Spirit-Filled Salutations

Now, as you well know, there is one thing which is common to everybody. You may be poor, you may have no gifts, no Christmas tree, nothing. But people have learned to say, Merry Christmas.

They greet each other. Let us see what this greeting stands for. The first greeting that was given even before the birth of Jesus.

Luke first chapter please, 39th verse. In those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah and entered into the house of Zacharias. You know, when some people enter a house, there is trouble.

You can be sure about that. I used to know, well, you know, well, I used to see rather an uncle of mine who is now dead at a distance through the shrubbery. I would see him enter the grounds of the home where I was just a converted boy.

And as soon as I saw him in the distance, I would say, Lord, let me not sin with my tongue. Let me be very careful because one of my uncles was given to talking all kinds of things. You know, you can fill your homes with negative talk, fears, shouts, all kinds of things, negative thoughts.

But as soon as Mary entered the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth, it came to pass when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. You see, the angel of the Lord had told Mary about her cousin Elizabeth. Your cousin is with child.

You thought she is an old woman, but she is with child. There's nothing impossible with God. You know, folks, some of us here know the impossible things that God has done in our lives.

Well, I have enjoyed these 18 years of extension. And my wife always says, had you gone, I would have found you dead in bed the next morning. And with all your work left undone.

Yes. When a father of the house leaves midstream, oh, there is a lot of trouble, lot of unfinished work. So others here have experienced like miracles in various situations.

Here, the miraculous birth, for there is nothing impossible with God. That is a message that the angel brought to Mary. When she was saying, how could these things be? So let us not forget that aspect of the impossible being possible.

We may say certain things are impossible. It is a real shame that 2000 years after Jesus Christ, we have not filled this world with the message of Jesus. Peace, that inward peace, you know, when there is that inward peace, there's productivity.

Otherwise, only resentment will come out of us. See, somebody said this, somebody did this, somebody hurt me, somebody. It's somebody, it's not me.

Lord, I need a new heart. I need a humble heart. It's somebody who is doing something against me.

Instead of that, we would be filled with positive words. See, this negative words in our families is a very harmful thing. You know, the first car which I drove, boy, it was back in the 50s, I think.

Yes, the first car that I drove had a trick in it. The gears would get jammed between second gear and reverse gear. I don't know how that happened, which meant, whoo, the gear shift, I would do whatever I did, it wouldn't budge.

So, the car wouldn't move forward, it wouldn't go back. Stuck. And this used to happen in some very awkward places.

What do you do? Oh, the mechanic used to come and tinker with the gearbox or whatever, finally get it back into running condition. Oh, I suffered with that old trick of my car for quite some time. You know, the devil does the same trick on us.

Can't move forward, jammed, gears jammed. How long can you, will you sit in a car which is jammed? You'll jump out of it, let me tell you. You'll try to push it, you'll try to do something about it, you won't sit there saying, oh, my car is jammed, the gears are jammed.

Never. But when your spiritual life is jammed and it's not going forward, you don't have that same kind of alacrity. Let me do something quickly about this.

I can't be sitting in this old jammed car of mine. I've got to move. I've got to get out of this kind of frame of mind or impasse.

See, suppose we get out of each jam as it occurs. Each hurdle as it comes and we overcome and move forward. What do we, what do we do? It means we gain more confidence.

Now look at this salutation. We focus on the salutation. As soon as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb.

Now, have you got any salutation like that, which fills people with the Holy Spirit? Know how amazing this is, that a mere salutation should fill Elizabeth with the Holy Ghost. And what did she say? Forty-two. She spoke out with a loved voice and said, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

You know, these salutations must have surprised Mary. Here she was. Her religion was not for window dressing.

Her religion was not for public display. How beautiful is that? You know, when you're walking with God and you say, I'm doing the normal thing. What am I doing so special? If you ask me, what are you doing so special? I will say, I am doing very little.

Don't say I'm doing anything special. I am not where a God wants me to be. I want to come closer to Jesus.

That's what I would say. Here, Mary was not expecting this kind of greetings. Isn't that beautiful? To have a religion, a walk with God, which does not make you proud and self-conscious.

See, I'm doing this. I'm doing that. I'm going here.

I'm going there. Oh, what a wonderful service I'm doing. Yesterday, I had a phone call.

A lady called up and said, Mr. Daniel, we would like you to tell all the people in that subdivision, try to communicate this to at least 12 people about the Heart Foundation, the National Heart Foundation. I was in the midst of magazine material, which I was typing in, which must be printed in a few days. I said, ma'am, you know, I established clinics in needy places where people can go in with hardly a quarter.

Would you please pardon me? I'm leaving the country shortly. Would you please pardon me? And I'm really sorry because I'm giving excuses. You are doing voluntary work and I'm only giving you some excuses.

I'm sorry. You know what she said? Oh, no, no, no. Don't say that.

You're doing much more than I am doing. That's how people will say. Oh, you're doing a lot.

You're doing something wonderful. So when the angel came and said that to Mary, it was not some flatterer. You know, human flattery, everybody likes to be flattered.

Suppose somebody tells you, you're the prettiest girl in the world. My, what would you say? Every time you look at the mirror, aren't you the prettiest girl in the world? Or some such rubbish. Anyway, you know, folks, we like to be flattered.

And who are our flatterers? Airheads. People who are airheads. What's the good of their flattery? No good at all.

But here is the angel. First chapter of Luke. And the angel Gabriel.

I am Gabriel. See, don't forget. In the 19th verse, Gabriel introduces himself in these words.

I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God. I am sent to speak unto you and to show you these glad tidings. Which poor Zacharias was unable to believe.

I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God. And what did Gabriel say to Mary? Thou art highly favored. The Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women. Highly favored. Well, blessed among women.

What would you say? What is it that wins the favor of God? Let us turn to Proverbs chapter 8. What is it that wins the favor of God? Poor Mary. She just feared the Lord and walked in holiness. She did not do it just to please somebody or to get some accolade.

Somebody's praise. Now, in Proverbs, the 8th chapter, here is a personification of wisdom. Christ, the wisdom of God, we are taught.

Doth not wisdom cry and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in of the doors. Just think of that.

Is wisdom crying out to you? Let me in. Get my true wisdom. Let me in.

He crieth, she crieth at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Oh, you simple understand wisdom and you fools be of an understanding heart. Yes, I need an understanding heart.

Let me not talk about anybody else. I need an understanding heart. I want to understand the will of God.

Otherwise, I'll miss the road. I found myself speeding, driving very fast. In the middle of the night, maybe one o'clock to a midnight or something, suddenly I saw the signboard or the milestone.

I said, where, what? That is not familiar. It says some other place. And so I stopped and focused the headlights on the milestone and found that I was going right on the wrong direction, wrong highway.

I just had to go all the way back. See, be of an understanding heart. Wisdom crieth out.

Be of an understanding heart. See how slow we are to understand. How slow we are to obey.

How we keep Jesus crying at the door. Be of an understanding heart. After all, you're going to be blessed.

Your home will be blessed. Be of an understanding heart. So the 35th verse, please.

For whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. Yes, that's it. What is obtaining favor of the Lord? Finding Christ.

I want Christ. A heart that says, I want Christ at any cost. See, there are so many vanities.

Even the toys with which children play these days. After a while, somebody says, this toy is dangerous. There is stuff in this toy which little children are swallowing and it's getting stuck in their throat.

Withdraw this toy. So many of the things that we play with get stuck in our throats. After a while, the manufacturer says, hey, we are withdrawing all these toys from the shelves.

But how people run after toys which are dangerous. Be of an understanding heart. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul.

All that hate me, love death. 36. All that hate me, love death.

Never be in collision course with the word of God. Does it make sense for me to see a mighty locomotive? It's amazing. Some of these bullet trains are traveling so fast.

I wanted to go on one of these bullet trains that goes under the British Channel. You see? Which is called the Channel. And amazing.

From France, I was in England in just about a few minutes. And if I got into a, you know, the usual ferry, the ship, it would take two hours, three hours, depending on where you cross. To Belgium, it would take three hours.

To Calais, it would take even by hoovercraft. You know what's the hoovercraft? It does not sail on the, go on the water, but it skims the water. You see? It does not touch the water almost.

Well, even a hoovercraft took quite some time. But this bullet train went right through. All right.

Suppose I stood before a bullet train and say, hey, I believe in being in a collision course with you. Does it make sense? I would be smashed. You would put me in a jam box or a jam jar.

I'd get smashed. He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul, and all that hate me love death. Whoso findeth me findeth life and shall obtain favor of the Lord.

We have found favor. Jesus has come for us. And as we greet people around us, let us be careful that it comes as a greeting from the heart, a greeting of love, a greeting which fills people somehow with goodwill and joy and the Holy Ghost.

Let us pray. Let us tell God, Lord, am I ever going to greet people that way? Am I just going to say hello and then goodbye and just wave people off and sit down and say, why did they have to stay so long? What a boring person. Lord, let's not be that way.

Let's be full of love and goodwill. Please, Lord, even as Mary's greeting filled Elizabeth with the Holy Ghost, is our greeting going to be such a blessing to anybody? It should be. We don't want to be in a collision course with the Word of God.

We are just ordinary people. We want to find favor with God, just like Mary did. Lord, have mercy on the people around us while we greet them this Christmas.

Let us convey goodwill and love to them. Something beautiful for them. Hear our prayer in Jesus' holy name.

Amen.