39 Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40 She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud
voice she said to Mary, “God has blessed you more than any other woman. And God
has blessed the baby you will have. 43 You
are the mother of my Lord, and you have come to me! Why has something so good
happened to me? 44 When I heard your
voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. 45 Great
blessings are yours because you believed what the Lord said to you! You
believed this would happen.” (Luke 1:39-45, ERV)
The
remedy for a joyless Christmas is the truth of the gospel (or Jesus). The Holy
Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.
Jesus answered, “I am
the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. (John 14:6, ERV)
1.
The Holy Spirit
awakens our souls to the Truth.
7 But I tell you the truth.
It is better for you that I go away. When I go away I will send the Helper to
you. If I do not go away, then the Helper will not come. 8 When the Helper comes, he will prove to the
people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about
judgment. (John 16:7-8, ICB)
2.
The Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Truth.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives.
It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right. (2 Timothy 3:16 ICB)
3.
The Holy Spirit illumines our minds to the Truth.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than
any double-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit,
both joints and marrow, and able to judge the reflections and thoughts of the
heart. (Hebrews 4:12, LEB)
“His words are the essence of truth...Jesus never
uttered opinions. He never guessed; He knew, and He knows.” (Aiden Wilson Tozer)
[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon “Illuminating:
Christmas Spirit, “(installment three) Sunday
December 15, 2019, Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
This was the original sermon Pastor Dave was scheduled to give until God changed it the night before.
This was the original sermon Pastor Dave was scheduled to give until God changed it the night before.
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