Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
December 8, 2013 - W1349

I am really grateful to my rubbish man because he comes and takes all that filthy rubbish and doesn’t complain at all. But does anyone know his name? What if in addition to taking your filthy rubbish he also washes and cleans the inside of your rubbish can and even fixes your broken wheel. Wouldn’t you want to know his name? I tell you this because Jesus, without complaint, also comes to take away your filthy rubbish, wash and clean you, and fix anything that was broken. Moreover He provides for you and takes care of your needs. Yet many really don’t know who He is.

That is what happened during the first Christmas when no one recognized the Savior and as a result He had to spend the night in a stable because there was no room in the inn.

The Bible says,

“‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to
give Him the name Jesus, because He will save
His people from their sins.’ All this took place
to fulfill what the Lord had said through the
prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth
to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ (which
means ‘God with us’) (Matthew 1:21-23).

Because no one recognized Him in spite of all the prophesies and there was no room in the inn, Jesus was born in a horse stable. As a result that stable became a palace because the King was born there. Likewise when Jesus comes into your heart that which was once a place full of filthy rubbish is now a palace because Jesus is there.

The Bible says, “She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name

Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins”(Matthew 1:21).

What if Jesus came today? Would you recognize Him? We live in a world today that is full of distractions. Therefore take the time to put Jesus in your plans so that you can recognize Him when He comes to you.

You see, the King of Kings, although incognito to those that are not watching, is Emanuel to those that know Him. And that’s what Christmas is all about: getting to know all about Him. If we don’t prepare our hearts for Him we will miss Him when He comes.

I wonder if He has been speaking to you this week. Have you recognized Him?

How do you prepare your heart?

HOW TO NOT MISS HIS PRESENCE…

1. LISTEN FOR HIS VOICE.

Acts 12:7 says,

“And behold an angel of the Lord suddenly
appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he
struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, ‘Get
up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his hands”
(Acts 12:7).

You might ask, “How do you hear God’s voice?” The answer is read the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 it says

The more you get to know Jesus through the Word of God, the more, when a counterfeit comes along, you will know something is not right because you were indelibly imprinted by the real thing.

2. OBEY WHAT YOU KNOW.

When Peter was in prison,

“…the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself and put on your
sandals.’ And he did so. And he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak
around you and follow me.’ And he went out and continued to
follow and he did not know that what was being done by the
angel was real…” (Acts 12:8-9).

God hardly ever shows you the results of something when He asks you to obey. If He revealed to you the end results first, it would not require any faith. He wants to build your faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God.

Likewise, if Peter had not obeyed God the miracle would not have happened.

There are going to be times in your life that God will ask you to obey but you won’t know why. However if you listen and obey, a miracle will take place.

3. LET HIS PRESENCE CHANGE THE WAY YOU LIVE.

Acts 12:12 says,

“And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the
mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were
gathered together...” (Acts 12:12).

This Christmas is there anything about your life that has been radically changed? What about in your giving, in your generosity, your believing, your listening, your forgiving. Are you recognizing Him or is He playing to an empty crowd in a busy station? Let what He does affect you. Because when you do, everything changes. Sometimes God is there but if we don’t recognize Him or understand His heart or don’t want to get to know Him, we cannot access all the power of the universe. We will find ourselves against the wall of impossibilities in spite of the fact that our great creator is standing right there and saying, “You haven’t asked me for help.”

Isn’t it time we recognize him? This Christmas let’s recognize Him and watch the miracles that He is will do.

Questions:

1. Why should you take the time to put Jesus in your plans?

2. What are the three things we need to do in order to not miss His presence?

3. This Christmas what has been radically changed?

4. What do you need to do when you are against the wall of impossibilities?