Speaker 1: Welcome Just hand Away tagalog sermon podcast Your daily does
Speaker 1: I'm inspiring heartfelt tagalog sermons from different pastors and speakers
Speaker 1: all over the Philippines. We hope that this podcast finds
Speaker 1: you in good shape. And now here's your message.
Speaker 2: You're listening to a message from Victory. Learn what it
Speaker 2: means to have faith. In week one of our Christmas series, Hark, we.
Speaker 1: Are starting our new series today and it's about Christmas. Okay,
Speaker 1: it's about Christmas. Have you prepared for Christmas preparation? I
Speaker 1: don't know. If you follow me in my social media
Speaker 1: or you've been to church for quite some time, you
Speaker 1: would have known. For our family, Christmas is actually a career. Okay.
Speaker 1: We make a career out of Christmas, not just in
Speaker 1: our house sold but in the entire Oi family. It's
Speaker 1: something that we look forward to around May or June.
Speaker 1: My mom would start asking already, okay, Larry Santaios a Christmas,
Speaker 1: Larry's Santaios a new Year, So we need to have
Speaker 1: an answer already, we prepare for it. But how do
Speaker 1: you really prepare for Christmas? Especially when you're asking Lord
Speaker 1: kilan byon thirteen month pay? How can I prepare for Christmas.
Speaker 1: Is Christmas hinge on your thirteen month pay? Or is
Speaker 1: Christmas hinge on money period? Or is Christmas hinge on
Speaker 1: the things we need to buy? The red shirt, the
Speaker 1: new red shirt, the new green shirt, the new white
Speaker 1: green red shirt, the new Christmas tree? Is it hinge
Speaker 1: on the decorations inside our home? Christmas? We prepare Christmas,
Speaker 1: prepare Christmas every day of our life. We should be
Speaker 1: preparing Christmas every day of our life. It's not just
Speaker 1: in a season. It's not just in a on a day.
Speaker 1: It's not hinge on on on a time. It's not
Speaker 1: hinge in that, it's not just on the on December.
Speaker 1: That's what the world wants to do. That's how the
Speaker 1: world does it. That's why they have a Christmas count
Speaker 1: on Christmas eal, pre Christmas sale, Christmas sales, post Christmas
Speaker 1: el post pre Christmas post sale. But it shouldn't be.
Speaker 1: Christmas is on Jesus and Jesus alone. He He is
Speaker 1: the true meaning of Christmas, Christmas season. Christmas seasons would
Speaker 1: come and go, but Jesus, the reason for the season remains.
Speaker 1: He is. He is the true reason why we celebrate Christmas.
Speaker 1: He's actually the true reason why why we can come
Speaker 1: here every Sunday and and and and celebrate, sing songs,
Speaker 1: worship him, come to church, go to our victory groups,
Speaker 1: share the God Gospel. He's the only reason. But my
Speaker 1: prayer is that all throughout the as we go through
Speaker 1: this four weeks, will know that it's not about the gifts.
Speaker 1: It's not just about visiting orphanages. Some would say that
Speaker 1: Chrissmuss is about sharing. I love how uh Lizette said
Speaker 1: a while ago that that she knows now how to
Speaker 1: be blessed and to bless others. Some would say that
Speaker 1: Christmas is the time to share, share? What is it
Speaker 1: just sharing gifts? Is it simply just going to orphanagists?
Speaker 1: Is that is Christmas ison the only time that you
Speaker 1: can share gifts, share the gospel and be married. It
Speaker 1: shouldn't be. We're starting on a series. It's called Heart. Yes,
Speaker 1: it sounds German. It has actually a German origin. Okay.
Speaker 1: During the time that they would hunt for dogs, hunt
Speaker 1: for for wild hounds, heart they would sayt the heart
Speaker 1: heart is to listen attentively, to call somebody, to listen,
Speaker 1: to hear, or so to obey. If you look, come
Speaker 1: in the Old Testament, in the Book of Deuteronomy, you
Speaker 1: would hear it to hear so as to obey, to
Speaker 1: listen attentively. And we're gonna be sharing this story. We're
Speaker 1: gonna sharing stories of four individuals, four different characters, Zechariah
Speaker 1: for this week, Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds, four different individuals,
Speaker 1: four different situations in their lives that they're facing. One message,
Speaker 1: one message about the birth of Jesus. He's sorry to
Speaker 1: dispel the plot of our preaching, but it's about Jesus.
Speaker 1: It's about celebrating the true reason for the season. Four
Speaker 1: different characters, four different plots. One one message about the
Speaker 1: gospel about the birth of Jesus, and one messenger. One
Speaker 1: messenger which is the angel Gabriel, the Angel. And we'll
Speaker 1: talk about Zacharai today. And I know that we've been
Speaker 1: prayed for and uh for some things. Okay, maybe for
Speaker 1: the younger people, you've been praying for a new toy,
Speaker 1: a new shirt. Okay. I remember, I remember my wife
Speaker 1: she said that she looks forward to Christmas because there's
Speaker 1: only two two important dates that they can buy toys
Speaker 1: and new new clothes. When when she was growing up
Speaker 1: and it was only during her birthday or Christmas. And
Speaker 1: during Christmas there will be more toys, more food, so
Speaker 1: she would look forward to it. But we're gonna look
Speaker 1: at Zechariah in his life. He has been serving the
Speaker 1: Lord faithfully as a priest, but he's waiting for an
Speaker 1: answered prayer. Something that that feeling up in a kitan
Speaker 1: the Lord, something that they feel like the Lord with
Speaker 1: help from them. Let me ask you this questions. Have
Speaker 1: you ever been believing God for something and your timeline
Speaker 1: is always Christmas or the end of the year. Have
Speaker 1: you been believing God for something that is up until
Speaker 1: now un answered. Have you been praying for someone? Maybe
Speaker 1: it's someone Lord twenty sixteen, the Lord two seventeen. Now,
Speaker 1: where is your promise? Maybe it's someone, Maybe it's a promotion,
Speaker 1: Maybe it's even help, or maybe it's about salvation, salvation
Speaker 1: of family members, whatever it is. When our prayers are
Speaker 1: not immediately answered, how do we respond and react? How
Speaker 1: do we respond? How do we react? Do we learn
Speaker 1: from from this four people how they reactored? Or are we?
Speaker 1: Are we actually in thatcument? Now? Maybe you are searching
Speaker 1: and for an answer. Maybe you're you've been waiting for
Speaker 1: an answer. Do you feel like you have to come
Speaker 1: to church to know that answer? My prayers that we
Speaker 1: would learn from Zicariah's life, Zickariah and Elizabeth's life. Let's pray,
Speaker 1: pray before we start. Father, We thank you Lord for indeed, Lord,
Speaker 1: you are faithful. Thank you, Lord God, that the true
Speaker 1: meaning of Christmas doesn't just fade away. But you've given
Speaker 1: us the best gift you've presented us, Lord God, real love,
Speaker 1: real unconditional love. So my prayer, Lord God, is that
Speaker 1: as we go through this series, Lord, that we would
Speaker 1: know more of your plans in our lives. And Lord,
Speaker 1: may we also see in our very situations. Right now,
Speaker 1: Lord God, how you move in Jesus name. We pray
Speaker 1: and everybody say amen. It's found in Luke one, the
Speaker 1: story of of of Zicariah and just a just a backdrop.
Speaker 1: It's it's a time that this is a perfect timing
Speaker 1: because they were actually waiting for a Messiah to be born. Actually,
Speaker 1: Zicariah is the father of who John the Baptist, the
Speaker 1: one who God has called to prepared the way for Jesus.
Speaker 1: So again we're going back again to the prepar How
Speaker 1: do we actually prepare. We have to prepare our hearts
Speaker 1: my prayers, that our hearts are prepared to accept. That
Speaker 1: is the accept but actually to be enlightened and to
Speaker 1: see where we stand as lovers of God. Let's read
Speaker 1: one day, Zikariah was serving God in the temple for
Speaker 1: his order was on duty that week and was the
Speaker 1: cousdom of the priest. He was chosen by lot to
Speaker 1: enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. While
Speaker 1: the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside praying.
Speaker 1: While Zikariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the
Speaker 1: Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the
Speaker 1: altar of the incense altar. Zakariah was shaken and overwhelmed
Speaker 1: with fear when he saw him, but the angel said,
Speaker 1: don't be afraid, Zikariah. God has heard your prayer. Your
Speaker 1: wife Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are
Speaker 1: to name him John. This story is found the Book
Speaker 1: of Luke. What I love about the look Apostle Look
Speaker 1: is that he's very systematic when he writes. When he
Speaker 1: writes the Gospel of his look is very systematic, chronological order,
Speaker 1: and he doesn't even miss details. The papas when you
Speaker 1: read your Bible, but Nasa Luke Mejo Mahaban basahat in
Speaker 1: it averages around forty to fifty even sixty versus when
Speaker 1: you read Luke because he doesn't he doesn't mince his words.
Speaker 1: He makes sure that everything is there. He's very systematic, systematic,
Speaker 1: and very chronological. He's a doctor, look is actually a doctor.
Speaker 1: Maybe some would say that how could Luke do that
Speaker 1: chronicle that accounts he wasn't even there during the time
Speaker 1: of Jesus. He wasn't with the original Apostles of Jesus.
Speaker 1: He wasn't there, but he had the first hand witness
Speaker 1: that tells him the story, the background of his story.
Speaker 1: It was during the time of King Herod. You know
Speaker 1: King Herod, right, the Mighty King, the Great King Herod,
Speaker 1: who's so evil that the he's really scared, not just
Speaker 1: scared that people would get his power, but he loves power, okay,
Speaker 1: and he's very paranoid. This king, King Herod, would even
Speaker 1: cause people to die. Thousands and thousands of people died
Speaker 1: because of him, put him to death, not only people
Speaker 1: that he doesn't know, but even his wife he put
Speaker 1: him to He put her to death. Even his three
Speaker 1: children were put to death. Why because he's paranoid that
Speaker 1: they would take his place, that his power would be,
Speaker 1: would be God, that they would they were after actually
Speaker 1: his power. It was a time where this was a
Speaker 1: time where we're in Israel. There was around roughly eight
Speaker 1: hundred years of people searching for for for answers, five
Speaker 1: hundred years since the last angel appeared and the prophet
Speaker 1: the word from God. They haven't heard in four hundred years.
Speaker 1: They were searching for answer. Zachariah was a priest serving
Speaker 1: as a priest. He's absolutely not a Jew, but he's
Speaker 1: a gentile, a gentile priest, and he was advancing years.
Speaker 1: His wife's name is Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was also advantaged
Speaker 1: in years. But the problem is they didn't have a children.
Speaker 1: They don't have children. She was found barren. She doesn't
Speaker 1: have a child. And because of that during the Old Testament,
Speaker 1: during the time of the early times of Israel, if
Speaker 1: you don't have a child, or you don't you haven't
Speaker 1: bear a children yours. It's something that's shameful. Although he's
Speaker 1: in a status that he's a priest, people would see
Speaker 1: maybe he's not as holy, maybe his her husband is
Speaker 1: not holy. Or why are they not blessed? Something's missing.
Speaker 1: It's a shame for them, for especially for Elizabeth not
Speaker 1: to be abble to give a child, to bear a child,
Speaker 1: both advancing years, both Eli and then and Zechariah. They
Speaker 1: have been praying and were believing, believing God for this
Speaker 1: prayer request. But again, it's Christmas about bearing a child.
Speaker 1: It's Christmas being about having having not just material but
Speaker 1: even spiritual blessings. Let me submit you this that God's
Speaker 1: infinite ability is not limited with our present reality. It's
Speaker 1: a reality where we live, how we're living right now,
Speaker 1: it is our reality. But God is not limited. His
Speaker 1: ability is not limited. Let us not box God here
Speaker 1: and just here. He is a great God. He is
Speaker 1: a big God. Let's learn from the life of Zicarias.
Speaker 1: Are we in that predicament? Now? Have we thought about this?
Speaker 1: Are we limiting God? You know what? Let me pray
Speaker 1: because I pray this prayer also early this morning and
Speaker 1: I was asking Lord, what is it in my life
Speaker 1: that you're pointing at that you want to make sure
Speaker 1: that I'm believing your ability and not my ability not
Speaker 1: not not limited to my finite What can we do?
Speaker 1: What should we do? One day Zikaria. One day, Zikaria
Speaker 1: was serving God in the temple for his order, was
Speaker 1: on duty that week and was the cosm of the priest.
Speaker 1: He was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of
Speaker 1: the Lord and burn incense. Yes, Zicariah was a priest,
Speaker 1: but he was among eighteen thousand other priests. It's not
Speaker 1: like he was annoyed. Yes, he's annoyed and he's chosen,
Speaker 1: but he was among eighteen thousand, so he was just
Speaker 1: among one among the crowd. What I want to point
Speaker 1: out here is that they would only serve once, maybe
Speaker 1: once at the most twice in their lifetime. There's a
Speaker 1: cycle because there's so many priests, Sasabdandabing priest eighteen thousand.
Speaker 1: They were actually grouped into twenty four different groups to serve,
Speaker 1: and it was his time to serve. Then it happened
Speaker 1: when it was his time to serve. God intervenes in
Speaker 1: their situation, seemingly impossible situation that no one can comprehend.
Speaker 1: How can you explain a barren, old mature in age
Speaker 1: Elizabeth give birth? Remember the story of Abraham. It was
Speaker 1: actually that kind of story. Because God can intervene in
Speaker 1: any way He can. Whatever your situation right now, you
Speaker 1: cannot say it is impossible. The more impossible it is
Speaker 1: for us, the more possible God can move for you, Amen,
Speaker 1: the more possible. The bigger God is, the bigger He is,
Speaker 1: the smaller or impossibility, the impossibility in their lives can happen.
Speaker 1: And there's no accident in God's plan. It is not accident.
Speaker 1: This is no accident. God is predestined this day for
Speaker 1: Zechariah to hear and to know his ways and his plans.
Speaker 1: While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood
Speaker 1: outside praying. While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel
Speaker 1: of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right
Speaker 1: of the incense outer incense. Have you heard of frankensin
Speaker 1: and mirror? Remember the three wives men who presented those gifts.
Speaker 1: It was actually it was actually used to make incense.
Speaker 1: When when you mix frankenson it's made out of minerals
Speaker 1: and the mayor, which is out of leaves. When you
Speaker 1: mix them together, they would create the if you burned,
Speaker 1: and if they create a sweet aroma, and you would
Speaker 1: visibly see the smoke going up to heaven. It's symbolic
Speaker 1: of our prayers being being being heard, and the whole
Speaker 1: Israel was actually praying whenever a priest would go in.
Speaker 1: They were praying. Why because of their situation, they're waiting
Speaker 1: for a Messiah. They're waiting for for for that someone
Speaker 1: that the Prophet has said that would come and take
Speaker 1: them out of their misery and save them and redeem them,
Speaker 1: redeem Israel. When all of a sudden an angel appeared
Speaker 1: to Zechariah was his reaction. He was shaken, he was surprised.
Speaker 1: Maybe there's even fear. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with
Speaker 1: fear when he saw him. Remember again, four hundred years
Speaker 1: ago was the last time that they heard the Prophet.
Speaker 1: They were waiting for five hundred years for another angel
Speaker 1: to give them news to appear to them. This was
Speaker 1: the time all Testament when Jesus was not born yet.
Speaker 1: So it's very important for him for them to hear
Speaker 1: directly from from God. So I church that do that
Speaker 1: lesson the value of knowing Jesus Christ and how Jesus
Speaker 1: came here for you and I that we don't have
Speaker 1: to wait directly to hear from God that he intercedes
Speaker 1: for us. That Jesus is our high Priest, don't you
Speaker 1: don't you praise God that we don't have to put
Speaker 1: nobody has to go or altern it to sacrifice, to
Speaker 1: to to sacrifice for all our sins because Jesus already
Speaker 1: did it for you and I. But why was he shaken?
Speaker 1: Why was he afraid of angels? Maybe in our in
Speaker 1: our minds, angels are something that that are cute. The
Speaker 1: angels gets something like out of a out of a
Speaker 1: Hollywood film film, or it's like out of a greeting
Speaker 1: card Parahollmark, citzilla. Sometimes not a diaper, and during Valentine
Speaker 1: they're carrying an arrow. The angel Gabriel, who actually who
Speaker 1: Zechariah saw, is not this kind of angel, an angel
Speaker 1: that comes from God. A biblical angel represents something that's manly, huge,
Speaker 1: it's something powerful. It's something that's that's that's sphere summer. Okay,
Speaker 1: there's no gender, but they're that, they're they're big, they're strong.
Speaker 1: Even in the Old Testament, when you read the Old Testament,
Speaker 1: you can see that one blow of an angel can
Speaker 1: actually defeat one hundred thousand people. That doesn't happen with
Speaker 1: an angel with a diaper and a arrow. Something strong,
Speaker 1: but the Angel said, don't be afraid, Zachariah, God has
Speaker 1: heard your prayer. When Zachariah was praying, when he went inside,
Speaker 1: when he burned the incense, he was actually praying not
Speaker 1: just for Israel, but he was also praying for himself.
Speaker 1: He was actually praying and asking, Lord, I've been serving you.
Speaker 1: Remember the first few verses when he said that they
Speaker 1: are they're there, holy, they're almost perfect. Not they're not,
Speaker 1: they don't sin, they live righteously. But every every time
Speaker 1: he would be praying for himself for God to answer
Speaker 1: his prayer, for God to actually give them that child
Speaker 1: when hope was lost because of our situation. Remember that
Speaker 1: God hears our prayers. He hears our prayers. He is
Speaker 1: not deaf for you and I. Whether your situation is
Speaker 1: high or low, whether you're praying for somebody who's or
Speaker 1: who you're praying for somebody's salvation, our prayers don't fall
Speaker 1: on deaf ears. That I can promise my very life
Speaker 1: is a testimony that God is not deaf. Yes, maybe
Speaker 1: it took me some time to get to know Jesus
Speaker 1: Christ thirty three years after, but it is his timing,
Speaker 1: not my timing. Proverbs fifteen, Verse twenty nine said the
Speaker 1: Lord is afar from the wicked, but he hears the
Speaker 1: prayers of righteous. He is afar from the wicked, but
Speaker 1: he hears our prayers. If we have a right standing
Speaker 1: with God, he hears us when we pray. He hears
Speaker 1: the very Christ that you make. He hears you when
Speaker 1: you kneel down and cry for help. He knows even
Speaker 1: the pain that you're going through. Do not ever say that, Lord,
Speaker 1: you don't know what I'm going through. Lord, why are
Speaker 1: you doing this to me? He hears you. And if
Speaker 1: the word world or anyone would say that he's not
Speaker 1: listening to you, you're on your own. Do not believe that,
Speaker 1: because that is not God, that is not from God.
Speaker 1: And first Peter says here, for the eyes of the
Speaker 1: Lord are on the righteous, and these ears are open
Speaker 1: to their prayer. On a Monday, it's our day off,
Speaker 1: sorry Sabbath. But then on Tuesday when we come in,
Speaker 1: the first thing that I look forward to the or
Speaker 1: the prayer request that you're right. Yes, I do read.
Speaker 1: We do read your prayer requests, so yes we know.
Speaker 1: If you've been praying for a PS. Four for the
Speaker 1: longest time, is that you he knows who he is.
Speaker 1: Or you've been praying for the salvation of your family
Speaker 1: for the longest time, or you're praying for healing, you're
Speaker 1: praying for restoration, you're praying for unforgiveness or for forgiveness.
Speaker 1: We know those prayers, and we are praying with you.
Speaker 1: Stand We stand with you in our prayer. Regardless of
Speaker 1: your situation. God waits to call. God's wait for our call.
Speaker 1: God waits. God waits for our call. Regardless of your situation.
Speaker 1: God wait for us to call on him. God's infinite
Speaker 1: ability again is not limited with our present reality. A
Speaker 1: testament of Zechariah when he said, your wife Elizabeth will
Speaker 1: give you a son, and you are to name him John.
Speaker 1: Can you imagine what was his reaction? What could have
Speaker 1: been his reaction? I hope you've gone through this, this
Speaker 1: this chapter of you've read through this chapter. But then
Speaker 1: in reality, have you seen his face? Wouldn't he be jubilant?
Speaker 1: Wouldn't it be excited that he's about to do the
Speaker 1: prayer in his life is about to come to pass.
Speaker 1: God do not just hear our prayers, but God answers
Speaker 1: our prayers. He do answers our prayers, but he answers
Speaker 1: it in his own timing, but he answered it according
Speaker 1: to his faith. He is faithful. He will give you
Speaker 1: all the promises. But then again, he would not give
Speaker 1: you something or anything that could harm you. Why would
Speaker 1: he give something to you that would harm especially your
Speaker 1: relationship with God. They may have been given up because
Speaker 1: of their situation, Elizabeth and Zachariah, but it is actually
Speaker 1: God's timing. Their shame was taken away of being bearing
Speaker 1: no child. When God is silent, it doesn't mean that
Speaker 1: he is absent. It's not. When he's silent, it means
Speaker 1: maybe not now. When he's silent means enough. I have
Speaker 1: to prepare you for it. I remember recently my dad
Speaker 1: is a very generous lolo, and recently he gave my
Speaker 1: son a secondhand car when he celebrated his sixteenth birthday.
Speaker 1: I was really excited to bring my son to Lto
Speaker 1: to get to finally get his license. But then I
Speaker 1: found out a day before his birthday that the government
Speaker 1: right now moved the age for a student permit from
Speaker 1: sixteen to seventeen. Can you imagine the face of my
Speaker 1: son one day before his birthday? He has a Yes,
Speaker 1: it's not news. It's okay, it's still a car. It's
Speaker 1: part now in my garage, doing nothing. Not yet, not yet.
Speaker 1: Maybe God was actually teaching him something, maybe even teaching
Speaker 1: me something. But God, God's timing is perfect. He's never absent.
Speaker 1: He knows the very account of your hair. He knows
Speaker 1: the cries, the wound, he knows it. He's never absent.
Speaker 1: He's always there for you. That's his promise. He will
Speaker 1: never leave nor forsake us. That's a promise that he
Speaker 1: always keeps. And he is a promise keeper. John five,
Speaker 1: verse fourteen says, and we are confident that he hears
Speaker 1: us whenever we ask for for what, louder for what?
Speaker 1: Anything he pleases, anything please that pleases him. And since
Speaker 1: we know he hears us when we make our requests,
Speaker 1: we also know that he will give us what we
Speaker 1: ask for. This is the very verse that I told
Speaker 1: my son, you ask for a car, you forgot to
Speaker 1: ask for a driver's license. Here it's worth. But he
Speaker 1: taught him something, taught him out the way. God's three
Speaker 1: answers is always yes, not yet, and I have something
Speaker 1: better in mind. Let's never no, Let's never no, Let's
Speaker 1: never know when you search the Bible. When you look
Speaker 1: at different all the different stories in the Bibles, there's
Speaker 1: no word. There's nowhere there that there's an no. It's
Speaker 1: always yes, not now. Wait for a while and then
Speaker 1: hear something better, something better for you, someone better for you. Look, look,
Speaker 1: let's continue. Look one verse eighteen, Zachariah said to the angel,
Speaker 1: how can I be sure that this will happen? I'm
Speaker 1: an old man now, and my wife is also well
Speaker 1: along in years, Zachariah said to the angel. Instead of
Speaker 1: being jubilant and happy, he doubted what the angel said.
Speaker 1: At first he was shaken, he was afraid, but now
Speaker 1: he had the nerve to doubt the angel. Doubt and
Speaker 1: faith never goes together. Let me say it again. When
Speaker 1: there's doubt, there's an absence of faith. When you're in doubt,
Speaker 1: that means you fear something and you're not faithful. When
Speaker 1: we look at our situations, doubt can set us, can
Speaker 1: set in and shake our faith. Healing when you're praying
Speaker 1: for healing. When you're praying for healing and then suddenly
Speaker 1: you knew that there's no actually a cure. Do you
Speaker 1: doubt or are you in fear? You have to be
Speaker 1: in faith. I remember two thousand and six, my wife
Speaker 1: and I got saved two thousand and six, March two
Speaker 1: thousand and six and December Christmas of two thousand and six.
Speaker 1: We were very excited because it's going to be our
Speaker 1: very first Simbangabie and it will be held in the
Speaker 1: new church plant of Victoria Alabam in Victory, Santa Rosa,
Speaker 1: all the way in Santa Rosa. And we were so
Speaker 1: excited to go. But then two days before Christmas, we
Speaker 1: receive a call. I was in my office with my partner,
Speaker 1: my cousin, and I receive a call. My secretary said,
Speaker 1: it's a very important call. So I answered the phone
Speaker 1: and out of instinct, just just press the speaker phone.
Speaker 1: Lo and behold it was somebody on the other line
Speaker 1: threatening my family to kidnap us Christmas Day. Hey, this
Speaker 1: is a true story. We were shocked. Not only not
Speaker 1: only it was just that kind of threat, but he
Speaker 1: was very detailed. I know your wife gave us the name.
Speaker 1: Your kids go to this school before I only had
Speaker 1: two boys. But were we shaken? Yes, we were shaken.
Speaker 1: I was terribly shaken that even we even called the police.
Speaker 1: The talk to a colonel, and he told us what
Speaker 1: to do. So I asked him should he get bodyguards?
Speaker 1: And he told me, if you have cash to pay
Speaker 1: for bodyguards, go ahead. But one thing that really strike
Speaker 1: me there was when he said that if it actually
Speaker 1: is a work of God, then not even your bodyguards
Speaker 1: can help you. Something click when he said that, because
Speaker 1: I said, no, God would never put me in harm,
Speaker 1: not now, not now. I never doubted that the relationship
Speaker 1: that we had that time is genuine. I have waited
Speaker 1: thirty three years of my life to celebrate the true
Speaker 1: meaning of Christmas, and now I know Jesus Christ, no
Speaker 1: fear can ever get to my heart. Yes, my family
Speaker 1: they're in harms. They are, yes, kinda in harm's way.
Speaker 1: But then again, I know I have a big God.
Speaker 1: I know that my current situation won't limit the ability
Speaker 1: of my big God. So we went, we celebrated Christmas,
Speaker 1: and later on three years after, we got a call
Speaker 1: from the same colonel telling us that that threat was
Speaker 1: actually valid, and they even know the person who gave
Speaker 1: that threat. Don't limit a God, don't limit our God.
Speaker 1: He won't put you in harms way. Verse eighteen, when
Speaker 1: the angel said I am Grabriel I stand in the
Speaker 1: very presence of God. It was he who sent me
Speaker 1: to bring you you this good news. But now, since
Speaker 1: you didn't believe what I said, you will be silent
Speaker 1: and unable to speak until the child is born. For
Speaker 1: my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.
Speaker 1: Every word I've spoken to you will come true in
Speaker 1: my time. God is saying, every word is according to
Speaker 1: my time. Why because again, God's infinite ability is that
Speaker 1: limited with our present reality. And this is the best part.
Speaker 1: The best part is how he actually moves when we
Speaker 1: know that he hears our prayers, that he answers our prayers.
Speaker 1: But then what is our prayers? For that God's answers
Speaker 1: are bigger than our prayers. We know the story. We
Speaker 1: know the story that the one who paved the way
Speaker 1: for Jesus, who prepared the way for Jesus, is the
Speaker 1: son of Zechariah, John the Baptist. He prepared a way,
Speaker 1: something bigger happened, something not just. They weren't just given
Speaker 1: a son, but a son that would pave the way
Speaker 1: for the coming of the Messiah. You will have great
Speaker 1: joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at this birth,
Speaker 1: for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.
Speaker 1: He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He
Speaker 1: will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth,
Speaker 1: and he will turn many Israelites to the Lord, Dear God.
Speaker 1: This part here is very important. This is actually a
Speaker 1: promise fulfilled by the last prophet, the very last prophet
Speaker 1: who prophesied four hundred years ago, Banaka. He said this,
Speaker 1: that come the birth of a Messiah. It will come
Speaker 1: after somebody would prepare that way, which is Zechariah's son.
Speaker 1: He will be a man with the spirit and the
Speaker 1: power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the
Speaker 1: coming of the Lord. He will in the hearts of
Speaker 1: the fathers to their children, and he will cause those
Speaker 1: who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.
Speaker 1: They were just asking for a son, and the son
Speaker 1: that God gave them will pave the way for the
Speaker 1: coming of Jesus Christ. It wasn't long before his wife
Speaker 1: Elizabeth conceived. She went off by herself for five months,
Speaker 1: brandishing her pregnancy. So this is how God acts to
Speaker 1: remedy my unfortunate, unfortunate condition. Why unfortunate? Why that reproach
Speaker 1: because she was branded as not worthy or not holy
Speaker 1: and not righteous for not bearing a son, but now
Speaker 1: much more than a son. His son is preparing the
Speaker 1: way for the Messiah. God's infinite ability is not limited
Speaker 1: with our present reality. Can everybody say this altogether? God
Speaker 1: hears our prayers. God answers our prayers, and God's answers
Speaker 1: are bigger than our prayers. It's Christmas and the true present,
Speaker 1: the true gift of Christmas is hope. Hope in that
Speaker 1: in your current situation, but hope in the Lord. I
Speaker 1: remember a story of we used to have a church
Speaker 1: in Victory, New Manila, and it's near a barangay in
Speaker 1: in in the mayng Laki. And I remember when I
Speaker 1: was still a teacher in our kids shirts there. I
Speaker 1: remember when we fed the fed the kids it was Christmas.
Speaker 1: We gave them burger steak, burger steak right, one piece
Speaker 1: burger steak forty nine pesos, memorizing price, forty nine passots.
Speaker 1: And when we were feeding them, we were surprised that
Speaker 1: some we just eat just a few, just a few
Speaker 1: bite and then stop and then they would close the
Speaker 1: the the the box. Maybe do you remember this, I
Speaker 1: don't know if you remember this, don't box put it away,
Speaker 1: start with their pineapple juice, and then eat half of
Speaker 1: the French fries, and then put the French fries back
Speaker 1: to the plastic, and then continue on with the pineapple juice.
Speaker 1: And then we asked, okay, are you fool kaa The
Speaker 1: kid answered no, I'm just putting it away. But we
Speaker 1: saw one child after another doing that, just eat a
Speaker 1: few bite and then put them away. And I said,
Speaker 1: I had to ask because I finished mine in three seconds,
Speaker 1: gone without rice, but with fries. I had to ask.
Speaker 1: And I was actually in tears when the boy answered me,
Speaker 1: you know what, because pastor, we were just praying for rice.
Speaker 1: That will make it through this Christmas, even with just
Speaker 1: rice and the five pesel gravy. But we got to
Speaker 1: taste much more then then rise and grievy. We got
Speaker 1: to taste burgers steak. So we're putting it away and
Speaker 1: we're giving it to our family so that we can
Speaker 1: able we will we will be able to share this
Speaker 1: Christmas something. This Christmas, it wasn't even Christmas here. They
Speaker 1: were just they were They said they were just praying
Speaker 1: for rice and they got burger steak. Sometimes our our
Speaker 1: prayers are so small and then sometimes we feel like
Speaker 1: if we're so deprived, if God didn't answer our prayers,
Speaker 1: but he wants big, something bigger than you, for you
Speaker 1: and I. Maybe it's not now, but thank you for
Speaker 1: listening to this message.
Speaker 2: For more messages like these from other Victory Centers, please
Speaker 2: visit Victory dot org, dot pH, Slash resources, Slash Podcasts.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: We hope that you enjoyed today's episode. Don't forget to
Speaker 1: share and subscribe to this podcast for more. God bless
Speaker 1: you all,