RECOGNIZING JESUS 12-25-2020
Before Jesus was born Mary had heard the stories and prophecy of the promised Messiah. We will look at people that looked for him and recognized him.
by the promise.
Luke 1:43 And how [have I deserved that this honor should] be granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, the instant the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. AMP
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Luke 1:43 And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me?
44 The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. MSG
Luke 2:25 In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him.
26 The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died.
27 Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law,
28 Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
29 God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised.
30 With my own eyes I've seen your salvation;
31 it's now out in the open for everyone to see:
32 A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel. MSG
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LUKE 2:25-32 As they came to the temple to fulfill this requirement, an elderly man was there waitinga resident of Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He was a very good man, a lover of God who kept himself pure, and the Spirit of holiness rested upon him. Simeon believed in the imminent appearing of the one called The Refreshing of Israel.
26 For the Holy Spirit had revealed to himthat he would not see death before he saw the Messiah, the Anointed One of God.
27 For this reason the Holy Spirit had moved him to be in the temple court at the very moment Jesus parents entered to fulfill the requirement of the sacrifice.
28 Simeon cradled the baby in his arms and praised God and prophesied, saying:
2931 Lord and Master, I am your loving servant, and now I can die content, for your promise to me has been fulfilled. With my own eyes I have seen your Word, the Savior you sent into the world.
32 He will be glory for your people Israel, and the Revelation Light for all people everywhere! TPT
Luke 2:36 Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years
37 and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers.
38 At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem. MSG
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LUKE 2:36-38 A prophetess named Anna was also in the temple court that day. She was from the Jewish tribe of Asher and the daughter of Phanuel. Anna was an aged widow who had been married only seven years before her husband passed away. After he died she chose to worship God in the temple continually. For the past eighty-four yearsshe had been serving God with night-and-day prayer and fasting.
38 While Simeon was prophesying over Mary and Joseph and the baby, Anna walked up to them and burst forth with a great chorus of praise to God for the child. And from that day forward she told everyone in Jerusalem who was waiting for their redemption that the anticipated Messiah had come TPT
Luke 2:8 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep.
9 Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified.
10 The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide:
11 A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master.
12 This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger." MSG
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Luke 2:8-12 And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened.
10 But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.
11 For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord!
12 And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find [after searching] a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. AMP
Matt 2:9 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child.
10 They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country. MSG
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MATT 2:9-12 And so they left, and on their way to Bethlehem, suddenly the same star they had seen in the East reappeared! Amazed, they watched as it went ahead of them and stopped directly over the place where the child was.
10 And when they saw the star, they were so ecstatic that they shouted and celebrated with unrestrained joy.
11 When they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, they were overcome. Falling to the ground at his feet they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure boxesfull of gifts and presented him with gold, frank-incense, and myrrh.
12 Afterward they returned to their own country by another route because God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. TPT
John 1:11 He came to his own people, but they didn't want him.
12 But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.
13 These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.
14 The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. MSG
Acts 13:27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not know or recognize Him or understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, have actually fulfilled these very predictions by condemning and sentencing [Him]. AMP
1 Cor 3:18 Let no person deceive himself. If anyone among you supposes that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool [let him discard his worldly discernment and recognize himself as dull, stupid, and foolish, without true learning and scholarship], that he may become [really] wise. AMP
1 John 2:5 But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him: AMP
So here we are Christmas Day 2020. Celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And there is a certain expectation in our hearts anticipating His return and a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We were recognize these coming times and prepare the way of the Lord. Or we will serve our own agendas or distractions and missed the promise to come.