Living The Divine Life
Have you ever dreamed about living a miraculous life? Living a life that is not so encumbered by the limitations of this world, a life not so guided by the everyday conundrum of the mundane?
Take a look at the following text
(Luke 1:26) In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to
(Luke 1:27) to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
(Luke 1:28) The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
(Luke 1:29) Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
(Luke 1:30) But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
(Luke 1:31) You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
(Luke 1:32) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
(Luke 1:33) and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
(Luke 1:34) "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
(Luke 1:35) The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[3] the Son of God.
(Luke 1:36) Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
(Luke 1:37) For nothing is impossible with God."
(Luke 1:38) "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
This is the Christmas season… and around us we see lights, and Christmas trees, Christmas shopping, sales and wrapping and so on… There are so many things associated with this season… from presents, cantatas to dinners, and shopping, oh man there is so much shopping!! But the season also houses in it, the theme and the possibility of the miraculous…
There is so much that is miraculous about Christmas – so much divinity in this event! And to be honest we should take notice – because of the individuals involved are – People like Joseph, Elizabeth and even Mary – are nothing more than people, humans just like you and I, they are nothing more than normal everyday people – whom were touched by, and encountered by and engaged with divinity.
I want to talk to you about what it takes:
· To live in the miracle
· to live connected to divinity
· to live a life susceptible to phenomenon, susceptible to the supernatural… susceptible to the celestial
And this brings me to my first thought – WE ARE NOT ALONE…
We are not without traveling companions,
We are not without the assistance of divine fellow servants
We do not travel these life highways alone
We do not face trials alone
We do not face life decisions alone
Instead it is true to state and to say that the celestial are among us, divinity is with us… it surrounds us, communicates to us, and moves us
look at Luke chapter 1
(Luke 1:26) In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to
(Luke 1:27) to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
(Luke 1:28) The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Notice the occurrences here:
· angels on the earth
· The celestial interacting with humanity
· Talking with humanity
· Moving humanity
Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Luke 2:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:11 Today in the town of
Luke 2:12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Luke 2:13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
· Joseph was not alone
· Mary was not alone
· Daniel in the book of Daniel was not alone
· John the revelator talked with an angel he was not alone
· Even lowly shepherds in the field had an encounter with what the bible calls heavenly hosts!
You my dear friend are not alone –
· You are connected to divinity
· You are surrounded by divinity
· You are loved by divinity
you encounter it everyday – many times completely unaware
(Hebrews 13:2) Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.1
You see that we are not alone – we are surrounded and encirculed and connected to the divine – to God – ALL DAY LONG!
We need to be come – conscious of it- Aware of HIS presence
CHRISTMAS SPEAKS THIS TO US WE ARE NOT ALONE
My next thought is With this touch of divinity, with God - Nothing Is Impossible
There is a point where Jesus is teaching his disciples about salvation and they are stating that what Jesus is telling them is a hard thing and they wonder who can do what Jesus is telling them
And Jesus replies
(Matthew 19:26) But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
You see what he is saying here is so true – so many of the things that we do are connected only to ourselves
So many of the things that we attempt, we attempt all by ourselves
You will find repeatedly in the bible men attempting a task while not connected to divinity and they fail - Yet those same men when connected to God and while operating with God succeed at this exact same task
When we connect to God we connect to success
When we connect to God we connect to power
When we connect to God we connect to might
When we connect to God we connect to victory
There is no failure in God
There is no lack in God
There are no deficiencies in God
When we connect to the power of God
When we connect to the might of God
When we connect to the anointing of God
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
(Luke 1:34) "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
(Luke 1:35) The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[3] the Son of God.
(Luke 1:36) Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
(Luke 1:37) For nothing is impossible with God."
Mary knows what the angel has said is not physically possible
It is beyond her to conceive a child without knowing a man
She looks at this and says “How will this be?”
How many of us look at the task before us and wonder – How will this be?
I can’t do this
I can’t afford this
I cannot achieve this
HOW WILL THIS HAPPEN?
GOD of course is the answer God does miracles through humanity – He did amazing things through
Mary, Moses, Daniel, or Paul… to name few! There are a long list of humans who said – How? But The answer was and is GOD!
My Next thought is - The Willing & Surrendering Spirit SAYS “Do with Me as you will”
This is a very critical point – Mary works with the divine will of God, she allows it to overshadow her, she follows its flow where ever it goes and she flows with it. How strange a thing this is that we often fail to recognize the move of God, and fail to get on board with the plan of God!
The greatest hindrance to a miraculous existence, to a celestial experience, to divine life is our insistence on our own way.
Moses operated in the miraculous – because he was in the plan of God
Think of Shadrach – Meshach and Abednego – the Hebrew men who did not die in the fiery furnace. These men were not immune to fire, They did not have a genetic disposition that gave them the ability to withstand flames, heat and fire. So how did the miraculous happen, or this amazing event transpire? Simple Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were operating in the flow of GOD!
Connected to the divine current of God – to the way God was moving, created a new realm of possibilities, an absolutely powerful avenue of the divine… functioning, operating and performing the miraculous!
Listen to the book of James
Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
Jas 4:2 You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way.
Jas 4:4 You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."
Jas 4:7 So let God work his will in you
Where does the breakdown happen… In selfishness, our personal desires, our fleshy or selfish wants!
There is great power in disconnecting from self so we can follow God, disconnecting from what we want, disconnecting from our selfish desires, disconnecting from our own will our own current or flow which is full of limitations and full of impossibilities…
Paul called addressed this disconnect in (1 Corinthians 15:31) I die daily.
And again in the book of Galatians
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
Paul is saying “this is not about what I want” or “This is not about my ego, or my self image” -This is not about my own selfish desires… This is about what GOD is doing and my connection and life in him
(Luke 17:33) People who try to save their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives will save them.
There is a section of scripture that I always found so intriguing and it is in the book of Acts… notice this
(Acts 16:6) Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of
(Acts 16:7) After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into
Notice that Paul has a desire, and even attempts to fulfill it… but when this does not work, for whatever reason, the writer says the Spirit, the divine, did not permit them to go… How unique is this? How incredible that there is no blame on the world, or the devil or some force of evil… but instead He accepts what is happening stating that God is in charge!
Our job is just to recognize and cooperate with that divine guidance. To stop letting life be a struggle, and, instead, begin to flow with effortless ease in the direction that God guides…
The Miraculous life is found in those that trust in God, obey and flow with God… connect with Him… Surrender to God… Accept the fact that God is with us… that in Him we move, we live, we breath and we have our being(Acts 17:28)
