. Finally the blacksmith said to him, "Let a man do something now and then to stretch his soul."

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So Christmas is a mood, a quality, a symbol, it's a way of life in which we are to stretch our soul. The Virgin Mary is addressed by the angel Gabriel. Heaven places a halo around a pious Jewish maiden.

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She receives the opportunity to stretch her soul. She receives the gift. She receives divine favor. God is prepared to do wonderful things in our lives if we are prepared to receive them.

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To do this involves accepting what we do not understand in many instances. Mary does not understand how what has been promised will come to pass.

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As a woman who has not known a man, how will she give birth to a child? She doesn't understand how that's possible. Although Mary does not understand how the gift is given,

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she receives the gift. In receiving the gift, she exercises faith. For faith, you see,

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is being open to the will and way of God. Faith is being prepared to receive whatever life brings. Is anything too hard for God? This question comes to mind in the face of startling

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and seemingly impossible promises. God is able to make the impossible possible. So since the gift is not too hard for God to give, Why is it too hard for us to receive?

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The gift becomes meaningful to us when we receive it. The sun, the moon, stars, the whole realm of nature are God's gifts. The question is, how do we receive God's gifts?

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How do we care for the environment? How do we accept what God sends our way? Every person is a gift of God. The question is, how do we receive each other?

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How do parents receive their children? How do children receive their parents? How do teachers receive their pupils? And how do pupils receive their teachers?

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How do we receive what God has given us? Well, how do we receive God's orders? How do we receive orders from headquarters? How do we react to the Word of God?

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How do we react to the will of God? The angel announces what has been ordered from headquarters. Mary receives the orders.

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Zachariah and Elizabeth receive the orders. How do we receive orders from headquarters? Do we receive the orders graciously? No, sometimes the orders that we receive

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are not fully accepted. Sometimes we may try to amend the orders, we try to revise them. We try to improve on God's orders.

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We try to change them to suit our conditions. God's orders are absolute. They do not change. The mouth of the Lord has spoken it,

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and he will bring it to pass. What God has ordered, what God has promised is designed to stretch our souls. Mary said, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."

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That was her response. Through the angel Gabriel, the annunciation is made. And through John the Baptist comes the proclamation. Angel giving the enunciation,

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John the Baptist giving the proclamation. And I say, let us hear the word and receive the divine proclamation above all of the festivities of this season.

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The celebration of the first Christmas, Herod's court did not receive the joy of the Christ event. They were too busy with other matters. They did not receive the mighty act of God for the world

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wrought through a pious, pregnant, peasant maiden. It happened in their midst and they did not receive it. It happened in Bethlehem, just about six miles from Herod's court.

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It happened right in their midst. But they did not receive it. And you know my brothers and sisters, it's possible for that to happen today. It's possible for the spirit of this season, for the meaning of this season to get lost

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in all of the festivities and we can have all of these things happening all around us and still miss Christmas. And that's important. It was important then.

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They did not recognize that there was a babe being born and placed in a stable. They were too busy engaging in the revelry of the court and so they missed the joy. It came to some humble shepherds who were aware of God's presence. So the gift is given.

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good news is declared, the gospel is proclaimed, but many do not receive it. The seed is sown, but so often the seed falls on stony ground, hard ground, of the wayside it is not received. But the gift is given, receive it or not, it's given. Light shines in darkness, the darkness comes. Advent is celebrated during the

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winter solstice when we have more darkness than light. And when we look at our world today, it seems that we have more darkness than light. But the light comes in spite of the darkness. Light shines in spite of the darkness because the darkness cannot put it out. It shines, shines. And the fact is

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If we inquire of the watchman, "What are the night?" The watchman will give us the answer, "The morning comes." Just as well as the night, the morning comes. And the wonderful thing about the miracle of dawn

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is that no darkness can hold back the coming of the dawn. dawn. It's gonna come. No darkness can prevent it. And that's always good news. Always good news. If you've ever had a serious illness it seems sometimes things get worse at night. And many people say that I'll be glad when morning comes because the

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misery seems to pass away with the coming of the dawn. So despite the dismal despair that hovers over us, there is hope. Just be prepared to receive it. So you see Mary resides in an obscure village. She's surrounded by anonymity, but she is selected as heaven's distinguished citizen, the one through

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whom God's mighty act will occur. She's hemmed in by poverty, but she is rich in divine grace. Herod's orders are for his soldiers to slaughter innocent children, but the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot hold back the morning. Dawn does not wait for an invitation to come, no. Dawn breaks in. It

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just breaks in upon us. So the morning comes. People who sit in darkness see a a great light. Morning comes. What is our response? Let us not retreat into dark caves when morning comes. Let us receive it graciously and gladly. So let us celebrate Christmas morning, celebrate the miracle of the Christ event. It's not

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our doing, it's God's doing. We receive it, but it's not our doing, it's God's gift. He initiates it. It is his creation. We wonder how it happens. Mary wondered how it would be done. The angel said, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." When she Yes, Lord, how will this, she asked the angel,

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how will this happen? The angel said, the Holy Spirit will come upon you. That's what we need to get. That Christ is born,

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he is placed in the womb of a virgin called Mary, and the angel said that this happens because not of any action of man, but it's God's action, the Holy Spirit will come upon you.

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So the birth of Christ is an event that occurs through the work of the Holy Spirit. For Christ is born in us, it is through the Holy Spirit. That's the spirit of Christmas, the Holy Spirit.

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That's the birth of Christ in our life, Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is with us, then the Holy Spirit is at work in us creating and making new. That is the spirit of Christmas. So you have here the work of the Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the

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Christ event comes upon us. And you know, as I said just a moment or so ago, So some people get caught up in the presence, get caught up in the meal, they get caught up in the event, some celebration, you know, that may be given by some organization and we miss the Holy Spirit.

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That's why we are here! That's why this is significant that God's Spirit invades the life of this humble maiden and not only changes her life but revolutionizes the world and that's what the Spirit does in life today. Changes us, makes radical happenings possible. So the

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birth of the Messiah, the birth of Christ in human history is the work of the Holy Spirit. That is the way it happens in human life. The Spirit invades. And so in the midst of all of our pomp, in the midst of all of our pageantry, let us not forget that it is the Spirit of Christ born in us. That is the gift. That's the

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gift that God has for the world and the Spirit of God is born through him. It comes to be with us, that's Christmas. They shall call his name, Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.

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Oh, bitter town of Bethlehem. In that moving carol, Phillips Brooks wrote, He says, I believe in the last answer,

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"Oh, little child of Bethlehem, "descend on us, we pray. "Cast out our sin and enter in. "Be born in us today."

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That's it, that's it. Cast out our sin and come into our life. be born in us today. Spirit of the living God descend on us we pray. That's the meaning of it. And so the Spirit comes. It does. It comes. Advent happens. The

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question is what is our response? Do we receive it? Mary says, listen to her response. Let it be, dear Lord. That's what she says. Let it be. Here I am. I'm open to whatever you want to do. Let it be. My life is open. Come in. Fill it up with meaning. Let it be. Dear Lord, let it be. Let it be according to your word. Want to be made new? We answer in the language of Mary, let it be. Then we are being receptive to God's gift. We're

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being open to experience the new creation. We're being open to a new birth of hope. being open to renewal if we are prepared to receive it by saying Lord let it be let it be. So it's in the presence of the promise that Mayor Ann says in faith let it be. Let it be, let the revelation of your truth come O Lord, let peace come

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up on this earth, let it be, let it be. Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream, let it be, let it be. Let your revelation come in its fullness, let it be, let it be. Well that's how to celebrate it, "Oh, for a closer walk with God."

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Just a closer walk with God. Just a closer walk with thee, we say. Granted, Jesus, if you please, let it be. Let it be.

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Let it be. And when you say that, You say that, the answer comes back, fear not. Fear not.

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That's good news, fear not. Fear not. We're so afraid. So afraid of what may happen.

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We go to the doctor, we're so afraid what the doctor's gonna say. We're so afraid of what may happen, what may happen in our families,

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what may happen with our children, what may happen in our lives. We are so afraid. But the good news is, fear not.

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You don't have to be afraid. That's what he says, the angel says to Mary, oh, oh the angel knows all of the humiliation that Mary will suffer.

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The angel knows how she will be misunderstood. She knows the scandal that she will experience, but the word is fear not, fear not. For when God is with us, we have nothing to fear,

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not even death itself. And that's good news. Fear not! Fear not because what is happening in your life

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is the work of the Holy Spirit. And when you can really understand that, you can accept some of what we call the disappointing experiences of life.

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You can accept some of the crushing defeats When you hear the angels sing as a messenger from heaven, fear not, fear not. That's the message.

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That was the message to Mary on Christmas celebration, that event. That was also the message to the humble shepherds. Fear not.

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You don't have to worry. You go on the Bethlehem, make the journey, see what has happened. Receive the gift.

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Fear not. Don't worry about Herod, because there is a God who rules above Herod. "Fear not, fear not, be of good cheer, for Christ is born in the midst of all of the obstacles, in the midst of all that is done.

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They have no room in the end." What does God do? He hasn't made possible where He is born in a stable. You don't let him in the front door, he comes back, comes to the back door.

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Can't prevent. Fear not! Just be sure that you are open to receive God's presence and God's power and to say, "Here I am Lord, I'm open to you, whatever you want to do, here take and use me."

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That's the meaning of Christmas and that's the glory of Christmas, to be able to receive God has given. But we need to be wide receivers, accepting what he has so graciously and lovingly given. That's room.

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That's room. That's the room. That room at the cross. That's the rule.

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That's the rule. That rule that the Bronx. That's rule for you, that's rule for me, that's rule for all. God's sure that the Bronx and the Bronx,

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that the place where shot got rid of Shane. There is rule. All we have to do is receive it. We have to thank him.

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We've got to bow down. We've got to go over on him. Thank him. Forgive him.

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God will forgive him. [INAUDIBLE] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC - "THE CROSS OF THE GREAT JESUS CHRIST"]

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The cross of the great Jesus Christ ♪ Is a shelter in which we can hide ♪ ♪ And His grace so free ♪ ♪ Is sufficient for me ♪

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♪ And deep is His fountain ♪ ♪ As wide as the sea ♪ There's room at the cross for you. There's room at the cross for you.

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Though millions have come, there's still room for more. Yes, there's room at the cross for you. Though millions have found Him afraid, and have turned from the sins they have sinned,

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The Savior still waits to open the gates. And welcome a sinner before it's too late. There's room at the cross for you. There's room at the cross for you.

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Though millions have come, there's still room for one. Yes, there's room at the cross for you. The hand of my Savior is strong, and the love of my Savior is warm. Through sunshine or rain, through loss or gain,

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the God flows a clear way to lift every stain. There's room at the cross for you. There's room at the cross for you. Though millions have come, there's still room for one.

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Yes, there's room at the cross for you. [BLANK_AUDIO] [ Silence ]